development hell

Your monthly glimpse into Hollywood’s hoped-for future

Squad goalS! SUICIDE SQUAD 2

James Gunn is jumping cinematic universes, from one bunch of A-holes to another... Following his unceremonious departure from the MCU the man who shaped the Guardians Of The Galaxy franchise is in talks to script and potentially direct the sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad. The Hollywood Reporter claims it’s “a brand-new take on the DC property”, with Warner Bros granting Gunn a “clean slate” to reimagine the black ops antiheroes. Gavin O’Connor was previously attached as director, following David Ayer, but has now exited the project, reportedly frustrated that it was too close to DC’s Birds Of Prey movie, which will film first. No word on what Gunn’s radical overhaul means for the established cast but one old pal has already thrown his hat into the ring: “Where do I sign up?” tweeted Guardians legend Dave Bautista on hearing the news.

RoaRke’S dRift! FANTASY ISLAND

A flurry of casting for this Blumhouse reboot of the ’70s TV classic: Michael Pena (Ant-Man, Extinction) inherits Ricardo Montalban’s role of the enigmatic Mr Roarke, disco-suited proprietor of the island paradise where guests live out their wildest fantasies. Dave Bautista’s also onboard. No, he’s not an outsidethe-box replacement for Hervé Villechaize, genius piece of lateral casting though that would be. He’ll play a former guest trapped on the island against his will and out to expose the truth behind Roarke. Truth Or Dare’s Lucy Hale, meanwhile, is in talks to play a character called Melanie. With a tone that’s said to be pitched between Westworld and Cabin In The Woods, Jeff Wadlow’s reimagining will follow a group of contest winners who arrive on the island hoping to indulge their dreams, only to find themselves in nightmare scenarios. No word on that Love Boat remake rumoured to reveal the SS Pacific Princess is powered by human blood.

tell me about youR paRentS… THE BATMAN

Still no word on who’ll be under the cowl in Matt Reeves’ take on the Dark Knight but the latest whispers from the Gotham alleyways suggest Warner Bros love his first draft of the script and are eyeing summer 2019 as a potential production date. One thing’s certain: the film will put the fractured Bat-psyche on the couch. As Reeves tells IndieWire, “One of the things I’ve found interesting, just as we’re working

on the story, is looking back at Jekyll and Hyde, and the idea of your shadow-self, and the idea of ‘we are all multiple things…’ There are times when Batman’s the disguise, but there are times when his true essence comes out, because by being veiled a kind of instinctual side comes out that’s very pure. That’s what’s fun about his character, is that there’s a very bright light that shines on his shadow side. The idea of all of that is incredibly exciting.”

going global! INDIANA JONES 5

Given his rep as a globe-trotting adventurer there was precious little trotting of the globe in Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Producer Frank Marshall promises that the fifth Indy film will see that iconic red marker line stretch a little further across the atlas – and he’s looking to honour the original vision of George Lucas, who steps down as producer on this one. “He moved on,” Marshall tells Coming Soon. “We’re very respectful of the original intentions of the movie, certainly Harrison’s character. The serialisation of what the original intention was. I’d love to have George there. I love being around George and working with him, obviously. It’ll be a little different, because the ideas are coming from a different place now.” A different place? “I don’t know if you’d call it a writers’ room, but a lot of people that we trust pitch ideas and things. Gathering info.” Top men, working on it right now. Top men.

blue bliSteRing SequelS! TINTIN 2

At this stage a sequel to 2011’s The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn seems as elusive a prospect as Red Rackham’s treasure. But Peter Jackson – who produced the Spielberg-helmed franchise launcher, and pledged to direct the second – insists there’s life in the ol’ motion-captured quiff yet. “I’m intending to [make it],” he tells Polygon. “It’s within the next year or two, I would hope.” Jackson reveals that he’s yet to write the script – and is still torn as to which Tintin tale he’ll bring to the screen. “There’s no one that dictates what it has to be – I get to choose. So I want to make that choice carefully because I love the variety, you know? You can go the Indiana Jones sort of Prisoners Of The Sun, or you can go into The Calculus Affair and be more of an Eastern Bloc thriller… There’s the moon ones where you can explore the moon and space. There’s so many choices, and I couldn’t tell you today which way I’m going.”

Peter Jackson insists there’s life in Tintin’s quiff yet

back on the menu! WRONG TURN

Just how many wrong turns do you need to take before you invest in a decent Sat-Nav? We may be about to find out. Spawned in 2003, the Wrong Turn horror franchise has milked its inbredcannibals-lurking-in-thebackwoods schtick across no less than six movies, most recently 2014’s optimistically titled Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort. Now it’s set for a reboot, with a script from creator Alan McElroy. This updated take is pitched as “a timely and topical meditation on society and its issues” – served off the bone, no doubt – where a cross-country hiking expedition places a bunch of friends in “the land of an inclusive society, where they soon discover they are under a different rule of law, and may not be the victims they thought they were.” So, Twitter with added livermunching, then. Mike P Nelson (The Domestics, Studio Luma) directs. “Alan’s re-interpretation of his own work and Mike’s vision are a frightening reflection of our world today,” says producer Robert Kulzer. “One person’s American dream is another’s worst nightmare.”