Movie News Monday: More Chucky, Gremlins, Lion King, Beetlejuice, & More!

February 5, 2024
ALEXANDER

I’m your Gay News Guy – this is the news, casual, sassy, unfiltered, and a little tipsy. Ok here’s today’s MOVIE NEW MONDAY as I see it!

Hollywood heavy hitters are coming to the small screen as Apple TV releases their trailer for the upcoming year. With only two major film features (Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon), the network is focusing on series content. The Big Door Prize, Loot, and The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy are coming back for a second season. As far as heavy hitters joining the network, Colin Farrell will play a private detective involved in a Hollywood family disappearance in Sugar, Michael Douglas will play Benjamin Franklin in Franklin, and Natalie Portman clashes with a Black activist while reporting on a murder in the 1960s era Lady in the Lake (based on the Laura Lippman novel). AppleTV is slowly growing its extensive and diverse library. Yaasssss!

Even with mega hottie Henry Cavill and the power of John Cena’s butt couldn’t make their new film, Argylle a box office smash. It only made $35 of its $200 million budget back in its opening weekend. It still made #1 at the box office, but those receipts are still small in terms of making the film a financial success. Maybe if they had put Cavill and Cena in underwear scenes. Just a suggestion! This might put a damper on plans already in the works for a sequel AND a prequel.

Nicholas Cage really wants to be in Star Trek 4 (the final chapter in the J.J. Abrams version). He said some calls have been had, but no script yet and he really wants to be in the bridge of the Enterprise in some capacity. Um, as a devout Trekkie, I say, “No, thank you!”

Chucky in Space? The demonic doll’s creator, Don Mancini, wants to put Chucky in space for the next film iteration. The idea has been going around for a bit now, and Mancini said if the fans weigh in and want it, he’s all for it. Maybe Nicholas Cage can be in that instead.

Dune 2 is getting some awkward press as its souvenir popcorn bucket has started to go viral for a very different reason. Replication the mouth of a sandworm, you have to stick your hand into something that looks very much like a horror version of the female anatomy. A type of Fleshlight, if you will.

Tim Burton is back in the saddle for a remake of the 1958 film, Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman. Let me guess, it's going to be Helena Bonham Carter. LOL

Beetlejuice 2 has gotten its title and first official movie poster. Simply and cleverly titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the film will hit the screens on September 6^th, 2024. Now I guess they have to do a second sequel to get his full name out there!

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Mufasa: The Lion King is well along the way and will offer some different insight into the character as well as the backstory of the feud between him and Scar. James Earl Jones played Mufasa in the animated and live-action; Aaron Pierre will be taking over the role. This prequel will also be live-action (well, however much overused CGI is live-action).

Is Gremlins 3 on the way? Original film star (and one of my first crushes) Zach Galligan believes so. Warner Bros. has done two seasons of an animated version of the little creatures. Zach said WB’s endgame is a live-action version. He went on to say the film wouldn’t be a reboot, but a direct sequel, because filmmaker Chris Columbus still owns the rights and would want it that way.

Wedding Crashers 2 is also rumored to be a thing, and a script was apparently in the works. It’s been 19 years since the original! Owen Wilson is excited about the idea, the original director wants to come back, and the story is thought to be centered around the two crashers running up against a rival wedding crasher.

Jim Carrey isn’t retiring after all as his return to the Sonic movie franchise has been confirmed for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Jim, we are still waiting for The Mask sequel.

Fun fact: Robert Downey, Jr. lost out on the role of the Scarecrow in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy. The role went to Cillian Murphy. Would be interesting to see his take on the character, but he probably wouldn’t have had time to become Iron Man.