Blumhouse’s BLACK CHRISTMAS Remake Adds Cary Elwes

Cary Elwes

Last week brought the surprising news that Blumhouse was putting together a new take on Black Christmas, and this morning sees another new cast member announced for the remake.

Courtesy of Deadline, Cary Elwes has signed on for a to-be-revealed role in the movie. Genre fave Elwes is likely best known for the likes of The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Twister and Saw.

Elwes joins a cast that features Green Room’s Imogen Poots, Charmed’s Aleyse Shannon, Star’s Brittany O’Grady, The Goldbergs’s Lily Donoghue and Choir Boy’s Caleb Eberhardt.

The early word on the film has it pegged as:

Hawthorne College is quieting down the holidays. One by one, sorority girls on campus are being killed by an unknown stalker. But the killer is about to discover that this generation’s young women aren’t willing to become hapless victims as they mount a fight to the finish.

Always Shine’s Sophia Takal is on directing duties for this incarnation of Black Christmas, with Takal working on the screenplay with Widower’s April Wolfe. Jason Blum is on producing duties through the Blumhouse banner, along with Cam’s Adam Hendricks and Rumor Has It’s Ben Cosgrove.

From the early synopsis details, it appears that Black Christmas will largely follow the same narrative as the original 1974 movie. Starring the likes of Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder and John Saxon, that Bob Clark-helmed offering is largely viewed, along with John Carpenter’s Halloween, as starting the slasher craze. A so-so remake was then released in 2006, with the gore amped up for that new spin on the property.

As ever, expect more on Black Christmas as we get it.

BILL & TED 3 Brings in Anthony Carrigan as its Villain

Anthony Carrigan

While earlier this month we received word on who’ll be playing the respective daughters of Bill and Ted in Bill & Ted Face the Music, we now have word on who’ll be the big bad of the picture.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Anthony Carrigan has signed on to play the villain of this threequel, although no details whatsoever have been revealed about said villain just yet. Carrigan is likely best known to genre fans as Victor Zsasz in Gotham, while he’s also featured in the likes of Barry and The Forgotten.

In Bill & Ted 3, Carrigan will be joining the returning Alex Winter, Keanu Reeves and William Sadler, in addition to Mayhem’s Samara Weaving as Bill’s daughter Thea and Atypical’s Brigette Lundy-Paine as Ted’s daughter Billie.

The early blurb on Bill & Ted Face the Music reads:

Following 1989’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, the stakes are higher than ever for William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan. Yet to fulfil their rock and roll destiny, the now middle-aged best friends set out on a new adventure, when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it and bring harmony to the universe. Along the way, they will be helped by their families, old friends and a few music legends.

With Galaxy Quest’s Dean Parisot on directing duties, from a screenplay courtesy of the original two movies’ Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, Bill & Ted Face the Music is booked in for an August 2020 release.

New PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Movie in Development

Paranormal Activity

Ready for a new entry in the Paranormal Activity franchise? Wait, what do you mean “no”?! Well tough, for a new offering is on the way.

Via Deadline, Paramount and Blumhouse are reteaming for a seventh Paranormal Activity outing.

On this news, Paramount’s Jim Gianopulos enthused, “We are partnering with uber horror producer Jason Blum to bring a new installment of Paranormal Activity.”

The Paranormal Activity franchise began life back in 2007 with, err, Paranormal Activity. The most recent film in the series – and the supposed final movie – was 2015’s Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, and in between that first and last entries we were given Paranormal Activity 2, Paranormal Activity 3, Paranormal Activity 4 and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones.

At this stage, there are absolutely zero further details on this new movie, but expect more on this seventh Paranormal Activity picture as we get it.

Aldis Hodge Joins Leigh Whannell’s INVISIBLE MAN

Aldis Hodge

With Universal and Blumhouse currently developing a new take on The Invisible Man, the Leigh Whannell-penned and directed offering has made another new addition to its ranks.

Courtesy of Deadline, Clemency and Black Mirror’s Aldis Hodge has landed an unknown role in the picture. Hodge joins a cast that currently includes The Handmaid’s Tale’s Elisabeth Moss and A Wrinkle in Time’s Storm Reid as the movie’s first confirmed cast members.

The early blurb on The Invisible Man reads:

The film follows Cecilia, who receives the news of her abusive ex-boyfriend’s suicide. She begins to re-build her life for the better. However, her sense of reality is put into question when she begins to suspect her deceased lover is not actually dead.

If you remember, The Invisible Man was initially being developed as part of Universal’s shared Dark Universe realm that began with the Tom Cruise-starring The Mummy. After The Mummy was poorly received, all plans for the Dark Universe were put on hold and are now seemingly as dead as a dodo.

Back then, Johnny Depp was on board to play the title role in The Invisible Man, with this new report claiming that Depp has now departed the project. In addition to Depp at one stage to play the Invisible Man, Javier Bardem was to play Frankenstein’s monster; the pair joining a shared world that had Sofia Boutella as the Mummy and Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll, Dwayne Johnson in talks to play the Wolfman, Scarlett Johansson lined up to play the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Angelina Jolie to play the Bride of Frankenstein, and with Tom Cruise along to battle such beasties.

From what we’ve heard, pretty much all of those projects have been shelved apart from possibly The Bride of Frankenstein and, of course, The Invisible Man.

Fresh off the success of Upgrade, long-time genre fave Leigh Whannell is serving as writer, director and executive producer on The Invisible Man, with the film due to start production in Sydney, Australia next month ahead of a March 13th, 2020 release.

Horror Channels Lines Up Hot Premieres for July

horror july

Summer is hotting up on Horror Channel as they bring a brace of UK TV premieres to chill and terrify.

Every Saturday throughout July there will be a new film that will chill you during the warmer (hopefully!) month. These include: Casey La Scala’s disaster shocker The Remaining, based on the Book of Revelations; Mark Young’s contagious chiller Feral; Robbie Pickering’s comedy horror Freaks Of Nature and Nils Taylor’s fearsome female thriller Quarries.

There will also be the usual array of great films and classic TV shows that you won’t want to miss.

Find out more at http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk/. Tune in on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.

Scott Lyus to Make Feature Debut with WALKING AGAINST THE RAIN

Walking Against the Rain

In some fantastic news, we have an exclusive update on the next project for impressive, award-winning British filmmaker Scott Lyus.

STARBURST is delighted to reveal that Scott will be making his feature film directing debut with an offering titled Walking Against the Rain. From Crossroad Pictures and Kobal Productions, Lyus will be writing and directing the effort, with him also serving as producer alongside long-time collaborator Chris Nials.

A Kickstarter campaign will be launching for the feature on July 1st, but in the meantime you can find the official press release for Walking Against the Rain below:

Following on from the huge success of their BLACK MASS Kickstarter campaign, Crossroad Pictures, in association with Kobal Productions (the brand new production arm of the London Horror Society) are beyond excited to announce the debut feature film from award-winning producer team Scott Lyus and Chris Nials, WALKING AGAINST THE RAIN.

A horror film set 6 months after a biblical plague has fallen upon the world, the film tells the story of two strangers navigating their way across a barren landscape in a desperate attempt to find each other, with their only form of communication two soon-to-die battery operated radio mics; all while trying to avoid a brand new evil – The Forsaken.

The film promises to be the pair’s most ambitious project to date, having created several successful short films, including Silently Within Your Shadow, Echoes of the Passed and the soon-to-be-released, Black Mass. The time to bring their first feature film to life could not be more perfect, as Lyus explains:

“Walking Against the Rain is the film Chris and I have been working towards for several years now. We’ve been extremely lucky to build an incredibly supportive fan base ever since we broke onto the festival scene with Silently Within Your Shadow, and thanks to their amazing support we have been able to go bigger and better with each film that followed. And now, we’re ready to break into the feature film scene with our biblical horror tale that dives deep into grief, loss and the importance of human connection.”

The film will be written and directed by Lyus and produced by both Lyus and Nials, with an award-winning team once again joining them to help bring the film to life. In addition to this, there is a soundtrack deal currently in the works from a MAJOR record company.

Walking Against the Rain introduces a breed of brand new monsters, known only as The Forsaken. They will be created with full practical effects, with the world they live in being fleshed out with incredible VFX. Full details on the cast and crew will be revealed with the launch of the first stage of their Kickstarter campaign on July 1st.

With their last short film Black Mass being such a runaway success on Kickstarter (at one point, it was the 5th most popular film project in the world!), we can only imagine what a huge hit Walking Against the Rain will be. And with an award-winning team behind it, a major soundtrack deal in the works and a strong topical theme of grief, loss and human connection at its core, this is one horror project you will want to be a part of. Horror fans take notice.

For more on Walking Against the Rain and to help support this feature, be sure to keep an eye on Crossroad Pictures’ Twitter page ahead of the project officially launching its Kickstarter campaign on July 1st.

Walking Against the Rain

Animated HARLEY QUINN Series Finds its Catwoman

Catwoman Sanaa Lathan

With the animated Harley Quinn series heading to DC Universe later this year, now comes word on a new addition for the animated adventures of Harleen Quinzel.

Via Blackfilm, it’s been revealed that Sanaa Lathan will be lending her vocals to the show’s take on Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. Lathan – best known for her voice work on the likes of Family Guy and The Cleveland Show – announced the news at the American Black Film Festival.

No specifics are known at this stage on just what role Catwoman will have to play in Harley Quinn, but expect plenty of claws ‘n’ whips as Harleen embarks on her mission to join the Legion of Doom.

Already on board to voice the titular Maid of Mischief is Kaley Cuoco, with the Big Bang Theory star being joined by Lake Bell as Poison Ivy, Alan Tudyk as The Joker, Diedrich Bader as Batman, and undisclosed roles for Wanda Sykes, Jason Alexander, Jim Rash and Giancarlo Esposito.

Harley Quinn will premiere on the on-demand DC Universe streaming service at a to-be-confirmed date later this year.

Rosamund Pike in Talks for Amazon’s THE WHEEL OF TIME

rosamund pike

With Amazon in the midst of adapting several famed book series, now comes an update on who could be headlining the upcoming take on James Oliver Rigney Jr’s The Wheel of Time tales.

Courtesy of Discussing Film, Die Another Day and Gone Girl’s Rosamund Pike is in talks to join the series as Moiraine. That character is a part of the Aes Sedai sisterhood, and the show will see Moiraine travelling the globe with a small group; one of which could well hold the key to the very survival – or destruction – of mankind.

The Wheel of Time is the latest set of novels to get the adaptation treatment courtesy of Amazon, following in the footsteps of the likes of American Gods, Good Omens and the impending new take on The Lord of the Rings.

In terms of The Wheel of Time series itself, Rigney Jr. penned the first of these stories, The Eye of the World, under the pen name of Robert Jordan back in 1990. Before his death in 2007 at the age of just 58, James Oliver Rigney Jr. had written ten sequel offerings and a prequel to The Eye of the World. Since then, Brandon Sanderson has written a further three follow-up books.

For Amazon’s take on The Wheel of Time, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Last Amazons’ Rafe Judkins is on writing and showrunner duties.

FX’s Y: THE LAST MAN Series Gets a New Showrunner

Y: The Last Man

It was only this past April that FX’s long-gestating adaptation of Y: The Last Man was rumoured to have been canned, but now we thankfully have news to say the series has brought in a new showrunner.

Those April reports suggested that there were some significant problems with the small-screen take on Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s beloved Y: The Last Man. Titled Y, depending on what you believe, the series was either completely cancelled or was undergoing some major creative changes. Well, it looks as if it is indeed the latter of those two scenarios.

As first reported by Deadline, FX has signed up Extant and Animal Kingdom’s Eliza Clark as Y’s new executive producer and showrunner.

On this news, Clark enthused, “A decade ago I devoured the complete Y: The Last Man series cover to cover, imagining how it might take shape on screen. It introduced me to the amazing work of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra and the complex, fascinating world of Y. I’m thrilled to tell this story and to be working with this immensely talented cast.”

Previously, Aida Mashaki Croal and Michael Green were in place as showrunners before departing the project earlier this year. According to Y executive producer Nina Jacobsen, Eliza Clark was somebody they’d long been interested in bringing in to work on Y in a writing capacity.

The last we’d heard, regardless of these creative changes, the current plan is to move forward with the same cast that have already shot a pilot episode for Y. On board for that pilot were Barry Keoghan, Diane Lane, Amber Tamblyn, Imogen Poots, Juliana Canfield, Lashana Lynch and Marin Ireland.

The early blurb on the show reads:

All of the men are dead. But one. Based on the DC comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, Y traverses a world of women – exploring gender, race, class and survival.

For those not familiar with Y: The Last Man, the 60-issue comic book series ran from 2002 to 2008 and focussed on Yorick Brown, the titular “last man”. When the world suffers a tragic event that kills off every creature with a Y chromosome, Yorick only has his monkey, Ampersand, for company until he finds himself teaming up with a government operative to make sense of what’s happened and why he’s somehow managed to stay alive.

Previously, several attempts have been made to get an adaptation of the property off the ground, most notably with ultimately-doomed live-action movies in 2007 and 2013.

As ever, expect more on the future of Y as we get it.

Issue 462 – Out Now!

In the new issue of STARBURST, we head back to the decade of big hair and even bigger movies, as we celebrate the return of Stranger Things with a look at the hit Netflix series and speak to the director Shawn Levy. That’s not all, we countdown the STARBURST writers’ favourite 80 films from the decade, where will your fave be?

With Ol’ Web-head returning to the big screen in Spider-Man: Far From Home, we get under the dome of his new friend/foe Mysterio. Annabelle Comes Home and the Child’s Play remake prompt us to investigate the creepiest dolls in movies.

And that’s not all, we also take a look at how rockers KISS have crossed over into genre via comics and film, we chat to Thunderbirds are Go’s Parker, David Graham, and screenwriter David McGillivray spills the beans on his shocking autobiography.

Plus Horror Obscura looks at another overlooked shocker and in Independents Day, we talk to the director of X.

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