What a week for film news, especially of the Retro Ramble variety!
Coming Back to America?!
Minutes after we published last week’s round-up and 30 years after the original, Eddie Murphy announced he was making Coming to America 2. Not much else to report at this stage, but like a Beverly Hills Cop sequel, it’s been mooted for years.
As Deadline reports, it will be interesting to see how a sequel sits in today’s America, with racial tension and the MeToo movement.
One thing we want to see in the belated sequel is a glimpse of a band called Sexual Chocolate!
Heroes in a Half-Baked Reboot
The TMNT franchise feels like it’s had more reboots than Spider-Man, with multiple TV and movie iterations over the past 20 years. The most recent two outings were Michael Bay-produced efforts; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) tried to be fresh, hip and modern. Its sequel, Out of the Shadows (2016) felt like a reboot of sorts, pushing hard on the nostalgia button by including fan favourite characters like Krang, Bebop, Rocksteady and Casey Jones.
Ninja, ninja…Rap!
Despite their best efforts, the films were met with a lukewarm response from fans, so it appears it’s back to the drawing board, again. Whilst it’s still produced by Platinum Dunes, who made the last two, they also made last year’s brilliant horror, A Quiet Place. So, who knows? Maybe in a time of more adult orientated comic book adaptations (Deadpool, Logan, Daredevil) it could be time to go back to the gritty and violent source material?
Who am I kidding, they need to sell some toys!
Ghostbusters 3 Announced. Mass Hysteria!
If you listen to our podcast, you know we’re big fans of Ghostbusters. It’s an understatement to say the last Ghostbusters film, Paul Feig’s reboot, was not received well. Personally, I had no issue with the all-female cast (who are all talented comedians), I just didn’t find it very funny, scary or particularly engaging. The film also seemed to be at odds with itself, a reboot set in a new universe but with lots of callbacks and fan service.
So this week’s news, that Ghostbusters 3, due summer 2020, has been received with more hope. The film will be directed by Jason Reitman, son of the original director, Ivan Reitman, is best known for his acclaimed indie comedies like Juno and Up in The Air and co-written by Gil Kenan, writer of animated horror comedy, Monster House.
Reitman Junior told Entertainment Weekly. “This is the next chapter in the original franchise. It is not a reboot. What happened in the ‘80s happened in the ‘80s, and this is set in the present day.”
Hours after the news first hit, Reitman surprised everyone further by dropping a teaser trailer, which hit all the right notes of nostalgia.
We’ll be following it’s production with interest.
Mission: Impossible x 2
Whilst we all hoped director Christopher McQuarrie would return to finish an unofficial Mission: Impossible trilogy, I don’t think anyone predicted this.
Earlier this week, Tom Cruise announced Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 would be shot back to back by McQuarrie, due summer 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Summer 2021 and Summer 2022 pic.twitter.com/V6SNvZx2La — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) January 15, 2019
Whilst many people enjoyed the differing directorial styles that the franchise offered up to Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, I think few will be disappointed at this news. As you know, last years’ Mission: Impossible Fallout was one of our favourite films last year, so we’re proper excited! Cruise and McQuarrie obviously have a great partnership – McQuarrie is also working on sequels to Top Gun and Edge of Tomorrow.
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