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…

John Wick Franchise Expands

“The question isn’t ‘Who’s going to let me?’ It’s ‘Who’s going to stop me?'” — John Wick

Reeves as Wick

When the original John Wick (2014) came out, no one had any idea what sort of a phenomenon they had unleashed upon the movie-going, action-loving world. So far, there have been two sequels — John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) –, each with a much bigger budget and a much bigger take at the box office. Of course, viewings on cable and streaming outlets have also increased the franchise’s following and revenues.

Its success arguably results from three primary factors: 1) the popularity of the star, Keanu Reeves, among both men and women; 2) the outstanding action, including brutally beautiful, choreographed gunfights and hand-to-hand combat, from director Chad Stahelski; 3) and (with the sequels) the evolving “world-building” — not of a future- or fantasy-world in the usual sense but of a “real-world”, largely believable, criminal underworld. (More on this in a minute.) This last is thanks to creator Derek Kolstad and, as of the third film, fellow-writers Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams.

As some of you may know, a fourth installment was announced and originally set for a 2021 release, though COVID-related issues have delayed it until May 27, 2022. Filming included shoots in Berlin, Paris, New York, and Japan. Meanwhile, a fifth installment was announced last August with plans to film immediately after John Wick 4. The back-to-back shooting schedule didn’t work out, again thanks to COVID, but John Wick 5 is still in the works. (No tentative release date, though.)

McShane as Winston

Something I was surprised to learn is that a prequel TV series is being developed for airing on Starz with the title “The Continental” (i.e., the NYC hotel that functions as a safe-haven for assassins). As per Screenrant,

“THR reported that ‘The Continental’ has been redeveloped into a story that will be told over the course of three installments. Each entry will be around 90 minutes long with budgets of around $20 million. Director Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) has officially been attached to direct the first and the third entries. However, no director has been brought on board for the second.”

According to an earlier article, “the series is set during the 1970s in New York and shows the rise of Ian McShane’s Winston and others in a tumultuous period of time. The origin story for Winston and his ‘team of confederates’ will explore becoming part of The Continental 40 years before the events of the John Wick films.” It is unclear to me if the above-mentioned redevelopment altered any of these plans for the plot, or if it is just the number and length of episodes (and perhaps pacing?) that changed. Regardless, this could be quite cool, especially if Stahelski and/or Reeves are involved to keep it on track.

But, that’s not all…

Back in 2019, Lionsgate announced that they were planning a new action movie titled Ballerina, which had actually been under discussion since 2017. The film will be set in the world of John Wick, with connections to the ballet/wrestling academy run by Anjelica Huston’s character, ‘The Director’, seen in Parabellum. The basic story, as written by Shay Hatten, will be about a “retired” female assassin named ‘Rooney Brown’, who seeks revenge on the people who murdered her family. (More details are given here, but I’m not sure how reliable they are.)

‘Ballerina’ in John Wick 3

Ballerina is still in development, so they are pretty far from announcing a release date. Other than Hatten’s involvement, we know that producers include Stahelski, Reeves, Basil Iwanyk, and Erica Lee. Len Wiseman (Underworld) is attached to direct. No actors have signed on, but there are a few interesting possibilities for the title character. One is Unity Phelan, the real-life ballerina who appeared in a scene in Parabellum (see pic). (She was credited simply as ‘Ballerina’.) According to rumors, producers are keen on Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, Suspiria) for the role, as she has both action/martial training and dance training. It also occurred to me that Natalie Portman (The Professional, Black Swan) has both action/martial training and dance training, as well. (Plus, she’s in even better shape for her upcoming Thor 4 film.) One factor may be age, though, since Portman just turned 40, while Phelan and Moretz, for example, are in their early- to mid-20s. All we know is that the character is younger than Wick.

Speaking of female action heroes, one last point of interest is that actor/stuntman/director/producer David Leitch (John Wick franchise, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) has hinted of a possible crossover between Wick and the ‘Atomic Blonde’ (i.e., Charlize Theron’s ‘Lorraine Broughton’), so they must be part of the same world. It is notable that there is currently an Atomic Blonde 2 in development. But, there has been no indication if a JW/AB crossover would be significant or merely a cameo or in which movie (or TV series) it might occur in. Given that AB takes place during the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it is highly doubtful that Theron and Wick would interact (as Broughton and Wick), unless maybe there was a flashback with an aged Theron and/or de-aged Reeves. Or, they could have one of the characters played by someone else.

It is well-known that Reeves is a very physical actor, training intensely for his roles, including guns and martial-arts, and that he performs the bulk of his own stunts. This, of course, lends a lot to the credibility of his scenes. But, the guy is over 55, and that’s a lot of wear-n-tear on a body. So, it’s fair to wonder how long he plans to reprise the role. Fans will be happy to know that he told GQ that he is willing to go “[a]s far as my legs can take me. As far as the audience wants to go.” Plus, he and Stahelski have said they have lots of ideas for more sequels.

As long as the style and quality is consistent, the action is fun and plots fairly believable, along with keeping it “fresh”… I’m on for the ride!

Mandalorians and More

I’m sure most of you are aware that, following the disappointing performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story (which I still haven’t seen, btw), the decision was made from the top that any new standalone SW films would be produced/released at a slower pace.

“I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to make films. I think we’re going to be a little bit more careful about volume and timing.” — Bob Iger, CEO of Disney (owner of Lucasfilm)

The Mandalorian

Some people had been calling for this for some time, expressing concerns about oversaturation, formulaic plots & casting, etc., for the franchise. Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of it all. What I can tell you is that, while filming on Episode IX continues and other trilogies are in the formative stages, the James Mangold-led Boba Fett standalone has finally been shelved.

However, the good news is that Jon Favreau’s live-series “The Mandalorian” is moving along nicely in anticipation of a launch next year on Disney’s new streaming service (aka Disney+).

“The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.”

Dave Filoni (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars”, “Star Wars Rebels”) is directing the pilot, while other directors signing on for later episodes so far include Deborah Chow (“Jessica Jones”), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Bryce Dallas Howard (‘Solemates’), and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok).

Just yesterday, we finally got some casting news, as it was announced that Pedro Pascal (“Narcos”, “Game of Thrones”) will be “The Mandalorian”‘s star. I haven’t seen Pascal in a lot of things, but he does seem to be a pretty good choice.

As a bonus, Bob Iger announced the other day that Rogue One‘s Diego Luna will reprise his role as rebel spy ‘Cassian Andor’ in a second prequel series on Disney+. As reported by Megan Davies at Digital Spy,

“The series, which will go into production next year, will follow the adventures of Cassian Andor during the formative years of the Rebellion, and is described as a ‘rousing spy thriller’ that will explore stories of espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of a ruthless Empire.”

Sounds great to me!