XX horror anthology becoming a TV series: The horror anthology movie XX from 2017 featured four shorts directed by female directors and one of those directors, Jovanka Vuckovic, is developing the anthology into a TV series. There’s no word of a possible network yet.
Halo TV series moves forward: The long in development Halo TV series is continuing to slowly move forward at Showtime. The show now will go into production later this year and will most likely debut sometime in 2021. Pablo Schreiber was cast as Master Chief and Natascha McElhone, Bokeem Woodbine, and Shabana Azmi were announced as cast members this week.
Stallone and Lundgren teaming for a new TV series: Sly Stallone and Dolph Lundgren are teaming up to bring some old school action to TVs, as they are developing an untitled action drama series. Dolph would star in the series as a veteran operative for the Department of Safety and Security at the UN and handles various threats as a one-man SWAT team and hostage negotiator. Stallone is executive producing the series and will direct the pilot with Ken Sanzel, previously on Numbers, is the showrunner. The duo pitched the series to Fox, CBS, NBC, Netflix, and Apple but no word on if anyone has bit yet.
Console Wars becoming a CBS All Access feature documentary: Blake J. Harris’ amazing look into the 90s battle between Sega and Nintendo has been in development as some sort of film project but it was announced this week the book would be adapted into a CBS All Access feature documentary. Harris will direct the documentary alongside Jonah Tulis and Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are executive producing along with acclaimed documentary director Doug Blush. There is apparently also still going to be a scripted adaptation of the book as well on CBS All Access that is being directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts.
The Man Who Fell to Earth becoming a TV series: Speaking of CBS All Access, they are also adapting the film The Man Who Fell to Earth into a TV series. Originally a novel by Walter Tevis, there was the film version in 1976 directed by Nicholas Roeg and starring David Bowie as an alien who comes to Earth looking to bring resources like water back to his dying home planet. Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet, and John Hlavin are behind the series and say it will focus on current issues and explore the alien character of Thomas Jerome Newton more.
The first members of The Stand confirmed: The last major bit of CBS All Access news is that they have confirmed the first few members of The Stand cast. A new take on the Stephen King epic, James Marsden will star as Stu Redman (played Gary Sinise in the 90s miniseries), Amber Heard will play Nadine Cross (played by Laura San Giacomo in the 90s), Odessa Young will play Frannie Goldsmith (played by Molly Ringwald in the 90s) and Henry Zaga will play Nick Andros (played by Rob Lowe in the 90s). No word on who will play the villainous Randall Flagg yet. King himself is writing a new finale to the series that will be different from the novel and 90s miniseries and Josh Boone is writing, directing and executive producing the series.
Jason Momoa starring in new Netflix movie: Jason Momoa is starring in a new Netflix revenge thriller called Sweet Girl. Momoa will play a husband who vows revenge on the people who killed his wife while having to protect his daughter. Brian Andrew Mendoza, who produced Braven, Frontier, and Road to Paloma for Momoa, is directing the movie.
Game Night directors sign on to Dungeons & Dragons movie: Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the team behind Game Night, have signed to direct the long in development Dungeons & Dragons movie at Paramount. The previous director was Chris McKay, director of Lego Batman, but he dropped out last year. It’s still not clear what the direction of the movie or the premise will be but it seems with McKay and now Goldstein/Francis Daley that it might be more comedic than previous attempts, like the insanely terrible 2000 movie with Jeremy Irons.
Luca Guadagnino directing a new Lord of the Flies: Suspiria and Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino has signed to direct a new adaptation of William Golding’s classic novel Lord of the Flies for Warner Bros. There were previously reports that this would be a gender-bent, all-female version of the story but that has been scrapped and Guadagnino’s movie will stick with the novel’s premise of a bunch of schoolboys crashing onto a deserted island and slowly reverting to their feral, primal instincts. Guadagnino is currently working on an HBO mini-series called We Are What We Are.
I Know What You Did Last Summer becoming a TV series: 90s slasher movie I Know What You Did Last Summer is becoming a TV series with James Wan producing. Amazon is reportedly developing the series with producer Neal H. Moritz and will be a “YA horror series” and follow a similar premise to the movie.
Universal Studios announces new Orlando park, Epic Universe: Universal Studios announced this week a fourth park for their Orlando theme park called Epic Universe. There weren’t a lot of specific details but the new park will be a few miles away from the current parks and cover 750 acres. It wasn’t officially confirmed but this is most likely where the highly anticipated Nintendo world will be located.
HBO Max developing Greek fantasy series Circe: The upcoming HBO Max streaming service is adapting Madeline Miller’s Greek fantasy novel Circe into a TV series with Jurassic World and Planet of the Apes producers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver executive producing. The novel followed Circe, who appeared in The Odyssey trying to seduce Odysseus and have him stay with her on her island, from her birth as a daughter of the titan Helios to her banishment to her island by Zeus and her development of occult magic powers. She also, in the novel, crossed paths with mythological figures like Icarus, the Minotaur, Medea and more.
