I’m currently finishing up Star Wars: The High Republic – Light of the Jedi, and it has been fantastic so far. In the book, we’re introduced to a Jedi Master named Avar Kriss who seems to be a big player. I really like her character and find it interesting how she sees the Force as a concert. It’s really interesting. Well, Star Wars recently released a new video introducing fans to Kriss, and I love it. The art is great, and I hope it helps get people to read the new books because they’ve been such a joy to read.
Marvel is getting ready to celebrate women this April with Women of Marvel #1. Announced recently on the Women of Marvel podcast, Women of Marvel #1 will be a giant-sized special putting the spotlight on iconic female characters from the Marvel universe. There are stories about She-Hulk, Captain Peggy Carter, Rogue, and more. The stories are being written by Nadia Shammas, Anne Toole, Natasha Alterici, and more with art by the likes of Kei Zama, Eleonora Carlini, Joanna Estep, and more. This is sure to be a treat.
Kicking things off will be comics legend Louise Simonson with a must-read introduction. Simonson will be followed by some of the hottest rising stars in the graphic novel industry. Nadia Shammas punches the glass ceiling with an action-packed She-Hulk adventure, Elsa Sjunneson grits her way to the front line with a tale about Captain Peggy Carter, Sophie Campbell goes feral with a bone-grinding Marrow story, video game and comics writer Anne Toole gets gritty in the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, and Natasha Alterici of Heathen fame charges sword-first into the Marvel Universe with a revelatory tale about Rogue and Mystique. With astonishing art from new and established artists Kei Zama (Transformers, Death’s Head), Eleonora Carlini (Power Rangers, Batgirl), Skylar Patridge (Resonant, Relics of Youth), Joanna Estep (Fantastic Four, Fraggle Rock) and more, readers are sure to come away powered up and ready to slay.
In a statement, editor Sarah Brunstad said:
I’ve always loved the Women of Marvel program for the way it opened the door – it said to women everywhere, this fandom is for you. There have always been powerful women in comics – and behind them, writing and drawing and editing and reading them – but spotlighting those characters, creators and fans felt like someone reaching out their hand. So it’s with great gratitude that I curated this special one-shot. The women in this special are powerhouse creators from all over the place; it’s truly a celebration of Marvel Comics and a love letter to the women who paved the way. These stories are bold, bombastic and big-hearted in the best ways. I can’t wait for people to read them and get a little glimpse of what the future of comics has in store.
Women of Marvel #1 will be available this April and feature a cover by Sara Pichelli.
Director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special) has been developing a remake of the classic 1988 sci-fi film Alien Nation. The project was initially set up at Fox, but it ended up being put on hold after Disney bought the studio.
Since then, the project has transformed from a film to a TV series. Nichols has revealed that he’s converted his screenplay into a ten-episode series and Disney is currently in the process of deciding whether or not they want to proceed with the project.
Nichols and his cinematographer Adam Stone were guests on a recent episode of the Team Deakins podcast, and during the conversation, Nichols was asked if he would ever work on a TV show or miniseries. Stone replied. “Alien Nation is a possible series that might happen in the near future,” and Nichols confirmed saying, “Yeah, I’m working on a series right now.”
He gives a little background on the project and how it started out as a film. He initially didn’t want to do it, but he changed his mind:
“I had this idea of how I could take that title but a situation that has nothing to do with the original movie, necessarily, and I got really excited about it…I spent three years building out an entire alien civilization and this situation and this setup and all these characters, and it’s really what I’ve been doing for a long time. We were set to go make it. It was going to be our next big challenge for Adam and I, which would be making a big, $100 million studio film, still in Arkansas. Disney bought Fox and killed it, which was a little soul-crushing, to say the least.”
He then explained that he was approached by Disney about developing it as a TV series instead. The filmmaker explained:
“But they came and said, ‘Would you consider turning this into a series, potentially?’ So I have taken it and broken it into ten episodes, and it’s under consideration right now. Who knows, people in far more powerful positions than me are deciding that. One of the tricks is, I want to shoot it like a giant film, and I’m not sure if we’ll be able to get away with that.”
The original movie starred James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, and Terence Stamp. The story is set in Los Angeles in 1991, “humans live alongside extraterrestrial humanoid beings whose spaceship crash landed three years earlier. This coexistence is not always harmonious, as exemplified by segregated slums and the uneasy partnership of police detective Matthew Sykes (Caan) with new humanoid partner Sam Francisco (Patinkin). However, the pair begin to overcome their differences as they investigate a slum drug ring led by the slippery William Harcourt (Stamp).”
I’m actually more open to an Alien Nation TV series. You can just explore so much more in a series. Nichols is super passionate about the project, and when previously talking about his plan for the film, he explained:
“It’s epic. I mean, it’s the biggest canvas I’ve ever painted on, but it 100 percent feels like a Jeff Nichols film, which I’m sure there are gonna be some Alien Nation fans out there that are like, “What the fuck?” But my hope is if they … If people come to it just ready for a new story, that they’ll like it. And I put my heart and soul into it. To be the project that’s supposed to be me being a sell out, it is like the least … I’m not saying that to save face or be cool. I put so much of myself into it, it takes place in Arkansas. There’s so much of me in it.
What are your thoughts on Nichols and Disney teaming up for an Alien Nation series?
Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Michael Dorn wants to return to the Star Trek franchise, and he has been pitching a Captain Worf spinoff series to the franchise producers. In the series, Worf would be the Captain of a Klingon vessel and it would focus on Klingon culture.
During a recent interview with Trek Movie, Dorn offered an update on how things have been going in his efforts to get this series made:
“There’s interest and then there’s not. Then there’s interest and then there’s not. And I guess it was two years ago I thought they would take it a little further. But that did not happen. So I don’t know if the whole idea is dead – not in my mind. [laughs] I believe that they are missing a great opportunity to insert something into Star Trek that’s always been part of the Star Trek lexicon, which is the Klingons.”
The Worf series concept is set after Worf left Starfleet to return to the Klingon Empire, and he went on to offer some other details saying:
“Basically, the script I wrote was: Instead of looking at the Klingon Empire from Starfleet, we look at Starfleet from the Klingon Empire. And it has been going on for decades, the Klingon Empire just can’t go on. It’s the Russians, basically. And they decide that they have to either die with a sword in their hands and go extinct, or change with the times and become something different. And Worf is the guy that says, ‘We have to change with the times, that is the mark of a warrior.’
“And so two things happen. They start letting other races into the Klingon world. And the only way they can do that is by letting in Starfleet officers. That’s sort of the way it’s done. ‘We’ll let in other people, but first Starfleet offers because we understand Starfleet. They’re soldiers, we’re soldiers.’ The second thing they have to do is their resources are limited and dwindling, because the Klingon universe is just like the Federation. They have planets and worlds and societies that they own, but they do it in a brutal way. And so they have to go out to every one of these worlds and either give them their freedom, or try to work with them, which is something that’s anathema to Klingons.
“And since Worf opened his big mouth and said, ‘This is what we have to do,’ then they say, ‘Okay, then you’re the guy that has to go out to all these worlds.’ And every world is different. Some worlds are rebelling. Some worlds want to be part of the Klingon Empire. Some worlds want to be independent. And so every episode is that.”
I’d love to see a series like that get made. From what I understand, in the Picard Universe, Worf is the Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E. It wouldn’t be hard to re-introduce the character in Picard and then follow his story from there with a spinoff. It might not be exactly the concept that Dorn is pitching, but they could definitely incorporate elements of his ideas into it.
Would you be interested in seeing Worf get his own series?
Alan Cumming Joins Prodigal Son Season 2 in Recurring Role
Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Alan Cumming (The Good Wife, Briarpatch) has joined Prodigal Son Season 2 in the recurring role of Simon Hoxley, according to Deadline. The character, who will reportedly appear in two episodes, is described as a supremely confident and cocky Europol agent known as “The MindSleuth” who is considered one of the most celebrated criminal profilers in the world. Hoxley travels to New York to solve the murder of Nicholas Endicott… which puts Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) in his crosshairs.
Prodigal Son follows Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne), a criminal profiler with a rare talent for getting inside the minds of killers. He learned how they think because his father, Dr. Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen), was a notorious serial killer known as “The Surgeon.” Now he’s using his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve their most puzzling murders. Bright’s team, led by his longtime mentor, NYPD Lieutenant Gil Arroyo (Lou Diamond Phillips), includes Detectives Dani Powell (Aurora Perrineau), JT Tarmel (Frank Harts), and medical examiner Dr. Edrisa Tanaka (Keiko Agena).
Season 2 picks up with Bright’s personal life in disarray after the shocking actions of his sister, Ainsley (Halston Sage), in the Season 1 finale. Now, he must “take care” of her and protect his mother, Jessica Whitly (Bellamy Young), from a secret that could tear the family apart all over again. Further complicating matters, Martin seeks to deepen his relationship with Bright, his “prodigal son,” but forging this bond leads to shocking twists and revelations.
Prodigal Son is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and FOX Entertainment. Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver created the series, and are executive producers, showrunners, and writers on the show. Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter also serve as executive producers.
New episodes air every Tuesday night on FOX, with episodes also available to stream on Hulu the following day.
