Franchise: Last News

"Rocky" fans could be in for a sweet surprise. According to Variety, a spinoff film "Drago" is in the works with MGM studios. Robert Lawton has reportedly been taken on to write the series.  The film will feature Ivan Drago, who took on Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) in the 1985 movie "Rocky IV." The character’s son, Viktor Drago, played by Florian Munteanu, appeared in "Creed II" in 2018 to take on Adonis Creed’s son.

Clayton Gutzmore It’s been more than two decades since Naturi Naughton began to establish herself as a triple threat in entertainment.She launched her career as a singer with the music group 3LW, before revealing her acting chops with roles on “Fame,” “Notorious” and the “Power” franchise. She’s also proved she could deliver in front of a live audience on the Broadway stage.

EXCLUSIVE: Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, announces the return of Studio71’s hit found footage anthology franchise, V/H/S, with an all-new installment, V/H/S/99.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor“Jeopardy!” is holding on to both its hosts while reaching to conquer new ground.The venerable game show confirmed that it has signed long-term deals with both current co-hosts Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings, who will continue to co-host the show as Sony Pictures Entertainment and executive producer Michael Davies plan to expand the franchise.“The fact is, we have so much Jeopardy! to make, and so many plans for the future, that we always knew we would need multiple hosts for the franchise and we are just so grateful that Mayim and Ken stepped in and stepped up to put the show in a position to succeed,” said Davies in a memo to staff Wednesday.Jennings will host as the show kicks off its new season in September, and will preside over an inaugural “Second Chance” competition as well as the program’s Tournament of Champions. His initial Bialik, meanwhile, will host “Celebrity Jeopardy!” on ABC in primetime.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Latin-focused content powerhouse Exile Content Studio has snagged a majority stake in the Lil’ Heroes NFT Franchise which will soon spawn a toon series with NBA star Carmelo Anthony.He will voice and exec produce the show through his company, Creative7 Productions.The news comes in the wake of Exile’s acquisition in late May by Candle Media, the next generation media company founded by Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs. Said Mayer and Staggs, who serve as co-CEOs: “We are excited to expand Exile’s partnership with Lil’ Heroes, a dynamic new franchise with a deeply engaged community, and a great example of how digitally-native IP can engage audiences through various platforms, products and experiences.” Created by Spanish contemporary artist Edgar Plans, Lil’ Heroes was launched through an NFT collaboration with Exile and NFT studio, Curatible.

The last time Deadpool director Tim Miller was here at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, he was promoting his R-rated revival of the Terminator series, Terminator: Dark Fate. 

Zach Galligan, who starred as Billy Peltzer in the Gremlins films, will have a recurring guest role in Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, it was revealed during the show’s panel at Comic-Con on Friday. The animated prequel series will debut on HBO Max next year and later on Cartoon Network.

Wilson Chapman editorThe “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai” cast is officially stacked. The prequel series just announced a whole new line-up of celebrity voice talent at their San Diego Comic-Con panel including the return of original Billy, Zach Galligan.Galligan surprised fans on stage revealing that he will have a recurring guest role on the HBO Max series “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.” But that’s not all, the panel also announced a truly iconic list of guest stars for the new series including: Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei and Bowen Yang.  The series had already announced a roster of Hollywood icons before including, James Hong, BD Wong, Ming-Na Wen and Matthew Rhys.“Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai” is set in 1920s Shanghai in East China, and focuses on Sam Wing (Izaac Wang), an ordinary 10-year-old boy who meets Gizmo (A.J.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorAMC Networks is a few months away from launching what programming chief Dan McDermott calls “the biggest venture we’ve ever embarked upon from the ground up.”The company that proudly bills itself as a high-end TV boutique is preparing to unleash this fall a TV series adaptation of “Interview with the Vampire.” AMC hopes it will become the cornerstone in a prosperous content franchise rooted in the Southern Gothic milieu based on the works of the well-loved novelist Anne Rice.On the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” McDermott details the world-building process that began after the company struck a wide-ranging rights deal in May 2020 to develop all manner of content from 18 notable Rice books. The pact is a good example of how TV has become so competitive that art of development is fielding Marvel-level interconnected storytelling universes involving multiple series and other content extensions, from gaming to podcasts to internet shorts.

Naman Ramachandran The Russo brothers have revealed that their “Gray Man” assassin Avik San (also known as the Lone Wolf), played by Tamil cinema star Dhanush, could very well return.In the Anthony and Joe Russo’s Netflix movie, when the CIA’s most skilled operative accidentally uncovers dark agency secrets, a psychopathic former colleague puts a bounty on his head, setting off a global manhunt by international assassins. One of them happens to be Dhanush’s Avik San — a killer with a moral code.Speaking at a press event in Mumbai on Thursday, Joe Russo said: “It’s based on a book series, so there is the opportunity to expand this into future movies.

Kurt Russell hasn’t been on TV for so long that one of his last roles was in the original Hawaii Five-0 in 1977.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorWelcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”When the announcement came that “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” the third movie in Channing Tatum’s male stripper franchise, had the greenlight, it was revealed the film would premiere directly on HBO Max. However, director Steven Soderbergh says a theatrical run is still on the table.

Not all Real Housewives give up their diamonds — or peaches/apples — for good. Bethenny Frankel, NeNe Leakes and Dina Manzo are among the ladies who left their respective franchises only to return years later.

There have rumors of an Indiana Jones reboot following the release of the fourth and most recent installment in the franchise - Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008).More recently, Chris Pratt's name has surged as one of the leading candidates since January 2021,Varietyreported.But don't expect to see Pratt wielding a bullwhip dressed in a leather bomber jacket and fedora any time soon, according to theJurassic World leading man, himself. Chris Pratt shot down the rumors that he is at the top of the list of actors in the running to take over as Indiana Jones in a potential reboot of the franchiseBasically, Pratt put all the Indiana Jones chatter to rest when he said he would never take over the iconic role ofDr.

Tessa and Hardin fight to save their relationship once again in the final film in the “After” franchise, “After Ever Happy”.

With Illumination/Universal’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru continuing its dastardly ways at the global box office, the origins story has propelled the Despicable Me franchise across the $4B mark worldwide. The Chris Meledandri-produced series was already the biggest animated franchise of all time, and now has another milestone to boot. Across all five films, the total is $4.012B. Bananas!

NSYNC and Backstreet Boys, there was the pioneer boy band, Menudo! From 1977 to 2009, Menudo dominated Hispanic pre-teen and teen markets, sold more records than BTS and One Direction combined, broke concert attendance records, and set the standard for all Boy Bands that followed. While the iconic boy band brand was on hiatus for the last 12 years, is it now ready to return to the world stage with a global talent search lead by none other than our favorite Latino 2-time Emmy winning host and Saved by the Bell alum (also a Menudo fan), Mario Lopez.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterVice TV is adding another “Dark Side” series to its growing fan-favorite franchise with spinoff “Dark Side of Comedy,” Variety has learned exclusively.The cabler describes the new show as “a fresh look at an art form that has long shined a light on significant cultural issues, and the artists who have managed to create light in times of darkness.”Joining a “Dark Side” lineup that currently includes “Dark Side of the Ring,” “Dark Side of Football” and “Dark Side of the ’90s,” “Dark Side of Comedy” is a series that “examines the internal battles, unexpected fame and societal pressures that are ever-present in the comedy world; as well as the lasting legacy of the women and men who allow us to see the world through their eyes.” The first season of the show, which is narrated by Dave Foley, will consist of 10 episodes focused on these comics: Andrew Dice Clay, Chris Farley, Freddie Prinze, Artie Lange, Roseanne Barr, Dustin Diamond, Greg Giraldo, Brett Butler, Richard Pryor and Maria Bamford.It features comics like Patton Oswalt, Godfrey, the late Gilbert Gottfried, Maria Bamford and more weighing in on these stories.Per Vice’s logline for “Dark Side of Comedy,” “Comedy has entered a new golden age. Podcasts, social media, and streaming services have all created new life and new laughs for comics living and dead — comics who were once relegated to smoky nightclubs and finite network TV time slots.

Moviegoing is definitely back with viewers flocking to franchise films that 1) continue to roll out in the first sustained barrage of big new titles since Covid, and 2) continue to do huge business as they stick around in theaters. They’re sucking up screens and exacerbating a release-pattern quandary for independent distributors seeking signs that a rising tide raises all boats.

Barbara Broccoli has revealed that the next film in the enduring 007 series will be a complete reinvention. However, casting — always a hot topic among franchise fans — has not yet commenced.

No more sailing the seven seas. Johnny Depp doesn’t have plans to reprise his role of Captain Jack Sparrow any time soon.