Emma Roberts Returning to Horror with FIRST KILL

Emma Roberts

Having made her mark in the likes of Scream 4, American Horror Story, and Scream Queens, Emma Roberts is again returning to the horror genre.

Courtesy of Variety, Roberts will executive produce the young adult vampire series First Kill for Netflix. Made up of eight one-hour episodes, First Kill is based on V.E. Scwab’s short story of the same name.

The official word on First Kill reads:

When it’s time for teenage vampire Juliette to make her first kill so she can take her place among a powerful vampire family, she sets her sights on a new girl in town named Calliope. But much to Juliette’s surprise, Calliope is a vampire hunter, from a family of celebrated slayers. Both find that the other won’t be so easy to kill and, unfortunately, way too easy to fall for.

Schwab herself will be co-writing and joining Roberts as an executive producer, while The Quad’s Felicia D. Henderson is to serve as showrunner on First Kill.

Sony Addresses THOSE Spider-Man Rumours

Andrew Garfield Tobey Maguire Tom Holland

These past few weeks – and even months – have seen so many rumours swirling around Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home follow-up, and now Sony has moved to address this speculation.

Of course, those rumours are that both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s incarnations of ol’ Web-head will be lining up alongside Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in this upcoming picture. We’ve held off from running with these stories ourselves until something a little more concrete comes out on all this, but it could well be that there’s no smoke without fire.

In an official statement responding to these stories, Sony’s official line is: “Those rumoured castings are not confirmed.”

That’s not exactly a hard ‘no’, is it?

These rumours of A.N. Other Spidey joining Holland’s Wall-crawler have reared their head for a good year or more now, although these past few weeks have seen these rumblings gather more pace than previously.

Adding further all of this, is the recent additions of Jamie Foxx’s Electro and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange in this to-be-titled next Spider-Man film. Foxx’s electricity-fuelled Max Dillon was seen up against the Garfield Spidey in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and given that the next outing for Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme is Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness… that only adds more to the potential of having a multiverse in play. And we all know, a multiverse means that any other cinematic realms could be in play, including the world of TASM2 where Foxx and Garfield call home, or even the world of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy where we had Tobey Maguire in the famed red and blue duds.

The concept of the multiverse was previously teased in Spider-Man: Far From Home, with Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio at first claiming to be a hero from an alternative version of Earth. Likewise, Sony had huge success with the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

At present, the next Spider-Man film for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is booked in for December 17, 2021 – but, as has been seen in recent months, who knows if it will be possible to stick to that initial release plan.

As ever, expect more on all of this as and when we get it.

Prepare to be Possessed on Horror Channel

horror possessed

Get ready to be Possessed in November as Horror Channel has a season of demonic movies that will have you reaching for the cross.

Each Saturday in November, there will be a devilish film to keep you up at night. The Possessed season starts with the channel premiere of Exorcist: The Beginning, the 2004 prequel to the ‘70s classic on November 7th. That original film’s writer returns as the director of The Exorcist III (1990) on November 14th. There’s the UK TV premiere of The Heretics (2017) on November 21st and the season comes to a close with Scott Derrickson’s Deliver Us From Evil (2014) on November 28th.

For more information, head over to http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk/

Tune into Horror Channel on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.

Film and TV Return for BUCK ROGERS

Buck Rogers

While barely a month goes by that we don’t hear about an old favourite being revisited, now you can add Buck Rogers to that ever-expanding list.

Via The Wrap, Legendary Entertainment and Transformers’ producer Don Murphy are teaming to bring back Buck Rogers in a major way.

Looking to cover a whole slew of bases, the current plan of attack is to develop a “prestige” TV series that would lead to big-budget film franchise and then to an anime show. The plan behind all of this is to introduce the Buck Rogers character to a whole new audience.

Created by Philip Francis Nowlan in 1928, Buck made his debut in the Armageddon 2419 A.D. novella. There, Anthony “Buck” Rogers was a coal miner who found himself trapped in suspended animation until waking up 500 years in a future that was in the midst of a huge war. This upcoming take on Buck Rogers will take its inspiration from this particular version of the Rogers mythos.

In the decades since that 1928 debut, the adventures of Buck Rogers have graced comic strips, comic books, movie screens, TV screens, and more. The most famous iteration of Buck is likely Gil Gerard’s run as the character in 1979’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV offering.

As ever, expect more on all of these Buck Rogers projects as they continue to develop.

Sarah Shahi Joins BLACK ADAM

Sarah Shahi

While a whole slew of upcoming Warner Bros. movies have seen their release dates pushed back due to the ongoing global pandemic, that’s now stopped Black Adam from making another new cast addition.

Via The Illuminerdi and Deadline, the Dwayne Johnson-fronted Black Adam has brought in Person of Interest’s Sarah Shahi as a university professor and freedom fighter from Adam’s homeland of Kahndaq.

Shahi joins Johnson’s titular Black Adam, Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher, and Aldis Hodge’s Hawkman as the confirmed cast for Black Adam – with the picture also set to cast Doctor Fate and Cyclone as part of its own spin on the Justice Society.

For those not all that familiar with the Black Adam character, he debuted back in 1945’s Marvel Family #1 as Teth-Adam of Kahndaq. Depicted over the years as both an out-and-out villain and an antihero, Black Adam is one of the few characters who can pretty much match Superman toe-to-toe when it comes to powers. Whilst he has tangled with the Man of Steel and various other DC heroes over the decades, he’s best known as a Shazam villain. Shazam, of course, is young Billy Batson. When Billy shouts “Shazam!”, he turns into the legendary hero.

To be directed by The Shallows’ Jaume Collet-Serra, Black Adam is currently without a release date after its planned December 2021 release was pulled due to the current global situation.

Amazon Orders I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER TV Series

Ben Willis

For the last six years, there have been rumblings of something new happening with the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise – and now we have a major update on that front.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon has given an official series order for an I Know What You Did Last Summer TV series.

The last we’d heard on all things I Know was back in July 2019, where it was revealed that Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring favourite James Wan was to produce and direct a pilot offering of just show a series.

Now, it’s been announced that Preacher’s Sara Goodman is to write and executive producer I Know What You Did Last Summer for Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures TV. Wan will still be producing through his Atomic Monster banner, with Rob Hackett and Michael Clear also on producing duties.

From what we’re hearing so far, this latest outing for the I Know IP will largely follow the premise of the 1997 movie.

Back in that 1997 movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer gave audiences a film that saw a group of four friends stalked by a hooded, hook-wielding fisherman who they had accidentally killed a year prior. Jennifer Love Hewitt headed up the cast, with Freddie Prinze Jr., Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar fleshing out the core ensemble.

That picture would spawn two sequels – I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer – and there had been talk as far back as 2014 that the franchise will be rebooted in some way. Initially, that was to be on the big screen, but now we know that the I Know property will continue on our TV screens.

Expect more on this I Know What You Did Last Summer TV series as we get it.

DEXTER is Returning!

Dexter

It may have had one of the most opinion-splitting endings in TV history, but now Dexter is returning to our screens.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Showtime is bringing Dexter back for a ten-episode limited series – complete with Michael C. Hall back in the titular role and Clyde Phillips returning as showrunner.

In terms of what we know about this ninth season of Dexter, it will pick up after the original show and find Dexter Morgan in self-imposed exile as a lumberjack who lives largely in solitude.

The current plan is for Dexter’s return to air in the second half of 2021.

New Book Spotlights Modern Horror

control

A great new book is set to be released looking at modern horror – unfiltered from the shine and hype we’re used to seeing.

From the press release:

HORROR OUT OF CONTROL is a collaboration between Reprobate Press and Warped Perspective that will look at the 21st Century horror film: the good, the bad, and the ugly of modern genre cinema and video.

Written by David Flint (Ten Years of Terror) and Keri O’Shea, this is a collection of over four hundred incisive and detailed reviews of horror movies made between 2000 and 2020. This is not a partisan ‘best of’ or ‘essential’ guide, but a snapshot of where the genre is in the 21st Century, from major cinema releases and franchises to zero-budget shot-on-video obscurities. With a global expanse and a critical eye, HORROR OUT OF CONTROL is a reflection of the development of the genre in the last two decades. With some eye-popping visuals and no-hold-barred opinions, HORROR OUT OF CONTROL is the state of the union address that modern horror has been waiting for.

We can’t wait! Having read what the authors’ previous output, we can expect plenty of blunt and straight-talking insight into some of the modern sacred cows. The book will be A5 size, with 440 b/w pages costing £25 plus postage. It won’t be available on the high street, though, so you’ll have to buy it directly from: horroroutofcontrol.bigcartel.com

Netflix Cancels Plans for THE MAGIC ORDER

The Magic Order

Following on from Netflix recently cancelling several genre shows, now comes word that the axe has swung on another series.

Via Deadline, Netflix has pulled the plug on its plans to adapt Mark Millar and Olivier Coipel’s The Magic Order as a TV show.

It was only earlier this year that news broke of The Magic Order getting the live-action series treatment, with James Wan boarding the show as executive producer. Now, as the show was to being production, Netflix has decided against moving forward with The Magic Order.

As has been the case with several other Netflix shows, the reason for The Magic Order being scrapped is largely down to the ongoing global pandemic that is causing so much uncertainty in the industry.

The Magic Order was one of the several properties to be adapted by Netflix as part of the streaming service’s 2017 deal with Millar, and so it remains to be seen whether the show will be revisited at some point down the line.

This comes hot on the heels of Netflix axing shows like I Am Not Okay With This, The Society, and GLOW.

Anya Taylor-Joy to Headline FURIOSA

Anya Taylor-Joy

It may be five years since Mad Max: Fury Road was released, but finally the Furiosa spin-off picture has taken a huge move forward.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Furiosa has now assembled its first cast members. But while many were hoping for Charlize Theron to somehow return in the headline role – a role she played in Fury Road – we now know it’ll be Anya Taylor-Joy leading the charge.

Split and The New Mutants star Taylor-Joy reportedly auditioned for the gig over Skype this past March, with writer/director George Miller being suitably impressed. Not just that, for Taylor-Joy will be joined in Furiosa by Thor’s Chris Hemsworth and Aquaman’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

It’s not yet known what roles Hemsworth and Abdul-Mateen II will be playing in the film, although we do know that Furiosa will be a prequel offering of sorts exploring the backstory of the title character. If you remember, Furiosa was one of Immortan Joe’s lieutenants in Mad Max: Fury Road – before turning on her boss to free his fives wives and eventually team with Tom Hardy’s Max Rockatansky.

Expect more on Furiosa as it develops.