The Random: TMNT, Rocketman, IT: Chapter 2, Black Widow, George Clooney, Mary J. Blige, Dennis Quaid, Invincible and more

Invincible

– IT: Chapter 2 has begun filming. It stars James McAvoy as Bill, Jessica Chastain as Beverly, Bill Hader (Barry, Trainwreck) as Richie, Jay Ryan as Ben, James Ransone as Eddie, Andy Bean as Stanely Uris, Isaiah Mustafa as Mike, and Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise.

– Amazon Studios has given straight-to-series order for an animated show based on Robert Kirkman’s (The Walking Dead) Image comic book Invincible. It will be 8 episodes and I cannot wait as the comic is fantastic. The show will follow Mark Grayson, “a normal teenager except for the fact that his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet. Shortly after his 17th birthday, Mark begins to develop powers of his own and enters into his father’s tutelage. The series is suspenseful, action-filled and emotion-packed, yet builds upon poignant and heartwarming moments of love, friendship and humanity.”

– Robert Zemeckis is taking over from Guillermo del Toro to direct a new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches for Warner Bros. The book, which was previously adapted by the studio into a 1990 film starring Anjelica Huston, follows a boy who stumbles upon a coven of child-hating witches he must stop — even though he has been turned into a mouse. Del Toro will now produce alongside fellow Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón – THR

– Directors Cate Shortland, Amma Asante and Maggie Betts are the top three picks to direct Marvel’s Black Widow movie. They recently met with Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Scarlett Johansson according to Deadline.

– Paramount is developing a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and has hired Andrew Dodge (Bad Words) to write the script. Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller will produce the feature via their Platinum Dunes banner. The company was behind the studio’s horror hit A Quiet Place – THR

– George Clooney is in early talks with 20th Century Fox to direct the sci-fi thriller Echo. The film will follow a drone specialist who becomes paranoid when he suspects that his lover may have possibly been replaced – Deadline

– Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049) is in talks to play British spy Tara Chace in the film adaptation of the Queen & Country comic book series from writer Greg Rucka and screenwriter Olivia Milch.

– Mary J. Blige has signed on to star in Body Cam, a horror thriller being made by Paramount’s Paramount Players division. Malik Vitthal (Imperial Dreams,) is directing the feature, which is being produced by Matt Kaplan. Body Cam focuses on several LAPD police officers who are haunted by a malevolent spirit that is tied to the murder of a black youth at the hands of two white cops, all of which are caught on a body cam video that was destroyed in a cover-up. The story has been described as a tonal blend of Get Out and End of Watch – THR

– Jamie Bell is in negotiations to play Bernie Taupin, the famed songwriter who collaborated on 30 albums with Elton John, in Paramount’s biopic Rocketman starring Taron Egerton as Elton John. Dexter Fletcher is attached to direct the project – Variety

– Dennis Quaid is set to play President Ronald Reagan. The long-in-the works feature film will explore Reagan’s life from boyhood through his presidency — of both the U.S. and the Screen Actors Guild — and he will be played as a young man by David Henrie (Wizards of Waverly Place), and as an older adult by Quaid. The film is also expected to explore Reagan’s time as governor of California, his role in the destruction of the Berlin Wall and his final days dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. It will also delve a bit into John Hinckley Jr., whose obsession with actress Jodie Foster led to his attempted assassination of the Republican president in 1981. Jon Voight also has a role in the film. The movie, dubbed Reagan, is executive produced by Ralph Winter – THR