James Cameron Says ‘Avatar 2’ Filming Is 100% Complete
James Cameron provided his Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger with an update on the Avatar sequels during a recent chat for the 2020 Austrian World Summit. Speaking by video conference from New Zealand, Cameron said, “We’re 100% complete on Avatar 2 and sort of 95% complete on Avatar 3.” He added that the team is currently working on shooting the remainder of the live action. Cameron explained that the production lost “about four and a half months” owing to COVID-19, which “hit us like it hit everybody, it hit us hard.” Avatar 2’s release, as previously announced, “rolled around a full year” because of the pandemic lockdowns, Cameron added. In July, Disney moved all the Avatar sequels, setting Avatar 2 on December 16, 2022 and Avatar 3 on December 20, 2024. The fourth and fifth pictures are due in 2026 and 2028.
Aldis Hodge to Play Hawkman in DC Films’ ‘Black Adam’
Aldis Hodge will soar as the DC Comics superhero Hawkman in the New Line production of “Black Adam,” Variety has confirmed. The actor — who most recently starred in “The Invisible Man” and won acclaim for his upcoming performance as Jim Brown in “One Night in Miami” — is in negotiations to join the film, starring Dwayne Johnson as the titular anti-hero, and Noah Centineo as the superhero Atom Smasher. Jaume Collet-Serra (“Jungle Cruise,” “The Shallows”) will direct; Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani (“Informer”) wrote the latest draft of the script, from a previous draft by Adam Sztykiel (“Rampage”). Johnson is also producing with Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia through their Seven Bucks Productions, and Beau Flynn is producing through FlynnPictureCo.
Samuel L. Jackson to Play Nick Fury in New Marvel Disney Plus Series
Samuel L. Jackson is set to reprise the role of Nick Fury in a new Marvel series currently in development at Disney Plus, Variety has learned exclusively from sources. The exact plot details of the show are being kept under wraps, but multiple sources say Jackson is attached to star with Kyle Bradstreet attached to write and executive produce. Like all the other Marvel shows at Disney Plus, Marvel Studios will produce. Reps for Jackson, Bradstreet, and Disney did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment
‘The Boys’ Spinoff in Development at Amazon Following Massive Season 2 Launch
“The Boys” could soon be getting a spinoff. Variety has learned that Amazon is fast-tracking development on a new iteration of the popular comic book series adaptation. The news comes just under three weeks after the premiere of Season 2 of the series, which is based on The New York Times best-selling comic of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The second season is airing weekly, while the first dropped all at once, with the finale set to air Oct. 9. According to Amazon, the second season had the most-watched global launch of an Amazon original series ever, with the episodes to date having grown the audience from Season 1 by 89%. It was renewed for a third season ahead of the Season 2 premiere while also adding an aftershow hosted by Aisha Tyler.
Syfy gets festive with adult animated comedy series The Pole
Syfy has announced that it is expanding its late-night adult animation block TZGZ with The Pole, a six-episode festive comedy featuring Bobby Moynihan and Jillian Bell as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. The official synopsis for the series reads:
In THE POLE, after a scandal involving “Saint” Nick (Bobby Moynihan) rocks the holly jolly foundations of the North Pole, all hell breaks loose as the future of Christmas turns into a twisted power struggle for the Red Suit. As Nick, the 20th to wear the Suit, struggles with the age-old question of naughty vs. nice, his wife Mrs. Claus, aka Gretchen (Jillian Bell), works to keep the political machine that is toy production afloat. It isn’t easy as they juggle the factory elves, including Nick’s head elf Matilda (Nicole Byer) and the political activist Helenor (Sasheer Zamata), as well as parenting two sons – Nick’s mini-me Harry (SungWon Cho) and the crown prince, Jack (Tim Simons), who’s not only next in line for the Suit, but also looking to rebrand it. Reporting on all the drama in THE POLE? Cocoa (Colin Jost), host of the North Pole News Network Program, “Morning Cocoa.”
