Oscar Isaac casts doubts on whether or not he’d return to the galaxy far, far away. David Koepp teases his still-alive Bride of Frankenstein remake. Warner Bros. is bringing The Halloween Tree to the big screen. Plus, get a look at Studio Ghibli’s new CG movie, and Doom Patrol battles the terrifyingly disco Doctor Tyme. Spoilers now!
The Halloween Tree
Deadline reports Warner Bros. is now developing a live-action film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree with Will Dunn attached to write the screenplay. The original story concerns a group of trick-or-treaters who must rescue their friend, Pip, from The Land of the Dead with help from a mysterious man named Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud.
The Bride of Frankenstein
Appearing as a guest on The Boo! Crew podcast, David Koepp revealed his Bride of Frankenstein remake will deal with themes of life extension and bodily autonomy.
I just gave Universal a new draft about a month ago and they seem to really like it and they’re talking to directors. It’s become the story of how are we extending our lives; can we create life, can we cheat death? It only gets more and more relevant over time. The big life extension work right now that’s being out in Silicon Valley is overwhelming, impressive and scary, and I feel like a present day version of that is begging to be made.
The other thing is she is a woman who is not created but resurrected, and certain people feel ownership over her, and that almost too relevant today in the era of #metoo. What are her rights as a person, the person that exists, if you were dead? There are a lot of really interesting questions that are raised. Again, it’s horror effortlessly lending itself to metaphor.
Star Wars
In a recent Deadline panel with Paul Schrader, Oscar Isaac stated he’d only return to the Star Wars franchise if he “needed a new house or something.”
If I need another house or something. It’s not really what I set out to do. What I set out to do was to make handmade movies, and to work with people that inspire me. Paul [Schrader]’s movies, the things that he’s made, it’s in my DNA. I’m not alone, obviously. [For] every actor of a certain generation, those are the films that made them who they are, so that’s certainly my case. It feels like for me a personal turning point and that, as far as I’m concerned, it has nothing to do with the finished product. It’s the process of doing this.
Aya and the Witch
/Film has new images from Studio Ghibli’s first-ever fully-CG animated feature, Aya and the Witch. Head over there to see the rest.
Parallax
Reality takes a holiday in the trailer for Parallax (not to be confused with the DC Comics villain), opening July 10 in select global theatres.
Stranger Things
In a recent interview with Deadline, the Duffer Brothers teased “a couple of cool” celebrity guest stars in the next season.
We have a couple of cool ones this year. It’s a really fun way to meet one of your icons. You know, write a part for them and see if they want to do it.
[Deadline]
The Smurfs
Nickelodeon has ordered a CG reboot of The Smurfs from Alvin and the Chipmunks’ writers Peter Saisselin and Amy Serafin with William Renaud (Casper’s Scare School) attached to direct. [TV Line]
Stargirl
Speaking with Comic Book, Geoff Johns shared his thoughts on the “yin and yang” between Hourman and Doctor Mid-Nite.
If you’re going to have Courtney actively recruiting… like Hourman and Doctor Mid-Nite kind of always felt like a yin and yang to me because you have one that’s very physical and one that’s very intellectual. And I always saw them as The Flash and Green Lantern of the JSA and even when Rick and Beth joined Infinity Inc., they did it in the same issue. They just felt, they’ve always felt like they were this interesting pair that, to me, that they look cool together, they were very different, they approach things differently.”
Rex was an extrovert and Charles McNider was an introvert. They had these great dynamics between these two and I love the characters for that. And I felt like when we were introducing them both, if Courtney was actively pursuing Rick, well, then we’d have Beth, as she’s trying to recruit one person, while somebody else is kind of recruiting herself, is getting involved herself.
The 100
The 100 gets a backdoor pilot for a prequel series with the synopsis for “Anaconda” airing July 9.
THE PAST – Clarke (Eliza Taylor) confronts a new adversary. A surprising connection takes us back to the past and the nuclear apocalypse that destroyed the Earth. Bob Morley, Marie Avgeropoulos, Lindsey Morgan, Richard Harmon, Tasya Teles, Shannon Kook, JR Bourne, Shelby Flannery and Chuku Modu also star. Ed Fraiman directed the episode written by Jason Rothenberg (#713).
Doom Patrol
KSiteTV has photos from the first two episodes of Doom Patrol’s second season, “Fun Size Patrol” and “Tyme Patrol.” Click on the relevant episode title for more.
The Twilight Zone
The latest promo for the second season of The Twilight Zone includes brief glimpses of new footage.
Harley Quinn
Finally, a promo for this week’s season finale of Harley Quinn provides no new footage, instead, encouraging fans to catch up on DC Universe.
Banner art by Jim Cooke.