Category: Television News

Posted on in Television News

Marvel’s ‘Wonder Man’ Series Adds Director Stella Meghie & ‘Mindhunter’ Actress Lauren Glazier

Marvel Studios has certainly been experimenting with genres and obscure characters when it comes to their Disney+ series with things like She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Ironheart, Agatha: Coven of Choas, and Echo. Another upcoming project that will test the waters of what Marvel fans are willing to watch is Wonder Man. The super-strong character has villainous origins as he was given superpowers by villain Baron Zemo to then battle The Avengers but eventually shook-off his villainous ways becoming an official member of team alongside folks like Dr. Hank McCoy aka Beast and is also a Hollywood movie star, which certainly would make things complicated.

There has been a decent update coming from Deadline as the outlet has revealed that Marvel Studios has tapped Canadian director Stella Meghie (Minx, Insecure) to work on multiple episodes on the Disney+ series alongside Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty). That’s not the only update for Wonder Man, as the same outlet also announced that Mindhunter actress Lauren Glazier has joined the cast that already includes Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman, Watchmen) as our protagonist Simon Williams and a returning Ben Kingsley reprising his Iron Man 3 role of Trevor Slattery, last seen in Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings.

It’s unknown if any of Wonder Man’s connections to Baron Zemo will actually happen in the live-action incarnations as Marvel Studios is well-known for taking liberties to the source material and the origins of their superheroes/villains. However, we’ll take any excuse to bring back Daniel Bruhl as the super-soldier hating baddie and giving us a chance to see more of Zemo’s dance moves.

We’re sure more casting announcements will be made in the near future. Stay tuned for more updates.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

EXCLUSIVE: FX’s ‘Alien’ Series Adds ‘Gravity’ Production Designer Andy Nicholson

The Ronin can exclusively reveal a nifty department head hiring for the upcoming Alien series on FX that hails from showrunner Noah Hawley with Ridley Scott‘s involvement via his production company Scott Free. We’ve been able to confirm that production Designer Andy Nicholson has been tasked for the Earthbound prequel series.

The spinoff Alien series is expected to take place before the events of the main canonical Alien films, which should be interesting since neither the original Ripley films or Scott’s two prequels featuring the homicidal android David have never hinted or established that the xenomorph had ever been on Earth (The AVP movies aren’t really considered canonical) or experimental on by humans.

Nicholson’s career as a production designer spans across all sorts of films such as Gravity, Captain Marvel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Assassin’s Creed, and the Netflix action-comedy Red Notice.

Hawley is no stranger to genre television working on series like the massively popular Fargo (loosely inspired by the Coen Brothers film) and the mind-bending X-Men series, Legion. What’s interesting is we still haven’t heard any real concrete casting announcements, but that is expected to change as production ramps up.

This isn’t the only Alien project on the horizon either, a new feature film is also on the way as a Hulu exclusive with both Scott Free and 20th Century Studios partnering. The project is expected to be a streaming only venture, although, after the demand to see their Predator prequel Prey on the big screen the studio might reconsider giving the new pic a short theatrical run.

Posted on in Television News

‘Jack Ryan’ Actor Michael Kelly & More Join Cast Of ‘The Penguin’ Series

This month sees the production start on the high-profile series The Penguin, which will be an eight-episode run on HBO Max and focuses on Oscar-nominee Colin Farrell‘s standout villain, Oz, from Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Reeves will produce the series and will follow the power-vacuum in Gotham after Carmine Falcone is removed from his leadership position after his death with The Penguin making his big move to oversee Gotham’s criminal underworld.

It looks like Farrell is going to have an interesting of collection of actors surrounding him. Deadline states that a string of actors have joined the project such as Michael Kelly (House of Cards, Jack Ryan), Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse), and Deirdre O’Connell (Outer Range).

 Variety also reports that Rhenzy Feliz has nabbed a lead role in the streaming series spinoff. Actress Cristin Milioti (Palm Springs, Black Mirror) was previously the first big addition to the show.

The Batman Part II is set for release on October 3, 2025 and there is an expectation the spinoff project will have a direct impact on the villain lineup in the second pic. It’ll be curious to see if we’ll actually see other Batman rogues make their debut on The Penguin before making their way onto the big screen.

SOURCE: DEADLINE & VARIETY

Posted on in Television News

Tom Hardy & Zazie Beetz To Star In Apple TV+’s Serial Killer Series ‘Lazarus’

Apple TV+ has been positioning itself as the streaming service for adults and it’s reflected with the projects they’ve secured since launching back in 2019. This is only highlighted with of the their latest television series acquisition that has been announced as Lazarus that will see Øystein Karlsen write, executive produce and direct the serial killer thriller.

The news first broke at Deadline with the outlet revealing the show’s two high-profile leads will be Tom Hardy (Taboo) and Zazie Beetz (Altanta) with Hardy playing the serial killer at the center of the show that is said to be similar to Silence of The Lambs with Beetz playing a detective that goes undercover in a hospital to learn fate of her sister. Lazarus is a co-production between A+E Studios and Range Studios based on the Joona Linna book series by Lars Kepler that has been popular enough to sell 17 million copies and they’ve provided a synopsis which you can read below.

An emaciated young man is found wandering along a train track. Thirteen years earlier, he and his sister went missing, presumed victims of the notorious serial killer Jurek Walter. To find the sister, police detective Saga Bauer must go undercover in the maximum-security psychiatric hospital where Walter has been kept since his arrest years ago. 

This pairing is certainly not something we would have cooked-up but I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if their scenes together are electrifying. The two actors have comic book projects in common as Beetz is currently working on the sequel to the billion-dollar hit Joker and Hardy is leading his third Venom movie that recently promoted franchise screenwriter Kelly Marcel to director. It’s unclear when Lazarus is expected to being production as that information wasn’t mentioned.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, Television News

‘The Batman Part II’ Set For October 2025 & ‘The Penguin’ Spinoff Series Is Getting Eight Episodes

DC Studios recently announced their first big slate lineup this week as newly minted co-CEO James Gunn revealed to the world that they would making a new string of film and television projects within the DCU and other things set outside of the DCU being branded as “Elseworlds” like Matt Reeves‘ The Batman being part of that group alongside the Joker sequel.

The biggest sign of confidence for Reeves’ Gotham saga is that we’re going to see multitide of spinoffs and sequels. With the latter getting a title and release date as DC Studios announced that The Batman Part II will be heading back to theaters on October 3, 2025 and should reassure fans that had been worried that Reeves’ vision for follow-ups could have been tainted with DC Studios meddling or trying to merge that version of Batman into their DCU films. Thankfully, they cleared that up real quick by announcing a new Batman project with The Brave & The Bold, focusing on Bruce Wayne and his son Damian Wayne as the new version of Robin.

That’s not all the Batman news going this week. Towards the end of the month, we’ll see the start of production of The Penguin spinoff series at HBO Max and star Colin Farrell has confirmed to Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast that they aiming to shoot eight episodes.

“It’s going to be an eight-part thing,” Farrell said on the podcast. “Around Oz’s rise to power, filling that power vacuum created when Falcone was killed. Matt’s idea was to have the Penguin show begin about a week after the end of the Batman film. And if it works, if the trajectory is interesting, and the audience goes for it, and we do our jobs right, the second Penguin feature will pick up where the HBO show will end.”

We have to assume that Farrell will also be returning for The Batman Part II, given the series is expected to show his rise to become a major crime figure in Gotham by the time the sequel is released in 2025.

SOURCE: DC STUDIOS & VARIETY

Posted on in Television News

Netflix’s ‘Horizon Zero Dawn’ Series Aims To Begin Shooting This Summer In Toronto

Last month, it was revealed that Netflix is developing a drama series based on the PlayStation video game, Horizon Zero Dawn. Well, it looks like that “early development” is much further along than previously known. The Ronin can confirm that Netflix is going to shoot their Horizon series in Toronto and other locations in/around Ontario with filming said to be aiming for a start this August and wrap around late March of next year.

They’ve already started prep on Horizon with production designer Mark Steel, who previously worked on other Netflix projects like Locke & Key and The Umbrella Academy, joining the show’s production team.

We’re still waiting on news concerning showrunners, writers, directors and actors. But if they’re aiming to begin production in a month we should be getting those announcements in the near future.

Netflix’s latest batch of video game adaptations includes the Lance Reddick-fronted Resident Evil series, The Cuphead Show, an in-the-works Bioshock movie, and an animated Castlevania show. Other PlayStation live-action projects in the works are The Last of Us at HBO, God of War at Amazon Prime Video, Twisted Metal at Peacock, Neill Blomkamp is helming a Gran Turismo movie, and a Chad Stahleski-directed feature film adaptation of the popular samurai game Ghosts of Tsushima is also in the works.

In a world where Machines dominate the earth and mankind lives on in primitive tribal societies, one woman sets out to find her destiny among the remnants of the ancient past. As Aloy, you must brave the Machine-infested wilderness and unearth secrets that lie buried deep within the earth. Will you embrace your calling… or pass into oblivion unsung? The player uses ranged weapons, a spear, and stealth to combat mechanical creatures and other enemy forces. A skill tree provides the player with new abilities and bonuses.

Posted on in Television News

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Godzilla & The Titans’ Series Spinoff At Apple Will Be Shot By ‘Ghost In The Shell’ Cinematographer Jess Hall

Legendary and Apple have teamed up for a series spinoff of their Godzilla/Monsterverse franchise with Godzilla & The Titans. It’s been already announced that Matt Shakman will be directing and we’ve learned he’s reuniting with a familiar director of photography.

The Ronin has been able to confirm that WandaVision cinematographer Jess Hall is joining the Apple TV+ series. Some of Hall’s feature film credits include things like the live-action Ghost In The Shell movie that starred MCU alumni Scarlett Johansson and Edgar Wright’s fantastic action-comedy Hot Fuzz, part of his Cornetto trilogy.

Interestingly enough, speaking of Ghost In The Shell, that film’s director Rupert Sanders worked on Apple’s big sci-fi show Foundation which is heading into its second season.

The creative team behind Godzilla & The Titans includes Chris Black (who will also serve as showrunner) Matt Fraction, Joby Harold, and Tory Tunnell.

Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the series explores one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.

Legendary’s Monsterverse is an expansive story universe of multi-layered experiences centering around humanity’s battle to survive in a world that is under siege by a catastrophic new reality — the monsters of our myths and legends are real. Beginning in 2014 with “Godzilla” and continuing with 2017’s “Kong: Skull Island,” 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” and 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong,” Monsterverse films have accumulated close to two billion dollars globally at the box office and is ever-expanding with the latest iteration being a new anime series, “Skull Island.”

On the Monsterverse’s theatrical front, Adam Wingard is directing a sequel to Godzilla vs Kong and will begin shooting sometime this year in Australia. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that the next film, expected to explore the Hollow Earth, will feature dinosaurs after being previously teased in Kong: Skull Island.

Casting on Godzilla & The Titans is the next big step.

Posted on in Television News

EXCLUSIVE: Directors Andrew Stanton & Jeremy Podeswa Join Netflix’s Sci-Fi Series ‘Three-Body Problem’

The Ronin can reveal that two-time Oscar-winner Andrew Stanton and four-time Emmy-nominee Jeremy Podeswa have joined a group of directors being assembled for Netflix’s high-profile sci-fi series Three-Body Problem (based on the books by Chinese author Liu Cixin) that already had Derek Tsang (Better Days) and Minkie Spiro (The Plot Against America) set to helm multiple episodes.

Three-Body Problem’s creative team consists of writers and executive producers David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo. They are joined by producers Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman, who were behind things like Looper, Knives Out, Glass Onion, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.

The growing cast includes Eiza Gonzalez, Benedict Wong, John Bradley, Liam Cunningham, Jonathan Pryce, Rosalind Chao, Ben Schnetzer, Jess Hong, Marlo Kelly, Alex Sharp, Sea Shimooka, Zine Tseng, Saamer Usmani, and Eve Ridley.

UPDATE: Costume designer Michael Wilkinson is also confirmed to be part of the crew. Wilkinson has previously worked on the Star Wars series Andor, Man of Steel, Justice League, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Watchmen, Aladdin, The Gentlemen, and 300.

Of course, Stanton has been a fixture at Pixar being behind things like Wall-E, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, and the Toy Story franchise. His recent television credits include For All Mankind, and the second season of Stranger Things. After directing Disney’s ambitious live-action John Carter movie, Stanton hit pause on feature film work as the sci-fi fantasy film became a legendary box office flop. There doesn’t seem to be much bad blood with Disney as Stanton recently reunited with them on the Star Wars streaming series Obi-wan Kenobi, writing the final two episodes.

Podesaw worked on six Game of Thrones episodes at HBO alongside Benioff/Weiss, The Pacific, Boardwalk Empire, and the post-apocalypse drama Station Eleven.

Posted on in News, Television News

TRAILER: Fett Becomes A Powerful Crime Syndicate Leader Of The Underworld In ‘The Book Of Boba Fett’

Disney has released the first look trailer for The Book of Boba Fett, which sees the former bounty hunter hang up his spurs for a more ambitious adventure, taking over Jabba’s criminal syndicate. A rather large feat given all the criminal scum of the Star Wars underworld looking to bump him off and take his position.

While Solo: A Star Wars Story waded in the waters of the underworld, it looks like The Book of Boba Fett will explore the real criminal side of things giving us more insight into that side of the mythology. This sort of confirms that Fett is no longer a bounty hunter and might open things up to see what the other syndicates look like beyond Tatooine.

Its directing team is expected to include Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Robert Rodriguez, Bryce Dallas-Howard, and Sam Hargrave.

The new series will debut on December 29 on Disney+ and will continue into 2022.

Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and season three of The Mandalorian are other Star Wars shows that expected to be released next year, giving fans a heap of content ahead of the next film, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron being released in 20223.

“The Book of Boba Fett,” a thrilling Star Wars adventure teased in a surprise end-credit sequence following the Season 2 finale of “The Mandalorian,” finds legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand navigating the galaxy’s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate.

“The Book of Boba Fett” stars Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen. Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Robert Rodriguez, Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson are the executive producers. Karen Gilchrist and Carrie Beck serve as co-executive producers, with John Bartnicki producing and John Hampian as co-producer.

Disney also revealed a new poster for the show which you can see below.

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in News, Television News

‘Ahsoka’ May Feature Anakin Skywalker Force Ghost As Hayden Christensen Joins ‘Star Wars’ Series

It was huge news when Canadian actor Hayden Christensen was announced as reprising the Darth Vader role for the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series, that he’d star alongside fellow prequel actor Ewan McGregor. Well, it looks like Lucasfilm is keen on Christensen returning once more.

The Hollywood Reporter says that Hayden Christensen will be back for the upcoming Ahsoka series that will center around Rosario Dawson’s former Jedi. The assumption here is that he’ll potentially play the force ghost incarnation of Anakin Skywalker as Ahsoka Tano’s appearance in The Mandalorian took place many years after the death of Darth Vader/Skywalker.

Ahsoka and Anakin have a long-established relationship in the animation side of Star Wars canon as she was the apprentice of Skywalker in Star Wars: The Clone Wars before Tano exited the Jedi Order. In Star Wars: Rebels, they were reunited as they came to blows as Skywalker had been transformed into the Sith Lord, Darth Vader.

The beloved Star Wars character was on a mission to find Grand Adrimal Thrawn in her episode of The Mandalorian, which suggests that we’ll be getting live-action incarnations of both Thrawn and Ezra Bridger. Although, actors have yet to be announced by Lucasfilm despite rumblings of certain actors being selected.

It’ll be curious if Anakin Skywalker will help Ahsoka find Thrawn or simply be a force ghost mentor giving her advice. We could also see flashbacks to the Clone War era, which is also assumed for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

Disney+ is going to an overwhelming amount of Star Wars shows on the streaming platform over the next couple of years. They have wrapped on shows such as The Book of Boba Fett (to debut in late December), Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Andor. Season 3 of The Mandalorian has started shooting in California and there is an expectation that Ahsoka won’t begin filming until Dawson completes her shoot on Disney’s Haunted Mansion remake.

We’re still waiting on official confirmation when The Acolyte, Rangers of The New Republic, and Lando will begin production as more shows are expected to be announced next month at the Disney+ Day event.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER