Fede Alvarez’s TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE Reboot Lands a Writer

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

With Fede Alvarez recently tasked with helming a Texas Chain Saw Massacre reboot, now comes another update on that project.

Via Deadline, newcomer Chris Thomas Devlin will be the person writing this new take on an all-time classic. The Evil Dead remake’s Alvarez and longtime partner Rodo Sayagues have now officially penned an agreement to develop several horror offerings for Legendary Pictures through the duo’s Bad Hombre Films banner.

From what we know, this new Texas Chain Saw will be a straight-up reboot of Tobe Hooper’s iconic 1974 film.

Noah Hawley to Direct STAR TREK 4

Noah Hawley

With a new Star Trek movie having been spinning its wheels for a few years now, the movie has finally found a director.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount has brought in Noah Hawley to write and direct what’s currently dubbed simply Star Trek 4. Hawley has won a whole host of plaudits for creating the Fargo TV series and Legion.

At this latest juncture, it’s believed that the core cast of Paramount’s recent trio of Star Trek films. What’s a little surprising about that, is that Chris Pine had previously dropped out of the picture due to a pay dispute. Seemingly, those issues are now resolved, and Pine will be returning as James T. Kirk.

It should be noted that this Star Trek 4 is a completely different movie from the Star Trek effort that Quentin Tarantino is developing.

Netflix Developing CHINATOWN Prequel Series

Chinatown

As classic movies of yesteryear continue to be explored further for the small screen, now comes word that a Chinatown prequel series is on the way.

Via Deadline, Netflix is developing a prequel offering that will be created by original Chinatown writer Robert Towne and the ever-brilliant David Fincher (Mindhunter, Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac).

Towne and Fincher will be writing the series, with Fincher also to serve as executive producer alongside Josh Donen. While not confirmed, there’s hope that Fincher will step behind the camera to direct the pilot episode of the series.

This won’t be the first collaboration between David Fincher and Netflix, of course, with the genre favourite having worked with the on-demand streaming service on Mindhunter, House of Cards, and Love, Death & Robots – not to mention being attached to direct Netflix’s Herman J. Mankiewicz biopic, Mank.

This to-be-titled prequel series will centre on a younger version of the Jake Gittes character played by Jack Nicholson in the 1974 movie and its 1990 follow-up. Here, young Jake will start to dip his toes into the world of Los Angeles corruption and gangs.

Directed by Roman Polanski, Chinatown is viewed as one of the most iconic movies of the 1970s, and the neo-noire thriller nabbed Robert Towne an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. As mentioned, that picture would eventually get a sequel in the form of 1990’s The Two Jakes – a film that saw Jack Nicholson on directing duties.

As ever, expect more on this Chinatown prequel series as it continues to develop.

Amazon Orders Second Season of LORD OF THE RINGS Series

The Lord of the Rings

Much like Netflix recently moved to order a second season of The Witcher before the show’s debut season has even premiered, Amazon has already made the call to develop a second season for its upcoming Lord of the Rings series.

Via Deadline, this small screen Lord of the Rings offering has already been give the A-OK for a second year. Despite this news, the hotly anticipated series still remains shrouded in mystery.

What we do know, is that this to-be-titled series has Midsommar’s Will Poulter, Romper Stomper’s Markella Kavenagh, Game of Thrones’ Joseph Mawle and Years and Years’ Maxim Baldry currently signed on to star, with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’s J.A. Bayona on board to direct the first two episodes.

It’s believed that the show will take place in the Second Age, meaning it will take place before what we’ve seen in Peter Jackson’s six big-screen offerings. The Second Age covers a period of over 3,000 years, so there’s certainly a lot of possibilities as to what direction or story arcs the series will look to explore.

Production on this Lord of the Rings series will begin in New Zealand next year, with the show expected to land on Amazon Video at some point in 2021.

EVE Invasion World Tour Hits London This Weekend!

eve london

The last stop on the EVE Invasion World Tour will lead into EVE Online Invasion Chapter 2 expansion and you can tune in for the live stream and not miss a moment.

CCP Games, the creators of the in-depth and uniquely player-driven spaceship MMO game EVE Online, have teamed up with local organizers EVE NT London to bring EVE London and its amazing program to the passionate UK Capsuleer community. Taking place at Indigo at the O2 Arena on November 23rd, EVE London will be the epic grand finale of 2019’s successful EVE Invasion World Tour.

“Meeting our incredible EVE players from around the world has been an unquestionable highlight of 2019 for all of us associated with the EVE Invasion World Tour,” said Bergur Finnbogason, Creative Director of EVE Online. “Bringing the spirit of EVE Fanfest closer to our diverse Capsuleer communities across the globe is at the heart of this tour, as well as showcasing the latest activity from both the EVE Team and our community.”

Destined to sell out soon, EVE London’s popular and long-standing pub meet will be elevated to Invasion World Tour status, and fans around the world can tune in for the live stream on CCP’s Twitch channel.

The program for EVE London will include a keynote presentation, 2019 round-up for EVE Online and the Invasion World Tour, plenty of CCP developers in attendance, an AMA with the developers, the EVE Invasion World Tournament, a huge party to celebrate with the community and more! The full EVE London schedule can be found in CCP’s EVE London megablog.

All EVE London attendees will receive the exclusive Liminal Crossings SKIN for Triglavian ships in-game, which will be the perfect preparation for the release Chapter 2 in the EVE Online – Invasion expansion on 26 November. This next step in the Triglavian story that has thrown New Eden deep into conflict with this unrelenting enemy, will be free to download for all players of EVE Online.

First Poster for Christmas 2020’s CREATURES

Creatures

Well, this sounds like all kinds of festive fun. Delivering a first poster for the movie, we now have a little more on Christmas 2020’s Creatures.

Proudly influenced by the likes of Gremlins, They Live, Critters, and Night of the Creeps, Creatures certainly sounds like one to keep your eyes on. This practical effects-driven creature feature is being put together by the Stiches and Glue puppet team behind The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Cute Little Buggers director Tony Jopia, Good Tidings creator Stu Jopia, and The Hive executive producer Romain Barbey.

Creatures

Described as an action/sci-fi/horror-comedy, the early word on Creatures reads:

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.

Expect more on Creatures as we get it.

Sopia Di Martino Joins Disney+’s LOKI Series

Sophia Di Martino

With a Loki series in development for Disney+, the show has made its first new addition.

Courtesy of Variety, Sophia Di Martino will appear opposite Tom Hiddleston in show. Di Martino is likely best known for Yesterday and Flowers, and her role in Loki is being kept hush-hush at this early stage.

In terms of what we know about Loki, the eight-episode miniseries will see Hiddleston’s God of Mischief travelling through time with the Tesseract in tow. According to Kevin Feige, the show will also tie in with the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The current plan is for production to begin early next year on Loki, with a spring 2021 Disney+ premiere expected.

Disney Sets Release Dates for Five More MCU Movies

Marvel Studios

With a whole host of upcoming MCU offerings in varying stages of development, Marvel Studios and Disney has now moved to announce release dates for five more outings for this ever-expanding shared world.

Courtesy of Deadline, releases dates for Marvel Cinematic Universe pictures have been booked in for October 7th, 2022 and then 2023 dates of February 17th, May 5th, July 28th and November 3rd. Following Marvel and Disney’s plans to serve up four MCU films in 2021, this latest news means that 2022 and 2023 will likewise feature four MCU movies.

Of course, it’s yet to be revealed exactly what films will nab these new release dates.

In terms of what movies we know that have set release dates, they’re as follows:

Black Widow – May 1st, 2020

The Eternals – November 6th, 2020

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – February 12th, 2021

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – May 7th, 2021

To-be-titled Spider-Man: Far From Home follow-up – July 16th, 2021

Thor: Love and Thunder – November 5th, 2021

Black Panther II – May 6th, 2022

Bar Black Panther II, the rest of those films will make up Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For the second solo outing for Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, that will seemingly be the kick-off point for the MCU’s Phase 5.

As ever, expect more on the slew of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in development as we get it.

Legendary Developing a SIN CITY TV Series

Sin City

It’s been a couple of years now since we last heard rumblings of a Sin City TV series, but now there’s word that Legendary has agreed a deal to develop a small screen take on the iconic comic book creation of Frank Miller.

Via Deadline, Miller has already signed on to work with Legendary on the series, while Robert Rodriguez – who worked with Miller on the previous two Sin City movies – is close to joining the project.

As alluded to, it was back in 2017 when we last heard about the possibility of a Sin City TV series. At that point in time, The Weinstein Company and Dimension had brought in former The Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara on writing duties, with Underworld’s Len Wiseman on board to direct the pilot offering. All of that fell apart once The Weinstein Company went bust, of course.

For this latest attempt to bring Sin City to the realm of TV, Miller and Rodriguez will serve as executive producers alongside Stephen L’Heureux and Silenn Thomas. As part of his agreement with Legendary, Frank Miller will also be writing an animated Sin City prequel.

Expect more on this Sin City TV series as it continues to develop.

Dwayne Johnson Confirms BLACK ADAM’s Release Date

Black Adam

By this point, it’s been a decade since Dwayne Johnson was lined up to play Black Adam on the big screen. And now, well now the film has finally been given a release date.

Taking to his Instagram page, Johnson himself has confirmed a December 22nd, 2021 release.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

The Man in Black ⚡️ Like most kids growing up, I dreamed about being a superhero. Having cool superpowers, fighting for what’s right and always protecting the people. It all changed for me, when I was 10yrs old and was first introduced to the greatest superhero of all time – SUPERMAN. As a kid, Superman was the hero I always wanted to be. But, a few years into my fantasy, I realized that Superman was the hero, I could never be. I was too rebellious. Too rambunctious. Too resistant to convention and authority. Despite my troubles, I was still a good kid with a good heart – I just liked to do things my way. Now, years later as a man, with the same DNA I had as a kid – my superhero dreams have come true. I’m honored to join the iconic #DCUniverse and it’s a true pleasure to become, BLACK ADAM. BLACK ADAM is blessed by magic with the powers equal to SUPERMAN, but the difference is he doesn’t toe the mark or walk the line. He’s a rebellious, one of a kind superhero, who’ll always do what’s right for the people – but he does it his way. Truth and justice – the BLACK ADAM way. This role is unlike any other I’ve ever played in my career and I’m grateful to the bone we’ll all go on this journey together. BLACK ADAM 12.22.21 ⚡️ Huge thank you to my friends, @jimlee and @bosslogic for this first time ever bad ass collaboration.

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Even though he didn’t appear in this year’s all-kinds-of-fun Shazam!, Black Adam’s origin story was told in the film via Djimon Hounsou’s wizard. At one point in time, there was actually a plan in place to debut Black Adam in that feature, but instead it was decided to hold off and give Adam his own solo outing first.

For those not all that familiar with the Black Adam character, he debuted back in 1945’s Marvel Family #1 as Teth-Adam of Kahndaq. Depicted over the years as both an out-and-out villain and an antihero, Black Adam is one of the few characters who can pretty much match Superman toe-to-toe when it comes to powers. Whilst he has tangled with the Man of Steel and various other DC heroes over the decades, he’s best known as a Shazam villain. Shazam, of course, is young Billy Batson. When Billy shouts “Shazam!”, he turns into the legendary hero.

As for the Black Adam picture, that will be directed by The Shallows and Orphan’s Jaume Collet-Serra.