J.J. Abrams tacklesJustice League Dark, David Leitch takes onKung Fu, two more H.P. Lovecraft adaptations are on the way, and new projects for Channing Tatum, Matt Damon, and Tina Fey.

This week’s Ketchup brings you another 10 headlines from the world of film development news (the stories about what movies Hollywood is working on for you next), covering stories from the last few weeks (due to the holidays) for titles likeCaptain Marvel 2, Justice League Dark,Kung Fu, andMean Girls.

CAPTAIN MARVEL 2?IN THE WORKS FOR RELEASE IN 2022

Last July at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studiosfor the movies and Disney+ shows that will make up Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although those movies included sequels likeDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness(5/7/2021) andThor: Love and Thunder(11/5/2021),there were several sequels that fans were left wondering about, although we have since heard about release dates for Tom Holland’s third soloSpider-Manfilm (7/16/2021) and?Black Panther II(5/6/2022). We can now add another of those missing sequels, as Marvel Studiosto start writing aCaptain Marvelsequel starring Brie Larson. McDonnell is also one of the co-writers of the upcoming Disney+ seriesWandaVisionstarring Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) and Paul Bettany (The Vision). TheCaptain Marvelsequel, which is aiming for release sometime in 2022, is expected to be set in the present day, and Marvel Studios is currently?for the sequel.presented an ambitious slatehas officially hired screenwriter Megan McDonnellhoping to hire a female director

1. TINA FEY ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR AMEAN GIRLSMOVIE MUSICAL

Just last year, whenDora the Explorerfinally got her own live-action movie calledDora and the Lost City of Gold, the filmmakers made the curious choice to turn Dora into a teenager who grew up in the jungle and ends up in a Los Angeles high school. If that premise seemed familiar (to those who actually saw it), that might be becauseby Tina Fey for the 2004 high school comedy(Certified Fresh at 84%), starring Lindsay Lohan. Tina Fey tookMean Girlsto Broadway in 2018 as a musical adaptation, and this week announced that Paramount PicturesaMean Girlsmovie musical. Other upcoming movies adapted from stage musicals also includeIn the Heights(6/26/2020),West Side Story(12/18/2020), and not-yet-produced adaptations ofLittle Shop of HorrorsandSunset Boulevard(both of which were also musicals based on movies).the same premise was usedMean Girlsis now also developing

2. WILL MATT DAMON BE THE ONE TO BRING BALANCE TOTHE FORCE?

One of the surprise box office and critical successes of late 2019 was the racing drama(Certified Fresh at 92%), which was directed by(Logan,The Wolverine) with leads played by Christian Bale and Matt Damon. Mangold?Timothée Chalamet in an untitled musical drama about Bob Dylan, but this week, he also recruited one of hisFord v Ferraristars for another of his projects. Matt Damonin James Mangold’s film adaptation of the Don Winslow crime fiction novelThe Force. Damon will star inThe Forceas “a NYPD detective who runs an elite crime fighting squad, but bends the law so often that he loses the line between good and evil and becomes ensnared in a pending corruption scandal.”Ford v FerrariJames Mangoldis next expected to directis now attached to star

3. BRADLEY COOPER’S LEONARD BERNSTEIN BIOPIC HEADING TO NETFLIX

Following a movie business pattern that’s becoming increasingly familiar, an ambitious but potentially expensive biopic is sidestepping the traditional studios and will instead be produced and distributed by Netflix (ie,The Irishman). In 2018, Paramount Pictures seemed to be close to greenlighting an untitled biopic about the famed American composerwhich Bradley Cooper is attached to both star in and direct. As of this week, Paramount has dropped Cooper’s Leonard Berstein biopic, with Netflix instead?and distribute the biopic. Steven Spielberg’s Amblin remains attached to the biopic, and they are now joined by Martin Scorsese (of the aforementionedThe Irishman) and Todd Phillips (The Joker), which means that the film now has direct connections to two of this year’s most discussed Academy Awards contenders. Scorsese at one point was also developing a Leonard Bernstein biopic, and Steven Spielberg’s upcomingWest Side Storyremake features music written by Bernstein. The project’s most obvious connection to Todd Phillips is that Bradley Cooper starred inThe Hangoverand its sequels, which were directed by Phillips.Leonard Bernsteinstepping in to produce

4.?J.J. ABRAMS MOVING FROMSTAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKERTOJUSTICE LEAGUE DARK

A few years back, Guillermo del Toro was developing an adaptation of the various DC Comics supernatural characters associated with the team called, before eventually moving on to movies likeThe Shape of WaterandNightmare Alley.The concept of a group?of spooky magicians (John Constantine, Zatanna) and creatures (Deadman, Swamp Thing) remains an intriguing one (especially in the new horror revival era). This week, J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production companywith Warner Media to start development on film and television projects based onJustice League Darkand its related characters. It’s not yet known if J.J. Abrams will himself be directing any of these potential TV and film projects, or which characters and titles might eventually be produced, butthat could be covered by this umbrella development deal.Justice League Darkmade an exclusive dealthere are over a dozen possible projects

5.COLOR OUT OF SPACENOW PLANNED AS PART OF AN H.P. LOVECRAFT TRILOGY

Some “pulp fiction” horror and science fiction authors of the early 20th century like Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan,John Carter) and Robert E. Howard (Conan) have had their writings adapted frequently as movies and TV shows, but one of their peers whose work has beenunderadapted, relative to his fame, is. Lovecraft’s stories have such a definite style that “” is a subgenre itself, but most of the video games and movies called Lovecraftian haven’t actually been based on Lovecraft’s stories directly. That said, Nicolas Cage stars in this week’s(Certified Fresh at 86%), an adaptation of the Lovecraft short story of the same name?directed by. Stanleythat?he is now planning on adapting two more H.P. Lovecraft works to form a trilogy. He didn’t specify which of Lovecraft’s works might followColor Out of Space, but three of the more famous titles that have to be seen as strong candidates are,?(which Guillermo del Toro almost adapted), and that most famous of Lovecraftian horror stories,.H.P. LovecraftLovecraftian horrorColor Out of SpaceRichard Stanleyrevealed this weekThe Dunwich HorrorAt the Mountains of MadnessThe Call of Cthulhu

6.?DEADPOOL 2ANDJOHN WICKDIRECTOR KNOWSKUNG FU(THE TV SHOW)

Hollywood has continued to mine beloved classic TV shows from the 1970s and the 1980s for several years now (including last year’sCharlie’s Angels, and next month’sFantasy Island). One of the most influential TV shows of the era that?has been in development on-and-off for a long while is the 1972-1975 ABC series, starring David Carradine as a Shaolin monk travelling through the Wild West of the late 19th century. A movie version ofKung Fuat Universal Pictures with action director?(Deadpool 2,Atomic Blonde) attached to direct and produce. Universal reportedlywith Leitch onKung Fufollowing the success last summer of his most recent film as director,Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw(Fresh at 67%).Kung Fuis now reportedly back in developmentDavid Leitchis eager to reteam

7. INDIE DIRECTOR TAKING ON THE CURSE OF THE VON ERICH WRESTLING FAMILY

Within the wrestling fan community, few legacies are as haunting as, which some refer to as “cursed” because five of the six sons died before their father, Fritz Von Erich (a.k.a. Jack Adkisson; Von Erich wasn’t their real name). That story may soon be adapted as a movie with the news this week that independent film director Sean Durkinexactly such a movie. Durkin made his directorial debut with 2011’s(Certified Fresh at 89%), and is at Sundance this week withThe Nest,starring Jude Law.the Von Erich familyis now developingMartha Marcy May Marlene

8.?WEREWOLF SOCIAL GAME GETTING ITS OWN MOVIE CALLEDWEREWOLVES WITHIN

Although it now takes many different forms, one of the most popular concepts in “social gaming” today is called “Werewolf.”generally involves players taking secret roles either as “townies” or “villagers” (the good guys) or “werewolves” or “mafia” (the bad guys), with the two sides working against each other secretly. That conceptas a horror comedy calledWerewolves Within,with Sam Richardson (Veep) already attached to star.Werewolves Withinwill be a direct adaptation ofof the same title.The conceptwill soon be adaptedthe Ubisoft virtual reality video game

9. CHANNING TATUM TO STAR IN DISNEY’SBOB THE MUSICAL

If one only knows?from movies like21 Jump Street, Logan Lucky,andG.I. Joe, it might be easy to forget that he first emerged as a star in the 2006 dance movieStep Up(and also showed off impressive moves inHail, Caesar!). Channing Tatum is apparently eager to get back in the singing and dancing game, as this week,?to star in their long-in-development project calledBob the Musical. The premise ofBob the Musicalis that, following a head injury, a man suddenly finds that he can hear the soundtracks of the people around him. Coincidentally, althoughBob the Musicalhas been in development since 2004, this news of it being revived with a major A-list movie star comes just a few weeks after the premiere on January 7, 2020 of the NBC musical comedy, which has the same premise, but with a female lead.Channing Tatumhe signed on with Walt Disney PicturesZoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

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