JOHN WICK Director Chad Stahelski Expresses BLADE Interest

Blade

With last year’s San Diego Comic-Con seeing the reveal that Mahershala Ali is to headline a new Blade movie as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now comes word on who may be directing the Academy Award winner in this new spin on the famed Daywalker.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, the John Wick franchise’s Chad Stahelski has declared his interest in helming an MCU movie – with Blade pinpointed by the stuntmant-turned-director.

As Stahelski put it, “If the opportunity ever came, I would like to take a stab at… the one that that really jumps out to me would be, like, Blade. If they were going to redo Blade or something like that, just because I feel that one, for some reason, the vampire martial arts action vibe, that would be a cool one to stretch and try and reinvent.”

It goes without saying that this is far from anything official on Chad Stahelski directing Ali in Blade, and instead is simply him showing some interest in tackling the bloodsucker-battling half-vampire. Still, given his background, Stahelski could well be an inspired choice for Blade…

At present, Blade is without a writer or director, and there’s been pretty much radio silence on the picture since last year’s announcement of Mahershala Ali headlining.

Showtime Axes PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels

Having only premiered this past April, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels has already been cancelled.

Courtesy of Variety, Showtime has opted not to renew City of Angels for a second season. Set in 1938 Los Angeles and pulling inspiration from Mexican folklore, this Penny Dreadful follow-up featured an impressive cast headlined by Daniel Zovatto, Nathan Lane, and Natalie Dormer.

Showtime’s official statement on this decision reads:

Showtime has decided not to move forward with another season of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. We would like to thank executive producers John Logan, Michael Aguilar and the entire cast and crew for their outstanding work on this project.

While City of Angels’ ten-episode debut season received a generally positive response from fans and critics alike, the series didn’t quite hit the highs of the original Penny Dreadful show that managed to run for three seasons before concluding in 2016.

Ciarán Foy to Direct AMERICAN REAPER Adaptation

American Reaper

In some great news for fans of American Reaper, Amblin Pictures has picked up the movie rights for the property.

Via Bloody Disgusting, Amblin and Intrepid Pictures are developing a feature film based on Pat Mills and Clint Langley’s sci-fi noir American Reaper and Reaper Files graphic novels.

Already, Sinister 2’s Ciarán Foy has been tasked with directing his movie, with Foy to co-write the screenplay with Machete Kills’ Kyle Ward.

For those not familiar with the source material, the synopsis for American Reaper reads:

American Reaper is a sci-fi action noir, set in the near future where the aging elite (Snatchers) prey upon the young, paying to hijack their bodies in order to prolong their own lives. This extreme form of identity crime has become so rampant on the black market that law enforcement has been forced to create a new division, which the public has nicknamed Reapers.

As ever, expect more on American Reaper as it continues to develop.

J.C. Chandor to Direct Sony’s KRAVEN THE HUNTER

Kraven the Hunter

Just yesterday it was confirmed that Olivia Wilde will be directing a female-centred Marvel movie for Sony – with rumours of that film being an outing for Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman – and now comes word that any Sony/Marvel picture has landed a director.

Via Deadline, J.C. Chandor has been hired to direct Sony’s Kraven the Hunter movie that has been in loose development for several years now.

Chandor has most recently directed and co-wrote Netflix’s Triple Frontier, while his other work includes All is Lost, A Violent Year, and nabbing himself a Best Original Screenplay nomination at the 2012 Academy Awards for Margin Call.

As alluded to, a solo movie for Kraven has long been on the table at Sony Pictures. Going back to the days of Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man films, there were constant talks of bringing Kraven into the fold either as the main villain of a Spidey offering, as part of a Sinister Six team-up picture, or in his own solo effort.

Since Sony kickstarted their shared Spider-Verse of movies with Venom, plans have accelerated to flesh out this shared realm with a whole slew of films for various characters synonymous with the world of ol’ Web-head.

Off the top of our head, in addition to Jared Leto’s Morbius and Tom Hardy’s Venom 2, Sony is at work on solo films for Spider-Woman, Black Cat, Silver Sable, Nightwatch, Jackpot, Silk, Madame Web, possibly Aunt May, and, of course, Kraven.

For those maybe not that familiar with Kraven, the character is one of Spider-Man’s greatest foes and one of the longest serving villains in the Wall-crawler’s rogues gallery. Debuting back in 1964’s The Amazing Spider-Man #15, Sergei Kravinoff is the biggest of big game hunters, with his enhanced instincts, extensive physical attributes, and elite level tracking skills making him a serious threat for anyone who ends up in his crosshairs.

Seeing Spider-Man as the ultimate prize, Kraven has long battled Spidey – and famously even got the better of Spider-Man in the iconic Kraven’s Last Hunt story.

While Sony has plans for all of the aforementioned films, one big question that many still have is just whether or not Tom Holland’s Peter Parker will make an appearance in any of these movies.

Sony still hold the cinematic rights to the Spider-Man character, with Sony and Marvel Studios/Disney having come to an arrangement where Web-head can be used in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To develop a Spider-Verse world without a Spider-Man in it still feels a little strange, but there is still an expectation that somewhere down the line Holland’s Spider-Man will swing by to butt heads with the likes of Kraven, Venom, Carnage, and Black Cat.

Ben Affleck Returning as Batman for THE FLASH

Justice League

Holy multiple Batmans, Batman!

Yes, as the headline suggests, Ben Affleck is to once more suit up as the Dark Knight for Andy Muschietti’s The Flash.

Courtesy of Vanity Fair, Muschietti himself has confirmed that Affleck’s Batman will be a part of the upcoming solo picture for Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen.

On the importance of Affleck’s Caped Crusader in The Flash, Muschietti enthused, “He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before. It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.”

In some hugely positive news from this story, The Flash producer Barbara Muschietti has discussed those previous rumblings that Affleck had a miserable time playing Batman in Batman v Superman and Justice League. As Barbara put it, “I think it was more about a difficult time in his life. When we approached him, he’s now in a very different time in his life. He was very open to it, which was a bit of a surprise to us.”

Wait, did we say multiple Batmans? Why, yes we did. That would be because this past June saw speculation that Michael Keaton was set to reprise his own particular Batman for a role in The Flash and beyond.

On that front, Andy Muschietti indeed confirmed that Keaton’s Bruce Wayne will have a “substantial” part to play in The Flash. Keaton, of course, played the World’s Greatest Detective in 1989’s Batman and its 1992 follow-up Batman Returns.

For what feels like forever, fans have romanticised over the notion of Michael Keaton one day donning the cape and cowl again, with Frank Miller’s seminal The Dark Knight Returns often cited as the perfect way to do such a return. What we do know about Keaton’s return to the world of DC Comics, is that the current plan is for his Bruce Wayne to serve as a mentor figure across several DC-based movies, ala Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

At present, the tentative plan is for The Flash to speed to the silver screen at some point in 2022.

Björk Boards Robert Eggers’ THE NORTHMAN

Bjork

Having wowed with 2015’s The Witch and last year’s The Lighthouse, director Robert Eggers’ next venture has moved to add Björk to its ranks.

Via The Playlist, the Icelandic musical icon has signed on to play a witch in Eggers’ The Northman. This won’t be Björk’s first acting gig, for she’s previously appeared in The Juniper Tree, Dancer in the Dark, and Drawing Restraint 9.

In The Northman, Björk joins a hugely impressive ensemble cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, Anya Taylor-Joy, Katie Dickie, Bill Skarsgard, and Alexander Skarsgard.

The early word on The Northman has it pegged as a Viking revenge picture set in Iceland during the early 10th century.

Expect more on The Northman as we get it.

Horror Channel is Packed with Premieres in September

horror premieres

A fantastic line-up of premieres are heading to Horror Channel in September.

Among them are UK TV firsts for Shed of the Dead (2016), packed with genre icons such as Emily Booth, Bill Moseley, Kane Hodder on September 4th, and Michael Berryman, The Vault (2017) starring James Franco on September 5th, and Blumhouse’s Visions (2015) on September 25th.

Channel premieres include Mara (2018), directed by Clive Tonge, on September 11th, John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001) on September 12th, the brilliant Night of the Creeps (1996), starring Tom Atkins, on September 18th, Stephen King adaptation A Good Marriage (2014) on September 19th, and Legion (2010), starring Paul Bettany and Dennis Quaid, on September 26th.

For more information, head over to http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk/

Tune into Horror Channel on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.

SCREAM 5 Adds Jenna Ortega

Jenna Ortega

Hot on the heels of Scream 5 adding Melissa Barrera to its ranks, now comes word on another new addition for the film.

Via Deadline, Insidious: Chapter 2 and Jane the Virgin’s Jenna Ortega is the latest name to sign on for this fifth Scream outing.

In addition to Ortega and Barrera being a part of Scream 5, franchise favourites David Arquette and Courteney Cox are returning to once more face Ghostface. Elsewhere, Neve Campbell is currently in negotiations to reprise her Sidney Prescott role.

Ready or Not duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are directing Scream 5 for Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures, with Zodiac’s James Vanderbit and Ready or Not’s Guy Busick having developed the movie’s screenplay.

The current plan is for Scream 5 to slice its way to the silver screen at some point in 2021.

Olivia Wilde to Direct Female-Centred Sony Marvel Movie

Olivia Wilde

Having made her directorial debut last year with Booksmart, Olivia Wilde has now landed herself the director’s gig for a Marvel movie.

Via Deadline, Sony has brought in Wilde to co-write and direct a female-centric Marvel picture – with speculation that this film could well be the Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman offering that’s been rumbling away for a good few years at Sony.

Previously, we’ve heard how Sony has plans to give live-action solo movies to Spider-Woman, Black Cat, Silver Sable, Silk, Jackpot, Madame Web, and possibly even Aunt May. That’s just the females of ol’ Web-head’s shared realm, of course, for there are likewise plans for solo pictures for Kraven the Hunter and Nightwatch. This is obviously all in addition to Jared Leto’s Morbius the Living Vampire and The Tom Hardy-headlined Venom 2.

At this early juncture, this to-be-revealed Olivia Wilde-directed Marvel movie has yet to be given a release date.

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

Netflix Renews WARRIOR NUN for Second Season

Warrior Nun

Given how Netflix’s Warrior Nun has received a huge lot of love from fans and critics alike, it comes as no major surprise to hear that the show has now been renewed for a second season.

Netflix made the announcement, with said Season Two seemingly expected to arrive at some point next year.

Based on the manga novels of the same name, Warrior Nun centres on a 19-year-old woman who awakens in a morgue and with a divine artefact lodged in her back. Realising she is now a part of an age-old order, this warrior’s future has her on a path to fight all matter of demons as both Heaven and Hell battle to have her on their side.

Expect more on Warrior Nun’s second season as we get it.