Sci-Fi Storm

For those who were holding out hope for Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency to find another outlet after being canceled by BBC America, officially the road is over…there will be no Season 3 after it was unable to find a new network.

Executive Producer Arvind Ethan David tweeted heartfelt thanks:

An update for all of you working to #SaveDirkGently

— from all of us who made #DirkGently

with much, much love. #Dirktectives pic.twitter.com/FozJgKHUH4

— Arvind Ethan David (@ArvD) March 10, 2018

The wonderfully quirky show, as only a show from the mind of Douglas Adams should be, followed the adventures of the “holistic” detective Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) and his reluctant assistant/friend Todd (Elijah Wood) as they investigate a series of seemingly random events that all tie together into an insane mystery.

NO! From producer Dean Devlin:

Just got the official call. TNT has cancelled #TheLibrarians – I will immediately begin the process of trying to move the show elsewhere. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

— Dean Devlin (@Dean_Devlin) March 9, 2018

This saddens me a great deal. Watching the show was just pure fun and we loved all the characters. I really hope another network is willing to pick this up.

Lucasfilm announced that Jon Favreau, who helped usher in the era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Marvel Studios, will now take the reins of the upcoming untitled live-action Star Wars series that will be part of Disney’s direct-to-consumer video service.

“I couldn’t be more excited about Jon coming on board to produce and write for the new direct-to-consumer platform,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “Jon brings the perfect mix of producing and writing talent, combined with a fluency in the Star Wars universe. This series will allow Jon the chance to work with a diverse group of writers and directors and give Lucasfilm the opportunity to build a robust talent base.”

Favreau is familiar with the Star Wars universe as well, having voiced Pre Vizsla in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and will appear in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story. “If you told me at 11 years old that I would be getting to tell stories in the Star Wars universe, I wouldn’t have believed you. I can’t wait to embark upon this exciting adventure.”

Favreau was nominated for an Emmy in 2005 for producing dinner for Five, and and won the Saturn Award in 2009 for Best Director for Iron Man. He directed both Iron Man and Iron Man 2, and executive produced the Iron Man and Avengers movies, and also appeared as Tony Stark’s assistant Happy Hogan in many of them. He’s currently working on The Lion King for Disney.

No release date for the Star Wars series has been announced.

Lost In Space starts on Netflix on April 13th, and stars Toby Stephens (Black Sails) as Commander John Robinson, Molly Parker (House of Cards, Goliath) as Maureen Robinson, Taylor Russell (Falling Skies) as Judy, Mina Sundawall (Maggie’s Plan) as Penny, Maxwell Jenkins (Sense8) as Will, Ignacio Serricchio (The Wedding Ringer) as Don West, and Parker Posey (Superman Returns) as Doctor Smith.

After clearing his name, Luke Cage has become a celebrity on the streets of Harlem with a reputation as bulletproof as his skin. But being so visible has only increased his need to protect the community and find the limits of who he can and can’t save. With the rise of a formidable new foe, Luke is forced to confront the fine line that separates a hero from a villain.

Deadline reports that BBC Studios is working with Narrativia, the production company founded by late author Terry Pratchett and run by his daughter, to create a series based on Pratchett’s Discworld novels. Simon Allen (The Musketeers) is attached to write.

Six episodes have currently been commissioned, but no broadcasters have been named. BBC Studios is the production arm of the public broadcaster BBC, but two years ago was spun off as a for-profit venture and are now permitted to sell shows to other broadcasters. The aim is to make it an international co-production.

Plot details have not been given, but the working title of “The Watch” may indicate that it may have a similar focus to a previous plan led by Terry Jones (Monty Python) and Gavin Scott (The Mists Of Avalon) to create a procedural drama focusing on the City Watch police force of Discworld’s principal city of Ankh-Morpork.

Ah, it’s time for a Logan’s Run update…the story of the attempt to remake the cult classic based on the novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, seems to have had a longer history than the lives of the inhabitants of the City of Domes.

The Hollywood Reporter confirms that The Hunger Games screenwriter Peter Craig will take on the task. Logan’s Run was describe by director Simon Kinberg, still attached to the project, as “the granddaddy of Maze Runner and Hunger Games and so many of these books and movies now.”

Hopefully Craig comes up with a script that may actually get into production. He’s also working on an adaptation of S.T.A.G.S..

Given how long we’ve been reporting on the remake, which unlike other such projects has persisted over the years, I thought I’d go back through the archives and note how many times it came up…Sci-Fi Storm started in 2000, and the first reference we had to it was in 2003:

July 2003: First mention of Bryan Singer involved

May 2004: Singer confirmed to be directing and sharing writing duties, with Joel Silver producing.

2004-2005: Singer’s production pile keeps getting bigger, with Logan’s Run stuck near the bottom.

February 2006: Singer says he teamed with Christopher McQuarrie and they are finishing the script.

May 2006: Singer says he likely won’t direct.

August 2007: Joseph Kosinski attached to direct in place of Singer,

2008-2009: *crickets*

May 2010: Carl Rinsch named as director.

June 2010: Alex Garland in negotiations as writer.

November 2010: Carl Rinsch out as director, but strong script turned in by Garland.

February 2011: Ryan Gosling set to star with Nicholas Winding Refn directing. Will Beall at some point also works on the script.

November 2011: Yet another writer – Andrew Baldwin.

June 2013: Bioshock‘s Ken Levine takes over the script.

June 2015: Simon Kinberg now takes over script and joins as a producer.

June 2016: Colony co-creator Ryan Condal is next on the writer’s block. Kinberg still involved.

Fifteen years, but it’s always been Warner Bros. behind it, and I believe Joel Silver is still involved as well. Will the desire for young adult dystopian futures dry up before we see this? Or will we all be living in the City of Domes by then?

So, Marvel Studios asked on Twitter who excited people were to see Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th…

On a scale of one to infinity, how excited are you to see #InfinityWar on May 4th? pic.twitter.com/72jYKj2ODG

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) March 1, 2018

But Robert Downey Jr. wanted to see it earlier…with a few “friends”…

Any chance I could see it earlier?

— Robert Downey Jr (@RobertDowneyJr) March 1, 2018

Anything for you, Mr. Stark! How’s April 27th?

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) March 1, 2018

Great. With friends?

— Robert Downey Jr (@RobertDowneyJr) March 1, 2018

(continue reading…)