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[News Bites] McG Gets Behind Animated ‘Ruin’; The Mortal Instruments’ Casting; And Lifetime’s “Witches”

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Fox is in negotiations to pre-emptively pick up the movie rights to Ruin, an eight-minute animated short by Wes Ball. THR writes that Ball is attached to direct the feature and will co-write the script with T.S. Nowlin. The two likely will work under the supervision of McG, who is negotiating to produce via his Wonderland Sound and Vision, with Steve Tzirlin, a Lucasfilm exec who oversaw story and script development for “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” The video, which debuted on Vimeo in March (watch it above), is set in a post-apocalyptic North American city overgrown with foliage and has an I Am Legend meets Terminator 2 vibe.

“Game of Thrones” and Dredd star Lena Headey, Jared Harris of “Mad Men” and Godfrey Gao have joined the cast of The Mortal Instruments from Screen Gems and Constantin Films, reports Variety. Previously announced cast include Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell Bower in the pic helmed by Harald Zwart. Based on Cassandra Clare’s bestselling young adult book series, “the story follows Clary Fray, a seemingly ordinary teenager who discovers she is the descendent of a demon-hunting clan.

In some horror news that we’ll never again report on, Lifetime, which continues to delve into scripted fare, has ordered a pilot for “Witches of East End,” says Variety. Based on the Melissa de la Cruz novel, “Witches of East End” centers on a mother and her two daughters who are the family’s next generation of witches. Maggie Friedman wrote the pilot and will exec produce with Erwin Stoff.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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’28 Years Later’ – Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson Join Long Awaited Sequel

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28 Days Later, Ralph Fiennes in the Menu
Pictured: Ralph Fiennes in 'The Menu'

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland (AnnihilationMen), the director and writer behind 2002’s hit horror film 28 Days Later, are reteaming for the long-awaited sequel, 28 Years Later. THR reports that the sequel has cast Jodie Comer (Alone in the Dark, “Killing Eve”), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven the Hunter), and Ralph Fiennes (The Menu).

The plan is for Garland to write 28 Years Later and Boyle to direct, with Garland also planning on writing at least one more sequel to the franchise – director Nia DaCosta is currently in talks to helm the second installment.

No word on plot details as of this time, or who Comer, Taylor-Johnson, and Fiennes may play.

28 Days Later received a follow up in 2007 with 28 Weeks Later, which was executive produced by Boyle and Garland but directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Now, the pair hope to launch a new trilogy with 28 Years Later. The plan is for Garland to write all three entries, with Boyle helming the first installment.

Boyle and Garland will also produce alongside original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice, the former head of Fox Searchlight Pictures, the division of one-time studio Twentieth Century Fox that originally backed the British-made movie and its sequel.

The original film starred Cillian Murphy “as a man who wakes up from a coma after a bicycle accident to find England now a desolate, post-apocalyptic collapse, thanks to a virus that turned its victims into raging killers. The man then navigates the landscape, meeting a survivor played by Naomie Harris and a maniacal army major, played by Christopher Eccleston.”

Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) is on board as executive producer, though the actor isn’t set to appear in the film…yet.

Talks of a third installment in the franchise have been coming and going for the last several years now – at one point, it was going to be titled 28 Months Later – but it looks like this one is finally getting off the ground here in 2024 thanks to this casting news. Stay tuned for more updates soon!

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