Most of us haven’t seen Rogue One yet, but the buzz has been so strong for what many are calling the first really good Star Wars prequel, that one of the less high-profile members of its cast is finding his services called on to play the Big Bad in next big Robin Hood movie. Also in today’s Movie Morsels, the latest on Alien: Covenant and Pitch Perfect 3, and more!
Robin Hood: Origins
In what is sure to be a much more straightforward take on the classic English villain than Alan Rickman’s beloved but over-the-top turn in Prince of Thieves, Rogue One‘s Ben Mendelsohn is in talks to star as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Origins. If cast, he’ll star opposite Kingsman‘s Taron Egerton as the legendary bowman, Jamie Foxx as Little John, Eve Hewson as Maid Marian, and Jamie Dornan as Will Scarlett (who in this version is Robin Hood’s “half-brother”). Hey, since it’s already been announced that there will be no sequel to Rogue One, at least we known Mendelsohn won’t be unable to take on the role due to conflicts with Lucasfilm’s shooting schedule!
[Variety]
Alien: Covenant
Two Fassbenders for the price of one! Currently doing the interview circuit for his upcoming Assassin’s Creed, Michael Fassbender shared a few details about his next big genre role in director Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel/Alien prequel—Alien: Covenant. Good ol Fassy will actually play two roles in the film, as returning android David and his identical brother Walter…
“I think Walter’s a real different kettle of fish,” Fassbender tells Coming Soon. “David was definitely a work-in-progress, somewhat of a prototype I suppose. The elements of him that were the human elements I think people found a little disturbing, so Walter’s more of a straightforward robot. Pretty logical, much more of a servant without the ego.”
Pitch Perfect 3
Former DJ/Orange Is the New Black breakout star Ruby Rose might be teaming up with the Barden Bellas! No word yet on who she will play, but the actress is in negotiations to join Pitch Perfect 3. Directed by Trish Sie (who takes over from Pitch Perfect 2‘s Elizabeth Banks), the film is scheduled to aca-arrive (sorry) on December 22, 2017.
[Variety]
Jekyll
Zombieland helmer Ruben Fleischer is going back to his horror roots. The filmmaker has signed on to direct Chris Evans in Jekyll, a feature-film adaptation of Doctor Who mastermind Steven Moffat’s 2007 BBC miniseries, itself a contemporary version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While I’m sure Fleischer can do a decent job, part of me is still skeptical that Chris Evans can make us believe he’s the epitome of evil after embodying the virtuous Captain America for so long. But I guess that’s why they call it acting.
[Deadline]
A Cure for Wellness
And speaking of returning to one’s horror roots… Gore Verbinski, who helmed the megahit The Ring, is the man behind the psychological thriller A Cure for Wellness, the international trailer for which is even freakier than the previously released domestic version. Here, Dane DeHaan stars as a young man tasked with finding his boss after he disappears at a mysterious clinic in the Swiss Alps. Terror, presumably, ensues…
I, Tonya
Last but not least today… Margot Robbie’s biopic about notorious Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding has finally found itself a studio in the always eclectic Miramax, which has acquired the US distribution rights for the Craig Gillespie-directed film. According to Miramax, the film “peels back the layers of Tonya Harding’s sensationalized involvement in the 1994 attack on rival figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, exposing the absurd, tragic and hilarious story-behind-the-story of one of the most infamous scandals in the history of Olympic Games figure skating.”
[Miramax]
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Featured Image: Lucasfilm/Disney
Images: Lucasfilm, Disney, Marvel, Paramount, Fox
