Cairo: Zizi Abdel Ghaffar
(L-R) Lupita Nyong’o as “Samira” and Joseph Quinn as “Eric” in Paramount Pictures’ ‘A Quiet Place: Day One.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Advance:
- Paramount revealed a lot of news about future movies at its CinemaCon presentation.
- Other notable films included ‘Transformers One’ and ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’.
- Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator 2’ provided the grand finale.
Paramount had a solid if uninspiring 2023, including a disappointing result for the oft-delayed ‘Mission: Impossible –– Dead Reckoning Part 1’ (which suffered in competition, particularly for IMAX screens, against ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’). But it’s best not to bet against Tom Cruise, who will no doubt do something to promote the upcoming ‘Mission’ (odds are good, we’ll learn the new title). Still, the more recent likes of ‘Mean Girls’ and ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ were reasons to be grateful, even as rumors continue that the studio is for sale.
Beyond that, expect plenty of promotion for Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator II’, ‘A Quiet Place’ prequel ‘Day One’ and possibly the next ‘Transformers’ outing, the animated prequel ‘Transformers One’.
Even before the presentation itself began, there was news of new films in the works. The studio is developing a reboot of the ‘Scary Movie’ parody franchise that will shoot this year and be released next year through Paramount’s Miramax subsidiary.
And while the sequel to last year’s family game ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ moves forward, the company also intends to go in a more adult direction with a new live-action ‘Turtles’ offering called ‘The Last Ronin’. ‘. ‘ which will adapt a dark comic book story set in a totalitarian New York where Shredder’s grandson has used artificial ninjas to massacre all but one of the Turtles. The only survivor swears revenge. So… yeah, definitely a less kid-centric version of the characters, and one that feels even closer to the story’s black and white origins. This will be produced by former DC movies chief Walter Hamada, who has a multi-year deal with Paramount, and ‘Boy Kills World’ writer Tyler Burton Smith is helming the script.
(L-R) April O’Neil, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo in Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies in a Point Gray production “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.”
And now, let’s get on with the show…
After a mistake with the opening reel (actually a tour of the Paramount lot), the presentation began with another highlighting Paramount’s considerable film history and highlighting hits like ‘Sonic,’ ‘Mean Girls,’ and ‘TMNT : Mutant Mayhem’.
And, as suspected, the world of ‘Gladiator’ is the center of attention, as Roman soldiers take the stage to guide the executives. Will those who supported failed films have to fight the lions? I doubt it, but… she would look at it.
The first to promote two very different films is John Krasinski, who appears via video from London. He speaks first of…
‘YEAH’
(Left to right) Cailey Fleming and Blue star in Paramount Pictures’ ‘IF.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
As Krasinski (who wrote and directed this one) explains, ‘IF’ posits a world where everything we imagine is real, and some imaginary friends seek to find their humans again (or connect with new ones).
It stars Ryan Reynolds, a stacked celebrity voice cast, and leans heavily into Pixar’s style of filmmaking.
It shows the final trailer for the film, which you can see here:
‘IF’ will be in theaters on May 17.
“A story you have to believe to see.”
Schedules and tickets
A girl discovers she can see everyone’s imaginary friends and embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect the forgotten IFs with her children. Read the plot
Krasinski also mentioned ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’, but more on that later…
Paramount Presentation: Other News
The Bee Gees in ‘The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?’ Photo: HBO.
Amid previews of this year’s releases, there were more news announcements, including confirmation of a ‘Transformers’ and ‘GI Joe’ crossover movie, Edgar Wright hiring Glen Powell to star in his remake of ‘The Running Man’ Stephen King, Ridley. Scott officially boards Bee Gees musical biopic and Damien Chazelle apparently has a second chance after flop ‘Babylon’, preparing to film his next movie this year for the studio, with a release planned for 2025.
Also promoted? ‘South Park’ duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone are working on a new live-action musical comedy with Kendrick Lamar, set to debut on July 4 next year.
With the title back in the public consciousness thanks to Netflix’s live-action show, Paramount has the likes of Dave Bautista and Eric Nam lending their voices for what is currently titled ‘Aang: The Last Airbender,’ with Bautista playing a villain. . The film will be in theaters on October 10 next year.
That wasn’t the only voice cast confirmed for an upcoming film. The new animated film ‘The Smurfs’, which stars Rhianna, will also feature the tonsil talents of Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, JP Karliak, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham , Sandra Oh, Alex Winter and more. Look for that on February 15th next year.
(From left to right) Patrick and SpongeBob SquarePants in ‘The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Sponge on the Run’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Continuing with the animated theme, we learned that ‘The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: The Search for Square Pants’ will debut on December 19, 2025.
In fact, a lot of future information was revealed, including that the next ‘Star Trek’ movie (whatever one of the various options may be) and the new Seth MacFarlane-produced ‘Naked Gun’ starring Liam Neeson will also arrive next. year.
Oh, and if you, like us, had “upcoming Mission movie title announcement” on your bingo card, don’t scratch it; there was a mention of it, but zero pictures and no words about the title.
Now let’s…
The animated film ‘Transformers’ which follows a titanic battle on Cybertron has ‘Toy Story 4’s Josh Cooley in the director’s chair and Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth among its voice cast.
After a video introduction from Johansson, Hemsworth (who, if we’re being honest, was already in Las Vegas due to the Warner presentation) took the stage to talk about the film. He voices Optimus Prime, with Brian Tyree Henry (who joined him at the event) as Megatron.
From the look of the footage, the tone points more to a family adventure style, coming closer to comedy than live-action/CG films. And it’s an origin story for many of the characters we love, with Keegan-Michael Key voicing Bumblebee.
Along with a trailer, a first clip was screened, in 3D no less, which won widespread approval for its epic scale and comedic value.
Find the title treatment below:
‘Transformers One’ will hit theaters on September 13.
The story of how a young Optimus Prime and Megatron went from brothers in arms to sworn enemies. Read the plot
And now we venture to a more terrifying place…
(L to R) Lupita Nyong’o as “Samira” and Djimon Hounsou as “Henri” in Paramount Pictures’ ‘A Quiet Place: Day One.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Stars Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn were on hand to premiere an extended trailer for the prequel thriller that shows how the terrifying creatures first arrived and began terrorizing New York. As the previous trailer hinted, in this one we will see devastation, fear and, ultimately… tranquility.
‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ hits theaters on June 28.
“Listen to how it all started.”
As New York City is invaded by alien creatures that hunt by sound, a woman named Sammy fights to survive. Read the plot
Speeding up from there, we found…
Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Given that Sonic and Friends have become one of the biggest recent franchises for the studio (even extending to the upcoming ‘Knuckles’ series), it’s almost surprising how low-key the talk about the new movie was.
The studio team just showed off a trailer, which focused heavily on Jim Carrey’s villainous and maniacal Dr. Robotnik and introduced Shadow the Hedgehog.
‘Sonic The Hedgehog 3’ will hit theaters on December 20.
From there, we return to the scares…
Paramount Pictures’ Caitlin Stasey presents, in association with Paramount Players, a Temple Hill production ‘Smile.’
A follow-up to the 2022 horror hit, the new film will see a Lady Gaga-style pop star confronted by smile-affected people in a concert hall.
Starring Naomi Scott, Kyle Gallner, Rosemarie DeWitt and more, it looked pretty creepy.
The sequel to ‘Smile’ aims to revive business on October 18.
And finally, Paramount’s big finale…
(Right) Russell Crowe in director Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator’.
Sir Ridley Scott appears on screen from London (where he is still finishing post-production on the film), to announce his return to the world of ‘Gladiator’.
We were also treated to an introduction with stars Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Connie Nielsen and Pedro Pascal, all excited about working with Scott and the scope and scale of the film.
It may be unfinished, but that didn’t stop Scott from giving the film a five-minute look.
“I remember that day. I never forgot it. That a slave could take revenge on an emperor,” says Lucius of Paul Mescal. A ship battle is seen in the Colosseum. Paul Mescal and other gladiators fight ferocious monkeys. “Rage is your don,” Denzel Washington tells Mescal. Washington and Pedro Pascal watch as Mescal fights a rhino. The footage ends with a brutal fight between Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal.
Aren’t we entertained? Yes, we were entertained. Although animal rights activists and concerned Pedro Pascal fans might think differently.
‘Gladiator II’ returns to the theatrical arena on November 22.
“What we do in this life is reflected in eternity.”
The film will follow the continuing story of Lucius, Lucilla’s son. Read the plot
Director John Krasinski on the set of Paramount Pictures’ ‘IF’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.