Welcome back Studio CoffeeFolks! This weekend sees two of nerd-dom’s underdog movie adaptations getting hopeful announcements, with Y: The Last Man and Uncharted both kicking things off in the casting corner. Then, we’ll chat about what’s new with The Witcher, as well as Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard before moving on to a quick SXSW related announcement for The Green Knight, and circle around with an update on The Suicide Squad. As always, we’ll finish things off with a trailer to power through the work week.
Let’s get started!
Y: The Last Man finds the recast for its starring role
Y: The Last Man has gone through showrunner shakeups, delays and, most recently, a vacancy in its starring role. That changes today with the announcement that Ben Schnetzer (Happy Town) is taking over as Yorick Brown, the last man himself. He’s joining the already announced Diane Lane, Imogen Poots, Lashana Lynch and Juliana Canfield along with pilot director Melina Matsoukas (Insecure, Master of None, Beyoncé: Formation).
The Vertigo comic, from artist Pia Guerra and writer Brian K. Vaughan, follows an apocalyptic event leaving only two cis males alive: Yorick Brown and his pet monkey, Ampersand. Eliza Clark is newly taking over in the triple threat position of writer, EP, showrunner; a change of hands FX Networks chairman calls “a big reboot.” Production on Y: The Last Man is set to begin next month.
Antonio Banderas joins the Uncharted crew
What do you do after your first Oscar nom? If you ask Antonia Banderas, the answer is to check out a movie based on an excellent video game franchise starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. Yes, the Pain and Glory actor is joining the Uncharted cast, along with Sophia Ali (Grey’s Anatomy) and Tati Gabrielle (The 100). Of course, it’s unclear who any of these actors will be portraying.
Following directorial upheaval, Reuben Fletcher recently took over the job back in January, succeeding the short-lived tenure of Dan Trechtenberg and Travis Knight, who both ducked out after just a few months. On the writing side, we’ve got Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, with filming rumored to be getting underway soon and a hopeful release date of March 5, 2021.
The Witcher hunts down Vesemir with latest casting
Introducing Vesemir: Kim Bodnia will play the Continent's oldest and most experienced Witcher in Season 2 of #TheWitcher. pic.twitter.com/HAmYciZ5K4
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) February 28, 2020
Kim Bodnia is Vesemir. Netflix announced the Killing Eve actor would take on the role in season two of The Witcher in a tweet last Friday, setting him as the seasoned mentor of Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill). The character was teased in a bit of a fever dream towards the end of season one and is fairly integral to Geralt’s story, as well as Ciri’s. Get ready to meet the oldest Witcher alive, when season two hits Netflix in 2021.
Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard to star in Rules for Werewolves
In some casting extremely appropriate for his name, Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) is leading Rules for Werewolves, a thriller based on an SXSW short film. In the teaser available over at Deadline, we see a taste of what it’s about. Wolfhard and a few other teens drag a teen (unwillingly) into a house and force him into what appears to be a strange ritual, with narration from Wolfhard about finding his true name. It’s very creepy, told primarily in one take and based on Kirk Lynn’s debut novel. Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux directs, with Peter Harvey, Jonathan Duffy, and Kelly Williams in the producer chairs. The Rules for Werewolves short films premieres at SXSW on March 13.
The Green Knight will also make its debut at SXSW
A24 is riding its Green Knight hype train (hype horse?) with a premiere date announcement set for Monday, March 16 at Austin, Texas’ SXSW. The fantasy film stampeded across social media when the trailer landed a few weeks back, thanks to surreal visuals and impeccable style. It retells the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) and the Green Knight. Believing he can prove his worth in besting the knight, he wanders out looking for a fight and finds all sorts of tribulations, as well as an adorable fox.
David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, The Old Man & the Gun) directs with a cast also including Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan and Ralph Ineson. For those of us not attending SXSW, we’ll have to wait until The Green Knight comes to theaters on May 29. If you are attending, though, keep in mind that the event is extremely cautious at this point given the spread of corona virus. With the caveat that SXSW “is proceeding with safety as a top priority,” it runs from March 13-22.
Filming on The Suicide Squad is a wrap
Director James Gunn announced via Instagram this weekend that The Suicide Squad is finished with filming. He posted a picture of the cast and crew, along with some insight about what he was experiencing off set. Just before production on the DC sequel began, his father died, and only a few weeks ago his dog passed, too. That’s not to mention the public lashing he went through. In his final comments, he adds “Thanks to everyone involved in this film, in every stage of development, in every department – I am grateful from the bottom of my heart for you all. You are why I make movies.” The Suicide Squad hits theaters August 6, 2021.
One trailer. Twice the Ruffalo.
Mark Ruffalo takes on the classic double cast in I Know This Much is True. The HBO series is based on Wally Lamb’s bestselling novel of the same name and follows the story of two twins (both Ruffalo). One of whom, Thomas, experiences paranoid schizophrenia, who relies on medication to stave off more intense episodes. In one particularly gruesome episode in a public library, his brother, Dominick, is left to ease him back out of his schizophrenia and through the hardships of only having access to subpar medical assistance. The miniseries premieres on April 2020.
That’s a wrap for this week! I’ve gotta go and reread Y: The Last Man, but we’ll catch you back here next time!
