Movie News: Edgar Wright on shortlist for 'Bond 25;' Emma Watson replaces Stone in Greta Gerwig's 'Little Women;' Dominic Monaghan joins 'Episode IX'
To be quite honest, it was a relatively quiet week for movie news. But with the storm of festival coverage and Oscar news on the horizon, the lack of major breaking news is to be expected. Telluride and Venice are right around the corner, which means that things are going to get pretty crazy in the coming days. Still, there have been more than a few noteworthy announcements in the last couple days, so I figured I would recap them here. Let's break it down.
With lots of James Bond talk swirling around after Danny Boyle's unexpected departure from the project, Deadline revealed another fascinating bit of news on Thursday in an exclusive report. The trade magazine reported that Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright is one of the filmmakers currently listed as a "real possibility" for the 25th James Bond adventure. Sharp Objects director Jean-Marc Vallee is reportedly a long shot, while White Boy Rick's Yann Demange and Outlaw King's David Mackenzie are also in the hunt for the job (they were heavy favorites before Boyle was hired). The report emphasizes that Bond 25 has not lost its November 2019 date yet, but the choice of director may affect those plans.
Look, we knew Demange and Mackenzie would be mentioned once again, as they were popular choices before Boyle and writer John Hodge joined the film with their own original take. Oscar nominees Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve have also been previously connected to the project, but those were always unlikely choices- Nolan wants to start fresh with Bond and Villeneuve is prepping Dune. However, Edgar Wright is by far the most surprising and exciting possibility. Wright still hasn't lined up a follow-up to Baby Driver, which became his first mainstream hit after years of cult success. Wright has had difficulties with studio filmmaking in the past (the Ant-Man saga should have been a sign of things to come at Marvel), but could he actually make it work with EON and the Broccolis?
As a massive fan of the director, I would be thrilled to see him take on this material. Part of me will always worry about auteurs taking on these blockbusters, but I can't resist the idea of a hyper-kinetic Bond movie. Look for more on this in the coming weeks.
In a rather amusing twist, Variety reported yesterday that Emma Watson has joined the cast of Greta Gerwig's Little Women, replacing Oscar winner Emma Stone. Back in 2016, Stone replaced Watson in Damien Chazelle's smash hit La La Land, so this feels like an odd cosmic coincidence. Per the Variety report, Stone was forced to drop out due to promotional duties for Yorgos Lanthimos' hotly anticipated The Favourite, which is expected to be a major Oscar contender after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Watson and Stone are linked by something, and it would be hilarious if keep replacing each other in roles for the foreseeable future. This will be one of Watson's first forays into awards territory, so I'll be interested to see how it plays out. She joins a cast that includes Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen, Florence Pugh, and Laura Dern. Little Women will debut in theaters on Christmas Day 2019.
Per Deadline, Lost and Lord of the Rings star Dominic Monaghan has joined the cast of Star Wars: Episode IX in an unspecified role. In response, Monaghan said "The galaxy far far away has had almost as much influence on me as the one I live in, so I am delighted to be involved."
With Episode IX already in production, I'm a little surprised to see Monaghan join the cast so late in the game. He'll reunite with Lost creator J.J. Abrams, who is returning to the Star Wars universe to finish off this new trilogy- and possibly the Skywalker story as a whole. Beyond the previously announced involvement of Keri Russell and Richard E. Grant, the addition of Monaghan is another exciting development in the ninth chapter in the saga. With a cast led by Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Marie Tran, Domhnall Gleeson, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, Star Wars: Episode IX will arrive in theaters on December 20, 2019.
That's it for now. Look for more reviews and news in the coming days.
Images: Sony, Paramount
With lots of James Bond talk swirling around after Danny Boyle's unexpected departure from the project, Deadline revealed another fascinating bit of news on Thursday in an exclusive report. The trade magazine reported that Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright is one of the filmmakers currently listed as a "real possibility" for the 25th James Bond adventure. Sharp Objects director Jean-Marc Vallee is reportedly a long shot, while White Boy Rick's Yann Demange and Outlaw King's David Mackenzie are also in the hunt for the job (they were heavy favorites before Boyle was hired). The report emphasizes that Bond 25 has not lost its November 2019 date yet, but the choice of director may affect those plans.
Look, we knew Demange and Mackenzie would be mentioned once again, as they were popular choices before Boyle and writer John Hodge joined the film with their own original take. Oscar nominees Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve have also been previously connected to the project, but those were always unlikely choices- Nolan wants to start fresh with Bond and Villeneuve is prepping Dune. However, Edgar Wright is by far the most surprising and exciting possibility. Wright still hasn't lined up a follow-up to Baby Driver, which became his first mainstream hit after years of cult success. Wright has had difficulties with studio filmmaking in the past (the Ant-Man saga should have been a sign of things to come at Marvel), but could he actually make it work with EON and the Broccolis?
As a massive fan of the director, I would be thrilled to see him take on this material. Part of me will always worry about auteurs taking on these blockbusters, but I can't resist the idea of a hyper-kinetic Bond movie. Look for more on this in the coming weeks.
In a rather amusing twist, Variety reported yesterday that Emma Watson has joined the cast of Greta Gerwig's Little Women, replacing Oscar winner Emma Stone. Back in 2016, Stone replaced Watson in Damien Chazelle's smash hit La La Land, so this feels like an odd cosmic coincidence. Per the Variety report, Stone was forced to drop out due to promotional duties for Yorgos Lanthimos' hotly anticipated The Favourite, which is expected to be a major Oscar contender after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Watson and Stone are linked by something, and it would be hilarious if keep replacing each other in roles for the foreseeable future. This will be one of Watson's first forays into awards territory, so I'll be interested to see how it plays out. She joins a cast that includes Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen, Florence Pugh, and Laura Dern. Little Women will debut in theaters on Christmas Day 2019.
Per Deadline, Lost and Lord of the Rings star Dominic Monaghan has joined the cast of Star Wars: Episode IX in an unspecified role. In response, Monaghan said "The galaxy far far away has had almost as much influence on me as the one I live in, so I am delighted to be involved."
With Episode IX already in production, I'm a little surprised to see Monaghan join the cast so late in the game. He'll reunite with Lost creator J.J. Abrams, who is returning to the Star Wars universe to finish off this new trilogy- and possibly the Skywalker story as a whole. Beyond the previously announced involvement of Keri Russell and Richard E. Grant, the addition of Monaghan is another exciting development in the ninth chapter in the saga. With a cast led by Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Marie Tran, Domhnall Gleeson, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, Star Wars: Episode IX will arrive in theaters on December 20, 2019.
That's it for now. Look for more reviews and news in the coming days.
Images: Sony, Paramount
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