Movie News

James Wan In Talks to Direct Live-Action ‘Robotech’ Adaptation 0 1129

james-wan-in-talks-to-direct-live-action-robotech-adaptation

He’s currently enjoying a great sense of achievement with the monumental $1.3 billion (and counting!) box office success of Fast & Furious 7, and now director James Wan is turning his sights to popular ’80s anime series Robotech.

Deadline reports that the horror-turned-action director (before F&F7 he created horror franchises Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring) is in talks with Sony to step behind the camera for the Robotech adaptation, which the studio is eyeing to be the new big worldwide franchise. Could this be the next Transformers? Hmm…

The director would be working from a script by Michael Gordon, who co-wrote the historical action epic 300. In case you’re not in the know already, the original Robotech was itself based on several Japanese series and focused on people on Earth using alien technology they found in a crashed spaceship to fight off extraterrestrial invasions, including creating giant transformable mecha.

Robotech will follow in the footsteps of two other planned Westernized anime-to-live-action adaptations, the long-gestating Akira and Ghost in the Shell projects. It’s a style that’s so intrinsically Japanese in nature but Robotech sounds like it would translate a bit better than Akira or Ghost in the Shell would; just look at Pacific Rim, for example, which meshed together Eastern and Western sensibilities with great aplomb.

Wan is a hot filmmaking property at the moment, not only because of his recent F&F7 success but because he’s lined up to make The Conjuring 2 next year. He also has a graphic novel adaptation Malignant Man and is linked to DC’s highly anticipated Aquaman. Wan has more than shown he is capable of stepping up and delivering some seriously entertaining action and I have no doubt he’d bring that same vim to Robotech if he decides to sign on the dotted line.

Are you a fan of the original Robotech? Do you think Wan is a good fit for the material? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @TOF_UK!

Source: Deadline

Previous ArticleNext Article
I'm a freelance film reviewer and blogger with over 10 years of experience writing for various different reputable online and print publications. In addition to my running, editing and writing for Thoughts On Film, I am also the film critic for The National, the newspaper that supports an independent Scotland, covering the weekly film releases, film festivals and film-related features. I have a passion for all types of cinema, and have a particular love for foreign language film, especially South Korean and Japanese cinema. Favourite films include The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Watch: Incredible New Trailer for ‘The Revenant’ 0 1242

watch-incredible-new-trailer-for-the-revenant

We don’t usually post trailers individually – saving them for the Trailer Watch – but this one was just too good to pass up.

The Revenant is the new film from acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, who most recently won an Oscar for Birdman. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter in a tale of a forntierman in 1820 who sets out on a path of vengeance who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

We already had one amazing teaser trailer, now check out the equally great new trailer below:

Could this be the film that finally wins Leo his Best Actor Oscar? Quite possibly!

The Revenant is set for release in the UK on January 15th, 2016.

Vincent Cassel To Play Villain in Next ‘Bourne’ Film 0 1465

vincent-cassel-to-play-villain-in-next-bourne-film

After a fourth Bourne film in which Jason himself was conspicuous by his absence, things are returning to the old but brilliant formula of Matt Damon starring and Paul Greengrass directing.

We already know that in addition to Damon returning (rejoice!), Tommy Lee Jones and woman-of-the-moment Alicia Vikander are part of the cast, playing a tough CIA operative and (presumed) love interest, respectively, as well as Julia Stiles reprising her small but crucial role as Bourne helper Nicky Parsons. But now we’re getting word that one of the best French actors in the business is also joining the cast.

Variety has the news that the wonderful Vincent Cassel has signed on to the spy action sequel as its main villain, which will see him match wits and possibly even go toe-to-toe go with the former amnesiac hero. Although exact plot details are being kept secret for the time being, sources are saying that Cassel will play an assassin tracking Bourne. No doubt he will tie in with the Treadstone/Blackbriar history of the Bourne mythology – maybe he’ll be a scorned fellow assassin who feels Bourne somehow wronged him/was chosen ahead of him.

The series has a pedigree of casting great actors as assassins, whether it be Clive Owen in The Bourne Identity, Karl Urban in Supremacy, Edgar Ramirez in Ultimatum and Oscar Isaac in Legacy.

I was already looking forward to the return of the Damon-Greengrass team but the addition of Cassel – genuinely one of my favourite actors of modern times – only makes me wish next summer would get here sooner.

The as-yet-untitled Bourne sequel is set to start shooting this year for a July 29th, 2016 release date.

Source: Variety