Hello, dear reader, and welcome to another edition of The Monitor, WIRED's look at all that's new and news in the world of pop culture, from casting news to TV show renewals. What’s on the docket today? The Walking Dead is getting (another) new season, Anya Taylor-Joy and Edgar Wright are teaming up, and Disney is going to keep the Deadpool movies R-rated.
Deadpool Will Stay R-Rated
As you may have heard, the Walt Disney Company is in the process of acquiring 21st Century Fox. Since Fox is the rights-holder for the X-Men characters, including Deadpool, many have wondered whether the Merc with a Mouth will get Mickey-fied. Fear not. During a conference call with investors on Tuesday, Disney CEO and chairman Bob Iger promised that the Mouse House wouldn’t mess with the magic Deadpool formula. “We will continue in that business,” Iger said, noting the “popularity” of the R-rated flicks. He did add, however, that the movies will be carefully marketed so “we’re not in any way confusing the consumer.” So, no Deadpool on Ice, then?
The Walking Dead Is Getting a 10th Season
Lest you thought AMC would let go of their maybe biggest ever ratings juggernaut, the network announced earlier this week that it’s bringing back The Walking Dead for a 10th season, set to land in October. The new season, of course, won’t have Rick Grimes since Andrew Lincoln left the show to … make Walking Dead movies, but it will still feature plenty of zombies. Meanwhile, the second half of the series’ ninth season starts this week.
Edie Falco Joining the Avatar Sequels
James Cameron's Avatar sequels are still happening, and now they've got a new cast member. Edie Falco (aka Carmela Soprano) will play a general in the upcoming films. Avatar 2, the first of the four sequels, is set to hit theaters in December 2020, more than a decade after the first Avatar movie debuted. The others are slated to arrive in 2021, 2024, and 2025.
Black Panther to Black Leopard
Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan (aka Killmonger) will take on an adaptation of Marlon James' Black Leopard, Red Wolf. His production company Outlier Society, through its deal with Warner Bros., just scooped up the rights to adapt the sci-fi fantasia novel. No word yet on whether Jordan will star as well.
Budding Horror Icon Anya Taylor-Joy Is Teaming with Edgar Wright
Anya Taylor-Joy, the ethereal-faced ingenue who has haunted such films as The Witch and Glass, is set to team up with a new powerhouse director: Edgar Wright. The movie, written by Wright and Penny Dreadful scribe Krysty Wilson-Caims, is a psychological horror-thriller called Last Night in Soho. (That’s London’s Soho, not New York’s.) Not much else is known about the project, but Taylor-Joy will play one of the leads, and production is due to start in summer.