FOX Cancels LUCIFER and THE EXORCIST

Lucifer The Exorcist FOX

It’s that time of year where FOX are making the call on whether to renew or cancel certain shows, and sadly two genre favourites have been scrapped by the network.

As announced by FOX, Lucifer and The Exorcist are not being renewed. Where Lucifer is concerned, many are a tad surprised to see the Tom Ellis-starrer canned after three seasons due to said Season 3 still managing to pull in relatively strong ratings. For The Exorcist, that’s a blow that will likely hit even harder for many a genre fan, for that has been a fascinating, terrifying piece of genre television for the past two years. Unfortunately, while those who’ve seen The Exorcist have been wowed by it, the brutal fact of the matter is that not enough people actually tuned in to check this one out. If you remember back, The Exorcist was nearly scrapped after just one season before FOX decided to take a chance on the series for another year.

On the Lucifer news, star Tom Ellis has taken to his Twitter page:

Similarly, The Exorcist creator Jeremy Slater took to his social media channels:

There had been plenty of speculation on The Exorcist’s future over the past several months, so it ultimately comes as no surprise to hear that the show has been canned – even if it is hugely disappointing to hear the news we’d all likely been expected. Given that the viewing figures of just shy of 2 million viewers a week was deemed disappointing for the series’ debut season, the drop to as low as 1.15 million for the second season meant that the writing was sadly on the wall. For Lucifer, that show had hovered around the 3 million viewers mark for its third year, although the season premiere actually got 4 million viewers tuning in. As alluded to, that’s why Lucifer’s cancelling is a tad more surprising than The Exorcist.

Already, Lucifer fans are rallying around and have launched a petition that’s being supported by some pretty huge names. The aim, of course, is to get the show picked up elsewhere, much like what has recently happened with Brooklyn 99. That series was cancelled by FOX but shortly picked up by NBC due to fan demand. Even over this past weekend, #SAVELUCIFER was the top trending Twitter topic in certain territories – so maybe there could be a future for Lucifer Morningstar after all.

One show that has been renewed by FOX is Gotham, with more on that series’ fifth season coming shortly.

THE WALKING DEAD Promotes Two to Series Regulars

Avi Nash, Callan McAuliffe The Walking Dead

With The Walking Dead’s eighth season now in the bag, a few familiar faces have been bumped up to series regulars ahead of the genre juggernaut’s upcoming ninth year.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Avi Nash and Callan McAuliffe will be promoted from recurring roles to series regulars for Season 9. Nash plays Siddiq, a comic book character tweaked and turned in to a doctor for the small screen, while McAuliffe plays Alden, a member of Negan’s Saviors who surrendered himself to Maggie the Hilltop. Given that many see Alden as the show’s spin on the comic book Dante character, it could well be that his relationship with Maggie will take a turn for the romantic as the show progresses, although that’s purely speculation right now.

The Walking Dead will premiere its ninth season this October.

Bill Moseley Would “Love to” Play Freddy in the New ELM STREET

Bill Moseley Teddy Smothered

The last we’d heard on the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise was that yet another rebooting of the series was in development. That redo would be moved forward without Robert Englund or Jackie Earle Haley donning the iconic fedora of Freddy Krueger, and now comes an interesting twist on a potential candidate to fill the legendary glove of Freddy.

When asked by a fan on Twitter, Bill Moseley has talked up how he’d be more than keen to tackle the Krueger role. As he put it, “I would love to.” From there, Moseley was asked if he’d give his blessing to a fan petition being made to try and champion this cause, with him adding, “Fuck yeah” before dropping in, “BTW, what about Robert Englund? Hear he’s awesome!”

After that, as indicated, a petition was indeed created by Nick Younker – the guy who initially reached out to Moseley on Twitter. That petition can be found here.

Moseley is a huge, huge favourite of many a horror hound, with him likely best known for playing Otis in Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects and the just-wrapped 3 from Hell. He’s also played a knock-off Freddy Krueger in John Schneider’s impressive Smothered. That film brought together a host of horror faves such as Moseley, Kane Hodder, Don Shanks, and R.A. Mihailoff, with Moseley playing a striped-sweater-adored “Teddy”.

Of course, whether anything comes of this remains to be seen. What we do know for sure is that a new Nightmare on Elm Street is on the way, and if that is indeed the case and a new Freddy is needed, Bill Moseley would be a mighty fine choice to tackle this legendary horror figure.

BIRDS OF PREY to be R-Rated?

Birds of Prey

Right now, Harley Quinn is booked in for several upcoming cinematic appearances as Warner Brothers’ DC Extended Universe continues to expand. And now, actress Margot Robbie has been discussing how she’s got plans for a particular one of these movies to be R-rated.

To elaborate a little, not only is Robbie’s Harleen set for Suicide Squad 2, there’s also a twisted romance picture alongside Jared Leto’s Joker, the female-driven Gotham City Sirens, and the similarly female-fronted Birds of Prey. Out of those, Robbie has singled out Birds of Prey as the one that she’d like to be given an adult edge.

Speaking to Collider, Robbie explained, “I pitched the idea of an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because I was like, ‘Harley needs friends. Harley loves interacting with people, so don’t ever make her do a standalone movie. She’s going to be with other people, it should be a girl gang.’ I wasn’t seeing enough girl gangs on screen, especially in the action space. So that was always a big part of it.”

The last we’d heard on Birds of Prey, Warners had pushed it to the top of the line as a priority project and supposedly the next big screen outing for the Maid of Mischief. With Dead Pigs’ Cathy Yan now in the director’s chair, the picture has been pushed ahead of Gavin O’Connor’s Suicide Squad sequel, with David Ayer’s Gotham City Sirens and that Harley/Joker romance film seemingly put on the backburner for now.

For those unfamiliar with the Birds of Prey team, they’re a female group of heroes from the DC realm, with names such as Barbara Gordon, Black Canary, Huntress, Catwoman, Lady Blackhawk, Katana, and, yes, Harley Quinn having made up its ranks at points over the years. Initially, the plan for the film was to see Harley as the villain of the piece, but those plans have seemingly changed after the character got such a positive response in Suicide Squad.

Up next for Margot Robbie is playing Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, with production on Birds of Prey expected to start as soon as Robbie gets wrapped on QT’s latest picture.

Annette Bening Joins CAPTAIN MARVEL

Annette Bening

With all eyes on March 2019’s Captain Marvel, that currently-shooting film has moved to bring in a new addition in the form of Annette Bening.

As per Variety’s Justin Kroll, the American Beauty actress will be playing the mother of Brie Larson’s titular Carol Danvers, Marie Danvers. This technically isn’t Bening’s first foray into the superhero genre, with her having actually been cast to play Catwoman in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. Of course, Michelle Pfeiffer would famously tackle the Selina Kyle role opposite Michael Keaton in that 1992 effort, with Bening having to drop out of the part due to pregnancy.

The early word on Captain Marvel reads:

Captain Marvel follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In addition to Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Bening joins a cast that also includes Jude Law as Mar-Vell, the original Captain Marvel, Samuel L. Jackson as a two-eyed Nick Fury, and Ben Mendelsohn as the villain of the piece. Interestingly, Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou will be reprising their Guardians of the Galaxy roles as Ronan and Korath, respectively, while Clark Gregg will be back as Agent Coulson.

To be directed by Mississippi Grind’s Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Captain Marvel will shoot to the silver screen next March – two months before May 2019’s Avengers: Infinity War follow-up.

BRIGHT Sequel Brings in a Screenwriter

Bright

With a Bright sequel announced shortly after the first movie landed on Netflix, said follow-up has now moved to bring in a writer.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Evan Spiliotopoulos has been brought in to pen the Bright sequel’s screenplay. Spiliotopoulos is likely best known for penning the likes of Beauty and the Beast, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, and Hercules, and he replaces Max Landis on writing duties after he and director David Ayer had some creative differences.

All that we know on the sequel is that Will Smith and Joel Edgerton are likely to be back as Daryl Ward and Nick Jakoby, as well as the aforementioned Ayer.

As ever, expect more on the Bright sequel as it continues to develop.

New Plot Details for THE PURGE TV Series

The Purge

With a Purge TV series in development as well as this July’s fourth Purge movie, we’ve now been given some new details on this upcoming small screen offering for the franchise.

Speaking to EW, franchise creator James DeMonaco explained, “I’d say it’s 70, 65% Purge Night and then 30% flashback. We follow four what-seem-to-be-separate storylines of people going out on the evening and experiencing the Purge. The real estate of the ten hours of the TV allows us to use flashback, where we flashback out of the Purge world, into the regular lives, the non-Purge days, of this future America. We get to see who these people are when it’s not Purge Night and the events that led them to where they are on the particular Purge Night that we are following.”

DeMonaco added, “The real estate of TV lets us truly analyse why anyone would resort to violence on Purge Night. So, it’s a slower burn. Whereas the movies are kind of a punch in the face – you know, these big events – I think the TV show, with the real estate of it, allows us to truly analyse why anyone would pick up a gun or a knife to solve a problem. We really get to examine the night, and the intricacies of the evening, and the nuances of the evening, and the different kinds of people who are out on the streets in a way that I just couldn’t do in the movies.”

When we spoke to DeMonaco back at the end of 2016, he was discussing a similar approach to what was then a ‘potential’ TV series. At that point, he explained how he would “follow six or seven people, flashing back and showing how they go to this point of wanting to purge or being purged upon.”

Where The Purge as a franchise stands, it’s easily one of the most fascinating in modern horror. Whether you like the three films to date or not, the premise alone is a hugely interesting one that lends itself to so many possibilities. As such, we’re eager t see what lies ahead both on the big and small screen for the property.

To be titled simply The Purge, the upcoming TV series will star William Baldwin, Lili Simmons, Amanda Warren, Hannah Anderson, Colin Woodell, Lee Tergesen, Gabriel Chavarria, and Jessica Garza. Red Tails and The Wire’s Anthony Hemingway will direct the show’s premiere episode. The series is being executive produced by James DeMonaco and Jason Blum.

As for the next big-screen outing for the franchise, The First Purge is booked in for a July 4th release.

John Lightgow Joins the PET SEMATARY Remake

John Lithgow

With a Pet Sematary reboot currently in development, the film has moved to cast a genre favourite in one of its key roles.

As per EW, John Lithgow has been brought in to play Jud Crandall in the redo. If you remember, that role was played by Fred Gwynne in the 1989 original movie. The reason that this role is so key is because Crandall is the friendly neighbour who introduces Louis Creed to the titular locale. At this point, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ Jason Clarke is in talks to play the Creed role.

For not familiar with Pet Sematary, the Stephen King-penned tale began life back in ’83, with the story focussing on an eerie pet cemetery – which is misspelled as sematary – behind the new home purchased by the Creed family. Rumour has it, any animals buried in said cemetery will come back to life. The tale doesn’t stop there though, for things don’t go exactly to plan when the hallowed ground is used to reanimate humans…

King’s work would famously be adapted for the big screen in 1989 by director Mary Lambert – itself in turn followed by a 1993 sequel. Ever since 2010, there’s been regular chatter of a remake happening, and at one point we even had the brilliant Guillermo del Toro throwing his hat in the ring to tackle the redo. Ultimately, del Toro’s uber-busy schedule didn’t allow for anything further to happen on that front, but we are now still getting a new take on this old favourite.

Where this latest take on an old favourite is concerned, the duo of Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch are sharing directing duties, with the pair also having worked on the screenplay with Jeff Buhler.

As ever, expect more on this new Pet Sematary as it continues to develop.

Stallone to Tackle the Mexican Cartel in RAMBO 5

Rambo

With a new Rambo movie long in development, the initial rumblings were that said film would be a rebooting of the framed franchise. Apparently not.

As the first concrete plot details have been made public – courtesy of Deadline – we now have confirmation that the film will indeed continue with the narrative established in the previous four films.

The early synopsis for Rambo 5 has the picture pegged as:

In the fifth episode of the franchise, when the daughter of one of his friends is kidnapped, Rambo, who has been working on a ranch, crosses the US-Mexican border and quickly finds himself up against the full might of one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.

So, John Rambo to battle the Mexican cartel? Sounds as Rambo as can be to us.

At this stage, Stallone may end up directing the film in addition to reprising one of his most iconic roles. Sly, of course, directed the last entry in the series – 2008’s Rambo – as well as having taken up the director’s chair for Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky Balboa, and The Expendables.

Expect more on Rambo 5 as it continues to develop.

Don’t Miss Portsmouth Comic Con This Weekend!

portsmouth

The south coast of England is set for one of the best conventions of the year when the first-ever Portsmouth Comic Con kicks off this Bank Holiday weekend.

Taking place over several floors in the Guildhall in the heart of the port city over two days, Saturday, May 5th (which also happens to be Free Comic Book Day!) and Sunday, May 6th, the convention already has considerable buzz surrounding it. The event is set to welcome visitors from all over England and beyond, with exhibitions, traders, small press dealers and an amazing selection of the finest talents in the comic book industry.

With artists like Rafael Albuquerque, Declan Shalvey Frank Quitely, and Rob Williams, along with Editors Shelly Bond, Dirk Wood and Randy Stradley the focus of Portsmouth Comic Con seems to be comics first and that will go a long way to endear fans and prove that this is an event not to be missed. Dirk Wood, Creative Director and co-editor of Full Bleed: The Comics And Culture Quarterly is also offering three artists the chance to be part of Full Bleed.

Other parts of the convention include cosplay and competitions, a live FX demonstration from Gary Pollard, a 30-year industry veteran, who has worked on Game of Thrones, Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, and Doctor Who. There is also plenty of opportunities for photos and autographs with actors Ian McElhinney, Josh Herdman, Mark Silk, Norman Lovett, Tom Clarke Hill (the voice of Tony the Tiger! That’s G-r-r-reat!), and cosplay guests Onyxeia and Tiny Tigress.

Tickets can be ordered here and if you’re a fan of pop culture then Portsmouth Comic Con is the best way to spend your Bank Holiday weekend.