Opening this weekend
View a guide to this weekend's new theatrical releases including Everybody Wants Some!! and Meet the Blacks.
New trailers and updates for upcoming films
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Looking at a new AliceWith the surprising financial success of 2010’s Alice in Wonderland (over $1 billion worldwide), a sequel was never in doubt, especially with Lewis Carroll having already written his own sequel back in 1871. This time around, James Bobin (The Muppets) replaces Tim Burton as director, but original cast members Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and Helena Bonham Carter are back. The familiar voices of Alan Rickman, Toby Jones, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall will be heard again, and new to the movie are Rhys Ifans as the Mad Hatter’s father and Sacha Baron Cohen as Time. Alice Through the Looking Glass opens in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D theaters on May 27th.
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The Jungle Book
Director Jon Favreau’s live-action but CGI-heavy update of Disney's 1967 animated classic stars newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli, an orphan raised by a family of wolves who is threatened by tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba) and forced to leave his jungle home. Guided by the panther Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley) and the free-spirited bear Baloo (Bill Murray), Mowgli’s journey includes encounters with the python Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) and the smooth-talking King Louie (Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to fire. This action-filled take on Rudyard Kipling’s classic book will still include some of the songs from the original film, but none are featured in this new IMAX trailer. The Jungle Book hits theaters April 15th.
The Conjuring 2
After taking a break to direct Furious 7, James Wan returns to what he’s known for—horror—with this sequel to the 2013 hit The Conjuring. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are back as paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren, who travel to north London to help a single mother (Frances O’Connor) raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits. Based on the Enfield Poltergeist, The Conjuring 2 comes to theaters on June 10th.
Lights Out
David Sandberg makes his feature directing debut with this expansion of his own three-minute short. Written by Eric Heisserer (Final Destination 5), the story follows Rebecca (Teresa Palmer), whose childhood fears return when she sees her little brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) experiencing the same terrifying events—the appearance of a strange woman with an attachment to their mother (Maria Bello). Lights Out opens July 22nd.
Mother’s Day
How many more holidays are left for Garry Marshall to turn into a light, ensemble comedy? Three already looks to be three too many. Following Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve is Mother’s Day, starring Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, Britt Robertson, Sarah Chalke, Hector Elizondo, Jon Lovitz, Aasif Mandvi, Timothy Olyphant, Shay Mitchell, and Margo Martindale. Look for the latest from Mr. Marshall in theaters on April 29th, over a week before the actual Mother’s Day (May 8th).
Me Before You
Based on the best-selling novel by Jojo Moyes, Me Before You stars Emilia Clarke (better known as Khaleesi or Daenerys Targaryen) as Louisa “Lou” Clark, a small-town girl who takes a job caring for Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), a wealthy young banker who became wheelchair bound in an accident two years earlier. Together, Lou and Will set out on a series of adventures that will change their lives forever. Also starring Charles Dance, Jenna Coleman, Brendan Coyle, and Janet McTeer, this June 3 release marks the directorial debut of Thea Sharrock.
Short takes
The first teaser for The LEGO Batman Movie (coming to theaters on February 10, 2017) appeared last week, but as LEGO Batman says in this new teaser, he deserves another one (and Ralph Fiennes’ Alfred makes his first appearance).
News and notes
- Woody Allen’s Café Society, starring Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, will open the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 11th.
- Sofia Coppola’s next film will be a remake of the Clint Eastwood-starring 1971 Civil War romance The Beguiled. Based on Thomas Cullinan’s novel, the film will star Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning. - The Tracking Board
- Robin Wright has joined Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling in director Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner sequel. - Variety
- HitFix reports that Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) will play Wolfsbane/Rahne Sinclair, and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) will play Magik/Illya Rasputin, in Josh Boone’s planned X-Men spin-off The New Mutants.
- David Oyelowo and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are in talks to star in director Julius Onah’s sci-fi thriller God Particle. - Variety
- Bradley Cooper and Kornel Mundruczo (White God) are attached to star and direct Max Landis’ script Deeper, about a mission to get to the bottom of an oceanic trench. - TheWrap
- Lenny Abrahamson (Room) will direct an adaptation of Neal Bascomb's World War I POW book The Grand Escape. - THR
- Jonah Hill will write and direct Mid-90s, a coming-of-age tale about California teens during the titular time period. - TheWrap
- Terry Gilliam’s long-troubled film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote has secured financing and will begin shooting in September (barring any other setbacks) with John Hurt and Jack O’Connell set to star. - THR
- Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart are in talks to star in the remake of The Intouchables. Simon Curtis (Woman in Gold) is attached to direct from a script by Paul Feig. - Variety
- Jim Parsons is in talks to star in Man-Witch, a comedy about a teacher whose witch-like powers lead him to a school for witches, where he’s the only man, surrounded by young witches-in-training. - THR
- Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) will direct the big-screen adaptation of the classic role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. - The Tracking Board
- Kevin Bacon will play FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers alongside Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, J.K. Simmons, and Michelle Monaghan in Peter Berg’s Boston Marathon bombing movie, Patriots Day. - THR
- Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney will direct his first narrative feature with The Action, based on the 1971 theft of FBI documents by the Citizens Commission to Investigate the FBI. - Deadline
- Disney is planning a live-action film about Snow White’s sister, Rose Red. - Heat Vision
- Sicario 2 is still in development with plans to bring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin back. - THR
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