Sequel Bits: ‘Kingsman 2,’ ‘Blade Runner 2049,’ ‘Jurassic World 2,’ ‘Avatar’ Sequels
In this edition of Sequel Bits:
The American equivalent of the posh British spies inKingsman: The Golden Circleare as red, white and blue as you can get without actually donning the colors. Channing Tatum plays a lasso-wielding, cowboy-hat-wearing spy named Agent Tequila from the American Statesman organization, who Taron Egerton’s Eggsy must team up with in order to defeat a new ruthless enemy.
Halle BerryandJeff Bridgesalso make suave, button-downed appearances in the new photos for theKingsman: The Secret Servicesequel — yes, that is a beardless, nearly unrecognizable Bridges frowning while sipping whisky.
Barkhad Abdi, the villainous star fromCaptain Phillips, finally revealed the character he’ll be playing inDenis Villeneuve’sBlade Runnersequel, set decades after Ridley Scott’s original film. Abdi will be playing a “totally deformed” scientist, he told theHollywood Reporter, though he was vague on whether he’d be helping or hinderingRyan Gosling’s Officer K in the search forHarrison Ford’s Rick Deckard. Abdi will be joining a cast that also includesRobin Wright, Dave BautistaandJared Leto.
Jurassic Worldmay have had some shocking and brutal moments for a blockbuster film, but Chris Pratt promises that the sequel will be even “darker.” He points toJurassic World 2director J.A. Bayona’s expertise in the horror realm — the Spanish director’s first film was horror filmThe Orphanage— as a sign that the dinosaur sequel will be upping the stakes and the scares. At a press junket forGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Pratt toldScreenRant:
The long wait is over for theAvatarsequels, according to star Zoe Saldana. Saldana, who stars as the blue-skinned Na’vi princess Neytiri, confirmed to ScreenRant that not only will Cameron and crew begin filmingAvatar 2this summer — co-starSigourney Weaverhadrecently confirmed a fall start datewith some excitement, but who’s keeping track — but they will start work on the next three sequels as well. Zaldana said:
“We haven’t shot it yet. Anything I can tell you about Avatar 2,3,4,5? We’re going to start this summer. Late summer, and it’s probably going to go all the way until early next year shooting, and I’m really excited about it.”
Disney continues the international push forPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, releasing 10 international posters for the fifth installment of thePiratesfranchise. As recent Disney posters are wont to do, the Photoshopping is rampant in these one-sheets, with poor Kaya Scodelario’s face falling victim to the marketing gloss.
This is the second recent piece of marketing catered toward the international crowd, after a trailer was released with abrief scene of franchise veteran Keira Knightley. With two Norwegian directors, Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning (Kon-Tiki), helming the film, and the series' worldwide box office pull, it makes sense that the international push for the blockbuster may even bigger than the domestic marketing. The movie even has a different title outside of the U.S. and Japan:Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge.
Empire Magazine has a stylish and eerie cover dedicated toAlien: Convenant, Ridley Scott’s newest film in hisAlienfranchise. On the lower lefthand corner of the stark limited edition cover is the quote from the 1979 film, “Unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality…” The dark grey and black cover shows the iconic Xenomorph in embossed cardboard, and was designed by graphic designer Jacey, who paid homage to H.R. Giger’s original xenomorph design. See Empire’s released coverhere.
Two new French posters forPixar’sCars 3shows protagonist Lightning McQueen in a face-off with his younger, hotter competition. The first poster is set during the day on an empty road by the beach, while the second takes a darker tone, with ominous clouds looming over the backlit race track. The posters come courtesy of Mike Markus, and certainly set the stage for the third movie, which pivots from the cheery tone of the previous two animated films, and shows Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) grappling with his relevance and his mortality.
