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WIRE Buzz: Dark Army gets monster-sized update; Taika Waititi may not direct Akira; more
Over the last week, Universal Pictures has been dominating the news with developments on some of its upcoming and in-development creature features like Monster Mash and Bride of Frankenstein.
Well, now we've got an update on Paul Feig's Dark Army, a film that promises to introduce some of the studio's classic monsters to a few new ones cooked up by the comedic writer/director behind 2016's Ghostbusters.
“I wrote a draft and got thoughts from the studio, and now I’m in the middle of a rewrite on that right now, and so hopefully that’ll be my next movie," Feig recently told Collider about the hot project. "If it’s not, it’ll be the one after whatever I do next. But yeah, I’m very excited about it, too. It’s just, you want to get it right."
Talking about what fans can expect from Dark Army, Feig admitted that he wants to recapture the magic of the old school Universal monster flicks from the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. As such, that doesn't mean the finished product has to be "scary" in the traditional sense of the word.
“I really want this to bring the same feeling that those old monster movies that I loved growing up watching [did]," he explained. "I’m not as interested in doing a horror movie as I am in doing a true monster film. So, hopefully that will see the light of day. You never know in Hollywood these days, but I love it. I’m very excited about it. I’m excited about the characters that I’ve created and about some of the ones that I’ve been able bring over from the old movies."
Feig also mentioned Leigh Whannell's modern reimagining of The Invisible Man (in theaters everywhere Friday, Feb. 28) and Matt Stawski's newly announced musical, Monster Mash, as examples of how versatile the studio's IPs (and the monster movie genre in general) can be.
"I can’t wait for Invisible Man, but that looks like a straight-up great horror movie, you know? But then the fact that I just read that they’re going to do this like monster musical, and that’s great, too," he concluded. "I mean, the monster world is just so great. It’s nice to see it just kind of get interpreted a million different ways. So I’m excited about mine and about whatever else they’re going to do.”
In the same Variety interview where he talked about Jane Foster's health in Thor: Love and Thunder and the rumors that he was approached to direct a Star Wars movie, Taika Waititi cast some doubt on whether or not he'll end up directing a live-action Akira film for Warner Bros.
"The whole thing went on hold," said the filmmaker, who took home his first-ever Oscar this past weekend for adapting Jojo Rabbit. "We had to keep pushing the dates, and it encroached on the Thor dates, which were immovable. So Akira ended up shifting two years down the track."
Originally slated to hit theaters next May, Akira was completely removed from the studio's schedule back in December. Right now, Waititi is of the opinion that if he ever brings the classic 1988 anime into the realm of live-action, it'll have to be "Post-Thor."
"So I’m not sure if even in two years I’d be — I don’t know what I’m doing in f—ing two days," he admitted. "I think eventually it will happen. I’m just not sure if I’ll be doing it."
Featuring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Christian Bale, Thor: Love and Thunder will strike theaters Nov. 5, 2021.
Could Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis's revamped take on Dracula rise from its coffin and return for a second season?
“I mean it’s a show about resurrection,” Moffat told the RadioTimes. “That’s literally what the main superpower of the main character is. Dracula started the show dead and then died again in Episode 2 and came back. And then died again. Sister Agatha died and came back. I mean everyone’s dying on that show. So, we’ll see."
“I hope it’s not the end! I have to say, I so want to do a second series – just because I want to – but also because I want to see how Steven and Mark will bring him and Agatha back to life,” added Claes Bang, who played the titular blood-sucker. “So just to sort of find out how they’re going to do that... I don’t know [if it’s over], but I hope not.”
With the iconic Count now aware that sunlight can't hurt him, Gattis apparently joked about sending Dracula on a seaside getaway.
“Mark has said to me that now [that] he can stand in the light the only idea they have for him is on a beach in Mexico with a tin – you know that thing where you get a sun tan?” continued Bang. “That’s the only idea they have at the moment – that’s what he said to me. That would be very lovely to film."
The three-part miniseries aired on the BBC before hitting Netflix early last month.
