‘John Wick’ director wants to cast Cillian Murphy in spin-off film

Fast X” is the No. 1 movie in the world. While it’s the 10th installment in the wildly popular “Fast and Furious” franchise, the movie’s success was not a sure thing — especially since original director Justin Lin, a series mainstay, left the project shortly into production.

Brent Lang Executive Editor The return of John Wick, its popular hit man franchise, helped lift quarterly earnings at Lionsgate, enabling the company to best expectations. For the three-month period ending on March 31, revenues at Lionsgate increased 16.7% to $1.1 billion. The company also reported an operating loss of $49.6 million, which was slightly better than the $50.4 million in losses it logged in the year-ago period.  There was also a net loss attributable to Lionsgate shareholders of $96.8 million or 42 cents net loss per share. Adjusted net income attributable to Lionsgate shareholders in the quarter was $49.2 million or 21 cents in adjusted earnings per share. Lionsgate’s film business did much of the heavy lifting. The studio segment reported revenue of $823.6 million, an increase of 25% from the prior-year quarter, with the movie portion of that haul increasing by 85%. That was due to the success of “John Wick: Chapter 4,” a blockbuster sequel starring Keanu Reeves as the titular avenger, as well as the release of two modest hits in the faith-based drama “Jesus Revolution” and the Gerard Butler action-thriller “Plane.” It also helped off-set declines in Lionsgate’s television business, which the company said was the result of “timing” of when its shows are licensed or hit the airwaves.

The Coral have shared their cinematic string-laden new single ‘Wild Bird’ – and spoken to NME about how Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy and Life On Mars lead actor John Simm hooked up with the band for not one, but two albums in 2023.Inspired by the dusty desert landscapes of ’60s Italian spaghetti westerns, the band’s 11th studio album ‘Sea Of Mirrors’ finds the Liverpool five-piece crafting their own “surreal” gun-slinging soundtrack.“I was watching this documentary about Italian westerns and I liked this idea that they were a vehicle for creativity,” frontman James Skelly told NME. “I thought I’d love to use that medium to make an almost surreal western, but as if [late Italian director Frederico] Fellini had directed it.

Vin Diesel loves when the “Fast & Furious” family comes together.

Vin Diesel loves when the family comes together.Diesel spoke with ET's Matt Cohen on Saturday at the block party for Charlize Theron's Africa Outreach project in Los Angeles, where he reacted to the shocking credits scene, which features Dwayne Johnson's return to the franchise as Agent Luke Hobbs.Following a social media spat between Diesel and Johnson, Johnson vowed in 2021 that there was «no chance» of him returning to star in a movie — with plans instead to spin off his and Jason Statham's characters in a series of films.However, the post-credits scene features Jason Momoa's villain calling Hobbs to tell him he's coming for him next — all but confirming Johnson's return for the 11th film.«We have such a great cast,» Diesel shared when asked about the surprise return. «We lead with love.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “John Wick” is officially a billion-dollar franchise. Ticket sales for Lionsgate’s Keanu Reeves-led action series have surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, with its tally standing at $1.011 billion across four films. It was carried across the coveted milestone by “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which is now the highest grossing with $425 million to date. The latest entry, which is the most expensive with its $100 million price tag, opened in March to $73.5 million, notching a new domestic franchise record. “John Wick” is one of the rare franchises that has gotten more successful with each installment. The first movie tapped out with $86.1 million in 2014 but it became a sleeper hit on home entertainment, while the 2017 sequel ended its run with $174.3 million. 2019’s “Parabellum,” which is the highest grossing entry prior to “Chapter 4,” left the big screen with $328.3 million globally.

Naman Ramachandran The London Action Festival has revealed a packed program for its second edition. Highlights of the first round of programming that has been unveiled include: Anatomy Of A Set Piece where The Raid franchise creator Gareth Evans and others to be announced will break down chosen set pieces from their works; a screening of “The Raid 2” + Q&A with Evans; The Showrunner’s Story, where, in association with World Productions, “Bodyguard” and ‘Line of Duty” Jed Mercurio creator will explore the work of a showrunner in the creation and production of shows; and The Villains of John Wick, in association with Lionsgate, where Mark Dacascos (Zero in “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum”) and Scott Adkins (Killa in “John Wick: Chapter 4”) – two of the most memorable villains from across the $425 million box office smash-hit John Wick franchise will discuss their work.

Channel 4 content boss Ian Katz has criticized broadcasters, including his own, for too often “defaulting” to “clichéd, picture postcard” depictions of the UK.

Naman Ramachandran Disney’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3” stayed atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for a second consecutive weekend with £5.4 million ($6.6 million) for a total of £23.9 million, per figures from Comscore. In second place, in its sixth weekend, Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” collected £858,444 for a total of £51 million. There were two debuts in the top five. Sony’s “Love Again” bowed in third place with £340,785 and Universal’s “Book Club: The Next Chapter” in fourth with £299,370. Rounding off the top five was Studiocanal’s “Evil Dead Rise,” which earned £258,417 in its fourth weekend for a total of £5 million.

Brie Larson didn’t understand why she was being asked specifically how she felt about Johnny Depp‘s film opening for the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Christopher Nolan revealed to Entertainment Weekly that he cast real scientists as extras in “Oppenheimer,” a historical drama about theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb. The cast is full of stars such as Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and Florence Pugh, but Nolan made sure to bring in actual scientists for certain scenes to maintain the film’s authenticity. “We were in the real Los Alamos and we had a lot of real scientists as extras,” Nolan said. “We needed the crowd of extras to give reactions, and improvise, and we were getting sort of impromptu, very educated speeches. It was really fun to listen to.”

There were so many stars at the Fast X: Road To Rome premiere!

Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy has said he finds being photographed “offensive”.In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the actor opened up about the cost of fame.“You can be walking down the street and someone takes a picture like this is a fucking event,” he said.“I don’t like being photographed by people. I find that offensive. If I was a woman, and it was a man photographing me…” he added.Murphy went on to compare fame to commuting, saying: “You have to commute to get to your destination.“I think that’s the way the best people are: they’re not doing it for any other reason but love of the craft.

EXCLUSIVE: While the title character ended John Wick: Chapter 4 under a headstone, the John Wick franchise is alive and kicking for Lionsgate. This week, Universal brass got a first look at Ballerina, the Len Wiseman-helmed spinoff film that stars Ana de Armas and brings back Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, the late Lance Reddick and Anjelica Huston. The big question is, after the last film grossed over $400 million on a $90 million budget, what right minded studio would retire a franchise that just turned in its highest gross and best reviews?

Zack Sharf Digital News Director By the time Cillian Murphy brought war veteran and gangster Tommy Shelby to life on “Peaky Blinders,” he had already starred in at least one horror classic (“28 Days Later”), a Cannes winner (“The Wind That Shakes the Barley”) and four Christopher Nolan blockbusters (including key supporting roles in “Batman Begins” and “Inception”). And yet, it was Shelby and the British gangster drama that ran for 6 seasons and 36 episodes that turned Murphy into an international star, the kind that gets recognized everywhere he goes. During a recent interview with Rolling Stone U.K., Murphy lamented over the explosive fame that “Peaky Blinders” ignited. The actor said such fame “can ruin experiences, because it fetishizes everything: you can be walking down the street and someone takes a picture like this is a fucking event. It kind of destroys nuance and human behavior, but that’s part and parcel of it. Fame evaporates with regularity.”

Christopher Nolan has reflected on his decision not to cast Cillian Murphy as Batman in The Dark Knight trilogy.The director and actor — who have collaborated once again for the upcoming biopic Oppenheimer — recently discussed their long-time film partnership with Entertainment Weekly.Coming onto the subject of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Murphy admitted that he knew he wasn’t right for the part of Bruce Wayne/Batman, a role that ultimately went to Christian Bale.“It was clear to me from the beginning that I wasn’t Batman material,” said Murphy of screen testing for the role. “It felt to me that it was correct and right that it should be Christian Bale for that part.

Last year, after six acclaimed seasons, Steven Knight’s “Peaky Blinders” came to an end. But shortly after the end of the show’s run, Knight started talking about the possibility of a follow-up film.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Cillian Murphy and Christopher Nolan’s working relationship started nearly 20 years ago when Murphy sought the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Nolan’s “Batman Begins.” In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, both men admitted to knowing that Murphy was not going to be the new Batman as early as their first conversation together about the role. But that didn’t stop Nolan from wanting to screen test Murphy anyway. “When we had our first conversation I think both of us knew that you weren’t going to wind up playing Batman,” Nolan said. “But I really wanted to get on set with you, I wanted to get you on film. We did those screen tests very elaborately, on 35mm, with a little set. There was just an electric atmosphere in the crew when you started to perform.”

It’s hard to imagine that we are nearly 20 years removed from the release of Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins,” and what would become the start of one of the most famous film trilogies of all time. And other than Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, there are few characters who actually made it through all three films.

Nicolas Cage (Renfield) and writer-director Andrew Niccol (Anon) will reteam with Vendôme Pictures, the Academy Award winning studio behind CODA, on Lords of War — a sequel to the 2005 crime thriller Lord of War, which starred Cage as Yuri Orlov, a composite character based on numerous arms dealers.