The long-gestating Akira movie has seemingly been in development forever by this point. Several director names have been rumoured and attached, but no cast has ever been announced or even a whiff of a production start date. Original director Katsuhiro Otomo has no issues with his vision being remade into a live-action format, but in a new interview with Forbes he has laid down one ground rule. “As I accepted the offer for a live-action Akira to be made, so I am generally okay with whatever they want to do with it,” he said. “However, I did give one major condition to a live-action version and that is that I had to check and approve the scenario.” Read more here.
The “cinematic universe” bug is about to take hold of Transformers with the Bumblebee spin-off, and The Hollywood Reporter reported yesterday that Pitch Perfect 2 star Hailee Steinfeld is in talks to star in the movie. Read more here.
Universal are all-in on their classic monsters universe – titled Dark Universe – which kicks off with The Mummy this summer before The Bride of Frankenstein goes into production next year. The released image announced Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s Monster and Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man alongside Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Sofia Boutella, further showing the studio’s dedication to this shared universe working. However a new article in The Hollywood Repoter noted that Warner Bros. and DC could be taking umbrage with the name. The Dark Universe is a DC property, and will be a focal point down the line with Justice League Dark (which has just lost its second director). According to THR, Warner Bros. are “mulling legal action” over the use of the name. Read more here.
Undeterred from the possible legal action coming their way, The Hollywood Reporter also noted that Universal were still chasing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to play The Wolfman and Angelina Jolie to play The Bride of Frankenstein. Both won’t come cheap. Read more here.
MURDER ON THE TRAILER EXPRESS
The first trailer for Murder on the Orient Express was released yesterday with its huge and impressive cast including Kenneth Branagh, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Leslie Odom Jr, Daisy Ridley, Josh Gad, Penelope Cruz, Olivia Coleman, Derek Jacobi, Willem Dafoe and many more. Watch it here.
Editor-in-chief Gary Collinson has looked back at the history of Wonder Woman on screen, which you can read here.
Originally published June 2, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
