Spy Movie News September 17 2024 – THE LAST SPY, THE ORDER, TEMPEST, James Bond, and more!
Join Dan for the September 17, 2024 edition of Spy Movie News where he discusses the newest and upcoming spy movies and TV/Streaming shows.
SPY MOVIE NEWS IS BACK!!! Join Dan for our September 17 2024 edition of Spy Movie News. We’re bringing the news back due to listener demand. This is the only place to listen to a breakdown of what’s happening with spy movies, TV shows, and streaming shows.
We start this episode by looking at some of the TV and streaming spy movie shows that were released in the recent past but are still available. We also let you know if a new season is forthcoming or even in process, in some cases.
Then we will look at upcoming, yet-to-be-released movies and shows. Some of the shows we discuss include:
“The Last Spy”
THE ORDER
“Tempest”
The Joe Ledger Novels streaming decision
KINGSMAN 3
THE UNION
MY SPY: THE ETERNAL CITY
“Slow Horses”
“The Old Man”
HARBIN
“Lioness”
OCEANS 14?
MUTINY
And more …
Tell us what you think about the September 17, 2024 edition of SPY MOVIE NEWS
Do any of these upcoming shows excite you? If so, let us know which ones. Also, if you have any thoughts about the format of Spy Movie News, we’d love to hear those thoughts.
Let us know your thoughts, ideas for future episodes, and what you thought of this episode. Just drop us a note at info@spymovienavigator.com. The more we hear from you, the better the show will surely be! We’ll give you a shout-out in a future episode!
You can check out all of our CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or our website. In addition, you can check out our YouTube channel as well.
Spy Movie News for 1-27-2020 - Join us for a 10 minute discussion on the upcoming MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies, NO TIME TO DIE, James Bond Rumors, and Jet Packs flying in Los Angeles
After a long wait because of the delays the writer’s strike caused in making new movies, we finally are back with the latest spy movie news! It’s back!
We are glad things are happening again in the movie universe, especially in the spy movie world.
We need to also acknowledge that the industry is changing and many of the spy entertainment projects are coming to either streaming platforms or TV. So, we will be looking at all of these platforms as we go forward.
What’s Coming
So, let’s start with KINGSMAN 3.
KINGSMAN THREE:
KINGSMAN 3 has no official release date because – well, they were supposed to start filming in 2024 but now that is delayed until 2025 because, as Matthew Vaughn said to Collider, “ . . . filming won’t happen until 2025 at the earliest “because Taron’s bloody busy”.
Joe Ledger Novels are becoming a TV Series.
Another espionage novel series is heading to the small screen. The Joe Ledger thriller series consists of 10 novels and various offshoots. Its protagonist, Joe Ledger, is a psychologically fractured Baltimore detective secretly recruited by the government to lead a new task force called the Department of Military Sciences to face off against terrorists using bleeding-edge science weapons. Along with his combat dog Ghost, his team of tier-one special operators, and the resources of the mysterious Mr. Church, Joe faces off against the threats no other team can stop.
We’ve seen a few of these spy novels-to-spy movies or TV quite often. We think this one will be good.
HARBIN
Now let’s look at the Korean Spy thriller, HARBIN. This is a spy series based on events from the early 1900s when Japan forced Korea to agree to become a Japanese colony. As the story progresses, an assassination plot appears against the Japanese Resident-General of Korea.
HARBIN is expected to be released in December 2024.
The Last Spy
Our next bit of spy entertainment is a documentary called “The Last Spy”. This documentary focuses on the now 102-year-old CIA spy, Peter Sheil. It dives into the history of the CIA and the conflicts that we have today.
“The Last Spy” is targeting an early 2025 release.
THE ORDER
The upcoming movie, THE ORDER is anticipating a limited release in the US on December 6, 2024.
This one stars Jude Law, who plays an FBI agent. His mission is to dismantle a terrorist cell.
Jude Law will be presented the GOLDEN EYE Award for his performance in this movie as well as his career at the Zurich Film Festival.
Tempest
The Korean spy drama “Tempest” is in production with an 8-part series expected in 2025. While production has started, they are still filling out the cast. This series will be released on Disney+.
We love that line about his appearance. This could be a good one. We’ll have to wait util next year to find out.
OCEANS 14, is it real?
Mike Fleming Jr tells us that he thinks that OCEANS 14 may become a reality as the next installment of the franchise. He’s hearing that George Clooney and Brad Pitt are returning. And, they are trying to bring with them director Edward Berger.
So, we’re not sure if Mike is right, but if he is, this could be fun. We know that Warner Bros and Smokehouse have been pushing doing an OCEANS 14. But we’ll have to just see.
MUTINY – is this a spy movie?
The details are a bit light on this, but Lionsgate has signed both Jason Statham and Annabelle Wallis for the movie MUTINY.
The tagline for this one is:
“In MUTINY, after his billionaire industrialist boss is murdered in front of him, Cole Reed is set up to take the fall for the crime— leaving him on the run as he works to uncover an international conspiracy.”
The thing is that’s all we have on this one. We don’t know if Cole Reed is a spy or not. But, “he works to uncover an international conspiracy makes us think that he might be.
Filming is supposed to start this fall so we don’t think it will be too long before we get more details on this one.
GOAT
We’ve decoded a few Indian spy movies and like the different ways they are filmed. There is a definite style difference between the UK and US spy movies and Indian spy movies.
The latest Indian spy movie generating a buzz is AGS Entertainment’s THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME. This one stars Joseph Vijay who, if you don’t know Indian spy movies, is a huge star. In fact, he’s the highest-paid actor in Tamil cinema. Vijay has the nickname “Thalapathy” which means commander.
This movie is getting even more buzz because there are rumors that this will be Vijay’s last movie.
Vijay plays RAW agent. In case you don’t know, RAW stands for the Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing. It is the Indian equivalent of MI-6 or CIA and is used in most Indian spy movies.
According to the CEO of Chenna, Archana Kalpathi, “there’s a mission that goes wrong. And then after many years it comes back to haunt them”.
This movie has been released in 9 countries already this month but hasn’t hit the UK or US screens. In most countries, it is called THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME. However, in others, it is called GOAT.
So, is that title in tribute to the actor or his character? We’ll have to wait to find out.
Existing Shows – are there new episodes coming?
Lioness
Fans of the series “Lioness”, your wait for season 2 is almost over. They are still filming, but Paramount+ has announced that season 2 will premiere with two episodes on October 27, 2024. Given that Season 1 was Paramount+’s most-watched premiere on launch day, we weren’t surprised when it was picked up for a second season
“In Season 2, as the CIA’s fight against terror moves closer to home, Joe (Zoe Saldaña), Kaitlyn (Nicole Kidman), and Byron (Michael Kelly) enlist a new Lioness operative to infiltrate a previously unknown threat. With pressure mounting from all sides, Joe is forced to confront the profound personal sacrifices she has made as the leader of the Lioness program.”
So, this one is coming soon. Let us know what you think when you watch it.
The Diplomat
This next series also has an October 2024, on the 31st. We are talking about the Keri Russell-led show “The Diplomat”. Fans of this show remember what happened at the end of season one. We recommend you don’t watch the trailer for this one as it gives away a key plot point.
Alison Janey is a new addition this season, playing Vice President Grace Penn. We’re big fans of both Russel and Janney so it will be them working together.
In season 2, Kate continues to look into the attack in London and an attack against a British aircraft carrier. But now, she knows this was an attack from within the British government.
James Bond fans will like to hear that Rory Kinnear will continue in his role as Prime Minister Trowbridge.
SLOW HORSES
“Slow Horses” is a solid show, with 4 seasons just about done, and a 5th season confirmed. Starring Gary Oldman, how can you go wrong?
As an aside, The title Slow Horses is derived from Slough House, which is the name of the fictional MI5 branch where those no longer needed who serviced and many are now outcasts are sent to serve the remainder of their time with the service.
TEHRAN
The Apple+ series “Tehran” is based on a Mossad agent behind enemy lines. Seasons One and Two are in the bag. Season 3 is coming.
THE OLD MAN
Hulu’s series “The Old Man” is based on the book of the same name by Thomas Perry (2017). It stars Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow. Season One is in the bank. Season Two has just started its release the week of September 9th, 2024.
MR. AND MRS. SMITH
Amazon Prime’s series “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” has this description on the Prime website:
“In this version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith two lonely strangers land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travel, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan. The catch? New identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith.
“Now hitched, John and Jane navigate a high-risk mission every week while also facing a new relationship milestone. Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. What’s riskier: Espionage or marriage?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Smith” stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. Season One is done and a second season has been approved.
THE BUREAU
“The Bureau” is a French-language spy thriller, also known as Le Bureau des Legendes An American remake is supposedly being developed. It follows the internal bureau in France dealing with threats against France from any number of sources etc. It has been a generally well-received series.
TREASON
Netflix’s series “Treason” is popular as well, starring Charlie Cox, Oona Chaplin, and Olga Kurylenko. Cox plays Adam. Five episodes were released starting in December 2022. Rumors were that there would be another season. But now we’re hearing it may not happen.
Recently Released Spy Movies
THE UNION
The movie THE UNION on Netflix has been released. This spy movie, with Halle Barry, Mark Wahlberg, Dana Delany, Mike Colter, J. K. Simmons, and others released a couple of weeks ago on Netflix. We have watched it already and will have a DECODING session on it soon.
MY SPY: THE ETERNAL CITY
MY SPY: THE ETERNAL CITY was released mid-summer on PRIME and is the sequel to the 2020 movie, MY SPY. It stars Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman, along with Ken Jeong and Kristan Schaal. We have a full DECODING session on this movie out on our Cracking the Code of Spy Movies podcast show.
Existing Series that are finished but worth a watch
Here are some older, existing spy series you can still watch:
KLEO:
“Kleo” isa cold-war espionage series about an East German spy who is released and then goes on a revenge mission. This is a German-language series. Season two’s finale was released on July 25, 2024. We aren’t sure if there will be a Season 3.
THE AMERICANS:
This is from the official show description of “The Americans”:
“Co-starring Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, “The Americans” is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington, D.C., during the Reagan administration. The arranged marriage of Philip and Elizabeth Jennings grows more passionate and genuine by the day, but as the pressures and demands of the job grow heavier, the personal toll becomes almost too exhausting to bear, especially when it comes to protecting their American-born children, Paige and Henry. They also face the risk of discovery by their friend and neighbor FBI agent Stan Beeman, who is tasked with uncovering Soviet illegals hiding in plain sight.”
There were 6 seasons of “The Americans” through 2018. Highly rated, but in a crowded TV field, so no Season 7. There are about 75 episodes.
On the lighter side
Ok, let’s move on to a couple of lighter and gossipy items.
We’ll start by going back to the movie THE UNION.
Why Didn’t They Kiss?
We mentioned earlier the movie THE UNION, starring Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg. They were supposed to have been an item at one time and sure seem to be getting there again. However, one question that fans have been asking is “Why didn’t they kiss?”
That’s a great question, especially with their history.
Well, the answer is pretty simple: Netflix wanted it that way. Remember that Netflix has been pushing out a lot of spy movies and series and hoping something will turn into a franchise a la James Bond or Mission: Impossible.
“We take the relationship to a certain place, and then I think you’ve got to leave a lot of space to go,” Farino told Variety at the film’s L.A. premiere on Monday night. “Netflix always said to us at the beginning, ‘You have to think of this as a possible three-movie idea.’ So if an audience comes out wanting a kiss, then we’ve probably done alright, in my opinion.”
So, assuming this gets picked up for two more movies, the kiss just had to wait.
Is Barbara Broccoli giving us a clue as to where James Bond will go next?
Barbara Broccoli attended the Qatari Gala Dinner in Venice, supposedly with one of her goals being to drum up financing for OTHELLO. This is a movie Daniel Craig is trying to get made.
Now, Deadline.com speculates that Broccoli could be using the next James Bond movie as a sweetener to get the investment. It’s one of those: if you finance this project, we’ll film some of the next Bond movie-type deals. This is speculation it but would help land Qatar on the movie-making map.
In Memorium
And finally, we come to our In Memorium section where we recognize spy movie talent who have passed on in the last month.
James Earl Jones
We’ll start with an industry titan, actor James Earl Jones who passed away on September 6th at the age of 93.
Jones was probably best known for being the voice of Darth Vader in the STAR WARS franchise. He also voiced Mufasa in THE LION KING and was the voice of CNN’s “This is CNN” drop-ins.
Spy movie fans will remember him from the Agent X TV show and as Admiral Greer in the Tom Clancy movies: CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER, PATRIOT GAMES, and THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.
James Earl Jones was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role Academy Award for his portrayal of Jack Jefferson in THE GREAT WHITE HOPE. And he received an Honorary Academy Award in 2012.
He was not only a movie and TV actor, but an accomplished stage actor. In fact, he is one of the few actors to win the coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony). Mr. Jones received four Tony Award nominations for Best Actor in a Play. He won twice, for “The Great White Hope” and August Wilson’s “Fences”. He also received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.
Tom saw him on Broadway playing Hoke Colburn in “Driving Miss Daisy” with Vanessa Redgrave and Boyd Gaines. He said Jones was excellent in that role. He also
J. Richard Munro
Former chairman and CEO of Time Inc., J. Richard Munro has also passed away at the age of 93. Mr. Munro led Time Inc.’s merger with Warner Communications in 1989, a venture that took two years for him to design.
Sérgio Mendez
Composer, arranger, and pianist Sérgio Mendez has passed away at 83. He recorded more than 35 albums and is an Oscar nominee for the song he and John Legend collaborated on for the 2012 movie RIO. James Bond fans will remember him from his work in the music department of the movie NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN.
James Darren
Actor James Darren has died at the age of 88. Mr. Darren was probably best known as a teen idol for his GIGET movies. However, spy movie fans will recognize him as Spyros Pappadimos in the great movie THE GUNS OF NAVARRONE. We have an episode on this movie and had great things to say of Mr. Darren’s performance.
Tony McFarr
Stuntman Tony McFarr passed away at the age of 47 from heart complications. He was Chris Pratt’s stunt double in JURASSIC WORLD and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol 2. Spy TV fans will have seen his work on the TV series “Burn Notice”
Robert Weatherwax
Hollywood animal trainer Robert Weatherwax has passed away at the age of 83. Mr. Weatherwax was the son of the co-creator of “Lassie” and has trained some of Hollywood’s most famous movie dogs, including Einstein, the dog in BACK TO THE FUTURE.
Spy movie fans will have seen his work in the 1983 movie THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND.
Ok, That’s a wrap! You’re now caught up with all the spy movie news for the last month.
What did you think of our Spy Movie News 9-17-2024 edition?
Let us know your thoughts, ideas for future episodes, and what you thought of this episode. Just drop us a note at info@spymovienavigator.com. The more we hear from you, the better the show will surely be! We’ll give you a shout-out in a future episode!
You can check out all of our CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or our website. In addition, you can check out our YouTube channel as well.
URLS
Here are the URLs we either mentioned in the episode or used to develop this episode. These links can provide more background information.
We’ll start out as usual by looking at some upcoming spy movies and series.
AMATEUR shuts down production
We told you about the movie AMATEUR starring Rami Malik back in our February 2023 Spy Movie News. At the time we didn’t know any production details. Well, they started production but have now shut it down due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes. Shutdowns like this are rampant with these strikes.
AMATEUR isn’t the first, nor will it be the last to shut down until the strikes end. Last month we mentioned the spy series The Old Man had halted production due to the writer’s strike Let’s hope this mess gets cleared up soon.
Anyway, we’ll keep you posted about AMATEUR as we hear more after the strikes and they start up again.
Spy X Family Code: White
Here’s another one we’ve been talking about for a while. Spy X Family is an animated spy series. They are working on a spin-off movie called SPY X FAMILY CODE: WHITE that is slated to release in December 2023 in Japan.
The creative team likes to have fun. For instance, their spy dog is named Bond.
Well, they had fun with the latest Mission: Impossible movie. In collaboration with Paramount, they created a teaser trailer for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE DEAD RECKONING PART ONE. It is a combination of Spy X Family with clips from the Dead Reckoning Part One trailer with SPY X Family’s Loid Forger providing commentary. Next, they created a combined poster that is a take-off of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE DEAD RECKONING PART ONE poster. You can find that on DigitalSpy.com.
We like it when the studios don’t take each other too seriously and will have fun with marketing. Great job teams.
Maggiore
Israeli network Yes TV is behind an upcoming 8-part series called MAGGIORE. They are the same group that brought us the wonderful spy series FAUDA.
MAGGIORE’s main plotline is that a boat is sunk on Lake Maggiore, which connects Italy and Switzerland. That boat was filled with intelligence officers from both Israel and Italy.
Oh yeah, and this is a real event that recently happened on May 29, 2023. There were at least 13 Mossad and eight Italian intelligence officers onboard. Due to the intelligence passengers, some of who died, there is a lot of speculation about the spies and what they were doing on the boat.
There is intrigue about what happened. An article about MAGGIORE in Variety.com tells us that the location of the drowning which was between Italian manufacturing plants and the heavily spy-traveled Switzerland has brought about conspiracy theories. Plus, Israel sent a private plane to evacuate the Israeli victims. No, nothing to see here (laugh).
We find it fascinating that they already have this designated as an 8-part series. All of the details behind the boat accident are probably not likely flushed out yet. So, it will be interesting to see where they take this.
However, that article also points out that the goal is to create a series much like the French spy series “The Bureau”, but this time highlighting Italian intelligence, instead of French.
One possible outcome of MAGGIORE is that the series spins into taking on other mysterious accidents. We’ll have to see.
As of now, we don’t have an expected release date.
Blindspot
Another upcoming spy series based on reality, albeit much older reality, is called BLINDSPOT. This one has Maipo Film and Spero Films backing it. The series will focus on a real Mossad assassination mission in Lillehammer in 1973. Let’s just say that the mission didn’t go well and the wrong person got killed.
BLINDSPOT will be a drama trying to tell the story of what happened. It will dive into the events and examine the people impacted by this mission.
No production details have been released as of press time.
She will be in the Netflix movie HEART OF STONE, which will be released on August 11, 2023.
At the time we told you to pay attention to this British-Indian actress. We expected her career to soar. She was fantastic in the spy movie RAZZI and also was a lead in the immensely popular RRR (just say the R three times).
Yash Raj Films delivered what we think was an excellent spy movie PATHAAN, and talked about their YRF Spy Universe when that movie was released this past January. Well, they have announced that Alia Bhatt will be the first female to have a lead in the YRF Spy Universe. Sometimes you just get lucky with your timing as we did here.
The movie, whose title hasn’t been released, is expected to start production next year. But we know Bhatt will play a “super-agent” in the movie.
Interestingly, she will be joining Gal Gadot in HEART OF STONE as we think that Bhat will have a similar career trajectory. She is already very popular in India. We bet she and Gadot end up competing for some female spy roles in the near future.
As usual, we’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
Rainbow Six?
Tom Clancy’s spy novels have been turned into movies, tv-series, and video games. Of course, we have the Jack Ryan series. But, one of his novels, “Rainbow Six” was turned into a very successful video game. The game deviates from the novel, which is common.
Movieweb.com speculates that “Rainbow Six” as a movie was teased in the Jack Ryan series. They speculate that a RAINBOW SIX might be a continuation of the WITHOUT REMORSE storyline or be part of the Jack Ryan universe.
Now, we normally don’t talk about movie speculation, but this one seems like it has a realistic chance of happening. We’ll keep you posted.
RED NOTICE 2
When Netflix released the successful movie RED NOTICE, we told you there were plans for both a RED NOTICE 2 and RED NOTICE 2. That was two years ago.
Gal Gadot has told Collider that she’s read the script and filming will be underway soon. That was before the strikes so we don’t have a handle on what “soon” means.
That said, we’re happy to see this. Although we had some mixed feelings about RED NOTICE, we thought they did have a chance to make this a series that could work.
So, once we get more notice about RED NOTICE 2, we’ll give you a heads up.
THE MAN FROM ROME
The spy movie THE MAN FROM ROMEhas a clip giving us the basis of the plot that was put out by Screen Media Films. In addition, an official trailer has been released that you can find on YouTube. So, we have two slightly different videos on this movie.
The tagline for THE MAN FROM ROME is:
THE MAN FROM ROME is based on the novel “The Seville Communion” and stars Richard Armitage. Armitage is one of the names bandied about as a possible “next actor to play James Bond”.
THE MAN FROM ROME was released last year in Spain and has recently started to be available for streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Google Play.
More John Le Carré in India
In 2016, the English-language series based on John Le Carré’s novel “The Night Manager” was a hit. The novel has recently been adapted and released as a big hit series in India. This time it is Hindi-language based.
An article in Variety talks about this Hindi-based adaptation, and the fact that it is not just a remake of the 2016 series. More importantly, it tells us that future seasons of “The Night Manager” are being looked at.
Plus, it looks like more John Le Carré novels than just “The Night Manager” are expected to be adapted into Indian Hindi-language movies or series. The Ink Factory manages the Le Carré novels and has said:
“We are in the process of adapting one, which is in a relatively late stage of adaptation and one, which is at an early stage. We’re very keen to bring more le Carré to India.”
We’re keen to see if any of these Hindi-language releases make their way to English-Language adaptations.
SALAAR
Back in February’s Spy Movie News, we told you about the upcoming pan-Indian movie SALAAR. At the time we told you that we weren’t sure that this is going to be a spy movie. We know it is an action movie. But, the plot has been kept under wraps.
We know that the release will include the Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi languages.
Even though it is supposed to release on September 28, 2023, we still don’t know if it is a spy movie. That’s even with the movie’s teaser trailer being released. You can see the trailer on YouTube.
We may have to wait until the SALAAR is released before we know if it is just an action movie or a spy movie. We’ll let you know.
MR-9-DO OR DIE
Last June we told you about the movie MR-9. This is a movie based on the Rana series of novels that Bangladeshi writer Qazi Anwar Hussain wrote.
We’ve liked Grillo in his past movies and are looking forward to seeing him in this one.
We can now update you and tell you that there will be a U.S. and Canada release on the same day as its release in Bangladesh. That will be on August 25th.
AMC Theatres drops movie ticket prices based on seat location
We had a rant about the controversial policy AMC implemented at some of its theaters where the price you paid for your seat was based on where in the theater your seat was. They called it “Sightline at AMC”. It was somewhat like what the airlines do.
However, we didn’t like this policy and enough other theater-goes voiced their negative opinion of the policy.
Fortunately, AMC Theaters has heard the feedback (and possibly some lost revenue) and is dropping the experiment and won’t roll it out nationally. Supposedly they found that people would pay for premium seats, but wouldn’t use the front row, even though those seats were less expensive under the experiment.
We are very happy to see this.
Stitcher is Shutting Down
Ok, this one isn’t about spy movies, but it may affect our podcast listeners. SiriusXM is going to shut down their podcase app Stitcher on August 29, 2023. The goal is to move podcasts to SiriusXM subscriptions.
Their press release says that podcast fans will still be able to listen to ad-supported versions of shows that had been on Stitcher.
If you want to continue to listen to our show via another podcast app, we are virtually everywhere you can listen: Apple, Google, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, etc.
The Strikes
As we mentioned earlier, the actors have joined the writers and are striking in Hollywood. This has effectively shut down most movie and tv production here. It has also curtailed the amount of movie news coming out. Therefore, we may not release an August 2023 Spy Movie News episode. If there isn’t enough to discuss, we’ll wait until the strikes are over.
In Memoriam
Alan Arkin
Actor Alan Arkin passed at the age of 89. Arkin was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning in 2007 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. One of his nominations was for the same category for his performance in the spy movie ARGO. Spy movie fans will also remember him as Dr. Sheldon Kornpett in the spy comedy THE IN-LAWS.
Lawrence Turman
Producer Lawrence Turman passed at the age of 96. Turman is probably best known as the producer of THE GRADUATE. However, before becoming a producer, Turman worked at a talent agency. He placed four clients in the espionage classic NORTH BY NORTHWEST.
Carlin Glynn
Actress Carlin Glynn passed a the age of 83. She won a Tony Award for her role in the Broadway musical “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”. Spy movie fans will remember her for her role as Mae Barber in THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR.
Manny Coto
Writer and Producer Manny Coto passed at the age of 62. His writing credits include 43 episodes of the tv series 24 and its spin-offs.
Rob Young
Oscar-nominated sound mixer Rob Young passed at the age of 76. He was nominated for Best Sound for the movie UNFORGIVEN. Spy movie fans will know his work as a sound mixer on the 1990 movie THE RUSSIA HOUSE and the 2002 movie I SPY.
Robert Lieberman
Director, Producer, and writer Robert Lieberman passed at the age of 75. Spy tv series fans will know his work as the director for the episode “Girl’s Best Friend” of the series NIKITA.
Margia Dean
Actress Margia Dean passed at the age of 101. Spy tv fans will know her work as Rehab in the “Ancient Spies” episode of the series I SPY.
That wraps up the Spy Movie News July 25 2023 edition. Thanks for spending time with us – we appreciate it!
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News – July 25 2023 Edition – MR-9 DO OR DIE, AMATEUR, MAGGIORE, RED NOTICE 2, and more!
AMATEUR, MAGGIORE, and RED NOTICE 2 are just some of the upcoming spy movies or series in our Spy Movie News – July 25 2023 edition.
MR-9-DO OR DIE, SALAAR, AMATEUR, SPY X FAMILY CODE: WHITE, MAGGIORE, RED NOTICE 2, and BLINDSPOT are just some of the upcoming spy movies or series that we’ll fill you in on today in our Spy Movie News – July 25 2023 edition. Take a listen as we talk about these movies or series that you may not yet have heard about.
We also discuss some industry news both for spy movies/series as well as some news affecting the podcast industry.
So, have a listen and you’ll “Be in the Know” and get up to date on all things spy movies and series.
You can check out all of our podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or on ourwebsite. Our channel name is CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES.
We hope you enjoyed our Spy Movie News – July 25 2023 edition. You can find the written versions of this and our other Spy Movie News episodes on our website.
Ideas/Comments? Info@spymovienavigator.com
Website Episode Page: https://bit.ly/3O9L7cE
July is shaping up to be a huge box office month. Barbie and Oppenheimer open July 21st. And of course, there is that small spy movie that nobody has talked about. Oh, wait, maybe there has been a lot of hype for this one. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One finally opens on July 12th in the US (more on that release date in a bit).
Also, the Writer’s Guild of America’s strike started on May 2, 2023. So, we’re now 56 days into this strike. In case you were as curious as we were: How long do these strikes tend to last? Well, the 1985 strike only lasted 2 weeks. However, the other 5 strikes in WGA history lasted from 95 to 154 days. So, it looks like we’ll be here while.
Upcoming spy movies and series
So let’s take a look at some of the upcoming spy movies and series.
FUBAR
We’ll start with the hit spy series FUBAR.
If you are a spy movie fan and have Netflix, this is a good series to watch. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger so you know there will be some humor along with the spy action stuff. And, oh, tell us if you’ve heard this one before: the star is a recently retired CIA agent. If you haven’t, you’ll hear that theme again later in this episode. Monica Barbaro who played Lt. Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace in Top Gun: Maverick plays a pivotal role in this series as well. We won’t spoil what it is, but this does have a bit of a True Lies feel to it.
Now for the news on FUBAR. This Netflix series debuted at number one on Nielsen’s weekly streaming ratings. They say that 1.5 billion minutes of this series were streamed during its first 4 days. That’s crazy huge. And Variety reported that FUBAR hit just under 89 million hours of watch time in those first four days, which is even larger. No matter who you ask, FUBAR is a hit.
So, it should come as no surprise that Netflix announced that there will be a season two of the series. The tweet that Netflix used to announce season 2 includes some bloopers that contain some R-rated words. We’re sure you know that FUBAR is an acronym for f’d up beyond all recognition. So, these outtakes are a great way to have some fun with the series title.
TRUST NO ONE
So let’s turn to TRUST NO ONE. We are talking about the upcoming Israeli series that should frighten anyone who uses an electronic device. There are a few movies with this title so we want to be clear this is the upcoming series about cyber warfare and the security state.
“Israel has become one of the largest global exporters of spy ware,” says co-creator Daniel Amsel. “Only, those technological weapons can undermine democracy and lead to the death of truth. So we wanted to thread those very sensitive topics into an entertaining and fast-paced thriller that deals with the loneliness of leadership and the difficulties of parenthood, among other themes.”
Amsel goes on to say
“Five tech giants hold about 90% of the data from all people in the Western world,” “That means every bit of information about everyone you know is only five hacks away. And that’s not just an Israeli problem – although we’re using an Israeli case in order to showcase it.”
So yeah, this is a problem. We’re eager to see what they do with it in this series. TRUST NO ONE is slated for broadcast on Keshet 12 in Israel later this year. As of this recording, worldwide distribution hasn’t been finalized.
THE OLD MAN
Season 2 of the excellent FX spy series THE OLD MAN has shut down filming early due to the writer’s strike. Due to the strike and some needed rewrites in episode 5, they’ve only completed filming the first four episodes. Filming will resume when the writer’s strike ends.
In the meantime, if you haven’t seen season one, you can stream it on Hulu, which is FX’s streaming partner.
In case you didn’t know, this hit series is about a retired CIA agent, this time played by Jeff Bridges. Hmm, a retired agent, where have we heard that before? Anyway, Bridges is joined by John Lithgow and a strong supporting cast.
We expect to hear of more of these types of delays as the strike wears on. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more about THE OLD MAN.
HEART OF STONE
Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan’s upcoming Netflix spy movie HEART OF STONE dropped its first official trailer a week ago. You can see the trailer on YouTube.
The tagline for HEART OF STONE is “Gal Gadot is Agent Rachel Stone, the only intelligence operative who stands between her global, peace-keeping organization and the loss of its most valuable — and dangerous — asset, codenamed: The Heart.”
Jamie Dornan plays MI6 agent Parker.
Alia Bhatt plays hacker Keya Dhawan. You may not know her if you don’t follow Hindi movies. But, Alia is an actress you need to know. She is one of the most popular actresses in Bollywood. For spy movie fans, Bhatt was excellent in the 2018 based-on-a-real-person spy thriller RAAZI as the lead character Sehmat Khan. If you haven’t seen RAAZI, it is currently available as part of Amazon Prime. We liked that movie a lot.
Gal Gadot has talked about wanting to lead a spy movie franchise, like James Bond or Mission: Impossible. As she’s quoted on movieweb.com:
But to do that, she doesn’t believe that this should be a gender swap. As she also told movieweb.com.
“I wanted to show a great story about a female character who is doing it in the action genre. Right? She is thriving. But at the same time, how many times have they just switched gender? They take a story that’s all about the men and they just change it to a woman, and then go shoot it? To me, it was so important in the DNA to make Heart of Stone a little different, because men and women are different. They’re built differently, they operate differently.”
We’ve been talking about HEART OF STONE for a while now and are looking for its premiere on August 11 2023 on Netflix.
ARGYLLE
Our friends at The Spy Command tell us that the Matthew Vaughan-directed movie ARGYLLE finally has a release date.
This is the movie we’ve talked about in numerous Spy Movie News episodes since we first mentioned it in our July 27 2021 episode.
ARGYLLE is based on the yet-to-be-released novel, of the same name, by Elly Conway. That novel by the way has been delayed again. In our September 27, 2022, Spy Movie News episode, we told you that the book’s release was delayed until March 2023. Well, the book is now slated to be available on January 17, 2024.
“The spy thriller “Argylle” follows the globe-trotting adventures of a super-spy named Argylle across the U.S., London and other exotic locations, featuring a star-studded, award-winning cast including Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Dua Lipa , Ariana DeBose and Samuel L. Jackson.”
That is one heck of a cast.
Well, ARGYLLE has been given a February 2, 2024, global theatrical release date and will then be released on Apple TV+ at a later date.
THE WILD WILD WEST
Again we can thank our friends at The Spy Command for giving us a heads-up on this next one. Fans of the 1960s tv series THE WILD WILD WEST can now stream the 104-episode series on Amazon Prime. This is one of our favorite series from the 60s and we’re actively watching this one now.
James Bond fans will recognize a very large actor with a less-pronounced smile here and an actress who was “named after your father perhaps” in a few of these episodes. We’ll let you figure out who we mean as you watch.
JAMES BOND
And speaking of James Bond, we found an interesting article on metro.co.uk where Britt Ekland shares her thoughts on today’s Bond women compared to the Bond girls when she made THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
As she put it:
So, it looks like she thinks there is both good and bad with the changes in the Bond women.
Mission: Impossible
Release Schedule
Ok, now for the elephant in the room: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE. It’s finally here, well, in two weeks.
To us, the release schedule on this one is head-scratching as the dates have been changing (mainly being pushed up, not delayed.)
Stick with us on this one as it gets weird.
The movie premiered in Rome on June 19, 2023 with most of the cast in attendance. There was also a premiere with Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie in attendance in Abu Dabi on June 26th as some of the movie was shot in the Liwa desert in Abu Dabi.
The big release dates are in the second week of July.
The UK release date has been moved up a day to July 10th.
The official US release date has been moved up to July 12 along with a slew of other countries.
The rollout continues through the July 21 2023 release date in Japan.
Now for the odd part. We have purchased tickets to see an “Early Access” showing in the US on July 10th. These tickets are available to anyone, not just press. We’ve looked at theaters across the US and they all have an Early Access showing on July 10th. Plus, we can buy tickets for regular showings on the 11th. So, what is the real “release” date? We guess it doesn’t matter, but they sure have made this convoluted.
Our guidance to you is that if you want to see the movie as early as possible check your local theater to see if it is offering Early Access. See it before the spoilers come out.
The IMAX problem
Plus, it appears that Tom Cruise is not happy with the release plan due to the aforementioned movie OPPENHEIMER. We are wondering if this is part of the reason for the release being pushed up a few days.
The issue, according to Cinemablend.com has to do with IMAX theaters, and the limited number of them compared to the deluge of movies being released on IMAX. INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, BARBIE, OPPENHEIMER, THE FLASH, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEAST, and THE FLASH have all been jocking for a position on the IMAX screens this summer, altering release schedules.
We’re not sure, but with everything being delayed and now coming out after COVID, we may just have a temporary glut of these movies. However, with fans wanting to see action movies on larger screens, this may be a problem for some time.
So, why is this a problem for what has been one of the most-hyped movies of the summer, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE? Well, OPPENHEIMER has a guaranteed 3-week window to show on IMAX screens. Given that it releases 10 days after DEAD RECKONING, the IMAX window for Cruise’s movie is quite short, causing Cruise some consternation.
Um, these schedules don’t just pop up. A little planning may have given more runway to Cruise and company. Just saying.
In Memoriam
Sergio Calderón
Actor Sergio Calderón has passed at the age of 77. Calderón is probably best known for his performance as Captain Vallenueva in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END. However, he earned his SAG card after his performance as Alfonso in the spy movie THE IN-LAWS. He also played Jose in MEN IN BLACK.
Treat Willams
Actor Treat Williams passed at age 71. Williams received Golden Globe nominations for his performances in HAIR, PRINCE IN THE CITY, and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. He also received a Primetime Emmy nomination for his performance in THE LATE SHIFT, playing Michael Ovitz. Spy movie fans will know him from MARATHON MAN and THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.
George Maharis
Actor George Maharis died at the age of 94. Maharis was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 1962 for his performance as Buz Murdock in the tv series ROUTE 66. Spy tv fans will recognize Maharis for his role as Thomas Backman in the Mission: Impossible series episode “The Fountain. Maharis also played Sgt. Chips Slater in the movie THE LAST DAY OF THE WAR.
Barry Newman
Actor Barry Newman passed at the age of 92. Newman was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his role as the title character in the tv series PETROCELLI. Spy movie fans will recognize Newman as William Mathison in the movie THE SALZBURG CONNECTION.
Mike Batayeh
Actor, comedian, and writer Mike Batayeh has died at the age of 52. Batayeh is probably best known for his performance as Dennis Markowski on BREAKING BAD. Spy tv fans will recognize him as Ziad in three episodes of the tv series Sleeper Cell.
Paul Geoffrey
Actor Paul Geoffrey passed at the age of 68. He is probably best known for his performances as Perceval in the movie EXCALIBER and Lord John Clayton in GREYSTROKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. Spy tv fans will remember Geoffrey in the role of Simon Tate in the BBC drama SPYSHIP.
John Beasley
Actor John Beasley, known for his performance on EVERWOOD, THE SOUL MAN and others passed at the age of 79. Spy movie fans will remember Beasley for his performance as General Lasseter in THE SUM OF ALL FEARS.
Peter Simonischek
Austrian actor Peter Simonischek died at the age of 76. He’s best known for his performance as Winfried in Toni Erdmann which he won and was nominated for a slew of international awards. Spy movie fans will remember him for his role as Manfred Brumm in ASSIGNMENT BERLIN.
That’s a wrap of our Spy Movie News – June 27 2023 edition! Please help us out and Subscribe to our show, Cracking the Code of Spy Movies through your favorite podcast app! You can also read all of our Spy Movie News articles on our website.
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News June 27 2023 – FUBAR, TRUST NO ONE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and more!
In this Spy Movie News for June 2023, we discuss upcoming spy movies/series: FUBAR, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING PART ONE, and more!
In this Spy Movie News June 27 2023 edition, we look the upcoming spy movies or series; Trust No One, Fubar, Heart of Stone, Argylle, The Wild Wild West, and of course, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and more!
Speaking of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, what is it’s real release date? Take a listen to find out. It’s convoluted.
Also, we talk about the effect the releases of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on June 30, Barbie and Oppenheimer on July 21st and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One all happening within 30 days means. You have a lot of blockbuster choices to make. But there some industry implications as well. Take a listen to find out what they are.
So, have a listen and you’ll “Be in the Know” and get up to date on all things spy movies and series.
You can check out all of our podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or on our website. Our channel name is CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES.
We hope you enjoyed our Spy Movie News June 27 2023 edition. You can find the written versions of this and our other Spy Movie News episodes on our website.
So, let’s jump in and start with some new spy entertainment projects. We’ll follow this with some quick updates on a few items we’ve mentioned in earlier Spy Movie News Episodes. We’ll start with
Paris Has Fallen
The first new project we can talk about is Paris Has Fallen. This is the next project in the Has Fallen series. You may have seen the Gerard Butler movies Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, and Angel Has Fallen.
Well, Paris Has Fallen is planning to be a television series, not a theatrical movie. According to an article on movieweb.com, actor Mathieu Kassovitz is the lead in the series, Vincent. The article describes Vincent as a
“protection officer to a French Minister, who is the target of a terror group led by villain Jacob. Vincent works with MI6 operative Zara to keep the politician safe, but they eventually unravel a wider plot, suspecting that a security service colleague is feeding information to Jacob, who is always a step ahead in his mission to bring down Paris.”
The series is still being shopped so we’ll have to update you later where you’ll be able to watch Paris Has Fallen.
Gerard Butler says there is another movie in the works, Night Has Fallen, although the talk about that movie started back in 2020. So, who knows if or when we’ll see Butler return as Mike Banning on the big screen.
Fog of War
Set toward the end of World War II, Fog of War will star Jake Abel, Briana Hildebrand, and John Cusack. This movie was being shopped at Cannes.
“Set in the closing months of WWII, Fog of War tells the story of injured American pilot Gene (Abel) and his OSS agent fiancée Penny (Hildebrand) as they retreat to a remote estate in Massachusetts to stay with Penny’s distant uncle Robert (Cusack). Unbeknownst to her, the OSS has recruited Gene to spy on the family and the surrounding community as top-secret documents related to the D-Day invasion have been stolen and an enemy mole is somewhere nearby, preparing to turn these plans over to the Axis Powers.”
As usual, we’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
Classified
Aaron Eckhart is one busy actor in spy movies. He’s starring in another spy movie that was just shopped at Cannes. This time it is the espionage movie Classified. And, filming has already wrapped on this one. Aaron Eckhart is joined by Tim Roth and Abigail Breslin.
In the last year, we have told you about the movies The Bricklayer and Chief of Station that Eckhart is helming. So, he now adds Classified to his spy movie resume.
The plot on Classified sounds interesting. Eckhart plays Breslin’s father. He’s a CIA hitman, who has been receiving orders for almost 20 years. Breslin is an MI6 analyst who finds out that Eckhart’s division was shut down a long time ago. So, who has been giving Eckhart his orders? Hmm. We’ll have to watch this one to find out.
Birdseye
In 2018, Jennifer Lawrence starred as a ‘sparrow’ in Red Sparrow. In Birdseye, Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova plays a swallow spy. Sparrow and Swallow are both terms used for sexpionage. In fact, Birdseye was inspired by the book “Sexpionage: The Exploitation of Sex by Soviet Intelligence”.
So, in Birdseye, Bakalova’s character is based in Washington. Her childhood love is out to kill her on the orders of Russia. Given the cast of Maria Bakalova, Jean Reno, and Ty Simpkins, we expect this to be a good one. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
Neither Confirm Nor Deny
You have to love this title, Neither Confirm Nor Deny. Greenwich Entertainment has acquired the North American distribution for this documentary.
The plot is about a mission in 1974 where the US government sought to find the sunken Soviet submarine, K-129. The mission was code-named Project Azorian.
The Soviets and the US were in a race to find the sub and its nuclear missiles. Except, the Soviets didn’t know the US was trying to find the wreckage. The US wanted to keep this a secret, especially from the Soviets. The press found out about the mission. The US government tried to get the story delayed.
In addition to this documentary, a fictional adaptation may happen. But, we can neither confirm nor deny that rumor.
Ok, so now we’re going to turn to a bunch of updates to spy movies and series we have already told you about. But, as usual, we keep you posted as we learn more.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
We mentioned in our February 28, 2023 episode that The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was in production.
Well, they’ve wrapped filming now. And, Henry Cavill has shared some footage from this Guy Ritchie movie. You need to check out Cavill’s mustache and beard on this one. You can catch the footage on movieweb.com.
Of course, they are talking about trying to make this a franchise. Who isn’t these days?
Butterfly
Also in that February 28th episode, we mentioned that Daniel Dae Kim was going to star in a series called Butterfly for Amazon. Well, that was some early information. Now we know that Amazon Prime Video has ordered the first 6 episodes of this series. Production has not yet started.
Amateur
Another upcoming spy movie that we’ve mentioned in the past is Amateur. As we’ve dived into this one more, this appears to be a remake of the 1981 movie with the title The Amateur starring John Savage, Christopher Plummer, and Marthe Keller. Both movies arebased on the novel by Robert Littell. In the 1981 movie, the death of a different person created the impetus for the movie than what we have in this new version.
Well, we told you in February, that Rami Malek had signed up for this one. We now know that Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Rachel Brosnahan, and Laurance Fishbourne have signed on for this thriller. So, yes, this is an excellent cast. We will be watching for this one to come out.
Special Ops: Lioness
We’ve talked about this one in a few Spy Movie News episodes. This is the upcoming Paramount + series that had been called Lioness. We’ll This series now has been given the official title of Special Ops: Lioness.
We’ve yet to see a release date but will keep you updated as we learn more. Deadline.com has an article on this, including nine publicity photos.
Special Ops: Lioness stars Nicole Kidman, Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira and Morgan Freeman.
The Order
Again, back in February, we told you about the upcoming Jude Law-Nicholas Hoult spy movie The Order and that we hadn’t heard much about it.
Well, we can now tell you that Marc Maron, Jurnee Smollet, Alison Oliver, and Odessa Young have signed on to the movie. Plus, we know that Law will play an FBI Agent and Hoult is a leader of a terrorist organization. The Order started filming this month.
True Lies
Ok, so this one has been released, but we have an update. CBS is not renewing the Steve Howie and Ginger Gonzaga tv reboot of the movie True Lies.
Last month we told you about the upcoming HBO spy series The Sympathizer. It isn’t expected to be released until 2024. Well, we have one thing to add to what we told you. Marine Delterme has signe on to the cast. Delterme is an actor/model, probably best known in France for her series Alice Nevers.
We’ll continue to keep you updated as we hear more.
The Black Kaiser
Last May 31st, we told you about the upcoming movie The Black Kaiser, starring Mads Mikkelsen. Well, a year later we can tell you that actor Vanessa Hudgens has joined the project. Hudgens starred with Mikkelsen in the 2019 hitman movie Polar.
Also, the director has changed from Jonas Akerlun who we told you about last year. The new director is Derrick Borte.
Filming is expected to start this fall. We’ll let you know more as we get it.
Archer
The popular animated television spy series Archer will end after season 14. The season will debut on August 30, 2023,
Archer debuted in 2009. In those 14 years, there have only been 3 James Bond movies. So sad.
James Bond
Again, we are going to ignore all speculation about what’s next for the James Bond franchise. Until we hear from Eon Productions, nothing you hear can be taken as reality.
However, we were wondering if you had $100 million to spare. If so, you could buy the island of Little Pipe Cay in Exuma, the Bahamas. This island was featured in Casino Royale (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean. So, for a cool $100 mil, you can get your Bond on.
Citadel
Season 1 of Citadel ended with this past weekend’s release of episode 6, “Secrets in the Night Need Early Rains”.
We’ve previously told you that there will be a season 2, now called Citadel: Diana. And there is a small bit about it at the end of episode 6. Season 2 will be exclusively directed by Joe Russo. Season 1 had multiple directors.
Italian actor Matilda De Angelis will be the central character in this one and Italy will be the next “location” for Season 2. It looks like Citadel is following the lead of The Avengers and White Lotus by building a franchise that will have adventures in different parts of the world, with mostly new casts.
Citadel: Diana is expected to be released in 2024.
Mission: Impossible
The hype machine is in high gear for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. We’re getting everything from more trailers and photos to Christopher McQuarrie saying that there may be more sequels after Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.
Release Date Change
The big news, however, is that the US release date has changed. And, this time it was moved up, not delayed. The original US release date was Friday, July 14, 2023. The new date is two days earlier on Wednesday, July 12.
This change was made to keep it in sync with the international rollout. Ok, technically there are countries with release dates through July 21st, but this ties the US date to the first rollout date of July 12. So, the UK, France, Canada, Italy, Philippines, Brazil, India, and more will all release on the 12th.
We applaud this as one of our complaints about James Bond is the long release cycle of its movies. With the internet, finding out what happens will be almost instantaneous with the initial release location. That can spoil a movie.
So, kudos to the powers that be in making this release date change. Thank you.
Run Time Announced
Don’t drink too much liquid before going to see Part One. It has a final runtime of 2 hours and 36 minutes. And that doesn’t include the credits or any mid or end-credit scenes they might add. So, you’ve been warned. This one is long.
Writer’s Strike
And of course, the writer’s strike continues.
In Memoriam
Unfortunately, we have a long list of people involved in spy movies who we’ve recently lost
John Wright
Film Editor John Wright passed at age 79. Wright was a prolific editor with work on movies such as Speed, Convoy, The Running Man, and more. However, spy movie fans will know his editing on the 1990 movie The Hunt for Red October.
Wright received two Academy Award Best Film Editing nominations. The first was for The Hunt for Red October, which he shared with Dennis Virkler. The second was for Speed.
Raymond Austin
Stuntman and director Ray Austin died at the age of 90. Among the movies he performed stunts in are North by Northwest (uncredited), The Saint, The Avengers, Spartacus, and Peter Gunn. He was the director or stunt director on Cleopatra, The Avengers, The Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E., and many others.
James Brown
American footballer and actor James Brown has passed at 87. Brown is considered one of the best players in National Football League history. His first movie was The Dirty Dozen. Spy movie and tv fans will know his work in the movie Ice Station Zebra, and an episode of the tv show I Spy.
Tina Turner
Rock star Tina Turner has died at the age of 83. Turner had a long superstar career as a singer. James Bond fans will know Turner as the singer to the title song to the 1995 movie GoldenEye.
Paul Playdon
Writer and producer Paul Playdon passed at the age of 80. Among his writing credits, Playdon wrote 14 episodes of the television series Mission: Impossible and 3 episodes of The Wild Wild West.
Helmut Berger
Austrian actor, Helmut Berger has died at age 78. He is probably best known for his role as Martin Von Essenbeck in The Damned, for which he received a Golden Globe Nomination. Spy movie and tv fans will have seen him in The Return of the Saint and Code Name: Emerald.
John Refoua
Film Editor John Refoua died at age 58. Refoua is probably best known for his editing of Avatar. His work on Avatar was recognized with a Best Editing Oscar nomination which was shared with Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron. Spy movie fans will have seen his work on Olympus Has Fallen.
That’s a wrap of our Spy Movie News – May 30 2023 edition! Please help us out and Subscribe to our show, Cracking the Code of Spy Movies through your favorite podcast app! You can also read all of our Spy Movie News articles on our website.
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News – May 30 2023 Edition – NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, and more!
In this Spy Movie News - May 30 2023 edition, we look at upcoming spy movies and series including, Butterfly, The Black Kaiser and more.
Here in our Spy Movie News – May 30 2023 edition we discuss the upcoming spy movies or series: Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning, The Sympathizer, The Black Kaiser, Butterfly, Classified, Fog of War, Neither Confirm Nor Deny, Birdseye, and more.
We’ll keep you updated as these movies progress. Some are in early development and other are already filmed.
So, have a listen and you’ll “Be in the Know” and get up to date on all things spy movies and series.
You can check out all of our podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or on our website. Our channel name is CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES.
We hope you enjoyed our Spy Movie News – May 30 2023 edition. You can find the written versions of this and our other Spy Movie News episodes on our website.
Spy Movie News for 1-27-2020 - Join us for a 10 minute discussion on the upcoming MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies, NO TIME TO DIE, James Bond Rumors, and Jet Packs flying in Los Angeles
Keep current! Join Our Email List
Keep up to date with our latest and greatest spy movie finds. (See our Privacy Policy)
Here is the latest on the upcoming spy entertainment, both for theatrical and streaming release.
NEVER TOO OLD TO DIE
So, let’s start with what will be a comedy spy movie starring 76-year-old Sylvester Stalone called Never Too Old To Die. I only mention his age as this movie is about a retired spy, Stalone’s character. He has retired to a retirement home for spies. Of course, a murder happens in the home and Stalone’s character must find the assassin.
Given that James Bond should have stayed retired for his health’s sake, maybe Sly should as well. We’ll see.
Never Too Old To Die is an Amazon Studios project. We haven’t seen a release date yet, but we’ll update you when we learn more.
THE SYMPATHIZER
Another new spy series is coming to Max (HBO’s rebranding of HBO MAX) in 2024. This series, The Sympathizer, is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name.
Australian actor, Hoa Xuande, as a North Vietnamese spy. He does his spying in Los Angeles California’s refugee community. Joining Xuande in the cast are Sandra Oh, Fred Nguyen Kahn, Toan Le, Ky Duyen, and Robert Downey Jr.
The official trailer shows Downey Jr. in many different roles, all made up so each role he plays looks very different. It also says that the series is “Coming in 2024.”
The official tagline for the movie says:
We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available.
MAUDE VS. MAUDE
Warner Bros won a bidding war for the movie Maude v Maude. This movie will star two Oscar winners, Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry. Not much is out about this one. But according to Deadline.com: “an insider describes the pic as a “Bond vs. Bourne” type of global action thriller with locations to be announced.”
Ok, so that’s not much to go on, but it’s all we have on this one. We’ll just have to wait to find out more.
GHOSTS OF BEIRUT
Showtime has a four-part spy drama coming out on May 19, 2023, called Ghosts of Beirut. This series is based on a real-life operation. A 21-year-old is a Lebanese tourist who was able to avoid capture from both the CIA and Mossad. Amazingly , he was able to avoid capture for two decades. An article in Variety.com tells us that he was responsible for more American deaths than any other individual prior to 9/11.
Dian Shihabi, Dermot Mulroney, Garret Dillahunt, and Hisham (He sham (rhymes with prom)) Suleiman are the key actors.
Since Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff are behind Ghosts of Beirut, this looks promising. They brought us the wonderful spy series “Fauda”.
When we said Ghosts of Beruit will come out on May 19, that is the streaming date. It will be on-air on Showtime on May 21, 2023.
DAVOS
Dominique Devenport and David Kross will star in the spy drama Davos. This six-part series previewed for pre-sales at MipTV. This is another series based on real-world events. This time it is from when secret services were beginning in Europe.
The role Switzerland had in World War I is at the heart of this series. The spa town of Davos is in focus as a hotspot of secret agents leading up to the war. A nurse gets thrust into the middle of it. She starts working for the German secret service in an attempt to get back her child. While doing so, she becomes part of a risky plan that could determine whether there will be war or peace.
Davos was created in the German and Swiss-German languages. It will have English subtitles and will be dubbed in French and Italian.
Davos is expected to be available at the end of 2023.
AGENT
India is becoming a hotspot for spy movies. In fact, the next few spy movies we’re going to talk about are from India.
First up is an Indian spy movie that will release in theaters this weekend, on April 28, 2023. Unfortunately, the name of this one is Agent. We say unfortunately because this title will mess up searches for years to come.
Ok, so this is another South Indian movie released in the Telugu language with English subtitles. Surender Reddy is the director. Agent stars Akhil Akkineni as an unnamed rogue agent. The actor Mammootty plays Colonel Mahadev who has to catch this rogue agent. The Indian audience will recognize the 71-year-old Mammooty. Especially given he’s appeared in over 400 movies.
This looks like a good one. We like that it will release theatrically. That said, in the Chicago market, we’ve only found it at one theater so we aren’t sure how limited this release will be.
TIGER VS. PATHAAN
And now we’ll talk about another spy movie from India. We liked the Indian movie Pathaan and released a no-spoiler review of it. Not surprisingly, Pathaan is the biggest hit in India in 2023. In Pathaan, actors Shah Rukh Kahn and Salman Kahn joined forces with Salman Kahn in a cameo role.
Well, now these two stars will be leading a movie together for the first time since 1995 in the movie Tiger vs. Pathaan. This isn’t much of a surprise as this was hinted at at the end of Pathaan. However, it’s cool to see them take this relationship forward.
We don’t have much on the plot, but this movie should be a huge hit in India, and if Pathaan is any indication, worldwide.
This will be another movie in the YRF/Aditya Chopra spy universe and will be released after Tiger 3. Tiger 3 is the next spy movie to be released in the Yash Raj Films portfolio and is expected to be released in November 2023.
Tiger v Pathaan will start filming in January 2024. In light of what we saw in Pathaan, we’re excited to see how this all turns out.
WAR 2
Another movie in this spy universe from India that is under development is War 2. War 2 will star NTR Jr. He was the lead in the hit movie RRR. Joining NTR Jr will be Hrithik Roshan.
This one is a bit further out and the details are scant. That said, we’ll be watching what’s going on with this spy universe and all of the movies they are making out of it. We’ll let you know what we find out.
CITADEL
As we told you in our March Spy Movie News, this Friday is the release date for the first two episodes of Citadel. Amazon Prime is the streamer for this one. Then, the final four episodes will release weekly through May 26th.
We’ve been talking about Citadel for a while and are eager to see what it ends up being. The cast is phenomenal with Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Stanley Tucci.
Well, they are planning Season 2 already. Production for Season 2 will move from the UK to the US state of California. Tax credits are the main reason for this with the series being awarded $25 million in tax incentives.
AN UNTITLED MOVIE
Alright, let’s talk about a spy movie that doesn’t have a title yet. But, it is set to star Sebastian Stan and Maria Bakalova. Paul Feig is the director.
This untitled movie is expected to be another spy comedy. It is in early development. The script will be written by Jenny Bicks and will focus on a failed double agent who becomes an unlikely success.
So, we have the Apple series Slow Horses which is a non-comedy about failed agents who get a second chance. This new movie will be about a failed double agent. And it will be a comedy.
SLOW HORSES
And speaking of the fantastic series Slow Horses, Hugo Weaving, and Joanna Scanlan have joined the cast for Season 4. Yes, Season 3 isn’t out yet, but they’ve already started filming Season 4. Supposedly Season 4 will open with a bombing.
Seasons 5 & 6 are also rumored to be being developed.
KANDAHAR
Another movie we’ve been anticipating is Kandahar. We don’t have any new news on this one. However, we want to remind you that it has a May 26 2023 release date in movie theaters. This will be the weekend before our next Spy Movie News.
THE GRAY MAN 2
We liked The Gray Man when it came out and released a no-spoiler review of it. We mentioned at the time that there was the thought that this would become a franchise. Well, the Russo Brothers were behind the first movie. They have announced that a script is being developed for The Gray Man 2.
They haven’t said which book this new movie will be based on. The first movie included parts from multiple books in “The Gray Man” series, so we’re eager to find out where they take this one.
NIGHT AGENT
One of the hottest shows on Netflix right for the last month is the spy series Night Agent. This is the show about an agent who works in the basement of the White House waiting to answer a phone that never rings. Until it does.
We thoroughly enjoyed Night Agent. And, we are happy to let you know that Season 2 has been announced. We don’t have any details on Season 2, except that it will happen.
We’ll keep you up to date as more information comes out.
ACTOR UPDATES
JEREMY RENNER
We told you in January about the devastating accident that Jeremy Renner had with a snowplow. Well, we have some good news on his recovery.
Renner made two television appearances in April. The first was an interview with Diane Sawyer. He was seated for that one. Next, he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, walking out with a cane and looking quite well.
Finally, Renner toured Six Flags Magic Mountain riding on a scooter.
This is all great news, and we wish Jeremy Renner a continued speedy recovery.
TOPOL WAS A SPY?
We mentioned in last month’s Spy Movie News the death of Chiam Topol, who played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and Columbo in For Your Eyes Only. Well, it may be that Topol was a spy in real life.
Well, his family has since told the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz that Topol not only worked as an actor but used his fame to work for Mossad.
According to an article on Foxnews.com, the family says he “often took trips abroad with a miniature camera and tape recorder.” The article also talks about him installing eavesdropping equipment in an apartment.
Also, Topol was friends with Zvi Malkin, who was part of the Mossad squad that captured Nazi Adolf Eichmann. The article talks about Topol’s relationship with Malkin and some of their exploits.
So, it looks like our pistachio-eating spy friend really was a spy.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Now for some industry news.
WRITER’S STRIKE
Well, it looks like we might have another writer’s strike. The members of the Writers Guild of America authorized a strike if there is no deal May 1st. The vote was 97.85% in favor of authorizing the strike.
As per usual, as the entertainment industry evolves, the contracts don’t seem to keep up. The last strike was in 2017. This time, the issues are around compensation, especially with streaming taking more importance, pension and health funds, and professional standards and protection in the employment of writers.
Let’s hope that if a strike happens it is a short one. As we mentioned earlier, there is a lot of spy entertainment in development. We’d hate to see a huge delay in these shows.
CINEWORLD
We’ve told you in a few Spy Movie News episodes about the struggles Cineworld has been having. Well, since then, maybe we have some good news. Cineworld has filed a reorganization plan after reaching a conditional agreement with lenders.
Well, since that Deadline article, there has been an update on the “rest of the world” business. Cineworld Group has decided not to sell the rest of the world business as the bids it received didn’t meet the required levels.
So, the saga continues, but with a reorganization plan and increased theater attendance, we hope this situation resolves favorably.
GOODBYE NETFLIX DVDs
In a move that shouldn’t be a surprise, Netflix has announced that they will shut down DVD.com. September 29, 2023 is the last day discs will ship.
DVD.com was the mechanism people used to order DVDs for home rental. Given how streaming has overtaken DVD use, this makes sense. However, some customers who don’t stream content aren’t happy to see the red envelopes disappear.
IN MEMORIAM
Sharon Acker
Actor Sharon Acker passed at age 87. The movies Point Blank and Happy Birthday to Me are her best-known work. Spy television fans will have seen Ms. Acker in the tv shows “Get Smart”, “The Wild Wild West”, “Alias Smith and Jones”, “Mission: Impossible”, “The Delphi Bureau”, and “Our Man Flint: Dead on Target”.
Jacques Haitkin
Cinematographer Jacques Haitkin has passed at 72. Many will remember his work on 21 Bridges, Venom, and The Fate of the Furious. However, A Nightmare on Elm Street (parts 1 and 2) and The Hidden are probably his best-known works. Spy movie fans will have seen his work behind the camera in Chaos Factor and Assignment Berlin.
Norman Reynolds
Two-time Oscar winner Norman Reynolds has passed at 89. Reynolds won his Oscars as the production and art designer on Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars. He also received nominations for an Oscar for his work on four other movies. He had four BAFTA nominations, winning one. Spy movie fans will recognize his work as Production Designer on the 1996 movie Mission: Impossible.
Leo D. Sullivan
Animator Leo D. Sullivan passed away at 82. He was the animator on the opening to the television show “Soul Train”. He also worked on “Flash Gordon”, “BraveStarr”, “The Incredible Hulk”, “Fat Albert” and many more. Spy tv fans will have seen his work on the animated series “Undercover Elephant”. The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame honored Sullivan in 1979 and 1991.
Ok, so that’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed this Spy Movie News – April 25 2023 edition. Please help us out and subscribe to our show, Cracking the Code of Spy Movies” through your favorite podcast app! You can catch up on recent Spy Movie News articles on our website.
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News April 25 2023 – AGENT, DAVOS, GHOSTS OF BEIRUT and more!
Join us for our Spy Movie News April 25 2023 edition. We talk about the upcoming AGENT, DAVOS, SLOW HORSES and more!
NEVER TOO OLD TO DIE, THE SYMPATHIZER, GHOSTS OF BEIRUT, THE GRAY MAN 2, AGENT, DAVOS, MAUDE VS. MAUDE, TIGER VS PATHAAN, and SLOW HORSES are just some of the upcoming spy movies or series that we’ll fill you in on today in our Spy Movie News April 25 2023, edition.
We also have an update on two actors and some industry news.
So, have a listen and you’ll “Be in the Know” and get up to date on all things spy movies and series.
You can check out all of our podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or on our website. Our channel name is CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES.
We hope you enjoyed our Spy Movie News April 25 2023 edition. You can find the written versions of this and our other Spy Movie News episodes on our website.
If you want to listen to more spy movie podcasts, check out this page on our website.
Here is our Spy Movie News for December 29 2021! We discuss spy movies coming in 2022, The Kingsman series, Argylle, Red Notice, Mission: Impossible, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Duke and more!
Here’s our February 16, 2021 edition of Spy Movie News with updates on spy movies and TV series, Black Widow, Mission: Impossible 7, No Time to Die, a Jinx script?, Tom Holland, Ralph Fiennes, a Disney studio shuttered, The Gray Man, Jack Ryan and…
Keep current! Join Our Email List
Keep up to date with our latest and greatest spy movie finds. (See our Privacy Policy)
We’re going to lead things off by discussing the upcoming Prime Video Russo brother’s spy drama, Citadel. Of all the spy entertainment news we have found this month, Citadel is getting the most press. They released the first trailer which you can watch on YouTube. It looks like we’re going to like this one.
Citadel is a six-episode series starring Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Stanley Tucci. As for the plot, the tagline from the Amazon press site tells us:
April 28, 2023 is the date on Prime Video for the release of the first two episodes. Through May 26, 2023, we get another another episode weekly.
According to movieweb.com, “The plan is for Citadel to launch a “landmark global franchise” for Prime Video. Each Citadel series will be locally created, produced, and filmed in-region in different parts of the world. Prime Video states that series are already underway in Italy and India, respectively, starring Matilda De Angelis, Varun Dhawan, and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.”
So, once again Amazon is trying to develop a spy franchise. Are they hedging their bets against James Bond? We’re seeing a lot of these franchise efforts as we think the industry may be seeing weakness in the James Bond franchise and the likely ending of Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character in the Mission: Impossible franchise next year.
Pay Parity
Also, one other comment about Citadel comes from an article on variety.com. Actress Priyanka Chopra Jones told the audience at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival:
“I’ve been working in the entertainment industry for now 22 years and I have done about almost 70-plus features,” she said. “I’ve done two TV shows. But when I did ‘Citadel,’ it was the first time in my career that I had pay parity with my male co-actor. The first time in 22 years. And I wonder that did that happen? “
She was sharing the stage with Amazon Studio’s head, Jennifer Salke. The suggestion is that she finally got pay parity because a woman is leading the studio.
We don’t know if that is the real reason, but we are happy to see it. Pay disparity is an ugly issue and it is good to see that, at least in this case it has been addressed.
The Bucharest Dossier
Ok, so this one is very early in the process. But, the William Maz novel “The Bucharest Dossier” has had its movie and tv rights acquired by Gifford Media Group.
This appears to be yet another attempt to create a franchise around a CIA Analyst. The novel “The Bucharest Legacy” is due to be released in 2023. That will be the second novel in the series.
And, a 4.2 rating on barnesandnoble.com and a 4.3 rating on Amazon tell us that this is a well-received novel. Both of those are out of 5 points so this looks promising.
In December, 1989, Bill Hefflin is a peculiarity in the CIA. Besides being the lead analyst on Eastern Europe, he is also the only analyst running his own mole, code-named Boris, inside the KGB. When Boris demands that Hefflin come to Bucharest to “create” history, Hefflin is forced to confront not only the dangers of a bloody revolution but his own passions for the girl he left behind. … The revolution is obviously controlled by outside forces, and Hefflin must decide whether his own CIA is on the right side of history.
We don’t have any information about the production of The Bucharest Dossier for either a movie or tv. However, we think this announcement is good news. We like when novels are brought to the screen. Especially if they are spy novels. We’ll keep you up to date as we learn more.
The Mole Agent
The Mole Agent may get a new title. But, Netflix has ordered eight episodes of an adaptation of the documentary “The Mole Agent”.
Ted Danson will be the lead. Mike Schur, who wrote this series also worked with Danson on the tv series “The Good Place”.
An article on Variety.com says that “Danson will star as Charles, ‘a retired man who gets a new lease on life when he answers an ad from a PI and becomes a mole in a secret investigation.’”
The documentary debuted at the 2020 Sundance Festival. And, it was nominated for an Oscar for “Best Documentary Feature”?
We’ll let you know more as details get released.
Ghosted
When we first read about the upcoming Apple TV+ movie, Ghosted, we saw it was a rom-com starring Chris Evans and Ana de Amas. We stopped reading. We are Cracking the Code of Spy Movies, after all. Not Cracking The Code of Romantic Comedies. Well, we’re glad we looked again. It turns out that Ghosted is a rom-com-spy-thriller. Ah, this is a spy movie.
The tagline for Ghosted is:
“Salt-of-the-earth Cole falls head over heels for enigmatic Sadie – but then makes the shocking discovery that she’s a secret agent. Before they can decide on a second date, Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world.”
Apple TV+ released a 3-minute trailer for the movie that you can see on YouTube. Based on the trailer, it looks like Ghosted could be worth watching. That said, we are curious about how long the set-up of this movie will take. The trailer makes it look like it takes a while for Cole to find out she’s a spy. The other thing is that the trailer gives up that fact. Cole is surprised. The trailer and tagline ruin the surprise for us.
This is the third movie that de Armas and Evans have worked on together and they have a very nice on-screen chemistry. Interestingly, Scarlett Johansson was originally cast in the lead role. However, she had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
Apple TV+ will release Ghosted on April 21 on Apple TV+. Joining Chris Evans and Ana de Armas are Amy Sedaris, Adrien Brody, Tim Blake Nelson, Tate Donovan, and more.
Kandahar
We told you about Kandahar in our January 31st Spy Movie News. This is the upcoming movie starring Gerard Butler and Ali Fazal about a CIA operative sent to dismantle a nuclear weapon. He ends up stuck in Afghanistan and has to get to his extraction point in Kandahar.
Mitchell LaFortune, who was a military intelligence officer, wrote the spec script so hopefully this will have a feel of realism.
The trailer is out and it looks really good. You can watch it on YouTube. The scenery in the trailer looks great. Saudi Arabia was the filming location for Kandahar. So, we’ll be waiting to see what Cinematographer MacGregor does with this one.
Kandahar will release in Russia on May 2023, the United States on May 26, 2023, the Netherlands on June 8th, and Spain on June 16th. – IN THEATERS!!!
Lioness
Also in our January 31 2023 Spy Movie News, we told you about the upcoming Paramount+ series Lioness.
This month’s news is that Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef will have a guest-starring role. He’s joining Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Morgan Freeman, and Nicole Kidman, among others.
And, Variety.com tells us that Youssef will play a character named Amrohi who is “a rags-to-riches billionaire businessman with ties to terrorism, building his own fortune by legitimate means before profiteering off the wars that destroy the Middle East he’s spent decades helping to rebuild.”
Let’s hope he can be as good in this shady billionaire role as Hugh Grant was as a billionaire arms dealer in Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre.
We still haven’t seen a release date for Lioness but will keep you posted as we find out more.
Kingsman 3
Taron Egerton told Collider.com that he expects there will be a Kingsman 3, rumored to be titled Kingman: The Blue Blood. Egerton says :
We like this series and hope they do get this one done.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
The hype machine is continuing for the upcoming two-part Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning movies. Part One has a US release date of July 14, 2023. We have a few nuggets to pass on about these movies.
A tip of the cap to Top Gun?
Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning: Part Two has filmed something on the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier off the coast of Italy. We don’t know what they filmed, but given that the Top Gun: Maverick actors trained on an aircraft carrier, is there going to be a tip of the cap to Top Gun in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning: Part Two? We’ll have to wait to find out.
Hannah Waddingham joins the cast
Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham has been announced as an addition to Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning: Part Two. She was reported to have been on the aforementioned aircraft carrier, or a similar one. We don’t know her role yet, but the never-ending casting and filming of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning continues.
Rolf Saxon is back
In the 1996 Mission: Impossible movie, Rolf Saxon played CIA agent William Donloe. He was the guy in the vault who got stomach problems after Claire put that stuff in his coffee.
Well, it looks like he’s back in Part Two. Christopher McQuarrie tells us this in an Instagram post.
So, now we have at least Kittridge and Donloe back. It will be great to see what they do, some 28 years after we first saw them.
Norway Authorities Cancel a stunt
Even Tom Cruise can’t get everything he wants. A stunt that was to be done in Norway got squashed by authorities. They were concerned about wildlife in the area.
“The production was reportedly aiming to film at various locations on Svalbard, a protected archipelago between Norway and the North Pole, but local Norwegian authorities denied requests for a planned 40 helicopter landings due to concerns regarding disruptions to local wildlife..”
So, it looks like there will be at least one thing Cruise wanted to do that he couldn’t with Part 2.
Initial screen tests question length
Movieweb.com tells us that Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning: Part One has started test screening. Paramount Global’s President, Bob Bakish tells us this about the first screening:
Awards
Slow Horses writers
We’re in the heart of awards season and we want to call out “Slow Horses” screenwriter Will Smith and novelist Mick Herron for winning the episodic TV category at the 35th annual USC Libraries Scripter Awards. Thanks to Variety.com for this one. We are big fans of this Apple TV+ series and are happy the writers have been recognized. Congratulations Will and Mick.
Spy x Family
Spy x Family won Best Comedy a the 2023 Crunchyroll Anime awards. We’ve talked about this series in previous Spy Movie News episodes. There is a movie in the works from this series that we are eagerly anticipating. This award heightens this anticipation.
Industry News
Sam Neil
Actor Sam Neil caused quite a stir when an excerpt from his just-released memoir mentioned he was treated for stage three blood cancer. He has since posted a video on his Instagram account letting us know that he’s in remission and still working on a mini-series with Annette Benning.
James Bond fans may know that he was in the running twice to take on the role of James Bond. Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan won those parts.
We wish Sam all the best and hope all goes well for him.
Pathaan breaks more box office records
The movie Pathaan continues to shine at the box office. It has overtaken the Hindi dubbed version of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in India. Congratulations.
In our no-spoiler review of Pathaan, we talked about how we liked this movie and that it was the first sold-out movie we’ve been to in years.
In Memoriam
Chaim Topol
Israeli actor/producer Chaim Topol passed at the age of 87. Topol is probably best known for his Oscar-nominated performance as Tevye in the 1971 movie Fiddler on the Roof. The 1990 revival of the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” netted Topol a Tony award nomination. He played Tevye in over 3,500 stage performances.
Spy movie fans will remember his great performance as Columbo in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only.
An article on Spy Command tells us that the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog announced Topol’s death on Twitter. A Google translation of the tweet said of Topol
We couldn’t have said it any better.
Ruben Igielko-Herrlich
Ruben Igielko-Herrlich has passed at 62. You may never have heard of Ruben, but he was a marketing executive who was instrumental in product placement in movies. The Nokia flip phone in The Matrix and the BMW used in chase scenes in Mission: Impossible were two examples of his work.
Ricou Browning
Actor, writer, director, underwater director and cinematographer, and stuntman Ricou Browning passed at the age of 93. Browning played Gill Man when Gill Man was underwater in The Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954, Revenge of the Creature in 1955, and The Creature Walks Among Us in 1956.
However, behind the camera, he was known for his direction of underwater camerawork. “Sea Hunt”, “The Aquanauts”, and “Flipper” all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Browning for his work on those shows.
James Bond fans will know his underwater direction in Thunderball and its remake Never Say Never Again.
And, as it is one of our favorite comedies, we wanted to be sure we pointed out that Browning did the underwater sequence in Caddyshack in 1980.
Tom Sizemore
Actor Tom Sizemore has passed at 61. Among Sizemore’s 226 IMDB entries are Saving Private Ryan, Blackhawk Down, Pearl Harbor, and Natural Born Killers.
Spy movie fans have seen Sizemore’s work in Radical, Unkillable, The Martyr Maker, Murder 101, and The Acquirer.
Lance Reddick
Actor Lance Reddick passed at the age of 60. The television shows “Oz”, “The Wire”, “Fringe”, and “Bosch” all had Reddick performing in at least 12 of their episodes.
Reddick also played Charon in all four chapters of the John Wick movie series. Spy entertainment fans will remember Reddick for his roles in the movies Angel Has Fallen and The Seige. He also played DCI Jeffrey Tatazoo in the television series “Intelligence”.
Erik Loomis
Film distribution executive Erik Loomis passed at age 64. His career included distribution for MGM, United Artists, and the Weinstein Company with many Oscar winners and blockbusters in his portfolio. Some of the James Bond movies Loomis distributed include GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, and No Time To Die. “A part of the industry has died with him today” said Barbara Broccoli.
That’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed this Spy Movie News – March 28 2023 edition. Please help us out and subscribe to our show, Cracking the Code of Spy Movies” through your favorite podcast app!
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News-March 28 2023 – Kandahar, Citadel, Lioness, and More!
Have a listen and you'll "Be in the Know". Get up to date on all things spy movies and tv. We look at CITADEL, LIONESS, and 6 other projects.
Citadel, Pathaan, The Bucharest Dossier, Lioness, Mission: Impossible, The Mole Agent, Ghosted and Kandahar are the upcoming spy movies or series that we’ll fill you in on today in our Spy Movie News-March 28 2023 edition.
We also talk about some industry news and awards.
So, have a listen and you’ll “Be in the Know” and get up to date on all things spy movies and series.
You can check out all of our podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or on our website.
In this January, 12, 2021 Spy Movie News, Dan discusses the latest news on your favorite spy movies, including NO TIME TO DIE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7, THE 355 and more.
Keep current! Join Our Email List
Keep up to date with our latest and greatest spy movie finds. (See our Privacy Policy)
"*" indicates required fields
Spy Movie News February 28 2023 – My Spy: The Eternal City, Operation Fortune, Agent Elvis and more!
Finally!!! We’ve been talking about Operation Fortune: Rue de guerre for over a year now and it is finally being released in theaters in the US this Friday, March 3rd, 2023. They are doing the special preview showings the night before. The movie was released globally in January and finally comes to the US. It has already hit a $30 million worldwide box office and the US release should help those numbers.
This is the Guy Ritchie spy movie starring Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, and Cary Elwes. It was supposed to be released last spring but was delayed because the baddies in this movie were Ukrainians. Well, just over a year ago Russia invaded Ukraine so the decision was made to put Operation Fortune on ice. It ended up being kept on ice for almost a full year.
We’ve purchased our advanced tickets and our next podcast episode will be our quick-fire, no-spoiler review of the movie. We hope it was worth the wait.
My Spy: The Eternal City
In June 2020, the movie My Spy starring Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman was released on Amazon Prime. It was supposed to be released in theaters the same week that COVID shut down all the theaters. So, like many movies, it got pushed. Then pushed again. The decision was finally made to release it to streaming.
Well, My Spy is getting a sequel called My Spy: The Eternal City. According to an article on Cinemablend.com it will be bringing back Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman, Kristen Shaal, and Ken Jeong.
In our review, we also talked about how we liked My Spy so a sequel is welcome. The original was a spy comedy and was well done. We assume The Eternal City will be as well.
Now, this is being called My Spy: The Eternal City which implies it will be based in Rome, Italy. Rome has the “The Eternal City” moniker. We get this from, a blog entry on the John Cabot University website which tells us that the poet Tibulllus is credited with calling Rome “Urbs Aeterna” which translates from Latin to “Eternal City”. We’ve seen some references to Kyoto Japan as having this moniker, but we believe this movie will be focused on Rome, Italy. So, we’ll need to see the movie to find out.
No release date has been announced, so we’ll keep you posted.
Butterfly
An article on MovieWeb.com tells us that Daniel Dae Kim will star in the upcoming spy series Butterfly for Amazon. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Butterfly follows a former US Intelligence operative in South Korea. This is being designed as a multi-season series and will be a blend of both Korean and English dialogues.
The tagline for the movie is:
David Jung, an enigmatic, highly unpredictable former US intelligence operative living in South Korea, whose life is blown to pieces when the consequences of an impossible decision from his past come back to haunt him, and he finds himself pursued by Rebecca, a deadly, sociopathic young agent assigned to kill him.
Amateur
Oscar winner and former Bond nemesis in No Time To Die, Rami Malek, has been picked to star in the upcoming spy movie Amateur. The movie is about a CIA cryptographer who wants to be trained as an operative. So, is this a bit Jack Ryan-esque with a non-CIA operative taking on the role of an operative? One difference here is that the cryptographer wants to make the change. Jack Ryan continues to be an analyst.
No details about production or release have been announced. We’ll keep you posted.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Henry Cavill’s latest project, which also stars Eiza Gonzalez, Henry Golding, and Cary Elwes, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare will have a theatrical distribution by Lionsgate. It will also release on Amazon Prime Video.
This movie is based on the real-life WWII special ops group that is now known as Black Ops. Winston Churchill and Ian Fleming are two of the main characters portrayed. You know we like spy movies based on real-life and this one looks like it will have a modicum of factual background to it.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is currently in production and is expected to release next year. Like so many movies these days, the goal is to make this the first of a franchise.
A Compassionate Spy
We told you about the upcoming documentary A Compassionate Spy back in our September 27, 2022 Spy Movie News. At the time, we told you this movie was hitting the film festival circuit. Well, we have a bit more information on this one.
As we told you in September, that looks at Ted Hall, one of the scientists on the Manhattan Project. Hall gave nuclear secrets to Russia. Given the buzz of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie Oppenheimer, the development of the nuclear bomb is getting some renewed interest this year.
Magnolia Pictures has picked up the North American distribution rights and will release A Compassionate Spy in theaters later this year. We’ll let you know if we hear a release date
Agent Elvis
We told you about this animated movie last month. We now have more details thanks to an article on Movieweb.com. Matthew McConaughey will provide the voice of Elvis.
The article tells us that:
“Agent Elvis finds Elvis Presley wanting to give something back as he trades in his jumpsuit for a jetpack after being covertly inducted into a secret government spy program to battle the dark forces that threaten the country he loves – all while holding down his day job as the King Of Rock And Roll.”
We will tell you that the trailer for this movie uses the words “S*^t” and “F*#!ing Elvis” so we don’t think this one will be for kids.
And, Agent Elvis will release in March of 2023.
The Order
Jude Law will be playing an FBI agent in the upcoming movie The Order. The Order was adapted from the 1989 book “The Silent Brotherhood” which was written by Kevin Flynn. Nicholas Hoult will be Law’s nemesis as the leader of a terrorist organization.
We haven’t seen much more about this one, but we’ll keep you up to date as we learn more.
Operation Napoleon
Here’s another movie that we’ve told you about in the past, this time in our November 29, 2022, Spy Movie News. Operation Napoleon is about the finding of an old German WW II plane in a melting glacier. The plane contains dangerous secrets.
Iain (ian) Glen, who “Game of Thrones” fans will recognize as Jorah Mormont in that series, is one of the stars in this movie.
This month’s news, from The Hollywood Reporter about Operation Napoleon, has to do with distribution. It was released in Iceland in February 2023 and will release in Germany on March 9th. Beta Cinema owns worldwide distribution rights and has been signing release deals in many countries. The Hollywood Reporter’s article title says “Hot Sales for Iceland Thriller ‘Operation Napoleon’ ahead of Berlin Market.” So, this one is getting some buzz.
We’ve yet to see a US or UK release information and will keep you posted.
Spy/Master
Spy/Master is an upcoming Romanian spy series that brings us a fictional double agent, Victor Godeanu. Godeanu is one of president Nicolae Ceaușescu’s advisor who defects in 1978.
“As a child, I used to watch James Bond, which is a very cartoony version of espionage. It was something we really wanted to avoid. We wanted it to feel real,”
Co-creator Adina Sădeanu adds:
“Over the years, I met many people working in intelligence. They weren’t these ‘James Bond’ types, with an exception of maybe one guy. It helped me understand the way they hide.”
So, it looks like they are going for realism with this one. We can’t wait.
And we won’t have to wait long. HBO Max will stream the series Spy/Master in May 2023.
Warner TV Serie will show it in Germany this summer.
Salaar
Ok, so we’re not 100% this is a spy movie. But, the Tollywood movie Salaar is slated to be released September 28, 2023. Given the recent worldwide success of Indian movies like RRR, K.G.F., and Pathaan, this Salaar is getting a lot of hype. It is starring a big Tollywood actor called Prabhas and is being directed by Prashant Neel who directed the K.G.F trilogy.
Not much is known about the plot but the rumor is that Prabhas will be playing a dual role, an anti terrorist squad soldier and the other is a gangster. We’ll have to see if they give this the Mr. Big/Kananga treatment from Live and Let Die. Does it just happen to be the same actor, or are the roles really different. We’ll have to see Salaar to find out.
One more thing: If you aren’t familiar with the term ‘Tollywood’, it is the southern India answer to Bollywood. We know we’re simplifying here but Tollywood movies are mostly released in the language Telugu. While Bollywood movies are mainly released in Hindi. That said, as Tollywood has grown, it appears that both of the Indian ‘woods’ are releasing many of their movies in both languages.
The Department
George Clooney will direct the upcoming Showtime series “The Department”. It is based on the French series “The Bureau” or “Le Bureau des Legendes”. “The Bureau” has had a 5-season run. It was released in Canada and the US on iTunes and on Amazon Prime in the UK.
The article in Variety on “The Department” talks more about “The Bureau” than it does “The Department”. So, we aren’t sure if this is just a straight American English remake of “The Bureau” or if it will be something else.
The official tagline for “The Bureau” is:
“the daily life and missions of agents within France’s principal external security service. It focuses on the ‘Bureau of Legends,’ responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents on long-term missions in areas with French interests. Living under false identities for years, these agents’ missions are to identify and recruit good intelligence sources.”
We’ll let you know when we hear anything on the casting and release schedule for “The Department” when we hear.
“Based on the novel by Matthew Quirk, the series is a sophisticated, character-based, action-thriller centering on a low level FBI Agent who works in the basement of the White House, manning a phone that never rings — until the night that it does, propelling him into a fast moving and dangerous conspiracy that ultimately leads all the way to the Oval Office.”
That description hasn’t changed from what we told you back in 2021.
Netflix will stream all 10 episodes of the series “The Night Agent” on March 23, 2023. So, get your binge time allocated for this one.
Netflix has been releasing a few of these spy series lately. We thought “The Recruit” was worth watching but we weren’t as sold on “Treason”. Let’s hope that “The Night Agent” is worth the wait.
Rabbit Hole
We can’t really call this a spy movie as we normally define it. However, it is about corporate espionage, has action sequences, and feels like a spy movie based on its newest 2-minute trailer. We are talking, of course about the upcoming 8-part Paramount + series, Rabbit Hole.
This series stars Kiefer Sutherland and Charles Dance and the trailer makes it look promising. Our only concern is that the trailer starts with a bit that looks like a rehashing of a scene in the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again. If you are going to start your trailer with a take-off of a Bond movie, we think you should probably stick with an Eon Productions Bond.
Rabbit Hole will show the first 2 episodes back-to-back on March 26th in the US and on March 27th in the UK.
Some sad news about Judy Dench
Dame Judy Dench has shared some sad news about her efforts to memorize lines. It appears she has a photographic memory which has helped her learn her lines in the past. However, her degenerative eye condition has made this very tough for her. An article in Variety tells us that she says “it’s now become ‘impossible’ to learn lines because of her eyesight loss”.
We loved Dame Dench’s turn as M from GoldenEye through Skyfall and are saddened to see her struggle. She is one of the best.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Gemma Arterton of Quantum of Solace and The King’s Man fame. She gave birth to her son just before Christmas. She told the ‘Plot Twist’ podcast that she had tried to keep his birth private, but has since gone public with the news. So congratulations to Gemma and her husband Rory Keenan.
Tom’s Rant for Spy Movie News February 23 2023
Before I get into this, I want to wish my beautiful wife a very happy birthday.
AMC’s New Pricing Model
Ok, Dan told you that I bought my ticket for Operation Fortune: Rue de guerre earlier in this episode. AMC has the closest theater to me that is showing this movie. Well, I have one big gripe about going to AMC to see this. In fact, what I’m going to talk about is why I’m driving an extra 20 minutes to see this movie. And not in an AMC theater. I originally purchased my ticket for AMC but returned it and am going elsewhere to see this movie.
AMC has started their “preferred sightline” pricing and they are charging a dollar more for a seat in the middle section of the theater. You can save $2 if you want to sit in the front row. Operation Fortune is the first movie where I’ve encountered this new practice AMC has started. I assume it started with Ant-Manand the Wasp: Quantumania.
I’m going to Cinemark
So, I’m going to a Cinemark theater to see Operation Fortune instead of supporting AMC’s pricing decision.
I get where this is coming from. Yes, airlines are packed right now and they do preferred seating and pricing. Uber has surge pricing. However, I’ve only been to one sold-out theater in years (a Sunday afternoon showing of Pathaan). Why is AMC discouraging people from coming to their theaters to see a movie? The theater audience isn’t back from the pandemic and there are non-price-gouging theaters that are showing this movie.
The best thing is that when I bought my ticket AMC had not sold any seats yet for the preview showing in that AMC theater. But, the Cinemark theater has some seats already sold. Maybe people are telling AMC something here. I know I’m trying to tell them something here.
Given our website SpyMovieNavigator.com and our podcast show Cracking the Code of Spy Movies, you know I like movies. I’ve talked in the past about how I prefer to see a movie in the theater rather than in my home theater. I hope other theaters don’t pick up this what is, in my opinion a stupid short-sighted policy from AMC.
Make your voice heard
I have a choice and I am choosing not to go to the closer AMC theater just because of their pricing policy. I’ll spend more in fuel getting to the non-price-gouging Cinemark theater but we feel it is worth it to not support this stupid AMC pricing decision. I encourage you to do the same. We consumers have a choice. If a movie is available in a non-AMC theater, we hope you’ll choose to see it there.
James Bond
The James Bond waiting game is getting tiring. It has been 3 years since Eon Productions wrapped filming on No Time To Die. Ok, so it’s really been 2 years and 11 months. They killed off Bond at the end of that one and we don’t think that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have a clue what to do now.
Barbara Broccoli recently told LadBible “No, we haven’t even started casting yet” and “There isn’t even a script”. We’re wondering if they really wanted to end the franchise with No Time To Die. Did they get caught having to give us a “James Bond Will Return” just to appease the new management.
That said, an article on The Spy Command reminds us of something Barbara Broccoli told the Los Angeles Times in 2012:
So, we’re going to stop looking at the rumors and wait to see if or when anything happens with the Bond franchise going forward.
Unfortunately, we have quite a few passings to mention in this episode.
Oliver Wood
Cinematographer Oliver Wood died at the age of 80. Wood was nominated for a BAFTA Best Cinematography award for The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007. Among his numerous credits is his work on the spy movies The Bourne Ultimatum, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Identity, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and I Spy.
Burt Bacharach
Songwriter Burt Bacharach died at age 94. Spy movie fans will know his work with Hal David for the Oscar-nominated song “The Look of Love” from the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale. Bacharach wrote the score for that movie. He won many awards, including two Oscars, in his career and had 73 top 40 hits in the US. You can read more about Bacharach in an article on The Spy Command.
Raquelle Welch
Actress Raquelle Welch passed at age 82. Welch was one of the actresses who auditioned for the part of Domino in Thunderball. Spy movie fans will remember her as the lead in the movie Fathom.
Stella Stevens
Actress Stella Stevens passed at the age of 84. She had a 50-year career in movies and television. She is probably best known for her roles in the movies The Poseidon Adventure and The Nutty Professor.
However, spy movie fans will remember her as Gail Hendricks in the first Matt Helm movie The Silencers.
Gerald Fried
Composer Gerald Fried died at the age of 95. Fried is probably best known for his work on the “Star Trek” television series and the miniseries “Roots”. Fried received two primetime Emmy nominations which he shared with Quincy Jones for “Roots”, winning one of them. He also had three other Emmy nominations. Fried had one Oscar nomination for Best Dramatic Score for the documentary Birds Do It, Bees Do It in 1974.
Spy tv fans will recognize his work on 45 episodes of the television series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and six episodes of the “Mission: Impossible” television series.
Walter Mirisch
Producer Walter Mirisch passed at age 101. Mirisch won the Best Picture Oscar for the 1967 movie In the Heat of the Night. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1978 and the 1983 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy Awards. Mirisch also produced the spy movie Scorpio in 1973.
Zia Mohyeddin
British-Pakastani actor Zia Mohyeddin died at the age of 91. He is probably best known for his role as Tafas in the movie Lawrence of Arabia. Spy television fans may know him from his work on four episodes of the television show “Secret Agent”.
Whew, that was quite a list of talent that we just lost.
Spy Movie News February 23 2023 – That’s a Wrap
That’s a wrap of our Spy Movie News February 28 2023 edition! Please help us out and Subscribe to our show, Cracking the Code of Spy Movies, through your favorite podcast app! Remember, you can always send us your comments via email at info@spymovienavigator.com. And, if you hit the red button that says “Leave us a voicemail”, you can leave us a message that we might use in an upcoming podcast episode.
Thanks for spending time with us – we appreciate it!
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News – February 28 2023 – My Spy: The Eternal City, Operation Fortune, Agent Elvis and more!
Spy Movie News February 28, 2023 - We look at MY SPY: THE ETERNAL CITY, OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE, and BUTTERFLY, & more spy movies!
Join us for our Spy Movie News – February 28 2023 edition.
In this episode, we will look at the upcoming spy entertainment My Spy: The Eternal City, Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre, Amateur, Butterfly, The Order, Agent Elvis, and more.
Plus, Tom has a rant in this episode where he talks about AMC Theaters as well as James Bond.
So, “Be in the Know” in 22 minutes and get up to date on all things spy movies and television.
You can check out all of our podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or on our website.
Here is our latest episode of Spy Movie News, which comes out monthly! You love spy movies, so we do all the research so you can know what new spy movies or series are coming out, when, where and who is involved! All updated monthly for you through the spy movie podcast show, Cracking the Code of Spy Movies – Subscribe to it in your favorite podcast app! Or, you can listen on our website here!
Join us for a 12-minute look at the latest Spy Movie News for November 30, 2021. We look at news on THE KING'S MAN, NO TIME TO DIE, RED NOTICE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8, and more ...
In this January, 12, 2021 Spy Movie News, Dan discusses the latest news on your favorite spy movies, including NO TIME TO DIE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7, THE 355 and more.
Keep current! Join Our Email List
Keep up to date with our latest and greatest spy movie finds. (See our Privacy Policy)
"*" indicates required fields
Spy Movie News January 31 2023 Edition – Pathaan, Agent Elvis, Kandahar and more!
We want to start off with a tip of the cap to Tom and Chris over at James Bond Radio. In case you hadn’t heard, they have decided to end their podcast. We’ve been fans of their show for years and have appreciated the passion and positivity they showed for everything James Bond. We thank you Tom and Chris for all of your hard work. You have been appreciated by many in the Bond community. We wish you all the best.
Upcoming Spy Entertainment
Ok, let’s move to the upcoming spy entertainment. To begin with, we’ll start with a movie that was released in the US and internationally this past weekend, Pathaan. It set the Bollywood box office record for an opening weekend.
Pathaan
Pathaan is a Hindi movie that is the fourth movie of the YRF Spy Universe. For those of you not familiar with the YRF Spy Universe, it is an Indian universe of spy action-thriller movies.
According to Deadline.com, the story revolves around an exiled Indian spy agency field operative who is assigned to take down a private terrorist operation that is planning an attack on India.
Pathaan stars Shah Ruk Kahn, commonly called SRK, in what is being considered a comeback movie for this star. SRK has been a romantic star in Bollywood, but his last few movies struggled. Based on what we’ve seen, he’s back.
We’ve seen the trailer for Pathaan. Based on the trailers, this looks to be a must-see spy movie to us.
An article on Variety.com quotes Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, joint managing director, PVR Limited, who calls Pathaan
PVR Limited is an Indian multiplex chain. We like when movies are made for the big screen and not just for streaming. So,we are excited about this one.
Pathaan has been released in the Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. This is also available in the US with English Subtitles. We will be seeing Pathaan this week and will do a no-spoiler review for you soon.
Lioness
Lioness is an upcoming Paramount+ series based on a real-life CIA program. The tagline for the series is: “Cruz Manuelos, a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within.”
Lioness stars Carla Mansour and Sam Asghari. Addionally, they have just announced that Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Kelly have joined the cast.
This looks like a series we will like.
Liberté
Sky History will premiere the short film Liberté on February 21, the 80th anniversary of the real World War II mission it is based on. The story is about a British Muslim spy, Noor Inaya Kahn, and her mission, which led to her death. Surprisingly, it is based on testimony from her captors.
Michael B. Jordan reprises his role as John Clark, a Tom Clancy character. Rainbow Six has been a video game that has had many different releases since 1998.
This one should be interesting as Jordan’s first movie playing John Clark, Without Remorse, was not well received. Without Remorse was released directly to Amazon Prime. Now, to be fair, it was released during the Covid Pandemic. But the reviews were not kind. It only has a 37% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
So, we’ll have to see what they do with Rainbow Six. We have read that they intend this to release in theaters, but nothing has been solidified yet. We’ll keep you posted when we hear the final plans.
Face/Off 2
We’ve been talking about Face/Off 2 for quite a while now. Well, Nicholas Cage has talked about this movie, we don’t know much about it. In fact, what Cage has told us has been based on one discussion, but nothing concrete.
That said, Cage is quoted on Collider.com giving a hint of where the plot for Face/Off 2 may be headed. He said:
So, we don’t know about you, but that didn’t clarify things for us. We are eagerly anticipating this movie and hope it does happen. However, this quote makes us wonder.
True Lies
Well, we first talked about the TV show being created based on the 1994 movie True Lies way back in our February 2021 Spy Movie News. Well, we are finally almost ready to be able to watch it.
True Lies will premiere on CBS here in the US on March 1st, 2023.
Instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, the TV version will star Steve Howey and Ginger Gonzaga. I’m a big fan of Howey’s as I really liked the way he played Kevin Ball on “Shameless”. I think he would be a great fit for Harry. I first remember Gonzaga from the TV series “Anger Management”. This looks like a good pair to lead this series.
The Recruit
The Netflix series “The Recruit” has been picked up for a second season. The first season has 8 episodes and stars Noah Centineo and we liked the series. Centineo plays Owen Hendrix as a CIA lawyer who dives into the world of being an operative based on some information he’s uncovered. We haven’t heard about a release date, but we’re glad this series will continue.
Slow Horses
We’ve previously told you that Slow Horses Season 2 was released last year. There will be a season 3.
Variety tells us that Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, of Gangs of London fame, is slated to play the former head of the British embassy in Istanbul. So, you know we like the Slow Horses series and are very happy it is continuing. Bringing Dìrísù into the fold should work well.
A Spy Among Friends
In our December 28, 2022 episode, we told you about the series “A Spy Among Friends.” It was released in the UK on December 9th but no date had been set for the US release. Well, we can now tell you that this series will be released on MGM+ (formerly Epix) on March 12, 2023.
This is the series based on the relationship between Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby. It stars Damian Lewis, Guy Pearce, and Anna Maxwell Martin. As we said in December, we really liked this series and think this is a series any spy movie fan will like. This isn’t an action movie, but it is a good spy movie.
Kandahar
Gerard Butler will star in Kandahar. We know Butler from his “has fallen” movies and are glad he’s doing more spy movie work.
This time, in Kandahar, Butler plays an undercover CIA operative who is stuck in Afghanistan. He has to get to Khandahar which is his extraction point. Joining him in this movie are Bahador Foladi and Olivia-Mai Barrett.
This movie has a May 26, 2023 release date.
Agent Elvis
Netflix will be releasing an animated spy show called Agent Elvis. As you might guess, the premise of the show is that Elvis gets recruited by the CIA. While traveling the country for his performances, he has to fight crime.
According to Movieweb.com, the show was created in part by Elvis’ ex-wife, Priscilla Presley. As Priscilla puts it:
No release date has been set.
Heart of Stone
Another movie we have been talking about for a while finally has a release date. Heart of Stone, starring Gal Gadot will release on August 11, 2023, on Netflix. We’re not sure if Netflix will hold a theatrical release for this movie in advance of it hitting the streaming platform. Many of its other big-budget action movies have done a theatrical release so we anticipate one here as well.
This is another movie that Netflix will hope to turn into a spy movie franchise, like James Bond. We’ll have to wait to find out.
God’s Spy
Here’s another spy movie being developed based on a true story. God’s Spy is about a German pastor who becomes a spy during World War II. He was an anti-Nazi who took on Hitler while trying to save Jewish lives.
We have not seen a release date yet as this movie is still in production.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E sequel
Our friends at The Spy Command pointed us to the website GiantFreakinRobot.com. They tell us that The Man From U.N.C.L.E. 2 is in development with Guy Ritchie and Henry Cavill. At last! We’ve been waiting for this one.
There aren’t a lot of details in the article as this thing seems to be under wraps. We’ve heard about The Man From U.N.C.L.E. 2 as a rumor for a long time. Additionally, we expect that with his troubles, Armie Hammer won’t be returning for the sequel.
Given the lack of detail, we aren’t sure if this is a ‘friend-of-a-friend’ type of rumor of if it is correct. That said, GiantFreakinRobot.com has a pretty good track record with these things.
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
What is up with Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre? Although released internationally we still don’t have a US release date for streaming or in the theater. Come on guys, what’s up? We want to see this movie!
Industry News
Jeremy Renner
You may have heard that Jeremy Renner has been injured by a snowplow. Spy movie fans know Jeremy as Brandt in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Arron Cross in The Bourne Legacy. He also has appeared in The Avengers and has 2 Academy Award acting nominations.
Well, on January 1st, Renner saved his nephew. In the process of doing so, the snow plow ran over Renner. He suffered critical injuries and will be dealing with his injuries for quite some time.
This is one of those scary real-life incidents and we wish Jeremy a speedy recovery.
Awards
We have a few award nominations and recognition awards for spy movies to discuss.
Roger Deakins
The first is cinematographer Roger Deakins. He will receive a career achievement award at the American Cinematheque Tribute to the Crafts ceremony.
He’s been the Director of Photography for over 85 movies. We know you’ve seen his movies. Spy movie fans have seen his work in Sicario, Skyfall, and A Beautiful Mind. Congratulations Roger.
In addition to this award, Deakins has 15 oscar nominations with two wins.
Slow Horses
Nina Gold and Kate Bone have been nominated for the Best Casting in a TV Drama Series award by the Casting Director’s Guild UK for the TV series Slow Horses.
Spy x Family
In our December 28, 2022, Spy Movie News, we told you that the animated spy series ‘Spy x Family’ will be made into a movie. Well, the animated series has garnered 19 nominations at Crunchyroll’s Anime Awards. Obviously, we can’t wait to see this movie.
In Memorium
Owen Roizman
Cinematographer Owen Roizman has passed at 86. Roizman received five Academy Awards nominations. In addition, in 2017 Roizman received an honorary Academy Award for his contributions to cinematography. Spy movie fans have seen his work in Three Days of the Condor.
Ben Masters
Actor Ben Masters passed at the age of 75. Probably best known for his role as Julian Crane in the TV series ‘Passions’. Spy TV fans will undoubtedly know Ben from the 1997 series ‘Spy Game’.
Miiko Taka
Actress Miiko Taka has passed at 97. Spy TV fans have seen Miiko in the series ‘The Wild Wild West’, ‘The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.’, ‘I Spy’, ‘The FBI’, and ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’
Mike Hill
Academy Award-winning editor Mike Hill has passed at 73. Hill was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning one. He also received three BAFTA nominations, winning one. Daniel P. Hanley shared all of these nominations with Hill.
Spy movie fans have seen his work in A Beautiful Mind.
Annie Wersching
Actress Annie Wersching has passed a 45. Spy TV fans will know Annie as Renee Walker in the TV series ‘24’.
That’s a wrap of our Spy Movie News January 31 2023 edition! Please help us out and Subscribe to our show, Cracking the Code of Spy Movies, through your favorite podcast app! Remember, you can always send us your comments via email at info@spymovienavigator.com. And, if you hit the red button that says “Leave us a voicemail”, you can leave us a message that we might use in an upcoming podcast episode.
Thanks for spending time with us – we appreciate it!
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News January 31 2023 – Pathaan, Agent Elvis, Rainbow Six and more!
Join us for our Spy Movie News January 31 2023 edition. We look at upcoming spy movies, tv, and streaming entertainment.
Here is our Spy Movie News January 31 2023 edition.
In this episode, we talk about these upcoming spy movies and series:
– Pathaan
– Lioness
– Liberté
– Rainbow Six
– Face/Off 2
– The Recruit
– A Spy Among Friends
– God’s Spy
– True Lies
– Slow Horses
– Kandahar
– Agent Elvis
– Heart of Stone
– The Man From U.N.C.L.E. 2
-Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
As per usual, you can read to our Spy Movie News January 31 2022 edition here if you would prefer to read instead of listen.
He is our December 8, 2020 edition of Spy Movie News with lots of theater news as WarnerMedia drops a bombshell, Women as leads in Spy Movies in 2021, James Bond updates, Dr. No prop sells for over a quarter…
Watch the Video Version of this podcast In this September 1, 2020, edition of Spy Movie News, we look at the opening of the movie TENET, news from the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 front, a bit on NO TIME TO DIE.
Here is our Spy Movie News for December 29 2021! We discuss spy movies coming in 2022, The Kingsman series, Argylle, Red Notice, Mission: Impossible, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Duke and more!
Keep current! Join Our Email List
Keep up to date with our latest and greatest spy movie finds. (See our Privacy Policy)
"*" indicates required fields
Spy Movie News – December 28 2022 – A Spy Among Friends, Paradox Effect and more!
As per usual, you can listen to our Spy Movie News – December 28 20022 edition podcast episode here if you would prefer to listen instead of read.
Before we start, we want to wish you all a Happy New Year. Where did 2022 go? Wow.
Ok, let’s get into it.
Upcoming Spy Movies and Television Shows
A Spy Among Friends
For some of you, this won’t appear as an upcoming show as it premiered in the UK on ITVx on December 8th. However, it won’t hit here in the US until early 2023 on MGM+, formerly Epix. A Spy Among Friends is based on Ben Macintyre’s book of the same name. It is a dramatization with name changes, new characters, etc.
We’ve watched this 6-part series and liked it a lot. The cast is brilliant with Anna Maxwell Martin playing Lily Thomas, Damian Lewis playing Nicholas Elliott, and Guy Pearce playing Kim Philby. Yes, that Kim Philby. And, in case you didn’t know Nicholas Elliott, what happens in this movie is a dramatic interpretation of his role with Philby. But, Elliott was also the person who arranged for Lionell Crabb to surveil Khrushchev’s cruiser in 1956. Crabb was the focal point in the 1958 movie The Silent Enemy that we decoded in our July 7, 2020 podcast episode.
Anyway, this series is a look at both the friendship of Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby as well as covering some of the details of Philby’s defection. Again, a lot of the series is based on facts, but it is a dramatization. The acting is brilliant. I’ve never seen Damian Lewis in anything that I didn’t like. He knows how to pick what to sign up for. And he doesn’t fail us with this performance either.
One nice touch for us is that there is an uncredited role of Dutch spy, Peter Tazelaar. He comes out of a pool and is greeted by none other than Ian Fleming. When he takes off his diving suit, he is wearing a tuxedo. Well, this spy was the inspiration for part of the pre-title sequence of Goldfinger. If you want to find out the tie-in to Goldfinger, you can listen to our podcast Episode from March 16, 2022, to find out the details.
Anyway, we recommend this series and for the US-based folks, this should be on MGM+ soon.
Ballerina
In our November 29th Spy Movie News, we talked about the upcoming movie Ballerina. We also told you that Keanu Reeves will be in this along with Anjelica Huston. This is a spin-off of the John Wick series of movies and stars Ana de Armas. Well, an article on CinemaBlend.com tells us that the cast is even more flushed out with Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Lance Reddick also signing on up. This is a very good cast so we’ll see where they take it.
Spy x Family
We like this next one because it is a bit different. The popular manga series Spy x Family is expanding by not only just adding a second season but a movie too. This could be cool. If you aren’t aware of the series, it is a story of an undercover spy who forms a family to provide cover. It has a TV-14 rating. There isn’t much out about the movie yet, but, like the series, it is expected to be in Japanese with English dubbing. The series was released on TVTokyo. Crunchyroll is where to go to stream it.
We don’t have a release date for the movie, but it is expected to release in 2023.
Atomic Blonde 2?
We’re fans of the 2017 movie Atomic Blonde, starring Charlize Theron. We also are hoping to see an Atomic Blonde 2. Well, Mike Reyes published an article where he talks with Kelly McCormick. She’s the producer of both the movies Nobody and Atomic Blonde at 87North Productions.
Mike asked Kelly about sequels for both of these movies. Kelly made it sound like Nobody 2 is in the works but was a bit noncommittal about Atomic Blonde 2. She didn’t say yes or say no, but couched her answer by being more direct about Nobody 2 being further along. So, we’ll have to see if she was just being coy or if something is really happening. We hope they do create an Atomic Blonde 2. We know we’d like that.
Another spy movie in the works will star Olga Kurylenko and Harvey Keitel. An article on deadline.com describes the plot like this. “an innocent woman (Kurylenko) is forced to confront a dangerous kingpin (Keitel) who has kidnapped her young daughter and is holding her for ransom. She teams up with a corrupt Interpol agent, whose son is also being held hostage, to rip off various criminals to raise the ransom to save their offspring. Together they have one hour to save their families from the wrath of Keitel’s character.”
Like Damien Lewis who we talked about earlier, Keitel is one of those actors who has more hits than misses. And Kurylenko we liked as Camile in the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace. And we’ll talk about her later in this newscast as well.
Production is expected to start in January 2023. It currently does not have a release date.
Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre
Ok, so let’s talk about one of the most bizarrely advertised spy movies in recent times. Of course, we’re talking about Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre. This was the movie that was supposed to be released in early 2022 but was pushed back. At the time we were hearing that it was pushed because the bad guys in the movie were supposed to be Ukrainian. The Russian invasion of Ukraine happened right before the expected release date so pausing for that reason made sense.
But, now we are reading in some places that this movie will release in a week, on January 5th, in some locations, hitting the US on January 12, 2023. Maybe. Those dates come from IMDB.
Um, you would think that there would be some promotion around a Guy Ritchie movie starring Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, and Hugh Grant, but we’re getting crickets. If you go to the Miramax and STX Films websites, there is nothing but the trailer. There is no release information at all. The trailer looks great. Even the “official site” Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre | Official Website | 01 January 2023 just says “Coming Soon”. So what gives?
Well, Guy Ritchie, the movie’s director commented on this at the Red Sea International Film Festival in early December about the release of the movie. He said “It starts to unfurl in different territories from January. Some are theatrical, some are not. That’s my understanding. That got caught in some administrative hell. There’s quite a lot of administrative hell, as it turns out, behind the curtain of distribution.” So, did that give us any clarity?
Well, hopefully, we’ll be able to see this movie in January. We’re not holding our breath.
Treason
The five-part series called Treason just dropped on December 26th on Netflix. According to Netflix, the tagline for the series is “An Mi6 deputy’s bright future takes a sharp turn after a reunion with a Russian spy forces him to question his entire life.” That sounds good to us.
This series counts Ciarán Hinds, Olga Kurylenko, and Charlie Cox as part of its cast which bodes well for the series.
We’ve watched this series and there are some good parts and some parts that could have used more development. If you are an Olga Kurylenko or Charlie Cox fan, this one should work for you.
Mission Majnu
On January 20, 2023, the Indian spy thriller Mission Majnu will release on Netflix both in the UK and the US. The Netflix tagline for this one is “The untold story of India’s most audacious and daring covert operation in the heart of Pakistan.
The language for the movie is Hindi. We don’t know yet if it will be subtitled or English dubbed. We’ll let you know when we find out.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
Well, once again Mission: Impossible team is doing a great job of keeping our attention as we painfully wait for its July 14, 2023 release. Well, that is the release date for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One at least.
We wish they would change to a better title, but hey, they keep giving us more glimpses as to what’s coming which helps. This time, Christopher McQuarrie posted a picture on Instagram thanking South Africa. He included a picture showing Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character standing on a plane in mid-air. It’s a great shot. We think it will be for a scene from Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part Two which is slated to release on June 28, 2024.
In previous newscasts, we’ve talked about the big motorcycle jump that Cruise does in Part One. Well, they’ve now posted a video on Youtube that discusses and shows us how they did the stunt. It’s a fun 9-minute video that will make to want to see Part One just to see how it ties into the movie. You can see the YouTube video here.
East Side
Ok, this one might be a bit obscure. East Side is an Israeli movie due out in 2023 on the local station Kan 11. However, Fremantle owns distribution on this but nothing has been announced about distribution outside of Israel.
Anyway, East Side is a name that has been used for multiple movies, but this time we’re talking about the Israeli movie. According to an article on Deadline.com:
“East Side follows Momi, an ex-Secret Service agent-turned-fixer who plays by his own rules as he brokers shady property deals between the Arab residents of East Jerusalem, and the powerful Jewish groups trying to take control of the area by whatever means possible. Brooding and well-connected, Momi slips between communities with ease. But behind his cool facade, the deadly consequences of his double-dealing are taking their toll, and at the center of his world is 18-year-old autistic daughter Maya.”
I hope we can see this movie here in the US at some point. I have an autistic brother and understand the pressures of raising an autistic family member. Coupling managing double-dealing in the espionage world with raising an autistic child is something I want to see how they deal with..
James Bond
Our friends at The Spy Command tell us that the Ian Fleming Foundation is pushing the 70th anniversary of the publication of Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, “Casino Royale”.
The Ian Fleming Foundation also says that new editions of the Fleming originals will come out with new covers.
So, if you love the James Bond novels, 2023 will be a fun year for you.
Industry News For Spy Movie News – December 28 2022 Edition
Michael Denering
We all know the importance of Art Direction in movies, especially spy movies. Well, in February Michael Denering will be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Directors Guild. He is known for his painting in several movies. Among his 60 movie credits, spy movie fans have seen his work in Charlie’s Angels (2000), Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003).
In Memoriam
Michael Reed
Cinematographer Michael Reed has passed at 93. Among his 50+ credits is one spy movie fans love. He was the cinematographer of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
An article on Reed on mi6-hq.com tells us that Reed first became involved with the James Bond series with Goldfinger when he covered the 2nd unit’s work as Ted Moore and Guy Hamilton had to fly to the US to film the Fort Knox scenes.
Diane McBain
Actress Diane McBain has passed at 81. Probably best known for her work in the movies Spinout and The Delta Factor, as well as the “Batman” television series, McBain also had roles on the television spy series “Charlie’s Angels”, “The Man From U.N.C.L.E”, and “The Wild Wild West.”
Cliff Emmich
Cliff Emmich has passed at the age of 85. Among his almost 100 credits is his role as the out-of-control bus driver in Inspector Gadget.
Tom’s Rant For Spy Movie News – December 28 2022 Edition
I’m Mad
So, this month my rant will be a bit short but this one really frosts me. I mean it really, really makes me mad. Now, I’ll start this by saying I’m not a lawyer. I’m a movie fan. I’m not giving a legal opinion here. This is just my reaction to a stupid lawsuit and what I think is a stupid judge.
What’s up with the judge?
Here in the US, Judge Steven Wilson has allowed a lawsuit to continue. Now, this isn’t an “I-was-totally-wronged-and-lost-a-million-dollars-type of lawsuit”. No, here are two, what I consider idiots, who paid $3.99 each to watch the movie Yesterday. They claim they have been wronged to the tune of $5 million. Maybe they are brilliant because the judge, in my opinion, is an idiot as well.
What is the crime?
So, what was the heinous crime? Only that the trailer showed Ana de Armas playing a character named Roxanne. The problem was that between the trailer’s release and the movie’s release, the character Roxanne had been cut from the movie.
This is just stupid
Oh, be still my beating heart. These two idiots supposedly only watched the movie to see de Armas, on a streaming service no less. And, they weren’t smart enough to check the credits before purchasing if that’s the only reason they watched? And this is the basis of a $5 million lawsuit? Paleeze. This is one of the things wrong with the legal system in the US. How could Judge Steven Wilson allow this suit to continue?
What are some of the ramifications if the plaintiffs win? Let’s say a movie like Operation Fortune that we talked about earlier released its trailer (which it did) and then oh, a global pandemic hits and Russia invades Ukraine. Hmm, they pulled the release for the movie back. Now if one of their actors had been canceled with today’s cancel culture (which didn’t happen here), is the studio stuck having to include their scenes if they appeared in the trailer? I just don’t get it. Plus, things get cut in editing. We all know that. When I see a trailer, I don’t expect that 100% of what I see I’ll see in the final cut. Trailers come out early to generate hype.
I hope the plaintiffs lose
I hope that in the end these guys lose this suit and have to pay legal fees. Lots of legal fees. Movie producers and moviegoers are going to suffer if these guys win. Trailers won’t be able to be released until after the final editing is done. Movies won’t be able to be hyped because no one will want to take the risk.
If the movie companies lose this one, I think they should take whatever was shown in the trailer and show it as a post-credit scene clip. They would then be able to claim it was shown. This is just stupid.
So, let’s make sure we call these guys out. Peter Michael Roza and Conor Woulfe, I hope you lose your suit because it is dumb. And Judge Steven Wilson, shame on you for letting this continue. I think you should have tossed it. Allowing a $5 million lawsuit on a $3.99 movie. Really? That’s just total BS and I think you should all be ostracized for being jerks.
And that’s this month’s rant.
And, that’s a wrap! Thank you for reading our Spy Movie News – December 28 2022 Edition. As usual, you can send us a comment at info@spymovienavigator.com. Please help us out and Subscribe to our show, Cracking the Code of Spy Movies through your favorite podcast app!
We have a 18 spy movies and series to discuss so let’s jump right in. As usual, you can go to our website, SpyMovieNavigator.com to find the links to the supporting articles behind this episode.
Darkness of Man
Last year, we reviewed the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, The Last Mercenary. In fact, we released a quick-fire review of that one. Well, Van Damme has signed on to play Interpol operative Russell Hatch, in Darkness of Man. According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, Hatch finds himself protecting Jayden and his uncle from a group of merciless gangs in an all-out turf war, stopping at nothing to protect Jayden and fight anyone getting in his way — including supposed allies with hidden agendas and nefarious intents. Filming is set to start in Los Angeles in early 2023. The 62-year old actor has a few projects under way and it’s good to see.
Slow Horses
In our October 25th edition of Spy Movie News, we’ve told you about how much we like the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses and that its second season is scheduled to release on December 2, 2022. Here’s hoping that this show has a very long run.
It is not just that we like this series. We also really like it’s lead actor, Gary Oldman. Oldman has told The Times “I’ve had an enviable career, but careers wane, and I do have other things that interest me outside of acting,” says Gary Oldman, 64, thoughtfully. “When you’re young you think you’re going to get round to doing all of them — read that book — then the years go by.” “I’m 65 next year, 70 is around the corner. I don’t want to be active when I’m 80. I’d be very happy and honoured and privileged to go out as Jackson Lamb [his character in Slow Horses] — and then hang it up.”
Jackson Lamb is a great role for him to retire from. We just hope Oldman plays Lamb for a few more seasons. He is a fantastic actor.
One Ranger
Mix up some Texas Ranger action and British Intelligence, and you get the upcoming movie, One Ranger. Starring Thomas Jane and John Malkovich, this thriller brings a Texas Ranger to London to stop a terrorist attack. Dean S. Jagger and Dominique Tipper also star in this one. Lionsgate has acquired One Ranger and has not announced an expected release date. You can read more about it on Deadline.com.
A Spy By Nature
So far we’ve been talking about older actors, well, how about a 20-something taking on a spy role? Paul Mescal will be starring in A Spy By Nature. This movie is based on the first novel in the Alec Milius spy series, written by Charles Cumming. In an article on Deadline.com, A Spy By Nature’s director, Kevin Macdonald says “I’ve wanted to make A Spy By Nature for many years – and when I met Paul Mescal, with his beguiling mixture of intelligence, skill, and youth, I knew I’d found the perfect star,” Macdonald said. “This is a very modern spy story – sexy, dangerous, morally ambivalent – and only an actor of Paul’s talent could pull it off.”
Cummings has written 10 other spy movies. Is this a start for a new franchise? In that same article, HanWay Films CEO says “I feel confident we will all want to revisit this young spy in his next adventure with what could be the beginning of an exciting new franchise”
So, let’s see, a young actor taking on a lead role in a spy movie franchise. A movie that actually has a script and a lead actor assigned to it. Um, Eon Productions, are you paying attention here?
Ballerina
The John Wick series is in the process of creating a spin-off called Ballerina. Ana de Armas, who showed us her action movie acting chops in No Time To Die, takes on the lead role. She will be seeking revenge for the murder of her family. Keanu Reeves, who plays John Wick will make an appearance in this one. Also joining the cast are Anjelica Huston and Ian McShane. So, this movie brings in a 30-something lead, De Armas along with some let’s just say “more seasoned” actors. We have not yet seen an expected release date for Ballerina.
Day of the Jackal
“Downton Abbey” producer, Carnival Films, is coming out with a tv adaptation of The Day of the Jackal. Sky television and the Peacock streaming network has commissioned the series. They are calling it a “contemporary reimagining of the beloved and respected novel and film.”
The series is expected to go head to production in the summer of 2003. You can read more about it on Variety.com.
Jack Ryan Season 3
Ho, Ho, Ho! Prime Video will be releasing Season 3 of Jack Ryan on December 21, 2022. Prime is also currently streaming the first two seasons if you need to catch up. Jack Ryan is a series based on the Tom Clancy novels.
So, after making us wait for three-years, John Krasinski is finally back in the lead role. Ryan technically isn’t a spy, by title. He is a CIA analyst who identifies situations and ends up having to deal with them. It is a narrow distinction. Ryan ends up doing a lot of the dirty work.
MovieWeb.com has this article if you want to learn more.
The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Guy Ritchie is directing a World War II spy movie called The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. This movie will star Henry Cavill and Eiza González. We know, it’s shocking that Henry Cavill is starring in a spy movie (yes, that was meant to be a sarcastic statement). Is this yet another Henry Cavill audition for James Bond?
Anyway, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is based on true events following strategies of two well-known strategists: Winston Churchill and Ian Fleming.
The synopsis for the movie says: “The clandestine squad’s unconventional and entirely ‘ungentlemanly’ fighting techniques against the Nazis helped change the course of the war and in part gave birth to the modern Black Ops unit,”. So, we’ll see where this takes us
Guy Ritchie and Arash Amel have based the movie on the 2016 book with the same name written by author Damien Lewis. No slight to Henry Cavill, but it would have been a nice coincidence if actor Damien Lewis took the lead here.
Face/Off Sequel
The Face/Off sequel is another movie that we’ve been talking about for a while. We’ve also speculated that Nicolas Cage will return. According to a Hollywood Reporter article, Cage “is in various stages of discussion for sequels to such big productions as National Treasure and Face/Off.” We’re hoping his role in the next Face/Off happens.
Dirty Angels
Like Jack Ryan, this one isn’t technically a spy movie. However, Martin Campbell is the director. Most spy movie fans will know Campbell directed GoldenEye, Casino Royale (2006), The Foreigner, and The Protégé.
Dirty Angels is a fictional story of a group of female soldiers who need to rescue kidnapped teenagers during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.Eva Green who played Vesper Lynd under Campbell’s direction in Casino Royale and Ruby Rose, who has played Batwoman Kate Kane in the DC tv series and Grace Lewis in SAS: Red Notice, star in Dirty Angels.
Filming is expected to start in December 2022.
Operation Napoleon
No, this has nothing to do with Napoleon Dynamite. Operation Napoleon is a low-budget thriller starring Iain Glen. You may remember him as Jorah Mormont in “Game of Thrones”.
The plot focuses on a plane that crashed in 1945 with both German and American officers on board. Ignoring the wishes of the US military, a lawyer tries to dig into the details of the crash and gets involved in an international conspiracy.
Operation Napoleon was made on a $7 million budget and the exteriors were filmed mostly in Iceland and is based on a novel that was a best seller in Germany.
In our October 25, 2022 edition of Spy Movie News we told you that the Alec Baldwin-Olga Kurylenco spy movie, Chief of Station, was heading into production in November. Well, Baldwin has become unavailable due to a schedule overrun of another movie. So, now Aaron Eckhart will be taking on the lead role in this movie. From what we’ve read, production has started on this one.
The Prize
The Prize is being billed as a “taut Hitchcockian thriller”. We think that is an apt description as it is based on an unwitting American who flies to Sweden for the funeral of a friend. Well, he gets ensnared in a web of corruption and murder. If we think of The Man Who Knew Too Much, The 39 Steps, or many other Hitchcock movies, this has a familiar ring to it. Jason Clark and Haley Bennett star in The Prize. Shooting is expected to start in the spring of 2023.
CIA operative Avery Graves, played by Kate Beckinsale is blackmailed by terrorists to save her husband in the upcoming spy movie, Canary Black. Graves is cut off from her team and has to figure out how to get the kidnappers what they want.
Canary Black is currently in principal photography. Rupert Friend also stars in this thriller.
Dixie Crystal
Dixie Crystal was the name of a real-life FBI Operation. Well, now it is the name of a movie starring Rob Morgan as FBI agent Jim Anderson. If we remember in Licence to Kill, Bond’s objective was to stop Franz Sanchez’s heroin operation.
In Dixie Crystal, Agent Anderson has to take down a drug Kingpin and stop the distribution of methamphetamine from Harlan, Kentucky.
Filming is expected to start in April 2023.
Red Shirt
Yet another movie is coming out with the goal of trying to create a spy movie franchise. This time it is Channing Tatum starring in Red Shirt. Not many details have been released on this one. However, we know that David Leitch who directed Bullet Train and Deadpool 2 is signed on to direct Red Shirt. They are touting the movie as “a new spin on James Bond”.
According to movieweb.com’s article about Red Shirt, a redshirt is a character in fiction who dies soon after being introduced. So, is that Channing Tatum? Hmmm. If so, that has sort of a Psycho feel to it where the star dies early on.
We’ll keep our eyes peeled to give you more details about this one as they emerge.
Honey Trapped
The spec script by April Wolfe for the movie Honey Trapped have been acquired by Studiocanal and The Picture Company.
Deadline.com tells us that “the story follows a cabal of secret assassins who descend upon Las Vegas for 24 hours to force a rogue agent into fighting their way up every floor of a busy hotel. The script is said to be a star-driven two-hander featuring a married couple on the rocks with a lot of secrets—in the vein of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and True Lies.”
If that’s accurate, this could be a fun one to watch.
So yes, we are a long way out before we’ll see Honey Trapped but we like the plot and are eager to see Honey Trapped made.
They Shined on the Nile
Moroccan-born director Yasmine Benkiran is working on a project for a spy movie titled “Elles ont brillé sur le Nil” or They Shined on the Nile. This project is set in 1950’s Cairo and revolves around the mysterious death of a famous actress known as Asmahan.
They Shined on the Nile is still in development, so we’ll have to see what comes of it. You can read more about it on Variety.com.
Whew that’s a lot of upcoming spy movies and series. We’ll have to see how they all play out.
In Memoriam
John Aniston
Jennifer Aniston’s father, John Aniston has passed at age 89. Known for his long-running roles on “Days of Our Lives” (over 2800 episodes) and “Search for Tomorrow”, Aniston also had roles in the spy tv series “I Spy” and “Mission: Impossible”.
Ian Whittaker
Actor and set decorator, Ian Whittaker has passed at age 94. Whittaker, along with Luciana Arrighi won the Best Art Direction-Set Direction Academy Award for Howard’s End (1992). He was also nominated for the same category for Anna and the King (1999), Remains of the Day (1993), and Alien (1979).
Spy movie fans may remember Ian Whittaker for his role as Ordinary Seaman Thomas in the 1958 World War II espionage movie The Silent Enemy.
John Dartigue
John Dartigue has passed at the age of 82. He was a Warner Bros VP Publicity for movies such as The Fugitive and The Dark Knight. Prior to Warner Bros, he worked in publicity for United Artists where he worked on publicity for the first 10 James Bond movies.
Tom’s Rant
So, we’ll end with Tom’s Rant.
This is Tom’s opinion, not necessarily Dan’s.
Our friends at The Spy Command had a post talking about the Daniel Craig interview that was in the Los Angeles Times on November 16, 2022. Spy Command put it this way: “Quotes from Craig’s interviews have split Bond movie fans. Craig fans say that shows why he’s a great actor. Craig critics cite this is why he’s selfish.”
Sign me up as a critic
Well, sign me up as a critic. I think the LA Times article was supposed to be hyping Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Craig’s latest movie. Instead, it solidified my opinion of how big a selfish, narcissistic jerk (or whatever pejorative you want to use) Daniel Craig is.
What we are talking about is how Craig thought HE was the one to control what happened to the character of James Bond. And, if you read the LA Times article, Craig says ‘Well, you need to reset again.’ So let’s kill my character off and go find another Bond and go find another story.” What a pompous “it’s all about me” buffoon (I had to try about 10 words here before I found one that was clean enough to use).
It’s not just No Time To Die
As I see it, Craig killed the Bond series, not just with the ending of No Time To Die, but how he shaped the character on screen. Yes, part of it was the putrid writing of Purvis and Wade, but Craig ruined the character for me. This is very disappointing as I liked Craig’s Bond in Casino Royale. However, then he changed the character, and not in a good way.
And as Craig says in the article: “You’re making the mistake that I somehow have a plan,” Craig said with a laugh. “I don’t give it that much thought.” … “ I don’t have a game plan. The things that happen in my life professionally, the decisions I make about them are gut, mainly.”
If Craig can kill of a character that had a run time of over 50 years, especially since he says he doesn’t have a game plan what else does he think he can do? And, look at the really ugly predicament he left Eon Productions for going forward. It’s all about him. “If I can’t play him, kill him off”. What a putz.
Why is Craig still doing Bond ads?
Add the fact that Craig is still doing promotions and endorsements for Bond, as pointed out in another The Spy Command post. It all shows it’s about him, Daniel Craig. Craig says he does not “want to go back”. Then leave already, you’ve done enough damage.
Well, it does seem that it was Daniel craig’s idea to kill off Bond for a few reasons – one of which was so that he move on. Well, yeah this is all fiction, and anything can happen in fiction. Nonetheless, you don’t kill off Bond. James Bond.
That’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed our Spy Movie News – November 29, 2022 edition. You can find the audio of this as a podcast in the show Cracking the Code of Spy Movies on your favorite podcast app or on our website SpyMovieNavigator.com – please help us our and Subscribe!
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News – November 29 2022 – Darkness of Man, One Ranger, The Prize and more!
Join us as we look at 18 upcoming spy movies in this Spy Movie News - November 29, 2022 edition, including Face/Off, The Prize, and more!
Here is our November 29 2022 Spy Movie News. In this episode we look at eighteen upcoming spy movies or tv series, honor the people who have passed this month who worked on spy movies, and we have a Rant from Tom as well about Daniel Craig.
The movies and tv series we discuss in this episode are
Face/Off Sequel
Darkness of Man
Slow Horses
One Ranger
A Spy By Nature
The Prize
Ballerina
Day of the Jackal
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Dirty Angels
Operation Napoleon
Chief of Station
The Prize
Canary Black
Dixie Crystal
Red Shirt
Honey Trapped
They Shined on the Nile
As per usual, you can read our November 29 2022 Spy Movie News as an article here if you would prefer to read instead of listen.
Here’s our Spy Movie News for May 4, 2021. Cliff Walkers, Mission Impossible, Tom Cruise, Robert Pattinson as the next Bond? BAFTA, Billion Dollar Spy, Kingsman: The Blue Blood, Mads Mikklesen, Memory and more!
In this episode of Spy Movie News, Dan discusses the upcoming Mission: Impossible movies, No Time To Die, The Gray Man, Agent Game, Boon, Killers of the Flower Moon, how to win a chance to get paid to watch all…
Updates on Mission: Impossible 7 and No Time to Die as of August 1st 2020. The news is a moving target and when there is something to report worthwhile, we will do a short and quick podcast on it.
Keep current! Join Our Email List
Keep up to date with our latest and greatest spy movie finds. (See our Privacy Policy)
"*" indicates required fields
Spy Movie News – October 25, 2022
Contributed by: Spy Movie Navigator
Posted on
Here’s our Spy Movie News – October 25, 2022 edition!
As per usual, you can find all of our Spy Movie News as audio podcast episodes here if you would prefer to listen instead of read.
What’s coming
Let’s start the discussion with some news about a series that we like that is getting ready for its second season.
Slow Horses
We are excited that Apple + has released the trailer for Season 2 of Slow Horses. As I’ve said in the past, we loved season 1 of Slow Horses and have been anticipating Season 2. As you would expect, if you didn’t see season 1 of this series on Apple +, you can catch up to date. It stars Gary Oldman, Kristen Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden. Season 2 also brings back much of the excellent supporting cast.
And here’s the cool part, the trailer says that Season 2 comes out on December 2nd, 2022. We can’t wait.
Litvinenko
According to Variety, the movie Litvinenko, which stars David Tennant has sold to AMC+ and Sundance Now, among others. Additionally, it is on a variety of streaming services internationally. It has pre-sold ahead of its debut on ITVX, which is ITVs streaming service slated to launch in November 2022.
Litvinenko is based on the true story of Alexander Litvinenko who you may remember was poisoned and died by polonium poisoning. Significantly, Litvinenko was a former Russian Federal Security Services and KGB officer who defected to Great Britain. The movie gives us his story.
Citadel
A 6-part spy story will release on Amazon Prime sometime in the future called Citadel. One part is being filmed in Italy. As Riccardo Tozzi, producer and founder of the studio Cattleya tells Variety “The Italian series is a spy story with elements of action, adventure, and fantasy—the genre is simply unprecedented for Italy and for Cattleya.” The cast is strong for this series as it stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Stanley Tucci, and Richard Madden
Our Man From Jersey
Starring Halle Berry, Mark Wahlberg and J.K. Simmons, is the Netflix movie Our Man From Jersey. This movie is described as a “blue-collar James Bond.” It follows the reluctant spy formula that we highlight often on our podcasts. This time it is Mark Wahlberg who is a construction worker. He gets involved with the spy game because of his girlfriend, played by Halle Berry. Filming has begun in Croatia, London, and Trieste Italy. The supporting actors are strong too including Jackie Earle Haley. He’s one of those actors who I like in everything he’s done. He usually plays someone who is a bit quirky so it will be fun to see what they do with him here. Yep, sign me up when this one is released on Netflix.
Kompromat
We’ve mentioned the upcoming movie Kompromat in a few Spy Movie News episodes in the past. This movie is somewhat based on a true story about a Frenchman working in Siberia who gets framed. Although this has been a very successful movie in France since it’s September 7th release, international distribution has begun widely. Magnolia Pictures has bought the US rights to Kompromat. As Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles says in Variety “Kompromat is an incredibly tense espionage thriller,” … “Jerome Salle and the stellar cast have delivered an exceptional movie.”
Codeword: Rubicon
Swiss Television has commissioned an eight-part series based on the company Crypto AG, called Codeword: Rubicon. The company, launched in the early 1950s was really a front for the CIA and West German Intelligence Services. It’s a fascinating story and we are eager to see how it is told here.
Codeword: Rubicon is expected to hit pre-production next year, so we’ll have to wait for this one.
American Murderer
You may remember Ryan Phillipe playing FBI agent Eric O’Neil in the 2007 movie Breach which chronicled the take-down of Robert Hanssen for selling secrets to the Russians. That was an adaptation based on a true story. Well, now Phillipe plays another FBI agent in the movie American Murderer. This too is based on a true story and stars Tom Pelphrey as Jason Derek Brown. Brown is a conman that Phillippe’s character has to track down. Idina Menzel also stars in this movie
American Murderer released at the end of October in theaters in the U.S.
Sanctioning Evil
Zach McGowan, Taryn Manning, Tobias Truvillion, and Chris Tardio star in the movie Sanctioning Evil. The tagline for this movie is “After being discharged from the military, Sgt. Barnes finds his way back into society via a charismatic politician with a covert plan to eliminate an underground criminal element.”
An article on Movieweb.com gives us more depth including telling us that the criminal element is a challenging one: child trafficking. This one seems to have a hard edge to it.
There was a limited U.S. release and it is currently available for streaming on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play.
The Gray House
It’s too bad they couldn’t get any big stars for the movie The Gray House. Oh wait, it stars Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. That should be a good sign.
The Gray House is a six-hour series being done by Paramount Global. This is yet another movie or series we’ve talked about today that is based on a true story.
This time it is a Civil War spy drama which focuses on three women spy ring who, according to an article on Deadline.com turned the tide in the American Civil War in favor of the North. Deadline likens the story to that of the 2017 movie Hidden Figures, which also featured Costner. Hidden Figures focused on real-life female mathematician who were vital to NASA and the space program.
A release date has not been announced.
Chief of Station
Chief of Station heads into production this November. This is the Alec Baldwin – Olga Kurylenko spy movie that we’ve mentioned in earlier episodes. The casting is shoring up nicely with the addition of Alex Pettyfer who will pay a CIA agent and Chris Petrovski who plays Baldwin’s son.
No release date has been announced for Chief of Station.
Dark Wire
Netflix is bringing us another true spy story. They have obtained the rights to Joseph Cox’s upcoming book, Dark Wire. This plot sounds a bit similar to Codename: Rubicon that we mentioned earlier. According to Deadline.com, Dark Wire tells the story of how the FBI created a fake telecom company that led to the arrest of over a thousand international criminals. So, here it is the FBI, not the CIA as in Codename: Rubicon. But it is still a U.S. government agency creating a front company in order to catch bad guys.
Jason Bateman has signed on to direct Dark Wire.
The Recruit
Netflix is on a roll. They will premiere the series The Recruit on December 16, 2022. In this movie, Noah Centineo plays Owen Hendrix who is a CIA lawyer who has to deal with a former asset who wants to expose why she has been involved with the agency.
The Recruit also has the name Graymail in some other countries. Additionally, we should also point out that this is not the 2003 movie starring Al Pacino and Colin Farrell.
A Spy Among Friends
The movie The Fourth Protocol had a character named Kim Philby. Kim Philby was a real-life double agent and a lot has been written about his treason. In the ITVX series A Spy Among Friends, due to be released this fall, Damian Lewis plays Philby’s close friend, Nicholas Elliott. Elliott is an operative with the SIS who has to interrogate Philby, who is played by Guy Pearce. So, once again we have a spy movie or series based on real-life.
A Spy Among Friends is based on Ben Macintyre’s book about Philby. Given that it stars Lewis and Pearce, this is a series we will definitely catch.
Vikram Vedha
First appearing in 1986, Vikram is a Bollywood secret agent. Vikram Vedha brings the character back 27 years later. His mission in Vikram Vedha is to thwart a huge drug deal (sounds a bit like Licence to Kill to us). Vikram is now a grandfather who has to work with a younger operative named Amar. They don’t care about the rules and fight crime as they want to.
This is a remake of the 2017 Tamil-language movie with the same name. However, it is 26 minutes longer. It has a lot of action in it’s 2 hour and 53-minute runtime.
Our Rant
Ok, this one is a bit different than what we usually talk about on Spy Movie News.
Elizabeth Banks and Charlie’s Angels
Back in December 2019 we gave a scathing review of the just released movie Charlie’s Angels. We did not like his movie and one of the things we pointed out what that the movie was marketed towards girls. It did not do well at the box office.
The movie’s director, Elizabeth Banks was interviewed recently by The New York Times. Although the interview was supposed to be about her new movie Call Jane, she was asked about Charlie’s Angels. She didn’t help her cause. Here’s part of what she said:
“There was a story around Charlie’s Angels that I was creating some feminist manifesto. I was just making an action movie,” Banks said plainly. “I would’ve liked to have made Mission: Impossible, but women aren’t directing Mission: Impossible. I was able to direct an action movie, frankly, because it starred women and I’m a female director, and that is the confine right now in Hollywood. I wish that the movie had not been presented as just for girls, because I didn’t make it just for girls. There was a disconnect on the marketing side of it for me.”
Well, for us, here at Spy Movie News, the ‘marketing for girls’ was only part of the problem with the movie. The script wasn’t very imaginative which we think hurt it more that the marketing. It sounds to us that Banks is carrying a large chip on her shoulder about the marketing, but we doubt the movie would have been successful with different marketing. It just wasn’t a good movie, let alone a good spy movie.
Please Tell Me This Isn’t True
An article on The Spy Command says Barbara Broccoli has said that Neal Purvis and Robert Wade will probably work on Bond 26. PLEASE NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!
As I’ve said in the past, these are the two that ruined the Bond franchise in our opinion. Occasionally, they did alright. The World is Not Enough was their first Bond script and they did well with Casino Royale (2006) but they had the Fleming book to work with. But then they lost track of who Bond is. Let’s see: Die Another Day, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre, and then finally No Time To Die. Although some of those did well at the box office, the character of Bond changed a lot, and not in a good way from the way we see it. They really boxed themselves in with Skyfall by focusing so much on age and the old way of doing things. That’s where they really lost it.
Then please, who was the character Daniel Craig was playing in No Time To Die? It wasn’t the James Bond I know.
Can’t we please just have Purvis and Wade meet the same fate as they wrote for M, Leiter, and Bond? The franchise needs new blood. We think they have to go.
In Memoriam
We lost some major talent this month.
Angela Lansbury
We’ll start with Angela Lansbury who passed at the age of 96. She was best known for her work on stage and her role in the tv series, “Murder She Wrote”. She was also the voice of Mrs. Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Ms. Lansbury had success in espionage movies as well. She was nominated for 3 Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her final nomination was in 1963 for her portrayal of Miss Eleanor Shaw Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate. She also played Miss Froy in the 1979 remake of the Hitchcock classic The Lady Vanishes. Herfans will be able to see her final movie performance in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery starting on December 23rd.
Robbie Coltrane
Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane passed at age 72. Robbie Coltrane was known as Hagrid to fans of the Harry Potter series. To James Bond fans, he was Valentin Zukovsky in GoldenEye and The World is Not Enough, one of our favorite characters in the series.
His birthname was Anthony Robert McMillan. He was a fan of jazz and took the name Robbie Coltrane as an homage to John Coltrane.
Douglas Kirkland
Douglas Kirkland pass at the age of 88. Kirkland was a very skilled and sought-after celebrity photographer. An article on Variety.com tells us that he earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Operating Cameramen and the president’s award from the American Society of Cinematographers. Some of his work includes his photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn, and many more. Lastly, for the spy movie fan, Douglas Kirkland was the uncredited Still Photographer on the James Bond movie Licence to Kill.
Dennis Virkler
And finally, editor Dennis Virkler has passed at age 80. During his career, he earned two Academy Award nominations for Editing. The first was for The Hunt for Red October which he shared with John Wright. The second was for The Fugitive which he shared with 5 other editors.
We hope you enjoyed this Spy Movie News – October 25, 2022 edition. If you did, please subscribe to our show – Cracking the Code of Spy Movies – in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube.
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News for October 25 2022 – Slow Horses, Litvinenko, Citadel, Our Man From Jersey, James Bond and more!
Today we will examine the spy movies and spy streaming series that are in development. And what did darbara Broccoli say about Bond 26?
Here’s our Spy Movie News – October 25, 2022 edition!
Today we will examine spy movies and spy streaming series that are in development. We’ll look at Slow Horses, Litvinenko, Citadel, Our Man From Jersey, Kompromat, Codeword: Rubicon, The Gray House, A Spy Among Friends, and many more. We’ll also react to a comment from Elizabeth Banks about her 2019 movie Charlie’s Angels. And we’ll react to something that has scared us that Barbara Broccoli said about Bond 26.
As per usual, you can read our Spy Movie News as articles here if you would prefer to read instead of listen.
He is our December 8, 2020 edition of Spy Movie News with lots of theater news as WarnerMedia drops a bombshell, Women as leads in Spy Movies in 2021, James Bond updates, Dr. No prop sells for over a quarter…
We start this edition of Spy Movie News remembering Queen Elizabeth II. In remembering the Queen, we as spy fans must remember her support, especially for the James Bond series.
As pointed out in The Spy Command, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Bond toasts and apologizes to a picture of the Queen when he resigned. It is odd to think that if that movie was made today, it would be called On His Majesty’s Secret Service in honor of King Charles III.
And as Sharon Oliver reminds us on MovieWeb.com, Queen Elizabeth II’s part in the skit with Daniel Craig’s Bond in the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony was at the suggestion of the Queen, herself. In fact, she suggested that she get a line to say. The production was ready to make copies of the Queen’s outfit and other images. They wanted to build a set. However, the Queen’s staff informed the crew that that the Queen wanted to do her part herself. You have to love that support for the series and it seems like she had a good time doing it.
Also, we were very relieved that there was no London Has Fallen incident during the tributes and ceremonies for the Queen. Being spy movie fans, that movie instantly jumped to the front of our minds when thinking about the security needed for the funeral which brought together so many of the world’s leaders. Thank goodness all went as planned.
Movies in Development
Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning
We’ll start with two stories about Tom Cruise. In our September 2021 Spy Movie News we told you of a chance encounter some hikers in the Lake District in England had with Tom Cruise as he was preparing for a stunt in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One.
Well, it appears that now the Lake District had some locals who created a delay in shooting for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part Two. And we know this movie has had a lot of delays. Ok, so this time it was a slight delay but we think it is funny why it happened. It turns out that there are plenty of sheep in the Lake District. Amazingly, a flock of these sheep caused shooting to stop to let them pass. This is one of the funniest reasons we’ve heard for shooting to be delayed on this often delayed movie.
The second story about Cruise is a bit similar to something we told you about in our November 2021 Spy Movie News. We told you that Tom Cruise filmed a stunt where he walks on the wing of a biplane. Duxford Airfield in Cambridge was used for the filming.
Well, @icemavs tweeted a video that was shown at Cinemacon. It shows Tom Cruise standing on a plane over a canyon. The audio is a bit rough but it sounds like he’s over the Blade River Canyon in South Africa. Again, the audio is rough so we may have that location wrong, but it is an interesting clip to view. Tom Cruise has ice in his veins. I see no reason to get out of my seat on a perfectly functioning biplane.
The Gray Man
When we gave our quickfire no-spoiler review of The Gray Man, we commented on how much we liked the actor Dhanush who played Lone Wolf. Most of us in the west had never heard of Dhanush. His career is mostly in Tamil movies, although he’s done some Bollywood movies as well. He is a South Indian superstar who is one of the big box office stars in India. And his father is a director and producer and his brother is also a film director.
Dhanush is also a film writer and producer, and he has written and performed songs for a variety of movies.
Rajiv Prajapati has an excellent article on MovieWeb.com which gives more details about this fascinating performer to who we have just been introduced to.
Also, if you haven’t seen The Gray Man and you have Netflix, give it a watch and you’ll see why we liked Dhanush in this role.
Blackbird
We’ve talked about Michael Flatley’s spy movie Blackbird in the last few Spy Movie News episodes. Well, Craig Jones has written an article called “Why Michael Flatley’s Blackbird Could Be on Par With Tommy Wiseau’s The Room”. That title floored us. In case you aren’t familiar with The Room, it has been called by more than one critic the worst movie ever made (which is really saying something). Clark Collis in Entertainment Weekly called The Room “The Citizen Kane of bad movies”.
Ok, so is Jones saying that Blackbird is as bad as The Room? It gets complicated as The Room is one of those “so bad it’s become a cult movie” to some, especially comedians. As for Blackbird Jones says the visuals and the acting, other than Michael Flatley’s performance are good. His problem with Blackbird is the script and Flatley. So, once this movie gets released we’ll find out what we think.
Inheritance
Fans of “Bridgerton” will be happy to see that Phoebe Dynevor who played Daphne Basset, Duchess of Hastings will be starring in a new spy thriller called Inheritance. Not a lot of the plot has been released, but we’re told Phoebe’s character will be thrown into a world of secrecy and crime after her estranged father reenters her life.
So, even though the movie has reportedly finished filming, it doesn’t appear on IMDB.com and no other cast members have has been announced. Also, no release date has been set. This is intriguing.
Also, once again, a movie is coming out with the same name as a recently released movie. Simon Pegg and Lily Collins were in the 2020 movie of the same name. At least that one wasn’t a spy movie. This gets confusing sometimes.
Section 8
Limited Theatrical Release
The new movie Section 8 started streaming this past weekend on AMC+. It also had a limited theatrical release. How limited you ask? Only one theater in Chicago showed it. We understand the concept of streaming and where the revenue stream is for these streamers. However, many of these action movies are best to watch in a theater. So, while we appreciate that it is available in a single theater in all of Chicagoland, it is a tough pill to swallow.
The Plot
Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox. Let’s talk about the movie, Section 8. The tagline is “The Only Way Out … Is to Go Deeper In”. That sounds interesting. But what’s it about? Well, we’re told that: “After avenging the murder of his wife and child, a former soldier is sent to prison with a life sentence. He’s given a shot at freedom when a shadow government agency recruits him for an off-the-books assignment, and he soon realizes Section 8 isn’t what it seems.”
Hmm. This sounds like a well-worn plot, with a twist in the reason he was in prison. But we’ve seen movies where someone has a shot of freedom from prison if they take on a new task. The Harry Palmer Movies, the 1964 movie The Secret Invasion, and The Dirty Dozen all have this driver for the protagonist to act the way the government wants.
The Cast
At least it has a strong cast. Ryan Kwanten, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Dermot Mulroney, and Scott Adkins lead the cast. And according to director Christian Sesma, the movie starts with character development and setting up why the lead is seeking revenge. All of that before the main action-movie stuff starts. We applaud that as we like when spy movies have a story and aren’t 100% action.
The movie even accidentally has a current-news feel to it with the recent accusations against Bret Favre having some similar undertones to this movie.
If you want to read more about this movie before watching it, there is a detailed article written by Matthew Mahler on MovieWeb.com.
Kandahar
Open Road has picked up the U.S. rights to Kandahar. Kandaha is expected to have a 2023 theatrical release. Kandahar is a story of a CIA operative, Tom Harris who is in a hostile part of Afghanistan. The major plot of the movie is that Harris gets exposed and has to escape.
Gerard Butler takes on the role of Tom Harris. This could be a good one.
Argylle
What’s up with Argylle? And who is the author?
Argylle is an Apple project that we’ve talked about numerous times starring Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, Bryan Cranston, and Bryce Dallas Howard. What a fantastic cast. And the movie has already been adapted into a motion picture.
The questions are around the book author, first-time novelist Elly Conway, and the release of the book. As reported in The Hollywood Reporter, the book was to be released on September 29 this year. However, the new date is March 2023. The Hollywood reporter goes on to tell us that the only thing about it on Amazon is a page for a German-language version on the Kindle, scheduled for January 10, 2023. In addition, Hollywood Reporter tried unsuccessfully to get an advance copy of the book. And they tell us that Conway only has a two-line bio. “Elly Conway is the author of the heavily anticipated debut thriller, Argylle. She lives in the United States and is currently working on the next instalment (sic.) in the series.”
While we applaud The Hollywood Reporter for actually trying to report, we think they missed a step while setting up the intrigue about the author and the book. Yes Amazon’s US site indeed has almost nothing on this book. However, Penguin’s UK site does. Their page on the book has a summary and multiple places where you can pre-order the book, including Amazon’s UK site.
So, we get that they can’t find anything about Elly Conway and are bummed they couldn’t get an advance copy. However, we think the reporting about the Amazon not having a page for the book is a bit misleading.
Spy Kids
We’ve been talking about this one for quite a few episodes. Now we hear that the reboot of Spy Kids has wrapped filming. This will be the fifth Spy Kids Movie. Netflix hasn’t announced a release date yet but has this synopsis of the movie:
“When the children of the world’s greatest secret agents unwittingly help a powerful game developer unleash a computer virus that gives him control of all technology, they must become spies themselves to save their parents and the world.”
We can’t wait.
James Bond
Most of the James Bond news this month has been speculation about who should be the next actor to take on the role of James Bond. We talked about that last month and since there is nothing really new there, we’ll move on to other topics.
George Lazenby
There is unsettling news about George Lazenby, who played James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. As has been widely reported, Lazenby, who was born in Australia, got into some trouble with some comments he made telling some stories during an interview he gave in Australia. He had been on a tour with the national concert tour “The Music of James Bond”. However, he has been kicked off the tour for his remarks.
We’ve been unable to find exactly what Lazenby said as no recording of the interview has been released. In this situation it appears that callers to a talk radio program complained about Lazenby’s remarks which stoked the blowup in the media.
Lazenby did apologize, saying in part “It was never my intention to make hurtful or homophobic comments and I am truly sorry if my stories that I have shared many times were taken that way.”
While we can’t condone or criticize the comments he made as we don’t know exactly what he said, we’d be happy to have George Lazenby on our podcast to talk through what happened and get his side of the story. People can get canceled quickly in today’s media. And often, in hindsight, we wonder if cancellation was the right approach. George, you’re welcome to use our platform to help us understand what happened.
Kabir Bedi
In happier news, one of our favorite henchmen from the James Bond movies has received a Lifetime Achievement Award. An article on Variety.com tells us that Kabir Bedi, who exquisitely played Gobinda in Octopussy received the Filming Italy Movie Lifetime Achievement Award. As Bedi put it “Since the time of ‘Sandokan,’ I’ve done over six major series in Italy and not many people realize that really Bollywood and Hollywood are a far lesser part of my life than my career in Italy,” Sandokan was a popular tv mini-series in Italy.
So, congratulations to Kabir Bedi on this well-deserved recognition.
Two Documentaries
We normally talk about spy movies, not documentaries. But at the Telluride Film Festival, two documentaries were shown that we think spy movie fans will probably be interested in. We have not seen details as to when these will be picked up for broader distribution. We’ll keep you posted.
A Compassionate Spy
First up is A Compassionate Spy, a documentary that looks at Ted Hall, one of the scientists on the Manhattan Project. With the expected July 2023 release of the Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer, this is a good time to learn more about the Manhattan Project and find out about Hall who gave nuclear secrets to Russia. We are expecting some espionage in Oppenheimer so A Compassionate Spy seems like a natural to watch first.
A Compassionate Spy has been shown at the Venice, Telluride, and Camden International Film Festivals this month. It hits the Chicago International Film Festival on October 12, 2022.
My Name is Alfred Hitchcock
The second documentary that hit Telluride this year that should be of interest to Spy Movie News fans is called My Name is Alfred Hitchcock. This isn’t a documentary about a spy, but it is about Hitch. We’ve been decoding Hitchcock’s spy movies on our Cracking the Code of Spy Movies podcast. So, this documentary should let us learn more about Hitchcock.
An interesting twist is that impressionist Alistair McGowan provides us with Hitchcock’s voice giving us commentary. Therefore, we’re looking forward to a broader release of this one. It seems like an interesting way to tell Hitchcock’s story. Let’s face it, there isn’t a lot new to find outabout Hitchcock. So bringing in an impressionist to lend Hitchcock’s “voice” to the story sounds like it could work.
You can read more about My Name is Alfred Hitchcockon Deadline.com.
In Memoriam
Henry Silva
Probably best known for his role in the 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate, Henry Silva passed at the age of 95. He had a distinctive look and often portrayed villains. Of his 140 credits in IMDB, Silva appeared in the 1960 version of Ocean’s Eleven (and he had a small part in the 2001 remake), numerous spy tv programs, and even some spy movies. These include Matchless and Assassination. However, probably our favorite role he delivered was that of John Durrell in the 1964 movie The Secret Invasion. His portrayal of Durrell was excellent. You really didn’t want to mess with this character that Henry Silva delivered.
Irene Papas
Actress Irene Papas passed at the age of 93. Papas is probably best known for her role in Zorba the Greek. Spy movie fans may remember her from the 1953 movie The Man from Cairo and the 1961 movie The Guns of Navarone.
Marsha Hunt
Actress Marsha Hunt passed at the age of 104. Her acting career spanned 73 years. Spy movie fans may remember her from her role as Mary Smith in the 1942 movie Joe Smith, American.
Amanda Mackey
Casting director Amanda Mackey dies at age 70. She was the casting director for A League of Their Own, Smokin’ Aces, While You Were Sleeping, The Fugitive, and many others. Spy movie fans have seen her work with the casting of The Hunt for Red October, Green Zone, Executive Decision, Patriot Games, and Olympus Has Fallen.
So that’s a wrap. We hope you enjoyed this Spy Movie News for September 27, 2022. Check out our podcast called Cracking the Code of Spy Movies. We have a YouTube Channel with the same name.
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News for September 27 2022 – Inheritance, Blackbird, Section 8, Mission: Impossible, James Bond and more!
In this Spy Movie News -September 27, 2022 edition we remember Queen Elizabeth II and talk about the upcoming spy movies Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, The Gray Man, Inheritance, Blackbird, Section 8, Kandahar, Argylle, Spy Kids, James Bond, and more.
In this Spy Movie News for September 27 2022 we remember Queen Elizabeth II. We also discuss the upcoming spy movies Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, The Gray Man, Inheritance, Blackbird, Section 8, Kandahar, Argylle, Spy Kids, James Bond, and more.
Today we will get some updates on upcoming spy movies, James Bond birthday fun, Eon awards, the Slow Horses wind machine, a Spy Kids reboot, Pathaan, new and old spy movies coming to streaming services, and more!
We’re going to start this article by discussing a fun and unique way that one company is celebrating the 60 years of James Bond movies. We’ll talk about some others later in this episode. About 60 miles north and west of Chicago is the Richardson Adventure Farm. Among their annual event calendar is what they call the “World’s Largest Most Intricate Corn Maze”. Well, this year they are celebrating the 60 years of James Bond movies with their 28-acre maze. If you look at the aerial view of the maze this year you will see the gun barrel with Honey Rider, all of the actors who’ve played James Bond, the Aston Martin DB5, and more. You find out more on their website.
Spy Movie Navigator has received no compensation for this mention.
Ok, so now let’s talk about spy movies in development
Spy movies in development
Bang!
Idris Elba and Davide Leitch are joining forces for a spy thriller called Bang!. Elba will be starring as the world’s most famous spy. His assignment? Well, it’s to kill the author of a series of novels created by a group that wants to start the apocalypse.
Matt Kindt and Wilfredo Torres created the comic series “Bang!” that this movie will be based on. Kindt and Zak Olkewicz will be creating the adaptation for the movie.
David Leetch, who directed Atomic Blonde and most recently Bullet Train will be directing this feature.
We don’t know when it will be filmed or released, but this sounds like a good one. Netflix will be the platform to deliver Bang!.
Matt Kindt is on a hot streak with Netflix. They have also picked up his “Mind MGMT” series which is about a government agency of spies. They will be turning this into a Netflix series. With Kindt getting set to release another comic series called “Spy Superb” can Netflix get a movie and two series out of Kindt’s work? We’ll have to wait to find out as nothing on a Netflix/Spy Superb collaboration has been announced.
True Lies
We’ve mentioned the upcoming “True Lies” television series in a few Spy Movie News episodes now. In the upcoming CBS series, Steve Howey will take on the role of Harry. Ginger Gonzaga will star as Helen. As a reminder, those roles were played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in the movie. Omar Miller takes on the role of Gib who was played by Tom Arnold in the movie.
We got some encouraging news on this one. In an article on movieweb.com, Howey says “We’re not going to do the Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis movie, it’s a classic, that stands alone. We’re doing something else and we’re doing our own thing, but that’s based in that system.”
We are very happy to see that this won’t just be a copy of the movie. As Howey mentions, the movie is a classic. Let’s see where they take it.
The Stranger
Sometimes a true story needs to be made into a movie. Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival this year, The Stranger is expected to be launched globally this October. This is a Netflix movie that hit Australia this month. It is based on a real-life undercover operation in Australia. Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris star in the movie.
The description of the movie says “A friendship forms between two strangers. For Henry Teague (Sean Harris), worn down by a lifetime of physical labour, this is a dream come true. His new friend Mark (Joel Edgerton) becomes his saviour and ally. However, neither is who they appear to be, each carry secrets that threaten to ruin them – and in the background, one of the nation’s largest police operations is closing in.”
As a note, Netflix had a series in 2020 with the same title but on a different topic.
Enigma
A movie described as a cross between James Bond and Tomb: Raider has been picked up by Thunder Road Pictures. Enigma, written by Kat Wood is called an “original contemporary supernatural spy thriller on Deadline.com. The movie is about a British Spy called Emma Taylor. She needs to hide a dangerous artifact keeping anyone from ever finding it again.
We haven’t seen anything about production or a release date, but we’ll keep an eye on this one. As you know, we like spy movies that have a different twist than the genre usually produces. It sounds like we have that in Enigma.
MR-9
We talked about MR-9 in our June 2022 Spy Movie News. This is a spy movie based on the Masud Rana novels starring Frank Grillo. The cast is filling out nicely as it has been announced that Kelly Greyson is being brought on to play Gia, the lead henchwoman.
Chief of Station
Set to begin filming later this year, Chief of Station has announced its leads. Alec Baldwin will play a former CIA station chief. He teams up with a rogue agent played by Olga Kurylenko after finding out that his wife’s death was not an accident.
We have not seen an estimated release date for Chief of Station.
Dr. Evil
We’ve been talking for quite a while about a new Austin Powers movie and we hope we get one. Well, movieweb.com tells us that New Line “would like to make a Dr. Evil movie”. The article posits that the success of Joker, which was also focused on the villain, means that Dr. Evil could work. We will just have to wait and see if anything finally happens in bringing out the fourth movie in the Austin Powers franchise.
Spy Kids
Another upcoming spy movie that we’ve talked about in the last few Spy Movie News episodes is the Netflix reboot of Spy Kids. Now we find out that DJ Cotrona has signed on to appear in the movie. We don’t know what his role will be. But, things seem to be moving quickly for this still-unwritten movie.
Blackbird
We’re talking about the Michael Flately spy movie Blackbird, not the Apple + miniseries Black Bird. We mentioned this movie in last month’s Spy Movie News and said that it would only be in theaters in Ireland. Well, it looks like they have added some new theaters in the UK including The Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square in London, and will also show the city of Bristol. We believe it may hit other UK cities too but we haven’t found confirmation as of our press time.
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible 7
Variety.com tells us that “Paramount has reached a confidential settlement with Chubb, its insurer, over claims arising from repeated COVID-19 production delays on ‘Mission: Impossible 7.’” This lawsuit came about in August 2021 with Paramount claiming it was owed much more than what Chubb was claiming.
Mission: Impossible 8
Ok, so let’s move on to Mission: Impossible 8 or I mean Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two. I’ll never get used to that name.
Anyway, we have a bit of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two news. First, more of the cast has been flushed out as filming has begun. Holt McCallany is joining the movie and will be playing secretary of Defense Bernstein. Mindhunter fans will remember that McCallany played Bill Trench in that series. He was not in Dead Reckoning Part One, so it will be interesting to see how his role plays out and if it is set up in Part One.
McQuarrie-speak
Next, we have an article on digitalspy.com with the headline “Mission: Impossible 8 might not be Tom Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt.” Hmmm. The rumor up to this point is that it will. Well, director Christopher McQuarrie was asked about this on the Light the Fuse podcast. His response was a classic non-answer:
“Let me tell you, I’ve been working with Tom Cruise for 15 years and I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve been standing next to the man, witnessed an event, and then read about it in the trades the next day and none of what they describe is actually true,” he said.
McQuarrie needs to go into politics with an answer like that.
On that same podcast, McQuarrie explained the Dead Reckoning title this way:
“When I came up with the title, I knew it applied more to Part Two than it did to Part One, which is why it eventually settled on being Part One and Part Two. The title for the first movie was nearly … a title that referred to something like a Ghost Protocol kind of thing, it was a government policy – It wasn’t a government policy, it was a government, what would you call it? A government measure of last resort, with catastrophic consequences. By the time we got to the end of Part One, that had distilled down into an entirely different set of circumstances that appear in Part Two and not in Part One. So, the word would no longer have been appropriate for the title of Part One.”
Yeah, when McQuarrie speaks, we’re not sure we get exactly what he’s saying. And I think that’s his mission.
James Bond
James Bond at 60
We started this newscast by talking about a celebration of James Bond’s 60th anniversary. Well, we’ve found out more about the official plans in an article on deadline.com.
A two-party charity auction is being planned with Christie’s and Eon Productions. There will be 60 lots and all 25 Eon Productions James Bond movies will be celebrated. There will be an online auction with bidding starting on 15 September and a live auction will occur on 28 September.
Now, if you have a spare £2 million (that’s pounds, not dollars), you might be able to get your hands on one of the auction pieces: a silver birch Aston Martin DB5. This replica was a stunt car used in No Time To Die. If you don’t have that much money lying around, there are other vehicles on the auction block that are estimated to go for significantly less.
There are some interesting items for auction and you can see the lots on Christie’s website.
In addition to the auction, BFI will host a “James Bond at 60” weekend of screenings and live events from September 20-October 2nd. Included will be an in-conversation event with Michael G.Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. There will also be a behind-the-scenes look at one thing we find fascinating. Namely the stunts and Special Effects. Chris Corbould will be hosting that. There will also be a preview of The Sound of 007. This is a new documentary that examines the music of Bond.
And finally, there will be screenings of the last three Bond movies on the BFI IMAX screen, including the first UK showing of No Time To Die in 3D. In our podcast episode No Time To Die – Theater Viewing Formats Guide we talked about how much we liked the 3D work done in this version. They did a great job with that. As far as we are concerned, you should only ever watch the title sequence in 3d.
The next actor to play James Bond
On these podcast episodes, for the most part, we’ve been trying to stay away from all the rumors and the betting on who will be the next actor to play James Bond. Many speculative articles are written about this every month. That said, there is an article on Cinemablend.com that quotes Lorraine entertainment reporter Ross King as saying: “The latest rumor – and in some ways part of this is very much true – which is, basically, the Bond producers are looking for a younger Bond. Someone probably in their 30s. At the end of the day they want someone who will be Bond for the next three movies.”
Now, here at Spy Movie Navigator, we’ve been saying for quite some time that we think that this has to be the strategy. We think a lot of the “favorites” like Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, and maybe Henry Cavill are too old for what the franchise needs as it comes off the Daniel Craig run as Bond. So we’ll see if this is right, but not until we hear officially from Eon Productions
What’s coming in September
Again we have a sparse month for spy movie fans as there are no theatrical release of any spy movies in September. Actually, this September is a sparse month for movie releases in general.
It’s not much better on the streaming platforms
Netflix
On September 1st Netflix will bring all three Austin Powers movies to the platform. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Austin Powers in Goldmember.
Amazon Prime
Also on September first, Amazon Prime will release both Skyfall and The Recruit.
And that’s about it for spy movie releases in September, 2022.
In Memorium
In today’s In Memorium section, we remember five people who have had an impact on spy movies who have passed this month.
Bernard Cribbins
Bernard Cribbins passed at the age of 93. Among Cribbins 122 credits on IMDB are such roles as Felix in Hitchcock’s Frenzy and Wilfred Mott in the tv series “Dr. Who”. Spy movie fans may remember him as the taxi driver in the 1967 version of Casino Royale as well as two appearances on “The Avengers” tv series.
Wolfgang Petersen
Director Wolfgang Petersen passed at the age of 81. Petersen was nominated for both the Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material From Another Medium Academy Awards for The Boat (Das Boot) in 1981. In the spy world, he directed Air Force One and In the Line of Fire.
Gene Lebell
Hollywood stuntman Gene Lebell died at age 89. He had roles in more than 250 movies. Besides his role as a stuntman, he also taught martial arts skills to Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and Steven Seagal. Spy movie fans would have seen him in Patriot Games, US Marshals, and the tv series “24”.
Lou Barlia
Cameraman Lou Barlia passed at age 92. His career started as a cameraman for the movie Love Story in 1970 and continued through the 2000 movie Bruno. You’ve also seen his work in Superman, Steel Magnolias, and 61 other movies or tv shows. Spy movie fans saw his work in Serpico. In 2000, Lou received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Camera Operators.
Bill Pitman
We end this month’s In Memorium remembering Wrecking Crew guitarist Bill Pitman who died at the age of 102. Pitman has played guitar, bass guitar, and ukulele on many songs and soundtracks. He has played on so many songs that we think it is almost impossible that you haven’t heard him play. Spy movie and tv fans will recognize his bass play on the theme song to the tv show “The Wild Wild West.” He also played in Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain.
So, that’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed our Spy Movie News for August 30, 2022.
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News – August 30 2022 – Bang!, Dr. Evil, James Bond, Mission: Impossible
We discuss the upcoming spy movies like BANG!, TRUE LIES, THE STRANGER, James Bond, Dr. Evil, Mission: Impossible, Enigma, and more!
In this Spy Movie News – August 30 2022 edition we discuss the September releases of spy movies. We’ll also look at some ongoing projects like Bang!, “True Lies”, The Stranger, “Dr. Evil”, James Bond, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Enigma, MR-9, Chief of Station, Spy Kids, Blackbird, and more!
Be in the know in 18 minutes.
Find more details on the James Bond 60 year celebration corn maze here.
Updates on Mission: Impossible 7 and No Time to Die as of August 1st 2020. The news is a moving target and when there is something to report worthwhile, we will do a short and quick podcast on it.
In this January, 12, 2021 Spy Movie News, Dan discusses the latest news on your favorite spy movies, including NO TIME TO DIE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7, THE 355 and more.
Keep current! Join Our Email List
Keep up to date with our latest and greatest spy movie finds. (See our Privacy Policy)
"*" indicates required fields
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News – July 26 2022 – Blackbird, Kingsman 3, Sicario 3, The Gray Man
Learn about what's streaming and in the theater, BLACKBIRD, KINGSMAN 3, THE GRAY MAN 2, SICARIO 3, SPY KIDS and more.
Here is our Spy Movie News for 7/26/2022. We discuss the August releases of spy movies. We’ll look at some ongoing projects like Blackbird, Kingsman 3, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One, The Gray Man 2, Sicario 3, Spy Kids, and take a quick look back at Austin Powers in Goldmember and True Lies.
Be in the know in 16 minutes and be up-to-date on the spy movie industry!
Here is our Spy Movie News for December 29 2021! We discuss spy movies coming in 2022, The Kingsman series, Argylle, Red Notice, Mission: Impossible, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Duke and more!
Watch the Video Version of this podcast This 10 minute podcast will look at the pandemic's impact on the movies Tenet, The King's Man, Black Widow and Red Notice.
Keep current! Join Our Email List
Keep up to date with our latest and greatest spy movie finds. (See our Privacy Policy)
Let’s start by looking at what’s coming in spy entertainment in August 2022.
We are in the summer doldrums here and our pickings for new or re-released spy movies are pretty slim.
August Theatrical Spy Movie Releases
On August 12, IFC Films will release Rogue Agent both in theaters and on AMC+. Their synopsis of the movie is: “The chilling true story of conman, Robert Freegard, who posed as an undercover MI5 agent kidnapping countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt until the woman who fell for him brought him to justice.”
We like seeing true spy stories brought to the screen. The twist of having the MI5 agent just being a conman and not a real agent sounds intriguing to us. We’ll be checking this one out.
Ok, we had to stretch a bit for this next one. On August 5th, we’ll see the theatrical-only release of Bullet Train. This isn’t technically a spy movie, but it looks like it has a feel of a spy movie.
According to the Sony Pictures website:
“In Bullet Train, Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, an unlucky assassin determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs gone off the rails. Fate, however, may have other plans, as Ladybug’s latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe—all with connected, yet conflicting, objectives”
Streaming Spy Movie Releases for July
This list is very sparse. Come on streamers, give us spy fans more to watch.
Netflix
On August 5th Netflix will add:
Carter – This Korean Netflix original movie sounds like it has a bit of a Bourne feel to it. The synopsis of this one is: Agent Carter wakes up one day in a motel room without any recollection of his identity and follows orders to join an explosive mission.
Skyfall – Also on the 5th, Netflix will re-release Skyfall for streaming.
Then on August 8th, they will release another Netflix Original Film, the Spanish movie – Code Name: Emperor. This movie Follows Juan, an agent working for the intelligence services, who also reports to a parallel unit involved in illegal activities.
Hulu
Hulu will rerelease the 1993 movie In the Line of Fire on August 21st.
HBO Max
HBO Max has no new spy movie releases in August, not new releases or re-releases.
And that’s pretty much it for August. So let’s now look to the future.
Upcoming Spy Movies
Spy Kids
We’ve mentioned the Spy Kids reboot that is being developed for Netflix in past Spy Movie News editions. Billy Magnussen, who played Logan Ash in No Time To Die, has signed on to the Spy Kids reboot. So this cast is really taking shape. We can’t wait to see the finished product.
Kingsman 3
An article on movieweb.com gives us some insight (maybe) into Kingsman 3. We’ll call it Kingsman 3 as that is what the article uses. We know the name will change. This is expected to be the last of the Eggsy and Harry Hart arc of the series. It is not expected to be the last Kingsman movie, however. It will just be the last with Eggsy and Harry.
We remember that Eggsy and Harry weren’t in the most recent movie in the series The King’s Man. That movie was a prelude to the Eggsy and Harry arc. It hinted at more arcs in the series. We like this as this is a series about an organization, not a person. People can be replaced or killed as part of the design.
Mission: Impossible is in a similar position to the Kingsman series as it is technically about the Impossible Mission Force, not Ethan Hunt. So, they can take that series forward if they want, even if Ethan Hunt dies or retires in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning part one or part two. This avoids the problem that the Bond series has entrapped itself with. These two series can go on easily unlike Bond.
So, here’s why we said maybe at the beginning of this discussion. Here is Taron Edgerton’s quote from the article:
“My understanding is that we are to be shooting the third installment in my saga I believe next year. But you know, don’t listen to what I say because I don’t really know. You know, they’re grown-up decisions.”
Edgerton does go on to say “there is a script”.
So, he hedges while giving us a clue. Let’s hope he’s right as we like this series and would like to see more. We need a replacement for James Bond and this one works.
The Gray Man
We have three things to discuss about The Gray Man which was just released in July on Netflix and in limited theaters. As we’ve talked about before, the hope is that this movie will launch a series of movies based on Mark Greaney’s book series.
The Gray Man has some great chase scenes. An article in Variety discusses how COVID affected the shooting in terms of locations. Our favorite quote comes from production designer Dennis Gassner: “A rooftop chase scene was assembled from various locations, including a spot in Prague. “If you went to visit it, you wouldn’t find it,” he teases.” That’s too bad for us here at SpyMovieNavigator.com because we love finding filming locations. We guess we’ll have to move on to the next location.
Will there be a The Gray Man 2? Well, Ryan Gosling is ready to go on. In an article by Jonathan Fuge, Gosling says: “I loved making this film. I’d love to do it again. I’m hoping we can bump Six up to a name status at some point, just for his own sanity”.
The article continues to tell us that “both The Gray Man 2 and a prequel centering on Chris Evans as Lloyd Hansen are already said to be ‘at the very early stage.’ ”
Well, we enjoyed watching this movie and hope they do press on with more from the series. The prequel on Lloyd Hansen is an interesting take. He is the antagonist in The Gray Man. We liked his crazy character very much. It would be awesome to get his backstory in a sequel.
And finally, director Joe Russo has been quoted in Variety as saying: If we do continue forward with the story, I can guarantee you that Dhanush’s character will be part of that world moving forward.” This is great news for us. We called out Dhanush’s character Lone Wolf in our no-spoiler review of The Gray Man. His role and Dhanush’s performance were fantastic. [I changed the name here because in the credits he’s called Avik San, but in the closed captioning and in the movie they call him Lone Wolf.]
Blackbird
Some people will finally get a chance to see the Michael Flatley movie Blackbird. This spy movie has been shrouded in intrigue since it debuted at London’s Raindance Film Festival in 2018. Hollywood reporter.com tells us that at that premier, no journalists were allowed to view it and there were no reviews or audience reactions on Twitter. Then, like Keyser Söze in The Usual Suspects, it disappeared.
Then, in July 2021, it was the opening night movie at the Monaco Streaming Film Festival. Oh yeah, and they didn’t stream it. Michael Flatley won the best actor award at the festival for his performance as Blackbird. He is described as a “troubled, sharply-dressed, James Bond-esque secret agent who retires from the service and seeks solace as the owner of a glamorous nightclub in the Caribbean.”
So, why did we start out saying “some people” will get the chance to see it? Well, they are releasing Blackbird on September 2, 2022, but only in some theaters in Ireland.
So, the intrigue continues. We hope nobody wanted a return on their investment quickly. That said, we think this intrigue might set Blackbird up for a huge payday in the future. If it does well in Ireland and given its mystique, this could just be marketing genius.
Sicario 3
Expected to get the title Sicario: Capos, Sicario 3 is in development. This is the third movie in the Sicario series. The cast hasn’t been announced.
In an article on movieweb.com, we’re told that the story will likely pick up from the Sicario: Day of the Soldado, ending. Black Label Media is the producer and has confirmed that “the movie should enter production this year”. It also quotes actor Josh Brolin, who has appeared in the previous two installments as saying that the script has been “written and rewritten”. And, he joked “we may be 80” when they finally do film it. Given that Brolin is only 54, let’s hope that was a joke.
Mission: Impossible
Ok, so we still have a year to wait for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One. We still can’t believe that’s the title they came up with. Anyway, there are a couple of news items that caught our attention this month:
Tom Cruise Turns 60
Tom Cruise hit his 60th birthday on July 3rd. That prompted director Christopher McQuarrie to tweet out a fantastic picture of Cruise doing a stunt for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part Two. Well, maybe it was Part Two. We’ve also seen an article about this that says it was for Part One. Either way, check it out. It is an impressive look at a 60-year-old Cruise still going nuts with his stunts. You can find it on JoBlo.com.
We don’t think Mickey Rourke and Tom Cruise will be having dinner anytime soon
We’re going to have to sensor this a bit due to the language, but Mickey Rourke lashed out at Tom Cruise on Piers Morgan Uncensored. Morgan asked Rourke “When you see someone like Tom Cruise, grossing a billion dollars with Top Gun Maverick .. what do you think of that?”
“That doesn’t mean (bleep) to me,” Rourke said about the film’s success. “The guy’s been doing the same effing part for 35 years. … I got no respect for that. … I don’t care about money or power. I care about… when I watch Al Pacino working or Christopher Walken, and De Niro’s early work and Richard Harris’ work and Ray Winstone’s work, that’s the kind of actor I want to be like. …A lot of guys that tried to stretch as actors.”
Piers pressed Rourke and asked him “you don’t think Tom Cruise is a good actor” to which Rourke replied, “I think he’s irrelevant”.
Wow, coming from a guy who’s had a hit-or-miss career, including one Oscar nomination while Cruise has 3, that is quite a statement. Yeah, we should probably keep these guys apart for a while. You can catch the interview on Twitter. There is a link to it on Variety.com.
Looking Backward
Two articles caught our attention this month looking back at older spy movies.
Austin Powers
In celebrating the 20th anniversary of Austin Powers in Goldmember, Vulture gave us an oral history of Beyonce and her role as Foxxy Cleopatra. Makeup artist Kate Briscoe gave us some background on the making of one of the movie posters. Beyonce thought it made her look too skinny. Brisco said:
“When we were shooting, someone brought her a poster that would be promoting the movie,” Biscoe said. “He showed it to her, like, ‘Do you like it?’ And she was kind of like, ‘Yeah.’ He goes, ‘What’s the matter?’ And she says, ‘You made me too skinny. It’s not me.’ Then she did this hourglass shape. And he said, ‘Okay, we’ll fix that.’”
Briscoe continued, “She walked away to go do the scene, and I looked at him and smiled, like, ‘Is that the first time that you’ve ever had an actress ask to make her body bigger?’ He was like, ‘Yes. It’s going to cost me thousands of dollars, but I am going to do it.’”
We applaud the decision to both change the poster and to tell us about it. Great job.
True Lies
Ok, this one looks back and forward. We’ve already told you that there is an upcoming tv series based on the movie True Lies.
Well, the movie just hit its 28th anniversary this year is True Lies. Jamie Lee Curtis starred as Helen, along with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Jamie Lee recently discussed one of the stunts from the movie. Namely, the stunt where she hangs off a helicopter in the movie. She credits her stunt double Donna Keegan but says one shot required Curtis to be wired to a helicopter. The article has a picture from the movie, and one of the stunts being performed. It’s nice work and it is fun to get a behind-the-scenes look at a very cool scene. You can check it out in this article on Movieweb.com.
In Memorium
Monty Norman
Well, the James Bond family lost a very important member of its history. Monty Norman passed away at the age of 94.
Norman created the James Bond theme that was then arranged by John Barry. There were disputes how much Norman contributed versus John Barry, who orchestrated the Bond theme for the movie. Yet, Norman is credited with writing it. He also penned ‘Underneath the Mango Tree’ for Dr. No.
We can’t imagine James Bond without his theme.
James Caan
Probably best remembered for his roles in The Godfather and Misery, the prolific actor James Caan passed away at 82. Spy movie fans may remember him playing The President in the 2008 movie Get Smart. Caan also appeared in two episodes of the ‘Get Smart’ tv series in 1969.
Gregory Itzin
Gregory Itzin has passed at the age of 74. He is most known for his role as President Charles Logan on the television series ‘24’. He also played Henry Wilcox on the CIA-based tv series ‘Covert Affairs’.
David Warner
And finally veteran English actor, David Warner has passed at the age of 80. Among his 228 IMDB credits, he starred in Titanic and The Omen, and several Star Trek productions . Spy Movie fans may remember him from the 1992 movie Spies Inc., the 1978 remake of The Thirty Nine Steps, or Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming where Warner played Admiral Godfrey.
So, that’s a wrap! This has been the July 26, 2022 edition of our Spy Movie News. Please subscribe to our show – Cracking the Code of Spy Movies – in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Tell your friends about us – Share info about our show on your own social media – Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram too! All the links are on our website. SpyMovieNavigator.com – Thanks for listening – we appreciate it!
Learn about what's streaming and in the theater, BLACKBIRD, KINGSMAN 3, THE GRAY MAN 2, SICARIO 3, SPY KIDS and more.
Podcast Episode
Spy Movie News – June 28 2022 – The Gray Man, Spy Kids, Slow Horses and more!
Here's our Spy Movie News for June 28 2022. we look at the July spy movies release schedule, spy movies in production and some industry news.
Join us for our Spy Movie News for June 28 2022. In this episode we look at spy movies being released in theater and on streaming platforms in July, 2022, including The Gray Man and Code Name Banshee. We’ll also look at spy movies in production and some industry news. Oh, and we’ll throw in a tidbit about the Glastonbury festival and a show coming to Broadway.
Listen to our September 15 2020 edition of Spy Movie News with latest updates on Mission Impossible 7, Red Notice, Five Eyes, Tenet, The Duke, No Time to Die - and some Idris Elba and spy industry news!
Listen to our October 3, 2020 Spy Movie News Special Edition as we discuss the delay of NO TIME TO DIE until April 2021. Quick talk about it and fan reactions as well!
Join us for a 12-minute look at the latest Spy Movie News for November 30, 2021. We look at news on THE KING'S MAN, NO TIME TO DIE, RED NOTICE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8, and more ...
Keep current! Join Our Email List
Keep up to date with our latest and greatest spy movie finds. (See our Privacy Policy)
Let’s start this episode by looking at what’s coming in spy entertainment in July 2022.
And it’s been a while, but we finally have not one, but two spy movies hitting theaters in July.
July Theatrical Spy Movie Releases
Code Name Banshee
The first to hit the theaters in July is on July 1st and is titled Code Name Banshee. This movie stars Antonio Banderas, Jaime King, and Tommy Flanagan. It is one of those assassins vs. assassins vs. the CIA-type of movies. We’ve seen this type of plot in numerous movies and feels a bit similar to The Protégé at a high level. We’re intrigued to see what they do with it and how they try to make it unique. Code Name Banshee will have a limited theatrical release as well as a streaming/video-on-demand release on the same day.
The Gray Man
The second spy movie to hit theaters this July is The Gray Man. We’ve been talking about this movie with you since at least February 2021. Well, this Netflix movie is finally here, on July 15 in theaters. It has a fantastic cast of Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jessica Henwick, Regé-Jean Page, and more. The official tag for this one is: “When a shadowy CIA agent uncovers damning agency secrets, he’s hunted across the globe by a sociopathic rogue operative who’s put a bounty on this head.”
The Gray Man is based on a book with the same title from an 11-book series. The hope is that a series of movies will be created based on the books.
Netflix, as it has done recently with their more expensive-to-produce movies, will release The Gray Man in theaters a week before it starts streaming.
This time, however, they are giving us advance notice that there is a theatrical release. Given that this is the most expensive movie Netflix has ever done (supposedly over $200 million), it makes sense to try to pull in some theatrical revenue. We appreciate that as viewers. We’d rather watch most action-based spy movies in a theater rather than in our home theaters.
Streaming Spy Movie Releases for July
Netflix
On July 1st, in the US, Netflix will release two spy movies that have been released in the past:
A Call to Spy – This 2019 movie tells the story of a real intelligence officer, Vera Atkins, who was a recruiter for Churchill’s secret army. We’ve seen this movie and recommend it. Let us know your thoughts. A Call to Spy is also being released on IFC Films Unlimited on July 6th.
Catch me If you Can – This 2002 movie stars Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio. It is about a real guy, Frank Abagnale Jr, who was a con man and money forger. Tom Hanks, is the FBI agent to has to catch Frank.
Then on July 22nd, Netflix will stream The Gray Man.
HULU
Hulu has one spy movie and one spy series it is releasing in July. On July 1st, they will release the 1997 movie The Man Who Knew Too Little. The tag line for this comedy spy movie is “He’s on a mission so secret, even he doesn’t know about it. The movie stars Bill Murray and is a comedy/drama.
Then on July 29, Hulu is releasing the complete series called “The Americans”. This series has 75 episodes so it will be quite a binge to watch it all, but this was an excellent spy series. “The Americans” is about Russian Agents who assimilated into US life for years trying to be a married couple with kids while spying for Russia. It was based on a true story of a spy ring called “The Illegals”. It stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. We think this is a series any spy movie fan will enjoy.
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is adding 4 spy movies in July:
The 1988 Debra Winger, Tom Berenger movie Betrayed
Two Tom Clancy movies, 1992’s Patriot Games and the 2002 movie The Sum of all Fears.
And the 2019 spy movie, The Mongolian Connection
The Kite Runner
Finally, although this one isn’t a spy story, we talked about the movie The Kite Runner in our 2-part interview with the director of photography for Quantum of Solace, Roberto Schaefer. Well, “The Kite Runner” is coming to Broadway. The play had a 2-season run in London’s West End. Previews start July 6th at The Hayes Theater on Broadway and will open at the Hayes Theater in New York on July 21. This is a limited engagement that will run through October 20, 2022.
Upcoming Spy Movie Projects
Face/Off 2
Ok, this is another project we’ve been talking about for a while. We’ve been asking “Will it be a sequel or a new story”? Will Nicholas Cage or John Travolta be in it? and what is going on with this thing?’
Well, an article on movieweb.com has the following as it’s subheader: “Face/Off 2 seems to be moving along, but will not go forward until it can live up to the legacy of the original move”. Um, we say (sarcastically) “Good Luck With That”. That’s a tall order due to the excellent interplay between Travolta and Cage in the original.
It appears that the director, Adam Wingard has said that the new film will be an “absolute sequel” to the hit original. We’ll have to wait to see what happens here.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One
We can never get enough Mission: Impossible 7 news, even though we have to wait until July 14 next year to see it. Oh, wait, the name is now Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One. That title is almost as long as the wait.
Anyway, we know that Tom Cruise does many of his own stunts for this character Ethan Hunt. Well, it looks like Hayley Atwell, who plays a character named Grace had to do some stunts too.
She gave an interview at the recent Awesome Con. Most of the 44 minutes were talking about her MCU character, Agent Carter, and other roles. However, at about 8:00 minutes in, someone asked her about her stunts in the upcoming Mission: Impossible movie. It’s an interesting watch. She is very complimentary to Tom Cruise and his quest for perfection.
Although she says more, the highlight that we’ll call out is when she said she: “Backflipped over a bridge, jumped off backward off a moving train, a lot of running uphill in high heels while handcuffed to Mr. Cruise.” Given how intense Tom Cruise is while running, that had to be a challenge. You can find the interview on YouTube by searching for Haley Atwell Peggy Carter Panel. Choose the one from Awesome Con 2022.
The Gray Man
Well, now that the movie is almost here, it’s time for a bit of hype:
Omaze.com is a website that does charity fundraising and occasionally has celebrities involved. Well, they recently held a raffle that ended yesterday with a chance to go to The Gray Man premier, stay at a 4-star hotel, and get pictures with Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling. The winner won’t be announced until July 13. The goal is to help Christopher’s Haven with homes for kids with cancer.
Many movies have these types of activities and Omaze is one of the bigger sites that manage them. If you have an upcoming movie you are interested in, it’s worth taking a look at Omaze.com to see if they have a drawing you might like. We here at SpyMovieNavigator.com and our Cracking the Code of Spy Movies podcast have no affiliation with Omaze, but we have entered and have donated with previous drawings!
Netflix released a new Exclusive Clip on YouTube.
In May, Netflix released their trailer for The Gray Man. Now, Netflix has released an “exclusive clip” of a scene from The Gray Man. The clip includes Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas. You can click on these links to see both the trailer and this exclusive clip.
The Gray Man who is Ryan Gosling playing?
Well, we’re still a couple of weeks before the first The Gray Man hits the screen, but EmpireOnline talked with Ryan Gosling about his character, Courtland Gentry (codename Sierra Six). It sounds like Gentry has a similar feel to Harry Palmer in the Len Deighton series in that he was taken from prison and put into a spy organization, here the CIA. So, he’s a reluctant spy like we often talk about in spy movies.
Gosling tells Empireonline: “What I liked about this character is that he wants something that most of us want, which is just to be free,” … “In almost every scene we tried to set it up so that he was at a disadvantage. And it becomes about watching him use whatever is in his environment to gain leverage.”
Gosling also tells us that he loved making the movie and would love to do another. We bet that if this first movie is successful, he’ll get a few more spins as Sierra Six.
Empire’s Summer Preview has Gosling and Evans on the cover. The Gray Man is set for a limited release on July 15, 2022, followed by its release on Netflix on July 22, 2022.
Slow Horses
We mentioned that this Gary Oldman series had been picked up by Apple + for a second season. Well, according to Variety, it has been picked up for a third and fourth season. The series is based on the spy books series “Slough House” which was authored by Mick Herron. Season 1 was called “Slow Horses” and was based on the book of the same name. Season two is based on the book “Dead Lions. Season 3 is based on the book “Real Tigers”. And finally season 4 will be based on the book “Spook Street”.
We are very happy to see that the series has been picked up for 3 more seasons. We thought that Season 1 was very well done and are looking forward to the next 3 seasons.
Spy Kids
We mentioned in our April Spy Movie News that Netflix was rebooting the Spy Kids franchise. Well, now we know some of the actors for the movie. An article on deadline.com tells us that Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Everly Carganilla, and Connor Esterson are signed.
The article also tells us that “This latest Spy Kids chapter is set after the children of the world’s greatest secret agents unwittingly help a powerful game developer unleash a computer virus that gives him control of all technology, leading them to become spies themselves to save their parents and the world.”
We liked the first Spy Kids movies and hope this reboot takes hold. We’re big fans of spy movies for kids to help them get excited about the genre.
MR-9
Now, this could be a long series if it is successful. We know that James Bond movies are, or were based, on the writings of Ian Fleming. Fleming wrote 15 novels or short stories that were the inspiration for the movies. Well, Bangladeshi writer Qazi Anwar Hussain wrote over 500 novels including a series of books on a spy named Masud Rana. They were supposedly influenced by the James Bond series.
Production has started on a movie based on his first book in the Rana series. Rana had the code name “MR-9”, which is where the movie gets its title.
Rana will be played by Bangladeshi actor ABM Sumon. Frank Grillo has signed on to play Rana’s nemesis. Joining them will be Michael Jai White, Matt Passmore, and Remy Grillo (yes, he’s Frank’s son).
For those of you who listened to our interview with Brigitte Millar, who was in Spectre and No Time To Die, we talked about a short movie she did with Matt Passmore called Nox. Passmore was great in that so it will be fun to see him in MR-9.
Industry News
The Wasp Network
Three years after the movie The Wasp Network (2019) was released, Netflix is being sued for defamation of character. The Wasp Network was based on the book “The Last Soldiers of the Cold War” and is about a group called Cuban Five that infiltrates Cuban exile groups in Miami. It had previously been sued by Ana Martinez over her character’s portrayal.
The defamation suit was brought by Jose Basulto who is the leader of a group called Brothers to the Rescue. “The Film is an obvious attempt to rewrite and whitewash history in favor of the communist Cuban regime and is factually inaccurate,” the complaint states. “The Film portrays the Cuban Five as courageous heroes who were simply defending their homeland. In reality, the Cuban Five were a spy network that produced actionable intelligence enabling the Cuban government to commit extrajudicial killings.” The suit claims that Netflix portrayed him as a puppet of the United States and as a traitor to Cuba. It adds, “This portrayal of Mr. Basulto, Brothers to the Rescue, and the Cuban exile community was deliberately calculated to create two clear and unmistakable villains for the Film”.
Basulto is trying to get an injunction either barring Netflix from carrying the espionage movie or to force edits of scenes and have Netflix delete references to this being based on true events.
You can read the details of the suit on hollywoodreporter.com. Netflix did not respond to Hollywood reporters’ requests for comment. This could be interesting.
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival had its post-COVID restart after a two-year pause. Although this festival isn’t a spy movie, Glasto, as it is colloquially called, had a big presence in the movie Kingsman: The Golden Circle. And at this year’s festival, two singers with a Bond history performed.
On Friday night Billie Eilish took to the Pyramid Stage. Eilish won the 2022 Academy Award for Best Original Song for the theme song to No Time To Die.
Then on Saturday night,Sir Paul McCartney took the stage. McCartney delivered the first James Bond theme song to be nominated for an Academy Award. Of course, we’re talking about “Live and Let Die”.So, this music festival has some nice spy movie props to its name.
In Memoriam
Today’s In Memoriam, unfortunately, has one actor and four behind-the-camera workers who’ve had an impact on spy movies.
Philip Baker Hall
Veteran actor Philip Baker Hall has passed at age 90. He had a 50-year acting career in both tv and movies. TV fans will most likely remember him for his roles on Seinfeld and Modern Family. Spy Movie fans will remember him as Defense Secretary Becker in The Sum of All Fears and US Attorney General Ward in Air Force One.
Isidoro Raponi
Mechanical Effects artist Isidoro Raponi passed at the age of 76. His work on special effects and the art department was seen in Alien, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Running Man, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, and others. In the spy movie world, he worked on Argo and The Hunt for Red October.
May Routh
Costume designer May Routh died at age 87. Her work is seen in 30 movies and tv shows. In the spy movie world, she was the costume designer for the 1998 movie, Ronin.
Duncan Henderson
Producer/director Duncan Henderson died at the age of 72. He was nominated for the 2004 Best Picture Academy Award, along with Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and Peter Weir for the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. In the spy movie world, he was the first assistant director: second unit on the 1985 movie The Man with One Red Shoe.
Well, that wrap’s our June 28, edition of Spy Movie News. Enjoy some spy movies in July!
Please visit us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram too. We have Spy Movie News episodes and other podcasts on your favorite podcast app. The show’s name is Cracking the Code of Spy Movies.