Yesterday morning we learned David Slade had dropped out of directing the Daredevil reboot, a franchise Fox is close to losing back to Marvel if they don’t find themselves in production by this fall. It turns out the reason he left may be due to his duties on NBC’s television show “Hannibal“, a series based on Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter character, and it looks like the series is claiming another comic book victim.
Mads Mikkelsen is set to star in the series as well, playing the title role, and tells ZoominMovies he had to drop out of Thor 2 as a result saying, “Yeah, that’s not happening unfortunately. I had a meeting with them, but they were a little too late. And then ‘Hannibal’ came in, and everything just came in the same period, so now it’s not happening.” It was never clear what role Mikkelsen was going to play, though it was known he would have been the film’s villain. [ZoominMovies via The Playlist]
At Comic Con, Dreamworks Animation announced they were moving forward with Kung Fu Panda 3 as well as a Madagascar spinoff titled Penguins of Madagasar set to hit theaters in 2015 under the direction of Tom McGrath. [Variety]
Arnold Schwarzenegger was in attendance at Comic Con during Lionsgate’s The Expendables 2 panel and confirmed he will make a sequel to the 1998 movie Twins in which he co-starred with Danny DeVito. Director Ivan Reitman is expected to return as the film is currently in development and looking for a writer. [Deadline]
Christopher Nolan is stirring the pot on a Catwoman spin-off for Anne Hathaway after being impressed with the actress in his new film The Dark Knight Rises. Nolan was quoted saying, “Anne is incredibly precise and articulate about the psychology of the character. She’s really built it from the ground up, it’s just a delight to watch her perform. The thing she does in those heels is not to be taken lightly. She’s an incredible character and we’re very excited to see her and hopefully we’ll leave people wanting more.” He reiterates that he’s done with the franchise, but doesn’t believe this should necessarily be the end for Catwoman, “I’m done. I’ve told our story and I’m moving on [but] I certainly think she deserves it — she’s incredible.” [The Guardian]
Universal is reportedly courting Stephen Daldry (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) to direct an adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked, a “Wizard of Oz” prequel, is based on the Gregory Maguire novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” and focuses on the early relationship between Glinda the Good and Elphaba, a green-skinned beauty before she ended up flying on a broomstick. Universal is also rumored to be looking at Jon Favreau to direct an adaptation of Jersey Boys, which is one of the top-grossing Broadway musicals on a weekly basis alongside Wicked. [Deadline]
BONUS QUICK HITS:
Will Smith is eying the director’s chair for The Redemption of Cain, a film about the Biblical battling brothers Cain and Abel. [Deadline]
James Newton Howard has scored M Night Shyamalan‘s last seven features and will again bring musical life to his latest film, the Will Smith starrer After Earth. [Film Music Reporter]
