News Round-Up: Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin Join ‘Me Before You’; ‘How to Train Your Dragon 3’ Pushed Back; and More
Thursday equals News Round-Up here at Film Equals and today seems to have a bit of everything. There weren’t huge casting breaks but I did dig up a duo (Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin) that joined Me Before You. I also included a little piece on Charlie Hunnam potentially joining King Arthur. For release dates, How To Train Your Dragon 3, The Nice Guys, and Maps to the Stars all got a date (or an updated date). Lastly, I have a bit on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s role in Shazam and news about a George Clooney-directed film.
All of the information is below!
Emilia Clarke (HBO’s Game of Thrones) and Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) will star side-by-side in Me Before You. Thea Sharrock is set to direct the film adaptation (of a novel of the same name) that should hit theaters in August of 2015. Expect to hear more about this later on. (Source: FirstShowing)
Next up is Charlie Hunnam’s (FX’s Sons of Anarchy) involvement in Guy Ritchie’s (Snatch) King Arthur. As of this moment, Richie wants Hunnam for the meaty role. Hopefully this entire saga pans out because the plans sound pretty amazing. Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla) and Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) are both linked to the movie that should hit theaters starting July 22, 2016. (Source: Deadline)
Coming off two critically-acclaimed films, you’d think How to Train Your Dragon 3 would be fasttracked. Turns out that isn’t the case as news broke that the third (and probably/maybe final) film will come out June 9, 2017 instead of its previous 2016 date. Dean DeBlois will return as director with Jay Baruchel and Cate Blanchett confirmed to reprise their voice roles. (Source: IGN)
Now that How to Train Your Dragon 3 is no longer releasing on June 17, 2016, you can save that day for The Nice Guys. Shane Black’s (Iron Man 3) next movie features Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling if you needed any reason to see it. Production should start soon on the detective thriller. (Source: Deadline)
Bringing it a little closer to the present, I also wanted to update you on David Cronenberg’s (Cosmopolis) Maps to the Stars. People (myself included) initially thought we’d see this one sometime in 2014 but it now appears we’ll have to wait until early 2015 for the movie. Maps to the Stars features Julianne Moore (Don Jon), Mia Wasikowska (Stoker), Robert Pattinson, and John Cusack. (Source: Variety)
We already knew Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was joining a Shazam adaptation. However, until this week we didn’t know his exact role. That changed yesterday when it was revealed “The Rock” is playing the villain Black Adam. I think this is good news for the DC adaptation and I can’t wait to see what he can bring to the brand. Other details, like a director and official release date, will be available later. (Source: THR)
We finish today with news of a new George Clooney-directed hacker story. Based on the novel “Hack Attack,” this seems like a cool genre for Clooney to explore. As of now, the deal to bring Clooney in is all we have, so stay tuned for stars and a release date later. (Source: The Guardian)
Come back tomorrow for the latest clips. You can also see this week’s trailers, posters, and photos.
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