Marvel TV breathes its last breath this October with Helstrom, Hulu’s supernatural series based on the Daimon and Satana Hellstrom characters. While it’s expected that a trailer will debut later this month during Comic-Con @ Home, the first look has arrived in a handful of images featuring stars Tom Austen and Sydney Lemmon.
Helstrom centers on siblings Daimon and Ana Helstrom, the children of a mysterious and powerful serial killer, as they hunt down the worst of humanity. The cast also includes Elizabeth Marvel as their mother, Victoria Helstrom, and Robert Wisdom as occult guardian Caretaker.
The series was created by Paul Zbyszewski (Agents of SHIELD), who co-produces along with Jeph Loeb.
The first (and likely only) 10-episode season of Helstrom hits Hulu this October. [IGN]
Twenty years ago today, my beloved X-Men first made their way to the big screen. It was thanks to 20th Century Fox and Bryan Singer, two things that no longer exist in the world…well, at least not how they used to. As someone who pretty much learned how to read through Marvel’s X-Men comics (It’s the only reason I know what “Dosvedanya” means), it was a huge moment for me. But X-Men was also a hugely important movie for the fledgling superhero movie genre, which had been struggling to regain its footing after the Batman franchise fell into ridicule. It couldn’t have been done without X-Men, Blade, and later Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man.
Twenty years ago there simply wasn’t the same journalistic infrastructure there is now, and so a lot of the stories about the X-Men production have been spread through word-of-mouth. Like, we all remember those early stories about Dougray Scott being considered for Wolverine, right? And Russell Crowe and Viggo Mortensen? Two of those three actors probably would’ve been fine. The other is Dougray Scott. Anyway, Observer took a look at some of the many names that tried to be part of X-Men but, for whatever reason, just didn’t make the cut.
So let’s start off first by acknowledging that X-Men might not have ever happened if it weren’t for X-Men: The Animated Series. Not only did the Fox toon reinvigorate interest in the comics, but also in Hollywood to get cracking on a movie. David Hayter was ultimately hired to write the script. A relative unknown at the time, Hayter beat out loads of exceptional talent who tried and failed: Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven, Panic Room), Christopher McQuarrie (the Mission: Impossible films), Ed Solomon (Men in Black), Tom DeSanto (Transformers) and Joss Whedon (The Avengers).
As different as X-Men might’ve been with any of those writers, imagine how it would’ve changed if the casting were completely different. Hayter and Singer flew to Vancouver where they offered her the role of Jean Grey, a pivotal role that would go to Goldeneye’s Famke Janssen. Theron was pretty hot at the time, as she was just coming out of The Cider House Rules and The Astronaut’s Wife. Nothing she did in 2000 compared to X-Men, though. She wouldn’t actually come close until three years later with The Italian Job.
There were other big names who sought roles in X-Men but, thankfully, were not seriously considered for the movie…
“I have lots of warm memories of people that came in wanting to be in the movie,” producer Ralph Winter said. “Michael Jackson was a big comic fan and wanted to play Charles Xavier. Shaquille O’Neal showed up at the offices and wanted to play Forge, who wasn’t in the movie.”
Hayter added, “Every day I was surprised by the faces coming in. Like, I’d find Mariah Carey sitting in my office wanting to go talk to Bryan about being Storm or something. So that’s always shocking.”
Just imagine the complaints about Mariah Carey as Storm! Or Michael Jackson as Professor X! Chances are the bad buzz would’ve destroyed the movie before it ever got off the ground, and then we’d have been without two decades of Marvel’s merry mutants on the big screen. Yeah, it ended in pretty shitty fashion. Fox sold to Disney, Dark Phoenix a flop, and who knows what we’ll get out of New Mutants. But X-Men was the first superhero movie in a long time that felt HUGE, like everything we wanted comic book films to be. The franchise remains my all-time favorite and will unless Marvel Studios can change my mind.
So how’s this for AppleTV+’s plan to dominate the streaming wars? Take a forgettable character played by Jason Sudeikis in a series of commercials for NBC Sports’ coverage of the U.K. Premier League…in 2014, and turn it into an actual comedy series. Yep, Ted Lasso is back, and Netflix, you better watch out.
Ted Lasso is a moronic American football coach who, for reasons as dumb as he is, finds himself hired as coach of a professional soccer team in the U.K. The series stars Sudeikis as Lasso, with Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple and Brendan Hunt co-starring. The series was co-created by Sudeikis and Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence.
Ted Lasso hits AppleTV+ on August 14th.
SYNOPSIS: Jason Sudeikis plays Ted Lasso, a small-time college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer. In addition to starring, Sudeikis serves as executive producer, alongside Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs”) via his Doozer Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television, a division of NBCUniversal Content. Doozer’s Jeff Ingold also serves as an executive producer with Liza Katzer as co-executive producer. The series was developed by Sudeikis, Lawrence, Joe Kelly, and Brendan Hunt, and is based on the pre-existing format and characters from NBC Sports.
While there’s a lot of talk about Charlize Theron as the best female action star right now, Gal Gadot is doing a pretty good job keeping her name up there, too. The Wonder Woman 1984 star has another action flick in the works with Red Notice, and according to Discussing Film she’s bound for another that will team her up with comic book writer Greg Rucka and Skydance.
Details on the untitled project are slim, except that it could be a spy thriller in the vein of James Bond and Mission: Impossible. The pairing up with Rucka is interesting because his first film screenplay was for The Old Guard, which is red-hot for Theron and Netflix right now.
How about Gadot vs. Theron, please?
The plan was to shoot this spy flick during the summer, but COVID-19 has messed that up. Gadot has yet to finish shooting on Red Notice, which she stars in alongside Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds. She also has Zack Snyder’s Justice League coming, a Hedy Lamarr biopic, and sequel Death On the Nile.
Hollywood is craving as much Stephen King content as it can get, and the author’s recent novella If It Bleeds has quickly garnered attention from some top filmmakers. Three of the four stories have already been optioned, with Ben Stiller, Darren Aronofsky, and Ryan Murphy among those looking to bring them to the screen.
First up, Glee and Hollywood creator Ryan Murphy has joined forces with Netflix and Blumhouse to adapt Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) will direct the story of a young Maine boy who befriends a wealthy man, the two bonding over the billionaire’s first Iphone. When the man dies, the boy finds he can still communicate with his friend through the phone, which was buried with him. Netflix has been all over King adaptations in the past, having made films 1922, Gerald’s Game, and In the Tall Grass.
Next up, Ben Stiller has optioned the story Rat, with plans to direct, produce, and star. The story follows a frustrated writer named Drew Larson, who enters into a Faustian bargain with a rat to alleviate his writer’s block. While he thought the deal was made in the midst of delirium, he returns home to find it was very real, a pact that trades his success for the life of a loved one.
Darren Aronofsky has optioned The Life of Chuck, with plans for him only to produce at this point. It certainly sounds like Aronofsky-esque material, as the story follows a man who dies at the young age of 39 because of a brain tumor, and whose life is segmented by eerie supernatural chapter breaks.
The fourth story, titled Let it Bleed, is probably going to find its way to HBO at some point. The reason is its central character, clairvoyant detective Holly Gibney, who is played by Cynthia Erivo in HBO’s hit series The Outsider. The network might want to scoop it up to use as part of a second season. [Deadline]
Giancarlo Esposito has been everywhere lately, and not just in dramas fitting his long and storied career. From The Maze Runner to The Mandalorian to The Boys, Westworld, and Better Caul Saul, Esposito is busier than ever. And that doesn’t even count his voice work in animated movies and video games. Somehow, with all of the things he’s done, Esposito has yet to be part of a Marvel movie, and he isn’t shy about making known what he wants.
“Well, there’s been all these rumors about being with Marvel, I want to work with those guys,” Esposito revealed to Entertainment Tonight. “I put it out there all the time. I haven’t created any of those rumors, but I worked years ago with Louis D’Esposito, who’s one of the guys at Marvel, back when he was doing ‘Cotton Club,’ and I was ‘doing Cotton Club,’ he was the First AD.”
He continued, “What they do is fantastic, and I want to do something enduring with them…I think the Marvel world would be, likely, the next step for me.”
Sounds like Esposito wants a Marvel role of some significance. While I can’t think of a major hero role he’d be right for, part of me really wants to see him as Doctor Doom. He can be a Hell of an intimidator when he wants to, and carries himself with a certain high-mindedness that would be perfect. Somebody get Kevin Feige on the horn ASAP.
TNT has been running hot on promos of The Alienist, perhaps because the period crime drama has been away for a couple of years. But now the second season, titled Angel of Darkness, is on the horizon and a new trailer teases a sinister new mystery.
Dakota Fanning, Luke Evans, and Daniel Bruhl return for The Alienist: Angel of Darkness, which finds the lead trio of sleuths tracking a missing infant. Things are a little bit different this season, as Sara (Fanning) has opened up her own private detective agency and is taking charge of the case.
This new season brings in Frank Pugliese, a respected playwright and co-showrunner on House of Cards, to lead the way.
The two-hour season premiere of The Alienist: Angel of Darkness is July 19th on TNT.
SYNOPSIS: This season, Sara (Dakota Fanning) has opened her own private detective agency and is leading the charge on a brand-new case. She reunites with Dr. Kreizler (Daniel Brühl), the formidable alienist, and John Moore (Luke Evans), now a New York Times reporter, to find Ana Linares, the kidnapped infant daughter of the Spanish Consular. Their investigation leads them down a sinister path of murder and deceit, heading towards a dangerous and elusive killer. As in The Alienist, the series shines a light on the provocative issues of the era – the corruption of institutions, income inequality, yellow press sensationalism, and the role of women in society – themes that still resonate today.
Well, Ruby and Billy found their way to Los Angeles, but that’s where the journey ends for HBO’s Run. After just one season, the network has canceled the high-profile series which starred Domhnall Gleeson and Merritt Wever as reunited lovers who go on the run from their boring lives. The series was created by Vicky Jones, a longtime collaborator with Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who also had a co-starring role.
“After exploring potential ways of continuing Ruby and Billy’s journey, together with showrunner Vicky Jones, we have come to the decision that we will not be moving forward with a second season of Run,” HBO said in a statement.
The series was extraordinarily well-received for one that I personally saw take a ton of criticism. That comes from me, as well, since I found the show to be extremely disappointing considering its novel premise and two immensely likeable stars. How could it go so wrong? I have thoughts, starting with the two main characters being revealed to be pretty terrible across the 7-episode season which felt like 20-episodes. They were like an onion of awfulness, each episode revealing a new layer of terribleness. That’s not how I want to watch Wever and Gleeson.
Sadly, Run ends on a cliffhanger. The goal was always for them to reach Los Angeles, which they do, but not before Ruby finds out the entire trip has been a plot by Billy to secure a book deal. Along the way, they bicker, have sex, fall in and out of love, commit a murder, backstab one another repeatedly, etc. etc.
For what it’s worth, Jones tells Deadline she had a ton of ideas for season 2. Not that we’ll get to see them unless the show moves to another network.
“We would love, love, love to keep going and keep running. I certainly have a thousand ideas. It’s called Run, and so the show has forward momentum. We can’t just sit still in the story.”
Isn’t the point of Warner Bros.’ repeated shifting of Tenet’s release date to increase chances of it being in theaters? And yet, the more Christopher Nolan’s anticipated thriller moves, the less likely it seems to actually arrive. And as those numbers dwindle, analysts are projecting that it will move yet again, taking the Hollywood box office’s hopes of a rebound with it.
Analyst Eric Handler of MKM Partners predicts (via Deadline) Tenet will vacate its August release date, as the Hollywood box office looks at a possible decline of 70% in total revenue. Handler doesn’t see major theatrical chains opening until September at the earliest, which would be a big blow to AMC which is already dealing with bankruptcy.
“We place a low likelihood of ‘Tenet’ opening on Aug. 12 given a rising number of COVID-19 cases in key areas, such as California, Texas, and Florida, along with the slowed re-opening of the New York City economy. In our view, it would be surprising to see theaters able to re-open nationwide before September, at the earliest.”
“The near-term outlook for exhibition related stocks remains extremely clouded,” Handler added. “It would be surprising to see theaters able to re-open nationwide before September, at the earliest.”
Handler had initially predicted a 55%-60% drop in revenue for exhibitors at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, but that was before we knew the full extent of its impact. Internationally, the decline may actually be worse where the pandemic continues to surge.
If there’s any good news to come out of this, it’s that Handler does expect things to begin a shift into normalcy beginning in 2021…
“Beyond this year, we do believe there is pent up demand for consumers to get out of their houses for entertainment although the ramp up in attendance will likely be gradual,” Handler said.
Of course, with states such as Florida and Arizona seeing a coronavirus surge that is wildly out of control, who can really say if any of these projections will hold up? If it were up to me, Tenet would just move into summer 2021 and leave it at that. WB is spending tons of money on ads promising an August 12th release that they likely can’t deliver, so why not put all of that to a stop now and just wait until the next blockbuster season? Nolan wants the summer date and he can have it, just a year later than planned.
Well, as far as Star Wars news goes, this is both unexpected and baffling. Deadline reports a new Star Wars animated series is coming to Disney+ from Dave Filoni, and it’ll be centered on The Bad Batch, the group of misfit clone troopers recently introduced in the final season of The Clone Wars.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch has been ordered by Disney, with fan-favorite Dave Filoni on board as exec-producer. Filoni is the guy behind Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, the unfortunate Star Wars Resistance, and oh yeah, The Mandalorian. He’ll be working alongside producers Athena Portillo, Brad Rau, Jennifer Corbett, Carrie Beck, and Josh Rimes, with Corbett as head writer. Those names will all be familiar to close followers of Star Wars lore because they’re responsible for a lot of it.
The Bad Batch are a group of experimental clone troopers with unique abilities who fight for the Republic during and in the aftermath of the Clone War. They debuted during the first half of the final season of The Clone Wars.
I’m shocked by this because The Bad Batch were the part of this final season that I disliked the most. Their characters were so far out of left field that they didn’t really feel like they belonged in Star Wars. You had the token smart one, the token big tough one, the token crazy one, the token leader, and the token mysterious one, but they didn’t make much sense when taken into fuller context.They were presented as unbeatable wild cards, which begged the question why they weren’t deployed everywhere? And where were they during Order 66, which turned all of the Clone Army against the Jedi?
It’s also clear that Disney/Lucasfilm are putting greater emphasis on stuff like this rather than live-action features. The future of Star Wars appears to be on the small screen, at least for the time being. Look for Star Wars: The Bad Batch to arrive in 2021.
