Month: May 2020

When Disney announced it was buying the Deadpool series from Fox, the company said it would continue to release R-rated Deadpool films going forward. If that does come to fruition, it might not be anytime soon. Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld said in a recent interview that he’s not feeling very optimistic about the future of Deadpool, and he spoke critically of Marvel boss Kevin Feige’s direction of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Asked by Inverse if there was a possibility for a Deadpool/X-Force crossover movie, Liefeld said if it does happen, it won’t be soon.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Here’s what people don’t want to hear, but thank God I’m a realist. I feel like Deadpool, the movies, they’ve set sail. We got two brilliant movies, and we live in a culture that always looks forward because all they’re ever selling us is ‘next, next, next, next. Yeah, you like that? Here’s next. It’s the fever.”

“For me, as the fever calms down, people just need to chill out and realize that, dude, Deadpool 1 and 2 were released within two years of each other, 2016 and 2018, and I just can’t… I’m not really that crazy about Marvel’s plan right now,” he added.

For the first time since the MCU began, Liefeld is wondering if Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is on the right path for the direction of the franchise.

“It’s the first time I’ve gone, ‘Hey Feige, did you even have a plan?'” he said. “Your plan was Eternals and Shang-Chi? That was your plan. And Black Widow?”

If Marvel were to begin producing a new Deadpool movie right now, it would be four years before it would release, Liefeld said. “Know what their plan for Deadpool is right now? Goose egg. Zero. Zero!” he said.

In 2019, Deadpool 2 director David Leitch said Disney was trying to think of a plan to keep making Deadpool movies, but nothing was decided yet. “There’s a lot of mystery still surrounding what they want to do with Deadpool in [Disney’s] Marvel world but I think, from discussions that I’ve heard, it’s all positive,” he said. “I think that they’re just trying to figure a way in as Deadpool’s hard.”

Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds teased that Deadpool the character might join the MCU, though nothing is announced. When Disney bought the majority of Fox’s entertainment assets, it picked up all the X-Men characters.

As for Disney releasing an R-rated Deadpool movie, Disney boss Bob Iger confirmed that the studio will “continue in that business,” following Disney’s acquisition of Fox.

“We do believe there is room for the Fox properties to exist without significant Disney influence over the nature of the content, meaning that we see that there is certainly popularity amongst Marvel fans for the R-rated Deadpool films, as a for instance,” he said. “We’re going to continue in that business, and there might be room for more of that.”

The Deadpool series has experimented with a lower age-rating. In December 2018, Deadpool 2 was re-released in theatres with a PG-13 rating with Once Upon a Deadpool. The cut tones down or totally removes a number of violent and adult-themed scenes.

As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic continues, it remains unclear when TV shows will be able to resume production and begin filming new seasons to debut in the fall. As such, some networks are looking to airing shows that have previously been shown elsewhere. Earlier, it was announced that Fox would broadcast the first season of Bad Boys spin-off LA’s Finest, which currently airs on Spectrum. Now, The CW has added two streaming shows to its fall roster–including a DC Universe fan favorite.

The network will air the one and only season of Swamp Thing this fall. The series premiered on the DC Universe streaming service in 2019, but was canceled following the release of the first episode. The show stars Crystal Reed as Dr. Abby Arcane and Derek Mears as the titular Swamp Thing. This is the second DC Universe series to wind up on The CW, with episodes of the new series Stargirl also set to air on the network.

Additionally, The CW will air the CBS All Access original show Tell Me a Story. The anthology series was canceled on the streaming service after two seasons, but The CW plans to air all episodes. The network will also air the Canadian series Coroner, along with British comedy Dead Pixels. This will be the US debut for both shows.

These shows will join the series that were previously renewed by The CW, including The Flash, Riverdale, Supergirl, Batwoman, Legacies, Black Lightning, and Roswell, New Mexico. Supernatural, Arrow, and The 100 will not be returning. While Arrow has already wrapped up its final season, Supernatural and The 100 are set to wrap before the fall.

The filmmakers who made Tiger King are working on a follow-up to the surprise Netflix hit about big cat collector Joe Exotic–though new content may not entirely focus on Joe. According to a report by THR, the Tiger King filmmakers are now looking into the 2003 mauling of magician Roy Horn by a white tiger.

The Tiger King documentary set Netflix viewership records, according to Nielsen, so it’s no wonder there would be demand for more–even after the follow-up episode hosted by Joel McHale. Follow-ups from other companies investigating the same bizarre world are in the works from other networks and production companies, but Eric Goode, creator of the original Tiger King show is working on something new under the same name.

According to a call made to THR by a member of the Tiger King production team, work on a new episode is underway, with the aim to act as a balance for the parts of the original series that have been criticized for being too sensationalized. However a spokesperson for Goode Films when contacted by THR for comment said that it was “untrue that the direction is going in a more conservational route”.

No matter what tone the new episode or episodes are going for, it looks like the filmmakers are researching the 2003 mauling that ended Siegfried and Roy’s long-running Vegas show. Specifically, they appear to be trying to contact Chris Lawrence, Siegfried and Roy’s tiger handler at the time of the incident, who has since talked to THR about what happened, and the PTSD he experienced as a result.

While none of the details are all too certain at this point, the one thing that it seems we can count on is more episodes of Tiger King in our future–and not just the dramatization starring Nicolas Cage.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

The actor who played Pennywise the clown in the Stephen King’s It movies has signed on to star as another madman–but this time a real one. Netflix has announced that Bill Skarsgard will play the Swedish gangster Clark Olofsson in a six-episode Swedish language drama series called Clark.

Among other things, Olofsson is known for his association with the term Stockholm syndrome. During the Norrmalmstorg bank robbery in 1973, Olofsson was allowed out of prison to help negotiate the release of hostages. The hostages bonded with Olofsson and the captors, and subsequent studies on the case led to the popularity of the term Stockholm syndrome.

Oloffson has been convicted of numerous crimes, including attempted murder, drug trafficking, and assault.

Jonas Akerlund, who directed the Madonna music video for “Ray of Light” and earned a Grammy award for it, is directing the Clark TV show. Akerlund also directed the Mads Mikkelsen movie Polar.

Clark is based on Olofsson’s autobiography, Vafan var det som hände, and will contain both the “truth and lies” contained within the book that chronicles his early life up until the present day. Olofsson is currently 73 years old.

“Clark is the story about the most politically incorrect man, who lived the most politically incorrect life,” Akerlund said in a statement. “These are the kinds of stories I always look for. It’s an ultra-violent, witty, emotional, real, and surreal biography to put a face to the name Stockholm Syndrome, but it isn’t just about the Norrmalmstorg robbery. It’s about his whole life and what made him who he is, the truth and lies of his incredible career.”

Skarsgard said in his own statement that Olofsson is one of Sweden’s “most colorful and fascinating individuals.” He added: “Clark’s life and history is so incredible and screwed that it would even make Scorsese blush.”

The music for Clark is being composed by Mikael Åkerfeldt, who is the lead singer and guitarist for the Swedish metal band Opeth.

The Mandalorian is due to return for a second season on Disney + this October, but with the world currently gripped by a global pandemic, it’s reasonable to question whether this date is still locked in. But confirmation has come in that plans for The Mandalorian Season 2 have not changed–it’s still coming in October.

Speaking to Deadline, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek explained that the series wrapped shooting before the COVID-19 outbreak, and has been in post-production ever since. He promised that there would be “no delays on Mandalorian.”

This is good news, especially since there’s a possibility of characters from the Skywalker Saga appearing in season 2. Here’s everything else we know about the season.

In the interview, Chapek also talks about Disney’s continued commitment to releasing films in cinemas, and that he’s “optimistic” about the live-action Mulan’s new July 24 release date. He also says that the current crisis will not impact Disney + too much. “We have a certain amount of inventory for Disney+ that is fueling the machine,” he says. “Pre-production–the development phase–can still happen during these times of lockdown, post-production can still happen.”

Another new Star Wars film is in development under the watchful eye of a Mandalorian alumni–Taika Waititi, who directed the season 1 finale and played IG-11 in the series.