Best Stories Of The Week: Wes Craven, Concussion, Marvel Studios, Star Wars And More

We're enjoying an extended weekend thanks to Labor Day, so the Best Stories of the Week comes in a little later than usual this weekend. The blockbuster summer season has wrapped up, and the newsflow has slowed down considerably as a calm before the storm that is awards season, but we've still got some good stuff worth checking out.

This past week brought a casting shortlist for Ready Player One, news of Nickelodeon looking to revive some of their 90s Nicktoons, some big changes at Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, some power restructuring at Marvel Studios and the unfortunate passing of Wes Craven.

As far as trailers go, we've got a tease of the BBC TV movie The Gamechangers with Daniel Radcliffe, a new look at Goosebumps, Eddie Redmayne shooting for another Oscar in The Danish Girl, Will Smith's football drama Concussion and more.

Check out the Best Stories of the Week below!

The indie arrives on October 2nd.

Mad Max: Fury Road and X-Men: Days of Future Past star Nicholas Hoult is heading into biopic territory with Rebel in the Rye. The film will see Hoult playing Catcher in the Rye author J.D. Salinger in a film that aims to chronicle the author's life on the big screen, from his military service to his literary success and more. Read out full story for more.

Some early reviews are in for the new crime thriller Black Mass, and it sounds like Johnny Depp has delivered the amazing performance that many have been waiting for. Find out what critics have to say about Black Mass right here.

The thriller arrives in theaters and on VOD on September 25th.

The streaming service's drug trafficking drama series has just been given a second season order, joining the ranks of Netflix's successful original programming such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. Read our full story for more.

The film hits theaters and Netflix on October 16th.

A report has emerged citing e-mails that seem to indicate that Sony Pictures may have made some changes to their drama Concussion in order to avoid clashing with the NFL. Are they playing it too safe, or did they do what they needed to do in order to keep themselves from getting sued by the football organization? Get the details in our original post.

If you're bummed that we won't see Cary Fukunaga's adaptation of Stephen King's It, and you want some answers as to why, the writer/director has opened up a bit about what happened. Basically, it sounds like the studio had tons of notes that Fukunaga wasn't willing to comply with. Find out what Fukunaga had to say right here.

The thriller arrives on October 9th.

A first look photo of Bryan Cranston as former President Lyndon B. Johnson has surfaced, and the actor looks unrecognizable with all the make-up he's wearing. Check out the photo and see how he compares to the real LBJ in our original story.

The TV movie hits BBC Two on September 15th.

Following the success of Straight Outta Compton, another unofficial follow-up is in the works called Welcome to Death Row. This film wants to look at the formation of Suge Knight's Death Row Records and how he came to find talents such as Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur. Find out more about the potential project right here.

Unless some kind of TV miracle happens, it appears we won't get a fourth season of the canceled NBC series Hannibal. However, series creator and executive producer Bryan Fuller revealed some of the plans he had for the fourth season, and hasn't ruled out potentially bringing some of those plans to life in the form of a movie. Find out more right here.

The sci-fi adaptation arrives on January 15th, 2016.

Casting for Ready Player One is underway, and a shortlist has revealed that Elle Fanning is one of a few actresses being considerd for the female lead in the film adaptation of Ernest Cline's book that will be directed by Steven Spielberg. Who else is on the shortlist? Find out more right here.

After directing Thor and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, director Kenneth Branagh is heading back into fantasy territory with an adaptation of Artemis Fowl. It's basically a fantasy heist movie, and you can find out more about the project in our full story.

Nickelodeon is considering bringing back some of the fan favorite Nicktoons from the 90s in some capacity. Specifics are unclear, but you can find out which shows may be on the table for some kind of revival right here.

Apple is already a key player in the realm of technology, but now they want to expand the scope of their work in entertainment a bit by setting or to create original programming to compete with the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Find out more about the potential plans right here.

In what sounds like an Oscar contender in the making, Cate Blanchett is attached to a biopic about famed comedienne and classic television star Lucille Ball. In addition, Aaron Sorkin is said to be scripting the movie. Find out more in our original story.

The drama arrives on November 27th.

With a forthcoming Blu-Ray release and a theatrical re-release with more footage, Vin Diesel has teased that The Iron Giant may have a sequel come together at Warner Bros. Is he just hyping the new release, or could there be a sequel in development? Find out more here.

Some big changes hit the three major streaming services this week. First up, Hulu is now offering an ad-free option for one of their subscription plans. Secondly, Amazon Prime Video is trying to change the game by offering offline playback for some of their titles. And finally, Netflix's deal with Epix is expiring and the cable channel is taking their content to Hulu instead. Click each respective link for more information.

The adventure arrives on October 16th.

DreamWorks' current deal with Disney expires in 2016, and it doesn't sound like they're going to renew as Steven Spielberg and his production company are in talks with Universal Pictures to strike a deal. There have been rumblings of a desire to reboot Jaws and Back to the Future, but it seems those have been blown out of proportion. Find out more about the DreamWorks deal at Universal right here.

The Shakespeare adaptation arrives on December 4th.

After holding up Ghostbusters 3 for years, many were curious as to why Bill Murray decided to pop up in the reboot of Ghostbusters. Well, a recent interview asked him that very question, and the actor was happy to explain his decision, which he didn't make lightly. Find out what Bill Murray had to say in our original story.

After giving Ocean's Eleven some trouble in Ocean's Twelve, French actor Vincent Cassel is getting into action thriller territory by taking a villain role in Bourne 5. Find out who Cassel is playing in the full story right here.

The sports drama arrives on December 25th.

Following our list of some of the most anticipated blockbuster films coming before the end of 2015, Russ Fischer rounded up a list of independent movies that you should be excited to see before the year is out. Check out the full list right here.

Even though we had heard Mark Ruffalo might pop up in Captain America: Civil War as the Hulk, it sounds like the big guy ended up getting cut out of the movie. Find out why Hulk got cut in the full story.

Previously, Chris Evans was unsure about continuing to play Captain America after his most recent contract was done following his work in the forthcoming The Avengers: Infinity War. However, he now has renewed interest in playing the superhero as long as he can, and it just so happens to arrive after some other big Marvel news. Get the full story right here.

The weekend before last brought the sad news that legendary horror filmmaker Wes Craven had passed away at 76 years old. Check out a 45-minute career-spanning interview with the filmmaker right here and read Edgar Wright's tribute to the filmmaker right here.

As usual, there were a slew of updates about Star Wars this week, and here's everything you need to know:

Kevin Feige has just gotten more power at Marvel Studios after a major restructuring at the executive level, and it sounds like it should be good news for the comic book production company. However, he also almost quit Marvel during a disagreement about Captain America: Civil War.