And now for the entertainment news that caught my interest in the past week...
We all saw Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man. We've heard that he will be reprising his role in future Marvel films. But who would have guessed just how many times we might see Jackson as Fury? Samuel L. Jackson has signed a contract with Marvel to play Nick Fury in as many as nine films (Variety, IMDb). The 9-picture deal includes roles in Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor, The Avengers and any sequels, and a possible S.H.I.E.L.D. movie. It is uncertain whether all nine movies will be made, but the fans who giggled with glee when Nick Fury introduced himself can count on seeing plenty more of him.
Comics movies are being greenlit left and right. Warner Bros. has Dan Lin (producer of the upcoming Downey-Law Sherlock Holmes) set to produce a movie version of Suicide Squad, a DC series about incarcerated supervillains recruited by the government to carry out missions that are too dangerous for superheroes (Variety). Meanwhile, Megan Fox has signed on to star in and produce an adaptation of Michael Turner's comicbook Fathom (Variety). She will play heroine Aspen Matthews, a champion swimmer and marine biologist who discovers that she has water-based powers and is a member of an underwater race. I'm all for female-centric comicbook movies, though this one sounds like it will be largely centered around having Megan Fox in a swimsuit. It advertises itself, I guess.
Seeing as I've been faithfully reporting on the upcoming Spider-Man musical, I feel I should share the following story. Star Wars: A Musical Journey will be opening in London this April, and the production will then make its way to the U.S. (rollingstone.com). This is a live Star Wars stage show, but the organizers insist it is not a regular, straight forward musical theater production. There will be a huge orchestra, big LED screens, and apparently no "R2-D2 rolling across the stage." Other than that, I can't quite figure out what it will be like. My interest is piqued, but I am also concerned. What's the deal here?
Leonardo DiCaprio has signed on to star in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi movie "Inception" (Variety). We still know little about the script, thought the studio has described it as a "contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind." Sounds cool.
Zack Snyder, director of the Watchmen movie, is adamant that he would never direct a sequel or prequel to Watchmen. Star Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan), though, has said that it's up to the studios--it seems at least he and the other stars are contractually obligated to take part in any prequels/sequels that studio bosses want to make (IMDb). Why in heaven's name are they even talking about a Watchmen follow-up story? There's nothing to do! It's a complete stand-alone story, a closed book so to speak. Snyder has the right of it, saying that any sequel would go against what Watchmen stands for. Even if the movie, which opens this Friday, is a masterpiece and becomes a huge hit and makes tons of money, I would not want to see a spin-off. And I bet most comics fans would not want to see a spin-off, either. Let's hope the studio heads agree.
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Does this mean I'll have to take one for the team and go watch the Star Wars... um... bonanza?
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