Designated Survivor picked up at ABC: One of the first major new network shows picked up is Designated Survivor, starring Kiefer Sutherland, by ABC. The show will go straight to series but ABC does have the option to back out after the pilot but it’s apparently a very strong pilot episode. Kiefer plays a low level cabinet member that is forced to become President when a devastating terrorist attack leaves him at the front of the line of succession.
Ben Affleck now Justice League executive producer: In addition to helping write and direct the solo Batman film, Affleck will now back up Zack Snyder as an executive producer of the upcoming Justice League films.
Young Han Solo found: Alden Ehrenreich, who broke out in the Coen Brothers Hail Caesar! earlier this year, has been cast as the younger Han Solo for the upcoming solo Star Wars Story that will be directed by Lord & Miller.
Supergirl may be in trouble: Supergirl’s future is in doubt over at CBS as potential options are being worked out. It could just be outright cancelled as it was expensive and didn’t bring in the ratings they were expecting but another option could be that Kara could join her fellow DC heroes on The CW with a much smaller budget and were the ratings look much better. The final word will most likely come in about two weeks at CBS’ upfront presentation.
Adam McKay directing comic movie Irredeemable: The Anchorman/Big Short director will be directing an adaptation of Mark Waid’s Irreedamable comic, which follows a Supermanesque character named Plutonian who used to be a hero but eventually used his powers to take over the planet and kill anyone who questions him. A group of less powerful heroes called the Paradigm want to try and stop him but need the help of one of the Plutonian’s powerful supervillains.
New Power Rangers revealed:
Seth MacFarlane creating sci-fi comedy show for Fox: Fox continues to go all in on Seth MacFarlane, ordering a new show from him that is set 300 years in the future set on an exploration ship called the Orville that has seen better days. The show is going to directly to series and will debut in 2017.
Russell Crowe joins The Mummy reboot: Crowe will join Tom Cruise in The Mummy reboot, playing “a Jekyll-like role” but it’s not clear if he is actually playing Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. This could be a potential seed for a future movie in the new Universal Monsters cinematic universe.
Arnold Schwarzenegger starring in action/comedy called We’re Killing Gunther: Directed by SNL’s Taran Killam, Arnold will star as the world’s greatest assassin, Gunther, who becomes the target of his jealous fellow assassins who plant to take him out. Cobie Smulders, Bobby Moynihan and Randall Park will co-star.
Blues Brothers animated series in the works: Dan Aykroyd is working on bringing the Blue Brothers to the small screen with a potential primetime animated series following the continuing adventures of Jake and Elwood. It’s currently being shopped to networks.
Screen Gems developing a Slender Man movie: The internet meme created by the Something Awful forums may be coming to the big screen as Screen Games is developing a Slender Man movie. The character was created during a photoshop contest and features a disturbingly tall creature in a suit whicht has gotten an expanded mythology on Something Awful and beyond where it abducts children and can manipulate people to commit horrible acts.
Tower of Terror in Disneyland getting replaced by Guardians ride: The Tower of Terror in Disneyland is most likely going to be replaced by a ride featuring the Guardians of the Galaxy. The potential plan seems to be to close down the ride in Fall and completely refurbish it for an opening next spring to coincide with Guardians 2 debuting at the DCA conference at the park. The new ride could take it’s inspiration from the scene set in the space prison for Guardians 1.
New MASK comic coming to IDW:The 80’s TV show is returning as a new comic at IDW with Brandon Easton writing and Tony Vargas doing the art. The new comic is a modern take on the Mobile Armorded Strike Kommand team, inspired by the over the top action of the Fast & Furious movies. MASK featured vehicles that could transform into a second form, like a car that could transform into a boat or a motorcycle that could become a helicopter.
Space Jam 2 officially confirmed: Lebron James will star in a sequel to the 90’s cult classic Space Jam with Fast & Furious director Justin Lin directing. No word yet on the story or a release date.
New Puppet Master movie coming: S. Craig Zahler, director of Bone Tomahawk, will be writing a new Puppet Master movie called Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich and finds the killer puppets wrecking havoc on a Oregon toy convention.
Jeremy Irons will be back for Justice League: Alfred will return to back up Ben Affleck’s Batman in Justice League, as WB confirmed Jeremy Irons would be appearing in the movie.
Shinobi movie may be on the way: Sega formed a film branch back in 2014 and now it seems like the first project from that is moving forward as an adaptation of the ninja classic Shinobi is on the way. Bridge of Spies producer Mark Platt has signed on to help develop the movie and hopefully it’s throwback to the heyday of 80’s ninja action with movies like Enter the Ninja and Pray for Death.
“Converstations are happening” about a Dredd series: Star Karl Urban confirmed that there are conversations happening about potentially bringing his brutal and awesome take on Judge Dredd to potentially a Netflix or Amazon with a series. Much like Ryan Reynolds with Deadpool, Urban has been actively talking about a sequel to Dredd since it came out and became a cult favorite.
Hulu may stream channels live: Hulu may be adding a Sling or Playstation VUE style service to it’s options in the near future, which would allow users to watch network and cable networks live. The available networks would probably be from the big three who partner for Hulu, NBC, Fox and ABC so it would probably be things like NBC’s news channels, FX, Disney, ESPN, etc. There’s no official name or pricing yet but sources think it could be an additional $40 on top of your Hulu Plus subscription.
