The Random – Will Smith, The Lion King, Paul Verhoeven, Lars Von Trier, The Tick and more

Helen Mirren in Winchester

• Gemini Man – Will Smith and Ang Lee are in negotiations to star and direct, respectively, in Skydance’s high-concept action thriller. The film centres on an ageing assassin who finds himself in a battle with the ultimate opponent: his clone, who is 25 years younger and at the peak of his abilities – THR
• The top image shows Helen Mirren in Winchester, the actress bears a striking resemblance to real-life rifle heiress Sarah Winchester, whose spooky, 160-plus-room mansion has long fascinated tourists visiting San Jose, Calif. Michael and Peter Spierig are directing the film based on the true story of Winchester, a woman who was convinced that she was being haunted by the ghosts of people who were killed by the famous rifle that her family manufactured. After the sudden deaths of her husband and child, she threw herself into never-ending construction on her sprawling mansion — which features stairways to nowhere and doors that open onto walls — to appease the spirits – People
• Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen have entered final negotiations to play Timon and Pumbaa, respectively, in Jon Favreau’s live-action version of The Lion King for Disney. The pair join Donald Glover in the lead as lion cub Simba, and James Earl Jones as his father Mufasa. – The Wrap
• Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) is in negotiations to co-write and direct Timmy Failure, Walt Disney Studios’ live-action adaptation of the children’s book by Stephan Pastis. The popular Failure book series centers on the titular hero, an 11-year old boy who believes he is the best detective in town and runs the great detective agency, Total Failure Inc., with his partner, a 1,200-pound (and imaginary) polar bear. He also has a sidekick named Rollo Tookus, who spots all the clues the hero, in Inspector Clouseau form, misses – THR
• Kathleen Crowley, star of 1950s low-budget horror films Target Earth, Curse of the Undead and The Flame Barrier and was a frequent guest performer on television, has died. She was 87. During the first season of ABC’s Batman, Crowley portrayed the naive socialite Sophia Starr, who falls for The Penguin (Burgess Meredith).
• AMC announced that it has renewed the martial arts drama Into the Badlands for an expanded third season of 16 episodes, returning to AMC in 2018.
• Paul Verhoeven has begun production on Blessed Virgin (Sainte Vierge), based on Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy by Judith C. Brown, with Virginie Efira (Elle) in the lead role as Benedetta Carlini, a real-life 17th century nun – Source
• South Korean actor Yu Ji-tae has joined the cast of Lars Von Trier’s upcoming horror film The House That Jack Built. He will be joining Matt Dillon as Jack, and Uma Thurman, Bruno Ganz and Riley Keough. The story follows Jack, a highly intelligent serial killer over the course of 12 years and depicts the murders that make him into a serial killer – THR
• Amazon’s The Tick will be released on 25th August 2017.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will have its World Premiere at Shanghai Disneyland, the first time a Hollywood movie premieres in mainland China.
• Adam Sandler and Chris Rock are set to star in Netflix’s The Week Of. Robert Smigel will direct the wedding comedy. The movie covers the week of preparation for a wedding in which Sandler’s daughter is marrying Rock’s son.
• Finally, here is a little featurette about American Gods. It begins on 30th April over on Starz.