Category: Television News

Posted on in Television News

Naomie Harris Nabs Lead Role Opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor In Showtime’s Sci-Fi Series ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’

A series reboot of the David Bowie sci-fi film The Man Who Fell To Earth finally landed at Showtime after moving from Paramount+ and there is news of another high-profile casting addition. According to Deadline, Oscar-nominee Naomie Harris (Moonlight) is taking the role of Justin Falls opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor, a brilliant engineer and scientist.

Based on the Walter Tevis novel of the same name and the iconic film that starred David Bowie, The Man Who Fell to Earth will follow a new alien character (Ejiofor) who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future.

Harris isn’t a stranger to genre projects playing Moneypenny in three Daniel Craig era Bond movies and Callisto in Disney’s Pirates of The Caribbean franchise.

Alex Kurtzman is co-writing/co-showrunning and will also direct multiple episodes. 

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH – Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth (Buck Henry), Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou (Candy Clark), a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Disney+ Claims ‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ Has Most Watched Series Premiere On The Streaming Service

Last Friday saw the first episode drop for Marvel’s The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. The superhero series is expected to lead to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson taking up the Captain America mantle. But we’ll have to watch all six episodes to discover if that is the actual plan or not.

Now, Disney via the official Marvel website is claiming the premiere episode had more eyeballs than with WandaVision or the massive-hit The Mandalorian. However, they failed to get into numbers or provide any data to support their claim.

Disney+ Original series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier from Marvel Studios ranked as the most watched series premiere ever on Disney+ during its opening weekend, Friday, March 19 – Sunday, March 22, and the most watched title overall for the same time period on a global basis, including in Disney+ Hotstar markets. The premiere of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier joins the premieres of Marvel Studios’ first live-action series, WandaVision, and the season two premiere of The Mandalorian from Lucasfilm as the three most-watched Disney+ Original series opening weekends to-date.

Variety cites Samba TV data on the debut of both Falcon and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the latter seemingly squeaking ahead of WandaVision’s debut in January.

While Disney Plus did not include any audience figures for “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” in its announcement, TV software and data analysis firm Samba TV announced earlier in the day that roughly 1.7 million households watched the show, edging past the 1.6 million households that watched the debut of Marvel Studios’ “WandaVision.” (As a point of comparison, Samba TV estimates that 1.8 million households watched at least five minutes of the four-hour “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” on HBO Max over the same time period; HBO Max has not made any announcements regarding the Snyder cut’s viewership.)

None of this can be independently verified as Disney+ isn’t sharing their data to compare with numbers from Samba TV.

SOURCE: MARVEL

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Marvel In Early Development On Spinoff Series Focused On Alaqua Cox’s Echo From ‘Hawkeye’ – Etan Cohen & Emily Cohen To Write

Marvel Studios is still deep into production on their Hawkeye series staring Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton) and Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop) in Atlanta but there is word that they have bigger plans for the deaf Native-American character Maya Lopez aka Echo played by Alaqua Cox.

A spinoff series focused on Echo is in early development according to a report from Variety with Etan Cohen and Emily Cohen being hired to both write and executive produce the potential series. However, they are quick to state Marvel and Disney+ have yet to give the show a full series order and it’s still very early in the show’s development.

A show centered on Echo, a deaf Native American character who will be played by Alaqua Cox in the “Hawkeye” series, is in the early stages of development for Disney Plus, Variety has learned exclusively from sources. Etan Cohen and Emily Cohen are attached to write and executive produce the show, with a writers’ room recently being assembled. Marvel Studios will produce.

Echo, whose real name is Maya Lopez, has the ability to perfectly copy another person’s movements or fighting style, making her a formidable opponent in battle. 

If Disney+ moves forward with the series it would join the next wave of shows from Marvel Studios that include Secret Invasion, Armor Wars, and Ironheart.

As we first reported, Hawkeye is expected to debut on Disney+ in late 2021 just like Ms. Marvel.

SOURCE: VARIETY

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‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ Head Writer Malcolm Spellman Would Like To Reboot Deathlok Next

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier has finally debuted after being delayed a couple months as production had been pushed due to the pandemic. The series head writer and executive producer Malcolm Spellman has been doing interviews and recently talked-up another Marvel Comics superhero he’d like to get his hands on next if the studio allowed it.

While speaking with Heroic Hollywood, Spellman reveals he’d love to get his hands on Deathlok and clarifying he would want to reboot him for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not continuing the Michael Peterson version seen in the ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. played by J. August Richards.

SPELLMAN: “My favorite character, the character I would most love to do next, would be Deathlok. But it would have to be right.”

When they mention the A.O.S. version Malcolm responded by stating he’d want to do another version of the character, a reboot. Potentially, referring to the other versions such as Col. Luther Manning, Michael Collins, Jack Truman, and Henry Hayes.

SPELLMAN: “Yeah. Yeah. Not that Deathlok. A different Deathlok.”

Interestingly enough, there was a Deadline article from 2019 that Marvel Studios was keen on rebooting the cyborg character and the MCU has already introduced time-travel in Avengers: Endgame along with human characters with cybernetic enhancements. Sam jokingly refers to Bucky as a “cyborg” in the trailers/promos for the series, his robotic arm would indeed place him into the cyborg category.

Deathlok was a oft-discussed project back in the 1990s when Marvel characters were still a tough sell in Hollywood and a script by Randall Frakes (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) stirred fan hopes but it never materialized. A version of the character has appeared on the ABC series Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (portrayed by J. August Richards) and there’s been rumors that Marvel Studios may use the character soon.

In his original incarnation he was Col. Luther Manning, a Detroit native killed in battle whose corpse is reanimated in post-apocalyptic future for battlefield domination. He rebels against his makers and goes his own way, including a time-travel trip to the present day.

We’ll have to wait and see if Spellman will get his wish concerning Deathlok. If we start to see Marvel Studios rebooting Marvel Television characters from the Loeb era it might signal that others might end up getting rebooted too.

SOURCE: HEROIC HOLLYWOOD

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‘The Boys’ Superhero College Spinoff Adds Shane Paul McGhie, Aimee Carrero & Maddie Phillips

As the new untitled Amazon series set in the universe of The Boys inches closer to getting an order, the mature superhero college spinoff has added three more cast members to play young supes. Joining Jaz Sinclair and Lizze Broadway on the project include Shane Paul McGhie, Aimee Carrero, and Maddie Phillips according to a new report from Deadline.

The untitled The Boys spinoff is set at America’s only college exclusively for young adult superheroes (and run by Vought International). It is described as an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. Part college show, part Hunger Games — with all the heart, satire and raunch of The Boys.

The Boys is primarily shot in Toronto and filming on Season 3 is currently underway.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’: Elijah Richardson & ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Actor Tyler Dean Flores Confirmed For Roles By Talent Agency

After an IMDB listing was spotted months back that had young actor Elijah Richardson listed as Eli Bradley aka Patriot in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, the entry was quickly removed and left a question mark if he had actually joined the Marvel series.

Well, it looks like both Richardson and Tyler Dean Flores (The Dark Knight Rises) have both been confirmed officially by their talent agency CESD Talent Agency (spotted by The Direct). As they congratulated the two actors via Instagram stories as the series premiered on Friday. However, it’s unclear what their roles actually are while Richardson may in fact be playing Bradley that part hasn’t been confirmed just yet.

It’s interesting to see what other characters will be revealed as we now know that Danny Ramirez is playing Joaquin Torres aka Falcon (Sam’s military partner) and Erin Kellyman is playing Karli Morgenthau a female version of the villain Flag-Smasher in the terrorist group called The Flag Smashers.

There have been plenty of rumors since production kicked-off about other characters that could appear and sadly some fan speculation that is already mimicking WandaVision’s outlandish expectations for cameos/introductions. I wouldn’t hold your breath that we’ll be seeing Wolverine or some haphazard introduction of the X-Men, this stuff certainly echoes the Magneto/Reed Richards and X-Men reveal speculation from sites that only angered fans when they didn’t get them in the final episode of WandaVision. Keeping expectations realistic isn’t a terrible thing.

New episodes of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier are expected to keep releasing on Disney+ every Friday, with five more episodes to go.

SOURCE: CESD TALENT AGENCY

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SPOILERS: ‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ Episode 1 – New World Order

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR EPISODE 1 OF THE FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER

In Episode 1, we see both Sam and Bucky dealing with a world post snap and Captain America. It starts off with Wilson on a mission for the U.S. government in Africa where Batroc has hijacked a military plane and is attempting to kidnap an officer. The action sequence is the meat of the episode as the rest attempts to explore the pair grasping with their grief and responsibilities.

After saving the day, Sam returns to his family in New Orleans and attempts to help his sister Sarah get a bank loan to help their business/family home. The bank manager seems to be more interested in getting a selfie with an Avenger than giving them a loan. He’s referred to as Uncle Sam by his two nephews, which could make for a badass patriotic superhero name if Wilson decides against using Captain America or Falcon once he gets the shield.

Bucky is still dealing with his PTSD from being a brainwashed assassin for HYDRA as he has a nightmare of killing an innocent witness and it’s revealed he’s the son of an elderly Japanese man he has befriended named Yori (not aware he killed his son). The pair are getting lunch at a Japanese restaurant when Bucky is set up on a date with Miki Ishikawa’s Leah. He’s also in therapy where he’s trying to make amends and is being evasive about the nightmare to Dr. Raynor.

During a presentation at the Smithsonian, Sam Wilson makes a speech with Don Cheadle’s Rhodey in attendance as he hands over the shield and they place it in a display case in the Captain America exhibit. It’s mentioned that Steve Rogers/Captain America is “gone,” but they don’t use the words “dead” and Sam’s military cohort Joaquin Torres aka Falcon asks him if Rogers is on a base on the Moon (a nod to S.W.O.R.D./Secret Invasion?).

It’s also revealed that the group Erin Kellyman’s Kari Morgenthau is involved with is called Flag-Smashers (a nod to the Cap villain) and seemingly are upset that things changed when people are brought back to life. Torres tries to infiltrate the group in Switzerland and attempts stop one of the masked members until it’s revealed that Desmond Chiam’s Dovich is enhanced with superhuman strength. I’ll be curious if they’ve got their hands on the super-soldier serum or some black market knockoff.

We’ll likely see that Zemo is connected to the group and his purple mask may indeed be linked to Thanos as the Flagsmashers seem to have thrived post-snap.

The episode ends with Wyatt Russell’s John Walker taking over the Captain America mantle as they give him the shield that Wilson handed over as he didn’t feel like it was his to keep.

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‘Game of Thrones’: HBO Developing Three More Spinoff Series Including ‘Sea Snake’

HBO has been pushing forward with a large expansion of their Game of Thrones franchise with a string of spinoffs going into development. One was a White Walker prequel, titled Bloodmoon aka The Long Night, the pilot starring Naomi Watts (The Ring, King Kong) didn’t get picked-up for a series order. Another handful of potential spinoff series got nixed in development phases but the next wave was announced.

Recently, HBO has instead pivoted to another prequel series that is an adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s House of The Dragon, that one is shooting soon in Belfast and will start airing in 2022. There are reports they are also looking to make a series based on Martin’s Knight of The Seven Kingdoms (collection of novellas about a Westeros knight and his squire) called The Tales of Dunk & Egg.

There are even more shows on the horizon according to Deadline. They’ve learned that HBO is developing another three Game of Thrones projects including Sea Snake aka The 9 Voyages, Flea Bottom (slum in King’s Landing), and 10,000 Ships. Martin is working with Bruno Heller (Rome, Gotham, The Mentalist) on Sea Snake and is said to be the furthest in development stage out of the three projects.

Here is a rundown of two of the shows from Deadline, which sound like they’ll be more prequels taking place many years before the events of the original series.

The 9 Voyages series refers to the great voyages at sea made by Corlys Velaryon aboard the Sea Snake ship. Velaryon journeyed to places including Pentos, Dragonstone and around the bottom of Westeros as well as to Lys, Tyrosh and Myr. He reached the fabled lands of Yi Ti and Leng, whose wealth doubled that of the House Velaryon, and him and the Ice Wolf headed north searching for passage around the top of Westeros, only to find frozen seas and icebergs as big as mountains.

Lastly, there is a show based around the 10,000 Ships, a reference to the journey made by warrior queen Princess Nymeria and the surviving members of the Rhoynars, who travelled from Essos to Dorne following their defeat by the Valyrian Freehold in the Second Spice War. This migration took place around 1,000 years before the events depicted in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Arya Stark, played by Maisie Williams, named her direwolf after Nymeria.

Details are scarce concerning Flea Bottom and if they’ll attempt to explore established characters from the slum or just using the setting to explore new adventures.

Considering that George R.R. Martin is working with and breaking the show ideas with these showrunners/writers, I think they’ll be super faithful to the fantastic fantasy world he created but might be upsetting to fans that see this as more distractions leading to longer delays for The Winds of Winter.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Mike Judge & Greg Daniels Are In Negotiations To Bring Back ‘King of The Hill’ With A Revival

It looks like Mike Judge isn’t only aiming to bring back his classic MTV animated characters Beavis & Butt-Head.

While speaking on a Reddit AMA (via SlashFilm), King of The Hill executive producer and writer Brent Forrester revealed that Mike Judge and Greg Daniels are currently in negotiations to bring back the animated Texas family.

FORRESTER: “I am sure Greg Daniels and Mike Judge will murder me for sharing this but… HELL YES. They are in hot negotiations to bring back King of the Hill. The Trump administration made it suddenly very relevant again. The characters have all aged 15 years. The project is sooooo good. Okay I’ve said too much.”

King of The Hill originally aired between 1997-2009 on Fox, but it’s unclear where the revival would land given that Disney now owns the television division and could grab the series for Disney+.

SOURCE: REDDIT

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‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ Connects To At Least 3 Upcoming MCU Projects & Kevin Feige Says There Are “Certainly Ideas” For Season 2

As fans will be trying to figure-out the upcoming Easter Eggs and cameos in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, showrunner Malcolm Spellman spoke to Entertainment Weekly revealing the show will indeed have connections to at least three unnamed MCU projects.

The answers to these questions will have drastic impacts on the MCU moving forward. Similar to how WandaVision leads directly into the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spellman says he can think of three projects off the top of his head that tie into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that he’s “not allowed to talk about.”

Don Cheadle has confirmed he’ll be appearing as Rhodey aka War Machine, which likely means that Armor Wars will have an obvious connection to the series. There are also expectations that it could tie-into things such as She-Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and maybe even a yet-to-be-announced Thunderbolts project.

I’m also curious if Marvel will make an announcement concerning Captain America 4 starring Anthony Mackie, because the actor had once teased in older interviews that he felt the series was meant to line-up his own wave of Captain America films.

After WandaVision, I think fans would be smart to just pump the breaks with the speculation that characters such as Wolverine or Omega Red will be showing up to keep expectations in a realistic realm (even if Madripoor will be a location). The online fan community stoked WandaVision theories to the point that there was sort of a backlash when characters like Reed Richards and Doctor Strange didn’t show up, despite zero evidence that was actually going to happen.

There seems to be enough real connections in the new series that should make fans happy.

While a Season 2 hasn’t been announced and Kevin Feige has previously prepped fans that some of the Disney+ shows don’t currently have plans for multiple seasons. He mentioned during a press conference via Deadline that there are ideas for Falcon’s Season 2. Although, he stopped short from confirming they would be doing that.

FEIGE: “We get asked [that question] much more in television, because people expect it to be like what they know before: Where’s Season 2? We approached it like the movies: We better make this great, because we won’t be able to do another one. If we’re able to do another one, there’s certainly ideas.”

Directed by Kari Skogland, the Marvel series has a cast that consists of Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Daniel Bruhl, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, George St. Pierre, Adepero Oduye, Veronica Falcon, Desmond Chiam, Carl Lumbly, Miki Ishikawa, and Amy Aquino.

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier will debut on Disney+ this Friday and will have 6-episodes, three less than WandaVision.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY & DEADLINE