‘Dune: The Sisterhood’: Director Johan Renck & Star Shirley Henderson Exit HBO Max Series Amid Creative Overhaul & Production Hiatus

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Penguin” series at HBO Max has added Michael Zegen, James Madio, and Scott Cohen to its cast in recurring roles, Variety has learned exclusively. The three join a cast that includes series lead Colin Farrell, who will reprise the role of Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot from “The Batman, as well as Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, and Clancy Brown. HBO Max is not releasing character details for three new additions, but sources say that Zegen is set to play Alberto Falcone. Alberto is the son of Gotham City crime boss Carmine Falcone, who was played by John Turturro in “The Batman,” and the brother of Sofia Falcone, who will be played by Milioti in “The Penguin.” In the comics, Alberto takes credit for being the serial killer known as The Holiday Killer, who targets Gotham gangsters on a holiday each month.

Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield – who co-presented at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony – are set to star in “We Live in Time” for StudioCanal and director John Crowley.Plot details are under wraps for now but the film is being described as a funny and emotional love story. Production is tentatively expected to start later this year.

has “Lupin” headliner Omar Sy attached to star.The crime action thriller followed a top-tier mob assassin named Jeffrey, who decides to retire after he accidentally blinds a nightclub singer who gets caught in the crossfire of one of his hit jobs. Before quitting his beloved profession, he takes one last job to pay for her sight-restoring operation, only to be double-crossed.

When Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield hit the Oscars stage side-by-side to present an award, social media blew up with folks excited by the prospect of seeing the two actors working together at some point. Well, what everyone didn’t know is that the plan for those two to collaborate could have already been in the works with the upcoming film, “We Live in Time.” According to Deadline, StudioCanal is in talks with Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield to co-star in the upcoming film, “We Live in Time.” The exact plot details are unknown at this time, but the film is described as funny, deeply moving love story.

Ed Meza @edmezavar David Pujol, whose enchanting drama “Waiting for Dalí” premiered at the Malaga Film Festival on Sunday, has a new feature film project and an international TV series in the works. Pujol has just completed the script for “Rehearsal for a Kiss,” the story of a passionate yet hapless movie theater owner in Barcelona whose love of classic movies has left his cinema in a precarious position. On the verge of losing the family business, he seeks help from his uncle in America, who has made a career for himself as a character actor in Hollywood. A flashy, larger-than-life personality, the uncle returns to his native city after 40 years to help his nephew save the theater while also reconnecting with his own past.

EXCLUSIVE: Marsha Stephanie Blake(When They See Us), Gabrielle Graham (Twenties), John Ortiz (Promised Land) and Tamsin Topolski (Slow Horses) have been cast opposite Colman Domingo in Netflix’s The Madness limited series. The conspiracy thriller hails from Chernin Entertainment via its first-look deal with Netflix, creator and co-showrunner Stephen Belber (O.G., The Laramie Project) and co-showrunner VJ Boyd (Justified, S.W.A.T.)

The Movie Academy has padded the presenter ranks for the 95th Oscars this weekend. Halle Bailey, Antonio Banderas, Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Chastain, John Cho, Andrew Garfield, Hugh Grant, Danai Gurira, Salma Hayek Pinault, Nicole Kidman, Florence Pugh and Sigourney Weaver will present statuettes Sunday.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter HBO Max’s “The Batman” spinoff series “The Penguin” has cast Clancy Brown in a recurring role, Variety has learned. Brown joins a cast that includes series lead Colin Farrell, who will reprise the role of Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot from “The Batman, as well as Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Deirdre O’Connell. Brown will appear as Salvatore Maroni, a notorious Gotham City crime boss. The character was referenced repeatedly in “The Batman,” as his arrest by corrupt Gotham officials and the collapse of his criminal empire allowed for Carmine Falcone’s organization to rise. Maroni has previously been portrayed onscreen by actors like David Zayas in “Gotham” at Fox and by Eric Roberts in “The Dark Knight.”

Showing her support. Jenna Bush Hager gave a sweet shout-out to her Today coanchor Hoda Kotb amid the journalist’s continued absence from the morning show.

A TV series adaptation of John Wyndham’s sci-fi classic The Day Of the Triffids has been put into fast-track development by Amazon Studios. According to sources, Johan Renick, Emmy winner for HBO’s Chernobyl, is attached to direct and executive produce. Don Murphy and Susan Montford executive produce for Angry Films.

If you want proof of how badly HBO Max wants the “Dune” franchise to succeed, look no further than the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding the spinoff TV series, “Dune: The Sisterhood.” Before the most recent news (more on this in a second), the series has already gone through multiple showrunners (Jon Spaihts, Dana Calvo, and creator Diane Ademu-John have all stepped away) over the years it’s been in development.

Ellise Shafer HBO Max’s “Dune” prequel spinoff “The Sisterhood” is going through some changes. Both director Johan Renck and star Shirley Henderson have exited the HBO Max series, Variety has confirmed. The news comes as the production takes a “pre-scheduled hiatus,” according to the streamer. “There are some creative changes being made to the production in an effort to create the best series possible and stay true to the source material,” a HBO Max representative said in a statement. “Johan Renck has completed his work on the series and a new director will be brought on; through mutual agreement Johan is moving on to pursue other projects. Additionally, Shirley Henderson will be exiting the series and will no longer be playing Tula Harkonnen.”

exit as co-showrunner last November.“As ‘Dune: The Sisterhood (wt)’ has entered a pre-scheduled hiatus, there are some creative changes being made to the production in an effort to create the best series possible and stay true to the source material,” an HBO Max spokesperson told TheWrap. “Johan Renck has completed his work on the series and a new director will be brought on; through mutual agreement, Johan is moving on to pursue other projects.

Olivia Newton-John means so much to her.  The Australian pop star and television host spoke to Channel Nine outside Hamer Hall in Melbourne on Sunday, where a memorial for the icon was underway.  The 51-year-old revealed that she was able to tell Olivia how she felt about her during her lifetime.

is expanding, with a prequel series coming to HBO Max. Set in the world of Stephen King's universe, is based on the author's novel as well as filmmaker Andy Muschietti's successful feature film adaptations, and . The series is being developed by Andy Muschietti as well as sister Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, both of whom were involved in the films.

HBO Max is expanding the world of Stephen King‘s IT with the drama series Welcome To Derry (wt) from Warner Bros. Television and developed for TV by filmmakers Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti (IT, IT Chapter Two) and Jason Fuchs (IT Chapter Two, Wonder Woman).

Joe Otterson TV Reporter HBO Max is officially moving forward with the “It” prequel series currently titled “Welcome to Derry,” Variety has learned. The show was first reported as being in development in March 2022, while Variety exclusively reported that the project had attached its co-showrunners in November. As previously reported, the series was developed for television by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs. “As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen King’s ‘It’ until the thick paperback fell to pieces,” said the Muschiettis. “‘It’ is an epic story that contains multitudes, far beyond what we could explore in our ‘It’ movies. We can’t wait to share the depths of Steve’s novel, in all its heart, humor, humanity and horror.”

Andy Muschietti‘s two “IT” films from 2017 and 2019 brought Stephen King‘s 1986 epic horror novel to the big screen for the first time. Now Muschietti will develop the franchise even further.

HBO Max. The streamer announced on Thursday that “Welcome to Derry” has been ordered to series, with “It” and “It: Chapter Two” director Andy Muschietti onboard to executive produce and direct multiple episodes.

According to Variety, McCartney has recorded bass parts during recording sessions that took place in Los Angeles in recent weeks, and Starr is also slated to play drums.It’s currently unclear whether McCartney and Starr will end up on the same track or which songs will make the final tracklist. The album, produced by 2021 Grammy Producer of the Year Andrew Watt, is getting close to the mixing phase and has “a lot of tracks done,” Mick Jagger shared in 2021.Last month, guitarist Keith Richards shared with fans in an Instagram video that “There’s some new music on its way.”It’s thought that the album will feature recorded parts from the late founding drummer Charlie Watts, who died “peacefully” in Aug.