Dougray Scott Joins BATWOMAN as Jacob Kane

Dougray Scott

As The CW’s Batwoman continues to flesh out its core cast, now comes word on Dougray Scott joining the Ruby Rose-headlined effort.

Via Entertainment Weekly, the Hemlock Grove and Mission: Impossible 2 actor is to play Jacob Kane in Batwoman. That character is the father of Kate Kane/Batwoman, and in the series he’ll seemingly be at odds with Kane’s crimefighting alter-ego.

In the world of DC Comics, Jacob Kane is a military sort who backs his daughter in her crusade to clean up Gotham City. From what we’re hearing about Batwoman, Jacob will actually be against Batman and the Bat-family he’s created. Unaware that Kate is actually the Batwoman, it appears that father and daughter will be on opposing sides, particularly as Jacob will be leading a security force called The Crows as he looks to fix Gotham’s problems.

For Dougray Scott, he so nearly joined the whole superhero club back in 2000. If you remember, back then he was cast to play Wolverine in X-Men. Scott would eventually pass on the role, which would instead go to an unknown fella by the name of Hugh Jackman.

In Batwoman, Scott joins a cast that currently features the aforementioned Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman, Rachel Skarsten as the sinister Alice, Camrus Johnson as tech genius Luke Fox, Meagan Tandy as Kate’s one-time love Sophie Moore, and Nicole Kang as Kane’s BFF Mary Hamilton.

Production is due to start shortly on the Batwoman pilot, with the show seemingly nailed-on to be picked up for a full series order as part of The CW’s beloved Arrowverse.

Syfy Cancels NIGHTFLYERS After One Season

Nightflyers

When a project is deemed one of the most expensive ever of its kind, you need to be getting a strong return on said project. So with that in mind, then, we’ve now got word that George R.R. Martin’s Nightflyers has been cancelled.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Syfy has canned Nightflyers after just one solitary season.

As alluded to, Nightflyers was one of the most expensive original series that Syfy has ever put together. US ratings dropped from 623,000 for the premiere episode to 420,000 for the season finale, and Syfy looked to partner with Netflix in order to minimise losses. In that instance, Netflix picked up the international rights for the show. However, that Netflix deal didn’t particularly do all that much in terms of creating additional buzz for Nightflyers.

For those who missed Nightflyers, the sci-fi effort centred on a bunch of scientists looking to make contact with alien life. Of course, all takes a turn for the terrifying as the narrative plays out in the Jeff Buhler-developed series.

New Oz-Based TV Series in Development

The Wizard of Oz

Ready to head back to Oz? We hope so, for Legendary Television is developing a new Oz-based TV series.

Courtesy of Variety, this to-be-titled project will be set in the universe popularised by L. Frank Baum’s Land of Oz and, of course, 1939’s The Wizard of Oz. At this early juncture, Now You See Me’s Ed Ricourt has been brought in to write and produce the show. He’ll be joined on the production side of things by dj2 Entertainment’s Dmitri M. Johnson and Stephan Bugaj.

On this news, Ricourt enthused, “I’m thrilled to partner with Legendary TV and dj2 to adapt my take on Baum’s rich, complex Oz book series which has influenced me creatively since childhood.”

With The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story released in 1900, Baum’s Land of Oz series ended up producing a whopping thirteen John R. Neill-illustrated sequels; the final took books being released after Baum’s death in 1919.

In the years since then, we’ve seen a slew of movie and TV takes on this iconic property. The most recent of these being NBC’s Emerald City which was scrapped in 2017 after just one single season.

Expect more on all of this as we get it.

THE TERROR: INFAMY Adds C. Thomas Howell

C. Thomas Howell

With the second season of The Terror now in production, the series has moved to add another genre favourite to its ranks.

Courtesy of Bloody Disgusting, The Hitcher’s C. Thomas Howell has joined The Terror: Infamy in a to-be-confirmed role.

In the second year of the Ridley Scott-developed series, Howell joins a cast that features George Takei, Kiki Sukezane, Miki Ishikawa, Cristina Rodlo, Yuki Morita and Shingo Usami.

With True Blood’s Alexander Woo serving as showrunner, the early word on The Terror’s second season reads:

Set during World War II, the second of follows a series of bizarre deaths that haunt a Japanese-American community and a young man’s journey to understand and combat the malevolent entity responsible.

The ten-episode The Terror: Infamy is due to premiere later this year.

Neil Gaiman to Tackle Jim Henson’s THE STORYTELLER

The Storyteller

Well, this certainly has the potential to be all kinds of brilliant.

Courtesy of Deadline, the iconic Neil Gaiman is bringing Jim Henson’s The Storyteller back to life.

That 1987 series from Henson used a wonderous mixture of people and puppets to showcase a slew of European folk tales of yesteryear. And now, Femantle is teaming with The Jim Henson Company and Neil Gaiman to deliver a new take on this old favourite. Gaiman will be writing and executive producing the series.

On this news, Gaiman enthused, “Part of what fascinates me about The Storyteller is the stuff that we don’t know. Who was the storyteller, why was he telling these stories, was he a goblin, what kind of creature? What I’d love to do is an inside story that’s as long as the outside story. We’re going to find out a lot about who the storyteller is, we’re going to find out things we don’t even know that we don’t know.”

The huge genre fave added, “The original Storyteller was a brilliantly written, directed and told set of stories. It’s a terrifying and inspiring task to reinvent what Jim Henson did the golden age of television we are in right now, and I’m honoured that The Jim Henson Company would entrust me with the task of bringing back the storyteller and his magical stories, and sending him out into the world for a whole new round of tales.”

As ever, expect more on The Storyteller as it continues to develop.

BANANA SPLITS Horror Movie in Development

Banana Splits

Okaaaaaay…

Yes, we’re as confused-but-intrigued as you are. As the headline suggests, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour of the ‘60s is being turned into a horror movie.

Via Deadline, the characters of Bingo, Fleegle, Drooper and Snorky are returning to action in a TV movie pegged as a horror thriller. Warner Bros Television Group’s Blue Ribbon Content is teaming with Syfy for the picture.

The early word on this film reads:

A boy named Harley and his family attend a taping of The Banana Splits TV show, which is supposed to be a fun-filled birthday for young Harley and business as usual for Rebecca, the producer of the series. But things take an unexpected turn – and the body count quickly rises. Can Harley, his mom and their new pals safely escape?

On board to star in the series are Wyonna Earp’s Dani Kind, The Kindness of Strangers’ Finlay Wotjak-Hissong, Schitt’s Creek’s Steve Lund, The Vampire Diaries’ Sara Canning and Pyewacket’s Romeo Carere.

Level 16’s Danishka Estherhazy is on directing duties from a script by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas.

The Banana Splits will initially debut as a home release from Warners before then landing on Syfy.

Expect more on this, err, unique project as it continues to develop.

LOKI Miniseries Hires Showrunner

Loki

With several live-action Marvel shows in development for Disney’s upcoming Disney+ streaming service, now comes an update on the hotly anticipated Loki series.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel Studios has brought in Michael Waldron to serve as showrunner on what is seemingly just titled Loki. Waldron is best known for working on the likes of Rick and Morty and Community, and he’ll now get to work on writing the script for the Loki pilot.

Having become a hugely popular part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Hiddleston reprising his Loki role for the show. The early word on the miniseries has it pegged as portraying Loki as a slightly more mischievous Doctor Who sort of character. Location-wise, it’s believed that Loki will be largely set on Midgard, as in Earth, with the scope to possibly explore other realms.

Elsewhere, there are double-act shows for Vision and Scarlet Witch, and Falcon and Winter Soldier also in development for Disney+.

As ever, expect more on all of these shows as they continue to develop.

BLACK WIDOW Brings in a New Screenwriter

Black Widow

With Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow now finally getting her own Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, there’s an update on the film’s screenplay.

Courtesy of Collider, Marvel Studios has moved to bring in Ned Benson to rework the initial screenplay put in place by Jac Schaeffer. Benson is likely best known for writing and directing The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, and is currently working on My Aryan Princess.

Cate Shortland is on board to direct Black Widow, with the solo outing for Johansson’s Natasha rumoured to be a prequel effort set before the character made her MCU bow in Iron Man 2.

It’s believed that Black Widow will head into production later this year, with more confirmed details expected to be revealed once Avengers: Endgame hits screens this April.

As ever, expect more on Black Widow as the project continues to develop. In the meantime, Widow will be seen in the aforementioned Endgame, not to mention the brand-new (and brilliant so far!) comic book series from Jen and Sylvia Soska.

WAR FOR CYBERTRON Heading to Netflix in 2020

Transformers: War for Cybertron

Hot on the heels of Bumblebee wowing audiences of all ages on the big screen, now comes word on a new TV adventure for the famed Robots in Disguise.

Netflix and Hasbro have announced that they’re partnering with production company Rooster Teeth to develop Transformers: War for Cybertron. With an all-new look for the Transformers, the current plan is for the series to land on Netflix in 2020.

Giving an insight on what to expect from War for Cybertron, Netflix’s Josh Derderian explained, “In this Transformers origin story, we will explore the expansive universe of Cybertron in a way that audiences have never seen before — to the delight of both existing fans and those coming to the franchise for the first time.”

On this news, Hasbro’s Tom Warner enthused, “We’re thrilled to work with Rooster Teeth’s new premium division to bring an all-new Transformers fan-oriented series to Netflix. Transformers has a rich history of great storytelling and war for Cybertron is an exciting new chapter in the Transformers universe.”

Transformers: Titans Returns and Transformers: Power of the Primes’ FJ DeSanto will serve as showrunner on War for Cybertron.

As ever, expect more on Transformers: War for Cybertron as it continues to develop.

Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE Set for November 2020

Dune

While Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming take on Frank Herbert’s Dune has continued to add impressive cast member after impressive cast member, there’s been no news on when we can expect to see this hugely anticipated movie. Well, until now, that is.

Warner Bros. Pictures has moved to confirm a November 20, 2020 release date for Villeneuve’s Dune.

In terms of that impressive cast that we alluded to, Timothée Chalamet is headlining as Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson is Paul’s mother Lady Jessica, Charlotte Rampling is Reverend Mother Mohiam, Josh Brolin is Gurney Halleck, Javier Bardem is Stilgar, Stellan Skarsgard is Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and Dave Bautista as the sadistic nephew of Skarsgard’s Baron Harkonnen. Elsewhere, Oscar Isaac is currently in talks to play Duke Leto Atreide, the father of Paul, Zendaya is in talks to play Chani, the love interest of Chalamet’s character, and Jasom Momoa is in negotiations to play swordsman Duncan Idaho.

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.