Aimee Garcia to Co-Write Untitled “47 Ronin” Sequel with AJ Mendez

Aimee Garcia has the write stuff…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican American actress and Lucifer star has been brought in to co-pen the upcoming untitled 47 Ronin sequel alongside New York Times bestselling author AJ Mendez for Universal 1440 Entertainment.

 

The action-fantasy film, which is being directed by Mulan‘s Ron Yuan, is thAimee Garciae follow up to the 2013 Universal Keanu Reeves movie which grossed over $151M WW.

The original film was directed by Carl Rinsch and written by Chris Morgan and Hossein Amini from a story conceived by Morgan and Walter Hamada. Also starring in that film were Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi and Ko Shibasaki.

Based on Chūshingura, 47 Ronin tells a fictionalized account of the titular 47 rōnin, a real-life group of samurai in the 18th century who set out to avenge the death of their master who was killed by a merciless shogun.

“AJ and I are excited to write a diverse and inclusive action film,” said Garcia. “Director Ron Yuan’s vision to blend martial arts, horror, cyber-punk and action was inspiring and we’d like to thank the team at 1440 for being so supportive.”

“As creators of color, we’re honored to be part of a modern, multicultural story with powerful female leads,” said Mendez.

Garcia currently stars on Netflix’s Lucifer, new episodes of which are dropping on May 28, and she’ll also star in Marvel’s MODOK, premiering on Hulu on May 21.

Mendez’s pilot script Home landed on The Black List’s inaugural Latinx TV List in 2020. She’s a former championship wrestler with the WWE.

Garcia and Mendez are the co-authors of the comic book series Glow, based on the Netflix property, and Dungeons and Dragons for IDW Publishing, as well as Wonder Woman for DC Comics coming out in July.

The duo recently launched Scrappy Heart Productions to create diverse stories with universal themes across all media. Currently, Scrappy Heart is adapting Crazy Is My Superpower, based on Mendez’s bestselling memoir.

Alex & David Pastor to Write & Direct Spanish-Language Spinoff of Netflix’s “Bird Box”

Alex and David Pastor are flying high…

The Spanish sibling screenwriters/filmmakers will pen and direct a Spanish-language spinoff of Netflix’s Bird Box.

Alex Pastor & David Pastor

The film will reunite Netflix with Bird Box producers Dylan Clark and Chris Morgan, but it will also have a distinctly Spanish flavor.

The Pastor brothers are best known for 2020 Netflix thriller The Occupant and 2009 pandemic thriller Carriers, as well as Syfy series Incorporated and recent HBO Max series The Head, both of which they created.

The yet to be titled film, which will sit within David Kosse’s local-language slate at the streamer, is due to start production towards the end of this year in Spain. Cast has yet to be set.

This could be the first of multiple local-language Bird Box spinoffs.

Post-apocalyptic thriller Bird Box was a massive hit for Netflix in 2018. Sandra Bullock starred as a mother who tries to protect herself and two children from entities which push people who look at them to suicide. According to the streamer, the film was watched by 89 million households over its first four weeks of release, the second-most ever for one of their original films.

Rachel Zegler to Star in the “Shazam” Sequel, “Shazam: Fury of the Gods”

Rachel Zegler’s latest project is Gods will…

The 19-year-old Colombian American actress, who will soon star as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming West Side Story, has joined the cast of Shazam: Fury of the Gods, the sequel to New Line and DC Comics’ 2019 film Shazam! starring Zachary Levi as the kid-at-heart superhero who is bestowed with the powers of six gods.

Rachel Zegler

The sequel will hail from the same filmmaking team behind the first installment, with David F. Sandberg directing from a screenplay by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan.

It will continue the story of teenage Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word “SHAZAM!” is struck by the Living Lightning of the gods and transformed into his adult superhero alter ego, Shazam.

Zegler will star opposite Ansel Elgort and Rita Moreno when West Side Story is released in December.

Bardem In Talks to Portray Frankenstein

Javier Bardem is thisclose to taking on a monster role…

The 47-year-old Spanish actor, is in ntalks to join Universal’s big-time roster for the studio’s planned classic monsters universe movies.

Javier Bardem

Bardem, best known for his Oscar-winning role in No Country for Old Men, would portray Frankenstein.

He would join a list that already includes Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe in The Mummy and Johnny Depp as the Invisible Man. The latest news comes amid persistent rumors that Dwayne Johnson is being eyed to play Wolf Man.

It’s unclear how they would incorporate the Frankenstein creature into the interconnected slate being overseen by Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan, and it’s not set yet that a stand-alone movie would be a part of the deal.

At the moment, Universal has dated three movies: The Mummy, directed by Kurtzman, has a June 9 release set, and yet-to-be-announced titles are set for April 13, 2018, and February 15, 2019.

Rodriguez’s “Fast 8” Filming in Cuba

It’s fast times for Michelle Rodriguez in the Pearl of the Antilles.

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican-American actress and her fellow Fast & Furious co-stars are filming in Cuba.

Fast 8's Michelle Rodriguez & Vin Diesel

Fast 8 has the distinction of being only the second film and the first big budget movie given the green light to shoot on the island since the start of improved relations between the island nation and the United States.

The next installment of Universal Pictures’ successful franchise is currently filming in Havana, and to commemorate the milestone, the production released a new set video paying tribute to the city and its people.

The first in what star Vin Diesel has described as a trilogy that will bring the series to close, Fast 8 is keeping the series tradition of sending the franchise’s globetrotting street racing enthusiasts to various exotic locals, including Iceland in addition to Cuba.

Written by Chris Morgan and directed by F. Gary Gray, Fast 8 sees core cast members Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges returning along with 2Fast 2Furious co-star Eva Mendes, Tokyo Drift‘s Lucas Black, and Furious 7‘s Kurt Russell and Jason Statham. They’re joined this time out by Charlize Theron, Kristofer Hivju and Scott Eastwood in yet-revealed roles.

Fast 8 is set to hit theaters on April 14, 2017.