Rosario Dawson to Star in the Anthology Film “Deepest, Darkest”

Rosario Dawson has a deepest, darkest secret…

The 45-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist has joined the cast of Deepest, Darkest, an upcoming anthology film architected by Marc Bernardin and Tiffany Smith, who’s also part of the cast.

Rosario DawsonExecutive produced by Akela Cooper and David Dastmalchian, Deepest, Darkest has invited myriad television writing all-stars behind the lens to tell stories of horror, suspense, dark comedy, and edgy science fiction, each revolving around that most human of impulses: the keeping of secrets.

Directors of the segments include LaToya Morgan, Deric A. Hughes & Benjamin Raab, Ubah Mohamed, Lamont Magee, Sujata Day and Kevin Avery.

Others in the cast include Ernie Hudson, Raymond Lee, Phil LaMarr, Yetide Badaki and Caitlin Bassett, as well as writer-directors Avery and Day.

Stated Dawson on her involvement, “I’m a big fan of… well, I guess I shouldn’t tell you which project I’m working on but all of the writers and directors [on DEEPEST, DARKEST] are amazing, so getting a chance to work with them was an opportunity that I didn’t want to miss.”

A multiple Critics’ Choice Award nominee, Dawson stars on Disney+’s acclaimed Star Wars series Ahsoka, which has a second season in development.

Most recently, she wrapped opposite Alexandra Shipp and Milla Jovovich on Midnight, an action thriller from first-time feature filmmaker Joshua Otis, for which she also served as producer.

Diego Luna & Gael García Bernal to Executive Produce “The Boys” Offshoot, “The Boys: Mexico”

Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal are bringing the boys south of the border

The 43-year-old Mexican actor, director and producer and the 44-year-old Mexican Golden Globe-winning actor and producer will executive produce and possibly appear in acting roles in The Boys: Mexico, a new series offshoot of The Boys from Blue Beetle writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.

Gael García Bernal & Diego LunaDetails regarding the premise of the series are being kept under wraps.

A search is currently underway for a co-showrunner to join creator, writer and executive producer Dunnet-Alcocer, who is now working on the script.

The team behind The Boys: Mexico, which will be shot in the Latin American country, is working on budgets for the new series and they have yet to begin casting, sources said.

The Mexico-set offshoot comes from the main creative auspices behind the other series in The Boys franchise, the mothership’s developer Eric Kripke and his Kripke Enterprises, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Point Grey Pictures, Neil H. Moritz’s Original Film, Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios. Loreli Alba is expected to oversee for Point Grey.

The Boys, based on the New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, shares a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes—who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians, and as revered as gods—abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. Intent on stopping the corrupt superheroes, The Boys, a group of vigilantes, continue their heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven and Vought—the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages the superheroes and covers up their dirty secrets. It’s the seemingly powerless against the super-powerful.

Following the breakout success of The Boys, which is headed to Season 4, two spinoff series were released in 2023: the animated The Boys Presents: Diabolical, which premiered in March, and the college-set spinoff Gen V, which recently concluded its first season and has been renewed for Season 2.

The Boys: Mexico is the latest project hailing from rising star Dunnet-Alcocer, who penned the screenplay for the Warner Bros. Pictures/DC Studios superhero feature film, Blue Beetle. Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for Sony’s El Muerto from director Jonás Cuarón. The Queretaro, Mexico native also wrote and executive produced Miss Bala in 2019. Additionally, Dunnet-Alcocer is attached as screenwriter of the Universal Pictures’ reimagination of Scarface.

Luna and García Bernal are veteran actors whose careers exploded following their collaboration in the hit 2001 Spanish-language feature Y Tu Mamá También directed by Alfonso Cuarón. They have reunited multiple times since then including in Rudo y Cursi (2008) and Casa de Mi Padre (2012).

Most recently Luna joined the Star Wars universe in the Disney+ TV series Andor, a prequel to Star Wars: Rogue One.

García Bernal most recently starred in the Amazon bio-drama Cassandro portraying the titular gay wrestler born Saúl Armendáriz.

The longtime friends and collaborators became producing partners in 2018 under their La Corriente del Golfo banner. Recent projects they produced include the aforementioned Cassandro and the series Pan y Circo hosted by Luna, both for Amazon.

Dafne Keen Starring in Disney+’s New Lucasfilm ‘Star Wars’ Series “The Acolyte”

Dafne Keen has landed an out of this world role…

The 17-year-old half-Spanish actress will star in Disney+’s upcoming new Lucasfilm Star Wars series The Acolyte.

Dafne KeenKeen, who rose to acclaim after her breakthrough role in the superhero film Logan, is part of a roster of new cast additions that includes Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman and Carrie-Anne Moss.

They join previously announced cast members Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto and Jodie Turner-Smith.

The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.

The series is already shooting in the United Kingdom.

Creator, showrunner and executive producer Leslye Headland is behind the show. Headland will also direct the series pilot.

Filming for Second Season of Diego Luna’s “Star Wars” Prequel “Andor” to Begin in Late November

Diego Luna is back at War

Andor, the Star Wars prequel starring the 42-year-old Mexican actor and producer, has already set the start of filming for its second season with creator Tony Gilroy revealing the date.

Diego LunaEarlier this year, Gilroy confirmed that the second season of Andor would start shooting in November.

Eager fans had been anxious to find out when that would be and Gilroy recently told Collider in an interview that the Disney+ series would start shooting “the Monday before Thanksgiving,” which is November 21.

The show was planned out as a two-season adventure with the second season leading up to the events in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story where audiences were first introduced to Luna’s Cassian Andor character. Each season would consist of 12 episodes for a total of 24 episodes.

Gilroy had previously said the first season would consist of one year presented throughout 12 episodes. The second season would be broken into “four blocks of three [episodes]” with “each block” representing “another year closer.”

“We really get to take the formative forging of Cassian Andor in the first 12 episodes and then we get to take that organism that we’ve built up and run it through the next four years in a really exciting narrative fashion,” he added.

Gilroy hinted that the last season of Episode 24 would “walk the audience directly into the first scenes of Rogue One.”

Andor explores a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It’s an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian embarks on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.

Pedro Pascal Signs with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Pedro Pascal has new representation…

The 47-year-old Chilean actor and star of Disney+’s The Mandalorian is heading to Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Pedro PascalPascal was previously with WME. He was repped by Brandon Liebman, who recently left WME for UTA.

The move comes as Pascal is seeing his star on the rise, having played the title character in the Star Wars series from Jon Favreau, and its sister series The Book of Boba Fett, as well as The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent alongside Nicolas Cage.

He starred as Javier Peña in Netflix’s Narcos as well as Oberyn Martell in the fourth season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. His other film credits include Wonder Woman 1984, Judd Apatow’s The Bubble, Triple Froniter and Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

Next up, he’s playing the lead in HBO’s The Last of Us, an adaptation of the hit video game from Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin, and he is set to headline true-crime limited series My Dentist’s Murder Trial alongside David Harbour, which is in the works at HBO, from Steve Conrad, based on a New Yorker article.

Gael García Bernal & Diego Luna to Star in Hulu’s Spanish-Language Boxing Series “La Máquina”

Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna are ringing in a new project…

The 43-year-old Mexican actor and producer and the 42-year-old Mexican actor, singer, director, and producer will star in La Máquina, a Spanish-language boxing series for Hulu.

Gael García Bernal & Diego LunaBernal and Luna, who first worked together on Y Tu Mamá También, will star and produce the series for the streamer.

La Máquina is produced by Searchlight Television, the Disney-owned television arm of Searchlight Pictures and marks its third series for the streamer following The Dropout and History of the World, Part II.

Daredevils Marco Ramirez will serve as showrunner and Gabriel Ripstein will direct.

García Bernal and Luna will produce under their La Corriente del Golfo banner along with Gerardo Gatica, Leandro Halperin and Adam Fishbach.

La Máquina follows an aging boxer, played by García Bernal, whose crafty manager, played by Luna, secures him one last shot at a title.  But to make it to fight night, they must navigate a mysterious underworld force.

“We are proud to partner again with Searchlight Television on this forthcoming Hulu Original. Gael, Diego and Marco are world class storytellers and we look forward to bringing audiences their story and experiencing alongside them this last shot their characters get together,” said Craig Erwich, President, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment.

“It is a real honor to unite Gael and Diego onscreen again for La Máquina, their friendship and chemistry is a joy to experience,” added Searchlight Presidents Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum. “And we’re delighted to be working with Marco, whose unique voice and vision allows us to explore this world in a wholly original way.”

García Bernal recently starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s Old and HBO Max’s Station Eleven, while Luna was one of the voices in animated film DC League of Super Pets alongside Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart and stars in the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series Andor.

 

Disney+’s Animated Series “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,” featuring Freddie Prinze Jr. to Debut This Fall

Freddie Prinze Jr.’s next batch arrives this fall…

Disney+’s animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, featuring the part Puerto Rican actor in the voice cast, will premiere its second season on the streaming site in Fall 2022.

Freddie Prinze Jr.The series, which revolves around the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch that was first introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, was renewed back in August 2021 just ahead of the two-part Season 1 finale.

Picking up just after the events of the Clone War, members of the Bad Batch – who each possess a singular exceptional skill that makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew — take on mercenary missions as they struggle to stay afloat and find new purpose.

In addition to Prinze, The Bad Batch voice cast includes Dee Bradley Baker, Archie Panjabi, Michelle Ang, Rhea Perlman, Bobby Moynihan, Taran Killiam, Seth Green and more.

“I really love the choice to center the story around a child. To find not just a soldiers’ way but how to raise a child to find her superpower as this world shifts from the Republic,” Baker said.

Dave Filoni, Athena Portillo, Brad Rau, Jennifer Corbett and Carrie Beck executive produce the series, which is produced by Josh Rimes and Alex Spotswood.

“Omega is a little older but she still has so much heart,” Rau said.

The first season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch debuted on Disney+ on May 4, 2021.

Talisa Garcia Makes History as First Openly Trans Actor Cast in a Lucasfilm Production

Talisa Garcia is making LGBTQ+ entertainment history…

The Chilean-born British actress has been cast in the highly anticipated Disney+ series Willow, marking the first known occasion an openly trans actor has been cast in a production from Disney-owned Lucasfilm, home to the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.

Talisa GarciaIn the television spinoff of the 1980s fantasy classic, which is now in post-production, a princess assembles a party to join her on a quest to rescue her twin brother.

Garcia is playing a queen and the mother to Tony Revolori’s character who takes part in the quest. Garcia’s role is a small speaking part and the actress may ultimately only appear in one episode.

The casting also marks the first known time a trans actor has portrayed a cis character in a Disney+ film or series.

During the shoot, there were reports of great pride and support among many of Garcia’s colleagues about her casting.

Garcia was cast in the project long before the storm developed surrounding Disney’s response to the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill and new wave of concerns emerged about on-screen representation in Disney productions.

The studio has been under fire in recent weeks for its response to the controversial Florida legislation, which bans teachers from giving lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity to children under the age of nine.

The studio’s initial silence surrounding the bill angered and frustrated many staff who took it as a slight to the LGBTQ+ community and saw it as an example of the House of Mouse not doing enough to support diversity, something critics also believe the studio could do more of on screen. Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso was among those to voice criticism at the recent GLAAD Media awards.

Last year, Raya And The Last Dragon actress Patti Harrison became the first known trans actor to voice a character in a Disney animated movie. In 2019, SpiderMan’s Zach Barack became Marvel Studios’ first transgender actor. More recently, non-binary trans actor iris menas portrayed Anybodys in 20th Century Studios’ West Side Story reboot. Meanwhile, there have been reports online in recent days that Disney+ series Ironheart is looking to recruit a trans actress.

In 2021, Chloe Zhao’s film Eternals featured the first-ever gay superhero in a MCU movie – with Brian Tyree Henry taking on the role of Eternal and inventor Phastos. Lauren Ridloff also starred in the feature film – making history as the first deaf actor ever to play a superhero in a studio feature film.

Garcia is best known for BBC crime-thriller Baptiste.

Her other credits include Starz!’s The Girlfriend Experience and TBSMiracle Workers.

Oscar Isaac to Make Hosting Debut on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in March

Oscar Isaac is locking in his Saturday Plans…

The 42-year-old Guatemalan & Cuban actor will making his hosting debut on NBC’s longtime live sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live.

Oscar IsaacIsaac, who has starred in the Star Wars sequel trilogy as X-wing pilot Poe Dameron, and in X-Men: Apocalypse, is scheduled to host on March 5.

Isaac will be joined by Charli XCX, who had to pull her performance in December after the show was hit by Omicron with a reduced cast and crew for the Paul Rudd-hosted show.

Isaac previously made a cameo on SNL on Saturday, October 23

Fred Armisen Stars in Official Video for George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord”

Fred Armisen has a sweet new project…

It only took 50 years, but George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” finally has its first official video, with a special appearance by the 55-year-old half-Venezuelan American actor/comedian/musician.

Fred ArmisenIn the star-packed effort directed by Lance Bangs and executive produced by Harrison’s son Dhani Harrison with David Zonshine, the new “My Sweet Lord” video stars Armisen and Vanessa Bayer as “metaphysical special agents” searching for something that can’t be seen. Sending them on the mission: Star Wars’ Mark Hamill himself.

With seemingly most of Hollywood and New York celebrities showing up for cameos, the video includes appearances by Darren Criss, Jon Hamm, Rosanna Arquette, Joe Walsh, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Reggie Watts, Moshe Kasher, Natasha Leggero, Patton Oswalt, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, Garfunkel and Oates (Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome), Taika Waititi, Shepard Fairey, Aimee Mullins, Rupert Friend and Harrison’s wife Olivia Harrison and their son Dhani.

Harrison’s former bandmates Ringo Starr and Jeff Lynne also appear

“Making this was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life,” said director Bangs in a statement. “The approach was to represent the song visually while these agents and inspectors kept missing the metaphysical wonder around them. Images are choreographed to the sounds of vocal melodies, guitar strums, drum patterns, chord changes.

“George threaded a sense of humor through all of his videos, so we kept that spirit and filled the cast with friends and admirers of his music, many coming from the current comedy landscape. I tracked down vintage prime lenses from some of the films George’s HandMade Films had produced, and I hope that viewers can feel a sense of wonder and searching while they watch it, and that the song continues to add to all of our lives.”

The video for “My Sweet Lord” features the new 2020 mix of the song mixed by engineer Paul Hicks released August 6 for the 50th anniversary editions of Harrison’s All Things Must Pass.