STARGIRL Heading to The CW

Stargirl

With Stargirl at first pegged as yet another DC Universe exclusive show, now comes an update on the series being available elsewhere.

Via Deadline, it’s now been confirmed that the Brec Bassinger-headlined Stargirl will not only premiere at a to-be-revealed 2020 on DC Universe, but then each episode will air the following night on The CW app.

Where this leaves the series for UK fans remains to be seen, but hopefully the show will land on Sky, Netflix, or Amazon Video. For example, Titans and Swamp Thing were initially exclusive to the DC Universe streaming service, yet Titans eventually landed on Netflix and Swamp Thing is available on Amazon.

Joining Bassinger’s Courtney Whitmore, Stargirl will also feature Luke Wilson as S.T.R.I.P.E., Amy Smart as Barbara Whitmore, Henry Thomas as Doctor Mid-Nite, Joel McHale as Starman, Brian Stapf as Wildcat, Lou Ferrigno Jr. as Hourman, and roles for Anjielka Washington and Giancarlo Esposito. On the other side of the fence, the villains of the piece so far will be Neil Hopkins as Sportsmaster, Joy Omanski as Tigress, and Nelson Lee as Dragon as the series gets set to feature the nefarious Injustice Society to do battle with some of the JSA’s finest heroes.

The early synopsis on Stargirl reads:

Stargirl will follow the story of Courtney Whitmore (Bassinger) who is a smart, athletic and above all else kind girl. This high school teenager’s seemingly perfect life hits a major speedbump when her mother gets married and her new family moves from Los Angeles, California to Blue Valley, Nebraska. Struggling to adapt to a new school, make new friends and deal with a new step-family, Courtney discovers her step-father has a secret; he used to be the sidekick to a superhero. “Borrowing” the long-lost hero’s cosmic staff, Courtney becomes the unlikely inspiration for an entirely new generation of superheroes.

The iconic Geoff Johns is on writing and producing duties for Stargirl, with him famously having created the Courtney Whitmore character following the tragic death of his own sister.

Interestingly, there is some online rumblings that the Stargirl character may actually make an appearance in the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event that’s set to change the landscape of the Arrowverse.

December Gets Scary on Horror Channel

horror december

As we get ever closer to the nightmare called Christmas, Horror Channel has some great films to keep our mind off the coming of Krampus (or Santa, if you happen to have been good).

The highlight of the month is the UK TV premiere of the ultra-dark comedy Patchwork (2015), in which three party girls wake to find themselves stitched together. A genuinely unique film, it’s one you shouldn’t miss when it screens on December 14th.

Kicking off the primetime premieres on December 7th is Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017), screening for the first time on UK TV. Milla Jovovich stars in the futuristic Ultraviolet (2006) on December 21st, and there’s post-Christmas pre-New Year lycanthrope terror in Wolves (2014) on December 28th.

For milder horror, you can check out some great afternoon premieres such as Lava Storm (2008, December 4th), Dark Skies (2009, December 11th), Solar Destruction (2008, December 18th), and there’s Christmas Eve chills for arachnaphobes with Guardians of the Tomb (2018), starring Kelsey Grammar trying to get through a swarm of flesh-eating spiders to save a colleague.

You can find out more by heading to http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk/. Tune in on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.

Dexter Fletcher Directing RENFIELD for Universal

Renfield Dracula

Well, this certainly sounds different. As the headline suggests, Dracula’s long-time henchman is getting his own movie.

Via Variety, Rocketman’s Dexter Fletcher has been brought in to direct Renfield for Universal Pictures. The film will centre on R.M. Renfield, the famed servant of the nefarious Dracula, and will seemingly be set in the modern day rather than being any sort of period piece.

The original pitch for the picture actually came from The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman, and Rick and Morty’s Ryan Ridley is developing the screenplay for Universal.

This isn’t the only Universal monster movie on the way, of course, with Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man due to hit cinemas in February. Added to that, today also brings word that Whannell’s long-time partner James Wan is producing a new Frankenstein offering through his Atomic Monster banner.

James Wan to Produce New FRANKENSTEIN Movie

Frankenstein

With long-time partner Leigh Whannell having been tasked with reinventing The Invisible Man, it appears that James Wan is now going to get the chance to explore one of Universal’s classic monsters.

Courtesy of Variety, Wan is reportedly set to produce a new Frankenstein movie through his Atomic Monster banner. Wan, of course, is famous for helming the likes of Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring and recently did wonders with Aquaman.

The last we’d heard on Frankenstein was a couple of years ago, when No Country for Old Men’s Javier Bardem was in the frame to play Frankenstein’s monster as part of Universal’s Dark Universe realm that kicked off with The Mummy. Unfortunately for Universal, The Mummy turned out to be a dud, meaning that plans for this shared world were shelved.

At this stage, there’s no word on what to expect from this new Frankenstein, although any film that’s in the hands of James Wan is always in safe hands.

Expect more on Frankenstein as it continues to develop. In the meantime, Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man is in cinemas this coming February.

Abe Forsythe to Direct ROBOCOP RETURNS

RoboCop

With MGM having been at work on a new RoboCop movie, now comes word on who’ll be stepping into the director’s chair for this revisiting of an old favourite.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Abe Forsythe is the person tasked with helming RoboCop Returns. Forsythe is best known for writing and directing the recent Lupita Nyong’o-starrer, Little Monsters.

If you remember, this latest RoboCop offering previously had District 9’s Neill Blomkamp on board to direct, before he exited the project earlier this year.

As for the film itself, RoboCop Returns will serve as a direct sequel to Paul Verhoeven’s original 1987 movie. The latest we’d heard on the film, the premise will be based on an unused screenplay that was penned by the first film’s writers, Ed Neumeier and Michel Miner.

Expect more on RoboCop Returns as it continues to develop.

CREATURES Set to Invade Christmas 2020

creatures 2020

The team behind such low budget cult shockers as Cute Little Buggers and Crying Wolf, not to mention the fabulous seasonal slasher Good Tidings (which won the Best Film award at the first STARBURST International Film Festival) have started pre-production on their next feature – Creatures.

Joining Jopia Productions and Creatures Media LLC are the puppet team from Dark Crystal – Age of Resistance. Said to be in the same vein as fondly-remembered eighties fare such as Critters, Ghoulies, and Night of the Creeps, Creatures promises to bring some monstrous fun to Christmas 2020.

The official synopsis is:

‘A group of astronomy students get more than they bargained for after finding an injured alien who is being targeted by a group of bloodthirsty alien CREATURES!!’

Director Tony Jopia said of the project: “Creatures will  definitely be delivering a Red Christmas! We’re super excited to be making our biggest movie yet, it’s going to be a non-stop action, sci-fi, horror comedy packed with badass nasty aliens and one adorable little bugger that’ll YULE definitely want for Christmas.”

Producer Stu Jopia added: “Creatures is for all the fans of ‘80s pint-sized creature feature movies. It really does have a bit of     everything: action, comedy, sci-fi thrills, and tonnes of gore, a true love letter to movies that I grew up with.”

Co- producer and leading star Romain Barber said: “We’re lucky to have such a fabulous cast and crew of creatives on board that we just can’t wait to get the cameras rolling on our festively themed creature feature, you guys are going to love it!!”

The film is set to begin shooting in February 2020. Watch this space for more info!

creatures 2020

JOKER 2 and Another DC Origin Movie in Development

Joker

Remember how Todd Phillips’ Joker was always going to be a one-off, standalone movie that would definitely not lead to a sequel or any sort of franchise? Well, it’s amazing what difference an impressive box office return of $1 billion can do…

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Phillips is indeed working on a sequel to this year’s stunning Joaquin Phoenix-starrer. Not only that, but the director has seemingly gotten plans for certain other nefarious DC villains.

Not only has Warner Bros. agreed to a Joker sequel from Phillips, but the director actually went to The WB and asked to be given the keys to the DC kingdom and be allowed to develop similar origin stories for a slew of DC Comics’ most infamous rogues.

According to THR, Warners actually said no to Phillips’ initial proposal for access to all of DC’s villains, but they did agree to let him have access to one other rogue in addition to developing the aforementioned Joker follow-up.

To summarise things, Todd Phillips is getting to work on a Joker 2 and a similar origin tale for another to-be-confirmed DC Comics supervillain.

Expect more on all of this as we get it.

 

Netflix Picks Up VIKINGS Spin-Off Series

Vikings

With Vikings having wowed for audiences for five seasons and counting, and now comes news that the long-discussed Vikings spin-off series has been picked up.

In a press release, it’s been confirmed that Netflix has put in a series order for said sequel series. To be set 100 years after the events of Vikings, the show will be titled Vikings: Valhalla and will focus on legendary figures such as Leif Erikson, Freydis, and William the Conqueror.

Vikings creator Michael Hirst will be serving as executive producer on Valhalla, with Jeb Stuart on writing and showrunner duties.

Where the main series is concerned, Vikings’ sixth season will premiere on History Channel on December 6th – with the main show to come to a close with this sixth season.

Marvel’s RUNAWAYS to End After Season 3

Marvel's Runaways

With Hulu’s Runaways due to premiere its third season next month, said Season 3 will be the final offering for the series.

Courtesy of Deadline, the Marvel series will finish after this third season comes to an end. Fortunately for fans, Season 3 is apparently going to deliver a natural ending point for the series – meaning no annoying open story points or cliff-hanger endings.

In Season 3, Elizabeth Hurley will be at the crux of the narrative as the villainous Morgan le Fay.

Runaways will premiere its next (and final) season on Hulu on December 13th.

THE ELRIC SAGA Being Adapted for TV

The Elric Saga

In some news that’s sure to put a smile on the chops of many a genre fan, Michael Moorcock’s The Elric Saga is now being brought to live-action life.

Via Deadline, New Republic Pictures’ Brian Oliver and Bradley J. Fisher have nabbed the rights to this beloved series. Already, The Walking Dead’s Glen Mazzara and Star Trek: Diiscovery’s Vaun Wilmott have been brought in to write this Elric TV series.

As a character, Elric was first introduced in Moorcock’s 1961 The Dreaming City, with the emperor, sorcerer, and all-round badass going on to appear in 11 further novels, several short stories, numerous graphic novels, and various other tales.

Even though initial plans are for The Elric Saga to be adapted for TV, New Republic is open to the idea of turning the property into a cross-platform franchise that could well head to the silver screen should all go well with this TV offering.