Weekly Round-Up: More Covid-19 Production Delays, Jason Isaacs Reveals New Role & More!

Amidst the current darkness of postponements and closures due to the global coronavirus crisis including the delay of Fantastic Beast 3 filming, Lumos shone bright from the Wizarding World franchise. Bloomsbury revealed The House-themed Order of the Phoenix editions are on the way, Philosopher’s Stone makes the British Book Awards 30 for 30 list, a remastered 4K, 3D version of Sorcerer’s Stone will welcome fans back to reopening theaters in China and J.K. Rowling returned to Twitter to announce a new online teaching initiative during the pandemic.

In this week’s Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts Actors Round-Up filming is postponed on TV and film projects for Helen McCrory, David Tennant, Fiona Shaw and Ralph Fiennes, Warwick Davis streams Eugenius for a cause, The Crown wraps season 4 despite corona concerns, Jason Isaacs reveals a sneak peek at his next villain, Samantha Morton on the abrupt end of Alpha in The Walking Dead and more!

Filming of Peaky Blinders Postponed

Filming of Peaky Blinders season six, starring Helen McCrory, will not begin as planned, as the UK film and TV production industry continue to be impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak:

“In light of the spread of Covid-19, after much consideration, the producers – Caryn Mandabach Productions and Tiger Aspect Productions – of Peaky Blinders S6 have postponed filming, and World Productions on Line of Duty S6 have suspended filming, both in consultation with and supported by the BBC,” a BBC spokesperson said. “We will continue to review all productions on a case-by-case basis and will continue to follow the latest news and advice from the Foreign Office, World Health Organization and Public Health England.”

We’re sorry to hear more shows continue to face closure and delays, and hope the cast, crew and production team are keeping well! Read more here.

Jason Isaacs Cast As Dick Dastardly

Jason Isaacs will play Dick Dastardly in SCOOB, which, if everything goes as planned, will play in theaters (or not, depending on the Covid-19 situation?) from May 15:

Weird times. When the world was normal we made a film. I’m a bigger Dick than you’ll remember from Wacky Races. #SCOOB #CallMeDick https://t.co/Aium3raqLg

— Jason Isaacs (@jasonsfolly) March 17, 2020

SCOOB will be the first full-length animated Scooby-Doo movie on the big screen, portraying the never-before seen stories of Scooby-Doo’s origins, and “the greatest mystery in the career of Mystery Inc”!

We hope the film makes it to screen as planned, and we’ll keep you updated!

Samantha Morton Talks The Walking Dead

After a shocking twist in the latest episode of The Walking Dead, Samantha Morton (Mary Lou Barebone in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) discussed playing such an exciting villain as Alpha, and the future of the show.

We’ll let you read the interview for fear of spoiling the twists in the episode, but at one point she spoke about making Alpha her own:

“Initially when I was in the very, very early stages of developing the character, I thought it was incredibly important to have a sense of her from the comics. I really needed that background, her DNA, if you like, because obviously that’s what’s inspiring the writers. But then, at some point, you just have to drop that, and you have to trust the writers.”

Read the full interview with Entertainment Weekly here, and read another interview with Games Radar here.

Wizarding World Alumni Cast In Pinocchio

Guillermo del Toro will direct Pinocchio, coming in 2021. The stop motion animated movie will star the voices of Fantastic Beasts’ Ron perlman, Harry Potter‘s David Bradley, and Deathly Hallows composer, Alexandre Desplat.

No release date has been announced yet, but filming has already started and a rumored release has been scheduled for January 1 2021.

Read more here.

David Tennant’s Around The World in 80 Days Suspects Production

Production has been suspended on Around The World in 80 Days series by Slim Film + Television, set to star David Tennant. Filming in South Africa has been put on hold as a result of Covid-19.

“We’ll crawl over hot coals to make our shows, but there comes a point when you go: this isn’t fair on the teams and their families back at home. We’ve got to call a temporary hiatus and look after everyone and get them home,” The production company’s manager, Simon Crawford Collins said. “We’re trying to pause things in the most effective way so we can launch back into production as soon as the mists clear.”

Again, we hope the cast, crew and production team are keeping well. Read more here.

The Forgiven, Starring Ralph Fiennes, Halts Filming

Filming on The Forgiven, starring Harry Potter‘s Ralph Fiennes, was due to wrap next week, however, due to Covid-19 shooting paused in Morocco.

The film “is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne, which chronicles the dramatic fallout following a random accident on the lives of an English couple, their friends and the locals who all converge on a luxurious desert villa during a decadent weekend-long party”.

Read more here, we wish all the best to the cast, crew and production team.

BBC One’s Baptiste Halts Filming

BBC One’s upcoming drama, Baptise, set to star Fiona Shaw, is another in the long list of films and shows to be affected by Covid-19. Season 2 of the series was filming in Budapest recently, however, production has halted after Hungary entered lockdown on Monday.

A spokesperson for the production company, Two Brothers, told Deadline:

“In light of the spread of Covid-19, after much consideration, Two Brothers Pictures the producers of Baptiste have suspended filming in consultation with and supported by the BBC.

“We will continue to review all productions on a case-by-case basis and will continue to follow the latest news and advice from the Foreign Office, World Health Organisation and Public Health England.”

Read more here.We extend our thoughts to the cast, crew and production team and hope they are well!

Colin Farrell in Disney’s Artemis Fowl Teaser Trailer

Finally, some good news! Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts) stars in the long-awaited Artemis Fowl teaser trailer. The movie is produced by none other than Gilderoy Lockhart himself, Kenneth Branagh, and is based on the beloved book by Eoin Colfer, following the journey of 12-year-old genius Artemis Fowl, a descendant of a long line of criminal masterminds, as he seeks to find his father who has mysteriously disappeared.

The movie is set to open in theaters in the U.S. on May 29. Watch the trailer below:

The Crown Season 4 Completes Filming Early During Covid-19 Outbreak

U.K. based production on The Crown has finished filming early, allowing the series to just dodge being affected by Covid-19. The new season will likely air this year as planned, and will see Olivia Coleman reprise her role as Queen (to be followed by Umbridge herself, Imelda Staunton), and will also continue to star Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.

Read more here.

Warwick Davis & Co. Make Eugenius Available Online 

Warwick Davis and team have made theater show Eugenius available online following a hugely popular run at the Other Palace in 2018. The online release hopes to raise money for Acting for Others, providing relief to those self-isolating in the theater, arts and entertainment industry.

Writers Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins say on the release:

“THEY CAN’T STOP US, WE’RE A TEAM!…. as shows close across the globe and people are forced to stay at home, there’s never been a more important time to bring the joy of live theatre right to your doorstep! Unlike some other shows that have recordings intended for release this was never intended to be seen BUT as the cast are incredible, the music rocks and it still delivers the same heart felt story and feel good factor that audiences took away with them when they saw the show live, we thought you should see it anyway! Team Eugenius thanks you in advance for all your support – Go Hygienius! Go Hygiene!”

Warwick Davis served as producer on the show. You can watch the show on Facebook and below:

That’s all for this week’s round-up! We’ll see you here next time and don’t forget our House-themed GIVEAWAY  from Juniper Books ends tomorrow Monday, March 23 at midnight ET.