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WIRE Buzz: Anya Taylor-Joy eyes Mad Max: Furiosa; Space Jam 2 still jamming; more
Hopefully, it’s going to take more than the coronavirus and a bitter court battle with the studio to keep George Miller from making his Mad Max: Fury Road spinoff film.
A report from Variety reveals that while COVID-19 is causing delays for many big studio productions, Miller is still moving forward with his latest Mad Max film. In fact, the Beyond Thunderdome and Babe: Pig in the City director has been in talks with Anya Taylor-Joy to join the cast of Mad Max: Furiosa, his long-awaited follow-up to the 2015 hit Mad Max: Fury Road (don’t worry; the auditions have been held via Skype).
Despite the production being in limbo for years due to legal issues, the report says that Miller hopes to start shooting the Fury Road spinoff next year, though who knows if that’s at all possible, given the sci-fi dystopia in which we're currently living.
No word on who the New Mutants and Split star would play in the film, should she get cast… and should the production actually move forward in the near future.
Separately, the same article reveals that while many productions are being put on hold due to the current global pandemic, pre-production on Marvel Studio's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is still trucking along, albeit remotely. Unnamed sources tell the media outlet that production for the MCU film is still on track to begin in June (for the time being at least).
Speaking of delays, The CW has announced that it is pushing back the premiere date for Stargirl by one week. The live-action superhero series will now debut on the DC Universe streaming platform on Monday, May 18 before airing on The CW on Tuesday, May 19 at 8 p.m. ET.
Based on the comic book character created by Geoff Johns and David S. Goyer in 1999, Stargirl follows high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) as she inspires an unlikely group of young heroes to stop the villains of the past. This new drama reimagines Stargirl and the very first superhero team, the Justice Society of America. The character of Courtney was inspired by John’s late sister who was killed in a 1996 plane crash.
The series also stars Luke Wilson, Amy Smart, Trae Romano, Cameron Gellman, Yvette Monreal, Anjelika Washington, Meg DeLacy, Neil Jackson, Jake Austin Walker, Christopher James Baker, Hunter Sansone, Joel McHale, Lou Ferrigno, Jr., and Henry Thomas.
And finally, another production that's apparently not delayed is Space Jam 2. At least according to its producer and star, Lebron James. Speaking with the Road Trippin' Podcast, the L.A. Lakers superstar said that the follow-up to the Michael Jordan-led basketball-meets-Looney-Tunes film is still on track for its June 2021 release, due in part because it's mostly animated, and therefore can be completed in isolation.
"Space Jam has always been scheduled to come out in June of 2021," said James. "And a lot of it right now is animation, so being indoors is actually great for us. So, we’re still on. Just like everything in the world, everything is slowed down a little bit, but we’re still on target."
James went on to add: "I’m looking forward to it. During this time right now, I wish we could release it right now, man, and give people some things to watch in their households. But we got until next year, next summer. We’re excited about it."
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee, Space Jam 2 stars James, Don Cheadle, Sonequa Martin-Green, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson, and Diana Taurasi. Unless we hear otherwise, it's still set to premiere on July 16, 2021.
