Netflix, Mark Millar’s Millarworld Label Join Forces
Netflix will see plenty more comic adaptations in the coming months, especially if you’re a fan of films like Kick-Ass, Logan and Kingsman: The Secret Service or any from Mark Millar’s catalogue.
Netflix will see plenty more comic adaptations in the coming months, especially if you’re a fan of films like Kick-Ass, Logan and Kingsman: The Secret Service or any from Mark Millar’s catalogue.
The Underdog Genre
Douglas is a storied figure in Scottish history, and from what I’m reading, it’s hard to imagine Robert the Bruce would have succeeded in beating back England King Edward I’s armies if he didn’t have Douglas as his right-hand man. The son of the first noble to support William Wallace when the figure memorialized in Braveheartfomented the first movement toward independence from the English, Douglas saw his father’s lands given away, and after being denied them by the English king, he joined Robert the Bruce as an outcast properly motivated to avenge his loss. Together, they learned guerrilla fighting tactics that led to years of surprise attacks, sacked castles and, finally, independence.
The road to fruition for upcoming action thriller, Triple Frontier, has been a long and winding one. The revolving door of actors dates back as far as 2010 with recent news of Channing Tatum, Mahershala Ali, Tom Hardy, Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck all circling the film at some point this year until departing the project while it eventually transitioned from Paramount over to Netflix back in May.
News finally broke on Wednesday for the film revealing talks are happening with actors Mark Wahlberg (Transformers: The Last Knight), Charlie Hunnam (King Arthur), Garrett Hedlund (Mudbound) and Pedro Pascal (The Great Wall) with actress Adria Arjona (The Belko Experiment) also starring. As Deadline writes, details are still nil while what is know is that the film will center its story in the notorious border zone between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil where the Iguazu and Parana rivers converge.
A Most Violent Year helmer J.C. Chandor will direct from his own revisal of Mark Boal’s script with production eyeing an August start in Hawaii and Colombia.
It helps a little bit that this looks far better than what we were last offered with showrunner Scott Buck’s Jones headliner, Iron Fist, which may as well warrant improvements in the second season – also announced on Friday with co-star Jessica Henwick returning. I’m optimistic about both shows and I eagerly await what will happens for the respective new seasons of Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, and not to mention Jon Bernthal’s contribution to the masses as the best actor as of late to play none other than Punisher. That footage needs to be aired REAL soon after that Stan Lee promo tease the other day.
Bright is also up for a hopeful sequel if the rumors are anything to say for it. Otherwise, there’s still time to stir the pot should Ayer’s latest effort of film labor suit your fancy.
For now, he’s celebrating four of them in a new teaser for the upcoming August 18 premiere of The Defenders… or five if you count the guy in black who cameos at the end of the video for his own show to be dated soon. And count him you absolutely should!
Netflix hit big this week with the release of animated series, Castlevania, now on deck for a second season with more episodes. As it stands, they’ve now advanced a new project in the form of a new ten-episode live-action serial adaptation next year.
For this, we turn to The Umbrella Academy, inspired by the popular Eisner award-winning comics and graphic novels from Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) and illustrator Gabriel Bá. Per the press announcement on Tuesday, Universal Cable Productions is producing the series for a 2018 premiere date forthcoming.
The Umbrella Academy is a live action series that follows the estranged members of a dysfunctional family of superheroes (The Umbrella Academy) — The Monocle, Spaceboy, The Kraken, The Rumor, The Séance, Number Five, The Horror, and The White Violin — as they work together to solve their father’s mysterious death while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities. Published by Dark Horse Comics, the comic series garnered much praise from fans and critics alike for its alternate and twisted take on the superhero genre.
“I am thrilled that The Umbrella Academy has found a home at Netflix. I couldn’t think of a better place for the vision Gabriel Bá and myself had when creating the comic, and cannot wait for people to experience that world as a live action show,” said Gerard Way.
“What drew us to The Umbrella Academy is that it’s wholly unique, visual and stylized,” said Cindy Holland, Vice President, Original Content for Netflix. “These aren’t the usual superheroes, and this series will embrace the singular tone of the graphic novels — dark yet humorous, supernatural yet grounded in reality. We’re excited to see this world and introduce these unforgettable heroes to Netflix members around the globe.”
“It’s a thrill to be producing this wonderful show for Netflix,” said Jeff Wachtel, Chief Content Officer, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, and President, Universal Cable Productions. “It’s been a passion project for the UCP development crew and we can’t wait to bring it to life.”
Steve Blackman (Fargo, Altered Carbon) will executive producer and serve as showrunner, with Bluegrass Television and Dark Horse Entertainment’s own Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg executive producing. Way will serve as co-executive producer. Jeremy Slater (The Exorcist) adapted his own script for the pilot from the comic book series.
The Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski created and launched something both beautiful and enthralling with the award-winning sci-fi action series, Sense8. Telling of a cluster of 8 people all born on the same exact date and of the same age with a unique DNA, the story spanned globally into the lives of these eight people who discovered a sudden ability to psychically connect and ultimately come to the aid of one another in times of need as an evil doctor conspired to hunt them down and kill them.
The show brought two great, eclectic, energizing seasons ripe with action and drama weighing equally on themes of love, LGBT pride and friendship. Season two kicked off in April and continued building on its story concepts by adding and exploring more on the “Sense8” phenomena with the additions of new characters, and a cliffhanger finale that promised something major for a potential third season…
…Until Netflix announced its cancellation at the start of June with the company going on record and telling fans they tried to find a way to make a continuation of the show work but simply couldn’t. Of course, the fans knew that was bullshit and I gather a lot of us grew to, and bitterly at that, accept that Sense8 was over and nobody at Netflix gave a hog’s ass about the show anymore, screw the fans, etc.
And of course, it also helped that the The Wachowskis, cared about this project as well. It’s one of the best shows on Netflix and with the streaming giant getting so cancel-happy in the last few months, it didn’t exactly bring any morsels of optimism…
Now, this week, TODAY, this happens:
The letter was posted via social media on Thursday and…well…I know it at least made my day. I had only gotten to know the show this past month watching both seasons back-to-back and I absolutely fell in love with it. The story is layered, the characters are a vital mix of imperfection, growth and learning, and most of all, comradery. We have a superb villain in Terrence Mann who plays Wolfgang (a.k.a. Whispers), the mad scientist struggling with his own internal politics in London as he menaces protagonist, actor Brian J. Smith who plays a Chicago cop whose role drives forward the show’s murder-mystery engine onto season two as we learn more and more about the victim apart from the world sensate clusters hidden in plain sight.
So that’s the albeit good news! A two-hour finale that might provide fans the reprieve they need for what’s been an upsetting turn of events in the world of streaming entertainment. The bad news? Well, that depends. Apart from loving these characters and their respective story arcs so much, will two hours be enough at this point??
It sucks, sure. But it’s better than nothing and I love this cast and this show too much to talk it down now. If two hours is what we’ve got, I’ll take it. And that’s just me, so comment below and let us all know your thoughts on this surprising development!
John Lee Hancock (The Founder, Saving Mr. Banks, The Blind Side) will direct Highwayman in a deal long in the works that now sees the lingering crime drama in development at its new home at Netflix. The project was initially brewing at Universal Pictures for four years with a script by John Fusco that has since been redone by Hancock.
The film, according to Deadline, is the long-awaited feature-length treatment of the Depression Era story told from the angle of Frank Hamer and Manny Gault as they led a posse of commissioned lawmen to bring an end to the infamous and deadly crime spree led by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in the 1930s. Actors Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson are in early talks to star in the respective roles of Hamer and Gault, the former known as a legendary Texas Ranger who survived 53 gunfights and killed 100 people.
Given the narrative, it’s noticeably familiar-sounding ground for Costner who led the cast opposite Robert DeNiro’s Al Capone in Brian De Palma’s 1987 crime classic, The Untouchables. The actor’s recent credits include Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Criminal and Hidden Figures.
Harrelson’s latest gig is currently stifled by the departner of its two directors in mid-production for the tentatively untitled Han Solo movie. He’ll be seen this July in Matt Reeves’s War For The Planet Of The Apes opposite Andy Serkis.
Forgive me ahead of time in case the site goes dark for a few extra hours on June 28. Bong Joon-Ho’s latest, Okja, is coming and with the accreditation of many an approving review since debuting at Cannes.
What’s unfortunate there, of course, is the controversy that precipitated from its Cannes arrival with respect to certain rules and the vociferous opposition from theater exhibitors that followed. It ultimately means a smaller audience and espeicially for those who don’t have Netflix (that is still an understandable reality) while the company struggles its advance of a day-and-date agenda.
Will this affect the film’s hopeful success? Who knows? I guess that is either up to the viewers or someone higher above. It’s a pretty obscure view from here so anyone’s guess is as good as mine.
Actress Ahn Seo-Hyun leads the story of a young girl and a gentle giant who get caught in the crossfire between animal rights, corporate greed and scientific ethics. Ahn is joined by Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano and Jake Gyllenhaal, and a second official trailer has emerged. Peep it.
While it wasn’t too clear what we would be in for when Adi Shankar announced there would be a Castlevania series airing on Netflix this year, we learned what we could – that it was based on the classic 1986 Konami game, that it was animated and that it was coming this year.
We also knew it was a Season 1 endeavor as it was initially stated – otherwise hopefully hinting at a second season should season one bode well enough for viewers and depending on where the studio goes in its application. Well, the first official teaser arrived on Wednesday announcing a July 7 premiere date on Netflix, and in ceremonial, nostalgic fashion.
Check it out!
For 10 idyllic years, young Mija has been caretaker and constant companion to Okja—a massive animal and an even bigger friend—at her home in the mountains of South Korea. But that changes when a family-owned multinational conglomerate Mirando Corporation takes Okja for themselves and transports her to New York, where image obsessed and self-promoting CEO Lucy Mirando has big plans for Mija’s dearest friend.
Folks who can’t get enough out of nostalgia programming will soon have things their way thanks in large part to series creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch. GLOW is well on its way towars a June 23 release and we now have an official trailer that immerses you in the story of struggling actress’s foray into the tough-as-nails world of scripted female wrestling.
Inspired by the short-lived but beloved show from the 80s, GLOW tells the fictional story of Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie), an out-of-work, struggling actress in 1980s Los Angeles who finds one last chance for stardom when she’s thrust into the glitter and spandex world of women’s wrestling. In addition to working with 12 Hollywood misfits, Ruth also has to compete with Debbie Eagan (Betty Gilpin), a former soap actress who left the business to have a baby, only to be sucked back into work when her picture perfect life turns out not to be what it seems. At the wheel is Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron), a washed-up, B-movie director who now must lead this group of women on the journey to wrestling super stardom. GLOW is executive produced by Liz Flahive (Homeland, Nurse Jackie), Carly Mensch (Orange is the New Black, Nurse Jackie), Jenji Kohan (Orange is the New Black, Weeds) and Tara Herrmann (Orange is the New Black).
Watch the new trailer now.
It was back in February that a trio of actors boarded J.C. Chandor’s action drama, Triple Frontier from Paramount. Long in development with Kathryn Bigelow once tapped to helm long prior, was a project nearing a production weeks away with Channing Tatum, Tom Hardy and Mahershala Ali all tapped to star until Paramount dropped along with the Tatum and Hardy – reportedly due to script issues.
Deadline is now reporting that talks have been underway to keep the project alive and the word now is that Netflix may very well be its saving grace with Affleck sibs, Ben and Casey possibly to star. The logline is unknown for the film which is scripted by Mark Boal and reportedly focuses on unstable criminal activities along junctioning rivers at the border between Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil.
Producing are Boal and producers Charles Roven and Alex Gartner of Atlas Entertainment. Casting remains pending as things continue to iron out for Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck, the latter who shares Bests’ with fellow Oscar winner Ali.
Live-action manga fare is abound and now heading to Netflix by way of Shimamoto Kazuhiko’s 1983 manga, Blazing Transfer Student. Detroit Metal City helmer Li Toshio is directing the newly greenlit series based on the manga centered on Takizawa Noboru, a high school student who tries to win over the right to date school idol according to the school’s ground rules where big disputes are settled with fists.
The new show will sequelize these events with the caption, Reborn. With the lead, Noboru now serving as the principal of his own high school, Tanbei Academy, the series will explore seven transfer student all named Kakeru who have established themselves within to infiltrate and solve a problem that has national implications. Kansai-based boy-band Johnny’s West is comprising the cast for the eight-episode drama which Netflix will air exclusively in 190 territories this Winter.
H/T: ANN
Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m beat!