1.) I don’t know the history of the Red Skull in the “Captain America” comic book series and at this moment I can’t even remember if we see him die at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, but in an interview with Hugo Weaving, the folks at Collider asked him about potentially returning for the sequels to which he said:
“I didn’t think I’d be in Captain America 2 or 3. I don’t think Red Skull will be there. And it’s not something I would want to do again. I’m glad I did it. I did sign up for a number of pictures and I suppose, contractually, I would be obliged to, if they forced me to, but they wouldn’t want to force someone to do it, if they didn’t want to.”
The part where he says “they wouldn’t want to force someone to do it, if they didn’t want to” is sort of laughable, that’s exactly what they would do.
In other Avengers related news, Clark Gregg‘s Agent Coulson is set for a resurrection of sorts as he will return to the franchise and lead the team in the upcoming ABC television series “S.H.I.E.L.D.” I can only assume the show will take place prior to the events of The Avengers, but who knows at this point. I just wonder if they can force Hugo Weaving to star in the television series, now that would be a laugh. [Collider and Screen Crush]
2.) Scott Derrickson is re-teaming with Sinister producer, Jason Blum, for an adaptation of the Stephen King novella “Breathing Method” with Scott Teems set to adapt the story. The novella comes from “Different Seasons”, the same 1980 collection that brought us The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me and focuses on an elderly physician named Dr. Emlyn McCarron, who recounts an incident in his career of a patient who was determined to give birth to her illegitimate child, despite her financial difficulties and the social stigma in the 1930s. The patient turns to the doctor because of the book he has written about the Breathing Method, a system to help women through childbirth. She grows close with the doctor, who finds that she is so determined to have the child through the method that she lingers on even after a horrific accident on the way to the hospital.
It should also be mentioned, Blum and his Blumhouse production house, not only put together Sinister for $3 million but was also behind Insidious and had a hand in this weekend’s new opener, Paranormal Activity 4. [Deadline]
3.) Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”, Smashed) is set to star in Need for Speed for Act of Valor helmer Scott Waugh. The film, an adaptation of the Electronic Arts driving game, is described as aiming to be a “fast-paced, high-octane film rooted in the tradition of the great car culture films of the 70s while being extremely faithful to the spirit of the video game franchise.” The film is currently slated for a February 7, 2014 release. [EW]
4.) Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained) is set to play former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik which will center on the 1986 meeting between Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan (Michael Douglas) that signaled the end of the Cold War. The film is targeting a March 2013 start in Iceland. Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco) is directing. [Deadline]
5.) A batch of new release dates came out over the last couple of days, so let’s end with those. Listed by release date below, click on any of the titles for more information:
- Elysium – August 9, 2013 (Previously Mar. 1, 2013)
- Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers – September 27, 2013 (Previously Feb. 7, 2014)
- Saving Mr. Banks – December 20, 2013
- Robocop – February 7, 2014 (Previously Aug. 9, 2013)
- Bears – April 18, 2014
- Ant-Man – November 6, 2015
