Weekly ·
Streep Voices Aslan, Sam Raimi's Roblox Movie, Lollipop Chainsaw Goes Live-Action — Pop Culture Digest — September 21, 2026
Greta Gerwig's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew confirms Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan — and the director says she built it like a David Bowie rock opera; Sam Raimi is producing a movie out of the Roblox hit 99 Nights in the Forest for 20th Century Studios with Toy Story 4 Oscar winner Josh Cooley writing; the cult Japanese game Lollipop Chainsaw is getting an R-rated live-action prequel plus an animated series and a new game; Alan Ritchson is in talks to replace Jason Momoa in Sony's Helldivers film; and FX's Far Cry series adds Brendan Gleeson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and three more.
Meryl Streep Will Voice Aslan — and Greta Gerwig Built Narnia Like a David Bowie Record
Greta Gerwig has confirmed the piece of casting that has been rumoured since last spring: Meryl Streep is voicing Aslan in Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, the director's follow-up to Barbie.
Gerwig explained the choice to Empire for a cover story, and it reads like a shortlist of exactly one: "I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight. I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child. And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one."
The bigger reveal is the film's DNA. Gerwig says David Bowie shaped both Aslan's look — this version has multicoloured eyes and a red-striped face — and the whole sensibility of the movie, which she wants to feel "big and transporting" and like "a rock opera." Her reasoning: "Narnia is literally a world made out of music. It is a world sung to life by Aslan, and rock 'n' roll to me felt like a world made out of music."
The Magician's Nephew is a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, following Digory and Polly, who discover the Wood between the Worlds after Digory's uncle — played by Daniel Craig — hands them a magic ring. David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell lead, with Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan and Ciarán Hinds rounding out the cast, and a score from Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, who worked with Gerwig on Barbie. Liam Neeson voiced Aslan in the earlier films.
It opens in IMAX and theatres on February 12, 2027, before landing on Netflix on April 2.
Sam Raimi Is Producing a Movie Out of a Roblox Hit
A Roblox game that is not even a year old is getting the studio treatment. Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert are producing an adaptation of 99 Nights in the Forest for 20th Century Studios through their Ghost House Pictures, with Oscar winner Josh Cooley — the director of Toy Story 4 and Transformers One — inking a deal to write the script.
Deadline reports the studio landed the rights in a competitive situation. There is no director attached yet, but the executive producer bench is unusually loaded: alongside Ghost House's Romel Adam and Jose Cañas are the game's own creators — designer Alec Kieft (known online as Cracky4), programmer Matthew Hufton (ForyxeV) and environment artist Cameron Angland (Viridial).
The game, from Grandma's Favourite Games, is an action-survival title in which players try to last 99 nights in a haunted forest while rescuing four lost children and dodging vicious deer and other beasts. It is already the seventh most-played game of all time on Roblox, with nearly 26 billion lifetime visits and a 90.6% player rating.
Sources: Deadline · Hollywood Reporter
Lollipop Chainsaw Is Getting an R-Rated Live-Action Prequel
The cult Japanese game Lollipop Chainsaw is heading to the big screen. Deadline reports a live-action feature is in the works, set before the events of the original 2012 game and envisioned as an R-rated action comedy.
The film follows Juliet Starling, a San Romero High School cheerleader born into a legendary family of zombie hunters. When an outbreak engulfs her school, Juliet has to fight through the undead to save her friends, protect her family — and keep her boyfriend Nick close, even if that takes some highly unconventional arrangements.
The project was unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show and is being assembled under licence from Dragami Games by an international team: Nada Holdings boss Joe Teng, former ZDF Studios drama chief Robert Franke and his Orange Chariot label, Throne Inc's Takafumi Yuki, Ambitious Entertainment's Kirk Shaw and Chris Philip, and Non Stop TV's Patricio Rabuffetti. A new game and an animated series are also in the works alongside the film.
Dragami Games president Shohei Sato said the film is "another important step" for the franchise. Producer Robert Franke promised fans the attitude they remember: "Longtime fans will recognize the attitude, irreverence, and glorious excess they love, while newcomers can simply enjoy an unforgettable action-horror comedy."
The original game has sold more than 1.5 million copies, with a remaster, Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP, arriving two years ago.
Sources: Deadline
Alan Ritchson Is in Talks to Replace Jason Momoa in Helldivers
Sony's Helldivers movie has found its new lead — maybe. Alan Ritchson, the star of Reacher, is in talks to headline the adaptation of the PlayStation game, after Jason Momoa exited the project in early June over what sources called "creative differences."
If it closes, it would be the first time Ritchson headlines a theatrical studio feature, following a run that includes Motor City, Netflix's War Machine, and Runner with Owen Wilson. Justin Lin, of Fast & Furious fame, is directing, and Sony has the film dated for November 10, 2027.
The adaptation covers the 2015 game and its sequel, which have collectively sold more than 12 million units. It follows the Helldivers, a squad of elite shock troopers defending the planet Super Earth from attacking aliens — with Gary Dauberman (It, Annabelle) writing the initial script and Chris Bremner (Bad Boys for Life) handling the most recent draft. Hutch Parker, Asad Qizilbash and Lin produce for PlayStation Productions.
Sources: Hollywood Reporter
FX's Far Cry Adds Brendan Gleeson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Three More
FX's Far Cry series is stacking prestige names. Brendan Gleeson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hamish Linklater, Sam Spruell and Jamie Demetriou are all joining the first season of the video game adaptation from creators Noah Hawley and Rob Mac.
They line up with previously announced lead and co-creator Rob Mac, plus Lizzy Caplan and Steve Buscemi. Character details are being kept quiet, but the show will run as an anthology like the games — a fresh cast and setting each season. Three of the new additions are Hawley veterans: Leigh and Spruell appeared in Fargo season five, Linklater in season three and Legion, and Spruell also turns up in season two of Alien: Earth.
Hawley produces via 26 Keys and Mac via More Better Productions, with Ubisoft Film & Television among the executive producers. Far Cry will air on FX and stream on Hulu and Disney+ internationally.
Sources: Variety · Hollywood Reporter
Nuggets
- Netflix and Sega are turning Crazy Taxi into a movie. The Naked Gun reboot writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand are penning the adaptation of the 1999 arcade classic, with Sonic franchise producers Neal H. Moritz and Toby Ascher aboard alongside Sega's Toru Nakahara. The deal also covers an animated Sonic series aimed at a pre-school audience and a live-action take on Stranger Than Heaven, from the studio behind Like a Dragon. Crazy Taxi: World Tour hits next year. Deadline
- Zach Cregger's Resident Evil broke franchise records. The adaptation opened to $60 million domestically and $108.3 million worldwide — the best debut ever for the Resident Evil films and for Cregger himself, and the strongest opening for an R-rated video game movie. Deadline
- Stephen King has seen Mike Flanagan's Carrie and called it "brilliant." The Prime Video series, starring Siena Agudong, sets its release for October and has already dropped a new trailer. Flanagan adapting King is now a franchise in its own right. Deadline · Variety
- A24 is teasing Slayground in theatres only. Jeremy Saulnier's follow-up to Green Room has been retitled Slayground, runs about 2.5 hours as a chase thriller, and carries a score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The teaser has been playing only in front of Resident Evil screenings, with a cryptic website to match. World of Reel
Sources: Deadline · Variety · Hollywood Reporter · World of Reel
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