Will Smith Up for Tim Burton’s Dumbo
Will Smith might star in Disney's live-action Dumbo movie.
Variety reports that the Oscar-nominated actor is in early talks to join the Tim Burton film. Though if Smith does sign on for the project, it may impact Bad Boys for Life (a.k.a. Bad Boys 3).
Dumbo and Bad Boys for Life are supposed to start filming at the same time, sources tell Variety. So if Smith goes with the Disney movie, that will either push back Bad Boys 3 or possibly even lead to its cancellation.
As for Dumbo, Smith would play the dad to the kids who befriend the titular elephant. Tom Hanks has reportedly been offered the role as the film's villain.
Better Call Saul Promo Shows Returning Breaking Bad Character
AMC has released a new promo for Better Call Saul: Season 3, and it all but confirms that a certain Breaking Bad character is coming back. Consider this your spoiler warning if you don't want to know who the returning character is.
The promo is only 30 seconds long and is a short ad for Los Pollos Hermanos, the infamous fast food restaurant owned by none other than Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). Towards the end, Fring shows up praising his restaurant's curly fries. AMC has also confirmed to IGN that Fring will show up in season 3, though there are no details yet on how big of a role he'll play in the new season.
Better Call Saul series creators and executive producers Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould teased the character's return by having the first letter of each season 2 episode spell out the phrase "Fring's Back." Gilligan and Gould told IGN that "people who watched Breaking Bad will have even more reasons to watch Better Call Saul this season."
FOX Says X-Men-Connected TV Show Looks Promising
It was announced last summer that FOX was developing a new X-Men-connected TV series from Burn Notice creator Matt Nix, and today at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour, FOX Chairman and CEO Gary Newman said the project is looking strong.
“We’re deep into development on that,” Newman explained. “We’re expecting a script shortly. The materials we’ve seen so far have been very, very promising.”
Newman added, “Development across the board this year is a little slower than usual, so we’re not, unfortunately, ready to make an announcement about it, but we’re very encouraged.”
What Happens When Batman Fights Lobo?
The newest issue of Justice League vs. Suicide Squad sees the Dark Knight battling one of his toughest foes yet.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #4!
As this issue opened, the Justice League and Suicide Squad were forced to put aside their differences and unite to battle Maxwell Lord's team of villains, a team now revealed to be Amanda Waller's original Suicide Squad (more on how writer Joshua Williamson selected the various members here).
Tomb Raider Reboot Casts Into the Badlands Star
Daniel Wu has joined the cast of Warner Bros.' upcoming Tomb Raider film reboot.
According to Variety, the actor, who plays Sunny in the AMC series Into the Badlands, will star as a ship captain named Lu Ren who aids Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) as she seeks to find her father.
Daniel Wu as Sunny in AMC's Into the Badlands
Shovel Knight Coming to Nintendo Switch
Yacht Club Games has announced that Shovel Knight is coming to Nintendo Switch.
In addition to the main game heading to the new platform, Yacht Club confirmed that upcoming new campaign Specter of Torment will also be headed to Switch.
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove logo
But that’s just one part of the new plan for Shovel Knight moving forward. Yacht Club is now referring to Shovel Knight as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, an all-inclusive title for the overall game. Anyone who currently owns Shovel Knight will now automatically own Treasure Trove, which will receive upcoming campaigns and updates for free.
The Walking Dead: Heath’s Return is Possible
There have been exceptions – we’re looking at you, Season 6 Glenn/dumpster fake out – but most of the time, it’s pretty clear when a character on the Walking Dead has been killed off or not. But that’s not the case for Heath.
The Alexandria resident was last seen in Season 7’s “Swear,” when he got separated from Tara during a walker attack. But did he survive or was he killed? We’re not given a definitive answer, and Corey Hawkins, who plays Heath, admitted today at the Television Critics Association press tour that is notable. On The Walking Dead, when someone meets their end, as the actor put it, “It is not big on ambiguity at all. It's usually very finite.”
Corey Hawkins as Heath in The Walking Dead.
Wrestling Wrap Up: Jericho with the US Title is Great, But…
Before I get into Jericho winning the U.S. title on RAW this week, I wanted to bring up the fact that wrestlers used to bleed a lot. Like, a concerning amount. It was a savage, cool-looking and dramatically unhealthy element of pro-wrestling that helped sell its "realness" while also adding intensity to feuds and storylines. It would occasionally happen in the old '80s WWF -- usually at a WrestleMania or a similarly pivotal moment -- but elsewhere, in the NWA and other promotions, it was rampant. Wrestling magazines used to have bloody faces right on the cover.
Jericho got busted open during his main even handicap match this week. It happens nowadays, sure, but it's accidental. Unless it's Brock purposefully elbowing someone's brow open, guys occasionally get walloped a bit too hard, as a mistake, and start bleeding. Sometimes stitches are needed. Images of these mishaps are then usually Instagram'd backstage for posterity.
Prison Break Return Date Set; Empire Renewed
FOX today, at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, announced their full Spring lineup for new and returning shows, including the premiere date for the Prison Break revival.
Prison Break will return Tuesday, April 4th while new time-travel comedy Making History, starring Adam Pally and Leighton Meester (and executive produced by The LEGO Movie's Phil Lord and Chris Miller) debuts on Sunday, March 5th. Plus, new unscripted survivalist series Kicking and Screaming, hosted by New Girl's Hannah Simone, lands on Thursday, Match 9th and event series Shots Fired starts up on Wednesday, March 22nd.
On top of this, FOX announced that it's renewed Empire for a fourth season (it was the only official renewal announced today) and added four more episodes to The Mick's order, bringing the total to 17 episodes.
Lucasfilm Confirms Woody Harrelson for Han Solo Movie
Lucasfilm has confirmed that Woody Harrelson has joined the Star Wars Han Solo standalone movie.
Harrelson, who can be seen in this summer's War for the Planet of the Apes, was in talks to join the Han Solo film earlier this month. He was reportedly the top choice to play the mentor to a younger Han (Alden Ehrenreich). But, Harrelson's role hasn't been specified beyond this brief description. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller cast Harrelson because of his ability to nail both comedy and drama.
“We couldn’t be more excited to work with an artist with as much depth and range as Woody,” said Lord and Miller. “His ability to find both humor and pathos, often in the same role, is truly unique."