After a decade on our screens, AMC has finally announced its plans to bring the main Walking Dead series to a close.
Via ComingSoon, it’s been confirmed that The Walking Dead will conclude with a two-year, 24-episode eleventh season. With the already-announced six further Season Six episodes, that means that there’s 30 episodes left before The Walking Dead ends.
In addition to this news, it’s also been revealed that Melissa McBride’s Carol and Norman Reedus’ Daryl are to get their own spin-off series that will premiere in 2023. On that to-be-titled show, current The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang will oversee the action along with Scott Gimple.
That’s not all, for Gimple and AMC are elsewhere developing a new Tales of the Walking Dead series which will serve as an anthology show spotlighting individual characters and their stories.
The world of The Walking Dead is clearly an ever-expanding one, and original spin-off Fear the Walking Dead is soon to be joined by The Walking Dead: World Beyond this October. And that’s before we even take into account the Rick Grimes trilogy of movies in development.
A new AVOD platform – w4free – has announced a selection of great horror titles to be added to their output.
From the press release:
Bobcat Goldthwait’s critically acclamied Bigfoot parody Willow Creek, Bruce McDonald’s terrifying tour-de-force PONTYPOOL, Adam Green’s jaw-dropping slasher Hatchet and Elfie Hopkins, the twisted tale of cannibalism starring Jamie and Ray Winstone head up a slate of impressive genre movies, which are free to stream via the w4free App.
Also unleashed on the new, already popular, UK AVOD service are Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, the infamous Welsley Snipes’ cowboy zombie mash-up Gallowwalkers, the stylish and erotic chiller After Life, ‘80s cult classic Dead And Buried and The Haunting Of Molly Hartley, starring Haley Bennett (Girl on a Train, Swallow).
Chris Sharp, Chairman of W4free, said today: “The Horror genre has always been dear to my heart and today’s announcement is only the beginning of what will be a steady output of international genre titles, ranging from cult classics to the contemporary”.
The entertainment service, which also provides TV series and documentaries, can be accessed on all mobile devices and via Apple, TV, Swisscon TV Box and Sky Ticket. It has also recently launched on Netgem TV in the UK and Ireland.
While several TV shows have had the axe swung on them in recent weeks, now comes the sad news that The Venture Bros. is coming to an end after seven seasons.
This cancellation was rumoured a few weeks ago, and now creator Christopher McCulloch (aka Jackson Publick) and Dr. Rusty Venture actor James Urbaniak took to Twitter to confirm the news.
Unfortunately, it’s true: #VentureBros has been canceled. We got the highly disappointing news a few months ago, while we were writing what would have been season 8. We thank you, our amazing fans, for 17 years of your kind (and patient) attention. And, as always, We Love You.
So, as it must to all, cancellation has come for The Venture Bros. The pilot aired 17 years ago, which means the show was almost old enough to vote. It was one of the great gifts of my life & career. The fans were, quite simply, the best. Thank you, everybody. Go. Team. Venture! pic.twitter.com/MPMAvWS6Z4
Interestingly, Adult Swim likewise took to social media to express their wish to continue working with McCulloch and fellow The Venture Bros. creative Doc Hammer, possibly on more outings for those Ventures.
We also want more Venture Bros. and have been working with Jackson and Doc to find another way to continue the Venture Bros. story.
The Venture Bros. began life with a pilot episode way back in early 2013, with the show then premiering a full debut season in August 2004. Centred on bumbling teenagers Hank and Dean Venture and a slew of brilliant supporting players in a world of heroes, villains and science, The Venture Bros. went on to become a huge favourite of many due to its humour and oft-satirical slant.
With the series’ seventh season concluding in October 2018, it was announced that The Venture Bros. had been renewed for an eighth year. Despite several scripts already written for Season Eight, the decision has now been made to cancel the show.
Having most recently been involved in writing Matt Reeves’ The Batman for Warner Bros., Mattson Tomlin is to head to the realm of sci-fi to make his directorial bow.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, Tomlin’s directing debut will see him tackle a sci-fi thriller titled Mother/Android. Already, Kick-Ass and Suspiria favourite Chloe Grace Mortez is on board to headline the picture, with the aforementioned Reeves serving as a producer on the film.
The early word on Mother/Android reads:
Moretz is set to star as Georgia who, with her boyfriend Sam, goes on a treacherous journey to escape their country, which is caught in an unexpected war with artificial intelligence. Days away from the arrival of their first child, the couple must face No Man’s Land – a stronghold of the android uprising, in hopes of reaching safety before giving birth.
Tomlin himself has commented on how this is a deeply personal story for him and a tale “inspired by sacrifices made to bring me into this world”.
As ever, expect more on Mattson Tomlin’s Mother/Android as we get it.
With Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead in development at Netflix, now comes word that the movie is getting both an anime series and a prequel picture.
In a statement to Variety, Snyder enthused, “I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to partner with Netflix again as we expand the Army of the Dead universe with both an international prequel, as well as exploring the visually dynamic world of animation. It’s been a great collaboration, and we are thrilled that Netflix sees this as big of an IP as we do.”
Army of the Dead writer Shay Hatten will be penning both the prequel film and the anime show, and Army of the Dead star Matthias Schweighofer will play a character called Ludwig Dieter in both the first film and the prequel while also stepping behind the camera to direct said prequel.
That prequel film has yet to be given an official title, but we do know that the anime series will be called Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas. Central to that series will be the origin story of Scott Ward, who is a pivotal character in the plot of the original movie.
In Army of the Dead, Scott Ward sends a group of badass mercenaries into the zombie-laced landscape of a now decimated Las Vegas to retrieve a hefty wedge of cash six years after Vegas has been walled-off from the rest of the world.
Arriving on Netflix at some point in 2021, Army of the Dead features Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Theo Rossi, Omari Hardwick, Ana De La Reguera, Rich Cetron, Tig Notaro, and the aforementioned Matthias Schweighofer.
As ever, expect more on the Army of the Dead prequel and Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas as they continue to develop.
In addition to Sony having plans for a whole host of Marvel-driven movies as part of the shared Spider-Verse realm that launched with Tom Hardy’s Venom, now comes word that Sony’s Marvel output is also heading for TV.
Via Deadline, Sony and Amazon are said to be in advanced talks for a collective set of TV shows centred on certain characters often associated with the world of Spider-Man.
In terms of which characters may be a part of this agreement, the only name that looks set in stone right now is Cindy Moon, aka Silk.
Previously, we’ve heard how Sony had plans for a Silk movie, but now it looks like the heroine could instead get her own TV series. Atypical’s Lauren Moon has already been tasked with penning a pilot offering for this Silk show, and this Sony/Amazon deal could end up being similar to what Netflix and Marvel did with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher.
For those not familiar with the Silk character, Cindy Moon is an American-Korean classmate of Peter Parker’s who just so happened to be bitten by the very same radioactive spider that had a nibble at Peter and gave him his powers. Cindy would actually develop the same powers as Parker, although she wouldn’t make herself known to him until thirteen years down the line.
The character was created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos, debuting in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man Vol.3 #1. Since then, Cindy Moon has gone on to become a hugely popular figure amongst Marvel Comics fans.
For those wondering why Sony can keep developing their own Marvel projects away from Disney, that’s because Sony Pictures picked up the rights to Spider-Man and his world before Disney’s purchase of Marvel.
In some great news for horror hounds, Jill Gevargizian’s feature-length take on The Stylist will receive its international premiere at this year’s Sitges Film Festival.
This hugely welcoming news was revealed as Sitges confirmed the line-up for the 53rd outing of this most famous of film festivals, with this year’s October 8th – 18th event celebrating the work of the iconic David Cronenberg.
As the full schedule has yet to be announced for this year’s Sitges Film Festival, we don’t know exactly when The Stylist will screen. Just knowing that audiences will get to check out this hotly-anticipated horror offering is enough to put a smile on the face of all of us here at Moonbase Alpha, though.
The Stylist began life as a 2016 Najarra Townsend-headlined short from Gevargizian. After winning a whole host of praise and plaudits across the festival circuit and beyond – including screening at the inaugural STARBURST International Film Festival – Jill took to Kickstarter last year to develop this sleek and sinister short into a full feature movie.
With Townsend back in the role of tormented hairdresser Claire, the official word on The Stylist reads:
Everyone dreams of being someone else… but for Claire, that dream goes from an obsession to a living nightmare. Her job as a hairstylist allows her to move in and out of other people’s worlds, but when the right target sits in her chair, she does more than observe the client’s life – she ends it, and keeps a permanent souvenir.
Her lonely life, meticulous method and shocking secrets are suddenly thrown into turmoil when her regular client, Olivia (Brea Grant), asks her to style her hair for her wedding.
When we last caught up with Jill, she revealed how she’d been working on the story for a feature-length The Stylist since as soon as the short film was finished. Single White Female and Lucky McKee’s May were pegged by Gevargizian as an influence on the movie back during that chat, and Jill made mention of The Stylist being a psychological thriller with a nice dose of gore as the filmmaker looks to expand on that fantastic 15-minute short.
That last chat was actually just before the Kickstarter campaign launched for The Stylist – and you can find the full detailed conversation here.
Expect more on The Stylist as we get it. In the meantime, be sure to check out the 2016 short itself below:
Following the recent cancellations of several genre shows, now comes word that AMC has axed NOS4A2.
Deadline first reported the news, with showrunner Jami O’Brien confirming the cancellation on Twitter.
Well friends, I heard from AMC last week. We won’t be making a 3rd season of #NOS4A2 . It’s a bummer, but I’m grateful we were at least able to finish adapting the storyline from Joe Hill’s terrific novel… 1/4
While the ongoing global pandemic has been blamed for the recent scrapping of some shows – I Am Not Okay With This being one example of that – it appears that the reason for NOS4A2 not being renewed for a third season comes down to ratings.
After pulling in decent numbers with its debut season, the TV take on Joe Hill’s novel saw viewing figures drop by nearly half for NOS4A2’s second year.
Just last week saw I Am Not Okay With This, Altered Carbon, and Penny Dreadful: City of Angels all cancelled, and now NOS4A2 has sadly joined the list of shows that won’t be returning.
For fans of Disney and of family-friendly horror, there’s the welcome news that a new Haunted Mansion movie is in development at the House of Mouse.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, Katie Dippold has been tasked with penning a new film based on Disney’s iconic Haunted Mansion attraction. Dippold is best known for her writing work on Parks and Recreation, Mad TV, The Heat, and the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot.
The Haunted Mansion first launched way back in 1969, with the spooky, supernatural shenanigans of the manor and its graveyard proving to be such a consistent hit that the ride is still going to this very day.
2003 saw Eddie Murphy headline Rob Minkoff’s The Haunted Mansion, with more recent times seeing Guillermo del Toro briefly attached to develop a new film based on the attraction. That GDT take sadly never came to fruition, but Disney is now once again pushing forward with a live-action movie based on one of the company’s most famous rides.
As ever, expect more on this latest Haunted Mansion picture as we get it.
In some great news for horror hounds, release dates have been officially set for the next entries in the Scream and Paranormal Activity franchises.
First up, Paramount Pictures have set Scream 5 for January 14, 2022, while the next entry in the Paranormal Activity series will arrive on March 4, 2022.
In terms of what we know about these films, Scream 5 is being helmed by Ready or Not duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Franchise veterans Courteney Cox and David Arquette are confirmed to be returning, and You’s Jenna Ortega and Vida’s Melissa Barrera are likewise heading to Woodsboro. Neve Campbell is currently in talks to pick up her Sidney Prescott role once more, although that return has yet to be made official just yet.
As for the seventh movie in the Paranormal Activity series, Paramount and Blumhouse have Christopher Landon involved to assist with the development of the film. Landon wrote Paranormal Activity 2, Paranormal Activity 3, Paranormal Activity 4, and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, while also directing 2014’s The Marked Ones, too – although it was stressed that he will not be writing or directing this new PA movie. Plot-wise, it’s not yet be revealed whether this seventh Paranormal Activity picture will pick up from any of the previous films or whether it will instead serve as some sort of reboot or clean slate for the series.
Expect more on these new Scream and Paranormal Activity efforts as we get it.
