My Spy: The Eternal City, Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre, Butterfly, Amateur, and Agent Elvis are just some of the upcoming spy movies or series that we’ll fill you in on today in our Spy Movie News February 28, 2023, edition.   

Upcoming Spy Entertainment in Development

Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre

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 3^rd, 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 no-spoiler quick-fire review episode we released on June 29, 2020, we talked about how we liked this cast so it’s good to see them return.   Dan thought Jeong was miscast, but Tom liked him in this.

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 9^th.   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.

In an article in Variety, creators Kristen Peters tell us

“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.

You can read more about Salaar on movieweb.com.

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.

The Night Agent

We first mentioned “The Night Agent” way back in our November 30, 2021 Spy Movie News.  Well, it is finally about to be released.  

Netflix gives “The Night Agent” this description:

“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 26^th in the US and on March 27^th 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-Man and 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.

That’s my rant, let us know your thought by sending an email to info@spymovienavigator.com.

In Memoriam

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.

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