Before you begin your Thanksgiving, we’ve got a few last Movie Morsels to share that might have you feeling especially grateful this holiday weekend, including the latest news on two huge sci-fi sequels: Blade Runner 2 and Pacific Rim 2. And Matthew McConaughey is now the coolest Stephen King character ever! Plus, a hilarious must-watch Penguins of Madagascar video and much more.

Blade Runner 2

Though he’ll produce the film, Ridley Scott has announced he will not direct Blade Runner 2, featuring a returning Harrison Ford — albeit in a smaller role than that which he occupied in the original 1982 masterpiece. Scott, in the midst of promoting Exodus: Gods and Kings, tells Variety, “We talked at length about what it could be and came up with a pretty strong three-act storyline.” Regarding Ford’s role, Scott remarked, “Harrison is very much part of this one. But it’s really about finding him. He comes in in the third act.”

[Coming Soon]

The Stand

Alright, alright, alright! It sounds like it’s official — after much speculation, Matthew McConaughey has been cast as the ultimate Stephen King villain, Randall Flagg, in director Josh Boone’s upcoming four-film adaptation of the author’s opus The Stand.

“Conceived as an American version of The Lord of the Rings, King’s 1200-page epic spotlights the battle between good and evil after a deadly virus has wiped out the bulk of the world’s population. McConaughey looks set to play the story’s chief antagonist, a grinning cowboy with supernatural powers who establishes a power base in the ruins of Las Vegas.”

[The Guardian]

Pacific Rim 2

We have confirmation that Guillermo del Toro’s plans for Pacific Rim 2 definitely include the Kaiju scientists played by Burn Gorman and Charlie Day. Promoting the DVD and Blu-ray release of The Strain, the director says, “It’s a few years after the first one. It’s not an immediate follow-up. It is the world having been freed of Kaiju, what happens to the world after – what happens to the Jaeger technology once the Kaiju are not a threat. It’s quite a jump.

“It’s quite a different movie from the first one in that, but I think that two of our main characters like in the first one are Burn and Charlie. They are really, really – I mean, honestly, they are probably the guys I have the most fun writing along with Hannibal Chau so just from a purely selfish drive, I like writing them. I love writing for Charlie and Burn. I mean, [Burn’s] in Crimson Peak for that reason, because I love working with him. You’re gonna get a lot of that, but the Kaijus are very different and you’re gonna see a very different type of the robots I think. It’s gonna be quite a different adventure.” Pacific Rim 2 is due out on April 7, 2017.

[Slashfilm]

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck

The first fully authorized documentary feature devoted to late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in in the works at HBO. “The film, titled Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, is being shepherded by co-producers HBO Documentary Films and Universal Pictures International Entertainment Content Group. Montage of Heck will debut exclusively on HBO in the U.S. in 2015. Universal will roll out the film internationally in theaters next year… Oscar-nominated director Brett Morgen, who previously tackled the Rolling Stones for HBO with the documentary Crossfire Hurricane, is helming the film, eight years in the making. Visual artist Frances Bean Cobain, the daughter of the late Nirvana singer, guitarist and songwriter, is executive producing.”

[Nerdist]

Cake

A bruised and makeup-free Jennifer Aniston stars in the indie drama Cake, due out in New York on January 25th, and is drawing strong Oscar buzz for the former Friends star, best known for light romcoms. The film’s first full trailer has just been released.

[ABC News]

Penguins of Madagascar

Want to see an entirely different kind of cake? Sure you do. With Penguins of Madagascar, in theaters everywhere today, we’ve got a little Thanksgiving dessert for you, in which a bird other than turkey is consumed. “DreamWorks Animation technical director Nigel Tierney shares a Vine of the studio’s latest cake sacrifice ceremony in the piece entitled ‘Another DreamWorks Massacre! Baby Penguins of Madagascar.'”

[Cartoon Brew]

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