Gambit cast, Frozen 's Elsa to visit Storybrooke, Orci to direct Star Trek 3 and more
• In an interview with Total Film on the X-Men: Days of Future Past 'blue carpet', producer Lauren Shuler Donner confirmed that Channing Tatum – who has been campaigning for the part – will play the role of Gambit in an as yet unspecified upcoming film. When asked which characters are being brought to the big screen, X-Force, Deadpool and Gambit were brought up. Donner went ahead and ended any speculation over who would play Gambit by saying, "It is Channing. He’s a rogue. Channing, he’s a rascal, just like Remy LeBeau.” It's unclear if this means he'll be in a standalone film or in the previously announced X-Men: Apocalypse . Watch the interview clip below:
• Donner also gave HeyUGuys an update on the status of the Deadpool movie. She said, "We so want to make it. We’re getting there. I think it will, but one thing now is the rating. If we make it a smaller budget movie, we can go for the R-Rating. If not, then we push the boundaries of PG-13 which is alright too." She also confirmed Ryan Reynolds is still attached to star.
• We recently reported that Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness co-writer Roberto Orci was the frontrunner to direct Star Trek 3 . Variety now brings us news that he's got the gig . Their sources indicate Orci has been heavily campaigning for the job for a considerable amount of time.
• Zack Snyder made good on his promise to show us the rest of the Batmobile that he was hiding under that tarp. And look, Ben Affleck's Batman just happens to be standing in front of it. Check out the image here .
• Frozen tributes are all the rage on the internet, and they have been since the hit film's original release a few months ago. Now, Once Upon A Time is joining the trend by having the central character of Elsa appear on the show. Her arrival was hinted at in its third season finale and confirmed shortly afterwards on the show's official Twitter page with the below picture. Considering Frozen's popularity and that Disney owns ABC, this announcement shouldn't come as a surprise. Other characters from the film will be on their way too, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly creators Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz said, "we’d be disappointed if Elsa was the only one we saw, but we’re not quite ready yet to tell you who else we may encounter."
• Jonathan Green has announced the first dedicated Fighting Fantasy convention, Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014 , on Facebook. The event will take place on 7 September in Ealing, London and it will feature special guest appearances by fantasy authors Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. If that's not enough, it will also serve as the launch platform for Green's book "You Are The Hero - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks".
• Variety reveals composer Michael Giacchino will provide the soundtrack to the dinosaur mayhem that will take place in Jurassic World . The Oscar-winner (for Up ) has previously written the music for The Incredibles, Cloverfield, Star Trek, Super 8 and Star Trek Into Darkness along with television projects such as Lost and Fringe . While the frequent JJ Abrams collaborator didn't end up following the director over to his work on Star Wars: Episode VII , he'll still be having to live up to a memorable John Williams score over on the Colin Trevorrow-directed Jurassic Park sequel
• Disney has released some great concept art for Maleficent . It's interesting to see how the inspiration from Sleeping Beauty manifests itself in the ideas on display here.
• There's not much to see here, but the first image from the The Walking Dead Season 5 has been released. Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes is looking bloodied and intense, as usual, as he gets ready to prove that the residents of Terminus are "screwing with the wrong people."
• Speaking of zombies, Christopher Landon's Scouts vs Zombies has begun filming. The film will see Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller and newcomer Joey Morgan playing scouts who find themselves having to protect their town from an outbreak of the undead.
• Doctor Who fan Andrew Younger is dressing up as the fourth Doctor and raising money for children’s charity Tiny Lives. Inspired by his 40th birthday and the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who , he decided to raise money for the charity, which works to care for sick newborn babies. On his JustGiving page , Younger writes, "We all have childhood heroes and I have several. Yet the main one is that man with the long scarf who could save the universe with a screwdriver and a bit of string. Every child deserves a chance to discover a hero of their own. I'm dressing as mine in the hope that some of them will." He's just completed a zip wire jump off the Tyne Bridge and is preparing to do it again on 6 July.
Simon Cocks
