Sequel Bits: ‘The Hangover Part III’, ‘Fast And The Furious 6’, ‘Monsters University’, ‘Taken 2’, ‘Bourne’, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, ‘Red 2’, ‘Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines’
Is it time to look ahead to 2013 already? After the jump:
If you live in the area, head toOLVfor specifics on dates, times, and locations.The Hangover Part IIIopensMay 24.
Meanwhile,The Fast and the Furiousfranchise will have to take things a little bit slower for the time being. StarPaul Walkerwas injured this week in London, while doing stunt work on the sixth installment of the franchise.
Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to be in any danger — he’s limping, but nothing is broken. Insiders say he’s been advised to rest over the weekend, and production will shoot around him until he’s recovered. The movie is still on track to openMay 24. [Deadline]
At 64,Billy Crystalis a little older than the average college student. But such things don’t matter much in the world of animation, so he andJohn Goodmanare heading back to school for the Pixar prequelMonsters University. And Crystal, for one, can’t wait. In a recent interview, Crystal called hisMonsterscharacter, the green, one-eyed Mike Wazowski, “my favorite character they’ve already played.”
The comedian credited his strong working relationship with Goodman for selling the bond between the two creatures. “We do it together and he’s a genius,” he said. “That’s why I think there’s a lot of affection between Mike and Sulley on the screen — the relationship between the two of us is so real. We really love working with each other.”
The creative freedom allowed him by the studio probably doesn’t hurt, either. “I improvise like a madman! The Pixar people just let me go – if it’s good, it’s good, if it’s not, it doesn’t end up in the movie. It’s hilarious.“Monsters UniversityopensJune 21. [THR]
Another really good reason for a star to reprise his role? Cold, hard cash.Liam Neesonreportedly earned a cool $10 million forTaken 2, up from the $1 million paycheck he received for the first film. And if aTaken 3were to happen, insiders suspect Neeson could command upwards of $20 million.
But that’s a big if. It’s too soon to say whetherTaken 2will lead to a sequel — and if so, whether Neeson would even want to come back. In aninterviewa few weeks ago, Neeson shrugged off the possibility of a third film. “I don’t think it’s going to happen,” he said at the time. “I can’t see a possible scenario where audiences wouldn’t go, ‘Oh, come on…! She’s taken again?'” [THR]
Still, the odds of Neeson reprising hisTakenpart seem better than the chances ofMatt Damonreturning to theBournefranchise. Asked whether he might play Jason Bourne again in a future installment, Damon responded, “There has not been any movement. I’ve always been open to it as long asPaul Greengrassdirects, I don’t think he’s going to do it.”
The actor continued:
From what I understand, [The Bourne Legacy] kind of relives [The Bourne Ultimatum] from a different perspective. What that means, because they use our actors and characters, is that whatever they said [in Legacy] is true and so we’d have to acknowledge it in any Bourne movie that we’d do. And that makes it really tough. I don’t think we can do the Dallas it-was-all-a-dream scenario . I don’t think the audience would go for that after they paid money to see a movie.
Damon isn’t entirely against the idea of returning under the right circumstances, though. “I’d really love to do another one because I love the character,” he said. [Movieline]
After years of waiting, some fans couldn’t help but feel disappointed at thevery first clipto come out ofJ.J. Abrams’Star Trek Into Darkness. It wasn’t that the scene sucked, but that it was hardly a scene at all. Abrams unveiled a mere three frames of footage as part of a gag on Conan, but some fans were left unamused.
WriterRoberto Orcihas now taken to the forums to smooth those ruffled feathers, writing:
I guess you will have to show me the marketing handbook you are using to question our schedule. Appreciate that you wanna see things ASAP. Delayed gratification is not a strong characteristic of some folks. I get it. All I can say is:
Relax. the movie is gonna melt your face right off. Your eyeballs are going to bleed. And you’ll thank us
That’s some big talk, but Orci’s got reason to be confident. Abrams has never been one to dish out tons of footage in advance, and it’s worked out pretty well for him so far. The finished film debutsMay 17. [viaNerd Bastards]
Who says movie stardom is a young person’s game? Set photos fromRed 2show its middle-aged and senior citizen cast throwing punches, zipping around on motorbikes, and generally being badasses. Click through the gallery to get an eyeful of starsBruce Willis,Catherine Zeta-Jones,Mary-Louise Parker,John Malkovich, andDavid Thewlis.
IMAGES NOT HERE
Red 2sees the retired CIA operatives tangling with new characters including a Russian double agent (Zeta-Jones) and an information dealer (Thewlis). It opens August 2. [Comic Book Movie]
Almost nine years after the first film, theWrong Turnhorror series is still going strong. The latest installment, titledWrong Turn 5: Bloodlinesis due out on DVD and Blu-rayOctober 23, and we have a bloody new image for you right here viaShock Till You Drop.
