WIRE Buzz: Mark Wahlberg considered for Men in Black 3; Princess Bride stars virtually reunite; more

Mark Wahlberg would have protected us from the worst scum of the universe with a Tommy Lee Jones impersonation if the Hollywood winds had blown a little differently for Men in Black 3.

According to the film's director, Barry Sonnenfeld, Wahlberg's good friend Ari Emmanuel (legendary talent agent and powerful CEO of William Morris Endeavour) wanted him for the role of young Agent K. The character ended up being played by Josh Brolin.

"I ended up having to meet Mark Wahlberg. And Mark was lovely. He was great. He would have been great in the role," Sonnenfeld said on CinemaBlend's ReelBlend podcast.

"But I think Brolin was born to play Tommy," he said at another point during the interview.

Luckily, Sonnenfeld's first choice got the part and Brolin turned in a spot-on impersonation of a young Tommy Lee Jones. While we now know him as the Mad Titan, Brolin was proving his mega-franchise acting chops long before the Infinity Stones came along.

Credit: Columbia Pictures

"I wanted Brolin. So I got Brolin, and thank God, the studio backed me up," Sonnenfeld added. "But they were really nervous about making Ari upset that I didn’t go with his guy."

Released in May of 2012, Men in Black 3 finds J (Will Smith) traveling back to 1969 to stop an interstellar criminal known as Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) from assassinating K and preventing him from deploying a safety net around the planet via the Apollo 11 moon launch.

Coming 10 years after the much-maligned Men in Black II, the sequel proved that the franchise could still spin a sizable profit, with over $620 million at the global box office.

The series returned last year in Men in Black: International, which introduced brand-new characters and a much larger sci-fi sandbox. Sadly, the movie did not connect with fans or critics.

As you wish ...

Cary Elwes and Robin Wright virtually reunited to announce that The Princess Bride will start streaming on Disney+ Friday, May 1. Based on the novel by the late William Goldman, the 1987 fantasy film is about the love story between stable boy turned masked pirate Westley (Elwes), and farm girl turned princess Buttercup (Wright).

Famous for its iconic lines of dialogue ("Inconceivable!"; "My name is Inigo Montoya..."; "mostly dead" ...) and memorable characters, The Princess Bride is a true touchstone of '80s cinema. Goldman adapted his own work into the screenplay, while Rob Reiner served as director.

The movie's plot takes place inside a storybook read by a warmhearted grandfather (Peter Falk) to his grandson (Fred Savage), who is sick in bed. 

Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, and André the Giant make up the supporting cast.

Next, speaking of mature comic adaptations, the Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, is having its supposedly trippy horror antics helmed by Spider-Man and Evil Dead veteran Sam Raimi. That means, for many fans, that longtime Raimi collaborator Bruce Campbell should be coming along for the ride.

Perhaps it's just wishful thinking for now, but Campbell himself has thrown his hat into the ring to be the antagonist to Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor:

While some have theorized that Nightmare could be the villain of the feature, others have positioned Campbell as becoming Mister Sinister — a baddie that's never made it to live-action. Artist Boss Logic posted the fan art below that makes a pretty strong case for Campbell's casting:

Sold. Campbell's epic chin means that this is the longest Sinister's soul patch has ever been — and every inch is as evil as expected. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will certainly give Strange SOMEONE to contend with (even if they're not played by Bruce Campbell) when it hits theaters on Nov. 5, 2021.

Finally, the massive world of streaming just got a little bit smaller. In a landscape where seemingly everyone and their corporate mother has a video-on-demand service of their own, there’s actually going to be fewer rather than more now that Fandango is set to buy Vudu.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fandango, which has its own online movie marketplace (Fandango Now), is acquiring Walmart’s streamer for an undisclosed price. As current releases head straight to streaming during the coronavirus pandemic, those with digital movie marketplaces are seeing big numbers while audiences can’t go to the theater.

Walmart, after making a minor gamble with the service, has reportedly been looking to leave the business behind since early this year.

Fandango and SYFY WIRE are both owned by NBCUniversal.