Weekly Round Up: Magic-8 Ball, Tarantino, Svalta

10th June 2019

The Magic-8 Ball predicts a round up of film news…

Here’s an odd one then. A Quentin Tarantino sequel. I know we’ve had two Kill Bill’s, but c’mon, they’re basically the same movie, and while From Dusk Till Dawn did spawn two sequels of its own, technically Rodriguez directed the first, so it’s his movie, and the sequels aren’t anything to write home about. What we’ve never had is a sequel to a Tarantino movie produced as its own film. That seems odd, all things considered, when looking at the Tarantino filmography. You’d have thought we’d have some kind of rubbish straight-to-video Pulp Fiction 2 or whatever. Not that I’m hoping for one…

Doesn’t seem to matter though, as this week we got news that Tarantino himself is producing (though likely not directing) a sequel to his own Django Unchained. The sequel, which is currently under the working title of Django/Zorro, will see Jaimie Foxx’s gunslinger go toe to toe with the Californian freedom fighter.

This concept is something that has come up before, indeed Tarantino himself has mentioned it, while there is apparatnly – I only found this out when writing this week’s roundup – there’s a comic book of the premise, released by Dynamite Entertainment and Vertigo Comics. Who knew? Well, probably many of you… but not me.

Anyway, Tarantino has enlisted comedian and screenwriter Jerrod Carmichael, or TV’s The Carmichael Show, to adapt the comic book for the big screen. There’s no further news at this time, but I’ll admit it’s a tantalizing prospect.

A few weeks back we learned that Edgar Wright is writing and directing a horror film, called Last Night in Soho. The film will star Anya Taylor-Joy and is inspired by Nicholas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now and Roman Polanski’s Repulsion. That news was enough to get me super excited about the project, the concept of a Wright directed straight horror is almost too much to handle, but it would seem that his regular collaborators Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are not content to let him have all the fun.

News broke this week that the pair have sold a horror concept to Orion Pictures. The film is titled Svalta, and tells the story of a family who, while vacationing to the titular Swedish isle, discover a serial killer is on the loose but that the local seems strangely disinterested in helping.

If that sounds Wicker Man-esque to you, then you’re not alone. I think it does too. But I’ll admit that I’m curious about this enough to want to know more.

Sadly, there isn’t much more to know at this point, other than that both Frost and Pegg are onboard and producers and that Frost is currently listed as screenwriter. Quite what this movie will wind up being is anyone’s guess, but more original horror is more original horror, and given these guys have a proven love of the genre (seriously, just watch the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, there’s horror lurking around every corner in those movies) I’m willing to give this the benefit of the doubt.

While we’re on the subject of horror, everyone’s favorite horror studio, Blumhouse, have recently announced that they will be producing a film based on… drum roll, please… the magic eight ball.

Wait. What?

That’s right, folks, we’re back to the horror based on a pre-existing toy model that worked so well for, ahem, Ouija and Ouija: Origin of Evil, Blumhouse’s previously based-on-a-toy movies, which they produced in conjunction with Hasbro. I guess Mattel liked what they had to offer, because they have eagerly signed up for this rather bizarre project.

The film, currently going under the title of simply Magic-8 Ball (imaginative, I know), will be directed by Jeff Wadlow, the man behind such classics as… Non-Stop and Kick Ass 2… yeah, I don’t know what to make of this one either. It all seems very strange. At the moment not much else is really know about this project so I guess we’ll just have to “ask again later”… I thank you.

Anyway, perhaps the best news of the week is that Bill and Ted have kids!

That’s right, the Wyld Stallions are fathers, and in true Bill and Ted fashion they have name their offspring after each other. Honestly, this news made me laugh so much I’m still giggling at it. It couldn’t be more apt if it tried.

The Babysitter’s Samara Weaving and Atypical’s Brigette Lundy-Paine have been cast in the roles, and we’ll get to see them in action next summer when Bill & Ted Face the Music hits the big screen. But, I have to say, if this is anything to go by then I think Bill and Ted are in safe hands, because this is the perfect level of stupidity and genius I expect from them.

The Magic-8 Ball predicts you’re going to have a great day!

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