Movies
Moscow Fires Shut Down Summit’s ‘Darkest Hour’
The Moscow fires have spread to Hollywood. Production on The Darkest Hour, an alien-invasion thriller shooting in the Russian capital, has been shut down due to thick smoke engulfing the area. The shutdown of the Summit Entertainment/New Regency production, which stars Olivia Thirlby and Emile Hirsch and is being directed by Chris Gorak (Right at Your Door), is planned for two weeks. More inside.
Cast and crew were told Thursday night that filming would be suspended due to the raging forest fires that have killed more than 50 people. Smoke from the fires makes shooting outside impossible (the production was in the middle of lensing exterior scenes).
“On any production the health and safety of the actors and crew is of primary concern,” Summit tells THR in a statement. “The potential health issues and spread of fire has forced the production to be put on hold for two weeks in order to allow things to stabilize in the area.”
Force majeure clauses in contracts were invoked, although cast and crew were assured that the film, produced by Tom Jacobson and Timur Bekmambetov, would be completed as scheduled.
“We do not foresee this temporary stoppage of filming effecting the film’s wrap date as we always build contingencies into a production schedule to account for unforeseen situations,” Summit said.
Brendan Fraser is back for the upcoming fourth installment in The Mummy franchise from directors Radio Silence, and Michael Johnston (Obsession) is now in talks to join him.
The Hollywood Reporter lets us know tonight that Michael Johnston is in “early talks” to join The Mummy 4, which will release in theaters on October 15, 2027 via Universal.
Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah will reprise their iconic roles as Rick O’Connell, Evelyn O’Connell, and Jonathan Carnahan in the upcoming movie.
Radio Silence duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not, Scream 5-6) are directing from a script by David Coggeshall (Orphan: First Kill).
Plot details are being kept under wraps at this time, but the brand new sequel is expected to disregard the events of the third movie, in which Rachel Weisz did not appear.
“It’s just really beautiful and scary and sweeping, and it’s awesome,” Gillet teases. Bettinelli-Olpin adds that the film “has all of the heart and the character that you could hope for.”
A remake of the classic Universal monster movie that took an action-adventure approach, The Mummy was released in 1999 and grossed $417 million worldwide. It was followed by The Mummy Returns in 2001 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008.