Sequel Bits: ‘Minions’, ‘22 Jump Street’, ‘Dark Crystal’, ‘Better Call Saul’
After the jump:
Ju-On: The Beginning of the Endwill open in Japan next month. No U.S. release date has been announced. This is the seventh installment in theJu-Onfranchise, which has also been remade in the U.S. asThe Grudge. [Variety]
Not long ago, we heard that theDark CrystalsequelThe Power of the Dark Crystalwasstill in the works. Today, we’ve got a few more updates on that front.Lisa Henson, daughter of Jim Henson and CEO of the Jim Henson Company, reiterates that the project is still developing but hasn’t reached pre-production quite yet.David OdellandAnnette Duffywrote the original script, with recent rewrites byCraig Pearce.
They also haven’t ruled out a TV show. “There are many of us here who are big fans ofAvatar: The Last Airbender— the idea of doing a serialized adventure starring the Gelflings is something that we’re intrigued by,” she said. “Don’t write it like we’re moving straight into production on that! But we think it has some potential.”
Meanwhile, thatFraggle Rockmovie is coming along a bit faster. “It’s in development at New Regency,” Henson said. “We’re producing it, along withIvan Reitman’s production company, Montecito.” She also revealed that the film has an unnamed director attached, and that work is underway on the script. It’ll be a musical, but one that’s “a little bit different in style from the way that the Muppets are musicals.” [Vulture]
Saul Goodman is returning to Albuquerque. The New Mexico Film Office has officially announced thatBetter Call Saulwill be shot in the same city that was home to its predecessorBreaking Bad.
Not that the news comes as a surprise. In October, series co-creatorVince Gilliganrevealed his hopes to return to Albuquerque for the spinoff. “Let’s shoot it in Albuquerque,” he said. “Let’s get as much of the crew back together as possible, and let’s do it the way we did it before so that it will be a piece of that pre-existing fictional universe that we had so much fun creating.”
Better Call Saulwill premiere sometime this November on AMC.Bob Odenkirkreprises his role as the sleazy lawyer. [THR]Dawn of the Planet of the Apespicks up about ten years afterRise of the Planet of the Apes, but a lot can happen in a decade. So a new prequel book will attempt to fill the gap.
Written ByMark Bomback,Rick Jaffa, andAmanda Silver,Firestormsets the scene forDawn of the Planet of the Apesfrom the apes' perspective. Sample the full first chapterhere. The novel hits shelves onMay 27, followed by the film’s release on July 11. Matt Reeves directs. [LAT]
Despicable Me’s minions now have their very own teaser poster for their very own spinoff movie. The simply titledMinionspicks up with the henchmen in the 1960s, long before they ever met Gru.Sandra BullockandJon Hammlead the voice cast, but the real stars of the show are, of course, those bright yellow puffs. Minions opens July 16, 2025. [Coming Soon]
Speaking of adorable but incompetent creatures,Channing TatumandJonah Hill’s Jenko and Schmidt are back in action for22 Jump Street. One of the clips below has the boys getting their new assignment; the other one shows what happens once they set out to complete it.
Tatum and Hill’s insane chemistry was the highlight of the first film, and a new featurette promises that these boys are tighter than ever.
And finally, here’s a fun gallery of new images to round out the latest batch of22 Jump Streetmarketing.
Directed byPhil LordandChris Miller,22 Jump StreetopensJune 13. [SonyviaComing SoonandThe Playlist]
Who knew Oreos were robot fuel? In a newTransformers: Age of Extinctiontie-in ad, Optimus Prime finds himself down and out until a nice kid gives him a cookie.
Apparently Oreos are so powerful that Optimus Prime doesn’t even have to eat one to get the sugar rush — he just has to hold it in his giant hand.
In otherTransformers: Age of Extinctionnews, here’s a new poster that’s only new in the sense that we haven’t seen these figures Photoshopped in this exact configuration before.
None of the individual characters look bad, but it’s laughably clear that none of them are occupying the same space. Hopefully the film’s special effects are better than the marketing department’s.Transformers: Age of ExtinctionopensJune 27.
