In our Spy Movie News April 26,2022 edition, we get some updates on upcoming spy movies, James Bond birthday fun, the Slow Horses wind machine, a Spy Kids reboot, more award news, and new and old spy movies coming to streaming services.
We’ll start by looking at the May 2022 spy movie releases and unfortunately, the pickings are slim for us spy movie fans.
THEATRICAL RELEASES
The two big cinema releases expected in May don’t hit the US theaters until Memorial Day weekend, May 27th. Unfortunately, neither of them is a spy movie. They are Top Gun: Maverick and The Bob’s Burgers Movie.
So, the cinema is not the place to go to find spy movies in May, at least here in the US.
The only movie we are hoping for in the theaters is The Duke, which we’ve talked about before. It has been released in some countries and is in a limited release in the US. Unfortunately for us here at Spy Movie Navigator who hail from Chicago, the Chicago market isn’t included in the group of “limited release” locations.
STREAMING – NEW RELEASES
Netflix
Operation Mincemeat
One movie that will be released on Netflix in May has had a theatrical release in some countries, Operation Mincemeat. And we’ve been waiting for this one.
Operation Mincemeat was released by Warner Bros on April 22, 2022, but not everywhere. Netflix will release this movie on May 11, 2022, in the US, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. We haven’t seen if Netflix is planning a theatrical release in the US. They had a theatrical release for Red Notice, so we are hoping to see this one on the big screen too.
Operation Mincemeat is based on the real WW2 operation by British Intelligence to fake out the Germans by using a corpse and fake documents. Using a dead person to fake out adversaries has been a plot point in numerous spy movies, including the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice. These plots were based in part on the real Operation Mincemeat.
Amazon Prime
James Bond movies
In May, Amazon Prime is releasing for Prime customers the following James Bond movies: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, Never Say Never Again, The Spy Who Loved Me, Octopussy. You can also stream You Only Live Twice and see if you can catch the Operation Mincemeat connection.
AMC +
The Ipcress File
The Ipcress File series finally comes out on AMC+ in May 2022 here in the US. This is the series that debuted on ITV in the UK at the beginning of March. We’ve released 3 podcasts on The Ipcress File series when ITV had their release, including an interview with the Executive Producer Steven Saltzman.
IMDb TV (Soon to be Amazon Freevee)
Troppo
This 8-part tv series is about an ex-cop who is falsely accused of a crime who has to deal with an investigation agency.
Troppo debuted in Australia on ABC and hits IMDb TV on May 20, 2022.
HULU
Hot Fuzz
Although not a spy movie, this 2007 movie is a cop comedy starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and that two-time James Bond, Timothy Dalton. It’s a fun watch.
Already Released Spy Entertainment
Slow Horses
Apple released its spy series Slow Horses at the beginning of April 2022, starring Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, and Kristin Scott Thomas. This series is about Slough House which is where MI5 dumps its agents who have messed up.
If you need a good laugh, check out the Mike Reyes interview of Oldman and Lowden on Cinemablend.com. They have a “very serious” discussion of the role of flatulence in Oldman’s character Jackson Lamb. In the interview, Oldman tries to keep his answer serious, but Lowden and Reyes won’t let him get away with it.
The last time we saw a discussion about flatulence in the movies was a description of why the characters in The Usual Suspects were laughing during the line-up scene. That time it wasn’t planned flatulence. You can find more on that one on screenrant.com.
Upcoming Spy Entertainment News
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Amazon has signed Maya Erskine and Donald Glover for its upcoming series “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. This series is based on the movie that starred Angelina Jolie and Brad Pit. Originally, Phoebe Waller-Bridge was to play the role that Erskine now has but left the project last year.
Spy Kids
Netflix will reboot the Spy Kids franchise. Although the movie doesn’t have a title or date yet, we know that Robert Rodriguez will write and direct this. He was the creator of the original series.
We’re glad to see this as the original Spy Kids movies were a hit and it’s great to see movies to help excite kids about spy movies.
Agent Hamilton
So, here’s another reboot. An article on variety.com tells us that Agent Hamilton – New Missions has obtained territory deals in the US and Northern Europe. New Missions is based on the series “Agent Hamilton”. We don’t have details on the casting or release schedule yet.
Face/Off 2
Ok, so we don’t know much about Face/Off 2, other than we’ve seen some things that say it is happening, with Adam Wingard as director. We’ve also told you that Nicolas Cage has said that he hasn’t been asked to do it. Well, we have an update on this. According to an article in ComicBook.com, something might be happening here. He’s quoted as saying “there have been some phone calls with Neal [Moritz], who I enjoyed very much working with on the first Face/Off,” Cage said. “He’s somebody, he’s one of the true, great producers in Hollywood. And, they have been making some calls.” We think this would be fun to see Cage in the sequel.
Well, maybe it is just a bit of hype coming off the current Nicolas Cage movie, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. But, Pedro Pascal, who is in that movie with Cage says that he would love to reunite with Cage in Face/Off 2. With how well Pascal played Whiskey in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, we think this would be a fun pairing to see.
It’s Arnold and Monica
An untitled Netflix spy series has been cast with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro as the leads. The rest of the cast has been announced and looks very solid.
The limited plot we’ve seen almost makes the series sound a bit like Mr. and Mrs. Smith meet True Lies. According to variety.com, a father and daughter have each been working as CIA Operatives. Neither of them knows that the other is a spy as well.
The Old Man
FX will premiere its new series “The Old Man” on June 16, 2022. This one should be good. It stars Jeff Bridges as a former CIA agent. John Lithgow is one of his adversaries. The supporting cast looks strong with this one as well.
Pathaan
Ok, on to Bollywood. After a four-year hiatus, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan will be back as one of the stars in the January 2023 spy thriller, Pathaan. Shah Rukh will be starring with Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in this spy movie which will be released in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. We’re hoping there is an English subtitle version released as well.
Industry News
In October, we released a podcast where we discussed the viewing experience of watching No Time To Die in different theater formats. We talked about the differences experiencing it on a standard screen, Dolby Cinema, IMAX, 4DX, and 3D.
We especially liked the Dolby Cinema experience. One of the reasons for that is the quality of the image that the laser projector can produce. AMC has been using laser projectors in Dolby Cinema at AMC, Prime at AMC, and some IMAX at AMC theaters.
Well, AMC is upping their game here. According to an article on Deadline.com, AMC will be installing laser projectors at 3,500 U.S. auditoriums through 2026. This is a welcome trend as the image is an improvement at handling darkness and contrast over previous projection.
James Bond News
For a movie franchise that is likely still years away from its next release, James Bond keeps itself in the news.
More Awards for Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
You can add another award to Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli’s shelves. This September, they will receive the 2022 Pioneer of the Year Award from the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation. The award will be given during the foundation’s gala to support the Pioneers Assistance Fund. The award is given to those with exemplary career achievements and a commitment to excellence.
You can read more about this on Deadline.com.
Bond Birthday Fun
Mike Reyes has an article on CinemaBlend.Com that gives away an easter egg (or two) from a 007 Instagram post which shows Bond’s passport from Casino Royale. A few fun things pop out here.
- First, it shows Bond as being born on April 13. April 13 was the date that Ian Fleming’s first novel, “Casino Royale” was published.
- Second, Bond’s birth year is listed as 1968. That happens to be the year Daniel Craig was born.
- Ok, now here’s where it really gets fun. Daniel Craig was born on March 2nd, the same date that the first James Bond movie, Dr. No came out.
Ah, numbers and dates, you can have fun with them, and Eon did. Will dates play into who gets cast next as James Bond? Let the speculation begin.
He’s more comfortable naked than with his clothes on
In an interview with The Guardian, Jason Isaacs had this to say about why Daniel Craig was a great James Bond casting: “Daniel was cast just after we’d done a play together. He’s one of the only people on the planet who is more comfortable naked than with clothes on, which is why he has been – and will be – the perfect Bond for a long time to come.” – Well said.
Chastity has no place in Bond movies
In an article on variety.com, director Paul Verhoeven complains about the lack of sex scenes in recent Bond movies. “There was always sex in Bond!” Verhoeven said. “They did not show a breast, or whatever. But they had some sex.”
Given that he’s often talked about the importance of sex and his directing CV we are not surprised he thinks this way. And we think he has a point. If you don’t know Paul’s work, he directed Benedetta, Basic Instinct, and Showgirls, among others. Sex was very important in those movies.
Please bring back some of the sexual situations in Bond movies going forward Eon. That’s who Bond is!
Upcoming James Bond Location Tours
There are two big upcoming James Bond location tours that we know about. Neither of them is affiliated with Eon, MGM, or Danjaq. Also, as of press time, Spy Movie Navigator has no affiliation with either of these tours either. However, we know the people involved and know they’ve done good tours in the past.
June 14-17 – Back to the Bahamas
Onthetracksof007.com is hosting the Back to the Bahamas tour where seven James Bond movies have been partly filmed. VIP guests will include Luciana Paluzzi, Martine Beswicke, Diane Hartford, and King Errisson, all of whom a Bond fan should know. You can find out more about this tour on the website onthetracksof007.com.
October 8-16 – Own the Club Deux
This bondfanevents.com trip will spend bring you to Jamaica to celebrate filming locations for No Time To Die, Dr. No, Live, and Let Die. And, oh yeah, you’ll see Goldeneye where Ian Fleming wrote the novels. Check out bondfanevents.com for details of the trip.
In Memoriam
Nehemiah Persoff
Character actor Nehemiah Persoff has passed at the age of 102. Many of his 207 credits are for character roles in TV series. TV spy fans may remember Persoff from “I Spy”, “The Third Man”, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, “The Wild Wild West, “Mission: Impossible”, “Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident”, and the movie Mrs. Pollifax-Spy.
Henry Patterson
Henry Patterson, the novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Jack Higgins passed at the age of 92. He was known for thrillers, crime novels, and spy stories. His works were turned into four theatrical movies and seven television movies or series. His novel “The Eagle Has Landed” was his first big success, selling more than 50 million copies, and was made into a movie starring Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, and Robert Duvall.
David M. Jones
Visual effects artist David M. Jones has passed at 74. He started his career as a model maker, then moved to become a model shop supervisor. He finished his career as a visual effects supervisor. Some of the movies where you have seen his work include Star Wars, Air Force One, Outbreak, The Hunt for Red October, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and others.
