development hell

Your monthly glimpse into Hollywood’s hoped- for future

Trust us, these are the movies of the future.

TRIANGULATION! BERMUDA TRIANGLE

Nothing says ’ 70s cryptophenomena quite like the Bermuda Triangle. Lurking between the Florida Straits, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, this shuddersome, compasstwirling region of the Caribbean is said to be responsible for untold disappearances of planes and ships across the decades. Now Skydance Productions – home of Terminator Genisys – are prepping a big- screen take with a screenplay by Prince Of Persia’s Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard. Universal has a rival project in development, written by Ouija’s Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, while Warner Bros have had their own version simmering since 2013. Yes, it’s a triangle of Bermuda Triangle movies. Expect Hollywood itself to vanish in a vortex of inexplicable weirdness.

Chinese Rocks! BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA

Still reeling from the news that Dwayne Johnson dares to star in a remake of John Carpenter’s cult ’ 80s action flick? You’re not alone. The Rock is equally rocked. “I loved reading the reactions from the fans, that they were so polarised – I’m the same way,” he tells Entertainment Weekly. “My response is: know that I come to the project with nothing but love and respect for the original, which is why we want to bring on John Carpenter.” Yes, Johnson wants to reach out to the director of the ’ 86 original, which starred Kurt Russell as trucker Jack Burton, embroiled in a centuries- old mystical conflict in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Carpenter reveals he knew nothing of the planned remake until the news broke but he’s suitably zen about it all: “I’m doing fine. I didn’t write the original one – no harm, no foul.”

awesome mixing it! GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2

Seems the Guardians sequel will drill a little deeper into our favourite bunch of A- holes. “I think it’s a more emotional movie,” writer and director James Gunn tells Collider. “It’s both a bigger movie and a smaller movie because we focus more intensely on some of the characters. We get to learn a lot about fathers in the second movie.” Chris Pratt is already sold on Gunn’s vision for the cosmic encore. “I will say that his pitch and his idea legitimately put tears in my eyes,” he tells Digital Spy. “It

is so good, it’s so good. And I cannot wait to get started on it and I cannot wait for people to see what he’s going to pull off with the second movie.” Gunn may have an entire galaxy to play with but in one respect he’s dialling it back: “We actually have less characters in Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 than we have in 1 because everything is just getting too sprawling and too crazy for me in these superhero comic book movies.”

shark! shark!

MEG

Call it the Jurassic World effect. Yes, ravenous prehistoric beasts are clearly cinema’s next big thing – and, in the case of this particular Carcharodon Megalodon, a jolly big thing indeed. Steve Alten’s novel of an ancient, super- sized shark terrorising the Californian coastline has been screenbound since 1997, only to drift like a sun- blasted carcass on the broiling seas of Development Hell ( at one point Guillermo del Toro was set to be spooning the chum). Now Warner Bros will finally bring it to the movies with a screenplay by

The Manchurian Candidate’s Dean Georgaris. Hostel’s Eli Roth is attached to direct and word is the bloody, beach- clearing action will switch to Chinese waters in a shameless bid to woo the Eastern box office. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water… No, let’s face it, it’s never safe to go back in the water.

Dream PROJECT!

SANDMAN

Imagine a world where Jason Statham is playing the pale and windswept king of dreams, givin’ it sahm knuckles up the ’ ooter as tanker trucks fireball in slo- mo. Relax – it’s not this reality. The big- screen version of Neil

Gaiman’s Sandman saga will be a faithfully fist- free zone, vows producer – and potential director – Joseph Gordon- Levitt. “It was actually one of the things that Neil Gaiman said to me,” he tells MTV. “He said ‘ Don’t have punching.’ Because he never does. If you read the comics, Morpheus doesn’t punch anybody… It’s going to be a grand spectacular action film, but one that relies on none of those same old ordinary clichés. So that’s why it’s taking a long time to write, but it’s going to be really good.” Don’t look for the film to slot into the upcoming Warner Bros DC pantheon – it’ll be brought to the screen by sister studio New Line Cinema.

ENTERPRISING!

STAR TREK BEYOND

And yes, that’s the confirmed title, once again defiantly colon- free. Director Justin Lin reveals that the new movie will see Starfleet’s finest finally embarking on their fabled five- year mission. “As great as JJ’s films were, there’s still a lot to be mined from these characters,” he tells Deadline. “What we experienced in the TV show hasn’t been touched on yet. That sets up an opportunity for exploration and the deeper you go, the more you are examining humanity.” And this time the mandate is truly on strange new worlds, new life and new civilisations. “It’s all new and fresh. The Klingons, Romulans and other species are great, but it’s time to go further. It has been fun to focus on creating whole new worlds and species.” And stars

Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto will be exploring the final frontier for the forseeable: they’ve just renegotiated their deals and now have an option on a fourth Star Trek adventure. Prepare the whales!