Disney News

Category: Movies & TV

  • ‘Maleficent 2’ Begins Filming In April

    ‘Maleficent 2’ Begins Filming In April

    Maleficent 2 is in the works and production is expected to start April 16th with Angelina Jolie reprising her leading role.

    Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales director, Joachim Rønning, is helming the film, but that’s not the only change in production staff.  The follow-up script first penned by Linda Woolverton, who wrote the first film, but it was rewritten by Jez Butterworth who was brought on last summer.

    Apparently until recently it wasn’t clear when Jolie would be reprising her role as the films former villain as well. The star has been debating if she would shoot the Dark Universe’s Bride of Frankenstein reboot or go with Maleficent 2 first. Well Tom Cruise’s The Mummy hasn’t received the best reception and it isn’t clear what exactly is happening with the Dark Universe currently, which makes Jolie’s decision pretty easy and frees her up to begin production in April.

    The production dates coming in a report from Omega Underground, unfortunately though we still don’t have a shooting date the film has not yet been given a release date.

  • Another Movie Illegally Filmed on Disney World Property

    Another Movie Illegally Filmed on Disney World Property

    Walt Disney World property was chosen as the shooting location for yet another independent film with out Disney’s consent. This time in a Film called The Further Adventures of Walt’s Frozen Head.

    This one based on the urban legend that Walt Disney was frozen after his death.  It’s a quirky comedy about the unlikely friendship between the frozen head of Walt and Peter, a Magic Kingdom Cast Member.

    Check out the trailer below.

    During his yearly dethaw to oversee the direction of his company and guard his creative legacy, Walt demands to be allowed up to see his final dream, Walt Disney World. When management scoffs, he recruits Peter to kidnap him for a day in the Magic Kingdom.

    This is not the first time guerrilla style film makers have hit Disney Parks. The low-budget independent movie called Escape From Tomorrow made headlines in 2013 as the first feature film to shoot at Walt Disney World without getting permission in advance.

    The feature film was primarily shot in the Orlando area, including on location at Walt Disney World. The movie was made without the knowledge or permission of the Walt Disney Company or family.

  • Disney’s Streaming Service Has New Details Revealed

    Disney’s Streaming Service Has New Details Revealed

    With Disney’s Streaming Service in the works and their integration of the recently acquired 20th century Fox assets on the horizon, big questions are left about what content the streaming service will provide. Well during Variety’s Entertainment Summit at CES 2018 on Thursday, Disney-ABC TV president Ben Sherwood was able to share some details.

    The streaming service is set to launch in 2019 and with the massive amount of titles Disney has acquired in recent years, including Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and now 20th Century Fox’s catalog, it seems Disney has put itself in a prime position to rival Netflix.

    Sherwood, said that his division will be the largest contributor to Disney’s subscription service and that the company overall is well poised to manage the transition to next-generation TV in his statement at the summit.

    “We’re going through this unbelievable moment of transformation in how we take television and distribute it,” said Sherwood.

    The exec explained that Disney-ABC TV will supply between seven and eight thousand episodes from its own library. He also confirmed they would be providing original content for the service that would include 3-4 feature-length films and 3-4 regular series and he also touted a “High School Musical” reboot, with the original producers on board.

    Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Bob Iger already confirmed a live action Star Wars Series and a TV series based on the 2001 Pixar film Monsters Inc. were in the plans for the future streaming service, at a quarterly earnings call with investors.

    Sherwood, declined to comment on the pending acquisition by Disney of 20th Century Fox assets, including cable networks, in a report from Variety. Disney CEO Bob Iger has “laid out the strategic vision” for the deal, “and we’ll leave it at that”, he also told them.

    We’ll have to wait and see, but we’re sure you’ll end up seeing many of the various new properties Disney has acquired airing on their new streaming service in addition to their already existing massive library.

     

  • Disney Defends Darkening ‘Aladdin’ Extras Skin So They Could ‘Blend In’

    Disney Defends Darkening ‘Aladdin’ Extras Skin So They Could ‘Blend In’

    Disney has recently faced some harsh criticism over darkening the skin of some of the background extras in its upcoming Aladdin film.

    Based on a tale from The Arabian Nights, the film is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1992 animated hit. The Guy Ritchie film stars Egypt-born Canadian actor Mena Massoud as Aladdin, alongside Will Smith as the Genie.

    We just started shooting Aladdin and I wanted to intro you guys to our new family… Mena Massoud/Aladdin, Naomi Scott/Princess Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari/Jafar, and I’m over here gettin my Genie on. Here we go!

    Posted by Will Smith on Wednesday, September 6, 2017

    Disney said it brought in white actors to help fill the many background roles, stunt positions, dancers and “camel handlers” needed, according a report in the Sunday Times.

    Even with 400 of 500 background performers currently filming on Disney’s Aladdin are reportedly of Indian, Middle Eastern, African, Mediterranean or Asian descent, it’s the remaining 100 that have the British media outlets up in arms.

    Described as a stand in for one of the leads, the Times story quotes extra Kaushal Odedra as seeing as many as 20 “very fair skinned” actors lined up outside make-up tents “waiting to have their skin darkened.”

    Disney later released a statement which confirmed some actors were “made up to blend in” for crowd scenes, but only in a “handful of instances”.

    Disney defended their decision in a statement saying, “Great care was taken to put together one of the largest most diverse casts ever seen on screen.” The statements continues, “Diversity of our cast and background performers was a requirement and only in a handful of instances when it was a matter of specialty skills, safety and control (special effects rigs, stunt performers and handling of animals) were crew made up to blend in.”

    People across social media criticized Disney for the move, with some, including actor Kal Penn, labeling the company’s actions as “brownface.”

    Controversy surrounding the live-action Aladdin comes as nothing new to Disney. The production has previously sparked criticism over the casting the role of Princess Jasmine’s with British-Indian actress Naomi Scott and later they were also chastised for the introducing a new character into the story played by a white actor.

    While casting the film, the studio reportedly saw more than 2,000 actors in London, Abu Dhabi, India and Egypt. The company claimed to have trouble finding actors to fill the roles of Aladdin and Jasmine because they couldn’t easily find young actors with backgrounds in singing.

    Navid Negahban the actor who plays the sultan recently dismissed outcries that the film was being ‘whitewashed’.

    “It’s not whitewashing,” he told The Huffington Post. Aladdin needs variety like a garden, otherwise it’s going to be boring, he said. “You’re gonna go and see this beautiful garden with colorful flowers, and I just hope that you enjoy the journey.”

    “You will definitely love the film,” he added. “It doesn’t matter how old you are, the film has something for you to take away from it.”

    Aladdin is not due in theaters until May 24, 2019

     

  • Ridley Scott Could Direct Disney’s ‘Merlin Saga’ Adaptation

    Ridley Scott Could Direct Disney’s ‘Merlin Saga’ Adaptation

    Ridley Scott has certainly had a busy 2017 and it looks like this year is not going to be any different for the 80-year-old director. Scott is in negotiations to direct Disney’s ‘Merlin Saga,’ a fantasy film adapted from T.A. Barron’s book series of the same name.

    Coming off one of the busiest years in his career, Scott’s most recent credits include last May’s “Alien” movie, “Covenant,” and he just recently released the J. Paul Getty story “All the Money in the World,” which he began shooting shortly after “Covenant.”

    Based on The Merlin Saga, the series followed the origin story of a young Merlin who would go on to become the mentor of the classic literary character King Arthur. It chronicles “the complete story of Merlin’s life and times spanning 12 exciting novels.

    Disney currently has two films based on the Merlin character in development. The studio is also working on a live-action “Sword in the Stone.” Scott has also met with Disney about this project.

    The “Alien Covenant” director’s production company Scott Free is also in negotiations to produce the upcoming big-screen adaptation of “The Merlin Saga”, with Tendo Nagenda and Foster Driver overseeing the project.

    It’s still unclear on which book the upcoming film adaptation will be based. If the deal goes through, Scott will serve behind the lens with a script provided by Philippa Boyens (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy).

  • LEAKED: Scrapped Haunted Mansion Animated Series Trailer

    LEAKED: Scrapped Haunted Mansion Animated Series Trailer

    Shannon Tindle, creator of Kubo and the Two Strings, released a trailer via his twitter this weekend of a Haunted Mansion Animated Series that he had developed at Disney. The trailer actually looks really intriguing, but unfortunately the teaser was as far as project made it, since Disney decided to scrap the project.

    Tindle, with a deal from Disney Television Animation and a small creative team, developed the project last year. Two different pilots were written for the possible Haunted Mansion animated series. One for a limited series and one for a longer running series. For a look at what could have been, take a peek at the trailer for the series below.

    In a report from Cartoon Brew, Tindle said, “My goal was to take inspiration from all the backstories created by the artists at WED (Disney’s Imagineering division) and stitch it into one, giant narrative. The story would span several years and focus on different characters, but add up to one big, interconnected story.”

    Tindle’s initial tweeted contained a link to the video on Vimeo, but he later deleted it “in case Disney has issues with it being posted.” He is no longer with Disney but said of the project that he had received “nothing but support” from the team at Disney Television Animation, even though it was eventually scuttled.

    Although Disney isn’t picking up the series, the reactions from Tindle’s Trailer Tweet was very well received online. Tindle’s show now has a passionate group of fans who want to see the series produced and finished for all audiences to view.

    Disney could have canned the series any number of reasons, one possibly being they just recently released an animated Haunted Mansion Special of their own, which aired on Disney XD. Who knows though? Deadpool, though not owned by Disney at the time, also had a “Leaked” trailer which received such an enthusiastic response that it finally spurred its reluctant studio into making the film. Here’s to hoping!

  • NEW Wreck-it Ralph 2 Teaser Breaks the Internet

    NEW Wreck-it Ralph 2 Teaser Breaks the Internet

    Disney rang in the new year by releasing a new teaser for Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 on Monday. The teaser is short, but sweeter than Sugar Rush and shows Ralph wrecking his way through 2017 and right into 2018.

    The highly-anticipated animated sequel picks up six years after the original. This time around, after their old-fashioned arcade is connected to a Wi-Fi router, they find themselves on an adventure that takes them across the world wide web.

    Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz, now long time friends, will return as they move on from the arcade game world to exploring the infinitely more vast universe of the internet. John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman are also back as the voices of Ralph and Vanellope.

    Some footage from Wreck-It Ralph 2 first debuted last summer at Disney’s D23 Expo, but this is the first taste of a teaser that Disney has released. Fans will be anxiously awaiting a full trailer, but Disney is clearly ready to start getting fans excited about seeing Ralph start wrecking again.

    Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 hits theaters on November 21, 2018.

  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi Forces Its Way To $1 Billion Worldwide

    Star Wars: The Last Jedi Forces Its Way To $1 Billion Worldwide

    In only three weeks Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” has blasted past $1 billion in worldwide box office sales to close out 2017. While many critics have given the latest installment rave reviews, there have been mixed reviews from general audiences, but if the box office sales are any indication then this film is no scruffy-looking nerf herder.

    “The Last Jedi” pulled in $120.4 million globally on the New Year’s Eve weekend with $52.4 million at 4,232 domestic venues and an additional $68 million internationally. All this before the significant boost it will receive when it opens in its final market on Jan. 5 in China.

    On the final day of 2017, “The Last Jedi” has surpassed Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” as the top grossing film in North America for 2017. According to studio estimates on Sunday, “The Last Jedi” brings its domestic total $517.1 million after it’s haul this weekend, while Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” totals $504 million for the year.

    “The Last Jedi” is now the eighth highest-grossing domestic movie of all time with $517.1 million and 24th on the worldwide chart with $1.04 billion. The eighth film in the “Star Wars” saga premiered in North America on December 14 to the second-biggest opening ever and is second only to its predecessor, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which debuted in 2015.

    “The Last Jedi” is already close to surpassing “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” which brought in $1.06 billion in revenue last year. The last numbered Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, stands at $2.07 billion, ranking it third place all time after its December 2015 premiere.

    While the film may crack the top ten globally, odds are it wont come close to “Force Awakens” numbers.  But as Han Solo would say, “Never tell me the odds!”

    Directed by Rian Johnson, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” picks up where “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” left off. It stars returning cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Andy Serkis. New stars include Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio del Toro.

  • Emily Blunt Goes for a Joy Ride in New ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ Photo

    Emily Blunt Goes for a Joy Ride in New ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ Photo

    A recently released new production photo from the upcoming sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, is practically perfect in every way. Just less than a year away from the film’s Christmas 2018 release date Mary Poppins fans are feeling supercalifragilisticexpialidocious about seeing the upcoming sequel.

    The production still, posted on Twitter, shows Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda and Emily Blunt having fun while on a joyride with Georgie (Joel Dawson). Blunt takes on Julie Andrews’ renowned role as the magical nanny Poppins, with Miranda playing Poppins’ lamplighter friend, Jack.

    Taking place 25 years after the events of the original Mary Poppins film, Mary Poppins Returns follows the adult children Michael (Ben Whishaw) and Jane Banks (Emily Mortimer). The sequel is set in 1930s London, which is the time period of the original novels by P.L. Travers.

    Michael is living with his three children (Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson) and housekeeper Ellen (Julie Walters), in the house on Cherry Tree Lane. After Michael has a personal loss, Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) comes back into the lives of the Banks family. She is joined by a street lamplighter named Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), and an eccentric cousin named Topsy (Meryl Streep). Dick Van Dyke will also play a role in the film as Mr. Dawes Jr., the chairman of Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, which is now run by William Weatherall Wilkins (Colin Firth). Angela Lansbury is also in the cast as the Balloon Lady, a treasured character from P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins books. What an amazing cast!

    In March, Disney offered a first look at the anticipated musical, releasing a still of Blunt in character as Poppins standing outside the beloved Banks family home.
    Mary Poppins Returns

    Also starring in the sequel is Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Angela Lansbury. Directed by Rob Marshall the film and Marc Platt and John DeLuca are serving as producers. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman have teamed up to compose original songs and an original score for the musical sequel.

    Mary Poppins Returns is set to hit theaters on Dec. 25, 2018.

  • Mark Hamill Pays Tribute to Carrie Fisher on the Anniversary of Her Death

    Mark Hamill Pays Tribute to Carrie Fisher on the Anniversary of Her Death

    On the one year anniversary of beloved Carrie Fisher’s death, Mark Hamill is remembering his Star Wars costar with a very some very touching words.

    Quoting a piece of dialogue from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Fisher’s final film in the franchise, Hamill wrote on Instagram “No one’s ever really gone” followed by the hashtags #AlwaysWithUs and #CarrieOnForever.

    No one’s ever really gone… #AlwaysWithUs #CarrieOnForever

    A post shared by Mark Hamill (@hamillhimself) on

    The post was accompanied by photos of Hamill and Fisher as well as a sketch of Fisher famously flipping the bird as she holds her beloved dog Gary.

    Hamill and Fisher became close when they were both rising stars after meeting on the first Star Wars in 1977.

    Hamill and Fisher starred in the original three Star Wars films in the 1970s and 1980s, and they finally reunited in the latest movies, 2015’s The Force Awakens and the latest film The Last Jedi, which is dedicated to her memory.

    Fisher had several poignant moments with the whole cast, including her daughter Billie Lourd. The young actress made her debut in the 2015 Star Wars movie The Force Awakens alongside her mother.

    Lourd also remembered the actress on Instagram, revealing that she traveled to Norway to honor her mother.

    “Star Trek” icon William Shatner, who often engaged in playful public battles with Fisher about whose franchise was better, also shared a photo on Twitter of him and Fisher.


    Many celebrities and fans shared heartfelt messages about Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in “Star Wars.” Fisher died at age 60 just two days after Christmas in 2016, following a heart attack she had on a flight from London to Los Angeles.