Michael Rosenbaum WON’T be a Part of the Arrowverse’s Impending Crisis

Smallville

With the recent news that Tom Welling and Erica Durance will be reprising their respective Smallville roles of Superman and Lois Lane for this December’s huge Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, many fans have been crossing all possible crossables that Michael Rosenbaum will be back as Lex Luthor.

For those fans, there’s some bad news as Rosenbaum has taken to social media to confirm that he will not be making an appearance in the Arrowverse’s Crisis.

From what the charismatic actor has said there, it seems totally understandable why he’s not returning – even though it clearly would’ve been fantastic to see Rosenbaum returning as Kal-El’s most infamous rogue.

Previously, Rosenbaum played Lex in seven of Smallville’s ten seasons, going from pompous asshole, to genuine friend, to crazed megalomaniac, and everything in between as his relationship with Welling’s Clark Kent played out.

It’s a shame that we won’t get to see Welling, Durance, and Rosenbaum play off each other once again, but Crisis on Infinite Earths still looks absolutely mouth-watering as we could well be set to see a whole host of various DC shows from over the years become streamlined in one all-encompassing timeline.

The CW Planning Canary-Driven Future-Set ARROW Spin-Off

Katherine McNamara Mia Smoak Arrow

While The CW’s Arrow is due to come to a close with an eighth and final season later this year, it looks as if another new show is on the way for the shared Arrowverse ream.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, The CW has tentative plans for a future-set Arrow spin-off based on the series’ various Canaries. The current plan is for the show to be headlined by Katherine McNamara as Mia Queen – the daughter of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak – with McNamara joined by Juliana Harkavy’s Dinah Drake and Katie Cassidy’s Laurel Lance.

At present, the new show doesn’t have an official title, but the series will get a backdoor pilot of sorts during Arrow’s eighth season. Beth Schwartz, Marc Guggenheim, Jill Blankenship and Oscar Balderrama are on writing duties for said pilot, with the four then joining Greg Berlanti as executive producers on this new show should it indeed get the all-clear to become a full series.

Seemingly, the action of this spin-off will be set in 2046 – a time already explored in the flash-forward moments of Arrow’s previous season. In that timeline, Dinah Drake heads up a network of crime fighters based around the Canary moniker.

It could well be that Joseph David-Jones’s Connor Hawke, Ben Davis’ William Clayton, and Andrea Sixtos’ Zoe Ramirez may also end up as regulars on this show, giving how they were key figures in the previous future landscape of the Arrowverse.

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

GHOSTER Set to be Available for Free Soon!

ghoster

Fans of fantasy comics will have a treat this October as the first part of graphic novella series Ghoster will be available to download for free.

From the press release:

A young man attempts to survive The Gallowing, the deadly initiation into the secret Guild of Ghosters, five families of Malevolent hunters that have protected Britain from evil spirits for centuries. To complete his mission and join the ranks of his ancestors he must hunt down a Malevolent in the most haunted house in London or die trying.

Acclaimed comic writer Thom Burgess (Malevolents, The Eyrie) and award-winning filmmaker Toby Meakins (Breathe, Floor 9.5) have teamed up to create Ghoster – a dark, supernatural world with a rich hidden history that spans centuries and reaches across continents. A world where the malevolent spirits that feed on the pain, suffering and death of humans are only kept at bay by an almost extinct band of malevolent hunters, who literally become ghosts to hunt ghosts.

Part 1: The Gallowing is illustrated by Joe Becci, who’s unique style and use of shadow have set the tone for a sinister and exciting ride into the world of Ghoster.

The 45-page landscape graphic novella will be released for free digital download on October 1st from ghosterworld.com.

Horror Channel Gets Infectious This October

october

Horror Channel has another bumper month of fabulous films for October as we head to Samhain.

There are five UK TV premieres including the infectious Patient Zero, starring former Doctor Who Matt Smith, Natalie Dormer, and Stanley Tucci, Lake Placid: The Final Chapter and Lake Placid: Legacy keep things snappy, while things get spooky with The Unspoken and Discarnate.

Other films hitting the channel for the first time include Adam Wingard’s brilliant home invasion film You’re Next, Hammer’s remake Let Me In, plus Vanishing on 7th Street, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and Nicolas Cage in Pay the Ghost.

Head to the Horror Channel website to find out more. Tune in via Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.

Dean DeBlois to Write and Direct MICRONAUTS

Micronauts

With Paramount in development on several new Hasbro-driven efforts, now comes word that the studio’s Micronauts movie has found a writer and director.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Dean DeBlois has been brought in to write and direct Micronauts. DeBlois is best known for his work on the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.

For those not familiar with Micronauts, the property began life as a Mego toy line back in 1976. Bill Mantlo’s Marvel Comics run for the characters gave them a shot in the arm in popularity, with the focus being on the subatomic-sized warriors led by Arcturus Rann.

Micronauts has been in some form of development for nearly a decade now, with 2015 seeing Paramount reveal plans for a shared cinematic universe that would feature G.I. Joe, ROM: SpaceKnight, Visionaries and M.A.S.K. movies.

The current plan is for Micronauts to get a June 2021 release.

Jeffrey Wright and Jonah Hill Up for THE BATMAN

Jim Gordon Penguin Riddler

With Robert Pattinson set to don the cape ‘n’ cowl in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, now comes word on two other names who look destined to join the picture.

Via Deadline, Westworld and Boardwalk Empire’s Jeffrey Wright is in talks to play Jim Gordon, while The Wolf of Wall Street’s Jonah Hill is up for one of two roles.

Where Hill is concerned, both he and Warner Brothers are keen to work together on The Batman – it’s just a case of what character the Superbad star will be playing. Seemingly, it’s a case of deciding whether Hill will play The Riddler or The Penguin. Supposedly director Matt Reeves has been keen to involve Hill as one of the film’s villains even before Pattinson was cast as the Dark Knight.

To date, the role of Commissioner James Gordon has been played in live-action by Neil Hamilton, Pat Hingle, Gary Oldman, and J.K. Simmons. As for the aforementioned pair of no-good villains, Frank Gorshin, Jim Carrey, and Cory Michael Smith have tackled Edward Nygma in live-action, while Burgess Meredith and Danny DeVito have played Oswald Cobblepott.

The Batman is due to start filming towards the turn of the year ahead of a June 25th, 2021 release.

Sid Haig 1939 – 2019

Sid Haig

In some heartbreaking news, Sid Haig has passed away at the age of 80. The actor had been hospitalised and in intensive care since earlier this month after an accident.

Sid’s wife Suzie took to Instagram to confirm this sad news:

Making his acting debut in 1960, Haig would go on to appear in the likes of The Big Bird Cage, Spider Baby, Coffy and Foxy Brown, before amassing a whole new fan base for his turn as Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects and Zombie’s latest effort, 3 from Hell.

The thoughts of all here at STARBURST go out to the family, friends and fans of Sid Haig. Rest in peace, sir.

Demon Reveal GATES OF HELL Triple Album!

gates hell

The fabulous folk at Demon Records have announced the latest in the Vault of Horror series – a triple disc release of Lucio Fulci’s Gates of Hell Trilogy!

The two previous releases – reviewed here and here – were brilliant and this three-disc set looks to be another winner. It comprises of the soundtracks to former video nasties City of the Living Dead, The Beyond (both scored by Fabio Frizzi), and The House by the Cemetery (Walter Rizzati and Alessandro Blonksteiner).

Pressed on ‘nasty’ coloured vinyl, they will come in a lavish book packaging (similar to the recent Hitchhiker’s Guide releases) with liner notes by Alan Jones and stunning artwork once more by Graham Humphreys.

You can pre-order the album now for a November 29th release.

Erica Durance Returning as Lois Lane for the Arrowverse’s CRISIS

Erica Durance Tom Welling

Hot on the heels of the news that Tom Welling will be suiting up as Superman for this December’s huge Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, now comes word that Welling’s Man of Steel will be joined by another familiar face.

Via Deadline, it’s been confirmed that this Smallville iteration of Superman will be joined by Erica Durance reprising her Lois Lane role from that beloved series. Durance’s Lois will appear in all five episodes of this hotly anticipated crossover.

Erica Durance’s Smallville take won’t be the only Lois to feature in Crisis, mind, with Elizabeth Tulloch once again picking up as Lois Lane opposite Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman. And Welling and Hoechlin won’t be the only Supermen in the crossover, for Brandon Routh – who famously played the character in Superman Returns – will be donning the famed blue and red duds once more.

For the eagle-eyed of you out there, you’ll be well aware that Erica Durance has already appeared in the all-encompassing Arrowverse as Alura Zor-El over on Supergirl. In Crisis on Infinite Earths, we’ll find out what Durance’s Lois and Welling’s Clark Kent have been up to since Smallville ended in 2011.

Now all we need is for Michael Rosenbaum to return as the nefarious Lex Luthor…

Fede Alvarez Producing New TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE Offering

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

With Legendary currently in development on a slew of new Texas Chain Saw Massacre projects, now comes an update on all of this.

Courtesy of Bloody Disgusting, Fede Alvarez is going to be producing for Lionsgate and Kim Henkel. Alvarez, of course, directed Don’t Breathe and the 2013 Evil Dead do-over that impressed many.

Even before 2017’s Leatherface was released by Millennium Films, the rights for the property had returned to Henkel – writer and producer of Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and the director of the all-kinds-of-fun Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.

To clarify, there are currently no plans for Alvarez to direct, and he’s currently on the lookout for somebody to helm what’s being pegged as a direct sequel to Hooper’s ’74 classic. As in, much like last year’s Halloween, the plan is to ignore anything that’s come since that original Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

From what we heard earlier this year, there are tentative plans for several new movies and even a TV series for this beloved property.

As ever, expect more on all of this as we get it.