TOM HOLLAND, DAISY RIDLEY’S CHAOS WALKING POSTPONES RELEASE: Chaos Walking, a sci-fi thriller starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, is pushing back its release date to March 5, from January 22nd. Nick Jonas, Cynthia Erivo, Mads Mikkelsen and Demian Bichir also star in the dystopian flick set in the near future. The film has been in the works for a decade, with a production budget of $100 million.
IAN MCKELLEN GETS VACCINE: Ian McKellen, of Gods and Monster and The Lord of Rings fame, is the latest British star to get vaccinated for COVID. “It’s a very special day, I feel euphoric. I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. I feel very lucky to have had the vaccine,” said the 81-year-old actor.
DISNEY SNAGS THE THIEF: Disney has optioned The Thief, a celebrated YA fantasy novel written by Megan Whalen Turner. Brian Duffield is set to pen the adaptation. Thief is the first book in a series known as The Queen’s Thief. The sixth and final book was published this year.
NOOMI RAPACE TO STAR AS HAMLET IN INSANE & BLOODY: Noomi Rapace will lead the cast as Hamlet in a gender-swapped adaptation, Insane & Bloody, from filmmaker Ali Abbasi. Swedish-Danish-Iranian filmmaker Abbasi said: “Shakespeare stole the Hamlet story from us. Now it’s our turn to claim it back and make a version so insane and so bloody that make him turn in his grave. Let’s make Hamlet great again!” Rapace added: “Hamlet is a dream project in its purest and most explosive way. I’ve been hoping, dreaming, wishing for this as long as I’ve been an actress. I base this as much on the material as on the creative alliance that surrounds it. Ali, Sjón and Meta are for me creatives on the highest level. They’re truly brave and groundbreaking in their different areas and always on top of their game. To take on a Danish story with a Scandinavian touch and bring it out into the world with this group of people is a dream.”