Author: Trafficblast

HBO Developing A Time To Kill Sequel As Limited Series

It’s only been a few months since John Grisham published A Time For Mercy, the follow-up to his 1989 classic A Time To Kill, but it’s looking like it’ll get a screen adaptation soon. According to sources cited by Deadline, HBO has acquired rights to 2020’s A Time For Mercy in order to adapt it as a limited series, and Matthew McConaughey is in final negotiations to reprise his role from the 1996 film.

While not confirmed at this point by HBO, Deadline’s sources claim the plan is to adapt the book as an eight-to-ten episode limited series. HBO has apparently tapped Lorenzo di Bonaventura to produce, who was an executive at Warner Bros in the 90s when A Time To Kill was made.

While Grisham has written three books in the A Time To Kill series, with each following McConaughey’s character attorney Jake Brigance, the second book, Sycamore Row, has never been adapted. When McConaughey promoted the release of A Time For Mercy on his Instagram last year it gave fans hope that he would return to the iconic role, and now it’s looking like that chance will become a reality.

In the latest book, A Time For Mercy, Brigance returns as the main character, this time taking on the case of Drew Gamble, a shy 16-year-old boy on trial for the murder of a local deputy. With the townsfolk calling for the death penalty, Brigance finds there is more to the case than meets the eye.

With sources saying HBO is still looking for writers and a director, the sequel adaptation is likely to be a while off yet.

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Game Devs Of Color Expo Returns This September

Following the success of the all-online Game Devs Of Color Expo last September, the event will be returning in its online-only format in 2021. GDoCExpo has announced that it will take place on September 23-27 this year, with submissions now open for both games and speakers.

GDoCExpo is now in its sixth year, with the Expo normally taking place at the Schomburg Center in Harlem, New York. Last year’s online-only event saw over 1500 virtual attendees enjoy content that included developer talks, interviews, panels, and a number of featured video games and tabletop games.

Last year’s event also included a Steam tie-in called Gradient Convergence, which featured interviews with participating developers on the front page of Steam, as well as demos and discounts on related games.

“Creators of color make great games but are often pushed to the margins,” GDoCExpo’s mission statement reads. “We fight to create a better games industry that is intersectional and equitable by organizing revolutionary events, uniting our vibrant community, and building access to knowledge, funding, and opportunities.”

For developers who would like to speak or have their games (either tabletop or digital) featured at Game Devs of Color Expo, submissions are now open for the 2021 event.

Batwoman: Wallis Day Takes Over Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane Role

CW’s Batwoman has cast Krypton’s Wallis Day to take over the role of Kate Kane, the original Batwoman for the series that was played by Ruby Rose.

Spoilers ahead for the latest episode of Batwoman!

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Image Credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

As reported by THR, this casting news was revealed during the latest episode of Batwoman, as Day’s Kate Kane was shown bandaged and being held hostage. She was shown alive yet unrecognizable due to the injuries from the plane crash that occurred at the start of season two.

It’s important to note that Kane is no longer Batwoman, and that Javicia Leslie – the first black actress to play the character in live-action role – will continue to be the series lead as Ryan Wilder.

Rose left Batwoman in 2020, and reports stated that her decision may have been due to her dislike of the long working hours demanded by being the lead of a 20-episode season.

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The decision was made initially to not recast the character, but showrunner Caroline Dries had been telegraphing her return and very much had no intention of her story simply disappearing. Furthermore, she wanted her to return to avoid the “bury the gays” TV trope that sees shows killing off gay and lesbian characters.

“As a lesbian who’s been working as a writer for the past 15 years, I’m well aware of the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope and I have no interest in participating in it,” said Dries in June, 2020. “That’s why it’s important to me as the showrunner to clarify any misinformation out there about Kate Kane and recasting Batwoman. Like you, I love Kate Kane — she’s the reason I wanted to do the show. We’ll never erase her. In fact, her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of season two. I don’t want to give away any of our surprises, but to all our devoted fans, please know that LGBTQ+ justice is at the very core of what Batwoman is and we have no intention of abandoning that.”

The rest of the season looks to explore where Kane has been and how this experience has changed her.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

American Gods Season 3 Finale Review

This is a review of American Gods Season 3 finale, which premiered on Starz on March 21. Warning, spoilers below.

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American Gods has all the parts to create a richly layered story. Visually stunning, well-cast, with nuanced dissections of American culture and what does or does not make something deified at its heart. And yet the sum of its parts just feels lacking. There’s a hollowness behind the stunning visuals, a blandness to the dialogue that leaves you wanting something far more daring, and musical cues that can often make one a little cringe-y. It gets close to the mark, but still misses really nailing the point, smoothing over-complicated story matters with twisty visual stimuli and allusion rather than really standing for anything at its core.

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Focusing so much on the journey of Shadow Moon this season has ultimately weakened the beautiful patchwork quilt this story could ultimately be. A shame, considering we’ve reached the story’s major climax (Czernobog orgasm jokes aside).

It sort of breaks the heart to write this as a fan of the source material and so many people involved. The episode is—for all intents and purposes—ultimately fine, but having read the Neil Gaiman novel and loved the first season, there’s a longing for what American Gods could have really been that you feel in every decision it makes, especially during such a crucial point in the story. In the season three finale, Shadow Moon has finally made it to the World Tree at the heart of America, to hold vigil for his dead father, Wednesday/Odin. He knows Laura has killed Wednesday and lets her go despite Norse code. She connects with Bilquis as Shadow straps himself into the tree for nine days and nights of hell. In the end, that’s all that really happens until both Wednesday and Shadow Moon’s dead bodies disappear. A literal storm starts brewing at the end.

Revelations unfold: Technical Boy is more than he seems, and so is Mr. World—to an extent. Perhaps the most crushing blow of all is that of Shadow coming to understand that this vigil was actually something of a ruse to make Odin return to his most all-powerful form. Betrayal has a way of changing things, and the finale certainly sets up an interesting “what’s to come.” Whether or not it will be able to pull that off is another thing entirely.

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There’s a level of that Tyra Banks “we were all rooting for you!” meme-ified emotion going on in this review. Maybe one can care too much and be unable to just take this finale and this iteration of the tale for what it is and detach it from the history one has with the story. But from a viewer standpoint, it all just feels a bit slapdash and ultimately missing the heart of the story that was set up in its complicated and beautiful first season. Without the fury of someone like Orlando Jones’ Mr. Nancy, the love of the Jinn and Salim, and all the other little tales woven throughout Gaiman’s original story, American Gods doesn’t feel like it’s getting at the full scope of America and what drives it.

And that—especially as a viewer in 2021—is a very frustrating thing. Perhaps for more casual fans of the story, this suffices, but with a story this complicated, is there really such a thing? Only time and the number of people still watching (how poetic), will tell us this.

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