‘Star Trek’ is ‘Beyond’ cool at Comic-Con premiere
Star Trek went above and beyond looking out for fans celebrating its 50th anniversary Wednesday at San Diego Comic-Con: an outdoor IMAX screening of the new film Star Trek Beyond, a live score played by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, plus fireworks to match the action on screen. “This is pretty hard to top,” star Karl Urban said of the premiere. “It’s amazing to be here at Comic-Con, to be here with the fans, and I can’t think of a better way to bring this film in the 50th year of Star Trek to the world. “Star Trek embodies a very hopeful and optimistic and positive vision of the future for mankind and I think that’s why it’s enduring and it heals particularly in this day and age. It’s a lighthouse and it gives us something to aspire to,” said Urban, who plays Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy.
J.J. Abrams says there’s no replacing or recasting Anton Yelchin in Star Trek 4
Paramount recently announced it’s moving forward with Star Trek 4, but producer J.J. Abrams has already spoken up to let fans know that the franchise will not recast the late Anton Yelchin, who died last month. Postmedia Network recently interviewed Abrams, and asked the Star Trek director about Yelchin and the future of his character, Ensign Pavel Chekov. “I would say there’s no replacing him. There’s no recasting. I can’t possibly imagine that, and I think Anton deserves better,” Abrams replied.
Fourth ‘Star Trek’ Movie Announced with Chris Pine, Chris Hemsworth
Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Bad Robot have announced a fourth film in the rebooted “Star Trek” series, starring Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth. The studio made the announcement Monday, four days before it launches “Star Trek Beyond,” disclosing that Pine’s Captain Kirk will cross paths with his father, described as “a man he never had a chance to meet, but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born.” Hemsworth, who appeared in 2009’s “Star Trek,” will return to the space saga in the father role as George Kirk. The remaining cast — which includes Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho and Simon Pegg — is expected to return. The late Anton Yelchin, who died June 19, had played the Chekov character in the three reboots.
Walking Dead Alum Joins Gotham Season 3 as Mad Hatter
Gotham is ready to play some mind games, casting The Walking Dead‘s Benedict Samuel as DC Comics’ brain-manipulating Mad Hatter, aka Jervis Tetch, TVLine has learned. Per the official casting description provided by Fox and Warner Bros., Tetch is a talented hypnotist teetering on the edge of madness. He arrives in Gotham with an unwavering desire to find his sister, Alice, a young woman who went missing in the city years ago. It is anyone’s guess just how far down the rabbit hole he’s willing to go in order to find her.
‘Divergent’ Finale to Skip Theaters, Launch as a TV Movie and Spinoff Series (EXCLUSIVE)
Lionsgate is planning to wrap up the “Divergent Series” with a television movie and a spinoff series, Variety has learned. Negotiations are in the early stages, but instead of having “The Divergent Series: Ascendant” open in theaters next year, the studio wants to wrap up the film series on the small screen, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation. That would then segue into a standalone television series set in the same post-apocalyptic world. The first two “Divergent” films were box office hits, but the most recent chapter, “Allegiant,” stumbled when it hit theaters last spring. The fourth and final film, “Ascendant,” was originally scheduled to debut in June 2017, when it would have squared off against “World War Z 2” and a reboot of “The Mummy.” The studio initially planned to start shooting this summer in Atlanta, before “Allegiant’s” box office performance caused them to rethink that strategy.
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu live action movie confirmed
A live action Pokemon movie is to begin production in 2017, Legendary Entertainment has confirmed. The film will focus on Detective Pikachu – a new character in the universe, introduced through a video game in Japan earlier this year. The news comes following the huge international success of the Pokemon Go game in recent weeks. Its popularity led to a 25% jump in shares for Nintendo – part owner of the brand. Pokemon was first released as a video game in 1996 and led to an animated TV series and film franchise, plus merchandise including trading cards – which became a craze in UK schools in the early 2000s.
