Motion Picture: Ke Huy Quan’s ‘With Love’ Gets Release Date, Allen Iverson Documentary Coming to Amazon Prime Video
Pedro Pascal - Amanda Edwards
Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Pedro Pascal is set to join the cast of Ari Aster’s (Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid) next film, Eddington. Only known to be a Western, the film is to be written and directed by Aster, who, with Lars Knudsen, will produce under their Square Peg banner. Eddington comes from A24; other members of its cast include Joaquin Phoenix in his second collaboration with Aster after Beau Is Afraid, Emma Stone (Poor Things), Luke Grimes (Yellowstone), Austin Butler (Dune: Part Two), and Micheal Ward (Top Boy).
Michael Jai White will star in an action thriller with the working title Hostile Takeover. With previous roles in Black Dynamite and The Dark Knight, White will play a hitman, Pete, who faces an assortment of assassins after a crime syndicate leader believes he may be disloyal. The film is undergoing production on a virtual production stage, courtesy of Volume Global, in Regina, Saskatchewan. Hostile Takeover is being led by stunt director Markos Rounthwaite (The Bourne Ultimatum, Casino Royale). Joining White in the film is Aimee Stolte, who plays Mora, Pete’s on-and-off-again girlfriend.
The action film With Love, starring Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), will release on Feb. 7, 2025. While the film’s plot is not yet known, it will mark Quan’s first major leading role, and will be directed by stunt coordinator Jonathan Eusebio (Deadpool 2, John Wick) in his directorial debut. From Universal, With Love is being produced by Kelly McCormick, David Leitch, and Guy Danella, and is being written by Josh Stoddard, Luke Passmore, and Matthew Murray.
Arian Moayed (Succession, You Hurt My Feelings) and Carmen Ejogo (Your Honor, True Detective) have joined the cast of Guy Ritchie’s Fountain of Youth. Coming from a first-look partnership between Apple and Skydance, the film’s cast also features John Krasinski, Natalie Portman, Eiza Gonzalez, and Domhnall Gleeson. Fountain of Youth follows two siblings (Krasinski and Portman) using their knowledge of history to follow clues on an adventure that may offer immortality at its end. Fountain of Youth is to be directed and produced by Ritchie.
Joseph Kahn’s upcoming feature Ick will evoke 1980s creature features, and will showcase old school prosthetics and state of the art visual effects. The film follows a high school science teacher (Brandon Routh) coming to terms with the invasion of the “ick” - an alien anomaly - in his town. Kahn, whose resume includes the feature Bodied and multiple iconic music videos, says that Ick evokes fears about the world today, and is “challenging” and “escapist fun.” Starring Routh, Mena Suvari, and Malina Weissman, Ick comes from Interstellar Entertainment.
At one point in conversations to star in Marvel’s upcoming Blade film in an undisclosed role, Aaron Pierre is no longer attached to the project. The film has undergone multiple directors and writers joining and then exiting its production. Mahershala Ali portrays the title character, who is a vampire hunter. Upcoming projects for Pierre include Rebel Ridge and Mufasa: The Lion King.
Ilfenesh Hadera (Godfather of Harlem, The Bricklayer) has joined Spike Lee’s English-language reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low. The feature marks Hadera and Lee’s fourth collaboration after the series She’s Gotta Have It and the films Chi-Raq and Oldboy. Hadera’s role in High and Low is not yet known, and it is unclear how close Lee’s film will be in regards to the plot of Kurosawa’s, which follows a shoe company executive becoming a victim of extortion. Also starring Denzel Washington, Lee’s High and Low will be theatrically released by A24, followed by a global launch on Apple TV+.
Comedy/Dramedy/Musical: Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s The Cat in the Hat feature has added Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Bowen Yang (SNL), Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows), and Paula Pell (Girls5eva) to its cast. Bill Hader voices the titular role, in addition to executive producing the film. Written and directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, the film follows the titular feline trying to cheer up two siblings after they move to a new town. The feature is set to be theatrically released on March 6, 2026, and is the first feature in a slate of animated projects coming from joint efforts between Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Dr. Seuss Enterprises. InSneider first reported Hader’s casting.
Disney’s Wish will release on Disney+ on April 3. The feature, one connected to the studio’s centennial, follows Asha (Ariana DeBose), a young woman in the kingdom of Rosas who makes a wish that is answered by Star. In the film, Asha and Star confront Rosas’ ruler, King Magnifico (Chris Pine). While underperforming financially and critically, Wish was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Golden Globes.
Antoine Fuqua - Nicky J Sims / Stringer
Drama: There has been controversy over the Michael biopic’s portrayal of the musician. While Michael director Antoine Fuqua, producer Graham King, and screenwriter John Logan contend with the allegations of Jackson’s grooming of young boys into sexual relationships in the film, the director of the documentary Leaving Neverland, Dan Reed, called a draft of the Michael screenplay “startlingly disingenuous.” Reed’s comment, according to Variety, comes from the script’s discrediting of Wade Robson and James Safechuck's belief that Jackson was a pedophile. Both Robson and Safechuck alleged that Jackson maintained yearslong sexual relationships with them when they were children.
Acha Septriasa (Heart, Kontini) and Natasha Tosini (Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey) are set to star in Arthur and Bree, a film from Carl Jackson, who will act in, write, and direct the project. The film follows a married couple (Tosini and Jackson) navigating their marriage and their careers; Septriasa plays an executive at the company where Tosini’s character, Bree, works. The film is set to shoot in 2024 in San Diego, London, and Sydney.
Allen iverson - Thaddaeus McAdams
Documentary: A documentary on Allen Iverson from Shaquille O’Neal’s Jersey Legends and Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media is coming to Amazon Prime Video. The documentary will explore Iverson paving the way for future generations and revolutionizing the NBA’s culture through his authentic voice and unapologetic expression of style. According to Iverson, the documentary will tell his story his way, unapologetically and authentically. The documentary is directed by One9 and executive produced, among others, by One9, O’Neal, and Curry.
Andscape’s documentary anthology &360 will feature the documentary Hip-Hop and the White House as its first title. Hip-Hop and the White House focuses on the relationship between hip-hop and the position of President of the United States. Narrated and executive produced by Jeezy, and written, directed, and executive produced by Jesse Washington, the documentary will premiere on April 22 and will be available to stream exclusively on Hulu.
Raoul Peck (Silver Dollar Road, Exterminate All the Brutes) has begun production on his next feature documentary, tentatively titled The Hands That Held the Knives. An investigation into the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise, the documentary focuses on Haiti’s politics, its relationship with the United States, and its current landscape, among other topics. A documentary thriller, the piece is to be helmed and produced by Peck. Other upcoming documentaries for the creative include Orwell and Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.
John M. Chu - Emma McIntyre
Industry Update: A memoir by Jon M. Chu - titled Viewfinder: A Memoir of Seeing and Being Seen - will be released on July 23 by Random House. Known for directing Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights, and the upcoming two-part feature adaptation of Wicked, the memoir focuses on Chu’s growing up in Silicon Valley and eventually becoming a filmmaker in Hollywood. Chu hopes the memoir will connect with people trying to discover who they are and why their stories are worth telling. The memoir is co-written with Jeremy McCarter, author and co-author of Young Radicals and Hamilton: The Revolution, respectively.
The 2024 recipients of Wavelength’s WAVE (Women at the Very Edge) Grant have been revealed. The grant aims to help female or non-binary first-time filmmakers of color produce their first short films. The recipients will receive $5,000 to create their shorts alongside mentorship from the executive team at Wavelength. The recipients of the 2024 grant are Ayesha Agarwal with Coconut Girl, Sharona D’Ornellas with Keep My Brother, Alaysia Renay Duncan with Abstract, Amy B Tiong with Delivery, and Brittany Young with Munchies.
