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The STAR TREK Universe Continues Its Expansion

The Star Trek Universe expands with season renewal of Discovery at Paramount+

Paramount+’s Star Trek universe continues its expansion with multiple season pickup orders. The streaming service has also confirmed premiere dates for several of its sci-fi series.

Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for a fifth season, ahead of the season four premiere on February 10th.
Star Trek: Picard‘s second season will premiere Thursday, March 3rd. A third season has already been confirmed, which is currently in production.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has already been renewed for a second season, ahead of its season one premiere on May 5th. The live-action series stars Anson Mount as Captain Chris Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, and Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley/Number One aboard the USS Enterprise prior to the events of the Star Trek original series. This cast of characters were introduced in season 2 of Discovery.
Star Trek: Lower Decks has been renewed for a 10-episode-long fourth season, while season 3 will air sometime this summer.
The second half of the younger-skewing Star Trek: Prodigy‘s first season will release later in 2022.

“Four years ago, we made a promise to grow Star Trek into something it had never been before, and thanks to the incredibly hard work done by our many talented showrunners, writers, and directors, along with the extraordinary support of CBS Studios and Paramount Plus, we’re keeping our word,” said Alex Kurtzman, who heads up the Star Trek universe TV franchise for CBS Studios. “Now our current shows are set up for the future as we work to build ‘Trek’s’ next phase of programming for years to come.”

Star Trek

Adam Scott Is Split In Two In Ben Stiller’s SEVERANCE Series

Adam Scott in Ben Stiller thriller series for Apple TV+ Severance

Apple TV+ has revealed their first full trailer for Severance, a workplace thriller series directed and executive produced by Ben Stiller and starring Adam Scott (Big Little Lies, The Good Place, inventor of The Cones of Dunshire).

Written and created by Dan Erickson, the series takes place at Lumon Industries, a company that’s redefining work-life balance with a “severance procedure” that surgically divides employees’ memories from their work and persona lives. One of those employees is Mark Scout (Scott), who soon finds himself at the centre of a mystery when a man claiming to be his colleague appears outside of work – an encounter that will force Mark to confront the true nature of his work… and of himself.

And as intriguing as that premise sounds, Severance’s cast offers just as much reason for excitement. Joining Scott are Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Brit Lower, Zach Cherry, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, Tramell Tillman, Michael Chernus, and the inimitable Christopher Walken.

Severance premieres globally on Apple TV+ on February 18th. Check out the trailer below:

Severance

Oscar Isaac Becomes The MOON KNIGHT In Full Trailer

In November last year, we got our first, very short teaser look at Oscar Isaac’s MCU turn on Disney+ Day; now, our patience has been rewarded with the release of the first full trailer for Moon Knight ahead of its premiere March 30th.

Isaac plays Steven Grant, a mild-manner museum gift-shop employee (complete with a truly baffling “British” accent) who becomes plagued by blackouts and memories of a life that isn’t his. Steven soon discovers that he has dissociative identity disorder (DID) and shares his body with Marc Spector, a mercenary. As Steven/Marc’s enemies track him down, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of ancient Egypt.

In the comics, Marc is the central personality who tends to lead most of the stories, while Steven is just one of his alters; it’s therefore interesting that Disney+’s Moon Knight would opt to centre Steven, at least initially. It could be that this is the show’s clever way of providing exposition on the mythology of the moon god Khonshu, for whom Marc is the Earthbound avatar – Steven does work in a museum with an expansive Egyptian exhibit, after all.

Joining Isaac is Ethan Hawke as the primary antagonist, now revealed to be Dr. Arthur Harrow, a scientist specialising in pain theory… except that for the television version, Harrow seems to be more of a cult leader than respected researcher.

And as an extra nice touch, since the Moon Knight’s supernatural powers are tied to the Moon’s cycle in the comics, the PR brains at Marvel/Disney+ chose to release the series trailer on the day of a full moon!

Check out the full trailer below:

Moon Knight

Laurence R Harvey and Mark Benton Star in SECRETS OF A WALLABY BOY – Now Crowdfunding

STARBURST readers will be interested in Secrets of a Wallaby Boy, an independent feature film being shot in Manchester later in 2022. It’s a modern, queer update on the cheeky British smut comedies of the ‘70s, such as Confessions of a Window Cleaner.

Brandon McCaffrey stars as the broke, unfit and undersexed Tim Coaster. When Tim becomes a courier for the app Wallaby, he reckons he can turn his life around: get fit, earn some money, and even get laid. He’s not accounted for his own haplessness, an antique teapot collection, and a sinister conspiracy.

It’s written and directed by STARBURST’s own Kieron Moore, who says: “I’m really passionate about LGBTQ+ storytelling and also weird silly comedy. Last year, I was introduced to Confessions of a Window Cleaner and that genre, and I thought – these are great, but what if they were gayer?”

The producer is Pete Tomkies, the man behind festival favourite vampire comedy Once Bitten. “I’m delighted to be on board with this project,” says Pete, “as soon as I read Kieron’s script, I got in touch with him and said, what can I do to help you get this film made?”

Alongside McCaffrey in the cast is Billie Hindle, as Tim’s best friend Jade, and two recognisable faces. Mark Benton, who STARBURST readers may know from the fab zombie musical Anna and the Apocalypse, and who has been a recognisable face of British TV since the ‘90s, appears as Tim’s father Roland – an affable man, though his advice on life, love and sex isn’t always the best.

And cult horror star Laurence R. Harvey – who you’ll know from The Human Centipede 2 and 3 – plays Sir Argyle Horatio, MP, a premium user of the Wallaby service. Argyle hosts a debauched party that Tim ends up at in one of the film’s set pieces.

Also involved is animator Ilan Sheady of Uncle Frank Productions, who is bringing to life Bruce, the marsupial mascot of the Wallaby app.

To help make the film be the best it can possibly be, the team are holding a crowdfunding campaign, which is live now on Greenlit.com. For pledging money towards the production of the film, a number of rewards are being offered, including digital premiere access, signed posters, and Wallaby courier stickers. Plus, if you’ve written your own script, Kieron – who is also a professional script editor – is offering script reviews in return for pledges.

The Greenlit campaign is running until 17th February and aiming to raise £12,000 to go towards production – have a look at the trailer below, and then click here to find out more and get involved.

Secrets of a Wallaby Boy – Trailer from Weird Rainbow Films on Vimeo.

WITCHFINDER Spinoff Miniseries Coming From HELLBOY And IZOMBIE Creators

The British Paranormal Society issue 1 cover by Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics will soon be releasing a new four-issue comic book series titled The British Paranormal Society: Time Out of Mind, courtesy of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and iZombie co-creator Chris Roberson. As Bloody Disgusting reports, the series will feature art by Andrea Mutti and colours by Lee Loughridge; meanwhile, Abe Sapien artist Sebastián Fiumara will draw the covers for each issue.

Described as an Edwardian-era English folk horror story, The British Paranormal Society expands on the established Hellboy Universe and follows Society members Simon Bruttenholm and Honora Grant. The two arrive at Noxton together, but with differing goals: Honora hopes to uncover information on the town’s strange traditions, while Simon hopes to find his missing assistant. However, their separate investigations will soon bring them together on a twisted path – one which leads to Noxton’s darkest, best-kept secret.

The two characters first appeared in the acclaimed Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder – The Gates of Heaven miniseries (on which Mignola and Roberson also collaborated) in supporting roles.

The British Paranormal Society: Time Out of Mind’s first issue will release on April 27th, 2022. Check out the cover below:

The British Paranormal Society

David Ramsey To Return To Arrowverse In JUSTICE U

David Ramsey to reprise role as John Diggle in Arrowverse's Justice U

Though it might feel like The CW’s Arrowverse has been winding down ever since Arrow ended in 2020, it seems the teen-skewing network still has faith in the continued profit-making abilities of its DC shows pantheon.

According to Variety, Arrow star David Ramsey could soon be returning to his Arrowverse role as John Diggle with his very own series, titled Justice U. The show will follow Diggle as he embarks on a new mission to recruit five young meta-humans to live undercover as freshmen at a prestigious university. There, he will oversee their education and train them up to becomes the heroes of tomorrow. If the show gets picked up, Ramsey will also be directing the pilot episode.

It comes as the actor – who has also featured in Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Batwoman and Superman & Lois – has struck an overall directing deal with Berlanti Productions that guarantees he will helm multiple episodes across numerous Arrowverse shows, as well as guest starring in them.

Though Arrow, Supergirl and Black Lightning have now ended, Justice U would still be joining a substantial canon of ongoing DC shows at The CW: The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and Superman & Lois are all still airing.

Justice U

Oh, Boy! A QUANTUM LEAP Reboot May Finally Happen

Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell in Quantum Leap series

Some very excellent news for sci-fi fans: Quantum Leap’s long-rumoured return to the small screen has taken a big leap towards becoming reality. NBC has confirmed a pilot order for the rebooted series, which will be set in the present day and will follow a new team as they restart the Quantum Leap project in hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine, and its creator. The series, which ran for five seasons, follows a physicist as he involuntarily leaps through spacetime during experiments in time travel, and temporarily takes the place of various people throughout the later half of the 20th century; each time, he must correct what he discovers are historical mistakes, in hopes of one day making it home.

The reboot of the 1990s show will be written and executive produced by La Brea showrunners Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, and exec produced by Blindspot creator Martin Gero, original Quantum Leap creator Don Bellisario, and QL co-writer and co-producer Deborah Pratt (who also voiced Ziggy, the self-aware supercomputer which runs Project Quantum Leap in the 1989 version).

Scott Bakula, who played Dr. Sam Beckett in the original series, is not currently attached to produce or star, though he confirms having had conversations about his potential involvement. Meanwhile Dean Stockwell, his co-lead on the show who played Admiral Al Calavicci, sadly passed in November last year.

With only a pilot order so far, the project won’t be up for series consideration until next year – but it’s still a cause for optimism that the reboot may well get picked up.

Quantum Leap reboot

Paramount To Adapt The CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE Trilogy

Novel cover for Tomi Adeyemi novel Children of Blood and Bone

Following an intense bidding war, Paramount Pictures has landed the rights to the Children of Blood and Bone fantasy series based on the YA novels by Nebula and Hugo Award-winning writer Tomi Adeyemi.

Children of Blood and Bone follows a young orphan named Zélie Adebola as she attempts to restore magic to the kingdom of Orïsha, in defiance of the ruling class kosidáns’ brutal oppression of her people, the magic-practicing Maji. The Nigerian-American author’s debut novel released in 2018 with its sequel, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, releasing in 2019. The third and final book is rumoured to be out in 2023.

Deadline reports that multiple studios, including Universal, Amazon and Netflix were in the mix to acquire the property, considered to be one of the more notable YA IPs since The Hunger Games. Adeyemi will adapt, write the script and executive produce the film adaptation, which is being fast-tracked at Paramount with a guaranteed theatrical release. Also aboard to produce are Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen of Temple Hill Entertainment (which produced the Maze Runner and Twilight film series) and Karen Rosenfelt of Sunswept Entertainment (which made the Percy Jackson films).

“Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone has not only become a phenomenon in the YA world, it has transformed every expectation of what world-building fantasy can be,” stated Co-President of Paramount, Daria Cercek. “It’s with enormous pride that our studio – along with Tomi and our partners Wyck, Marty and Karen – set out to bring this franchise to life on the big screen. With its thought-provoking and timely themes, we know that this story will resonate with a global audience.”

The Children of Blood and Bone

Pete Davidson To Star In THE HOME, From THE PURGE’s James DeMonaco

The Home : The King of Staten Island star Pete Davidson to star in DeMonaco's The Home horror thriller

Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson is set to star in The Home, a new horror thriller from The Purge helmer James DeMonaco.

Davidson has been cast as Max, a troubled young man who begins work at a retirement home and soon realises that its residents and caretakers harbour sinister secrets. As he investigates the building and its forbidden fourth floor, he begins to unearth connections between the home and his own upbringing as a foster child.

The Home is just the latest addition to Miramax’s excellent horror series slate, which includes Halloween, Scream, Dracula and Hellraiser. The studio’s Bill Block and Sebastian K. Lemercier will produce, with DeMonaco and Adam Canto sharing writing duties. Production is scheduled to begin later this month, likely with eyes on a release at the end of the year.

Davidson proved his acting star potential last year with an incredible turn in Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island, as well as his role in Hulu’s comedy, Big Time Adolescence and a small but hilarious role in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.

The Home