Sci-Fi Storm

Warner Bros TV are teaming up with Jerry Bruckheimer to adapt the DC Comics limited series Global Frequency, which has received a pilot commitment from Fox. Rockne S. O’Bannon (Farscape, Defiance) will pen the script.

Global Frequency was a [asin=B00B9OYON0]limited series comic[/asin] from Warren Ellis about an underground organization led by a former intelligence agent who calls herself Miranda Zero, who connects with a thousand members of the Global Frequency, chosen for their varied specialties, via specially modified phones to deal with any number of different crises. Although existence of the organization is known it’s members are not, even to each other, until they are called in for a particular case. The only constant characters are Zero and her dispatch coordinator, named Aleph.

This will actually be WBTV’s third attempt at a series for the title. in 2005 a Mark Burnett-led pilot starring Michelle Forbes (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Killing) as Zero and Aimee Garcia (Dexter) as Aleph, along with Josh Hopkins (Cougar Town), and looked promising (J. Michael Straczynski was already lined up to be showrunner) but ultimately was not picked up to series. Another script was floated for the CW several years ago but a pilot was never commissioned.

The leak of the trailer last week may have squelched the intended debut of the trailer on Marve’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. last night a bit, but Marvel did give us a bonus – a scene clip, originally shown at SDCC, that leads us into the trailer…

Marvel is staking out its claim for dates as much as 5 years out, setting release dates for more sequels and the Phase 3 titles. This includes a third Avengers movie, which will be split into two.

Here is a quick rundown [The initial version of this article neglected to list Captain Marvel due to an editing error]:

2016:

• May 6th: Captain America 3: Civil War, which will introduce Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman (42)
• November 4th: Doctor Strange

2017:

• November 3rd: Black Panther

2018:

• May 4th: Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1
• June 8th: Captain Marvel, Marvel’s first female-lead superhero movie, based on the Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers version
• November 8th: The Inhumans

2019:

• May 3rd: Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2

As Disney/Marvel continue to mine the comic giant’s deep field of characters, next up in the production slate of “Phase 2” (outside the Avengers set) is Doctor Strange, and most recently the lead actor being talked to was Joaquin Phoenix. That died earlier this month, so it was back to the drawing board – and Deadline now reports that their choice for the role is none other than everyone’s pick for every role, Benedict Cumberbatch (who honestly seems like a much better fit to us anyways.) Negotiations are expected to start soon.

The character of Doctor Strange is a former egotistical neurosurgeon who after becoming severely injured in a car crash to the point he could no longer conduct surgery and falls into bankruptcy trying to repair his hands, finds his way tho a hermit known only as the Ancient One – who after a selfless act by Strange teaches him the mystic arts. Strange then becomes the Sorcerer Supreme — the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats.

In case you haven’t seen it yet…oh my…but why do I feel depressed?

Metal Hurlant Chronicles, an anthology series that has had two limited runs and was recently aired on Syfy in the U.S., will get a reboot of sorts as they change format to an arc-based serial series, telling a story over the course of a season.

The first two seasons were of independent stories, loosely (and I mean VERY loosely) tied together with an asteroid called the Metal Hurlant that passed by the planet on which they story was taking place, changing the lives of those that it encountered. It based on the Metal Hurlant anthology comic/magazine series.

The idea behind the format switch is to allow time for the audience and characters to connect, “and where we could explore the mythology of the Métal Hurlant,” according to creator/producer Guillaume Lubrano.

In an anthology series, like with The Outer Limits, there is the very limited time to get the audience interested in what they are seeing. It requires strong stories and actors who can engage with the audience quickly. But there is also the regret that if you do make that connection, the audience might regret that they won’t see those characters again (unless there is the rare sequel story, or even rarer spin-off to a series.) In addition, you have a very limited time to tell the story. By switching to the arc format, recently successful with the American Horror Story series, you have more time to develop depth in the characters and weave a more interesting story.

Jamie Mathieson (Being Human, Doctor Who) will write the script, which will be a co-production between Atlantique Productions and the producers of the original series, WE Productions.

DC finally appears to be gearing up to go head to head with Marvel. According to the returning Nikke Finke, DC has set a release plan that explains the delay of Batman vs. Superman – to better launch the upcoming Justice League, DC’s answer to The Avengers. It also includes a few new items, such as Shazam (a.k.a. Captain Marvel), the long-gestating Wonder Woman, and a Flash/Green Lantern crossover that reportedly will NOT feature Ryan Reynolds (honestly, I think it gets a bad rap…I enjoyed it) and not sure how it will deal with the upcoming WB series.

The reported schedule is:

May 2016 – Batman vs. Superman
July 2016 – Shazam
Xmas 2016 – Sandman
May 2017 – Justice League
July 2017 – Wonder Woman
Xmas 2017 – Flash and Green Lantern team-up
May 2018 – Man Of Steel 2

In addition, Justice League will feature cameos that will launch further standalone movies, but those are still being negotiated with potential stars.

It appears that Marvel has decided to part ways with director Edgar Wright and get Ant-Man back on track. In a joint statement they say the split is “amicable”, but word on the street is that the studio and Shaun Of The Dead director Wright have been at odds for a while and it deteriorated recently over creative differences. A replacement has yet to be named, but Marvel says the release date of July 17th, 2015 will be unaffected.

Lawsuits seem to never end in Hollywood, but these might be on life support…

In the never-ending battle between the estate of Joe Shuster and Warner Bros. over rights to the character of Superman, it may have finally reached a conclusion (barring an escalation to the Supreme Court) after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied petitions by the estate for a rehearing and a rehearing en banc (by the whole court instead of a panel of judges), which essentially marks the end of the road for appeals, and a top court challenge seems unlikely.

While Avatar hasn’t been around nearly as long as Superman, it seems to make up for the long line of people suing James Cameron claiming it lifted their ideas, although one by one they get tossed aside (here is the most recent one we reported on.) Now another one gets tossed aside. Bryant Moore’s $2.5 billion lawsuit against Cameron, 20th Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment was dismissed in summary judgement yesterday. The court said that while “certain limited commonalities” existed between Avatar and Moore’s screenplays he says were submitted to Cameron’s Lightstorm in 1993 and 1994, Cameron provided “a comprehensive declaration that specifically addresses Moore’s allegations and points to past projects and other sources of inspiration from which he drew in writing Avatar.”

Now that both Star Wars and Marvel are one under the Mouse, it is no surprise that today Marvel announced that the license for Star Wars comics will return to Marvel, where it began in 1977 and lasted for 9 years. After a break, Dark Horse picked up the license in 1991, and has been publishing Star Wars comics ever since, including some highly acclaimed stories, and most recently, “The Star Wars #1”, based on George Lucas’ original rough draft. Marvel will publish new comics starting in 2015.

From the announcement:

The Walt Disney Company’s Lucasfilm Ltd. and Marvel Entertainment are joining forces to bring new Star Wars adventures to readers across the galaxy, with Marvel granted exclusive rights to create and publish Star Wars comics and graphic novels beginning in 2015.

The agreement marks a homecoming for the Star Wars comic books. Marvel Comics published the first Star Wars comic book, STAR WARS #1, in March 1977, which went on to sell more than 1 million copies. Marvel Comics published its STAR WARS series for nine years. In 1991, Dark Horse Comics took over the license, publishing fan-favorite titles like Dark Empire and Star Wars: Legacy. Last year, Dark Horse released The Star Wars #1, an adaptation of George Lucas’ original rough-draft screenplay for the film, garnering rave reviews and national media attention and ranking among the top-selling Star Wars comics of all time.

“Dark Horse Comics published exceptional Star Wars comics for over 20 years, and we will always be grateful for their enormous contributions to the mythos, and the terrific partnership that we had,” said Carol Roeder, director of Lucasfilm franchise publishing, Disney Publishing Worldwide. “In 2015, the cosmic adventures of Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca will make the lightspeed jump back to Marvel, to begin a new age of adventures within the Star Wars universe.

“We here at Marvel could not be more excited to continue the publication of Star Wars comic books and graphic novels,” said Marvel Worldwide Publisher and President, Dan Buckley. “The perennial brand of Star Wars is one of the most iconic in entertainment history and we are honored to have the opportunity to bring our creative talent pool to continue, and expand Star Wars into galaxies far, far away.”

“We’re incredibly excited by this next chapter in the Star Wars saga,” said Andrew B. Sugerman, executive vice president of Disney Publishing Worldwide. “Bringing together the iconic Lucasfilm and Marvel brands to tell new stories will allow us to continue to thrill lovers of the original Star Wars comic books and entertain generations to come.”