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.

Marvel’s RUNAWAYS Adds Elizabeth Hurley

Elizabeth Hurley Morgan le Fay Marvel's Runaways

With Marvel’s Runaways returning for a third season, the show’s third year has added Elizabeth Hurley to its ranks.

Initially reported by Variety, Hurley – recently seen in The Royals – has signed on to play the nefarious Morgan le Fay in the series. That character is one whose roots go back to 1955 as a creation of Stan Lee and Joe Maneely. After a rejig, Morgan le Fay would resurface as a Spider-Woman villain in the late-‘70s. As for powers, le Fay is a witch who has all kinds of spells up her sleeve.

On this casting, Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb enthused, “Elizabeth Hurley is joining the Marvel Universe and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have her portraying one of the most enchanting Marvel characters.”

Expect more on Season 3 of Marvel’s Runaways as it continues to develop.

FrightFest is Looking for New Blood!

new blood

Arrow Video FrightFest, in conjunction with UK distribution outfit Blue Finch Films and short film funding company Genera, has launched a new initiative to help finance genre short films

Called ‘Fresh Blood’, the partners will look to help finance short form projects in the latter stages of development in the bid to discover new voices in the world of genre filmmaking.

Submissions for the fund will start on June 5th 2019 and filmmakers can apply at www.generafilms.com. The closing date is July 31st. The shortlisted finalists will be announced on August 14th.

Shortlisted finalists will then have the opportunity to pitch their project in front of an industry panel during the festival, who will then decide the winning film.

This year will be the festival’s 20th edition; the full line-up to be announced on Thurs July 4th.

Genera’s CEO, Christian Parton commented: “Short films are notoriously hard to fund. Partnering and creating exciting opportunities to support short filmmakers is paramount to Genera. We are incredibly excited to be partnering with FrightFest and Blue Finch Films in launching this round to encourage the financing of more genre films”.

Ian Rattray, FrightFest co-director, added: “We’re thrilled to join forces with these two dynamic companies to help continue the festival’s tradition of seeking out and supporting fresh talent”.

Joseph David-Jones Becomes ARROW Series Regular

Joseph David-Jones

While Arrow will be coming to an end later this year with a shortened eighth season, now comes word on a new series regular for the show’s final offering.

As first reported by Deadline, Joseph David-Jones has been promoted to a series regular for the series’ last season. In Arrow’s now-concluded seventh season, David-Jones had the recurring role of Connor Hawke in the future-set moments of the show; that role being one he actually debuted as back during an episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow when the gang took a trip to a future Star City.

In Arrow, it was revealed that Connor Hawke is actually the son of Bronze Tiger. Somehow, yet to be revealed, Connor will end up being adopted by John and Lyla Diggle. Likewise, the fast-forward elements of Arrow saw it revealed that John and Lyla’s biological son, John Jr., grows up to become the leader of the nefarious Deathstroke Gang.

Of course, comic book fans will be aware that the Connor Hawke seen in the comics is the son of Oliver Queen. In fact, he even goes on to become his own incarnation of the Green Arrow. In that Legends episode, audiences were indeed treated to Connor donning the hood and arrow, but we’ll have to see if that’s something that gets furthered in Season 8 of Arrow.

Knowing that Joseph David-Jones will be a series regular next year, well that certainly suggests that we’ll be getting plenty more future-set action in the Emerald Archer-centric series.

Expect more on Arrow’s final season as we get it.

SPONGEBOB Spin-Off Series in Development

SpongeBob SquarePants

With SpongeBob SquarePants proving to be one of the most successful animated series in history, now comes word on a SpongeBob spin-off offering being in development.

As announced by Nickelodeon, a thirteen-episode spin-off with the working title of Kamp Koral is on the way. Production on the CG-animated show will begin later this month, with the focus to be on a 10-year-old SpongeBob during his summer stay at camp.

To be more specific, SpongeBob and his buddies will spend their summer at the Kamp Koral camp as they build underwater campfires, attempt to catch wild jellyfish and take a dip in Lake Yuckymuck.

On this news, Nickelodeon’s Ramsey Naito enthused, “SpongeBob has an incredible universe to expand upon and the greenlight for Kamp Koral is a testament to the strength and longeivity of these characters known and loved by generations of fans around the world.”

SpongeBob SquarePants’s Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller are serving as executive producers on Kamp Koral.

DJANGO/ZORRO Movie Adaptation in Development

Django/Zorro

While all the talk right now is about Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, now comes word on an interesting new project for the filmmaker.

Courtesy of Collider, QT is involved in developing Dynamite Entertainment’s Django/Zorro comic book miniseries for the big screen.

For those unaware, 2015 saw Dynamite put out a sequel of sorts to Django Unchained, with the action taking place several years after the events of the movie and seeing Django meeting the legendary Zorro. Tarantino worked with Matt Wagner and Esteve Polls on the comic book offering.

Where the movie adaptation of Django/Zorro is concerned, Tarantino is teaming with comedian Jerrod Carmichael on the picture. At this early stage, it’s not known whether Quentin will simply be overseeing and producing the film or whether he’ll be involved in the writing of the feature.

The official blurb on the Django/Zorro comic tale reads:

The story takes place several years after the events of Django Unchained. Django is still a bounty hunter, and since there’s a warrant on his head back east, he has mainly been playing his trade in the western states. After safely settling his wife, Broomhilda, near Chicago, he takes to the road once again, sending her funds whenever he completes a job. It’s be sheer chance that he encounters the aged and sophisticated Diego de la Vega – the famed Zorro – and soon finds himself fascinated by this unusual character, who can also hold his own in a fight. It’s not long before Django becomes Diego’s ‘bodyguard’ and joins him on a mission to free the local indigenous people from slavery.

Right now, it appears that the chances of Quentin Tarantino directing this Django/Zorro adaptation are slim to none, but expect more on the movie as we get it.

 

The Russo Brothers Developing Animated MAGIC Series for Netflix

Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering is an utterly huge property that ticks so many of the right boxes for so, so many people. And now, Magic is being developed as a Netflix series.

Not only is a Netflix show based on the property on the way, but Anthony and Joe Russo will be serving as executive producers behind the offering. The Russos, of course, are the directors behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

On this news, the brothers Russo enthused, “We have been huge fans and players of Magic: The Gathering for as long as it has been around, so being able to help bring these stories to life through animation is a true passion project for us.”

From Netflix’s point of view, John Derderian added, “Magic is a beloved global franchise with a massively engaged fan base that has only continued to grow over the last 25 years. There’s no one better suited to bring this story to audiences around the world that Joe and Anthony Russo, whose talent for genre storytelling is unmatched, as is demonstrated by their central role in creating some of the biggest box office hits of all time.”

Launched as a card game from Wizards of Coast back in 1993, Magic: The Gathering is quite simply a phenomenon based around the wizarding skills of the planeswalkers.

This Netflix show will be an animated series, with Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Henry Gilroy and The Tick’s Jose Molina serving as showrunners and writers on the show.

It’s not yet known how many episodes Magic will consist of or when the show will land on Netflix, but expect more on the series as it continues to develop.

Keanu Reeves in Talks for Marvel’s THE ETERNALS

Keanu Reeves

As Marvel’s The Eternals continues to amass its core cast, now comes a rumour that Keanu Reeves may be joining the picture.

Courtesy of MCU Cosmic, the John Wick star has reportedly been offered a role in The Eternals. Talks are said to be ongoing, although no deal has been agreed at this stage. Likewise, it isn’t known which role Reeves is being eyed for.

Treat this as a rumour for now, but this isn’t the first time that Keanu Reeves has been mooted to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you remember, Reeves was at one point in negotiations to play Yon-Rogg in this year’s Captain Marvel. Due to his commitment to John Wick: Chapter 3, Reeves would have to pass on a role that would ultimately go to Jude Law.

Already on board for The Eternals are Oscar winner Angelina Jolie, Train to Busan’s Ma Dong-seok and Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani, with Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden also in advanced talks for the movie.

Created by the iconic Jack Kirby back in 1976, the Eternals comic book title was based around a race of age-old humans created by the alien Celestials with the plan being for these humans to serve as Earth’s protectors against the nefarious Deviants. The big-screen Eternals will reportedly be based around the Sersi character who is an energy-manipulating being who is pretty much immortal.

With Chloe Zhao on directing duties, expect more on The Eternals as it continues to develop ahead of a rumoured 2020 release.