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WIRE Buzz: Bradley Cooper closing in on lead for Guillermo del Toro's next movie; more
Do you like famous horror directors? How about the real-world story of the American space program? Or maybe you're a fan of medieval warlords in feudal Japan? You don't have to choose one because we've got all three in our latest WIRE Buzz!
Bradley Cooper (Avengers: Endgame) could end up in Guillermo del Toro's next movie, Nightmare Alley, Variety reports. If the deal closes, Cooper will replace Leonardo DiCaprio, who already passed on the Fox Searchlight project, which is set to begin filming in the fall.
Based on William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel of the same name, Nightmare Alley was adapted into a noir for the screen once by 20th Century Fox in 1947. Per Variety, GDT's version (based on a script he wrote with Kim Morgan) will adhere more closely to the source material, which tells the story of con man Stanton Carlisle, whose sleazy carnival grifts catch up with him in the end.
Guillermo del Toro led Fox Searchlight to two Oscar ceremonies ago when The Shape of Water nabbed major prizes for Best Production Design, Best Score, Best Director, and Best Picture.
National Geographic's TV series based on Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff just landed itself Lord Gendry Baratheon of Storm's End.
According to THR, the show just cast Game of Thrones alum Joe Dempsie as well as Jake McDorman (What We Do in the Shadows), Aaron Staton (Castle Rock), Michael Trotter (Underground), Micah Stock (Escape at Dannemora) and James Lafferty (The Haunting of Hill House, One Tree Hill).
The newcomers will join the already-cast Patrick J. Adams (Suits) as the rest of the Mercury Seven, a group of test pilots who became America's first-ever astronauts. Adams is playing Major John Glenn, a character first portrayed by Ed Harris in the 1983 film adaptation of Wolfe's book. Wolfe himself, unfortunately, died last May.
Production for the series will kick off this fall in Florida, with Nat Geo eyeing a 2020 release date for the Season 1 premiere.
Netflix is pulling out the katanas for a documentary series that explores Japan's greatest feudal warriors, the samurai, Deadline confirms.
Described as "a real-life Game of Thrones," Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan "will explore the warring kingdoms of feudal Japan when several powerful warlords fought to become absolute ruler. It brings to life a cast of characters in an epic struggle through stylized drama that will pay homage to the noir of graphic novels and Japanese art."
One of the key players in the story is Date Masamune, a samurai sometimes referred to as the "One-Eyed Dragon." He earned that moniker from plucking out his own eyeball, which had become infected with smallpox, when he was young. He also kicked his own brother to make sure he'd be first in line to take over from their father. Interestingly, Masamune's headgear is thought to have served as the inspiration for Darth Vader's iconic helmet in Star Wars.
The docuseries will premiere on Netflix later this year.
