Welcome to the news for the week of 19 October 2019. It feels like most of the big news is casting news and that The Matrix 4 is a real thing that is really happening. Sam Raimi is in back and the director’s chair and so is Robert Eggers.

All in all,​ it’s been a good week! Let’s take a look!

There’s a ‘Coming to America’ Sequel happening and Eddie Murphy says it’ll be PG-13

Eddie Murphy has made a lot of movies but hasn’t made an R-rated one in quite some time. While speaking with CinemaBlend about the upcoming Dolemite Is My Name he explained a little bit but also dropped a tiny little bombshell at the end.

I think what happened was, there was a period when Hollywood was on some PG-13… that’s how you reached most audiences. And there was, maybe, a 15-year period where that’s all everybody was doing. So I got caught up in that shit. But no, doing this movie, we went, ‘This movie has to be rated R because of the way Rudy Ray Moore was.’ But I’m doing Coming to America next, and that’s PG-13.

He’s right in that studios have really been pushing PG-13 ratings because it puts movies in front of the most profitable demographics. It makes business sense, but there’s still a market out there for R rated movies and, you know, Coming to America 2 should probably be R-Rated? I miss R-rated Eddie Murphy, is what I am saying.

(source: CinemaBlend)

The Batman Casting News: Jonah Hill out, Zoë Kravitz and Paul Dano in.

Casting continues for Matt Reeves The Batman and while Jonah Hill is no longer in talks for a role, but Paul Dano and Zoë Kravitz have signed on as The Riddler and Catwoman, respectively.

That’s some pretty pitch-perfect casting right there. Dano is basically known for being weird and creepy, and Kravitz is known for being sultry (and has some action chops, as well).

This movie gets more and more exciting every time they announce some news. Can’t wait to see Robert Pattinson as Batman, to be honest.

(source: The Wrap, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter)

John Cho injured on the set of Cowboy Bebop

It seems like production just started on Netflix’ Cowboy Bebop adaptation and now it’s being forced so shut down as series star John Cho has injured himself.

No word on what exactly happened, but apparently his knee will require 7 months of recovery time so I’m going to assume it’s a pretty horrible injury.

Cho is a welcome addition to every production he is a part of these days, and a great leading man, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

(source: Entertainment Weekly)

Naomie Harris in talks for Venom 2

In other superhero casting news, Oscar nominee Naomie Harris is in talks for a role in Venom 2. Apparently, the villain will be Shriek, not sure if she will be the big bad or if that will fall to Carnage as the first movie implied.

Either way, Venom made a ton of money so it’s not surprising that it’s getting a sequel. Critical opinion is… uh, we’ll say mixed around Awesome Friday HQ but as always we’re on team "don’t judge it till you see it".

(source: Variety)

Jennifer Hudson to play Aretha Franklin in biopic ‘Respect‘

Look, biopics are difficult to do even when you have a great cast, but casting Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin is pretty goddamned perfect and guarantees a high level of quality for the singing.

Respect is headed to theatres next summer and you should probably mark your calendar for it.

(source: ScreenCrush)

Sam Raimi is directing a new horror movie

Sam Raimi made his bones making horror films but he hasn’t returned to the director’s chair to helm one of his own since 2009. That’s set to change as he teams up with Columbia Pictures and Mark Swift and Damian Shannon (who wrote the 2009 Friday the 13th) to make a new horror film from an original idea. The pitch is Misery meets Cast Away and that sounds like a film I’d like to see.

No other news on this one just yet but we’ll be keeping our eyes on it.

(source: The Hollywood Reporter)

‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ won’t be released in China

(source: The Hollywood Reporter)

Robert Eggers is making a Viking movie

Robert Eggers, who is two-for-two with his first two features (The Witch and The Lighthouse) is teaming up with Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, and others to make a Viking movie called "The Northmen".

This is all very early days but around Awesome Friday HQ the news that Eggers is working on anything is now considered big news. There’s not much info yet but rest assured we’ll be watching this one. Here are what few details we have:

Written by Eggers and Icelandic poet and novelist Sjón, Northman is described as a grounded story set in Iceland at the turn of the 10th century that centers on a Nordic prince who seeks revenge for the death of his father.

(source: The Hollywood Reporter)

HBO Max to get entire Studio Ghibli Catalogue

If you want to watch a Studio Ghibli film online right now you, unfortunately, can’t because they haven’t been made available anywhere. That’s set to change, at least for our American friends as HBO Max just closed a deal for their entire catalogue.

Not sure as yet what this means for Canada, but maybe Crave will get all of it. They tend to get all the other good stuff.

(source: ScreenCrush)

Neil Patrick Harris joins ‘The Matrix 4‘. For real.

Yes, you read that correctly. There is a Matrix 4 happening with Lana Wachowski at the helm and they just added Niel Patrick Harris to the cast. No, that doesn’t seem like his usual kind of role but then again neither did Gone Girl and he was great in that.

Harris joins original film stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, as well as the new lead actors Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick.

It’s super weird that we’re getting this movie at all but I like the way that it’s shaping up.

(source: Variety)

The End

That’s all the big news from this week. Which story catches your fancy? Which ones are you excited about? Let me know!

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