This is an interesting package: Deadline reports that Bob Odenkirk will star in Ben Wheatley‘s next film, “Normal,” with a script from “Nobody” writer Derek Kolstad. For those who don’t remember, Odenkirk starred in the 2021 actioner as a John Wick-type ex-assassin who comes out of retirement to take down bad guys. Odenkirk as an action hero won over lots of people, so no surprise there’s a sequel to that on the way.

Continue reading ‘Normal’: Bob Odenkirk Reunites With ‘Nobody’ Team For A Western Actioner Directed By Ben Wheatley at The Playlist.

Ben Wheatley undoubtedly blew some cinephile minds a few years ago when he was announced as the director of “Meg 2: The Trench,” a follow-up to 2018’s fun-enough August blockbuster “The Meg.” Turns out Wheatley’s attempt at being a popcorn salesman ain’t so good, but the pitch must have been spectacular: sea explorers navigating unchartered darkness and facing its monsters like “Alien”; massive, unforeseen creatures like “King Kong“; a bombastic human buffet like “Jurassic Park”; a big freakin’ shark à la “The Meg,” but now with even more sharks, with a pre-packaged Jason Statham kicking their tails one at a time.

Continue reading ‘Meg 2: The Trench’ Review: Ben Wheatley’s Sequel Is A Big, Amateurish Mess at The Playlist.

Ben Wheatley is one of the most interesting filmmakers working today. His projects always are unique and worth a watch. Sure, there are slight missteps, such as with “Rebecca,” but that doesn’t take away from films such as “Sightseers,” “High-Rise,” and “Kill List.” All that to say, it’s really quite surprising that his next film is “The Meg 2: The Trench.” This seems like a big departure for someone who could be seen as an auteur, right?

Continue reading ‘The Meg 2: The Trench’ Trailer: Ben Wheatley Directs Jason Statham In The Underwater Monster Sequel at The Playlist.

Last year, Ben Wheatley snuck out of lockdown and decided to make a horror film, “In the Earth.” Now, months later, he’s ready to share his new indie feature with the world. On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Charles Barfield, Mike DeAngelo, and Brian Farvour spend some time talking films with Ben Wheatley, the writer-director of the new pandemic horror film, “In the Earth.”

LISTEN: Ezra Miller, Dwayne Johnson Or Robert Pattison—Who Is The Key To DC’s Future In The Post-Snyderverse?

Continue reading Ben Wheatley Talks ‘In The Earth,’ Why He Is Directing ‘The Meg 2’ & The Video Game Films Would Love To Make [The Playlist Podcast] at The Playlist.

While three vaccines and dwindling case numbers (for now) inspire hope worldwide that the COVID-19 pandemic may soon offer us a return to some semblance of normalcy, U.K. director Ben Wheatley has a different perspective. Rather than provide an escape from what the world populace has undergone, upcoming movies should instead address COVID-19 and its residual anxieties. His option is “In The Earth,” a new horror movie amid a virus outbreak where evil forces may also be lurking in the woods nearby.

Continue reading ‘In The Earth’ Trailer: Ben Wheatley Returns To His Roots In New Pandemic Horror Film at The Playlist.

What does one even make of Ben Wheatley, at this point? That the same director is responsible for films as wildly divergent as “Sightseers,” “A Field in England,” “Free Fire,” “Happy New Year, Colin Burstead,” and last year’s “Rebecca” remake should be impressive – the variations present, in genre and tone, indicated a good old-fashioned journeyman director, and three cheers for that.

Continue reading ‘In the Earth’: A Pandemic Puzzler from Ben Wheatley [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

We finally have an update concerning that “Tomb Raider” sequel. There was some concern when director Ben Wheatly attached himself to direct “The Meg” sequel for Warner Bros., he might have to exit the “Tomb Raider 2” sequel he was developing with actress Alicia Vikander set to reprise the Lara Croft role.

Continue reading ‘Tomb Raider 2’: ‘Lovecraft Country’s Misha Green Takes Over Directing Duties From Ben Wheatley at The Playlist.

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival is going to be different than any other previous version of the event. Due to its winter schedule, this year, the American festival was able to come in right before COVID-19 took hold in the US and canceled a bunch of other film events in 2020. However, with the pandemic likely to remain with us through much of 2021, the event will have to undergo changes including screenings held digitally via Sundance-built online platform and in-person on Satellite Screens across the country (public health permitting).

Continue reading Sundance 2021 Film Festival Line-Up Includes New Films By Edgar Wright, Rebecca Hall, Robin Wright, Ben Wheatley & More at The Playlist.

Ben Wheatley has been a busy man during the current pandemic. Not only did he put the finishing touches on his recent Netflix thriller, “Rebecca,” but he’s also prepping work for his action film, “Tomb Raider 2.” But that’s not all. As he revealed just a couple of weeks ago, Wheatley also found time to write and produce an entire horror feature during the pandemic.

Continue reading ‘In The Earth’: Cast & Synopsis Revealed For Ben Wheatley’s Pandemic-Inspired Horror Film at The Playlist.

Ben Wheatley is at a very interesting crossroads in his career. In the past week, Netflix released his latest feature film, “Rebecca,” which is a remake of a film from Alfred Hitchcock and finds the filmmaker working in the realm of thrillers. However, just as that film hits the streaming platform, the director is prepping his next production, “Tomb Raider 2,” and it was just announced that he’s likely going to direct “The Meg 2,” shortly after.

Continue reading ‘Tomb Raider 2’: Ben Wheatley Thinks He Knows “The Trick” Of Making A Good Video Game Movie at The Playlist.

English filmmaker Ben Wheatley has had a terrifically eclectic and genre-hopping career. In fact, just this week, as his most lush and lavish picture, “Rebecca” premieres on Netflix, we covered the versatile director’s career in an Essentials Retrospective. Well, the timing is good because Wheatley’s got another project in the works, albeit one that has much of his indie/cinephile following scratching their heads: directing “The Meg 2,” a big-budget sequel to the shark thriller “The Meg” for Warner Bros.

Continue reading Ben Wheatley To Direct ‘The Meg 2’ Shark Sequel With Jason Statham at The Playlist.

Watching a Ben Wheatley film can be a wonderfully disorienting experience. Wheatley enjoys getting under his audience’s skin: he lives to make us uncomfortable and delights in showing us images that may make us lose our lunch. The characters in his films are bedraggled hitmen, schmucky mobsters, bloodthirsty lovers, and downtrodden, ordinary folks who are often one awful day away from regressing to a state of complete lunacy. Wheatley’s movies leave you aghast at their ingenuity and sadism and mischief, to the point where he’s become one of the most consistently unpredictable genre directors working today; certainly, no secret why the likes of Edgar Wright and Martin Scorsese count themselves as fans.

Continue reading The Essentials: The Films Of Ben Wheatley at The Playlist.

Somewhere between the transcendent Alfred Hitchcock original and a total misfire lies Ben Wheatley’s shiny new “Rebecca.” An innocuous adaptation of the 1938 novel by Daphne Du Maurier, the latest Net-flick should reignite debate over the reasons why certain properties are exhumed while others aren’t. For something like Hitch’s 1940 classic, a decent justification might be that the new version fleshes out latent meanings in a more satisfying way—the queer relationship between Mrs.

Continue reading ‘Rebecca’: Ben Wheatley’s Hitchcock Riff Is A Pale Iteration Of A Classic Gothic Horror at The Playlist.

So, imagine a world where you’re an acclaimed filmmaker that has released four films and directed multiple episodes of TV over the past five years. Not only are you prolific, but you have just signed on to helm what might be the biggest film of your career, a sequel in a franchise with a major leading lady. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hits and you’re sitting around with nothing to do, as you can’t begin filming for months.

Continue reading Ben Wheatley Filmed A Secret Horror Film During Lockdown Before Working On ‘Tomb Raider 2’ at The Playlist.

One of the most versatile and prolific filmmakers on the planet, it seems as if there is nothing English writer/director Ben Wheatley can’t do. He’s done disturbing horror (“Kill List“), serial killer comedy (“Sightseers“), black comic action (“Free Fire“), psychedelic period movies (“A Field in England“), and a dark dystopian adaptation of J.G. Ballard (“High Rise“) among his many movies, that tend to always bend towards the trangressive and outré cinema.

Continue reading ‘Rebecca’ Trailer: Armie Hammer & Lily James Confront A Haunting Legacy For Director Ben Wheatley at The Playlist.

Over the years, it’s become readily apparent that remaking an Alfred Hitchcock film is incredibly difficult. It’s not that remakes are always destined to be bad. Instead, it’s that the films that have tried to replicate the style and effectiveness of Hitchcock have failed miserably, with the most blatant example being the shot-for-shot remake of “Psycho.” With that being said, filmmaker Ben Wheatly wants everyone to understand that his upcoming version of “Rebecca” is not a remake of Hitchcock’s Oscar-winning film of the same name.

Continue reading Ben Wheatley Says His ‘Rebecca’ Is “Firmly Not” A Remake Of The Hitchcock Classic at The Playlist.

It’s been over a year since we last heard any news of Ben Wheatley‘s upcoming remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic “Rebecca.” Now we don’t only have a release date for the Netflix film, but our first look at Armie Hammer and Lily James as the aristocratic widower Maxim de Winter and his new wife.

READ MORE: Amy Adams Is A Woman Turning Into A Dog For Annapurna’s Dark Comedy ‘Nightbitch’

The new photos come from Daily Mail, who also reports the October 21 release date for the new “Rebecca.” The film is the latest adaptation of the 1938 murder mystery novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, which follows a newly married young woman who finds herself haunted by the shadow of her aristocrat husband’s now-dead first wife.

Continue reading ‘Rebecca’ Remake: First Look At Ben Wheatley’s Adaptation Of The Hitchcock Classic, Starring Lily James And Armie Hammer at The Playlist.

Just one quick glance at the filmography of Ben Wheatley, and it’s clear that the director isn’t really keen on doing the same type of project twice. He’s gone from disturbing road trip film (“Sightseers”) to ‘70s action (“Free Fire”) to zombies (the upcoming “Generation Z”). So, why not tackle the sequel to a mildly successful video game adaptation?

READ MORE: ‘Tomb Raider’ Sequel Starring Alicia Vikander Being Developed With ‘High-Rise’ Writer

According to Deadline, that’s exactly what Wheatley is bound to do next, as he’s just signed on to direct the upcoming sequel to “Tomb Raider.” Released in 2018, the Roar Uthaug-directed film, starring Alicia Vikander, went on to earn a not-great-to-decent $275 million worldwide, leaving the option for a sequel on the table if Lionsgate wanted to take the risk.

Continue reading Ben Wheatley Brought On To Direct ‘Tomb Raider’ Sequel Set For March 2021 Release at The Playlist.

Horror has always been a genre with its foundations deeply imprinted in sociological satire. Through the use of vampires, werewolves, zombies, and other creatures that go bump in the night, filmmakers and other creators have been able to lace their scares with a healthy dose of political and societal subtext. And that seems to be the driving force behind Ben Wheatley’s return to TV, “Generation Z.”

According to THR, Wheatley is working with Channel 4 on an original horror series, that he will write and direct, that takes the typical zombie premise and adds a heaping helping of Brexit commentary.

Continue reading Ben Wheatley To Commentate On Current Political Climate With His New Zombie Series ‘Generation Z’ at The Playlist.

Family reunions and holiday get-togethers have been fodder for films for decades. These stories have stood the test of time in film because everyone has experience at one of these events, where it just feels like no one is happy but everyone fakes it as best they can. Ultimately, they’re miserable affairs. And that’s exactly the type of ground covered in Ben Wheatley’s latest film “Happy New Year, Colin Burstead.”

READ MORE:  Ben Wheatley’s ‘Happy New Year, Colin Burstead,’ Is A Bruising, Brilliant Family Drama [LFF Review]

As you might surmise from the title, ‘Colin Burstead’ follows a family gathering around New Year’s Eve, where Colin brings his family together to celebrate the holiday.

Continue reading ‘Happy New Year, Colin Burstead’ Trailer: Ben Wheatley’s Latest Is A Scorching, Dysfunctional Family Drama at The Playlist.

Composer Clint Mansell had a hell of a beginning to his film career. His first two scores were featured in the films “Pi” and “Requiem for a Dream.” Not a bad way to start your film career, huh? Since then, Mansell has composed music for a huge number of high-profile film and TV projects, including “Moon,” “Stoker,” “High-Rise,” and most recently, “Out of Blue.” Not to mention, he has continued to score the films from Darren Aronofsky.

Continue reading Composer Clint Mansell Reteaming With Director Ben Wheatley On Hitchcock Remake ‘Rebecca’ at The Playlist.

British filmmaker Ben Wheatley, known for darkly comedic genre fare like “Free Fire” and “High Rise,” is about to remake an Alfred Hitchcock classic. The director, who most debuted the scaled-back family dramedy “Happy New Year, Colin Burstead” at the BFI London Film Festival has signed on to helm a remake of Hitchcock’s gothic romance and psychological thriller “Rebecca.” Lily James and Armie Hammer will star in roles originally played by Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier.

Continue reading ‘Rebecca’ Remake: Ben Wheatley Directs, Armie Hammer & Lily James To Star at The Playlist.

Practically every director, at some point, matures a little and decides to spread their wings a bit. Steven Spielberg diversified from blockbusters to Oscar-friendly prestige pictures. Every so often, Martin Scorsese takes a break from the crime fare that made his name to make a quiet period drama like “The Age Of Innocence,” “Kundun” or “Silence.” Wes Craven made “Music Of The Heart.

Continue reading Ben Wheatley’s ‘Happy New Year, Colin Burstead,’ Is A Bruising, Brilliant Family Drama [LFF Review] at The Playlist.

Before Ben Wheatley became known for his eclectic filmography of interesting feature films, the British director was probably best known for his work on the small screen. Well, in a new partnership with BBC, Wheatley is returning to TV in a pretty big way. The filmmaker’s latest film “Happy New Year, Colin Burstead” will be released directly to TV screens in the UK later this year, and after that, there may be plans for a new TV series.

Continue reading Ben Wheatley’s ‘Happy New Year, Colin Burstead’ Coming To TV This Christmas With Spin-Off TV Series at The Playlist.

With Venice, Toronto, and Telluride becoming this fall’s go-to places to premiere a film, we had no idea that the BFI London Film Festival had an ace up its sleeve. Today, the LFF announced its lineup of films appearing in the Official Competition, and while there are some incredible films from throughout this year, the big surprise was a new entry from acclaimed filmmaker Ben Wheatley.

That’s right, Ben Wheatley, best known for his films “High-Rise” and 2016’s “Free Fire,” is back with a film that we didn’t even know was finished, titled “Happy New Year, Colin Burstead.” The film seems to be a bit of a departure for Wheatley, as its described as a family dramedy focused on the titular Colin and his dysfunctional family around New Years.

Continue reading Ben Wheatley’s Surprise New Film Headlines BFI London Film Festival’s Official Competition Slate at The Playlist.