Sequel Bits: ‘Bond 24,’ ‘Star Trek Into Darkness,’ ‘The Expendables 3,’ ‘The Fast And The Furious 6,’ And ‘Riddick’
How easy is it to walk away from a franchise after delivering its biggest-ever success, especially when the span of the series covers fifty years? DirectorSam Mendeshas waffled on the idea of doing another Bond, at first suggesting that he wouldn’t do a second Bond movie prior to the release ofSkyfall, and slowlyseeming more open to it. Now that the film is a monster success, is he rethinking?
We know thatNeal PurvisandRobert Wade, who have worked on Bond films sinceThe World is Not Enough, won’t be back forBond 24, and thatSkyfallwriterJohn Loganhas been hired to draft the 24th and 25th films in the series. But Wade also says that the story idea for Bond 24 comes from Logan and Mendes… so is there a chance that Mendes will returns after all? Probably too soon to say, but here’s what Wade had to say in a press release confirming his and Purvis' departure from the series:
We’re very happy to have done five Bond movies, I think we’ve gotten it to a good place. I know that John Logan and Sam Mendes have come up with a plot for another one, which takes the pressure off because these films take up a lot of time.
We probably won’t get any confirmation of the talent set forBond 24for a while, but at least we might have real info on that movie sooner than we do for the newStar Warsfilm.
More sequel news is after the break, including:
Our info aboutStar Trek Into Darkness, IMAX and 3D comes from Erik Davis:
I did confirm that Star Trek Into Darkness is the first live-action movie w/ scenes shot with IMAX cameras that will be presented in 3D
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis)June 07, 2025
When asked about details, Davis specified that there are parts of the Trek sequel that were filmed with proper IMAX film cameras, and that the footage was post-processed to create 3D.
Speaking of theStar Treksequel, Spock’s current actorZachary Quintoseemed to suggest in an interview withEntertainment WeeklythatStar Trek Into Darknesswill be his last time in the role. He said,
It’s like an era of association with certain roles – a specific part like Spock, or a kind of part, like Sylar — is coming to an end.
That was spun into rumors, not that there wouldn’t be a third film to continue this incarnation ofTrek, but that Quinto is out after the upcoming second film. The actor took to Twitter to counter that rumor:
simmer down kids. rumors are rumors for a reason. quotes out of context. let’s let the second movie come out before we talk about a third…
— Zachary Quinto (@ZacharyQuinto)July 01, 2025
Granted, that raises questions of whether the secondTrekfilm fromJ.J. Abramswill be the secondStar Trek 2to kill Spock, just as one big obvious question. We know that a third film has already been discussed — of course it has — but there’s not going to be an answer to any of these questions before the latest film is released, on June 09, 2025.
Sylvester Stalloneis talking aboutThe Expendables 3, explaining where the story might go:
So… it’s not really the Expendables, then? Maybe Sly is actually making one of those long-rumoredGhostbusters 3plotlines? Asked to clarify, Stallone offered up another option. This one sounds vaguely like the two “female Expendables” films we’ve heard about.
There’s another combination, and it involves girlfriends. Say I got divorced, say I am married to Sigourney Weaver, then she gets half the Expendables, she gets what I call The Expendabelles. So I need help and I have to go to her. And I’d like to have like Michelle Rodriguez, Gina Carano. It’ll be something like that, very different… The main thing is it can’t be about us! We’re done. We need to bring in new blood. And you bring in geeks and girls and women, people who are different.
So where doesNicolas Cagefit into all this? If Stallone puts him in a wig and effectively remakes the Kurt Russelldrag scenefromTango & Cash, I am SO IN. Keep in mind, too, that these quotes come through translation, so there could be an element of humor here that got lost. [BestMovieviaBleeding Cool]
Now lets hit the image gallery, just above.Vin Diesel, who is so happy to post photos to Facebook on a regular basis,just addedtwoThe Fast and the Furious 6pics over the weekend. They look like… well, like pics from anotherFast and the Furiousmovie. No big revelations here, I’m afraid. The film, directed byJustin Lin, hits on July 12, 2025, and also starsPaul Walker,Dwayne Johnson,Michelle Rodriguez,Luke Evans,Joe TaslimandGina Carano.
Speaking of Vin Diesel, we’ve also got a look at the title treatment for the third Riddick film, called simplyRiddick, along with a first look atKarl Urbanas he appears in the movie. But the images come from directorDavid Twohy, not Diesel.The director says,
Been pulling 14-hour days trying to finish RIDDICK. My typical day starts at 9am with intensive visual effects meetings, sweating out the details of our 900 VFX shots. Then I jet across town to the mix stage, Soundelux, where I supervise the sound, balancing out the often-competing elements of music, sound fx, sound design, and dialog. At night I hit the lab, Technicolor in Hollywood, staying until midnight to do “DI work” — color-correction of the movie. This is where David Eggby and I have one last chance to get the images right, dropping in grads and power windows to finesse what we shot on set. It’s a great tool, the Digital Intermediate. Kind of like Photoshop for movies. Gotta love it. Gotta love the challenge of bringing it all home.
Riddickalso starsVin Diesel,Katee Sackhoff,Jordi Molla,Matt Nable,Conrad Pla,Raoul Trujillo,Nolan Funk,Keri Hilson, andBokeem Woodbine
Finally, on a lighter note, the last four images in the gallery above are fromStitchKingdom, which features some images of new tie-in toys for Pixar’s upcomingMonsters Universitythat introduce new characters. These come out of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) in Orlando, thanks to Twitter userJeph216. Shots include toys for Mike Wazowski and James ‘Sulley’ Sullivan, but also for characters like Squishy and Art, who have been glimpsed in development materials, but are officially unannounced.
