Movies
‘I Am Legend’ Prequel Officially Dead
Back in 2008, Warner Bros. began work on an I Am Legend Prequel, bringing back the team of star Will Smith and director Francis Lawrence which brought in a worldwide gross of $584 million the first time around. The film would chronicle the final days of humanity in New York before a man-made virus caused a plague that left Smith’s character the lone survivor among a mutated mob in the city.
Word on the film had been non-existent until today, when an interview with Lawrence revealed that he is no longer involved and that he doesn’t “think [it’s] ever going to happen.”
The news isn’t particularly surprising, as the idea of a prequel featuring the outbreak of the virus didn’t really catch many people’s interest. Considering what direction the film’s theatrical ending would’ve taken the franchise, I can understand from a financial standpoint why they would go for a prequel. This late in the game, it would be confusing to general audiences to go bill the (much better) alternate ending as a jumping off point for a sequel, plus there would be no way to intelligently incorporate Smith as the lead.
The prequel could, of course, be revisited later on by a different director / creative team but for now, consider it dead.
Movies
‘The Exorcism’ Trailer – Russell Crowe Gets Possessed in Meta Horror Movie from Producer Kevin Williamson
Russell Crowe (The Pope’s Exorcist) is starring in a brand new meta possession horror movie titled The Exorcism, and Vertical has unleashed the official trailer this afternoon.
Vertical has picked up the North American rights to The Exorcism, which they’ll be bringing to theaters on June 7. Shudder is also on board to bring the film home later this year.
Joshua John Miller, who wrote 2015’s The Final Girls and also starred in films including Near Dark and And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird, directed The Exorcism.
Joshua John Miller also wrote the script with M.A. Fortin (The Final Girls). This one is personal for Miller, as his late father was the star of the best possession movie ever made.
Miller said in a statement this week, “The origins of the film stem from my childhood spent watching my father, Jason Miller, playing the doomed Father Karras flinging himself out a window at the climax of The Exorcist. If that wasn’t haunting enough on its own, my dad never shied away from telling me stories of just how “cursed” the movie was: the mysterious fires that plagued the production, the strange deaths, the lifelong injuries— the list went on and on. The lore of any “cursed film” has captivated me ever since.”
“With The Exorcism, we wanted to update the possession movie formula (“Heroic man rescues woman from forces she’s too weak and simple to battle herself!”) for a world where no one group owns goodness and decency over another,” he adds. “We were gifted with an extraordinary cast and creative team to tell a story about how we’re all vulnerable to darkness, to perpetuating it, if we fail to face our demons. The devil may retaliate, but what other choice do we have?”
The film had previously been announced under the title The Georgetown Project.
“The Exorcism follows Anthony Miller (Crowe), a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play.”
Sam Worthington (Avatar: The Way of Water), Chloe Bailey (Praise This), Adam Goldberg (The Equalizer) and David Hyde Pierce (Frasier) also star.
Of particular note, Kevin Williamson (Scream, Sick) produced The Exorcism.
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