It’s Friday morning, and though I took the last two Fridays off, that means it’s time once again for a weekly dose of news bites. Before I get into the news, I’d like to mention that I’m now on Letterboxd. I don’t know if it’ll prove useful yet, but it’s at least interesting to see all the posters of the various films I’ve watched. I’ll note that there’s a significant discrepancy between the count it gives and my count of theatrical features I gave a few weeks back; there are a couple reasons for this. The major reason is that Letterboxd also counts short films, TV movies, and direct-to-video movies. But there are also a few cases where a film I’ve seen simply isn’t listed on Letterboxd (such as Sol).
Now on with the news.
The release date for the Carrie remake has been pushed back to October 18, 2013. At least it’ll be seasonal, though there’s still the question of why a remake is necessary.
The film adaptation of Robopocalypse has been indefinitely delayed. Steven Spielberg says the script isn’t ready, and it’s “too important” to rush. Additionally, Spielberg says it is, at present, too expensive to produce. He has since added that he believes he’s found a way to make it “more personal”, and is retooling the script himself. He expects a delay of approximately 6-8 months.
In other Spielbergian news, he is producing Jurassic Park IV, which is scheduled for release on June 13, 2014. The film will be released in 3D, which isn’t surprising considering the spectacle nature of the series.
Repeat Ralph? The stars and director of Wreck-It Ralph are discussing sequel possibilities. Director Rich Moore particularly hopes to be able to actually use Mario the next time around.
Jack’ll be back July 10, 2015. The fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film is going forward, with Jeff Nathanson working on the screenplay. Although the presence of Tower Heist and Speed 2 on his resume isn’t exactly encouraging, he also wrote the screenplay for Catch Me If You Can, which was reasonably well-received, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was… divisive, but at least in a related genre.
With Man of Steel on the horizon, and the success of Marvel’s The Avengers, there’s been a lot of talk as to whether DC Comics would make a Justice League movie. It’s been known for a while that they’ve been working on it… but now it sounds as if there may be a second one in the works. Guillermo del Toro has confirmed that he is working on a film adaptation of the DC Comics title Justice League Dark, about a group of DC’s magic-themed superheroes working together. The team includes John Constantine (played by Keanu Reeves in a 2005 film), Deadman, Zatanna, and several others who have rotated in and out. While not major characters for the most part, this could be an interesting take on a superhero team movie, and del Toro, if he stays attached, could do well on it. The project is currently titled Dark Universe, presumably to avoid confusion with the main Justice League movie.
Morgan on Media 
Pirates of the Caribbean 5? Ugh. There is no god.
At least as divine punishments go, movies are pretty easy to avoid.
Brrrrrrikkkkkk LOL 😀
Anytime Del Toro’s name is attached, my ears perk up, so…
They should change that name though, they dont want to water down the brand. LOL.
Meanwhile I’m with Brik, the Pirates sequels can go bye bye now. Wreck it Ralph is good shit though and deserves a second helping!! 😀
I agree, it’s probably a good thing they’re calling it Dark Universe instead of Justice League Dark… the latter name is just too prone to causing branding issues.
I actually liked Pirates 4, but I agree, there’s absolutely no need for another one. I’m a little surprised by word of a Wreck-It Ralph sequel, as even though it’s certainly good and could warrant it, we just don’t usually think of Disney films as having theatrical sequels.
I’d certainly be down for a movie that features Zatanna. Honestly, I don’t know why she doesn’t rate a solo flick. The concept of “real magician who hides in plain sight as stage magician” seems like a no-brainer for a fun flick..or even a series. Add a top hat and fishnets, and you have Hollywood gold!
That, and Zatanna doesn’t have all the baggage that Wonder Woman seems to carry. Obviously, I wouldn’t want Zee to just be a one-note character there to look sexy…I’d want her to be intelligent and witty and weird and interesting. But she also doesn’t have this “feminine symbol of power” thing hanging over her head like WW does, so she wouldn’t have to act just so.
Definitely true that Zee wouldn’t have all the baggage of Wonder Woman. Still, that’s probably why she doesn’t rate a solo flick (yet)… she lacks that baggage because there’s no general perception of her at all, because essentially nobody but comic book fans know who she is. And DC isn’t quite at the Marvel stage of movies yet where they can start throwing anything out there and have peoples’ attention just because it’s DC. Which is sad, really. But I think that’s how it is.
I dunno, I think the concept would catch my eye even if I knew nothing about Zatanna. And with all the shows and movies now about clandestine battles against the supernatural/magical, Zatanna could both ride that wave and put a new twist on it.
Possibly. But it’s also possible that people could just view her as just an imitation, jumping on the bandwagon.
I think DC’s stable could use some bandwagon jumping right about now. Because – and we’ve discussed this before – Marvel’s set the bar pretty high. Any attempt at a JL movie now is going to seem like bandwagoning. Any attempt at universe-building is going to seem like bandwagoning. If DC wants to get back in the game, they’re going have to steal some pages from the other team’s playbook. Not the whole thing, mind you.
This, of course, is assuming that Time/Warner even cares that their pet comic company’s movies are getting trounced…and I guess since we’re still having this discussion, there’s not a lot of evidence that they do.
Valid point. Marvel’s success could certainly be seen as a roadmap for DC… if WB ever gets their act together.
Would love to see Del Toro’s take on those heroes, been meaning to watch Constantine for a while now, just haven’t had time. I would like to hear a better name than that though, it has the inklings of a John Carter misnomer to it. Don’t have a better suggestion myself though. Maybe throw in a JL somewhere in there at least?
Yeah, Dark Universe doesn’t quite seem to fit. Not sure of a better name myself, though — though I guess they could steal the name from DC’s former magical team, Shadowpact, though the membership is totally different.
Heh, I wish Spielberg would just concentrate the time and resources on Robopocalypse instead of JP4. I mean, the chance of that being good is pretty slim. Robopocalypse on the other hand, could be very intriguing so I don’t mind the delay if that means we get a better product.
Yeah, JP4 will probably look good, but there isn’t likely to be anything more to it.
On Robopocalypse, a delay for improvements wouldn’t bother me, but when Spielberg says he’s making it “more personal”, it sounds like he’s saying he’s diverging greatly from the book. I hope I’m just reading more into it than is actually there, but I don’t know.
I am glad that Spielberg is taking the time to “improve” Robopocalypse.
as for Pirates 5…each Pirates movie has gotten progressively worse. I wish that Jack Sparrow would end up retiring from the seven seas already.
I just hope Spielberg’s “improvements” are indeed improvements.
I don’t agree each Pirates movie has gotten progressively worse… the first three, yes, but I thought the fourth was significantly better than the third, and at least as good as the second.
you know what, I have to take that back. you’re right. the 3rd one was the worst. at least I was able to sit through all of the 4th one on my first shot. It took me years to finish the 3rd one because I always fell asleep.
I think maybe I finished the 4th one in one sitting so that I wouldn’t have to watch it again. ha. But I suppose that means I also liked it more. So in the order of 1, 2, 4, 3 is my preference of the Pirates films. haha 🙂