Production Starts on Rob Zombie’s DEVIL’S REJECTS Follow-Up

After plentiful rumblings of a March start date for a third outing for Rob Zombie’s famed Firefly family, Zombie himself has now moved to confirm that, yes, production is now underway on the film.

To be titled 3 from Hell, the film will again have Sheri Moon Zombie’s Baby, Bill Moseley’s Otis, and Sid Haig’s Captain Spaulding front-and-centre as carnage and chaos ensues.

Zombie took to his Instagram page to reveal the news:

This will be the third film to focus on the Firefly clan, with them first introduced in Zombie’s debut feature film, 2003’s House of 1000 Corpses. Following that picture, 2005’s The Devil’s Rejects saw the bloodshed and tension amped up even further in a movie that is often cited as Zombie’s best to date.

Since that 2005 film, horror hounds have regularly clamoured for a third Firefly-driven adventure, and now it’s officially happening.

Plot details on 3 from Hell are currently unknown, although there’s speculation that Baby, Otis, and Captain Spaulding will somehow be brought back from the grave – y’know, after the shootout finale of The Devil’s Rejects left the trio dead. Given how we do know that this threesome will indeed be back in action, it remains to be seen just how the small matter of their previous demise is handled.

The last we’d heard on 3 from Hell was that Zombie was in talks with Saban Films and Lionsgate to get the film a cinema, VOD, and Blu-ray/DVD release, having worked with both companies to distribute his last movie, 2016’s 31.

Nicolas Cage is TEEN TITANS’ Superman

Nicolas Cage Superman

Finally, after two decades in the making, Nicolas Cage is to play Superman on the big screen. Kind of.

Earlier this week, we reported that singer Halsey (nope, us neither) and rapper Lil Yachty (again, no idea) were to voice Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, respectively, in this summer’s Teen Titans GO! to the Movies. As well as that, it was expected that several other celebrities were to have cameos as the rest of the Justice League. You can see where this is going, right? We thought so.

Teen Titans GO! to the Movies Superman Green Lantern Wonder Woman

Yes, Cage is indeed going to be providing the vocals for the Man of Steel, Superman in Teen Titans GO! to the Movies. This, of course, having been a long time coming after Cage was all set to play the Last Son of Krypton in Tim Burton’s Superman Lives back in the ‘90s.

While production began on Superman Lives – complete with Cage getting fitted out for several different Superman outfits – the project would ultimately be scrapped and left as one of Hollywood’s greatest ‘what if?’ stories. In fact, the brilliant Jon Schnepp gave us the fascinating The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? documentary back in 2015, looking back at the ultimately-doomed picture.

Teen Titans GO! to the Movies is currently booked in for a July 27th, 2018 release.

AYLA Set for April VOD Release

Ayla

One particular movie we’ve been keeping our eye on for the past little while is Elias’ Ayla. With an impressive cast including the likes of Tristan Risk, Dee Wallace, Bill Oberst Jr., Nicholas Wilder, and Andrew Sensenig, we’ve been patiently waiting to check out this hotly anticipated effort. And now, we’ve got the great news that Ayla is to be made available from this April.

Freestyle Digital Media has acquired the film for distribution in North America, moving swiftly to book Ayla in for an April 3rd VOD and Digital HD release. Given how Ayla has already won several awards at various festivals across the globe, this is news that’s sure to please many a horror hound.

On this news, writer/director Elias enthused, “We’re delighted to have found a home for Ayla with Freestyle Digital Media.”

Additionally, we reached out to the titular Ayla herself, the ever-great Tristan Risk, who added, “Ayla is an exploration between supernatural and existential horror. Nicholas’ performance will sadden your soul.”

In terms of plot, Ayla is officially described as:

Ayla tells the story of a man, Elton, left lost and damaged since he was a young boy by the unexplained death of his 4-year-old sister, Ayla. All throughout adulthood, Elton has mourned the life with her than could have been. Elton’s days and nights are inhabited by a presence of a mysterious woman, and as his obsession with the woman grows, he becomes convinced she’s his sister Ayla, returned now as an adult. Resolving to find her at all costs, Elton plunges further down a rabbit hole forged by his own loneliness and desire, but who or what will emerge?

Here’s hoping a UK release of Ayla follows suit. In the meantime, be sure to check out the chilling trailer below:

Cyberpunk Comic KILLTOPIA Lands Publishing Deal

Killtopia

Independent creator Card Shark Comics have signed a deal with Glasgow-based BHP Comics to publish their latest title, the hyper-violent cyberpunk tale Killtopia, following the runaway success of the comic’s Kickstarter campaign.

Card Shark Comics founder and Killtopia creator/writer Dave Cook stated, “We couldn’t be more excited to join the BHP family for many reasons; one of those being that they are a fellow Scottish outfit. It means a lot to us that we can take our first step as published creators and help fly the flag for Scotland’s ever-expanding comic industry.”

“What excited me most about joining BHP Comics,” artist Craig Paton adds, “is that as well as allowing us to get our work out to a much bigger audience, it’s very cool to be part of something promoting Scottish art and talent to the wider world.”

Sha Nazir, Publisher at BHP Comics, adds, “Killtopia captures today’s resurging appetite for genre-based sci-fi books and it immediately caught our attention. This is the first time BHP have acquired a book funded by Kickstarter and we are really pleased to add to the book’s success by increasing its visibility through the book industry, and are excited to bring this new world to our readers.”

The action of Killtopia is set in neon-soaked near-future Japan where a nano-virus is destroying humanity, and young scavenger Shinji and his robot sidekick Crash end up as fugitives when the latter is revealed to be the key to curing the techno-organic plague. Stalked by augmented samurai, mecha-kaiju, Yakuza lowlifes, and the world’s greatest hunter, the narcissistic bloodsport champion Stiletto, the pair could change the course of humanity, if only they can survive long enough to do so.

Killtopia’s Kickstarter campaign reached its funding goal in less than a day, and by the time it had concluded it had gathered over four times its original target, with stretch goals granting bonus artwork by the likes of Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan; The Boys; Happy!), Caspar Wijngaard (Limbo; Angelic), Tom Foster (2000 AD) and Gary Erskine (Marvel, IDW, Image, DC).

Killtopia is scheduled to debut in September at Thought Bubble, and you can follow its development on Facebook.

FOX Chairman Discusses Rebooting BUFFY

Buffy

With the world of cinema having been regularly mined to churn out remakes, reboots, reimaginings, recalibrations or whatever the phrase of the month is, the realm of TV has recently seen ample reboots of famed series’ brought to life. And now, it could well be that everyone’s favourite slayer may getting a fresh lick of paint for a new generation. Yes, we’re talking Buffy.

Speaking at the INTV conference (as reported by Deadline), FOX chairman Gary Newman gave a firm indicator that he’s more than keen to see Buffy the Vampire Slayer brought back from the dead. As Newman put it, “[Buffy] is probably the most ripe show we have for bringing back.”

He then added, “It’s something we talk about frequently. Joss Whedon is one of the greatest creators we’ve ever worked for. When Joss decides it’s time, we’ll do it.”

This follows on for returns, reboots or remakes of the likes of The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider, Bionic Woman, Prime Suspect, Beverly Hills 90210, Hawaii Five-O, Dallas, Dynasty, Roseanne, Magnum, P.I., and Cagney & Lacey over the past several years.

Whether Buffy does inevitably get the remake treatment, we’ll have to wait and see. For now, it looks like any return or reboot for Sunnydale’s famed slayer is all down to Joss Whedon giving the all-clear.

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

Jason Todd to Appear in TITANS?

Jason Todd Robin

One of the most hotly anticipated new shows of 2018 is the upcoming live-action Teen Titans series, Titans. While we’ve already seen our first glimpse of Brenton Thwaites as the beloved Dick Grayson, it looks as if another Robin could be joining Dick in the show.

As per Titans TV, it’s being reported that the seventh episode of the debut season is to be titled Jason Todd. For longtime comic book fans, that name will instantly bring up memories of yet another who has been a part of the famed Bat-family.

While Dick Grayson was the first person to take on the Robin mantle, Jason was the second to take on the moniker. Having debuted in 1983, Jason would become Robin after Dick stepped up to become Nightwing. Of course, 1986 saw a whole host of trouble around the corner for Batman and Robin. In that year, Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo gave us a comic book arc known as A Death in the Family. Following a nefarious plot from the Joker, Jason would end up bloodily beaten by the Clown Prince of Crime and his trusty crowbar before then being blown up. While we’d seen several big scares and huge teases of deaths over the years, the death of Jason was a huge, huge shocker for it actually stuck… ish. Most uniquely, DC Comics put the vote out to fans on whether Jason would live or die – the fans voting to kill off the second Robin.

We did, however, use the term “ish” just there, didn’t we? Well, that’s because Jason would return to action in 2005’s Under the Hood. 2003 saw the dream team of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee give fans the iconic Hush arc, which brought together a whole host of familiar heroes and villains. Towards the close of that tale, fans were left with their mouths agape at the sight of Jason returning from the grave as he held the third Robin, Tim Drake, hostage. That would all be merely a ruse, with Clayface having been taking on the appearance of Jason for that moment. But still, fan interest was piqued at what the return of an adult Jason could mean for the Bat-family. And so, with Judd Winick’s aforementioned Under the Hood, we would indeed see Jason brought back to life as he butted heads with the Caped Crusader while taking on the Red Hood moniker. Bitter and angry at Batman for not avenging him by killing the Joker, Jason was now a brutal, clinical murderer who pulled no punches in taking out the bad guys ‘permanently’. From there, Jason would eventually be tamed a tad, going on to temporarily become Nightwing, attempt to become Batman in Bruce Wayne’s absence, lead the Outlaws group of antiheroes, and much, much more.

Right now, Warner Brothers nor DC Entertainment have yet to make any of this official, with the appearance of Jason in Titans merely an unconfirmed report right now. Still, the chance of seeing this character brought to live-action life is something that will put a smile on the face of many a comic book fan.

What do know for sure right now is that Brenton Thwaites’ Dick Grayson is to be joined by Anna Diop as Starfire, Teagan Croft as Raven, Ryan Potter as Beast Boy, Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly as the Hawk and Dove duo, Linsey Gort as Police Detective Amy Rohrbach, and Bruno Bichir and April Bowlby as the Doom Patrol’s Dr Niles Caulder and Elasti-Girl, respectively, with more Doom Patrol members expected to be announced.

The official blurb on Titans reads:

In the action-packed series, Dick Grayson emerges from the shadows to become the leader of a fearless band of new heroes, including Starfire, Raven and many others. Fans can expect Titans to be a dramatic, live-action adventure series that will explore and celebrate one of the most popular comic book teams ever.

Titans will debut later this year on Warner Brothers’ impending DC streaming service.

Halsey and Lil Yachty Land TEEN TITANS Roles

Halsey Lil Yachty Teen Titans

With the Teen Titans heading to the big screen this July in Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, now comes word on Wonder Woman and Green Lantern joining the action.

USA Today brings word that singer/songwriter Halsey (no, us neither) is voicing the iconic Amazon, while rapper Lil Yachty (ditto, no idea) is playing an Emerald Knight – although we don’t know at this stage just which GL will be featured.

On this news, executive producer Sam Register enthused, “Every superhero in the DC Universe has an impact on the fans, so we felt a great responsibility to find a voice for each character that would not only suit the role, but the playful tone of the Titans, and we’re thrilled with our cameo cast.”

Several other ‘celebrities’ are expected to lend their vocals to some of DC’s famed characters for cameo appearances, with several other Justice League members to be featured in small roles.

Teen Titans GO! to the Movies is currently booked in for a July 27th, 2018 release.

New HALLOWEEN to “Pay Homage” to All Previous Movies

Halloween II

We’ve known for a while now that this October’s return for the Halloween franchise will ignore anything that’s happened since John Carpenter’s iconic 1978 picture, but it appears that the other films in the series will be referenced in some sort of way.

Speaking to Flickering Myth about whether this reboot will make reference to any of the other outings for Michael Myers, co-writer Danny McBride explained, “We do. For fans, we pay homage and respect to every Halloween that has been out there.”

In addition to that, McBride added, “This picks up after the first one. The Halloween franchise has kind of become a little bit of, like, choose your own adventure. You know, there’s so many different versions and the timeline is so mixed up, we just thought it would be easier to go back to the source and continue from there.”

It remains to be seen just how each of the other Halloween movies will be referenced in this new killing spree for the iconic Shape, but it could be that certain characters, locations, or maybe even the famed Silver Shamrock masks of Season of the Witch are mentioned or shown.

With Jamie Lee Curtis back as Laurie Strode, the David Gordon Green-helmed Halloween is currently set for October 19th.

THE EXORCIST Facing an Uncertain Future

The Exorcist

While the recent resurgence of horror-driven TV has been a mixed bag of sorts, one show that’s been pretty darn impressive is FOX’s The Exorcist. With two seasons already in the books, it sadly looks as if the series is now facing an uphill battle to get renewed for a third year.

Speaking at a recent INTV conference (as reported by Deadline), FOX chairman Gary Newman discussed the future of the show. First explaining that the Friday viewing slot for the series was “tough for that show,” Newman went on to say, “We had hoped that we would be able to tap into a moviegoing crowd who didn’t want to go out to the movies, and we did get some viewership. I thought the show was incredibly well produced, the stores were great.”

More worryingly, he then added that The Exorcist “is clearly a show that’s on the bubble.” That term basically means that the show’s renewal is up in the air right now, with the chances of a Season 3 happening been more unlikely than they are likely.

This, of course, comes hot on the heels of last month’s news that Ash vs. Evil Dead may not be renewed past its current third season. Both The Exorcist and the recent small screen outings for Bruce Campbell’s Ashley J. Williams have proved to be huge favourites of plentiful genre fans. Unfortunately, the ratings for both shows have been on the steady decline for the past year or so. For example, the average rating for The Exorcist’s second season was 2.3 million viewers in comparison to 3.1 million viewers for the show’s debut season. Then there’s Ash vs. Evil Dead, which is currently experiencing its all-time lowest ratings to date.

Right now, neither The Exorcist nor Ash vs. Evil Dead have yet to be canned – and Ash vs. Evil Dead is now three episodes in to its ten-episode third year – but things aren’t exactly looking great for these shows right at this point.

Jake Gyllenhaal to Re-Team with Dan Gilroy for New Netflix Horror

Nightcrawler Jake Gyllenhaal

Dan Gilroy’s intense Nightcrawler proved to be a huge hit with genre fans when it was released back in 2014, and now the writer/director has confirmed that he’ll be reteaming with Jake Gyllenhaal for his next movie.

To premiere on Netflix, Gilroy’s next effort is a horror heavy effort that has quite the impressive cast assembled. As per Variety, Gyllenhaal will be taking centre-stage in the to-be-titled picture, and he’ll be joined by John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Daveed Diggs, Toni Collette, Tom Sturridge, Zawe Ashton, and Natalie Dyer.

The early word on the plot for this film has it pegged as following “big-money artists and mega-collectors who pay a price when art collides with commerce.”

At present, the movie is set to land on Netflix at some point next year.