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Development news: Harrison Ford barks up Secret Life of Pets 2 teaser, Skull & Bones show from Ubisoft, and more

By Josh Weiss
The Secret Life Of Pets 2 - The Rooster Trailer

Our latest development roundup deals with grizzled farm dogs voiced by Hollywood icons, a female-led pirate series coming from Ubisoft, and the craziness of Black Friday in a dystopian future.

Isn't every Black Friday basically its own dystopia, though?

Anyway, on with the roundup!


Up first is a brand-new teaser for The Secret Life of Pets 2, which introduces us to Rooster, a wizened and grizzled old farm dog voiced by the great Harrison Ford.

When you hear his character speak, you'll come to realize that nobody but Han Solo and Indiana Jones could've portrayed him. In particular, he helps liberate Max (Patton Oswalt) from the E-cone around Max's neck. It's also Ford's first-ever voiceover role.

Watch the teaser below:

Oswalt replaced Louis C.K. as the voice of Max after the comedian admitted last year that he was guilty of sexual misconduct against female comedians.

As you see in the trailer, Max and Duke (Eric Stonestreet) travel to the country to stay at a farm and are mocked by a cow and chased by a T-rex-inspired turkey.  Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Tiffany Haddish, Nick Kroll, and Pete Holmes are also lending their voices to the film.

Directed by Chris Renaud (he also directed the first one), The Secret Life of Pets 2 opens in theaters everywhere June 7.


Up next, The Hollywood Reporter writes that Ubisoft and Atlas Entertainment are developing a television series based on the developer's pirate-centric game, Skull & Bones. Interestingly, the game upon which it will be based hasn't even been released yet.

"Ubisoft is known for creating innovative video games that combine immense worlds with rich narratives," the company's director of development for television, Danielle Kreinik, told THR. Kreinik is exec-producing the TV show with Jason Altman, the head of Ubisoft's film and television division.

Skull & Bones: E3 2018 Cinematic Trailer | Ubisoft [NA]

Set during the waning halcyon days of piracy in the Indiana Ocean (circa 18th century), Skull & Bones will be a female-led series, with a pilot to be written by Amanda Segel (The Mist).

The Skull & Bones game itself is expected to drop sometime this year.


Lastly, Universal has acquired the onscreen rights to Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s short story Friday Black, reports Deadline. The story can be found in Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's best-selling collection of the same name, which was published last October.

Set on Black Friday in a dystopian future, Friday Black is about a department store employee trying to stave off the insatiable consumer hordes stampeding into the place. He's also trying to win a sales competition among his colleagues so he can win a jacket and give it to his mother as a gift.

Friday Black front cover

Adjei-Brenyah is writing the script as well as serving as an executive producer on the project. David Leitch (director of Deadpool 2 and Hobbs & Shaw) is producing with his wife/producing partner, Kelly McCormick.