Movie News

‘World War Z’ Sequel Set for Summer 2017 Release 0 674

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Fans of the Brad Pitt zombie blockbuster World War Z can now look forward to even more worldwide undead carnage as the movie has just been given a prime release date.

The as-yet-untitled World War Z sequel is now set for a June 9th, 2017 release, which puts it smack damn in the very busy summer release season (only a couple of weeks difference from the first one’s June 21st date). It puts it in direct competition with Fox’s Fantastic Four 2 on that date, as well as surrounding films like the Spider-Man reboot, Toy Story 4, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Wonder Woman.

Pitt is set to return for the big-budget zombie sequel as both star and producer (via his Plan B company), which despite receiving mixed reviews is really no surprise considering it’s actually the biggest grossing film of his career, believe it or not, making a whopping $540 million worldwide. The new film is being directed by Juan Antonio Bayona (The Impossible), taking over from Marc Forster, and it will be written by the very talented Steven Knight (Locke, Eastern Promises, Shutter Island). Plot details are being kept firmly under wraps for the time being.

Based on the celebrated book by Max “Son of Mel” Brooks, the first film told of a worldwide zombie outbreak and how the remaining humans try to survive and find a cure. It received criticism from fans of the source because of how it changed from the “survivors looking back at the zombie plague” style to more of a straight-forward “how do we stop the outbreak?” horror-actioner.

It was famously plagued with production issues, firstly to do with shooting locations but then even more drastically the entire third act of the film was rewritten (by Tomorrowland‘s Damon Lindelof) and with major reshoots scheduled, changing it from [SPOILER ALERT!] a big battle scene in Russia to a surprisingly intimate scene in a Welsh research facility.

I personally hugely enjoyed the first film and with a strong screenwriter and an interesting director who has proven himself at big scale disaster, I’m really excited about more super fast-paced zombie thrills in the sequel. Agree?

Sources: THR and Variety

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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.

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Watch: Incredible New Trailer for ‘The Revenant’ 0 1243

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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 1467

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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