SPY MOVIE NEWS – April 25 2023 edition
Never Too Old To Die, The Sympathizer, 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.
Upcoming Spy Entertainment
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:
“an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.”
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.
This doesn’t mean they are out of the woods yet. An article on Deadline.com says:
“the group said it had received non-binding proposals for some or all of the its assets but determined that absent an all-cash bid significantly in excess of the value established under the proposed restructuring, it will cease seeking a buyer for its businesses in the U.S., UK and Ireland. The chain will continue to consider the proposals received for its “rest of world” business, it said at the time.”
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.
