Mandy Kaling and Marvel Have Had Ms. Marvel Talks

Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan

With Carol Danvers having now swooped in to help save the literal fate of the universe in Avengers: Endgame – not to mention get her own all-kinds-of-fun origin picture – now comes word on possibly seeing Kamala Khan get brought to live-action life.

For those not familiar with the Kamala Khan character, 2014 saw her take on the Ms. Marvel moniker previously held by Danvers. With previous rumblings of Kamala bring brought into the greater realm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, actor-turned-writer-turned-producer Mindy Kaling has now gone public with her wish to do something with Kamala Khan.

Speaking to MTV News, Kaling has revealed that she’s already had talks with Marvel Studios about bringing Ms. Marvel to life.

As Kaling put it, “I think the people I’ve spoken to at Marvel about it are so excited about the character, and I think they’re trying to figure out what to do with it, and I told them I would help in any way, because I truly love her. But they seemed really interested and I think they will probably do something.”

In addition to an appearance in the big-screen MCU realm, Kaling also mentioned how Ms. Marvel may be a character that could be explored on the small screen. After all, the impending Disney+ streaming service is going to house a whole slew of new Marvel-driven live-action series that will spotlight existing and new MCU characters.

In the comic book realm, the original Ms. Marvel is Carol Danvers, a member of the US Air Force who took on the moniker in 1977 following a previous tangle with explosive Kree technology. In 2012, Danvers was given a “promotion” to the mantle of Captain Marvel, and has since been regularly front-and-centre in the world of Marvel Comics. When the Inhumans’ Terrigen Misters was released back in 2014, Pakistani-American Kamala Khan developed shape-sifting and size-altering powers. Inspired by Danvers, Kamala decided to take on the role of Ms. Marvel as her own.

How long before we see Kamala Khan in the MCU, we’ll have to wait and see. At least we know that there are at least some loose plans to bring the character to live-action life at some point.

As ever, expect more on all of this if and when it continues to develop.

A DUNE TV Series is in Development

Dune

While we keep hearing regular casting updates on Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming, hotly anticipated Dune movie, many may have forgotten that there had been rumblings of other Dune offerings being lined up. Well, with that in mind, we now have news on a Dune TV series.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Legendary Television is at work on a TV offering titled Dune: The Sisterhood. The focus of the series will be on the Bene Gesserit ancient order of women who have such a pivotal role to play in Frank Herbert’s Dune novels. Said ladies have total and utter mastery of their bodies and minds, and their heightened sense of perception allows them to guide humanity in whichever path they deem fit.

Dune director Villeneuve will be helming the pilot episode of Dune: The Sisterhood, with Denis co-writing the screenplay with Jon Spaihts. Both Villeneuve and Spaihts will serve as producer on the show along with Brian Herbert, Bryan Merritt and Kim Herbert of the Frank Herbert estate.

Dune: The Sisterhood will premiere on WarnerMedia’s to-be-titled new streaming service that’s on the way. At this stage, said streaming service has yet to be given a launch date.

Where Villeneuve’s Dune movie is concerned, that picture has put together an impressive ensemble cast that currently features Timothée Chalamet, Javier Bardem, Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgard, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Rampling, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian and Dave Bautista, with Jason Momoa also in talks.

Dune began life back in 1965, with Frank Herbert’s original novel tying for the 1966 Hugo Award and then winning the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. Set in the distant future, the story centres on Paul Atreides as his family takes control of the desert planet known as Arrakis. With valuable resources key to the tale, what unravels is a plot that’s full of politics, betrayal, and man’s relationship with nature. A Kyle MacLachlan-starring, David Lynch-helmed movie followed in 1984, which went on to become a cult classic, and then Syfy developed a Dune TV series in 2000. As for written works, Herbert penned five sequels himself before Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert expanded that written world even further

The new Dune movie offering is currently set for a November 2020 release, while a Dune video game is also in development in addition to the TV series.

As ever, expect more on all things Dune as they continue to develop.

Netflix Renews LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS for a Second Season

Love, Death + Robots

One of the most bonkers but brilliant series to come around in a fair old while is Netflix’s Love, Death + Robots. And now, we have word that the show has been renewed for a second season.

The on-demand streaming service have confirmed the news, which was originally reported by Deadline. Having only premiered in March, the animated sci-fi anthology offering has already amassed quite the passionate fan base.

In the first season of Love, Death + Robots, the action comprised on 18 animated episodes that ranged from six to 17 minutes. Across the season, there was a slew of different animation techniques and styles used in order to give audiences a truly unique piece of genre television that offered up robots, werewolves, vampires, up-in-the-stars action and so much more.

With an adult-driven vibe, Love, Death + Robots was directed by Deadpool’s Tim Miller, who in turn created the series alongside the legendary David Fincher. For Season 2, Kung-Fu Panda’s Jennifer Yuh Nelson has signed on in a supervising director role.

Expect more on the second season of Love, Death + Robots as we get it.

TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION getting a NETFLIX adaptation

It seems that not only are we getting the usual flurry of Video Game announcements at E3 this year but also some film reveals too; as Ubisoft today announced at their E3 2019 conference that post-apocalyptic action game TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION, the multi-million copy selling game from 2016, is getting the silver screen treatment – and Netflix is set to bring it to the masses.

The story of the game is set in the near future when a pandemic is caused by the spread of a virus via cash on Black Friday. When the game launched back in March 2016, it became the fastest selling video game in history on its debut and has since spawned a sequel aptly titled TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION 2.

The film is already in development and has its key talent firmly attached – Deadpool 2 and Hobbs & Shaw Director David Leitch is set to direct with Rafe Judkins (who penned multiple episodes of Chuck and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and the upcoming Uncharted film adaptation starring Tom Holland) is down to write to the screenplay. Not only that but the film is set to star the legendary talent of Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain (who are both set to star in the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home and IT: Chapter Two respectively) in lead roles.

There is currently no release date or window for the film but Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories and Chastain’s Freckle Films have both joined the project as production partners, along with 87North Productions and Ubisoft Film and Television.

More information on the development of this film will follow as it is announced.

FAST AND FURIOUS 9 Brings in John Cena

John Cena

With the Fast and Furious franchise’s Hobbs & Shaw spin-off hitting the big screen this August, now comes a piece of casting news for the already-confirmed Fast and Furious 9.

Following on from earlier rumours, Deadline has now revealed that John Cena has signed on for a key role in the ninth of the main Fast and Furious pictures.

Much like Fast and Furious franchise fave Dwayne Johnson, Cena is a multiple-time WWE Champion who is now in the midst of making the full-time jump to the acting world. Having initially starred in bland actioners such as The Marine and 12 Rounds, this past year has seen Cena impress in the likes of Bumblebee, Blockers and Ferdinand.

Originally, Fast and Furious 9 was pegged for a release this past April, although that release date was pushed back by a year in order to accommodate the aforementioned Hobbs & Shaw. As such, the Justin Lin-helmed Fast and Furious 9 is now set for a May 2020 release.

THE SHALLOWS’ Jaume Collet-Serra to Direct BLACK ADAM

Black Adam Jaume Collet-Serra

Of all the plentiful DC-driven movies currently in various stages of development, the picture that’s been in the works for the longest amount of time is Black Adam. And now, that film has finally found a director.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Brothers has brought in Jaume Collet-Serra on directing duties. Collet-Serra is likely best known to genre fans for helming The Shallows and Orphan.

If you remember, Dwayne Johnson has been attached to headline as Black Adam for near-enough a decade by this point. And, as it just so happens, Collet-Serra has recently finished working on Disney’s Jungle Cruise movie – a film that stars the aforementioned Johnson.

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.

Currently, Black Adam is expected to start shooting at some point next year.

Sigourney Weaver Confirms GHOSTBUSTERS 3 Return

Ghostbusters Sigourney Weaver

With many hoping to see the return of certain familiar faces in Jason Reitman’s upcoming Ghostbusters 3, Sigourney Weaver has seemingly shed some light on just such returns.

Speaking to Parade Magazine, Weaver has confirmed that she’ll be back in action as Dana Barrett – and apparently the rest of the surviving members of the original cast will be joining her.

As Weaver put it, “It’s going to be crazy working with the guys again!” And yes, she clarified that she would be reprising the Dana role, rather than her role as Rebecca Gorin in the 2016 rebooted offering.

The Alien star couldn’t reveal any further details about Ghostbusters 3, and it remains to be seen just how the likes of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and maybe even Rick Moranis will be utilised in the picture.

What we do know, however, is that Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard, Captain Marvel’s Mckenna Grace and Fargo’s Carrie Coon have all signed up to feature in Ghostbusters 3.

In addition to taking over the director’s chair from his father – Ivan Reitman having directed Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II – Jason Reitman is also penning Ghostbusters 3 with Monster House’s Gil Kenan.

At this point, Ghostbusters 3 is set for a July 2020 release.

LUCIFER Renewed for a Fifth (and Final!) Season

Lucifer

With Netflix swooping in to save Lucifer and give the series a fourth season, now comes an update on one further year for the Tom Ellis-starrer.

As initially reported by Deadline, the on-demand streaming service has renewed Lucifer for a fifth (and final ☹) season.

In a statement, Netflix confirmed, “We’re thrilled that Lucifer fans around the world have embraced this series on Netflix, and we can’t wait to give them the big finish they’ve all been waiting for.”

If you remember, FOX cancelled Lucifer last year after three seasons. That move caught many a genre fan off-guard, for the series was getting a whole lot of praise while also drawing in decent, if not spectacular, ratings. Luckily, Netflix decided to pick up the show and give it a new home.

While it’s sad to hear that Lucifer will finally be coming to an end after this upcoming fifth season, at least the series will get to map out the ending it sees fit for the antics of Lucifer Morningstar.

Expect more on Lucifer’s fifth season as we get it.

DC Universe Cancels SWAMP THING

Swamp Thing

Wait, what?!

Yes, as the headline suggests, DC Universe has cancelled Swamp Thing after airing just one solitary episode so far.

As first reported by Bloody Disgusting, the series has been axed despite a positive early response from fans and critics. The reasons for this decision seem to revolve around creative differences and the fact that the show didn’t instantly pull in huge numbers.

On the topic of creative differences, it seems that there was a division amongst the powers-that-be; some wanting to have the show leaning more towards horror, others wanting the series to pull back on that element.

Where the numbers are concerned, it appears that WBTV had high hopes that Swamp Thing would drive up subscriber numbers for DC Universe. And in a clearly impatient move, the lack of an instant subscription increase saw the call made to scrap the series rather than give it time to amass a loyal fan base as the episodes played out.

It’s expected that rest of the ten-episode first season will continue to land weekly on DC Universe, with the show to eventually find a home on Netflix in international markets.

Expect more on Swamp Thing’s cancellation as we get it.

BILL & TED 3 Gets Two New Additions

Samara Weaving Brigette Lundy-Paine

With a third Bill and Ted movie – Bill & Ted Face the Music – now finally happening, the picture has made its first new additions.

Joining the returning Alex Winter, Keanu Reeves and William Sadler in the threequel, Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine has signed on for the film. Via Indiewire, Mayhem’s Weaving is to play Thea Preston, the daughter of one Bill S. Preston Esq., while Atypical’s Lundy-Paine will be playing Billie Logan, the daughter of a certain Ted Theodore Logan.

On this news, producer Scott Kroopf enthused, “When we saw Samara and Brigette together, it was like déjà vu. It was exactly the way we felt when we first saw Keanu and Alex. We are so thrilled to have this funny and unique pair join the Bill and Ted team!”

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.