Cobra Kai co-creator Jon Hurwitz says Cobra Kai Season 6 will expand the Miyagiverse in ways fans could never expect.
When Cobra Kai returns to Netflix for its sixth and final season, the Karate Kid spinoff plans to expand the Miyagiverse significantly. The teen-focused drama Crane kicked martial arts action fans in the face in 2018, building on the Karate Kid legacy started by Ralph Macchio (Daniel Larusso), William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence), and Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi). With every season, Cobra Kai has grown through fan-service casting, interpersonal drama, and hard-hitting action. No one could have predicted the Miyagiverse would expand the way it has because of Cobra Kai, and now the show’s co-creator, Jon Hurwitz, says fans can expect Season 6 to explore the franchise in exciting ways like never before!
In a thread on Twitter/X, Hurwitz assured fans the final season of the series delivers big surprises, in-depth character flashbacks, and plot elements that expand the Miyagiverse.
“Season 6 expands the ‘Karate Kid/Cobra Kai’ universe more than the first 5 seasons combined. The world building has been truly exhilarating. Excited for everyone to see the diversity of scenes we’ve been filming episode to episode. We’re going to so many new places in the Miyagiverse.”
Season 6 expands the Karate Kid/Cobra Kai universe more than the first 5 seasons combined. The world building has been truly exhilarating. Excited for everyone to see the diversity of scenes we’ve been filming episode to episode. We’re going to so many new places in the… https://t.co/jreCfuNgqJ
In addition to prepping Cobra Kai for its late 2024 Netflix debut, a new film in the Miyagiverse is currently in production. Sony’s Karate Kid stars Ben Wang (American Born Chinese) as the project’s central character, with Sadie Stanley (Cruel Summer) playing the film’s romantic lead. Other cast members include Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek, Fringe, D2: The Mighty Ducks), Jackie Chan (Rush Hour, Police Story, Drunken Master), Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid, My Cousin Vinny, Cobra Kai), and Ming-Na Wen (The Mandalorian, Mulan, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Returning for more martial arts madness in Cobra Kai Season 6 are Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggler, Tanner Buchanan, Xolo Maridueña, Peyton List, Martin Kove, Jacob Bertrand, Kenny Payne, Yuji Okumoto, Mary Mouser, Vanessa Rubio, Gianni DeCenzo, Griffin Santopietro, Owen Morgan, Aedin Mincks, Joe Seo, and more.
Cobra Kai Season 6 picks up after the gripping battle between Cobra Kai, Eagle Fang, and Miyagi-Do. As Johnny and Daniel sort their bygones, they must work together to defeat rival dojos in a fight that could spell victory or disaster for their hometown.
Are you looking forward to Cobra Kai Season 6? Will the series spin out into other projects? Which character do you think deserves their own spinoff? Let us know in the comments section below.
Trailer: Samuel L. Jackson and Vincent Cassel star in the shocking serial killer thriller Damaged, which has an April release date
On March 27th of last year, we heard that filming was underway on a serial killer action thriller called Damaged, which had Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) in the lead roles and director Terry McDonough, whose previous credits include episodes of the TV shows Killing Eve, Better Call Saul, and Breaking Bad, at the helm. Now, just eight days shy of the one year anniversary of that news, a trailer for Damaged has arrived online, along with some release date information: the film will be receiving a theatrical, digital, and on demand release on April 12th. The trailer can be seen in the embed above.
Jackson and Cassel are joined in the cast by Kate Dickie (The Witch), Gianni Capaldi (A Day to Die), Laura Haddock (White Lines), Brian McCardie (Rob Roy), and John Hannah (The Mummy). Here’s the synopsis: How do you catch a brilliant monster? When a sadistic murderer surfaces in Scotland, terrified local authorities call on a Chicago police detective who investigated a killing spree with the same horrific pattern five years earlier. Samuel L. Jackson and Vincent Cassel star in this shocking thriller about two detectives with tortured pasts trying to stop a merciless serial killer before he claims his next victim.
This film is coming our way from Red Sea Media, Bondit Media Capital, and Stream Digital. Stream Digital’s Paul Aniello and Red Sea’s Roman Kopelevich are producing, while BondIt’s Luke Taylor and Matthew Helderman serve as executive producers with Marcie Sinaiko and Roman Viaris.
What did you think of the trailer for Damaged? Will you be watching this serial killer thriller when it’s released next month? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
I can’t say I was blown away by the trailer, but there is something about Damaged that has me interested in checking it out: the fact that Samuel L. Jackson plays the Chicago detective who follows the serial killer to Chicago. I think I could pass on this one in most cases, but since it stars Jackson, there’s a chance I’ll be taking a look at it.
Jessica Biel (The Sinner, Candy, The Illusionist) is ready to strut her stuff on Peacock for a limited series adaptation of Karin Slaughter’s New York Times best-selling novel The Good Daughter. In addition to her starring role, Biel executive produces the adaptation, which was in hot contention at several studios before landing at Peacock.
Getting in on the project’s ground floor is Pieces of Her author Karin Slaughter, who will write all episodes and executive produce alongside Biel. The Good Daughter hails from Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories studio. Described as a psychological suspense thriller, The Good Daughter tells the story of two sisters, Charlotte (Jessica Biel) and Samantha Quinn, whose lives become upended by a solitary night of unspeakable violence. Years later, and after becoming a lawyer like her father, Charlotte must confront her inner demons as a new case drudges up wicked memories from traumatic events. The disturbing dilemma finds both sisters out of sync, forcing the duo to question everything they thought they knew about the event that changed their lives forever.
For more details about the plot, here’s a plot synopsis for Slaughter’s novel courtesy of Amazon:
Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…
Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn’s happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville’s notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.
Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it’s a case that unleashes the terrible memories she’s spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won’t stay buried forever…
Packed with twists and turns, brimming with emotion and heart, The Good Daughter is fiction at its most thrilling.
Meanwhile, Biel’s next role is for the Kyle Marvin-directed drama Batso, starring Ethan Hawke and Daniel Radcliffe.
Kyle Marvin (80 for Brady, All Wrong) directs from a screenplay by Eamon O’Sullivan, with Ethan Hawke playing Warren “Batso” Harding and Daniel Radcliffe as Dean Caldwell, the first climbers to challenge the incredibly daunting sheer face El Capitan route known as “The Wall of Early Morning Light.” Meanwhile, Jessica Biel plays Beryl Knauth, a trend-setting climber and Warner’s romantic partner.
Here’s the official synopsis from Deadline’s exclusive report:
“In 1970, ‘The Wall of Early Morning Light’ was an unthinkable climb. For larger-than-life climbing legends Warren ‘Batso’ Harding and Dean Caldwell, it represented a near-impossible physical and mental challenge. For iconoclast Batso, it also offered one last chance to stick it to the naysayers who thought him too old, too out of touch and too crazy. For novice Dean, it was a way to see beyond his 9-to-5 existence and unlock the awesome potential of the human spirit.
“What began as an almost farcical exercise became one of the great underdog stories in the history of the sport. The estimated 10-day climb stretched into a 28-day marathon of grit and determination that sparked a media sensation.”
What do you think about the concept of The Good Daughter? Who should play the other sister opposite Biel? Let us see your casting suggestions in the comments section below.
Madness breeds madness – and in this case, audiences couldn’t be more excited for Joker 2, or rather, Joker: Folie a Deux, which is the official title. 2019’s Joker was one of the best-reviewed movies of the 21st century with critics and fans universally praising Joaquin Phoenix for his performance as well as director Todd Phillips. Phoenix won the Oscar for Best Male Performance thanks to his rendition of the Joker, DC’s most notorious and deadly villain, and added to the legacy that the fictional character has built up over the years (we recently made an epic episode of WTF Happened to this Movie about it). And now, that legacy will continue to grow with a sequel.
Joker: Folie a Deux will be a follow-up to the 2019 comic book origin story that Phillips brought to the screen and will allow audiences to once again enjoy the character that they’ve come to love (and despise) so very much. With a prime fall release date (October 4th – almost exactly five years since the original hit theaters) hype is at an all-time high. So, with all of that hype building up, let’s take a look at everything we know about Joker: Folie a Deux so far.
First Images & Trailer:
While a trailer for the Joker sequel is likely months away, Phillips has been generous as far as images teasing the look of his Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck and Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn go. Here’s a moody early pic of the two together:
The Plot
As stated, Joker 2 won’t be out until the fall. So, with the film still so far out, and with the production team wanting to keep the movie under wraps, audiences have been given surprisingly little about what they can expect from the sequel in terms of the plot. The small pieces of information that fans know about are that Harley Quinn will be playing a significant role in the film and that at least part of it will take place in Arkham Asylum.
Another important piece of information about the movie (that will more than likely affect the plot in some way) is that the movie will have musical elements. The choice was reportedly made due to the dancing-related themes incorporated in the first movie (Joker’s dance to Gary Glitter’s “Rock n’ Roll” was acclaimed), combined with the casting choice of Lady Gaga as the infamous Harley Quinn. Gaga’s musical background undoubtedly played a part in choosing to have the film be more musically driven and her experience with acting/creating music made the choice a no-brainer.
The last piece of information regarding the plot is that fans need to remember that this particular movie, as well as its predecessor, are not part of James Gunn’s upcoming DCU and will therefore be under the category of DC Elseworlds – stand-alone projects set in the DC Universe. This isn’t new information as the original Joker was never part of the larger universe that DC attempted and failed to make, but nevertheless, it should still be noted.
Joker: Folie a Deux – The Cast
Joaquin Phoenix gained an Oscar and universal acclaim for his rendition of the Joker so it’s no surprise to anyone that he’ll be returning to play Arthur Fleck/The Joker for the sequel. A notable piece of information to take into account is that thanks to Phoenix’s Oscar-winning performance, his payday for the sequel will be $20 million, opposed to the $4 million that he received for the original movie.
However, as discussed earlier, the biggest addition to the sequel in terms of star-power will be Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. Despite Margot Robbie playing the character for the past decade in three separate DC projects, Robbie has praised the casting choice of Gaga as Quinn and believes that she’ll do an amazing job with the character, saying:
“I think she’s going to do an amazing job. I’m so excited. All I could have ever hoped for Harley is that she would become one of those characters that, kind of like Batman, or Hamlet, gets handed from actor to actor—everyone gets a go at playing them. So, I feel like it’s just a credit to her as a character that people want to see her in multiple interactions. I’m excited.”
After Lady Gaga, other notable actors/actresses who have been added to the cast are Jacob Lofland, Catherine Keener, and Brenden Gleeson. Lofland is reportedly playing an inmate from Arkham Asylum, and there hasn’t yet been any word on who Keener and Gleeson will be playing. Another new name for the movie is Harry Lawtey (star if HBO’s Industry) who has also been cast in an undisclosed role, however, it’s been reported that his role will be a “big” one for the series.
Another name that audiences will be familiar with is Zazie Beetz who played Sophie in the first Joker film. While it was revealed that her and Arthur’s relationship was completely concocted inside Arthur’s head, her overall fate was never revealed in the film. Also, while nothing has officially been confirmed, Zazie has publicly stated that she believes Sophie is still alive in the series. With all of that being said, fans shouldn’t expect to see Zazie in the upcoming sequel, but it’s a very real possibility.
More images reveal Arkham Asylum
Right around the holidays, Todd Phillips gave fans another sneak peek at Joker: Folie a Deux by posting a pic of Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck in his cell in Arkham Asylum, while the other showed Lady Gaga as Dr. Harleen Quinzel. Heck them out:
The Release Date:
Warner Bros has Joker: Folie a Deux slated for an October 4, 2024 release date. Chances are, it will follow the original film and have a fall festival premiere (likely in Venice, maybe TIFF too). Of course, that release date puts it right in the awards corridor, with this buzz being that this is WB’s big Oscar movie for the year. Since Phoenix won Best Actor for the first Joker, expect him to get a major Oscar campaign, while Gaga, no doubt, will be a huge contender for Best Actress.
Reaction:
A test screening of the film was recently held, and GoldDerby shared the following reaction: “Parts are chaotic for a reason. Parts are surrealistic also for a reason (and at least in part shot in B&W), parts are bloody (the chaotic part). Can’t spoil how exactly. It’s also very political as you would expect from Joker franchise. The person I spoke with was mighty impressed but caution it’s just on opinion. Gaga is indeed equal to Phoenix or even more central. No way to fraud her in supporting. From what I understood, he doesn’t call her Harley but a nickname derived from it. I guess that has created a confusion whether she plays Harley or not (she does). They both perform songs as a duet and some are just her singing. Songs are mix of old songs and new ones. Old one are sang in one part of movie, new/original ones in another. It isn’t all a singing movie. Famous characters appear in it. Some changes to lore since these movies are standalones from certain other DC franchise. Surrealism would be some scenes (can’t specify which) but not the whole movie (it isn’t all a dream/hallucination type of thing). Gaga’s performance is said to be transformative and sensational.:
Is It a Musical?
Early in its development, it was revealed that Joker: Folie a Deux would be a musical. While some took that to mean that Lady Gaga would be contributing original songs, Variety has specified that the movie will be a jukebox musical.
What’s a jukebox musical?
The term “jukebox musical” refers to a kind of musical where all the songs are pre-existing. Many popular musicals like Mamma Mia, Rock of Ages, and Moulin Rouge would be considered jukebox musicals. In the Variety report, it’s revealed that the film will contain roughly fifteen songs, all of them covers. One of them will be the classic “That’s Entertainment” from the old Fred Astaire musical The Band Wagon. Each song is said to have been thoroughly reimagined by the movie’s returning composer, Hildur Guðnadóttir.
What does the title mean?
Folie a Deux (the film’s official title) actually translates to “madness of two” and refers to ‘shared psychosis’ in which “delusion or mental illness is shared by two people in close association”. It can be safely assumed that the title is referring to the relationship that will undoubtedly spread between Joker and Harley Quinn.
How Was It Filmed?
Joker: Folie a Deux was partly shot with IMAX cameras by DP Lawrence Sher.
What’s the Budget?
According to recent reports, the Joker: Folie a Deux budget has blown past $200 million, more than three times what the original film cost ($60 million). Given that the first film made over a billion dollars worldwide, that budget isn’t considered an unsafe bet, with the two stars, Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, getting justifiably juicy paychecks ($20 million and $12 million respectively).
Everything Else:
Another piece of information that fans might find interesting is that despite being set in New York City, filming still took place in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, it’s been revealed in set photos that the sequel will return to the infamous “Joker steps” from the first movie. And, despite the movie being a jukebox musical, it’s been said that Gaga may be contributing an original song to the film, which would be a no-brainer as it could follow in the footsteps of A Star Is Born‘s “Shallow” and win her a Best Song Oscar.
So, even though fans won’t get a chance to see how The Joker and Harley Quinn get wrapped up in another crazy villainous adventure for another few months, fans can rest well knowing that the wait will be more than worth it.
As far as the Mad Max series goes, what lies beyond Furiosa?
Back in 2010, it was reported that director George Miller would be shooting two new entries in his Mad Max franchise back-to-back: the sequel Mad Max: Fury Road and a follow-up called Furiosa. But things didn’t work out that way, and making Mad Max: Fury Road on its own proved to quite a struggle – a five month shoot in the deserts of Namibia, with two lead actors (Tom Hardy as Max Rockatansky and Charlize Theron as Furiosa) who couldn’t stand each other. Miller didn’t let the grueling process put him off making more Mad Max movies, though. Immediately after the release of Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015, Miller announced that he had already written a screenplay and a novella of further stories… and Max himself would return in a film called Mad Max: The Wasteland. But eight years have passed, and while Furiosa is ready to go (with an all new trailer just released), there’s still no word on whether or not Mad Max: The Wasteland will be moving forward. So let’s try to solve this mystery… Mad Max: The Wasteland – Will It Ever Happen?
LAWSUIT
There are a couple reasons why it has taken Miller so long to get back to the world of Max Rockatansky. First, he didn’t want to go straight back into the wasteland after making Mad Max: Fury Road. He wanted to make a different, smaller film first. That movie turned out to be Three Thousand Years of Longing, which didn’t get made and released until several years after Fury Road. Another thing slowing down the franchise’s progress is the fact that Miller filed a lawsuit against its home studio Warner Bros. Suing the studio for unpaid Fury Road earnings, he accused executives of behaving in a “high-handed, insulting or reprehensible” manner and destroying their relationship with his production company. Warner Bros. fired back that Miller shouldn’t receive those earnings because they had wanted a 100 minute, PG-13 movie and he had delivered a 120 minute, R rated movie. The lawsuit was filed in 2017 and appeared to be settled to Miller’s satisfaction in 2019, clearing the way for him to finally get around to making Furiosa (starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the title character) after he was finished with Three Thousand Years of Longing.
STORY NOT READY
We now know that when Miller said he had a screenplay and a novella written, Furiosa was the screenplay. In fact, the Furiosa script was “virtually complete” before Fury Road even started filming. (Which must be why there was talk of making the movies back-to-back.) Within the novella is the foundation for Mad Max: The Wasteland – and it still needs to be completely figured out and then worked into a screenplay. As recently as 2022, Miller described the story as “still not fully evolved”. As for what exactly the Wasteland novella deals with, Miller told AV Club, “We also wrote, not a screenplay, but almost in novel form, Nico Lathouris and I, what happened to Max in that year before (the events of Mad Max: Fury Road), and that’s something that we’ll look at further down the track later.” Since the story is set “before”, Miller has confirmed that the Furiosa character is not involved.
TOM HARDY
The long delay between films does bring up the question, if Mad Max: The Wasteland does ever go into production, will Tom Hardy still be playing Max, or would he be replaced? Recasting doesn’t seem entirely out of the question, especially since Hardy replaced Mel Gibson in the role to begin with. Hardy was contracted to play the character in multiple films, but it’s not clear when that contract would expire. Despite the rough experience of working on Mad Max: Fury Road, Hardy is totally on board with the idea of coming back for a sequel, and even said it’s not a question of if he’ll make another Mad Max movie, it’s just a question of when. He told Collider, “I’m really just waiting for the call like, ‘All right, let’s get the leathers on and get back out there and do some more.’ It’s there. I’m just waiting for it and looking forward to it.”
DIRECTOR
It will be quite impressive if Miller does indeed return to the wasteland for both Furiosa and Mad Max: The Wasteland, as the director – just like the rest of us – isn’t getting any younger. Miller turned 78 this year, which surely adds another degree of difficulty to shoots that are already massive undertakings. Of course, Richard Donner was still planning to make another Lethal Weapon movie before he passed away at the age of 91, so Miller might still have plenty of time left to do Mad Max: The Wasteland without issue. But if making these movies becomes too much of a burden, Miller has let it be known that he has three different directors in mind that he would like to see make movies set in the wasteland he created. He indicated to IGN that Guillermo del Toro is one of those directors.
So will Mad Max: The Wasteland ever happen? The truth is, we don’t know. We’ll have wait and see what happens with Furiosa. If it’s successful, maybe it will inspire Miller and Lathouris to finally get the story into its fully evolved state and get the movie rolling. For now, we’ll just have to take Miller and Hardy’s word for it: it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when. In 2019, while waiting for the Warner Bros. lawsuit to run its course, Miller even went so far as to tell IndieWire that there’s an idea for another Max story beyond The Wasteland: “There are two stories, both involving Mad Max, and also a Furiosa story. We’re still solving, we’ve got to play out the Warners thing, it seems to be pretty clear that it’s going to happen.” For now, we keep hoping… and make plans to see Furiosa when it’s released on May 24, 2024.
Millie Bobby Brown’s fantasy action-adventure film Damsel slays the Netflix Top 10 Film List for the second week in a row!
Stranger Things breakout Millie Bobby Brown is driving a sword through Netflix’s English Films List this week with her fantasy action flick Damsel, slaying the number one spot for the second week in a row! The Juan Carlos Fresnadillo-directed action-adventure film added 50.8M views to its coffers and was the most-watched title of the week. Damsel’s viewing total stands tall at 86.1M views in ten days, hitting the coveted #1 spot in 87 countries and reaching the Top 10 in 93.
Meanwhile, Lindsay Lohan’s romantic comedy Irish Wish pranced into the #2 slot, with 30.6M views in its first three days of release. The action-thriller Code 8: Part II nabbed the #4 spot (3.6M views), while Johan Renck’s Spaceman, starring Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan, floated into the #9 spot with 3.1M views. Spaceman’s performance is shocking, as Sandler typically owns the Netflix Top 10 whenever he drops a new film onto the streamer. GiantFreakinRobot recently ranked the Sandman’s films, and it’s interesting to see where Spaceman landed.
On the television side, The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie’s aristocratic gangster series starring Theo James and Kaya Scodelario, topped the English TV List with 20.1M views. The outstanding live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender held strong in its fourth week with a second-place finish and 5.2M views. The docuseries The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping took third with 3.3M views, and Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War claimed the sixth spot (2M views).
Hot Wheels Let’s Race, the animated kids series, hit the gas on 3.3M views for a fourth-place finish during its second week on the chart, with Love Is Blind’s sixth season taking fifth with 3.2M views. One Day, the limited series adapted from David Nicholls’ bestselling romance novel, took seventh place in its sixth week on the list (1.9M views).
Have you watched Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s Damsel, starring Millie Bobby Brown? I’ve heard positive things about it and plan to check it out this weekend. I want to watch Spaceman, too, despite its poor performance on the Netflix English Film chart. The concept for Spaceman is bizarre, and I prefer Sandler’s dramatic roles to his questionable comedy stylings. What do you think about Netflix’s Top 10 Lists this week? Let us know in the comments below.
About the Author
Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.
New Line Cinema took the Fresh Prince (a.k.a. Will Smith) to court over the video for his Elm Street-inspired “A Nightmare on My Street”
New Line Cinema teamed up with the rock band Dokken when they needed a song and music video to help promote their 1987 film A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, but when the time came to make another Elm Street sequel the following the year, they decided to switch musical genres and find a rapper they could work with on a song for the soundtrack of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. According to the recently published book Maverick Movies: New Line Cinema and the Transformation of American Film by Daniel Herbert (pick up a copy HERE), New Line wanted a rap song for Elm Street 4 because the company “understood that 40 percent of the Nightmare series audience was Black.” The rap song that ended up on the soundtrack was The Fat Boys’ “Are You Ready for Freddy?”, which also got a music video that featured Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger… but DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (a.k.a. Will Smith) also recorded their own Elm Street-inspired rap song that year, “A Nightmare on My Street,” and circumstances led to New Line taking the Fresh Prince to court over his “A Nightmare on My Street” video.
Herbert explains: In the summer of 1988, the rap group The Fat Boys released the album Coming Back Hard Again, which featured the song “Are You Ready for Freddy?” This track features the Freddy character talking and rapping along with the Fat Boys. The song was released in the wake of another song that invoked Freddy and NOES, “A Nightmare on My Street,” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, which appeared on the album He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper, released in March. Documents show that New Line negotiated with representatives for DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince to create a video based on NOES at the same time the company was working out a similar deal with the Fat Boys. Negotiations with the Fresh Prince broke down, however, just as He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper came out, which still included the NOES-themed song. Moreover, a music video for “A Nightmare on My Street” was produced that featured characters and settings that resembled the NOES films. New Line sued the music company responsible for the video, and a court upheld an injunction against it being aired. Instead, the video for the Fat Boys’ “Are You Ready for Freddy?” aired on MTV in fall 1988 and depicted the Freddy character terrorizing the Fat Boys.
A disclaimer sticker was added to the He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper album packaging to notify buyers that “A Nightmare on My Street” was not part of the The Dream Master soundtrack and not officially connected to the Nightmare on Elm Street films, and the music video directed by Scott Kalvert was allegedly destroyed… but at least one copy survived, because the video did make its way online thirty years later. You can watch it HERE.
What do you think of Will Smith getting in trouble for the “A Nightmare on My Street” video? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
About the Author
Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he’s a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.
The Sopranos creator David Chase teams with Terence Winter for a horror movie project set up at New Line Cinema.
Deadline reports that The Sopranos creator David Chase is set to reteam with Terence Winter for an untitled horror movie set up at New Line Cinema.
David Chase is expected to direct the movie, which he will also co-write alongside Terence Winter. The plot details are being kept under wraps, but given the Sopranos pedigree, my mind immediately leaps to Cleaver, the fictional movie within the HBO series produced by Christopher Moltisanti. While I doubt that Chase and Winter are going the slasher route, it’s still fun to imagine.
Chase and Winter worked together on The Sopranos, with Winter writing or co-writing 25 episodes of the series, but this will be the first time they have reunited since the series came to an end and the first movie they will have collaborated on. Chase made his feature directorial debut on Not Fade Away, a 2012 drama starring Jack Huston, John Magaro, Bella Heathcote, and James Gandolfini.
Winter is also busy working on the second season of Tulsa King. While it was originally reported that he would be stepping down following some creative differences with creator Taylor Sheridan, he ultimately returned to the series, but not as showrunner. He will instead focus primarily on writing for the show as well as working more closely with Sylvester Stallone.
Tulsa King “follows New York mafia capo Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi (Stallone), just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a crew from a group of unlikely characters to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet.” The second season is expected to debut on Paramount+ this fall.
What type of horror movie do you think David Chase and Terence Winter might make?
Pierce Brosnan, Naomie Harris, and Tom Burke join the star-studded cast of Black Bag, the upcoming spy thriller from Steven Soderbergh.
Steven Soderbergh is assembling quite the cast for his upcoming spy thriller, Black Bag, and THR has reported that Pierce Brosnan, Naomie Harris, and Tom Burke are the latest additions to the project.
Plot details are being kept under wrap, but the cast of Black Bag also includes Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Regé Jean Page, and Marisa Abela. Soderbergh will direct from a script by David Koepp, and production is expected to begin in May in London.
Of course, Pierce Brosnan and Naomie Harris are no stranger to spy movies, with Brosnan playing James Bond in Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and Die Another Day, and Harris playing Eve Moneypenny in Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time to Die. Tom Burke played Orson Welles in David Fincher’s Mank and will next be seen in George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Speaking of James Bond, Brosnan recently suggested that Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy would make a great 007, saying, “Cillian would do a magnificent job as James Bond.” While I have little doubt he would be great in the role, Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are looking for someone in their mid-thirties. Earlier today it was suggested that Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been “formally offered” the role of James Bond, but nothing is official. Taylor-Johnson has previously called rumours that he would be the next James Bond “flattering” but wouldn’t confirm or deny anything.
Steven Soderbergh’s latest movie, Presence, screened at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The supernatural thriller follows a family who moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they are not alone. A supernatural force has infiltrated the house, taking a specific interest in the couple’s daughter. Our own Chris Bumbray enjoyed the film but admitted that it might not be for everyone. “While its experimental nature means that Presence will be one of Soderbergh’s more niche efforts, it’s still technically impeccable and moving once you settle into it,” Bumbray wrote. “It’s an interesting exercise for a director who never fails to innovate.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.
Twenty years after losing the role of the Dark Knight, Jake Gyllenhaal says that it “would be an honor” to play Batman in the DCU.
Twenty years ago, Jake Gyllenhaal was seriously considered to play Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. The role may have gone to Christian Bale, but Gyllenhaal still remains a popular choice to play the iconic DC character, particularly with The Brave and the Bold just over the horizon.
While speaking with ScreenRant about Road House, Jake Gyllenhaal was asked if he’d still be interested in playing Batman.
“Oh, man. That’s a classic. It’s an honor,” Gyllenhaal said. “Speaking of playing roles that other incredible actors have played in the past, to me actually roles that other incredible actors have played in the past, which, to me, actually, when I think about it, I’m going to play Iago in Othello with Denzel Washington, and I think about like the history of actors that have played that role throughout time, and I’m intimidated by that. So that’s the first level. That’s what I’m working on right now. But of course. It would be an honor always. Those types of things and those roles are classics.“
David S. Goyer, who co-wrote Batman Begins, has said that Gyllenhaal was his top choice to play the Dark Knight in the movie.
In just a few days, Gyllenhaal will be seen starring in Doug Liman’s much-anticipated Road House remake. Per the official logline: “In this adrenaline-fueled reimagining of the ’80s cult classic, ex-UFC fighter Dalton (Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.”
Our own Chris Bumbray recently reviewed the film, and while it was unfortunately more of a “mixed bag” than he had hoped, he still had fun with it. “It’s pretty entertaining, even if it’s not the absolute rollercoaster ride the trailer promised. It has some good fight sequences, but it’s short of action until about halfway in,” reads the review. “When it sticks to punch-ups, the movie is great, but when it spreads out into boat chases and explosions, the streaming nature of the film becomes more apparent. You start to wonder why they didn’t study the original movie closer, which proved car chases, explosions, and gun battles are ultimately unnecessary in a film about people getting kicked in the head.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here. Road House will debut on Prime Video on March 21st.
As for Batman, it sounds like Jake Gyllenhaal is still game, but what do you think? Would you like to see him play Batman in The Brave and the Bold?
