Elizabeth Banks(The Hunger Games,Pitch Perfect) has signed on as the lead actress in anuntitled James Gunn horror movie, which will be produced by theGuardians of the Galaxydirector and H Collective. David Yarovesky (The Hive) will direct the untitled project. The movie was written by Brian and Mark Gunn, and The H Collective will fully finance the feature and produce alongside Gunn and his company Troll Court Entertainment. The project was announced last November, and it is expected to start production this Spring.
Elizabeth Banks is best known for her roles inThe Hunger Games,The Power Rangers Movie, and the Academy Award winningSeabiscuit. She is also a three-time Emmy nominee for her recurring roles in30 RockandModern Familyand is currently working on the development of Sony’sCharlie’s Angelswhich she will direct and produce. She produced the hitPitch Perfectfranchise which has grossed half a billion dollars. But one movie she is fondly remembered for is director James Gunn’s cult classic horror movieSlither, and the two obviously had a good time on that one.James Gunnhad this to say about working with Banks again.
“Elizabeth and I have been on the same artistic page since we first met when she auditioned forSlitherback in 2005. She’s since remained one of my best friends in the world, and I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to work with her again. She’s the perfect partner to Yarvo, the H Collective and myself in creating this very special project.”
James Gunn, whose credits included mostlyfan favorite horrorsandScooby-Doo: The Movieprior to writing and directing Guardians of the Galaxy, is responsible for turning the Marvel property into one of themost memorable franchisesin the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The franchise has earned over $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office and solidified Gunn as one of the most in demand filmmakers in the business. Gunn’s horror movie like the critically-acclaimedSlitherandSuper, both of which he wrote and directed, have gained cult followings and have been named some of the best horror films in the genre.Slitheris currently featured on Rotten Tomatoes as one of the “Top Ten All-Time Best Reviewed Horror Films.”
James Gunn is currently working onGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will help set up the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the release ofInfinity Warand the still untitledAvengers 4. The next Guardians installment will hit theaters sometime in 2020 and Gunn is unsure if he’ll stay on board with Marvel to write and direct more movies at this time. It seems likely that he will make a return to writing and directing another horror movie in the future though.
Production for the untitledhorror projectis expected to begin this spring, which means that a title and the rest of the cast should be announced shortly. Elsewhere for Elizabeth Banks, theCharlie’s Angelsreboot is expected to be released next year, which also means that either we’ll get news of that soon or it may end up getting pushed back. You can read more about the untitled horror project throughJames Gunn’s Twitteraccount below.
