‘Jurassic World 2’ Adds Justice Smith

The cast for Jurassic World 2 is starting to get bigger. The sequel has officially added Justice Smith (The Get Down) into the mix, Variety reports. Character details are sparse but sources close to Variety claim Smith has been cast as a young scientist in the film.

Recently the film also added Armin Zola himself, Toby Jones and Rafe Spall (Life of Pi, Black Mirror) in unknown roles. The plot is still currently a mystery but chances are it will be another disingenuine cash grab from executive producer Frank Marshall and co. while myself and other die-hard Jurassic Park fans clutch their chest as they pray to not have a heart attack over how upset they are as they watch a bunch of characters they don’t care about get chased around by CG dinosaurs.

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are confirmed to return. Marshall also recently hinted at the return of BD Wong’s character, Dr. Henry Wu when he told cinemablend “When they take off in helicopters, you know they’re probably going to come back.”

Colin Trevorrow, director of the first Jurassic World took to twitter this morning to joke about the backlash against the film regarding the backlash against Howard running through the jungle from dinosaurs in a pair of nude Sam Eldman heels.

See you soon, @BryceDHoward pic.twitter.com/dSHIBRw8C0

— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) December 1, 2016

This means the most substantial detail regarding the plot of Jurassic World 2 is currently that Bryce Dallas Howard will be sporting a pair of brown boots.

Jurassic World 2 hits theaters June 22, 2018.

Produced by Universal Pictures. Directed by J.A. Bayona (When A Monster Calls).

SOURCE: VARIETY

‘Black Panther’ Adds Angela Bassett

Marvel continues to add A-list talent to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Today Marvel announced via Marvel.com that actress Angela Bassett has officially joined the cast of the upcoming Black Panther solo feature. Bassett will play Ramonda, the mother of the Black Panter himself. A casting choice that seems too good to be true

Bassett joins an already star-studded cast which includes Chadwick Boseman, Forest Whitaker, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, and Florence Kasumba. The film will be directed by Ryan Coogler (Creed, Fruitvale Station).

The film is set to begin principal photography this January and will shoot up until May.

Marvel’s Black Panther hits theaters February 16, 2018.

SOURCE: MARVEL

Emilia Clarke Joins Young Han Solo Spin-Off

The worlds of Star Wars and Game of Thrones are about to collide. Lucasfilm has officially announced via StarWars.com that the mother of dragons herself, Emilia Clarke has been cast in the upcoming young Han Solo Star Wars Story. The character she will play has yet to be revealed.

A few weeks ago Variety reported a shortlist of actresses circling the film’s female lead including Tessa Thompson (Creed), Naomi Scott (Power Rangers), and Zoe Kravitz, however. It would seem Lucasfilm has gone a different direction adding Clarke into the mix which already includes Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo and Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian.

The film will be directed by The Lego Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller with a script penned by Lawrence Kasdan. Filming is set to being sometime in early 2017.

The young Han Solo Star Wars Story is slated to hit theaters May 25, 2018.

SOURCE: STARWARS.COM

Brett Gelman Joins ‘Stranger Things 2’

Production on the second season of Stranger Things is currently underway in Georgia and the series is continuing to add talent to the already stellar cast. Variety has confirmed that actor-comedian Brett Gelman (Jobs, The Other Guys) has been cast in the role of Murray Bauman, a disgraced journalist-turned-conspiracy theorist who is investigating a cold case in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. Bauman might just be the character the show needs to blow the lid off of the top-secret experiment gone wrong at the Hawkins national lab.

Gelman joins a list of recently announced stars for the second season which includes Sean Astin (The Goonies, Lord of the Rings), Paul Reiser (Aliens, Mad About You), danish actress Linnea Berthelsen, Dacre Montgomery (Power Rangers) and broadway star Sadie Sink. You can check out descriptions of their characters here. The new characters are said to be compelling but first and foremost in service to the core group of characters introduced in season one.

Executive Producer Shawn Levy recently spoke with Collider and provided insight to some of the challenges facing the residents of Hawkins, Indiana in the second season:

“Will Byers was in that Upside Down for a while. So Season 2 is about this determined desire to return to normalcy in Hawkins, in the Byers family, in that group of friends, and it’s the struggle to reclaim normalcy and maybe the impossibility of it.”

Don’t let Stranger Things’ packaging as a television show fool you, structurally and narratively it is very much a six and a half hour movie broken up into eight reels. The Duffer Brothers have said that season two will be much more like a movie sequel rather than a traditional second season of a series.

Stranger Things 2 picks up a year later in the fall of 1984 and will explore the consequences of Will Byers’ week spent in the upside down as well as the interdimensional portal which is still open at the Department of Energy. The sequel is said to be bigger and darker yet familiar.

Stranger Things 2 stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb Mclaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, and Noah Schnapp.

You can check out some set photos from the production snapped earlier this week here.

Stranger Things 2 hits Netflix sometime in 2017.

 SOURCE: VARIETY

Greg Grunberg Lands Recurring Role on ‘The Flash’

Greg Grunberg is known to many nerds around the world, most notably as the mind-reading Detective Matt Parker on NBC’s Heroes. He grew up best friends with JJ Abrams and starred in all of the films Abrams made as a child. Grunberg came to be known as Abrams’ luck charm — making appearances in almost everything Abrams has produced and directed including Alias, Lost, Super 8, and most recently Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Mashable reports Grunberg has landed a recurring role in the current season airing of The Flash as Detective Tom Patterson. Mashable describes the character as a gruff, stalwart figure at the Central City Police Department, who is unwavering in his commitment to protecting Central City from the dangerous metahumans that threaten it.

Grunberg will make his debut next week on The Flash in the episode titled “Killer Frost” which will feature Dr. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) taking forensic scientist Julian Albert (Tom Felton) hostage as she accepts her fate and embarks down the evil path towards becoming the villainous Killer Frost. The episode is directed by Grunberg’s pal and co-host of AMC’s Geeking Out, Kevin Smith.

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

KEVIN SMITH DIRECTS; KILLER FROST EMERGES — Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) uses her powers to save Barry (Grant Gustin) but as her mother predicted, the effort unleashes her inner Killer Frost. Killer Frost goes on a rampage looking for Dr. Alchemy, kidnapping Julian (Tom Felton) and battling both The Flash and Vibe (Carlos Valdes). Meanwhile, Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and H.R. (Tom Cavanagh) have a heart to heart talk.

SOURCE: MASHABLE

Johnny Depp Confirmed as Grindelwald for ‘Fantastic Beasts 2’

After news broke that Johnny Depp would be joining the sequel for the upcoming Harry Potter prequel spin-off, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, speculation on the internet began to run wild as to who Depp would join the wizarding world as. Rumors pointed to the character of Gellert Grindelwald, the former friend, and love of Albus Dumbledore who was rumored to play a large role in the franchise moving forward.

It turns out the rumors are true. Director David Yates confirmed Depp would indeed play Grindelwald when speaking with The Leaky Cauldron (h/t Collider) and explained why they felt it was important for Depp to fill the role.

The whole principal of casting the movie was go with the best actor. Go for the most inspired, interesting, right fit for that character. And as we approached Grindelwald we thought, ‘Who’s going to take this in an interesting direction?’ In this business, it’s a weird old business. You’re brilliant one week, people are saying odd things the next, you go up and down. But no one takes away your pure talent. Johnny Depp is a real artist. He’s created several characters who have really resonated in our popular culture. He’s a really brilliant, brilliant actor. We were excited about seeing what he would do with this guy, the character. He’s fearless; he’s imaginative; he’s ambitious. We thought he would do something fun and special. So we went for him, purely on that selfish basis. We don’t care if he’s famous or not famous. We just know he’s interesting.

Personally, the news of this casting doesn’t do much for me. Depp has been rather one note for the better part of the last decade, however. Depp’s earlier work does make him sound like a perfect fit for the personality of Grindelwald.

The character won’t appear until the second entry in the new Harry Potter prequel series which is currently set to cap at five films. Being that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set to kick off the new series, it would make sense for the film to include some sort of set up or at the very least an easter egg nodding to the characters inclusion in the following films so keep your eyes peeled when you go to see the film next weekend.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits theaters November 18, 2016.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident…were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob (Dan Fogler), a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON

Paul Reiser and Sean Astin Join ‘Stranger Things 2’

With production officially underway on the sequel to this past summer’s smash hit Stranger Things, news about the follow-up is beginning to trickle out. So far all we have seen are a few images teased by Netflix and the cast including a photo from last Friday’s table read confirming Millie Bobby Brown‘s official return to the show along with a Snapchat photo of her co-star Finn Wolfhard back in the Wheeler’s basement, as well as an photo posted to Instagram photo of David Harbour suiting back up as Chief Hopper.

According to The Wrap, the series has officially added Sean Astin (The Goonies, Lord of the Rings) and Paul Reiser (Aliens, Mad About You) into the mix.

Astin will play Bob Newby, a kindhearted former nerd who went to high school with Joyce and Hopper and now manages the local Hawkins RadioShack.

Everyone’s favorite company man, Reiser, will play Dr. Owens, a high-ranking member within the Department of Energy on a “clean-up” assignment, tasked with containing the events of last year.

In addition to Astin and Reiser, the series has also cast Danish actress Linnea Berthelsen, whose character named Roman was previously announced but now we have an actual character description. Roman is an emotionally damaged, magnetic young woman who suffered a great loss as a child. Although she does not live in Hawkins, she is mysteriously connected to the supernatural events at the lab.

Season two will also feature Dacre Montgomery (Power Rangers) and broadway stars Sadie Sink as step-siblings, Billy and Max. Max is a tough tomboy who rides her skateboard everywhere she goes. Her complicated past has made her suspicious of those around her. Billy is a typical 80’s jock who steals girlfriends out from their boyfriends and drives a black Camaro while he isn’t busy playing drinking games. Underneath he is said to be violent and unpredictable.

Season two will pick up a year after the events of season one and deal with the portal that is still open to the upside down as well as the consequences of Wills week spent in the nether.

The adventure continues in the fall of 1984.

Stranger Things 2 hits Netflix sometime in 2017.

View this post on Instagram

Hopper's back😏

A post shared by David Harbour (@dkharbour) on Oct 31, 2016 at 7:55am PDT

SOURCE: THE WRAP

Elodie Yung Joins ‘The Defenders’

Marvel has announced actress Elodie Yung as the latest addition to the cast of the Marvel Netflix team-up series, The Defenders. Yung first appeared in season two of Daredevil as Elektra and was last seen when (spoiler alert) she was resurrected from the dead as the weapon Black Sky A.K.A. the bringer of shadows. It is still unknown what kind of weapon Black Sky exactly is but there is a fantastic fan theory posted by a Reddit user that suggests the bringer of shadows is a vampire.

pic.twitter.com/EPRASgJrCZ

— The Defenders (@TheDefenders) November 7, 2016

Yung is the eighth addition to the series’ supporting cast which includes Carrie-Anne Moss (Jeri Hogarth), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), Eka Darville (Malcolm Ducasse), Scott Glenn (Stick), Rosario Dawson (Claire Temple) and Rachael Taylor (Trish Walker) and Jessica Henwick (Colleen Wing).

An official synopsis has yet to be released but it is known that the series will follow Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), and Finn Jones (Iron Fist) as they put their resources together and team-up to take on Sigourney Weaver who’s villainous character is still unknown at this point.

The Defenders hits Netflix sometime in 2017.

Ciaran Hinds Cast as Steppenwolf in ‘Justice League’

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice hinted towards the arrival of Darkseid, Superman’s greatest enemy (D.C.’s equivalent of Thanos), several times. First with Batman’s vision of the post-apocalyptic future and then again when Lex Luthor spoke the words “Ding, ding, ding, ding,” after telling Batman the bell had already been wrong and that ‘He’ was hungry.

In the comic’s, Darkseid used a device known as a Mother box which was a sentient supercomputer that had wondrous abilities including healing, energy manipulation, and even teleportation by opening up a “boom tube” which is a slang term for an extra-dimensional point to point portal. The sound the mother boxes made was actually “Ping, ping, ping” but that’s just a minor nitpick against a film that clearly had no issue taking liberties with the source material (e.g. Batman being a MURDERER).

We actually got our first glimpse at a Mother box in a deleted scene from BvS which was subsequently added back into the Ultimate Edition (a major improvement from the disjunctive theatrical release). The scene featured Lex Luthor in some sort of alien goo bath as he communicated with an alien being which was later confirmed to be Steppenwolf, the uncle of Darkseid.

Back in June, it was confirmed that the main antagonist for the upcoming Justice League — the follow-up to BvS — would not be Darkseid, but Steppenwolf instead. Today, The Wrap has learned that Ciaran Hinds, best known for his role as Mance Rayder, the king beyond the wall in Game of Thrones assumed the motion capture responsibilities for the character.

Justice League hits theaters November 17, 2017.

Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy.  Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat.  But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

SOURCE: THE WRAP

‘The Defenders’ Adds Jessica Henwick; Sneak Peek at Iron Fist

The Defenders cast is continuing to grow by the day. This morning Marvel announced via the series’ official twitter account that actress Jessica Henwick who plays Colleen Wing in the upcoming Marvel Netflix series Iron Fist will join the team-up series set to make it’s debut sometime in 2017.

The announcement comes with a clip giving us a sneak peak at Colleen Wing in action during a one on one cage match which is rumored to be her first scene in Iron Fist.

For @MarvelIronFist's @Jhenwick, this fight is just beginning. #Defenders pic.twitter.com/QpwzFsvdvf

— The Defenders (@TheDefenders) November 3, 2016

The addition of Henwick marks the seventh addition to the series’ supporting cast this week which includes Carrie-Anne Moss (Jeri Hogarth), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), Eka Darville (Malcolm Ducasse), Scott Glenn (Stick), Rosario Dawson (Claire Temple) and Rachael Taylor (Trish Walker).

An official synopsis has yet to be released but it is known that the series will follow Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), and Finn Jones (Iron Fist) as they put their resources together and team-up to take on Sigourney Weaver who’s villainous character is still unknown at this point.

The Defenders hits Netflix sometime in 2017.