Riddick Promo Reel Offers Concept Art and More: RopeofSilicon reader Mario Z. shot over the YouTube video you see to the right featuring a Livestream event Vin Diesel held promoting the upcoming third Riddick feature simply titled Riddick. Diesel talks at length and around the 5:30 mark a promo reel featuring director David Twohy begins to play in which he talks about the fourth film saying, “We hope to go back to a more visceral kind of filmmaking, back to a single contained world, back to an R-rating.” After that he talks a little about the story and shows several pieces of concept art.
Daniel Benmayor Attached to Direct Hitman 2: Spanish helmer Daniel Benmayor is set to direct Hitman 2 for 20th Century Fox although at this point it is unclear as to whether or not Timothy Olyphant will return as the bald assassin for another go ’round after the first film stumbled in an out of theaters in 2007 to the tune of $39.6 million while managing an additional $60 million overseas. Fox is planning a fall production start. The sequel was most recently mentioned in June of 2009 when Variety said it would find the title character, Agent 47, at a low point. He must build himself back up psychologically and physically to reclaim his mantle as the world’s most feared assassin. This latest report says it will include elements from the vidgame “Hitman 5” which is rumored to hit shelves late 2010. Kyle Ward wrote the first draft of the script, of which Daniel Casey has rewritten. [Deadline]
Bloom Confirmed for Musketeers: Orlando Bloom’s involvement in Paul W.S. Anderson’s The Three Musketeers wasn’t originally a sure thing, but it is now as he will play the Duke of Buckingham while British comedian James Corden will portray the servant Planchet. The two join Christoph Waltz as Cardinal Richelieu; Logan Lerman as D’Artagnan; Matthew MacFadyen, Ray Stevenson and Luke Evans as Athos, Porthos and Aramis, respectively; Milla Jovovich as M’lady De Winter; and Mads Mikkelsen as Rochefort. The film is set to hit theaters in 2011 with an August production start. Speed is mandatory in this case as Warner Bros. has set up a feature adapted from the Alexandre Dumas novel as well with Doug Liman (Fair Game) set to direct, which is expected to start production in the fall. [Variety]
Oldman Set for Kung Fu Panda 2: Gary Oldman will lend his voice to Dreamworks’s Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom as a character named Peacock. The sequel featuring Jack Black as the voice of the title character, centers on a new villain who weilds a mysterious weapon so powerful it threatens the very existence of kung fu. It is up to Po and the Furious Five to protect all that they know. But first, Po must confront his long lost past. The picture is set for a June 3, 2011 release. [Heat Vision]
