Fresh off his new DC Comics-based superhero movie, it looks like Blue Beetle filmmaker Ángel Manuel Soto is lining up his next project. Details are being kept under wraps, but the director is reportedly attached to direct a new buddy comedy action movie under the working title The Wrecking Crew at MGM, per The Wrap.
The film comes from a script by Jonathan Topper that was already completed before the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) current ongoing labor dispute against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The strike, which began earlier in May, is still ongoing and currently in its fourth month. According to The Wrap’s report, Topper’s deal was negotiated and completed before the start of the strike.
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ÁNGEL MANUEL SOTO LINING UP THE WRECKING CREW AT MGM
Plot details are being kept close to the vest at the moment, other than that the film is described as a buddy action comedy, and the working title is “The Wrecking Crew.” Coincidentally, Marvel Comics, the rival of DC Comics, has a team of supervillains called the Wrecking Crew. A version of them was depicted in the live-action show, Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which debuted on Disney+ last year.
Obviously, this picture is unrelated to Marvel’s version of Wrecking Crew, since it’s set up at MGM. MGM Studios is now owned by Amazon.
The Wrap also reports that Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Dune, My Spy) and Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Dune, Game of Thrones) are being looked at to headline the buddy comedy. Both actors were reportedly in talks to star in the film before the start of the actors guild’s (SAG-AFTRA) strike against the AMPTP, which began in July. The Wrap notes that the duo initially set up the project earlier in 2021 after a bidding war, and the film then landed at MGM.
The Puerto Rico-born Ángel Manuel Soto saw his breakout film in 2020 with the MAX Original Feature, Charm City Kings. The film won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast. He also directed the new DC Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery release, Blue Beetle, which opened in theaters this month.
The film stars Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle, Susan Sarandon, George Lopez, and Harvey Guillén. Blue Beetle follows the story of Jaime Reyes, the Mexican-American young man who becomes a new superhero. It’s the first DC film to feature a Latino superhero in the lead role.
Besides The Wrecking Crew, Soto is also reportedly co-writing a Transformers franchise spinoff for Paramount Pictures, which he is also currently attached to direct. He also produced and directed the limited docuseries Menudo Forever Young, which recently debuted on Max.
Any work on The Wrecking Crew will have to wait until both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are resolved. If Momoa and Bautista end up starring in the film, they won’t be able to work on the film until the AMPTP signs a new deal with the SAG-AFTRA guild.
Ángel Manuel Soto is also said to be developing a film with Ryan Reynolds for Paramount which will be a hybrid of both animation and live-action that Reynolds is starring in and producing. Another project he is working on is a series that’s currently being developed at MGM’s parent company Amazon, which he is co-creating with Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, the writer of Blue Beetle. Juno Diaz and Borderless Pictures are attached as executive producers.
It looks like any work on the project won’t be able to start until the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are resolved. That means if Bautista and Momoa are to work on the film, production won’t be able to start until the AMPTP signs a new contract with the SAG-AFTRA guild.
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Blue Beetle, directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, is currently playing in theaters. The film opened No. 1 at the box office over the weekend, ending Barbie’s four-week run on top, making an estimated $25 million in its opening frame.
What do you think of the news? Do you have any ideas on what The Wrecking Crew project might be? Have you seen Ángel Manuel Soto’s Blue Beetle movie yet? Do you think this could be a huge next project for him? Let us know your thoughts on the news on The Illuminerdi’s social media.
SOURCE: The Wrap
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