With the tedious inevitability of an unloved season (there’s one for long time Bond fans), No Time To Die, the 25th film in the James Bond franchise, has seen its November release pushed back for a second time.
Originally slated to release back in April, the final outing for Daniel Craig’s secret agent will now see the light of day on April 21st, 2021, just over a year later. Maybe.
MGM, Eon Productions and Universal were determined to make the November release, but it’s likely the solid but not spectacular box office take of Warner Bros.’ Tenet, along with the ongoing worldwide problems at the hands of Covid-19, have convinced the studios that Bond would need to cool his heels.
“MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, today announced the release of No Time To Die, the 25th film in the James Bond series, will be delayed until 2 April in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience. We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans but we now look forward to sharing No Time To Die next year,” says the official statement.
Wonder Woman 1984 and Black Widow had already delayed their early October and early November releases, respectively, so this latest delay is frustrating but not really surprising. Expect Dune to follow suit shortly and shift from its current Christmas Day release slot.
2020 is destined to be a terrible year for cinemas, so let’s hope things begin to improve in the new year…
Tag: cinema news
To The Batmobile… Matt Reeves Reveals His Ride.
Start your engines! The Batman director Matt Reeves has just revealed his version of the Batmobile. And, well, here it is…
There’s not much more to say at this point, except that it looks nicely slimmed down from recent chunky cinematic Batmobiles, and to this old Bat Fan’s eyes, it has something of the feel of both the 1970s comic book sports car versions designed by the likes of Bob Brown, Irv Novick and Dick Giordano and the sleek number designed by the late, great artist Norm Breyfogle, for his excellent run in the 1980s. And that’s a good thing.
Meanwhile, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman. The cast also includes Zoe Kravtiz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as Riddler, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, John Turturro as crime boss Carmine Falcone, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred and Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham City DA Gil Colson.
The film will be released June 25th, 2021.
Billie Eilish Sings No Time To Die
Last month, it was revealed that Billie Eilish would be the youngest-ever person to record a theme song for a James Bond movie, No Time To Die, the 25th in the franchise. And now, seemingly faster than a bullet fired from a Walther PPK, here it is…
“We’ve always wanted to write a James Bond theme song,” Eilish’s brother and co-writer, Finneas told the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast after news of the song was announced. “And you know, it’s a legendary franchise, so we had to convince a lot of people that we were the right choice. And then we had to write a song that everybody liked. So it was a hard-won process.”
Will this hit the target with Bond fans and join classics such as Goldfinger, by Shirley Bassey, or Thunderball, by Tom Jones, and highly regarded modern efforts by the likes of Chris Cornell (You Know My Name, from Casino Royale) or Adele (Skyfall, from, uh… Skyfall) or will it be relegated to the exploding volcano bases of history alongside Alicia Keys & Jack White’s Another Way To Die (from Quantum of Solace) or Sam Smith’s beyond dreary Writing’s On The Wall (from SPECTRE)…!?
I guess you’ll know your answer to that by now. As for me, I love it.
No Time To Die (the movie) is released in April (date according to country).
Here’s Your First Look At Robert Pattinson As The Batman
Director of Warner Bros.’ forthcoming reboot of The Batman, Matt Reeves has revealed the first look at incoming Bruce Wayne, Robert Pattinson, in costume as the Dark Knight…
The short, atmospheric video is part of a camera test for the film, so this may not be the final costume, but there’s no doubt that Pattinson looks good in the cape and cowl.
The cast for The Batman also includes Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as Riddler, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, John Turturro as crime boss Carmine Falcone, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and Peter Sarsgaard in an as-yet unrevealed role.
The Batman hits our screens on June 25, 2021.
UPDATE: Apparently that IS the Bat Suit and also the music is from Michael Giacchino, who’s scoring the film. That makes this clip a whole lot more intriguing.
Bond Is Back – No Time To Die Trailer
Hey, anyone interested in seeing the trailer for the new James Bond film, No Time To Die?
‘thought so…
There’s a lot riding on this, as not only is it Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing as 007 (like, 99.99999999% probably), but after the critical drubbing handed out to the previous film, Spectre, fans are hoping that Craig will bow out on a high note for the long-running series.
Director Cary Fukunaga, infamously replacing Trainspotting’s Danny Boyle – who bowed out after disagreeing with producers on the direction of the script – also has a lot on his plate with this. He’s had a pretty acclaimed run as director up to this point (True Detective season one, Beasts Of No Nation, etc), so he’ll be hoping this won’t be The Spy Who Killed Him.
It’s an interesting one even further behind the scenes too, as it will be the first Bond film distributed internationally by Universal Pictures, following the expiration of Columbia Pictures’ contract after Spectre. I’m sure the studio will be crossing their fingers for a successful debut.
So, y’know, no pressure on this being a Bond barnstormer. That being said, this trailer seriously kicks all the ass; it looks beautiful, the action (of course) looks amazing and there’s even the strong suggestion of a great storyline.
No Time To Die also stars Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright and Léa Seydoux reprising their roles from previous films, along with newcomers Rami Malek, Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch, David Dencik, Dali Benssalah and Billy Magnussen. And yes, as revealed here, Christoph Waltz is returning as Blofeld.
The film is currently scheduled for theatrical release on 2 April 2020 in the United Kingdom and on 8 April in the United States.
Riddle Me This… Paul Dano To Play Which Bat-Villain?
The answer, of course, is that Warner Bros have just announced Paul Dano will play The Riddler, in Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
We couldn’t be happier about this at Out of Dave’s Head towers, as Dano is a superb actor and a smart choice.
In a departure from the comic books, Dano’s character will be named Edward Nashton, as opposed to the rather too on-the-nose Edward Nigma, and will be part of a Rogues’ Gallery of villains squaring off against the Caped Crusader, joining (so far) Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman (see here for more).
Jonah Hill was in talks for the film, reportedly to play either The Riddler or The Penguin, but it seems negotiations broke down, swiftly followed by Dano’s announcement.
Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang in Detective Comics 140, published in 1948, the Riddler has previously appeared onscreen portrayed by Frank Gorshin and John Astin (in the 1960s Batman film and TV series) and Jim Carrey (in the 1995 film, Batman Forever).
Dano’s credits include Love and Mercy, Prisoners, 12 Years a Slave, There Will Be Blood, Youth and Okja, and he was recently nominated for an Emmy for his role in Escape at Dannemora.
Dano and Kravitz join Jeffrey Wright as Comissioner Gordon and Robert Pattinson as Batman. Warner Bros will release The Batman on June 25, 2021.
Photo: Paul Archuleta/WireImage
Meow! Zoe Kravitz Is Your New Catwoman!
Big Little Lies star Zoe Kravitz has been confirmed as Catwoman for new movie, The Batman.
The actor reportedly pipped the likes of Zazie Beetz, Eiza Gonzalez and Oscar winner Alicia Vikander for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s nemesis/love interest in Matt Reeves’ soon-to-begin filming new take on the Caped Crusader, starring Robert Pattinson in the title role.
Pattinson was chosen by Reeves and Warner Bros when previous Batman, Ben Affleck, departed the role after than the less-than-satisfactory Justice League.
Meanwhile, Kravitz’s credits include the Divergent series and Mad Max: Fury Road, and she will stalk the streets of Gotham alongside Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon and Jonah Hill, who is in talks for an unspecified villain role.
“It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale,” Reeves said of his take, to the Hollywood Reporter earlier this year. “It’s told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It’s more Batman in his detective mode than we’ve seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He’s supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, and that’s not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been.
Pre-production on the Warner Bros./DC Comics pic is expected to start this summer. No official start date has been set, but industry rumours have suggested that filming could start late this year or early in 2020.
The Batman is scheduled to hit cinemas on June 25th, 2021.
Spider-Man: Sony and Marvel Stick Together (For Now)
In news that, while not entirely shocking, is most certainly welcome, Sony and Marvel have come to an agreement to continue working together on Spider-Man.
Variety announced today that Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman, Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Walt Disney Studios’ head Alan Horn have been involved in top-level negotiations to allow their successful working relationship to move forward.
Right now that means the third film in the “home” trilogy (after Homecoming and Far From Home) will fall under the deal, as well as the option for Spider-Man/Peter Parker to appear in one future film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“I am thrilled that Spidey’s journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it,” said Feige in a statement. “Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold.”
This is much better news than fans of this iteration of Marvel’s famous web-slinger could have hoped for in recent weeks, given the very public rift between the two companies, which was based on movie profits and merchandise rights.
Thankfully, level web-heads have saved the day and Spider-Man will swing where he belongs. At least for now.
The Skywalker Saga Ends – Rise of Skywalker Trailer
Okay, moving swiftly over that lackluster poster released at the D23 expo this weekend, let’s cheer instead for the minute or so of new footage revealed in this “special look” at Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker…
..well, it certainly looks lovely, but there are a lot of folks out in internet-land worried that J J Abrams will not bring this nine film saga to anything remotely resembling a satisfying end. Of course it’s internet-land and that’s what internet-land folks do, but still, there’s some substance in those worries.
Love it or hate it, Rian Johnson took some intriguing chances with The Last Jedi (chances I mostly loved, by the way) and many feel that Abrams is more likely to play things safe, as he did with The Force Awakens.
We’ll all find out soon enough, as this final film in the Skywalker saga is due to hit our screens in December. Are you excited, scared or just plain bored? Sound off in the usual places for comments.
Game Of Thrones Comes To Marvel (And What That Could Mean For The Cinematic Universe)
There’s been a lot of news coming from Disney’s D23 expo this weekend, so let’s catch up on the fact that Game Of Thrones’ Kit Harington, better known as Jon Snow, is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Harington will join his Game Of Thrones buddy, Richard Madden, in Chloé Zhao’s The Eternals, to play a character called Dane Whitman. This is intriguing for a whole bunch of reasons we’ll unpack here.
Dane Whitman, as all good comic book readers know, is the alter ego of the Black Knight, a character who wields a mystic ebony sword (with a blood curse) and a long-time member of The Avengers.
In more recent years, the Black Knight’s story was closely connected to Marvel’s UK superhero, Captain Britain, a character that the geek rumor mill has been in overdrive about for the past couple of years, suggesting that Marvel are gearing up to bring him to their Cinematic Universe.
While Whitman and the Black Knight have been connected to The Eternals in the comics (via a romantic entanglement between Whitman and Eternal, Sersi), you might begin to question why they’re being brought together for the movies, it seems unlikely someone with Harington’s star power would be brought in for a one-off cameo, and…
Well, that’s a lot of conjecture and putting two and two together to make five, but hey, what else can we do with so little solid information coming from Marvel at this early stage!?
Will this be a full-on introduction for the Black Knight? Will that lead to a Black Knight movie or series (Harington would fit in nicely with the other Disney Plus Marvel shows)? Will that open up a doorway to introduce Captain Britain? Will the UK cease to exist after Brexit?
Feel free to add your tuppence ha’penny worth’s of opinions in the comments below.
Meanwhile, the Game Of Thrones alumni will join Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, and Don Lee.
The Eternals will hit your local cinema next November.
out of dave's head 