Russo Brothers Developing Marvel vs. DC Documentary Series

Marvel Comics DC Comics

In some news that’s sure to bring a smile to the face of many a comic book fan, Anthony and Joe Russo are now to explore the world of Marvel Comics and DC Comics in a new documentary.

Courtesy of Variety, the Russo brothers are developing a short-form documentary series based inspired by Reed Tucker’s Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-Year Battle Between Marvel and DC.

The Russos are no strangers to capes ‘n’ tights, of course, with them having helmed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame for Marvel Studios, in addition to also now working on a documentary looking at the iconic Stan Lee.

In this Marvel vs. DC documentary series, Anthony and Joe will look to showcase the names and talents who made these two juggernauts so special, while similarly looking at the times when Marvel and DC teamed up for crossover specials.

This to-be-titled series will be exclusive to the Quibi streaming service that launches next April, although no premiere date has yet to be announced for this Marvel vs. DC extravaganza.

Fox Picks Up Sarah Michelle Gellar-Headlined SOMETIMES I LIE

Sarah Michelle Gellar

With an adaptation of Sometimes I Lie mooted as far back as a year ago, now comes a major update on the project.

Previously, it was announced that Sarah Michelle Gellar was going to be headlining and executive producing a small-screen take BBC journalist’s Alice Feeney’s much-lauded novel. Courtesy of The Wrap, Sometimes I Lie has now been picked up and given a script commitment from Fox.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Gellar will be starring as Amber Reynolds, who wakes up from a coma with no idea of how she got there – yet the ominous feeling that this wasn’t an accident.

The blurb on the novel itself then goes on to read:

Terrified and trapped in her own body, she tries to piece together her memories of the last week. With a husband who no longer loves her, a sister hiding a dangerous secret, and an ex-boyfriend who can’t let go of her, Amber knows someone is lying – and that her life is still very much in danger. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from 20 years ago, this psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it’s the truth?

Memoirs of a Geisha’s Robin Swicord is on writing duties for Sometimes I Lie, with Ellen DeGeneres’ A Very Good Production banner developing the series.

Mark Wahlberg Lined Up for UNCHARTED

Mark Wahlberg

As Sony’s long-gestating Uncharted movie finally looks to be properly pushing forward, the film is in talks once more with Mark Wahlberg.

Via Variety, the Boogie Nights star is in advanced negotiations to play the role of mentor figure Victor “Sully” Sullivan in the adaptation of the hugely successful video game franchise. At one point in time, Wahlberg was actually lined up to play the lead role of explorer Nathan Drake when David O. Russell was in the director’s chair.

Since then, Uncharted has been spinning its heels in development hell as the movie continued to go through several different directors. At this stage of the game, Bumblebee’s Travis Knight is on board to direct, with Tom Holland on headlining duties as Drake.

In terms of a release, the last we’d heard was that Sony has a December 2020 release date pencilled in for Uncharted. Of course, the longer the film takes to assemble its cost and started production, the slimmer the chances are of that Christmas 2020 release date being stuck to.

Netflix Renews THE WITCHER for a Second Season

The Witcher starring Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia

Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of famed video game series The Witcher has yet to officially premiere, yet the on-demand streaming service has already moved to confirm the show for a second season.

The official blurb from Netflix on renewing the Henry Cavill-starrer reads:

Netflix today announced a second season pick up for The Witcher, the brand new fantasy drama, based on the best-selling series of books.

Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich commented: “I am so excited that before viewers dive into season one, we are already able to confirm that we’ll be returning to The Continent again to continue telling the stories of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri, and to showcase more of the amazing work that our cast and crew have delivered.”

The second season will begin production in London early in 2020, for a planned debut in 2021.

Key cast including Henry Cavill (Mission Impossible – Fallout, Man of Steel) as Geralt of Rivia, Anya Chalotra (The ABC Murders, Wanderlust) as Yennefer, and Freya Allan (The Third Day, Into The Badlands) as Ciri, will all return for the sophomore season.

The Witcher season 2 will also feature eight episodes.

Executive Producers for season two will be Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, Tomek Baginski, Jason F. Brown, Sean Daniel, Mike Ostrowski, Steve Gaub and Jarosław Sawko.  Directors and additional cast information will follow in due course.

The Witcher began life as a bestselling book series from Andrzej Sapkowski, with it then being turned into a massively successful video game franchise. Elsewhere, there has been a comic book title and also a Polish TV take. The loose gist of the property sees it centre on a travelling monster hunter who has to battle his way through a medieval fantasy world.

The Witcher will debut on Netflix on December 20th.

Issue 467 – Out Now!

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In the new issue of STARBURST we look forward to the end of the biggest space saga of all time as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is set to hit cinemas. As well as a preview of the film, we have a massive run down of the best of the whole galaxy far, far away in The Order 66.

We have an exclusive interview with Kevin Smith, who fills us in on everything to do with Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. The director and showrunner of ‘90s hit, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Bob Richardson tells us how that much-loved series came about.

You can find out who Mr Rogers was ahead of the release of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and get the skinny on Jumanji: The Next Level. Plus we stare into the Uncanny Valley as musical adaptation Cats is due to the hit the big screens.

Plus Horror Obscura looks at the eternally classic monsters that came from Universal Studios.

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

The World Cup of TERRANCE DICKS

terrance dicks

BBC Books are to publish a hardback collection of Target novelisations by the late Terrance Dicks next year – and they want YOU the  Doctor Who fans to help with the selection!

BBC Books is excited to announce plans to publish a commemorative single-volume Collected Works of the late Terrance Dicks in 2020.The lavish hardback will include some of the Doctor Who legend’s most popular titles from the Target range, a list to which he contributed over 60 books. How do you choose the best, though? How does The Abominable Snowmen rate against Genesis of the Daleks? Do you leave out The Planet of the Spiders to make room for The Auton Invasion? What about The Three Doctors? With so many to choose from, we need some expert advice. We need the fans!

On Monday 18 November BBC Books will be offering Doctor Who fans the chance to vote on social media for their favourite works by Terrance Dicks, to be included in the collection. The World Cup of Terrance Dicks will take place over five days on the Doctor Who BBC Books Twitter account (@DWBBCBooks), where 64 of Terrance’s Doctor Who novelisations will be sorted into 16 groups of 4, and each day fan votes will get us closer to a final winner. The book will then be based around the 10 novels that make to the top of the tournament. Fans can keep track of the tournament through the hashtag #TerranceDicksWorldCup

Terrance Dicks became Script Editor of Doctor Who in 1968, co-writing Patrick Troughton’s classic final serial, The War Games, and editing the show throughout the entire Jon Pertwee era to 1974. He wrote many iconic episodes and serials for the show after, including Tom Baker’s first episode as the Fourth Doctor, Robot; Horror at Fang Rock in 1977; State of Decay in 1980; and the 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors in 1983. Terrance novelised over sixty of the original Doctor Who stories for Target books, including classics like Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen and Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion, inspiring a generation of children to become readers and writers. He died in August 2019, only weeks before the publication of his final Doctor Who short story, ‘Save Yourself’, in The Target Storybook.

Newcomer Jayme Lawson Joins THE BATMAN

Jayme Lawson

As Matt Reeves’ The Batman continues to assemble its cast, another new face has joined the Robert Pattinson-starrer.

Via Collider, newcomer Jayme Lawson has joined The Batman in a to-be-revealed role, which some are speculating may well be that of Barbara Gordon. A Julliard graduate, this will be Lawson’s first major movie role.

In addition to Pattinson as The Batman’s titular Caped Crusader, the June 2021 release will also feature Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, and Paul Dano as The Riddler – with Colin Farrell and Andy Serkis currently in talks to play The Penguin and Alfred Pennyworth, respectively.

Expect more on The Batman as it continues to develop.

Demon Records Release WHO Story The Web Planet on Vinyl

demon web

Demon Music Group has announced the latest of their BBC Doctor Who recordings to be released on vinyl. It’ll be the six-part William Hartnell story The Web Planet, and there will be a number of variants.

To be released on December 13th, there’s an Amazon exclusive ‘Animus Splatter’ coloured vinyl, and a standard edition in pink. Pressed on 3 x 180g heavyweight vinyl, it’s a narrated TV soundtrack that will bring the adventure to life. The LPs will also include episode details, cast credits and a beautiful 8-panel montage with amazing artwork.

It’s available to pre-order now.

Don’t Miss the Classic Monster Marathon Horror Channel in November

monster horror

We can all agree there are not enough black and white films shown on TV anymore. So it’s even more fantastic that Horror Channel are celebrating the birth of horror cinema with the Classic Monster Marathon.

Comprising of the big five from Universal’s pantheon, Horror Channel will devote November 24th to the true classics.

The marathon starts at 1pm with Tod Browning’s Dracula (1931), starring Bela Lugosi as Bram Stoker’s immortal count. 2.05 sees Boris Karloff as the creation of Frankenstein (1931), based on Mary Shelley’s Victorian shocker. Karloff returns in The Mummy (1932) at 4pm, reaping revenge on those who defiled his tomb while also being obsessed with a woman who looks like his lost love. 5.30 sees Lon Chaney Jr get all hairy in The Wolf Man (1941), with Lugosi returning as the gypsy who curses the poor Chaney to a life of howling at the moon. The marathon concludes at 7pm with Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), in which a humanoid monster from the deep takes a shine to a young woman on an expedition.

You can read more about the films in the new issue of STARBURST, available on Thursday, November 14th.

For more information, head over to the Horror Channel website. You can tune into the channel on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, and Freesat 138.

New SCREAM Movie in Development at Spyglass

Scream

Wait, what?!?! In some ‘are you sure you want to do this?’ news, a new Scream movie is on the way.

Courtesy of Bloody Disgusting, Gary Barber’s Spyglass Media Group is at work on bringing the Scream franchise back to the big screen. At this early stage, there’s no word on whether this film will be an outright Scream 5, a reboot, a remake, or a new story that exists within the established canon of the franchise.

From director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson, 1996’s Scream changed the landscape of horror. Poking fun at overplayed genre tropes and the cliché-ridden mess horror had become, Scream also managed to remain a true terror ride while being so meta in its perspective. It was genius, it was perfect, it was the kick in the backside that the horror genre needed at that point in time.

The iconic Craven would return to helm Scream 2 in 1997, Scream 3 in 2000, and Scream 4 in 2011, and Williamson would likewise be back for the third and fourth movies – Ehren Kruger stepping in on writing duties for Scream 3. Since then, the Scream franchise was spun into a TV series that ran for three so-so seasons on Netflix and then VH1.

Wes Craven sadly left us in 2015, and this new Scream offering will also not have Kevin Williamson involved in any capacity. Which raises even more alarm bells at revisiting such an iconic property without the two principal minds behind the franchise being involved – particularly if the film ends up being a standard sequel to the four prior Scream films.

The reason that Spyglass is able to push forward with a new Scream picture is due to the company assimilating Lantern Entertainment back in March. What’s Lantern Entertainment got to do with things, we hear you ask? Well, Lantern picked up all of Dimension Films’ assets and properties once Dimension was plunged into bankruptcy after the Harvey Weinstein allegations. And you guessed it, one of those Dimension properties was indeed the Scream franchise.

As ever, expect more on this as we get it. In the meantime, we’ll sit here looking perplexed, frustrated, and mouthing “Why?!” as we reminisce about this beloved horror franchise.