Pan (October 9th, 2015)
The narrative of Peter Pan has never been far from our screens, with many television productions having incorporated its fantastical telling of the boy who could fly, and filmmakers delivering their interpretations of J.M Barrie’s literary classic many times over the decades. In fact, Pan will be the ninth such feature-length endeavour, and is directed by Joe Wright (Atonement, Hanna). This promises to distinguish itself from its predecessors, however, by depicting an origin story for both Peter Pan and his arch-nemesis, Captain Hook. As such, it tells the tale of an orphan, who finds himself whisked away to Neverland, where he discovers his destiny as a hero.
The script for Pan comes from Jason Fuchs (Ice Age: Continental Drift), and featured on the 2013 Black List. With young actor Levi Miller making his feature film debut in the role of Peter Pan, the wider cast includes Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard, Garrett Hedlund as the younger James Hook, Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily (somewhat controversially, given that the character of Tiger Lily is not white), and Amanda Seyfried as Mary Darling.
Goosebumps (October 16th, 2015)
Since the source material of Goosebumps is a highly popular series of children’s horror books by author R.L. Stine, this film adaptation features Stine as a character, and the books themselves as a plot device – creating an intriguing premise that promises plenty of action and adventure, with some comedy thrown in for good measure.
A young man moves into the house next door to R.L. Stine and his daughter, and unwittingly releases Stine’s characters – ghouls, goblins and all manner of nasties – from the pages of his books. He must then team up with the author and his offspring to resolve the situation, and save the day. The cast includes Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Amy Ryan, Jillian Bell, Ryan Lee, and Ken Marino, but it is the prospect of Jack Black in the role of R.L Stine that elevates this project from ‘probably entertaining’ to ‘must-see’ status.