Here is a rundown of some of the news from this past week.
Cardi B Joins “Fast and Furious 9”
Cardi B is adding to her acting resume, as according to Vin Diesel, the music superstar will have a small role in the upcoming “Fast 9.”
The film, which will star Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Cena, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron and Michael Rooker, is schedule for a May 22, 2020 release.
“Stranger Things” Season 4 Starts Filming January 2020
The fourth season of Netflix’s juggernaut “Stranger Things ” will start filming this coming January, and the Duffer Brothers have confirmed that it will once again consist of eight episodes. The recent teaser indicates that we will no longer be seeing the small town of Hawkins as the primary background for the new season.
Ewan McGregor Provides Details on Disney + Obi- Wan Series
In an interview with Men’s Journal to promoter the film “Doctor Sleep,” Ewan McGregor admitted that he’s known about his return to Obi-Wan in the Disney+ series for four years, and that he’s been forced to lie to everyone about it. He also gave a little info about what to expect:
“The storyline sits between Episode III and Episode IV. The Jedi Order was falling apart. It will be interesting to take a character we know in a way and show him—Well, his arc will be quite interesting, I think, dealing with that the fact that all the Jedi were slaughtered with the end of Episode III. It’s quite something to get over.”
He also let it slip that the series will be six hour-long episodes.
Disney’s Bob Iger Responds to Scorsese/Coppola Criticisms
Disney CEO responded to the backlash against comic book films prompted by directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, who referred to them as “theme park” movies and “despicable” forms of entertainment. Here was Iger’s statement:
“I’m puzzled by it. If they want to bitch about movies, it’s certainly their right… It seems so disrespectful to all the people that work on those [Marvel] films who are working just as hard as the people who work on their films. … Are you telling me Ryan Coogler making ‘Black Panther’ is somehow doing something that is less than what Marty Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola has ever done on any one of their movies? I reserve the word ‘despicable’ for someone who committed mass murder. These are movies … I don’t get what they’re trying to criticize us for when we are making films that people obviously are enjoying,”
In the end, studios like Disney are having the last laugh, as their “theme park” films are making more than Scorsese or Coppola could hope to make on their films right now.
Joker Becomes the Highest Grossing R-Rated Film in History
Joker has earned $258.6 million domestically and $526.9 million overseas , totalling $785.5 million, which puts it above last year’s Deadpool 2, which made $785 million. Much of Deadpool 2′s revenue actually came from its PG-13 re-release that Christmas, so Joker actually has it by a pretty decent margin.