A Secret 'Predator' Movie, An 'Alien' Sequel And 'Speed ​​3' On The Table: A Chat With 20th Century Studio Boss Steve Asbell

Theatergoers really reacquainted themselves with the famous 20th century logo, arcing searchlights and all, this summer. Disney-owned divisions were everywhere, thanks to the hits Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes And Alien: Romulusnot mentioned The first omen. even Deadpool and Wolverinewhich grossed $1.3 billion, preceded the movie and featured the logo, which was a love letter to the Marvel movies of the Fox era.

Guiding 20th is the steady hand of Steve Asbell, a longtime Fox executive who became division president in 2020 when the pandemic hit. He navigated transitional movies and then pandemic movies and then switched to streaming and back to theaters.

But while summer movies have long been about franchises, the studio has its sights set on the future. It is working with up-and-coming filmmakers on streaming properties that it could pivot to theaters if an opportunity opens up. And it's stepping on the gas in some key theatrical movies.

“All of this success gives us the equity and momentum to take these shots,” Asbell said of the segment on a Bruce Springsteen feature starring Jeremy Allen White, which is being produced and will shoot later this month. send help With Sam Raimi in January. Next year it will release a comedy from the James L. Brooks and Rami Malek spy thriller the amateur. More projects will be launched in the summer.

Even offices are lively, life-sized these days Planet Apes Simian, adorned in cool shades, greets the audience and a handsome wood-and-glass case is being built for the category's many historic Oscars.

with the alien Having finished its theatrical run in October and Springsteen is close to starting production, Asbell, who oversees teams of nine production executives supporting them, is just catching his breath for a moment. But sat with The Hollywood Reporter To discuss balanced streaming and theatrical, original and established IP, and spread over more than two, yes we said so. two, hunter The movie is coming next year.

The 20th century studios within the Disney empire came into its own in many ways over the summer. So what does it mean to be a 20th century studio in 2024?

I've been here for about five years now, and it's been an amazing journey with Disney, because there's no us and them, it's just us. I mean, Alan [Bergman, Disney co-chair] Our champion since the beginning. He has supported our slate from the very beginning through marketing, distribution, promotion. We are all very close now and we are all friends. It feels very cohesive and feels like this summer, in particular, we've been able to contribute to the larger Disney model. And now we have David Greenbaum, who, happily for me, is a very old friend of mine. He is an executive with impeccable taste and he brings real strength to both departments. And so what that means is I think filmmakers, great franchises and original films for both theaters and streaming.

Where is the balance between original and franchise dramas?

Right now it looks like next year, half the slate. One of the first jobs in this franchise is figuring out the movie and coming up with the right cadence avatar, Apps, the alien And hunter Specifically getting those rights was the first part, which we've done now. And so that idea of ​​being able to say, “Okay, we know when avatar The movie is coming. We know about now hunter. There will be another Apps 'At 27, let's just say.' So knowing where we can plan those franchises, it helps us look and ask, what kind of original movies do we want to test the market with in terms of genre?

How do you decide what's streaming and what's not?

The landscape has changed so that drama has returned. There are many other opportunities in theatrical films, but since the Disney+ and Hulu merger, there is a huge audience for them. [streaming] There's still that thing with streaming movies where we can really take a chance with it and let them be whatever they need to be. They don't necessarily hit that theater threshold, “How much is it? How many screens?”

Alien: Romulus It was supposed to go live streaming, but that changed just before filming. So what prompted that change?

It started as a streaming movie because we started development when we were in covid and our strategy wasn't clear whether it was going to be theatrical or streaming. At that time we had different budget categories for streaming, which we were always careful not to spend too much money on streaming movies. We still didn't know how they would perform based on the metrics. And the truth is we started it hoping that the theater would return to some sort of normalcy. But we made that film and, frankly, every other film we made for streaming with the same care and curation as our theatrical movies.

What is the next step for the alien?

We are now working on a sequel idea. We haven't completely closed our deal with the Fed [Alvarez]But we're going, and he has an idea that we're working. The two survivors, Rain and Andy, played by Kelly Spany and David Johnson, were the real highlights of the film. And so I always think like, “Wow, where do people want to see them next?” We know there will be aliens. We know there are going to be excellent horror set pieces. But I am in love with both of them and I want to see what their story is.

John Landau, who produced avatar Film, sadly died this summer. There are days above avatar d Changed at all?

It's hard personally, because John is someone I talk to every day and he's been a mentor and a good friend of mine and has been an incredible influence on everyone. I mean, it's a huge loss. He was a great, great friend and half a heart for Jim [Cameron]Although he describes it. We just miss him every day. But it didn't change. It didn't affect the release date or Jim's timeline or anything like that. We were already on a track that had its own milestones and guideposts

Baz in the title of the twentieth century! Free Guy 2?

not yet [Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds] Have to come up with an idea. And they are just busy.

Kingsman Sequel or prequel.

There are no plans to do this anytime soon.

More Agatha Christie mystery movies.

More, yes. we have, And then there was nobody. we have A witness for the prosecution. we are doing Miss Marple. We have a bunch of other titles that we're working on. We have a very close relationship with the estate.

A Master and Commander The prequel?

I'm trying a lot. The first movie I worked on was over twenty years ago at Fox. We have a great script. Just need the right manager.

any die hard The plan?

No, not yet.

Here's a big one. The next one will be hunter Will the movie be released in theaters? [Editors note: this conversation took place before Disney dated Predator: Badlands for a 2025 release in theaters.]

yes no more

You're killing me here.

Yes, a hunter Cinema will be a theater. I will tell you very simply. after victim A success, Dan [Trachtenberg] He came back and said he didn't want to do it Victim 2. And we're like, “What do you want to do?” And he comes up with a bunch of ideas that are really crazy but really cool. We actually did two of them. Two are coming out next year. One I can't talk about yet, but the other is live-action hunter Film with Elle Fanning that just wrapped in New Zealand. Which will be released in theaters sometime next year.

You are blowing my mind. Let's deal with this one in time. one hunter The movie is coming to theaters?

It's the title Badlands And it's an absolutely bonkers idea. It's a sci-fi thing, but not what everyone thinks And I mean, it's awesome. It's so nuts. But in Dan, we believe.

Now you said there's a second hunter movie

There is a second hunter We have different plans for that movie. Dan actually managed both.

So there is a secret hunter movie–

There is a secret hunter The movie that will release before the theaters but I can't say anything yet.

fine We will eventually see another Alien vs Predator?

probably

I'm not sure how I feel about it.

It won't be the way you think. That's the thing. Just not as called Alien vs Predator Or something like the original movie. If we do that, they'll organically build out of these two franchises that we've run with characters that we've fallen in love with and those characters will come together…maybe. But we didn't reach that point. And we're not just going to bang it.

At a 30th anniversary screening speed A few weeks ago, Sandra Bullock said Hollywood couldn't be brave enough for one Speed ​​3. The response?

Hollywood is brave enough. We are brave enough. We are sitting on the phone. (laughs)

It was one of the last movies we didn't remake. And to really be the reason to come back, it's a great idea and an idea that excites (Bullock and Keanu Reeves). Because it will be worth watching. It's obviously a really important title for us, but it's not something we handle lightly or try to push onto their service. They have to be part of the development of that idea.

A version of this story first appeared in the Oct. 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.