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WIRE Buzz: Disney+ orders Henson puppet talk show; Michelle Monaghan bewitches The Craft remake; more
While a rebooted Muppet series wasn't meant to be at Disney+, that doesn't mean the streaming service has ended its relationship with The Jim Henson Company. This morning, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Disney+ put in a straight-to-series order for a half-hour puppet talk show called Earth to Ned, "in which an alien (and his lieutenant!) interview celebrity guests."
The official synopsis for the show is as follows:
"The comedy follows Ned, a blue-skinned alien and his lieutenant Cornelius, who were sent to scout Earth for an eventual invasion — but instead became obsessed with popular culture. Now, they host a talk show, broadcast from the bridge of their spaceship hidden deep underground, where they interview our most precious commodity — celebrities — to talk about Ned’s current pop culture obsessions. Ned will be bringing real-life celebrity guests to his ship from across the known universe and interviewing them, late-night talk show style, in hopes of producing the ultimate talk show — making Ned a celebrity and putting him further off mission. And the more Ned learns about our human culture, the more obsessed he becomes."
"Disney has a long history of giving audiences a glimpse at faraway lands and bringing new talent into the spotlight. We believe Ned is next in line,” Dan Silver, VP of unscripted originals at Disney+, said in a statement to THR. “We’re lucky to have the talents of the Jim Henson Co. and the folks at Marwar Junction Productions helping Ned, Cornelius, BETI and the Clods to execute and fully realize their vision. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Ned for promising to entertain us, rather than destroy us all."
Disney+ goes live Tuesday, Nov. 12. Among its initial offerings will be a massive back catalog of Disney and Fox properties, Season 1 of Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian, and director Charlie Bean's live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp.
Sony and Blumhouse's remake of 1996's The Craft is getting better and better by the day. According to Deadline, Michelle Monaghan (Mission: Impossible - Fallout) is the latest start to board the fantasy project about a group of high school girls who practice witchcraft with unforeseen consequences.
Monaghan's role is being kept a secret at this time, but you can expect her to get plenty of screen time alongside David Duchovny, Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, Zoey Luna, Nicholas Galitzine, and Julian Grey.
Zoe Lister-Jones is directing the film with original screenwriter, Andrew Fleming, attached as an executive producer.
Christopher Landon's next project for Blumhouse, a currently-untitled thriller that involves body-swapping, is beefing up its cast with Alan Ruck (Succession), Katie Finneran (Why Women Kill), Celeste O’Connor (Selah And The Spades) and Misha Osherovich (NOS4A2). Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton had previously boarded the film.
Co-written by Landon and Michael Kennedy, the Freaky Friday-esque movie will follow a girl who finds herself swapping bodies with an unhinged serial killer. She's given 24 hours to reverse things before the change becomes permanent.
Landon's first feature with Blumhouse was 2010's Paranormal Activity 2, which he co-wrote. He'd go on to write the next three installments by himself and even direct the fifth one in the series, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014). He also penned Viral (2016) and directed both Happy Death Day movies.
(via Deadline)
