We really haven’t had any huge announcements from 20th Century Studios in quite some time and that seems to have changed as we’ve gotten a handful of updates from the head of the studio in a recent one-on-one interview about various franchises the studio oversees for Disney.
The Hollywood Reporter was able to speak with 20th Century Studios President Steve Asbell about the upcoming films that audiences can look forward to in the future beyond the four “Avatar” sequels directed by James Cameron, as Asbell was adamant the studio will hit its December 2022 release for “Avatar 2.”
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The studio boss promised the studio has “more ‘Free Guy‘ movies coming.” Adding it’s already busy in the scripting stage of development, “We’re awaiting a script that is days away. It’s a fantastic story.” An assumption we could make from this is that Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy will return for the second installment.
There was also a substantial update on the next “Planet of The Apes” film from director Wes Ball, “We are expecting a draft very shortly, and it’s Wes Ball attached to direct. We hope to go by the late summer, early fall.” Ball has clarified in the past the film will be a continuation, not a reboot.
Another thing that was mentioned by Asbell is that the third Hercule Poirot film by star/director Kenneth Branagh is being written by screenwriter Michael Green and is set in post-war Venice. Having the filmmaker return after the success of “Belfast” says a lot about Branagh’s commitment to the whodunnit franchise.
Asbell confirmed that Dan Trachtenberg‘s “Prey,” a prequel to the “Predator” movie, will take place on The Great Plains in 1719, giving fans an accurate year for the sci-fi action flick and will be the first entry in the franchise to be set in the past. The streaming project starring Amber Midthunder (“Legion“) exclusively releases on Hulu sometime this summer.
It’ll be interesting to hear what original projects they plan to give us beyond sequels/prequels to existing franchises. One of those new projects is a Buster Keaton biopic from James Mangold (“Ford v Ferrari“).