NEWS FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 2016

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Sadly, it was confirmed today that by his family on Twitter that Jerry Doyle passed this Wednesday, July 27, 2016.

Sources reveal that a call was made Wednesday afternoon to his Las Vegas home, where he was discovered unresponsive. While the cause of death remains unknown at this time, there is no suspicion of foul play. An autopsy is pending.

In addition to having played Michael Garibaldi on B5, Doyle is best known for his radio work on his own podcast, The Jerry Doyle Show, as well as being the founder of news site Epic Times. Some might call him a conservative, he might describe himself as an anarchist or a libertarian, but there can be no denying that the right-of-center performer was not afraid to make his opinions known, and even run for political office. To say that his voice in the Hollywood world was unique and valuable would be underplaying it. His work as a radio host reached thousands of listeners.

And, though they differed politically, his voice also reached the heart and mind of Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, who released a statement upon Doyle's passing which reads in part:

"Regardless of whatever was going on in his life, whether it was marital issues, a broken arm, forced couch-surfing with Bruce and Andreas or other problems, he never once pulled a prima donna on us; he showed up every day on time, knew his lines, and insisted that the guest cast live up to the standards of the main cast, to the point of roughing up one guest star who showed up not knowing his lines. Trust me when I say that after Jerry got done with him, every day he showed up, he knew his lines. And then some.

He was funny, and dangerous, and loyal, and a prankster, and a pain in the ass; he was gentle and cynical and hardened and insightful and sometimes as dense as a picket fence...and his passing is a profound loss to everyone who knew him, especially those of us who fought beside him in the trenches of Babylon 5."

Co-star and B5 commander Bruce Boxleitner also offered his condolences.
I am so devastated at the news of the untimely death of my good friend @jerrydoyle. During the B5 years, he was a great pal, RIP Garibaldi.

Doyle is not the first Babylon 5 star to pass. We've lost Richard Biggs, Michael O'Hare, Andreas Katsulas and Jeff Conaway over the years. It's a hard but valuable reminder to those of us who love the work of our favorite sci-fi stars to cherish every moment we have with them.

And, as ever, I remind you that, in life, all we can hope for is that something we do matters and that we will be remembered. Jerry Doyle, wherever you may be, what you did matters, and you will be remembered.

SUPERGIRL/SUPERMAN
We finally have our first official look at former Teen Wolf star Tyler Hoechlin suited up as the Man of Steel on The CW's Supergirl.

The image has Supes standing side-by-side with his cousin Kara (Melissa Benoist) in a heroic pose. The super costume was designed by Kiersten Ronning (who didn't design Supergirl’s outfit -- that was Colleen Atwood) and was obviously inspired by DC Comics’ New 52 version (and Superman Returns, and Man of Steel). Hoechlin, who played werewolf alpha Derek Hale on four seasons of the MTV drama, recently confirmed he will also appear as Clak Kent on the superhero series.

Even though both are pretty similar, there are some notable differences between them especially the cape design, boots, belt and the House of El shield. And yeah, Superman isn’t wearing a skirt either. Obviously Check it out below and let us know what you think. Does Superman's costume fly high for you?

Supergirl will premiere on Oct. 10 on The CW.

SPLIT
James McAvoy is about to get split into multiple personalities when (ahem) Split opens in theaters in January of next year, and Universal Pictures has unveiled the first trailer for director M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film.

The movie, written and directed by Shyamalan, reunites him with The Visit producer Jason Blum. It also stars Anya Taylor-Joy, who recently wowed us with her performance in The Witch, as a resourceful young woman trying to escape her abductor by taking advantage of his other personalities.

Here’s an intriguing synopsis for Split, which'll feature X-Men actor James McAvoy in the role of 23 split personalities. Whew! Should be fun, except that one of them looks to be a monster: Like, literally. Like most of Shyamalan's movies, the suspense thriller is said to mix in elements of the supernatural. Check it out:

While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being.

Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.

Split will open in movie theaters Jan. 20, 2017.

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN
20th Century Fox has released a brand-new video featurette for director Tim Burton’s next magical opus, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Not only are we introduced to the quirky world of Burton's new movie, but the video also includes some freshly squeezed new footage. Let's have a look, shall we?

Based on the 2011 best-selling novel of the same name by Ransom Riggs, the movie stars Penny Dreadful’s Eva Green as the titular Miss Peregrine, as well as Asa Butterfield (Ender's Game) as the story's young hero, Jake. Rounding out the cast are Ella Purnell, Chris O'Dowd, Allison Janney, Terence Stamp, Rupert Everett, Judi Dench and Samuel L. Jackson as the villainous Barron.

As for the peculiar children, they are played by Lauren McCrostie (Olive), Pixie Davies (Bronwyn), Cameron King (Millard), Ella Purnell (Emma), and Thomas and Joseph Odwell (theTwins). Take a look at the official movie synopsis before digging into the featurette below:

From visionary director Tim Burton, and based upon the best-selling novel, comes an unforgettable motion picture experience. When Jake discovers clues to a mystery that spans alternate realities and times, he uncovers a secret refuge known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As he learns about the residents and their unusual abilities, Jake realizes that safety is an illusion, and danger lurks in the form of powerful, hidden enemies. Jake must figure out who is real, who can be trusted, and who he really is

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children opens its doors on Sept. 30.

STAR WARS: CALL OF THE EMPIRE
Between the new Star Wars movies, animated series, books and novels, we have a pretty good feel for how the universe evolved after the end of the original trilogy. But what if the Empire kept on fighting anyway?

That’s the question the new fan film Call of the Empire looks to address, in a gorgeous little short film that shows off the remnants of war and a nifty little dogfight. The short was directed by Trevor Kerr, and looks to pick up a bit of an alternate reality after Return of the Jedi. For a fan film, the effects work is solid, and it’s interesting to see a piece that skews a bit more toward the Empire side of the fight.

The only bad thing about this piece? It’s too darn short. But it should do a good job of keeping us entertained while we wait for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to arrive in December.

LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE
Nickelodeon was a legit cultural force for a few years back in the 1990s, and dominated the kid-centric game show market. One such show you might remember: Legends of the Hidden Temple. Well, the ‘90s have never been more fashionable, y’all.

The network has unveiled the first trailer for a TV movie revival of the game show, which follows siblings Sadie, Noah and Dudley as they try to escape the hidden temple and prove to everyone that the legend is real. The film will star Isabela Moner and original host Kirk Fogg (woot woot). The trailer looks like a wacky, family-friendly action adventure romp, and could certainly hit that sweet spot of nostalgia and next-gen accessibility.

It’s easy to forget, but Nickelodeon has a wealth of IP just sitting on the shelf from the 1990s, and with projects like this (not to mention the upcoming big-screen Hey Arnold! film) it looks like they’re finally looking to capitalize.

Legends of the Hidden Temple is set to premiere this fall on Nickelodeon.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2016

The 8-minute video featurette introduces us to the heroes making up the team, and they include: Constantine, Zatanna, Deadman, Swamp Thing, Etrigan the Demon and Black Orchid, with Batman acting as our window into DC's world of magic and all things supernatural. Not only will Batman have a presence in Justice League Dark, but other Justice League members will pop up, including Superman and Green Lantern John Stewart.

Directed by Jay Oliva (Batman vs. Robin, Batman: Bad Blood), Justice League Dark stars Matt Ryan as John Constantine (Ryan played the role in NBC’s canceled, live-action Constantine series, and recently guest-starred as the character on Arrow), Jason O’Mara as Batman, Camilla Ludington as Zatanna, Nicholas Turturro as Deadman and Ray Chase as Jason Blood/Etrigan, but no word yet on who’ll voice Swamp Thing and Black Orchid.

Justice League Dark is coming to Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD this fall.

KINGSGLAIVE: FINAL FANTASY XV
Finally! PlayStation has released the first official trailer for Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV featuring the English voice cast.

The CGI movie serves as a prequel to Square Enix’s upcoming Final Fantasy XV game which will hit store shelves on Sept. 30. Originally, the movie wasn’t meant to be shown on the big screen but it’ll now be released in select movie theaters on Aug. 19 before becoming available in the PlayStation store on Aug. 30. You can also grab a physical copy on Blu-ray and DVD on Oct. 4, but if you’re a huge fan of Final Fantasy or anything fantasy-related, Kingsglaive is definitely a must-see on the big screen. It looks simply stunning.

Kingsglaive features the voice acting talents of Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey as Princess Luna and Sean Bean as King Regis. Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul plays a soldier named Nyx, the main hero of the piece. As you can see below, the movie from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Square Enix mixes the modern and the medieval to create the kingdom of Lucis.

The magical kingdom of Lucis is home to the world’s last remaining Crystal, and the menacing empire of Niflheim is determined to steal it. King Regis of Lucis commands an elite force of soldiers called the Kingsglaive. Wielding their king’s magic, they fight to protect Lucis. As the overwhelming military might of the empire bears down, King Regis is faced with an impossible ultimatum – to marry his son, Prince Noctis to Princess Lunafreya of Tenebrae, captive of Niflheim, and surrender his lands to Niflheim rule. Although the king concedes, it becomes clear that the empire will stop at nothing to achieve their devious goals, with only the Kingsglaive standing between them and world domination.

JUSTICE LEAGUE
Director Zack Snyder presented the first footage from the upcoming Justice League movie directly from Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, and it looks pretty awesome.

In the clip, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) are looking to form the Justice League and reach out to Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen, aka the Flash, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg.

They’ve also unleashed the first official pic of the Justice League, and you can have a close look at the Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman’s superhero costumes in all their high-res glory!

Justice League will open on Nov. 17, 2017.

SUPERNATURAL
Fans of Supernatural: If you think Lucifer was out of the game now that his host body was ripped away from him, think again. The fallen angel has just been given a new skinsuit … that of actor/pop star Rick Springfield.

Specifically, Lucifer is possessing a washed-up pop star.

According to Variety, Robert Singer, one of Supernatural’s executive producers, who made the announcement at San Diego Comic-Con, said, “The first vessel that [Lucifer] feels comfortable with is a rock star who’s a little bit on the down side who’s trying to come back.”

After two seasons of forewarnings, Lucifer appeared in Supernatural in Season 5, where he was the series’ primary villain, in the form of a vessel named Nick. Since then, he has taken vessels over the years, spending time in the bodies of main characters Sam and Castiel. Last season, he and the Winchester Brothers shared an enemy in the form of God's sister the Darkness, which made them uneasy allies.

For those of you who didn’t survive the '80s, Rick Springfield was an actor/pop star (singer of the stalker-iffic "Jessie's Girl") whose roles include appearances on Californication and True Detective. Back in the day, I was so taken with Springfield, I even watched General Hospital for him. Egads.

As any fan of Supernatural knows, when Lucifer possesses a body, that body begins to rapidly decay. Springfield may be awesome, but he’s not awesome enough to survive Lucifer.

FINAL SCORE
Highland Film Group announced today that two-time Golden Globe nominee and former James Bond Pierce Brosnan (The Matador, GoldenEye) will star in Scott Mann’s Final Score. He joins a cast that includes alongside Dave Bautista (Spectre, Guardians of the Galaxy), Alexandra Dinu (Red Valentine, Island) and Julian Cheung (The Grandmaster).

Written by brothers Lynch and Jonathan Frank, Final Score takes place at a major sporting event, during which the stadium is seized by a group of heavily armed criminals demanding ransom. An ex-soldier must use all his military skills to save the 35,000 capacity crowd, one of which is the daughter of his fallen comrade.

“Final Score may be set in London but truly it’s a story that’s relatable the world over,” said The Fyzz Facility’s Robert Jones. “Scott Mann’s vision has scale, white knuckle tension, humor and heart. We’re thrilled that the concept and screenplay has attracted such an exciting cast in Dave Bautista, Pierce Brosnan and Julian Cheung, and firmly believe that this will be a standout in 2017’s movie release calendar.”

The main shooting location for Final Score will be at the world renowned Upton Park Stadium a famous London landmark that has been the home of Premier League soccer club West Ham United for over 100 years. West Ham United will be relocating to Olympic Stadium in East London next season. The venue will be handed over to a British property developer following production.

Signature Entertainment’s Marc Goldberg is producing the action-packed thriller alongside The Fyzz Facility’s Robert Jones, James Harris, Mark Lane, and Wayne Marc Godfrey. Babak Eftekhari will co-produce. HFG’s Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier will handle global sales and serve as executive producers alongside Mark Canton, Courtney Solomon, Zac Adler and David Sullivan. The Gersh Agency is co-representing U.S. rights. Principal Photography is set to commence on August 8th in London.

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2016

The teaser shows Cage (Mike Colter) donning a hoodie, ready to kick butt and take names in Harlem — all to the strains of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.”

“I’m just getting started,” Cage warns nightclub owner Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes (Mahershala Ali).

In the Defenders sizzle reel, there’s a little extra footage of “Luke Cage,” including the titular character warning some bad guys that he doesn’t like their tone and then one of them breaking his hand against cage’s face. Yeouch. There’s also some footage of “Jessica Jones,” “Daredevil” and “The Punisher.”

Earlier in the day at Comic-Con, “Luke Cage’s” executive producer Jeph Loeb told Zap2it that this story will really become Cage’s own.

“We’re going to see the story from his point of view, so you have to get into his head, his world, his look, his music, all of those things,” says Loeb.

“Luke Cage” premieres Sept. 30 on Netflix.

IRON FIST
Following the exciting debut of the Luke Cage trailer and Defenders teaser, Marvel has now released the first teaser trailer (as well as a first poster and logo) for Netflix’s Iron Fist during tonight's SDCC 2016 panel.

Coming to the streaming service in 2017, Iron Fist stars Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones in the role of Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist. The teaser doesn’t reveal too much in the way of storyline besides how Danny-boy will end up in K’un-Lun, but what’s in the footage below makes me super excited about the series. We may not see him suiting up just yet (in that teaser, that is), but seeing him harvest the power of the chi gave me gooseflesh.

Following his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Iron Fist will join Daredevil, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones to face New York's greatest threat yet in Marvel’s The Defenders later that same year.

Iron Fist will also star Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum, Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum and David Wenham as Harold Meachum.

BIOPUNK
Zachary Quinto is returning to his sci-fi TV roots. The actor is all set to headline -- as well as executive-produce -- a new one-hour sci-fi drama series titled Biopunk, based on Wired magazine’s senior business/technology writer Marcus Wohlsen’s book Biopunk: DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life.

The series was created by Chase Palmer, co-writer of the upcoming movie remake of Stephen King’s IT. Palmer will also pen the script. Deadline reports the project will soon be shopped around to the networks and “falls under Gotham’s first-look deal at Legendary Television and was developed in-house.”

Here’s the intriguing premise (Fun Fact: Biopunk is a subgenre of science-fiction centering on biotechnology. It's also derived from cyberpunk, but deals with synthetic biology):

Biopunk chronicles the underground world of bio-hackers—DIY garage scientists seeking to do for biotech what Steve Jobs did for personal computing. These are young and hungry guerilla scientists committed to democratizing DNA the way the internet did for information, with the ambition to build never-before-seen organisms that could solve the thorniest challenges in food, health, energy, and environmental protection. Quinto will play the iconoclastic leader of this movement who can’t wait for the future to get here fast enough.

Quinto’s made a name for himself by playing everyone’s favorite superpowered serial killer, Sylar, on the first four seasons of Heroes, which led to him nabbing the role of the Enterprise's Vulcan science officer, Spock, in the new Star Trek movies. He also got an Emmy nomination for his stint in American Horror Story: Asylum. Here’s what Quinto had to say about his return to sci-fi TV:

“Having spent some time in my career exploring the landscape of science-fiction — it is a particularly exciting step to delve into a world of science-fact,” says Quinto. “The unfathomably thrilling real-life work of bio-hackers is dramatically crafted with compelling and complex dynamics by Chase Palmer, and Marcus Wohlsen is a limitless source of insight into and information about this powerful and fascinating subculture. Legendary has been a great partner in the developmental phase of this project, and we are all beyond excited to assemble a first rate creative team and bring Biopunk to life.”

WEE FREE MEN
The Discworld-set story Wee Free Men, from legendary author Terry Pratchett, is coming to the big screen.

Entertainment Weekly reports the Jim Henson Company has partnered with Narrativia to develop a film based on the novel. The script is being written by Pratchett’s daughter Rhianna, a prominent video game writer (Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider), so it certainly seems to be in talented hands with a strong grasp of the universe and the man who created it.

If you’re unfamiliar with the story, Wee Free Men follows Tiffany Aching, a young witch who faces an impending, nightmarish threat from the monsters of Fairyland — armed with nothing more than her wits and a frying pan. She puts together a ragtag team of 6-inch-tall men (the Nac Mac Feegles) to help battle the evil Queen of Fairyland.

“I’ve loved the Jim Henson Company’s work all my life,” Rhianna said in a statement. “[I]t’s a great honor to team up with them and bring Wee Free Men to the big screen.”

This might not be the most obvious work for a film adaptation, but it certainly has the bones and potential for a great story. Throw in the extensive expertise of the Jim Henson Company (The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth), and it should have a unique look to match Pratchett’s vision.

No word on when production might ramp up, or when we’ll hear anything on casting. But the project appears to be on the right track.

SALEM
Everything in Salem is going to Hell when the horror series returns for a third season on Halloween weekend, and ahead of the Salem panel at San Diego Comic-Con this coming Friday, WGN America has released the first exciting Season 3 trailer.

Starring Janet Montgomery, Shane West, Seth Gabel, Ashley Madekwe, Tamzin Merchant, Elise Eberle, Iddo Goldberg, Joe Doyle, Oliver Bell and Marilyn Manson in a guest-starring stint (last season had Lucy Lawless), the third season picks up right where we left off, with Mary Sibley having given her life for her true love, John Alden, and their young son having become the devil incarnate. Here’s the Season 3 synopsis:

The third season of “Salem” dawns with the triumph of the witches' plan to remake the New World by bringing the devil to earth and making Salem his capital. But the devil is a liar, and instead of a New World free from murderous Puritan hypocrisy, his own plan will bring nothing but death and slavery with the ultimate aim of leading humanity to destroy itself. And there's only one person on earth who can beat the devil -- the very witch that birthed him, his mother, Mary Sibley. The only problem is—she's dead. Or is she?

Ding-dong, the witch is dead back! Salem was created and written by Brannon Braga and Adam Simon, and is executive-produced by Braga, Simon, Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson and Prospect Park’s Jeff Kwatinetz and Josh Barry. It's produced by Fox 21 Television Studios.

If you happen to be at SDCC on Friday, actors Shane West, Janet Montgomery, Seth Gabel, Iddo Goldberg and Elise Eberle, as well as Brannon Braga and Adam Simon, will reveal some cool new footage at the panel, followed by a Q&A.

BATMAN - THE TELLTALE SERIES
The first trailer for Batman – The Telltale Series has been released! After tackling the political intrigues of the Seven Kingdoms with their Game of Thrones episode game, and the zombie survival drama of The Walking Dead, Telltale has set its sights on one of the greatest superheroes ever, Batman.

Their newest episodic game will put players in Bruce Wayne’s suit, as well as the Dark Knight’s cowl and cape, and will feature the voices of Troy Baker as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Travis Willingham as Harvey Dent, Erin Yvette as Vicki Vale, Enn Reitel as Alfred Pennyworth, Murphy Guyer as Lt. James Gordon, Richard McGonagle as Carmine Falcone and Laura Bailey as Selina Kyle/Catwoman.

Just last month, Telltale’s CEO Kevin Bruner said of the upcoming game:

“We've been hard at work at Telltale creating an all-new iteration of the iconic Batman story that puts players in the suit of billionaire Bruce Wayne, just as much as it will put them behind the mask, deciding how to carefully navigate a complex drama, rich with action, crime, corruption, and villainy lurking around every corner of Gotham City. The complex life and fractured psyche of Bruce Wayne has lent itself to becoming a bold evolution of the signature 'Tellltale' role-playing experience, and we couldn't be more excited as we prepare to debut the series to players across the world this summer.”

The first episode, “Realm of Shadows,” will be available for digital download on Aug. 2 for PC/Mac, and iOS/Android devices. The series will then be released in stores on Sept. 13, packaged as a “Season Pass Disc,” which'll include the first of five episodes of the season with access to the following four as soon as they become available to download.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2016

According to Deadline, Phoenix Rising is currently in active development from Goddard’s Goddard Film Group and former Syfy execs Thomas Vitale and Craig Engler’s (Z-Nation) Planet X Productions. The pilot will be penned by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, who wrote for Star Trek: Enterprise. That's a pretty cool pedigree, don't you think?

The current goal is to create awareness for Phoenix Rising series during this week’s San Diego Comic-Con. They’ve even released an announcement teaser, which you can see below.

Captain Power was a Canadian-American sci-fi TV series that ran for 22 episodes between 1987 and 1988, merging live action with animation based on computer-generated images. A toy line was also produced by Mattel and, during each episode, a segment that included visual and audio material interacted with the toys. Babylon 5’s J. Michael Straczynski was the show’s head writer, and the series starred Tim Dunigan as Capt. Jonathan Power and Peter MacNeill as Maj. Hawk Masterson. The show was set on Earth in 2147, in the aftermath of the Metal Wars – a global confrontation between man and machines.

Here’s a description for the planned TV series:

Phoenix Rising picks up 15 years after humanity has lost a devastating war against an artificial intelligence called Overmind. Jonathan Power, the son of the man who caused that war, learns the truth about his father and discovers a new type of battle armor that will enable a small, mismatched team of soldiers and civilians to fight the Bionic armies of the New Order. Dunigan will return in a new role.

SUICIDE SQUAD
It won’t be long until we finally get a chance to check out DC’s epic bad-guy team-up Suicide Squad, and the latest trailer focuses squarely on the woman who brings them all together.

David Ayer’s (Fury) deep dive into the naughty side of DC Comics tells the comic tale of ARGUS leader Amanda Waller’s efforts to put together some of the canon’s worst villains and force them to do some good. But how exactly does Waller pull it off? The new footage focuses on Viola Davis’ big-screen version of Waller, and after seeing her in action, you understand how she could get all these supervillains to fall in line.

Davis’ casting seems positively perfect, and she brings the strength and tenacity to really capture this character. Which is tough — she’s one of the strongest characters in DC’s canon, period — but Davis looks to do it justice.

Suicide Squad opens Aug. 5.

GAME OF THRONES
The next season of HBO’s Game of Thrones is going to be a little smaller — and it’ll also be showing up a little later.

The network has announced the seventh season of Thrones will not arrive until the summer of 2017, which comes later than the series’ typical spring debut. The episode order, something that had been teased previously, was also trimmed to seven episodes (the series typically produces 10 episodes per season).

As for the delay, the network said the later shooting schedule would be a benefit to the story, since it would literally allow for a change in the weather while shooting, so they decided to pull the trigger and bump things a few months.

“Now that winter has arrived on 'Game of Thrones,’ executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss felt that the story lines of the next season would be better served by starting production a little later than usual, when the weather is changing,” HBO’s president of programming, Casey Bloys, said in a statement via The New York Times.

Producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have indicated the series could come to an end within two seasons, and the eventual eighth season will probably have a similar 6-7 episode order.

Another interesting tidbit: If the premiere pushes later than May, the show would not be eligible for next year’s Emmy Awards. That’s huge news for everyone who is not HBO, considering the series has scored more nominations than any other show the past three years. So, if the season really is that late, it could blow the Emmy race wide open.

NEW STAR TREK SERIES INFORMATION
One of the biggest concerns about Bryan Fuller's upcoming new Star Trek series is how audiences will be able to view it. If you live in America, you can see the pilot episode on CBS, but the only way to see the remainder of the series is through their dedicated streaming service, All Access. The same goes for Canada.

However, in addition to all the previous Trek series being available on Netflix worldwide by the end of 2016, it has been officially announced that most other countries will also be able to view new Star Trek episodes through the company's online subscription less than 24 hours after the CBS All Access service's release.

CBS All Access is limited to American audiences, so this answers the major question of how the rest of the world (who we imagine is also very interested in watching Fuller's take on Star Trek) would gain legal access to the new series. Canadian audiences will be able to access old and new Trek through a Canada-specific streaming service, CraveTV.

Yes, to address the elephant in the room, this is a bummer if you happen to live in the USA or Canda, have Netflix, and don't want to spend money on yet another online subscription service. Most of our readers happen to fall under that demographic.

Whether or not this agreement between Netflix and CBS will evolve over time remains to be seen, but we wouldn't rule out the possibility that, eventually, the new Star Trek series will be licensed for US and Canadian Netflix users.

STAR WARS REBELS
Lucasfilm has unleashed the first exciting trailer and poster for the third season of Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels during this weekend’s Star Wars Celebration Europe in London, revealing the main antagonist for Season 3.

So, who will the Ghost and its crew face off against when the show returns?

Fan favorite Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) -- a Star Wars character who first appeared in the old Extended Universe in Timothy Zahn’s 1991 book, Heir to the Empire -- will make his debut when Star Wars Rebels returns in the fall. And what's really important here, you guys, is that this will mark the iconic character’s first canon appearance in the Star Wars Universe EVER since the Expanded Universe was erased from official canon when the House of Mouse acquired the franchise in 2012.

As you can see, the debut of Grand Admiral Thrawn is not the only exciting thing that stands out in the trailer. We have an older Ezra (Taylor Gray) trying to fight against the pull of the Dark Side, and a now-blind Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.) using the Force to compensate the loss of his eyesight following his encounter with Darth Maul (Sam Witwer) in the dramatic Season 2 finale.

Talking of the Sith Lord, it’s clear he’ll be back to cause even more grief for our beloved rebels. There’s also a very cool -- if brief -- appearance by legendary X-Wing pilot and Rogue Squadron member Wedge Antilles, seen here as a young Imperial cadet trying to defect from the Galactic Empire.

STAR TREK 4
Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Bad Robot today announced that the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise will return to the big screen for another voyage in Star Trek 4. In the next installment of the epic space adventure, Chris Pine's Captain Kirk will cross paths with a man he never had a chance to meet, but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born: his father. Chris Hemsworth, who appeared in 2009's Star Trek, will return to the space saga as George Kirk to star alongside Pine.

The remaining cast, including Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho and Karl Urbanm is expected to return. J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay will write the screenplay for this new Star Trek sequel. J.J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber will produce through Bad Robot Productions. David Ellison and Dana Goldberg of Skydance will executive produce.

Star Trek, the first film in Paramount's rebooted franchise based on Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry, earned more than $380 million worldwide in 2009. The second installment, Star Trek Into Darkness earned more than $460 million worldwide when it opened in May 2013. The series' third film, Star Trek Beyond, is directed by Justin Lin (Fast & Furious franchise) and opens in theaters on July 22, 2016.

Hemsworth is currently starring in Ghostbusters alongside Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig and Kate McKinnon, and filming Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 back to back. He is repped by CAA and ROAR. Paramount hasn't confirmed if director Justin Lin will return to the helm for Star Trek 4, but hopefuly we'll have some more updates soon, including a possible release date.

The 2009 Star Trek movie actually marked the feature film debut of Chris Hemsworth, who had previously been best known for playing Kim Hyde on the Australian TV series Home and Away. Since his character George Kirk died in the opening moments of Star Trek, we don't know for sure how Captain Kirk will reunite with his father, but hopefully we'll have more details soon. It also isn't known how Anton Yelchin's death will be handled in future sequels, if Pavel Chekov will be written out of te franchise, or if another actor will be recast.

BATMAN REBOOT
Back in April, Warner Bros. finally confirmed that Ben Affleck is starring and directing in a new Batman Reboot, with the actor/filmmaker working on the script with Geoff Johns. No plot details have been confirmed yet, but there have been plenty of interesting tidbits released thus far, with Ben Affleck revealing he will be working from a largely original story that will implement certain moments from the comic books. Today we have yet another juicy rumor, which claims that Batman himself will be thrown into Arkham Asylum.

The report comes from Batman On Film, with the site cautioning this information hasn't been confirmed. Still, the site's sources wouldn't say how the Dark Knight gets locked up in Arkham Asylum, or how long he will be spending inside the prison. However, the site's sources did clarify that they don't believe the movie is a direct adaptation of Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Earth, or the popular Arkham Asylum video game series.

Another report from May revealed that this story will not feature the Red Hood, as many had speculated after the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but there will be several iconic villains, with Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns setting out to create the "definitive Batman movie." Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice heavily teased that Batman's sidekick Robin was killed by The Joker, which may be why Batman puts in an appearance in Warner Bros.' Suicide Squad, where the Dark Knight is seen riding atop the Joker's sports car.

As of now, no other cast members besides Ben Affleck have been confirmed, but just last week, Ben Affleck's longtime friend Matt Damon revealed he would only play a superhero if he was being directed by Affleck. Many have wondered if there might be a role for Matt Damon in this untitled Batman reboot, and what he may be playing. Both actors haven't been seen on the big screen together in over a decade, since Matt Damon's brief cameo in Ben Affleck's 2004 film Jersey Girl.

Warner Bros. hasn't set a release date for this untitled Batman project quite yet, but in April, the studio did set aside October 5, 2018 and November 1, 2019 release dates for two unspecified DC Comics adaptations. Many fans believe that one of those projects will be this Batman reboot, but it hasn't been confirmed quite yet. It's possible that Warner Bros. makes a few surprise announcements regarding this movie during their Hall H Comic-Con panel on Saturday, July 23, but we'll have to wait and see.

TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2016

This video takes you to San Diego Comic Con, Wizard World and comic book stores around the country. Visit with the writers, artists, owners of companies like Dark Horse and Image Comics. Their enthusiasm for what they do is infectious.

The video has its DVD release through Kino Lorber today, July 19. For more information, go to http://www.comixthemovie.com.

MONDAY, JULY 18, 2016

Taking place before the events of A New Hope, Rogue One tells the story of a group of brave resistance fighters banding together to steal the plans for the Galactic Empire’s new Death Star. The movie stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk and Riz Ahmed. James Earl Jones has also been confirmed to return as the voice as Darth Vader.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens on Dec. 16, 2016.

THE LOST BOYS
It might not be the big-screen follow-up you’ve been waiting for, but we’re finally getting a continuation to the cult hit The Lost Boys. At least they won’t have to find a way to explain away the ageless vampire thing.

Variety reports a comic book sequel is in the works at Vertigo Comics, featuring the surviving characters from the film. The new series is being put together by a strong team of horror writing veterans, including writer Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Grayson) and artists Scott Godlewski (The Dark & Bloody, Copperhead) and Patricia Mulvihill (The Dark & Bloody, Hellblazer). The comic sequel is being touted as a “gruesome and stylish return to the bloody boardwalks and big hair of 1987.”

Here’s the synopsis for the miniseries run:

Santa Carla, California, is on edge. The eccentric coastal town and haven for the undead was finally returning to “normal” after its last supernatural scuffle left the local vampire coven’s leader dead and gave newcomers Michael and Sam Emerson a housewarming both violent and bizarre. Now the brothers must once again team up with militant vampire hunters Edgar and Allan Frog as a new gang of ruthless, stunning, life-sucking nightcrawlers known as the Blood Belles emerges from the aftermath to collect Michael’s love interest and their lost sister, Star.

The original film hit the big screen in 1987, starring Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Corey Haim and Corey Feldman.

The first issue of The Lost Boys hits shelves Oct. 12.

ALTERED CARBON
Netflix’s new sci-fi series Altered Carbon has cast its female lead in Hamilton’s Renée Elise Goldsberry.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Tony-winning actress -- who recently appeared on The Following, Sisters and The Good Wife -- is exiting Broadway hit Hamilton to star alongside Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, RoboCop, Suicide Squad), who'll play Takeshi Kovacs.

Goldsberry will play the role of Quellcrist Falconer, the revolutionary leader of the rebellion against the Protectorate. The character is described as a master strategist and the love of Kovacs' life. Awww.

The 10-episode series is an adaptation of Richard K. Morgan’s 2002 cyberpunk noir sci-fi novel of the same name. The story takes place in the 25th century in a world where people can digitally store and download their personalities into a new body called “sleeve” when they die.

The upcoming series is created, penned and executive-produced by Laeta Kalogridis, who’s got a boatload of geek cred. Kalogridis’ writing and producing credits include Avatar, Shutter Island, Terminator Genesis and Alita: Battle Angel. Not bad, eh? Oh, and there's also the fact that Altered Carbon is a passion project of hers, which fills me with hope the series will be in good hands.

Takeshi Kovacs is a former elite interstellar warrior known as an Envoy who has been imprisoned for 500 years. He finds himself downloaded into a future he tried to stop, where he must solve a single murder (remember, people’s consciousnesses are transferred to a living body, making death pretty much obsolete) in order to have a shot at a new life on Earth.

If you guys are thinking, "Wait! Kinnaman isn’t Asian!", here’s the thing. Even if Takeshi Kovacs is a character of Japanese and Eastern European descent, he’s uploaded into a body that belongs to a man named Elias Ryker. And voila!

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
llumination Entertainment’s The Secret Life of Pets, the fifth fully-animated feature-film collaboration with Universal Pictures, topped the box office for a second straight weekend with $50.6 million. Made for $75 million, the film has earned $203.2 million domestically in two weeks. Internationally, The Secret Life of Pets has grossed $50.8 million for a worldwide total of $254 million. The Secret Life of Pets was directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2) and co-directed by Yarrow Cheney and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio and Brian Lynch. The movie stars Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet and Kevin Hart in their animated feature-film debuts, with co-stars Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan and Albert Brooks.

Sony Pictures‘ Ghostbusters debuted in second place with an estimated $46 million from 3,963 theaters, an average of $11,607 per location. Made for about $144 million, the Paul Feig-directed film received a B+ CinemaScore from audiences. Ghostbusters stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Charles Dance, Michael Kenneth Williams and Chris Hemsworth.

In its third weekend, Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Legend of Tarzan added $11.1 million in third place to push its domestic total past the $100 mark with $103.1 million. Internationally, the David Yates-directed film earned $22 million this weekend from 55 markets, bringing the overseas total to $90.6 million and worldwide sum to $193.7 million. The film, made for $180 million, stars Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz and Djimon Hounsou. The Legend of Tarzan opens in China this Tuesday, July 19.

In fourth place, Disney•Pixar‘s Finding Dory grossed another $11 million in North America its fifth weekend to swim to $445.5 million. The movie now stands as the highest-grossing animated release of all-time domestically, passing Shrek 2’s long-held record of $441.2 million. This result has also helped push the 2016 domestic total to date for The Walt Disney Studios past $2 billion, making it the fastest time this has been achieved in industry history and following on from last weekend’s news of the studio crossing $3 billion internationally and $5 billion globally. Internationally, Finding Dory grossed $36.5 million this weekend to bring its overseas sum to $276.2 million and worldwide total to $721.7 million. Directed by Andrew Stanton, Finding Dory features the voices of Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Michael Sheen, Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton.

20th Century Fox’s R-rated comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates rounded out the top five with $7.5 million its second weekend. The film, which cost $33 million to make, has earned $31.3 million domestically. Directed by Jake Szymanski, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates stars Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick, Adam DeVine, and Aubrey Plaza.

Coming in at No. 6, Universal and Blumhouse’s The Purge: Election Year grossed $6.1 million its third weekend for a total of $71 million in North America. Internationally, the film has earned $7.2 million. Made for just $10 million, the James DeMonaco-directed film stars Frank Grillo and Elizabeth Mitchell.

The Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart action-comedy Central Intelligence earned $5.3 million in seventh place for a five-week total of $117.5 million. Overseas, Central Intelligence has earned $63 million for a global cume of $180.5 million.

Broad Green Pictures opened the Brad Furman-directed The Infiltrator in 1,600 theaters, where it grossed $5.3 million for the eighth spot. Starring Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt, Elena Anaya, Olympia Dukakis, Juliet Aubrey and Amy Ryan, the film has made $6.7 million since opening last Wednesday. It received an A- CinemaScore.

Also, Woody Allen’s Cafe Society debuted in five theaters and grossed $355,000, or $71,000 per theater. The film stars Jeannie Berlin, Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Kristen Stewart, Corey Stoll and Ken Stott.

WONDER WOMAN
As we head into Comic Con, the major studios are steadily dropping news and tidbits about the next year’s worth of offerings and included in the mix is Warner Brothers, who already plan on dominating the weekend with several exclusive premiers. But in anticipation, WB is teasing fans with some additional treats.

Gal Gadot already successfully stole ‘Batman V Superman’ from the two headlining male heroes with her all-too-brief cameo as Wonder Woman (or Miss Prince, if you rather). Next year, she twirls into her own solo movie and expectations are high.

Patty Jenkins directed the first DC solo female-led movie which pairs Gadot with Chris Pine. Now here are some new photos featuring Gadot, Pine and Jenkins on the set.

The most striking thing to take away from these images, especially the last one, is that Warner Brothers is actually lightening up, literally. Gadot’s Wonder Woman costume is much brighter and more colorful than the drab armor she sported in ‘BvS’. Sure, they were going for a more realistic vibe on that one, but with that set-up out of the way, it’s nice to see the creators embracing the comic book roots.

Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.

‘Wonder Woman’ directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Ewen Bremner, Saïd Taghmaoui, Elena Anaya, and Lucy Davis will be released on June 23, 2017.

FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016

According to Comic Book Resources, DC has announced that Hawkman and Adam Strange will be returning in a new six-issue miniseries titled Hawkman and Adam Strange: Out of Time. Neither of the characters have been seen since the company's launch of the Rebirth line, although versions of both last appeared as part of The New 52. The book is being written by Marc Andreyko (Wonder Woman '77) and drawn by Aaron Lopresti (The New 52: Futures End)

The book's synopsis reads:

Residing on Earth and out of the hero game, Adam Strange finds himself trying to live a 'normal' life, until he’s literally pulled back into adventure again as a seemingly normal Zeta beam transmission returns him to the planet Rann, where he hopes to be reunited with his beloved Alanna. But instead, he finds the once great city of Ranagar in ruins with millions dead, and the once peaceful Alanna is now calling for the blood of Rann’s oldest enemy, Thanagar, home of the Hawkmen.

Sensing something is amiss, Strange enlists the aid of Thanagarian policeman Katar Hol, aka Hawkman, who is also trying anything possible to avert war. Together the two try and uncover who’s really behind the destruction of Rann while at the same time preventing Rann and Thanagar from marching into interplanetary armageddon!

Both characters have long histories with DC. The original Hawkman first appeared in 1940, in Flash Comics #1, and there have been several versions since. Depending on what you've read, he's either from ancient Egypt or the planet Thanagar (yes, I'm simplifying this, but you get the drift -- his continuity is all over the place). More recently, Hawkman has been seen on TV -- in his Carter Hall identity -- on Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash and Arrow, where he's played by Falk Hentschel.

Adam Strange first turned up in 1958 (in Showcase #17) and was an archaeologist who was transported by Zeta-beam to the planet Rann, where he fell in love with a woman named Alanna and became a protector for the planet and its inhabitants. He's never had a series of his own, although he's appeared in Mystery in Space, Justice League of America, Rann-Thanagar War (also featuring Hawkman) and 52, in addition to his latest adventures in The New 52's Justice League United.

It's nice to see both characters becoming part of the DC Rebirth initiative, with perhaps more of a nod toward their original origins, and Lopresti has already revealed a heck of a cover for issue #1 (which is out October 5).

STRANGER THINGS
To build some buzz for the debut of Netflix’s new love letter to the supernatural films of the 1980s, the streaming service has dropped the first eight minutes of Stranger Things. Spoiler alert: It looks really good.

The series looks to take more than a few pages from Steven Spielberg’s 1980s playbook, focusing on the story of a young boy who vanishes into thin air. As his friends, family and local police search for answers, they get pulled deeper into a conspiracy involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and a mysterious little girl. So, yeah, all your favorite supernatural flicks from a few decades ago thrown into a gloriously fun blender.

The opening scene below does an excellent job of setting the stakes, as you meet the main characters and even get a peek at the mysterious Big Bad. The series comes from Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer (Wayward Pines) and stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Cara Buono, Charlie Heaton and Matthew Modine.

The show has been garnering solid reviews ahead of its debut, and it sounds like a nostalgia-drenched thrill ride. The full season drops this Friday.

THE EXPANSE
The world of The Expanse is getting a whole lot bigger in Season 2, and one of the biggest additions is the arrival of fan-favorite character Bobbie Draper, played by New Zealand actress and boxer Frankie Adams. Want to get a peek at her in action?

Entertainment Weekly has debuted some first-look shots of Adams on the set of the acclaimed Syfy (Corporate owner of Blastr -Ed.) series, which is based on the book series by James S.A. Corey. The character, Roberta “Bobbie” Draper, is a Martian marine set to play a key role in Season 2. The character is a fan favorite dating back to the book series, and her casting was extremely hard to pull off, as the producers told us back when the casting was announced.

As for how Bobbie is fitting in, showrunner Naren Shankar promised we’ll meet her in the opening moments of the new season:

“You will meet her in the first three seconds of the show. She’s in the opener. We do pull things forward in the book, we’ve pulled things out of the novella, a lot of rearrangement of certain elements, but while respecting the overall plot framework of those books. We pulled her up. But with Bobbie — you know what happens at the very beginning of Caliban’s War — and while there was a ton of world building there in Season 1, the one thing that we weren’t really able to get into was a true Martian perspective on the events that are going on in the world…

So, we start with Bobbie at her team in episode 1. And we get to spend time with them before the events on Ganymede and the beginning of Caliban’s War. So, what it allowed us to do is build characters, build the team camaraderie, build all of that Martian perspective that we had to pull back in Season 1 and bring that front and center into season 2. That helps us frame the Earth, the Belt, and Mars. That really is the tripod on which we’ll see them stand.”

The second season of The Expanse is set to premiere in 2017 on Syfy.

LIGHTS OUT
It started out as a very freaky viral short, and now filmmaker David F. Sandberg has taken those creepy few minutes and turned them into a bona fide horror flick.

Two new clips from Lights Out have been released, showing some scary stuff lurking in the dark. It’s your basic jump-scare premise, but man, does he not pull it off well. The story follows a family being affected by a terrifying entity that lurks in the dark. The project comes under the Blumhouse banner, with a script written by Eric A. Heisserer’s (The Thing, A Nightmare on Elm Street).

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged.

Lights Out is set to open July 22.

THE DARK TOWER
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.

Thus began the first Dark Tower novel by Stephen King in 1982, and so too will begin the feature film adaptation when it hits theaters next year.

Entertainment Weekly has revealed the cover for their latest issue and it features none other than the stars of the film, Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey as The Gunslinger and the man in black (aka Walter o’Dim, aka Randall Flagg). Journey below to see the all-new photos from the film and to hear what the pair have to say about the movie.

“There’s a mystical element to him,” Elba tells the outlet. “He’s about 200 years old. He’s been around for a long time, and has a deep-rooted connection with the [supernatural] nature of the film. Roland’s completely tuned into that. When you meet him, he’s very much a stoic man, doesn’t want to talk. But when you get to know him, he really knows quite a bit about the world and his world’s history…When we meet Roland he’s a bit lost. He’s been walking around for a long time, so he definitely feels like a man who’s… coiled….Until he meets Jake.”

Jake Chambers, played by Tom Taylor in the film, is an important character in the mythology of The Dark Tower and the focal point of both Roland and the man in black’s plans in the feature film.

“He’s really pent up and releases his soul through [defending] the boy,” Elba added.

Jake lives in our reality (as opposed to the apocalyptic Mid-World that Roland hails from) and has the ability to “Shine,” something Stephen King fans should recognize immediately as the power Danny Torrance has in The Shining.

This power is why both Roland and Walter want Jake. Walter needs him to bring the titular tower crashing down (opening up a whole other can of worms for the entire multiverse) and Roland needs the tower preserved for his own journey.

One of the places we see McConaughey’s man in black wandering in the photos is The Dixie Pig, a hideaway for ne’er-do-wells and monsters of all kinds in our own world which also has a door to Mid-World.

“Well, he is a man, actually,” McConaughey says of the villain. “They wanted to go very human and grounded with this. Obviously there are mythical proportions of good and evil in Walter. But we didn’t want to go overly fantastic. That would drop the humanity. So Walter, for me, is a man who exposes hypocrisies.”

EW goes on to reveal how involved creator Stephen King has been in developing the film, with the man himself saying he made his own modifications to the script.

“I took a pen and cut Roland’s dialogue to the bone,” the author tells them. “The less he says the better off, and why not? Idris Elba can act with his face. He’s terrific at it. He projects that sense of combined menace and security. [Roland] is the Western hero, the strong, silent type: ‘Yep,’ ‘Nope,’ and ‘Draw.’”

Fans of The Dark Tower books have no doubt noticed that the film is missing two of its key characters in Eddie and Susannah Dean, and EW reveals they won’t be making the journey in the first film; however, should The Dark Tower be a success and a sequel follows, they will join the Ka-tet.

Director Nikolaj Arcel also confirmed what many had theorized about the film, that it’s actually a sequel to the book series and not a straight adaptation.

“The hardcore fans of The Dark Tower series will know that this is actually a sequel to the books in a way,” Arcel says. “It has a lot of the same elements, a lot of the same characters, but it is a different journey.”

Elba, McConaughey, and Taylor are joined in The Dark Tower by Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Neon Demon) as the film’s female lead, Tirana, and Fran Kranz (The Cabin in the Woods) as Pimli, the right hand man of Flagg. The film also features Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Katheryn Winnick (Vikings) and Claudia Kiim (Avengers: Age of Ultron).

The Dark Tower is scheduled for release on February 17, 2017.

STAR TREK BEYOND
Paramount Pictures has released a new Star Trek Beyond featurette that shows Sofia Boutella’s Jaylah and Scotty (Simon Pegg) bonding over their engineering skills. Learn more about the exciting new character below!

A Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions film, Star Trek Beyond is set to feature the return of Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin and John Cho along with new roles for Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella and Joe Taslim. J.J. Abrams, who directed the last two films, is producing the third film in the rebooted franchise. Justin Lin (Fast & Furious) is directing from a script by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung.

Look for Star Trek Beyond to hit the big screen July 22. That’s about two months before the Star Trek franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary. “The Man Trap” became the first broadcast episode of the original Star Trek when it aired on NBC September 8, 1966. Since then, the franchise has had five different television spinoffs and more than a dozen feature films. A new television series is also on the way in 2017 with Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, American Gods) serving as co-creator and executive producer.

MONDAY, JULY 11, 2016

Best known for her role on the acclaimed reboot of Battlestar Galactica, Helfer has taken on the role of Agent Lange for the second season of the adult-themed superhero drama. (She will also join Lucifer, it was just announced.)

However (spoiler alert!), her big secret was revealed earlier this season: She herself is a "power," the cat-like Lynx.

Blastr recently caught up with Helfer to talk about her new character and more:

What interested you about the show and this role?

I hadn't seen the first season prior to getting it, but they sent me the first two episodes. I was fascinated by the world and this deconstruction of this idea of superheroes as celebrities. They get pumped up but then torn down as well. I found it fascinating that Christian used to have powers, but then seeing him no longer as a superhero, I found that interesting.

Lange, likewise, a big draw for me was the fourth episode where she has the alter ego, Lynx. I am a crazy cat lady myself, so I thought, "Yes, I get to play a cat!"

The show doesn't hold back in terms of content, it's strong stuff at times. What's that been like for you, working on a show like that?

Sometimes limits are good, depending on the eyeballs you want watching. But sometimes it can get so crazy. I remember [on another show] standards and practices coming in and saying, "You can't say that," and the alternative was actually worse. "I don't get it; you can't say this but you can say that?"

I remember being on the set of Powers and hearing f-bombs left and right and thinking, "Oh we can say that? Okay!"

But everything in moderation, right?

What was it like being new to the show?

The cast was very welcoming, which isn't always the case. They were very open and friendly. When I've been on a show I try to be very open and welcoming. As shows go on longer and longer, it becomes a well-oiled machine.

Sharlto [Copley] was great. When characters have a shared history, it's good to be able to talk it out beforehand, making sure it works out on the day.

Superhero films and shows have become huge in recent years. What was it like jumping into that world?

Fans of the genre are rabid, they love the graphic novels and comics. They want everything to be true to what the character was. I didn't know a lot about Lange going into it. I was lucky that Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming were there on the set when I first started. I could go right to the source, which was super helpful.

There's been a lot of talk lately of a Battlestar Galactica movie reboot. Are you following that, or would you like to be involved if possible?

I think the stories about the movie coming have been brewing for a while now. I believe it's a complete reboot, so I don't think it has anything to do with our version of it. If it did, for sure!

It was one of the greatest experiences for me. We're such a tight-knit group, and it would be a joy to go back and shoot some more, if we could.

BEFORE I WAKE
Good news, everyone! Director Mike Flanagan’s long-delayed horror film Before I Wake is finally getting a release date, and a new trailer has been released.

The Relativity movie (Relativity has been working out its bankruptcy problems) stars Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane, Dash Mihok, Annabeth Gish and Jacob Tremblay (The Room). The movie follows a couple who adopt an orphaned boy with unusual powers. See, his dreams and nightmares physically manifest themselves when he sleeps. Having butterflies fluttering around your living room? Good (I guess?). Having a nightmarish creature hunt you down? Not good.

Check out the synopsis:

Jessie and Mark, recovering from the death of their young son Sean, decide to take in 8-year-old Cody as a foster child. Cody seems sweet, loving and bright in every way, except that he is afraid to sleep. They soon discover why: Cody’s dreams manifest in reality as he sleeps. In Jessie’s grief, she tries to use Cody’s supernatural abilities to reconnect with her dead son. Soon she discovers that Cody’s nightmares manifest as well, as they experience both the intense wonder – and intense terror – that only a child’s imagination could conjure. To save their new family, Jessie and Mark must uncover the truth behind Cody’s nightmares.

Before I Wake will open on Sept. 9.

HUNTERS CANCELLED BY SYFY
It's game over for Syfy's Hunters.

The NBCUniversal-owned cable network has canceled the straight-to-series adaptation of Whitley Strieber's best-selling novel Alien Hunter, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The 13-episode drama was first put in development in October 2013 and picked up to series in September 2014 without a cast attached.

From Universal Cable Productions and Gale Anne Hurd, Hunters starred Nathan Phillips and Britne Oldford with Natalie Chaidez (12 Monkeys) attached as showrunner. The show followed Pennsylvania detective-turned-suspect Flynn Carroll (Phillips) who, after his wife mysteriously goes missing, is determined to prove his innocence and find her. His search leads to evidence that dangerous alien cells are living among us, and the U.S. government has a secret organization in place to thwart their terrorist efforts.

Hunters bowed to little fanfare in April, drawing 540,000 total viewers, and was panned by critics (it has a zero rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Through 12 episodes, it has averaged a dismal 316,000 viewers. Monday's season finale will now serve as a series finale.

Hunters is a rare miss for Syfy of late. The cabler has strived in the past few years to reinvent itself with a focus on more traditional science-fiction fare along the lines of critical favorite Battlestar Galactica. Syfy's recent success stories include critical darling 12 Monkeys (renewed for a third, yet smaller season), The Magicians, The Expanse, Z Nation, Killjoys and acquisitions Dark Matter and Wynonna Earp. (A decision on Wynonna Earp has not yet been determined.) Up next, Syfy has anthology Channel Zero due in October and Incorporated, set for the fall.

For Hurd, meanwhile, the prolific producer will remain in business with the NBCUniversal family, where her Valhalla banner has a pod deal at UCP. Up next she has USA Network drama Falling Water.

MR. ROBOT
On July 13th, Mr. Robot – the 2015 Peabody Award and Critics’ Choice Award Winner – returns for a second season to USA Network. To prepare you for the new season, you can watch a Mr. Robot Season 1 recap [SPOILERS] below!

Mr. Robot follows Elliot Alderson (Golden Globe and SAG Award nominee Rami Malek), a young cyber-security engineer who becomes involved in the underground hacker group fsociety, after being recruited by their mysterious leader (Golden Globe Award winner Christian Slater). Following the events of fsociety’s 5/9 hack on multi-national company Evil Corp, the second season will explore the consequences of that attack as well as the illusion of control. The series also stars Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin, Grace Gummer, Michael Cristofer and Stephanie Corneliussen.

New recurring guest stars include Craig Robinson (“The Office”) and hip hop artist Joey Bada$$. Returning cast members include BD Wong (“Law & Order: SVU”), Gloria Reuben (“Saints & Sinners”), Michael Drayer (“Vinyl”), Michel Gill (“House of Cards”), Ron Cephas Jones (“The Blacklist”), Sunita Mani (“5 Stages”), Azhar Khan (“Veep”) and Ben Rappaport (“The Good Wife”).

Mr. Robot hails from writer and executive producer Sam Esmail (“Comet”) as well as Anonymous Content executive producers Steve Golin (“True Detective”) and Chad Hamilton (“Breakup at a Wedding”) and is produced by Universal Cable Productions.

SUICIDE SQUAD
Some are looking towards Warner Bros. and DC Film's Suicide Squad as the savior of the summer. This season has been lackluster at best, and while many were disappointed in Batman V Superman, it's this high-flying adventure that has fans most excited about what the DCEU can and will be in the long run. A new international trailer has arrived, and it delivers some hot action and some big laughs. If you like the colorful character posters that have been released over the last few months, this goes hand and fist along with that marketing campaign.

The main Suicide Squad cast all get a moment to shine in this latest sneak peek. Included in the hard-hitting line-up are Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Deadshot (Will Smith), Slipknot (Adam Beach), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Katana (Karen Fukuhara), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman) and Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). Recent reshoots were said to inject more fun into this madcap thriller. And it appears that notion worked in their favor.

It feels good to be bad...Assemble a team of the world's most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government's disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren't picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it's every man for himself?

The supporting cast includes Scott Eastwood, Common, Ike Barinholtz, Jim Parrack, David Harbour, and Alex Meraz. Ben Affleck will also return as Batman from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, although it isn't known how large or small a role he has in this movie. The actor was seen in videos and photos from the set hanging atop The Joker's sports car as it sped through the streets of Toronto.

David Ayer directs Suicide Squad from his own script, based on the DC Comics. We reported earlier this year that Warner Bros. wants David Ayer and Will Smith to return for Suicide Squad 2, which could start shooting in early 2017, but that hasn't been confirmed quite yet. While we wait for more on the sequel, take a look at this new blistering new trailer courtesy of Youtube.

FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2016

THE EXORCIST
The Exorcist will be heading to the small screen as a new TV series in the fall, and following the release of the first trailer a few months back, Fox has unleashed a trio of terrifying teasers to put you in the mood for some good old-fashioned demonic possession and make your head spin in a complete 360.

The series, inspired by William Peter Blatty's novel, will follow two very different priests, played by Alfonso Herrera (Sense8, The Chosen) and Ben Daniels (Flesh and Bone, House of Cards), who take on the case of a family’s horrifying demonic possession. The show also stars Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise, The Fly, Commander in Chief) as Angela, the mother of the family dealing with the demonic forces that reside in their house.

Looks like demonic possession may be the new zombies, with Cinemax currently airing Outcast, a show based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book series of the same name. Fox also has Lucifer. Yeah, it's got no demonic possession but instead sees Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis), aka the Devil, walking around L.A. solving crimes -- and looking devilishly sexy while doing so. But I digress.

Here’s an extended synopsis for Fox’s The Exorcist (note that Alan Ruck has since been upped to series regular):

“THE EXORCIST” is a propulsive psychological thriller following two very different priests tackling one family’s case of horrifying demonic possession. FATHER TOMAS ORTEGA (Alfonso Herrera) is the new face of the Catholic Church: progressive, ambitious, and compassionate. He runs a small but loyal parish in the suburbs of Chicago. He has no idea that his quiet life is about to change forever.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, another priest finds himself locked in a life-and-death struggle with evil. FATHER MARCUS BRENNAN (Ben Daniels) is a modern-day Templar Knight, an orphan raised since childhood by the Vatican to wage war against its enemies. Father Marcus is everything Father Tomas is not: relentless, abrasive, and utterly consumed by his sacred mission.

Caught in the middle is the RANCE family, members of Tomas’ parish. On the surface they’re a normal, suburban family, but all is not as it seems in this household. The patriarch, HENRY RANCE (guest star Alan Ruck), is slowly but surely losing his mind. Eldest daughter KATHERINE (Brianne Howey) has become a recluse who refuses to leave her room. Her younger sister, CASEY (Hannah Kasulka), thinks she’s hearing strange noises coming from inside the walls. And mother ANGELA (Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Geena Davis) has been plagued by recurring nightmares, each more frightening than the last. Angela believes there is something in the house, a demonic presence, growing stronger by the day. Desperate, she begs Father Tomas for help, unwittingly setting the naïve young priest on a collision course with Father Marcus. Separately, each faces an insurmountable task, but together they become the only hope against an evil force that has been mobilizing for centuries.

The Exorcist will premiere on Sept. 23.

THE EMPTY MAN
James Badge Dale (13 Hours, The Walk) has taken a leading role in 20th Century Fox‘s The Empty Man movie. The Hollywood Reporter has the news, bringing word that production is likely to begin this fall in South Africa. David Prior, most well known for putting together exemplary bonus content on DVD and Blu-rays (including features for David Fincher’s Zodiac, The Social Network, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is writing and directing the Empty Man movie, which is based on a BOOM! Studios comic book miniseries.

Released in 2014, The Empty Man was written by Eisner Award winner Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Vanesa R. Del Rey. It is officially described as follows:

It’s been one year since the first reported case of the Empty Man disease, and no drug has been able to slow its progress. The cause is unknown, and the symptoms include fits of rage, hideous hallucinations, suicidal dementia, followed by death, or a near lifeless, ’empty’ state of catatonia. As murder cults rise nationwide, the FBI and CDC enter a joint investigation of the Empty Man, hoping to piece together clues to stop the cult and uncover a cure.

It is noted in today’s trade report that the script for the Empty Man movie departs quite a bit from the original comic.

BOOM!’s Stephen Christy and Ross Richie are producing The Empty Man movie, which is just one of a growing roster of Boom! Studios projects in development at Fox. Also on the way are feature film versions of titles like James Wan’s Malignant Man, as well as The Foundation, Imagine Agents, and Lumberjanes.

BEN-HUR REMAKE
Paramount Pictures and MGM have today released four new character posters that introduce the Ben-Hur cast. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and scripted by John Ridley and Keith Clarke, the Ben-Hur cast incudes Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), Toby Kebbell (Warcraft, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Morgan Freeman (Now You See Me, London Has Fallen), Rodrigo Santoro (300, The Last Stand), Nazanin Boniadi (Homeland, How I Met Your Mother), Ayelet Zorer (Man of Steel, Marvel’s Daredevil) and Sofia Black-D’Elia (Project Almanac, The Night Of).

Ben-Hur tells the epic story of Judah Ben-Hur (Huston), a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother Messala (Kebbell), an officer in the Roman army. Stripped of his title, separated from his family and the woman he loves (Boniadi), Judah is forced into slavery. After years at sea, Judah returns to his homeland to seek revenge, but finds redemption.

The film is based on Lew Wallace’s timeless novel, “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.” The source material was famously adapted into William Wyler’s 1959 cinematic epic starring Charlton Heston. The 1959 version took home eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film also gave Heston his only Oscar for his performance in the title role.

Look for the Ben-Hur remake to hit the big screen August 19.

STAR WARS REBELS
Odds are, if you are a diehard Star Wars fan, you have more new stuff than you can possibly keep up with. We've only had one new movie thus far since Disney purchased Lucasfilm, but there have been plenty of expanded universe novels, comic books, video games and of course, the animated TV series Star Wars Rebels. All of these things like to sprinkle in bits of Star Wars lore and impact our understanding of the movies, but it looks like the next season of Rebels may be absolutely essential viewing, because there is a chance it could directly affect future movies.

Recently, producer and writer for Rebels, Simon Kindberg, did an interview with Moviefone in which Star Wars was discussed heavily. The main focus was on the interconnectivity of it all and how everything that is part of the new Star Wars canon has to work together and fit together. When talking about it, Kindberg made a bit of an interesting statement that implies the next season of the show could very well have an effect on what we see in future live-action Star Wars movies. Here is what he had to say.

"What's lovely is, obviously, we've brought in characters from 'Clone Wars' in the second season, and we keep sort of bringing characters from the original movies and sort of deepening the relationships between our core characters, the Ghost crew. So it's trying to balance the two different things, like the original cast from the first season with 'Clone Wars,' with characters from the original movies, and maybe even feeding into future movies."

Most of that statement is pretty vanilla and largely what one might expect. It is that last little bit that is potentially very tantalizing though. Kindberg mentions that live-action characters are brought into the expanded universe, such as Rebels, all of the time. What doesn't happen nearly as much is to have the shows having an affect on things that happen on the movie side of things. Marvel is very famously not having much if any crossover from their movie and TV divisions right now, and Disney owns both Marvel and Star Wars, so one would imagine that the same philosophy would largely carry over. But it sounds like if Kindberg has his way, he would like Rebels to have a wider effect on the Star Wars universe. Kindberg did talk about the idea of interconnectivity as something he enjoys as well, and not something that he considers to be a burden.

"I think part of the fun of the way they're building the universe is that it is interconnected between the different movies and even beyond the movies ... It's something that was true in comic books going back, the way that you'd have interconnections between characters and stories. Even sometimes from DC to Marvel. I like the way that those stories are told in the larger tapestry. And, also, getting to work with other artists and filmmakers and writers, and use their talents - I like not being by myself in a room when I work. I like having other collaborators. You're with some of the world's best." What Kindberg is proposing is not at all out of the question, it seems. In the recent barrage of Rogue One updates we received via Entertainment Weekly, it was revealed that Forest Whitaker is playing a character by the name of Saw Gerrera. Star Wars: The Clone Wars fans were familiar with the name, because he was a character who originally appeared on that show. This is a very big deal because it is an official way for Disney to say that they are perfectly willing to take what has been done on the expanded universe side of things and bring it over into the live-action side of things. That is essentially what Kindberg is teasing, so it is very plausible.

What is also perhaps interesting to note is that, Kindberg is one of the main forces behind Star Wars Rebels, which is a Disney project. But he is also one of the main forces behind Fox's X-Men franchise right now, and as we know, Disney and Marvel would very much like for their characters to be back at home, so it is hard to know if the studio is all sunshine and roses with Kindberg, or if it is a sleeping with the enemy kind of a situation. Star Wars Rebels Season 3 is set to premiere on Disney XD this fall and Rebels season 2 will be released on Blu-ray August 30.

FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

This is also the only panel currently scheduled where folks can come and discuss and hear about Sense8.

VAN HELSING ON SYFY
Syfy has unleashed the first promo art for its upcoming supernatural TV series Van Helsing.

The 13-episode series, from acclaimed filmmaker Neil LaBute, will focus on Vanessa Helsing (True Blood’s Kelly Overton), the latest in a long line of famed monster hunters. The series will feature an intriguing twist on the Dracula story, with Vanessa being resurrected in a future in which vampires rule the world. Discovering that she holds a mysterious power over them (the bloodsuckers, that is), Vanessa must lead what’s left of humanity against the vamps in a post-Rising world.

Overton will be joined by Jonathan Scarfe (Hell on Wheels), Christopher Heyerdahl (Stargate Atlantis, Hell on Wheels), Paul Johansson (Mad Men), David Cubitt (Ray Donovan) and Tim Guinee (Stargate SG-1, Homeland). Van Helsing will be produced by LaBute, who’ll also serve as producer and showrunner alongside Continuum creator Simon Barry, who'll be acting as producer and director. Not a bad pedigree, eh? Here’s what LaBute said in a previous statement about his upcoming series:

“I am extremely excited to be working with Syfy and Nomadic Pictures to create a unique, character-driven action series that will move the traditional vampire tropes into bold and unexpected new territories” LaBute said in a statement. “This is a wonderful chance for us to forge great stories and unforgettable characters and throw them into a world where the stakes – both dramatic and personal – are tremendously high.”

Syfy’s Van Helsing is slated to premiere on Sept. 23.

12 MONKEYS
Considering 12 Monkeys showrunner Terry Matalas has already told us the season finale will be setting up some big changes next year, we have some good news: Syfy has officially renewed the series for a third season in 2017.

The network has officially announced plans for a 10-episode season (slightly down from the typical 13-episode order, it’s worth noting) to continue the time-twisty saga of Cole, Cassie and the rest of the gang. The second season has added a mountain of twists to the mythology, and the story is only getting bigger from here. It’s encouraging to know the network sees the value in keeping the series around, and though it’s not a ratings smash (which is a travesty), it has cultivated some legit critical love and a fervent fan base.

When reached by Blastr, showrunner Terry Matalas had this to say about the renewal:

"I'm so grateful that Syfy and UCP are so invested in this show. They've been incredible partners and give us the creative freedom to try new things. I think that's why 12 Monkeys is kinda special. And I personally can't wait to tell everyone where it all goes next!"

In announcing the decision, Chris McCumber, president, Entertainment Networks, said the series has grown into the type of series the network wants to be known for, which is why they've decided to keep it alive into 2017 and (hopefully) beyond:

“In two short seasons, 12 MONKEYS has become a cult favorite series. Terry and the cast and crew have brought to life a rich world not confined by boundaries of time, with multi-dimensional characters whose motivations for saving the world are deeply personal and intensely relatable. It’s exactly the type of smart, on-the-edge-of-your-seat entertainment we want to bring to Syfy viewers.”

The series stars Aaron Stanford (James Cole), Amanda Schull (Dr. Cassandra Railly), Kirk Acevedo (Ramse), Emily Hampshire (Jennifer), Barbara Sukowa (Dr. Katarina Jones) and Todd Stashwick (Deacon).

12 Monkeys airs Monday nights on Syfy.

THE TROLLS
20th Century Fox has released the first colorful trailer and poster for DreamWorks Animation’s newest animated movie, Trolls.

The musical comedy hails from the team that brought us Shrek Forever After -- it’s directed by Mike Mitchell, co-directed by Walt Dohrn and produced by Gina Shay -- and stars Justin Timberlake as pessimistic troll Branch (Timberlake acts as executive music producer and provided original music for the movie), Anna Kendrick as the super peppy Princess Poppy, James Corden as Biggie, Russell Brand as Creek, Gwen Stefani as DJ Suki, Kunal Nayyar as Guy Diamond and more.

Here’s an official description for the upcoming movie:

From the creators of Shrek comes the most smart, funny, irreverent animated comedy of the year, DreamWorks’ Trolls. This holiday season, enter a colorful, wondrous world populated by hilariously unforgettable characters and discover the story of the overly optimistic Trolls, with a constant song on their lips, and the comedicly pessimistic Bergens, who are only happy when they have trolls in their stomach.

I'll admit it. The whole thing put a huge smile on my face this morning. The trailer is colorful and boasts a catchy tune performed by Justin Timberlake. Also, how many movies boast a character that actually poops cupcakes? Ha ha!

Trolls will open in movie theaters on Nov. 4.

MORGAN
The first trailer did a good job of setting a creepy tone, but our latest look at Morgan sets the stakes for what looks to be one of the freakiest sci-fi horror flicks of the year.

It feels like a more straight-up horror spin on Ex Machina (Alien meets Ex Machina, maybe?), with a corporate troubleshooter (Kate Mara) sent to a remote, top-secret location to investigate and evaluate a terrifying mystery. Once she gets there, she meets an engineered human who holds “both infinite promise and incalculable danger.” The young girl, Morgan, is apparently grown from programmed DNA and turns out to be incredibly smart and dangerous, and apparently has some super-freaky telekinesis.

The film comes from director Luke Scott, son of the much more famous Ridley Scott. Morgan is Luke’s feature directorial debut, and it seems the horror that made Ridley a household name certainly runs in the family.

Morgan opens Sept. 2.

MORE NEW CAST MEMBERS FOR THE FLASH
TV Line brings word that Tom Felton, who previously filled the role of Draco Malfoy in all eight ‘Harry Potter’ films, has joined the cast of The Flash as a series regular. Felton will be the part of Julian Dorn, described as a fellow crime scene investigator with Barry at the CCPD who “suspects there’s more to Barry Allen than just his good guy reputation.”

It was previously revealed that the The Flash Season 3 premiere will be titled “Flashpoint,” confirming that the new season will be based in part on the popular event story from DC Comics. In the event and the season 2 finale of The Flash, Barry went back in time to do what he couldn’t before: save his mother from dying at the hands of The Reverse Flash.

In the source material this resulted in some fundamental changes to the fabric of the DCU including Captain Cold being the hero of Central City, the Justice League not existing, Wonder Woman’s Amazonians and Aquaman’s Atlanteans being engaged in a worldwide war, Bruce Wayne being the one who died in the alley and not his parents inspiring his father to become Batman (and his mother The Joker), and Superman being kept in an underground base for years after being found by the military; among others. It’s unclear what sort of changes will blossom as a result of Barry’s actions in the series.

The Flash stars Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash, Candice Patton as Iris West, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow, Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramo, Tom Cavanagh as Dr. Harrison Wells and Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West. Season 2 of the series also introduced Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West and the Earth-2 version of The Flash as played by John Wesley Shipp (who also played Barry’s father, Henry Allen). The Flash season 3 premiere is already set to debut on The CW on Tuesday, October 4 at 8 PM ET.

STRANGER THINGS
Netflix has released a new trailer for Stranger Things their highly-anticipated original series set to debut on July 15th.

Set in Hawkins Indiana in the 1980s, Stranger Things chronicles the search for a young boy who vanishes into thin air under highly suspicious circumstances. His mother (Winona Ryder) opens an investigation into the boy’s disappearance with local authorities that unravels a series of mysteries involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl. A love letter to the ubiquitous cult classics of the 80’s, Stranger Things is a coming of age story for three boys that draws this quaint community into a world where mysteries lurk beneath the surface.

Stranger Things stars Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), Matthew Modine (Dr. Brenner), David Harbour (Chief Hopper), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Millie Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), and Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), and Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler).

The show was created by Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer (“Wayward Pines,” Hidden), who also directed several episodes. It is executive produced by Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen via their 21 Laps entertainment banner (The Spectacular Now, Night At The Museum, Real Steel, Date Night), alongside the Duffer brothers. Levy also directed two episodes.

DEATH NOTE
Netflix announced today that principal photography has begun on the original feature film Death Note from director Adam Wingard (The Guest, You’re Next). Death Note will shoot in Canada and the U.S. and stars Nat Wolff (Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars) as Light Turner; Margaret Qualley (The Nice Guys, The Leftovers) as Mia Sutton; Keith Stanfield (Straight Outta Compton, Dope, Short Term 12) as “L”; Paul Nakauchi (Alpha and Omega) as Watari; and Shea Whigham (Agent Carter, Boardwalk Empire) as James Turner. The film will be produced by Roy Lee (The Ring, The Departed), Dan Lin (The Lego Movie, Sherlock Holmes), Jason Hoffs (Edge of Tomorrow), and Masi Oka (Heroes Reborn, Hawaii-Five-0).

Based on the famous Japanese manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note follows a high school student who comes across a supernatural notebook, realizing it holds within it a great power; if the owner inscribes someone’s name into it while picturing their face, he or she will die. Intoxicated with his new godlike abilities, the young man begins to kill those he deems unworthy of life.

“I am honored to be working with this great cast and I look forward to bringing Tsugumi and Takeshi’s unique story to a global audience,” said Wingard.

“Our vision for Death Note has always been to bring this captivating story to the screen for its longtime manga fans and to introduce the world to this dark and mysterious masterpiece. The talent and diversity represented in our cast, writing, and producing teams reflect our belief in staying true to the story’s concept of moral relevance — a universal theme that knows no racial boundaries,” stated producers Roy Lee and Dan Lin.

Miri Yoon (Behaving Badly), Jonathan Eirich (Hammerspace), John Powers Middleton (Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, The Lego Movie), and Brendan Ferguson (Big Eyes, Reasonable Doubt) are executive producers.

Death Note will premiere globally on Netflix in 2017.

Sandra Bruckner (sgbruckner@aol.com)
Editor/Publisher
ISN News: The Zocalo Today
http://www.isnnews.net
Copyright - SBruckner, 1999-2014