Natasha Lyonne, Rian Johnson Peacock Series ‘Poker Face’ Adds Brandon Micheal Hall, Colton Ryan, Megan Suri (EXCLUSIVE)

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Time Bandits” TV series at Apple from Taika Waititi has found its main cast, Variety has learned. Joining the series are: Lisa Kudrow (“Friends,” “The Comeback” as Penelope; Kal-El Tuck (“Unseeing Evil,” “Band in the Sand”) as Kevin; Charlyne Yi (“Knocked up,” “Paper Heart”) as Judy; Tadhg Murphy (“Conversations with Friends,” “Black Sails”) as Alto; Roger Jean Nsengiyumva (“You Don’t know Me,” “Tomb Raider”) as Widgit; Rune Temte (“The Last Kingdom,” “Captain Marvel”) as Bittelig; Kiera Thompson (“Martyrs Lane,” “Salisbury Poisonings”) as Saffron; and Rachel House (“Heartbreak High,” “Thor Ragnarok”) as Fianna.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Hulu has ordered an eight-episode limited series based on the Rebecca Godfrey novel “Under the Bridge,” Variety has learned. Quinn Shephard is adapting the book for the screen and will serve as an executive producer. Samir Mehta and Liz Tigelaar will serve as co-showrunners and executive producers, with Tigelaar executive producing under her Best Day Ever banner. Stacey Silverman of Best Day Ever will also executive produce along with Godfrey. Geeta Patel serves as director and executive producer. ABC Signature will produce, with Best Day Ever currently under an overall deal at the studio. Per the official description of the series from Hulu, the story follows “the 1997 true story of fourteen-year-old Reena Virk who went to join friends at a party and never returned home. Godfrey takes us into the hidden world of the seven teenage girls and a boy accused of the savage murder, revealing startling truths about the unlikely killer.”

Where to start with “Knives Out“?  Rian Johnson‘s 2019 murder mystery came out of nowhere to win over critics and audiences in the final weeks of that year. Johnson hinted at a sequel during the promotion for that film, but no one expected the director to team up with Netflix for two of them, and for the price of $469 million.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Queer as Folk” reboot has been canceled after one season at Peacock, Variety has learned. The entire first season of the show was released on the streamer on June 9. It originally received a straight-to-series order at Peacock in April 2021. The show followed a group of friends in New Orleans who must deal with the aftermath of a shooting at a queer nightclub. The cast included Fin Argus, CG, Jesse James Keitel, Ryan O’Connell, Johnny Sibilly, Devin Way, and Kim Cattrall, among others. Stephen Dunn created the series and served as an executive producer along with Jaclyn Moore, Lee Eisenberg, Emily Brecht, original series creator Russell T. Davies, Nicola Shindler, and Richard Halliwell on behalf of NENT Studios UK, which distributes the format. UCP is the studio.

Clayton Davis “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story,” “White Noise” and “The Whale” are among the first films announced for this year’s Middleburg Film Festival in Virginia, celebrating its tenth anniversary. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” breakout star Stephanie Hsu will be given the Rising Star Award, for her incredible performance in The Daniels’ critically-acclaimed dramedy, which has generated awards buzz. The fest will also hold a special screening of the movie after its huge success, becoming A24’s first film to surpass $100 million. The entire festival will be held in person with screenings, conversations and events from Oct. 13-16. Opening the fest on Thursday is Netflix’s “White Noise” starring Adam Driver. Writer and director Noah Baumbach will return after bringing “Marriage Story” (2019), to accept the 10th Anniversary Spotlight Filmmaker Award.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A series version of the David Cronenberg film “Scanners” is in development at HBO, Variety has confirmed. Per the official description, the series is “set in the mind-bending world of David Cronenberg’s seminal film. Pursued by relentless agents with unimaginable powers, two women living on the fringes of modern society must learn to work together to topple a vast conspiracy determined to bring them to heel.” William Bridges (“Black Mirror,” “Stranger Things”) will serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the series. Yann Demange (“’71,” “Lovecraft Country) will direct and executive produce via Wayward Films. Cronenberg, who wrote and directed the original film, will serve as an executive producer. Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer will executive produce on behalf of Media Res Studio. Meredith Duff and Sarah Sullivan of Wayward Films will also executive produce along with René Malo and Fanny-Laure Malo, Pierre David, Clark Peterson, and Aaron Gilbert. The show is a co-production between HBO, Media Res Studio, and Wayward Films.

Natasha Lyonne thinks it is “insane” to wear high heels on boats. The ‘Russian Doll’ star believes there should be “a system” for alighting a canal boat while attending the the Venice Film Festival. The 43-year-old actress told Elle.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Regé-Jean Page and Glen Powell will star in TV series about Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid for Amazon, Variety has confirmed with sources. The untitled series will be executive produced by The Russo Brothers under their AGBO production banner. Kaz and Ryan Firpo, who most recently worked on Marvel’s “The Eternals,” will write. The search is currently on for a showrunner. According to sources, deals for the series are not yet closed and discussions are ongoing. Exact plot details are being kept under wraps but it is known that Page will play Cassidy while Powell will play The Sundance Kid. Both actors will also serve as executive producers on the show in addition to starring. Mike Larocca, Angela Russo-Otstot, and Scott Nemes of AGBO will also executive.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Amazon has formally ordered a “Blade Runner” sequel series, Variety has learned. The live-action project, titled “Blade Runner 2099,” was first announced as being in development at the streamer back in February, while Ridley Scott first revealed the show was in the works in November 2021. Exact plot details are being kept under wraps, but the title indicates the show will take place fifty years after the events of “Blade Runner 2049,” the 2017 sequel to the original “Blade Runner.” Silka Luisa serves as showrunner and executive producer, with Ridley Scott also executive producing under his Scott Free Productions banner.

This weekend saw the big premiere of “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” at the Toronto International Film Festival. And if early reviews are to be believed, it would appear Rian Johnson has yet another major hit (and Oscar contender) coming our way.

Knives Out director Rian Johnson says he will “keep making” more sequels of the whodunnit film as long as star Daniel Craig is on board.Johnson was speaking at the premiere of sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery last night (September 10) at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).Addressing the crowd before the screening, Johnson said (via Variety): “My granddad Howard Johnson traveled here tonight, he’s in the audience. Granddad, you are my role model.

It beggars belief that what started out as an idle thought — to continue the adventures of detective Benoit Blanc, the world’s “greatest detective” — has resulted not in just the inevitable franchise placeholder but one of the most exciting, funny and downright enjoyable movies of the year. Shrewdly cast, it boasts one of the most brilliant screenplays of the year, not just in terms of its exquisite, laugh-out-loud dialogue and satirical barbs at pop culture but in the meticulous, meta plotting of a traditional whodunnit that keeps the mind ticking over from start to finish. Unusually for a recent Netflix presentation, hardly a minute is wasted, and it’s no surprise that a Christmas release is planned for an intelligent crowd-pleaser that hits a bullseye with every beat.

Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion” kicks off with a giddily entertaining opening: It’s May 2020, the early days of covid, and several old friends receive, one after the other, a box. It comes from their friend Miles Braun, the eccentric tech billionaire, and it’s an elaborate puzzle box; they get each other on the phone (in a series of playful introductions and dizzily frame-slicing split-screens) and figure out how to solve the puzzle of each level, before landing on the box’s ultimate contents: an invitation to a long weekend on his private island off Greece.

Zack Sharf Consider “Glass Onion” another triumphant case for detective Benoit Blanc. As evidenced by the enthusiastic reaction to the premiere screening Saturday, Rian Johnson has again charmed the masses at the Toronto Film Festival with “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” the hotly anticipated sequel to the 2019 hit whodunit. Johnson briefly addressed moviegoers before the movie began to play, giving a sweet shoutout to his grandfather. “My granddad Howard Johnson traveled here tonight, he’s in the audience,” Johnson revealed. “Granddad, you are my role model. You’re the reason I’m making movies today, I love you so much and I’m so happy you’re here.” 

Zack Sharf Detective Benoit Blanc is back in the first trailer for Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” Daniel Craig returns in the lead role of the murder mystery sequel, but this time he will be interrogating an entirely new ensemble cast: Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Madelyn Cline, Jessica Henwick and Ethan Hawke. “Glass Onion” is set in Greece on the private island of tech billionaire Miles Bron, played by Norton, where another game of whodunnit will take place. The original “Knives Out” opened to rave reviews in November 2019 and earned $311 million at the worldwide box office, an impressive gross for an original script that’s light on action and heavy on dialogue. Johnson earned an Oscar nomination for original screenplay. Whereas Lionsgate released the first film, “Glass Onion” has the backing of Netflix after the streaming giant made a reported $450 million deal to acquire two “Knives Out” sequels.

Filmmaker Rian Johnson looked all ready and poised to join the “Star Wars” universe for a few years following the success of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” But on the way to making it, Johnson decided to do a relatively smaller, detective mystery comedy as a palette cleanser first. That film, “Knives Out” became a huge hit for Lionsgate, grossing $311.4 million off a $30 million budget.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy and Tony winner Cherry Jones (Succession), Luis Guzmán (Shameless), Hong Chau (Watchmen) and Tony winner Reed Birney (Succession) have joined the cast of Peacock’s Poker Face, a mystery drama series starring Natasha Lyonne, from Rian Johnson, his T-Street banner and MRC Television.

reported Empire Magazine. “It’s just at this point a matter of schedule and when it can happen. I’ve stayed close to Kathleen [Kennedy] and we get together often and talk about it,” Johnson told the publication, referring to the Lucasfilm president. “It would break my heart if I were finished, if I couldn’t get back in that sandbox at some point.”Johnson’s trilogy was announced in 2017 after his “Star Wars” directorial debut and had promised to feature “new characters from a corner of the galaxy that ‘Star Wars’ lore has never before explored,” according to IndieWire, which added that a parallel tagline was echoed by “Thor: Love and Thunder” director Taika Waititi — who is slated to have a “Star Wars” film in 2025.Johnson’s comments track with those made by Kennedy at the Star Wars Celebration earlier this year.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Carla Gugino has been cast in a series regular role in the upcoming HBO Max series “The Girls on the Bus,” Variety has learned. Gugino is the latest addition to the cast, joining previously announced cast members like Melissa Benoist, Natasha Behnam, Christina Elmore, and Brandon Scott. “The Girls on the Bus” is inspired by a chapter in Amy Chozick’s book “Chasing Hillary.” It is described as a comedic character-driven drama that chronicles four female journalists who follow every move of a parade of flawed presidential candidates, while finding friendship, love, and scandal along the way.

Zack Sharf It’s been nearly five years since Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” opened in theaters to rave reviews from critics (many of whom called it one of the best “Star Wars” movies ever made) and a far more divisive response from the fandom. Just before the film opened in theaters, Lucasfilm announced Johnson would be sticking with the studio to develop a brand new “Star Wars” trilogy with fresh characters, but it’s been radio silence on the plan ever since. Fans have speculated that the controversial reception to “The Last Jedi” killed Johnson’s chances of making another trilogy, but the director recently told Empire magazine that his talks with Lucasfilm continue about the project.