One of the planned Transformers spinoffs could take place on Cybertron. Duncan Jones discusses filming Warcraft. Doctor Who is returning to often-used location. Bryan Fuller explains the need to keep American Gods’ cast diverse. Plus, Hugh Dancy talks Hannibal. Spoilers Get!
Transformers Spinoff
Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari have joined the creative team in charge of creating spinoff projects in the Transformers universe — one of which is allegedly a movie set on the Autobot and Decepticon homeworld of Cybertron. [Deadline]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
Brittany Ishibashi has been cast as Karai, the daughter of Shredder. [Deadline]
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
Casting rumours for two of the female characters — the female lead Tina and Tina’s sister, Queenie — are floating around. Saoirse Ronan, Dakota Fanning, Lili Simmons and Alison Sudol are allegedly frontrunners for Tina, while Kate Upton, Katherine Waterston and Elizabeth Debicki are being considered for Queenie. [The Wrap]
Warcraft
Duncan Jones discusses the movie’s balance between practical sets and green screen mo-cap:
Motion capture has become very specialized but also still just a tool of filmmaking. We tried to do a lot of large, in-camera sets so that we had an actual reality that the film was built on top of. Some of the time we had [actors doing motion capture] on location, some of the time we had them on set, sometimes there was green screen.
[Wired]
Suicide Squad
Here’s a few more set videos of the Batman/Joker chase, this time featuring the Dark Knight hanging on to the back of the Joker’s sports car. [Cinemablend]
Jurassic World
Owen tames the Raptors in this Yahoo-exclusive clip.
Daredevil
Two audition tapes for actresses reading for a role believed to be Elektra Natchios, the Hand Clan assassin who plays a major role in the Daredevil comics, have made their way online. They were promptly deleted, but Comic Book got transcripts of the dialogue. Here’s a snippet from one scene:
Elektra: You don’t look like a tough read.
Matt Murdock: You never know, I could surprise you.
Elektra: Doubt it.
Matt Murdock: Give it a try.
Elektra: Okay, you drink Macallan because you’re afraid beer would give you a frat boy vibe. You’ve never been inside a fraternity house. You weren’t even a boy scout. There is no club you would join because it would choke the air from your lungs. You’d suffocate. Shall I go on?
Matt Murdock: Please do.
Elektra: Now you think we’re flirting. Your mind’s racing. You’re wondering what piece of wit you can think of next. Know what your problem is? You’re pretty, but dumb. Too dumb to know the game is already over and you lost before you stepped to the plate.
Matt Murdock: You got that all from a pair of wingtips?
Elektra: Quick study.
American Gods
Bryan Fuller discusses maintaining a diverse cast for the adaptation:
When might we expect casting announcements to start coming?
Neil [Gaiman’s] plan—and Neil’s very internet savvy—what Neil would like to do is cast Laura and Shadow and Wednesday and Mad Sweeney and Bilquis, because Bilquis will be a major character in the show, and the Technical Boy and then trot them all out on-stage at a Comic-Con coming up. That’s his plan. He’s saying ‘I don’t want to make any casting announcements, I want to announce the cast in full when they walk out on stage at a Comic-Con’.
Last time we spoke, it was cheering for you to talk about making sure the cast wasn’t whitewashed in terms of ethnicity…
One of the things I’m most excited about for American Gods is the diversity in the cast because there’s such a wide range of ethnic Gods in the world. Right now, we’re imagining two white roles and everybody else is non-white, so my goal, Michael’s goal, certainly Neil’s goal has been to have a very ethnically diverse cast. That’s important to all of us.
Also now, we can cite Empire and we can cite The Walking Dead as being primarily non-white in their casting, and they’re the two biggest shows in the world right now, so that has to say something. We have to be moving forward with a representation that is accurate to the world.
Hannibal
Hugh Dancy discusses the upcoming season:
I guess I was interested to know how Bryan [Fuller, series creator] would approach it. I had spoken to him, of course. “Were we going to start off back in the kitchen and everyone is still bleeding?” Secondly, knowing Hannibal is going to go on a journey, and knowing that I’m going to go after him in some way, what exactly that drive was. Of course, what Bryan did is basically not answer any of those questions. I think that the first four episodes of the season are really interesting. When I first read them, I was thinking, “What’s he doing here?”
Then it dawned on me that he is playing with time because what happened in that situation, where Hannibal slaughtered everybody almost, is still circulating for all of them. It’s still right there. It’s present in the way a traumatic event is present. The first episode where, as I think Bryan has already said, we’re off with Hannibal and Bedelia [Gillian Anderson] and having a fine time. Then, suddenly we’re back with Will, we’re back in the second episode, we’re back into this kind of circling dream world, where he’s back in the kitchen. He’s coming up to Hannibal. He’s with Abigail. He’s not with Abigail. It’s not moving forward in the normal way. The third episode is something else. The fourth episode it circles back. I think is a very bold and really provocative way to write television. I also think it means that you don’t get any answers until much later.
[CBR]
Game of Thrones
Rumors are swirling that the season finale will feature Yara and Balon Greyjoy, as well as the mysterious Night’s King and Benjen Stark, Jon Snow’s missing uncle. However, they’re sourced from the IMDB cast list for the episode, so take them with a huge pinch of salt. [IB Times]
Extant
Here’s a new press release for the first episode of season 2, “Change Scenario”:
“Change Scenario” – Six months after her life unraveled and dark secrets were revealed, Molly is confined to a psychiatric hospital when she learns of bizarre deaths that sound eerily similar to those she witnessed in space. When she escapes to investigate, she crosses paths with JD Richter, a determined cop who just signed on to the case, on the second season premiere of EXTANT.
The Messengers
And here’s a press release for “Death Becomes Her”:
BETRAYAL FROM WITHIN - The Man (Diogo Morgado) informs THE MESSENGERS one of their own has betrayed them and another is in imminent danger, while Amy’s (guest star Madison Dellamea) drawings predict the arrival of someone who could change the course of everyone’s destinies.
Doctor Who
The show has returned to Caerphilly Castle to record new scenes, allegedly for a prequel “minisode” for season 9 rather than for an actual episode. [Doctor Who TV] Images by the Huw Evans Agency.
DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow
The cast and crew tease the series in this DC All Access video.
Supergirl
Here’s a new picture from the series. [Variety]
Supernatural
Finally, Felicia Day discusses her time on the show at MCM London Comic-Con. [Spoiler TV]
Additional reporting by Abhinmayu Das and Charlie Jane Anders. Top image: Daredevil.