Sequel Bits: 'Alita', 'Rambo', 'Shaft', 'Harry Potter', 'Bond', 'The Descendants', 'Downton Abbey', 'The Many Saints Of Newark'
In this edition of Sequel Bits:
Rambo: Last Blood might not take the "last" part of its title literally.
Shaft director Tim Story wants to make another Shaft movie, presumably just called Shaft again.
Downton Abbey character posters are posh as hell.
The Sopranos prequel movie has wrapped.
While Alita: Battle Angel wasn't the Avatar-sized hit producer James Cameron might have been hoping for, it did relatively well, and audiences seemed to like it. Does that mean we can expect a sequel in the near-future? There's nothing official yet, and it seems like we would've heard about a sequel by now if one were happening. But if an Alita sequel does happen, director Robert Rodriguez says he's down for more. Talking with Nerd Reactor, "I would love to come back and do that one. It was so fun. Working with Jim's great, I thought Rosa was incredible, and the effects were just amazing, To think they would even be better by then for the sequel because they just keep evolving." Alita is coming to Blu-ray on July 23, and perhaps if it does well on home video, a sequel will get the green light.
Rambo 5 is officially titled Rambo: Last Blood, but don't expect Sylvester Stallone to take that subtitle very seriously. Stallone has always had trouble letting go of his franchises, and it appears Rambo is no different. Speaking with Joblo, the actor said: "Let me just say something about the 'last' of anything. I thought Rocky 3 was the last, you know. So I don't know anything. If it works, I'll just keep going, you know, because I enjoy it so much." In other words, if audiences end up flocking to Last Blood, don't be shocked if we get even more Rambo movies. Rambo: Last Blood opens September 20.
BrosNYC/BACKGRID
The new Shaft, which is a sequel to both Shaft and the original Shaft (why are they all called Shaft?), opened over the weekend. It was torn apart by critics, and underperformed at the box office. But director Tim Story didn't know that would happen when he gave an interview a few days ago! As a result, the filmmaker talked about his hopes for another sequel (which would probably also be called Shaft, based on the previous films). Speaking to CinemaBlend, Story said:
"I'd bring everybody back. I think, what was great at the end of this movie was you saw family come together. And when you see that, I don't see how you could do anything different than bring everybody back, and let everybody have a gun, and, you know, let the Shafts happen."
Some of the young Harry Potter cast members have gone on to big things. Others...not so much. Rupert Grint and Tom Felton, who are both talented actors who nonetheless haven't had much exposure outside the Potterverse, definitely fall into the latter category. The two were on hand for the opening of Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure recently, at which point they were asked if they'd return to the series. But this question came with a twist: if the franchise was ever rebooted, would they want to return to play their respective character's fathers. "Absolutely, I say I'll do it for free but [laughs]...yeah, I'd love to," Felton said (via Movieweb). While Grint replied: "I'd be up for that...it'd be a nice kind of bit of closure." Will Warner Bros. ever reboot Harry Potter? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that happened sometime in the next 20 years. For now, we have those Fantastic Beasts sequels to look forward to, I guess.
#007 Daniel Craig hitting the gym hard @pinewoodstudios, prepping for shooting next week! #Bond25 📷 @GregWInsight pic.twitter.com/PrXZDnSX0O
— James Bond (@007) June 15, 2019
Daniel Craig recently underwent ankle surgery after suffering an injury on the set of Bond 25. But he should be back filming soon. And in the meantime, he's hitting the gym, looking very muscular in the process. The photo above, posted by the official Bond Twitter account, shows Craig flexing with his healing ankle in the forefront of the frame. Don't worry, Bond probably won't be wearing that big boot in the actual movie. Bond 25 opens April 8, 2020.
Disney is still making those Descendants movies. You know the ones – where the children of famous Disney villains get to have their own adventures. Next up is Descendants 3, in which "Mal (Dove Cameron), Evie (Sofia Carson), Carlos (Cameron Boyce) and Jay (BooBoo Stewart) return to the Isle of the Lost to recruit a new batch of villainous offspring to join them at Auradon Prep. When a barrier breach jeopardizes the safety of Auradon during their departure off the Isle, Mal resolves to permanently close the barrier, fearing that nemeses Uma (China Anne McClain) and Hades (Cheyenne Jackson) will wreak vengeance on the kingdom. Despite her decision, an unfathomable dark force threatens the people of Auradon, and it's up to Mal and the VKs to save everyone in their most epic battle yet." The film premieres on the Disney Channel August 2.
The Downton Abbey movie has just unleashed a shitload of character posters. I've never seen the show, so I have no idea who any of these people are. But they all look very posh and very British. So call your mother up and tell her to read this story and scroll to the bottom so she can get a good look at all these Brits in their fine attire. The Downton Abbey movie opens in the U.S. September 20. Remember to bring tea to the theater.
The Many Saints of Newark, the Sopranos prequel movie, has officially wrapped. I'm still having trouble believing this whole thing is real, but I'm very curious to see how it turns out. The film, which stars Alessandro Nivola, Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, Michael Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, John Magaro, Leslie Odom Jr., and Joey Diaz, is set in Newark in the 1960s, and follows several Sopranos-related characters in their early days. Look for it in theaters September 25, 2020.