Leah Gibson and Nathan Owens Join BATWOMAN

Leah Gibson Nathan Owens

As we start to look ahead to what could lie in store for Batwoman’s second season, now comes news that two new names have been added to the mix for the Scarlet Knight’s second year.

Via Deadline, Leah Gibson and Nathan Owens have joined Batwoman in recurring roles. Jessica Jones’ Gibson will be playing Tatiana, aka The Whisper; a character seemingly based on the comic book Whisper A’Daire assassin. As for Devious Maids star Owens, he’ll be playing a loyal but complicated fighter called Ocean.

Of course, Leah Gibson and Nathan Owens join a Batwoman that will now have a fresh face in the famed cape ‘n’ cowl. After Ruby Rose opted to leave the show after its debut season, Javicia Leslie has joined the show as Ryan Wilder – the successor to Rose’s Kate Kane.

THE BOYS Spin-Off in Development

The Boys

With the hugely positive response to Season Two of The Boys (well, bar those dickheads who down-rated the season due to it not being released in one binge-worthy block), now comes word that a spin-off series is in the works.

Courtesy of Variety, Amazon has given the green light for a spin-off offering which will centre on a Vought International-funded college for superheroes-in-waiting. The Boys writer and executive producer Craig Rosenberg will be serving as showrunner on this to-be-titled show.

The early word is that this series will focus on “hormonal, competitive supes as they put their physical, sexual, and more boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities” – with a sprinkling of The Hunger Games thrown in for good measure.

Amazon is set to be fast-tracking this new show into development.

HBO Max Developing PEACEMAKER Prequel Series

John Cena

Ahead of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad currently set to hit the silver screen next August, now comes word that one of Task Force X is to get their own HBO Max series.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, John Cena’s Peacemaker is to star in a prequel show designed to explore the character’s origins. Not just will Cena obviously be involved, but James Gunn will be writing all eight episodes of this series in addition to directing several of them.

For those not familiar with the Peacemaker character, he’s a villain who will do whatever it takes to obtain peace – which often sees the rogue carrying out totally-not-peaceful things.

On this news, Gunn enthused, “Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/world’s biggest douchebag.”

Seemingly just titled Peacemaker at this stage, expect more on this show as we get it.

BLACK WIDOW Now Pushed to 2021

As long expected, we won’t be getting any new Marvel Studios movies in 2020.

Marvel Studios and Disney have officially confirmed that they have pushed back Black Widow from its November 6 global release date to a new May 7, 2021 date. Of course, Black Widow was originally due to hit cinema screens this past May before being delayed due to the ongoing global pandemic. And now, the Scarlett Johansson-headlined picture has been shunted to next year.

The result of Black Widow moving to May 7, 2021 has caused Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to be moved to July 9, 2021, while Eternals has been pushed back to November 5, 2021.

One big factor in the decision to move Black Widow again, is the simple fact that studios are unable to turn anything close to a profit on big-budget films right now. A prime example of this is Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, which, while impressing many fans and critics, has disappointed in terms of box office haul. Likewise, those films that have been moved to quickfire Digital releases – such as Mulan – have also not made quite as much waves as were hoped for.

It’s a dangerous time for cinema right now, with the ongoing pandemic causing some major problems for the film industry – whether that’s films being delayed, moviegoers being hesitant to return to cinemas, or cinemas themselves having to lay off staff or close completely.

New Werewolf Movie FROSTBITE is in Production

werewolf frostbite

Frostbite, a new werewolf comedy is currently in production. The movie’s concept asks, ‘what happens when Santa Claus turns into a werewolf on Christmas Eve?’

Mark Arnold, who starred as  Mick alongside Michael J Fox in the classic 1985 werewolf comedy Teen Wolf, will be returning to our screens in the new werewolf comedy. Filming started September 15th, and will be the next project from the Haunted Cinema team whose debut feature film They’re Outside received its world premiere at the FrightFest digital edition in August.

Also teaming up on the project is British horror royalty Emily Booth, who appeared in the director’s They’re Outside. Legendary drive-in film critic and Shudder personality, Joe Bob Briggs will have a special voice cameo on the film as well!

Director Airell Hayles says of the project, “I love Christmas horror movies, and to work with this cast on such a crazy story really is another nightmare come true, after our first film received it’s FrightFest screening.”

The film should be finished by the middle next year, and updates can be obtained from www.hauntedcinema.com.

FrightFest Cancels October Physical Event

Sadly, due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation and increasing restrictions, the Arrow Video FrightFest event planned at Cineworld in Leicester Square in October has been cancelled.

A four-day event will instead take place online between October 22nd – 25th.

The August main FrightFest festival took place to great success as a digital event. The October event will feature 40 features and will take the place of the in-cinema festival and the proposed Halloween event.

FrightFest co-director Ian Rattray, said: “It’s with a heavy heart that we announce the cancellation of the Cineworld event. Although cinemas are not affected by the new hospitality rules, it was the tipping point in terms of what kind of event we were comfortable in presenting to the fans. And with the threat of further London lockdown rules being imposed, it was felt the best plan was to move everything online”

The full line-up will be announced on October 1st and tickets will be available on the same day.

BLACK MIRROR’s Toby Haynes to Direct CASSIAN ANDOR

second star

As Disney+’s Cassian Andor series continues development, the show has now landed Black Mirror director Toby Haynes.

Via Deadline, Haynes will take over from Tony Gilroy in directing the first three episodes of Cassian Andor.

Gilroy co-wrote Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – the movie that introduced us to Diego Luna’s Cassian – and he is on board as showrunner on Cassian Andor. Why Gilroy has been replaced by Haynes on directing duties is due to Gilroy opting not to travel to the UK during the ongoing global pandemic.

This doesn’t mean that Tony Gilroy has departed Cassian Andor, and he will still be involved as showrunner and executive producer.

Where the cast of Cassian Andor is concerned, Luna will be back as the titular character and there’ll also be returns for Alan Tudyk as K-2SO and Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma. They’ll be joined by Denise Gough, Adria Arjona, Stellan Skasrsgard, and Kyle Soller.

Cassian Andor is expected to premiere on Disney+ next year.

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON to Premiere in 2022

House of the Dragon

While we’ve recently had the sad news of several shows being cancelled, now comes an update on an upcoming series.

Via Deadline, HBO President Casey Bloys has confirmed that the current plan is for House of the Dragon to premiere in 2022. House of the Dragon, of course, is the Game of Thrones prequel show that’s on the way.

House of the Dragon will showcase the rise and fall of the Targaryens, with the lead characters to be Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. Casting for the series is currently ongoing. Taking place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. Martin and Colony’s Ryan Condal created the series, with Condal to also serve as showrunner on House of the Dragon.

As ever, expect more on House of the Dragon as it continues to develop.

SUPERGIRL to End After its Sixth Season

Supergirl Season 5

On the back of several other shows being axed, now comes the hugely disappointing news that Supergirl is to come to a close after its sixth season.

EW broke the news, revealing that the upcoming sixth season will be the show’s last. This will make Supergirl the second of The CW’s Arrowverse series to end, after Arrow wrapped up earlier this year following eight seasons.

Supergirl star Melissa Benoist took to Instagram to give her thoughts on this news:

 

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To say it has been an honor portraying this iconic character would be a massive understatement. Seeing the incredible impact the show has had on young girls around the world has always left me humbled and speechless. She’s had that impact on me, too. She’s taught me strength I didn’t know I had, to find hope in the darkest of places, and that we are stronger when we’re united. What she stands for pushes all of us to be better. She has changed my life for the better, and I’m forever grateful. I’m so excited that we get to plan our conclusion to this amazing journey, and I cannot wait for you to see what we have in store. I promise we’re going to make it one helluva final season. ♥️ el mayarah 💪 @supergirlcw

A post shared by Melissa Benoist (@melissabenoist) on

Beginning life as a CBS vehicle in 2015, Supergirl was initially completely separate from the standard world of the Arrowverse. That all changed towards the end of the series’ debut year when Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen ended up popping up for an episode due to breaching between worlds.

For its second year, Supergirl was moved to The CW and, despite being still on a different Earth to the main Arrowverse, Benoist’s Maid of Might would go on to pop up as a key part of each year’s Arrowverse crossover event. Of course, the Arrowverse as a whole was streamlined earlier this year as part of the stunning Crisis on Infinite Earths event that merged all alternative Earths into one single Earth.

After a so-so first season, Supergirl has gone on to be arguably the best of all of the Arrowverse offerings. Constantly embracing themes of superheroes, family, sexuality, racism, gender identity and so, so many more real-world issues, Supergirl has been phenomenal since really hitting its stride from its second year onwards.

To hear that Supergirl will be joining Arrow in ending is such sad news for genre fans, although there is still obviously the hope that Melissa Benoist’s Kara can make an appearance or two somewhere down the line – particularly with how all things ‘Super’ will continue on with next year’s Superman and Lois series. That show will see Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch picking up their Superman and Lois Lane roles already seen in the Arrowverse.

Supergirl’s sixth and final season will be made up on 20 episodes, with this final year to debut at some point in 2021.

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER Moves to 2021

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Having originally been due to premiere on Disney+ last month, it’s now been confirmed that Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has been pushed back to next year.

Courtesy of ComingSoon, Disney+ has updated the official information for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to list it as “coming 2021”. An exact premiere date has yet to be announced, but it’s expected that the Antony Mackie and Sebastian Stan-starrer will arrive at some point in the first half of ’21.

As a result of this change, that means that the first of Marvel Studios’ original series to land on Disney+ will be this December’s arrival of WandaVision – which over the weekend served up a truly phenomenal trailer.

In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Mackie and Stan will be reprising their respective roles from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Serving as the main villain of the piece will be Daniel Bruhl back in his Captain America: Civil War role of Helmut Zemo, while Emily VanVamp is back as Sharon Carter and Georges St-Pierre has recently been revealed to be picking up his Batroc role from the opening moments of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Elsewhere, Wyatt Russell is to play John Walker, aka US Agent, and there are unknown roles for Miki Ishikawa, Carl Lumbly, Noah Mills, and Desmon Chiam.