Castium Revelio: Welcome in the New Year with the Bat and the Cat

Welcome to the first Casting News of this year! We’ve got a trailer featuring two Wizarding World superheroes, a return to the front line for Miriam Margoyles, and a surprise teaser for the fourth installment of the After franchise. Castium Revelio!

 

 

Harry Potter Cast and Crew

First up this week is an expensive project featuring Jim Broadbent (Professor Slughorn). He stars in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which has been adapted by Rachel Joyce from her own novel. It is currently in production but also recently topped Deadline's list of the Biggest BFI Production Awards. The list counts down the highest grants given out by the British Film Institute over the year. Broadbent's film received £1,109,000, plus a top-up of £27,500. 

Do you remember when we told you about Brendan Gleeson's (Mad-Eye Moody) recent Irish folk adventure film, Riverdance: The Animated Adventure? Well, the film now has a Netflix release date! It will hit the platform on January 14. The film is a family-friendly movie about a boy's quest to find his love of river dancing after his grandfather's death. It was first released back in May.

Next up is a surprise teaser for After Ever Happy, which stars Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (11-year-old Tom Riddle) as Hardin. The film will be the fourth in the After series. The new teaser clip was released to Instagram with the caption "A new era is coming" and the news of a release date. For most of the world, the film will be released on August 24 or August 25, although in the United States, the date is September 7, and unfortunately for those in the United Kingdom, no date has currently been announced. Check out the clip below!

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by After Movie (@aftermovie)

 

Despite the good news for one franchise, the fourth installment of another has had to be delayed again. The fourth John Wick film, in which Natalia Tena (Nymphadora Tonks) will play Katia, has had to be pushed back another 10 months. It was meant to be released at the end of May 2021, but due to the pandemic, it was given a revised release date of May 27, 2022. Now, for an unknown reason, it has been delayed yet again. Here's the short clip that features the announcement for the delay.

 

 

Simon McBurney (Kreacher) has been given a rare directorial opportunity. He will direct the Russian opera Khovanshchina for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The production is due to open in June before then being staged by the London Royal Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Are you hoping to get tickets?

We've got a couple of interviews next! The first is from Mariam Margoyles (Professor Sprout), who recently reprised her role as the fearsome Mother Mildred in Call the Midwife. She made her return for the show's Christmas special and described her days back on the set as "a great deal of fun." She also said that she would love to appear in future series of the show but that the cast "never know from year to year whether we will return." Did you catch Margoyles's return to Mother Mildred?

Our next interview is with Rhys Ifans (Xenophilius Lovegood). He spoke to Forbes about his role in The King's Man. He took on the role of infamous Russian mystic Rasputin in the film, and he used the interview to speak about how he learned about the character through photos, describing them as "compelling images." He also mentioned how the film's writer-director Matthew Vaughn lets the actors "run with the ball" when bringing their characters to life. 

We have another teaser up next. This time, it's for Jason Isaacs's (Lucius Malfoy) upcoming medical drama, Good Sam. The season premieres on January 5 and will follow Isaacs's character as he comes to terms with the fact that his daughter is now his superior while also having to recover after being in a coma. Check out the teaser below!

 

 

Speaking of medical dramas, there's some action from the Holby City Hospital coming up now. The show recently announced that its final episode will air in March and has recently released a trailer setting out all of the action that will take place between now and then. We know that there will be a mole within the team, but could it be Guy Henry's (Pius Thicknesse) character, Henrik? Have a peek at the teaser below, and let us know who you think it might be!

 

 

We've got a new role for Isabella Laughland (Leanne) to share with you next. She'll play China in the BBC's upcoming true-crime drama Four Lives. The show tells the tale of the four victims of serial killer Stephen Port and the struggles their friends and family had to go through in order to achieve justice and get a conviction. China was a friend of Port's first victim, Anthony Walgate. The show will be aired over three nights, beginning on January 3. 

We've also got new roles for David Bradley (Argus Filch) and Ron Perlman (Gnarlak in Fantastic Beasts). They're teaming up for a dark retelling of Disney's classic tale Pinocchio. Guillermo del Torro (The Shape of Water) will direct the film, which will be released on Netflix. His take on the events will include some of Italy's history and is apparently inspired by Frankenstein. Perlman has commented on the film, mentioning how it will be set in Mussolini's fascist Italy.

 

Well, Guillermo's 'Pinocchio' is set in Mussolini's Italy, which is a fascist backdrop. The conceit of the film is that Pinocchio is the perfect soldier because he's not human. So he doesn't ever question orders. He doesn't have fears. He's invulnerable. He's all the things the perfect soldier needs to be.

 

Last up this week is a trailer starring Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz (Cedric Diggory and Leta Lestrange in Fantastic Beasts, respectively). Rotten Tomatoes described the trailer as "our best look at Catwoman yet," and we can't agree more! The trailer is titled "The Bat and the Cat" and shows off both Pattinson and Kravitz in action. The film will be released in theaters, but until then, you can have a look at the trailer below!

 

 

 

That’s a wrap on this week’s Casting News! Which of these projects are on your New Year’s watchlist? Let us know which you’re most excited about in the comments below.

 

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Neave Williamson

I've been a proud Slytherin for as long as I can remember, and love taking inspiration from the Wizarding World for short films.