Scream 5 could be doing something very interesting with its classic Ghostface iconography. Star Trek: Picard might go back to back to produce its next two seasons. Elizabeth Olsen says WandaVision will tackle mental health and trauma. Plus, new set pictures from The Witcher’s second season. Spoilers now!
Mercy Sparx
Deadline reports MGM has acquired the film rights to Josh Blaylock’s comic book series, Mercy Sparx, concerning “a female demon sent from Hell to Earth on a mission, which she must complete while hiding among humans. On earth, Mercy has an existential crisis and begins to see the gray area between good and evil. It forces her to choose her place within it and compromises her mission.” Nick Shafir is attached to write the screenplay, which “is said to be akin to a female Constantine, the adaptation that starred Keanu Reeves several years ago.”
Scream 5
R.J. Torbert, a representative of the company who produces the official Ghostface masks for the Scream franchise, denied rumors Scream 5 would use the latest “ultra-white” design produced after the release of Scream 4. Instead, the killer(s) in the film will disguise their identities with “something else” that is “not the white mask” at all.
There’s been a rumor going around that the ultra-white mask is involved… What I will tell you is that the killer, the main killer, will not have the ultra-white mask. There’s something else involved, and it’s not the white mask!
Candyman
Nia DaCosta‘s Candyman remake has once again been delayed and will now reach theaters August 27, 2021. [Bloody-Disgusting]
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Likewise, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is now scheduled for a June 11, 2021 release. [The Wrap]
Sherlock Holmes 3
Appearing as a guest on the Celebrity Catch Up Podcast, director Dexter Fletcher stated the third entry in Robert Downey, Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes franchise is currently “on the back burner,” despite the actor’s recent comments about an unfolding cinematic universe.
That’s sort of sitting on the back burner at the moment until it becomes clear where the world is at and what’s going to happen. How do you get large groups of people together to create something and then shift them all around the world? And what do you do with actors that are in a love scene? It’s complicated.
Children of the Corn
The upcoming Children of the Corn remake has been rated “R” for “violence and bloody images.” [Film Ratings]
Toys of Terror
A stop-motion chimpanzee is set on fire while a teenager chokes on spider-flavored popcorn in two new clips from Dana Gould and Nicholas Verso’s Toys of Terror.
Lightyears
Amazon has ordered Lightyears, a new series from Holden Miller, Daniel C. Connolly, and Legendary Entertainment. The story centers around Franklin and Irene York, “a couple who, years ago, discovered a chamber buried in their backyard which inexplicably lead to a strange, deserted planet. They’ve carefully guarded their secret ever since, but when an enigmatic young man enters their lives, the Yorks’ quiet existence is quickly upended, and the mysterious chamber they thought they knew so well turns out to be much more than they could ever have imagined.” [Variety]
Star Trek: Prodigy
According to Film Music Reporter, Nami Melumad is attached to score Nickelodeon’s upcoming Star Trek animated series, starring Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Kathryn Janeway.
Star Trek: Picard
Production Weekly reports the second season of Star Trek: Picard plans to film from January 2021 to June 2021, with season three entering production immediately after. Filming on season three will wrap sometime in November 2021.
The X-Files: Albuquerque
Appearing as a guest on the Danish X-Files podcast Sammensværgelsen, Chris Carter briefly discussed the upcoming X-Files animated series, stating he has yet to “read a script” and remains uncertain “what [his] involvement will be.”
[The] animated approach to the X-Files really came as a result of COVID 19, and a way of putting some people to work. I’ve always wanted to do an animated project and this seemed like an interesting opportunity. Right now, it’s still in the development stage. I haven’t read a script. And so it’s really hard for me to say what my involvement will be, but I know this, it needs to be funny.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Appearing as a guest on the Script Apart podcast, writer Derek Kolstad stated The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will take “secondary” characters from “the earliest Marvel movies” and make them “cooler.”
It’s going to be fucking cool. I’m very proud of and honored by what it came to be. Here’s what I’ll say: growing up, everyone would give someone like [Batman’s sidekick] Robin shit. But Robin’s pretty badass, and became pretty badass in the comics. [We’re] taking secondary characters and putting them in the primary roles, and [as a result] they’re cooler. They’re more interesting. There’s more humanity, more longing, more suffering and coming to grips with who and what they are. What I will say is that there are characters from the earliest Marvel movies that are coming back. We’re layering them in and reinventing them in a way that’s gonna shift the storytelling structure. It’s fucking awesome.
[/Film]
WandaVision
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Olsen stated WandaVision will explore mental health and illness during a recent interview with the New York Times.
It’s the first time we get to understand her as the Scarlet Witch that she is in the comics, and that’s exciting for me because I haven’t yet been able to give her that time onscreen. So that’s going to be fun. She’s always been a representation of mental health and illness in the comic book series, and her major role is handling that stigma within Marvel.
The Witcher
Yennefer gives Ciri are seemingly having a delightful time in new set photos from season two.
Swamp Thing
Finally, there’s a snake in Liz’s sink in the trailer for next week’s episode of Swamp Thing.
Banner art by Jim Cooke.