Jessica Chastain is in talks to star in IT Chapter 2
After the first film broke box office records last year making it the most successful horror movie of all time, IT Chapter 2 is in rapid development in order to meet its release date next year September. Now it is revealed that Jessica Chastain is in talks to play the older Beverly Marsh in the next instalment. This makes complete sense considering the fact that Jessica Chastain has worked with director Andy Muschietti previously in 2013’s horror/ thriller Mama while actually resembling Sophia Lillis (the talented actress who plays young Beverly in the first instalment). Even though others wanted Amy Adams to play the character, Jessica Chastain is without a doubt just as talented and will surely do justice to the character. It remains to be seen who else will join the cast for the highly anticipated sequel.
IT Chapter 2 will be released September 2019 with Andy Muschietti returning to write and direct, while also featuring the return of the younger cast members from the first film as well as Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise.
Joss Whedon no longer working on the Batgirl movie
Warner Bros. DC franchise has gone through an extremely uneven motion of development where every single one of the DC Extended Universe movies, except Wonder Woman have either underperformed at the box office or were critically panned. Out of the one million DC projects announced, Batgirl is one of them and it is reported that Joss Whedon has left the project. As stated by Whedon the reason for him leaving is “that it took me months to realize I really didn’t have a story” (The Hollywood Reporter). Clearly, with recent significant changes in Hollywood in relation to movements such as Time’s Up and also the success of Wonder Woman, it would make more sense for a Batgirl movie to be directed by a female talent. Presumably, Warner Bros. are looking for an individual like Patty Jenkins to helm the picture. Meanwhile, Joss Whedon is also working on a World War II/ horror hybrid of a movie so Whedon will certainly return to the silver screen in the near future.
New trailer for Netflix’s The Outsider starring Jared Leto receives major backlash
Netflix recently revealed the trailer for The Outsider revolving around an American soldier (Leto) who is freed from prison with the help of the Yakuza in post-World War 2 Japan. The film certainly looks interesting however, many have claimed to view the film is another attempt to “whitewash” and put a white, American man as the centre of attention in a foreign land. William Yu on Twitter said it best: “STOP. WRITING. AROUND. US” (@its_willyu). Of course, the premise of the film clearly shows that Leto is in fact playing an American unlike Scarlett Johansson in last year’s Ghost in the Shell. However, it can also be argued that the Yakuza and Japan itself are being used as props and a backdrop for telling a white, American dominated story. But again, this is an extreme amount of speculation simply from the plot and a trailer under 2 minutes. There is also no denying how talented the Oscar winning actor is and Martin Zandvliet, the director is also extremely skilled as shown from his previous Oscar nominated directorial effort, Land of Mine (2005). The Outsider will air on the subscription service on March 9.
