Animated X-FILES Show in Development

The X-Files

With The X-Files having come to an end just over two years ago, now comes news that the quest to find out if the truth really is out there will continue in animated form.

Courtesy of Variety, FOX has ordered a new animated comedy show called The X-Files: Albuquerque.

The early word on Albuquerque has the series centring on the X-Files B-team of misfit agents who deal with the more crazy and ridiculous cases that are too out-there for Mulder and Scully to waste their time on.

The X-Files creator Chris Carter is serving as an executive producer on this new show, with Movie 43 and Brickleberry duo Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko to write Albuquerque and also likewise act as executive producers.

No premiere date has been set at this stage for The X-Files: Albuquerque, although FOX has given the show a full series order.

Chadwick Boseman | 1976 – 2020

Chadwick Boseman

In some absolutely tragic news, Chadwick Boseman has passed away at the age of just 43.

A statement posted to the actor’s social media pages revealed how Chadwick had been battling colon cancer for the past four years. He passed away at his Los Angeles home, with his wife and family at his side.

Boseman will of course be best known to genre fans for tackling the role of T’Challa, aka Black Panther, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Away from the MCU, Chadwick wowed as Jackie Robinson in 42, as James Brown in Get on Up, and most recently in Spike Lee’s brilliant Da 5 Bloods.

While Chadwick Boseman was clearly a phenomenal on-screen talent, he was seemingly an even more phenomenal human being – as shown by the outpouring of love shown to him in response to this utterly tragic news.

The thoughts of all here at STARBURST go out to the family, friends, and fans of Chadwick Boseman at this time. Rest in peace, King.

Tim Sheridan | SUPERMAN: MAN OF TOMORROW

man of tomorrow

Superman: Man of Tomorrow is the first film set in the second incarnation of the DC Animated Movie Universe, and chronicles Clark Kent’s life in Metropolis before he became known as Superman. The major players are all present, from Lois Lane (Alexandra Daddario) and Lex Luthor (Zachary Quinto) to Lobo (Ryan Hurst) and Parasite (Brett Dalton), and led by Darren Criss as the man himself in this refreshingly optimistic return to Superman’s origins. STARBURST spoke with screenwriter Tim Sheridan, best known for his work on the upcoming Masters of the Universe: Revelation and Reign of the Supermen, about the original Kryptonian.

STARBURST: How’s it going?

Tim Sheridan: I’m great. I have a movie out!

Yes, congratulations! And one returning to the optimism of Superman’s roots, which is very much welcome right now.

I know, it’s a weird time for sure.

What’s cool is that Man of Tomorrow delves into a time in Clark Kent’s life that’s not often explored. What attracted you to that period?

Early on, when producers Butch Lukic and James Krieg and I all got together, we talked about where we wanted to set this story. And we knew early on that this wasn’t going to be an Act I story exploring his life in Smallville, but that we’d look at his early days in Metropolis. Once we’d nailed that down, we knew that his start in Metropolis was a part of his story that we don’t see depicted on screen a lot, or in media much at all. Then, if it’s the early days of Superman when he’s playing at being grown up… like that time when you leave University and get your first apartment, you’re paying your bills and you’re doing all the grown-up stuff but you still feel like you’re playing a role, until one day you realise, ‘Oh, this is actually all this is’. That’s the time we wanted to focus on, that’s when the idea of him being the Man of Tomorrow really clicked for us. That wasn’t the title in the beginning, and it was only through that process that we understood we were telling the story of the man Clark was going to become, and the kind of person we all aspire to become. It’s also why Lobo appears: he represents an outmoded way of being a man, while Superman represents something better that we can aspire towards.

And that’s pretty different from one of the most prominent versions of Superman right now, which is the DCEU Superman played by Henry Cavill and which is much darker. Did that influence you to bring back the optimism of Clark Kent’s early days?

You know, I’m a guy who thinks that this great, big, beautiful multiverse has room for every possible take on all these characters, Superman included, and I love all that we see onscreen nowadays. It’s different from the stories I tell, but I think there’s room for all of it. I like it all! I like the darker stories, and I like the more optimistic, upbeat stories. In terms of this film, we knew that this was after Justice League Dark: Apokolips War and we were trying to switch the tone a bit. That movie deals with some really dark, cataclysmic stuff that’s absolutely beautiful, but if you’re going to switch it up, you want a Superman story with some optimism and, again, because of where he is in life at that point, it’s all about looking to the future and it’s inherently optimistic about the future. That’s the story we wanted to tell, but I absolutely think there’s room for all stories.

What source materials did you draw from when writing the screenplay?

Well, one of the first things that we talked about was the hope and optimism of the original Richard Donner movie. We took a cue from that and then I reread Superman: Birthright, and there are some significant mythological pulls from different books too that inspire Easter eggs throughout. There’s also stuff I looked at thematically: Alan Moore’s story Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? is a classic, and anyone wanting to embark on Superman projects should read that story. A lot has also been said about American Alien, because people have gotten the mistaken impression that we based this movie on it. And sure, it’s one of the many books we looked at, but I think people see that we used Lobo and Parasite and immediately assume that we did American Alien. Yet the truth is that Lobo and Parasite have always been major foils for Superman, and that’s why they’re in our movie. Superman has a very long history and I hope that you’ll see bits and pieces of it in the DNA of Man of Tomorrow.

As one of the oldest superheroes, what do you think it is about Superman that has invited so many reinterpretations over the decades?

I can only speak for myself, but I’ve always looked at Superman as the incarnation of the best of humanity – which of course is ironic since he’s not technically human. What we try to explore in this movie is the question of what it means to be human; what does it mean for someone from a faraway planet to be the most human character of all? I think Superman will always represent hope, and that’s the reason the character has endured.

It’s funny because Parasite is originally human, yet the people of Metropolis label him as alien before ever considering who Superman might be.

You know, it was very important to me that this story be about feeling like an outsider. And even Superman feels like he’s on the outside looking in, which is really a universal feeling we all experience at some point. To hear Superman struggle with that same thing, and to know from his history that he overcomes those feelings and rises above them, I think that is the hope which he encapsulates.

SUPERMAN: MAN OF TOMORROW is released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Download from September 7th

SPHERE TV Series in Development for HBO

Sphere Michael Crichton

Well, this could be interesting…

Westworld producer Denise Thé is set to serve as showrunner and executive producer on a new HBO series based on Michael Crichton’s Sphere novel.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Thé will executive produce alongside Westworld showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, with Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey on board as producers through their Team Downey production banner.

Of course, Westworld is also a tale origination from the works of Michael Crichton, and that series has proved to be stunning in its three seasons to date. If Thé and her team are able to channel that same quality into Sphere, audiences could be in for yet another fascinating piece of television.

Released in 1987, Sphere focusses on a psychologist and a team of scientists who discover a spacecraft at the bottom of the ocean. Before you know it, the group’s minds begin to play tricks on them, as reality and imagination being to blur into one.

Sphere was previously adapted for the big screen back in 1998, with Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, and Live Schreiber starring in director Barry Levinson’s movie. Despite the impressive cast, Sphere received a largely negative response from fans and critics.

At this early juncture, HBO has yet to set a premiere date for this Sphere TV show, but, as ever, expect more on this as we get it.

Netflix Announces Live-Action RESIDENT EVIL Series

Resident Evil 2

We’ve known for a little while now that Netflix was working on a live-action Resident Evil show, and now comes official confirmation of the series – and some intriguing new information on the premise of this small-screen offering.

This to-be-titled series will centre on twins Jane and Billie Wesker. Not just that, but the show will alternate between two different timelines – one when the 14-year-old twins arrive in New Raccoon city, one when the 30-year-old twins are in a world decimated by the T-virus.

Of course, while he himself isn’t mentioned in any of the press material just yet, Albert Wesker is one of the biggest of big bads where the Resident Evil franchise is concerned. As such, you can likely expect Albert to be Jane and Bille’s father.

The current plan for this Resident Evil series is for it to consist of eight one-hour episodes, with Supernatural’s Andrew Dabb on board as showrunner.

You can find a juicy, detailed synopsis for the show below:

In the first timeline, 14-year-old sisters Jade and Billie Wesker are moved to New Raccoon City. A manufactured, corporate town, forced on them right as adolescence is in full swing. But the more time they spend there, the more they come to realize that the town is more than it seems and their father may be concealing dark secrets. Secrets that could destroy the world.

Cut to the second timeline, well over a decade into the future: there are less than fifteen million people left on Earth. And more than six billion monsters — people and animals infected with the T-virus. Jade, now thirty, struggles to survive in this New World, while the secrets from her past—about her sister, her father and herself—continue to haunt her. 

As ever, expect more on Netflix’s Resident Evil series as it develops.

Elsewhere, The Strangers: Prey at Night and 47 Meters Down director Johannes Roberts is tackling a cinematic reboot for the Resident Evil property – and from what we’ve heard about that movie, it sounds absolutely phenomenal.

Netflix Cancels ALTERED CARBON

Altered Carbon Season 2

With the future of so many shows currently up in the air right now, Netflix has moved to cancel Altered Carbon.

Whereas earlier this week saw Netflix cancel I Am Not Okay With This after one season due to problems tied to the ongoing global pandemic, that reportedly is not the reason for Altered Carbon’s cancellation.

Via Deadline, the decision was actually made back in April to axe Altered Carbon, with the high cost of producing the show’s first two seasons cited as the driving factor behind this call.

Overseen by Laeta Kalogridis, Altered Carbon was an adaptation of Richard K. Morgan’s book series of the same name. Set in the future, those with the right money behind them are able to download their minds into new bodies any time the Grim Reaper comes a-calling. Joel Kinnaman headlined the first season as Takeshi Kovacs, but Kinnaman was replaced by Anthony Mackie for the show’s second year – while Will Yun Lee played the original Kovacs in both seasons.

Keira Knightly to Headline THE ESSEX SERPENT for Apple

The Essex Serpent

Keira Knightly has signed on to headline a new horror-driven series for Apple TV+.

Via Deadline, the Pirates of the Caribbean actress will star in an adaptation of Sarah Perry’s 2016 novel, The Essex Serpent. The Arbor’s Clio Barnard is on directing duties for the show, with Mrs. Wilson’s Anna Symon penning this TV take on The Essex Serpent.

For those not familiar with The Essex Serpent, you can find the source material’s synopsis below:

When Cora Seaborne’s brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one. Wed at nineteen, this woman of exceptional intelligence and curiosity was ill-suited for the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space in the wake of the funeral, Cora leaves London for a visit to coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive eleven-year old son, Francis, and the boy’s nanny, Martha, her fiercely protective friend.

While admiring the sites, Cora learns of an intriguing rumor that has arisen further up the estuary, of a fearsome creature said to roam the marshes claiming human lives. After nearly 300 years, the mythical Essex Serpent is said to have returned, taking the life of a young man on New Year’s Eve. A keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, Cora is immediately enthralled, and certain that what the local people think is a magical sea beast may be a previously undiscovered species. Eager to investigate, she is introduced to local vicar William Ransome. Will, too, is suspicious of the rumors. But unlike Cora, this man of faith is convinced the rumors are caused by moral panic, a flight from true belief.

These seeming opposites who agree on nothing soon find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart—an intense relationship that will change both of their lives in ways entirely unexpected.

As ever, expect more on Apple TV+’s The Essex Serpent as it continues to develop.

Two Names in Talks to Star in New URBAN LEGEND

Urban Legend

It was back in February (which feels like forever ago!) that we first heard that Grave Encounters’ Colin Minhan will be helming a new Urban Legend for Screen Gems, and now the film is close to landing its first cast members.

Via Collider, Katherine McNamara and Sydney Chandler are both in talks for this fourth Urban Legends outing. McNamara is best known to genre fans for playing Mia Smoak, aka the future Green Arrow, in The CW’s Arrow, while Chandler has appeared in SKAM Austin and the Jellyfish and The Golden Rut shorts.

Using social media as its driving force, the early word on this new Urban Legend reads:

Urban Legend will introduce an iconic new slasher for the digital age in a world where internet urban legends are born and move at a terrifying pace. The movie will centre on a diverse cast of college students as they navigate a series of bizarre deaths that resemble urban legends linked to the darkest corners of social media.

At this stage, it’s not yet known whether the movie – which is seemingly just titled Urban Legend – will be a reboot, remake, or even some sort of sequel which exists within the same world as the three Urban Legend films that already exist.

For those not familiar with this franchise, the first Urban Legend was released by Sony TriStar back in 1998. Starring a who’s who of hot young things of the time, the movie featured the likes of Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Michael Rosenbaum, Tara Reid, Joshua Jackson, Danielle Harris, and Jared Leto as a group of college students who find themselves in the crosshairs of a parka-adorned killer who is offing people in a way akin to certain familiar urban legends – complete with supporting turns from genre faves Robert Englund and Brad Dourif.

That original film came at a time when the world of horror had been given a shot in the arm thanks largely to Wes Craven’s Scream. After a strange few years for the genre, Craven’s 1996 film made horror cool again – and that film, its approach, its cast, and its new spin on the slasher movie saw a slew of similar pictures follow over the next few years. And one such picture was indeed Urban Legend.

It wasn’t just one-and-done for Urban Legend, of course, and the so-so Urban Legends: Final Cut arrived in 2000, before the utterly awful Urban Legends: Bloody Mary went straight-to-video in 2005.

As ever, expect more on Urban Legend as we get it.

Gritty Live-Action POWERPUFF GIRLS Series in Development

The Powerpuff Girls

Who doesn’t love The Powerpuff Girls, right?! Well, the superpowered youngsters are getting updated over at The CW.

As first reported by Variety, a gritty live-action Powerpuff Girls series is in development for the network.

The early word on the show has the series focussing on Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup as now in their 20s and disillusioned at having lost their childhoods to the hero game. When the world once more needs the Powerpuff Girls, the trio have to put their resentment behind them in order to somehow team-up once more.

Oscar-winning writer Diablo Cody is on board as executive producer on The Powerpuff Girls alongside Heather Regnier, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and David Madden.

The Powerpuff Girls began life on Cartoon Network back in 1998, going on to run for six seasons across a total of 78 episodes, with various spin-offs then turning up across various different mediums.

Playful, fun, and with a satirical slant, The Powerpuff Girls quickly became a favourite of many. Giving this property and these characters a grittier edge is certainly something guaranteed to split opinion amongst fans, and it remains to be seen just what The CW will serve up with this live-action offering.

TEXAS CHAINSAW Reboot Gets New Director

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

With Evil Dead director Fede Alvarez on board to produce Legendary Pictures’ Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot since last September, now comes word that the film has undergone a major change barely a week into production.

Via Deadline, directors Ryan and Andy Tohill had departed this fresh lick of paint for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with The Dig pair exiting the picture over the ever-familiar creative differences.

Having been in production in Bulgaria since last week, the film has moved swiftly to bring in Tejano’s David Blue Garcia on directing duties. Additionally, all of the footage already shot by the Tohill brothers is to be completely scrapped.

The current plan for this new Texas Chainsaw offering is to have the film connect to Tobe Hooper’s iconic 1974 original movie, while also being a jumping-off point for what Legendary hopes will be a new series of pictures for the franchise.

Produced by the Evil Dead reboot’s director Alvarez, the movie has a cast that includes Eighth Grade’s Elsie Fisher, The Maze Runner’s Jacob Latimore, Vikings’ Moe Dunford, and Happy Death Day 2U’s Sarah Yarkin.