Phillip Seymour Hoffman won't be recast for the Hunger Games movies. Danai Gurira outlines the dilemma Michonne will face when The Walking Dead returns. And some important Doctor Who shoe news! Plus, get a look at new photos from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Spoilers now!
Amazing Spider-Man 2
A tweet from Marc Webb seems to have revealed that B.J. Novak (The Office) will be playing Alistair Smythe, aka Ultimate Spider-Slayer, in Amazing Spider-Man 2. Webb tweeted a link to Novak's book promo and identified him as "A. Smythe." The Daily Bugle tumblr has hinted at the Smythes and their Spider-Slayers in a post identifying Alastair's father Spencer Smythe as the head of Oscorp's R&D.
Novak did say that his character worked at Oscorp and was a comics character, so this fits. Novak also said he was only in a few scenes, so at least we can hope Smythe's inclusion is setting up the future rather than adding another villain to this already full sequel. [Coming Soon]
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay
Phillip Seymour Hoffman's tragic death won't cause his part to be recast. Variety reports that he had finished all but seven days of filming. Since both Mockingjay Part 1 and 2 are being filmed back-to-back, this means that almost all of Hoffman's scenes as Plutarch Heavensbee have been completed. Both films will be released as planned, and will have Hoffman's performance in them. [Variety via Slashfilm]
The Breach
David S. Goyer's been hired to direct a film-adaptation of Patrick Lee's novel The Breach for Lionsgate. Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing, with Justin Rhodes writing the screenplay. Here's the official description of the book:
Travis Chase, a man putting his life back together after fifteen years in prison, takes a solo hike into the Alaskan Rockies. He's just looking for a quiet place to think about his future, but what he finds is trouble: a 747, downed in remote wilderness, the wreck impossibly undiscovered by authorities. Those aboard are dead, though not because of the crash. They've been shot.
This aircraft, along with the terrifying object it was transporting, is only the beginning for Travis. Within hours he finds himself at the center of a violent conflict that spans the globe, and a secret war that dates back three decades. A war for possession of radically advanced technology—that wasn't created by human hands.
Transformers 4: Age of Extinction
A tweet from Reno Wilson suggest that Brains will return in the fourth Transformers movie:
Just finished a v.o. session for Michael Bay, who is a genius! Each one better than the last! #Transformers4 #Brains
[Transformers Live Action Movie Blog]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Go here for more photos from the sequel, including a look at Cobie Smulders in uniform as Maria Hill. [Comic Book Resources]
And here's an international trailer. [Slashfilm]
RoboCop
Go here for more stills from the reboot. Based on the number of photos showing them together, it seems like the studio's focusing a lot on the relationship between Joel Kinnaman's cop and his wife, played by Abbie Cornish. [The Daily Mail]
The Walking Dead
Danai Gurira (Michonne) described how shifting the show to a bunch of small groups will change the show's dynamic when they get back:
I think Andy said it best. There's space around events in a way that is definitely different. There is a lot of honing in on people and their experiences and their inner turmoil and outward trauma. There's a lot more getting to know everybody. We're not functioning in an ensemble-like way anymore because the group is fractured. What I love about that is that looking at it from a macro-perspective it is fantastic storytelling-wise because in the little research that I've done I learned that one of the key elements of war is displacement. People are caught up in the concern of where people are and what happened to them and not having any way of finding out. That's such a rich, authentic component of what really happens in a war zone. So I think that's really thrilling that's going to be rippling through the back eight.
She also said that, for Michonne in particular, the trauma of the midseason finale will force her to choose between continuing to change or reverting to how she used to be:
Then the trauma hit and I think the big question is, will this clam her back up or open her up? It's a question of going back to the old her or going on a different path. That's the question sitting on her soul as she tries to metabolize the trauma that's befallen her.
More at the link. [Entertainment Weekly]
Doctor Who
Important shoe news! When the BBC released the first photo of Peter Capaldi's Doctor costume, his shoes were described as "black Dr. Martens." This, it turns out, is incorrect. The official Doctor Who twitter account corrected that:
The new boots worn by the Doctor are not Dr. Martens as our expert costume department believed they were but he may wear them in the future.
The actual provenance of the shoes is the British Boot Company, and the owner says that the shoes may be Peter Capaldi's own:
Peter Capaldi came in a week or two before Christmas and said he was looking for a pair of smart dress boots. I suggested this one, because not only is it very smart, it's exclusive to us and made in England. It's a great boot. He bought it in size 10.
Teen Wolf
Keahu Kahuanui, who plays Danny Mahealani, talked about what's coming up for his character:
One hint is that there may be a spark between him and Ethan. Obviously he did his best effort to help him throw that party. So I would say that might win him a few points.
And yet, he says there's more of Danny to explore:
There's definitely more to Danny I think we still haven't gotten into. He's been in more episodes as of each season, but I feel there's some depth to him and things we could uncover. His last name also, Mahealani, which means night of the full or night of the heavenly moon, is something that has also yet to be explained. So who knows? I honestly don't know.
Once Upon a Time
Episode 3.18 will be called "Bleeding Through." [SpoilerTV]
The Originals
Here's a sneak peek at episode 1.13, "Crescent City." [via SpoilerTV]
Penny Dreadful
Go here for more photos from the pilot. [SpoilerTV]
Additional reporting by Charlie Jane Anders and Emily Stamm