Motion Picture: Simu Liu Critiques Hollywood, New Paranormal Activity In The Works
Jordan Peele - Maya Dehlin Spach/Stringer
Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Monkeypaw Productions and Ghost House Pictures will be adapting Portrait of God. Jordan Peele and Sam Raimi are joining the project as producers, marking their first collaboration. The film will be an adaptation of a short by the same name. Originally from filmmaker Dylan Clark, not to be confused with the director of The Batman, the short film is about a young religious woman who finds herself facing the question of God's true face. The woman ends up working on a presentation about a work of art titled “Portrait of God.” To some, the painting appears as nothing but a completely black canvas, while to others, there appears to be a figure hidden in the darkness. What the feature-length film will do with the idea is being kept secret. Jordan Peele is one of the biggest names in horror, with films like Get Out and Us under his belt. The short itself currently sits at 8.7 million views on YouTube. No release date has been slated.
Mad Distribution has claimed the MENA rights for the Moroccan thriller Behind The Palm Trees. The film is directed by Meryem Benm’Barek, and the plot follows a young Moroccan man, played by Driss Ramdi (Escape From Raqqa), who is torn between his long-time girlfriend and a rich French woman. The Moroccan man is drawn to the French woman's glamorous lifestyle and begins to neglect his current relationship. The film is truly a melting pot as a French, Moroccan, Belgian, and Qatari production, and aims to use its setting and story to explore the aftereffects of colonialism and relationships in a conservative society.
An adaptation of Arrowhead Games Studios’ hit video game, Helldivers, is in the works, with director Justin Lin working on the film. Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions will be producing the project, as well as Lin’s banner Perfect Storm Entertainment. Lin is most known for his work on the Fast and Furious franchise. The world of Helldivers puts the player in the role of a Helldiver, an elite soldier facing never-ending waves of cyborgs, automatons, bug aliens, and an ancient alien race in a struggle to defend Super Earth in a galactic war. Lin himself isn’t a gamer, but he aims to find the humanity in the world and speak on some of the issues we face in our current world. There is no set release date.
A new entry is coming to the found footage franchise: Paranormal Activity, which is in the works from Paramount and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster. The film will have Oren Peli on the project, as well as horror titan James Wan, who are both hopping on as producers. The original Paranormal Activity was released in 2007 and put Blumhouse on the map. There is no set release date nor plot details either, but the film plans to be a top priority for both Paramount and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster.
Bong Joon Ho - Marc Piasecki
Drama/Musical/Comedy: Tunisian actor and director Dhafer L’Abidine debuted his third feature-length film internationally at the Marrakech Film Festival. The film is titled Sophia and follows the story of a British mother, played by Jessica Brown Findlay, and her daughter Sophia, who take a trip to Tunisia so she can spend time with her daughter, much to the rest of their family's protests and worries of harm falling upon them. Their worries come true as Sophia disappears shortly after the two arrive. The film debuted at a red carpet gala screening at Marrakech. The film was produced by L’Abidine’s banner Double A Productions and New Sparta, with Mad World handling sales internationally.
Bong Joon Ho (Mickey 17) is working on an upcoming animated film. Joon Ho revealed that he had been waking up early in Marrakech to work on the film before going about his duties at the film festival. “I’m in the middle of a crazy animation production. It’s very wild and tough job. Even this morning I worked in my hotel room. It’s very hard work,” said Joon Ho. The film's plot centers around humans and their relationship with a race of little sea creatures. The film is slated for 2027.
Shrek is making its return to the silver screen with an upcoming fifth installment on the horizon. With that, we get to see Shrek's family all grown up, and they are going to need proper voices. Saturday Night Live’s very own Marcello Hernández is stepping up to play Fergus, alongside Skyler Gisondo, who will play Farkle. Hernández is very committed to his role, even painting himself green while recording. The rest of the cast is returning, along with some newcomers to the franchise, like Zendaya, who will voice Felicia, Shrek and Fiona’s daughter. The film is slated for release on Wednesday, June 30, 2027.
Nigerian film My Father’s Shadow debuted at Cannes earlier this year, and we are finally getting a trailer for the film, which is set to hit theaters on Friday, February 6, 2026, with Mubi backing the release. The story is set in 1993 and follows a father trying to reconnect with his estranged sons as they spend a day in Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria. Things get scary quickly as political unrest threatens their journey home. The film was written by brothers Akinola Davies Jr. and Wale Davies and is a semi-autobiographical story, with Akinola directing. The film is the first Nigerian film to premiere at Cannes.
A B.B. King biopic is in the works, with Canton Entertainment producing the film. Canton will be partnering with Vassal Benford and The B.B. King Music Company & Estate to produce Lucille. The film will be the only official film recounting and telling the life of blues legend B.B. King and his Gibson guitar, Lucille. From extreme poverty to super stardom, the film will go over the life of B.B. King and plans to spotlight some of his most important collaborations with bands, like The Rolling Stones and U2, and artists, like Eric Clapton and Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora. Benford, Chairman of The B.B. King Music Company & Estate and a producer for the film, aims to make this film as accurate as possible, saying, “I promised Mr. King in 2014 that we would tell his truth with the same perfection he demanded every time he held Lucille. With Dorothy, Mark, Raphael, and Damione, that promise is now becoming a major motion picture of the highest caliber.” No release date has been slated.
Sonoya Mizuno - Karwai Tang
Industry Update: Actress Sonoya Mizuno is planning on making a directorial debut with the film Stages. Film4 and A24 will be backing Mizuno, with Peter Rice and Agile Films’ Myles Payne and Sam Ritzenberg producing. The plot is being kept under wraps with no real specific details, but Mizuno’s background in dance inspired the story for the film. Mizuno has an extensive background in dance training at the Royal Ballet School in London and has danced with several ballet companies. No further details are available.
Simu Liu has spoken out recently on Threads, criticizing Asian representation in Hollywood. The posts came about after a fan asked for more Asian men to be cast in romantic lead roles. “Put some Asians in literally anything right now,” Liu responded on Threads. “The amount of backslide in our representation onscreen is f**king appalling. Studios think we’re ‘risky.'” He then went on to list some examples of financially successful films that center on the Asian experience. “No Asian actor has ever lost a studio even close to 100 million dollars, but a white dude will lose 200 million TWICE and roll right into the next tentpole lead,” Liu continued. “We’re fighting a deeply prejudiced system, and most days it SUCKS.” Asian representation overall has increased, but according to USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s diversity report, the rate at which Asian characters with speaking roles appear has decreased from 18.4% in 2023 to 13.5% in 2024.
