Sci-Fi Storm

All the major networks appear to have passed up David E. Kelley’s spec script for a modern take on Wonder Woman, and it appears unlikely anyone else will pick it up due to the expected costs. Deadline has the best analysis as to why each likely passed on it. ABC’s parent Disney now owns Marvel, while Wonder Woman is a DC Comics product, which is owned by Warner Bros. – but CW, jointly owned by CBS and WB, couldn’t afford it. It isn’t dead yet though, but in cold storage – Kelley could thaw it out a later time when the situation improves.

Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy) and David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) are creating a new TV series for The Hulk for Marvel TV and ABC Studios. It is del Toro’s first TV project (he previously had a first look deal with 20th TV, which apparently didn’t pan out), for which he will share story and created by credits with Eick, who will write the screenplay. Both will exec produce, with del Toro also directing if his schedule permits. Launch of the series is slated to occur after The Avengers (which features the Hulk) is released in theaters in July 2012, although it does not seem as if there will be a direct tie in, especially since they are aiming for a younger Bruce Banner. This Hulk will also not be 100% CGI, but a combination of CGI, prosthetics, and puppetry.

This was floating around the Twitterverse, but JMS confirmed it a short time ago on Facebook:

As reported: with the huge success of the Superman GN, DC wants to fast-track the next one. This will require a great deal of care, requiring me to step back from scripting the monthlies to focus on this. Those stories will continue to their conclusion, based on my outlines. I’m also taking this opportunity to take a 1-5 year sabbatical from writing comics to concentrate on GNs and miniseries.

And he followed up:
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Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comic series, which has long been in Development Hell for a movie, might finally get off the ground – as a TV series for Warner Bros., and Supernatural‘s Eric Kripke is tagged to produce.

A couple more tidbits (probably the last, until the chaos is digested): Chuck is gonna get a mom – and she is more than a match for his Dad, Scott Bakula – none other than Terminator-killer Linda Hamilton. Gone-toting bad-ass mercenary mom, anyone? Also, the “Guess who (or Who) is now over, with Mark Ruffalo getting the role for the upcoming The Avengers feature. And finally, Ronald D. Moore spoke about what Starbuck was: although intentionally left nebulous (the more specific he got when writing, “the less interesting she became”) Moore saw her as a godlike entity but didn’t like to be called God, having gone through a resurrection of sorts.

A limited-edition Dollhouse comic book will be included in both the [sfs=1040]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1041]DVD[/sfs] releases of Dollhouse: Season 2, due out on October 12th. The comic, titled Epitaphs, will explore the time period between the main show and the Epitaph 1 and Epitaph 2 episodes. Here is the synopsis:

Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, joined by longtime Buffy the Vampire Slayer artist Cliff Richards, take us on an intricate trip through the precise moment when the Active technology went global, and how the protagonists from Epitaph One and Two narrowly avoided death, and worse. Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen wrote the Epitaph episodes of Dollhouse Seasons One and Two, and currently write for the Starz series Spartacus. This is their first work in comics. Artist Cliff Richards has drawn more Joss Whedon-related comics than any other artist, including issues of Buffy Season Eight.

It appears that the big green guy’s alter ego will get a new face for the upcoming Avengers multi-superhero movie. Marvel has announced that Ed Norton will not return to the role of Bruce Banner that he himself took over from Eric Bana for The Incredible Hulk, with the producers opting to recast the role, alluding to wanting someone who might work better in an ensemble. Norton’s agent issued his own statement calling Marvel’s statement “offensive” and saying that Norton was “enthusiastic at the prospect of being a part of the ensemble cast.”

It looks like Judge Dredd will be returning to the big screen and bring law to the lawless. The script comes from Alex Garland (28 Days Later) and directed by Pete Travis (Endgame), with Garland, Andrew Macdonald of DNA Films, and Allon Reich, who teamed up before for 28 Weeks Later). And – surprise! – it will be in 3D. I may be in the minority, but I actually enjoyed the 1995 movie which starred Sylvester Stallone, for what it was at least…campy, much like Demolition Man.

DC Comics has announced that J. Michael Straczynski will take over as writer for both Superman (s\with issue #701) and Wonder Woman (issue #601). JMS says that “For as long as I’ve been doing conventions (starting in the early Cretaceous period […]) there has always been the same question from folks in the audience: “Is there any one character who is your dream character to write for?” The answer has always been the same: Superman.”

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. TO APPEAR ON “JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE: AFTER THE ACADEMY AWARDS®,” ALONG WITH A MUSICAL PERFORMANCE FROM GRAMMY® AWARD WINNER KEITH URBAN

Host Jimmy Kimmel welcomes two-time Academy Award®-nominated Robert Downey Jr. and a musical performance by Grammy Award® winner Keith Urban to the fifth consecutive “Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Academy Awards”, SUNDAY, MARCH 7, immediately following the late local news (12:05-1:05 a.m., ET, approx). Downey will introduce the world premiere of the new “Iron Man 2” trailer only moments before Urban performs his new hit single, “‘Til Summer Comes Around,” from his 2009 album, “Defying Gravity.”
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