BLADE RUNNER Anime Series on the Way

Blade Runner 2049

In some news that’s sure to grab the attention of many a genre fan, Adult Swim and Crunchyroll are teaming with Alcon Television Group to deliver audiences a Blade Runner anime series.

To be titled Blade Runner-Black Lotus, the series will take place in 2032 and will feature certain characters already seen in the Blade Runner franchise to date. Cowboy Bebop’s Shinichiro Watanabe is on board as the show’s creative producer, which ties in nicely given how he wrote and directed the Blade Runner Black Out 2022 anime short that was one of three mini prequels that arrived before Blade Runner 2049.

The current plan is Blade Runner-Black Lotus to be made up of thirteen episodes, with Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama to direct the half-hour outings.

Adult Swim will handle global distribution for the English dubbed version of Blade Runner-Black Lotus, with those episodes airing on Adult Swim’s Toonami. Crunchyroll will handle worldwide streaming for the show. As it happens, both Adult Swim and Crunchyroll are divisions of WarnerMedia.

Warner Bros. Developing a BLUE BEETLE Movie

Blue Beetle

Right now, it looks as if James Wan’s Aquaman is set to make the huge splash that many of us have been hoping for. And now, there’s word on another new movie for the DC Extended Universe.

If you remember, there’s been a massive amount of pictures announced for the DCEU over the past few years, although many of those projects have been thrown up in the air due to the poor response and performance of the majority of the previous movies in this shared realm. But while the future of efforts such as Green Lantern Corps., Gotham Sirens, Nightwing, Man of Steel 2, and Lobo continue to be uncertain, now comes word that Blue Beetle is to get his own film.

The Wrap broke the news, with Warner Bros. developing the effort based around the Jaime Reyes incarnation of the Blue Beetle character. On the topic of the previously planned DCEU movies, there was at one point a team-up effort planned for Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. That film stewed in development hell for a while before seemingly being canned altogether.

Jaime Reyes is the third person to take on the Blue Beetle mantle, following on from Dan Garrett and Ted Kord. As a character, Reyes debuted in February 2006’s Infinite Crisis #3, with him taking on the Blue Beetle moniker the following month. Since then, Reyes has gone on to become a member of the Teen Titans and the Justice League, and he’s often been paired up with Bart Allen.

In terms of powers, Reyes accidentally bonded with the famed scarab which in turn gave him a swanky tech-tastic suit that housed a vast array of powers, such as weapon creation, hand blasts, flight, and the ability to actually translate alien languages. In addition to appearing in several animated efforts, the Jaime Reyes take on Blue Beetle has previously appeared in live-action in Smallville, as played by Jaren Brandt Bartlett.

Warners has brought in Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer to pen the Blue Beetle screenplay, with his most recent work being on Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming Scarface remake.

As ever, expect more on Blue Beetle as it continues to develop.

AMC Renews PREACHER for a Fourth Season

Preacher

Yesterday saw unconfirmed reports that Preacher’s fourth season is happening and that it will start shooting in January, and we’re now pleased to report that that information is now official.

Courtesy of Deadline, AMC has officially ordered a fourth season for Jesse Custer and Co. Right now, no particular plot points are known, although clearly there’s a lot to explore following the show’s explosive third year.

On this news, AMC’s David Madden enthused, “Preacher is a show unlike any other on television. A passionate base of fans found their way to Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy and have followed along with their adventures, at times indescribable adventures, for three seasons. We are thankful to our partners at Sony and to Seth, Evan and Sam for everything they have brought to the series, which we are pleased to renew for a fourth season. Like the superfans of Preacher, we can’t wait to see where this journey leads next.”

Expect more on Preacher’s fourth season as it continues to develop.

Netflix Cancels DAREDEVIL After Three Seasons

Daredevil

What’s that wail you hear in the early morning breeze? That’s the collective cries of disappointment of the genre community as Netflix has cancelled Marvel’s Daredevil after three seasons.

Via Deadline, this news has now been confirmed by both Netflix and Marvel. This comes hot on the heels of Marvel’s Luke Cage and Marvel’s Iron Fist being canned after two seasons apiece. But still, many thought that Daredevil was safe, especially considering just how stunning the Charlie Cox-headliner’s recent third season was.

The official word on this news reads:

Marvel’s Daredevil will not return for a fourth season on Netflix. We are tremendously proud of the show’s last and final season and although it’s painful for the fans, we feel it best to close this chapter on a high note. We’re thankful to showrunner Erik Oleson, the show’s writers, stellar crew and incredible cast including Charlie Cox as Daredevil himself, and we’re grateful to the fans who have supported the show over the years. While the series on Netflix has ended, the three existing seasons will remain on the service for years to come, while the Daredevil character will live on in future projects for Marvel.

If you remember back, Disney is in the midst of developing their own streaming service. Due to that, many have been clinging on to the hope that Mike Colter’s Luke Cage and Finn Jones’ Iron Fist would be given their own shows or a team-up effort on said on-demand service.

Could it be that this is all merely part of a plan to move Netflix’s Marvel heroes over to this Disney service? And if so, does that mean that we can expect similar cancellations for Marvel’s Jessica Jones and Marvel’s The Punisher once their third and second seasons, respectively, have aired on Netflix?

Similarly, there’s the interesting line of “while the Daredevil character will live on in future projects for Marvel”. That could mean the current incarnations of Daredevil and these other Marvel characters, or it could mean that we’ve seen the last of Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Luke Cage, Finn Jones and Jon Bernthal’s takes on these characters, and there are plans for new versions of these heroes to be developed for the Disney streaming service.

There’s also rumblings out there that Disney is looking to give these characters a more PG-driven feel for their streaming service, which certainly is a different approach to what we’ve seen so far in the gritty, brutal Netflix efforts. Then, of course, it might be that there are plans to introduce Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and The Punisher into the main Marvel Cinematic Universe, as oppose to loosely existing in that same realm.

Either way, Marvel’s Daredevil has been one of the very best genre shows of recent years, and hearing that the series has been scrapped after three seasons – three seasons all of ridiculously high quality – is a gut punch for many genre fans.

As ever, expect more on all of this if and when things develop further for these fan favourite characters.

PREACHER’s Fourth Season on the Way?

Preacher

For those chewing their nails over the future of AMC’s Preacher, it looks as if you can finally relax.

Given how certain fan favourite genre shows have either been cancelled or extremely close to being scrapped over the past year or so, many had worried over the fate of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Preacher. Despite a huge ending to the show’s third season, all had been largely quiet on the series being renewed for a fourth season.

In some potentially great news, though, Production Weekly is reporting that Preacher is set to start shooting its fourth season in Australia this coming January. At this stage, however, it does seem as if said fourth year would be the final season for the Dominic Cooper-starrer.

Of course, none of this is official official just yet, so maybe temper your excitement just a tad until AMC announce something, but this is certainly an encouraging development.

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

Official Synopsis Revealed for the Arrowverse’s ELSEWORLDS Crossover

Elseworlds Arrowverse

As much as it may baffle us to imagine, December is a mere number of days away from arriving. And for so many genre fans across the world, that means one thing: the annual Arrowverse crossover!

We’ve long known that this upcoming crossover between The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is sitting the crossover out this year) was to be titled Elseworlds and would introduce Ruby Rose’s Batwoman, and now we’ve been given the full synopsis for the three episodes of which this tale will span.

The official blurb on these outings reads:

The Flash: Elseworlds, Part 1

When Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and Oliver Queen (guest star Stephen Amell) wake up one morning and realize they have swapped bodies with each other, the two set off to find out what disturbed the timeline to cause such a shift. However, things quickly go from bad to worse when they present their case to Team Flash and the gang doesn’t believe them. Barry and Oliver realize they need Supergirl’s (guest star Melissa Benoist) help and travel to Smallville on Earth-38 where they end up meeting Kara’s cousin, Clark Kent (guest star Tyler Hoechlin), and intrepid reporter, Lois Lane (guest star Elizabeth Tulloch). LaMonica Garrett guest stars as The Monitor. Kevin Tancharoen directed the episode written by Eric Wallace & Sam Chalsen (#509).

Arrow: Elseworlds, Part 2

With Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Barry (guest star Grant Gustin) still stuck in the other’s bodies, the two get a lead on John Deegan (guest star Jeremy Davies) and head to Gotham City with Supergirl (guest star Melissa Benoist) to figure out why their reality has changed. While there, they meet the mysterious Kate Kane (guest star Ruby Rose) who provides them with information that leads the group to Arkham Asylum. James Bamford directed the episode with teleplay by Marc Guggenheim and story by Caroline Dries (#709).

Supergirl: Elseworlds, Part 3

Supergirl (Melissa Benoist), The Flash (guest star Grant Gustin), Green Arrow (guest star Stephen Amell) and Superman (guest star Tyler Hoechlin) engage in the battle of their lives. Jesse Warn directed the episode with story by Marc Guggenheim and teleplay by Derek Simon & Robert Rovner (#409).

Elseworlds is due to air on December 9th, 10th, and 11th in the US, with a UK airing to follow shortly after.

Ruby Rose Batwoman

STAR WARS GALAXY OF ADVENTURES Series of Shorts Announced

Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures

Well, this has come a little out of left-field. A series of new animated Star Wars shorts are launching online tomorrow!

Titled Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures, this series will air this Friday on the new portal at lol.disney.com and on a special YouTube channel for Star Wars Kids.

There’s no details on the creative team behind these shorts at this point, but an official Lucasfilm statement has the material pegged as “fun and educational add-ons designed to help older fans, parents, and other mentors to welcome the kids in their lives to explore the galaxy far, far away.” 

Basically, it appears that these shorts are designed as entry points for younger viewers, a way to highlight the key parts of the previous movies in bite-size chunks.

On this news, Lucasfilm’s James Waugh enthused, “With Galaxy of Adventures, we wanted to craft something that allowed parents to help their kids take their first step into a much larger world whether they were ready to show their kids the films or wanted to find new ways to explore the content.”

Be sure to check the hugely fun new trailer for this project:

Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures will act as the beginning of a year-long Lucasfilm plan to celebrate all things Star Wars – culminating, of course, with Star Wars: Episode IX hitting cinemas in December 2019.

Netflix Developing Live-Action COWBOY BEBOP Series

Cowboy Bebop is a property that has a whole host of fans across the globe, and now comes word that Netflix is developing a live-action take on this beloved anime.

The on-demand streaming service is at work with Tomorrow Studios on a ten-episode series, with Chris Yost on writing and executive producer duties. Yost will be familiar to genre fans for his writing work on efforts such as Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Star Wars Rebels, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Sunrise, the studio behind the original Cowboy Bebop series, is also on board to help develop this new take on an old favourite.

For those unfamiliar with Cowboy Bebop, the early word on this new show reads:

Cowboy Bebop is the jazz-inspired, genre-bending story of Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine and Radical Ed: a rag-tag crew of bounty hunters on the run from their pasts as they hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals. They’ll even save the world… for the right price.

As ever, expect more on this live-action Cowboy Bebop show as it continues to develop.

Robert Kirkman to Usher in the End of the World in 5 YEAR

Robert Kirkman

In some great news for genre fans, Robert Kirkman is teaming with Entertainment One to develop a new TV series called 5 Year.

Via Deadline, Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment is teaming with Entertainment One to develop what’s planned as a five-year show centred on the final five years of humanity itself. And what’s the cause of humanity’s demise? Why, there’s a meteor on a collision course for the planet. The series will depict the five years predating this collision, with the tale unravelling in real time.

Interestingly, Skybound has agreed a deal with a whole host of countries – including the US, the UK, Russia, China, and Germany – for each region to produce its own version of 5 Year that will exist in the same shared universe, with said regions telling their own individual stories as the end of the world looms large.

On this news, Kirkman enthused, “One of our biggest goals at Skybound is to elevate creators by offering them a platform to create compelling stories. Working on 5 Year is an exceptional experience because it gives us the opportunity to see how writers and directors across the world tell different stories with the same core ingredients. We’re excited to have eOne’s expertise in global storytelling for this project.”

Robert Kirkman, of course, is behind major fan favourites such as The Walking Dead and Outcast.

As ever, expect more on 5 Year as we get it.

ZOMBIELAND 2 Brings in Zoey Deutch

Zoey Deutch

Just in case you needed added proof that Zombieland 2 is definitely happening, the follow-up has moved to bring in its first new addition.

Courtesy of Deadline, Vampire Academy’s Zoey Deutch has joined the sequel as the love interest of Jesse Eisenberg’s Columbus. In addition to Eisenberg returning for Zombieland 2, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin are also reprising their roles form Reuben Fleischer’s Zombieland. And in addition to that, Fleischer himself is back to direct, with Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese returning to pen the film’s screenplay.

The early word on Zombieland 2 reads:

In this next installment, through comic mayhem that stretches from the White House and through the heartland, the Zombie slayers must face off against many new kinds of zombies that have evolved since the first movie, as well as some new human survivors. But most of all, they have to face the growing pains of their own snarky, makeshift family.

At present, the Zombieland sequel is booked in for an October 2019 release.