New WALKING DEAD Spinoff Series in Development

The Walking Dead

While ratings may not be what they once were, there’s no debating that the ongoing ninth season of AMC’s The Walking Dead is a return to form for the show in terms of quality. And now, there’s word that a new spinoff series is in development.

Courtesy of Deadline, AMC is said to have begun talks over the creative direction of this new Walking Dead show.

If you remember, in addition to The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, there’s a trilogy of movies planned for Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes and recently-departed star Lauren Cohen has also teased that a Maggie-centred spinoff effort has been loosely discussed.

There’s no further details on this new Walking Dead spinoff series just yet, but expect more on all of this as we get it.

And seriously, if you’re one of those that gave up on The Walking Dead at some point over the past few admittedly drab and dull seasons, the current ninth season has seen a massive upturn and is actually, y’know, slowly becoming must-see TV again – in particular with the introduction of the sinister Whisperers.

Will Smith Not Returning for SUICIDE SQUAD Sequel

Deadshot Will Smith Suicide Squad

Now known as, err, The Suicide Squad, James Gunn’s Suicide Squad sequel has reportedly lost one of its biggest names.

Courtesy of Variety, it’s been confirmed that Will Smith won’t be back to reprise his Deadshot role; the Bad Boys star’s schedule seemingly the reason for this departure. It’s uncertain right now whether this means that Deadshot will simply not feature in The Suicide Squad or whether he may possibly even be recast for the sequel.

The original plan was for the Suicide Squad follow-up to be spearheaded by Smith and Margot Robbie, but earlier this year saw it revealed that Robbie’s Harley Quinn won’t be a part of The Suicide Squad. For fans of Harleen, however, you’ll still get to see her in next year’s Birds of Prey picture in addition to there still being rumblings of a solo outing for the Maid of Mischief.

Having been given the boot by Disney, Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn is the person tasked with writing and potentially directing The Suicide Squad. The current plan for the film is for it to serve as both a sequel and a soft reboot for the ragtag rogues. Even once Robbie was confirmed to not be back for The Suicide Squad, it was still expected that the rest of the first movie’s cast would be returning. While that will seemingly still be the case for the majority of the cast, you can now count Will Smith out.

At present, The Suicide Squad is set for an August 6th, 2021 release.

Matt Ryan to Headline a New CONSTANTINE Series?

Constantine

Treat this as purely a rumour for now, but we could well be seeing Matt Ryan’s Hellblazer taking centre-stage once more.

With Constantine having impressed many back in 2015, fans were left gutted at the news that NBC were pulling the plug on the Ryan-headlined series at just one solitary season. But now, a report from We Got This Covered claims that Warner Brothers is developing a brand-new Constantine show that they want Matt Ryan to return for.

The outlet goes on to add that such a show may find a home on the DC Universe streaming service or possibly even on The CW as part of the shared Arrowverse of shows currently housed there.

Of course, Matt Ryan’s John Constantine can currently be found as part of the ragtag titular team in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and he’s also appeared in Arrow in addition to Ryan voicing the character for the Justice League Dark animated movie and for the CW Seed animated Constantine series.

As alluded to, treat this as a rumour right now, but here’s hoping something concrete ultimately comes from all of this.

In the meantime, if you need us we’ll be sat here with our fingers, toes and other crossable body parts crossed as we hope to hear more on all of this.

AQUAMAN 2 Set for December 2022

Aquaman

With the King of Atlantis soon to swim to Blu-ray and DVD, now comes an official update on Aquaman 2.

Courtesy of Deadline, Warner Brothers has now set a December 16th, 2022 release date for the sequel effort. This comes hot on the heels, of course, of the news earlier this month that Aquaman screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick has been brought back to begin work on the follow-up.

Right now, Aquaman director James Wan is in talks to return for the sequel in an executive producer capacity alongside Peter Safran. Whether Wan ends up directing Aquaman 2 is unclear right now, with the huge genre favourite also developing the Trench-set Aquaman spinoff movie at the moment. That spinoff picture will focus on the eerie feral creatures who Jason Momoa’s Marine Marvel and Amber Heard’s Mera have to deal with in the final third of Aquaman.

No Aquaman 2 plot details are known just yet, although the end of Aquaman seemed to give us a good indicator on how things may play out in the sequel. For those of you who missed the excellent Aquaman during its cinema run, we won’t elaborate any further for fear of entering spoiler territory.

Released in cinemas last December, Aquaman became the highest grossing DC movie of all-time as it made a remarkable $1.1 billion at the global box office. The movie gets a 4K, Blu-ray and DVD release April 8th and will be available digitally from April 6th.

More Movies Added to STARBURST Int Film Festival Line-Up

more festival

We’re delighted to announce the cult movies that will be filling the vacant slots at the STARBURST International Film Festival being held in Manchester on March 15th and 16th.

Opening proceedings on the Friday evening will be Tobe Hooper’s nude vampire from space flick Lifeforce (1985) and the provocative documentary Mansfield 66/67 (2017), which probes whether Jayne a Satanist in her final years.

On the Saturday, amongst the fantastic programme already announced, we will be screening the early attempt at adapting ‘odd’ Marvel properties, Howard the Duck (1986), executive produced by George Lucas, this duck may have been regarded as a turkey but it’s a good time to re-evaluate that opinion. The Muppet Movie (1977) gave Jim Henson’s wonderful creations their first taste of big screen action and is just as delightful as ever. On the darker side of cinema we have the surreal Turkish horror Baskin (2015) and Nicolas Cage going batshit crazy in the crowd-pleasing Mandy (2018). For lighter retro chills, you could always settle down with mutant-bear-runs-amok terror in Prophecy (1979).

The STARBURST International Film Festival will take place at Social7 at the Landing in MediaCityUK on March 15th and 16th. Guests of Honour will be Lloyd Kaufman, President of Troma Entertainment and legendary director of films such as The Toxic Avenger, and Italian filmmaker Luigi Cozzi, who went from working with Dario Argento to directing the cult classics Starcrash and Contamination.

Tickets are available now from Skiddle but they are limited, so hurry! For more information, head over to www.starburstfilmfest.co.uk.

LOCKE & KEY Adds Felix Mallard

Felix Mallard

With Netflix’s Locke & Key amassing quite the impressive ensemble cast, now comes word on another new addition for the series.

Courtesy of Variety, Neighbours and Happy Together’s Felix Mallard has joined Locke & Key in the recurring role of Lucas Caravaggio. Rather than veer towards spoiler territory, let’s just say that this is a character who has a pretty key role to play as Locke & Key plays out.

Mallard joins a cast that currently includes Petrice Jones, Jackson Robert Scott, Emilia Jones, Connor Jessup, Griffin Gluck, Darby Stanchfield and Laysla De Oliveira.

The early blurb on Netflix’s Locke & Key reads:

Locke & Key is a horror/fantasy series that revolves around three siblings who, after the gruesome murder of their father, move to their ancestral home in Massachusetts only to find the house has magical keys that give them a vast array of powers and abilities. Little do they know, a devious demon also wants the keys, and will stop at nothing to attain them.

The Good Wife’s Meredith Averill and Bates Motel’s Carlton Cuse will serve as showrunners on the series.

If you remember, Hulu had previously taken Locke & Key to the pilot stage before then deciding against putting in a series order for the show. Said pilot was completely scrapped, with Netflix swooping in to pick up the rights and start from scratch.

Nathan Lane Joins PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS

Nathan Lane

As Penny Dreadful: City of Angels continues to flesh out its core cast, now comes word that the sequel series has added Nathan Lane to its ranks.

Via Deadline, the Producers and The Birdcage actor is to play a veteran LAPD cop called Lewis Mischener. The early word on that character his him pegged as “wise to the ways of the world and ruthless in pursuit of his goals”.

Lane joins a cast that currently features Daniel Zovatto, Natalie Dormer, Jessica Garza and Jonathan Nieves.

The early word on City of Angels reads:

A spiritual descendant of the story set in Victorian-era London, the next chapter employs a new vision, new characters and storylines. It opens in 1938 Los Angeles, a time and place deeply infused with Mexican-American folklore and social tension. Rooted in the conflict between characters connected to the deity Santa Muerte and others allied with the Devil, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels will explore an exciting mix of the supernatural and the combustible reality of that period, creating new occult myths and moral dilemmas within a genuine historical backdrop.

Production will begin later this year on Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, with John Logan writing and executive producing the series.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 4 Booked in for December 2021

Hotel Transylvania 3

For those eagerly awaiting the next Hotel Transylvania movie, we now have an update on when you can check in for some more ghoulish action.

Initially reported by Deadline, Hotel Transylvania 4 has been booked in for a December 22nd, 2021 release.

To date, the Hotel Transylvania franchise has taken home an impressive $1.3 billion from a combined budget of $245 million for its three films so far. In fact, last year’s Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation became Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing animated effort of all time.

No further details are known on Hotel Transylvania 4 at this stage, but expect more on this as we get it.

DUNE Video Games in Development

Dune

While Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming take on Frank Herbert’s Dune continues to amass an absolutely stunning cast, now comes word on the Dune property venturing to another medium.

Via News Web, Funcom N.V. is currently in talks over an exclusive partnership with Legendary Studios to develop Dune video games.

It’s believed that these talks are for a six-year agreement to release at least three games on PC and consoles. One of said games will be an open world multiplayer effort that will head into pre-production later this year.

As alluded to, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movie has put together a 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

Villeneuve’s Dune is currently set for a November 2020 release.

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

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Talks to Play Candyman

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

As the Jordan Peele-produced new take on Candyman continues to develop, it looks as if the picture is close to landing its titular Daniel Robitaille.

Courtesy of Variety, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is now in talks to play Candyman in what’s being pegged as a “spiritual sequel”. Abdul-Mateen II is best known to genre fans for playing the nefarious Black Manta in last year’s all-kinds-of-impressive Aquaman.

The last we’d heard on this next Candyman offering, Get Out’s Lakeith Stanfield was rumoured to be playing a character called Anthony. Said to be similar to Virginia Madsen’s Helen Lyle from the original Candyman, murders begin to happen around Anthony as he continues to delve into the urban legend of the Candyman. Interestingly, Anthony is actually the name of the baby featured in the 1992 film.

Candyman itself actually began life as a short story in Clive Barker’s Books of Blood. Originally titled The Forbidden, the story was famously adapted as a 1992 Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen-starring movie from Bernard Rose. Plot-wise, the movie version took place in the aforementioned semi-demolished housing development in Chicago. Todd’s Candyman was an artist and the son of a slave, murdered by bees by his lover’s father after first having his hand lopped off.

From there, the urban legend of the Candyman is that if you say his name five times while looking in the mirror, he’ll appear behind you – and likely slice you up good ‘n’ proper. Sequels followed with 1995’s Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and 1999’s Candyman: Day of the Dead, and despite mild rumblings over the decades, the franchise has remained dead since that ’99 effort.

To be directed by Little Woods’ Nia DaCosta, MGM has set a June 12th, 2020 release date for this new entry in Candyman lore.