WIRE Buzz: The Mandalorian adds villainous Werner Herzog; Jumanji debuts new costumes

The world of sci-fi film has plenty of news today, with some major casting announcements involving Werner Herzog, a new look at some costumes from the upcoming Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle sequel, and a talent-loaded new cast for Netflix's much-buzzed Charlie Kaufman movie.

First up, The Mandalorian has cast Werner Herzog not just as any cameo character, but as a villain in the first live-action Star Wars show. The famed director, cameo artist, and downbeat deadpanner explained in an interview with IndieWire.

“Now this is not a secret anymore, a small part, real small part, in The Mandalorian,” Herzog said, “the Star Wars sequel or whatever you call it.” The Jon Favreau-helmed show features a huge and stacked cast, as well as plenty of prominent directors like Bryce Dallas Howard and Taika Waititi. But it will also have Herzog going bad: “I like to [act] because I know I’m good on screen, but only if I have to play a real villain.”

Now how early will Pedro Pascal blast Herzog’s character into space dust? There’s no telling, but Herzog is likely only in for a single episode (at least, according to IMDb). Star Wars fans will know for sure when The Mandalorian hits Disney+ this fall.

Next, fans champing at the bit over the next entry into the Jumanji franchise now have a bit more information about the new film as the upcoming third movie shoots. Stars Dwayne Johnson and Karen Gillan can be seen in costume in a picture Johnson posted on his Instagram — and the new duds seem to indicate a colder environment.

Take a look:

Director Jake Kasdan's sequel will see its newly outfitted returning stars dealing with newcomers like Danny DeVito, Awkwafina, and Danny Glover when the untitled film hits theaters around Christmas.

Finally, Netflix is adding some serious star power to what already was shaping up to be a strange and gripping view through Charlie Kaufman’s always surreal lens. The streaming giant has just revealed the main cast for Kaufman's adaptation of Iain Reid’s award-winning psychological horror novel I’m Thinking of Ending Things, and we can already tell it’s going to be hard to look away.

On board for yet-to-be-named roles in the feature-length movie are Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad), Jessie Buckley (Beast), Toni Collette (Hereditary), and David Thewlis (Wonder Woman).

Principal photography has already started on the Kaufman-written-and-directed adaptation, a slow-burn suspense horror story that comes with a twist ending worthy of Keyser Söze. There’s no word yet on when I’m Thinking of Ending Things will arrive, so stay tuned as Netflix reveals more.