House of the Dragon adds three new cast members. Taskmaster can’t get a break in a new Thunderbolts* clip. And is the next Mission: Impossible movie really longer than Magnolia? Morning Spoilers: you opened it, we came. Your spoiling will be legendary, even in hell!
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
According to Deadline, Joseph Zada has been cast as Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson’s character) in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Whitney Peak will play “girlfriend,” Lenore Dove Baird.
Herbert West: Reanimator
Deadline also has word Haunting in Connecticut screenwriters Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe are now at work on a new “contemporary reimagining” of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, Herbert West: Reanimator.
Predator: Badlands
During a recent interview with Screen Rant, director Dan Trachtenberg discussed developing the Predator’s alien language in Badlands.
We reached out to the guy who does the Navi language [for Avatar], who was very occupied, and recommended his mentee. We did it the way that The Lord of the Rings does Elvish or Game of Thrones does Dothraki. Except with those, there’s more of a precedent. As we discovered with that language expert… [the Yautja language] in the other Predator movies is complete nonsense. There’s no sense to it. People from the internet have tried to make sense of it, but none of it was made with intention. So we decided to make it with intentions. We completely developed the language. Everything they’re speaking has actual rules and structure and all that was written as verbal. Early on, we just did explorations with concept art of what we could do.
I think lots of times, when people do more in a franchise, there’s a tendency to go into the Senate trading committees. I thought we… should have a sliver of that, but not let the movie be that. When people hear the premise, they may think this is all about the inner workings of the Yautja culture. That’s not what we want to do. This is an invention of the premise. Now the Predator is on a planet, and he’s going to be hunted by things, and he has to use his guile to figure stuff out.
Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning
According to Comic Book, Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning runs 2 hours and 49 minutes long, making it the lengthiest film in the Mission: Impossible franchise and second-longest of Tom Cruise’s entire acting career behind Magnolia.
Thunderbolts*
Taskmaster, Ghost, Yelena, and U.S. Agent battle in a four-way brawl before deciding to arrest Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in two new clips from Thunderbolts*.
Until Dawn
Elsewhere, the latest TV spot for Until Dawn sells itself on the film’s practical effects alone.
House of the Dragon
Variety reports Tom Cullen (Trespasses), Joplin Sibtain (Star Wars: Andor), and Barry Sloane (Sandman) have joined the cast of House of the Dragon as Ser Luthor Largent, Ser “Bold” Jon Roxton, and Ser Adrian Redfort, respectively.
Star Wars: Mace Windu
During her recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via The Direct), Bryce Dallas Howard confirmed she’s discussed a potential Mace Windu series with Disney and LucasFilm.
Sam Jackson has been incredibly supportive of me and has told me many times that he would act in something that I directed, which is, like, I’m not worthy, basically. And then I went straight to Dave Filoni and I was like, ‘So, let’s just talk about Mace Windu and where he is. Can we just talk about this? Because, is he dead? Is he?’
Strangers Things: Tales from ’85
Comic Book also has word Netflix’s Stranger Things animated series is officially titled Strangers Things: Tales from ’85.
Doctor Who
Russell T. Davies discussed casting Rose Ayling-Ellis as a character named Aliss in this week’s “scary” episode of Doctor Who.
Aliss wasn’t written as a deaf character. But then Rose’s name came up, and she’s acted for a long time on British television, and I instantly said yes. Because she’s just wonderful. It was a delight to work with Rose. As I talked with her, we put things into the script I never would have thought of. She modified things, and we modified things….[after submitting the script for a compliance reading] they tell us what we’ve gotten wrong, which is exactly the way it should work, [but] it came back with such a glowing report. [There’s a line of dialogue] about how hearing people can get paranoid around those who are quietly signing. “I’ve never seen that said out loud before,” they said. I don’t want to give away too much…is she the villain? Maybe she’s behind it all?
[TV Line]
Ghosts
Spoiler TV has a synopsis for “Kyle,” the May 1 episode of Ghosts. Click through for images.
Sam and Jay’s relationship is tested when Kyle (Ben Feldman), a handsome living who shares Sam’s ability to see ghosts, arrives at Woodstone B&B, on the CBS Original series GHOSTS, Thursday, May 1 (8:31-9:01 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*.
The Last of Us
Spoiler TV also has images from “The Path,” the next episode of The Last of Us. More at the link.
YOLO: Rainbow Trinity
Finally, Rachel and Sarah go on a musical adventure with a pebble, bush and snake to get their electricity back in the trailer for this Sunday’s episode of YOLO: Rainbow Trinity.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
