Latest news with #TaikaWaititi
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A sci-fi sequel 13 years in the making is now closer than ever – with a Marvel director at the helm
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Quick Summary A new Judge Dredd movie is in the pipeline, with Taika Waititi set to take the director's chair. Not much else is known about the sci-fi sequel/reboot for now, but the fact it exists will be enough for many fans. After years of fan requests and failed starts, it seems a sci-fi sequel we've all prayed for is finally back on the cards. What's more, the director of Thor: Ragnarok, The Mandalorian and What We Do in the Shadows is reportedly attached. It's been 13 years since Dredd hit cinemas (in 3D, no less) and even though its star Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Boys) was keen to get cracking on a sequel, it sadly never happened. The owner of iconic British comic 2000AD (in which Judge Dredd appears), Rebellion, even created its own TV and movie production company, and announced a TV spin-off: Judge Dredd: Mega-City One. But news on that went quiet too. Now it seems the plans have reverted to making another film, with Taika Waititi set to direct (via Deadline) and the writer of The Fall Guy, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and Iron Man 3, Drew Pearce, tasked with writing the screenplay. Not much else is known about the movie yet – whether it's going to head to cinemas first or will be for one of the big streaming services. However, the fact that it's finally in the works again is enough reason to celebrate. With Waititi on board it is likely to have more of a sense of humour than 2012's Dredd. And it doesn't have to try very hard to be better than Stallone's portrayal of the Judge in the 1995 misfire. Comic book fans will already appreciate that the strip originally created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra has a dark sense of humour that offsets the extreme bouts of violence. It often plays as satire to the politics and trends of today, so it'd be great to see some of that come through in the next movie, If so, it's more likely to be a reboot than a sequel, although I'd personally love to see Urban offered the eponymous role once more. He truly understands what makes Joe Dredd so unique, even amongst other Judges, while his acceptance in playing the part without ever taking his helmet off was admirable. It looks like we'll have a while to wait before the new film gets fully underway, let alone being available to watch. But in the meantime, Duncan Jones' Rogue Trooper movie adaptation from another 2000AD property seems to be coming along well and should hit theatres beforehand. Solve the daily Crossword
Gizmodo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
A Brief Guide to All the Taika Waititi Projects We're Still Waiting For
It's just part of Hollywood that projects will be announced with a lot of fanfare and then fade away, with suspects both usual (scheduling conflicts, creative differences, budget concerns) and unusual (global pandemics, industry-wide strikes) to blame. But certain creators seem to attach their names to movies or TV shows that never materialize with greater frequency—including Taika Waititi. His diverse career includes writing, directing, producing, and acting (Our Flag Means Death forever), and he already has an Oscar on his shelf. So it's no surprise that he's seemingly being pulled in a lot of different directions and moves on to new endeavors faster than most. But since his TBD list is full of things we'd actually like to see one day, here's a reminder of the best sci-fi and fantasy stuff that's on it. News broke this week that Waititi is attached to helm a new live-action take on the violent comic book character, previously seen in movies made in 1995 (with Sylvester Stallone) and 2012 (with Karl Urban). The Hollywood Reporter noted there's a script by Drew Pearce (Fall Guy; Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) but no studio attached yet. According to the trade, 'sources say Pearce and Waititi both grew up with the books and are friends who have been trying to find a project to work on together for years.' THR further notes that 'the pitch is said to take inspiration more from the comics than the previous screen iterations, leaning into the world-building and dark humor,' which sounds great, though this detail does not: 'The desire is to see the movie launch a Dredd universe that could be explored with additional movies and shows across various platforms.' Why though? Probably just a fleeting dream at this point, given that this werewolf-focused sequel to What We Do in the Shadows (the movie) was being talked about before What We Do in the Shadows (the TV show) arrived. But the show ended late last year after six triumphant seasons, with many fans still wishing it could continue. Might We're Wolves emerge from the darkness after all? Just a few weeks ago, we learned that Warner Bros.' long-teased Akira movie was being taken off the table. Waititi's name was one of many bandied about to direct when it was still in play, and he certainly seemed enthusiastic—although in 2019 he explained he'd had to step back from it due to his Marvel commitments. But just because Warner Bros. isn't going to tackle Akira doesn't mean the manga adaptation won't ever happen; another studio might well pick up the newly available rights. Maybe Waititi will circle back when and if that happens? Picture it: summer, 2021. We received an intriguing update on the animated Flash Gordon movie Waititi had first teased in 2019. The game changed, and now it was going to be a live-action Flash Gordon movie! Even a few years later, it still seems like an ideal outlet for Waititi's irreverent style and bombastic approach to superhero action, but so far there's been no fresh momentum on this one. In late 2021, Waititi teased another fascinating project: an adaptation of The Incal, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Jean Giraud's (aka Moebius) sci-fi masterpiece. 'The films and graphic novels of Alejandro Jodorowsky have influenced me and so many others for so long,' Waititi told the Hollywood Reporter at the time. 'I was stunned to be given the opportunity to bring his iconic characters to life.' We're not mad at it either, other than the fact that it hasn't happened yet. In 2020, io9 had cause to run a post with the headline 'Oompa-Loompa Doom-Pa-Da-Dee-Tee, Get Pumped for Roald Dahl by Taika Waititi,' on the occasion of Waititi announcing two planned Netflix series set in the world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Including one all about Oompa-Loompas! As we know, Netflix sunk a lot of dough into acquiring Dahl's story catalog a few years back, but hasn't done terribly much with the IP since; in the meantime, the Timothée Chalamet-starring Wonka movie, whose conception pre-dated the Netflix acquisition, sort of took over the cultural conversation on magical chocolate factories. Still, the streamer is still holding onto Dahl, so maybe Waititi will return to this one eventually. This one's a whole galaxy bigger than just Waititi, because pinning down Lucasfilm's future big-screen plans has been no easy task since the sequel trilogy ended. But amid the sure things (The Mandalorian and Grogu, Ryan Gosling's Starfighter) and the handful of projects that seem to still be on track (like James Mangold's 'Dawn of the Jedi' movie), Waititi's long-teased Star Wars movie, which would reunite The Mandalorian season one star with the franchise, is one that's never been ruled out. We still have no idea if it will happen, though. Which percolating Taika Waititi projects are you hoping actually materialize? Do you think Judge Dredd will move forward, or will it join these other titles in Waititi limbo? And will he ever make his Star Wars movie? Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Why the Star Wars franchise is a poisoned chalice
It's the ultimate Jedi mind trick. Announce a new Star Wars film, generate gigawatts of publicity and then, faster than you can say 'these aren't the droids you're looking for', pretend the movie never existed and the whole thing was a figment of the audience's imagination. Such has been the apparent strategy of Star Wars' parent studio, Lucasfilm, which has unveiled a Sith Lord's ransom in new spinoffs, only to ultimately leave fans spinning in deep space. The latest Lucasfilm associate to attempt an Obi-Wan Kenobi-style mind wipe is Taika Waititi, who has shelved his 'Untitled Star Wars Film' – its quasi-official name – in favour of an adaptation of trigger-happy 2000AD anti-hero Judge Dredd. Who needs a Jedi Knight when you have Judge Dredd? Not Waititi, who is confirmed as collaborating with screenwriter Drew Pearce on a new feature about Mega-City One's trigger-happy law enforcer. The news appears to confirm previous rumours that Waiti's Star Wars feature is on indefinite hold. That would be quite a u-turn from the far-off morning in May 2020 when Lucasfilm – a subsidiary of the all-powerful Disney – revealed that Waititi would be directing a 'fresh and unexpected' take on the galaxy far, far away. Unexpected – or non-existent? With Disney and Lucasfilm, it's increasingly hard to tell the difference. We are living through strange times, when Coldplay end marriages rather than soundtrack them, and in which freshly reformed Oasis are the hottest new band in Britain. Even so, how bracing to think that, at the halfway point of 2025, Judge Dredd has more appeal to a successful director than Star Wars – for so long, the last word in bum-on-seats franchises. With Waititi bouncing into the escape hatch and pressing the 'eject' button, it is worth reconsidering the idea of 'a Star Wars curse'. Like a sort of King Midas in reverse, everything Lucasfilm touches turns to dross. That includes the careers of once-buzzy directors Josh Trank and Colin Trevorrow, who went from the future of cinema to yesterday's story the moment it was confirmed they were to direct new Star Wars films. A similar miasma has hung over the careers of actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, up-and-coming stars, until the day they signed up to Disney's big new 2015 – 2019 'Sequels Trilogy'. The first of that sorry triptych, JJ Abrams's The Force Awakens, turned 10 this year, and its legacy might kindly be described as chequered. Boyega has since expressed his misgivings about the 'Sequels' (and pointed out how his character Finn was marginalised as the story went along). Ridley, by contrast, doubled down on the brand when agreeing to front an all-new trilogy about her spiky heroine Rey, to be directed by Pakistani journalist and documentarian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, only for that project to follow Waititi's trajectory into permanent limbo. Likewise drifting in the void is Rogue Squadron, a supposedly gritty X-Wing movie directed by Wonder Woman's Patty Jenkins, and a long-cancelled trilogy from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D B Weiss. They are joined by Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, who decided he'd much prefer making Knives Out whodunnits rather than being abused on social media by Star Wars fans. Why do so many Star Wars films stutter? Assuming it isn't a curse cooked up by Darth Vader and his fellow Sith Lords, the explanation is probably that the saga is a victim of its own iconic status. George Lucas's original trilogy forms a geek holy grail – here are hokey, flawed films that, over the decades, have come to be regarded as flawless masterpieces, pop art treated with the reverence of a Caravaggio. The weight of that legacy is felt by those hired to continue Lucas's work. When Godzilla director Gareth Edwards was tapped to direct the 2016 spinoff Rogue One, he spoke about the job not as a gig, but as carrying on a sacred tradition. 'You start to wonder whether this is all actually virtual reality. It seems too good to be true, like I'm playing the game version where I get to make a Star Wars film. It's not the sort of thing that should happen to you in your career, like even the best version of where your career could go.' Seemed too good to be true – and ultimately proved too good to be true, as well. Halfway through Rogue One, Disney concluded the production was running away from Edward and brought in unsentimental screenwriter Tony Gilroy. Gilroy, if not a hack, knew how to get a movie over the line. Moreover, he cared not a jot for Star Wars' associated baggage and didn't agonise over wrangling the film into shape. He brought the same indifference to the Jedi fanbase of his excellent Disney+ series, Andor, as he made clear in an interview with the Telegraph. 'The thing about the Star Wars community is they all disagree on everything and the moment they stop chewing on you, they start chewing on each other,' he said with a shrug. The other issue is the influence of Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy, a former lieutenant to Steven Spielberg who has become a sort of Galactic Emperor of green-lighting Star Wars projects. It was she who announced Waititi and used her address at the 2023 Star Wars Celebration fan convention to announce that she had reached out to Daisy Ridley about another red-letter day for Rey. Kennedy is passionate about Star Wars – perhaps to a fault. She is certainly not afraid to meddle. Such was the case with 2017's Han Solo movie, from which comedy improvisational duo (and Lego Movie directors) Lorde and Miller departed – supposedly because their improvised approach didn't chime with Kennedy's more straight-laced philosophy. With the pranksters expunged, Kennedy turned to a safe pair of hands, Ron Howard, who delivered what would prove to be the first-ever Star Wars film to post a loss. 'There's one gatekeeper when it comes to Star Wars, and it's Kathleen Kennedy,' an insider told Variety several years ago. 'If you rub Kathleen Kennedy the wrong way – in any way – you're out. You're done. A lot of these young, new directors want to come in and say, 'I want to do this. I want to do that.' A lot of these guys [i.e. Trevorrow] got very rich, very fast and believed a lot of their hype. And they don't want to play by the rules. They want to do sh–t differently. And Kathleen Kennedy isn't going to f–k around with that. ' But Kennedy's track record isn't anything to wave a lightsaber in the air over. She is widely regarded as having damaged the Star Wars brand with subpar TV spinoffs, such as The Acolyte and Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan – expensive shows that featured low-budget production and poor writing. Still, fans will hope Waititi's departure marks the beginning of the end of Star Wars' long nightmare. At least two features are going ahead. Ryan Gosling's Star Wars: Starfighter is set for release in 2027, with Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy directing. Before that, Pedro Pascal and Baby Yoda will reunite for The Mandalorian and Grogu, a spinoff of the Mandalorian television series. Kennedy, meanwhile, is due to step down as head of Lucasfilm before the end of the year. There is the caveat that she is to 'continue to produce Star Wars content'. Still, her hand is going to be off the tiller, and there will be a new Star Wars movie coming down the line. After years of disappointment, you might say the saga has a new hope.
Gizmodo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Taikia Waititi Will Direct The Next ‘Judge Dredd'
Barbie gets her first non-DTV animated movie for theaters, a breakout Strange New Worlds character enjoys more screen time, and Steve from Stranger Things picks up a humongous chainsaw. Thirsty for more? Spoilers, ahoy! THR reports Taika Waititi is attached to direct a new live-action Judge Dredd movie based on a script by Drew Pearce (Mission: Impossible – Rouge Nation, The Fall Guy). Chris Kingsley, Jason Kingsley and Ben Smith of Rebellion Developments, Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment, Jeremy Platt, Natalie Viscuso and Pearce, himself, are attached to produce the project, which is currently looking for a studio. Deadline reports Gale Ann Hurd's Valhalla Entertainment has acquired the film rights to Yuletide, a yet-to-be-published comic book series at Oni Press from writer George Northy and artist Rachele Aragno. Described as 'a fast-paced family adventure in the tradition of The Goonies, Goosebumps, and Hocus Pocus with a horrifying holiday twist,' the story concerns 'ancient Norse creatures let loose upon an idyllic Northeastern town at the height of the gift-giving season — and the only three teenagers capable of holding them at bay with an ancient secret tied to the origins of the holiday itself.' Deadline also reports an animated Barbie movie is now in development at Illumination, Universal, and Mattel Studios. Unsurprisingly, Deadline confirms Willem Dafoe has also joined the cast of Robert Egger's Werwulf. Speaking with Bloody-Disgusting, The Purge creator James DeMonaco teased 'people's favorite character' may return in part 6. I just finished a script. My producer, Sébastien Lemercier, has read multiple drafts, given me notes. We just handed it to Jason [Blum]. I'm really happy with it. I hope they like it. I think it's cool and fun. We're hoping next year would be great to shoot, maybe the end of this year if timing works out. But now it's with the powers that be, so we'll see what happens. People's favorite character might be coming back, I can say without naming who that is; a couple of people who could be. But someone's coming back who I love and I think the audience loves. Then we create some real great female heroes in this one. There's some really amazing women. We've had some great women in the past, but real warrior women come forth here in a way that we haven't really explored on Purge night. It's been really fun to write. And I'm writing with my wife, so I'm getting a nice female perspective, and that's been really fun. A man becomes lost in a seemingly endless subway passage in the trailer for Exit 8. Elsewhere, a science-fiction writer begins to lose his grasp on reality after his first taste of success in the trailer for Terrestrial, starring Jermaine Fowler. According to Deadline, Leonardo DiCaprio is developing a live-action Captain Planet TV series at Netflix with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television. Former Mrs. Davis showrunner Tara Hernandez is attached to write the pilot. In conversation with /Film, Melissa Navia revealed the new season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was specifically written to include more screen time for Erica Ortegas. Yeah. I mean, I know for my part I didn't [push for more screen time] in particular, because I knew since season 1 our showrunners and our writers have been saying, 'We want to write more Ortegas into the show.' But when you have 10 episodes and you have this amazing ensemble cast, and you have legacy characters and new characters, the fact that we get as much out of all of them as we have gotten is a testament to the writers and what they're able to pack into these mini-movies that you guys get. But for Ortegas, after season 1, seeing the big fan response, that was so beautiful and heartwarming and everything you could ask for as an actor. And again, our showrunners are like, 'We know what the fans want, we're going to give it to them.' And then season 2, I was very excited with all the screen time she got, but the fans were not excited [laughs]. They were excited, but they were like, 'Not enough!' And I'm like, 'Ah!' So, season 3, it's a progression. And I'd love to see — I love our writers, I think they're all rock stars. I'd like to see where they see Ortegas going, and then I'll have my input as well. But a lot of this is them kind of doing what they do best, and I do what I do on my side of things. Spoiler TV has new images from the fifth season of Stranger Things. Click through to see the rest. The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will's disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they've faced before. To end this nightmare, they'll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time. Finally, the Smith family encourages Morty to let his son die in a hospital while they visit a restaurant with precognitive waiters in a clip from this Sunday's episode of Rick and Morty. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Taika Waititi to take on new Judge Dredd movie
Oscar-winner Taika Waititi is set to take on a new Judge Dredd movie. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the writer-director will take the reins of the latest attempt to bring the comic book character to the screen with Drew Pearce set to take on the script. Pearce's credits include Iron Man 3, Hobbs & Shaw and The Fall Guy. He has also written the script for a new take on The Thomas Crown Affair led by Michael B Jordan. Sources tell the Hollywood Reporter that both Waititi and Pearce were childhood fans of the character. In a 2022 interview, Waititi name-checked Judge Dredd as an influence on his Marvel films. Judge Dredd is a law enforcement officer working in a dystopian society who first appeared in the British publication 2000 AD in the late 70s. In 1995, Sylvester Stallone played him in a film that underperformed at the box office and received negative reviews. The character was brought back in 2012 and played by Karl Urban in the Alex Garland-scripted Dredd which received stronger notices, but was also a commercial disappointment. The new version is reportedly more faithful to the original comics and will lean into dark humour. The aim is to kick off a new universe that could expand to both the big and small screen. New Zealand-born Waititi won the Oscar for best original screenplay for his second world war comedy Jojo Rabbit and has also directed two Thor sequels. His last film, the fact-based football comedy Next Goal Wins, was a critical and financial failure. His next is an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun starring Amy Adams and Jenna Ortega. Last year saw reports that he was looking to team up with Steven Spielberg for an adaptation of Percival Everett's Pulitzer prize-winning novel James.
