Charlie Hunnam

It’s amazing how much difference a song makes. We’ve been treated to several teasers for Guy Ritchie’s upcoming King Arthur: Legend of the Sword movie, and to this point, I would have described them all as just OK. Ritchie’s particular brand of historical fiction and modern action aesthetics  —  including his signature fast-slow-fast brand of fight choreography —  is something I’ve gone back and forth on a little bit in the last few years. I’m not a big fan of Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies, but I did rather enjoy The Man From U.N.C.L.E., meaning King Arthur was kind of a net zero in my book.

James Gray got played hard on his last release, the classically-minded drama The Immigrant. The film earned rapturous reviews out of its premiere at Cannes and landed a distribution deal with the power players at the Weinstein Company — who then let it languish in obscurity before quietly releasing it over a year later. The film was a triumph among critics but a huge missed opportunity from an industry perspective. Hopefully, Gray will have a better go with the less domineering Amazon Studios, who will release his new picture The Lost City of Z in April.

Is Guy Ritchie still one of our most interesting Hollywood filmmakers? After beginning his career with indie standouts Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, Ritchie has settled into a kind of forgettable jumble of big budget movies that hold their own both with critics and at the box office. I would certainly describe the Sherlock Holmes movies and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. as solid, but ‘solid’ isn’t the type of praise we typically issue to one of our best directors. And King Arthur: Legend of the Sword seems ready to continue this streak. The Arthurian legend with GoPros? Solid. Not great, but solid.

James Gray's latest effort The Lost City of Z caused no small commotion when it debuted earlier this year to close out the New York Film Festival. The filmmaker already enjoys a small but dedicated fanbase, and after his 2014 film The Immigrant got all but buried by its distributor the Weinstein Company, Gray's devotees were eager to see what he'd cooked up this time. Among the splashy debuts for The 13th and 20th Century Women, Gray delivered a work of knotted moralities and visual splendor, and those parties present left the theatre with a consensus of breathless praise. Now, we commoners can get an eyeful of the film before its debut in April from Amazon and Bleecker Street.

Sons of Anarchy fans got a burst of speed with news that FX had officially ordered Kurt Sutter’s Mayans MC spinoff, but even with “a post Jax Teller world” right there in the synopsis, could the former SAMCRO president make an appearance? Charlie Hunnam is open to the idea, and even has a suggestion how.

At least one half of that headline is interesting, and the other half is…well, it’s Charlie Hunnam playing a role originated by the legendary Steve McQueen in a remake of the classic 1973 prison escape film. On the other hand, Mr. Robot star Rami Malek will take the Dustin Hoffman role in Papillon, which has a screenplay from Prisoners scribe Aaron Guzikowski.

Casting has already begun for Pacific Rim 2, which is set to star John Boyega as the son of Idris Elba’s Stacker Pentecost, with Scott Eastwood reportedly in talks to join in on the second canceling of the apocalypse. The latter piece of casting news seemed to imply that we may not see Charlie Hunnam return for the sequel, despite Guillermo del Toro’s recent assurance that a lot of actors from Pacific Rim would be back for round two. Turns out there’s only room for one generic white guy in the ongoing war between giant robots and kaiju.

Hey, remember Guy Ritchie’s new King Arthur movie? You know, the one that was supposed to come out this year before it was pushed back to 2017? Ring any bells? Just in case you forgot (which is fair), we have some new photos from the upcoming film, and it looks like the release date isn’t the only thing that’s changed, as Ritchie’s project is now titled King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

James Gray (The Immigrant) has been developing a film based on David Grann’s best-selling non-fiction book The Lost City of Z for a long, long time. Brad Pitt was originally set to star in the harrowing drama, and his Plan B production banner remained on board even though he eventually dropped out. Now starring Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson, the first trailer for The Lost City of Z has arrived, offering a sneak peek at one man’s daring expedition into the Amazon to commune with a primitive tribe.

This week has been awash with release date switch-ups, the most major being Lucasfilm’s decision to move Star Wars: Episode VIII from a May release date to another Christmas-hugging slot closer to the date that brought The Force Awakens such staggering success. This move is expected to trigger a chain reaction of moves for big-name releases, with films strategically avoiding competitive weekends. Today brings news of another delay, though its placement appears unrelated to the Star Wars postponement.