Sequel Bits: ‘Star Trek Beyond,’ ‘Fast 8,’ ‘Aliens,’ ‘24,’ ‘See No Evil,’ ‘Dennis The Menace’
In today’s edition of Sequel Bits:
Colliderrecently sat down with Simon Pegg to discussStar Trek Beyond, which he co-wrote withDoug Jungand features the actor returning as Enterprise chief engineer Montgomery Scott. And like many Pegg interviews, it’s a geeky and thoughtful chat, like when he talks about combining the needs of aStar Trekstory with the needs of a major action blockbuster:
Pegg also felt the need to chew out anyone who may pre-emptively judge directorJustin Linjust because of his history of making big, silly action movies:
I hate people saying that because it’s Justin Lin it’s just going to beFast & Furiousin space. It’s a kind of reductive, asinine criticism. Justin’s history as a filmmaker started off with a Sundance movie calledBetter Luck Tomorrow. He’s a smart, sensitive guy. The fact that he was able to energize theFast & Furiousseries is a testament to his smarts as a filmmaker. He’s not just the car chase guy.
For additional quotes and video of the whole interview, follow the link above.
While we’re on the subject ofStar Trek Beyond,Empirehas revealed a new image from the film featuringZachary Quintoas Spock,Karl Urbanas Dr. McCoy, andKingsman: The Secret Servicestar Sofia Boutella as Jaylah, their mysterious new ally. Jaylah’s role in the film remains under wraps, but we can safely assume that she has no love for the villainous Krall (Idris Elba), since she’s heavily armed and hanging out with the crew of the Enterprise.
Before we stray too far from news related to beloved science fiction franchises,Famous Monsters of Filmlandspoke with James Cameron to celebrate the 30th anniversary ofAliensand asked him if he’d be down to return to the series. His answer won’t shock anyone:
Unless somebody could come up with some spectacularly new concept. I’ve got my own kind of alien world that I’m enslaved to now with the Avatar films, so I can pretty much rule that out.
Cameron is planning to make four newAvatarmovies between now and 2023, so he can’t even think about anything else at the moment. And it’s not like we’ll be without additional films in series – Ridley Scott is currently filmingAlien: Covenantand Neill Blomkamp keeps on threatening that canon-shatteringAliensfollow-up.
Fast 8has officially begun filming and we know this becauseVin Dieselhas posted a Facebook pictureof him wearing Dominic Toretto’s chain. And we also know this because set photoshave begun to trickle onlineand video of a fiery car chase being filmed in the streets of Havana has surfaced.Cámara Oculta graba Fast Furious 8 en La Habanabyyusnaby
Speaking of characters who are menaces to society and tend to leave trails of destruction in their wake, Warner Bros.has hired a writerfor a new version ofDennis the Menace.Stacey Menear, who wrote this year’s sleeper hitThe Boy, will pen the update, which will transport the famous comic strip character (who first appeared in 1951) to modern times. A previousDennis the Menacemovie, starring Walter Matthau and written by John Hughes, was released in 1993. It wasn’t very good. In all seriousness, is anyone interested in aDennis the Menacemovie? Do kids even know who he is anymore?
In slightly more promising remake news, Screen Gemshas begun developinga new version of the 1971 thrillerSee No Evil, which starred Mia Farrow as a blind woman who is stalked through her family’s isolated country home by a deranged killer.Mike Scannellhas been brought on to write the screenplay while Bryan Bertino and Adrienne Biddle will produce through Unbroken Pictures.See No Evilis ripe for a reinvention – the original is very good, but that core concept is strong enough (and scary enough) to shoulder a remake.
24: Legacy, the sequel series to the long-running24,has been officially ordered to seriesby Fox. The new show will share the real time format of the original show, but little else, focusing on an entirely new cast as they literally work against the clock to battle terrorists and defend American soil and so on.The Walking DeadandStraight Outta ComptonstarCorey Hawkinswill headline the series and the first season will consist of twelve episodes.
