Have a gander at the latest news from the land of film and telly below. If you’d like to see recent trailer releases, click here.
Netflix cancels House of Cards after sexual assault allegations emerge against Kevin Spacey
The latest revelation in a seemingly endless spiral of sexual assault allegations from powerful men across the media, news (and a statement) broke recently regarding the alleged attack by Kevin Spacey on Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp.
This Buzzfeed article reports Rapp’s allegations against Spacey; that he attempted to sexually assault him at a party in 1986, when Rapp was just 14. Spacey has since released a widely criticised statement, saying he doesn’t remember the incident, and, many feel, trying to indecently cover up or justify the incident with reference to his sexuality.
It comes after many women, including some highly successful actresses, came forward to reveal similar stories about produced Harvey Weinstein this month.
In response to this, Netflix have confirmed that the upcoming sixth season of their hit political thriller House of Cards will be the last, cancelling the show – and whilst not specifying if this is directly linked to the allegations, they confirmed they were indeed ‘deeply troubled‘ about it.
We support this move by Netflix, and have a sorry suspicion that this won’t be the last big name we see pulled under.
Star Trek Discovery confirmed for second season
Some better news than the above for the space age show – Trekkies will (hopefully) be happy to hear that Star Trek Discovery, streamed on Netflix in the UK and CBS All Access in America, has been confirmed for a second season.
Starring Jason Isaacs as the Captain, the series has focused on an intergalactic war with the Klingons, and is said to have taken an altogether darker view of the Star Trek world.
We’re yet to know what to expect from the second season, but though exec producer Bryan Fuller initially expected it to be an anthology format, following different stories each year, it’s thought we’ll be sticking with the current starfleet for next time.
Renee Zellweger to play Judy Garland
The iconic actress and singer Judy Garland is set to be played in a biopic entitled Judy (very inventive) by Renee Zellweger, with Rupert Goold directing.
We will see Judy in London during 1968 to perform a series of sold out concerts – it’s late in her career, and her hearts really not in it.
There is likely to be some of her biggest songs included, and work will start on the film in February.
James Mangold working on Logan spin off about X-23
James Mangold‘s dark and dramatic vision of Wolverine in this year’s Logan is one of the standout films of 2017 – and, as you’ll recall, our favourite X-Men movie so far.
So, we’re delighted to hear there could be a spin-off in the works, this time focusing on Dafne Keen‘s character X-23, or Laura as she was also known.
Part of a new breed of X-Men and cloned from Wolverine, she had her own bone claws as well as feet, making her a lethal force to be reckoned with.
It’s thought the success of Wonder Woman is lighting the way for female-led action/comic book films, which we’re very happy about – and also confirmed that Hugh Jackman won’t be involved with the spin off at all, even as a producer.
We’re not sure if Dafne Keen will be back, as we could see Laura at an older age – but she was such a standout in Logan, we reckon she’d do a great job. We’ll keep you posted!
Olivia Colman taking over from Claire Foy in The Crown
Though Netflix‘s big budget royal drama The Crown is set to chart Elizabeth II’s reign throughout the years, it was never the plan for current monarch Claire Foy to continue to age with the character – we’ll see new actresses take over as the screen Queen matures.
And so, with Claire Foy playing HRH for the last time in the upcoming second season of The Crown, it is confirmed that Olivia Colman is to take her place on the throne for at least the third and fourth run of the show.
We’ve so far seen Queen Elizabeth taking the throne and her marriage to Prince Phillip, and the second season will see us through to the early 1960s.
The Crown returns to Netflix on December 8th.
Thanks for reading this movie news roundup film fans – we’ll see you next time.
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