With Harley Quinn having seen a huge surge in popularity since making her cinematic bow in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad last year, now Harleen is getting her own adult-aimed animated series.
As per Deadline, twenty-six half-hour episodes of the animated affair have been ordered for DC’s upcoming new digital service. Warner Bros. Animation will be developing the show, and the current word is that it will be geared towards an adult audience. In addition to this, it’s believed that Margot Robbie, who played the character on the big screen, will be approached as the first choice to provide the vocals for the Maid of Mischief.
Seemingly just titled Harley Quinn at this stage, the series will join the live-action Teen Titans show – Titans – and the revival of the much-loved animated Young Justice on the swanky new on-demand streaming service.
In terms of the focus of Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and various other famed DC heroes and villains will be making appearances alongside Harleen, and we’ll see a Quinn who is trying to establish herself as the top dog in Gotham City after finally ending her twisted relationship with the Joker.
The image shown to the left here is an early piece of concept art designed to just give a rough idea of the look of the show.
As ever, expect more on Harley Quinn as it continues to develop.
After four seasons and the tease of a feature film version looming for the last few years, the cult zombie comedy web series Zomblogalypse celebrates its ninth anniversary with a new episode this Halloween that also serves as a teaser trailer for a movie version.
Creators Miles Watts, Hannah Bungard and Tony Hipwell – who also write and star – have been developing a film version of ‘Zomblog’ for several years. Depicting the hapless survivors of a zombie apocalypse in the British city of York, the show has now amassed nearly a million online views. It has been studied at American Universities, featured in horror textbooks (see Vincent Terrace’s Internet Horror, Science-Fiction and Fantasy Television Series, 1998 – 2013) and enjoyed by such luminaries as Charlie Adlard, Tom Savini and The Guild’s Sandeep Parikh.
“We were adamant that the film be done right,” says Watts, who plays Miles as a rather cynical survivor of the apocalypse. “It has a certain irreverent vibe that if it was even slightly off it just wouldn’t be as funny, so it has been a major passion project to find the right way to make it. We’ve had the script on the desks of some major film and TV companies so far: the development process has been long and fascinating.”
Hipwell, who plays the human wrecking ball Tony in the series, explains, “We ended up writing about eighteen script drafts while we were in development with a Hollywood studio, then went back to the first two series and asked ourselves what worked best. The story we eventually hit on is very much in the style of the original show. It’d be great if we’d come up with the idea earlier but sometimes you have to take the long way round.“
This technique, which not only served the crew on the Zomblog series but also for their second feature film Amber, is, according to Watts, “part Spinal Tap and part ‘we can’t act, so let’s be ourselves.’ We also love Curb Your Enthusiasm: the ad-libbing can yield funnier lines than if you sat down and wrote a script.”
Bungard, who plays the fearful Hannah and spends most of the series hiding in a bath to avoid the gory zombie attacks – says that the improv aspect is what works best for Zomblog: “We play versions of ourselves, so I’m phobic and jumpy, which I am in real life when it comes to horror; Miles’ character tends to be stand-offish and dismissive which ends up being very funny; Tony’s just this weapons-mad wild card who’s kind of relishing the apocalypse.”
The film, which will boast ‘gallons of gore and lots of unhealthy laughs’ will be shot in early 2018 before hitting the festival circuit. “Letting go of the notion of a big budget Zomblog Movie really freed us to make a film that wasn’t a pale imitation” says Hipwell. “We’ve got a lot more experience and a lot more tools now to make something that will hopefully be just as outrageous, ridiculous, hilarious and unique as the series was.”
This DIY shoot-and-release technique served the team well when releasing their last feature Whoops!, which won laurels and awards at the Raindance Film Festival and went on to be the sole British film on the festival’s inaugural cinema tour in 2014.
Keep up with the adventures of Zomblogalypse – including the first four seasons and all upcoming movie news – at ZOMBLOGALYPSE.COM.
Deep Space Nine’s Terry Farrell is the latest special guest to appear at the 24th annual Sci-Fi Ball convention, which takes place over three days from February 2nd – 4th, 2018 at the stunning four-star Grand Harbour Hotel, Southampton to raise vital funds to help the extraordinary work of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
At nearly six feet tall, Terry Farrell seemed destined to be a model. After a year as a foreign exchange student in Mexico City, the Iowa teenager moved to New York to audition for the Elite modelling agency – and just two days later signed an exclusive contract with Mademoiselle Magazine. Two years later, her CV included an appearance in the feature film Back to School, with Rodney Dangerfield and a recurring role on the television series Paper Dolls. After stints on The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Quantum Leap and the feature Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Terry Farrell accepted a six-year contract for the role of Jadzia Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Choosing not to remain with the series for its seventh and final season, Farrell moved to a different soundstage on the Paramount Pictures lot to co-star with Ted Danson in the comedy series Becker. She recently became engaged to Adam Nimoy; the son of Leonard Nimoy who originated the role of Spock in the original series of Star Trek.
Other confirmed guests include Gary Graham (Star Trek: Voyager, Alien Nation), Vic Mignogna (Star Trek: Continues and Anime shows RWBY and Full Metal Alchemist) and Chris Doohan (Star Trek: Into Darkness, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek: Continues and son of James Doohan aka ‘Scotty’ from Star Trek) with many more guests and exhibits soon to be announced.
The not-for-profit convention brings together fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy to ensure they have a truly out of this world weekend, including parties, special guest panels, activities for the whole family, fan-built and actual props and sets, autograph and photography sessions with the stars, roaming Daleks, a packed exhibition and dealers room, cosplay and fancy dress competitions, a Sci-Fi pub quiz, karaoke and special ticket holders can even enjoy a three-course black-tie dining experience including cabaret and an exclusive cocktail party with the stars of the small and silver screen and many other activities too.
This February sees the Sci-Fi Ball celebrate twenty-four years of raising money for charitable causes bringing their total donations to the Teenage Cancer Trust to over £41,000.
Director and Founder of the Sci-Fi Ball Anne Lindup comments, “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Terry Farrell to join the great family of Science fiction fans at the Sci-Fi Ball. We have been talking for several years and are thrilled that she has accepted our invitation to help us raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust this coming February”.
For more information and to book tickets, please visit www.sfball.com.
For more information about the Teenage Cancer Trust, please visit www.teenagecancertrust.org.
While we’re all anxiously awaiting to see Toho’s animated Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, it’s already being reported that production is underway for a follow-up – which will be the second of a planned trilogy of films.
Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is actually now showing in Japanese cinemas, although the rest of the world will have to wait for the animated outing to land on Netflix later this year. As per Variety, though, a sequel titled Godzilla Kessen Kido Zoshoko Toshi – reportedly translated as simply Godzilla: Battle Mobile Breeding City – is being worked on ahead of a May 2018 big screen release in Japan. Not only that, but this is all planned to be a trilogy.
No plot details are known on the sequels at this early stage, although we do know that Planet of the Monsters will be set in a bleak future – 20,000 years from now, to be precise – in which the surviving humans battle the King of the Monsters. Yep, that’s us most definitely signed-up to check this out at our earliest convenience.
As ever, expect more on these animated Godzilla sequels as we get it. For Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, that will arrive on Netflix at a to-be-confirmed date later this year.
With Justice League now finally in cinemas, one topic that won’t go away is the idea of Ben Affleck being replaced in the cape and cowl. Following constant rumours of Affleck stepping away from the Batman gig, now comes an update on who may be in the frame to replace him if that does indeed happen.
After recent speculation that The Batman director Matt Reeves is actually looking for someone other than Affleck to headline his Caped Crusader effort – which is already being looked at as the start of a possible new Bat-trilogy – there’s an interesting rumour out there on who the director may have in mind to play the World’s Greatest Detective.
As per The Playlist, Reeves’ reported first choice is Jake Gyllenhaal. The same source claims that Warner Brothers have actually had discussions of bringing in the Donnie Darko star to take on the iconic role, and the main reason that Reeves is looking at such an option is to distance his film(s) from the main DC Extended Universe.
This wouldn’t be the first time that Gyllenhaal has been weighed up for a superhero role, with him previously having been in the running to play Spider-Man before Tobey Maguire nabbed the part in Sam Raimi’s trilogy. Even then, when Maguire had serious back issues in the build-up to Spider-Man 2, Gyllenhaal was in line to take over the Wall-crawler role should the need arise.
As touched upon at the top of this news story, treat this all as a rumour for now. Still, this isn’t the first time that such a story has arisen regarding Ben Affleck’s future as Batman, and we’re sure it won’t be the last. Fear not, for we’ll be sure to bring you more on all of this if and when it continues to develop.
A new monthly film festival will launch on Sunday January 28th, 2018 in London and they are looking for your movies to screen!
Black Sunday Film Festival will run every month at the Hen and Chicken Theatre in North London. From noon until 10pm, they’ll be a host of independent genre shorts and features. Each film screened will be in the running for Best Short and Best Feature of their month, with the winners screening at the November ‘Best of’ event and put forward for the final Best of 2018 award in each category.
The festival has been set up by filmmaker Scott Lyus (who we interviewed in Issue 442), director of the hit short Silently Within Your Shadow and Echoes of the Passed.
Submissions are now open through FilmFreeway. For more information, check out @WeAreHorror on Twitter.
With The CW’s Black Lightning having been in development for a while now – not to mention footage already having been released online – we’ve finally been given a premiere date for the network’s latest DC-driven show.
As per The CW themselves, Black Lightning will premiere in the US on Tuesday, January 16th at 9pm. That means that the series will air directly after The Flash, although it also means that DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is being moved to a to-be-confirmed new night.
The official synopsis for Black Lightning reads:
As Black Lightning begins, Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life on the line, and seeing the effects of the damage and loss that his alter ego was inflicting on his family, he left his Super Hero days behind and settled into being a principal and a dad. Choosing to help his city without using his superpowers, he watched his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) grow into strong young women, even though his marriage to their mother, Lynn (Christine Adams), suffered. Almost a decade later, Pierce’s crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, Black Lightning returns — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.
There’s no word at this stage on where Black Lightning will end up in the UK, although it seems that Sky1 would be the likeliest of destinations given how the rest of The CW’s DC-based shows are found there.
Remember that Detective Pikachu movie that’s been in development for a little while now? Well, the live-action film has now found its first cast member.
As per Variety, The Get Down’s Justice Smith – also to be seen in June’s Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom – has joined the movie in a to-be-confirmed role. Goosebumps Rob Letterman has been long on board to direct, with a script in place from Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch.
This new movie will follow Detective Pikachu, who is a relatively new character to the Pokémon world, and comes in the aftermath of the huge success of last year’s Pokémon Go.
All that we know right now about Detective Pikachu is that it will follow the titular character as he attempts to solve various mysteries in a live-action setting. Universal Pictures will distribute the movie outside of Japan, with Toho handling duties in Japan.
As ever, expect more on all of this as it develops.
Well, consider this one from left field. A new X-Men spin-off picture is on the way, and it will focus on none other than Multiple Man.
As per Deadline, 20th Century Fox have already moved to sign up James Franco to take the lead role of Jamie Madrox, aka the Multiple Man. Also signed is up Wonder Woman writer Allan Heinberg, while longtime X-mainstay Simon Kinberg will be producing. The Multiple Man character has previously been seen on the big screen, as played by Eric Dane in X-Men: The Last Stand.
For those not all that familiar with Jamie Madrox, he debuted back in 1975’s Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 from the minds of John Buscema, Chris Claremont and Len Wein. The Multiple Menace pretty much does exactly as it says on the tin, as in he has the ability to create duplicates of himself. Not only that, but he can then reabsorb said copies and take in their memories and experiences. While he was initially depicted as a hero, he has at times flirted with the dark side over the years, too.
No release date has been announced for Multiple Man at this stage, although the chances are that the picture will nab one of the various Marvel-driven release dates Fox has booked in over the next few years.
Are You Afraid of the Dark? still remains a huge favourite of many genre fans who were of a certain age during the ‘90s. And now, at last, the long-anticipated Are You Afraid of the Dark? movie has brought in a writer.
As per Tracking Board, Gary Dauberman has been hired to pen the tale for Paramount. Dauberman is likely best known for his writing work on the likes of this year’s IT and Annabelle: Creation, marking him out as one of the hottest names in the horror game right now.
No plot details are known at this early stage, and the only other piece of real information is Dauberman will produce alongside Matt Kaplan.
For those not familiar with Are You Afraid of the Dark?, the series was created by D.J. MacHale and Ned Kandel back in 1990, soon being picked up by Nickelodeon in 1991 and then aired across the globe from 1992. The general premise for the show saw the action focussed on a group of teenagers called the Midnight Society, who would meet each week at a secret, creepy woodland location to tell a terrifying (at least it was to our younger selves!) tale based around horror clichés, urban legends or twisted classics of yesteryear. When all was said and done, the series clocked in at an impressive 91 episodes over its seven seasons.
As ever, expect more on this big screen Are You Afraid of the Dark? adap as we get it.
