Geeks N Stuff

With Bethesda continuing to celebrate the “Year of DOOM“, E3 2019 being right around the corner, and frankly, fans wanting to rip and tear some more, news on the upcoming DOOM Eternal has been hard to come by. That’s changed now, with Bethesda dropping some cool concept art on Twitter for the game’s Hell Gate.

DOOM Eternal still has no release date as of yet (other than a vague “2019”), but as mentioned, with the big events coming up quickly (not to mention that DOOM 2 hits the big 25 later this year), we’ll be hearing more about it soon enough.

Last year, Syfy ordered a pilot for “Resident Alien,“ a television series based on the Dark Horse Comics property from Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse. Shortly thereafter, Alan Tudyk (Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) came aboard to star, and Deadline is now reporting that the pilot has officially been ordered to series!

Sara Tomko (Sneaky Pete), Corey Reynolds (The Closer), Alice Wetterlund (Silicon Valley) and Levi Fiehler (Mars) will star alongside Tudyk.

The project, which hails from Universal Cable Productions, Dark Horse Entertainment and Amblin TV, is being described as a “dark, twisted and comedic fish-out-of-water story.”

The Chris Sheridan-adapted (“Family Guy”) series follows a crash-landed alien named Harry (Tudyk) who, after taking on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor, slowly begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on Earth – ultimately asking the question, “Are human beings worth saving?”

Sheridan will exec produce with Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg, along with Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank of Amblin TV.

After the smash hit box office success of his solo debut film last year, Venom is bigger and stronger than ever, with a sequel to the Tom Hardy-starring film currently in the works.

What else is in the works? Oh, just “the biggest Venom event of all time“!

Yesterday, Marvel Comics posted a teaser image for *something* Venom and Carnage-related, with the tagline “Everyone is a target” plastered onto an image of several Marvel superheroes being attacked by Carnage. Suspended up above the madness? Your boy Venom.

We don’t know much about this cross-over comic book event at the moment, but writer Donny Cates recently teased on Twitter that it’ll be the biggest Venom event we’ve ever seen.

Everyone is a target in August 2019.

With the announcement not that long ago of the next two “Mission: Impossible” films being done back-to-back, it seemingly also suggested the demise of a sequel to the acclaimed Tom Cruise-led 2014 sci-fi action feature “Edge of Tomorrow”.

Today though, Heat Vision reports that Warner Bros. Pictures is moving forward with development on the sequel and have brought aboard writer Matthew Robinson (“The Invention of Lying,” “Monster Trucks”) to develop the script.  Should it be well regarded, stars Cruise and Emily Blunt and director Doug Liman are all expected to return.

The first ‘Edge’, retitled “Live. Die. Repeat.” for the home entertainment sector, also boasted Christopher McQuarrie as a co-writer and reports from back in 2016 and 2017 indicated McQuarrie helped in early development of the follow-up.  His commitments to helming the seventh and eighth “Mission: Impossible” films, however, will likely impact further involvement here.

Cruise starred in the first film as a military PR man Cage who gets stuck in a time loop in the midst of an alien invasion. Every time he dies, he starts the day over. Eventually, he comes across the path of war hero Rita (Blunt) and every day must convince her to help him with his cause.

The first film made just $370 million globally on a $178 million budget, but the critical acclaim and its growing popularity in the home entertainment sector have kept sequel talk alive.

Frank Grillo is set to join Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek in “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,” a sequel to the 2017 action comedy “The Hitman’s Bodyguard”.

The story follows bodyguard Michael Bryce (Reynolds), who is enlisted by Jackson and Hayek’s characters to join them on a mission along the Amalfi Coast.

Grillo is tipped to play an Interpol agent who needs Reynolds, Jackson, and Hayek’s help to prevent a cyber attack in Europe.

Patrick Hughes will direct again from a script by Tom O’Connor and filming begins in March. The first film grossed more than $176 million globally.

Source: Variety

It’s beginning to look like the recently detailed TIE Echelon is going to appear in Star Wars 9. A new leaked photo from the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area of Disneyland provides us with our first look at the new First Order ship and it has some similarities to Kylo Ren’s ship in terms of looks, but it is smaller. The TIE Echelon was talked about earlier this week when Disneyland offered a tour of the unfinished grounds.

The TIE Echelon looks pretty great and it carries some of the same aesthetics that we have come to see in the latest trilogy. However, it has not been officially confirmed that the new TIE Fighter will be featured in Star Wars 9. With that being said, ABC news correspondent Clayton Sandell was on hand for the private Galaxy’s Edge tour and he believes that the TIE Echelon will be in the upcoming movie. He had this to say.

“That’s where the TIE fighter is parked and it is an awesome TIE fighter. A brand new TIE fighter that nobody has ever seen before. And they hinted you’re going to see this TIE fighter in a new movie. I am guessing Episode IX. It’s a really cool design. It combines, if you could imagine Kylo’s shuttle kind of shrunken down into a TIE fighter look.”

If what Clayton Sandell claims is true, this could be another clue that the red Stormtroopers are going to make an appearance in Star Wars 9 too. Imagineering creative executive Scott Trowbridge is in charge of Galaxy’s Edge and he revealed that the new TIE Fighter would be bringing a new set of Stormtroopers, though he didn’t say specifically that they are the red variety. However, it certainly sounds about right when hearing his description. He explains.

Related: Does the Star Wars 9 Trailer Finally Have a Release Date?

“The 709th, the Red Fury. There are some stories to be told about those folks, and why they’re here, what they came looking for - or who they came looking for.”

The 709th Red Fury is more than likely the red Stormtroopers that were first talked about late last year. Obviously, we don’t know how they will fit into Star Wars 9, but it’s beginning to look like Galaxy’s Edge is going to have more than a few connections to the upcoming movie. The Rise of the Resistance ride is going to feature newly shot footage of Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren and some believe that the footage confirms that there has been a significant time jump in between The Last Jedi and Star Wars 9.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is all set to open at Disneyland this coming June with the Florida park unveiling the new area of the park in the fall. All of the pieces are starting to come together and it looks like Disney is offering up quite the immersive experience that will bring fans into the Star Wars universe like never before. It’s a good time to be a hardcore fan of the franchise. You can check out the TIE Echelon image below, thanks to Reddit.

NEW SHIP - The TIE Echelon at #SWGalaxysEdge#SWGECA - Credit: u/Xsection (Reddit) pic.twitter.com/uH8i7ssqss

Warner Bros. will release a new Shazam! trailer this Monday, March 4th. Director David F. Sandberg teased fans with a blurry image on social media that has a loading bar on it with the play symbol that only plays the loading bar. Obviously, DC fans were tapping on that symbol in order to get a peek at some new footage, but it was all just a clever joke from the director, who has been having a lot of fun interacting with fans on social media ever since he agreed to take on the job.

David F. Sandberg’s playfulness with DC fans fits in really well with the tone of the movie. With that being said, fans have been waiting for a new trailer for months now, and many were starting to get impatient, which makes Sandberg’s social media prank even better. Since the release of the first trailer we have seen a TV spot, but there really hasn’t been a whole lot of footage released for the highly anticipated movie.

This is David F. Sandberg’s first superhero movie and his first big budget project. While the director had fun while making Shazam! and while editing, he admits that it can be a bit tedious at times when compared to projects with smaller budgets. But, that is to be expected now that he has dipped his toe into the mainstream. He explains.

“It’s quite a marathon – like, it’s a lot of work. It’s a very different way of working, just because you have to do all these pre-bits and plan everything months in advance. Then when you’re shooting it, it’s not always as fun as shooting a small movie, cause like you have to shoot… like today, we’re shooting this little piece, and this little piece, because this piece is like a unit, this is on blue screen, this is CGI, and it’s a lot of things to keep track of. So the shooting is not always fun but the result is so much more awesome than when you have these kinds of resources.”

As for what we’re going to see in the upcoming Shazam! trailer, that is unknown at this time. But, DC fans are more than likely hoping that Billy Batson’s family, aka the Shazam family, will be revealed. While we don’t know what David F. Sandberg has in store for us, we won’t have to wait very long to see all of this new footage that everybody has been asking for. With that being said, the weekend might seem pretty long for some hardcore fans.

Related: New Shazam Trailer Description Includes Big Tribute to Superman?

Shazam! hits theaters on April 5th, which is right in the middle of the Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame releases. This should be an excellent place for the movie to have its own place at the box office and should keep fans out of the discussions about which studio is beating the other or comparing the movies to each other. However, that is inevitable. You can check out the Shazam! trailer tease below, thanks to David F. Sandberg’s Twitter account.

Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Tracy Morgan and Frank Welker are all set to voice key roles in the upcoming new “Scooby-Doo” animated feature film for Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group.

The story sees the Mystery Inc. gang join forces with other heroes of the Hanna-Barbera universe to save the world from Dick Dastardly and his evil plans…and this time, we are told, the threat is real.

Rodriguez will voice Velma, Forte will voice Shaggy, Welker is Scooby, and Morgan will voice classic Hanna-Barbera character Captain Caveman.

Tony Cervone is directing the film which Chris Columbus, Charles Roven and Allison Abbate will produce.  A theatrical release in May 2020 is planned.

Source: Heat Vision

Reshoots on Fox’s horror X-Men film The New Mutants still have not happened and are not currently planned. Originally set to release at the beginning of 2018, the film was touted as a grounded and scary take on mutants. Fox hired Josh Boone to direct the film and he found a cast full of rising stars, such as Split’s Anya Taylor Joy as Magik, Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams as Wolfsbane, and Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton as Cannonball.

Production went smoothly and a first trailer was even released, but then New Mutants started to unravel just months before it was originally set to hit theaters. Fox delayed the film to almost an entire year to February 2019 in order to make it scarier. Those reshoots were scheduled to take place in the summer of 2018, but failed to happen. Fox eventually delayed New Mutants again till August of this year, giving them more time to work on the film.

Related: Every Superhero Movie That Was Supposed To Release In 2018 (But Didn’t)

Poducer Simon Kinberg confirmed late last year that the reshoots still haven’t happened, and according to a new update from THR, not only are the reshoots for New Mutants still not done four months later, but they are not even currently planned. The report does note that “things seem to be in the hands of Boone.” It is unclear if that means it is either his decision to decide whether or not the reshoots happen, his job to figure out the schedule, or simply clarifying that he is still involved with the project at this stage.

There has been no signs of any of the cast members or Boone returning to a New Mutants set for reshoots, so it isn’t entirely surprising they haven’t happened in secret. But, it is potentially major news if the reshoots are not even being planned to happen anymore. The reshoots were previously said to be so extensive that 50 percent of the film could be reshot and even add a new character. If the reshoots are not happening at all, it could be a sign that Fox has decided to stop pouring money into a film that is already a lame duck entry in the franchise and will just release what they previously had.

As a result of its troubling production, there have been plenty of rumors about how New Mutants will be released. Since Fox will soon be acquired by Disney, Marvel Studios will gain control of the X-Men and are expected to reboot them. Disney has confirmed they will release all completed films from Fox, but there’ve been rumors that New Mutants will actually be dumped to Hulu or Disney+. The former could be the better fit for New Mutants, especially if it winds up being R-rated or if Marvel and Disney want to release it before Disney+ is ready to launch. The ultimate fate of The New Mutants could entirely depend on if the film does go through reshoots or not, and since they aren’t planned right now, the status of them is something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Filming on the third “Fantastic Beasts” film has been delayed, and with that it almost certainly means the long in the works “The Flash” movie starring Ezra Miller has also been pushed back.

The actor has played the role twice now, mostly in “Justice League,” but attempts to get a standalone film off the ground have stalled as Warners have reconfigured their DC film plans into more standalone efforts.

There have been obvious questions as to whether the film is still being developed, but a new video interview (via CBM) with Miller this week has emerged and the actor offers some words of reassurance to fans that the project will see movement soon:

“It’s getting really good now. Anyone that knows anything about Barry Allen knows that he’s always late but then when he arrives, he gets stuff done. And that’s definitely how this film’s production schedule is proceeding. We are a little late, but the reason why we are late, and this is the honest to God’s truth the reason we are late, is because we are all, and I include myself in this, we are very meticulously focused on making a movie that is just not one of the greatest superhero movies that we can possibly make, this movie is also going to be a gift to the fans. This movie is going to be a real pure offering to the fans of this material.”

Miller also confirmed that the film is also aiming to offer an expansion into a DC Multiverse with multiple Speedsters:

“We are talking about sparking a whole new universe, which is not just the DC multiverse, it’s also, it’s the Speedster multiverse. And the Speedsters are the ones who connect all of the disparate pieces. Because Marvel is a universe, just one world and all the same characters in it. DC is a multiverse. All these different stories with different realities, characters, and versions of characters, and the Speedsters are the ones who move through it all. They are like the connecting bridge between all these difference collaged parts.”

John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (“Game Night”) are slated to helm the film which currently does not have a release date.

In a recent trip to The Coalition Studio to check on their progress of developing Gears of War 5, some fans were disappointed that we won’t be seeing anything in regards to juicy in-development stuff. I mean, there’s that whole NDA stuff that everyone has to abide by and all.

Shame we don’t get to see anything ‍

— ProGear360 (@ProGear360) February 20, 2019

Spencer replied that he’d try and “sneak some spy shots past Rod [Fergusson, studio head for Gears of War 5] and tweet them out”. Needless to say, the one that he did get was as expected.

This is the only one I could sneak while Rod wasn’t looking.  Gears 5 is looking great. pic.twitter.com/yfUxvYEoOi

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 21, 2019

So yeah, Phil’s having a bit of fun with fans, but to be fair, getting any info about GoW5 at this point is like trying to get Hideo Kojima to spill the beans on Death Stranding. I guess we’ll have to wait until later this year for when we can get our chainsaws revved.

A new report indicates a third and yet to be announced live-action “Star Wars” series is being developed for the Disney+ streaming service. Said series would follow in the wake of the already in production “The Mandalorian” series and the proposed Cassian Andor series.

Fantha Tracks broke the news, saying that according to publicly available company records, Disney has begun production on the project which will be shot in the UK under the name “SERIES III PRODUCTIONS (UK) LIMITED” which was registered on the public UK companies register on the October 12th.

The site anticipates that details of the series will be revealed at Star Wars Celebration in mid-April, however they caution that none of this has been officially announced and Disney often registers businesses in blocks for convenience – it doesn’t mean they’ll use them or if they do it’s not necessarily an indication of things happening anytime soon.

We do know some of the projects currently in the works, even if they haven’t officially been announced, with one of them being “The Eternals” movie to be helmed by “The Rider” director Chloe Zhao and penned by Matthew and Ryan Firpo.

At a recent press day for “Captain Marvel,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige offered an update to Collider regarding the film which plans to lean hard into the 1970s Jack Kirby-era roots of the comic:

“Everything after Endgame, and after Spider-Man: Far From Home, will be different and be unique, as we try to make every film. But seeing returning characters is certainly something we’re gonna do and want to do. But also introducing characters that the majority of the world has never heard of, much like Guardians, much like Avengers before we made Avengers. And there are lots of them.

Eternals are one group, but we like the idea of introducing an ensemble, doing an ensemble movie from the start, as opposed to building up as we did with the first Avengers. More like Guardians, not tonally, but in terms of introducing a new group of people. You were asking about ’60s, and ’70s before. Jack Kirby did an immense, amazing epic with Eternals that spans tens of thousands of years, and that’s also something we haven’t really done, which is why that among many other things post-Endgame, we find appealing.”

In a separate interview with Cinema Blend, Feige also spoke about the seemingly stuck in a holding pattern third “Guardians of the Galaxy” film.  He confirmed Chris Pratt’s comments from a few weeks ago that the intention is to stick with James Gunn’s script, but Gunn’s influence won’t be felt much post-“Endgame” outside of the ‘Guardians’ films he created:

“His influence was Guardians. It was Guardians. It was his input on Guardians and the Avengers films, as you’ve seen in Infinity War, and on the Guardians 3 script, which we’re still using. So you’ll see that influence. I think online, sort of the notion of ‘architect across multiple cosmic things’ was slightly blown out of proportion.”

“Captain Marvel” opens March 8th, “Avengers: Endgame” opens late April and “Spider-Man: Far From Home” hits in July.

The world of Shazam! is changing in DC’s comic universe, with his new series revealing what may be the true purpose of the magical champion. Well, assuming that the newest recruit to The Shazam Family is actually telling the truth, and not secretly Billy Batson’s newest enemy.

Our exclusive preview of Shazam #3 begins by raising that very question, after the previous issue dropped the bombshell reveal of “King Kid,” ruler of one of the previously unknown magical realms of DC’s reality. That twist is just the latest in Geoff Johns’ follow-up to his 2011 Shazam origin story, currently being adapted for the DCEU’s Shazam! movie. Which raises the question: if Shazam’s true purpose has been revealed in the comics… is it also his true purpose in the movies, too?

RELATED: Shazam! Star is Thankful Marvel Killed His Character

That question will be impossible to answer for now, only revealed if and when a Shazam 2 is greenlit. But for now, fans are going to want the explanation for themselves. Because the Shazam Family has not only discovered a magical train station connecting Earth to magical fantasy lands, but the ruler of one such empire, cut off from the world for centuries. His name? King Kid. His realm? The Funlands. His request? That Billy Batson teach him the magical word that unlocks his powers so that there may once again be Seven Champions to protect each of the Seven Magical Realms, as was their ancient duty.

To see the reveal for yourselves, take a look at the preview pages for Shazam! #3 embedded below:

Until now, the exact purpose of the Seven wizards and sorceresses of the Council of Eternity was up for some debate. Their mission was to oversee magic and its users, but the question of their champions was less clear. Was Billy Batson chosen as Shazam, Champion of Magic… or just the Champion of the Wizard Shazam, the last remaining Council member? That last description was the one most fans assumed, but King Kid has revealed the duties held by the rest of the Champions. Even though most of the Seven Realms have yet to be revealed, the implications are clear. Billy may be the protector of Earth, but he could–possibly should–be just one of Seven Champions safeguarding realms, powers, and even unknown people in the other realms, disconnected from Earth when the Wizard Shazam sealed all the doors.

Of course, the arrival of King Kid is too good to be true, and any suspicions readers may have had are basically confirmed by his urgency to acquire the power of the Shazam Family. Will his true motivations be exposed before issue’s end, or will he succeed in dividing the six members of Billy’s adopted family first? DC fans will need to pick up the full issue on Wednesday to know for sure, but until then, read on for the full synopsis and details below:

SHAZAM! (2019) #3

Published: February 27th, 2019

Writer: Geoff Johns

Art: Dale Eaglesham

Cover: Dale Eaglesham

Variant Cover: Michael Cho

Given its box office success earlier this year, we knew it was only a matter of time before a sequel to Adam Robitel‘s Escape Room was ordered up, and Deadline reports tonight that Sony is indeed developing Escape Room 2, with Robitel returning to direct!

Plot details, at this time, are under wraps.

Escape Room follows six strangers who find themselves in a maze of deadly rooms, and must use their wits to find the clues or die.

Bragi F. Schut will also return to write, with Neal H. Moritz producing.

[Related] Why ‘Escape Room’ Can, Should and Probably Will Spawn the Next Hit Franchise

Escape Room pulled in $118.6 million worldwide on a $9m production budget.

Emmy-nominee Andrew Bernstein (“Umbrella Academy,” “Ozark,” “Castle Rock,” “Jack Ryan”) has been set to direct several episodes of HBO’s supernatural drama series “The Outsider” based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel.

The story follows a straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a local boy leading a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe to be real, as an insidious supernatural force edges its way into the case.

Bernstein will also serve as executive producer on the series which stars Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Bill Camp, Paddy Considine, Mare Winningham and Hettienne Park.  Richard Price (“The Night Of”) will pen the series with Jason Bateman set to direct the first two episodes.

Source: Deadline

Blumhouse Productions boss Jason Blum says his company has discussed making new installments of the Hellraiser and Scream horror franchises. With the possible exception of Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema arm - the studio behind IT and The Conjuring universe - there’s no more prominent producer of theatrical horror films today than Blumhouse. The roster of hit properties boasted by Blumhouse is quite impressive, including the Insidious, Sinister, The Purge, Happy Death Day, and Paranormal Activity franchises, as well as standalone successes like Get Out.

Last year, Blumhouse briefly departed from its winning strategy of creating new horror franchises that earn huge profits for low costs to try and resurrect the once-dominant Halloween slasher franchise. Michael Myers hadn’t terrorized audiences since 2009, and Rob Zombie’s Halloween II hadn’t been a huge hit. Thankfully, Blumhouse’s magic worked just as well on a classic as it does on fresh material, earning positive reviews from both fans and critics, and hauling in over $250 million worldwide on a budget of $10 million.

Related: 17 Hollywood Horror Series That Refuse to Die

With Halloween’s success now in the rearview mirror - and Blum making it clear that he’s trying hard to make a sequel happen - it looks like Blumhouse is considering lending their signature touch to the Hellraiser and Scream franchises. Blum tells Cinema Blend that making new installments in both series has been discussed, although he cautions that fans shouldn’t get their hopes up too high yet, as no movement is actively happening on a Blumhouse revival of either property. Read his full quote below.

Yes, we definitely have [discussed it]. We’re looking - there’s nothing happening with either one of those things - but we’re definitely looking at it, and it’s definitely something I’d be open to.

If Blumhouse does eventually find a way to make a new Hellraiser movie, it would probably be the exact thing that formerly celebrated franchise needs. Hellraiser - and its lead villain, the Cenobite known as Pinhead - have been residing in direct-to-video purgatory since 2000’s Hellraiser: Inferno. The two most recent installments - 2011’s Hellraiser: Revelations and 2018’s Hellraiser: Judgment - were even more low-budget than prior entries, and saw genre icon Doug Bradley decline to reprise his signature role. Various versions of a Hellraiser remake/reboot have been stuck in development hell for years, including one written by creator Clive Barker himself. Blumhouse could finally manage to rescue Hellraiser from its own perdition.

As for Scream, more than one cast member has said they would be up for reprising their classic roles in a Scream 5, but it also seems to be a fairly unanimous sentiment that such a sequel just wouldn’t be the same without the now deceased Wes Craven at the helm. Thus, if Blumhouse really does eventually want to bring Scream back to theaters, it would probably be best to completely reboot the continuity and craft a new murder mystery in the same vein. Scream’s most recent incarnation was an MTV TV series that ignored the original films, so such a move wouldn’t be without precedent.