We’re only a few weeks into the new year, and the 2026 movie schedule has already given us a great action movie with The Rip. The new Netflix original, which stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as two cops who discover $20 million in cash hidden in a house, has some wild twists and turns along the way, as well as some killer action sequences. If you were a fan, then I have another collaboration between Affleck and director Joe Carnahan that you must check out.

One of the best action movies of the 21st century, at least in my opinion, Smokin’ Aces remains one of the wildest, loudest, and most thrilling cinematic experiences I’ve ever had, and one I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Here’s why I think that everyone should give this 2007 action thriller a spin, either for the first time in a long time or entirely.

Smokin’ Aces Is A Wild-As-Hell Action Thriller Set In Lake Tahoe, Of All Places

Far more over-the-top than The Rip, or most of Joe Carnahan’s films in between, Smokin’ Aces is a wild-as-hell action thriller that follows a pair of FBI agents attempting to reach a Las Vegas magician and would-be gangster before an assortment of bounty hunters, mercenaries, and mysterious contract killers can find him. Oh, and the whole thing takes place in a casino on the shores of Lake Tahoe.

I’m not going to give anything away for those who haven’t seen this movie before, but if you thought The Rip had big twists and explosive set pieces, then wait until you see what Carnahan and company were pulling off nearly 20 years ago. Seriously, this one keeps you guessing until the credits roll. It’s one of those movies.

Ben Affleck Is Just One Member Of An Absurdly Stacked Cast

Ben Affleck shows up in Smokin’ Aces as Jack Dupree, a bail bondsman hired to track down and capture (alive) Buddy “Aces” Israel (Jeremy Piven), the magician-turned-crook who’s made one too many enemies. However, he’s just one member of a cast that is absurdly stacked, it should be a crime. You’ve got musicians-turned-actors like Alicia Keys and Common, there’s Ryan Reynolds and Andy Garcia, as well as an unrecognizable Chris Pine as a methhead neo-Nazi, Jason Bateman, Joel Edgerton, Ray Liotta, and a dozen other stars.

Oddly enough, each of these actors gets time to shine in the movie's 109-minute runtime without taking anything away from anyone else. Everyone in this seems to be having the time of their lives, especially Piven as the titular “Aces.” But don’t get attached, as a lot of these folks die in spectacular fashion. Don’t worry, I’m not naming names!

Though Smokin’ Aces does appear on various streaming services from time to time (it’s been available with a Netflix subscription in the past), it’s currently only available as a digital rental or purchase for now. That said, this is a bonkers and often overlooked action flick with a whole lot of twists, turns, and heart. If you want more Ben Affleck and Joe Carnahan after going through The Rip, this is the way to go!

Ever since Good Will Hunting in 1997, movie fans have been kind of obsessed with the bromance between Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who were friends long before they were famous. In their latest project together — Joe Carnahan’s The Rip, which hit the 2026 Netflix schedule on January 16 — they play members of the Miami Police Department, where suspicions rise amongst the officers after $20 million is recovered from a stash house.

In addition to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, The Rip also stars several other recognizable names, including Steven Yeun, Scott Adkins, Kyle Chandler and Teyana Taylor — whom we just saw give an inspiring acceptance speech at the Golden Globes. Critics were able to screen the new movie release, and Jake Cole of Slant rates it 3 stars out of 4, calling it a meat-and-potatoes action thriller that offers no real surprises, but makes for an enjoyably retro diversion. The critic writes:

Eric Francisco of Esquire loves absolutely everything about The Rip — except for the fact that a killer Affleck/Damon movie is being dumped to only Netflix subscription holders in the middle of January. The nerve! Francisco continues:

Brian Truitt of USA TODAY gives the upcoming action movie 3 out of 4 stars, saying the decades-long history between the lead actors adds nuance to their friendship and friction in The Rip. Truitt continues:

Jerrod Jones of AV Club gives the movie a B, writing that it functions comfortably as a mid-tier action movie, with grizzled performances, plenty of twists and enough excitement to keep Dad from dozing off. The real-life friendship between Ben Affleck and Matt Damon adds a charge when they share the screen. In Jones’ words:

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert rates The Rip 3 stars out of 4, saying Matt Damon and Ben Affleck lean into their dad bods a little more than usual to portray world-weary cops. Tallerico praises director Joe Carnahan for delivering the rare Netflix original that plays like something you’d want to see on the big screen. The critic continues:

Overall the critics seem more than satisfied with the action flick, as it’s garnered an 84% on the Tomatometer so far. While expectations for January streaming originals may not be very high, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck definitely have a lot of people looking forward to this one. If you want to check out The Rip, it is available now to stream on Netflix.

Matt Damon showed off his brainy talents by appearing on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? alongside Jeopardy! mastermind Ken Jennings, and opposite his biggest rival Jimmy Kimmel, and I have to think his character in his upcoming Netflix movie, the crime thriller The Rip, needs someone intelligent to step in and advise him against any and all dirty-cop instincts. That's what trying to hide millions of dollars from one's snoopy bosses does, I suppose.

Damon and his longtime creative partner Ben Affleck are back together again for a 2025 movie release that looks as intense as anything else I've seen this year, and puts Affleck in a completely different mode from his other 2025 action persona in The Accountant 2. Be sure to check it out above, and it might be smart to have a spare hand around with fingernails to chew on.

In The Rip, Matt Damon portrays Lieutenant Dane Dumars, while Ben Affleck will play Det. Sergeant JD Byrne. Both are part of a team of MIami cops who discover a massive financial payload hidden inside a stash house. As one might imagine, the team isn't quick to report the findings, and once others outside of the group discover the seizure and just how many millions of dollars are involved, distrust quickly settles in, causing each of the team members to question who they can believe.

Joe Carnahan, the director behind The A-Team, The Grey, and this year's action thriller Shadow Force, took on both screenwriting and directorial duties for The Rip, so that's a good sign that viewers will see explosive action, hectic car chases and more stress-inducing action.

Damon and Affleck are joined by a squad of stellar co-stars, also, including Steven Yeun, Kyle Chandler, Scott Adkins, Teyana Taylor, Néstor Carbonell, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Lina Esco.

I can only imagine how stressed out one might get hearing a knock at the door and then seeing this squad of unhappy mugs right outside. Especially when they're not espousing any good news.

The Rip will hit the 2026 movie schedule when it becomes available to stream via Netflix subscription starting Friday, January 16, 2026.

One of the great filmmaking duos, both behind and in front of the camera, is Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The pair, who both grew up in Boston together, first turned heads in a big way when they made one of the best movies of the 1990s, Good Will Hunting. Over 25 years later, the two stars apparently remain “bizarrely close” to one another and are now reportedly getting ready to star in yet another flick together! 

Sign! Me! Up! Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have made some great stuff together in the past, most recently with Air. Per Deadline, the movie stars are both looking to work together again for a crime thriller called RIP! 

While Affleck often directs his own movies, this won’t be the case this time. The mysterious project has tapped Joe Carnahan to write and direct. Carnahan was one of the writers behind 2020’s Bad Boys For Life, along with also having his name on 2006’s Smokin’ Aces, 2010’s The A-Team and 2021’s Copshop. 

With Carnahan’s writing history in mind, I have a feeling that RIP is going to be a tad more fun of a flick than Damon and Affleck have done before in the genre. Between Damon being part of Martin Scorsese’s The Departed back in 2006, to Affleck’s memorable role in Gone Girl, I can’t wait to see what they bring to a crime thriller together! 

Additionally, the pair have a great eye for script, especially since they are both successful actors who are also hit screenwriters! How can we forget the time they won for Good Will Hunting, with Affleck specifically becoming the youngest to ever win in the category for screenwriting! (Damon is just two years older.) 

Affleck has reportedly just wrapped production on The Accountant 2 and is ready to keep working, and now we know another project of his is on the horizon. Affleck and Damon were originally going to make a different crime thriller together with a movie called Animals, but it has since fallen through. It didn’t take long for the actors to find another collaboration, and per the report, their pitch for RIP is coming together fast, as the actors plan to get on set and film it this fall. 

Affleck and Damon released Air last year to much success. The biopic about the origins of the Air Jordan made $90 million at the box office ahead of becoming available to stream with an Amazon Prime subscription. The movie earned positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, and was even in the conversation for awards season, earning two Golden Globe nominations (for Damon’s performance and Best Musical/Comedy) and three nominations at the Critics Choice Awards (for Best Acting Ensemble, Original Screenplay and Best Editing). 

I’m so ready for the latest collaboration from Affleck and Damon! Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more news about its progress.

Gerard Butler in a thriller? Who could have guessed?! That’s right, the Scottish actor next stars in Copshop, a thriller flick directed by Joe Carnahan that also features Frank Grillo, Alexis Louder, Toby Huss, and Ryan O'Nan. In the action film, wily con artist Teddy Murretto (Grillo) hatches a plan to hide out from lethal assassin Bob Viddick (Butler). He punches rookie officer Valerie Young (Louder) to get himself arrested and locked up in a police station in a small town. However, jail can't protect Murretto for long as Viddick soon schemes his own way into detention, biding his time in a nearby cell until he can complete his mission. When the arrival of another assassin ignites all-out chaos, mounting threats force Viddick to get creative if he wants to finish the job and escape the explosive situation.

Copshop releases in theaters this Friday, September 17, and critics have started releasing their reviews. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Based on our very own Dirk Libbey’s review, Copshop might not be worth a watch. He noted that Butler and Grillo bring in their star power, but that’s pretty much it. There isn’t even much interesting action, which is disappointing given those two names. Libbey did complement Louder’s performance and considered her the breakout star of the thriller. But he was pretty let down by the film, even the finale, which was meant to be badass but totally fell flat. Here’s what he had to say:

Chris Evangelista from SlashFilm had a bit more of a positive opinion about Copshop, but still thought the thriller wasn’t too terribly… thrilling. While he noted that Butler and Grillo have played these kinds of roles many times before, it’s still fun to watch their “sleazy charm” on the screen. Evangelista thought the action flick was “pulpy trash,” but in a good way, a trashy movie that knows it’s trash and is okay with that. But he commented that the movie could have been so much better, as characters like Louder’s aren’t very interesting and the action doesn’t kick in until it’s too late. Overall, he said:

David Lewis from the San Francisco Chronicle was pretty disappointed with the action thriller. He criticized many aspects of the film, from the lack of proper setups, the absence of character development, to the slow pacing. Lewis also thought it was hard to care about any of the characters and didn’t even include interesting action sequences (which is a bummer for an action movie). Lewis noted:

Wes Greene from Slant Magazine enjoyed the “disarming” humor in Copshop, giving the demented character of Anthony Lamb (played by Toby Huss) as an example. He thought Huss’s rambunctious Lamb was a delightful highlight of the film, and argued that if more of the characters had his spirit, it would have been more interesting. Greene also enjoyed the action and suspense in the thriller, which is certainly a different outlook than we’ve seen from other critics. Overall, he commented:

While we’ve seen critics criticizing the pacing and lack of proper setups in the action movie, Phil Hoad from The Guardian actually thought Carnahan kept everything “lean and mean.” He applauded the inclusion of Butler and Louder, though he noted that Grillo’s casting caused Copshop to be void of character differentiation. Hoad also enjoyed the “smart-aleck” dialogue and gratuitous violence in the thriller, calling it:

Well, that was... mixed. You might enjoy Copshop more than these critics, and you can check it out this Friday, September 17.

Until then, you can plan your next movie-going experience with our new movie release guide.

While Hollywood has continued to struggle trying to figure out just what to do with theatrical releases in the pandemic era, the one particular corner of the movie business that has seemed to be largely unaffected is the mid-tier action and horror genres. These tend to be features with original concepts, modest budgets, and names audiences know (but not necessarily the A-list). You can almost hear the studio deciding that a movie probably isn't going to be a massive hit in the best of times, so why not release it now? With Joe Carnahan's Copshop, there's little doubt such a decision was made.

Copshop reteams Carnahan with star Frank Grillo. We've seen this pair together before, but the output has run the gamut from the surprisingly good Boss Level, to the run of the mill buddy cop movie Point Blank. Unfortunately even with action movie veteran Gerard Butler along for the ride this time, Copshop is far closer to the latter effort.

Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo bring their names to Copshop and little else.

Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo) is on the run – from who it's not exactly clear at first, but he's clearly fearing for his life. He decides the best course of action to get to safety is to punch a cop, Valarie Young (Alexis Louder), square in the face. Getting himself arrested in the middle of nowhere Nevada seems like a smart move at first. However, hitman Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler) simply follows that lead and gets himself thrown in lock up with him in order to get close to Teddy so that he can fulfill his contract.

From the beginning it looks like Copshop could be setting us up for a wild ride. Viddick clearly has a plan when he gets himself arrested, and over the next several minutes we watch pieces get put into place. Sometimes those pieces are put into place in incredibly ham-fisted ways. An early interaction between Valarie and one of her fellow officers is such a blatant setup for something to come later it's impossible not to see it coming, even if it takes the entire rest of the movie for the payoff to finally come.

Even as a simple cinematic diversion Copshop is lacking.

And then, just when it looks like the Rube-Goldberg device is set and the first domino falls... nothing really happens. A status quo is maintained for about half of Copshop's runtime, and it simply isn't filled with enough story to keep audiences interested. None of the characters beyond our main three have any depth or any reason to get invested in them. Even the core cast members are little more than tropes for the most part. When you're offering an action movie with Frank Grillo and Gerard Butler, there's a certain expectation that comes with that, and when they spend 90% of a movie sitting in a cell that's lost.

Eventually, a new character, played by Toby Huss, has to arrive from outside in order to kick the action into full gear. Once that happens things at least get moving. The action isn't anything new or special, but it's there. But the introduction of Huss' character is whole new problem because he feels like he came in from a different Joe Carnahan movie. Up to this point Copshop has been about ratcheting up the tension until things are about to break, and there's little humor to be found – but Huss' character is a "psychopath," which means, apparently, that he has license to be ridiculous while everybody else is playing it straight.

Alexis Louder is the real breakout star.

Frank Grillo and Gerard Butler get first billing in Copshop, and while their conflict may be at the core of the film, it certainly isn't about them. It's about Valerie and how she's going to navigate the situation she's found herself in. Alexis Louder is certainly up to the task. She holds her own against the action veterans as the cop who, while not without her own skills, is certainly in over her head.

When the final act rolls around and sets up its "badass" finale, it ultimately falls flat. Butler and Grillo are finally given something to do, but because the movie hasn't done anything with them up to this point, there are no expectations for the movie to meet, exceed, or even subvert. It's just more gunfire, which is fine, I guess.

If Copshop were funnier it might have been worth a laugh. If the movie had action scenes that were something we'd never seen before, it would have been novel. If it had better built the tension so that the release of it made you feel something, it would have at least been satisfying. Instead it does all these things halfway, making them all mean very little.

The world of assassins can be quite competitive, and a little more than crazy. No one knows that better that co-writer/director Joe Carnahan, as his new film Copshop sees the Smokin’ Aces creator engaging in yet another kill crazy competition. This time, Gerard Butler is one of many assassins who are after Frank Grillo, a veteran of the MCU and Purge action franchises who is playing a man so desperate for protection he’ll willingly get arrested to be brought to safety.

Grillo’s character, Teddy Muretto, is Copshop’s most valuable asset on the board; and in true Joe Carnahan fashion, we don’t know why. All we know is Teddy wants to get locked up in a desperate bid for survival, which leads to his coincidental teaming with officer Valerie Young (Alexis Louder). Two can play at that particular game, as assassin Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler) employs that same strategy to get closer to his target; and not a moment too soon. As other assassins are clued into Teddy’s whereabouts, Bob holds the advantage, but the game is on to try and top him.

Part insane action, part deadpan comedy, Joe Carnahan’s unique energy is felt through every frame of Copshop’s trailer. It’s also good to see Carnahan reteaming with his Boss Level star Frank Grillo, who’s up to whatever challenge he’s given in this bullet laden obstacle course. But Grillo seems to be playing straight man to two criminal funseekers, thanks to Gerard Butler and Halt and Catch Fire’s Toby Huss.

With one clearly being crazier than the other, Copshop has its fair assortment of crazy and dangerous people. And we haven’t even seen all of them, as the race to be the first to take out Frank Grillo looks like it’s going to be a dangerous one to live through. Explosions, car crashes, fires, and even a wall being sledgehammered out of existence are just a tastes of the stuff Copshop is offering to the public.

It should also be noted that Gerard Butler is apparently unstoppable when it comes to his work ethic. As the man is currently on deck for a sequel to Angel Has Fallen and his continuing Mike Banning series, as well as the follow-up to the surprise hit known as Greenland, Butler just isn’t slowing down. Which only makes him the perfect match against Frank Grillo, and his insane ability to pop up when you least expect him.

Copshop has pretty much everything an action-comedy fan could want, especially if they’re disciples of Joe Carnahan’s insanely energetic entries into the genre. September 17th is when the film is looking to open in theaters, which gives folks some time to clear their schedules and place their bets on who’ll survive the carnage. In the meantime, head over to the 2021 release schedule, and see what other films Copshop will contend with on that weekend’s battlefield.

Every feature film ever made, from the smallest independent productions to the biggest blockbusters, has gone through an at least modest period of turbulence, but there are few that have gone through the ridiculous ups and downs experienced by the developing Uncharted movie. The project – a live-action adaptation of the beloved video game series of the same name – first started coming together all the way back in November 2009, but in the last decade it’s accomplished little more than rotating through a series of filmmakers and scripts.

Even the franchises’ biggest fans probably struggle to keep track of all the back and forth regarding the film, so we’ve decided to… well, chart it. With a deep dive into the CinemaBlend news archives guiding us, here is the full and wild history of Uncharted’s challenges and delays.

The Original Version

As noted above, it was in November 2009 that Sony first started getting to work on a live-action Uncharted, hiring Conan The Barbarian screenwriting duo Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to pen the screenplay, but it was actually just short of a year later that the film really started cooking with gas. This was when the studio managed to recruit David O. Russell to helm the project, the filmmaker having a lot of heat at the time because of the forthcoming release of The Fighter.

With Russell at the helm and penning a new version of the script, Uncharted began to employ some top tier talent. A decade before Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman came together it looked like the video game project was going to be the film that reunited stars Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro. While controversial, it was also confirmed that Mark Wahlberg was the writer/director’s choice to play the lead role of adventurer Nathan Drake.

That version of the project existed for a few months, but it was less than half a year later that everything started falling apart. In May 2011, it was reported that David O. Russell was no longer attached to make Uncharted, eventually explaining that his take on what to do with the source material didn’t line up with what the studio wanted to see from the blockbuster.

From Neil Burger To Seth Gordon

Losing a writer/director with as much clout as David O. Russell was surely seen as a disappointment by the studio executives, but little time was wasted trying to find a new vision from a different director. The search took about two months, as Neil Burger was given the helm of Uncharted in July 2011. The filmmaker was just a few months removed from the release of Limitless starring Bradley Cooper, and he started putting together his own take on the material, wiping the slate clean as far as story approach.

With few updates about its development emerging publically, that period of Uncharted’s history lasted for nearly a year-and-a-half, but Neil Burger decided to drop the film in November 2012, deciding to make Divergent instead.

Having lost its second director, the project once again had to start over, and Sony hired National Treasure screenwriters Marianne and Cormac Wibberley to take a crack at the blockbuster. That led to Uncharted spending some time sitting on a shelf… but then in February 2014 it found new life. With a filmography including comedies Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief, director Seth Gordon was matched with the video game adaptation.

By mid-2014 plans were made to have production startup in early 2015, and the film even got Hurt Locker Oscar winner Mark Boal to do a version of the script as it was coming together… but principal photography never began. Instead, by June 2015 it was reported that Uncharted had lost its third director, with Seth Gordon moving on to pursue other projects.

The Shawn Levy Era

After five years of development and attaching three directors, the Uncharted movie had made zero real forward motion, and it wasn’t until July 2016 that the feature found new life again. Sony felt positive about a pitch given to them by Joe Carnahan, and hired him to work on the screenplay. A proposed June 30, 2017 release date was floated on the release calendar, but by September 2016 it was clear that wasn’t going to happen.

Having been developing Joe Carnahan’s script for nearly a year-and-a-half, Sony struck a deal with Shawn Levy to become the fourth director of Uncharted in October 2016. It was only just shortly after this that Mark Wahlberg announced he was no longer involved with the production – having still been attached since the David O. Russell take – but his journey with the film wouldn’t really end there (we’ll get back to him).

By January 2017, the film once again looked like it was ready to become real. Uncharted had a finished script by Joe Carnahan, and plans were being made to have the project ready to shoot in the spring. In May 2017, Sony decided to double down on one of their biggest franchise’s stars, as it was decided that their Spider-Man: Homecoming lead, Tom Holland, would also play Nathan Drake in Uncharted. Unfortunately, the studio also once again found itself having some serious trouble actually nailing down a director to make the damn thing.

Tom Holland Is Nathan Drake, But Who Is Directing?

To date, Shawn Levy holds the record as the director with the longest attachment to Uncharted, as he was seated in the director’s chair for over two years… but that particular era ended in January 2019. With the future of the video game movie unclear, Levy decided to make Free Guy starring Ryan Reynolds (a totally different kind of video game movie), and left his position vacant for 10 Cloverfield Lane’s Dan Trachtenberg to take over.

Sony started to get ambitious again and announced a December 18, 2020 release date, but as you might have already guessed, that’s not happening. In August 2019 it was revealed that Dan Trachtenberg had become the fifth director to drop the project. The gap was filled quickly, with Bumblebee’s Travis Knight taking on the job just a few weeks later, but issues haven’t stopped plaguing the project in the months since.

Where We Are Now

First there was the news in December 2019 about the need to change plans for production due to Tom Holland’s commitments to the Spider-Man franchise (which has a new chapter out in 2021, and plans to start filming in the summer). This led Sony to lose Travis Knight as director (a.k.a. goodbye to Director #6) while pushing the film’s release date back to March 5, 2021.

In January 2020 Sony decided to reteam with Zombieland/Zombieland: Double Tap director Ruben Fleischer for Uncharted, and in the weeks since the film has put together an ensemble cast including Mark Wahlberg (now as Victor “Sully” Sullivan, Nathan’s mentor and father figure), Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, and Tati Gabrielle. Unfortunately, it’s not clear if the film is going to be able to make its current release date, as the latest reports about the project say that production has been pushed back at least six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With still not a single frame of the movie captured yet, we can’t say for certain what the future holds for Uncharted. That being said, we have faith that it will eventually get made, and when it does it will hopefully be worth the wait.

After years of being trapped in development and going through multiple directors, screenwriters, and release dates, it looks like the long-awaited Uncharted film adaptation is finally about to enter production. For those who have fallen in love with the brash treasure hunter Nathan Drake on any of his adventures across various Sony PlayStation consoles over the past 13 years, the prospect of finally seeing the game move on to the silver screen is the best news we’ve received in years.

Over the past few weeks, people attached to the project have started to release more information on things like the release date, who’s going to be starring in the video game adaptation, and what we can expect from this highly anticipated project from Sony Pictures.

The Uncharted Movie’s Release Date Is In 2021

Initially, it looked like Nathan Drake and the rest of the characters from Uncharted would make their silver screen debut ahead of Christmas this year with a December 18 release date. After multiple delays in the pre-production process and Sony’s removal of the Masters Of The Universe adaptation from the calendar, the studio elected to move Uncharted to March 5, 2021, He-Man’s original release date. So it looks like we only have 13 months until we’re able to see Nathan Drake in his next adventure.

Director Of Zombieland Franchise and Venom Attached To Project

In the years following the film’s first mention, there have been no fewer than five directors attached to the project, including Travis Knight, who stepped away from the project after multiple delays in 2019. With production scheduled to get underway in as little as four weeks, it looks like Sony Pictures has finally decided on a replacement.

In January, Deadline reported that Sony Pictures was looking to hire Zombieland: Double Tap and Venom director Ruben Fleischer to lead production once it gets underway. This is not a surprise as both of Fleischer’s previous pictures were either produced by Sony Pictures (Venom) or distributed by the studio (Zombieland: Double Tap).

The Film Is Working Off A Screenplay From Writer Of The Grey And Smokin' Aces

The director’s chair isn’t the only spot that’s been a thorn in the side of production for Sony Pictures, as the project has gone through a number of screenwriters since work first began 12 years ago. Joe Carnahan, who wrote films such as Smokin’ Aces, The Grey, and even had a hand in coming up with the script for Bad Boys For Life was attached to the project back in 2016. While it’s not known if the tone of the script has changed over the course of the past four years, Carnahan looks to very much be a part of the project.

Tom Holland recently told IGN that the latest version of the writer’s script was one of the “best” he’s ever seen, further elaborating:

Tom Holland Is In The Starring Role

While numerous directors have come and gone over the last few years, one thing about the project has remained constant - Tom Holland is starring as Nathan Drake. With reports that the movie is going to focus on a younger Nathan Drake, Sony Pictures had their guy when they cast your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man shortly around the time the studio was preparing to release Spider-Man: Homecoming. Luckily for the studio, Holland never seems to age, so even with all the delays, he will still be able to portray a more youthful Drake than we saw in any of the games (besides the flashbacks, but more on those later).

Mark Wahlberg Will Play Longtime Series Regular

To best illustrate how long this movie has been in pre-production, Mark Wahlberg went from portraying Nathan Drake to Drake’s mentor and closest friend Victor Sullivan. All that being said, keeping Wahlberg on as the experienced “Sully,” especially a younger version of the character, could pay off in the long run. Wahlberg has been attached to the project for a number of years, is familiar with the material, and shares a lot of the grizzled characteristics found in Victor Sullivan’s character from the games. With a sharp tongue and an action film pedigree, Wahlberg could bring the cigar-smoking, wise-cracking, aged adventurer quite well.

Antonio Banderas Joins The Cast

Production will soon begin on the upcoming video game adaptation, and as the film's producers get ready to start principal photography, they have added more actors to the cast, including Antonio Banderas, who has been added in an unspecified role, according to Variety. It is not known whether he will play a friend or foe of Nathan Drake, but adding an actor with a track record as stellar as Banderas will certainly only make the film that much better. And if they go the villainous route for Banderas, there are plenty of villains to choose from throughout the Uncharted franchise.

Banderas isn't the only actor to join to the project at the start of March, as Variety also reported that Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina actor Tati Gabrielle and Grey's Anatomy actor Sophia Ali have also been added to the cast. Both actors have been added in unspecified roles.

The Story Centers Around A Younger Nathan Drake Than Seen In The Games

The casting of Tom Holland as the adventurer Nathan Drake seemed a little off at first, as Drake is portrayed as an older and already established character in the video game series. However, there are sections of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End where the player controls a younger Nathan Drake. According to Holland, the film adaptation will take inspiration from the latter game, especially those flashback scenes involving Nathan Drake and his brother, Sam, escaping from an orphanage and then breaking into a mansion to collect some of their mother’s belongings.

How much inspiration the film takes from Uncharted 4 remains to be seen, but I can’t think of a better inspiration for a story than the one found in that game - globe-trotting, pirates, and that amazing Madagascar level all come to mind. Hopefully, this means we see Sam Drake (who was voiced by everyone’s favorite voice actor Troy Baker in the game) show up at some point in the movie.

Production Could Get Underway As Early As March 2020

During the February 2020 premiere event for his new Disney Pixar film Onward, Tom Holland told IGN that filming will get underway in “four weeks,” which would have production getting underway at some point in March. Filming is set to take place in Berlin, Germany, as well as in Colombia.

How long the principal photography will last is anyone’s guess at this point, but Holland made it seem like shooting would last through the summer when discussing the matter with IGN:

What We Know About the Film’s Rating

Aside from movies based on horror video games (the Resident Evil and Silent Hill films come to mind), video game movies have primarily received a PG or PG-13 rating, at least here in the United States. Once you take that into consideration with the fact that the Uncharted games all had a “T” rating upon release (even though Nathan Drake literally killed hundreds, if not thousands of enemies), it’s safe to assume that Sony Pictures will be seeking a similar rating when the film is released in March 2021.

One of the original script treatments from Joe Carnahan was more focused on an R-rating, but that was four years ago, and a lot could have change during that time. We’ll just have to wait and see how the production plays out and how Sony wants to handle the level of violence featured in the film.

What We Know About The Film’s Trailer

Filming hasn’t even started on the Uncharted movie, so it’s safe to assume we won’t be seeing a teaser trailer for some time. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see some kind of reveal around the time San Diego Comic-Con takes place in late July, but even then would be early. We’ll have to wait and see on this one.

Where You Can Catch Other Uncharted Stories

Next year’s Uncharted movie will be the first film adaptation of the successful PlayStation franchise, so you won’t be able to stream previous films or episodes online (unless you have a time machine that can take you to the distant future where this movie is finally released). However, there are four main Uncharted games that follow the life and times and one Nathan Drake and his never-ending search for adventure and treasure.

One place to start would be with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End since the movie is reportedly going to be heavily influenced by that entry in the franchise. In addition to being the basis of the movie, the game is also probably the easiest to digest for people who aren’t familiar with the franchise - it has the best graphics, one of the more engaging stories, and worked out all the gameplay issues that bogged down the earlier games. All that being said, the first three games in the Naughty Dog Studios series are all worth playing as well if you want to know everything about Nathan Drake and Victor Sullivan. Be warned, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune has not aged well in the last 13 years.

Who Will Be Composing The Score

We don’t yet know who is going to be composing the score the upcoming Uncharted film adaptation, but hopefully whoever is hired to take on the task takes inspiration from the Greg Edmonson who wrote the score for the first three games in the series. Henry Jackman did a tremendous job of adding a more theatrical approach to the score for Uncharted 4, so maybe they bring him back for the 2021 film adaptation.

So, there you have it. That is all we know about the upcoming Uncharted film adaptation from Sony Pictures. Let’s just hope the movie actually gets made this time.

If you're a serious action movie fan, then you're already familiar with 2011's The Raid, known stateside as The Raid: Redemption. It was directed by Gareth Evans and is generally agreed to be one of the best pure action films ever made. Plans for an American remake have been around for years, though the wheels on the project have been turning quite slowly, when they haven't stopped altogether.

Joe Carnahan was the last name attached to the project who was going to produce the film with Frank Grillo. Recently, Collider asked the pair what the current status of the movie was, and while Carnahan confirmed that the project is still moving forward, and is apparently in negotiations with a "big name" to star, the movie has gone through one major change, as it's not, strictly speaking, actually a remake of The Raid anymore.

The original film sees a police officer named Rama and his special tactics team making a raid on an apartment building in order to take down a major crime boss. Almost the entire film takes place in the building, and the fact that the cops know the boss is in the building is the reason they go in, because he's locked down. However, in Joe Carnahan's script, the cops plan is to avoid the building altogether. According to Carnahan...

In the original film we learn that Rama's brother is one of the crime boss' top lieutenants, and it's for that reason that he got involved in the raid. However, we don't actually learn that detail until later in the movie. It sounds like, from Carnahan's comments, that the sibling relationship is the core of his version of the movie and will likely play a bigger part in the story.

Still, it sounds like eventually the movie will shift into the building and the raid of The Raid will happen. So perhaps Joe Carnahan's movie is mostly "inspired by" the Indonesian film as opposed to being a remake of it. That's maybe not the worst idea. While the original film is incredibly popular with some movie fans, the fact is that your average filmgoer doesn't know it. For them, it won't matter that the movie isn't a remake because they won't know the original. For those that are big fans of The Raid, we always knew that trying to actually remake it and do it justice was going to be a tall order, so maybe not trying to do so is the best solution.

This won't be the only major change in the film. It has previously been revealed that the action will shift geography as well, being set in Caracas rather than Indonesia.

While there's still no real time frame on when we might see this movie, if a star is signed soon, as it appears could happen, that might be enough to finally fast track the film. It may not exactly be The Raid, but hell, if it's a good movie, who really cares?

Development hell is a concept that isn't new to the film world. While certain projects seem to be promising and have the recipe for success, sometimes plans fail, and movies don't actually come to fruition. Highly anticipated action threequel Bad Boys For Life originally seemed like one of those movies, as it was been stuck in development hell for a number of years before finally going into production months ago.

Starting back in 2008, quite a few incarnations of Bad Boys' threequel were worked on before the current version was eventually nailed down. The Grey's Joe Carnahan was set to write and possibly direct Bad Boys III back in 2015, although he ultimately dropped out after the project stewed for a few years. Now he's explained the reasoning behind his departure, saying:

Well, this certainly sheds a light on things. Joe Carnahan doesn't seem to have sore feelings about the situation, but it appears that he had some creative differences with franchise star Will Smith. And since Smith is starring and producing Bad Boys For Life, he's got the right to have the final say. But that's just not how Carnahan wanted to make that movie.

Joe Carnahan's comments to Collider are in juxtaposition to the explanation that was given to his exit back in 2017. At that point, some reports indicated a scheduling conflict as the reason for Carnahan's departure. But it ultimately looks like it was creative differences, and a conflict with none other than Will Smith himself.

In his recent interview, Joe Carnahan was sure to not actually bad mouth With Smith over how Bad Boys For Life eventually came out. On the contrary, he understands what Smith has at stake for the project, and his own creative vision. But since they clashed, the director decided to exit the project, because he didn't want to work that way on the action sequel.

During that same conversation, Joe Carnahan was sure to pay his respects to Will Smith. Furthermore, he expressed how he was nervous to leave such a high-profile gig, explaining:

It looks like Joe Carnahan harbors no ill-will toward Will Smith due to his Bad Boys For Life departure. And while he was taking a risk by turning down such an opportunity, the writer/director had to follow his gut. That eventually made way for directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to get behind the camera for the new blockbuster.

Bad Boys For Life recently wrapped production, and is currently set to arrive in theaters on January 17, 2020. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

2016's Deadpool was more than just a faithful adaptation of the Merc with the Mouth years after X-Men Origins: Wolverine butchered Wade Wilson. It also opened the door to darker corners of the X-Men universe, specifically X-Force, the militant team of mutants. Over the last year, there's been talk about an X-Force movie eventually making its way to the big screen, and now it looks like the project has taken its biggest step forward, as State of Affairs' Joe Carnahan has been brought aboard as a writer.

Collider dropped the news that Joe Carnahan will pen the X-Force script, while Comicbook.com is saying that Ryan Reynolds, a.k.a. Deadpool himself, will assist him with the writing. Now here's where things get confusing. Comicbook.com is reporting that Carnahan has also been tapped to direct the blockbuster, while Collider is saying that for now, he's only on writing duties, though that could change. Either way, it's clear he'll have a major voice with X-Force.

Although Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have been the prime go-to people when it comes to the X-Force movie, evidently we can now look to Joe Carnahan and Ryan Reynolds as the men who will creatively guide the blockbuster. Carnahan's credits, both writing and directorial, include State of Affairs, Smokin' Aces, The A-Team (the movie) and The Grey. Along with Deadpool 2, he is also working on Bad Boys for Life and an American remake of The Raid. His experience with action fare makes him more than qualified to tackle the gritty X-Force, be it only as a writer or possibly directing, too.

Deadpool's success opened the door for 20th Century Fox to go more mature with their X-Men content. It's why Logan is rated R, and it's why it's now easier to introduce the X-Force into this cinematic universe, as opposed to if the main X-Men series had tried to accomplish that. Introduced in the early 1990s, the X-Force is comprised of mutant heroes and anti-heroes from around the Marvel universe, but they're methods are more extreme than the regular X-Men teams. X-Force goes on black-ops missions and is more aggressive with dealing with its enemies, namely killing. While no plot details for the X-Force movie have been revealed yet, Deadpool 2 is expected to be integral with setting up the team through the introductions of Cable and Domino, two X-Force mainstays from the comics. It's also possible the Merc with the Mouth might show up, given that he's a member in the comics. If that's the case, we'll presumably see him in his gray outfit rather than his traditional red duds.

The X-Force movie still doesn't have a release date attached, but stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates as they come in.

While we used to go months or years without hearing anything about an adaptation of the popular Uncharted video games series, now it feels like news is coming out every week about it. News is booming on the Uncharted film, which seems to have finally crawled its way out of development hell and is on the fast track to becoming an actual movie. It's only been a few weeks since writer Joe Carnahan shared that he was finished with the script, and now we may have learned when the film is expected to begin filming.

According to the site myentertainmentworld.com (via All the Stuff You Care About), Uncharted is expected to begin filming in Columbia in late spring of this year. I think that when it comes to these sorts of things, a healthy dose of skepticism is welcome, seeing as dates can easily change or just be wrong. However, it does fall in line with what we've heard in the past, and director Shawn Levy has previously stated that the goal is to begin shooting in the late spring or earlier summer season of 2017. Regardless of the specific date, Uncharted is definitely going to be filmed in 2017, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Also included with the expected start date is a brief synopsis of the film, which is the first real details on the plot. The story will follow Nathan Drake, a notorious treasure hunter who may have finally found the location of El Dorado, the fabled city of gold. However, the search soon turns competitive when a rival hunter enters the fray. This synopsis should be familiar to players of the game; it's the same basic premise of the first Uncharted game. It makes sense that the movie would follow in the same footsteps as the games, but it's unclear exactly how closely it will stick to the source material.

Though the film has a writer and director in Carnahan and Levy respectively, there has been no word on casting just yet. If the film is aiming to begin filming in a couple months then we're most likely going to hear something about that very soon. The movie still needs its lead as Nathan Drake. Mark Wahlberg was once reportedly attached to star but he ended up dropping out, leaving the role vacant. There's no shortage of speculation on who should play the part, and the cast is really the only missing piece to this puzzle.

The Uncharted drought seems to have officially passed and we can expect to hear lots more news about the video game adaptation in the coming months/year. The film currently doesn't have a release date but be sure to keep checking in with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated with new information as it becomes available.

Whatcha gonna do, Will Smith? Whatcha gonna do when Bad Boys 3 -- aka Bad Boys for Life -- comes, for you? Well, if the A-list mega-star is to be believed, he's going to sign on the dotted line and begin filming. Following up on the announcement that Martin Lawrence says Bad Boys 3 will begin filming in March 2017, Jimmy Kimmel asked Will Smith if that's accurate, and the man Bad Boys fans know as Mike Lowry came back with this:

Will Smith is on the talk-show circuit chatting up this season's Collateral Beauty, where he plays a man conversing with human embodiments of feelings and emotions (I know, stay with me here) after his child passes away. But Jimmy Kimmel took the opportunity to look ahead and get an update on Bad Boys 3, which has a release date of January 12, 2018. Knowing that, the host likely assumed that Martin Lawrence was correct, and that they WOULD have to start filming soon, so Smith's "very, very" makes sense. Lawrence, also, popped up as one of the main reasons why Smith is even returning for a third chapter in the Bad Boys saga, telling Kimmel:

In the two previous Bad Boys movies, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence played odd couple Miami detectives who bickered as much with each other as they did with the various criminals they worked to bring down. They're best known for the overwrought Floridians style that director Michael Bay brought to the franchise, as well as the over-the-top stunts and set pieces.

Michael Bay won't be back for Bad Boys for Life, however, as the keys are being handed to The Grey and Smokin' Aces filmmaker Joe Carnahan, who also has been banging away at the screenplay. Everything seems to be on track for the third movie to start production, and while Will Smith didn't drop a hard and fast confirmation, he also didn't distract with a negative spin that should have Bad Boys fanatics (myself, included) concerned. Here's Big Willie Style, in person, dishing on Bad Boys for Life:

We will continue to track the progress of Bad Boys 3, and we expect to know more about the planned sequel as we head into 2017. Until then, Collateral Beauty opens in theaters on December 16, against no other movies at all. At all!

If you're talking about your favorite movie franchises, the chances are pretty good that the best movie is not the third one. Very few trilogies actually get better with each movie, and even the best of them (like Star Wars for example) can fall short on the final chapter. So how will Bad Boys For Life, the long-in-development follow-up to Bad Boys II, fare when it hits theaters in 2018? If you're asking the director Joe Carnahan, it's going to be the best of the entire series.

Joe Carnahan (The Grey, Smokin' Aces, The A-Team) will be taking over writing and directing duties this time around from Michael Bay, and the filmmaker is already pretty confident in Bad Boys For Life. Carnahan is currently hammering out the script, and is eager to reunite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as two foul-mouthed Miami police partners 15 years after Bad Boys II. The writer-director recently spoke with io9 about why he thinks Bad Boys For Life will be the best film yet, and it all comes back to the script.

I would argue that the Bad Boys have never actually been "boys", but after 15 years the script will have to address that the characters aged a bit. It certainly sounds like Joe Carnahan knows what he's doing.

Joe Carnahan goes on to say that the script is "hands down" the "strongest script of any of those movies." Considering that you can sum up a Michael Bay movie with keywords like "explosions" and "robot balls" that might not be saying much, but Carnahan has proven himself to be a very capable action writer. It could be that this Bad Boys is the most personal of the entire series. Of course, that's not to say there won't be plenty balls to the wall action the franchise is known for.

It's been a long time since Martin Lawrence first announced that a new Bad Boys movie was in the works, and the status of development has been a bit off and on since then. The film was supposed to release in June 2017, but was pushed back until January 2018. Right now sights are firmly set on the third movie, but a fourth is also tentatively in the works. If Bad Boys For Life manages to bust down the box office door guns blazing, then we can almost certainly count on more movies in the future.

Bad Boys For Life is currently scheduled to come out in theaters on January 12, 2018. Make sure to stick with Cinema Blend for any and all future updates on the Bad Boys franchise.

Sit back, relax, and cue the damn Cops theme song. After years of rumors we finally have confirmation: the Bad Boys franchise will soon return and blast its way back into theaters. With Martin Lawrence and Will Smith both on board to return to the iconic action franchise for Bad Boys 3, we feel safe in saying that we couldn’t be more excited for them to deliver laughs and chaos in spades. Screenwriter Joe Carnahan just let a few new details slip regarding the some of the film's finer details, though. Check them out below.

That first Twitter image above showcases an early concept of an unknown man riding a motorcycle and wielding a gun. In his caption for the image, Carnahan asks: "Who is this man… and how bad is he?" This seems like a tease of the film’s villain as a mysterious figure who has no qualms with getting in on the action and getting his hands dirty, rather than manipulating events from the background. Of course Carnahan didn’t stop there. He also Tweeted an early previsualization rendering of the kind of destruction this villain will cause in Bad Boys 3. Check it out below:

In typical Bad Boys fashion, the above image showcases a major car explosion on a bridge. The explosion sends multiple vehicles flying, and likely racks up a pretty substantial body count. It seems incredibly likely that this sort of carnage will get the attention of Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Bennett (Martin Lawrence). Although these images do very little towards providing insight towards the actual plot of Bad Boys 3, they give us a great sense of the tone and general style the third Bad Boys will aim for.

Although Michael Bay has traditionally helmed the franchise, rumors have swirled that Joe Carnahan may also take over directing duties in addition to penning the film’s script. As Bay has his hands full with the Transformers franchise, the truth behind these rumors seems more and more likely with each passing day. It’s not as though Carnahan has no experience in the realm of badass action anyway; between his work behind the camera for The Grey, as well as the 2010 reboot of The A-Team, we feel confident in his ability to properly craft an action sequence.

We will bring you more information related to the upcoming release of Bad Boys 3 as it becomes available to us. It likely won’t be long before we finally learn the identity of the man under the helmet; who do you think it is?

Despite his more sequel-phobic behavior in recent years, Will Smith seems to be keen on the idea that Bad Boys 3 will be in theaters rather quickly. In fact, he’s so sure of the possibility that he’s even marked out a specific window where this seems extremely likely to happen.

Collider latched onto this notion after reporting on a radio interview Smith had done with Zane Lowe over at Beats 1. In that interview, Smith gave the following update on the second sequel to Michael Bay’s wildly successful 1995 hit:

Collider also noted that this window lines up with the current release date that’s penciled in for Bad Boys 3, which is currently set to drop on February 17, 2017. With that release date being a recently reported piece of news, in addition to the date that Bad Boys 4 looks to have carved out for its own adventures, it appears that production on the film is ready to roll. That is, if the film hasn’t already entered the earliest stages of production already.

However, as we mentioned at the top of this piece, Will Smith’s track record with sequel participation hasn’t been very encouraging in recent history. Not only has he supposedly washed his hands of the Men In Black franchise, but he’s also going to be a no-show when Independence Day: Resurgence hits theaters next year. Considering that Bad Boys 3 has been courting Joe Carnahan to take the wheel from Michael Bay’s hands, all signs could be pointing to a new direction for the franchise’s upcoming installments.

Of course, there’s still a chance that someone could back up a dump truck of money in Will Smith’s driveway, and that Martin Lawrence might be persuaded to drop whatever current engagements he may have for one more ride. With the 12-16 month window being specified by Smith, a quick turnaround would be in the cards if Bad Boys 3 is going to stick the landing. Considering how Collateral Beauty seems destined to be grounded any day now, as well as the fact that we know Smith will be involved in the production of Bad Boys 3, it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to see Will Smith jump back in the saddle – with script writers heavily re-working the material as they go along. After all, it worked for Men In Black III, albeit with a longer production schedule in play.

For the moment, Bad Boys 3 sounds like it’s fast approaching the point of actually existing. While there’s still a lot of unknown variable floating in the air, they do not seem like any factors that can’t be solved with a couple of huge payouts and some creative on-set improvisations. Though Sony would be wise to check their sights before pulling the trigger on this project, as they could use all of the hits they can get.

Bad Boys 3 is looking to make some arrests on February 17, 2017.

It’s been a tradition over the life of the Mission: Impossible franchise to have a new helmer in the cockpit every time a new sequel is about to leave the tarmac. This has led to each film in the series taking on its own artistic direction, while keeping the basic rudiments required to make a Mission: Impossible film. So as Tom Cruise is sparking up talk of Mission: Impossible 6 being in development, he’s going to need a new director to help shepherd this new film into being.

But who should be the next creative genius in the director’s chair? Who would Mission: Impossible 6 benefit from the most if they were recruited? We’d like to think that the following list of 10 competitors would make an excellent short list for Cruise, Skydance Productions, and Paramount Pictures to consider. It’s time to light the fuse, and run down the 10 people we think Mission: Impossible should tap for a very important mission.

10. Christopher McQuarrie

Pro: Christopher McQuarrie obviously already has experience directing a Mission: Impossible movie, and with his plate pretty clear in terms of what his next project will be, it’s as good a time as any to ask him back. Considering the quick turnaround Tom Cruise wants Mission: Impossible 6 to have, bringing on McQuarrie would help accelerate the process. The two men are sympatico, as McQuarrie has written several films for Cruise and directed the two of the last three titles in Cruise’s filmography. Another McQuarrie/Cruise collaboration could push the quality of the series into the stratosphere.

Con: In order for Mission: Impossible 6 to be ready within the next two years, there’s going to be a need for some quick scripting and even quicker pre-production / shooting. If Christopher McQuarrie came back to direct the next film, it can be assumed that he’d want to write it as well. This would be a bit of a tight space to work his way out of, as one duty could interfere with the other on such a tight schedule. Also, part of the charm and longevity to the Mission: Impossible franchise is the fact that each film has a fresh take on Ethan Hunt’s adventures, and having McQuarrie come back would ruin that.

Most Qualifying Film: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

9. Rian Johnson

Pro: Rian Johnson’s experiences with directing films such as Brick and Looper inform us that Johnson’s sensibilities aren’t too far off from those needed to make a Mission: Impossible film. The dark noir storytelling of Brick, combined with the action of Looper would make a particularly interesting entry into the official canon. The bonus is that should Johnson decide he ever wanted to make a film like this, much like Christopher McQuarrie, he’d probably want to write it himself.

Con: Despite his involvement in the filming of Star Wars Episode VIII, Rian Johnson isn’t really all that interested in tentpole filmmaking. While he’s worked with action before, he’s always been more of a front and center character sort of filmmaker. Unless the franchise scaled itself back, or presented some sort of irresistible draw, for him to say yes to this probably wouldn’t happen. Not to mention, the window of two years is scrubbed with Johnson’s Star Wars film hitting theaters on May 26, 2017.

Most Qualifying Film: Looper

8. D.J. Caruso

Pro: D.J. Caruso is one of those directors who stayed under the radar with films like The Saltan Sea and Two For The Money, only to blow up overnight after the one, two punch that was Disturbia and Eagle Eye. The latter film especially showcases why Caruso would be such a good fit for the Mission: Impossible franchise, as it is an exercise in well-timed action set pieces that are able to also sustain a feeling of suspense. Bonus points would be awarded if Caruso got former collaborator Shia LaBoeuf to sign on as a villain.

Con: Caruso has been out of the public eye for quite some time now, with his last major Hollywood release being 2011’s box office bomb I Am Number Four. Paramount might be reticent to hire their former collaborator when he hasn’t had much theatrical experience in the past couple of years. This is only compounded by the fact that his latest film, The Disappointments Room, is currently in limbo thanks to its distributor’s bankruptcy woes. Without a recent track record to stand by, D.J. Caruso might be more of a gamble than Paramount wants to take.

Most Qualifying Film: Eagle Eye

7. Kathryn Bigelow

Pro: When you think of Point Break, you think of high octane action mixed with cat and mouse chases. When you think of Zero Dark Thirty, you think of intense character drama set against the backdrop of a geopolitical manhunt. Combined the two concepts, as well as previous experience with Jeremy Renner, and you have the best scenario for a Mission: Impossible sequel that would be expertly handled by the director of both of those films, Kathryn Bigelow. History would also be made, as this would mark the first female director in the franchise.

Con: Bigelow’s days of being a studio gun for fire seem behind her, as she’s shepherded several projects into being that have all taken on subjects of reality based drama. Mission: Impossble 6 is probably barely a blip on her radar, as her projects are out of the realm of summer blockbusters. Also, it would probably take a pretty big deal to get Kathryn Bigelow to the table for an Ethan Hunt outing, which could be good for the studio’s prestige season game - yet useless for their tentpole roster.

Most Qualifying Film: Zero Dark Thirty

6. Edgar Wright

Pro: Adept to shifting genre at the drop of a hat, Edgar Wright is the type of director that could make a hell of a splash with a huge budget in his hands. Not only would a Mission: Impossible film put Wright in touch with dear friend and colleague Simon Pegg again, but it would also give him the chance to direct Tom Cruise. Given his penchant for attracting both marquee and legendary character actors, a Cruise/Wright project just seems like a great fit. Not to mention, Wright knows how to stage action while embracing offbeat humor.

Con: Wright has been burned by the studio machine before, as former Paramount collaborators Marvel Studios forced his departure from this summer’s Ant-Man. With only a year separating him from the fiasco, Edgar Wright might still be gun shy when it comes to working with a big studio. Not to mention, his writing might skew a little more towards the humorous side, which would in turn may require a bit script doctoring after the first draft of Mission: Impossible 6 is handed in. If not handled carefully, this could turn into history repeating itself.

Most Qualifying Film: Hot Fuzz

5. Doug Liman

Pro: If you talk to anyone who’s seen Edge Of Tomorrow, you’ll hear an almost universal wave of praise. With Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie making up two thirds of last summer’s heart winning team, there would be only one member left to draft: director Doug Liman. As he’s proven that he can work with Cruise at a professionally impressive level, Liman’s varied experiences in the cinematic espionage department nails his candidacy down with experience in laughs and explosions.

Con: Get used to this line of reasoning, because it’s going to come back quite a bit in the next couple of candidate’s entries. Liman’s candidacy as a Mission: Impossible helmer is in jeopardy for one gigantic reason: Edge Of Tomorrow’s box office performance. Despite all of the stars aligning, and tons of praise heaped upon its back, the film eked out a long term success that wasn’t as propulsive as Warner Bros would have liked.

Most Qualifying Film: Edge Of Tomorrow

4. Ben Stiller

Pro: Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise are basically the acting equivalent of peanut butter and chocolate, as the two have woven in and out of each other’s professional lives - finally colliding with 2008’s Tropic Thunder. While we’re still waiting for that Les Grossman movie everyone was talking about not too long ago, Stiller’s directing chops could be broken out as soon as his duties on Zoolander 2 are finished. All he’d need is to brush up on his action directing chops again, and he’d be set!

Con: While Ben Stiller has a healthy relationship with Paramount, particularly as a directing talent, he hasn’t given them a hit since 2008. While The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty managed to make twice its budget back, it was a "hit" on the same par as Edge Of Tomorrow. Zoolander 2’s success or failure could either make or break any possible deal to make a Stiller helmed Mission: Impossible flick, and if it should fail, the prospect might be as impossible as Ethan’s darkest missions.

Most Qualifying Film: Tropic Thunder

3. Joe Carnahan

Pro: Fun fact: Joe Carnahan was once considered for the position to direct Mission: Impossible III. While that never panned out, Carnahan didn’t stop working with action, violence, and smatterings of mortality and comedy. With Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team, and The Grey, Carnahan has shown he can play with smart assed action, heavy emotional beats, and classic TV adaptations - all in equally impressive fashions. This second chance could be just the ticket to kicking Carnahan into the A-list rankings.

Con: The reason Carnahan’s Mission: Impossible III never happened was due to studio politics, and the lack of autonomy with the project. With a high visibility studio film like Mission: Impossible 6 in the balance, there’s obviously going to be a certain degree of ball that needs to be played between director and studio. Considering one of his last high profile experiences with a major studio involved his hysterical film Stretch getting dumped onto VOD platforms, we’d venture to guess his eye for action might stay trained on the realm of TV for a little longer.

Most Qualifying Film: Smokin’ Aces

2. Antoine Fuqua

Pro: Before any sort of technical evaluation, allow us to throw out a possibility that will almost assuredly sell you on an Antoine Fuqua directed Mission: Impossible 6. Imagine Denzel Washington pitted against, or aiding, Tom Cruise in a mission that would set the stakes so high, it’d be hard to imagine a Mission: Impossible 7 without exploding? Fuqua’s action pedigree speaks for itself, especially with The Equalizer keeping him in the game after Olypmus Has Fallen. Those two films alone show that Fuqua can handle character and scope, and he can do it with an economy of story and budget.

Con: Fuqua is a busy man, with The Magnificent Seven and The Equalizer 2 both looming in the distance. His schedule will be a tough one to wrangle without dropping one of those two projects, and we’re pretty sure he wouldn’t do that as easily as other directors might. Not to mention, while Fuqua can handle gritty action/drama pictures like the ones mentioned above, they aren’t exactly known as films with overtly humorous notes. While a grittier Mission: Impossible does sound intriguing, it would make it feel like more of a copycat than its own self

Most Qualifying Film: Olympus Has Fallen

1. Tom Cruise

Pro: Tom Cruise started producing when he made Mission: Impossible, and throughout his time as a producer he’s indulged in his twin appetites of doing his own stunts and learning the movie making process. With Mission: Impossible 6 starting to live the moment after he mentioned it, having Cruise raise the baby he created in the artistic either would be a hell of a career move. With his talent behind and in front of the camera, Cruise will have the most control he’s ever had over a Mission: Impossible film.

Con: While Tom Cruise directing Mission: Impossible 6 might be an exciting prospect, it’s also a nightmarish one. In a worst case scenario, Cruise’s inexperience would gum up the works and drag the production through a quagmire of doubt. What’s more, without a director to offer checks and balances to the worldwide star’s vision, the final product might be a bit more artistically biased to Cruise’s character than usual.

Most Qualifying Film: N/A

We've been hearing about a potential future for a Bad Boys 3 for many, many years now - but today the project actually seems like it finally has a legitimate chance of happening. This is because the folks at Sony Pictures are enlisting a first-rate screenwriter to pen the script for the next chapter in the Will Smith-Martin Lawrence action franchise.

Deadline has gotten word from insiders that Sony is in early talks with writer/director Joe Carnahan to steer the future of the Bad Boys franchise. He will be picking up where the last screenwriter to work on the project - David Guggenheim - left off. What's perhaps even more significant is the fact that Carnahan may even be given the option to direct the movie himself - which would certainly be big news considering Michael Bay helmed both of the previous two installments.

Certainly some of you won't recognize Joe Carnahan's name, but most of you will recognize him by his work. He first gained notoriety for the dark cop drama Narc, and more recently earned critical acclaim for his Liam-Neeson-Stranded-In-The-Arctic thriller The Grey. He first got into the franchise game in 2010 with the movie adaption of The A-Team, and on the big screen most recently made the dark comedy Stretch. He has been spending some time in television recently, creating the series State of Affairs and helming a couple episodes of The Blacklist. Of course, potentially both writing and directing Bad Boys 3 is a great way for him to get right back into the features game.

Apparently Sony wants to put Bad Boys 3 on the fast track - and not just because they could really use a big hit. The studio is apparently hoping that they can have a movie ready to go by the time that Will Smith is done with production on Suicide Squad - which is currently filming up in Toronto. If all goes according to plan, that could mean that we might see the next installment of the Bad Boys franchise in theaters some time in 2016.

Joe Carnahan has certainly shown a knack for putting together big and awesome set pieces, which could very much come in handy when it comes to making a Bad Boys 3 - but do you think he would be a good choice to direct, or would you want Michael Bay to return? (especially now that he's done with Transformers movies). Answer our poll below, and tell us what you think in the comments section!

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Joe Carnahan's The A-Team didn't do well enough critically or financially to warrant the development of a sequel - but that doesn't mean that the filmmakers behind the first movie didn't have some ideas for a follow-up. As it turns out, one of those ideas was to totally revamp the titular group's classic wheels, and now we know exactly what it would have looked like:

In case you couldn't tell, it was director Joe Carnahan himself who revealed this rather sweet ride on his personal Twitter account - identifying it as a modified luxury SUV from Conquest Vehicles' Knight line. This is just concept art rather than an actual car that was built, but it's still pretty easy to appreciate its design.

Those familiar with the van from the first A-Team movie will also note that it's a pretty significant upgrade over the one driven by Quinton Jackson's Ranger BA Baracus in the 2010 film:

Of course, that one was just an updated version of the classic 1983 GMC Vandura that was featured on the original 1980s television series:

As cool as the never-will-be-made A-Team 2 car is, I do find myself wondering how the hardcore fans of the franchise would feel about the update. It's Hollywood's nature to make things bigger and more badass in action movie sequels, but the reason the classic van was brought back for the film in the first place was because it was the car that the die-hards wanted to see. It's definitely a tricky line to play with.

Of course, any outrage that fans would express about this design change is rather moot, given that the odds of an A-Team 2 actually happening are slim to none. The first film was made for a rather expensive $110 million, and it faced serious problems right out of the gate by losing its opening weekend to The Karate Kid. When all was said and done, it only managed to make $77 million domestically. While its international total was bumped up by a $100 million take from the foreign box office, it ultimately wasn't enough to either legitimize the budget of the first film, or give 20th Century Fox the confidence it needed to green light a sequel. Fans will just have to wait for the next reboot in about 10 years or so.

As demonstrated in this behind the scenes video from the set of Joe Carnahan's Stretch, the making of a movie's sex scene can be quite awkward. Be warned that this isn't safe for work!

It’s always been assumed that filming a Hollywood sex scene is one of the most unpleasant experiences that two actors can go through. Most of the time they barely know the person who is clambering, sweating and prodding away at their body, and, just to make things that extra bit awkward, there are normally at least a dozen other strangers in the room staring down and judging their bedroom maneuvers. Director Joe Carnahan has now released a behind the scenes clip from his upcoming film, Stretch, that proves just how excruciating it was for Patrick Wilson and Brooklyn Decker when they filmed an intimate moment for the picture.

It’s hard to know who to feel the most sorry for in the clip. Decker appears to be taking it all in her stride like a true professional, but you’ve got to assume that she would rather be anywhere else in the world, especially when she tells her co-star that she is just "lifting it" when she tries to fidget herself into position. It’s clearly not a picnic for Wilson either, who has to be ready to jump into action and act like a rampant rabbit whenever Carnahan says so. And you can also kind of hear in Carnahan’s voice just how insanely horrible the whole experience is for him too. Not only does he have to watch over every single second of their performances and then decipher if its worthy of his film, he also has to shout out such inspiring directional choices as "Great fucking", "Soft on her, ram right into it", "When you’re looking at him you really want to engage. Don’t let his eyes go," and, "when you’re done give him a little back-pat." He even has to discuss with Wilson whether his character is the sort of guy who would tell her "when he’s cumming."

To be fair, though, Carnahan is clearly trying to get the whole scene over and done with as quickly as possible. He promises the duo that he just wants one more take, while he’s also deployed two cameras to get his shots simultaneously, played loud, incredibly funky music to distract everyone on-set, and apparently instructed the people working the cameras not to linger on their naked bodies in-between takes. Classy work.

Stretch has a pretty impressive ensemble, with Patrick Wilson, Brooklyn Decker, Chris Pine, Ed Helms, Jessica Alba, Norman Reedus, Ray Liotta, and James Badge Dale all starring. After the film's distribution was dropped by Universal Picture earlier this year, those involved took the unprecedented decision to release it via iTunes and Amazon. It will be available with both retailers tomorrow and will be getting a full VOD release on October 14th.

Joe Carnahan hasn't had the best of luck in the past couple of years, what with Stretch disappearing off of Universal's release schedule and Daredevil going back to Marvel Studios just before he got to leave his mark on the character. We've seen what the reboot of the famed Marvel property (and infamous Ben Affleck feature) would have looked like, but now we have a little more information on the tone of the supposedly planned trilogy that Carnahan would have made for 20th Century Fox back in 2012.

MoviePilot's JabberTalky had an exclusive interview with the man himself to talk about many things, chiefly among them the plans for his Daredevil trilogy. The films were going to take place in 1973, 1979, and 1985; and according to Carnahan, each film was going to be influenced by the tone of the music that was popular at the time:

It's surprising that Joe Carnahan says he wanted to go for a Classic Rock feel for the '73 entry, as we all remember the sizzle reel he released had a tone that evoked more of a 70's Funk vibe than a Classic Rock tone. Pulling from The Warriors, The Untouchables, and other vintage fare of the surrounding eras, it set the tone of a film that took itself seriously, but did so with the comic flare that films like The Amazing Spider-Man possess in the modern era.

Maybe something changed in the script phase, but either way Carnahan looked and sounded like he had a really good feel for the character, particularly Frank Miller's grittier R-rating friendly version. The concept of theming each film based of an era of popular music is a rather novel idea, with each installment having its own unique musical identity that would in turn influence its thematic content. Picture The Kingpin's thugs decked out in Punk, or even New Wave club clothes, all ready to take on "The Man Without Fear" against the sound of synthesizers and guitars.

Sadly, that's not the universe we live in. We live in the universe where Drew Goddard, a genre stalwart and creative talent in his own right, is at the head of a Netflix series based on the property. While it might not be the same as Joe Carnahan's proposed trilogy of films, there's a possibility that it will still be a no holds barred festival of ass kicking. Not likely, seeing as Marvel Studios will want to have a wide audience tuning in on a regular basis, but fans can surely dream.

The era of the mid-budget movie truly is approaching. There are several reasons for this, and several people with limited imaginations to blame. But the truth is, these types of films -- movies that aren’t micro-budgeted or mega-budgeted -- are still quite expensive to market. There are more and more movie studios out there, each trying to mimic each others’ formula, each jostling for the same amount of attention. And that means more immersive ad-work: if your movie is cheap, it had better be broadly appealing, because they’re going to have to wallpaper ads all over town to make it profitable.

Such is the case with Joe Carnahan’s Stretch. The film comes from Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions, the studio that has specialized in very low-budget genre offerings like Paranormal Activity and The Purge. This ran a little pricier than those, at a full $5 million. It also, admittedly, sounds unclassifiable: Patrick Wilson plays a chauffeur who picks up a colorful billionaire (Chris Pine, apparently a cameo) that leads his limo into a night of "dangerous encounters." And now Universal, originally slated to release the film on March 21st, has cancelled the theatrical release, according to THR.

Universal apparently estimated it would cost $20-$40 million to put this out in theaters and decided it was not worth the risk. Which is sadly accurate: that’s the going rate for prints and advertising for a wide release studio film, and it doesn’t factor into the budget at all. And yes, those grosses need to be divided between the distributor, the producers, the theater chains… you can see how Stretch, like any movie, would have been a dicey proposition. Of course, this is the studio that released the financial sinkhole that was Battleship. You’d think they’d look risk in the face and smirk, knowingly. Would you have made and released Battleship? No. You’re not brave enough.

Blum has a nice first-look deal with Universal, and their first collaboration with Blumhouse ended up being The Purge. So you’d think they’d want to be in business with him on another low budget film. Truth is, no one in the industry apparently wants to release Stretch: Universal allowed Blum to shop the film around to other distributors, and none were interested. Now that Stretch is back with Universal, it seems that the studio is open to putting the film out, but they are exploring "creative" solutions, according to the article. Which likely means there’s no way you’re seeing this in theaters, but you might get to catch it on VOD.

Stretch also stars Jessica Alba, Brooklyn Decker, Ed Helms and Ray Liotta. Now, we don’t want to blame financial failure on certain actors, but Alba, Decker and Helms were very recently in Machete Kills, Battleship and The Hangover III, three movies that almost no one liked (though The Hangover III made far more money than you’d expect). Throw Pine into the mix, coming off the flop that is Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, and Liotta, who is no stranger to dubious-looking direct-to-DVD releases, and suddenly this cast looks pretty weak onscreen. You wouldn’t just need $20-$40 million to sell this thing. You’d also need a helluva lotta luck and creativity. But hey, maybe David Hasselhoff would have put some butts in seats.

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg hit on something brilliant with their recently-released horror comedy This Is The End: it's awesome to watch movies with actors playing crazy, screwed up versions of themselves. There are plenty of examples of it throughout pop culture history (let's not forget the ridiculously awesome Neil Patrick Harris cameos in the Harold and Kumar trilogy), but Rogen and Goldberg played the gag to perfection in their directorial debut. Thanks to their film's success, we knew it wouldn't be long until another filmmaker seemingly caught a bit of inspiration - and that day has apparently come.

According to The Wrap, both Ray Liotta and David Hasselhoff have boarded the upcoming action comedy Stretch from director Joe Carnahan, and apparently they will both be playing themselves in the movie. What's more, the cast has also added actor Shaun Toub, and the director has announced via Twitter that Iron Man 3's James Badge Dale has come aboard as well.

The film stars Patrick Wilson as Stretch, a down-on-his-luck limo driver with a bit of a gambling problem. When he discovers that he is only one job away from paying off his bookie, he takes a gig escorting a mysterious billionaire (Chris Pine) with some bizarre tastes. As the night progresses, things get weirder and more crazy, as Stretch finds himself stuck with the client from hell. The latest casting report doesn't mention how Liotta, Hasselhoff or Dale will fit into the movie, but notes that Toub will be the "no-nonsense owner of the limo company" that Stretch works for.

The casting process has been going on for months now, with Wilson having signed on to the movie all the way back in November of last year, but the project has really been getting up and running over the last couple months, having also added both Brooklyn Decker and Ed Helms to the lineup. The film is being made with a low budget as a co-production between Universal and Blumhouse and cameras are scheduled to start rolling on Sunday. Universal has already announced that the movie will be coming out on March 21, 2014, a date that puts it in direct competition with both the anticipated young adult novel adaptation Divergent as well as the James Bobin-directed sequel Muppets Most Wanted.

Some of you may remember that Hasselhoff actually just played himself in a movie recently, having starred as a water park lifeguard in the horror movie Piranha 3DD. Feel free to revisit those memories with the trailer below.

The casting process for Joe Carnahan's upcoming action comedy Stretch has mostly been about fun reunions between the director and former stars, including The A-Team's Patrick Wilson and Smokin' Aces' Chris Pine. But the newest addition to the production is not only a Carnahan first-timer, but also set to play one of the film's two biggest roles.

Ed Helms, who was just seen wrapping up the end of the Hangover trilogy last month and returning as real estate agent James Carri in the fourth season of Arrested Development, has signed on to Stretch, which has been confirmed to be Carnahan's next film. The story centers on a unlucky limo driver - played by Wilson - who tries to work off a major debt by chauffeuring a mysterious billionaire around town. Things wind up going horribly wrong, however, and the two men end up going through a night of hell. Variety, which first reported the casting news, says that Helms will be playing the billionaire in the movie. Pine's role is being kept a secret.

Wilson, Pines and Helms make up an extremely solid core, but apparently Carnahan isn't done with the casting process just yet. Following the trade's report, the director Tweeted an image of himself and his three stars and suggested that there's still at least one more major addition on the way.

Helms' next role is coming up soon, as he plays a crucial role in the upcoming pot comedy We're The Millers (which, going by the film's trailers, looks hilarious). He is also still attached to star in the upcoming Vacation reboot, but that project was recently put on hold due to creative differences.

Fans of the 1974 crime drama Death Wish were outraged last year when a remake of the property was announced. Since then, director Joe Carnahan was busy developing the property, drafting the script from the Brian Garfield novel, transporting its setting from New York to Los Angeles and looking to include a role for Frank Grillo, co-star of Carnahan's last feature The Grey. But then last month, Carnahan surprised us by dropping the project, reportedly over a disagreement with the studio as to who should star.

Death Wish is almost back on track as Variety reveals MGM and Paramount have entered into negotiations with Gerardo Naranjo to take over the project. Though he has several features to his credit, Naranjo is best known for the 2011's Miss Bala, which played at such prestigious venues as the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival, gaining much critical praise along the way.

Considering Miss Bala was considered a gritty crime thriller, Naranjo seems a logical choice for an adaptation of the Charles Bronson classic that spawned four sequels. Its story centers on New York City architect Paul Kersey, a husband, father, and upstanding citizen who becomes a vengeance-driven vigilante once his wife is murdered and his daughter raped by thugs.

From here, Naranjo and the studios will move on to casting the lead. The studio had previously approached Brad Pitt, Will Smith, and Bruce Willis. It'll be curious to see if they can land such big name stars with a lesser-known helmer on board. Regardless, this is a major opportunity for Naranjo, whose also attached to The Mountain Between Us for Chernin Enterntainment.

Check out the trailer of Miss Bala below:

The Grey was a surprise hit when it was released last January, making more than three times its budget by the end of its global theatrical run, but director Joe Carnahan has been struck with some bad luck since. While the filmmaker had been talking to 20th Century Fox about a potential gritty reboot of the superhero Daredevil, the project couldn't come together quick enough and the rights to the character reverted back to Marvel Studios.

But then came the announcement that Carnahan would be working on a remake of the Charles Bronson classic Death Wish. While the news wasn't greeted too warmly by fans of the original, the director seemed enthusiastic about the opportunity and had an exciting visual aesthetic already in mind, with the idea of moving the story t0 Los Angeles and approaching the city similar to the way Nicolas Winding Refn did with 2011's Drive. But sadly it seems as though he'll never get to realize that vision.

Deadline is reporting that Carnahan and Paramount-MGM have parted ways over the Death Wish remake, citing creative differences in the casting. While the site doesn't mention who the director wanted to play the lead, apparently the studio was pushing for him to cast Bruce Willis. What this means for the future of the project is unknown.

Following the news reveal, Carnahan Tweeted the following:

But don't worry about the filmmaker - he has more than a few titles in the hopper to keep him busy for a while, including the Groundhog Day-esque Continue, the adaptation of the graphic novel Undying Love, and the action movie Stretch with Patrick Wilson. The new report even says that he is thinking about Narco Sub, a film that had been one of Tony Scott's in-development projects before he died. It won't be long before Carnahan's name is stretched across the silver screen again.

Now that his Daredevil film is off the table, Joe Carnahan is free to look for other projects to keep him occupied. As it turns out, reports say he isn’t drifting too far from the comic-book world, choosing to direct an adaptation of the popular graphic novel Undying Love for Warner Bros.

Carnahan picks up the gig after Piranha 3D director Alexandre Aja passed (or, at least, considered). He tells Deadline that the material in Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman’s book really inspired him once he started digging into the story. “It is a little out of my wheelhouse, taking place in China with mysticism and swordplay, but there is a lot of potential here,” he said.

Carnahan’s on a bit of a high right now, collecting raves for his survival drama The Grey (which he’s still kind of pushing for Oscar consideration, despite its January release date). He probably has the pick of the litter in terms of potential screenplays, so it’s interesting to hear that he’s pulled to Undying Love, for assorted reasons.

The story revolves around a former soldier who falls in love with a girl who happens to be a vampire. In order to be with her for the rest of the unnatural lives, he must face off against her creator … who happens to be a Hong Kong crime lord who is protected by levels and levels of ruthless killers. Casting will be crucial to the success of Undying Love, because Carnahan has shown in his past films that he’s capable of directing high-octane action. We’ll continue to track Undying Love as it moves into production.

Since releasing the truly great drama The Grey in January, director Joe Carnahan has managed to get a lot of work done in 2012. First he announced that he was developing a remake of the Charles Bronson classic Death Wish (with the story moving from New York to Los Angeles); then it was announced that he had brought one of his passion projects - an action/thriller take on Groundhog Day called Continue - over to 20th Century Fox; and then it was most recently reported that he was in the middle of developing a new take on the comic book superhero Daredevil, but that project got the axe when the studio couldn't act fast enough and the rights reverted to Marvel Studios.

But guess what? He's still not done.

ScreenDaily reports that Carnahan is now developing a new project titled Stretch, which is being produced by Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions (the studio behind the Paranormal Activity movies). Details about the project are slim, however what is known is that it will be an action movie and that it will star Patrick Wilson. The project presents a reunion, as Carnahan previously worked with Wilson on The A-Team, the last action movie that he directed. The project is currently being sold on the American Film Market.

Since starring in both Young Adult and The Ledge in 2011, Wilson has kept it fairly low key in 2012, keeping to the small screen on the show A Gifted Man and making a very tiny cameo appearance in Ridley Scott's Prometheus. He also spent part of the year reuniting with Insidious director James Wan for Conjuring, which will be out on July 19, 2013.

Joe Carnahan’s Daredevil saga took an interesting turn Tuesday evening. Days after the director revealed via Twitter that his planned version of the gritty comic book hero had stalled at Fox, Carnahan returned to the social media tool with two sizzle reels of footage he had pieced together to explain his approach to the material. Carnahan promised to share the clips on YouTube if he could reach 6,000 Twitter followers. It only took a few minutes.

“The deed is done. Here they come,” Carnahan Tweeted.

There are two clips. One is NC-17, while the other is PG-13. They use comic-book panels, footage from 1970s dramas, Robert De Niro voice over and some fight-sequence footage from Mark Steven Johnson’s Daredevil feature. The action in Carnahan’s clip is set in Hell’s Kitchen in 1973, and they establish Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin, as Matt Murdock’s rival. (As it should be.) Check the clips out below.

Here are Carnahan’s clips. First, the NC-17 one, with blood and guts:

And the PG-13 version, with more comic-book paneling, and less violence:

Granted, these are visual blueprints, and far from a finished product. But it’s pretty clear from these clips that Carnahan understood the bleak current running through Marvel’s Daredevil books, and he likely would have been able to translate them to the screen. Yet, as we posted earlier, Fox appears ready to let the rights to the Man Without Fear return to Marvel in October, meaning someone else likely will be telling a Daredevil story on screen in a distant future.

What do you think of Carnahan’s approach to the material?

Unlike the superheros of DC Comics, who are all owned in the movie world by Warner Bros., the characters in the Marvel Universe are spread throughout Hollywood. While Marvel Studios was able to make movies like Iron Man, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Incredible Hulk because they maintained the rights to those heroes, Spider-Man and Ghost Rider are both in the hands of Sony and Fox has control of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Elektra, and more. Because of this complicated rights issue, it has sadly always looked like we would never see Spidey in an Avengers movie or Wolverine teaming up with Captain America. While we still have no idea if crossovers will ever be an option (keep your fingers crossed) today we find major developments between the studios.

Variety reports that Fox may end up making a deal with Marvel Studios that will allow them to move forward with plans for their upcoming Daredevil reboot provided Fox gives up the rights to some characters in the Fantastic Four universe. As of now, the reboot is in a state of flux as the studio has a plan for the project, but is in danger of missing the October 10th deadline that would result in the rights to the superhero going back to Marvel. According to the trade, Fox is interested in having Joe Carnahan directing a "Frank Miller-esque, hardcore 70s thriller" version of Daredevil, though no deals have yet been made.

In order to extend the deadline and stop the blind hero from going back to the comic book company, Fox may have to give up some of the characters they acquired when they purchased the rights to the Fantastic Four. Sources close to the studios say that the key figures that Marvel is interested in are Galactus, the supervillain with a penchant for devouring worlds, and Silver Surfer. Both characters previously appeared on screen in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but fans both rejected the movie and the way that Galactus was presented (which was basically a space cloud). Neither studio would comment on the talks, but it would seem that it is now Fox's move. They can either choose to abandon their plans for Daredevil, or give up key characters in the Fantastic Four franchise (which they are also currently planning on rebooting with Chronicle director Josh Trank). So here is the question I will pose to all of you: would you rather see Marvel Studios get back Daredevil or characters like Galactus and Silver Surfer?

Joe Carnahan is on a roll. Earlier this year, he delivered a solid survival thriller in The Grey which earned a somewhat-surprising $77M at the worldwide box office and gave us our first official look at Liam Neeson punching a wolf. It’s hard to go up from there, but Carnahan will attempt to extend his hot streak with a project titled Continue, which he just set up at 20th Century Fox.

A while back, Carnahan described the plot of his Continue as an action-movie spin on Groundhog Day, according to Twitch. It would feature a soldier forced to relive the same brutal day over and over, forcing him to fend off a team of assassins trying to kill him for some unknown reason. How can he survive the deadly attacks and break the cycle? And will a wolf need to be punched to disrupt the circular time line? (OK, that last part if just a wish of ours.)

Carnahan has been in the Fox fold before, directing the studio’s reboot of the classic TV series The A-Team back in 2010. That film made $177M worldwide, so it’s understandable why Fox would be willing mto bankroll this passion project for the now-proven director.

What’s unclear is whether Carnahan will move forward with Continue instead of the planned Death Wish reboot he announced a while back. If we’re being honest, we’d much rather see Carnahan tackle an original-sounding concept like Continue over yet another rendition of the avenging angel that is the Death Wish template. But it’s possible the director’s locked into a deal that would mean Continue continues once Death Wish has been delivered. Stay tuned for more details.

Despite your feelings on existentialist thrillers, survival films, and gruesome winters, Liam Neeson is almost always fun to watch, and January’s The Grey proved this once more, pulling in a healthy $51 million domestically on what was a relatively inexpensive $25 million budget. It can’t be denied: some people have the Liam fever, and The Grey was a quick fix for those of us who can’t wait to see the Irish actor spring into action (well, hopefully) in this summer’s Taken 2. If you haven’t yet caught the flick, Universal Studios Home Entertainment is bringing the man vs. wolf flick to Blu-Ray and DVD on May 22nd.

Despite costing $34.99 for the Blu-Ray and $29.98 for DVD copies, the R-rated film’s at-home release will be relatively free of extras. Director Joe Carnahan makes an appearance in a commentary segment that also features editors Roger Barton and Jason Hellman. Rounding out the extras are deleted scenes, although I’m not so certain how well the “stay alive” theme will translate into 30-second throwaway clips. It seems Universal is hoping people will shell out extra cash due to all of the random extras they throw into the mix on Blu-Ray copies, including UltraViolet, U-Control, pocket Blu, and BD-Live.

Apart from facing a Sicilian with death on the line or getting into a land war in Asia, testing you mettle against wolves is one of the most dangerous things a person can do, but that doesn’t mean it's not worth watching.

A lot of people got up in arms yesterday when it was reported that director Joe Carnahan would be doing a remake of the Charles Bronson classic Death Wish. It was an interesting move for the director, who just earned tons of critical acclaim for his most recent film, The Grey, and it was met with many comments about "raping the original" and how a remake is completely unnecessary. Now Carnahan has taken to Twitter to not only confirm that he is taking on the project, but to explain how it will differ from the 1974 Michael Winner film.

While there's only so much that can fit into 140-character spaces, the first thing that Carnahan said was that his version won't be a remake, but rather a "re-imagining" of the novel by Brian Garfield. Furthermore, the film will be moved from New York City to Los Angeles, and it will be set in modern times (he says that he will be using the L.A. seen in Michael Mann's Collateral). Explaining what he meant, the filmmaker said, "It's on buses, cabs, metro trains. I want to show an unseen version of L.A. L.A. on foot. Prowling. Hunting. The vast emptiness of downtown." Responding to a fan's Tweet asking him if he had seen Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive, Carnahan complimented the film and said that, "It took on a different dimension. That's the key."

It's also confirmed that Killing Pablo, his planned film about drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. The big question regarding Death Wish now is who Carnahan will get to step into Bronson's shoes. I personally think it would be a huge mistake not to bring back the star of his last two projects: Liam Neeson.

UPDATE: Carnahan has sent out another Tweet, announcing that he is writing a role in the film for Frank Grillo, who worked with the director on The Grey. He says it is the only time he has ever written a specific role for a specific person. He does not say what that role is, however.

Now that Martin Campbell has taken over the reigns of the paranoid thriller Umbra (Joe Carnahan was set to direct but bowed out), the director reportedly has hired frequent colleague Paul Haggis to polish up a script that has passed through several hands on its way to the screen.

Deadline reports that Haggis has been hired to rewrite a story with undertones of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest. It centers on a businessman who receives a mysterious package, only to find himself under investigation as part of a large government conspiracy.

What happened to Carnahan? The Narc director, who has The Grey with Liam Neeson heading to theaters, dropped out of Umbra for personal reasons, according to Deadline’s report, but he left on amicable terms. Campbell’s a fine director, though it’s hard to say who would be better suited for the material until we learn more about the plot or the nuances of characters. Plus, Haggis could come in and rework the script entirely, keeping the barebones of the storyline but changing up expected twists.

I'm excited about the creative collaboration because Haggis and Campbell produced Casino Royale, the best James Bond movie I’ve seen since Sean Connery was in 007’s tuxedo. Yes, I mean that. So while this isn’t a Bond thriller – and Campbell recently helmed the uneven Green Lantern -- the idea of them collaborating on a suspenseful actioner is intriguing, to say the least. We’ll keep an eye on casting news and potential release dates, though it's still very early in the process, and Haggis has Paris on his radar, so stay tuned.

It's been a long time since we last heard anything about the film adaptation of the Mark Millar-Steve McNiven comic Nemesis. The project took a major step forward back in February of last year when it was announced that Matthew Michael Carnahan, brother of Joe Carnahan, had been hired to pen the script for the film over at 20th Century Fox. The movie also had the attention of director Tony Scott, though with his full schedule one wondered if he would actually get around to making it. But where is the project now?

Earlier today, Bleeding Cool caught some Tweets from both Joe Carnahan and Mark Millar that seem to suggest that Nemesis has been put on ice. The filmmaker sent a message to the comic book writer/producer reading, "Mark, my brother and I were going to adapt NEMESIS at Fox and it got fucked off! We were waiting for you to finish the series." Stragely, Millar then replied back, "Seriously? That's hilarious. Follow me so I can DM you." With speculation abound, many outlets began running the story assuming that it meant that Nemesis was dead, but in another Tweet, Carnahan linked to an article and said, "THIS IS A BULLSHIT ARTICLE...DON'T BELIEVE IT."

Nemesis, which launched in May 2010, was about a supervillain that was basically The Joker if he had the resources of Batman. The first run, which was only four issues long, followed a police chief on the hunt for the title character.

When I first read Carnahan's Tweet I also assumed that he meant that the project was dead when he said "fucked off" so it's hard to say what exactly is going. We shall continue to follow Carnahan's Twitter feed and will update this story with any further information he might provide.

UPDATE: Joe Carnahan has sent out two tweets saying the following:

Apparently Joe Carnahan and Liam Neeson really liked working together on this past summer's The A-Team because the pair is set to reunite for Carnahan's next film. Titled The Grey, the director has just gotten a greenlight on the project that will feature a group of rough oil-workers who are stranded in the Alaskan tundra and forced to face down a pack of hungry wolves after a plane crashes. According to Deadline, joining Neeson in the cast are Dallas Roberts, James Badge Dale, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo, Nonso Anozie, and Joe Anderson. The film is being described as a "down and dirty indie" with Carnahan referencing Deliverance and Touching The Void when talking about the project.

It's kind of weird to watch how Neeson's career has evolved in recent years. The man was the star of Schindler's List, but now seems much happier taking action roles in movies like Taken, Unknown, Battleship and the aforementioned A-Team. Considering the guy is 58 years old and a total badass, I say more power to him.

Long before he was chosen as the director of the next Bond film (October 2008 to be exact), director Sam Mendes was tapped to make an adaptation of the Vertigo comic Preacher. Pieces began to fall in to place, with John August hired to write the script and John Cusack expressing an interest in the lead role. But despite the fact that MGM has put the next Bond on hold, it seems Mendes won't be pulling a Guillermo Del Toro to get away from the studio, and it's looking less and less likely that he will be available to tackle Preacher. Fortunately for us, someone else is already eyeing the job.

Touring around promoting The A-Team, director Joe Carnahan has expressed interest in picking up the project for a feature adaptation. Speaking with Superhero Hype, Carnahan mentioned that he is "desperate to do another comic book adaptation" and that Preacher is at the top of his list. While he hasn't seen a script, the director seems tremendously enthusiastic about the film, saying that he is a big fan of the graphic novel's author Garth Ellis fan and able to name a fairly obscure character off-hand. In the same interview, Carnahan also mentioned the possibility of continuing attempts to make a Taskmaster film, which he has been trying to get done for years.

Who knew that he was such a geek? While he says "another" comic adaptation, there aren't any others listed on his filmography. Having read many volumes of the Preacher series, it is nice to see that there are people out there that still want to see it made. The story is completely over-the-edge and will piss off anybody with even one religious bone in their body, but it's so well written and drawn that it just begs for a feature treatment. Hopefully Carnahan can keep the dream alive.

Joe Carnahan’s movie adaptation of the classic 80s television series The A-Team is due to start shooting soon. The cast is already set except for one, very key, component. Who’s playing B.A.? Every rapper turned actor on the face of the Earth has, at one point or another, been rumored to be the movie’s Mr. T replacement. None of those went anywhere, so now the A-Team rumor mill has turned to the UFC.

A story in the Vancouver Sun says that light heavyweight UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has landed the part of B.A. Baracus in The A-Team. They know, because he’s in Vancouver to shoot the movie. He arrived on Friday and the Sun says he’ll be there shooting for the next six weeks.

Who knows if the guy can act, but then Mr. T couldn’t and he was perfect. Mostly he stood around and growled. Rampage Jackson, if he really has the part, should be able to manage that. Perfect casting.

Finally it looks like there’s some concrete casting news on Joe Carnahan’s A-Team movie. No, we don’t know who’s taking over for Mr. T. We do however, know who’s taking over for Dirk Benedict as the team’s de facto ladies man, Face. It’s Bradley Cooper.

Cooper’s an up and coming comedic actor whom you’ve probably seen in Yes Man, He’s Just Not That Into You, or most recently the trailers for The Hangover in which he’s one of the three leads. IESB cornered him promoting his part in The Hangover and when asked if he was playing the Faceman in A-Team Cooper all but admitted his involvement.

If you’re at all familiar with the original A-Team series then you know Cooper is a perfect fit. He’s got the look and he’s already proven he has the comedic chops to pull of quick-witted, action comedy necessary for Carnahan’s movie. So that’s one down, three more roles to fill. Face is probably the easiest part to cast, how the hell do you replace George Peppard and who could possibly be crazy enough to pull of Murdock? We’ll let you know as soon as we know.