Call it the Amazon Technicolor Dreamcoat: Deadline reports Jon M. Chu, veteran of Crazy Rich Asians and the musical In The Heights, has inked a deal with Amazon Studios to bring Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to theaters.
Chu is currently in London, calling the shots on the big-screen bow of another Broadway smash, Wicked, which will star Grammy winners Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, as well as newly minted Oscar winner and his former Crazy Rich Asians co-star Michelle Yeoh.
The filmmaker said he’s been dreaming of directing a Joseph movie, according to the trade, which notes his In The Heights producer Scott Sanderswill help bring the Old Testament musical to the big screen.
On Wednesday, James Gunnrevealed the lineup for Creature Commandos, the first animated series for his and Peter Safran‘s new DC Studios timeline.
Based on the comic series of the same name about a WWII-era super team, the show will star the voices of Stranger Things‘ David Harbour, Lamborghini‘s Frank Grillo, The Suicide Squad‘s Sean Gunn and Steve Agee, Rogue One‘s Alan Tudyk, Indira Varma, Zoe Chao and Maria Bakalova.
Interestingly, Harbour will be bouncing from Marvel’s MCU to the DC Universe: He played The Red Guardian in Black Widow, which he will be reprising in Thunderbolts. Similarly, Grillo has starred in several Marvel movies as the villain Brock Rumlow/Crossbones; James’ brother Sean played Kraglin and performed Rocket Raccoon on set in James’ Guardians of the Galaxy movies and in Thor: Love and Thunder; and Bakalova’s voice will be heard as Cosmo the Spacedog in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Agee will be reprising as his Suicide Squad/Peacemaker character John Economos; Harbour will play Frankenstein; Varma will play The Bride; Sean will voice GI Robot and his The Suicide Squad character The Weasel; Tudyk will voice Dr. Phosphorus; Chao will voice Nina Mazursky; and Bakalova will voice Princess Ilana.
Grillo, Gunn noted, will be playing Rick Flagg Sr. “across all media,” meaning he could play the role in live-action, as well. Canonically, he’s the dad of Joel Kinnaman‘s Suicide Squad character Rick Flagg.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery announced a merging of HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single streamer dubbed Max — and that on it will be a decade-long TV series retelling of JK Rowling‘s beloved Harry Potter books.
Rowling’s Wizarding World has already been spun into a billions-grossing movie franchise, but the announcement amounts to the longest instant commitment a network has ever made to a property: Each of the 10 seasons will focus on a single Potter book.
“The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will [be] produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for,” Max touted.
New actors will be playing Harry, Hermoine, Ron and their Hogwarts friends, frenemies and foes.
“The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years,” the announcement explained.
“Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”
For her part, the bestselling author said of the announcement, “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.”
On the heels of the smash debut of John Wick: Chapter 4, Lionsgate TV and Peacock on Wednesday dropped a teaser to The Continental, a spinoff centering on the franchise’s fan-favorite assassin hangout and the early career of Ian McShane‘s Winston.
The teaser is short on words — actually, there’s no dialogue — but it doesn’t skimp on action: It shows various hit people arming up, shots of a bound person getting tortured and a gaggle of gunmen firing down into the shadows. The soundtrack also sets the scene for the ’70s-set show: “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer.
Colin Woodell plays the younger version of McShane’s character for the series, which will also star Mel Gibson, Peter Greene, Ben Robson, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Jessica Allain, Mishel Prada and Nhung Kate.
Ayomide Adegun will star as a younger version of Charon, the character played in the films by Lance Reddick, who passed away unexpectedly in March.
Peacock teases, “The three-part event will explore the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the John Wick universe through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hell-scape [sic] of 1970’s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind.”
The streamer continues, “Winston charts a deadly course through … mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the hotel where he will eventually take his future throne.”
Academy Award winner and Tony nominee Ariana DeBose will reprise her role as host of the Tony Awards.
The 76th annual event will be live from the United Palace in New York City on Sunday, June 11. It will air on CBS, and stream both live and on-demand on Paramount+.
In the announcement, the West Side Story veteran noted, “I was honored to serve as host last year and even more so to be asked back! So looking forward to celebrating this incredible season and the people who make the work happen.”
Referencing the Washington Heights location of the venue, she enthused, “Here’s to adding some uptown flavor to the magic of the Tony Awards!”
Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing, and Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League, called DuBose “a force both on and off the stage,” adding, “We are thrilled to welcome back one of Broadway’s brightest lights to dazzle, inspire and illuminate this year’s Tony Awards!”
Referencing DeBose’s infamous BAFTA-night rap, the show’s executive producers Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner said, “Ariana will host and dance and sing, we’re so thrilled she’s back to do the thing.”
A new collaboration between the streaming service and Lacoste will let viewers of the Netflix shows Stranger Things, Bridgerton, Lupin and Sex Education literally wear their fandom on their sleeves — and other parts of their bodies.
The designer label famous for its crocodile logo polos has created a new line celebrating the streaming hits, which launched Wednesday.
According to the ad copy, the Lacoste x Netflix collection “reimagines Lacoste’s iconic genderless polos, sweatshirts, tracksuits, footwear, and more, from the Upside Down to Las Encinas high school with the French label’s famous Croc disguising as characters from the fan-favorite Netflix shows such as Stranger Things‘ Demogorgon and Bridgerton‘s Queen Charlotte.”
Pieces retail from $30 to $210 in select Lacoste stores and Lacoste.com.
A new trailer for the upcoming Disney+ original series The Muppets Mayhem has arrived, and carrying on the fine Muppets Show tradition, it doesn’t skimp on celebrity cameos.
The new comedy series follows the beloved Muppets band, The Electric Mayhem — including its famous members Dr. Teeth, Animal, Sgt. Floyd Pepper, Janice, Zoot and Lips — and their comeback to record their first-ever studio album.
The official trailer opens with a slew of famous guest stars reflecting on their own experiences growing up with the famous band for The Muppet Show.
“The Mayhem? They taught Mötley Crüe how to shred and party,” drummer Tommy Lee jokes at the start of the trailer.
“I was in college the first time I saw the Mayhem play,” Chris Stapleton adds.
“I grew up idolizing Dr. Teeth,” Lil Nas X says. “I bought gold grills just to be like him.”
In the new series, music executive Nora (Lilly Singh) works with the group to help them navigate the new music industry landscape in hopes of recording an epic first studio album.
The band’s tight-knit bond remains at the forefront. “We’re more than just a band,” Dr. Teeth says in the trailer. “We’re a family!”
Other guest stars slated to appear in the upcoming series include Morgan Freeman, Ben Schwartz, Ryan Seacrest, Kevin Smith, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Danny Trejo, Billy Corgan, Susanna Hoffs, Paula Abdul, Steve Aoki, Sofia Carson, Charlamagne Tha God, deadmau5, Kesha, and Zedd.
All episodes of The Muppets Mayhem will be available to stream on Disney+ starting May 10.
When Single Drunk Female returns for season 2, it’ll bring about a long-awaited screen reunion.
Ally Sheedy’s Carol goes through a season of growth, but she also clashes with her late husband’s sister during a pivotal flashback episode. Who better to play Sheedy’s sister-in-law than Molly Ringwald? Sheedy let ABC Audio know what it was like to act alongside her The Breakfast Club co-star all these years later.
“I love Molly. We have an unspoken language, unspoken communication. There’s things I just don’t have to put into words with Molly. We work together in a kind of seamless way,” Sheedy says. “I feel really safe with Molly. I trust her and she trusts me, so we can go at each other a little bit, if you know what I mean. There’s just all the history. It was so much fun to be with her.”
Sheedy says while it was great to act beside Ringwald again, it was just as “lovely” to hang out with her on set.
“She brought her little dog, and we were talking about her fabulous daughter Mathilda, who is just starting to become an actor,” Sheedy says. “All the things that you could think it would be, it was.”
As for what fans can expect this season, Sheedy teases that Carol will be working on herself.
“As far as Carol is concerned, she’s never wrong and she has been wronged by everybody,” Sheedy says. “She has to start questioning herself, admitting things that she wouldn’t admit and finding it within herself to apologize and try to heal this relationship with Samantha.”
Season 2 of Single Drunk Female premieres Wednesday, April 12, on Freeform, and the entire 10-episode season streams Thursday, April 13, on Hulu.
Jeremy Renner‘s road to recovery is partially covered with a red carpet.
The twice-Oscar nominated actor and Marvel movie and TV star posed for the cameras Tuesday night at the Los Angeles premiere of his new Disney+ show Rennervations — his first such appearance since his near-fatal snowplow accident in January.
Showing the same sense of humor he did on Monday’s night’s appearance of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Renner was all smiles for photographers, as his family beamed. He walked with a cane to compliment his smart blue suit and tie, and even took time to sign autographs for fans.
The Hawkeye star leaned on a knee scooter in a queue for press interviews, but was seen without it in other photos.
Kimmel also spoke at a Q&A panel about the show that took place at the premiere event, held at the Fox Theater in Westwood Village.
Rennervations sees Jeremy and some of his celebrity pals like Anthony Mackie renovating government vehicles to serve various communities.
The premiere event also featured a “block party” reception that showcased two such “Rennervations”: a mobile recreation center Jeremy and the team built for Big Brothers Big Sisters Northern Nevada and the mobile music bus built for The Base Chicago seen in the series.
Following NBC’s renewal of all six of Dick Wolf‘s series on Monday, Universal Television has extended Wolf’s overall deal with the studio for two more years, according to Deadline. With the renewal of Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime on Monday, and the existing two-season CBS renewals for FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, all nine of Wolf’s current broadcast scripted series are locked in for next season. Wolf also has an upcoming half-hour police drama for Amazon Freevee, tentatively titled On Call, bringing his total on-air scripted series to an even 10…
Speaking of L&O, Kelli Giddish is set to reprise her role as Amanda Rollins in both Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime, according to TVLine. She’ll appear in the season 24 finale of SVU and the penultimate episode of OC‘s Season 3. Giddish’s character made her final appearance in December after marrying Peter Scanavino‘s ADA Sonny Carisi Jr. and accepting a teaching position at Fordham University. Upon her return, Rollins will reportedly surprise her former colleagues with the news that she’s pregnant…
Modern Family alum Julie Bowen has been tapped to star in the upcoming Peacock series Hysterical, according to Variety. The coming-of-age thriller follows Satanic Panic — a satanic heavy metal band of outcasts in the ’80s who capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult, until “a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported ‘supernatural activity’ triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them,” per the streamer. Bowen will play Linda Campbell, the mother of one of the teenage outcasts…
