A breakdown of the biggest movie news from the last week (29 November – 5 December).
TRAILERS
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) (5 December)
The first trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse released this week, and it appears that the sequel will capitalize on the post-credits scene of its predecessor, Into the Spider-Verse.
The trailer shows Miles Morales fighting Spider-Man 2099 – A.K.A. Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) – as he’s sucked into an alternate universe. While no concrete details have been released regarding the film’s story, the trailer indicates that Spider-Man 2099 will likely play a large role, and confirms that the film is the first part of a two part story.
Morbius (5 December)
While Spider-Man (or, more specifically Spider-Men) got a new trailer this week, so too did one of his villains.
Sony have released a clip from Morbius ahead of the film’s January 2022 release, and it shows Jared Leto as the titular doctor transforming into his vampire alter-ego.
Morbius is just the latest of Sony’s superhero/villain movies – and, following on from Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage‘s success, it’s been teased that these films may link in with the MCU in the forseeable future.
CASTING
Nicolas Cage & Awkwafina – Renfield (1 December)
Nicolas Cage has officially signed on to play Dracula in Universal’s upcoming movie Renfield.
Nicolas Hoult was cast in the title role back in August, and Renfield‘s cast has swelled this week, with Awkwafina also joining the production in an undisclosed role.
Renfield has been described as a comedic take on the gothic source material, a role which Cage was seemingly destined to fulfill. With Chris McKay set to direct and Robert Kirkman (of The Walking Dead) set to produce, anticipation for Renfield is building for film fans everywhere.
David Dastmalchian – Boston Strangler Movie (1 December)
David Dastmalchian’s career appears to be on a massive upward trajectory of late, and the actor has now been cast in the upcoming Boston Strangler movie alongside Keira Knightley.
After a small role in The Dark Knight and then being cast as Kurt in Ant-Man, Dastmalchian secured roles in two 2021 blockbusters – The Suicide Squad and Dune.
Filming of Boston Strangler is set to begin over the coming weeks.
Gillian Anderson (& More) – The Pale Blue Eye (2 December)
Netflix’s adaptation of The Pale Blue Eye has cast numerous actors this week, including Gillian Anderson, Robert Duvall, Timothy Spall, and Toby Jones.
The Pale Blue Eye will tell the story of a young Edgar Allan Poe aiding in the investigation of a series of murders in 1830, and is based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Louis Bayard.
The film is set to star Christian Bale and Harry Melling (Harry Potter), and will be directed by Scott Cooper.
Magic Mike 3 Confirmed By Channing Tatum (29 November)
Channing Tatum has confirmed via Twitter that Magic Mike 3 is happening – and that Steven Soderbergh will be returning to direct the threequel.
The tweet simply showed the front page of Magic Mike 3‘s script, with the title Magic Mike’s Last Dance, confirming that Soderbergh, who directed Magic Mike but not Magic Mike XXL, is set to direct, and that Reid Carolin, who wrote both previous films, has penned the script.
As yet, no other details about Magic Mike’s Last Dance have surfaced, but fans of Tatum & co. (and their non-existent clothing) will rejoice in the news of the third (and possibly final) Magic Mike film.
Red Notice Officially Netflix’s Biggest Ever Movie (1 December)
Red Notice has officially become Netflix’s most-watched film. The title was previously held by 2016’s Bird Box, which currently sits at 282 million watch hours, but Red Notice has now officially passed the 300 million watch hours mark less than a month after its release.
Red Notice‘s watch hours loosely equate to 150 million streams, and is an especially impressive feat when its considered that despite three A-list stars leading the action-comedy-thriller, it hasn’t fared overly well with critics.
The news of Red Notice‘s success all but guarantees a Red Notice 2, something which star Dwayne Johnson and director Rawson Marshall Thurber have already championed.
47 Ronin Sequel Begins Production (4 December)
2013’s 47 Ronin may have been critically panned, but its sequel has now begun production.
After being announced in 2020, 47 Ronin 2 (would the name 48 Ronin be too on the nose?) is underway, with principal photography starting in Budapest this week. The sequel will be distributed by Netflix, will star Anna Akana and Mark Dacascos, and be directed by Ron Yuan.
Exactly how the sequel will connect to 47 Ronin is unclear, and with seemingly none of the original’s cast returning, it may be more of a spiritual successor than a direct sequel.