♪♪ It’s the ennnd of the worrrld as we know it ♪♪
We’re all about apocalypse in today’s Movie Morsels, with the latest on the remake of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York, the next Planet of the Apes sequel, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Plus, the trailer for Idris Elba‘s latest and more!
Escape from New York
While John Carpenter’s Escape from New York is fondly remembered for its dark atmosphere and Kurt Russell’s snarling performance as Snake Plissken, I’m gonna risk injury by saying that the film hasn’t aged quite as gracefully as some of the director’s other favorites. While Halloween, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China haven’t lost their luster, Carpenter’s vision of Manhattan transformed into a futuristic island prison isn’t really in the same apocalyptic league as the Mad Max films. So I’m less disgruntled about its upcoming remake than I usually am about these sorts of things. Especially with the news that Neil Cross is now penning the film’s screenplay. Cross, as he’s shown time and again in his Idris Elba-starring show Luther, knows how to bring the grit like few visual storytellers today, and he’s ventured into the genre before, having worked on Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and co-scripted Mama. Plus, with Carpenter “creatively involved” and serving as executive producer, the new Escape will at least have some of the original’s DNA.
War for the Planet of the Apes
The next film in Fox’s highly successful rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise has nabbed its latest monkey. Steve Zahn joins War for the Planet of the Apes, director Matt Reeves’ follow-up to his own Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. No word yet on who Zahn will play, or the film’s story, but the film arrives on July 14, 2017.
[The Wrap]
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Milla Jovovich sure loves sharing photos from Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, doesn’t she? The latest Instagram pics from the actress show her and her castmates in action and goofing around on the film’s set. She also offers us a first teasing screenshot from the Paul W.S. Anderson-helmed movie. Co-starring Ali Larter, Iain Glen, Shawn Roberts, and Ruby Rose, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter hits theaters on January 27, 2017.
Beasts of No Nation
No, Idris Elba’s latest is not about the end of the world. (Though, in Pacific Rim, he did deliver the best line ever about the subject: “Today we are canceling the apocalypse!”) But director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s war drama Beasts of No Nation has garnered a ton of early praise. So I’ll definitely be watching when it arrives on Netflix and in limited release on October 16th. Here’s the film’s final trailer…
[Netflix]
Mad Max 5
Finally, today, in case you missed it yesterday, George Miller says Furiosa might not be featured in his sequel to Mad Max: Fury Road. (Small wonder, since actors Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy reportedly didn’t get along all that well during production, apparently because of Hardy’s tendency to remain in character throughout shooting.) The good news is the director doesn’t rule out a return by the fan-favorite character to his world of fire and blood at some point.
[Digital Spy]
Photo credits: Fox, Warner Brothers, HBO
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