In Brief: Will Ferrell joins Margot Robbie in ‘Barbie’ movie, and more

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Will Ferrell has joined the cast of the upcoming Greta Gerwig-directed live-action Barbie movie, alongside Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as the titular doll, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ferrell will reportedly play the CEO of a toy company that may or not be Mattel. Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey and America Ferrera also star. Plot details are being kept under wraps. Barbie will mark Ferrell’s first feature film since Netflix’s 2020 musical rom-com Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga…

Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd and She’s All That star Rachael Leigh Cook have been tapped to star in Spirit Halloween, based on the titular North American costume and prop store chain, according to Variety. The plot revolves around three middle school friends who brush off trick-or-treating to spend Halloween night locked in the store and discover it’s full of creepy animatronic characters haunted by an evil spirit who wants to possess them, as well. Spirit Halloween is set to open in October…

Peacock has given a straight-to-series order to the comedy-thriller Based on a True Story, from The Boys executive producer Craig Rosenberg and Ozark‘s Jason Bateman, according to Deadline. The series, inspired by real events, follows “a realtor, a plumber and a former tennis star whose lives unexpectedly collide, exposing America’s obsession with true crime, murder and the slow-close toilet seat,” according to the streamer…

Peacock is also developing a new live-action series based on Casper the Friendly Ghost. Per Variety, the “horror/adventure show” is a “coming-of-age story that explores what it means to be alive. When a new family arrives in the small town of Eternal Falls, Casper finds himself entangled in a mystery uncovering dark secrets that have been buried for over 100 years.” The first live-action film, based on the the 1940s cartoon and Harvey Comics character, was released in 1995 with Malachi Pearson voicing Casper and Devon Sawa playing him in human form, alongside Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle. It grossed over $287 million worldwide and was followed by the live-action films Casper: A Spirited Beginning and Casper Meets Wendy, and the animated films Casper’s Haunted Christmas and Casper’s Scare School in 2000 and 2006, respectively…

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