Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
Director: David Leitch
Writer: Chris Morgan, Drew Pearce
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Helen Mirren
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Rated PG-13| Minutes: 136
Release Date: Aug 2, 2019

There’s no denying that the Fast & Furious franchise has been through some crazy things. What first started out as a humble cinematic look at illegal underground street racing has since supped up into a global phenomenon where Dom and his family – a strong theme that courses throughout the franchise – do things like drive cars out of planes in mid-flight or sling torpedos across a large stretch of ice. Oh, there’s also the occasional cars stunts, bone crunching fights, and cheesy one-liners.

But now it’s time for the franchise to venture outside of its wheelhouse with Hobbs & Shaw, the first Fast & Furious spinoff. In it, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), two people who don’t even belong in the same room together much less be paired up on a mission, work together to save the world from a cyber terrorist organization bent on evolving humanity by augmenting them with their technology and purging out the weak. Are these two incompatible people up to the challenge? Or will they let their egos get in the way? Of course they are, and it’s how they reach that point that can be simultaneously fun and infuriating. My full review here below.

Yesterday, Universal teased the technology that would transform regular looking people like Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden, Rebel Wilson, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Ray Winstone, Ian McKellen, and Judi Dench into felines for Cats, a film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name.

Now the studio has released the first trailer for that film adaptation. And the results, are, well, you should probably just make that judgment for yourself. Check out the trailer below.

Universal has released a first look featurette Tom Hooper‘s film adaptation of Cats. Based on the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical which was inspired by on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, the film will feature Lloyd Webber’s iconic music and a world-class cast of dancers, state-of-the-art technology, and dance styles ranging from ballet to contemporary, hip-hop to jazz, and street to tap to present the musical to a younger generation in a whole new way.

I can’t say I am overly familiar with Cats, but based on everything in the featurette, it will be using new tools and technologies to transform the actors into feline forms. Check the video below.

Looks like James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad may have found its King Shark. As the “soft reboot” nears production, there are rumors that Michael Rooker is in talks to play the deep sea felon who joins the titular villain team on a dangerous mission. More on the report below.

Sources tell The Wrap that Rooker is in talks to play King Shark. Should he sign on, it wouldn’t be the first time that the actor has collaborated with Gunn. He played Yondu, the blue-skinned Ravenger, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

It’s not unusual for James Gunn to include characters who might be considered misfits, outsiders, or troublemakers. That couldn’t have been truer in the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films. But now he is putting together a new cast of misfits in The Suicide Squad. The soft reboot will bring back Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller to reprise their respective characters. They will be joined by Idris Elba, who will reportedly play a new character and not be replacing Will Smith as Deadshot; and John Cena, who is said to be in negotiations for a role in the film as well.

Now there are reports that confirm David Dastmalchian and Daniela Melchior will be added. According to these reports, Dastmalchian will be playing Polka-Dot Man, while Melchior will play Ratcatcher. More on this below.