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.

The CW Picks Up Horror Anthology TWO SENTENCE HORROR STORIES

Vera Miao

While today saw a new trailer launched for the upcoming Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark anthology horror movie, now comes word on a small-screen horror anthology having found a home.

Courtesy of Deadline, The CW has picked up Two Sentence Horror Stories for an eight-episode run that will premiere August 8th.

Two Sentence Horror Stories began life as a short-form five-episode digital series in 2017, created by Best Friends Forever’s Vera Miao (pictured). Miao will serve as executive producer on The CW’s take on the property.

The official blurb on Two Sentence Horror Stories reads:

Inspired by the viral fan fiction of two sentence horror stories, this anthology series taps into universal primal fears, filtered through the anxieties of the most connected and racially diverse generation.

Despite dizzying advancements in technology, inequality, social progress and environmental degradation… the things that haunt us are all still the same.

Expect more on The CW’s Two Sentence Horror Stories as it continues to develop.

Gary Dauberman Departs ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?

With the likes of It and The Nun to his name, many were encouraged to see Gary Dauberman attached to write and produce Paramount’s upcoming Are You Afraid of the Dark? movie. But now, Dauberman has departed the project.

Speaking to Slash Film, Dauberman explained, “No, that actually hasn’t shot yet. That’s one of those things I’m no longer a part of. I just had a different vision to make it and thought it best to part ways. It’s unfortunate but, as you said, that’s sometimes how it goes.”

Details on this new Are You Afraid of the Dark? have been sketchy since the feature was announced, but last year brought word that Disturbia and Eagle Eye’s D.J. Caruso was in talks to direct the film. Whether Caruso is still lined up for the movie, we’ll have to wait and see.

For those not familiar with Are You Afraid of the Dark?, the series was created by D.J. MacHale and Ned Kandel back in 1990, soon being picked up by Nickelodeon in 1991 and then aired across the globe from 1992. The general premise for the show saw the action focussed on a group of teenagers called the Midnight Society, who would meet each week at a secret, creepy woodland location to tell a terrifying (at least it was to our younger selves!) tale based around horror clichés, urban legends or twisted classics of yesteryear. When all was said and done, the series clocked in at an impressive 91 episodes over its seven seasons.

Previously, Are You Afraid of the Dark? was pegged for an October 2019 big-screen release, although that date is obviously not getting to be met.

Elsewhere, this February saw it reported that early plans are afoot for a new Are You Afraid of the Dark? TV series too.

It’s Official: Robert Pattinson is Batman!

Robert Pattinson Batman

Well, it’s now official: Robert Pattinson is the new Batman.

If you remember, earlier this month saw reports that the Twilight star was in advanced talks to sign on as the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and now it’s finally official.

Courtesy of Variety, Pattinson has signed on the dotted line to play the World’s Greatest Detective, beating out competition from the likes of Nicholas Hoult and Armie Hammer. In fact, it’s believed that the casting process came down to Pattinson and Hoult, with the decision now made on who will tackle the cape ‘n’ cowl after Ben Affleck departed the role earlier this year.

Having just turned 33 years of age, Pattinson will be the youngest actor to play the Dark Knight on the silver screen. As for when things will get rolling, pre-production on The Batman is expected to commence this summer ahead of a June 2021 release.

Away from Twilight, Pattinson has impressed many with his turns in the like of The Lighthouse and High Life, and he’ll next be seen in Christopher Nolan’s The Tenant.

As for The Batman, the Planet of the Apes’ franchise’s Reeves is currently finalising his story and script for a film that is rumoured to feature Penguin and Catwoman as the two main villains. That said, certain other reports claim that the picture may actually feature up to six bad guys in various roles of prominence.

Expect more on The Batman as the film continues to develop.