Today’s a good day.
Continue readingMay The Fourth Be With Us! (With a NEW OBI-WAN KENOBI TRAILER)
Thriller About Cocaine-Fuelled Bear Rampage Sets 2023 Release
Elizabeth Banks’ thriller Cocaine Bear has set its release date.
Continue readingFrank Miller Launches Publishing Banner With New SIN CITY Comic
Comic creator Frank Miller is launching his very own publishing banner, simply named Frank Miller Presents; after decades working at DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and more, the writer-artist behind The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300 will serve as president and editor-in-chief of the company, with the goal of creating a line of comics that both captures Miller’s distinctive style and showcases work from a range of talents, THR reports.
Frank Miller Presents will launch with a new Sin City western comic titled Sin City 1858, a return to the sci-fi samurai Ronin with a six-issue sequel, and two new, original works – Pandora and Ancient Enemies. Dan DiDio, former co-publisher of DC for ten years, has also boarded the venture and will serve as publisher.
As Miller announced in a statement, “investing in artists and the future of comics has always been my one true passion and creative calling. Dan, Silenn [Thomas, COO of FMP] and I couldn’t be more proud to be launching Frank Miller Presents, which will serve as fertile ground for storytellers and new creations. Our focus for this publishing company is to cultivate a fellowship of artists and writers to mentor, collaborate and push forward not only each other but the art form as well.”
The comics are expected to hit the market later this year, both in physical form and digitally.
BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES Gets Release Date
The George R. R. Martin novel-sounding Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has an official release date.
The adaptation of the 2020 prequel novel will be directed by Francis Lawrence, who previously helmed the franchise’s Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part One and Mockingjay Part Two. It is now slated to arrive in cinemas on November 17th, 2023.
The announcement came during the Lionsgate presentation at CinemaCon and was accompanied by a minute-long teaser. The synopsis for the film reads: “In this return to The Hunger Games, years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he is chosen to be a mentor to Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.” Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set 64 years prior to the events of Hunger Games, and will explore not only Snow’s origins, but also the early years of the Games.
The screenplay is written by Michael Arndt and Michael Lesslie. The film is still in pre-production, so no casting has yet been announced – now with a confirmed release date however, fans can expect more information to trickle in over the next few months.
Stephen Colbert Plays D&D For Comic Relief
Today, the Critical Role Foundation, in collaboration with Red Nose Day, is set to premiere their second adventure with The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert at 3AM BST on Critical Role’s Twitch YouTube channels, with the VOD available to watch on the Critical Role YouTube channel Friday at 5PM BST.
The campaign will see Critical Role’s Chief Creative Officer and Game Master, Matthew Mercer, guide fellow Critical Role co-founders Ashley Johnson, Marisha Ray, and Sam Riegel, all reprising their Mighty Nein characters at level 5 (Yasha, Beau, and Nott) alongside the one and only Stephen Colbert.
Since 2019, Critical Role and Critical Role Foundation have raised approximately $790k for Red Nose Day, a campaign that raises life-changing funds to help end the cycle of child poverty and ensure a healthy future for all children, through their Stephen Colbert campaigns, CRF merch sales, cause marketing around their adult and child facial masks, and their ongoing nonprofit partner split. The 2022 campaign alone has raised over $115K for the non-profit, with more donations coming in daily.
Through donation-based votes, fans were able to decide the fate of Stephen Colbert’s adventure, whose character will:
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Have a bee (Eric the 2nd, following his father’s footsteps) that travels with him
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Be able to cast Polymorph ONCE during the adventure, regardless of class and level (but it has a small chance of going wrong)
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Need to recover his dignity that has been taken from him
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Start his journey with a living weapon that despises violence
This is the second campaign Critical Role and Red Nose Day have worked on with Stephen Colbert. Their first campaign, 2019’s Choose Stephen Colbert’s Adventure raised over $120K in support of Red Nose Day’s mission to fight and eradicate childhood poverty. In the UK, Comic Relief have ran D&D themed Fundraisers that have included the likes of Nish Kumar, Sue Perkins, Ed Gamble, Sara Pascoe and Ted Lasso actor Paul Foxcroft.
For more information on the campaign, please visit https://critrole.com/
DUNE: THE SISTERHOOD Series Finds New Director
Emmy Award-winning director Johan Renck (HBO’s Chernobyl) is set to direct the first two episodes of the prequel series Dune: The Sisterhood.
Serving as a prequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films, The Sisterhood (which is still a working title) was handed a straight-to-series order in 2019 by HBO Max. At the time, Villeneuve was set to direct the pilot episode; Renck is now taking over that duty and is on board to executive produce. Diane Ademu-John (The Haunting of Bly Manor) has also taken over as writer and showrunner from Jon Spaihts, the latter of whom chose to focus on writing Dune: Part Two – the film sequel is set for a 2023 release.
Dune: The Sisterhood is set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides and follows the Harkonnen Sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit.
Renck previously directed pilots for Vikings and Bloodline, as well as several episodes of Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. He is currently in post-production for the Netflix sci-fi feature Spaceman, about an orphaned boy raised in the Czech countryside by his grandparents, who overcomes all odds to become the country’s first astronaut. The film stars Adam Sandler, Paul Dano, and Carey Mulligan.
Sony-Marvel’s Next Film Is EL MUERTO
Bad Bunny is el Muerto! Puerto Rican rapper Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known by his stage name Bad Bunny, has been cast as the newest character in Sony’s slate of Marvel superheroes – he will lead the standalone film El Muerto.
The casting announcement was made at CinemaCon this week, and marks the first time a Latino actor has headlined a live-action Marvel film.
Known as Juan-Carlos Estrada Sanchez in the comics, El Muerto is a wrestler whose powers (including superstrength) are handed down by ancestry in the form of a mask. Sony brass have hinted that Bad Bunny will play an antihero on the verge of inheriting his father’s power; the singer-actor has also dabbled in professional wrestling, which makes him particularly well-suited to the lead role.
The decision to centre on el Muerto may surprise some fans, given that he is a fairly minor Spider-Man-related character – but then again so is Madame Web, another character getting their own feature. Deadline has also reported that it was Bad Bunny himself who mined the Spider-Man library for Latin characters that would suit him, and it was him who brought the idea to the studio.
Other upcoming Sony Marvel projects include the Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney-led Madame Web, which releases July 7th, 2023, and Kraven the Hunter starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, which is due to hit cinemas January 13th, 2023.
Bad Bunny will next be seen opposite Brad Pitt in the action thriller Bullet Train, which releases later this year.
Spelljammer Gets The Beadle and Grimms Treatment
The big news for fans of Dungeons and Dragons is that Spelljammer has returned. And of course this means that the lovely people over at Beadle and Grimm’s will be giving the new expansion the luxury treatment. Beadle and Grimm are the company set up by Scooby Doo and Hacker’s actor Matthew Lillard along with industry legends such as Jon Ciccolini. They create full box-set experiences for D&D players, turning them into immersive experiences. Their Wild Beyond The Witchlight and Ravenloft sets are remarkable gaming artefacts.
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space promises to be D&D 5E’s wildest setting so far; sailing ships in space exploring the outer reaches of the astral sea. The setting takes full advantage of D&D long list of worlds and monsters and blends them with everything from space vampire pirates to monstrous asteroid dwelling behemoths. The core offering already sounds like it’ll be a treat, so we are really excited by Beadle and Grimm’s take on this.
Lillard told the press: “Spelljamming ship maps, space horrors, intergalactic political intrigue… I mean, what’s not to love?! Long-time Spelljammer fans, and those DMs new to the setting, are going to have a blast immersing their players in Wildspace,””
Two sets will be available, the limited edition Platinum and a Silver Edition.
The Platinum Edition is packed with exclusive items, including, but not limited to:
- A TUBE FULL OF D&D MAPS: A hallmark of Beadle & Grimm’s boxed sets are the beautifully rendered battle maps and area maps, and the Spelljammer set will continue that tradition, including but not limited to battle maps of key spelljamming ships
- PRE-PAINTED WIZKIDS MINIATURES: Exclusively included in the Platinum Edition are 20 pre-painted miniatures specially selected from the Spelljammer: Adventures in Space series from WizKids. Curated by Beadle & Grimm’s, this set provides the DM with key monsters and NPCs included in this adventure.
- IN-WORLD PLAYER HANDOUTS: When the players receive a hand-written invitation, find a mysterious note, or discover a key written clue, the DM can actually hand these beautifully designed pieces to the player instead of simply reading them.
- JEWELRY & ARTIFACTS: Each Platinum Edition will contain several expertly crafted key artifacts, including important objects the players are searching for, custom tokens for use as gameplay aids, and jewelry players can wear.
- ENCOUNTER CARDS: Designed to fit over the DM’s screen, these cards feature encounter artwork on the player side and all the crucial stats and role-playing information on the DM’s side.
- DM SCREEN: The exterior will feature fantastical original art from Beadle & Grimm’s, while the interior will give the DM the quick-reference tables and adventure-specific information needed to smoothly run their game.
- BONUS ENCOUNTERS: Additional encounters created exclusively by Beadle & Grimm’s to take advantage of areas, elements or themes of this adventure, these short encounters can be dropped in by the DM to further immerse the players in the world and expand their game experience.
- SPELLJAMMER: ADVENTURES IN SPACE: The contents of the complete published books from Dungeons & Dragons are included in soft cover form, including sections designed exclusively for the players’ eyes.
- PLATINUM EDITION BOX: The most luxurious adventure set could only be delivered in the most luxurious box available. The Platinum Edition box is the perfect storage for all the unique elements for this adventure as well a necessary addition to any gamer’s shelf.
The Silver Edition will contain less items, but still be a huge boon to anyone planning on running the game. More details on this luxurious approach to D&D can be found at http://beadleandgrimms.com/spelljammer.
HAWKEYE Director Helming ROBOTECH Film
High off his success as the main director on Marvel’s Hawkeye series, Rhys Thomas has been tapped to direct the live-action feature adaptation of the cult ’80s anime franchise Robotech, Deadline reports.
The film is currently in development at Sony Pictures, based on a script by Marcum & Holloway with a rewrite by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka.
The original Robotech series is set in a future where humanity is under threat of a full-scale alien invasion. In hopes of surviving the armies’ onslaught, humans explore the wreckage of a fallen alien spacecraft for weapons: the technology they find enables them to develop giant mechas that can help defend Earth.
For this feature however, the initial synopsis (which is subject to change) reads: “A conquered earth is now home to invasive aliens who have pushed all remaining humans into prison camps. There, a young teenage boy will discover a hidden truth with the potential to free our world.” The film is in development.
If you’re thinking that this sounds an awful lot like the set-up for Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim universe, you’d be right – the director has cited Robotech as one of his inspirations.
Before Thomas boarded the project, the film was set to be helmed by It director Andrés Muschietti and penned by Wonder Woman co-writer Jason Fuchs. Both have since exited the project.
No word yet on any casting or release date but, with Sony having confirmed Thomas’ onboarding as director, expect further news on Robotech soon.
THE BATMAN 2 Confirmed; R-Batz & Reeves Returning
On the second day of CinemaCon, Warner Bros. and DC gave to us… The Batman 2! That’s right, Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves will return with a sequel, it has been officially confirmed.
“Matt took one of our most iconic and beloved superheroes and delivered a fresh vision” Warner Bros. movie chief Toby Emmerich revealed at CinemaCon. “Matt Reeves, Rob Pattinson and the entire team will be taking audiences back to Gotham with The Batman 2.”
The Batman‘s huge critical and box office successes ensured that, mere days after the film opened, HBO Max committed to a straight-to-limited-series order for The Penguin, with Colin Farrell reprising his role as Oswald Cobblepot. The spinoff series will be executive produced by Reeves, Dylan Clark, Farrell, Daniel Pipski, Adam Kassan and Lauren LeFranc, the latter of whom will serve as showrunner.
No release date was announced for The Batman 2.