POP List - News & Notes February 2016

Stories for the week of February 22nd, 2016

• Billy Crudup is in advanced negotiations to join the cast of Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant film, Deadline reports. Crudup will join returning cast member Michael Fassbender as well as newcomers to the franchise Katherine Waterston, Demian Bichir, and Danny McBride.

• Marvel has cast the lead in their latest Netflix series, Entertainment Weekly revealed. Finn Jones will play title character Danny Rand in the upcoming Iron Fist series. Jones, know to fans as Loras Tyrell on HBO's Game of Thrones, will join Charlie Cox, Mike Colter, and Krysten Ritter in the Netflix Marvel universe.

• Riverdale, the newest teen drama from The CW has found its lead actor for the pilot, Deadline announced. KJ Apa will play Archie Andrews and joins a cast which includes Luke Perry as Fred Andrews, Ashleigh Murray as Josie, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, and Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones.

• Deadline has reported that Steven S. DeKnight will direct the sequel to Guillermo del Toro's action-adventure film Pacific Rim. DeKnight has most recently worked as the executive producer and head writer of Marvel's Daredevil; Pacific Rim 2 will be his directorial debut. 

• Vanessa Hudgens is joining the DC Comics television universe in the NBC pilot Powerless, Variety revealed. Hudgens will play insurance adjuster Emily Locke in the new workplace comedy set in the DC Universe.

• Entertainment Weekly announced in a exclusive story that filming for DC Comics upcoming Justice League Part One will begin April 11th. Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and Gal Gadot will be joined by Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher in the new film.

• Martin Freeman's character in Captain America: Civil War has been revealed, Empire Magazine reported. Freeman will play Everett Ross, a government liaison to Wakanda, and will reportedly also be starring in the standalone Black Panther film.

Stories for the week of February 15th, 2016

• An exclusive with The Hollywood Reporter announced that a live action Astro Boy feature film is negotiations to move to the Warner Bros. divison of New Line Cinema. Writers Andrea Fabrizio and Jeremy Passmore are attached to the script and are looking to update the family friendly hero.

• A teaser image for the new Predator film was revealed on the official Predator Facebook page. While the film is not yet on 20th Century Fox's schedule, Shane Black has finished the script and is believed to be directing as well.

• In a Comicbook.com exclusive, Todd McFarlane told fans that he has finished a new Spawn film script. McFarlance also plans to direct the movie and hopes to start production later this year. 

• The cast of Star Wars: Episode VIII is growing as The Hollywood Reporter announced that Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, and Kelly Marie Tran have joined the film. They join a cast that includes Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and many more.

Stories for the week of February 8th, 2016

• The Hollywood Reporter revealed that a sequel to Deadpool has already been greenlit by 20th Century Fox. The writers from the first film, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, are writing the script for the sequel. 

• Ocscar nominated producer Michael De Luca has joined Universal's feature film adaptation of Battlestar Galactica, Tracking Board announced in an exclusive report. The project has been in development since 1999, and will follow the storyline of the original 1978 series. 

• Johnny Depp will join the new Universal Monsters, Variety reports. Depp is set to star in the reboot of the classic horror film, The Invisible Man and will follow The Mummy reboot sometime after summer 2017.

• 20th Century Fox has picked up the film rights to the BOOM! Studios series The Empty Man, Deadline reported in an exclusive. Created by Cullen Bunn and Vanesa R. Del Rey, director David Prior is set to write and helm the adaptation. 

• In an exclusive from The Nerdist, Netflix's new animated series based on the long running Voltron franchise has debuted its name and logo. Called Voltron: Legendary Defender, the series will be the first new animated Voltron series since 2011's Voltron Force.

• IGN revealed that Jackie Earle Haley will join the cast of AMC's Preacher. Haley will play Odin Quincannon, and will be featured in 6 of the 10 episodes in the first season.

• Bryan Fuller is returning the Star Trek universe, The Hollywood Reporter announced. Fuller has been tapped as the showrunner for the new Star Trek series set to air on CBS' digital platform, All Access. 

Stories for the week of February 1st, 2016

• Dreamworks' Ghost in the Shell has added another member to its cast, Variety reports. Actor Michael Pitt is in talks to join as the villainous hacker Laughing Man. 

• The Hollywood Reporter announced that Jonas Cuaron, the son of award winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron, has signed on to direct a futuristic take on the classic pulp hero Zorro. The film, which started out as Zorro Reborn, is now simply titled "Z" and will be set in the postapocalyptic future. 

• FX is filling out the cast for its new X-Men series Legion, The Hollywood Reported revealed. The network has added Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, and Jean Smart with Stevens set to play the lead role of David Haller also known as the mutant Legion.

• The DC Comics television universe is crossing networks as The Flash and Supergirl plan a crossover, Variety revealed. Grant Gustin, the lead actor in The CW's The Flash will guest star in CBS' Supergirl series in an episode set to air March 28.

• The Hollywood Reporter announced that Universal Studios has set the dates for the next three installments of the long running Fast and the Furious franchise. Part Eight will hit theaters April 14, 2017, Part 9 on April 19, 2019, and Part 10 on April 2, 2021.

• Stephen King's The Stand will have to wait a little longer to be remade, Deadline reports. Josh Boone, who was leading the adaptation of The Stand has cleared his schedule to work on bringing another King property, Revival, to the big screen.

• Photos from the 2016 Ghostbusters film have been released through the revamped Ghostbusters website. The photos show off the four leads and Chris Helmsworth in his supporting role.

• Almost a year after Sony Picture Studios picked up the rights to the Image Comic series Descender, the project is moving forward. In a Hollywood Reporter exclusive it was revealed that Jesse Wigutow has be tapped as the writer and will adapt the comic series into a feature film.

• Elizabeth Banks is joining the cast of Liongate's live action Power Rangers movie, The Hollywood Reporter announced. Banks will play the classic Power Rangers villain Rita Repulsa; the movie hits theaters March 24, 2017.

• Deadline reports that The CW has ordered a pilot for Riverdale, a live action teen sitcom based on the Archie Comics universe. Greg Berlanti, who also produces Arrow, The Flash, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow is working on the project.

• Actress Gwendoline Christie told People Magazine at the Screen Actors Guild Awards that she will be returning to Star Wars in the next film, Star Wars: Episode VIII. Set to be released December 15, 2017, Christie will be rejoining Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver in the cast.

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