Motion Picture: Michael Jackson Biopic In The Works, j-Hope Documentary to hit Disney+ in february

Xosha Roquemore - Jon Kopaloff / Stringer

Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Marvel’s Captain America: New World Order has cast Xosha Roquemore to star alongside the returning Anthony Mackie. The rest of the cast includes Tim Blake Nelson, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, and Shira Haas. Marvel’s new installment will pick up after the series finale of Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Although the plot is being kept under wraps, we do know that the film is set to be released on May 3rd, 2024. 

Michael B. Jordan’s upcoming project, Rainbow Six, in which he will star in and produce through Outlier Society, has hired Chad Stahelski as its director. The film, which is Paramount’s adaptation of Tom Clancy’s novel of the same name, will follow CIA operative John Clark (Jordan). Plot details, as well as the release date, have not been revealed. 

Brad Anderson’s The Silent Hour, an upcoming action thriller, has recently cast 8 Miles’ Mekhi Phifer and Soul to Keep’s Sandra Mae Frank. They will star along the previously announced cast consisting of Joel Kinnaman and Mark Strong. The film will follow a police detective from Boston (Kinnaman) that loses his hearing after an accident at work. Months later, he and his partner (Strong) take on a group of corrupt police officers that are trying to get rid of a deaf murder witness (Frank). Phifer will play the leader of the villainous cops. The Silent Hour will begin filming in Malta this February, although a release date has not been set. 

Lil Rel Howery - NBC

Comedy: Get Out’s Lil Rel Howery and The Office’s Rainn Wilson will star in and executive produce the upcoming action-comedy, Code 3, together. The film will follow the last day of work for two “overworked, underpaid, and nearly burnt-out paramedics.” Wayfarer Studios describes the project as “a fresh buddy action comedy that will take the audience on an introspective journey. It demonstrates how our interactions with strangers can have a profound impact.” Production will begin in Los Angeles in February, but details regarding Code 3’s release have not been shared.

Antoine Fuqua - David M. Benett

Drama: Bohemian Rhapsody director Graham King will produce an upcoming Michael Jackson biopic from Lionsgate that will be directed by Antoine Fuqua. The film, titled Michael, will follow “all aspects of Jackson’s life,” but since it is being made in collaboration with his estate, it is unclear how his allegations of child sexual abuse will be handled. Cast details, as well as Michael’s release date, have not been announced.

J-Hope - Julien Hekimian

Documentary: Hybe has announced that BTS star J-Hope’s documentary will stream on Disney+ on February 17th, 2023. J-Hope in the Box will tell J-Hope’s story and “show the creative challenges” that occurred in making his first solo album, Jack in the Box, as well as the album’s release and listening party. News of the documentary’s release comes after BTS announced they were going on hiatus to serve their mandatory military duties for South Korea. Park Ji-won, CEO of Hybe, comments that “this will be the start of a long-term collaboration, where we present worldwide audiences with a wide range of Hybe content for fans who love our music and artists.”

Taraji P. Henson will narrate a Nikki Giovanni upcoming documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. Apart from lending her voice to the project through her reading of Giovanni’s poems throughout the documentary, Henson will executively produce. Directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, the documentary will follow “present-day Giovanni reckon with the inevitable passing of time, while an evocative melding of vérité and archival images act as openings into her mindscape, transcending time and place.” Henson comments that she’s “thrilled” to be working on the project, noting that “interpreting and giving voice to [Giovanni’s] powerful words was a revelatory and emotional process” that “moved [her] completely.” Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project will debut in the U.S. documentary section of Sundance beginning on January 21st. 

Daniel Dae Kim - John Salangsang

Industry: Raya and the Last Dragon’s Daniel Dae Kim is spearheading The Sunrise House, which will be the Pan-Asian American Pacific Islander House at Sundance this year. Kim comments that during the day, the Sunrise House will “offer a think tank during the day with speakers from various industries talking about issues pertinent to the Asian American community,” and at night, will “transition to some fun” since the celebrations fall over the Lunar New Year. This will be the first house at Sundance to represent the Pan-Asian American Pacific Islander community. 

Regal Cinemas has announced that they will close 39 of its 500 locations in the United States. This comes after their parent company, Cineworld, filed for bankruptcy in September 2022 after the rent for theatres increased by about 30% due to the pandemic. By “rejecting the leases,” Regal Cinemas will “save their estates approximately $22 million annually.” A complete list of the locations closing can be found here.