Paul Wernick: Last News

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large As Amazon Freevee’s hoax reality series “Jury Duty” is currently garnering huge amounts of attention, the format originator is staging a comeback. TBS is set to announce Wednesday that it has ordered a revival of “The Joe Schmo Show,” which will air next year on the cabler. The original “Joe Schmo” premiered in 2003 on Spike TV, with a follow-up in 2004 and then a third season revival in 2013. Created by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (both of whom went on to a successful screenwriting career, including the “Deadpool” films), “Joe Schmo” made waves when it first debuted for parodying the then-relatively new and white-hot reality competition genre.

BreAnna Bell Jason Momoa will lead Discovery Channel’s Shark Week as it returns for its 35th year, as the master of ceremonies. The network shared the announcement as part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Upfront’s appearance on Wednesday. “As the host of Shark Week, I am beyond excited to take you along on this journey,” said Momoa. “This project means more to me than a week of talking about sharks. It’s a chance for me to learn and share my connection to these amazing creatures. My love of sharks came long before my time as Aquaman – it began several generations before me.” Over the course of Shark Week, Momoa will set up the jaw dropping events, epic journeys, first-time revelations, and groundbreaking scientific findings that make up the summer spectacle. WBD promises that fans can expect adrenaline-inducing original hours of sharks from new and continuously explored destinations, all captured on-camera by Discovery’s dedicated science and research field teams.

The Joe Schmo Show has been in the cultural lexicon in recent months following the successful launch of Amazon Freeve prank show Jury Duty.

EXCLUSIVE: Rob Delaney (Catastrophe) has closed a deal to return for Deadpool 3, joining the Ryan Reynolds-led ensemble of the threequel that Shawn Levy will direct and produce for Marvel Studios.

Peacock has already had a strong 2023 when it comes to original content, with “Poker Face” and “Mrs. Davis” winning over critics.

EXCLUSIVE: Skydance’s spy action comedy, Ghosted, is the most watched movie debut to date in AppleTV+ history per Samba TV.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic The romantic action comedy has always had a breathlessly eager-to-please, overstuffed quality. You might say it’s a what’s-not-to-like genre. We laugh! With pulses racing! And swoon at the moonstruck chemistry! In a superior rom-act-com, like “Romancing the Stone” or “Out of Sight” or “True Lies” or the new “Murder Mystery” sequel, the action is the romance — it’s how the characters connect. (One way the form extends vintage Hollywood screwball is that it tends to be about couples who so dislike each other that only by joining in death-defying scrapes can they melt the ice.) But then there are movies like “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” where the love gets sandwiched between vehicular mayhem so aggressive it’s played for “laughs,” and the too-muchness of the whole thing becomes like one of those fast-food fusion experiments. Sorry, but the movie escapism equivalent of a burger topped with a quesadilla served with cheese fries is not my idea of a good time.  

EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Reynolds is looking to get the gang back together again for Marvel new Deadpool sequel as Stefan Kapicic and Brianna Hildebrand are set to reprise their roles as Vanessa and Colossus. Reynolds recently announced Karan Soni and Leslie Uggams would return as Dopinder and Blind Al, who like Vanessa and Colossus, appeared in the first two films.

EXCLUSIVE: Looks like everyones favorite wisecracking superhero is being joined in the MCU by some old friends as sources tell Deadline Karan Soni and Leslie Uggams are joining star Ryan Reynolds in the next Deadpool sequel for Marvel. Soni and Uggams played fan favorites Dopinder and Blind Al that were in the first two installments of the blockbuster series. They join Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and the newest additions of the cast Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer The big bads of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be a breeze for the man that’s survived the Roy family for almost four seasons, as “Succession” star Matthew Macfadyen has been cast in “Deadpool 3,” Variety has confirmed. The Ryan Reynolds franchise will welcome Macfadyen, who plays the fan-favorite Tom Wambsgans on the HBO water-cooler smash, joining a new sequel that will also revive Hugh Jackman’s beloved X-Men character Wolverine. Shawn Levy returns as director, and Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will pen the script. This will be the first “Deadpool” project made since the intellectual property went to Disney in its acquisition of 20th Century Fox. All creatives involved insist the film will retain its extreme violence and raunchy tone, as well a a hard R-rating.

EXCLUSIVE: With the final season of his hit HBO series Succession premiering on Sunday, Matthew Macfadyen looks to have found his follow-up project as sources tell Deadline the Emmy-winner is the latest addition to Marvel Studios’ Deadpool 3. Ryan Reynolds is returning to star with Hugh Jackman and The Crown‘s Emma Corrin also on board. It is unknown who Macfadyen will be playing.

Julia MacCary editor Apple TV+ dropped the trailer for the upcoming rom-com turned thriller “Ghosted,” which stars Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. The trailer shows Evans’ character Cole certain that Sadie (de Armas) is not just “ghosting” him, or ignoring his texts, after one date. Convinced they are meant to be together, he travels to London in what he hopes to be a romantic gesture, only to discover Sadie is not the person he thought, and is actually part of the CIA. What ensues is a spy-thriller where “action speaks louder than words.” De Armas joins the film after her recent Oscar nomination for “Blonde.” Her credits also include “Deep Water,” “Blade Runner 2049” and “No Time to Die.” Evans has played Captain America in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films, as well as performed in “Before We Go,” “Gifted” and “Playing It Cool.” Evans and de Armas previously acted together in “Knives Out” and “The Gray Man.”

Zack Sharf Fans of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man are getting good news from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who confirmed in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly that Holland’s fourth “Spider-Man” movie is now being written. Marvel had one of its biggest hits ever with Holland’s third-outing, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which became the first pandemic release to gross over $1 billion worldwide. “All I will say is that we have the story,” Feige said about Holland’s anticipated “Spider-Man” return. “We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now.” Whether Holland will once again team up with “Spider-Man” actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield remains to be seen. Both actors have expressed interest in returning for a new “Spider-Man” movie.

EXCLUSIVE: Following the big-breaking news that Hugh Jackman would be reprising his Wolverine role in Marvel Studios’ Deadpool 3, Ryan Reynolds looks to have found his next co-star as sources tell Deadline The Crown breakout star Emma Corrin has joined the cast. Exact details behind the character are unknown at this time other then it being the villain role. Shawn Levy is on board to direct with Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese returning to pen the script. Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin penned a previous draft. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige will join Reynolds and Levy as producers.

EXCLUSIVE: Peter Farrelly is looking to get back in to the genre that helped launch his career as sources tell Deadline the Oscar-winner is partnering with Skydance on the new action-comedy Balls Up that he will direct from a script by Deadpool scribes Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese.

Fans are getting their first look at the poster for AppleTV+'s upcoming romantic action-adventure film Ghosted starring Chris Evans and Ana da Armas.Ghosted's tagline is 'Meeting that special someone can be a real adventure,' but not much more has been revealed about the storyline. However, back in April, Evans shared a photo from the set of Ghosted on Instagram and captioned it, 'The Turner Family.' Evans, 41, and de Armas, 34, last worked together on 2022's The Gray Man and before that on the 2019 film Knives Out.  First look: AppleTV+ released the first poster for the upcoming series Ghosted starring Chris Evans and Ana de ArmasThe film was announced back in 2021 with fellow MCU co-stars Evans and Scarlett Johansson set to star. However, the Black Widow star had to drop out of the streaming film due to scheduling cutbacks.

Dexter Fletcher was at the Critics Choice Awards and dropped a hint that his latest film Ghosted could be dropping in April.

Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy promised the film will retain the 'hardcore' violence of its predecessors after joining the Disney-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe.The 54-year-old Canadian director also confirmed that filming will start in May for the highly anticipated sequel due out in November 2024, according to an article on Tuesday by Collider.Levy said the sequel he's developing with franchise star Ryan Reynolds, 46, and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will be R-rated just like the first two installments. Upcoming sequel: Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy, shown earlier this month in Beverly Hills, California, promised the film will retain the 'hardcore' violence of its predecessors after joining the Disney-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe'We are writing, rewriting, developing, prepping ‘Deadpool’ every day now. It is such a blast to laugh every day.

Ryan Reynolds is talking about the Deadpool Christmas-themed movie he had in mind that was ultimately scrapped after the Disney and Fox merger.

Ryan Reynolds confirmed that Taylor Swift was not going to be part of Deadpool 3 but he was game for making it happen.

Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine for Deadpool 3.Reynolds announced the surprise casting in a recent video shared on his Twitter account, also confirming that the film will be released on September 6, 2024.“Hard keeping my mouth sewn shut about this one,” the actor tweeted, in reference to Deadpool’s previous appearance in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.In the video, Reynolds sits on a sofa and discusses his desire to make Deadpool’s first official appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) “feel special”.He then narrates about his search for inspiration over footage of him walking through the woods and working out in a gym while wearing a Wrexham AFC baseball cap – a nod to the Welsh football team he and fellow actor Rob McElhenney recently purchased.The video then cuts back to Reynolds on the sofa, as Jackman walks past in the background of the shot.“Hey, Hugh,” says Reynolds, “Want to play Wolverine one more time?”“Yeah, sure, Ryan,” Jackman replies.The clip then cuts to a title card, which reads: “Coming Hughn”. It’s soon followed by the Deadpool logo, which is promptly scratched out by Wolverine’s iconic claws.Hard keeping my mouth sewn shut about this one.