Castium Revelio: Blockbusters, BAFTA, and Batman
by Brienne Green · February 13, 2019
In this week’s Casting News, we’ve got wizarding world alumni in blockbuster franchise films and Eddie Redmayne and Jason Isaacs stepping out at the BAFTA Film Gala. If that’s not enough, could Robert Pattinson soon be adding billionaire playboy/vigilante crusader to his list of credits? All this and more await you below, so let’s boogie! Castium Revelio!
Fans of Jason Isaacs' (Lucius Malfoy) ominous Netflix drama The OA were abuzz Monday after Hello! released an interview during which the actor implied the show's long-awaited second season may be on the horizon.
The OA became a swift hit following its December 2016 debut and was immediately renewed. Two years later, however, Season 2 is still nowhere to be found. Isaacs, who stars as nefarious scientist Hap Percy, was unable to divulge anything concrete but strongly hinted the show will return sooner than later.
I'm not allowed to say. I can't even finish that sentence, but you won't be holding your breath too long. It has been a while coming, but it's quality, and I think it's exquisite and unparalleled in its imagination, and it'll be worth the wait. But it won't be too long, the wait.
Season 1 appeared rather abruptly on the streaming service, and there's a chance that will be the case again. Therefore, Isaacs advises: "Keep checking your Netflix."
Isaacs also recently joined a host of stars that included Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts) at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Film Gala at London's Savoy Hotel.
The Film Gala - which this year included a champagne reception and The Great Gatsby–themed dance - serves as a fundraiser to benefit individuals attempting to break into the industry. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Redmayne did his part to increase auction bids by promising a visit to the set of Fantastic Beasts 3, enticing bidders with descriptions of the magical atmosphere on wizarding world sets. Isaacs, meanwhile, spoke about BAFTA's efforts to encourage industry diversity.
When you work in the industry, and you may not know what BAFTA is doing, but you see around you the landscape is changing in terms of the number of women, people of color, and people from different social backgrounds coming through the industry.
Elsewhere on the Redmayne front, the Hollywood Reporter also divulged that director Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7, which was put on pause in December 2018 due to budget concerns, is back in preproduction.
The story of the 1969 trial of anti-war activists charged with federal conspiracy in connection with protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago already had Redmayne (Tom Hayden), Sacha Baron Cohen (Abbie Hoffman), and Jonathan Majors (Bobby Seale) on board and has now added Seth Rogen (Jerry Rubin), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Richard Schultz), and Alex Sharp (Rennie Davis).
The film is reportedly being offered to buyers at the ongoing European Film Market in Berlin.
Could Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory) soon be donning the cowl?
The rumor mill began churning overtime last week after renowned Australian fan artist BossLogic tweeted he'd heard "some background chatter" indicating Pattinson was among the actors being considered for the role recently vacated by Ben Affleck.
A choice that I never would have thought to try but been hearing some background chatter about Robert Pattinson being looked at, if the talks (source) are true then all of our predictions were wrong 👀😁 This might be your new Bruce #thebatman #batman pic.twitter.com/cNDKeRBzyb
— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) February 3, 2019
The Box Office Artist also entered the fray, posting a drawing of Pattinson in full Bat-style on Instagram.
Whether Pattinson will advance from Twilight to Dark Knight is still entirely up in the air, but at the very least, you have to admit he looks the perfect amount of brooding. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye on the situation and switch on the Bat-Signal as soon as we know for certain!
Kingsman fans will be politely enthused to hear shooting on a prequel to the ongoing franchise has finally begun on location in the UK. Since news of the project first broke last year, more details have been released about Ralph Fiennes' (Lord Voldemort) character, and Rhys Ifans' (Xenophelius Lovegood) participation has been confirmed.
The Daily Mail reports Fiennes will portray the Duke of Oxford in Kingsman: The Great Game, and Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats) will star as Conrad, his heir. Ifans' role still has yet to be named.
The film is slated for a November 8 release and will be set in the World War I era. There had been a bit of confusion as to whether The Great Game constituted the franchise's third film, but Mark Millar, writer for the Kingsman: The Secret Service comic book series, cleared that up on Twitter:
People seem awfully confused by this. The Kingsman movie Matthew is shooting in the New Year is a prequel set at the beginning of the organisation in 1918 as reported a while back. Kingsman 3 comes later. https://t.co/2KgoRCdiaQ
— Mark Millar (@mrmarkmillar) November 8, 2018
Ifans is rumored on IMDb to also have a role in Kingsman 3, which is expected to begin production once The Great Game has wrapped. Digital Spy says director Matthew Vaughn indicated the film would mark "the conclusion of the Harry Hart-Eggsy relationship" and, thus, see the return of Colin Firth and Taron Egerton. We'll keep you apprised!
David Thewlis (Remus Lupin) confirmed last year his involvement in the upcoming sequels to 2009 blockbuster Avatar, and while the projects are being kept tightly under wraps, Entertainment Tonight recently spoke with director James Cameron regarding potential titles.
Possible titles for the four movies were leaked in November 2018 and generated plenty of mirth around the internet due to some of them being a bit... well, Ridikkulus. ET took the opportunity last week to ask Cameron about Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: The Seed Bearer, Avatar: The Tulkun Rider, and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa.
I can neither confirm nor deny. Alright, here's what I'll tell ya: Those titles are among titles that are in consideration. And no final decisions have been made yet.
Thewlis's character in the films has yet to be named. Avatar 2 is currently slated for a December 18, 2020, release and Avatar 3 for December 17, 2021.
Those needing a quicker Thewlis fix will be happy to know the films Guest of Honour and Eternal Beauty are slated for 2019 releases. The latter tells the story of Jane (Sally Hawkins), whose breakdown after being left at the altar results in a 20-year episode of schizophrenia. She begins to see life in a different light, however, after beginning a darkly comic romance with Mike (Thewlis), a failed musician and fellow lost soul.
Thewlis also has Rare Beasts in postproduction and filming for the Amazon television series The Feed underway. Those projects have no release date as of yet.
In other Marauder news, Gary Oldman's (Sirius Black) upcoming release The Woman in the Window was in the news this week after the New Yorker released an exposé on the author of the bestselling book on which the film is based, Dan Mallory (a.k.a. A.J. Finn).
The Irish Times broke down the scandal, which essentially stems around a seeming pattern of pathological lies by Mallory, who fabricated stories about everything from illnesses to family deaths to past work experience. Mallory issued a statement to the New Yorker, admitting to indiscretions and attributing his behavior to bipolar II disorder.
The incident doesn't seem to have affected the film adaptation's release, however, as Mallory's publisher, William Morrow, has said it will stand by its author and former employee. The movie is slated to arrive in theaters October 4.
Oldman was also confirmed last week on Twitter as a presenter for this year's Academy Awards, allaying fears the Academy might end the tradition of welcoming previous winners back to present, among other changes Entertainment Weekly says it's reportedly considering for the awards broadcast.
Last year, Allison Janney, Frances McDormand, Gary Oldman and Sam Rockwell had their names read from an envelope and they took home Oscar gold.
This year, they'll help make more dreams come true.
We're thrilled to announce they'll be presenters at this year's show. #Oscars
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) February 7, 2019
Elsewhere, Oldman's supernatural thriller Mary is set for a September 26 release in Argentina, and both The Laundromat and Killers Anonymous are also slated to hit screens this year.
We told you last month Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) would be upping the evil ante February 22 in The Changeover. Just in case you doubted us, however, here's a new clip, released last week by who else but Bloody Disgusting. In it, 16-year-old sensitive Laura Chant (Erana James) tries to stop her four-year-old brother Jacko (Benji Purchase) from harming himself under the influence of Spall's character, ancient spirit Carmody Braque.
Fair warning: This isn't for the squeamish. Braque makes Wormtail look like a first year.
Deadline Hollywood revealed the actor will have a recurring role in the ten-episode, neo-noir American thriller as Donny, a recently released convict bent on revenge against Byron "Pa" Brown (Sir Ben Kingsley), the corrupt megapastor who betrayed him.
Spall's active 2019 continues with upcoming releases of The Corrupted and Mrs. Lowry and Son, which Variety announced Saturday has had distribution rights sold in Australia, China, Benelux, Italy, Taiwan, and Israel.
This Time Away, a 14-minute drama short that will feature Spall as Nigel, a reclusive man who finds an unexpected friend in a wandering robot, is set for a March 20 release in the UK. Writer/director Magali Barbe said this weekend that visual effects work is being finalized, and you can view a few still images from the set below.
Indie feature film The Last Bus is also in preproduction and will star Spall as Tom, a widower who carries his wife's ashes on a bus trip back to their original hometown. According to IMDb, Tom becomes a celebrity along the way, but with his health in question, the bus ride could very well be his last.
The upcoming UK horror flick Outside is in postproduction, and Deadline Hollywood released a pair of first-look images last week.
MuggleNet let you know in April 2018 of Imelda Staunton's (Dolores Umbridge) involvement, and while her character's name still has yet to be revealed, she's seen wearing a habit in one of the stills.
Meanwhile, Staunton's characters in two more impending projects have been revealed. IMDb notes she'll portray Lady Bagshaw in the highly anticipated Downton Abbey film, set for release September 20, and will voice Mrs. Umney, Canterville Chase's housekeeper, in the animated adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost. Stephen Fry (narrator of the UK Harry Potter audiobooks) will play Sir Simon de Canterville, and Toby Jones (voice of Dobby) is cast as the Reverend Chasuble. No word yet on when that film will hit theaters.
We love a man in uniform, and Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley) has been spending a lot of time so dressed of late, starting with a role in the upcoming release The Keeper.
The film tells the true story of Bert Trautmann, a post–World War II German prisoner of war who goes on to become a sports legend as goalkeeper for the Manchester City soccer club. The Keeper focuses particularly, however, on Trautmann (David Kross) as a chaser - of the affections of local team owner's daughter Margaret Friar (Freya Mavor), that is.
Melling's role has not been named, but in the trailer released last week, he can be briefly seen in military regalia, addressing Trautmann at a British POW camp.
Melling will also play an artilleryman in the BBC's upcoming three-part television series The War of the Worlds, which puts a new spin on H.G. Wells' famed tale, following George (Rafe Spall) and Amy (Eleanor Tomlinson) as they attempt to start a life together under the cloud of an impending alien invasion.
The series is currently in postproduction.
Additionally in postproduction is Ilkley, a dark comedy described by IMDb as following "two hapless evangelicals tasked with killing the world's most famous secularist at a literary festival." Melling will star as Tim, and no release date has yet been listed.
We also informed you a few weeks ago of Robert Pattinson's and Johnny Depp's (Gellert Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts) impending roles in Waiting for the Barbarians, but we've since learned Melling is involved in that project as well. His role in the 2020 release has not been defined, but check back with us for that information as soon as it becomes available!
Last but not least, Season 2 of Fiona Shaw's (Petunia Dursley) hit television show Killing Eve will premiere in just a few weeks, and BBC America posted a trio of images to Instagram Tuesday showing Shaw and her castmates looking fierce!
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Team #KillingEve looking good as hell at #TCA19. 📷: @unicornfightclub @gettyentertainment @people
A post shared by BBC America (@bbcamerica) on
Look for Killing Eve on both AMC and BBC America in April!
Have you completely given up trying to figure out who the heck Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore) will be playing in Captain Marvel? We don't blame you. But for those of you still doggedly examining clues, we salute you, and here's another to add to your case file.
ComicBook.com posted a recently released movie still last week that shows Law's character (Walter Lawson/Captain Mar-Vell/Yon-Rogg/Seriously-Just-Take-Your-Pick) meeting with Minn-Erva (Gemma Chan, Madam Ya Zhou) and Korath (Djimon Hounsou), who appear to be awaiting orders. What does this mean? Honestly, we have no idea. Have a headache now? Decompress by watching the newest TV spot for the movie, released Sunday by Marvel Studios, and remember: It's just a little over three weeks until we find out for sure. Captain Marvel hits theaters March 8.
Justice League director Zack Snyder gave fans a jolt Tuesday by releasing a never-before-seen image of Ezra Miller (Credence Barebone) as the Flash in a scene deleted from the film.
Heroic Hollywood reports Snyder included the still in a post thanking fans for raising more than $70,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention through the "All the Gods" t-shirt campaign. He also said the campaign has been extended to allow more fans to participate.
Like Flash, we are running the clock back and giving Bruce the info that will save the world: 'Bruce, it's the t-shirts, we are relaunching "All the Gods" t-shirt campaign till Sunday... you're not too late.'
Miller, meanwhile, remains committed to star as the Flash in a standalone film about the superhero, but that project is currently up in the air. It was slated to commence shooting next month but was delayed due to script development, and with Miller's work on Fantastic Beasts 3 beginning this fall, it's unknown when The Flash movie will be able to begin filming. We'll dash in and let you know as soon as we do!
You may think you've seen about everything, but in just six more weeks, you'll be able to see an elephant fly as well, as Disney releases its highly anticipated live-action version of Dumbo.
Colin Farrell (Percival Graves) stars as Holt Farrier in Tim Burton's reimagining of the beloved tale, a widower who returns from World War I and, along with his two young children, is charged by struggling circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) with caring for an unusual baby elephant.
Disney released a new sneak peek of the March 29 release Sunday.
Farrell also has another film in postproduction: the American action thriller Eve. The actor will portray Simon, the leader of a black ops organization that employs high-profile hitwoman Eve (Jessica Chastain). No word yet on that picture's release date.
Katherine Waterston (Tina Goldstein) will soon join Casey Affleck, Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), and Jesse Plemons (Vice) in a film adaptation of the title short story from author Jim Shepard's acclaimed collection The World to Come, the Hollywood Reporter has announced.
Affleck's production company, Sea Change Media, is handling the project, and the actor says he's looking forward to working with the trio.
The remarkable talents of Katherine, Vanessa, and Jesse are the perfect combination for this movie.
The World to Come is scheduled for a 2020 release, and while no character information has yet been listed, a 2017 review of the short story from the Washington Post details the plot.
The title story, 'The World to Come', is a breathtaking account of two farmers' wives in New York, in 1856, astonished to find themselves deeply in love. In between the hard labor of a farm and the claustrophobia of their isolation, they steal delight in each other's company.
We also now know Waterston's character in the upcoming biopic of Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen; she'll star as Bess Magids, the explorer's fiancée, in Amundsen, which is slated for a February 15 release in Norway.
The busy actress has additionally wrapped filming on science-fiction-tinged love story Fluidic, the IMDb summary of which is just as oddly intriguing as its trailer, both of which - along with a selection of stills featuring Waterston - you can see below.
An ellipticle tale of three couples who are magnetically drawn together. Love becomes electric as they struggle to connect, disconnect, or reconnect with their partner.
Like the original series, The Twilight Zone will consist of self-contained sci-fi/fantasy/horror stories and is scheduled to premiere April 1 on CBS All Access. Williams will portray an as-yet-unnamed character in the also-unnamed Episode 2, and the Gryffindor/Thunderbird is psyched about the gig.
Anthony Boyle's (Scorpius Malfoy) new film, Tolkien, will arrive in theaters May 10, and Fox Searchlight released the official trailer Monday. Boyle plays the role of one of Tolkien's (Nicholas Hoult) school chums, Geoffrey Bache "G.B." Smith, and if you weren't excited before about this picture, you will be now. The trailer is stunning. Goosebumps!
Variety reported Friday that "insiders" have indicated Thorne will adapt the script for Enola Holmes, which will feature Brown as the young sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. That has yet to be confirmed by Legendary, however, and the film is still in its development stage.
MuggleNet also told you way back in 2017 that Thorne had signed on to write The Eddy. We now know the project will take the form of a Netflix series, and Variety reported Monday French actor Tahar Rahim, whose film The Kindness of Strangers was just released last week, is in negotiations to star. Damien Chazelle (La La Land) will direct several episodes of The Eddy, which is expected to begin shooting in Paris this year.
Feel like you’ve just hopped off a Hippogriff? So do we! Tune in next week (same MuggleNet time, same MuggleNet channel!) for more, and be sure to let us know which projects you’re most looking forward to in the comments below!
