DOCTOR WHO Charity Marathon Goes Chronological

Fans of Doctor Who have endlessly argued about the best way to watch the show. Given that we’re currently celebrating sixty years of Doctor Who, there are a lot of shows to watch. But one move we’ve not seen anyone try is to go in chronological order. With a show about time travel.

If it sounds daft, that’s because it is, but it’s for charity. Becca McGlyn, aka The Matrix Archivist, has put together a powerful edit of shows, and alongside Doubleclix musician Laser Webber, will watch a whole 24 hours of Doctor Who in order to raise funds for the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

The entire thing will be streamed on Twitch on November 25th, just after the latest episode of Doctor Who, The Star Beast, airs.

Find out more here. https://www.stitchesinti.me.





Stranger Things First Shadow Launches onto the stage

The prequel stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow has had its first public preview, and the show looks amazing. The first act title has also been announced; ‘Chapter One: The Girl From Nowhere’.

The first public preview of the original stage play based on the hit series kicked off Friday evening in London, giving lucky theatregoers and fans of the series a glimpse into the original prequel story set in the world of 1959 Hawkins, Indiana. Stranger Things: The First Shadow by Kate Trefry is an original stage play that brings the world of Stranger Things to life in a completely new way – live on stage. The production officially opens on December 14th at the Phoenix Theatre in London’s West End.

Look out for issue 484 of STARBURST Magazine (on sale Thursday, November 30th, in stores and online), which features a more in-depth look at this keenly anticipated show. Check out the first production image below.

First Look at ST TFS - Louis McCartney (Henry Creel), Phoenix Theatre - photo by Manuel Harlan

HeroQuest Recruits New Heroes

Classic adventure board game HeroQuest made an epic return in 2020. The classic ’80s board game returned with style and now has more expansions than the old game ever had. And more heroes.

Two new quest packs have been announced and should be out on shelves in time for Christmas. The two are HeroQuest Prophecy of Telor Quest Pack and HeroQuest Spirit Queen’s Torment Quest Pack. Both packs introduce elements that could previously only be found as crowd-funded exclusives.

Prophecy of Telor will introduce the Warlock to the game, as well as fourteen fire-themed monsters and firey-looking dice. And, of course, a whole new quest.

Spirit Queen’s Torment will do something similar; an Orc Bard joins the roster of playable heroes and adds fourteen spectral horrors for the adventurers to fight.

Both quests add new equipment and quest cards, as well as fully playable quests. 

Heroquest fans looking for more may also want to check out HeroQuest, the Path of The Wandering Monk, which adds two monk heroes to the game and enough cards to put a monk in the adventuring party.

Classic Comedy Writer Launches RPG Fantasy Novel

Classic ’80s comedy writer Richard Sparks, whose credits include Not The Nine O’Clock News and The Secret Policeman’s Ball, has written a fantasy novel inspired by the world of fantasy RPGs.

Sparks, whose long career has covered TV, film, radio, opera, theatre, and the stage, has turned his hand to comedy novel writing with New Rock, New Role. It’s a fantasy that takes a young team of E-Gamers and transports them to a slightly familiar fantasy world. 

The newly isekai’d team have to figure out this strange new world and learn the rules of this fantasy land. Sounds like a fun idea from a debut author with an established track record for comedy.

New Rock, New Role will be published on December 12th and can be pre-ordered here.

HASBRO reveals new STAR WARS, Marvel, and Transformers Toys

You know it’s getting very close to Christmas when Toy Giant HASBRO announces some fantastic new toys. Let’s take a quick look at the cool stuff from the worlds of Transformers, Star Wars, and Marvel that you can pre-order today on Hasbro Pulse.

First up in the world of Star Wars, we have a whole bunch of vintage-style action figures. Count Dooku is available for pre-order with a traditional ‘fixed look’ cloth cape and the Starkiller Base version of Finn (sculpted with the cool jacket), and we also get a classic Clone Trooper in the vintage style. The new vintage collection also features Chewbacca in a red robe, which is inspired by The Holiday Special, of all things.

Cosplayers and Helmet collectors may also want to check out Carson Teva’s Helmet (as seen in The Mandalorian), just in case you want to celebrate everyone’s favourite X-Wing flying space cop. 

Those collecting The Black Series of highly detailed Star Wars Figures may be delighted to learn they can add Padme and Anakin to their shelf, though it’s child Anakin and blaster-wielding Padme.

Marvel fans will be delighted to learn they can pre-order Last Stand Spider-Man. That’s a leather jacket-wearing alternate-reality Spider-Man who becomes a violent vigilante. It’s a cool costume and a nice model for a pretty uninspired character.

Finally, Transformers fans will be delighted to discover that the 1986 Transformers: The Movie is alive and well in the form of the highly articulated Junkion Scrapheap. It comes with a removable backdrop so you can re-enact the dance party scene.

Giancarlo Esposito Joins PLEASE DON’T FEED THE CHILDREN

giancarlo esposito as gustavo gus fring in better call saul, cast in please don't feed the children

Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito has been cast in Please Don’t Feed the Children, the dystopian thriller marking the feature directorial debut of Destry Allyn Spielberg, daughter of Steven Spielberg.

Esposito joins an ensemble that includes Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery, former NFL player Vernon Davis, Joshuah Melnick, Emma Meisel, Dean Scott Vazquez, Zoe Margaret Colletti, Regan Aliyah, and Andrew Liner. From a screenplay by Paul Bertino, Please Don’t Feed the Children follows a gang of orphans as they travel to the south in search of a new life, after a viral outbreak decimates the country’s adult population, only to find themselves at the mercy of a psychotic woman hiding a perilous secret.

Esposito has recently been seen in high-profile shows like The Mandalorian, The Boys, Kaleidoscope, and Godfather of Harlem. He will soon be appearing in Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen, the Russo brother’s The Electric State, Ti West’s horror pic MaXXXine, and Francis Ford Coppola’s long-gestating epic Megalopolis.

Principal photography on Please Don’t Feed the Children took place in New Mexico in July 2023, and production was granted an interim agreement allowing actors to continue working on Spielberg’s film during the SAG-AFTRA strike. The feature does not yet have a release window.

SCREAM 7 Is DOA After Cast Exits

melissa barrera and jenna ortega will not return for scream 7

The Scream franchise is getting slaughtered, as Scream 7 will see neither Melissa Barrera nor Jenna Ortega returning, thereby losing the film’s main leads. Just one day after Spyglass fired Barrera for social media posts she wrote referring to the Israel-Hamas war, came news that Ortega would not be returning to the horror series.

Ortega reportedly informed Spyglass that she wouldn’t be returning prior to the actors strike, so the decision was unrelated to her co-star’s controversial firing.

Happy Death Day filmmaker Christopher Landon remains on board as director, for now. Landon takes over from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the filmmaking team known as Radio Silence, who rebooted the Scream franchise with 2022’s Scream and the most recent instalment, Scream VI, which released earlier this year. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have reportedly stepped back from the film series to focus on an original horror for Universal (that film doesn’t yet have a publicly released plot or synopsis, but rumours are that it will be an adaptation of Dracula’s Daughter) but Radio Silence – including Chad Villella – are staying on as executive producers.

“This is my statement: 💔 Everything sucks. Stop yelling,” filmmaker Landon wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, referring to Barrera’s firing from the project. “This was not my decision to make.” He later deleted the post.

Still, next steps for Scream 7 are unclear.

SUPERMAN: LEGACY Casts Jimmy Olsen Role

jimmy olsen role cast for DC superman: legacy

Close on the heels of yesterday’s news that Superman: Legacy was casting Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, DC Studios has now announced the role of Jimmy Olsen has been filled by Skyler Gisondo.

As well as Jimmy Olsen, the photographer at The Daily Planet who works alongside Clark Kent and Lois Lane, the role of Eve Teschmacher has been filled: Portuguese model Sara Sampaio has been cast the assistant to Lex Luthor.

Gisondo and Sampaio join Hoult, David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Carrigan will play superhero Metamorpho, whose alter ego is the archaeologist Rex Mason. Nathan Fillion will portray Guy Gardner, one iteration of Green Lanter, with Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl and Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific. James Gunn is writing and directing Superman: Legacy, the first film in his and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe.

Bar any unforeseen delays, Superman: Legacy has a release date of July 11th, 2025, with Gunn expecting to begin filming early next year. The casting search continues for a number of characters, including the superheroes The Authority, who are expected to debut in Legacy before starring in their own film.

Skyler Gisondo is best known for his work in comedy, having starred in Booksmart, HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, the cannibal comedy Santa Clarita Diet, and even had a smaller role as Howard Stacy in the The Amazing Spider-Man duology.

RUNESICAL THE MUSICAL now fully online

Fans of the timeless MMORPG Runescape may be delighted to learn that Runescape The Musical is now available online. The entire multiple-choice musical show can be found on YouTube, courtesy of the show’s creators, Gigglemug and Runescape owners, Jagex.

The show originally debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe back in 2022 and had a short tour across the UK before finally hanging up its questing blade earlier this year. It’s the work of Gigglemug, whose other shows include Timpsons! The Musical and Scouts! The Musical.

STARBURST really liked Runesical, and now you can see the whole thing yourself here. Like all good quests, it’s multiple choice, so grab a paper and pen before embarking on a classic quest.

Runesical – Edinburgh Fringe

Netflix Renews BLACK MIRROR For Season 7

black mirror season 7 renewal at netflix confirmed

Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror anthology series will return for a Season 7 at Netflix, as the streamer renews the show five months after premiering its sixth season.

The five-episode season, released in June 2023 after a four-year hiatus, featured a star-studded cast including Salma Hayek, Annie Murphy, Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett, Ben Barnes and Paapa Essiedu. Season 5 was even shorter, comprised of only three instalments and starred Andrew Scott, Anthony Mackie, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Topher Grace and Miley Cyrus.

No casting has been confirmed yet for Season 7 but Variety, who broke the news of Black Mirror’s renewal, reports that the show is set to go into production later this year with Brooker, Annabel Jones and Jessica Rhoades believed to be returning as executive producers. Plot details and the number of episodes are still being kept under wraps. Regardless, it’s safe to assume Black Mirror Season 7 will contain its usual blend of existential angst, prescient social commentary, and talented actors.

There are currently 27 episodes of Black Mirror across six series and one special (2014’s White Christmas), in addition to the interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. The first two series aired on Channel 4 in 2011 and 2013, before moving to Netflix for a further four seasons released in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2023.