Out of the gate, and into the fire.
Sony Pictures Entertainment recently published a list of its planned film releases for up until 2019. While some films included on the list were releases most already knew about (Paul Feig’s Ghosbusters and The Magnificent Seven remake), there were a few surprises on there that peaked heads and boggled minds. Here are the top three.
Bad Boys 3 & 4
Yeah, you knew this was coming eventually. The original cop-buddy movie directed by Michael Bay and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith is getting not one, but two movie sequels. Bad Boys 3 has a planned release date of February 17, 2017, while Bad Boys 4 is slated for the summer of 2019. While there are no confirmations of Lawrence and Smith currently on board for it just yet, it’s hard to imagine Sony making this movie without them. Unless, of course, they’re as stupid as Universal Pictures was when they decided to make a Blues Brothers sequel without John Belushi.
Either way, this isn’t so much bad news as it is confusing. Everything is getting a sequel nowadays, so it’s no surprise Bad Boys is getting one either. My only question is why did you wait 12 freaking years to do it? Nobody cares about Bad Boys anymore. We haven’t seen anything in over 10 years, so why would we get hyped up now when it’s been dead for so long?
Look at Sin City. There was a nine-year gap in between that film and A Dame To Kill for. That film ended up bombing at the box office and losing half of its budget in the process. What does Sony hope to achieve now that it’s bringing these two clumsy cops back?
We’ll see how it performs in 2017, but for now, don’t wait up to be read your miranda rights.
Uncharted
Another attempt at a successful film adaptation of a video game, Uncharted tells the story of Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who is searching for his ancestor’s long-lost loot on the shore of El Dorado. The award-winning video game series is developed by creators Naughty Dog, with its fourth installment expected for release in early 2016.
Other than the planned release date for the film adaptation (June 2017), there isn’t much to go on for this film adaptation. Horrible Bosses director Seth Gordon was originally scheduled to direct, but left the project after citing creative differences with Sony. Screenwriter Mark Boal is currently attached to write the screenplay, and while his filmography seems a little too serious for the tone of Uncharted (his credits include The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty), a closer look observes that he actually has writing experience for video games too, credited for writing the story to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Either way, it looks like this adaptation is in an interesting position for a 2017 release. With it being among the movies included on Sony’s release list, we can definitely expect some new details to emerge soon.
The Dark Tower
Probably the most exciting release to see on Sony’s slate is Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, which follows the story of gunslinger Roland Deschain and his quest to find a dark tower which he believes to be the center of all universes. The fantasy series has been described by many as the famous writer’s magnus opus, and the realization of a film adaptation has been fought for years now by filmmakers including Ron Howard and J.J. Abrams.
It has been stuck in development hell since 2007, but it looks like it’s finally happening.
The first film’s expected release date is January 2017. While there is currently no cast or writers attached, director Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) is attached to the project. If Sony is confident enough to put this on their release calendar, then there must be negotiations going on behind closed doors that Sony isn’t ready to reveal yet.
Either way, one of King’s most cherished stories is getting traction on being put onto the big screen. King fans have no reason not to be excited.
You can read the full list of Sony’s release schedule up to 2019 here. In the meantime, what release are you most excited for? Leave your comments in the section below.
– David Dunn
SOURCE: Forbes, Deadline
DAVID DUNN 