DEVELOPMENT HELL

Your monthly glimpse into Hollywood’s hoped- for future

C him-c him-c her-eee tc!

MARY POPPINS 2

Winds in the east, mist coming in, like somethin’ is brewin’ and ’ bout to begin… The belated sequel to Mary Poppins moves ever nearer to the screen with the news that Edge Of Tomorrow’s Emily Blunt is in talks to play PL Travers’ magical nanny, originally brought to life by Julie Andrews in Disney’s 1964 classic. She’s a practically perfect choice in every way. Well, aside from the fact that Julie Andrews is still around… Set to be helmed by Into The Woods’ Rob Marshall, the movie shifts the action to the 1930s and raids plot elements from Travers’ other books, particularly the second one, Mary Poppins Comes Back. Hamilton’s Lin- Manuel Miranda is tipped for the role of Jack, a London lamplighter, and is also expected to help write some new songs, doubtlessly to be belted out in a wonky cockney accent.

The Wheel of K at urns!

THE DARK TOWER

The whispers in the Waste Lands were true. Idris Elba has officially scored the role of Roland the Gunslinger in the big- screen version of Stephen King’s epic fantasy Western. “For me it just clicked,” says director Nikolaj Arcel. “We absolutely had all the same ideas and thoughts. He had a unique vision for who Roland would be.” King approves: “For me the character is still the character,” he tells Entertainment Weekly. “He can be white or black, it makes no difference to me. I think it opens all kind of exciting possibilities for the backstory.” Interstellar’s

Matthew McConaughey is a lock for sinister necromancer the Man in Black, racing against Roland to reach the titular tower, a structure that stands at the nexus of time, space and literature. Expect some tweaks to the sprawling saga, not least that this won’t be an adaptation of the first book, 1982’ s

The Gunslinger. King says the movie begins “in the middle of the story” and it seems a chunk of the film will take place in our reality, in the modern world. Filming begins in South Africa this spring, targeting a 13 January 2017 release.

Mercenary rising!

DEADPOOL 2

Watch out, fourth wall – the Merc with the mouth is coming back to break you all over again. Yes, proving the previously untapped box office appetite for ultra- violence, killer putdowns and meta- textuality, the triumph of the first Deadpool movie means a sequel’s a cert. But don’t look for a sudden injection of cash ( you know Deadpool’s already blown most of it on strippers and chimichangas). “We don’t want $ 150 million to go make the next movie,” screenwriter Paul

Wernick tells Collider. “That’s not Deadpool. Deadpool doesn’t lift cities up into the air or battle aliens coming down to Earth. That’s just not Deadpool. So we’re happy in that little small budget range that they have us in; we don’t wanna blow this next one out.” Expect Deadpool 2 either 6 October 2017 or 12 January 2018, two dates Twentieth Century Fox have already ringed for an unnamed pair of X- movies.

D&D R&D!

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

And lo, once again Hollywood rolls the d12… Yes, there’s another cinematic take on legendary tabletop time- stealer Dungeons & Dragons on the way. The game sputtered on to the big screen in eminently forgettable form back in 2000 but the franchise’s dungeonmasters are looking to summon some Marvel style box office sorcery. “This new Dungeons & Dragons will be a Guardians Of The Galaxy- tone movie in a Tolkien universe,” producer Roy Lee ( The Lego Movie) tells Collider. “When you think of all the Hobbit movies and The Lord Of The Rings, they have an earnestness to them, and to see something fun, a Raiders romp inside that world, I feel is something the audience has not seen before.” The screenplay’s by Wrath Of The Titans’ David Leslie Johnson and Lee is already talking up an entire dice- powered movie universe, complete with spin- offs and crossovers. That’s epic level.

Bigtrouble in outer space!

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2

The galaxy keeps expanding… New additions to Marvel’s next slice of hiply- soundtracked space opera include The Man From UNCLE’s fiendishly glam nemesis Elizabeth Debicki, The Knick’s Chris Sullivan and Sons Of Anarchy regular Tommy Flanagan, cast as Yondu’s second- in- command. Also confirmed is the mighty Kurt Russell, still valiantly attempting to top the career high of 1969’ s The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes ( you’ll doubtlessly know him best from The Thing and Escape From New York). No one’s saying exactly who Russell’s playing but he’s tipped to be the mysterious loins from which Star- Lord sprung. Director James Gunn says that Thanos doesn’t factor into the sequel – “We’ve got other fish to fry” – but it’s rumoured that the film sees the Ravagers take out a bounty on Rocket Raccoon. Vol 2 hits 5 May 2017. Hey, Groot, need a little more Miracle- Gro, fella?

Pin City!

HELLRAISER: JUDGEMENT

Diverting news for all souls suffering the infinite agonies of Hell: we have a brand new Pinhead. Paul T Taylor is set to be the walking health and safety hazard in the next film based on Clive Barker’s saga of blood and damnation. He’s the third Pinhead, in fact, following Doug Bradley, who originated ol’ kebab- bonce back in 1987 and played him a staggering seven more times – that’s a whole load of unending torment – and ousting Stephan Smith Collins, who starred in 2011’ s universally savaged Hellraiser: Revelations. Taylor’s popped up in everything from Sin City to Prison Break and will lead the Cenobites in a film that’s officially a sequel and not, as rumoured, a reboot. Directed by make- up wiz Gary J Tunnicliffe, the next instalment finds a trio of detectives investigating what appears to be a particularly gruesome serial killer case, only to discover “a spiralling maze of horror that may not be of this world”. What are the chances?

We’ re expecting you, Mr Bond!

JAMES BOND 25

Exotic locations have been a staple of the Bond franchise ever since Ian Fleming hymned the high life of northern France in Casino Royale. Now comes word that 007 may be assigned to the Croatian city of Dubrovnik for his next screen mission. “Negotiations about money are going on, and it’s not easy to negotiate with James Bond, but we have started,” says mayor Andro Vlahušic, blowing his cover like an amateur. Dubrovnik’s no stranger to blockbuster backdrops: it’s a regular location for Game Of Thrones and will be seen in Star Wars Episode XIII. Associate producer Gregg Wilson says “we’ve just begun to doodle with ideas for the next movie. Each script process begins when we ask ourselves the question, ‘ What is the world afraid of now?” So that’s Trumperball, From Russia With Trump or Donald Is Not Enough, then…

Roland can be white or black, it makes no difference to me