James Gunn's 'Superman' Sequel Flies to Theaters in 2027, When Warner Bros. Will Be Ripe for Another Sale

Happy Thursday, folks!

Hats off to THR this week, which not only dropped some cool scoops, but added a fun interview with Good Fortune director Aziz Ansari from Seth Abramovitch, a well-reported investigative feature about a con man producer from Gary Baum, a much-needed piece from Katie Kilkenny on the challenges facing production assistants these days, and a thoughtful deep dive about Apple’s spending habits on animation — or lack thereof — from Tony Maglio. Nice work, gang!

While I’m feeling generous, I’d also like to point you to Variety’s feature on Task star Tom Pelphrey, and the trade’s Q&A with SNL alum Devon Walker, who discussed his exit from the show. I profiled Pelphrey for Collider five years ago, when he leapt off the screen in Season 3 of Ozark, and he’s an underrated talent. He’d make a good villain on the big screen… just saying!

And not to leave out Deadline, kudos to reporters Nellie Andreea and Justin Kroll for scooping the news that Season 4 of The White Lotus will likely take place in France.

HBO and the show have a deal with the Four Seasons hotel chain, which points to hotels on the French Riviera, the French Alps, and the heart of Paris, which would thrust the show into an urban setting for the very first time. That could be interesting… but in the end, it all comes down to how interesting Mike White’s new cast of characters is.

There was a big shakeup in the Land of Representation this week, as Deadline reports that Phil Sun is leaving M88 — the management firm he co-founded with fellow WME alum Charles D. King — to start his own company. Sun will be taking clients such as Michael B. Jordan, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Simu Liu, Caleb McLaughlin, and Gemma Chan.

Jordan, who is riding high on the heels of Sinners, which is now an unlikely Oscar contender, is currently directing a remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, while McLaughlin and Abdul-Mateen have huge Netflix series on the horizon between the final season of Stranger Things and the streamer’s reboot of Man on Fire.

I don’t know what happened between Sun and King — I assume something must’ve happened — but I wish Sun the best of luck with his new company, and I’m sure King and M88 will be fine so long as they hang on to Sinners director Ryan Coogler.

Before we dive into tonight’s newsletter, I’ll take a quick victory lap for reporting 15 months ago on Kurt Russell’s talks for the one-time Yellowstone spinoff The Madison — talks that were just confirmed today by the trades. The Madison is now designed as a standalone series, though there could always be some kind of late-season twist that establishes a faint connection.

The show has already been renewed for a second season, so Paramount+ is committing to this one. Russell will be playing Michelle Pfeiffer’s hubby, and the rest of the cast includes Patrick J. Adams (Suits), Matthew Fox (Lost), Ben Schnetzer (Goat), and Kevin Zegers (Transamerica).

Tonight, you’ll read my thoughts on James Gunn’s Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, as well as a pair of interesting new projects from Weapons producer Roy Lee.

There are also items about Amazon’s Tomb Raider series, Peacock’s new spinoff of The Office, and how it’s not the only new comedy series getting an early Season 2 renewal, my thoughts on what Jordan Peele should do next, and a ton of notable casting updates and release date news, plus a celebrity wedding, a scary injury, and a look at Sony’s trailer for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

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