It’s time to start asking Mark Hamill whether he’ll be in Episode IX already. Benedict Cumberbatch offers a cryptic update about the chance of a Doctor Strange sequel. Preacher casts another major foe from the comics. Plus, new looks at Westworld and Freeform’s fishy drama Siren. Behold, spoilers!
Mark Hamill, facing press for the next two years while they ask him if he’s gonna be a Force Ghost in Episode IX or not. Screenshot: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Lucasfilm)
The Grudge
Variety reports John Cho has joined The Grudge reboot in a currently undisclosed role.
Star Wars Episode IX
Speaking amidst St Patrick’s Day festivities, Mark Hamill stated he’s eager to return for Episode IX, “but it’s all in J.J. hands”.
J.J. Abrams, call your office. I think it’s pretty clear @HamillHimself wants another shot at playing Luke Skywalker. #TheLastJedi #ForceGhost #EpisodeIX @GMA @Nightline pic.twitter.com/OVMRJBDfsa
— Clayton Sandell (@Clayton_Sandell) March 17, 2018
Meanwhile Domhnall Gleeson was unsurprisingly cryptic about the movie, telling the Radio Times to expect the, err, unexpected:
What was brilliant [about Star Wars: The Last Jedi] was that it was unexpected. And I’ve got a feeling that what J.J. does may also be unexpected. I wasn’t expecting [Hux’s comedy] to be the way it went in VIII, at all. It really surprised me. And I’d say rather than played for laughs, it was written for laughs. We did it with an eye on the comic elements of it.
Doctor Strange 2
In conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Benedict Cumberbatch revealed there are currently no plans for a sequel to Doctor Strange.
Not at the moment, no. The masterplan is continually in flux, so it would be out of order for me to speculate.
The Batman
Hold on to your bat-butts, Heroic Hollywood claims Matt Reeves’ The Batman won’t be entering production until 2019.
Avengers: Infinity War
During a recent set visit, Anthony Russo confirmed to Screen Rant that Tony Stark is still on the outs with roughly half of The Avengers, and spends much of his time mentoring Spider-Man.
Tony is still in his, you know, he sort of sided with the Accords. He’s playing out the consequences of that choice and still leading the Avengers who are not on the opposite side of the Accords. And the opposite side of the law at this point. And he still has this connection with Spider-Man that he’s established – and that evolves. And they basically have a unique mentor-mentee relationship that continues to evolve as they move into this film.
Preacher
Johnny Coyne has been cast as Allfather D’Aronique, the “most powerful man in the world” who in the comics was the 112th Allfather of the Grail, a secret organisation dedicated to keeping the bloodline of Jesus Christ intact. [Deadline]
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Neil Patrick Harris once again confirmed season three will be the series’ last.
It was always the plan to do [just] three seasons, which I really liked. It makes me feel like we’re doing a specific piece of art, as opposed to just hoping that the zeitgeist holds us up for as many seasons as people can stomach.
[TV Line]
Agents of SHIELD
Coulson’s odyssey continues in the synopsis for episode 16 of the season, “Inside Voices”.
Coulson is forced to team up with surprising allies to save the world, while the S.H.I.E.L.D. team attempts to track down and rescue him.
Westworld
TV Line has new images from season two. Click through to see the rest.
Siren
Seals and sweatpants abound in KSiteTV‘s gallery of images from the pilot airing in the US March 29. More at the link.
Ash vs The Evil Dead
Finally, Pablo faces his destiny in the TV spot for next week’s “Baby Proof”.
Banner art by Jim Cooke.