Weekend Recap: ‘Death Stranding’ Film Coming, ‘Twisters’ Lifts Director, Donald Glover Joins Sony’s Marvel Universe, ‘FNAF’ Begins Casting
We look at some of the biggest Hollywood news this week, including a Death Stranding film adaptation and Universal Pictures’ Twisters finding its director.
From more DC drama to Barbie‘s zany teaser trailer, it’s been a busy week for film fanatics. And that’s not even counting Avatar: The Way of Water finally hitting theaters worldwide. But that’s not everything, as more exciting and surprising news have surfaced in the last few days. It appears the big studios are making some huge moves before we enter Christmas and everybody has some time off away from work. Read on below to find out more…
Death Stranding is getting a film
With a perfectly timed announcement, right after the reveal of its sequel, we’ve learned that Hideo Kojima’s hit video game Death Stranding will be expanding its world with a live-action film to be produced by Kojima Productions and Hammerstone Studios. Barbarian executive producer Alex Lebovici will produce alongside Kojima. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but plans are to the tell a new story with previously unseen characters.
Lebovici said the following:
“We are thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to partner with brilliant and iconic Hideo Kojima on his first film adaptation… Unlike other big budget tentpole video game adaptations, this will be something far more intimate and grounded. Our goal is to redefine what a video game adaptation could be when you have creative and artistic freedom. This film will be an authentic “Hideo Kojima” production.”
Fans of the game are curious about how the enigmatic, strange world and in-universe rules of Death Stranding will be transported to the big screen, and with good reason. This is one video game adaptation to keep an eye on.
Twisters finds its director in Lee Isaac Chung
Universal is back in the disaster movie business, as they’ve given the green light to a sequel to 1996’s Twister, which starred Helen Hunt and the late Bill Paxton. Though there had been rumblings before, we didn’t properly hear about the project until October, just a couple of months ago. Word was that it was being fast-tracked for a spring 2023 production start. Well, it seems like the studio is on the right track, as they’ve found their director right before Christmas (via Deadline): Lee Isaac Chung, the filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated Minari (2020).
Right after Minari made a splash, Chung landed a job at Bad Robot to helm their upcoming Your Name adaptation, but scheduling conflicts made him leave the project in summer 2021. Well, he’s now grabbed a potential blockbuster a year and a half later. With the original Twister having a strong focus on its main characters, one could see such a pick working in the sequel’s favor if the script is solid.
Donald Glover is doing Hypno-Hustler for Sony Pictures’ Marvel universe
The most surprising news of the week (from The Hollywood Reporter) has extremely busy artist Donald Glover joining Sony’s Marvel cinematic universe efforts in an extremely obscure role: that of Hypno-Hustler, “a product of the disco music scene” of the late 1970s. He led a band called the Mercy Killers and used hypnosis technology on his audience in order to rob them.
Before you write this project off, it’s worth considering that Glover was interested in the character because of the surrounding musical elements “and the fact that he has less Marvel canon baggage, freeing him to greater interpretations.” Myles Murphy, the son of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy, is on board to write the film.
Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard to headline Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s
The film adaptation of the hit indie video game franchise Five Nights at Freddy’s is finally moving forward, with a February production start date. Via Deadline, we’ve got the first names lined up for a good scare: The Hunger Games actor Josh Hutcherson and Good Girls‘ Matthew Lillard, who audiences might recognize as Shaggy from the Scooby Doo franchise.
Details on the characters they’re playing are unclear at the moment, though there’s buzz that Lillard might be playing a villainous role. As previously announced, Emma Tammi (Blood Moon) is directing the film, and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop will be working alongside Blumhouse to bring the game’s terrifying animatronics to life. Stay tuned for more FNAF casting news in the coming weeks.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
