Warner Bros. Animation has revealed its lineup of DC animated features for 2021 as part of a panel for their newest title “Superman: Man of Tomorrow” which was released digitally this past weekend.
Then, spread across the back half of 2021, will come a two-part animated adaptation of one of the most celebrated Batman storylines of all time – “Batman: The Long Halloween”.
Each part will be released a few months apart (one in the Summer, one in the Fall) and nicely service the launch of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” in October 2021, a film which seems to take a bit of influence from that comic story and its follow-up “Dark Victory”.
Source: Superhero Hype
Source: “Batman: Long Halloween” Becomes DCAU Film – Dark Horizons
Sony Pictures has acquired the film rights to AfterShock Comics’ new title “The Kaiju Score” with plans to adapt it into a feature film to be co-produced with Escape Artists.
The story follows the most dangerous heist ever attempted where four desperate criminals are going all-in on a once-in-a-lifetime chance to steal millions in art and turn their miserable lives around.
The catch? They have to pull it off under the nose of a one thousand-ton kaiju. And a giant monster might just be the least of their problems.
Writer James Patrick (“Death Comes to Dillinger,” “The Monsters of Jimmy Crumb”) and artist Rem Broo (“The End Times of Bram and Ben”) created the comic while Tony Shaw, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, Lee Kramer and Jon Kramer will produce the film.
Source: Sony Adapting “The Kaiju Score” To Film – Dark Horizons
From Warner Bros. Pictures comes “The Batman,” with director Matt Reeves (the “Planet of the Apes” films) at the helm and with Robert Pattinson (“Tenet,” “The Lighthouse,” “Good Time”) starring as Gotham City’s vigilante detective, Batman, and billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Also in the star-studded ensemble as Gotham’s famous and infamous cast of characters are Zoë Kravitz (“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “Mad Max: Fury Road”) as Selina Kyle; Paul Dano (“Love & Mercy,” “12 Years a Slave”) as Edward Nashton; Jeffrey Wright (the “Hunger Games” films) as the GCPD’s James Gordon; John Turturro (the “Transformers” films) as Carmine Falcone; Peter Sarsgaard (“The Magnificent Seven,” “Black Mass”) as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Barry Keoghan (“Dunkirk”) as Officer Stanley Merkel; Jayme Lawson (“Farewell Amor”) as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; with Andy Serkis (the “Planet of the Apes” films, “Black Panther”) as Alfred; and Colin Farrell (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Dumbo”) as Oswald Cobblepot.
“The Batman” was written by Matt Reeves & Peter Craig. Reeves and Dylan Clark (the “Planet of the Apes” films) are producing the film, with Simon Emanuel, Michael E. Uslan, Walter Hamada and Chantal Nong Vo serving as executive producers. Reeves’ behind-the-scenes creative team includes Oscar-nominated director of photography Greig Fraser (“Lion,” upcoming “Dune”); his “Planet of the Apes” production designer, James Chinlund; editors William Hoy (the “Planet of the Apes” films) and Tyler Nelson (“Rememory”); Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Dan Lemmon (“The Jungle Book”); Oscar-nominated SFX supervisor Dominic Tuohy (“1917,” “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker”); Oscar-nominated sound mixer Stuart Wilson (“1917,” the “Star Wars” franchise); Oscar-winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran (“1917,” “Little Women,” “Anna Karenina”) and costume designers Glyn Dillon (the “Star Wars” franchise) and David Crossman (“1917,” the “Star Wars” franchise); hair designer Zoe Tahir (upcoming “No Time to Die,” “Spectre”); and Oscar-nominated makeup designer Naomi Donne (“1917”).
Based on characters from DC. Batman was created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger. “The Batman” is set to open in theaters October 1, 2021 in select 3D and 2D and IMAX theaters and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Yesterday I received the heart breaking news that a very close friend of mine, Jason Graham, had passed away. Some of you might of know Jason from his Lamentations of the Grognard column here on the site. But my adventures with him started 36 years ago.
Jason and I first met in 7th grade art class. It was there that he introduced me to the game Dungeons and Dragons. We spent most of our time in that class either playing, creating characters, planning campaigns, or painting miniatures. Somehow we managed to get passing grades for being creative. He introduced me into a world that said don’t be ashamed to be a geek. He helped me to open my eyes and change my point of view on my life.
Jason moved away later in the year and we didn’t meet up again until we were in our 30’s. That initial meet up was great. It was like we were never apart. We spent hours catching up and geeking out. It was like that everytime we got together and it eventually lead to him being a writer on this site.
Jason was an extremely passionate and intelligent man. He had a big heart and a love for D&D to match. It was easy to get pulled into his world. And once you were there you never wanted to leave. He changed my life. A lot of who I am today was thanks to him. It’s a debt I could never repay, no matter how hard I might try.
I regret the years we were apart and the times I couldn’t join any of his campaigns. But I will remember the 24hr day we spent sitting next to each other at 4 Color Fantasies making our artists lives horrible. I will also remember the 12hr D&D session we spent with our friends having an awesome campaign that left my character in limbo, still waiting to be revived. And who can forget his Mead.
Jason was a writer, web designer, world creator, Dungeon Master, brewer, father, husband, singer, HP Lovecraft addict, and mad genius. But most importantly he was my friend. I will miss him dearly.
I hope he’s up there giving Gary Gygax lessons on how to DM and having the campaign of ages.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SDCC will be virtual this year. Fear of large crowds as well as the inability to use the Gaslamp district has caused the convention giant to stream live. Here is the schedule of events that has been released. Beware, as has been made evident by tickets sales for previous years, SDCC servers may become overloaded fast and cause some lag time. Hopefully, they will have all the bugs worked out before then.
Thursday, July 23rd:
10am: All CBS All Access’ “Star Trek” Series
11am: “Solar Opposites” (Hulu)
12pm: “Truth Seekers” (Amazon Prime)
12pm: “Duncanville” (FOX)
1pm: “His Dark Materials” (HBO)
1pm: “A Look Inside Marvel’s 616” (Disney+)
1pm: “Utopia” (Amazon Prime)
2pm: “Upload” (Amazon Prime)
2pm: Kosinski, Trevorrow, Rodriguez Panel
3pm: “Close Enough” (HBO Max)
3pm: “Superstore” (NBC)
3pm: “The Boys” (Amazon Prime)
Friday, July 24th:
10am: Charlize Theron: Evolution of a Badass
10am: “Summer Camp Island,” “The Fungies,” “Tig N’ Seek” (HBO Max)
11am: “Adventure Time: Distant Lands – BMO” (HBO Max)
11am: “Vikings” (History)
12pm: “Fear the Walking Dead” (AMC)
12pm: “Infinity Train” (HBO Max)
1pm: “The Walking Dead” (AMC)
2pm: “The Walking Dead: World Beyond” (AMC)
3pm: “Helstrom” (Hulu)
3pm: “The Capture” (Peacock)
3pm: “Robot Chicken,” “Final Space,” “Primal” and “Samurai Jack” (HBO Max)
4pm: “Bob’s Burgers” (FOX)
4pm: “Crossing Swords” (Hulu)
5pm: “Archer” (FXX)
5pm: “Pandora” (The CW)
Saturday, July 25th:
10am: “Cosmos: Possible Worlds” (FOX)
11am: “The Simpsons” (FOX)
12pm: “Bless the Harts (FOX)
12pm: “Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe”
1pm: “Constantine” 15th Anniversary Film Reunion
1pm: “American Dad” (FOX)
1pm: “Antlers” with GDT & Scott Cooper
1pm: “The Right Stuff: The Series” (Disney+)
2pm: “Family Guy” (FOX)
2pm: “For All Mankind” (Apple TV+)
3pm: “The Order” (Netflix)
3pm: “Bill & Ted Face the Music”
4pm: “Stumptown” (ABC)
5pm: “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
Sunday, July 26th:
10am: “Hoops” (Netflix)
11am: “Next” (FOX)
2pm: A Conversation with Nathan Fillion
Source: Comic-Con At Home 2020 Event Schedule – Dark Horizons
Matt Reeves’ upcoming “The Batman” film is going multi-platform.
HBO Max has handed out a series commitment to Warner Bros. Television for an original DC drama set within the Gotham City police department.
Said project will be set in the same world Reeves is creating for “The Batman” and will build upon the film’s examination of the anatomy of corruption in Gotham City, along with exploring the myriad of complex characters of Gotham.
Reeves will executive produce, as will “Boardwalk Empire” creator Terence Winter who will also pen the series which sounds very akin to the “Gotham Central” comic. Dylan Clark also executive produces.
Reeves says in a statement: “This is an amazing opportunity, not only to expand the vision of the world I am creating in the film, but to explore it in the kind of depth and detail that only a longform format can afford – and getting to work with the incredibly talented Terence Winter, who has written so insightfully and powerfully about worlds of crime and corruption, is an absolute dream.”
This marks the first project for Reeves under his recently announced major overall deal with the Warner Bros. Television Group. It is not clear whether Batman will be among the characters on the show.
Source: “The Batman” Gets Companion HBO Max Series – Dark Horizons