Matilda Lutz Grabs 'Rings'; Juliette Binoche is 'Polina'; Hugh Jackman Joins "Eddie the Eagle" Biopic

 The third chapter in The Ring franchise was confirmed last year when F. Javier Gutierrez came aboard as director, and now finally the film has a star and title. Italian actress Matilda Lutz will lead Rings, which will continue the horror centered on a mysterious video tape that causes those who watch it to die a week later. Other than the return of the demonic child Samara, the film will feature all new characters. This will be the biggest role of Lutz's career after starring in a couple of little-seen features. [TheWrap]

The always-great Juliette Binoche has landed the starring role in Polina, the directorial debut of choreographer Angelin Preljocaj. Based on the French graphic novel, the film is set in "Moscow in the early 90’s and follows the journey of Polina, a gifted ballerina from a modest background who joins the prestigious school of Professor Bojinsky and becomes a Bolshoi dancer at 18. Pic turns on Polina’s love story with a French dancer who initiates her to contemporary dance and leads her to travel to different parts of the world." Preljocaj will co-write and direct alongside Valerie Muller. [Variety]

First rumored more than a week ago, The Wrap is now confirming that Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service) will lead a biopic on British Olympic skier Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards. Egerton's 'Kingsman' director Matthew Vaughn will produce while his pal Dexter Fletcher (Wild Bill) will direct. Egerton would play Edwards, who in 1988 became the first to ever represent Great Britain in Olympics for ski jumping. He became something of a national hero for his perseverance and underdog spirit, although he finished last in the events he competed in. Jackman would take on the role of Edwards' mentor, Chuck Berghorn, while Timothy Spall is being sought to play Edwards' father.

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Tye Sheridan, Saoirse Ronan, and Taron Egerton Eyed for 'X-Men: Apocalypse'

Get ready X-men fans because there's going to be plenty of Marvel's merry mutants on the big screen over the next couple of years. The centerpiece of the rapid franchise expansion, which includes Gambit and Deadpool solo movies, is of course 2016's X-men: Apocalypse. With the continuity basically getting a jumpstart and younger versions of established characters being introduced, some pretty big names are in the mix for three of the core X-men.

A couple of months ago a rumor surfaced that Hailee Steinfeld, Chloe Moretz, and Elle Fanning were in the mix for the role of young Jean Grey, but now Latino Review has rounded up a new list of contenders. Saoirse Ronan and Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner are said to actually be testing for it, and you don't go looking for stars of their caliber unless the roles are going to be big for a long time.  As for Jean's eventual lover Scott "Cyclops" Summers, it's Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Jamie Blackley (If I Stay), and Tye Sheridan (The Tree of Life) in the mix with Sheridan the frontrunner according to The Wrap's Jeff Sneider.

And who is looking to replace Halle Berry as the weather goddess, Storm? Lesser known names like Alexandra Shipp and Zendaya Coleman are apparently being considered. Shipp recently took some heat for her performance as R&B star Aaliyah in the Lifetime Channel biopic, while Coleman is a Disney Channel starlet best known for the teen comedy, Shake It Up.

As much as I'm a fan of Ronan, it's Turner who seems like a better fit for Jean Grey. Remember, Ronan was also rumored for Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron and that never worked out. Sheridan is the most established actor of the male group and would be a safe pick for Cyclops, but Edgerton might could be the more exciting choice especially if Kingsman performs well. With Bryan Singer hoping to get production going in April we should learn something soon. X-men: Apocalypse opens May 27th 2016.

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Red Band Trailer for 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' has Nothing to Lose

Fox may have moved Matthew Vaughn's hyper violent spy flick Kingsman: The Secret Service to early next year, but they are sparing no expense in making sure it's a hit. And they're doing a pretty good job of it, too, because every piece of new footage is more fun than the last. Colin Firth as the world's greatest super spy? What's not to love about that? Plus crazy gadgets and colorful villains, like Samuel L. Jackson's lispy Valentine and a female assassin with razor legs? Sign me up.

A new red band trailer reveals some new footage, mainly focusing on the evil plot cooked up by Valentine. It's the one aspect of the story we hadn't been privy to from prior trailers, and it looks like he's found a way to cause mass chaos around the world. All of this as Firth recruits his nephew (Taron Egerton) into a secret spy organization in hopes of stopping the global threat.  Also starring Michael Caine, Mark Hamill, and Sofia Boutella, Kingsman: The Secret Service opens February 13th.

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New Trailer and Homage Posters for 'Kingsman: The Secret Service'

Maybe it was the crowd that was waiting with baited breath for the Marvel and DC presentations, but the footage from Kingsman: The Secret Service went over like a lead balloon at Comic-Con last summer. That must have been distressing for director Matthew Vaughn since the crowd there is exactly who they are appealing to. The film is based on the graphic novel by comics scribe Mark Millar (who also created Kick-Ass and Wanted), and it's basically a throwback to when spy movies were meant to be fun. And we see the fun Vaughn and Co. are having with the film in the latest trailer, plus four new posters spoofing James Bond's For Your Eyes Only.

Keeping his gentlemanly demeanor while beating up thugs with his umbrella, Colin Firth plays a Bond-esque secret agent who is tasked with introducing an unrefined street kid (Taron Egerton) into the espionage world. This one is full from top to bottom with spy riffs and looks like a lot of fun, especially Samuel L. Jackson as the eccentric, lispy villain.

Kingsman: The Secret Service opens February 13th.

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Ansel Elgort, Brenton Thwaites, and More Up for New Role in 'Pirates of the Caribbean 5'

 It may have taken Disney a little bit longer to get all of their ships in a row, but movement is finally happening on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.  Of course Johnny Depp and his eyeliner are back as Jack Sparrow, with co-directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg looking to make their big studio debut after their Oscar-nominated film, Kon-Tiki. And though there were some rumors Orlando Bloom could return to the franchise, it looks like a new young actor is set to take the other "dashing" male lead.

Deadline says Ansel Elgort (The Fault In Our Stars), George MacKay (Pride), Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Brenton Thwaites (The Giver), Mitchell Hope (Descendants), and Sam Keely (In the Heart of the Sea) are up for the role of Henry, and that's all we know about the character. Well, we also know that it's one of the most sought-after roles in Hollywood right now, which means it should come with significant screen time opposite Depp. Out of all of these, Elgort is the biggest prize. He's had quite a year already with The Fault In Our Stars, Men Women & Children, and Divergent. He comes with franchise experience, but so does Thwaites who led The Giver earlier this year and had a role in Disney's Maleficent. The dark horse here may be Hope, who stars in Disney's TV movie Descendants as the son of Beauty and the Beast.

There's plenty of time for a decision to be made as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales opens July 7th 2017.

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New Trailer for 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' starring Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson

For better or worse Matthew Vaughn seems to have hitched his cart to comics scribe Mark Millar. He directed Kick-Ass to greater heights than was expected, and co-wrote the script for the sequel, which failed miserably. And next up for the X-men: First Class and Layer Cake director is an adaptation of Millar's high-energy spy comic, The Secret Service.

Now titled Kingsman: The Secret Service, the film stars Colin Firth as a secret agent for MI6 who recruits his street-tough nephew (Taron Egerton) into the organization for a special mission. Samuel L. Jackson, rocking a pretty mean lisp, plays the heavy and everybody seems to be having fun with this one. And why wouldn't they? As Millar has done with Kick-Ass and Wanted (yep, he wrote that too) he's basically taken a genre and stylized it to the nth degree, which makes for an exciting if somewhat forgettable trailer.

And that may be why 20th Century Fox are obviously so concerned. The footage shown at Comic-Con didn't go over so well and they've since pushed the release date back to February 13th, 2015.

Kingsman by Teaser-Trailer.com

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First Trailer, Images, and Poster for 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' Starring Colin Firth

While we may never get a chance to see Colin Firth as James Bond, we are going to see him as a Bond-esque super agent in Kingsman: The Secret Service,Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of the Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen) comic. Millar has seen a number of his comics brought to the big screen; Wanted, Kick-Ass, and Kick-Ass 2, and he's got even more on the way. Kingsman is next on the list, and now we have the first trailer, poster, and a handful of images of Firth alongside co-stars Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine, and Taron Egerton

If an action-intensive comic book movie seems like an odd fit for Firth, he was also a little skeptical about it....

Firth: “I was afraid it was ridiculous. I think what’s brilliant about Matthew is that he takes people’s expectations and likes to mess with them. When we first met the year before, he said, “One of the reasons I’m casting you is because you’re probably the last person anyone could imagine kicking people and kicking off the villains.” And that was the surprise he wanted to pull. And he said, by the way, “You’re going to have to do it. Are you up to it?” That’s one of the reasons he got me so early, to start training. He said, “You’re going to hate me by the end of it,” and sure enough, the Jackie Chan training team comes to my house and they get to work on me. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed myself so much in my life. I realized that I’d made assumptions about myself that meant I had probably been neglecting something that I might have enjoyed for years if I’d got to it earlier.”

For X-men: First Class and Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn it was all about bringing back the style of the spy movies he missed as a kid...

Vaughn: “We missed all the spy movies we loved as kids, whether it was Bond or ‘In Like Flint.’ They had a sense of humor as well as being a thriller. With [Kingsman], we’re subversing the spy movie genre as we know it."

Firth plays a super spy who must teach his young nephew the tricks of the trade. Kingsman: The Secret Service opens October 24th.

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