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HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Gets Premiere Date

Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower in house of the dragon

HBO has just announced the debut date for the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. Deadline reports that the show from George R.R. Martin, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik will premiere August 21st this year.

House of the Dragon stars an impressive cast include Paddy Considine as King Viserys (pictured below), Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, and Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria. Based on Fire & Blood, the series takes place three centuries prior to the events of Game of Thrones and centres on the House Targaryen.

The series will likely track the events running up to the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance Of Dragons, which ended in Aegon III – the king who would go down in history as Aegon the Dragonbane, as the last dragon would die during his reign – sitting on the coveted Iron Throne.

As well as a premiere date, HBO has released a new poster and images to whet fans’ appetites. Check out the announcement poster below, and you can also catch up on the previously-released trailer here.

House of Dragon

Sharon Stone Joins DC’s BLUE BEETLE As Villain

Sharon Stone cast as villain in DC's Blue Beetle

Oscar-nominated actress Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct, Ratched, The Disaster Artist) is headed to the DC universe as the villain in Blue Beetle.

Also announced to be joining the cast is Raoul Max Trujillo (Sicario, Riddick, Apocalypto) as Carapax the Indestructible Man – a comics character who works as an archaeologist and whose mind melds with the body of a robot. In said comics however, Carapax is an enemy of the second Blue Beetle, aka Ted Kord, as opposed to the third Beetle (on which this film will centre). Stone will play Victoria Kord, a new character created for the film likely to be Ted Kord’s wife or widow.

Blue Beetle will star Cobra Kai‘s Xolo Maridueña, and hails from director Angel Manuel Soto and writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer. Maridueña will play Jaime Reyes, a teenager who gains superpowers when he encounters alien armour.

This actually marks Sharon Stone’s second venture in the DC-verse, after she starred opposite Halle Berry in that awkwardly terrible 2004 Catwoman film. The least we can hope for is that Blue Beetle will top that entry.

Warner Bros. has slated Blue Beetle to release in cinemas August 18th, 2023.

Blue Beetle

New Alex White Novel Cover Reveal

Over at Starburst Tower’s we are quite the fans of the fantastic author Alex White (who can be found on Twitter at @alexwhitebooks. ) Their new book, August Kitko And The Mechas From Space comes out on the 12^th July 2022, and we have the privilege of revealing the cover. The full picture can be found at the bottom of this article.

As for the book itself?

Expect giant robots, explosive battles and lots and lots of feelings in this queer space opera from Alex White

In this new wide-screen space opera, humanity has met its match. An alien race of enormous robotic AI have destroyed most of humanity’s outposts. But, on the eve of the Earth’s destruction, a musician makes one last desperate attempt to reach out and convinces one of humanity’s enemies to switch sides. Now, earth just might have a chance to survive…

You can pre-order via the usual suspects, such as Blackwells, Smiths, Amazon, Read It-Again and all good book-shops.

Of course, it comes with it’s own theme tune, the rather fantastically named Burn Down The Stars, which you can listen to now.

Check Out New Anthology-Style Horror LORE

Lore is a brand new portmanteau-style horror feature film from the minds of James Bushe (Cannibals and Carpet Fitters) and Patrick Ryder. Among the cast are Andrew Lee Potts (Primeval), Ben Crompton (Game of Thrones), Rufus Hound (Doctor Who), Bill Fellows (Ted Lasso), Sally Collett (The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud), and Alana Wallace (The Assent), The film is promised to be a love letter to those classic horrors that have haunted viewers for years. The film is currently in post-production, and you can help get it finished by donating to the Kickstarter campaign.

Lore follows four close friends who take a creepy excursion to the woods where they meet their guide ‘Darwin’ – a man who is both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Each of the four friends tells the most horrifying and haunting stories they know to one another around the campfire, but little do they know that these playful retellings will have chilling consequences for everyone.

An exciting mix of horror genres is explored in Lore, from haunting ghost stories to creepy monster thrillers, all the way to Shaun of the Dead-type slasher black comedy. Four stories, four unique visions – all wrapped in a beautiful twisting story arc. The filmmakers are looking to raise £10,000 to complete the post-production, and are already halfway there. You can get involved by heading to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/patrickryder/lore-a-horror-anthology-feature-film-post-production

Lore is produced by Adam Bouabda (Sea & Sky Pictures), written and directed by James Bushe (Fascination Pictures), Patrick Ryder (Little Glass Pictures) and Greig Johnson. Executive Producer Paul Andrews (Auk).

BLACK Adaptation Incoming From THE FIRST PURGE’s Gerard McMurray

Black comic book adaptation coming from Gerard McMurray

The First Purge and Burning Sands helmer Gerard McMurray has been tapped to write and direct an adaptation of the comic book Black. The project hails from Studio 8 and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Written by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3 and illustrated by Jamal Igle and Khary Randolph, the 2016 comic explores a world in which only Black people have superpowers.

Black centres on 15-year-old Kareem Jenkins who, after surviving being shot by police, discovers that he’s part of a small faction of Black people who have superpowers – something which has been kept secret for centuries both by those with powers and those in power who seek to exploit them. All too soon however, he finds himself in the middle of a war over nothing less than the future of humanity, all the while battling a secret society that would control the empowered.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming film would follow a similar thread to the comic. No casting has yet been announced, but Jeff Robinov and John Graham are confirmed to produce for Studio 8, as well as Osajyefo and Smith co-producing with Matteo Pizzolo and Brett Gurewitz serving as producer and exe producer.

“Black is a bold and fresh spin on the superhero genre. I fell in love with the colorful world Kwanza and Tim created in the comics, and I’m excited to bring life to a story that entertains and challenges the audience at the same time. Black does just that,” said McMurray in a statement.

Stay tuned for more updates as we get them.

Black

VERONICA Prequel SISTER DEATH Confirmed by Netflix

Veronica Spanish-language film prequel Sister Death aka Hermana Muerte

Remember when the internet went crazy over Paco Plaza’s Veronica and dubbed the Spanish-language horror film the “scariest movie ever”? All that buzz and hyperbole has now led to a prequel film, with Netflix confirming the upcoming release of Sister Death.

Plaza returns to direct in a film that will reveal the origins of the mysterious character Hermana Muerte, played by Consuelo Trujillo in the original film. Aria Bedmar, Almudena Amor and Maru Valdivielso will also star in Sister Death, from a script by Jorge Guerricaechevarría.

Hermana Muerte was already the protagonist of a comic included in the Special Blu-Ray Edition of Veronica. Sister Death is set in post-war Spain; it follows Narcisa (Bedmar), a novice with supernatural powers, as she arrives at an old convent converted into a girls’ school to become a teacher. As the days go by, strange events and the increasingly disturbing situations that torment her will end up leading her to unravel the terrible trove of secrets that surround the convent and lie in wait for its inhabitants.

No confirmation yet on when the film might release, but it is currently in production.

Sister Death Veronica

Literal Trophy Wives & Photograph-Eating, The ROAR Trailer Has It All

Apple TV+ anthology series dark comedy Roar trailer

The first Roar trailer establishes this anthology series as the new weirdo in town. Courtesy of Apple TV+ and the creative team behind Netflix’s wrestling comedy Glow, Roar is a star-studded series of darkly comic, feminist fables based on book of short stories by Irish novelist Cecelia Ahern.

With eight episodes each telling a freestanding story, the trailer runs through several vignettes: Nicole Kidman likes to eat photographs; Daniel Dae Kim builds a shelf for his literal trophy wife Betty Gilpin; Issa Rae can’t be heard by men; Meera Syal returns her husband to the store; Merritt Weaver falls in love with a duck…

Also aboard are Cynthia Erivo, Alison Brie, Fivel Stewart and Kara Hayward who each have to deal with their own weird happenings in the ROAR trailer.

The show is set to offer “an insightful, poignant and sometimes hilarious portrait of what it means to be a woman today.” Featuring a blend of magical realism, familiar domestic and professional scenarios, and futuristic worlds, these eight stories mirror the dilemmas of ordinary women today.

The series also features Nick Kroll, Judy Davis, Alfred Molina, Jake Johnson, Jason Mantzoukas, Chris Lowell, Ego Nwodim, Griffin Matthews, Peter Facinelli, Simon Baker, Hugh Dancy, Jillian Bell, Bernard White, Justin Kirk and more.

Roar debuts April 15th. Watch the trailer below:

Roar

MANDY Director Panos Cosmatos Sets “Fantasy Nightmare” As Next Project

Mandy director Panos Cosmatos sets next project as Nekrokosm

Mandy filmmaker Panos Cosmatos is back with a new sci-fi fantasy project, reuniting with producer XYZ Films and working with A24 for Nekrokosm. Maegan Houang (Counterpart) writes the script from a story by her and Cosmatos, with the latter directing.

Nekrokosm is being described as a “phantasmagorical fantasy nightmare” as per The Hollywood Reporter, set deep within a strange galaxy where two lovers are torn apart as they try to survive a malevolent invasion. Aside from this however, nothing else is known about the screenplay.

Prior to directing the Nicolas Cage-starring Mandy, Cosmatos wrote and directed the 2010 sci-fi horror Beyond the Black Rainbow. And if Mandy’s success is anything to go by, then a new genre project from the Italian-Canadian filmmaker is cause for excitement.

Stay tuned for more info regarding Nekrokosm and in the meantime, read STARBURST’s interview with Panos Cosmatos here.

Nekrokosm

NOVA Looks To Be Joining The MCU’s Ranks

Richard Rider, better known as the cosmic superhero Nova, looks to be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Deadline reports that Marvel Studios are developing a project based on the character with Moon Knight writer Sabir Pirzada.

Rider first debuted in the Marvel canon in September 1976. He was a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Nova Corps, for which he gained superhuman abilities including enhanced strength, flight and resistance to injury – that is, until the Annihilation Wave destroyed them all and left him imbued with their combined power, guided by the super-intelligent Worldmind computer.

Nova was almost introduced into the MCU in earlier drafts of the original Guardians of the Galaxy screenplay, but his involvement ended up getting cut.

No information as to whether this will be developed as a feature film or limited series, though our bet’s on the latter.

In the meantime, don’t forget that Moon Knight premieres on March 30th on Disney+.

Nova

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE 4K Director’s Cut Trailer Releases

Star Trek: The Motion Picture restoration director's cut

After a long, long wait, Paramount has released the trailer for its rerelease of Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition.

The 1979 Robert Wise-directed classic has been given a special effects makeover, and a stunning upgrade to 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos sound. It’s what the film has deserved all along.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the first instalment in the long-running Star Trek film series, starring the cast of the original television series. Set in the 2270s, it sees a mysterious alien cloud of energy known as V’Ger approach Earth, destroying everything in its path. Assuming command of the recently refitted USS Enterprise, Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) leads a mission to save the planet and determine V’Ger’s origins.

Wise had initially revisited the film in 2001 and oversaw a director’s cut for a special DVD release of the film, with remastered audio, recut and added scenes, and new special effects. Though he passed away four years later, producer David C. Fein, preservationist Mike Matessino, special effects expert Daren Dochterman and their team have since worked to recreate Wise’s director’s cut in Ultra HD for this latest rerelease.

“I couldn’t be prouder and more thrilled to have completed the film in 4K,” said Fein. “Paramount offered unprecedented access to the original elements and exceptional support, and the results are stunning. Utilizing the latest discoveries and innovations of modern film production, the Director’s Edition delivers so much more today than was previously possible. It’s an adventure you’ll never forget!”

Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition will debut on Paramount+ April 5 and will arrive on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in September. Check out the trailer below: