There have obviously been many examples of actors who have been in movies, but many of each studio’s biggest stars have usually avoided jumping those fences. One has to presume that an actor that has probably long been seen by Marvel Studios as a major “get” is Christian Bale, who starred in Christopher Nolan’s threeBatman/Dark Knightmovies. Well, that’s exactly what happened this week, as we learned thatinThor: Love and Thunder(11/5/2021) in a currently unrevealed role. This news quickly led toabout who Christian Bale might be playing, with the two most referenced characters probably being the alien Beta Ray Bill (probably voice only) and Balder the Brave, whose history in Marvel Comics is nearly as old as Thor’s. Director Taika Waititi alsothat?filming ofThor: God and Thunderis scheduled to start in Australia in August, so we can expect to hear more casting news relatively soon.for both Marvel and DCChristian Bale will co-starspeculation onlinerecently revealed

Many anime fans were saddened when the news broke thatwas retiring in 2013 from directing feature films after(Certified Fresh at 88%).that Miyazaki (now 79 years old) is coming out of retirement to direct an anime feature film calledHow Do You Live?It’s actually the first of two films that Miyazaki is now working on, but the second film is currently still shrouded in secrecy. As forHow Do You Live?, it is described as being about how the 1937 novel of the same title by author Genzaburo Yoshino figures into the life of a 15-year-old protagonist and his uncle. Poignantly, Hayao Miyazaki is reportedly“as his way of saying, ‘Grandpa is moving onto the next world soon, but is leaving this film behind because he loves you.'”Hayao MiyazakiThe Wind RisesStudio Ghibli recently confirmeddedicating the film to his grandson

(Photo by ?Universal courtesy Everett Collection)

This particular story is admittedly a little light on details, but we know that fans ofwant to know any major developments. While promoting the recent reboot ofThe Grudge, one of its producers,that he is currently “working with a young filmmaker who is writing a newEvil Deadstory that he will direct. As for me… I would love to direct a newEvil Deadmovie… but I’d really like to do it with Bruce [Campbell]. And he says he’s retired the character. I hope not.” Let’s set aside the possibility of Sam Raimi directing a newEvil Dead, and focus on what appears to be most likely, which is that the franchise might receive a fifth film from a new director. We can presume it’s not Fede Alvarez, who directed, or Raimi would’ve just said so. Who do you think might be the next director to take onThe Evil Dead, fans? Someone completely new, or a (relatively) young director we’ve already heard of?the franchise in questionSam Raimi, revealedthe 2013 reboot

The last few weeks have seen a few rumors aboutDoctor Strangeappear online, but it’s probably best if we start with the most recent news, which potentially ties some of these stories together. Yesterday, director Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange,Sinister) confirmed thatof?directingDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, although he is staying on as executive producer, and the film is still scheduled for release on May 7, 2021. Derrickson’s departure due to “creative differences” comes at a point?when we still don’t know much about the film’s premise (including the villain or villains), except that its stars will include Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), and Benedict Wong (Wong). Now, let’s see if a recent rumor gives us any hints. Derrickson’s departure came just two days afterfromComic Book Resourcesspeculated that Marvel may be planning on introducing the originalDefendersteam from the comics that consisted of Doctor Strange, The Incredible Hulk, and Namor the Sub-Mariner (also rumored to appear inBlack Panther 2when it’s released on May 6, 2022). That story was a follow up to a hint from Kevin Feige earlier this month that theDoctor Strangesequel(whom many are predicting is probably Namor).he is dropping outthis piecewould feature a “mystery character”

Directors frequently drop out of movies. It’s just something that happens, sometimes due to “creative differences” (see above), but often because of scheduling problems (whether because of their own competing projects, or because the stars have other films they’re committed to). However, when a movie goes throughsixdirectors, maybe that’s just the universe’s way of saying that the movie was never meant to be. That’s exactly how many directorsof Sony’s planned movie based on their popularUnchartedvideo games.?is, who most recently directed theTransformersspinoffBumblebee(Certified Fresh at 92%) after previously directingKubo and the Two Strings(Certified Fresh at 97%). The reason is reportedly because the film’s star, Tom Holland, is committed to starring in his next solo movie asSpider-Mansooner than expected to make its July 16, 2021 release date.have dropped outThe latestTravis Knight

For nearly as long as computers have been around, satirists and science-fiction authors have speculated about scenarios in which?they would be used to make decisions normally made by human beings. This week,with the announcement that Warner Bros has signed a deal with a company called Cinelytic to use their A.I.-driven project management system to “guide decision-making at the greenlight stage.” The article points out “the value of a star in any territory” as a determining factor in the algorithm, but presumably, many different aspects, such as genre, franchise, director, and screenwriter, could be included in the analysis. One has to wonder, however, whether an artificial intelligence would have advised Warner Bros. to greenlight, for a few examples,($1.148 billion worldwide),($1.172 billion combined), or($1.067 billion worldwide and counting).those fantasies came closer to realitya $160 million Jason Momoa moviea two part adaptation of a Stephen King TV mini-seriesa supervillain movie starring Joaquin Phoenix