Issue 469 – Out Now!

In the latest issue of STARBURST, we look forward to the return to the big screen of Margot Robbie’s Cupid of Crime in Birds of Prey And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. Find out all you need to know about the character and what to expect from the film.

We have an array of exclusive interviews to bring in the New Year, including Robert Eggers illuminating us about The Lighthouse, George Takei talking Trek and his graphic novel They Called Us Enemy, Richard Stanley on capturing H. P. Lovecraft’s Colour Out of Space, the legendary Takashi Miike tells all about his latest movie First Love, the showrunners of Netflix’s much-anticipated Locke & Key adaptation fill us in on what to expect, and anime legend Makoto Shinkai talks Weathering With You.

Get the lowdown on Vin Diesel’s new movie Bloodshot, and learn the history of Sonic the Hedgehog ahead of his big screen debut.

Plus Horror Obscura looks at the remake of Cabin Fever, and Independents Day profiles the team behind the production company Rodeax

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

MARVEL’S AVENGERS Pushed Back to September

avengers game

One of the most hotly anticipated video games out there right now is Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics’ Marvel’s Avengers – but now comes word that gamers will have to wait a little longer to take control of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Courtesy of Crystal Dynamics’ own website, Marvel’s Avengers has now been pushed back to September. Previously, the game was due to hit PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on May 15th. The given reason for this delay is that there needs to be further fine tuning to Marvel’s Avengers so that Crystal Dynamics can deliver “to the high stands our fans expect and deserve.”

The official word on Avengers reads:

Marvel’s Avengers begins at A-Day, where Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Thor are unveiling a hi-tech Avengers Headquarters in San Francisco — including the reveal of their own helicarrier powered by an experimental energy source. The celebration turns deadly when a catastrophic accident results in massive devastation. Blamed for the tragedy, the Avengers disband. Five years later, with all Super Heroes outlawed and the world in peril, the only hope is to reassemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Expect more on Marvel’s Avengers as we get a solid, set September date for the game’s release.

SUPERMAN & LOIS Given a Full Series Order

Superman Lois Lane

With Crisis on Infinite Earths having concluded last night in the US, there’s now word that The CW’s Superman & Lois series has been picked up for a full series order.

It was long believed that Tyler Hoechlin’s Man of Steel and Bitsie Tulloch’s Lois Lane were to get their own Arrowverse spin-off series, yet it’s only now that Superman & Lois has been confirmed.

Former The Flash showrunner Todd Helbing will be developing the series for The CW, with the focus to be on Clark, Lois, and their two sons. At this stage, it’s yet to be revealed how many episodes the first season of Superman & Lois will consist of – although it could well be that, like Batwoman, the show is initially given a 13-episode run… which in Batwoman’s case was then later bumped up to 22 episodes.

In addition to Superman & Lois, The CW will also introduce the future-set Green Arrow & The Canaries series later in 2020 and there have already been season renewals announced for The Flash, Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

As ever, expect more on Superman & Lois as we get it.

E4 to Air BATWOMAN and HARLEY QUINN

Batwoman

In some great news for UK audiences, the Ruby Rose-headlined Batwoman and the animated Harley Quinn have now finally been given a UK home.

Despite Batwoman existing within the shared realm of The CW’s Arrowverse, Sky One has previously confirmed how the series will not be joining Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow on the channel. And now, it’s been confirmed that both Batwoman and Harley Quinn will start airing on E4 at a to-be-confirmed date later this year.

The official word on Batwoman reads:

Ruby Rose stars as Kate Kane, the first openly gay female lead of a live-action Super Hero show. Three years after Batman mysteriously disappeared, Gotham is in despair, overrun by criminal gangs. Kate returns home when the Alice in Wonderland gang target her father Jacob (Dougray Scott – Mission: Impossible 2) and his security firm.  In order to help her family and her city, she’ll have to become the one thing her father loathes – a dark knight vigilante. With the help of her stepsister Mary (Nicole Kang – You, The Code, Swallow) and crafty Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson – The Sun is Also a Star, Luke Cage), Kate continues the legacy of her missing cousin Bruce Wayne, while combatting the dark machinations of the psychotic Alice (Rachel Skarsten – Reign, Birds of Prey, Imposters). Armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, she soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence.

As for the Kaley Cuoco-fronted Harley Quinn, that official blurb for that show reads:

With awesome battles and crazy fights, wisecracking Harley, voiced by Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory, 8 Simple Rules) is out of control and on a mission to make it as the criminal Queenpin of Gotham City, after having finally broken things off once and for all with the Joker. Harley is aided by Poison Ivy (Lake Bell – BoJack Horseman, Wet Hot American Summer) and a ragtag crew of DC castoffs, as she tries to earn a seat at the biggest table in villainy: the Legion of Doom!

Expect to hear more on both of these shows once E4 announces premiere dates for the two of these new series.

Horror Channel Lines Up Great Premieres for February

horror feb

The year is still young and Horror Channel is preparing to bombard us with some fantastic premieres throughout February.

Each Friday and Saturday there will be a new film to the channel.

Kicking things off on February 7th is the 2016 remake of the flesh-eating virus shocker Cabin Fever, followed on Saturday by Can’t Come Out to Play (2013), starring The Walking Dead’s Samantha Morton. There’s no love lost on Valentine’s Day with the Manchester-based Habit (2017), with Deliver Us From Evil (2014) hitting on Saturday 15th. On Friday 21st you can take part in The Jurassic Games (2018), while on Saturday 22nd there’s some classic slasher action as one-time video nasty The Burning (1981) tears your nerves to shreds. On Friday 28th, there’s the UK TV premiere of The Row (2018), in which a serial killer turns his victims into dolls, and to celebrate the extra day this year, Saturday 29th will host the channel premiere of Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) with Milla Jovovich taking on Umbrella Corp and hordes of undead clones.

For more information, head over to http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk/. Tune in via Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.

Season 2 of PICARD Gets a New Showrunner

Star Trek: Picard

With a second season of Star Trek: Picard already long since confirmed, now comes word that the series will be getting a new showrunner for its second year.

Via CBS, 12 Monkeys’ Terry Matalas will take over showrunner duties from Michael Chabon for Season 2 of Picard. This is due to Chabon being busy with Showtime’s The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay – although he will still remain attached to Picard in an executive producer capacity.

Picking things up with Sir Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard 20 years down the line, Star Trek: Picard debuts in the US on January 23rd, with UK audiences able to find the show on Amazon Prime Video on January 24th.

SPACE CAMP Remake Landing on Disney+

Space Camp

Well, this is certainly a little out of left-field, but Disney is developing a new Space Camp.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, the House of Mouse has brought in Saturday Night Live’s Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell to pen the script for a movie that will be a Disney+ project. This will be the third collaboration between Day, Seidell, and Disney+, with the writing duo having been working on a Home Alone reboot and a live-action Inspector Gadget for the on-demand streaming service.

The original 1986 Space Camp movie starred Lea Thompson, Tate Donovan, Kelly Preston, and a young Joaquin Phoenix as a group of teenagers who visit a Cape Canaveral space camp. With the group having sat in a space shuttle as part of their trip, the situation takes a shock turn when the youngsters are launched into space and have to work together in order to get back to Earth.

Expect more on this new Space Camp as it continues to develop.

WESTWORLD Set for March Return

Evan Rachel Wood

HBO’s Westworld has proven to be a major favourite of many in its two seasons so far, and now there’s an update on when audiences can expect to see the show’s third season.

As confirmed by HBO over the weekend, Season 3 of Westworld will premiere on March 15th.

For this new season, mainstays such as Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, and Tessa Thompson will be joined by newcomers Aaron Paul, Vincent Cassel, Lena Waithe, Marshawn Lynch, Michael Ealy, and Tommy Flanagan.

Expect more on Westworld’s third year as we get it.

Ruben Fleischer Lined Up for Sony’s UNCHARTED Movie

Ruben Fleischer

It’s been quite the troubled road for Sony Pictures’ long-gestating Uncharted movie, with several directors having exited the project. But now, the film could be close to landing a new director.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Zombieland and Venom’s Ruben Fleischer is the latest name in the frame to helm Uncharted.

Previously, Limitless’ Neil Burger, Baywatch’s Seth Gordon, Stranger Things’ Shawn Levy, 10 Cloverfield Lane’s Dan Trachtenberg, and Bumblebee’s Travis Knight have all departed Uncharted director’s chair over the past decade. Now, Fleischer is reported to be in talks with Sony over the gig.

Sony still has plans to start production on the video game adaptation early this year, with a December 2020 release date booked in.

This Uncharted movie has been penned by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway and Rafe Judkins, and Tom Holland is attached to play famed explorer Nathan Drake in the picture. Likewise, Mark Wahlberg is on board to play Victor Sullivan, Drake’s long-time partner.

Expect more on this as we get it.

Syfy Gives a Series Order to CHUCKY

Child's Play

In some fantastic news, Don Mancini’s Child’s Play TV series has been given a straight-to-series order as Syfy.

Courtesy of Deadline, the show – titled Chucky – will be set in suburbia and will explore the murky past of the nefarious Charles Lee Ray. Not just that, but Child’s Play creator Don Mancini will be directing the show’s first episode and will serve as showrunner.

The early word on Chucky reads:

In the new Chucky television series, after a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets. Meanwhile, the arrival of enemies – and allies – form Chucky’s past threatens to expose the truth behind the killings, as well as the demon doll’s untold origins as a seemingly ordinary child who somehow became the notorious monster.

As ever, expect more on Chucky as we get it.