When it comes to recent Hollywood franchise failures, there’s none worse than Universal‘s short-lived Dark Universe and the film that sank it, Alex Kurtzman‘s 2017 film, “The Mummy.” And what a disaster that movie was. Critics reviled the film, audiences chose to keep going to “Wonder Woman” and the latest “Pirates Of The Caribbean” movie instead, and the film tanked at the box office.

Continue reading Alex Kurtzman Says ‘The Mummy’ Was “Brutal,” But “The Failure Rebuilt Him Into A Tougher, Clearer Filmmaker” at The Playlist.

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our revitalized TV and streaming podcast co-hosts Mike DeAngelo and Rodrigo Perez dive into Showtime’s new sci-fi sequel/reboot series, “The Man Who Fell to Earth” from Alex Kurtzman (“Fringe,” “Alias,” “Star Trek: Discovery”) and Jenny Lumet (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “Rachel Getting Married”). 

Continue reading ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’: Alex Kurtzman & Jenny Lumet Talk About Their Sci-Fi Sequel Series & Tom Cruise’s ‘The Mummy’[Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

Showtime’s reboot/sequel of Nicolas Roeg’s exquisite “The Man Who Fell to Earth” is better appreciated if one divorces it from comparisons to the original. Who could possibly imitate David Bowie’s remarkable alien quality in that film? A singer and entertainer who always seemed slightly out of this world, Bowie played a humanoid alien who crashed to Earth in an effort to bring water back to his home planet, but the plot was secondary to Roeg’s craft and Bowie’s otherness.

Continue reading ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ Review: Showtime’s Sequel Series Works Best When You Forget The Original Film at The Playlist.

Sci-fi revivals are all the rage these days, and Showtime is looking to bring back a lesser-known classic that starred the late David Bowie as they’ve made a television series version of “The Man Who Fell To Earth.” The new version follows a new alien character who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future.

Continue reading ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ Trailer: Chiwetel Ejiofor Stars In A Legacy Sequel Series To A David Bowie Sci-Fi Classic at The Playlist.

It’s almost a daily occurrence that we see the news that Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+, Hulu, or Disney+ land some major A-listers for a prestige streaming series. But now we have Paramount+ working its magic, landing Chiwetel Ejiofor to lead the cast of an upcoming series set to remake a classic David Bowie film.

READ MORE: CBS All Access & Writer/Producer Alex Kurtzman To Adapt The David Bowie Film ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ As A New Series

According to Deadline, Chiwetel Ejiofor is set to star in the lead role in Paramount+’s upcoming series remake of “The Man Who Fell to Earth.” The series is based on the Walter Tevis novel and the cult classic David Bowie film from director Nicolas Roeg.

Continue reading Chiwetel Ejiofor To Star In ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ Series For Paramount+ at The Playlist.

After years out of the spotlight, one of the most influential characters in pop culture history returns in the CBS launch of “Clarice,” a show that picks up not long after the action of “The Silence of the Lambs” by Thomas Harris, adapted into one of the most awarded and beloved film thrillers of all time. Because of truly odd ownership issues, this version of Clarice Starling’s life will never use the name Hannibal Lecter, but the vicious cannibal looms over the proceedings in a few ways, and not just because of the iconic performances by Jodie Foster and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Continue reading ‘Clarice’: Agent Starling Returns In This Promising, Hannibal-less ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ Sequel Series [Review] at The Playlist.

Ready for the sequel to “Silence of the Lambs” that you didn’t know you needed until now? Well, okay, maybe you still don’t need it, per se, but you’re going to get it anyway, courtesy of the new CBS crime series, “Clarice.”

READ MORE: Mads Mikkelsen Would Love To See ‘Hannibal’ Season 4 Tackle ‘Silence Of The Lambs’

Forget what you thought you saw in the 2001 feature film, “Hannibal,” which served as the sequel to the classic 1991 film.

Continue reading ‘Clarice’ Teaser: CBS’ ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ Sequel Series Debuts In February at The Playlist.

The “Star Trek” fanbase is bubbling with anticipation as the eagerness mounts for the premiere of “Star Trek: Picard.” Returning to portray the titular role, the noble Jean-Luc Picard of Starfleet, is Sir Patrick Stewart.

READ MORE: The Best TV Shows & Mini-Series’ Of The Decade [2010s]

Lately, Stewart has been appearing at special premiere events and promoting the series in other ways.

Continue reading Patrick Stewart Formally Invites Whoopi Goldberg Onboard For ‘Picard’ Season 2 at The Playlist.

It’s been five long and sad years since Bryan Fuller’s “Hannibal” was unceremoniously canceled by NBC. While fans keep waiting for good news that the show will be miraculously revived, CBS just went ahead and ate fans’ metaphorical liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti – meaning they have picked up a show about Clarice Starling appropriately titled “Clarice.”

READ MORE: ‘Locke & Key’ Trailer: Netflix Finally Opens The Door To The Long-Awaited Horror Fantasy Series

The news comes from the CBS panel during its TCA winter press tour.

Continue reading CBS Picks Up ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ Sequel Show, ‘Clarice’ And Puts Another Nail In The Coffin Of ‘Hannibal’ at The Playlist.

In 2019, we’ve seen plenty of remakes, reboots, and revivals. But what CBS All Access and Alex Kurtzman plan to do with the film “The Man Who Fell To Earth” is something a bit different. Sure, the studio and producer are taking the cult classic David Bowie film from 1976 and adapting it as a new TV series, but there’s a twist, as the entire premise is a getting a bit of retooling.

Continue reading CBS All Access & Writer/Producer Alex Kurtzman To Adapt The David Bowie Film ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ As A New Series at The Playlist.

It would appear that the only thing keeping CBS All Access afloat, at this time, is “Star Trek: Discovery.” As the sci-fi series is well into its second season on the streaming service, it seems to be leading the way for the fledgling service that is feverishly attempting to grow. (Of course, next month brings Jordan Peele’s “The Twilight Zone” remake, so things are looking up for All Access.) And because of ‘Discovery’s’ popularity, showrunner and ‘Star Trek’ TV boss, Alex Kurtzman is readying the next streaming series in the franchise, which stars Patrick Stewart, returning to “Star Trek” after years and years away.

Continue reading Alex Kurtzman Says He “Almost Cried” When He Heard Patrick Stewart Read New ‘Star Trek’ Spin-Off’s Script at The Playlist.

Writer-producer-director Alex Kurtzman has had a bit of a mixed bag career. While he’s been attached to a variety of mega-blockbusters, including the revamped “Star Trek” film franchise and the “Transformers” franchise, none of his work has been particularly…great. There have been high points, but there have also been some serious lows, including “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and the recent film “The Mummy,” in which he wrote and directed.

Continue reading Alex Kurtzman Talks “Painful” Failure Of ‘The Mummy’ & Completely Bombing A ‘Batman’ Pitch Meeting at The Playlist.

Recently, there was news that “Star Trek: Discovery” showrunner Alex Kurtzman would work with CBS on a number of potential spin-offs of the popular franchise. And this weekend at a Las Vegas ‘Star Trek’ Convention (via Deadline), with the help of a ‘Trek’ legend, Kurtzman announced the newest series.

“Jean-Luc Picard is back!” announced “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Patrick Stewart.

Continue reading Patrick Stewart Officially Returning To ‘Star Trek’ Universe: “Jean-Luc Picard Is Back!” at The Playlist.

Just a few days ago, it felt like maybe there was some trouble behind the scenes at “Star Trek: Discovery.” After parting ways with the previous showrunner, CBS promoted Alex Kurtzman to take over the ‘Discovery’ duties. However, from the news today, it appears that CBS is really excited about Kurtzman’s direction for the series and might just let him expand the TV ‘Trek’ universe.

According to a report from THR, CBS has signed Alex Kurtzman to a new 5-year extension on his overall TV deal with the company.

Continue reading CBS Potentially Expanding ‘Star Trek’ TV Universe With Star Patrick Stewart Returning 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.

With the massive success of the 2009 “Star Trek” reboot film, and the two subsequent sequels doing decently well at the box office, it seemed like only a matter of time before the franchise would wind up back on television, where the adventures first started. And last year it happened. CBS launched “Star Trek: Discovery” on its All Access online network, and the series went on to be a hit for the fledgling streaming service, quickly earning a second season.

Continue reading ‘The Mummy’ Director Alex Kurtzman Looks For Redemption Helming ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Premiere at The Playlist.

Tomorrow morning, the Oscar nominations will be announced, but as is tradition, the folks at the Razzie Awards are riding the Academy’s coattails. The group has issued their nominations for the worst that 2017 had to offer, and everyone will argue about these entirely meaningless and pretty dumb awards anyway.

Certainly, you can’t debate their selections for Worst Picture: “Baywatch,” “The Emoji Movie,” “Fifty Shades Darker,” “The Mummy,” “Transformers: The Last Knight” (which earned the most nods with nine) were indeed all regrettable pictures.

Continue reading ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ Leads 2018 Razzie Awards Nominations at The Playlist.

Let’s face it, the writing has been on the wall for Universal‘s Dark Universe franchise for a while now. Following the critical mauling and commercial flop of this summer’s “The Mummy,” the studio has been pretty quiet about their future plans. Ideas have floated around — Channing Tatum starring in “Van Helsing,” Gal Gadot leading “The Bride Of Frankenstein“ — but nothing has stuck.

Continue reading Universal’s Dark Universe Looks Like It’s Dead Before It Even Got Started at The Playlist.

Universal had grand plans around this summer’s reboot of “The Mummy.” Alex Kurtzman‘s film was supposed to set up the studio’s own cinematic universe, officially titled “The Dark Universe” — having to do with the schlocky classic monsters that made the studio famous more than 70 years ago (“Bride of Frankenstein,” “The Invisible Man,” “Wolf Man,” “Dracula” and “Creature From the Black Lagoon.”)

READ MORE: ‘The Mummy’: Gods & Monsters Can’t Save This Dreadful Dark Universe [Review]

A-list stars were on board: Johnny Depp playing The Invisible Man, Javier Bardem was going to be Frankenstein’s monster and Russell Crowe was tagged as Dr.

Continue reading ‘The Mummy’ Director Alex Kurtzman Unsure Of His Dark Universe Future at The Playlist.

“The Mummy” is out in the world, and while the Tom Cruise movie has barely made a ripple domestically, internationally the A-list star had the best opening of his career, which has helped power the picture to nearly $300 million worldwide. It’s not bad for one of the worst reviewed blockbusters of the summer and of Cruise’s career, but, according to director Alex Kurtzman, the audiences are digging it and that’s all that matters.

Continue reading ‘The Mummy’ Director Alex Kurtzman Says “We Made A Film For Audiences And Not Critics” at The Playlist.

Universal’s Dark Universe could be in trouble before it even starts because things aren’t looking good for “The Mummy.” The cart before the horse approach to Hollywood is not really a novel concept any longer. Studios routinely reverse engineer their movies, announcing a release date first, often before a screenplay is finished let alone gone into production. This strategy keeps evolving, often for the worse. Now, studios carve out release dates for movies that don’t exist yet — mystery movies or ones they hope/intend to make.

Continue reading ‘Dark Universe:’ Is The ‘Mummy’ About To Receive A DCEU-Like Black Eye? at The Playlist.

Announced even before cameras start rolling on this summer’s “The Mummy,” it was already known that Universal was developing a big monster movie franchise, in a bid to get into the cinematic universe game of their rivals, while also reviving classic catalog characters. Now, the endeavor has an official name.

The studio has announced that henceforth, their monster movie doings shall fall under the blandly named, Dark Universe banner.

Continue reading Universal Officially Launches ‘Dark Universe’ Monster Movie Franchise at The Playlist.

Oh right, “The Mummy.” I honestly keep forgetting this movie is coming, and perhaps Universal senses they need to kick up the awareness, because with just a few weeks to go until it hits cinemas, a new trailer has landed.

Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt Nick Morton who opens up a tomb he shouldn’t have, gets cursed, and now has to save the world from an ancient evil.

Continue reading Tom Cruise Is Cursed In New Trailer For ‘The Mummy’ at The Playlist.

While audiences haven’t always rewarded big, blockbuster properties treating themselves so seriously (hello, DC Films), Universal is rolling those dice for “The Mummy” in their contemporary spin on the classic movie monster.

Tom Cruise takes a break from whatever “Mission: Impossible” stunt he’s working on to star in the film about an ancient evil that’s unleashed that he has to stop or else the world will turn to darkness or whatever.

Continue reading Tom Cruise Finds Adventure In New International Trailer For ‘The Mummy’ at The Playlist.

Tom Cruise already has one bread-and-butter franchise with “Mission: Impossible,” but it looks like he might have another, taking the lead in Universal‘s first monster-movie universe movie with “The Mummy.” And a new trailer highlights its blockbuster ambitions.

READ MORE: What Will Be The Biggest Box Office Blockbuster Of 2017?

Directed by Alex Kurtzman, and co-written by Jon Spaihts (“Prometheus“) and longtime Cruise bud Christopher McQuarrie, the film features Sofia Boutella (“Kingsman: The Secret Service,” “Star Trek Beyond“) as the titular monster, whose ancient power is unleashed.

Continue reading Ancient Power Is Unleashed In New Trailer For ‘The Mummy’ Starring Tom Cruise at The Playlist.