Motion Picture: Ayo Edebiri Casted In Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts’ And Mena Massoud Casted As Princes Naseem In ‘Giants’

Ayo Edebiri - Steve Granitz

Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri has been cast in Marvel’s The Thunderbolts, a film that will follow a group of anti-heroes and villains. Previously announced cast includes Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It is unclear what role Edebiri will play. The Thunderbolt’s release date or plot information is currently unknown. 

Paapa Essiedu - David M. Benett

Comedy: Paapa Essiedu has been cast to star alongside Melissa McCarthy in Universal and Working Title’s unnamed Christmas movie. The fairy-tale comedy will follow a man that uses a genie’s magic to win back his family’s love before Christmas. Love Actually’s Richard Curtis and Love Life’s Sam Boyd will write and direct the film, respectively. Additional casting and the film’s release date are unknown at this time. 

Mena Massoud - Kevin Mazur

Drama: Ava DuVernay has added Niecy Nash-Betts, Jon Bernthal, Nick Offerman, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Connie Nielson to the cast of Caste. It was previously announced that Aunjanue Ellis would be starring as well. The film, based on Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, will be written and directed by DuVernay. Caste’s release date has not been confirmed. 

Mena Massoud has been cast as Prince Naseem and will star alongside Paddy Considine in the upcoming sports drama Giant. The film will follow the life of Prince Naseem “Naz” Hamed, a British Yemeni boxing champion, and his trainer, Brendan Ingle (Considine). Rowan Athale will write and direct Giant, with Sylvester Stallone and Braden Aftergood from Balboa Productions executive producing. Athale comments that “the story of fabled boxing trainer Brendan Ingle and his tempestuous relationship with protégé ‘Prince’ Naseem is both legendary, and truly cinematic. It’s exciting, necessary, hilarious, and heartbreaking.” Giant’s release date has not been announced. 

Travon Free and Martin Roe have announced their upcoming Paramount film, Razorblade Tears. This comes after the two filmmakers signed with CAA for representation. Razorblade Tears, based on the novel of the same name by S.A. Cosby, will follow two ex-criminals, Ike and Buddy Lee, who band together to seek revenge for their dead sons. Aside from directing, the pair will also rewrite the original script penned by Sherman Payne. Razorblade Tears’ release date has not been announced. 

Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s nephew, will play the pop legend in Lionsgate’s upcoming Michael Jackson biopic. The film, titled Michael, will be directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan. John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of Jackson’s estate, will help in the production of the film. Michael’s release date has not yet been announced.

Documentary: All That Breathes, HBO’s Academy Award-nominated documentary, will premiere on the channel and be available to stream on HBO Max on February 7th. The documentary, directed and produced by Shaunak Sen, follows the story of two brothers who dedicate their lives to protecting the black kite bird, an animal essential to New Delhi’s ecosystem. The film first premiered at Sundance in 2022, where it picked up the Grant Jury Prize for the World Cinema Documentary Competition. 

Gregory Allen Howard - Leon Bennett / Stringer

Industry Updates: Hasbro has announced that they will lay off approximately 1,000 employees, or about 15% of their workforce, in the next few weeks. This comes after Hasbro put their TV and film division, Entertainment One, up for sale. With these changes, Hasbro hopes to turn its focus to gaming, as well as implement a cost-saving plan. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks comments that “While the full-year 2022, and particularly the fourth quarter, represented a challenging moment for Hasbro, we are confident in our Blueprint 2.0 strategy, unveiled in October, which includes a focus on fewer, bigger brands; gaming; digital; and our rapidly growing direct to consumer and licensing businesses.” 

Screenwriter and producer Gregory Allen Howard has died. Howard was the first African American screenwriter to write a script that became a $100 million movie, which was Remember the Titans. Howard’s better-known credits include The Harlem Renaissance, Ali, Tinseltown Trilogy, and Harriet; he was also a two-time winner of the NAACP Image Awards. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia, before moving to Vallejo, California. Howard attended Princeton University and graduated with a degree in American History. His inspiration for Remember the Titans came after he returned to his hometown and learned about the 1971 TC Williams High School football team. Howard’s publicist announced that he died in Miami after a brief illness on January 27th. He was 70 years old. 

Mongolian filmmaker Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir has signed on with Activist Artists Management and will be represented by Bernie Cahill and Jon Kanak. Purev-Ochir has been praised for her exploration of the “contradictions of modern-day Mongolia” through her films Snow in September and Mountain Cat. Cahill states that “Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir is an extraordinary storyteller, whose films have earned well-deserved praise, around the world. We are thrilled to represent such a gifted filmmaker.”