Austin Amelio Joins FEAR THE WALKING DEAD

The Walking Dead Dwight

With Fear the Walking Dead having already brought in Lennie James’ Morgan, now comes word that another Walking Dead character is heading to the spin-off series.

Courtesy of ComicBook.com, Austin Amelio’s Dwight will be a part of Fear’s upcoming fifth season. The last we saw of Dwight, he’d helped Rick Grimes to take down Negan and his Saviors during The Walking Dead’s eighth season. When all was said and done, Daryl handed Dwight the keys to a truck to go and find his wife Sherry.

By this stage of the game, Fear the Walking Dead had pretty much caught up to the timeline of The Walking Dead. Well, before The Walking Dead underwent a six-year jump forward. With that in mind, Fear the Walking Dead may well find Dwight on the search for his beloved.

Fear the Walking Dead will premiere its fifth season later this year.

JACOB’S LADDER Remake’s February Release Date Pulled

Jacob's Ladder

Despite LD Entertainment’s Jacob’s Ladder remake original set for a February release, the redo has now seen a change in its release date.

Via Bloody Disgusting, the film has been pulled from its February 1st release, although no new date has been set for the new take on Adrian Lyne’s 1990 movie. Similarly, no reason has been given for this release change.

That original film starred Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Pena and Danny Aiello, with the plot focussing on a Vietnam vet who’s haunted by trippy hallucinations and flashbacks from his time before and during the war.

This time out, Underworld: Awakening’s Michael Ealy is heading up a cast that also features Guy Burnet, Karla Souza and Nicole Beharie. David M. Rosenthal is on directing duties, with a screenplay from Jeff Buhler and Sarah Thorp as the original premise is refreshed in a modern-day setting.

Expect more on Jacob’s Ladder new release date as we get it.

THE MANDALORIAN to Feature IG-88

The Empire Strikes Back IG-88

While this is the first time in several years where we’ve not had a Star Wars movie of some sort dominating the big-screen box office, we do at least have a slight update on Jon Favreau’s hugely anticipated The Mandalorian.

That upcoming live-action series has already had its principal cast confirmed, and now Favreau has seemingly revealed that IG-88 will be a part of the action. Said robot bounty hunter first appeared way back in The Empire Strikes Back, and he has since gone on to garner quite the cult following over the subsequent decades – often butting heads with the most famed bounty hunter of them all, Boba Fett.

 

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To be headlined by Game of Thrones’ Pedro Pascal, the early word on The Mandalorian has the show pegged as:

After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the trails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.

With a reported budget of a whopping $10 million per episode, The Mandalorian is due to premiere on Disney’s impending Disney+ streaming service at some point in 2019.

Out Now: Issue 456!

456 ns

The issue we never wanted to happen; STARBURST celebrates the life of the legendary STAN LEE, who passed away in November. From his humble beginnings to the dizzy heights of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we show our gratitude to everything he did for cult entertainment.

Elsewhere, it’s the end of the year, so we look forward to what’s to come with our massive 2019 MOVIE PREVIEW. Plan your cinema viewing for the next twelve months now.

We also look backwards at the TOP 40 MOVIES OF 2018, as voted for by the writers of STARBURST. The definitive list of what we thought were the highlights of the year. How many have you seen?

If that’s not enough, we also have a look at the best of the wonderful comedy duo LAUREL AND HARDY in anticipation of the biopic STAN & OLLIE.

In our regular features, Horror Obscura gets nappy rash during ATTACK OF THE ADULT BABIES and Independents Day focuses on the directors of the festival hit short HEARTLESS.

Plus all your favourite COLUMNS, NEWS, REVIEWS and much MORE from the worlds of SCI-FI, HORROR and FANTASY!

EVE World Tour Locking Onto Earth in 2019

Tickets go on sale January 2019 – Act fast to receive early-bird discounts!

Thursday, December 20, 2018 — CCP Games, the creators of the in-depth and uniquely player-driven spaceship MMO game, EVE Online, is proud to announce the EVE World Tour, a global series of capsuleer conventions throughout 2019 that will bring a developer-led and player-centric EVE experience to denizens of New Eden across numerous cities and venues around the globe.

Working in close partnership with its community, CCP Games will bring an assortment of tournaments, livestreams, unique in-game rewards, reveals, developer roundtables and stellar parties to fans directly, bringing EVE Online closer to its community than ever before as part of the EVE World Tour.View the official announcement reveal here:

The EVE World Tour will take place across 2019 in the following locations:

  • Netherlands: EVEsterdam, Compagnie Theatre – March 23-24

With a keynote presentation, fans will receive a unique look at the universe of EVE Online as told by its developers. Players will make an impact in various ways and you can expect a party worthy of Amsterdam’s nightlife afterwards.

  • Russia / Baltic Region: EVE St. Petersburg, Akakao – May 4

With one of EVE’s most passionate fanbases, EVE St.Petersburg will bring players from around the region together for a day of merriment, amazing developer-led sessions and exclusive content.

  • Australia: EVE Down Under, SMC Centre – May 23-26

Travel to Sydney to experience the unique Aussie community spirit, developer-led sessions, exclusive presentations and Q&As, as well PvP tournament action and Sydney nightlife.

  • Canada: EVE North, Toronto – June 21-23

The first ever official EVE event in Canada will take place in beautiful downtown Toronto. Players will be able to experience PvP tournaments, presentations and party that brings EVE’s signature community.

  • Finland: Fanfest HOME, Kaimonsaari – August 23

A personal, home-sized version of the legendary Fanfest in a player’s living room. Yes, it’s crazy… but that’s nothing new for CCP.

  • Germany: G-fleet Berlin, AltMunze – September 13-14

Taking place in the heartland of PC gaming, exclusive developer-led presentations, PvP tournaments and a huge party await EVE fans in Berlin next September.

  • USA: EVE Vegas, Las Vegas – October 25-27

EVE Vegas has been the official tentpole event for EVE fans in Las Vegas for years, hence needs no introduction. Over one thousand EVE players descend on the city of sin for a few days every year to discuss important spaceship business and party. It breaks attendance records every time and in 2019 it aims to be bigger and crazier than ever.

  • UK: EVE London, Indigo at the 02 Arena – November 23

Held at the world-famous O2 Arena, EVE London brings the classic pub-meet of legend into 2019 and puts it into overdrive. Expect a performance by Permaband and one huge party to cap off an amazing year of EVE Online.

 

“We’ve been asking you to come and visit us in Iceland for years now, so it’s time we go and visit you both as part of some player-led events as well as some brand new ones,” said Sveinn Jóhannesson Kjarval (aka CCP Guard), Senior Community Development Lead at CCP Games. “As promised at Fanfest 2018 and EVE Vegas 2018, we’re turning our Fanfest efforts up to eleven by packing our backpacks full of exciting updates, keynotes, exclusive content, PvP tournaments with a sprinkle of Permaband and taking all of this (and more!) closer to our community. So close, that with Fanfest Home, we’re actually going to hold a Fanfest at the home of one of our players.”

The EVE World Tour will be making its way across the globe in 2019, so reserve the date and book off vacation days in advance! For more information on EVE World Tour, visit the official blog: http://bit.ly/EVEWorldTour2019

About EVE Online®

EVE Online (PC/Mac) is a compelling, community-driven spaceship MMO game where players can build and pilot a wide variety of starships, traversing vast solar systems for free and choosing their own path from countless options, experiencing space exploration, immense PvP and PvE battles, mining, industry and a sophisticated player economy in an ever-expanding sandbox. EVE is a captivating game in which hundreds of thousands of players compete for riches, power, glory and adventure, forging their own destinies in a single thriving universe. For more information, visit www.eveonline.com.

About CCP Games

CCP is a leading game developer that has been praised for its artistry, game design and unique player-driven, infinitely scalable storytelling narratives. CCP is the creator of the critically acclaimed space MMO EVE Online (PC/Mac), EVE: Valkyrie, a competitive multiplayer first-person spaceship shooter for PCs and PlayStation®4, Sparc™, an original virtual sport for PCs and PlayStation®VR where players’ VR hardware serves as their sports equipment, and the Gunjack™ series, VR arcade-action games for PCs, PlayStation®VR, Google Daydream and the Samsung Gear VR mobile platform. Founded in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1997, CCP is an independent subsidiary of Pearl Abyss, the developer of Black Desert Online. For more information, visit www.ccpgames.com.

Director Shawn Levy Departs UNCHARTED Movie

Uncharted

With an Uncharted movie having been in development for a while now, the film has suffered a blow as director Shawn Levy has departed the big-screen take on the beloved video game franchise.

Via io9, Levy has left the picture in order to focus on the Ryan Reynolds-starring Free Guy. This comes as a bit of a surprise, especially as Levy has so often talked so enthusiastically about Uncharted – not to mention he’s already brought in Tom Holland to play the younger version of Nathan Drake.

Drake, of course, is the hero at the centre of the Uncharted game series. At this stage, it’s believed that the movie will be a prequel to the video game series, pulling inspiration from the Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception sequence in which young Drake first meets his treasure-hunting partner-in-crime Victor Sullivan.

As ever, expect more on this as Uncharted continues to develop.

Steve Dash 1944 – 2018

In some sad news, it’s been confirmed that Steve Dash has passed away at the age of the 74 due to complications from diabetes.

Dash became a huge favourite of many a horror hound after playing Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part II; making him the first person to play the adult Jason. With a reputation as a fascinating, fun, and utterly engaging gentleman over the years due to his fan interactions, Dash’s other notable acting credits include efforts such as Alone in the Dark, Mr. Hush, and 13 Tazameti, while he also worked as a stuntman on the likes of Ghostbusters and 9 1/2 Weeks.

Simply put, Steve Dash was one of the good guys, always taking the effort to go the extra mile and to make time to speak to his fans and colleagues. Added to that, his true love of Jason only further enamoured him to the hearts of the horror community; with him even going so far as to dress as “Sack Head Jason” at conventions.

The thoughts of all here at STARBURST go out to the family, friends and fans of Steve Dash. Rest in peace.

Friday the 13th Part II

Netflix’s LOCKE & KEY Begins to Assemble its Cast

Locke & Key

With Netflix having picked up Locke & Key earlier this year, now comes the first casting news for the series.

Courtesy of Deadline, American Crime’s Connor Jessup has been cast as Tyler Locke, Utopia’s Emilia Jones as Kinsey Locke, and IT’s Jackson Robert Scott as Bode Locke.

If you remember back, IT’s Andy Muschietti had actually already directed the pilot episode of Locke & Key back when the show was pegged to land on Hulu. Surprisingly, Hulu decided against ordering the show to a full series, and that meant that the future looked grim for the project. Well, until Netflix came to the rescue.

Since then, the pilot episode was essentially discarded and the hunt was on for an entirely fresh and different cast. Interestingly, though, young Jackson Robert Scott did indeed play Bode Locke in the aforementioned pilot.

The early blurb on this adaptation of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s famed tale reads:

Locke & Key tells the story of the Locke family and their journey into Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them, and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all!

Joe Hill, Carlton Cuse, Aron Eli Coleite and Meredith Averill have been developing Locke & Key, with Cuse and Averill serving as showrunners. Similarly, Hill and Coleite are penning the first episode, with Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti on board as executive producers.

Expect more on Locke & Key as it continues to develop.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Movie Lands a New Writer

Battlestar Galactica

With rumblings of a Battlestar Galactica movie having done the rounds for a while now, the project has taken a giant leap forward as Universal has brought in a new writer for the film.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, The Girl in the Spider’s Web’s Jay Basu has been hired to rewrite the initial screenplay in place from Westworld’s Lisa Joy.

The original sci-fi series centred on the solo warship known as the Galactica in the aftermath of the millennia-long battle against the no-good Cylons. Galactica: 1980 would follow in, err, 1980, and then a hugely well-received TV redo of the original turned up in 2004. That reboot subsequently led to Caprica and Blood & Chrome.

The last we’d heard on his Battlestar Galactica movie was that The Hunger Games’ Francis Lawrence was directing – and that still appears to be the case right now.

As ever, expect more on all of this if and when it develops.

WARHAMMER 40,000 to Get Animated Series

angels death

Games Workshop has announced that they are producing an animated series called Angels of Death. The show will feature the franchise’s iconic Space Marines, namely the demi-vampiric Blood Angels.

The show is being put together by a blend of talent from throughout the community. Names attached include Aaron Dembski-Bowden, a novelist known for his thrilling, violent and gritty work on the Warhammer franchise. Electron Arts cinematic designer Richard Boylan is also involved, who’s known to fans thanks to his atmospheric short, Guardsman. Boylan also created a dramatic retelling on the novel Helsreach, which is also set in the Warhammer 40,000 Universe.

Games Workshop doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to movies. In 1996, the company produced Inquisitor, a live-action mini-movie that was held together with gaffer tape and enthusiasm. 2010’s Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie brought together the voice talents of Terence Stamp, Sean Pertwee and John Hurt with the storytelling skill of Guardians of the Galaxy writer Dan Abnett. Unfortunately, it was poorly animated and directed, leading it to be a bit of a snore-fest.

Signs point to Angel of Death being the best official Warhammer 40,000 show so far.