It’s Monday morning, and it’s time for a new edition of Movie Morsels to recap the weekend’s film news that you may have missed. Today, we’ve got Stephen King’s reaction to Idris Elba’s frontrunner status in The Dark Tower, two breakdowns of the X-Men: Apocalypse trailer, a teaser for the next Deadpool trailer, and the first trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence!

Also on tap, an update on Avatar 2 from James Cameron; an absolutely insane look at the Chinese film, Monster Hunt; and Ridley Scott’s promise for Alien: Covenant.

Let’s get started!

The Dark Tower

After reports emerged that Idris Elba is the frontrunner to play Roland Deschain in The Dark Tower adaptation, a few of Stephen King’s fans have voiced their dissent. If Elba signs on, it will be a departure from Roland’s portrayal in the novels as a white man, and it would probably require some changes to the overall story.

But there’s one opinion that should matter more than the rest: Stephen King himself. And he made it pretty clear how he feels about Elba potentially stepping into the role as The Dark Tower’s famous Gunslinger.

To me, the color of the gunslinger doesn’t matter. What I care about is how fast he can draw…and that he takes care of the ka-tet.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) December 12, 2015

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X-Men: Apocalypse

Last Friday, 20th Century Fox released the first trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse. If you happened to miss it, here it is again!

Director Bryan Singer has helpfully broken down the trailer and explained key aspects of it. Nerdist News’ Jessica Chobot also has a breakdown of the new trailer, and a few speculatory bits to go with it.

X-Men: Apocalypse descends into theaters on May 27, 2016.

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Deadpool

It seems like every major 2016 release is getting a trailer this month! But you’re gonna have to wait just a little bit longer for the new Deadpool trailer. It’s coming on Christmas day, and it will premiere during the NBA on ABC. Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld helpfully posted a screencap of the ESPN promo that revealed the new trailer.

Did you see it? #DEADPOOL promo for the NBA on ABC! As if you needed more proof he’s a Liefeld creation!! Deadpool and Kobe and HOOPS!!! Rejoice!! #robliefeld #robliefeldcreations

A photo posted by Robertliefeld (@robliefeld) on Dec 12, 2015 at 7:47pm PST

Deadpool will be released on February 12, 2016.

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Avatar 2

Remember when the Avatar sequels were gonna hit in 2014 and 2015? Obviously that didn’t happen, and the two sequels became a new trilogy with a 2017 premiere date…in theory. There’s still a lot happening with the Avatar franchise, including the Walt Disney World Avatar attraction, Avatar comics from Dark Horse, and a Cirque du Soleil Avatar prequel show. But as for the films, Cameron has finally offered an update:

“I’m in the process of doing another pass through all three scripts right now,” said Cameron. “Just refining. That’s in parallel with the design process. The design process is very mature at this point. We’ve been designing for about a year and a half. All the characters, settings and creatures are all pretty much [set].”

If Cameron is going to meet Avatar 2’s planned release in December 2017 then it will have to begin production in 2016.

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Monster Hunt

Normally the U.S. exports its biggest blockbuster films to China. But next year, China strikes back with Monster Hunt, a movie that has smashed Chinese box office records. It’s coming to America, and it looks like it’s a whole new level of crazy.

Nerdist’s Donnie Lederer has perhaps the most succinct description of the plot, that only teases the insanity to come. “Monster Hunt is set in a mythical land that resembles ancient China. Monsters and humans co-exist in this world, and tensions are running high. When a child is born of a monster queen and a human, the baby, Wuba, must realize his destiny to become king and bring balance and peace to both races.”

Monster Hunt hits America on January 22, 2016.

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Alien: Covenant

Prometheus 2 is now Alien: Covenant, and it sounds like director Ridley Scott is bringing back some OG Alien terror in the sequel. More specifically, fans can expect to see all of the classic Xenomorph forms!

“We’ll have them all,” said Scott in a recent interview. “Egg, face-hugger, chest-burster, then the big boy.”

Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace will both be back for Alien: Covenant, which will be released on October 6, 2017.

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Independence Day: Resurgence

Speaking of aliens, the invaders from ID4 are back, and most of the original Independence Day cast is back too! Not Will Smith, but pretty much everyone else.

Over the weekend, the new trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence was released online, and it featured the enormous new alien ships coming to Earth for a little payback.

Independence Day: Resurgence will be released on June 24, 2016.

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That’s a wrap for today’s Movie Morsels! Share your thoughts on today’s stories in the comment section below.

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Featured Image: Stephen King/Marvel Comics