With each passing year it becomes increasingly outrageous that Joe Cornish hasn’t directed a film since 2011’s Attack the Block, the fantastic sci-fi film that introduced us to an incredibly talented up-and-coming director. Cornish’s name has since been rumored for various projects, but only one of them ever seemed to stick: Snow Crash, an adaptation of Neal Stephenson’s acclaimed novel, which Cornish signed on to helm in 2012. We’ve heard next to nothing about the project since then, so we assumed that it might be off the table — and that’s where the good news comes in.
By now, you probably know that Attack the Block is a great movie; it even made our list of the 25 best sci-fi movies of the last 25 years. You also probably know that since starring in the film, John Boyega has become one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood, helping set box office records in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and breathing life into Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim sequel. But did you know that Attack the Block writer-director Joe Cornish has not directed a film since his first collaboration with Boyega? There’s a situation in desperate need of some change.
The other day a rumor surfaced that Channing Tatum is interested in getting Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman for the Gambit solo movie following Rupert Wyatt’s exit last month. And we can now add two more names to the rumored director pile as a new report suggests that Fox is also eyeing Attack the Block director Joe Cornish and Iron Man 3 director Shane Black — all of these choices would be great, but the longer that director’s chair remains vacant, just about any choice will start to look appealing.
In case you were not aware, there’s been a little dispute over at Marvel regarding the Ant-Man writing credits. Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish originally wrote the screenplay for the pint-sized superhero film, but once Wright departed the project, Adam McKay and Paul Rudd did a little rewriting. While Marvel intended to give Wright and Cornish “story by” credit only, the pair will now get a screenwriting credit following the results of their recent dispute.
This week sees the release of ‘Jupiter Ascending,’ the latest sci-fi adventure from Andy and Lana Wachowski. And while in all likelihood ‘Jupiter Ascending’ will not go down in history as one of the great works of its genre, the occasion of a new sci-fi epic from two of the modern masters of the form seemed like a good time to assess and celebrate the recent highlights of science fiction cinema, which has taken audiences from the furthest reaches of the cosmos to the deepest recesses of the human mind.
At Comic-Con this year, one of the biggest surprise announcements came at the end of the Legendary panel when a mysterious teaser trailer revealed the upcoming 'King Kong' prequel, 'Skull Island'. The teaser did what it set out to do, teasing the audience with the announcement of a new movie they previously knew nothing about. Well, today we know a little bit more about 'Skull Island,' specifically who could be directing it.
Let's not put 'Star Trek 3' into warp speed just yet.
After promising reports that 'Attack the Block' director (and frequent Edgar Wright collaborator) Joe Cornish would be directing the follow up to 'Star Trek Into Darkness' comes word that Cornish is "no longer involved" with the upcoming sequel.