Castium Revelio: Delayed Dates and “Desert Island Discs”
This week in news that is going to shock absolutely no one because we’ve all lost our ability to experience shock, two more major films featuring Wizarding World alumni have had their release dates pushed back.
But it’s not all gloomy in Casting News. We have a fantastic interview for you this week from Samantha Morton on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs and a heap of Johnny Depp news, including premiere dates for two of his films and a fun reminiscence about Captain Jack Sparrow. Also, find out which fellow Harry Potter stars Chris Rankin keeps in close contact with, view a new trailer for Natalia Tena‘s newest film, and find out what Robert Downey Jr. has planned for his and Jude Law‘s Sherlock Holmes franchise. The game is afoot! Castium Revelio!
The Batman – starring Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory), Zoë Kravitz (Leta Lestrange, Fantastic Beasts), and Colin Farrell (Percival Graves, Fantastic Beasts) – was already a year away, with a premiere date of October 1, 2021. But with production halted by the pandemic, then briefly halted again by a positive COVID-19 diagnosis for Pattinson, we now won't be seeing this new incarnation of the Bat taking flight until March 4, 2022. What else can we say at this point? It is what it is.
But in the interest of minor suspense, you can read about the second film delay under the Fantastic Beasts toggle below.
The first season of All Creatures Great and Small – starring Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) and produced by Sir Colin Callender (producer, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) – has concluded on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, and viewers are already missing the smash-hit series. Lewis formally expressed his delight with the show's reception on Instagram, noting that he can't wait for United States viewers to get their turn. All Creatures Great and Small is slated to arrive on PBS's Masterpiece on January 10, 2021.
As MuggleNet recently let you know, Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley) is preparing to star as the Fairy Godfather in an interactive live pantomime performance of Cinderella, and the actor talked about that and his Harry Potter experience this week with the Irish Mirror. Asked if he kept in touch with any of his Potter costars, Rankin noted that he remains close with Stanislav Yanevski (Viktor Krum), Sean Biggerstaff (Oliver Wood), and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood).
I always say it's a bit like when you leave school and there's people who you keep in touch with regularly, go for dinner with, doing comic cons and circuits like that. There are quite a few of us that still see each other, under normal circumstances, on a regular basis. Equally, there are people who, through no malice, you don't have much in common with and for no particular reason, just drift away from. It's just life. There are some I see a lot more of and some I haven't seen in donkey's years but not because we don't like each other; it's just circumstances.
Netflix celebrated the upcoming release of Mank – starring Gary Oldman (Sirius Black) as Herman Mankiewicz and Tom Burke (Cormoran Strike, C.B. Strike) as Orson Welles – this week with a new teaser and a few behind-the-scenes images. As a refresher, Mank tells the story of screenwriter Mankiewicz and his race to finish the screenplay for Citizen Kane despite battles for credit with Welles. The film is set for a November limited release in select theaters before making its way to streaming on December 4. You can view the teaser and images below.
Credit: Netflix
Credit: Netflix
Channel 4 is planning to adapt the Sir Quentin Blake children's book Clown as a half-hour special using hand-drawn animation techniques, and Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) has signed on to narrate. Deadline Hollywood reports that Quentin Blake's Clown will "bring to life the adventures of a little toy clown, thrown away with a load of old, discarded toys, as he goes on a journey to find a new loving home for himself and his friends." A short making-of feature will accompany the program and include contributions from Bonham Carter. The special is set for a Christmas release, and we'll keep an eye on international distribution.
Elsewhere, Henry Cavill, who portrayed Sherlock Holmes in the recent Netflix hit Enola Holmes – starring Bonham Carter, Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley), and Frances de la Tour (Madame Maxime), and written by Jack Thorne (playwright, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) – has released a blooper reel from the movie, and you can chuckle at that below.
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, a new film adaptation of Paul Gallico's 1958 novel Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, is in the works, and Deadline Hollywood says filming has begun in Budapest, Hungary. Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) will star as Archie, with Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) as Ada Harris, a cleaning woman in 1950s London, England, who falls in love with a Christian Dior dress and gambles everything for the chance to own it. Filming will move from Budapest to London, then to Paris, France.
Isaacs's 2019 release, Skyfire, meanwhile, has had its North American rights acquired by Screen Media and will be released in theaters and on demand in December. The film made its debut in China, topping the box office on its first day. Isaacs plays Jack Harris, and you can check out the trailer below.
Credit: Latido
Theaters around the world are struggling to find ways to stay afloat amid the pandemic, but the Bridge Theatre in London has had success recently with its one-person plays, including Ralph Fiennes's (Lord Voldemort) outing in David Hare's COVID-19–themed play, Beat the Devil. Performances have been extended through November 7, and limited tickets are available on the Bridge's website. Meanwhile, Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge) will be bringing her Talking Heads monologue, A Lady of Letters, to Sheffield Theatres November 9–11 and the Leeds Playhouse November 12–14.
It's been a while since we've heard anything from the Cruella camp, but a new synopsis has emerged, thanks to the upcoming release of the Disney Live Action Cruella Original Novel. Dame Emma Thompson (Sybill Trelawney) plays the Baroness in the tale of how Cruella de Vil (Emma Stone) became her chain-smoking, puppy-hating self. The movie is set in 1970s London and is still on track for a May 28, 2021, release. You can peruse the synopsis below and click the Amazon button to preorder the book, which is set for an April 13, 2021, release.
Teenaged Estella has a dream. She wishes to become a fashion designer, having been gifted with talent, innovation, and ambition, all in equal measures. But life seems intent on making sure her dreams never come true. Having wound up penniless and orphaned in London at 12, four years later, Estella runs wild through the city streets with her best friends and partners-in-(petty)-crime, Horace and Jasper, two amateur thieves. When a chance encounter vaults Estella into the world of the young, rich, and famous, however, she begins to question the existence she's built for herself in London and wonders whether she might indeed be destined for more after all. When an up-and-coming rock star commissions Estella to design him a signature piece, she begins to feel as though she has truly arrived. But what is the cost of keeping up with the fast crowd – and is it a price Estella is willing to pay?
In other Thompson news, the actress and fellow actor Gael García Bernal penned an editorial this week for IndieWire about the importance of optimistic narratives in these difficult times, referencing the Messages from the Future II: The Years of Repair animated short we let you know about last week. You can read the full editorial on IndieWire's site, but here's an excerpt:
The best utopian storytelling is not just indulging in wild-eyed futurism, divorced from the hard reality of people’s lives. In fact, what we need right now is a picture of our future grounded in the best of our present. For us, much of that is to be found in the crucible of the streets – in the articulate political demands, creativity and courage of social movements, organizing in the midst of pandemic, climate chaos, and authoritarianism.
Thompson is also joining chef Gordon Ramsay in backing a National Health Service (NHS) campaign urging people to continue to call on their doctors if they are worried about a symptom that could denote cancer. According to the Evening Express, nearly half of UK residents indicated they would delay or not seek medical advice at all in such a situation, with 22% giving the ongoing pandemic as their reason for not seeking help. Thompson and Ramsay will appear in social media advertisements for the campaign, through which medical professionals aim to assure individuals that all medical issues continue to be taken seriously despite the current climate.
A list of the favorite sketches of beloved British comedienne Victoria Wood has been discovered in a notebook, the Express reports, and the BBC has committed to compiling them into a two-part special in her memory. Among the sketches is a contribution from Dame Julie Walters (Molly Weasley). The broadcast is expected prior to the end of the year, and we'll keep an eye out for more information.
The 2020 London Film Festival is underway, and its scheduled screenings include films starring Fiona Shaw, Gemma Jones (Poppy Pomfrey), and Simon McBurney (voice of Kreacher). McBurney's films include the Irish animated feature Wolfwalkers and Willem Dafoe–starrer Siberia, both of which were screened today. It was also announced this week that Wolfwalkers would premiere December 11 on AppleTV. As for Shaw and Jones, their film Ammonite – starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan – will close the festival on October 17. It's still slated for a November 13 theater release. You can view trailers for all three movies below.
We let you know last month about Helen McCrory's (Narcissa Malfoy) and Katie Leung's (Cho Chang) new series with Hugh Laurie, Roadkill, and that it was set for a November 1 premiere on PBS. The BBC has now announced the show's UK debut: October 18 on BBC One. In preparation, you can check out the new trailer and a first look at McCrory in her role as British Prime Minister Dawn Ellison below. Leung plays Margaret Moore. Pretend politicians are always better than real ones, so we're looking forward to being distracted from the US election by this!
Credit: BBC
Deadline Hollywood has reported that Undergods, featuring Adrian Rawlins (James Potter), has had its global rights purchased by Myriad Pictures. Rawlins plays Dominic in the film, which is described as an "otherworldly journey through a Europe in decline – a collection of darkly humorous fantasy tales about ill-fated characters and doomed fortune." Well, darn it if that doesn't sound fun! We'll keep an eye out for release dates.
The people who keep bringing you After in its multiple forms with only slightly different plots may be fresh off the release of After We Collided, but filming is already underway in Bulgaria on After We Exchanged Insurance Information. Kidding. It's called After We Fell, which is only slightly less funny. These tales, inspired by Harry Styles fan fiction, star Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (11-year-old Tom Riddle) and Josephine Langford. It's also been reported that Shane Paul McGhie, who portrayed Landon in the first two films, has backed out of the series. Others, however, have joined, including Stephen Moyer (True Blood), Chance Perdomo (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), and Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite).
In other Fiennes-Tiffin news, his quite-a-bit-more-serious film The Silencing is coming up on its October 21 DVD and television release dates in the Netherlands and Spain, respectively, and you can view a trailer below.
Speaking of British comedy, the legendary duo of Dawn French (the Fat Lady, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and Jennifer Saunders has reunited for a new podcast, Chortle reports. On Titting About, the two will discuss everything from hobbies to holidays and school to sin. You can join in the fun by hitting the Amazon button below. And if you're unfamiliar with the pair, be warned: There will be strong language and adult content.
French, meanwhile, sat down this week with the Telegraph to discuss life, love, motherhood, the pitfalls of being a young comedian in today's world, and her new novel, Because of You, which will hit shelves October 15.
A lot has happened in my life since I wrote my last novel ['According to Yes'] five years ago. I wanted to write something deeper, darker, and more layered. It had to be about the most important relationship in my life, and that is about being a mum, because whoever people think I am, that is the core of me. Motherhood is my greatest joy and greatest challenge, and it is the journey that never ends.
You can – and should – read the full interview at the link above, and you can preorder your copy of Because of You on Amazon. As a bonus, enjoy a few photos of French, taken for the Telegraph interview, below.
Credit:David Titlow
Credit:David Titlow
The new BBC America original drama The Watch released its first trailer this week at New York Comic Con ahead of a January 3, 2021, premiere on the network. The series will feature Ralph Ineson (Amycus Carrow) in a guest-starring role as the voice of Sergeant Detritus, a big stone troll. You can read the official synopsis and check out the trailer below.
'The Watch' follows an unlikely group of misfits, the City Watch, who are forced to find the guts to save the world, surprising even themselves in the process. The comedic yet thrilling series pits trolls, werewolves, wizards and other improbable heroes against an evil plot to resurrect a great dragon which would lead to the destruction of life as they know it.
I am so proud to be a Patron of the MCC Foundation. Cricket was one of the very first sports to recognise the need to address openly the issue of mental health, and the Foundation is a flagbearer for this important cause in communities up and down the country. Our most celebrated cricketers are those that champion human characteristics, and it is those qualities that make the sport such a deep, enduring, and rich game. As more and more girls and boys are inspired by the magnificent summers of cricket we have recently had, the MCC Foundation will do all it can to encourage warmth, openness, and empathy amongst its participants alongside a fierce competitive spirit and hunger to improve physical skills. Such a combination ensures not just fulfilled and successful cricketers but contributes to happy fulfilment off the field too.
Fry also discussed his involvement, as well as his efforts on behalf of mental health, with Sky Sports.
Perhaps the debut delay that stings the least this week is that of The Flash, starring Ezra Miller (Credence Barebone). After all, the film has been happening, then not happening, then happening with a new script, then happening with the original script so many times we've lost count. But the good news is that its premiere will remain in the same year, moving from June 3, 2022, to November 4, 2022. Normally, we'd make a joke about how slow The Flash is at this point, but we need to save some for the next two years.
Elsewhere, a new trailer was released this week for CBS All Access's miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand, which is scheduled to premiere December 17. In an interview last month with GQ, it was reported that Miller was filming for the series; however, he's not listed among the cast on the show's IMDb page, and no one seems to know which character he will be playing. So we'll keep an eye on that for you, and in the meantime, enjoy the trailer.
The live 12-hour episode of The Third Day – with Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore), Katherine Waterston (Tina Goldstein), and Richard Bremmer (Voldemort, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) – has come and gone, and critics and viewers agree: It was super weird. If it tells you anything, highlights included Law digging a hole for an hour and balancing on a pole in his underpants. Unsurprisingly, he told the Telegraph this week that he was, at various points, miserable.
Some of the tears and some of the collapses and moments of exasperation were very, very genuine. Sometimes I was playing along to the beats of the story. Other times, it was me taking over the character, saying 'come on, you can do this, keep going.'
Law says he hasn't watched the 12 hours – in which he was on camera the entire time for one continuous take – back yet, but if you're feeling ambitious and haven't already, you can check out a large chunk of it on Sky TV's Facebook page.
In other franchise news, Robert Downey Jr. has told the Fast Company during the Fast Company Innovation Festival that he has plans to create a Sherlock Holmes universe using Marvel-style worldbuilding. Law portrays John Watson to Downey's Holmes in the films, which currently consist of two installments and a third in the works.
At this point, we really feel that there is not a mystery-verse built out anywhere, and [Sir Arthur] Conan Doyle is the definitive voice in that arena, I think, to this day. So to me, why do a third movie if you're not going to be able to spin off into some real gems of diversity and other times and elements?
We were previously unaware that we needed this in our lives, but we're now very, very aware of that. Do it, Downey.
There's plenty to talk about on the Johnny Depp (Gellert Grindelwald) front this week, and we'll start with the actor premiering his new documentary, Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan, at the Zurich Film Festival. Entertainment Tonight Canada was on hand for an interview. Crock of Gold is currently set to open in UK and Ireland cinemas on November 20.
Depp also spoke from the festival about the uncertainty the entertainment world is currently facing.
I miss performing, though performing is a strange word. I miss the instant connection with people who are there to share the experience. Because there's no band, no music, no sound if there's no people. So I miss the instant connection with people, I miss the responses and the exchange of emotions, and sure, after the horror of this plague, I don't know what live shows will be like or what sporting events will be like. It's one of those wait-and-sees, but I do miss it.
Meanwhile, a new international trailer was released this week for Minamata, starring Depp as war photographer W. Eugene Smith and Bill Nighy (Rufus Scrimgeour, Harry Potter) as Life editor Robert Hayes. The film is set for a November 5 release in Russia and a February 12, 2021, debut in the UK. No US distributor is currently attached, but we'll let you know if that changes.
They were nervous; they were afraid no one would understand a word Captain Jack said. I got calls from them asking, 'Is he drunk? Are you drunk? What's the thing with his hands?' I wasn't discouraged in the slightest. It fuels me. I know that if they're worried, I'm doing my job. When they asked me to bring it down, I turned it up.
Samantha Morton (Mary Lou Barebone) made big headlines in the UK this week after opening up to BBC Radio 4 host Lauren Laverne on the popular Desert Island Discs program about her difficult childhood and the music that has helped her through her life. Abused by her father and in and out of unhappy foster homes throughout her youth, Morton says she is "fuming at how society behaves around mental health issues for women." Her late mother, whom she calls "a saint," was also abused as a child, and Morton recalls people putting her down for choices and behavior that were a direct result of her struggles with her past.
I was not privy to seeing her when she was very poorly when I was very small with her mental health issues. That's what people were rude about and mean about. Women aren't allowed to be angry if they'd been raped or sexually abused – things weren't talked about.
Morton also stated she has "absolute forgiveness" for those who have mistreated her but doesn't think forgetting should go along with that.
I think that people in a professional role have a duty of care, not only to the children that they're looking after, to do their jobs properly. And I think a lot of people failed in those jobs in regards to me and many of my friends, my foster siblings, my siblings, and I just wish certain individuals would put their hands up and say, 'Yeah, we were wrong, we could have done better.' But people don't want to admit any liability in the culture that we are now because it's like, people get sued or... what's that gonna achieve? Unless people say, 'We got it wrong, we want to get it right,' how are we going to change?
You can listen to her full Desert Island Discs episode on the BBC website. We highly, highly recommend it. This is powerful stuff, and Morton is a shining example of perseverance who can serve as both inspiration and aid to anyone battling similar – or any other – issues.
The actress additionally gave an interview to the Guardian in which she talked all things television, including her favorite show as a kid, her guilty pleasure show, the last show that made her cry, and her best TV villain of all time. As for the latter, she chose – quite appropriately – herself.
I think it's me. That's the vainest thing to say. Growing up I'd have said Dirty Den from 'EastEnders', but I think Alpha in 'The Walking Dead' is just evil beyond. She's horrible – the scripts come through and I'm like, 'You are joking me?' What helps me become a villain? You don't play them as a villain, you play them as who they are, whether they're eating a sandwich or chopping someone's head off – you have to be the character and just embody them.
The Batman may be bumped back again, but the actors involved are still doing their homework in an effort to ensure this film lives up to the hype. The Daily Mail reports that, in an interview with Total Film, Zoë Kravitz (Leta Lestrange) revealed that she's spoken to former Catwoman actress Michelle Pfeiffer about the role.
I've met Michelle Pfeiffer several times, but we did talk about Catwoman when I saw her in January. I told her I was nervous, but she was really encouraging.
Kravitz also said that, after taking her turn with the quarantine blues, she's rededicated herself to training for the physically demanding role.
I had been training now for maybe four or five months, and the first couuple weeks that I self-quarantined, I remember texting the director, I texted Matt and I was like, 'We might have to make the cat suit a few sizes bigger when this is over.' So I quickly decided to get my s*** together, and I've been working out virtually with my trainer, David Higgins, five days a week. And it's actually been really great because it's been giving me some kind of structure. [...] It's actually been really great just for my mental health.
Meanwhile, one of Kravitz's costars on Big Little Lies, Nicole Kidman, has revealed to Marie Claire Australia that the team behind the HBO series is exploring a potential third season.
Reese [Witherspoon] and I talk or text once a week. She's just moved back to Nashville, and we're really close. We all just want to work together again. I texted Zoë and Laura [Dern], and they're in. David [E. Kelley, writer] and Liane [Moriarty, author of the 2014 novel] have a really good idea for it. Watch this space!
The Irish Sun says BBC2 drama The North Water, starring Colin Farrell (Percival Graves), has had to move filming from the Arctic to a studio in Hampshire, England, due to COVID-19 restrictions. That meant hauling in a lot of fake snow at the studio, which you can see in the photo below. You can also view a still featuring Farrell. The show has no specific release date as yet, but we'll keep you posted.
Source: The Irish Sun
Credit: BBC
Meanwhile, Lionsgate has announced a date change for the release of Farrell's sci-fi film Voyagers, in which he stars with Lily-Rose Depp. The movie was set to debut November 25 but has now been pushed into 2021, with no specific date yet attached.
Let’s all cross our fingers that we’ll be back next week with absolutely zero news about movie premiere delays. Until then, stay safe out there, and we shall return for more updates on your Wizarding World faves!
