Sci-Fi Storm

Warner Bros has decided to push back the release of Wonder Woman 1984 back to June 5th, 2020, from its original release date of November 1st, 2019. This gives more clearance for its comic cousin movie, the Joachin Phoenix-starrer Joker, which opens October 4th, and also puts Wonder Woman back at the start of the summer movie season, where it had opened previously.

The slot had previously been occupied by the long-in-development Six Million Dollar Man, with Mark Wahlberg set to star, but it is currently pulled from the release schedule while they still seek a director.

Just wanted to give a bit of an update…I know there hasn’t been a lot of news from me lately, and I apologize. Life has been extremely busy, and as part of that I’ve started a new project – not really related to anything here, it’s actually a technical project involving turning a Raspberry Pi computer into a weather information system and hopefully a home “integration” system. I haven’t even posted anything about that yet because I’ve been too busy…but it has lights, a touch screen, and it even talks.

In the meantime Sci-Fi Storm turned 18 years old, and I’m at least hoping to make it old enough to drink 🙂

I do have an interview coming I did with an old friend, which I hope to have out this weekend – but transcribing is a slow process for me, and that whole busy thing…and I’ll be heading to Super Megafest in Framingham, MA Sunday to meet up with my childhood, personified by Lost In Space stars Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, Angela Cartwright and Bill Mumy…I’ve met the former two before, but this will be the first time I’ve met the latter two.

In the meantime – hey, look, it’s the news!

Jodie Whittaker made her Doctor debut in Doctor Who on Sunday as did new showrunner Chris Chibnall, and by all measurements it was a rousing success. We found her portrayal wonderfully manic, and we accept her totally. I can see where her fast Yorkshire speech might be some trouble to understand for some viewers though. And we like the new ensemble of companions as well. Can’t wait to see where it goes…in the U.S., it scored 1.4 million viewers and a 0.5 rating in the 18-49 demo for BBC America, up 48% from the Series 12 premiere, Peter Capaldi’s last, 18 months previous. It also beats David Tennant’s and Matt Smith’s debuts.

And some interesting news – James Gunn, after being unceremoniously expelled from his Guardians of the Galaxy chair by Disney after revelations of some old controversial tweets, appears set to join the other comic universe – in this case the DC universe, and in particular write and perhaps direct Suicide Squad 2. Gavin O’Connor was set to direct but is now working with Ben Affleck on a non-DC film at Warner Bros. This would seem to mean any possible reconciliation between Gunn and Disnwy is over, although who will take over for Guardians is still up in the air.

I woke up this morning to this sad news: actor Scott Wilson, who played Hershel Greene, the father and calming voice in the group in The Walking Dead for a few seasons, passed away last night at the age of 76.

We are deeply saddened to report that Scott Wilson, the incredible actor who played Hershel on #TheWalkingDead, has passed away at the age of 76. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest in paradise, Scott. We love you! pic.twitter.com/guNI7zSqDZ

— The Walking Dead (@TheWalkingDead) October 7, 2018

Wilson played many other roles over the course of 50 years, most recently in the series Damien and The OA. The role I remember him most aside from The Walking Dead was a Pa, the patriarch of the Angel family, scavengers and cannibals in the Cursed Earth in 1995’s Judge Dredd.

He was at a convention in Rhode Island a few years back. I didn’t get to meet him because his line was so long, the convention staff had no idea how to handle it, as it was longer than most of their headlining guests, but he greeted everyone with a smile and will remembered as a very kind and friendly person.

Captain America is hanging up his shield.

Actor Chris Evans said farewell in a tweet today:

“Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day to say the least. Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful.”

Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day to say the least. Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful.

— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) October 4, 2018

We finally have some details – and a title – on the upcoming Star Wars live-action series from Jon Favreau, thanks to the director himself.

The Mandalorian will be the title, and as you might guess it follows a Mandalorian – but not one of the few we’ve met so far. “After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic,” according to Favreau’s Instagram post.

Still no idea when the series may premiere, but it will be on Disney’s new streaming service, which won’t kick off for about another year.

In a surprise announcement today, Netflix will produce a new films and series based on The Chronicles of Narnia stories by C.S. Lewis, with Mark Gordon of Entertainment One (eOne), Douglas Gresham (Lewis’ stepson) and Vincent Sieber representing the C.S. Lewis Company as executive producers for series and producers for films.

“C.S. Lewis’ beloved Chronicles of Narnia stories have resonated with generations of readers around the world,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, Netflix. “Families have fallen in love with characters like Aslan and the entire world of Narnia, and we’re thrilled to be their home for years to come.”

“It is wonderful to know that folks from all over are looking forward to seeing more of Narnia, and that the advances in production and distribution technology have made it possible for us to make Narnian adventures come to life all over the world,” said Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis. “Netflix seems to be the very best medium with which to achieve this aim, and I am looking forward to working with them towards this goal.”

“Narnia is one of those rare properties that spans multiple generations and geographies,” said Mark Gordon, eOne’s President and Chief Content Officer, Film & Television. “eOne and I are excited to be collaborating with The C.S. Lewis Company and Netflix who have the capacity to translate the Narnia universe into both stellar feature-length and episodic programming. We cannot wait to get started on the multiple productions we hope to undertake.”

Exactly how things will break down between series and films is not immediately known. How this affects the planned Silver Chair adaptation, which had Mark Gordon attached via his Mark Gordon Company and set up at Sony, is also unknown, but it would appear that any continuation from the previous films as produced by Walden Media is dead, and this would more than likely be a true reboot and logically restart with The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

Babylon 5 appears to be making a resurgence through available means lately, having appeared on Amazon Prime this past Spring, and now it returns to the airwaves tonight on Comet TV.

Comet TV can be often be found on a subchannel of one of your local broadcast stations. Check their website to see where it might be in your area. Don’t have a broadcaster or don’t have an antenna? You can still get Comet TV via Roku, Apple TV, YouTube TV or even streaming on the web site!

Alas, there still appears to be no movement within Warner Bros to do anything new with the show. But perhaps if it becomes popular via these various channels, they may see the light at the end of the jumpgate… <*>