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We’re creeping ever so closer to the end of the week, here’s your round-up of entertainment headlines for this morning!

– While on the press tour for his new film, Chappie; Neill Blomkamp has, to no one’s surprise, been receiving a number of questions about his recently announced Alien sequel. Having Sigourney Weaver on-hand as a part of the Chappie cast likely provided additional temptation in that regard. SkyMovies (via Collider) got some pretty great details out of him in a recent interview, where he discussed the continuity of the new film:

I want this film to feel like it is literally the genetic sibling of Aliens, so it’s Alien, Aliens and then this film.

From the sounds of things, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection are being wiped from continuity, which I have mixed feelings about if that is indeed how things play out. It didn’t quite work for Superman Returns, and I’d be worried that it might lead to confusion here.

Blomkamp continued:

It’s a Freudian nightmare. That element to me is what is so appealing; to put the audience on the edge of their seat the whole time in a traditional, monster-stalking-you, dark-corridor-way. I love that. And then when you mix in all of the deign elements and the life cycle of the alien, it’s a powder keg of creativity for me.

Weaver also chimed in, basically confirming her involvement and the return of Ripley:

I would love to take Ripley out of sort of orbiting around in space and give a proper finish to what was such an excellent story. So when someone like Neill Blomkamp said, ‘Well, I’m interested in finishing the story,’ my little ears perked up… I think it’s a great series. It deserves a proper ending—I know the fans would love that.

– Empire has some new photos of Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell from Fantastic Four:

CBM has also pulled together the interview that features in that issue with director Josh Trank.

– Empire also brings us new Spectre images featuring Dave Bautista as henchman Mr. Hinx:

Bautista had this to say about taking on the role:

When I came over to meet Sam [Mendes], I only asked two questions. I asked him if Mr. Hinx was a badass. He said, ‘Yes, he’s a badass.’ I said, ‘Well, is Mr. Hinx intelligent?’ He said, ‘Very.’ That’s what I like about Mr. Hinx. He’s very well-dressed and very well-mannered. I’m not just here to fight people. He has a sense of humour. He definitely knows what a metaphor is.

Lea Seydoux also spoke to her new character, Dr. Madeleine Swann, seen below:

I don’t consider myself a Bond girl. I think I’m not really the stereotyped Bond girl. I feel quite different. You can’t be like, ‘Oh, James.’ You have to find something else. She’s not a fighter, she’s a doctor. She fights in another way.

The production team has also released another video featuring Sam Mendes elaborating on why he returned for another Bond film:

– Lastly, Steven Markus and Christopher McFeely spoke with Entertainment Weekly (spoilers at the link) about Agent Carter‘s finale, indicating that if a Season 2 were to happen they’d like to focus on Peggy’s background further:

MARKUS: When we were figuring out the show and the backstory of the show, we had a really nice story about who Peggy is and where she came from. We just didn’t have any time. I would love to tell that story.

MCFEELY: That’s one of our strongest ideas for the second season: What makes Peggy, Peggy? We like what Peggy is, but if you ask some hard questions, you might wonder: but why is she that way? We have some thoughts on that.

Sadly, the future of the series is in doubt given its ratings struggle. This week’s finale only pulled a 1.3 in the 18-49 demo, which on ABC is not a good sign.

Bryan Singer continues to add young mutants to his ensemble cast for X-Men: Apocalypse, which currently consists of teenage versions of Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee); along with the adult-aged Professor Xavier (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence).

Now The Wrap reports that Ben Hardy (EastEnders) is in talks to join in a “key, as-yet-undisclosed role” in the 1980’s set sequel to X-Men: Days of Future Past. At one point, Hardy was one of the actors in contention for Cyclops, so the fact that he would stay on Singer’s radar is a good sign.

One look at Hardy and it’s hard to imagine him playing anyone but Angel, especially given that Oscar Isaac‘s Apocalypse is the film’s antagonist. The report’s sources say that he’s been cast in an altogether different role though, so it remains to be seen.

Right at the crack of the New Year, Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) teased fans with his concept designs for a proposed Alien sequel that he was playing around with.

Apparently, executives at 20th Century Fox were so taken with his work, and fan response to it, that they’ve hired him to direct the next Alien film per Variety.

According to other sources at The Wrap, this new film will take place after Prometheus 2, which is still going into production under Ridley Scott. Scott will produce Blomkamp’s Alien feature.

While there’s no script in place yet, Blomkamp was on the record as hoping to work with original Alien franchise star Sigourney Weaver. Additionally, Michael Biehn may also play a part in the project given his character’s (Hicks) appearance in Blomkamp’s team’s concept art.

This project may very well be the first film to be prompted over Instagram.

And how many more times can I write about Instagram this week?

Blomkamp’s new film, Chappie, starring Hugh Jackman and Sharlto Copley opens on March 6th.

What say you? Does this new Alien film get you excited for the continued life of the franchise? For my part, I love the original film, the second slightly less so, the rest are not films of which I have a high opinion. Though, I do think that Alien 3 and Prometheus both are conceptually engaging in places.

Deadpool keeps adding to their growing cast, and they now have their female lead as Morena Baccarin (Homeland, Firefly) has signed onto the X-Men spinoff.

Who she’s playing is being kept under wraps, but THR reports that she’ll be playing the love interest of Ryan Reynolds‘ Wade Wilson.

Baccarin had fairly stiff competition for the unnamed role including Orange Is The New Black star Taylor Schilling, Jessica De Gouw, Crystal Reed, Rebecca Rittenhouse, and Sarah Greene.

The popular actress joins Reynolds, Gina Carano, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, and whoever is cast in the still unfilled role of Colossus, as Daniel Cudmore recently stated that he will not be returning.

Deadpool, directed by Tim Miller with a script from Rhett Reese, hits theaters on February 12, 2016.

Didn’t I tell you to follow Bryan Singer‘s Instagram?

Late last night, the X-Men: Apocalypse director announced another piece of news regarding the production: the casting of Kodi Smit-McPhee (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Let Me In) as Nightcrawler.

It was really only a matter of time before one of Singer’s favorite mutants re-appeared, as the director almost included a Nightcrawler scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but scrapped it at the last minute.

Smit-McPhee joins new cast additions Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, and Alexandra Shipp in playing a younger version of a role previously cast by Singer. In this instance, he will be taking over for Alan Cumming, who was one of the stand-outs of X2: X-Men United.

This isn’t Smit-McPhee’s first shot at the X-Men Universe, as he was originally cast as Young Logan in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but dropped out to instead film The Road. He clearly dodged a bullet, hopefully his good senses have remained and it’s a good omen for Apocalypse.

X-Men: Apocalypse opens on May 27, 2016.

If you had the day off yesterday, we hope you had a lovely Presidents Day! Here are a few of the big headlines of interest making the rounds this morning…

– There’s a Deadpool Casting Call that appeared on Casting247, under the fake-title of “WHAM!”, and has led to speculation as to which roles these place-holder names represent. As I’ve said before, my X-Men knowledge is awful, but people better in the know think that “Ridge” is at least Garrison Kane, the villain of the film.

– The Dark Knight trilogy director Christopher Nolan sat down with Looper and Star Wars Episode VIII director Rian Johnson for a 30 minute interview regarding last year’s Interstellar at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica. It’s a pretty great, lengthy chat for anyone interested in the art of filmmaking. (recording made available via SoundCloud user TheBigKahoona)

– Robert Downey Jr. was interviewed by Empire regarding Captain America: Civil War, and states that the lead-up to the new Captain America sequel is in Avengers: Age of Ultron:

The clues are in Ultron about where we might find [Stark] next, but what would it take for Tony to completely turn around everything he’s stood for, quote-unquote, because he was the right-wing guy who could still do his own thing. The idea of Tony being able to march into Washington and say, ‘I’ll sign up’, wouldn’t have made sense if the political climate in the real world hadn’t shifted the way it has. It’s a little bit of things following a real world continuum in, ‘What would you do?’ You have to figure, ‘Were you to ask the question, what would the American government do if this were real? Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Tony doing something you wouldn’t imagine?’

– Bryan Singer has posted another tease for the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse, this time a piece of production art that shows…something. If you’re on Instagram, it’s worth following Singer’s posts, as he shares a ton of info via his account.

Some production art. #XmenApocalypse #GrantMajor I was a little busy but will continue to snap more.

A photo posted by Bryan Singer (@bryanjaysinger) on Feb 16, 2015 at 11:52am PST

And we were just talking about Deadpool yesterday…

Former mixed martial artist and Haywire star Gina Carano has signed on to the Ryan Reynolds starring X-Men spin-off. THR has relayed that she’ll be playing a character named Angel Dust, and while my X-Men universe knowledge is deplorable, I understand she’s a part of the Morlocks.

It was only a matter of time before one of these superhero flicks picked up Carano, whose action chops are impeccable.

Additionally they report that T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley) is in place for a comic relief role, and that Colossus will also be returning for the picture. There’s no indication whether or not Daniel Cudmore will still be playing him, but fans of the character have to be a little excited that there’s a chance he’ll get some of the spotlight finally.

Here’s their description of the film, directed by Tim Miller and scheduled to open on February 12, 2016:

Reynolds is an assassin who is dying of cancer who undergoes a procedure that is supposed to cure him but ends up twisted and scarred while also imbued with super-powers.

While on the press circuit for this weekend’s release of Kingsman: The Secret Service (review), Matthew Vaughn discussed with JoBlo the possibility of returning to another Mark Millar property: the Kick-Ass series, of which he directed the first entry:

Do you know what’s going to be next if I do it… we’ve finished plotting it. What we have to do is, we’ve got to do the First Class to the Kick-Ass world. We lost a few fans on Kick-Ass 2. It wasn’t as loved as one would’ve hoped. So we have this idea for a Hit Girl prequel. It’s a really strong, really simple prequel where I think we can regain the love and the passion. If that happens, I’m pretty sure I can persuade Aaron and Chloe to come back and finish the story of Kick-Ass with Kick-Ass 3.

Saying Kick-Ass 2 wasn’t as loved as he would have hoped is a bit of an understatement, though to be fair, the second entry was directed by Jeff Wadlow, whereas Vaughn stepped back to produce. For those who really loved the initial Kick-Ass, perhaps Vaughn’s enthusiasm is a welcome turn?

Additionally, Vaughn mentions that The Raid helmer Gareth Evans had been in discussions for the Hit Girl film, which is certainly a choice that makes some amount of sense given the hyper-violent world those films present.

It’s finally here. We now have our first look at the ultra-secretive Fantastic Four reboot, and as promised, there’s a good deal of Cronenberg and a sense of scientific discovery in the scenes presented.

We don’t really get a great look at the team members utilizing their powers beyond a few brief glimpses, but perhaps that’s for the next trailer.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Fantastic Four, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.

Does this assuage your fears regarding the movie? Is the tone too dour?

Fantastic Four, which stars Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell, will be released on August 7th.

Photo: Collider

More so than any other comics-based film, the Josh Trank-helmed reboot of The Fantastic Four, has been a divisive prospect for fans. The veil of mystery and the lack of anything official emerging from production – not even a set photo – coupled with many out-of-context descriptions (ex: Doctor Doom is an angry blogger!) have led to much justified worry.

Tonight, Steve Weintraub over at Collider is finally pulling back the curtain a bit, as the site has released an interview with Trank and screenwriter Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past), where they discussed the secrecy surrounding the production, the recent re-shoots, and some of the visual influences that are imbued into the newest adventure of Marvel’s first family.

On whether the lack of any concrete information is a sign the movie has “issues”:

Trank: I think a lot of that stuff is stemming from the fact that we’ve consciously decided to not release anything official.  This isn’t like The Avengers.  Even when the first Avengers came out, there were four other movies that people were familiar with.  The suits and the tone and the look and the feel.  So they could release those things or drop them on Twitter.  With Simon on the X-Men movies, there were other movies that came before the last X-Men movie so Bryan [Singer] could feel more confident in tweeting teases of what’s to come.  But this movie, we really want the audience to have the proper reaction to this material seeing it for the first time.  You’ve really got to put your best foot forward.  You can’t just leak an image to strike up a conversation.  You want people to see something that has thought behind it.  And the teaser should do just that.  With conversations online, you can’t really control it.  In this day and age people have come to expect that artists are going to give everybody information on Twitter about what they’re doing, but not every artist is like that.  I’m not really like that.  If I was painting a picture I wouldn’t want to take a picture of a single paint stroke.  I’d rather show people what it looks like when it’s done.

On setting The Fantastic Four apart from other superhero franchises:

Trank: I would say that the science fiction of it is a big thing that sets it apart from most of the other superhero genre films.  I’m a huge David Cronenberg fan, and I always viewed Fantastic Four and the kind of weirdness that happens to these characters and how they’re transformed to really fall in line more with a Cronenberg-ian science fiction tale of something horrible happening to your body and [it] transforming out of control.  And the potential for a hard sci-fi take on that material makes me really excited.  I don’t really see that kind of potential and that kind of take being implemented on any of the other superhero movies that seem to be coming out in the next few years.  Superhero movies have become a genre unto themselves and I didn’t really grow up on superhero movies.  I grew up on genre movies before superhero was a genre.   I don’t know if there are Blockbusters [the video chain] anymore, but there would probably be a superhero section.  And this would fit more into the science-fiction, or horror, or even drama sections of the Blockbuster.  And that’s just kind of the way I look at it.  I want it to feel like it’s its own thing.

Kinberg: One thing that’s unique to it is that it’s always been about a family.  Most comic book superhero movies are about a superhero protagonist or a superhero group.  But they’re ever really exploring what it is to be family.  And when I first read the comic that’s what was so compelling about it.  I think the reason it’s endured this long, the powers are great, but the defining thing is the surrogate family.  That’s something we really spent a long time talking about and putting into the film.  I think that will differentiate us as well from all of the different superheroes and superhero groups out there.

Regarding any specific comic runs that this film is pulling from:

Kinberg: Yeah, I think The Ultimate Fantastic Four is probably our biggest influence because it’s the younger Fantastic Four.  And a lot of the science specifics are there.  And a lot of the means of transformation we took from those books. As you’ll see a little bit in the trailer and a lot in the movie, there are influences really from the beginning of what Kirby and Stan were doing in the 60’s all the way up into the present day.  I’ve done it both ways from adapting a specific story-line like Days of Future Past or jumping off like in First Class and using more of the mythology of the characters without necessarily adhering to an existing plot line.  This is an origin story in many regards and it is inspired by The Ultimate Fantastic Four as much as anything else.

And while they were tight-lipped about the plot, this is what Trank was willing to release insofar as story-specifics:

I would just say that this is a modern telling of how these four iconic characters came together and came to be.

Be sure to check out the entire interview on Collider, which goes into detail regarding casting for the new team and their discussion of what composer Phillip Glass (!!!) will be bringing to the production.

The Fantastic Four, which stars Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell, will be released on August 7th.

We reported on this topic just a few weeks back, but now according to Variety, Bryan Singer has settled on his three younger versions of Cyclops, Jean Grey and Storm for the 1980’s set X-Men: Apocalypse.

Playing Cyclops will be Tye Sheridan, who blew my socks off in Mud and the recent David Gordon Green film Joe.

Taking on the role of Jean Grey is Sophie Turner, who you’ll probably know as Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones.

And finally, Alexandra Shipp will be the new Storm. She’s the name that’s probably the least familiar to audiences, but she recently played the late singer Aaliyah in a Lifetime biopic.

They’ll be joining a cast that includes Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, and Oscar Isaac. There’s still no word on whether or not Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine for this film, though the next James Mangold-directed Wolverine sequel is still set for 2017. If he does return, I’ll be curious to see how they handle the Wolverine-Jean relationship, given the big age gap presented now.

All the same, this is an exciting development. X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters on May 27, 2016.

Sophie Turner, Photo: Tatler UK

A couple of months back, The Wrap had reported a list of young actors and actresses that were in contention to take over the roles of Young Jean Grey and Scott Summers in the forthcoming X-Men: Apocalypse. While movement on these roles had slowed a bit due the holidays, it looks like some more contenders have joined the fray, along with an additional shortlist of actresses that are testing for the role of Storm.

According to Latino Review, Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Jamie Blackley (If I Stay), and Tye Sheridan (Mud) are in line for the role of Cyclops. Jeff Sneider over at The Wrap states that Sheridan is the leading contender for the role. He’s a phenomenal talent, so its hard not to get excited about that possibility, especially if Bryan Singer might finally give Cyclops his due for once.

Also, in that same tweet, Sneider states that Chloe Grace Moretz passed on the role of Jean Grey, opening up the possibility of Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) or Saoirse Ronan (Hanna, The Grand Budapest Hotel). We’ve yet to see Turner put on an American accent as far as I know, but she seems the more ideal choice. Though truthfully, if you dye Ronan’s hair red, I’d probably say the same for her. She’s the performer with the most diverse resume of anyone on this list.

Alexandra Shipp, publicity photo

As for Ororo, its being reported that Alexandra Shipp (Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B) and Zendaya Coleman (Shake It Up) are testing for the role. Given that Apocalypse takes place in the 1980’s, the chances of getting a Mohawked Storm are pretty high.

Whoever is cast, they’ll be joining the already returning Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Jennifer Lawrence, and the recently cast as the title villain Oscar Isaac. X-Men: Apocalypse will release on May 27. 2016.

Here’s a fun little “what if..?” to start off your new year. The mastermind behind the Academy Award nominated District 9 and the less well regarded Elysium was secretly working on his own version of an Alien sequel, at least at the conceptual stage.

Blomkamp took to Twitter, via an unverified account, last night and posted a series of images that gave some hints as to where he would take the franchise if ever given the opportunity.

Here are the images he posted along with the above Xenomorph:

It should be noted though that Blomkamp stated that he was not working with 20th Century Fox in any way with this project. To that end, its basically really well designed fan-fiction, but the possibilities of one of the more interesting current sci-fi filmmakers hoping on board a series with a history of pretty great directors (awful Predator crossovers aside) certainly makes the mind reel.

Plus, in Blomkamp’s version, Hicks would still be alive!

Today we bring you another installment of Youth Media Movers and Shakers. We've culled through industry publications looking for the recent executive placements we think you should know about. If you have executive news that you want us to highlight... Read the rest of this post