Exclusive: Cailee Spaeny in Talks to Reunite with 'Civil War' Director Alex Garland on A24’s 'Elden Ring' Movie

Happy Thursday, folks!

How about Sydney Chandler’s diva antics over Variety’s big cover story on Alien: Earth? I agree with David Poland in that I don’t think the trade’s editors should’ve included this inside baseball tale, and Disney PR should be wary of the trade going forward. But on the other hand, how could Disney PR have allowed that back-and-forth to make it into the article? As for Sydney, I know her father is Kyle Chandler, but she’s not big enough to be pulling stunts like this so early in her career. And don’t blame me for commenting on it — blame Variety for leading its story with the tale of its failed negotiation.

Elsewhere, Lionsgate has officially moved its Michael Jackson biopic Michael from this October to April 24, 2026. The movie underwent weeks of additional photography to fix its third act, and while Lionsgate’s press release doesn’t mention a second film, Deadline claims one is in development. I’m just surprised this hasn’t been decided at this point. If it has, Lionsgate should come out and say so, though I certainly understand the sensitivity surrounding this project, as a man’s legacy is at stake, along with the financial health of the studio.

I plan to write soon about the Paramount-Skydance merger closing — just one day after Donald Trump was mercilessly skewered by South Park, another deal I’ll be writing about soon — but I’m off to see The Fantastic Four: First Steps shortly and I wanted to drop a hot scoop before I head off to the desert tomorrow on a much-needed Guys Trip.

Tonight, you’ll read a casting scoop about Alex Garland’s Elden Ring movie at A24, and there are also items about DC’s Booster Gold series, the latest additions to Luca Guadagnino’s OpenAI movie Artificial, the new writer on Lilo & Stitch 2, Apple’s Claus von Bülow series, a comic book adaptation from John Wick director Chad Stahelski, Ben Stiller’s Apple TV+ documentary, the latest addition to Season 3 of Euphoria, and the trailer for Genndy Tartakovsky’s animated Netflix comedy Fixed.

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