There has been movement on several geek movie projects in the last week, and we round-up the news here.

Lionsgate’s Power Rangers movie had a creative promotion for the film yesterday, turning the official movie Twitter account over to villainess Rita Repulsa for “Cyber Monday.”  The sorceress debuted new photos of herself, made threats to her archenemies the Power Rangers, and recommended unusual products (unicorn meat, Rogaine, coyote urine hunting spray) for purchase.  The movie releases in theaters on March 24, 2017 (see “'Power Rangers' Movie Megazord Revealed”).

Pacific Rim: Maelstrom has begun filming in Australia, and more actors have joined the production. Deadline announced the casting of Shyrley Rodriguez (The Get Down) in an undisclosed role.  Variety reported that Chinese action star Zhang Jin (The Grandmaster, Ip Man 3) has joined the cast. Other Chinese actors in the cast include Wesley Wong, Lily Ji, Chen Zitong, Lan Yingying and Qian Yong Chen; with cameos by Xiao Yang and Korean actor Kim Jeong-Hoon. According to a quote from Dr. Jack Gao, an executive with Beijing Wanda Cultural Industry Group, which owns Legendary Entertainment, the sequel “has a strong connection to China.” The film is due in theaters on February 23, 2018.

Frank Miller and Geof Darrow’s Dark Horse comic series Hard Boiled is being looked at by Warner Bros. for a movie adaptation, Deadline is reporting. While nothing has been finalized, Warner Bros. is looking to Ben Wheatley (Kill List, High-Rise) to develop the project, and is courting Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager, The Avengers) to star. The project was also looked at by Warner Bros. back in 2001 (see “Hard Boiled Film?”).

The Highlander remake is apparently active again, with THR reporting John Wick co-director Chad Stahelski has signed on to helm the  long-gestating project for Lionsgate. Currently Neal H. Moritz and Peter Davis are producing, but Stahelski and John Wick co-director David Leitch may join in production under their 87Eleven company. The last news on the project was Ryan Reynolds leaving as planned star in 2013 (see “Ryan Reynolds Off 'Highlander'”). Lionsgate is currently looking for new writers to work with Stahelski to get the project underway. Coincidentally (or not) IDW just announced a Highlander prequel comic for next year (see “'Highlander' Series Turns Back Time”).

{IMAGE_4}Amblin Entertainment has acquired film rights to Mark Watson and Oliver Haurd’s Dan and Sam graphic novel, which was published in 2015 by Picador (an imprint of Macmillan). THR is reporting that actress Ana Nogueira, who is also a playwright, is writing the script.  Dough Wick and Lucy Fisher will produce for Red Wagon Entertainment with House of Heath’s Lex Lutzus.  The story is a supernatural romance set in London where a young couple is separated by a sudden death. Dan mourns Sam, but finds out she is allowed to visit him one night a year as long as he doesn’t fall in love with anyone else.

{IMAGE_5}Sony Pictures Animation released a full trailer for Smurfs: The Lost Village. Sony released a teaser trailer in September (see “First Look at 'Smurfs: The Lost Village'”), but this more plot-based trailer reveals the colorful world and characters that populate the Smurfs’ world. The voice cast includes Demi Lovato (Smurfette), Rainn Wilson (Gargamel), Joe Manganiello (Hefty), Jack McBrayer (Clumsy), Danny Pudi (Brainy) and Mandy Patinkin (Papa Smurf). The film releases in theaters on April 7, 2017.