It’s time again to rake up all the showbiz news, and round it up!
Black Adam has opened with a $67 million take at the box office domestically and $73 million worldwide for a $140 million global total, according to Variety, higher than expected. This is the biggest opening ever for a film starring Dwayne Johnson (see “’Black Adam’ Trailer“). Audiences liked it, with a 90% positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, despite a 39% positive critics score. Part of the box office success is undoubtedly due to the appeal and social media ubiquity of star Johnson, who has been relentlessly promoting this film since he first started talking about it 15 years ago (see “’The Rock’ To Play Black Adam“).
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has been set to direct a Star Wars film being developed by Damon Lindelof, according to Deadline. Obain-Chinoy is best known for documentaries, but recently directed several episodes of Ms. Marvel. The script (co-written by Lindelof) is still being developed, with the new director expected to add her input. Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, the last Star Wars feature, was released in 2019. Rumors about Lindelof working on a Star Wars film have been floating around since at least 2012, when speculation arose that a spec script he had submitted to Disney was actually for a Lucasfilm project (see “Disney-Lucasfilm Rumor Roundup“).
Harrison Ford will make his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: New World Order, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He will replace the late William Hurt as the Thaddeus Ross character. This movie will release on May 3, 2024, and stars Anthony Mackie as Captain America (see “Round-Up“).
DC Films President Walter Hamada has left Warner Bros. after a 15-year career at the studio, according to Deadline. Negotiations are underway on his exit payout. He is likely due pay through the end of 2023, at least, due to the three-year extension he signed in early 2021 (see “Hamada Gets an Extension“). Warner Bros. Discovery has been looking for its own Kevin Feige to take over both DC films and television, with Dan Lin recently ruled out (see “Lin Won’t Be DC Head“).
HBO Max added cast to their upcoming prequel series Dune: The Sisterhood, according to Variety. The actresses Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea. They join Emily Watson, Shirley Henderson, and Indra Varma who were already cast earlier. Recently, Jon Spaihts was booted off of this series by Legendary TV (see “Showrunner Off ‘Dune: Sisterhood’“).
Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Geiger will be adapted for TV by Justin Simien under the Paramount Television Studios umbrella, according to Deadline. Geiger was published in 2021 by Image Comics (see “‘Geiger’“), and tells the story of a radioactive family man named Tariq Geiger that battles a group of scavengers that terrorize the post-apocalyptic landscape of 2050. Geiger also spawned the recently released Junkyard Joe spinoff comic series (see “‘Junkyard Joe’“).Source: ICv2
