With Van Helsing’s fourth season due to come to a close this week, Syfy has confirmed that the series has been renewed for a fifth season.
On a disappointing note for fans of the Kelly Overton-headlined show, this fifth season will sadly be Van Helsing’s last.
The current plan is for production on Season 5 to begin early next year ahead of a premiere later in 2020. That final season will consist of 13 episodes.
For several years, a remake of The Dirty Dozen has been spinning its wheels. And now, that redo looks close to finally landing a director.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, Fury and Suicide Squad’s David Ayer is in talks with Warner Bros. to write and direct this new Dirty Dozen.
The original 1967 movie saw Ernest Borgnine’s Sam Woren tasked with assembling a group of convicted criminals to take down some Nazis in order to win their freedom. In addition to Borgnine, The Dirty Dozen’s impressive ensemble also featured the likes of Donald Sutherland, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, Lee Marvin, and Charles Bronson.
In subsequent years, TV movies such as The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission, The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission and The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission followed, not to mention the likes of The Inglorious Bastards and Ayer’s Suicide Squad pulling plentiful inspiration from The Dirty Dozen.
Despite David Ayer’s experience with Word War II action thanks to Fury, it’s believed that this new incarnation of The Dirty Dozen would be a contemporary picture rather than any sort of period piece that was set in the World War II backdrop of the original ’67 film.
Expect more on The Dirty Dozen as it develops.
Finally, it looks as if the long-discussed big-screen adaptation of Richard Brautigan’s The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western is edging closer to happening.
Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, The Killing of a Sacred Deer’s Yorgos Lanthimos is in talks to helm the adaptation for New Regency. Previously, Hal Ashby was attached to direct just such an adaptation, and then Tim Burton likewise was in the director’s chair for the film.
The official blurb on Brautigan’s 1974 book reads:
The time is 1902, the setting eastern Oregon. Magic Child, a fifteen-year-old Indian girl, wanders into the wrong whorehouse looking for the right men to kill the monster that lives in the ice caves under the basement of Miss Hawkline’s yellow house. What follows is a series of wild, witty, and bizarre encounters.
Expect more on this adaptation of The Hawkline: A Gothic Western as it continues to develop.
Just when you thought Disney may finally be running out of existing properties to revisit, Turner & Hooch is getting the do-over treatment for Disney+.
Courtesy of Variety, the 1989 Tom Hanks-starrer is being adapted as a TV series for the House of Mouse’s on-demand streaming service. The Gifted’s Matt Nix has been brought in to pen and executive produce the show.
For those unfamiliar with Turner & Hooch, that buddy cop offering saw Hanks’ stressed detective tasked with teaming up with a dog who just so happened to be the sole witness to his owner’s murder.
As ever, expect more on this new Turner & Hooch as it continues to develop.
The cover of our upcoming new issue may, just may (it totally does!), feature a certain Jean-Luc Picard – and now comes word that CBS’ impending Picard series has already been confirmed for a second season.
Via Deadline, CBS All Access has officially ordered a second year for Star Trek: Picard, despite the show not even premiering until next month. The early word is that this ten-episode second season will have a budget of just over $20 million.
Star Trek: Picard will be set after Star Trek: The Next Generation and pick things up with where Picard’s life took him after those adventures. In addition to Sir Patrick Stewart reprising the titular role, Picard will also feature Brent Spiner’s Date, Jonathan Del Aroc’s Hugh the Borg, Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, Jonathan Frakes’ Riker, and Marina Sirtis’ Deanna Troi.
As 2020 edges ever closer, Star Trek: Picard will debut on January 23rd on CBS All Access, with the series to then be available on January 24t on Amazon Prime Video.
With Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series now shooting, the show has moved to add two more names to its ranks.
Via Deadline, The Terror: Infamy’s Miki Ishikawa and The Shannara Chronicles’ Desmond Chiam have joined the Disney+ offering. At this stage, it’s yet to be revealed just what roles Ishikawa and Chiam have landed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
This duo join a cast that features Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, Daniel Bruhl’s Baron Zemo, Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, and Adepero Oduye in an undisclosed role.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is due to land on Disney+ in the second half of 2020.
Ready for another attempt at bringing the Power Rangers to big-screen life? Tough, for one is on the way regardless!
Courtesy of Variety, The End of the F***king World’s Jonathan Entwistle has been hired to direct a new Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie for Paramount. Peter Rabbit 2’s Patrick Burleigh is on writing duties for the do-over.
The last two we see the Power Rangers on the silver screen was in 2017, of course, although that film was so-so at best. Failing to do enough to appeal to original franchise fans, while simultaneously struggling to pull in a new audience, that Dean Israelite-helmed Power Rangers ultimately served as a disappointment.
Now, Paramount have control of the property’s movie rights, having picked up said rights from Lionsgate. Interestingly, Hasbro now has control of the main Power Rangers name and franchise – meaning that technically this new Power Rangers could exist within the same shared realm as Paramount and Habsro’s other titles, such as Transformers, G.I. Joe, Micronauts and ROM.
As ever, expect more on this new Power Rangers as it continues to develop.
We’re delighted to announce the first guest and movies for the STARBURST International Film Festival 2020.
We’re thrilled that renowned artist Graham Humphreys will be attending the festival. He will be taking part in a Q&A and revealing all about his career and work. The latest book of his recent artwork, Hung, Drawn and Executed is reviewed here.
An exciting line-up of films is being arranged for the two-day event, and the first movies we can reveal are the World Premiere of the extreme shocker A Little More Flesh. Directed by Sam Ashurst (Frankenstein’s Creature) and co-written with the film’s star, Elf Lyons, it’s a bold and incendiary exploration of misogyny and the male gaze, and is not for the easily offended – the climax will leave you reeling! Also screening will be the brand-new colour version of The Black Gloves. Directed by Lawrie Brewster (winner of the Best Director Award at the 2019 STARBURST Festival) and written by Sarah Daly, this follow-up to Lord of Tears has had an overhaul and will be seen for the first time in full colour. Not only that, but you can get the chance to have your photo taken with the Owlman himself! The filmmakers of both movies will be on hand to meet fans and talk about the films.
Watch this space and keep an eye on starburstfilmfest.co.uk for more announcements.
Hot on the heels of Mindhunter’s Jonathan Groff joining The Matrix 4, now comes word on another new addition for the movie.
Courtesy of Deadline, Sense8’s Toby Onwumere has signed on to join this return for the fan favourite genre franchise. Onwumere has previously worked with The Matrix 4 director Lana Wachowski on the aforementioned Sense8.
The actor joins a cast that includes the returning Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, and fellow new additions in the shape of Jonathan Groff, Yahya-Abdul Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jessica Henwick.
At present, production on The Matrix 4 is due to start early next year.
In some fun news for Supergirl fans, Mr. Mxyzptlk is returning to the Melissa Benoist-headlined series.
Via Deadline, Reno 911!’s Thomas Lennon is set to play a tweaked version of a character who has already appeared in two episodes of Supergirl.
If you remember, Peter Gadiot played the mischievous rogue in Mxyzptlk’s previous appearances. The last time we saw the villain, the Girl of Steel convinced him to spell his name backwards – thus sending him back to his home dimension.
How will Supergirl get round Mr. Mxyzptlk having a vastly different appearance? Why, the show will simply remind audiences that this villain is a shapeshifter.
This won’t actually be Thomas Lennon’s first venture into the world of capes ‘n’ tights. In the relatively recent animated adventures for Adam West’s Batman and Burt Ward’s Robin, Lennon lent his vocals to the role of Chief O’Hara. Likewise, he actually had a small role to play in The Dark Knight Rises, where he appeared as Bruce Wayne’s doctor.
