Indian Science Fiction – Patterns, History and Hybridity Launches

A new academic text examining the science fiction of India has been announced by University of Wales Press. This new work, by Texas University’s Suparno Banerjee is an in-depth examination into Indian Science Fiction.

This book analyses Indian science fiction’s use of alterity in time, space and characters, and the epistemologies that ground its world building, to argue that Indian science fiction exercises an inherent cultural intersectionality in all of these intrinsic elements – mostly between India and the West, but also among the diverse cultures of the nation. The work demonstrates how, despite the linguistic and cultural diversity of the Indian science fiction traditions, larger patterns and connections are visible.

The author applies a diachronic
and comparative approach in examining the multilingual science fiction traditions of India, to trace the
overarching generic evolutions, which he complements with an analysis of specific patterns of hybridity in
the genre’s formal and thematic elements.

More information can be found here.

Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr Join COBWEB

Annie Wilkes

While we’re are still sad that Netflix pulled the plug on Marianne after just one solitary season, there’s some good news for Marianne creator Samuel Bodin’s next project.

Bodin is returning to the horror genre with Cobweb for Lionsgate, and now it’s been announced that Castle Rock’s Lizzy Caplan and The Boys’ Antony Starr are to headline this picture. Also on board are The Last Man on Earth’s Cleopatra Coleman, and young Woody Norman of the BBC’s recent War of the Worlds adaptation – with Cobweb to start shooting in Bulgaria towards the end of the month.

The early blurb on Cobweb reads:

The film centres on a small town, in an ordinary house that seems like any other, where a young boy hears a mysterious tapping from inside the walls – and suspects his parents are hiding a terrible secret.

Caplan and Starr will be playing the parents, Carol and Mark, while Norman is the troubled son, Peter. Coleman is on board as Miss Devine, a substitute teacher filling in at the small-town school that Peter attends.

As ever, expect more on Cobweb as we get it.

Norman Reedus Adapting UNDONE BY BLOOD for AMC

Undone by Blood

While last week brought the news that a) the main Walking Dead show will end with an eleventh season, and b) Norman Reedus’ Daryl and Melissa McBride’s Carol are getting their own spin-off series, now comes news that Reedus has penned a development deal with AMC.

Via Deadline, this deal is a two-year first-look agreement between AMC and Norman Reedus – and first up will be an adaptation of Undone by Blood.

Reedus is to adapt Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler’s Aftershock comic book title for AMC, with Reedus executive producing through his recently launched Big Bald Head banner.

The official synopsis of the Undone by Blood comic – which only released this month – reads:

In the early 1970s, Ethel Grady Lane returns to her hometown of Sweetheart, Arizona with one thing on her mind: killing the man who murdered her family. But first, she’ll have to find him.

As Ethel navigates the eccentric town and its inhabitants, she learns that the quaint veneer hides a brewing darkness. She has no choice but to descend into a ring of depravity and violence, with her only ally an Old West novel that follows famed gunslinger Solomon Eaton. As both stories unfold simultaneously, a love of fiction informs choices in reality, for better or worse.

As ever, expect more on Undone by Blood as we get it.

Kat Coiri to Direct Disney+’s SHE-HULK Pilot

She-Hulk

As fans eagerly await what lies in store in Disney+’s She-Hulk series, the show has now added a new name to its production.

Via Deadline, Kat Coiri is to direct the She-Hulk pilot episode and act as an executive producer on the series. The Brooklyn 99, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Modern Family director will also direct several episodes of She-Hulk, too.

For those not familiar with the She-Hulk character, Jennifer Walters is the lawyer cousin of Bruce Banner. After Jennifer is in need of a blood transfusion to save her life, the only option turns out to be Bruce – and thus, Walters has Banner’s gamma-infused blood put into her system in a move that results in her becoming She-Hulk.

Rick and Morty’s Jessica Goa is the showrunner for She-Hulk, with rumblings and rumours suggesting GLOW’s Alison Brie as the perfect choice to play Jennifer Walters. At present, the plan is for She-Hulk to premiere on Disney+ in 2022.

Peter Dinklage to Head Psychological Thriller KEITH

Peter Dinklage

Details on the project are completely minimal at the moment, but we now have word that Peter Dinklage is to star in a psychological thriller titled Keith.

Via Deadline, Searchlight Pictures and Portobello Electric are handling the movie, with Dinklage himself to serve as executive producer.

As alluded to, zero plot details are known for Keith at this early juncture, but we do know that Brand New Cherry Flavor‘s Haley Z. Boston is penning the script based on an earlier treatment by Hitchcock‘s Sacha Gervasi.

Expect more on Keith as we get it.

Horror Channel Announce Halloween Line-Up

We’re all rabid fans of Horror Channel here at STARBURST, so when the Halloween season rolls around we’re always very excited to see what extra special treats they have in store for us. And this year they haven’t disappointed! Read on for full details of what we all have to look forward to, including eleven, yes, ELEVEN premieres!

From the Press Release:

Horror Channel to present a Halloween double-bill of Corin Hardy’s THE HALLOW and Ante Novakovic’s FRIGHT FEST.

Plus nine more premieres for October!

October boasts eleven premieres on Horror Channel, including a hellish Halloween night double-bill of Corin Hardy’s impressive Irish monster movie debut THE HALLOW and Ante Novakovic’s rampant Halloween slasher FRIGHT FEST. Both channel premieres will be broadcast on Saturday 31 October, with THE HALLOW at 9pm and FRIGHT FEST at 22.55pm.

There are also four prime-time UK premieres: Demon chiller FIRSTBORN, with Misfits star Antonia Laura Thomas, hashtag horror SELFIE FROM HELL, the haunting, award-winning ECHOES OF FEAR and the pint-sized gold-digger is back in the Leprechaun sequel LEPRECHAUN RETURNS.

There are five further channel premieres: PET (above), a twisted tale of obsession and complexities of the human condition, starring Dominic Monaghan, David Cronenberg’s cult classic body horror THE BROOD, British director Tom Paton’s giddy nerve-shredder, THE ASCENT, psychological thriller THE RESIDENT, starring Hilary Swank and featuring Christopher Lee in his final movie performance and finally, killer crocodiles and giant anacondas clash big-time in LAKE PLACID VS ANACONDA.

Full film details in transmission order:

Saturday 3 October @ 21:00 – LAKE PLACID VS ANACONDA (2015) *Channel Premiere

Get ready for a non-stop bloodbath in this vicious battle between mutated crocodiles and genetically engineered anacondas In the latest instalment of the Lake Placid and Anaconda franchises. When they’re not hunting for human prey, they’re more than willing to take on each other. Starring horror legend Robert Englund

Sunday 4 October @ 21:00 – FIRSTBORN (2016) *UK TV Premier

Charlie and James are just starting their lives together. Young and in love, they’re relishing having no responsibilities until Charlie discovers she is pregnant. In a moment of youthful abandon, they decide to keep the baby. So into their world comes Thea, a beautiful girl. But her arrival brings with it terrifying entities that threaten their newly formed family.

Friday 9 October @ 21:00 – SELFIE FROM HELL (2018) *UK TV Premiere

Socially awkward Seth (Dominic Monaghan) works diligently at an animal shelter. One day he sees old schoolmate Holly on a bus and tries to rekindle the acquaintance. But the waitress is just coming off a failed relationship and isn’t remotely interested. Realising his feelings will never be reciprocated the stalker takes drastic action to find a new way of showing his crush how much she needs him in her life.

Saturday 17 October @ 21:00 – LEPRECHAUN RETURNS (2018) *Channel Premiere

The eighth instalment of the Leprechaun franchise picks up 25 years after the original. Lila, the daughter of Tory Redding, returns to the home that changed her mother forever. Joined by a group of girls who attempt to convert it into an eco-friendly sorority house, Lila is forced to face the demons of her mother’s past. Although Lila grew up to believe the demons lived purely inside Tory’s head, it turns out there really is an indestructible Leprechaun on a murderous rampage in search for his gold…

Sunday 18 October @ 21:00 – ECHOES OF FEAR (2018) *UK TV Premiere

After inheriting her grandfather’s house, Alysa must confront the mystery of his sudden death and the evil that hides inside.

Friday 23 October @ 21:00 – THE ASCENT (2019) *UK TV Premiere

A special operations squad known in secret elite circles as Hell’s Bastards is sent to infiltrate a civil war in order to retrieve vital intelligence. But the crack unit soon finds themselves trapped on a never-ending, twisting and turning stairwell, which they are forced to climb – or they will die. To survive, they must revisit past sins and take important steps if they ever want to get off the staircase to nowhere. With: Shayne Ward, Toby Osmond, Simon Meacock and Rachel Warren.

Saturday 24 October @ 22:35 – THE BROOD (1979) *Channel Premiere

Frank Carveth is becoming increasingly concerned about his ex-wife Nola’s secretive treatment at the sinister ‘Somafree Institute of Psychoplasmics. Headed by cult figure Dr Raglan, his controversial and extreme methods seek to unleash his patients’ rage, often taking on physical manifestations. As Frank delves deeper he is finally led to a horrific and repellant final confrontation.

Sunday 25 October @ 21:00 – THE RESIDENT (1979) *Channel Premiere

After separating from her adulterous husband, Dr. Juliet Devereau (Hilary Swank) moves to New York and settles into a new life in her spacious apartment, Mysterious occurrences lead her to suspect she is not alone and quickly her fears become all too real as she discovers her seemingly charming landlord, Max, has developed a dangerous obsession with her. A terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues as Juliet is forced to fight and free herself from Max’s increasingly sinister intentions. The film also features a cameo from Christopher Lee, in his first collaboration with Hammer Films since 1976’s To the Devil a Daughter and his last before his death in 2015.

Saturday 31 October @ 21:00 – THE HALLOW (2015) *Channel Premiere

When a conservationist is sent to Ireland with his wife and infant child to survey an area of forest believed to be hallowed ground by superstitious locals, his actions unwittingly disturb a horde of demonic creatures who prey upon the lost. Alone and deep within the darkness of the remote wilderness, he must now fight back to protect his family against the ancient forces’ relentless attack.

Saturday 31 October @ 22:55 – FRIGHT FEST (2018) *Channel Premiere

Blood runs rampant on Halloween night when the Mayor of Sommerton decides to mount a live Fright Fest event within the walls of a long-abandoned lunatic asylum. The only problem is a van of criminally insane prisoners crashes just outside and the trick or treaters think their murderous acts are part of the performance. Enter if you dare…

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Jonathan Majors is ANT-MAN 3’s Big Bad

Jonathan Majors Kang the Conqueror

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe temporarily on hold right now due to the ongoing global pandemic, we’ve finally got an update on the ‘big bad’ of Ant-Man 3.

Via Deadline, Jonathan Majors is being lined up to play Kang the Conqueror in this third Ant-Man offering. Majors is currently wowing in HBO’s stunning Lovecraft Country, and it’s believed that Kang could well end up having a role in post-Ant-Man 3 movies.

For those not familiar with Kang, this all-powerful villain first appeared way back in October 1963’s Fantastic Four #19. Created by the iconic duo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Kang the Conqueror is a time-travelling warlord who has battled a who’s who of Marvel’s finest heroes.

Up until Disney assimilated Fox, Kang was actually off the table for the MCU as usage of the character was tied to the Fantastic Four characters. Since Disney picked up Fox, though, like the FF and the X-Men, Kang is now available for use in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

At this stage, Ant-Man 3 has yet to be given an official release date, although the film is expected to be part of the MCU’s Phase Five.

Right now, the next MCU movie on the horizon is Black Widow. Originally scheduled for a May 2020 release, that film has been pushed back and pushed back due to COVID-19, with the current plan being for Black Widow to hit UK screens on October 28.

Elsewhere, the MCU has Eternals lined up for February 12, 2021, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings set for May 7, 2021, a Spider-Man: Far From Home follow-up booked for December 17, 2021, Thor: Love and Thunder on February 11, 2022, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for March 25, 2022.

Those films are all Phase Four offerings, and the only Phase Five pictures with set releases dates right now are Black Panther II on May 6, 2022 and Captain Marvel 2 on July 8, 2022.

Of course, all of these release dates could end up being altered.

New WILLY FOG Movie in Development

Around The World With Willy Fog

Well, this sounds like it could be a whole load of fun. Yes, as the headline suggests, Willy Fog is to get the feature-film treatment.

From Apolo Films – as first picked up on by Simon Brew over at Film Stories – a new Around the World with Willy Fog movie is in the works. Apolo Films is also the group behind the in-development Dogtanian and the Muskehounds picture that was announced this past February, and this Willy Fog offering will likewise be a 90-minute CG adventure.

The early official word on Around the World with Willy Fog reads:

Willy Fog is an eccentric English student who bets all the fortune of his family against the son of England’s bank director and other members of the University Residence, claiming he will be able to complete a round-the-world trip in 80 days, with London as the departure and arrival point. He embarks on an adventure full with action and comedy, accompanied by his friends Rigodon, Tico, and Romy, an Indian princess with a mysterious past. Inspired by one of the most famous novels by Jules Verne.

Similarly loosely based on the 1873 Jules Verne novel, the original Around the World with Willy Fog was a cartoon series that ran for a total of 26 episodes in 1983 (or 1984 for UK viewers). Seeing a gaggle of anthropomorphic characters embark on all kinds of antics across the globe, the show still remains a huge favourite of many to this very day.

A sequel series – titled simply Willy Fog 2 – served up a further 26 episodes in 1993, plus a couple of TV movies, and even a 2008 live-action musical show in Spain.

Expect more on this new Around the World with Willy Fog as we get it. In the meantime, we couldn’t not dig up this absolute delight…

REV & SIMON Join Genre Stars for SQUEEFEST

Beloved 90’s children’s comedy duo Trev and Simon have signed up to be part of Squeefest, a 24 hour live stream which intends to raise money for NHS Charities Together.

The Doctor Squee Show and StreamYard have teamed up to launch Squeefest 2020. A 24 hour charity broadcast on Facebook Live and Twitch on Saturday 19th till Sunday 20th September 2pm – 2pm BST.

The telethon like show will feature live interviews with Doctor Who’s Katy Manning, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Alexander Siddig and Spitting Image actor Michael Fenton Stevens. A host of geek-tastic entertainers will also be turning up to lend a hand including Star Wars themed Elvis act Darth Elvis and Comic-Con themed DJ Level Up Leroy.

A full list of the events can be found via The Doctor Squee Show Facebook page. You can also follow the stream on twitch.tv/DoctorSquee and donate to the NHS at JustGiving.com/Squeefest.

YOUNG JUSTICE Season Four is PHANTOMS

Young Justice: Phantoms

While details are extremely thin on Young Justice’s fourth season, we now at least know the subtitle for this next outing for some of DC’s finest young heroes.

As revealed at this past weekend’s DC FanDome, Season Four of Young Justice will officially be titled Young Justice: Phantoms.

Absolutely zero plot details were revealed for Phantoms at this stage, and likewise no premiere date has been given for this fourth season. Like so many DC Universe shows though, it could well be that Young Justice: Phantoms is moved over to the HBO Max streaming service instead of being housed on DC Universe.

How things played out in previous seasons, the Beast Boy-lead Young Justice and the Black Lightning-headed Justice League are on a collision course with Darkseid.

Expect more on Young Justice: Phantoms as we get it.