J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot is working on yet another Stephen King adaptation. Renfield’s cast gains an Expanse star. A new look at Star Trek: Strange New Worlds goes old west. Plus, get new looks at posters for The Batman and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Spoilers now!
Renfield
According to Deadline, The Expanse’s Shohreh Aghdashloo has joined the cast of Renfield as Ella, “a bold woman who is one of the most feared crime lords in the city.”
Untitled Nikyati Jusu Film
Deadline reports Universal and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw have acquired the rights to a new, currently untitled horror film from Nanny director Nikyatu Jusu. Details on the plot are currently under wraps.
The Toxic Avenger
In conversation with Bloody Flicks, director Macon Blair stated his Toxic Avenger remake was engineered to “connect with contemporary audiences” while still preserving “some of that Lloyd Kaufman vibe.”
I saw Toxie as an impressionable kid and it had quite an impact on me—the absurdity and gleeful bad taste of it. So in one sense it’s an exciting privilege to get to take a swing at a new version but it’s also kind of daunting because there are different goals we’re trying to hit simultaneously. Troma fans are passionate and dedicated and it’s important to make a movie they feel like honors the original. I don’t presume we’re going to be able to please every single person but the intention and the hope is that fans will feel like we’ve preserved some of that [Lloyd] Kaufman vibe. But at the same time, we want to make a movie that will connect with contemporary audiences who may not have heard of Troma or Toxie, who are coming into it without that context, so it can’t all be winks and nods and rehash of the original.
I was approached to pitch my take. At first, I was hesitant but then I kept thinking about it and ended up suggesting a version of the character and the world to Legendary they wanted to hear more and we kind of developed it from there. The guiding principle was that the story could exist on its own terms but in spirit would feel connected to the original.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic, Tails and Knuckles celebrate the Chinese New Year on three new character posters.
The Batman
Elsewhere— Batman, Penguin, Catwoman and Riddler enjoy their own set of character posters courtesy of Twitter Movies. “The sum of the angles of that rectangle is too monstrous to contemplate!”
Project Gemini
After junking planet Earth, a group of astronauts hoping to terraform an alien planet are systematically murdered by the locals in the trailer for Project Gemini.
The Changed
Tony Todd stars in the trailer for The Changed—essentially, a new take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers—coming to VOD March 4.
Titans
Deadline reports Joseph Morgan, Franka Potente and Lisa Ambalavanar have joined the cast of Titans’ fourth season. Morgan has been cast as Sebastian Blood/Brother Blood, “an introvert with a strong intelligence and a hidden darker nature,” while Potente will play May Bennett/Mother Mayhem, “a natural leader who always carries the threat of violence with her, a predator in human form with an unfettered belief in her mission in the world.” Ambalavanar will also recur as Jinx, “a quick-witted criminal loner and a master of dark magic with a joy for manipulating others and creating chaos while doing it.”
The Flash
Deadline also reports Rick Cosnett (Det. Eddie Thawne in season one) will return for “at least” three episodes of The Flash’s eighth season, playing a different character each time.
Billy Summers
Deadline further reports that Billy Summers—yet another Stephen King series from Bad Robot—is in development from Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. The story follows the titular Summers, “a hitman who is looking to retire” as he “takes one last highly lucrative job to feather his nest. The job requires him to embed himself in a quiet town, where he pretends to be an aspiring writer (he actually pours himself into the prose). He sets up in an office with a direct view of where hitman Joel Allen will be delivered to face trial for shooting two men during a poker game. Allen also has committed enough murders for some high-level mobsters to be scared the gunman will incriminate his former employers to lessen his sentence. Summers, a meticulous craftsman, becomes more and more cynical about the mobsters who’ve hired him, and his skepticism is well warranted as things go awry following the job’s completion.”
Dungeons & Dragons
According to Variety, Rawson Marshall Thurber (Red Notice) has been hired to write, direct and executive produce the pilot episode of the upcoming live-action Dungeons & Dragons series from Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro, separate from the currently-planned movie.
Loki
A new report from Backstage says the second season of Loki will begin production this summer.
Halo
Variety reports David Weiner (Brave New World, Fear the Walking Dead) is now in talks to take over the role of showrunner from Stephen Kane, should Halo be renewed for a second season.
Star Trek: Prodigy
The Protostar crew is forced to improvise in the synopsis for this week’s episode of Star Trek: Prodigy, “A Moral Star, Part 2.”
When the plan goes awry, the crew must improvise. Meanwhile, Gwyn discovers a dark truth that will forever jeopardize their quest toward salvation.
Written by: S1 Writers Room (Kevin & Dan Hageman, Julie Benson, Shawna Benson, Lisa Schultz Boyd, Nikhil S. Jayaram, Diandra Pendleton-Thompson, Chad Quandt, Aaron J. Waltke)
Directed by: Ben Hibon
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
A new poster for the upcoming Captain Pike spinoff, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, has been released by Paramount+, depicting the Captain on his beloved horse Tango. Or maybe Mary Lou, other horses are available.
Snowpiercer
Andre smashes Wilford in the face with some sort of steel rod in the trailer for “The First Blow,” next week’s episode of Snowpiercer.
4400
Finally, Shanice makes a case for political violence in the trailer for next week’s episode of 4400.
Banner art by Jim Cook