Kentish Express Ashford & District - What's On
‘I’ll be back’ - and Arnie is!
Never let it be said that Arnold Schwarzenegger is precious about trading on past glories. We’ve known for some time now that he’ll be reprising his role as Conan the Barbarian/Destroyer in King Conan, and then a couple of months ago news appeared that he would be doing a sequel to Twins with Danny DeVito (and Eddie Murphy as the hilarious third brother they never knew they had – oh, just imagine the hijinks and race-based mishaps). Now, comes the announcement that Arnie is revisiting the role he is most famous for, The Terminator. The 65-year-old has revealed that he is going to star in the fifth Terminator film, with production starting in early 2014. It makes sense for him to appear, after all, he IS The Terminator, but I’m slightly worried he is going to be starring. How much ‘starring’ is a 65-year-old going to be able to do in an action movie? Or is Paramount going to use all its budget on CGI? Urgh, I hope not. The project still doesn’t have a director attached, but with Arnie onboard, I’m sure they’ll be queuing up. She has dipped her toe in a shallow pool of smaller productions, but now it seems Emma Watson has signed up to her first big post-Potter gig. The English actress is returning to fantasy cinema after agreeing to play the lead in Queen of the Tearling; apparently a Game of Thrones-style epic. Set 300 years after an environmental catastrophe, Watson will play 19-year-old princess Kelsea Glynn who must defeat the evil Red Queen who reigns over the kingdom of Tearling. The Tearling series was created by Erika Johansen and inspired by, of all things, a 2007 speech by then-candidate Barack Obama. Johansen signed a seven-book deal in February and the first novel in the series is due next year. Yeah, seven books and a movie before the public has even read a word. Warner Bros, which oversaw the Harry Potter films, has acquired film rights to the entire book series and the films will be produced by David Heyman, who also produced the Potter movies. And now for the least surprising news of 2013. Warner Bros has fast-tracked a sequel to the new Superman film, Man of Steel, with writer David Goyer and director Zack Snyder already signed up. Christopher Nolan is planning to step back as producer this time and although it’s not yet official Henry Cavill is very likely to play the lead again. I’m already looking forward to a Man of Steel sequel, not because the first film is so spectacular, but because it isn’t. While it’s a perfectly enjoyable film, it doesn’t have the spark, heart or humour of other recent superhero films, and it doesn’t ever reach that next level, that point where you think “Damn, this is fun. I’m glad I’m watching it.” It’s a steady, goodlooking movie, that reintroduces characters who were mistreated in 2006’s Superman Returns. Now we’ve had the ‘this is Superman, and this is what he’s about’ story, I’m hopeful that part two will be the film that injects some more fun, personality and depth into the franchise. It can happen – look at the jump between X-Men and X2. Man of Steel isn’t a disappointment, but it’s not the film we were waiting for, either. There’s even more premature superhero movie booking going on. Even though the second film isn’t finished yet, and the reaction to the first wasn’t as positive as everyone expected, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4 have been announced, for June 2016 and May 2018. Sony Pictures’s vice-chairman Jeff Blake said: “Spider-Man is our most important, most successful, and most beloved franchise, so we’re thrilled we are in a position to lock in these prime release dates over the next five years.” Which is true. But it’s also a sign of the studio nailing down its favourite dates before anyone else can. So, while we don’t yet know who is going to appear in the new movies, or even what the stories will be, at least we can mark down dates five years hence in our calendars. In the meantime, Spidey 2 hits the UK on April 18, 2014.