BOND 25 Wants Rami Malek as its Villain

Rami Malek

Fresh off what many are labelling an Oscar-worthy performance in Bohemian Rhapsody, Rami Malek could well be about to join the pantheon of sinister Bond villains.

Courtesy of Variety, director Cary Fukunaga is reportedly keen to have the Mr. Robot star tackle Daniel Craig’s 007 in Bond 25.

Whilst Fukunaga is keen, there is one major sticking point in all of this. The current plan from MGM is for Bond 25 to start filming early next year, although Malek is booked in to start shooting Mr. Robot’s final season in March. At the earliest, it would seem that the hugely talented actor wouldn’t be available to start Bond 25 until at least July, which would mean that MGM would again have to push Bond 25’s start date back.

Previously, one of the main reasons for Danny Boyle’s departure from the film was down to a disagreement over the villain of the piece. Boyle was pushing for Claes Bang – who has recently landed the titular role in Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat’s Dracula – while Craig and MGM producers didn’t see Bang as a suitable opponent for 007.

Rami Malek has long been a huge favourite of many a genre fan, and his turn as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody has seen him instantly become one of the hottest stars in Hollywood right now. Whether he winds up battling Daniel Craig in his last outing as James Bond, we’ll have to wait and see.

As ever, expect more on all things Bond 25 as the picture continues to develop.

Warner Brothers Developing a PLASTIC MAN Movie

Plastic Man

While Marvel Studios has recently gone left-field by beginning work on a Shang-Chi movie, it’s now been revealed that Warner Brothers is similarly looking to bring one of their more obscure characters to the big screen.

Courtesy of Deadline, Warners has brought in The Mayor’s Amanda Idoko to pen the screenplay for a Plastic Man movie. To be fair, Plastic Man is a cult favourite of sorts, but this is still a little bit of a surprising move from The WB. That said, there’s all kinds of visual possibilities to be had with such a fun character.

Originally created for Quality Comics by Jack Cole, Plastic Man debuted in 1941’s Police Comics #1. Patrick “Eel” O’Brian was a no-good criminal who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Why’s that? Well, that’s because a bungled robbery ends with him covered in some funky chemicals that completely change his genetic make-up. This change allows O’Brian to change in to pretty much any and all shapes you could possibly think of. Throw in a heroic change of heart and some humourous quips, and you soon had the fundamentals in place for a hugely enjoyable character. And yes, for those asking, he is indeed ever so slightly similar to DC’s other flexible hero, Elongated Man. Oh, and Marvel’s Reed Richards.

Following the closure of Quality Comics in 1956, DC Comics swooped in to nab the rights for several Quality creations, including Eel O’Brian. In terms of his notoriety in the comic book world, Plastic Man has been a fully paid-up member of the Justice League, has often teamed with Batman, and had a huge role to play in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again.

Away from comics, The Plastic Man/Comedy Adventure Show was an animated effort that ran from 1979 to 1981, and Plastic Man was a regular part of the fun in Batman: The Brave and the Bold during its run.

Previously, there have been several attempts to get a Plastic Man feature off the ground; all of which ultimately fizzled out and came to nothing. It’s still extremely early days, but it looks as if we may get to see Eel O’Brian on the big screen at some point after all.

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

Plans Already in Place for an AQUAMAN Sequel

Aquaman

James Wan’s Aquaman has yet to officially swim to the big screen just yet, but already it appears that a follow-up has been given the green light.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Brothers’ Toby Emmerich has given the all clear for a second Aquaman effort. This is largely down to the fact that Aquaman is currently tracking for a $65 million opening in the US, plus the positive early reviews of the Jason Momoa-starrer. That $65 million isn’t a huge number – Black Panther, for example, took just over $200 million during its opening weekend – but it’s clearly enough for Emmerich to begin developing Aquaman 2. Despite competition from Mary Poppins Returns and Bumblebee, Aquaman is expected to nab the top spot at the box office upon its US release.

There’s no concrete information on who’ll be writing or directing Aquaman 2 at this extremely early stage, and clearly plot details will be thin on the ground until we at least see how the action plays out in Aquaman.

Aquaman hits UK cinemas from December 12th, with the movie then hoping to make an even bigger splash when it lands in the US on December 21st.

NIGHT GALLERY Getting Rebooted by Syfy

Night Gallery

With other classic anthology shows of yesteryear currently being brought back to life, now comes word that Night Gallery is to be refreshed for a new audience.

Courtesy of Deadline, Teen Wolf’s Jeff Davis and Midnight, Texas’ David Janollari are overseeing this new take on an old favourite for Syfy. This new series will update the 1969 setting of the original, with a more modern, digital-driven skew on things this time out. In fact, the early word has Night Gallery looking to “explore and exploit every modern nightmare imaginable, mining our fears of the dangers of social media”.

The original Night Gallery was a creation of the iconic Rod Sterling, running from 1969 to 1973. Sterling was also responsible for giving audiences The Twilight Zone, which itself is currently getting the reboot treatment courtesy of Jordan Peele and CBS.

As ever, expect more on Night Gallery was we get it.

STAR TREK Star Hits the West End

west end

Star Trek: The Next Generation star Marina Sirtis will make her West End debut when she takes the lead in the world premiere of Dark Sublime. Further casting, including an iconic voice of Science Fiction, will be announced in 2019. Directed by Andrew Keates (As Is and Dessa Rose – Trafalgar Studios), Dark Sublime, the debut play by Michael Dennis, is a love-letter to British sci-fi television – both those that make it and those that adore it.

Interrogating ideas of hero worship, Dark Sublime follows an unlikely new friendship as an old one fractures. Oli arrives at the door of a now-forgotten sci-fi icon – impatient to make friends, and to make something of his life. Marianne, a jobbing actress, knows about waiting – for the phone to ring, for her best friend to see her differently, for her turn at something more substantial than a half-remembered role on a cult TV show. He wants an autograph; she doesn’t want anything from him. Yet as they start to explore each other’s worlds, they begin to discover what every good relationship needs: time and space

A tribute to the community of fandom, Dark Sublime examines the feeling of belonging that comes with finding your place among the outcasts. Exploring the complexities of relationships especially in the LGBTQ community, and the contrast in lived experiences across generations, Dark Sublime is about joy and heartbreak as much as it is about quarries and transmat beams.

Andrew Keates said of the production, “I’m delighted to be returning to Trafalgar Studios again after having such happy experiences directing both Dessa Rose and As Is there. But what is a personal treat is to spend time working on a project that fuses two of my very favourite things – science fiction and theatre.”

Michael Dennis says, “This is a big story full of laughter, tears, and silver lamé spacesuits. I’m looking forward to audiences experiencing the birth of a whole galaxy of real emotion and radiophonic sound effects in Trafalgar Studios this summer.”

Dark Sublime is produced by Jamie Chapman Dixon and Piers Cottee-Jones for Rigmarole Productions in association with Arion Productions.

The production runs from Tuesday June 25th – Saturday August 3rd, 2019 Monday – Saturday, 7:45pm and Thursday and Saturday, 3pm at Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, London SW1A 2DY.

Tickets are available from the Trafalgar Studios Box Office and 0844 871 7632 priced from £25 – £35.

MEN IN BLACK Spin-off Movie Gets an Official Title

Men in Black International

The impending new Men in Black movie has finally been given a title.

Via Collider, the picture is officially labelled Men in Black International, with the effort to exist within the same universe as the previous trilogy of MiB movies. That said, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will not be a part of the film.

Instead, heading up with the action will be Chris Hemsworth and his Thor: Ragnarok co-star Tessa Thompson. They’ll be a part of the London branch of the Men in Black organisation, which is to be headed up by Liam Neeson. One person who is reprising a role, however, is Emma Thompson, who’ll be back to play her Agent O role from Men in Black 3. Others on board for the spin-off movie are Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall and Kumail Najiani.

To be directed by F. Gary Gray, Men in Black International is currently booked in for a June 14th, 2019 release.

AMERICAN GODS’ Second Season Set for March Premiere

American Gods

With many genre fans eagerly awaiting the return of Starz’s American Gods, we now finally have word as to when the show’s second season will premiere.

To be made up of eight episodes, Starz has revealed that American Gods’ second year will air from March 10th. For UK fans, Season 2 will begin to air on Amazon Prime Video from March 11th.

The official synopsis on Season 2 of American Gods reads:

In season two, the battle between Old Gods and New Gods continues to brew as we join Mr. Wednesday just a few short hours after his declaration of war and the epic showdown that ensued at Easter’s party. While Mr. World (Crispin Glover, Alice In Wonderland) plans revenge for Wednesday’s attack, Mr. Wednesday continues his quest to pitch the case for war to the Old Gods with Shadow, Laura (Emily Browning, Sucker Punch) and Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber, Orange is the New Black in tow. When things don’t go as planned after an encounter at the House on the Rock, both Old and New Gods, as well as those they meet along the way, find themselves on quests across America — all destined in some way for Cairo, Illinois. Shadow will begin to understand this strange world of the gods and carve out a place in it as a believer in order to survive. But change will require sacrifice.

In its debut season, American Gods proved to be a hugely ambitious and impressive show. And here’s hoping that the series’ second year can match up to the bonkers brilliance of said debut season.

Johannes Roberts to Direct RESIDENT EVIL Reboot

Resident Evil 2

Well, this is some rather cool news, right? Yes, as the headline suggests, Johannes Roberts is the person tasked with directing the upcoming Resident Evil reboot.

Courtesy of Variety, Roberts has signed on to write and direct this new start for the Resident Evil franchise. Roberts, of course, has become a favourite of so many genre fans thanks to the likes of F, The Other Side of the Door, 47 Meters Down and The Strangers: Prey at Night.

The current plan of attack for Constantin Films is to start over and take Resident Evil back to its horror roots. That was how things all began with Paul W.S. Anderson’s 2002 Resident Evil before that franchise gradually turned more to sci-fi as the series progressed. The final outing for that incarnation of Resident Evil was in 2016, and then it was confirmed that a reboot would be happening; a reboot without any involvement from Anderson and Milla Jovovich.

As ever, expect more on all things Resident Evil as we get it.

The CW Developing a DOCTOR MIRAGE Show

Doctor Mirage

Barely a week goes by these days without a new comic book adaptation being announced, and now we have word that Doctor Mirage is next up for the adap treatment.

Courtesy of Deadline, it’s being reported that The CW is getting set to develop a new show based around the Valiant Entertainment property created by Bob Layton and Bernard Chong. This isn’t the first time that The CW has shown interest in Doctor Mirage, mind, for the network similarly tried to get a small-screen adaptation of the book off the ground in 2016. Back then, it was decided to put the project on hold.

As a character, Doctor Mirage technically debuted in 1993’s Shadowman #16 before The Second Life of Doctor Mirage was launched. Hwen Dong is a paranormal investigator who ends up with some eerie necromantic powers. More often that not, his wife Carmen is also along to partake in Doc Mirage’s ghostly adventures. In more recent years, however, Doctor Mirage was reimagined as a female called Shan Fong who is battling to use her powers to contact her deceased husband, Hwen.

It’s believed that The CW’s take on Doctor Mirage will indeed focus on the latter Shan Fong version of the character. Reign’s Laurie McCarthy is on board to executive produce and write the series.

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

Toby Kebbell Joins Shyamalan’s New Thriller Series

Toby Kebbell

As M. Night Shyamalan’s new psychological thriller series continues to amass its core cast, genre fave Toby Kebbell has been added to the series.

Via Deadline, the Dead Man’s Shoes, Prince of Persia and Fantastic Four actor has signed up to join Rupert Grint, Lauren Ambrose and Nell Tiger Free in the show. Said to-be-titled show has been given a ten-episode order by Apple, with Shyamalan serving as executive producer in addition to directing the first episode.

The full plot of this series has yet to be revealed, although we know that the tale will centre on a young family and their nanny. Toby Kebbell will be playing Sean Turner, the father of the family, with Lauren Ambrose as his wife. Game of Thrones’ Nell Tiger Free will be playing the nanny, while Grint is to play the younger brother of Ambrose’s character.

Expect more on this hotly anticipated series as it continues to develop.