Lionsgate had their presentation at CinemaCon yesterday, where they showed more footage of the upcoming adaptation of Borderlands. They even showed footage for the Ballerina movie, taking place in the John Wick universe. Lionsgate announced so much more, so make sure to keep reading to get the recap of last morning’s Lionsgate presentation. Feel free to check out my CinemaCon Predictions for the rest of the week and check out my Warner Bros recap from their presentation.
Lionsgate: Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune
Aziz Ansari brought down the house when presenting his upcoming movie, Good Fortune. Although they didn’t release a trailer to the public, there was a lot of good things that attendees have said. The movie is about the guy (Aziz) who really isn’t doing all that good, he hates his life. He does a couple of small jobs, until he gets to work for this millionaire, who’s played by Seth Rogen. As Aziz watches his car gets towed, an angel appears (Keanu Reeves) and he decides to teach him the lesson that his life is precious, and that money doesn’t change anything. The angel then swaps the lives of Seth Rogen and Aziz Ansari. Aziz goes on to defy the odds, and he proves to the angel that money does change everything. A fellow angel takes away Keanu’s wings because of this, and now Reeves has to live among humanity. Now talking about my thoughts from this, I absolutely can’t wait for a trailer to come out. This sounds like a great time at the theatres, and I am quite excited for Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut.
Lionsgate: Ballerina
One of the biggest things shown in Lionsgate’s presentation was the John Wick spin-off, Ballerina. The first look trailer was shown in house, and it blew some fans’ minds. The movie is about another organization in the universe and it follows Ana De Armas as a ballerina assassin. I don’t know much about John Wick, but probably the most exciting part that I heard come out of this is that the trailer had an appearance by Keanu Reeves as John Which himself. From what I could tell is that he doesn’t play an important part in this story, just more of a cameo role, maybe part of the setup.
Margot Robbie’s Monopoly
Although nothing much was reveleaed, Lionsgate decided to announce that Margot Robbie is set to produce an adaptation of Monopoly. A Monopoly movie has been trying to get off the ground for years now, most notably with Kevin Hart. The head of Hasbro entertainment went on to say how great of a property Monopoly is (pun intended) and the story elements that Monopoly could bring. I, myself, don’t understand the point of it, but Margot Robbie has been able to break the odds with the Barbie movie. I’m sure she can do it again with her upcoming Sims adaptation, and now Monopoly.
Lionsgate & Gearbox: Borderlands
Behind closed doors, Lionsgate showed a bit of their upcoming film adaptation of Borderlands. They brought director Eli Roth, and actress, Ariana Greenblatt out on stage. Attendees of the presentation made it very clear that this movie has a lot of Guardians of the Galaxy elements in it. Some even described it to have that James Gunn type of humor. Following their talk on stage, they showed an extended trailer of the film. It showed off more of the story and it was able to show off more of its star-studded cast. The cast includes, Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Kevin Hart as Roland, Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, and Jack Black (my favorite) as Claptrap.
Destin Daniel Cretton’s Naruto Movie
Although they didn’t touch upon the movie much, Lionsgate is still hopeful about the franchise potential. The man behind Marvel’s Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, is directing and co-writing the project. With the amazing action elements of Shang Chi, and the potential that Cretton is able to use in the Naruto world is insane. We live in a time where adaptations of popular games, books, and now anime is common. Netflix has already put out a live action adaptation of One Piece, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, with plans to continue those respective franchises. Speaking for myself, Naruto is about the only anime that I ever got into and was a big phase of my life. I am hopeful they get this one right, and they get me back into the world of Naruto.
Michael Biopic First Look
Lionsgate is working on a biopic, all about Michael Jackson. The 2025 footage shown was exclusive to CinemaCon, and attendees have shown excitement for the film. The movie is being directed by Antoine Fuqua, and starring Michael Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson. From what has been shown, Jaafar has been praised on his looks and voice of the part. He is the absolute spinning image of his uncle. From the trailer that was shown, people said that the movie will dive into some of the more controversial side of Jackson’s career, like the allegations. It looks like the Jackson family is going to explore all parts of Michael’s story.
That is going to be it for my recap of Lionsgate’s CinemaCon presentation. Those were the most interesting and exciting parts for me. Make sure to check out the rest of my predictions for the rest of CinemaCon. Again, feel free to read my recap for the Warner Bros presentation, and make sure you come back to get the rest of my recaps for the rest of CinemaCon.