“I Am Legend” fans already knew a sequel was on the way, with Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan set to star. But there’s a slight problem with that news: spoiler alert (for a movie almost 20 years old), Smith’s character died at the end of Francis Lawrence‘s 2007 film. So how is the actor back for the sequel, especially after his persona non grata status in Hollywood has only recently been revoked?

Continue reading ‘I Am Legend’ Producer Teases “There Will Be Some Good News Shortly” About Upcoming Sequel With Will Smith & Michael B. Jordan at The Playlist.

Continue reading ‘The Crowded Room’: Akiva Goldsman On Tom Holland’s Psychological Drama, His ‘Constantine’ & ‘I Am Legend’ Sequels & More [Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

For fans of the “Batman” film franchise, there are two films that get a lot of shit from the fandom. You see, after Tim Burton released his two “Batman” films, beginning in 1989, Warner Bros. brought in Joel Schumacher to take the franchise in a new direction. And that’s exactly what happened, as the filmmaker infused the dark and gritty Burton-verse with neon lighting and heavy doses of humor with his two films, “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin.” Ultimately, the release of the second film, “Batman & Robin,” was the end of that run of films and seemed like the nail in the coffin for superhero films for several years. 

READ MORE: ‘Batman Forever’: Akiva Goldsman Remembers When Robin Williams Was Attached To Play The Riddler

However, recently there have been stories about a special cut of “Batman Forever,” one that was darker and more in line with Burton’s version of the character and not nearly as campy as the finished product.

Continue reading ‘Batman Forever’: Akiva Goldsman Says The “Schumacher Cut” Exists & Releasing It Would Be “A Nice Way To Honor” The Director at The Playlist.

It’s hard to believe, but Joel Schumacher‘s “Batman Forever” came out 28 years ago. And while it’s often overlooked today for Tim Burton‘s two films, Christopher Nolan‘s “The Dark Knight” trilogy, or even Matt Reeves‘ “The Batman,” Schumacher’s film was an event upon release. Four live-action Bruce Waynes later, it’s easy to forget how big “Batman Forever” was at the time of its release.

Continue reading ‘Batman Forever’: Akiva Goldsman Remembers When Robin Williams Was Attached To Play The Riddler at The Playlist.

Criminal profiling introduced new monsters into the cultural lexicon in the 1970s when the “serial killer” concept entered the conversation. Television has long been fascinated by these types of criminals, from the long-running “Criminal Minds” to David Fincher’s brilliant “Mindhunter.” Now, Apple TV+’s latest limited series, “The Crowded Room” is taking a stab (excuse the pun) at psychological thriller territory.

Continue reading ‘The Crowded Room’ Review: Tom Holland And Amanda Seyfried Shine In An Uneven Psychological Thriller at The Playlist.

Tom Holland might be a superhero and “Spider-Man,” but perhaps rather wisely, the young actor understands he won’t be young forever and knows he needs to create an acting pipeline outside of just Marvel. He’s already done work like that with the Russo Brothers in “Cherry,” and the next project in that vein is “The Crowded Room,” a gripping, upcoming Apple TV+ limited series starring and executive produced by Holland and created by Academy Award-winning writer and executive producer Akiva Goldsman.

Continue reading ‘The Crowded Room’ Trailer: Tom Holland & Amanda Seyfried Star In The Kornél Mundruczó-Directed Apple Thriller Series at The Playlist.

Tom Holland hasn’t appeared on either the big or small screen since the release of “Uncharted” over a year ago. That’s going to change this June with “The Crowded Room,” a new limited series spearheaded by Executive Producer Akiva Goldsman. Apple TV+ released four new images today as a first look which also include Holland’s co-stars Amanda Seyfried and Emmy Rossum.

READ MORE: Amanda Seyfried doesn’t believe for a second Elizabeth Holmes avoided watching “The Dropout” [Inteview]

Inspired by Daniel Keyes’ nonfiction novel “The Minds of Billy Milligan,” “Crowded Room” is centered on Danny Sullivan (Holland), a man, according to Apple TV+’s synopsis, “who is arrested following his involvement in a shooting in New York City in 1979.

Continue reading ‘The Crowded Room’ First Look: Tom Holland & Amanda Seyfried Star In New Apple TV+ Drama at The Playlist.

Trying to follow along with all of the false starts in the world of “Constantine” is a futile gesture. After the original film was released in 2005, where it made decent but not great money and earned mixed reviews, it seemed like the potential franchise was killed before it really got the chance to happen. But over the years, there have been numerous attempts to revive the character, to no avail.

Continue reading ‘Constantine’ Sequel Is Actually Happening This Time With Keanu Reeves & Francis Lawrence Returning at The Playlist.

Will Smith has been having a pretty good 2022. The superstar already landed a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in the sports drama “King Richard” and looks to return to a role that audiences might not have seen coming. Warner Bros. wants to revive “I Am Legend” with a sequel. The 2007 film saw Smith playing an immune survivor of a viral pandemic that has turned humans into monstrous mutants.

Continue reading ‘I Am Legend’ Sequel At WB To Star Will Smith & Michael B. Jordan at The Playlist.

Tom Holland is coming off the crazy box office success with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (the third highest-grossing film of all time domestically) and this weekend’s video game adaptation “Uncharted.” But, the star will soon be pivoting to television with a new drama series from writer Akiva Goldsman that is set up at Apple Studios and New Regency.

Continue reading ‘The Crowded Room’: Amanda Seyfried Joins Tom Holland In Apple TV+ Drama Series Directed By Kornél Mundruczó at The Playlist.

Typically, The Playlist doesn’t like to mix movie news with politics, but sometimes, that’s just impossible. Sometimes, you have a social media trend that is so ridiculous and tied to a movie plot that can’t ignore it. And that’s exactly what’s happening with the latest anti-vaccine news using the plot of “I Am Legend” to explain why people shouldn’t get the COVID vaccine. It’s bonkers. So much so, it drew the ire of the film’s screenwriter.

Continue reading ‘I Am Legend’ Screenwriter Flabbergasted As People Use Plot Of The Movie To Defend Anti-Vax Claims at The Playlist.

Tom Holland is definitely best known for his role as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, in the various Marvel Studios productions. And since his debut was the Webslinger, he’s landed roles in a ton of high-profile projects including “Chaos Walking,” “Uncharted,” “The Devil All the Time,” and the recently released film, “Cherry.” Well, it appears that he’s not slowing down anytime soon, already lining up a new TV gig for Apple TV+, titled “The Crowded Room.”

READ MORE: The Russo Brothers Recall Sony Being Hesitant To Casting Tom Holland As Spider-Man

According to Variety, Holland is set to star in the first season of the new anthology series for Apple, “The Crowded Room.” The first season of the new series, which is produced by Akiva Goldsman, is expected to be inspired by the biography “The Minds of Billy Milligan” by Daniel Keyes.

Continue reading Tom Holland To Star In Apple TV+ Anthology Series, ‘The Crowded Room’ at The Playlist.

You might have been expecting an announcement on a new “Constantine” movie or TV show, as reports have been pouring in on plans to continue telling stories of DC’s Hellblazer either with original actor Keanu Reeves or with a new actor (maybe Matt Ryan, who is playing the character on the Arrowverse shows). Though no new announcement was made, we did get a cool and fittingly weird idea about a “Constantine” sequel that never was, and it could have literally included Jesus Christ.

Continue reading ‘Constantine’ Producer Reveals Plans For Hard-R Sequel Where Constantine Met Jesus Christ at The Playlist.

A timely interview gives some credence to some recent rumors. The gossip of late? That Warner Bros. is developing a new “Constantine” film or sequel is in the works and possibly with Keanu Reeves (the rumor being they want him, but who knows if they can get him). The adjunct talk is that “Constantine” character falls under the “Justice League Dark” umbrella, which is currently being handled by J.J.

Continue reading Francis Lawrence Suggests A New ‘Constantine’ Movie Is In The Works But Without Him & Keanu Reeves at The Playlist.

When Amazon first launched its Prime Video streaming service, the tech company was unsure what types of series it wanted to promote. Hell, there was a time when Amazon would release pilot episodes of a number of series and check the viewership stats to see which ones moved forward. But now, it appears the strategy is in line with the Streaming Wars competitors, each looking for the biggest, coolest property (based on an IP, of course) available.

Continue reading Amazon Brings On Alan Taylor To Helm ‘Ringworld’ Series at The Playlist.

Close your eyes and imagine a film where Batman and Superman fight. Okay, imagine that film is somehow darker than what Zack Snyder delivered in his “Batman v. Superman” film. Shocking, right? Well, according to a recent interview with Collider, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman revealed that he was working on a version of ‘BvS’ almost 20 years ago that might have been grittier than the Snyderverse. Maybe.

READ MORE: Andy Serkis Teases An Even Darker, Broodier Tone For ‘The Batman’ But Also A Central Role For Alfred

Here’s the description given by Goldsman of the unproduced film:

“I wrote on […] this version of ‘Batman v Superman’ [around 2001or 2002]— when Colin Farrell was cast as Batman and Jude Law was cast as Superman and Wolfgang Petersen was directing —we were in prep and it was the darkest thing you’ve ever seen.

Continue reading Unproduced ‘Batman V. Superman’ Film Starring Colin Farrell & Jude Law Was “The Darkest Thing” Ever Says Screenwriter at The Playlist.

Not even Tom Hanks is immune to the recent trend of toys becoming the basis of feature films. Sure, he’s played a fictional toy in the Pixar franchise, “Toy Story,” but according to a new Variety report, the Oscar-winning actor is taking on a new Paramount film based on the forgotten ‘60s action figure, Major Matt Mason.

Hanks has reportedly agreed to star in the upcoming film based on the astronaut toy Major Matt Mason, which will be written by Akiva Goldsman and based on a short story from Michael Chabon.

Continue reading Tom Hanks To Star In Major Matt Mason Film Based On ’60s Toy Line, Written By Akiva Goldsman at The Playlist.

Amazon is currently developing a new TV series about the life of a young woman in the South that overcomes adversity as she goes on a search to find herself. Sounds like a fairly decent, if not overused, premise, right? Well, there’s an added wrinkle to this new Amazon project, as it apparently is loosely based on the college years of none other than Sandra Bullock.

According to Variety, Amazon has picked up a series from producers Bullock, Akiva Goldsman, and John Legend that will loosely adapt the life of the Oscar-winning actress into a drama.

Continue reading Amazon Developing New Series From Producer Sandra Bullock Inspired By The Actress’ College Years at The Playlist.

Forget Jack Ryan. Alec Baldwin tried to make him cool in 1990. Harrison Ford did his best in ’92 and ‘94. Then Ben Affleck dropped a turd in 2002. And does anyone even remember Chris Pine’s attempt in 2014? The jury’s still out on John Krasinski’s recently-released Amazon show, but overall, Hollywood has really failed to fully realize the famous Tom Clancy character.

Continue reading Michael B. Jordan To Launch New Tom Clancy Action Film Franchise For Paramount at The Playlist.

At this point, why would anyone want to be showrunner of “Star Trek: Discovery?” The series, which has been the crown jewel of CBS All Access since its debut last year, has seen more changes in leadership over the course of a year and change than most series see in their entire runs. The Hollywood Reporter is now confirming that deep into production of season 2 of the sci-fi series, CBS has pulled the plug on showrunners Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts and replaced the duo with producer Alex Kurtzman.

Continue reading ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Changes Showrunners Again With Alex Kurtzman Taking Over at The Playlist.

Netflix is getting involved in the shared superhero universe game. Unfortunately, it looks like they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel for this one.

According to Deadline, Netflix has reached an agreement to purchase the film rights to Rob Liefeld’s Extreme Universe brand of superhero comic books. In a reported seven-figure deal (six figures too much, I reckon), Netflix will get the rights to the heroes, and will work with producer Akiva Goldsman to conceive of a series of films to be based on Liefeld’s work, which includes such “household” names as Brigade, Bloodstrike, Bloodpool, and Bloodwulf.

Continue reading Netflix Bets Big On Rob Liefeld For New ‘Extreme’ Superhero Universe at The Playlist.

“Where I come from we don’t have chicken,” Matthew McConaughey, the evil Walter o’Dim aka the “Man in Black”, says sincerely and diabolically in Sony’s remarkably inept and impenetrable adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” book series. It’s a throwaway line, both hilariously stupid and perhaps even intentionally funny, that surprisingly receives some genuine laughs. But other than some rather very arbitrary and asinine jokes about the species of animal the characters are eating, and some tonally odd gags, “The Dark Tower” is as dumb as any tasteless fowl.

Continue reading ‘The Dark Tower’ Is A Dump No Audience Should Have To Live In [Review] at The Playlist.

It’s only a matter of time before the cinematic universe becomes passé, but that’s not stopping all of the studios to try and cash in while they can. Paramount is one of rare studios without an interconnected series of films and they’re trying their best with “Transformers.” When it was first announced that Par would be aiming for a “Transformers Cinematic Universe,” the studio tapped producer/writer Akiva Goldsman to run the writers’ room.

Continue reading Akiva Goldsman Leaves ‘Transformers’; ‘Bumblebee’ Faces Off Against ‘Aquaman’ at The Playlist.

To say that veteran horror author Stephen King is having a moment is probably a bit simplistic — he’s one of the most popular and successful authors of all time, and his work has been the source material for classics including “The Shining” and “The Shawshank Redemption,” so it’s pretty rare that he hasn’t been having a moment. But King looks to be more present on screen than ever across 2017 and 2018, even by his prolific standards.

Continue reading Stephen King’s ‘Firestarter’ Getting A Remake From ‘Get Out’ Producers at The Playlist.

After the huge, surprising success of Fox’s “Deadpool,” studios were likely knocking on creator Rob Liefeld’s door looking for their next hit. It seems that Paramount is first to strike with “Avengelyne.”

READ MORE: 5 Filmmakers Who Should Direct ‘Deadpool 2’

The studio has hired Akiva Goldsman to produce, and most likely direct, “Avengelyne” as an action thriller in the same vein as “John Wick.” If you haven’t ready the comic, “Avengelyne” is a scantily clad fallen angel who was kicked out of Heaven for questioning God’s love of humanity.

Continue reading Paramount Bringing ‘Deadpool’ Creator Rob Liefeld’s ‘Avengelyne’ To The Big Screen at The Playlist.