Tika Sumpter to Headline Psychological Thriller THE ANCESTOR

Tika Sumpter

Hot off the heels of the all-kinds-of-fun Sonic the Hedgehog, Tika Sumpter has found her next project.

Having impressed in Sonic, Sumpter will now headline a psychological thriller titled The Ancestor.

Via Deadline, The Ancestor is from This is Us writer and producer Kay Oyegun and has already been picked up by the HBO Max streaming service.

The early plot details on The Ancestor have if pegged as a “timely psychological thriller” that will be similar in tone to Jordan Peele’s stunning Get Out. A hefty bidding war took place to land the script before HBO Max managed to nab the rights for a six-figure fee.

Expect more on The Ancestor as it develops.

This Year’s STAR WARS CELEBRATION is Cancelled

Star Wars Celebration

In some not exactly surprising news, this year’s Star Wars Celebration has been officially cancelled.

The event was set for this August 27th, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has seen the decision made to pull the event. Instead, it’s been announced that the next Star Wars Celebration event will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center from August 18th – 21st of 2022.

Star Wars Celebration has been a staple of Star Wars fandom since it first took place back in 1999 ahead of the release of The Phantom Menace.

In the years since ’99, Star Wars Celebration has been a celebration of all things Star Wars – and likewise has been used as a brilliant marketing tool for impending Star Wars projects.

For fans who have purchased tickets for this year’s Star Wars Celebration, there will be an option of a full refund, transferring your ticket to a 2022 ticket, or receiving a credit to wars merchandise from Star Wars Celebration.

Alan Tudyk to Headline DEVIL MAY CARE at Syfy

Devil May Care

In some fun news, Syfy has added a new show to its late-night TZGZ animated block.

This new series is to be titled Devil May Care, and Firefly’s Alan Tudyk and BoJack Horseman’s Asif Ali are set to headline.

The early word on Devil May Care reads:

In the series, the Devil (Tudyk) hires a social media contributor (Ali) to rebrand Hell as the ultimate place to live, and the two form the most unlikely of friendships.

In addition to Tudyk and Ali, there’s also recurring roles for Kung Fu Panda’s Fred Tatasciore, King of the Hill’s Pamela Adlon, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz.

Devil May Care will be overseen by Robot Chicken’s Emmy Award-winning executive producer Douglas Goldstein.

At present, Syfy has ordered a seven-episode, 15-minute first season for Devil May Care.

Issue 472 – Out Now!

In the latest issue of STARBURST, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back with a countdown of 40 reasons why the film is so treasured. We also look back at what the late, great thought John Brosnan thought at the time of the original release. That’s not all; we also look at how Shadows of the Empire became the stuff of Legends.

Elsewhere, we chat to Red Dwarf co-creator about the latest adventure The Promised Land and World War Z writer tells us about his new Bigfoot novel Devolution.

We look forward to the return of heading to the cinema, as we preview Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and the latest from the DC Cinematic Universe and the welcome second film for the Soldier of Truth, Wonder Woman 1984. You can also get ready for the return of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with our look back to the saga so far.

If that’s not all, we meet The Flintstones as they reach the ripe old age of 60 plus much, much more.

Plus all your favourite COLUMNS, NEWS and REVIEWS from the worlds of SCI-FI, HORROR and FANTASY!

Buy online or subscribe now to receive the Collectors’ Cover variant.

JAWS and SAW Collide in SHARK BAIT

Shark Bait

As someone with an irrational fear of sharks, your humble scribe is filling his little pants at the news of Shark Bait.

From Altitude, Shark Bait is an upcoming movie that is being described as Jaws meets Saw. That’s quite the combination, no?

To be directed by Sean Lahiff – best known for his work on the likes of Gravity, Prometheus, and The Hunger Games – the early word on Shark Bait reads:

When four backpackers embark on the experience of a lifetime off the Australian coast, cage diving with a Great White shark, they quickly realise their lives are in the hands of a fare more dangerous predator.

Expect more on this utterly terrifying project as we get it.

Robert Pattinson’s Batman to Battle The Joker?

Treat this purely as a rumour right now, but a new report indicates that Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader will be putting heads with the nefarious Joker in director Matt Reeves’ The Batman trilogy.

This story comes courtesy of The Direct, and it’s believed that the Clown Prince of Crime will be name-dropped in The Batman, before then appearing in the second and third legs of this planned trilogy of films.

On the villain front, we already know that next year’s The Batman will see Colin Farrell as Penguin, Paul Dano as The Riddler, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, and John Turturro as crime boss Carmine Falcone.

From what we’re hearing, The Batman will pull inspiration from Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s beloved Batman: Year One – as it explores the younger years of the World’s Greatest Detective.

At present, The Batman is set for an October 1st, 2021 release.

CHERNOBYL’s Johan Renck to Direct THE LAST OF US Pilot

The Last of Us

It was only three months ago that we saw a The Last of Us TV series announced – which feels like forever ago, in the current climate – and now comes an update on this show.

While speaking to Discussing Film, Johan Renck has revealed that he’ll be directing the pilot episode of HBO’s The Last of Us, with the possibility that Renck may helm more episodes down the line. Johan Renck, of course, is best known for his directing work on stunning genre efforts like Bates Motel and Chernobyl.

The game’s creator Neil Druckmann is teaming with Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin to develop this series – with the current plan calling for the show to mirror the events of the iconic 2013 video game.

For those not familiar with The Last of Us, the Naughty Dog offering was set 20 years after a global pandemic has completely changed the planet. With infection still running wild, and with the grim realities of the human instinct left to run rampant, it’s a battle to stay alive for Joel and the 14-year-old Ellie who he’s been tasked with protecting.

PlayStation Productions and Sony Pictures Television are teaming on this The Last of Us show.

Coincidentally, the hugely anticipated The Last of Us Part II is set to hit PlayStation 4 on June 19th.

Hartley Sawyer Fired From THE FLASH

Hartley Sawyer

It appears as if Team Flash will be one member down when The Flash returns later this year for its seventh season.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Hartley Sawyer has been fired from the genre favourite series due to his social media activity. Sawyer has played Ralph Dibny, aka Elongated Man, since Season Four.

The comments in question come from before Sawyer joined The Flash, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t any less offensive. We won’t reference the Twitter comments directly here, although you can find them out there in the online ether if you particularly want to check them out for yourself.

On the decision to remove Sawyer from the show, The Flash producers released the following statement.

Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for Season Seven of The Flash. In regards to Mr Sawyer’s posts on social media, we do not tolerate derogatory remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation. Such remarks are antithetical to our values and policies, which strive and evolve to promote a safe, inclusive and productive environment for our workforce.

For Sawyer’s part, he took to Instagram to offer an apology for his previous comments.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humor, were hurtful, and unacceptable. I am ashamed I was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time. I regret them deeply. This was not acceptable behavior. These were words I threw out at the time with no thought or recognition of the harm my words could do, and now have done today. I am incredibly sorry, ashamed and disappointed in myself for my ignorance back then. I want to be very clear: this is not reflective of what I think or who I am now. Years ago, thanks to friends and experiences who helped me to open my eyes, I began my journey into becoming a more responsible adult – in terms of what I say, what I do, and beyond. I’ve largely kept that journey private, and this is another way that I have let so many down. I still have more work to do. But how I define myself now does not take away the impact of my words, or my responsibility for them. I am very sorry.

A post shared by Hartley Sawyer (@hartleysawyer) on

At this stage, it remains to be seen whether the role of Ralph Dibny will be recast or if the character will just be quietly written out of The Flash. For comic book fans, Season Six took a major step forward for Ralph – as he struck up a flirtatious friendship with Sue Dearbon. In the comics, of course, Sue and Ralph become a married couple.

Expect more on this situation as we get it.

Lee Cronin to Direct New EVIL DEAD Movie

Evil Dead 2

With a new Evil Dead movie in development by Sam Raimi and his team, now comes word on who’ll be directing the picture.

For those of you hoping to see Raimi return to the Evil Dead director’s chair, we’re afraid that’s not going to be happening just yet. Instead, Raimi has handpicked Lee Cronin to helm a film that’s reportedly titled Evil Dead Now.

The source of this news? Why, that would be Evil Dead headliner Bruce Campbell, who revealed this information during a chat with Empire.

According to Campbell, Cronin was chosen after Raimi was impressed by his The Hole in the Ground. As a result, Cronin has now been tasked with writing and directing this new Evil Dead movie.

From what we’ve heard about Evil Dead Now, the movie will not feature Campbell’s Ash, and the focus will instead be on a new story set within the Evil Dead world we know and love. Additionally, there won’t be any direct ties to Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead reboot.

As ever, expect more on Evil Dead Now as we get it.

Tom Paton’s The Ascent to Get VR Premiere

ascent vr

Director Tom Paton’s latest film, The Ascent, will be getting a special virtual premiere this week on the AltspaceVR app.

From the press release:

In light of the COVID-19 crisis Coventry based production company Mosley Studios and London based producer financier Goldfinch are set to make history on June 12th with the launch of their latest project, “The Ascent” (known as “Black Ops” in the US) with the film the first to have its premiere in virtual reality via AltspaceVR. The event will be called “The VR Film Festival” and will premiere at 7pm BST via the AltspaceVR app.

To access the event, you simply need to log into the AltspaceVR app and have access to an Oculus headset, or similar. For those without AltspaceVR or access to a visor, the film will premiere on Goldfinch’s Birdbox.Film platform at the same time. Visit BirdBox.Film to register for the non-VR premiere.  The AltspaceVR premiere will also include a Q&A with director Tom Paton, cinematographer George Burt and IndieWire’s executive editor Eric Kohn.

The Ascent (previously known as Stairs) follows a group of mercenaries who find themselves trapped in a never-ending stairwell. With some time-bending, they must face their past sins if they are to survive.

Cinematographer George Burt said of the premiere: “The VR Film Festival was launched to give feature films a virtual platform to premiere in a copyright safe environment. Due to COVID-19 we’ve been looking into tech and found AltspaceVR which can host the event with up to one hundred people attending. The premiere of “The Ascent” will be the first feature length movie to have a live audience attending from all over the world in VR. We are excited to be joining everybody on the night using our Oculus headsets.”

Head over to https://birdbox.film to register for the premiere!