Casting Update on “NCIS” Prequel Series

“What’re you lookin’ at, probie?!” — Special Agent Mike Franks, “NCIS”

It was just this past February that I wrote (in one-third of a newsy post) about an in development, CBS prequel series in the “NCIS” franchise: “NCIS: Origins”. Since then, a few casting announcements have come out, so I wanted to get caught up on them. I considered waiting until they cast a young Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, but then I discovered that he didn’t join NIS/NCIS until Dec. 1992. Since the new show will be set in the 1991/1992 timeframe to begin, Ducky may not appear in the beginning or at all in Season 1.

So…

Stowell

Austin Stowell (Whiplash, Bridge of Spies) will take the lead as new NIS agent — the agency doesn’t become ‘NCIS’ until 1993 — ‘Leroy Jethro Gibbs’, Gunnery Sergeant (USMC), assigned to a new team based out of Camp Pendleton. Stowell is pushing 40, as was Gibbs at this point in his career. As far as I can tell, Stowell seems like a pretty good choice. Btw, he already has experience with the franchise, having played a Marine corporal in the second season of “NCIS: Los Angeles” (2010).
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Molino

Mariel Molino (The Shade, “The Watchful Eye”) will play a new character, ‘Special Agent Lala Dominguez’. She is “a former Marine who navigates her 1990s male-dominated field with a steely resolve and a dark sense of humor. When a tormented Leroy Jethro Gibbs joins her team, the ensuing story between these two enigmatic outsiders is filled with sparks and turns that will keep the audience guessing.” (Note: The series begins after Gibbs’ first wife and their daughter were murdered, which longtime viewers of the original show are familiar with.)
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Schmid

Kyle Schmid (“Six”, “Being Human”) has signed on to play NIS team leader (and mentor to Gibbs) ‘Special Agent Mike Franks’, a recurring character played by Muse Watson in “NCIS”. Franks is a proud Texan, thick-skinned, and “a born leader with an unwavering moral compass who’s determined to find justice by any means necessary.” I can see Schmid as a younger version of Watson, and early 40s is the right age. Schmid has played tough characters, even Navy characters, before, and I expect this will turn out to be a good piece of casting.
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Most recently, casting for a couple more new characters were announced. Diany Rodriguez (“The Blacklist”, “Twisted Metal”) once played ‘DHS Agent Garcia’ in an episode of “NCIS: New Orleans” a few years back. Now, she will have the role of “‘Special Agent Vera Strickland’, a no-nonsense, sharp-witted Brooklynite who’s tough as nails and never minces words. She’s spent her entire career being underestimated by misogynistic morons (as she calls them), but if it’s a fight those good ol’ boys are looking for, then it’s a fight they’re going to get.”

Abercrumbie & Rodriguez

Tyla Abercrumbie (“The Chi”, “Low Winter Sun”) will be ‘Field Operation Support Officer Mary Jo’. In a nod to government acronym-mania, she calls herself the “HSIC” (Head Secretary in Charge). She is the lifeblood of the Camp Pendleton office, and she knows “where the bodies are buried.” Sounds like a fun character!

As long as the writers don’t overdo the womyn-fighting-for-respect-amongst-a-bunch-of-sexist-jerks angle, I think I may enjoy this show, which is scheduled for the 2024-2025 season. First, though, I really need to check out the last two NCIS spinoffs…

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Update

“APES TOGETHER STRONG!” — Caesar (Andy Serkis), War for the Planet of the Apes

I have previously mentioned my fondness for the old Planet of the Apes movies (1968-1973) — despite their progressive cheesiness — and short-lived spinoff TV show (1974). And, while they may not be exactly what I had hoped for a new adaptation, I have been quite enjoying the franchise reboot films directed by Rupert Wyatt and Matt Reeves, beginning with Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and continuing with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). The overall story has been good, the VFX amazing, and the ape performances (particularly Andy Serkis as the lead ape, Caesar) were great!

Promo image for new Apes film

I’m not sure precisely when it was first announced, but a fourth installment — perhaps kicking off a new trilogy? — is in development, titled Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Since acquiring 20th Century Fox’s entertainment assets, Disney has wanted to move forward with the franchise. But, it wasn’t until director Wes Ball (The Maze Runner) submitted a script in summer of 2022 that execs got “excited” and things kicked into gear.

Last August, it was reported that Owen Teague (It, “The Stand”) “wowed execs with his screen tests” and signed on to play the lead primate role. In September, after “a ‘long’ audition process involving multiple screen tests”, Freya Allan (“The Witcher”, Gunpowder Milkshake) won a “highly sought after” human role — possibly the lead human character.

The following month, Eka Darville (“Jessica Jones”) and Kevin Durand (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) joined the cast, with the latter’s role likely being an ape who is the primary villain. Subsequent casting announcements have been made for William H. Macy (Fargo), Dichen Lachman (“Altered Carbon”), Travis Jeffery (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), Neil Sandilands (“Sweet Tooth”), Sara Wiseman (“A Place to Call Home”), Ras-Samuel Welda’abzgi (“The Clearing”), Lydia Peckham (“Cowboy Bebop”), and Peter Macon (“The Orville”). Other than what I said about Teague, Allan, and Durand’s characters, no other details have been revealed about the respective roles, including whether human or ape.

As for production, filming officially began in October 2022 at Disney Studios Australia (formerly Fox Studios Australia) in Sydney, NSW, Australia. On February 15th, director Wes Ball tweeted that production on the film had wrapped.

In the same exclusive by The Hollywood Reporter about Lachman’s casting, we finally got a plot synopsis:

Teague, Allan, Macon

“The new Apes movie is set many years after the conclusion of 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. Many apes societies have grown from when the Moses-like Caesar brought his people to an oasis, while humans have been reduced to a feral-like existence. Some ape groups have never heard of Caesar, while others have contorted his teaching to build burgeoning empires.

In this setting, one ape leader begins to enslave other groups to find human technology, while another ape, who watched his clan be taken, embarks on a journey to find freedom. A young human woman becomes key to the latter’s quest, although she has plans of her own.”

That raises more questions, of course, but it sounds good to me! (For a story, that is; not to live out personally,)

The screenplay was co-written by husband-and-wife team Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Jurassic World), along with Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds, Avatar: The Way of Water) and Patrick Aison (Prey, “Wayward Pines”). Joe Hartwick Jr. and Jason Reed join Jaffa and Silver as producers, while Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping will executive produce.

Kingdom‘s release date is currently set for May 24, 2024.

Captain Janeway and the Return of the Equalizer

Originally, I was going to include more news items and title this something like “Miscellaneous News Bits” or “Unfinished 2022 Business”. But, in the end I narrowed it down to two things I was most interested in and I hope you will be, too. (Also, I think the title is more appealing…)

Adm. Janeway in *Star Trek: Nemesis*

It sounds like Kate Mulgrew’s ‘Captain Kathryn Janeway’ might make a return to live-action TV, though technically she’s an admiral now. Mulgrew has, of course, been voicing the character and her hologram on “Star Trek: Prodigy”. Between that work and the well-received and continuing returns of TNG characters (along with Voyager’s ‘Seven-of-Nine’) on “Star Trek: Picard”, she has become intrigued and began expressing interest months ago. She has even been talking to her old Voyager co-stars about some of them returning, as well.

In an interview this past June, Mulgrew stated,

“Who knows what will happen to her in the future? There seems to be, as I said to you earlier, a tremendous resurgence here, a rather vital one. So for the first time, I’m actually looking at it with new eyes. I wonder what would happen if Janeway were to come back to live-action.”

For the most part, that has only amounted to wishful thinking. BUT, franchise head Alex Kurtzman hinted at something back in October when responding to a fan inquiry:

“Things have been talked about; that’s all I’m going to say. But nothing would make me happier than to bring Janeway back. I think it would be an incredible, incredible thing to do. There might be an idea in play. Who knows? But I would love it to happen.”

Nothing official has been announced, so we don’t know it they’re talking about a possible cameo, guest appearance, new series, or what. Presumably it would take place post-Nemesis (i.e., the last time Janeway made a live-action appearance), but there could also be time-travel involved, such that she could show up in any of the current Trek series. I would love to see a live-action Admiral Janeway have an adventure, preferably with at least a few of the old Voyager crew at her side, or maybe a mix from various series. I’m just not sure what would work best.

Washington and Fanning

A very different announcement was also made this past June — namely that Dakota Fanning will be joining Denzel Washington in the third installment of the Equalizer franchise. (The films, that is, and not the current TV series reboot with Queen Latifah.) Fans of either Washington or Fanning will remember that they originally co-starred in Man on Fire (2004), when Fanning was only 9 or 10. Washington’s ‘Creasy’ character was a CIA operative assigned to be bodyguard for adorable, precocious little ‘Lupita’, and they formed a special bond.

No details have yet been given about Fanning’s character in The Equalizer 3. Will she and Washington’s ‘Robert McCall’ have a similar type of relationship? Maybe she’ll be a neighbor or co-worker who goes missing, and it’s McCall to the rescue. Or, she could be a client who calls his “Equalizer” number, needing help to get her out of some trouble. Or, will it be very different? Could she play a villain? That would be a bit of a twist, I suppose, but she could certainly pull it off. Maybe an assassin or an anarchist hacker or something like that?

Antoine Fuqua, who directed the first two Equalizer films, will return to helm this one. A few more actors have since been added to the IMDB listing, most without even a character name, and none are “big names”. If you visit IMDB (or my “Upcoming Movie Release Dates” page), you’ll see that the film is currently scheduled for Sept. 1, 2023.

Return of the Stargate Reboot?

“Battlestar Galactica” got a reboot. “Lost in Space” got a reboot. “Star Trek” got spinoffs and a theatrical reboot. Star Wars got sequels, prequels, and spinoffs on both small- and big-screen. “Babylon 5” will probably be getting a reboot. Etc. Now, finally, things could be looking up for “Stargate” fans, as well. But, allow me to preface this report with a brief recap of what has gone before….

1994: Stargate, a $197 million hit film, co-written/produced by Dean Devlin, directed by Roland Emmerich, and starring Kurt Russell and James Spader

1997-2007: “Stargate SG-1”, a popular, live-action TV series co-created by Brad Wright & Jonathan Glassner; the pilot episode, “Children of the Gods”, originally aired as a TV movie, was subsequently split into two parts for re-runs & syndication

Mar. 2008: Stargate: The Ark of Truth, direct-to-video film that directly follows “Stargate SG-1” finale

July 2008: Stargate: Continuum, direct-to-video sequel to The Ark of Truth involving time travel and an alternate timeline

2002-2003: “Stargate Infinity”, an animated TV series

2004-2009: “Stargate Atlantis”, a live-action spinoff series co-created by Brad Wright & Robert C. Cooper

July 2009: Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods – The Final Cut, the re-edited, direct-to-DVD version of the “Stargate SG-1” pilot (with new scenes and new VF/X)

2009-2011: “Stargate Universe”, another live-action spinoff series co-created by Brad Wright & Robert C. Cooper

2018: “Stargate Origins”, a prequel web-series that aired on MGM’s Stargate Command subscription service

Dean Devlin had always hoped to do a couple sequels to the original feature film. MGM chose not to pursue this, and Devlin regretted selling them the rights. In 2006, Devlin said he would finally be able to make the sequels, thanks to a new production deal he had struck with MGM. The story would pick up from the original film; Russell and Spader were on board, too. Unfortunately, the sequels were never developed.

Brad Wright announced in May 2008 (and MGM confirmed in April 2009) that he was working on an SG-1-related direct-to-DVD movie — working title, Stargate: Revolution. An Atlantis-oriented direct-to-DVD movie, Stargate: Extinction, was also planned. It was hoped that others would follow. In April 2011, though, Wright announced that all these planned or in-development films had been permanently shelved due to the market and financial issues.

Devlin brought up the possibility of his hoped-for film sequels again in 2011, but nothing came of it, probably for the same reasons that the direct-to-DVD movies were canned. In 2014, MGM and Warner Bros. announced a partnership with Devlin and Emmerich to reboot the film franchise as a new trilogy. But, in late 2016 Devlin revealed that the reboot plans had stalled.

In January 2019, Wright said he was in talks with MGM about a Stargate project. COVID-related concerns put a temporary kibosh on shopping the idea around. That brings us to the present, and this time Wright is pitching his idea to Amazon, which announced this May that it is buying MGM. From what I gather, Wright has submitted a completed pilot script, though a decision on whether or not to proceed will not likely happen before the acquisition is complete.

Wright shared some of his ideas for a fourth live-action series in a recent SyFy Wire exclusive:

“I think the trick to anything would be that it’s high time the world found out about the Stargate program, for better or for worse. Keeping all of that technology from the world at a time when we could really use it, at a time when climate change is a genuine threat, at a time when there was a pandemic that we sure could have used a fix for, for example. The world needs to find out. The secret needs to get out especially since we have come so far and will have come so far after another 11 or 12 years.”

I’m not sure why there would have necessarily been a pandemic in the world of Stargate. (Or, maybe there was one in the series long before the real-world coronavirus pandemic? I dunno.) Still, I agree that such a revelation (i.e., stargates, aliens, advanced tech) to the public seems inevitable and would make for some good storylines. Plus, it’s something Wright has been wanting to do for some time and almost did in the Stargate: Revolution project.

Stargate Command logo

He continues:

“My goal was to create something that was new that also honored the existing universe, that lived in the canon of ‘SG-1’, ‘Atlantis’, and ‘Universe, and therefore included some of those characters. Bring in a new guard? Absolutely. But not at the expense of the pre-existing characters, who I think would still be very much on their game and still firing on all cylinders.”

On this last point, Wright wants to bring back several characters from the old series (e.g., Amanda Tapping as now-General Samantha Carter), even if only for occasional appearances, since there would likely be a new main team/cast.

Will Amazon go with Wright’s concept, or choose “a different direction”, or let the franchise sleep a while longer? The e-commerce/tech giant ain’t talkin’, at this point. Regardless, Wright remains hopeful…

“I can’t imagine Amazon not doing something with the franchise or empowering MGM to do something with the franchise for [them]…. There’s so much mythology that we covered but there’s so many stories yet to be told and so many new places yet to be visited. And I think it would be fun to do that.”

As I may have mentioned elsewhere, I never followed any of the Stargate series. I enjoyed the original film and probably caught bits and pieces of a couple SG-1 episodes, but that’s about it. I guess I figured I had enough to keep track of in the Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Marvel, DC, and other TV, film, comic, and book series universes. But, I should really find somewhere in my TV-watching schedule to try it out. Only 350+ episodes to get through before I watch any possible reboot….

Kurtzman, Picard, Discovery, and Tarantino: What the Trek Is Going On?

“Are you sure it isn’t time for a colorful metaphor?” — Spock to Kirk, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

You may have noticed that there are a lot of rumors going around about the various Star Trek projects lately — some are fairly accurate, other not so much. I considered trying to tackle one or the other this week, but they are sort of complicated. Then I came across the Midnight’s Edge video below. It does a great job of reviewing what has been said and sorting out what’s what. I certainly learned a lot, anyway, and thought it was well worth the 13 minutes (or less, if you bump up the playback speed).

Topics include:

1) Has Alex Kurtzman been fired?

2) The Bidding War

3) Discovery Season 3 in trouble?

4) Picard Test Screenings

5) Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek

Ready…?

Whether any of that is good news, bad news, or indifferent to you probably depends on how you feel about what Kurtzman’s done with the franchise, your feelings about “Discovery”, expectations for “Picard”, excitement (or not) for an R-rated, Tarantino-created ST film, etc. I, for one, am “meh” regarding a Tarantino project, but I’ll be rather disappointed if any of this mess over finances and licensing results in a cancellation of “Discovery” or reduced production value of same. I also count myself among fans with high hopes for “Picard”, and it would be a frickin’ shame for CBS/Amazon to screw that up, too.

Fingers crossed…

P.S. Before going to press, I came across this new article, in which Kurtzman gives some updates and observations of his own.