Hobbs & Shaw Just Keeps Going
In its second weekend in cinemas, Hobbs & Shaw kept its pedal to the metal, staying at the top of the weekend box office. In this Fast & Furious spin-off, special agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) joins forces with the mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) to stop the cybernetically-enhanced terrorist Brixton Lore (Idris Elba) from doing terrorist-y things. Fully titled Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, this action film earned $25,2 million in its second weekend according to the Box Office Mojo.
In the second place of the weekend box office with $20,9 million is André Øvredal’s (The Autopsy of Jane Doe) horror flick Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Based on a horror story collection by Alvin Schwartz, the movie takes plenty of inspiration from Stephen Gammell’s original creepy illustrations. Disney’s The Lion King remake is in third place with $20,2 million. In the fourth place of the last weekend’s box office is the adventure film Dora and the Lost City of Gold, a live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon cartoon series Dora the Explorer. James Bobin, who worked on shows such as Flight of the Conchords and Da Ali G Show directed this adaptation. The list of top five highest-grossing movies of the weekend closes off with Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood that earned $11,6 million.
Two G. I. Joe Spin-offs in the Works
AVClub reports that Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) is in talks with Paramount about playing a lead in Snake Eyes, the G.I. Joe live-action movie spin-off. This project has been in development for some time, with Robert Schwentke (RED) directing and with a screenplay by Evan Spiliotopoulos (Hercules). For those unfamiliar with the G.I. Joe lore, Snake Eyes is a ninja warrior who never talks or removes his mask, making him all mysterious and cool and stuff. While Snake Eyes is only in preproduction, it already has a release date: October 16, 2020.
But this isn’t the only G.I. Joe spin-off in the works! Recently, the Hollywood Reporter announced that Paramount and Hasbro began working on their second G.I. Joe spin-off. The studio hired Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, a screenwriting duo who previously worked on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. As yet, not much is known about this second spin-off. The only G.I. Joe character explicitly mentioned in the article is Chuckles. Again, for those of you unfamiliar with the G.I. Joe lore, Chuckles (aka Philip M. Provost) is an intelligence expert specializing in undercover operations. He looks a bit like Brock Samson in the Adult Swim’s animated series The Venture Bros. But is he as cool as Brock? Time will tell.
Andy and Barbara Muschietti to Adapt Stephen King’s Roadwork
Bloody Disgusting reports that the filmmaker Andy Muschietti (It, Mama) and his sister, producer Barbara Muschietti will adapt Stephen King’s early novel Roadwork. According to the article, the Muschiettis already have a director in mind – Argentinean filmmaker Pablo Trapero. Roadwork was first published in 1981 under King’s pen name Richard Bachman. The novel describes one man’s war against the construction company extending a new highway through his town.
Andy and Barbara Muschietti produced two feature films based on King’s best-selling 1986 horror novel It. Made for only $30 million, their movie went on to gross over $700 million. This made it not only the most successful Stephen King adaptation ever but also one of the most profitable horror movies in history. The success of It reignited Hollywood’s interest in King’s work. Hulu is producing the second season of its horror series Castle Rock. CBS All Access is casting actors for their new adaptation of King’s post-apocalyptic epic The Stand. Amazon is working on The Dark Tower prequel series while André Øvredal will adapt King’s 1979 dystopian novel The Long Walk into a movie.
