DOOM PATROL Renewed for Third Season

Doom Patrol

While these past few weeks and months have seen so many films and TV shows either delayed or scrapped, there’s at least now some good news for fans of Doom Patrol.

As revealed at this past weekend’s DC FanDome event, Doom Patrol has been renewed for a third season.

Interestingly, the renewal announcement comes from HBO Max, rather than DC Universe. In North America, Doom Patrol has been housed on the DC Comics-driven streaming service up until now – although Season Three will not be available on DC Universe. Instead, the third year of Doom Patrol will be exclusive to HBO Max.

For UK fans, said third season, much like the previous two seasons, should be available on Amazon Prime Video.

At this early juncture, no exact premiere date has been given for Season Three of Doom Patrol – but that new season is expected to air at some point in 2021.

WONDER WOMAN 1984 and CANDYMAN Hit More Delays

Wonder Woman 1984

With the release dates of so many movies up in the air right now, there’s been further delays to the upcoming releases of Wonder Woman 1984 and Candyman.

After initially being reported by The Wrap, Warner Bros. has now pushed Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984 from October 2 to a Christmas Day release. If you remember, the second solo outing for Gal Gadot’s Amazon was originally set for June 5 before being delayed until August, then pushed to that October date. And now, Diana will return on December 25.

Where the Nia DaCosta-directed, Jordan Peele-produced Candyman is concerned, that film’s big-screen release is even more uncertain. Most recently booked in for October 16 – after initially being another film due for a June release – Universal Pictures has removed Candyman from its release schedule indefinitely. All being well, the film is expected to slash its way to the silver screen at some point in 2021, although an official new release date has yet to be set for the picture.

As mentioned, right now there is still so much uncertainty when it comes to films getting a cinematic release, with so many cinemas across the globe still closed or with restricted access due to the ongoing global pandemic.

Already, we’ve seen so many films have their release dates pushed back and back, as studios wait until people are able to safely return to cinemas in large numbers once more. Tied to this, certain films have instead been fast-tracked for a digital release instead – with the excellent Bill & Ted Face the Music being the latest movie to be released digitally later this week.

Disney+’s KENOBI Series to Film in Spring 2021

Obi-Wan Kenobi

With the second season of The Mandalorian hitting Disney+ next month, now comes an update on another live-action Star Wars series.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Ewan McGregor has revealed that the hotly-anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi show is due to start filming next spring.

Additionally, McGregor revealed that the current plan is for the show to consist of just one solitary standalone season – but he also teased that he’d be open for further seasons should that be on the table.

Army of the Dead’s Joby Harold has been writing this Kenobi series, with Deborah Chow on board to direct. Plot-wise, the only concrete piece of information with have on this show is that it will pick things up with Obi-Wan Kenobi during his time on Tatooine between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars (or A New Hope for you younger sorts).

As ever, expect more on this Kenobi series as we get it.

HOST Director Rob Savage Pens Three-Movie Blumhouse Deal

Rob Savage

In some great news, Rob Savage has penned a three-movie deal with Blumhouse.

Savage has recently wowed with Host – currently available on Shudder – and now Deadline is reporting that the filmmaker will be working alongside Blumhouse on three upcoming pictures.

Additionally, Savage will be joined in this venture by writers Jed Shepherd and Gemma Hurley, producer Douglas Cox, and editor Breanna Rangott – all of whom were involved with the aforementioned Host.

This all comes hot on the heels of Rob Savage agreeing to put together a horror movie with Sam Raimi and also to develop another horror offering for Studiocanal.

If you’ve yet to check out Host, we cannot recommend the movie enough – and we’d encourage you to give the film a watch as soon as possible.

THE OMEN Prequel Movie Still Happening?

The Omen

In some slightly left-field news, it looks as if a prequel to The Omen is back on the agenda.

If you remember, a couple of years ago we heard how 20th Century Fox had tasked writers Chad and Carey Hayes of The Conjuring to pen this feature film. After Fox was bought out by Disney, all went quite on this project – but now it appears that the movie could be back on.

Speaking to ComicBook.com, Chad Hayes revealed, “We did the prequel to The Omen, which is also sitting over at Fox, that, rumour has it, is going into production. So we’ll see what happens.”

Carey Hayes added, “We get to tell you where Damien came from. It was really fun. That was great.”

To be fair, the silver lining here is that the Hayes brothers have put together the story this prequel offering – with the pair being two of the very best writers in the horror genre in recent years. But still, is anybody clamouring out for a prequel to The Omen?

Directed by Richard Donner, The Omen was released in 1976, going on to become one of the great horror movies. Centred on young Damien Thorn, aka the Antichrist, the picture sees the Devil’s spawn manipulate those around him and cause all kinds of chaos and carnage.

That first picture was followed up by three sequels, a remake, and an extremely brief TV series that was canned after one solitary season.

As ever, expect more on this prequel film as and when we get it.

Neve Campbell and Several Others Join New SCREAM

Neve Campbell

It would be a little strange to see a Scream movie with a Sidney Prescott-shaped hole, which is why it’s great to hear that Neve Campbell has now signed on to return for Spyglass Media and Paramount’s upcoming fifth big-screen outing for the Scream franchise.

As first reported by Bloody Disgusting, Campbell will be back as Sidney for this new Scream picture – and this news also comes at the same time that several other additions have been confirmed for the film.

First up, Marley Shelton is to return in her Scream 4 role of Deputy Judy Hicks, while new additions have come in the shape of Goosebumps’ Dylan Minette, Let It Snow’s Mason Gooding, Ghost of War’s Kyle Gallner, Love’s Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Mikey Madison.

All of these names join a cast that already features franchise mainstays Courteney Cox and David Arquette, and Jack Quaid, Melissa Barrera, and Jenna Ortega.

Ready or Not duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are on directing duties for this next Scream outing – which is currently booked in for January 14, 2022.

Opening Film for FrightFest’s October Event Revealed

frightfest october

The opening film for the Arrow Video FrightFest October event will be the sequel to Train to Busan, Peninsula.

The film’s synopsis is:

Four years after South Korea’s total decimation in TRAIN TO BUSAN, the zombie outbreak thriller that captivated audiences worldwide, acclaimed director Yeon Sang-ho brings us PENINSULA, the next nail-biting chapter in his post-apocalyptic world. Jung-seok (Gang Dong-won), a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland, relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation on the quarantined peninsula with two simple objectives: retrieve and survive. When his team unexpectedly stumbles upon survivors, their lives will depend on whether the best—or worst—of human nature prevails in the direst of circumstances.

It’s directed by Yeon Sang-ho, and stars Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Re, Kwon Hae-hyo.

The October event will take place at Cineworld in London’s Leicester Square between Thursday October 22nd and Sunday October 25th. The full line-up will be announced on September 17th, alongside ticket details and information about the FrightFest Halloween Digital event!

Graphic Novel EARLY HAUNTS is a Hit on Kickstarter

haunts

Writer Thom Burgess (Ghoster, Hallows Fell)  has launched his latest venture – Early Haunt – a graphic novel that features four ghost stories from the early days of literature that influenced some of the most famous terror tales. The graphic novel has already proved very successful on Kickstarter and one of the stretch goals is a plan to incorporate augmented reality to the book!

The stories are:

The Death Bride – An Italian Gothic Horror and a primary literary influence to Mary Shelley, writer of Frankenstein.

The Wild Hunter – A German poem which acted as a major inspiration to Washington Irving, writer of Sleepy Hollow.

The Dish House – a Japanese ghost tale, which inspired Sadako in Koji Suzuki’s The Ring

The House in Athens – The first appearance of a ‘chained apparition’, an inspiration to to Charles Dicken’s ‘Marley’s Ghost.’

From the press release: These haunting stories, which all have their roots in real life accounts and ancient folklore are lifted and translated from their unwieldy original text and adapted into a more readable graphic novel format to be enjoyed by a whole new audience. All accompanied by the evocative work of four extremely talented illustrators.

The book will be illustrated by Mike O’ Brien, Brian Coldrick, Brianne Neuman, and David Romero, and Colourist Bryan Valenza.

For more information and to pre-order your copy, head over to Kickstarter now!

Check out the sample images below (click to view full size)!

Robert Pattinson’s Batman Won’t Be Like Anything You’ve Seen Before

The first teaser trailer for the upcoming film The Batman has been released, and it’s safe to say the superhero movie, directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson as Batman, has some surprises in store.

DC is definitely pushing the boat out when it comes to one of its most celebrated heroes. After Affleck’s unsuccessful stint as the Caped Crusader, there is a clear effort to reinvigorate the character and the world he protects.

For example, the latest Batman game in production, Gotham Knights, doesn’t even feature Batman as a playable character. Instead, it will focus on the sidekicks and villains that haven’t gotten much screen time in the past.

The cooperative game is being designed to be played with friends and lets you take control of the likes of Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl to fight crime in Gotham. It is a dire time in the city as the rest of the heroes scramble to cope with the death of Batman.

While this is a relatively new direction for a Batman console or PC game, fans of the DC Universe have always been enamoured by the more peripheral characters. This affinity has already been noticed by the iGaming industry where plenty of Batman’s villains are featured characters in slot games at Betfair casino and others that players can try using online casino bonus codes, such as Batman & The Riddler Riches and Batman & The Mr. Freeze.

Following in this theme of new directions, the most stunning element of The Batman teaser trailer is that it is not trying to position the film as the next superhero epic. Instead, The Batman looks like it will be a deep and dark investigative drama where crime-solving is as essential as crime-fighting.

Of course, the dark and depressing aesthetic is perfect for this type of movie and, now that it has been teased, it seems crazy it hasn’t been done before.

Reeves stated one of his main inspirations for the film was Batman: Ego, the novel written by Darwyn Cooke. It explores some truly unique angles to the world of the Caped Crusader, such as the Riddler attempting to commit suicide and Batman having to come face to face with the consequences of his actions.

The trailer feels like a familiar mix of scenes from Batman Begins and popular television series Gotham, which also focuses on the secondary characters of the world.

While the decision to create a Dark Knight detective movie may have been a financial one, considering that it’s far cheaper to make a crime drama than a massive superhero blockbuster, it is also something fans have been asking for, for a long time. Batman has always been a little different from all the other superheroes, and it’s great the movies set in that world could begin to feel that way too. It is also a clear direction DC is taking with Joker, Birds of Prey and Shazam all costing under $100-million to produce.

It does mean that it could be some time before the next epic Batman blockbuster like The Dark Knight, but it also means they will be able to take more risks and release more films because they aren’t as expensive.

Furthermore, Reeves seems to be determined to keep Pattinson’s Batman out of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), the multimedia franchise that was expected to rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe but has never really reached the same heights.

DC is reportedly very keen to get Batman back involved with the DCEU after a series of disappointments, including the Justice League which was a disappointing flop. But Reeves doesn’t want Pattinson’s iteration of the character to suffer from overexposure in the same way Affleck’s Batman did. Affleck appeared as Batman in the same number of movies as Christian Bale, despite never actually starring in a solo Batman film.

Whatever The Batman turns out to be, the new direction teased by the trailer has fans of the character, and the greater DC Universe excited. If it is a success, this movie could have a dramatic impact on the way Hollywood looks at superhero movies.

ROBOCOP Prequel Series in the Works

RoboCop Dick Jones

While a new RoboCop movie is still in development at MGM, now comes the slightly left-field news that plans are afoot for a prequel show of sorts.

In an interview with Moviehole, RoboCop co-creator Ed Neumeier revealed that he has hopes to put together a prequel TV series centred on a young Dick Jones. Neumeier has reportedly already pitched the idea to a TV producer friend of his, with writers Dave Parkin and Rob Gibbs having come up with this concept.

On what this Dick Jones show might look like, Neumeier explained, “There’s the idea of doing things about business and law enforcement in the city of Detroit a minute-and-a-half in the future. It would be a way to do all sorts of stories about business and tech, Silicon Valley, corporations, snakes in suits, cops, all that. It’s a wonderful rich tapestry. So, we’ve been talking about it and I think we have an interesting story. It’s fun to work with a younger version of the Dick Jones we meet in RoboCop. He’s an actualised corporate predator, but nobody necessarily starts out being the bad guy.”

Played in RoboCop by Ronny Cox, Dick Jones is the Senior VP of Omni Consumer Products and the brains behind the doomed ED-209 robotic lawman seen in the franchise. Elsewhere, Jones also has his hands dirty by having Clarence Boddicker’s gang at his disposal to take down RoboCop.

As alluded to, a new RoboCop film is in development in the form of RoboCop Returns – a direct sequel to the 1987 movie.