THE LONG HALLOWEEN Amongst New DC Animated Films

Batman: The Long Halloween

Well, this is some absolutely fantastic news to start the week with. Yes, as the headline reads, one of the greatest comic book stories of all-time is being given the animated movie treatment.

Via an IGN virtual panel for the new Superman: Man of Tomorrow release, it was revealed that Batman: The Long Halloween and Justice Society: World War II re in development for 2021.

The recently-announced ‘70s-set martial arts offering Batman: Soul of the Dragon will be first the animated DC picture of 2021, and Justice Society: World War II will follow that. The Justice Society of America was the original DC superhero team, with the early incarnation of the group featuring the likes of Alan Scott’s Green Lantern, Jay Garrick’s Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Sandman, Hour-Man, and Spectre.

As for The Long Halloween, the animated adaptation of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s iconic tale will actually be split across two movies which will both be released during the second half of 2021. In that story, a mysterious killer strikes on each of the year’s holidays, with Batman, Jim Gordon, and Harvey Dent all desperately trying to decipher the real identity of the Holiday Killer. The Long Halloween also features a who’s who of Bat-foes, as Joker, Catwoman, Riddler, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, and Calendar Man just some of those to make an appearance.

First up, the aforementioned Superman: Man of Tomorrow is available now on Digital and will hit Home Video on September 7. You can find our review of that “poignant, action-packed tale of discovery that lays bare what makes the Man of Steel tick” here.

Live-Action STATIC SHOCK Movie in the Works

Static Shock

With this weekend’s DC FanDome serving up so many news-worthy nuggets, the event has also seemingly seen confirmation that plans are being made for a live-action Static Shock movie.

During a DC Comics panel discussing Milestone Comics, Milestone partner Reggie Hudlin revealed, “We are in serious conversations, as we’re launching a new comic book series, in developing a Static Shock movie. That’ll be a theatrical film. What we’re talking about is unbelievable!”

Created by Milestone Comics founders Denys Cowan, Dwayne McDuffie, Derek T. Tingle and Michael Davis, teenager Virgil Hawkins made his comic book back in June 1993’s Static #1. A teenager who developers electromagnetic-based abilities after being exposed to a radioactive chemical, Static quickly became a favourite of many.

The popularity of this young hero was taken to a whole other level when the animated Static Shock series debuted in 2000, going on to run for four seasons. The character would go on to make a one-off appearance in Justice League Unlimited, before having a slightly more substantial role in Young Justice.

As for Milestone Comics, that company itself was created in ’93, with publishing and distribution overseen by DC Comics – and a new Static Shock comic book will hit shelves in February of next year.

GCPD TV Series to Serve as a Prequel to THE BATMAN

Gotham City Police Department

It was just last month that we heard how Matt Reeves was developing a HBO Max series based around the Gotham City Police Department which would tie-in with his The Batman, and now comes an update on that show.

From this weekend’s DC FanDome – where Reeves’ also delivered a fantastic teaser trailer for his Robert Pattinson-headlined The Batman – the filmmaker has revealed how this to-be-titled GCPD offering will seemingly pull inspiration from Frank Miller’s seminal Batman: Year One.

While we’ve now learned how The Batman will take place during Bruce Wayne’s second year in the cape ‘n’ cowl, Reeves has confirmed that the GCPD series will take place before this movie.

As Reeves explained, “The idea is we go back to Year One. Year One is the beginning, it’s the first appearance of this masked vigilante that unsettles the city. You start to see the story through the point of view of these corrupt cops and one in particular. The story is actually a battle for his soul. He’s a cop over generations, and the history of corruption is enormous and goes back many years.”

Batman: Year One is a 1987 comic book arc from Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, and it centres on both Batman and Jim Gordon in their formative years of protecting Gotham City. In addition to seeing Bruce Wayne as a masked vigilante on his ascension to becoming the Caped Crusader, the tale also shines a spotlight on a Gordon who has recently been transferred to the corrupt Gotham City Police Department.

Boardwalk Empire creator Terrence Winter will be penning the series, with Reeves’ involvement part of his recently-inked deal with Warner Bros. TV Group.

Given how The Batman has Boardwalk Empire and Westworld favourite Jeffrey Wright on board as Jim Gordon, could that mean that Wright will be expanding that role in this TV offering? That would certainly seem a logical school of thought – even if that is just us thinking out loud at this early juncture. Either way, the GCPD show seems like it has a character lined up to mimic the role of Gordon in Batman: Year One, even if Jimbo himself doesn’t appear.

As ever, expect more on this massively intriguing series as it continues to develop.

Barbara Gordon, Scarecrow, and Red Hood Confirmed for TITANS

Barbara Gordon Scarecrow Red Hood

Here at Moonbase Alpha, one of our absolute favourite new shows of recent years is Titans – which is why we’re hugely excited to hear some news about what lies ahead in the show’s third season.

Fresh from DC FanDome, as picked up by IGN, the big news for Season Three of Titans is that it will feature Barbara Gordon, Scarecrow, and Red Hood.

It’s been rumoured for a while that Barbara could be a part of the action for Titans’ third year, and we now know that this version of Babs will have given up the Batgirl role in favour of trying to replace her father Jim as Commissioner of the GCPD.

Where Scarecrow is concerned, this incarnation of Jonathan Crane will be an Arkham Asylum inmate who is utilised as a consultant. From what we can gauge, think of Crane as a little like Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.

As for Red Hood, that’s a name that will instantly send alarm bells ringing for long-time comic books fans. That moniker was one first used by the pre-Joker Joker, but for the past 15 years or so the Red Hood name has been synonymous with the resurrected Jason Todd.

In the comics, Todd was famously beaten to a bloody pulp and killed in an explosion by The Joker as part of the iconic A Death in the Family arc. Years later, Jason was be brought back to the pages of DC Comics as the mysterious Red Hood – a badass, brutal vigilante who was more than happy to decapitate no-good criminals.

Initially, Red Hood went after Batman in addition to clinically stopping criminals. Jason’s anger towards the Bat stemmed from how the Caped Crusader didn’t kill Joker as revenge for Todd’s death. Since that initial butting of heads, Jason has been back in the fold as a card-carrying member of the Bat-family.

In Titans, Curran Walters has brilliantly played the character beats of Jason Todd to perfection for two years. The powers-that-be actually nearly killed-off Jason in Season Two before deciding against it, but it could well be that Todd is offed early on in Season Three before then returning down the line as Red Hood.

While all of this sounds ridiculously exciting for fans of Titans and fans of DC Comics, period, it’s interesting to see that no premiere date was even loosely touched upon for this third year of Titans. Given how the entertainment industry has largely been brought to a halt in recent months, it may be a little while until production is able to start on Titans, let alone when we’ll get to watch this new season.

As ever, expect more on Titans’ third season as we get it.

SHAZAM! Sequel Gets an Official Title

Shazam!

While we still don’t know all that much about Warner Bros.’ Shazam! sequel, we now know what the follow-up will be called.

As revealed by director David F. Sandberg at DC FanDome, Shazam! 2 will officially be titled Shazam!: Fury of the Gods.

Given the post-credits scene from Shazam!, it was presumed that Mister Mind will be stepping forward to battle Zachary Levi’s hero in the November 2022 sequel, although Fury of the Gods could mean that maybe we’ll get an appearance from one of the god’s that Shazam’s name represents – those gods being Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury.

As ever, expect more on Shazam!: Fury of the Gods as it continues to develop.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE SNYDER CUT to be Four Hours; New Trailer

Justice League: The Snyder Cut

With Zack Snyder’s intended cut of Justice League on the way next year, this weekend’s DCFanDome event has seen a new trailer for the movie and also the news of how the film will air.

How the film will air, you say? Yes, for Justice League won’t simply be hitting HBO Max as a straight-up movie. No, instead, the picture will be made available as four one-hour offerings. That means that Justice League: The Snyder Cut will be clocking in at a total run time of four hours!

The Snyder Cut will be available on HBO Max at some point in 2021, and this version of Justice League will see Snyder deliver his intended vision for the movie.

For those not aware, director Snyder had to step away from Justice League mid-way through production due to the tragic loss of his daughter. As a result, Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to finish the film – which involved several reshoots and completely different scenes to those planned by Snyder.

Since fans got wind of just how big the changes Whedon made were, #ReleaseTheSnyderCut began trending on social media as people made their thoughts clear on wanting to see Snyder afforded the chance to do the movie he had envisioned.

From what we’ve heard already, Justice League: The Snyder Cut will have Ray Fisher’s Vic Stone/Cyborg as its main anchor, we’ll get an appearance from the nefarious Darkseid, and Steppenwolf will be more in-tune with his comic book counterpart rather than the ‘meh’ version of the rogue we saw in the theatrical cut of Justice League.

Not just has DCFanDome given us the news that The Snyder Cut will consist of four one-hour pieces, but there’s this pretty damn awesome new trailer for the cut:

Expect more on Justice League: The Snyder Cut as we get it.

TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS: PENINSULA Getting an Animated Prequel

TRAIN TO BUSAN: PENINSULA

With Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula having now been released in select North American cinemas as of yesterday, now comes word on an animated prequel for the picture.

Director Yeon Sang-ho – who has helmed all three Train to Busan offerings to date – revealed to Polygon that Peninsula will be getting an animated prequel down the line.

As Yeon explained, “A prequel to Peninsula, we are currently in talks about making a cartoon about the relationship between Unit 631 and Min-jung. I am hopeful that the story can be further expanded upon through the less inhibited cartoon medium.”

Of course, the original Train to Busan was followed by the animated prequel Seoul Station, and it appears that Peninsula will be getting the same treatment if Yeon Sang-ho gets his way.

The official synopsis for Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula reads:

Four years after South Korea’s total decimation in Train to Busan, Jung-seok (Gang Dong-won), a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland, relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation 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.

With the planned release of Peninsula running into countless postponements due to the ongoing global pandemic, the current plan is for the film to get a November cinema release here in the UK.

Don Coscarelli Planning a BEASTMASTER Reboot

The Beastmaster

Could a new Beastmaster movie be on the way? If Don Coscarelli gets his way, yes!

While Coscarelli is best known for the Phantasm series and likely Bubba Ho-Tep, 1982 saw the filmmaker teaming with Paul Pepperman to serve up The Beastmaster. And now, in a story first picked up by Bloody Disgusting, Coscarelli and Pepperman have managed to reclaim the rights to the Beastmaster property.

BD picked up on this news after a website – WhereIsTheBeastmaster.com – detailed plans to reboot The Beastmaster for the silver screen.

That site has been set up to locate the original camera negative for The Beastmaster, but the most notable detail that many will take from the website is this little nugget:

There is a generation of fans of the original film who would welcome a big-screen reboot of the original sword & sorcery classic and Coscarelli and Pepperman are determined to make that happen. The bronze-age hero and his furry fighting force may be coming soon to a theater near you.

In 1982’s The Beastmaster, Marc Singer starred as the titular hero of the fantasy picture. Loosely based on Andre Norton’s 1959 The Beast Master novel, the film saw Singer’s Dar utilise his ability to communicate with animals to help in his own personal mission of revenge.

Like certain other films, The Beastmaster was deemed a flop upon its initial release, yet has gone on to be quite the cult classic. The picture was followed up in 1991 with Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, then in 1996 with the made-for-TV Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus, and 1999 saw Daniel Goddard take over from Marc Singer in the Dar role for a three-season Beastmaster TV series.

As ever, expect more on any reboot for The Beastmaster as and when we get it.

I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS Cancelled by Netflix

i am not okay with this

Hot on the heels of the news that Showtime has pulled the plug on Penny Dreadful: City of Angels after just one season, a similar decision has been made on I Am Not Okay With This.

With Deadline breaking the news, Netflix has decided to cancel I Am Not Okay With This after one season due to the ongoing global situation.

In an official statement, Netflix said, “We’re disappointed to have to make these decisions due to circumstances created by COVID.”

Due to the largely positive response to I Am Not Okay With This, it’s believed that Netflix intended to renew the show for a second season. Instead, the Sophia Ellis-headlined, Carrie-inspired series has joined the list of projects to fall victim to the pandemic the world finds itself in the midst of right now.

Given the ending of I Am Not Okay With This’ first season finale and the fact that scripts had already begun to be put together for a second year, here’s hoping that somewhere down the line Netflix are able to bring the show back for at least a second season.

For now though, sadly I Am Not Okay With This is completely cancelled.

MAN OF TOMORROW is the Start of a New Shared Universe

Superman Man of Tomorrow

With Superman: Man of Tomorrow available from tomorrow, now comes a major update on this latest animated DC Comics-driven project.

If you remember, this year’s phenomenal Justice League Dark: Apokolips War was the culmination of a seven-year, 15-movie shared universe journey, with the end of that film seeing Barry Allen zipping off to start a new timeline.

Initially, it was presumed that Man of Tomorrow was to be a standalone Superman offering that simply explored the formative years of Clark Kent’s transition from Daily Planet intern and masked hero, to becoming the Big Blue Boy Scout we know and love. Now though, it’s been confirmed that Man of Tomorrow is actually the start of a new shared universe of animated films.

Director Chris Palmer revealed the news to CBR, explaining, “The films were winding down from the previous arcs, the stories being for the past ten years for Warner Animation. In searching for [a way to] launch the first film [of a new continuity], Superman seemed like the big character to go with.”

Having been lucky enough to take an early look at Man of Tomorrow – you can find our review here – the film is a marked move away from the animation style of any previous DC movies. With an art style akin to Archer, this new look and feel works brilliantly for a film that ticks so many of the right boxes for what makes Superman such a phenomenal character.

There are certain other familiar DC faces that appear in Man of Tomorrow, but now it appears that we’ll be seeing a lot of other familiar heroes and villains as this new shared universe moves forward.

Superman: Man of Tomorrow is available on Digital from tomorrow, with the film on DVD and Blu-ray September 7th.