Ready Player Two
Don’t shut up Wesley. “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Teen Titans Go!” actor Will Wheaton will narrate the upcoming audiobook for Ernest Cline’s long-awaited sequel novel “Ready Player Two”. A follow-up to “Ready Player One” nearly a decade in the waiting, “Ready Player Two” will be published November 24th. [Source: IGN]
Arcana
Lionsgate has acquired “Predators” scribes Michael Finch & Alex Litvak’s “Arcana” which is being developed for “John Wick” helmer Chad Stahelski to direct. The film is a gritty urban fantasy set in the hidden world of magical clans. Stahelski, Jason Spitz and Alex Young will produce. [Source: Deadline]
Dear Evan Hansen
Amandla Stenberg (“The Hate U Give”) is joining Stephen Chbosky’s “Dear Evan Hansen” film for Universal Pictures, based on the 2016 Tony Award winning musical. The story follows a high schooler with social anxiety who gets caught up in a lie after the family of a classmate who committed suicide mistakes one of Hansen’s letters for their son’s suicide note.
Stenberg will appear in an expanded role from the stage production as a high school senior Alana, a girl whose cheery facade and social-media savvy mask a deeper loneliness and isolation. She will perform a new original song for the film. [Source: Variety]
Mulan
Disney has released a new 60-second spot for their live-action “Mulan” film, this one offering plenty of new footage along with full integration of details about the movie’s launch as a premium access title on Disney+ this coming September 4th.
Coastal Elites
HBO has released the trailer for Emmy winner Jay Roach’s forthcoming remote comedic satire feature “Coastal Elites” with an all-star cast including Bette Midler, Sarah Paulson, Kaitlyn Dever, Dan Levy and Issa Rae as characters trying to grapple with effects of the new normal due to the ongoing pandemic. The film is scheduled to premiere on Saturday, September 12th.
