Following the news from Deadline of Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Love, Simon) signing a massive exclusive deal with Warner Bros, it seems he’s rounding out his cast for his upcoming film with Apple. Coming from a separate exclusive from Deadline, Woody Harrelson (True Detective, Natural Born Killers) will join the cast of Project Artemis. 

The three-time Oscar nominee joins an already exciting cast that will be led by Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson. Additionally, Ray Romano and Jim Rash are expected to play important supporting roles in 60s set film that takes place during the space race. Berlanti is best known for setting most of DC’s television universe that includes shows such as Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Superman & Lois, Titans and Doom Patrol. He also serves as an executive producer on other popular Warner Bros. streaming series such as You and The Flight Attendant. Project Artemis marks Berlanti’s first collaboration with Apple.

Harrelson is coming off leading roles in Netflix’s The Man from Toronto alongside Kevin Hart and the indie film, Triangle of Sadness in 2022. He recently wrapped filming Suncoast with Laura Linney but will be seen this year in film and television. First, the actor will star in Bobby Farrelly’s sports dramedy, Champions before returning to HBO to star in the Watergate-set miniseries, The White House Plumbers with Justin Theroux. Both the film and series will release in March.

With much of the talk surrounding Henry Cavill regarding his exit from Netflix’s The Witcher along with the shift of mentality from new DC Studios leadership, the actor is in need of a new franchise to jumpstart. It appears that Cavill has done just that with the latest news that comes from The Hot Mic podcast via Above the Line.

It appears that Cavill (Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice) will steer head an adaptation of Warhammer 40,000 for Amazon Prime Video. Cavill confirmed the news this morning via his Instagram. The property started as a miniature war game akin to Dungeons & Dragons where players control different characters across a battle board, so to speak. The game was a staple in England where Cavill played it much as a kid and his passion for the property has stuck ever since. So much so, that the actor still paints figures to this day for when he engages in play.

The property which is often abbreviated to Warhammer 40K, features a fictional war set 40,000 years into the future between humans and other mystical beings that include orcs, gods, demons, elves, aliens and supernatural entities. The game eventually was brought to the video game space where it amasses tons of players across the sci-fi fantasy gaming landscape. The property also lends itself to novels leaving a lot of room to grow as a franchise in the entertainment space with lore to play with.

Amazon continues to take steps towards building out large franchise plays for their streaming service, Prime Video. In addition to the acquisition of the rights to Warhammer 40,000, the streamer has recently made deals for video game properties like God of War, with creators like Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House) and of course, a 2022 that was massive for the streamer with the launches of the pricey Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Thursday Night Football. As they look to compete with Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming services, it’s a clear shift from Amazon to take some bigger risks for bigger rewards. 

Cavill was most recently seen reprising his role as Sherlock Holmes in Netflix’s Enola Holmes 2 starring Millie Bobby Brown. In 2023, Cavill will star in Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle which aims to kickstart a new spy-based franchise similar to Mission: Impossible which Cavill also appeared in. He will star in Argylle alongside an all-star cast that includes Catherine O’Hara, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cena, Ariana DeBose and Dua Lipa.

Ever since the J.J. Abrams and Disney-led feature film Skywalker trilogy has come out, there has been a stagnation when it comes to more movies within the major movie franchise known as Star Wars. While the Disney+ shows have been hit or miss, they have generated more interest in the property and lore within the universe with shows such as The Mandalorian and more recently, Andor. However, it seems that we may be heading back to a galaxy far, far away sooner than we think.

According to Deadline, Shawn Levy will be developing a new Star Wars film, though there are no plot details, or a writer attached as of yet. Levy already has his hands full with multiple projects across film and television within many different stages of production. Levy recently wrapped filming on a limited series, All the Light We Cannot See, a WWII-based drama for Netflix in which he directed all four episodes. Additionally, Levy is an executive producer on Stranger Things and will direct at least two episodes of the fifth and final season of Netflix’s flagship program which just recently finished being written by the Duffer brothers. Next though, Levy will direct the long-awaited Deadpool 3, which will reunite him with Free Guy and The Adam Project star, Ryan Reynolds and feature the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

This feature based in the Star Wars universe is one of many currently being developed by Disney and Lucasfilm, so anyone’s guess is as good as mine for what will hit cameras first. Watchmen and The Leftovers creator Damon Lindelof is also writing a Star Wars film set to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. There is also a film from Taika Waititi in development and another being penned by Loki creator, Michael Waldron and produced by Kevin Feige. 

Whichever film is released next will have a big target on its back, for better or for worse as the last Star Wars film was 2019’s Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. The TV side though has many shows in development to hold fans over with The Acolyte going into production this week, Ahsoka starring Rosario Dawson in post-production and a new season of The Mandalorian on the horizon set to release in 2023.