News Round-Up: Tom Hanks Cast in ‘The Circle’; New ‘Jungle Book: Origins’ Release Date; and More
Hello everyone and welcome to another Thursday edition of our weekly News Round-Up. In our final one before the holidays, you can find a healthy blend of casting, release dates, and misc. news. For casting, I’ve got names like Tom Hanks, Viola Davis, and J.K. Simmons to report on. When we get to release dates, you’ll get three dates for the anticipated releases of Jungle Book: Origins, Kong: Skull Island, and Kung Fu Panda 3. For misc. news, I’ve got the names of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens cast.
All the info you need is below.
First up in the casting department is undeniably the biggest star on the list – Tom Hanks. Hanks will apparently star in a The Circle film adaptation. Coincidentally (or maybe not), Hanks just finished filming A Hologram For The King, another adaptation of a Dave Eggers novel. More news on The Circle is pretty hard to find, so we don’t have a release date or director quite yet. (Source: A.V. Club)
I’m beginning to think it’s impossible to go a week without hearing about the DC or Marvel universes. In this case, Suicide Squad – a villain-centric DC pic – picked up Viola Davis (The Help) to play a character named Amanda Waller. David Ayer’s (Fury) pic also stars Jared Leto, Tom Hardy, Jai Courtney (Divergent), and Will Smith. You can officially add Davis’ name to the list and we’ll see the whole cast when the movie debuts on August 5, 2016. (Source: Collider)
Had it not been for the buzz surrounding J.K. Simmons’ performance in this year’s Whiplash, the next bit of news wouldn’t be as big. However, Simmons has been in the news lately because of his haunting performance (which I still have yet to see). It looks like Simmons will be getting more work as he’s been added to the newly retitled Kong: Skull Island adaptation. More on this movie to come… (Source: Deadline)
Jungle Book: Origins starts us off today in the release dates department. Undoubtedly to get away from the release of the other Jungle Book reboot (directed by Jon Favreau), Jungle Book: Origins will now wait until October 6, 2017 to release. Actor Andy Serkis will direct the movie with Benedict Cumberbatch and Christian Bale among the talented cast. (Source: EW)
The aforementioned Kong: Skull Island not only got a new title but it also received a new release date. Just like Jungle Book: Origins, it’ll jump back from 2016 to 2017. You can now expect to see the Tom Hiddelston-starrer on March 10, 2017. The 3-D and IMAX film is directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer). (Source: EW)
In order to avoid Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kung Fu Panda 3 also had to adjust its release date. The animated film, which will again voice star Jack Black, will now release on March 18, 2016. Jennifer Yuh will return as director. (Source: Deadline)
Speaking of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, after a lot of speculation, I’ve got the official names for our main characters. However, just because we know Oscar Isaac will play Poe Dameron and John Boyega will play Finn doesn’t mean we know a lot more about the plot. We do know, however, that J.J. Abrams’ pic is set to debut on December 18, 2015. Any Star Wars news is good news, right? (Source: CNN)
Come back tomorrow for some new movie clips.
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