Rose Byrne Not a Part of X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX

Moira MacTaggert Rose Byrne X-Men

For those hoping to see Rose Byrne’s Moira MacTaggert return to action in this year’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix, we’ve got some bad news.

Speaking to CinemaBlend, Byrne herself confirmed that she won’t be a part of Dark Phoenix. “Unfortunately, Moira is not showing up,” the actress explained, “I wish she was. I had such fun on X-Men: Apocalypse. I love that cast. I can’t wait to see what [Jessica Chastain] does, ‘cause I’m such a fan.”

Byrne first appeared in the mesmerising X-Men: First Class, and then reprised the Moira role for 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse. As for the mention of Jessica Chastain, she’s set to play a pivotal role in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. It was initially believed that Chastain was playing Lilandra – the famed leader of the intergalactic Shi’ar Empire – although more recent stories suggest she may well actually be a different character, one pegged as an alien shape-shifter who will end up butting heads with Xavier and his famed mutants.

Chastain joins quite the impressive ensemble for Dark Phoenix, with Charles McAvoy as Profess X, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Tye Sheridan as Cyclops, Alexandra Shipp as Storm, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler, Evan Peters as Quicksilver, a role for Lemar Johnson, and rumoured returns for Olivia Munn as Psylocke and Daniel Cudmore as Colossus. Then, of course, there’s Sophie Turner returning as Jean Grey, who will find herself at the centre of the tale as she becomes one with the all-powerful Phoenix Force.

To be directed by longtime franchise writer and producer Simon Kinberg, X-Men: Dark Phoenix is booked in for a November 2nd release.

Doug Jones Joins WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

Doug Jones

Well, this is a pretty brilliant addition! Yes, as the headline suggests, the upcoming What We Do in the Shadows series has brought in Doug Jones.

As per Variety, the hugely talented Jones has joined Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou and Harvey Guillen in the show. Jones, of course, is best known to genre fans for the likes of Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Strain, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Star Trek: Discovery and can currently be seen in The Shape of Water. In addition to Jones, Better Call Saul’s Mark Proksch and Lady Bird’s Beanie Feldstein and Jack McDorman have joined the small screen effort.

Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi will serve as executive producers of this What We Do in the Shadows series, with Clement writing and Waititi directing.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Working on New Series of STAR WARS Films

Star Wars

With a whole host of further jaunts to a galaxy far, far away already planned, a further new series of films have been announced.

Lucasfilm has revealed that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have been hired to write and produce a new strand of Star Wars movies. Benioff and Weiss, of course, are the creators of HBO’s Game of Thrones. For this new set of films, they’ll be developed separately to both the main saga of pictures that are currently up to last year’s The Last Jedi and also to the previously-announced new trilogy that Rian Johnson has been tasked with developing over the next several years.

On this news, Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy enthused, “David and Dan are some of the best storytellers working today. Their command of complex characters, depth of story and richness of mythology will break new ground and boldly push Star Wars in ways I find incredibly excited.”

For their part, Benioff and Weiss added, “In the summer of 1977 we travelled to a galaxy far, far away, and we’ve been dreaming of it ever since. We are honoured by the opportunity, a little terrified by the responsibility, and so excited to get started as soon as the final season of Game of Thrones is complete.”

As ever, expect more on all things Star Wars as these projects continue to develop.

A New Enemy for DOCTOR WHO

Doctor Who Enemy of the World

Back in 2013, as Doctor Who prepared to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary (seems like a lifetime ago now) fans were handed a couple of extremely welcome and generally unexpected birthday presents as the BBC announced the recovery of nine previously-lost episodes from the classic 1960s Patrick Troughton era of the show. As well as four episodes of 1968’s ‘Web of Fear’, the entire six-part 1967 serial ‘Enemy of the World’ had been recovered by globe-trotting episode hunter Philip Morris (who enthralled audiences at the 2015 Starburst Film Festival with tales of his adventures). The episodes were released on iTunes in October 2013 and arrived on bare-bones DVDs shortly afterwards. However, the BBC have just revealed that ‘Enemy of the World’ is shortly to reappear on DVD as a ‘special edition’ with a host of newly-commissioned bonus features designed to bring the release in line with the majority of the previous DVD releases from the classic series. Fans concerned at the prospect of being asked to ‘double dip’ for episodes they already own are sure to be tempted by the comprehensive supporting material put together for the story’s second release…

Remastered Episodes: All six episodes were restored in 2013 for the previous DVD release but Peter Crocker from the Restoration Team has used advances in technology in the intervening years to revisit the serial with a fine toothcomb to ensure the episodes are now presented in the best possible quality.

Treasures Lost and Found: Comedian and Doctor Who superfan Toby Hadoke embarks on an exciting treasure hunt to investigate the production of ‘Enemy of the World’, interview many of the cast and crew including Frazer Hines, Mary Peach and David Troughton – who made his first TV appearance in this serial as an extra.

Recovering the Past  – The Search for the Enemy of the World: A brand new interview with episode hunter Philip Morris, who tells how he tracked down the last surviving film copy of the serial in a dusty storeroom in the African desert.

Remembering Deborah Watling: Family, friends and colleagues pay tribute to Debbie Watling who played Victoria Waterfield, companion to Patrick Troughton’s doctor.

Audio Commentaries on All Six Episodes: Contributors include Frazer Hines, Mary Peach, Gordon Faith, Milton Johns and Sylvia James, moderated by Simon Harries.

Production Subtitles on All Six Episodes: Written by Martin Wiggins.

Doctor Who: Enemy of the World Special Edition is available on DVD from March 19th.

Amazon Developing Live-Action CONAN Series

Conan the Barbarian

With last month seeing it revealed that the comic book adventures of Conan the Barbarian were heading back to Marvel, now comes some huge news. Yes, as the headline suggests, a Conan TV series is now in development.

As per Deadline, Amazon Studios is working on a live-action Conan series that’s to be developed by Colony’s Ryan Conal, Game of Thrones’ Miguel Sapochnik, Fargeo’s Warren Littlefield, and Pathfinder Media and Endeavor Content.

To be based on the famed classic tales from Robert E. Howard, the early word on this new show will see Conan forced out of his homeland and left to deal with the “mysterious and treacherous world of civilisation where he searches for purpose in a place that rejects him as a mindless savage.”

Howard’s adventures for Conan began back in 1932, initially published as part of Weird Tales. In the years since, we’ve seen several prior TV outings, games, and a whole host of other takes on the famed Cimmerian, most notably with the Arnold Schwarzenegger-headlined Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer.

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

Jesse Alexander to Serve as Showrunner on AMERICAN GODS

American Gods Ian McShane Mr Wednesday

One of the most bonkers but brilliant genre shows of recent years is the small screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s famed American Gods. With a second season now long-confirmed, the series has found a showrunner for said second year.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Jesse Alexander has been brought in to serve as showrunner. Alexander is likely best known for his work on the likes of Hannibal and Star Trek: Discovery, and will work closely with Gaiman himself on American Gods.

The first season of the show had Bryan Fuller and Michael Green behind it, but both of those left the series after its debut season.

On the addition of Alexander, Gaiman enthused, “I’m thrilled that Jesse is showrunner. He loves and understands the book, he loves and understands the TV series, and he’s dedicated to making future seasons of American Gods as good and as beautiful and as unique as they can be. Shadow’s journey is going to take him, and Mr. Wednesday, and the New Gods and the Old, to some very strange places. I’m glad that we, and the cast and crew, will have Jesse shepherding us on the way.”

As ever, expect more on Season 2 of American Gods as it continues to develop.

Jaz Sinclair Joins New SABRINA Series

Jaz Sinclair

With the upcoming new Sabrina series having now found its titular teenage witch, now comes word on another new addition for the show.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Slender Man’s Jaz Sinclair has been brought in to play series regular Rosalind Walker. The official word on the character has her pegged as “the brash, empowered and outspoken daughter of Greendale’s minister and Sabrina’s best friend at Baxter High.” Signed up to play Sabrina herself is Feud’s Kiernan Shipka.

Even though the series only has two cast members announced, Netflix has already put in a two-season order for the show.

Based on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – and seemingly to be titled the same – the early word on this hotly-anticipated small screen effort reads:

The series is based on the new comic book The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which reimagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult, and, of course, witchcraft. Tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, this adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature – half-witch, half-mortal – while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.

Riverdale’s Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is writing the series and will serve as executive producer.

New CLOVERFIELD Movie is Now on Netflix

The Cloverfield Paradox

We’d heard rumours that Netflix may acquire the third movie to take place in the Cloverfield universe, and now we’ve had a huge update on this matter. Not only has the on-demand streaming service indeed nabbed the picture, it’s actually already available to watch!

Previously titled The God Particle, the movie is now officially titled The Cloverfield Paradox. Whilst an April cinema release was initially planned, The Cloverfield Paradox was made available on Netflix in the early hours of Monday morning.

Much like a whole host of small screen and big screen offerings, this film was showcased in a brief teaser during this past weekend’s Super Bowl:

Promising to explain how the creature seen in the first Cloverfield movie ended up on Earth, the synopsis for The Cloverfield Paradox reads:

In the near future, a group of international astronauts on a space station are working to solve a massive energy crisis on Earth. The experimental technology aboard the station has an unexpected result, leaving the team isolated and fighting for their survival.

Directed by Julius Onah, The Cloverfield Paradox stars David Oyelowo, Elizabeth Debicki, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Chris O’Dowd, Ziyi Zhang, and Daniel Bruhl.

Brave New Words Award 2017 Shortlist Announced

BNW award

STARBURST Magazine is happy to announce the shortlist for its Brave New Words Award.  The nominees are:

Katie Khan for her novel, Hold Back the Stars (Penguin Random House)

Adrian Tchaikovsky for his book Dogs of War (Head of Zeus)

Margrét Helgadóttir for her work as editor of Pacific Monsters ( Fox Spirit Books)

Cassandra Khaw for the short story Degrees of Ellision from the 2084 anthology. (Unsung Stories)

Claire North for their novel The Sudden Appearance of Hope (Little Brown)

Jeannette Ng for Under the Pendulum Sun (Angry Robot Books)

STARBURST invited nominations from publishers and creators late 2017.  The award goes to an individual, not a specific work, so we were looking for examples published in 2017 that most define a creator’s output. STARBURST editorial staff assembled the shortlist from over 100 entries, which included blog posts, short stories, screenplays, poetry, anthologies and novels.

The panel of judges are:  Urban Fantasy author Russell Smith, award-winning games designer Mikey Smith, hardcore word nerd Rebecca Derrick and genre literary community MVP Alasdair Stuart.

STARBURST Magazine’s own Literary Editor, Ed Fortune, is the head judge.  He said “This is an exciting new award, and a welcome addition to STARBURST’s current line-up of accolades. STARBURST is proud to support mainstream and indie creators. This list of nominees shows the wide breadth of talent out there. Choosing the winner will be very tough. ”

The winner will be announced at the STARBURST Media City Festival held at the Landing at MediaCityUK, 17th March 2018, Salford, Manchester, England. More details about the event can be found here.

Second Wave of Independent Films Announced for STARBURST Media City Festival

Charismata

The second wave of independent films has been announced for the STARBURST Media City Festival, being held in March at The Landing at MediaCityUK. We’re pleased to reveal that we’ll be screening some crowd-pleasing and thought-provoking shorts and films over the course of the two-day event.

Newly added to the roster are Jason Figgis’ Torment, and Andy Collier and Tor Mian’s Charismata, a pair of exciting and bold features that shouldn’t be missed.

Adding to our already impressive short film collection are: Blood Shed, James Moran’s brilliant homage to anthology films, which has wowed festival audiences worldwide. Dead Meet, directed by Daniel Brant is a fun story of a hit woman attempting to go on a date. Echoes of the Passed is Scott Lyus’ brooding old-style tale of haunting and Salient Minus Ten, directed by Emma Dark is a bold and dark sci-fi short.

Members of the cast and crew of many of the films will be in attendance and the independent movie screenings will culminate with the STARBURST Fantasy Awards on the Saturday night.

For more information on the films, check out www.starburstfilmfest.co.uk. The final slots for the independent film screenings will be announced soon. There’s still time for your film to be in the running by submitting at FilmFreeway.

The STARBURST Media City Festival at The Landing at MediaCityUK takes place on March 16th and 17th. Check availability of tickets (which are free!) at Eventbrite.

the landing at mediacityuk