Africanized killer bees come for Justin Long. The Arquette family summons a demon. James Cameron reconsiders his Avatar budget. And which of these Masters of the Universe character posters would look best in the living room, honey? That’s the signpost up ahead—your next stop, Morning Spoilers!
Avatar 4 & 5
Appearing as a guest on The Empire Film Podcast (via World of Reel), James Cameron stated he’s now trying to make the next two Avatar films “in half the time for two-thirds of the cost,” adding that it could take “a year or so” to figure out that would be even possible.
Twilight of the Dead
Deadline reports Kate Beckinsale has replaced Milla Jovovich in Twilight of the Dead, the “final chapter” of the late George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead saga. The outlet additionally has word the project will now be directed by The Paz Brothers (The Golem, Plan A), the filmmaking duo consisting of Doron and Yoav Paz, in place of Session 9‘s Brad Anderson for undisclosed reasons, while Ho-Sung Pak (Bullet Train) has also boarded the project as stunt director. So far, the story is simply said to be “set on a decimated earth where the last vestiges of humanity are trapped between warring factions and an evolving undead threat.”
White
Speaking of, Bloody-Disgusting reports Kate Beckinsale will also star in White, a “shark survival thriller” from director Jake West (Doghouse, Evil Aliens). Co-starring Katherine McNamara (The Stand) and based on a script by Dan Schaffer (Doghouse, The Scribbler), the story follows Willa Harba, “a struggling actress trying to catch her big break” who “is traveling overseas for a shoot with a self-obsessed star when their private jet crashes into the Pacific. Now the sole survivor, she’s stranded on a fractured wing with nothing but ocean around her. Her only lifeline is a satellite phone salvaged from the wreck—but when she calls for rescue, her demanding studio boss, Barbara (Beckinsale), brushes her off. Instead, her signal is picked up by marine biologist Sam Swatek (McNamara), who delivers chilling news: Willa has crashed into the infamous White Shark Café, a stretch of ocean where great whites gather to feed.”
Stung
Meanwhile, Variety has word Justin Long and Iris Apatow (Pretty Lethal) are in talks to star in Stung, an eco-horror film about Africanized killer bees from director Colin Minihan (Extraterrestrial,It Stains the Sands Red). “Set against the backdrop of suburban isolation and mounting paranoia,” the story follows “four teenage girls whose innocent sleepover spirals into a nightmare when they become trapped inside a luxury Orange County home overtaken by a massive swarm of Africanized killer bees.”
My Boyfriend Is a Demon
Deadline also reports David Arquette, Rosanna Arquette, Coco Arquette, Jack Champion, Mattias Ferrell, Ever Anderson, Bailey Sloan, Vinnie Hacker, Josephine Reitman, Savannah Lee Smith, Lisa Yamada, and Ty Law will star in My Boyfriend Is a Demon, a teen horror feature from writer-director mishka. The story concerns Mary, “a lonely, small-town girl who, in an effort to gain the acceptance and friendship of her peers, creates a ‘finsta’ account for a nonexistent, seemingly perfect guy, appearing to be her boyfriend. After apparently manifesting a little too hard, her new beau suddenly shows up at her door.”
The Troop
In a recent interview with Bloody-Disgusting, author Nick Cutter provided an update on the film adaptation of The Troop, his novel about parasitic worms infecting boy scouts.
Well, there is [an update], which is to say the wheels keep spinning. It is in the hands right now of a company called Lyrical, who is excellent, and they’ve got a script that they like.
I can’t say the name of it, but a very popular production company, a very well-known and well-regarded and really good production company had it, but then they signed a big deal with a studio. In that case, they had to dissolve their co-partnership because the studio doesn’t want them developing [pre-existing deals]. They want them developing brand new stuff in-house.
Talks are ongoing, Let me say this: It is not defunct. It is not dead. That has been through so many iterations over the past decade or so. Different people have taken stabs at it. I remain hopeful that at some point it will see the light of day.
Anything But Ghosts
Speaking with CBR, Obsession director Curry Barker stated his next project concerns “these two con artist ghost hunters that just con old women and single dads, but they’re really good at it. They can make the table shake, they can make the lights flicker. They’ve got all this special equipment. They put on a show, until they run into a very real, very dangerous dark entity.”
Passenger
André Øvredal’s Passenger (which hits theaters on May 22) has released a viral tie-in website expounding on the film’s mythology: www.dontdriveatnight.com. Notably, it includes a free PDF of an in-universe book titled Haunted Highways of America.
Masters of the Universe
The official Masters of the Universe Instagram page has released new character posters for Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, Spikor, Beast Man, Trap Jaw, Goat Man, Tri-Klops, He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms, Sorceress, Fisto, Ram Man, King Randor, Queen Marlena, Mekaneck, Battle Cat, and Roboto.
Chum
In the trailer for Chum, Alice Eve plays a newlywed whose wedding guests are kidnapped by a “sinister fisherman” who plans to use them as bait against the great white shark he’s been dying to catch for years.
The Boys
Finally, The Deep sells Petroleum, Firecracker is memorialized, a vintage commercial of Bombsight’s is unearthed, and Oh Father sings a gospel song about Homelander in four new videos from Vought International.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
