Despite the daily news about postponed release dates and delayed productions, deals keep getting made around Hollywood. And J.J. Abrams has struck a big one with multiple shows coming to HBO Max: one an original concept penned by Abrams himself, another set in the universe of Stephen King’s The Shining, and the third, interestingly, is one based on Justice League Dark.
So the Justice League Dark series is the one that catches my eye, because it’s a property Warner Bros. has been fiddling with for years. The team of paranormal heroes was originally meant to come to the big screen courtesy of Guillermo Del Toro, but that ended up on the massive waste pile of unproduced projects the director always has. Doug Liman also took a stab at it, but the team eventually got its due in animated form. The roster includes such supernatural characters as Deadman, John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Madame Zanadu, and Zatanna, although the membership tends to shift.
The big question is if this will be part of the DCEU. As a stickler for continuity, let’s hope so.
The original concept series is titled Duster, and will be co-written by Abrams and LaToya Morgan. Set in the 1970s, it involves the getaway driver for a growing crime syndicate in the Southwest.
The third reunites Abrams with Stephen King, the two previously collaborating on Hulu’s Castle Rock. This new show is titled Overlook, and will center on characters from King’s The Shining, exploring new and terrifying stories from the infamous hotel. Perhaps we will see some further connection to the excellent sequel film Doctor Sleep?
Call me crazy, but this sounds like a reworked version of the Overlook Hotel movie Mark Romanek was doing a few years ago.
With productions still at a halt, don’t expect to see any of these roll until sometime in 2021. [Deadline]
