LADY SIF Series Rumoured to be in Development

Lady Sif

With several Marvel-driven miniseries currently in development for the upcoming Disney+ streaming service, now comes word on another potential series in the works.

Courtesy of Discussing Film, Marvel Studios is developing a miniseries based on Lady Sif. The early word is that Kevin Feige will be producing the series, with Jaimie Alexander likely to reprise the role that she played in Thor, Thor: The Dark World and a couple of episodes of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The main reason why we’ve not seen Sif since then is due to Alexander’s commitments to Blindspot. Said commitments meant that she was unable to make an appearance in Thor: Ragnarok alongside the Warriors Three. Then again, given that the Warriors Three were killed off by Hela in that movie, Sif might have dodged a bullet.

Seemingly titled just Lady Sif, this miniseries would join Loki, Vision and Scarlet Witch and Falcon and Winter Soldier in miniseries lined up for Disney+.

As ever, expect more on this as we get it.

Line-Up Announced for Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow 2019

frightfest glasgow

The line-up for this year’s Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow has been announced. Taking place during the Glasgow Film Festival for the 14th year, it runs from Thursday February 28th to Saturday March 2nd.

The exciting new movies to be screened during the event include two world premieres, a pair of European premieres and six UK firsts.

The shocking true-life story Lords of Chaos opens proceedings on the Thursday, and the things kick off good and proper on Friday with Level 16, The Dead Center, the world premiere of Here Comes Hell, Adrián García Bogliano’s Black Circle, and Dead Ant.

Saturday sees The Rusalka, the world premiere of Lawrie Brewster’s eagerly-awaited Automata, Danish shocker Finale, The Witch Part I: The Subversion, and Zack Lipovsky and Adam Stein’s Freaks. The festival closes with the UK Premiere of The Hoard.

FrightFest Passes are £75 and available from noon on Mon Jan 14, 2019.  Passes cover all films on Fri 1 March and Sat 2 March ONLY.

Tickets for LORDS OF CHAOS, plus individual tickets for the Fri/Sat films are on sale Mon Jan 28 from 10am. Price: £11.00. £8.80 concessions.

To book tickets: phone +44 (0)141 332 6535 or head to www.glasgowfilm.org/festival

FARSCAPE’s Gigi Edgley to Appear at Sci-Fi Ball 2019 with HASHTAG

gigi hashtag

The Sci-Fi Ball, the long-running convention, has announced the UK premiere of science fiction short film Hashtag, produced by Los Angeles-based Runic Films and Little Empire Productions, will screen at the 25th Sci-Fi Ball held at the Grand Harbour Hotel, Southampton from February 8th – 10th, 2019 in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Star Gigi Edgley, director/co-writer Ben Alpi, and producer Jyotika Virmani will be offering a special Q&A after the premiere.

Hashtag is a thought-provoking short science fiction drama that examines a future where social media dominates our lives and “X” (Edgley), the top online celebrity, finds the true cost of her popularity. The short film also stars Erryn Arkin, and Juliet Landau as the voice of “Te’a”.

In a looming future where social media celebrities dominate our culture, X is the world’s supreme online icon – but how far must she go to hold on to her popularity?

X lives the dream – she’s connected, adored, and instantly validated by her hundreds of millions of followers. The ultimate influencer, celebrities like her are all we watch, all we listen to, all we care about.

From her high tech studio apartment, X manages a virtual empire with the help of Te’a, an omnipresent artificial intelligence. Every moment of her day is a product bought and sold. With the swipe of her hand, the warmth of her smile, or the turn of her hip, she drives markets, builds brands, and changes minds. She embodies the complete merger of culture and commerce.

Yet one thoughtless remark can reveal how fragile her tower of public adoration really is. As X struggles to sustain her popularity, a corrupting virus invades her regulated existence and forces her to question her reality. When her perfect life is threatened, how can X know what’s true, what’s fake, and whether or not everything she’s built will collapse?

The screening will take place on Sunday February 10th 2019 at 1pm – the third day of the event and after the UK premiere, special guests Gigi Edgley, Ben Alpi, and Jyotika Virmani will discuss their short film and answer questions from attendees.

Alpi comments, “We are truly honoured to be holding our UK premiere at the Sci-Fi Ball to help raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. It’s very special for Gigi, Jyotika, and I to be there and to share our film with such sophisticated sci-fi fans in person.”

Founder of the Sci-Fi Ball, Anne Lindup comments, “In our 25th year of raising money for charitable causes by celebrating Sci-Fi, we are delighted to offer our first UK premiere of such a remarkable science fiction short. Furthermore, it feels like we’re supporting our own family as host of the Sci-Fi Ball, Brett Jones worked on the film as a concept artist. Whilst we have a long history and association with sci-fi of the past, we are always looking to champion new futuristic tales that address vital issues of today”.

For more information about Hashtag visit http://runicfilms.com/hashtag and to attend Sci-Fi Ball 25, please visit www.scifiball.com.

Tickets are available from only £15 and the event is suitable for the whole family to enjoy.

Will Kirk Appear in STAR TREK: DISCOVERY?

Since it was confirmed that Spock would appear in Star Trek: Discovery’s second season, speculation has been rife as to whether a young James Tiberius Kirk might appear.

Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman has the answer. He told The Hollywood Reporter that currently it wouldn’t be logical for Kirk to be included, explaining, “There’s a ten-year gap between where we are in Discovery and Kirk’s arrival on the Enterprise. There would [have to] be a major time jump if we were going to do something like that.”

Kurtzman went on to add, “What Kirk was doing at this particular time is another question, but we don’t have any immediate plans [for the character]. I have not spoken to Shatner about it.”

Quite conclusive it would seem.

The second season of Star Trek: Discovery, which will introduce Ethan Peck as Spock, drops onto Netflix January 18th.

New MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL Plot Details Revealed

MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL

With the first footage of Men in Black International having impressed many, we’ve now been given some new plot specifics for this fourth entry in the MiB franchise.

Via Entertainment Weekly, the movie will begin with an alien diplomat being murdered under the watch of Chris Hemsworth’s Agent H. Following that, rumblings begin to suggest that there’s a mole within the ranks of the Men in Black organisation. As all of this is ongoing, H is given a new partner in the form of Tessa Thompson’s Agent M; a character who has spent decades trying to find the MiB.

Reprising her Men in Black 3 role here will be Emma Thompson, with Liam Neeson brought in to play the head of the London branch of Men in Black. Other new additions include Rafe Spall, Kumail Nanjiani, Laurent Nicolas and Larry Bourgeois.

To be directed by Straight Outta Compton and The Fate of the Furious’ F. Gary Gray, this to-be-titled MiB movie is currently booked in for a June 2019 release.

Netflix Developing SHADOW AND BONE Series

Shadow and Bone

With Netflix serving up some truly stunning content in recent years, now comes word on a project that could prove to become a huge favourite of many a genre fan.

Bringing together Arrival and Bird Box’s Eric Heisserer and Stranger Things’ Shawn Levy, the on-demand streaming service are adapting Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows novels as an eight-episode series titled simply Shadow and Bone. Heisserer is on writing duties and will serve as executive producer, while Levy is acting as producer. Similarly, Bardugo will be acting as executive producer alongside Heisserer, with the Arrival scribe also serving as showrunner.

The official blurb this reads:

In a world cleaver in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness, where unnatural creatures feast on human flesh, a young soldier uncovers a power that might finally unite her country. But as she struggles to hone her power, dangerous forces plot against her. Thugs, thieves, assassins and saints are at war now, and it will take more than magic to survive.

Expect more on Shadow and Bone as we get it.

An Animated MORTAL KOMBAT Movie in Development?

Mortal Kombat 11

With Mortal Kombat 11 on the way later this year, not to mention rumblings of a new movie in the works, now comes even more good news for MK fans.

Courtesy of Revenge of the Fans, it’s being reported that a Mortal Kombat animated movie is in development over at Warner Bros. Animation. Joel McHale and Jennifer Carpenter are two of the names supposedly up to lend their vocals to the project.

At this stage, any such Mortal Kombat animated effort is far from official, but this follows hot on the heels of the same outlet reporting that an animated adaptation of Batman: The Long Halloween is also on the way.

This matches up with those rumours out there that Warner Brothers is looking to launch their own WarnerMedia streaming service by the time 2019 comes to a close. And if that is indeed the case, the service would need plenty of exclusive content – y’know, such as a Mortal Kombat animated movie or The Long Halloween.

Mortal Kombat itself began life back in 1992 as a video game from Midway Games. Following in the footsteps of Street Fighter II‘s huge success, the original Mortal Kombat looked to jump on the popularity of fighting games at that time, and gave gamers a bloody, brutal alternative to what was already out there. Several further games followed over the decades, with 2015’s Mortal Kombat X being the most recent. Additionally, big screen adaptations have also happened before, with Paul W.S. Anderson helming 1995’s Mortal Kombat, which was in turn followed by Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and several TV series and webseries.

As ever, expect more on this as and when we get it.

STAR WARS RESISTANCE Renewed for Second Season

Resistance

With the show currently in the midst of its debut season, Disney has already moved to renew Star Wars Resistance for a second season.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, with the series itself actually on a month-long hiatus at the moment. Not to fear, for Resistance returns to the Disney Channel on January 13th.

For those who have yet to check out Resistance, the tale takes place six months before the events of The Force Awakens. Largely focussing on young Resistance pilot Kazuda Xiono, the animated effort also features appearances from familiar faces such as Poe Dameron, Captain Phasma, C-3PO and BB-8.

Despite an initially mixed reaction, Star Wars Resistance began to find its footing before its mid-season break. As such, many are eagerly anticipating what’s next when we had back to a galaxy far, far away in just a matter of days.

Karen Gillan to Headline GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE from BIG BAD WOLVES Duo

Karen Gillan

Well, this is quite the appealing mix, right?

Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado are to direct an assassin movie titled Gunpowder Milkshake that will be headlined by genre fave Karen Gillan.

Keshales and Papushado are a phenomenal duo best known for their writing and directing work on the impressive Rabies and the absolutely stunning Big Bad Wolves, with the pair also having worked on ABCs of Death 2. And now, The Hollywood Reporter has word that they’ll be helming action thriller Gunpowder Milkshake for Studiocanal and The Picture Company.

Where Gillan is concerned, she’s long been a favourite of many thanks to her roles in the likes of Doctor Who, Occulus, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and, of course, as Nebula in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In Gunpowder Milkshake, Gillan will play a badass assassin.

Keshales and Papushado have written the Gunpowder Milkshake script with Ehud Lavski, with the early word on the picture pegging it as something similar to Kill Bill and Baby Driver.

Expect more on Gunpowder Milkshake as we get it.

Jac Schaeffer to Develop VISION AND THE SCARLET WITCH

Vision and Scarlet Witch

We’ve heard rumblings of a Vision and Scarlet Witch series for the upcoming Disney+ streaming service, and now there’s a major step forward for that show.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Jac Schaeffer has been brought in to write what’s simply to be titled Vision and the Scarlet Witch, and she’ll also be serving as showrunner on the series. Schaeffer is one of the writers behind this March’s Captain Marvel and has put together for the screenplay for the in-the-works Black Widow picture.

At this stage, it’s believed that both Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen will be back to reprise their roles as the titular twosome.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch is one of three miniseries in development for Disney+, with all three serving to showcase certain Marvel Cinematic Universe characters who have yet to be given their own movie. As such, the other two miniseries in development are Falcon and Winter Soldier and Loki; Malcom Spellman overseeing Falcon and Winter Soldier, while Loki is still searching for its creative team.

Disney+ is due to launch later this year, although there are no confirmed dates just yet on when we’ll see any of these shows premiere.