Dawn of the Planet of the Apes finds its director. Also, Mockingjay finds its writer... and it's a Buffy the Vampire Slayer frenemy. Tom Cruise's time-looped war movie All You Need Is Kill has a synopsis. Benedict Cumberbatch drops some Hobbit hints. Plus check out Supernatural's vision of Purgatory!
Spoilers from here on out!
Top image from Man of Steel.
Man of Steel
Screenwriter David Goyer, who previously worked with Christopher Nolan on the Dark Knight Trilogy, explains how the pair approached this new take on Superman. This is a translation of an Italian interview, so it's possible this isn't exactly accurate, but the gist should be more or less there:
"What Christopher Nolan and I have done with Superman is trying to bring the same naturalistic approach that we used adopted for the Batman trilogy. We always had a naturalistic approach, we want out stories to be rooted in reality, like they could happen in the same world we live in. It's not that easy with Superman, and actually this doesn't necessarily mean we will make a dark movie. But working on this reboot we are thinking about what would happen if a story like this one actually happened. How would people react to this? What impact would have the presence of Superman in the real world? What I really like to do is writing "genre" stories without a cartoonish element."
[Bad Taste via First Showing]
Elsewhere, Warner Bros.'s favorite director (non-Christopher Nolan division) Ben Affleck seconds what Goyer has to say about Zack Snyder's Superman movie:
I've seen some of the stuff from the new 'Superman' movie, and that stuff is awesome. I think they took a really cool, real approach to Superman, which no one has done before...
[MTV]
Mockingjay
The third book in the Hunger Games trilogy is slated to become the third and fourth films in the movie quadrilogy, and now a writer has reportedly been selected to adapt Suzanne Collins's book. Danny Strong, who wrote the Emmy-winning Game Change and also played Jonathan on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will reportedly handle screenwriting duties. [Variety]
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Cloverfield and Let Me In director Matt Reeves is reportedly 20th Century Fox's choice to take over directorial duties from the departing Rupert Wyatt. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel is slated for a May 23, 2014 release date. Based on his track record, Reeves does seem like he's got a decent shot of recapturing what made Wyatt's first film such an unexpected pleasure, so I figure we might as well remain cautiously optimistic on this one. [Deadline]
All You Need Is Kill
Here's a complete synopsis for Tom Cruise and The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman's epic about a time-looping soldier. Alongside Cruise, the movie stars Looper's Emily Blunt and Aliens and Apollo 13's Bill Paxton:
The story unfolds in a near future in which a hive-like alien race, called Mimics, have hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, shredding great cities to rubble and leaving millions of human casualties in their wake. No army in the world can match the speed, brutality or seeming prescience of the weaponized Mimic fighters or their telepathic commanders. But now the world's armies have joined forces for a last stand offensive against the alien horde, with no second chances.
Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and then dropped-untrained and ill-equipped-into what amounts to little more than a suicide mission. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an Alpha down with him. But, impossibly, he awakens back at the beginning of the same hellish day, and is forced to fight and die again…and again. Direct physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop-dooming him to live out the same brutal combat over and over.
But with each pass, Cage becomes tougher, smarter, and able to engage the Mimics with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt), who has lain waste to more Mimics than anyone on Earth. As Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated battle becomes an opportunity to find the key to annihilating the alien invaders and saving the Earth.
The movie's release date is set for March 13, 2014. The rest of the cast includes Robin Hood's Jonas Armstrong, Game of Thrones actor Tony Way, Australian actor Kick Gurry, Attack the Block's Franz Drameh, World Without End's Charlotte Riley, and relative newcomer Dragomir Mrsic. [/Film]
The Hobbit
Sherlock star and Star Trek Into Darkness villain Benedict Cumberbatch discusses his motion capture work as the dragon Smaug, and when we can expect the character to show up in the trilogy:
"It's very freeing, once you put the suit on and the sensors. I've never felt less encumbered, actually. And you have to be. You have to be free. You just have to lose your shit on a carpeted floor, in a place that looks a little bit like a mundane government building. It was just me as well, with four static cameras and all the sensors. Then the boys at Weta work their magic...I think my eye will open at the end of the first film, and then you'll get the rest of me in the second."
Skyfall
Here's a behind-the-scenes video for Daniel Craig's latest James Bond movie. [/Film]
Fringe
Here's an interview with stars Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv, and John Noble.
And here's another interview with Anna Torv alone. [BuddyTV]
Elsewhere, Joshua Jackson drops a couple cryptic hints about the season. Here's one:
"We have a scene - with a character who I will not name, doing a thing I can't tell you about - where [a dangerous] scenario plays out. It's just a small, quotidian thing. [But] one break from the routine leads to disaster. I mean, really f–king major disaster. And if that sense of dread permeates the show this year, I think that's really good."
And here's another:
This is one of those things you don't want to tease it too much, because maybe everyone will be like, ‘Eh.' The thing that we reveal in the episode that we're shooting right now is - if you're geeked out on the mythology of the show, it is going to be one of those knock-your-socks-off moments."
There are some more hints at the link. [EW]
The Walking Dead
Here's the cover of the new issue of the show's official magazine. [EW]
Revolution
Here's the description for episode five, "Soul Train", which airs October 15:
MILES, CHARLIE AND COMPANY ARE ON THE VERGE OF REACHING DANNY – KIM RAVER (‘GREY'S ANATOMY') AND JEFF FAHEY (‘LOST') GUEST STAR – As the gang nears Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) and his men, their hopes of finding Danny (Graham Rogers) grow until a shocking discovery threatens to impede their efforts. Meanwhile, orders from Monroe (David Lyons) have upped the value of Danny's life and Nora (Daniella Alonso) connects with a fellow Rebel.
[KSiteTV]
Grimm
Here's the synopsis for episode eight, "The Other Side", which airs October 19:
HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION TURNS DEADLY–JAMES FRAIN AND CLAIRE COFFEE GUEST STAR - Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) are called to the scene of a murdered high school academic decathlete and learn just how competitive some extracurricular activities can be, and the extremes some coaches and parents will go to give students the best chance for success. In other police matters, Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) deals with an unwanted infatuation while we learn an old accomplice of his has been spending time with his family in Europe. Elsewhere, Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) continues to manage the spice shop and gets a visit from an unlikely customer.
[KSiteTV]
Once Upon A Time
Here's the official description for episode four, "The Crocodile", which airs October 21:
BELLE THREATENS TO LEAVE MR. GOLD IF HE CONTINUES WITH – Belle's disgust over Mr. Gold's continuing thirst for power comes to a head, and she threatens to leave him if he can't change his evil ways; the dwarves pick up their axes and try to find fairy dust in the Storybrooke mine; and a reunion with an old acquaintance could prove to be Belle's undoing. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land that was, Rumplestiltskin attempts to save his wife, Milah, from being kidnapped by a band of cutthroat pirates.
[KSiteTV]
666 Park Avenue
Here's a promo for this Sunday's second episode, "Murmurations."
And here are some promo photos for the episode. [KSiteTV]
Supernatural
Executive producers Jeremy Carver and Robert Singer discuss the look of Purgatory:
Carver: We said, ‘We are going to go there because there's a really, really strong character thing going on down there. And the look of it is super cool.
Singer: [The] lack of color and high contrast, desaturated look [suggests] there's no good place to lay your head down, no green leaves. We wanted to contrast that with Sam's flashbacks, which are diffused and have filters and [are] a little more dreamy so you get a sense that Sam's past year was nice and warm and Dean's was cold and stark.
There's more at the link. [TV Line]
Arrow
Here are some promo photos for the second episode of The CW's Green Arrow show. The episode, "Honor Thy Father", airs October 17. [KSiteTV]
Tenn Wolf
Here's a casting notice for next year's season three:
Ethan and Aiden (Identical Twin Alpha Werewolves) — Young, handsome, but utterly menacing. They're dangerous charmers. Ethan has a brilliant mind that he uses for devious calculation. Aiden is the simple brute force of the duo. Twins need to be athletic and in top physical shape.
Additional reporting by Rob H. Dawson and Charlie Jane Anders.