Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Inspired by the iconic mid-1990s DC story from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One begins as a brutal murder on Halloween prompts Gotham’s young vigilante, the Batman, to form a pact with the city’s only two uncorrupt lawmen (Police Captain James Gordan and District Attorney Harvey Dent) in order to take down The Roman, head of the notorious and powerful Falcone Crime Family. But when more deaths occur on Thanksgiving and Christmas, it becomes clear that, instead of ordinary gang violence, they’re also dealing with a serial killer – the identity of whom, with each conflicting clue, grows harder to discern. Few cases have ever tested the wits of the World’s Greatest Detective like the mystery behind the Holiday Killer.
Lauded for his performance as Red Hood/Jason Todd in 2010’s Batman Under the Red Hood, Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, Smallville) returns to the DC Universe Movies as the title character of Batman/Bruce Wayne.
The late Naya Rivera (Glee), who passed away in 2020, gives one of her final performances as Catwoman/Selina Kyle. The all-star cast includes Josh Duhamel (Transformers, Las Vegas) as Harvey Dent, Billy Burke (Twilight, Revolution, Zoo) as James Gordon, Titus Welliver (Bosch, Deadwood, The Town) as Carmine Falcone, David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad, Ant-Man, Dune, The Dark Knight) as Calendar Man, Troy Baker (The Last of Us, Batman: Arkham Knight) as Joker, Amy Landecker (Your Honor, Transparent) as Barbara Gordon, Julie Nathanson (Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay) as Gilda Dent, Jack Quaid (The Boys, The Hunger Games) as Alberto, Fred Tatasciore (American Dad!, Family Guy) as Solomon Grundy and Alastair Duncan (The Batman, Batman Unlimited franchise) as Alfred. Additional voices provided by Frances Callier, Greg Chun, Gary Leroi Gray and Jim Pirri.
Chris Palmer (Superman: Man of Tomorrow) directs Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One from a screenplay by Tim Sheridan (Reign of the Supermen, Superman: Man of Tomorrow). Producers are Jim Krieg (Batman: Gotham by Gaslight) and Kimberly S. Moreau (Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Butch Lukic (Justice Society: World War II, Superman: Man of Tomorrow) is Supervising Producer. Executive Producer is Michael Uslan. Sam Register is Executive Producer.
The influential story, along with offering a Harvey Dent/Two-Face origin story, was famous for its showing how Gotham went from a city controlled by rival organised crime families to one overrun by costumed crazy types.
It used multiple villains as side characters in essentially a whodunit thriller, and was a big influence both on Chris Nolan’s Batman trilogy and Matt Reeves’ upcoming “The Batman”.
Jensen Ackles leads the cast as the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne alongside Josh Duhamel as Harvey Dent, Billy Burke as James Gordon, Titus Welliver as Carmine Falcone, David Dastmalchian as Calendar Man, and Troy Baker as The Joker.
There’s also Amy Landecker as Barbara Gordon, Julie Nathanson as Gilda Dent, Jack Quaid as Alberto Falcone, Fred Tatasciore as Solomon Grundy, Alastair Duncan as Alfred Pennyworth, and the late Naya Rivera as Catwoman.
Frances Callier, Greg Chun, Gary Leroi Gray, and Jim Pirri also lend their voices to the film. The first of the films is expected to arrive this spring or summer.
Chris Palmer (“Superman: Man of Tomorrow”) is directing from a script that reteams him with Tim Sheridan. Jim Krieg and Kimberly S. Moreau are producing.
Source: “Batman: Long Halloween” Voice Cast Set – Dark Horizons
Sony Pictures and PlayStation Production are developing a film adaptation, with John Wick’s’ Chad Stahelski to direct. Ghost of Tsushima is set in feudal Japan during the first Mongol invasion in 1274 and follows protagonist Jin Sakai, one of the last remaining samurai warriors, who becomes a ghost fighter in order to ward off the brutal enemies.
Stahelski, Alex Young and Jason Spitz are producing the film adaptation through their company 87ElevenEntertainment. Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan will produce on behalf of PlayStation Productions. Sucker Punch Productions will serve as executive producers.
Peter Kang is overseeing the project on behalf of Sony Pictures. Ghost of Tsushima is the second film to come out of the partnership between Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions, with Uncharted now in post-production and set to be released on Feb. 11, 2022.
Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions is also developing the TV series The Last of Us for HBO, with Craig Mazin attached to write and executive produce, as well as action comedy Twisted Metal, based on an original take by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
“We’re excited to be partnering with Chad and 87Eleven Entertainment, to bring their vision of Jin’s story to the big screen. We love working with creative partners like Chad, who have a passion for our games, ensuring we can create rich adaptations that will excite our fans and new audiences,” Asad Qizilbash, head of PlayStation Productions, said in a statement.
Stahelski is set to shoot John Wick 4, after directing the first three films. The films have surpassed $600 million worldwide in box office for Lionsgate.
Stahelski is also in development on a reboot of the cult classic Highlander, as well as the John Wick spin-off Ballerina with Len Wiseman attached to direct. He is also developing Classified at New Line.
Source: ‘Ghost of Tsushima’: Chad Stahelski to Direct Movie Adaptation | Hollywood Reporter
James Tynion IV’s comic book The Department of Truth is heading to screens.
Sister, the production banner co-founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone, has picked up both the film and television rights to the title, drawn by Martin Simmonds and published by Image Comics.
Tynion and Simmonds will exec produce.
A comic that couldn’t be more timely, Truth deals with the idea of how conspiracy theories that take hold can shape the fabric of reality. The story focuses on a former FBI agent who joins a mysterious government organization that deals with conspiracies ranging from faked moon landings or the idea that the Earth is flat to politicized beliefs involving paid crisis actors and faked school shootings. The book has earned rave reviews and comparisons to the books released by DC’s acclaimed Vertigo imprint in the 1990s.
Sister is the creator-focused venture that has been involved with shows such as Sky/HBO’s Chernobyl and Sky/AMC’s Gangs of London and has invested in Molly Stern’s publishing initiative Zando, LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Springhill Entertainment, podcast studio Campside Media and comic and digital publisher AWA Studios. The company has also picked up rights to books such as James McBride’s Deacon King Kong and Lydia Millet’s A Children’s Bible: A Novel.
Tynion has been writing various Batman books for DC since the early 2010s. He rose not only through the DC ranks but also made a name for himself in the creator-owned space with titles such as The Woods and Something Is Killing the Children, the latter one of the best-selling books that indie publisher Boom! has put out. He recently took over writing duties on Batman, which is DC’s top title.
The search is on for yet another actor to play the role of John Constantine for a new series in early development at HBO Max. Guy Bolton is currently attached to write the show.
Said series will also tie into the “Justice League Dark” series currently in the works at the streamer, a series that has J.J. Abrams executive producing through his Bad Robot label.
That show will boast characters like Swamp Thing, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, and Doctor Mist. It’s speculated HBO Max may follow the Netflix Marvel strategy and do shows focusing on individual characters first before the team-up show.
Keanu Reeves played the character in the 2005 film “Constantine,” but the most well-known portrayal to date has been Matt Ryan who has taken on the role across three different series – NBC’s “Constantine” along with The CW’s “Arrow” and “Legends of Tomorrow”.
More recently, “Rocketman” and “Kingsman” star Taron Egerton voiced the role in an Audible adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman,” while a Netflix live-action series based on that property is expected to include the character – though no-one has been announced for that version as yet.
Source: Variety
Source: HBO Max Developing “Constantine” Series – Dark Horizons