Star Wars Episode IX Adds to its Cast – Did You Hear? Week of August 31, 2018

Did You Hear? is a weekly examination of headlines in the entertainment industry and a take on what they could mean for the future of the industry and (often), the little geeky bubble that we occupy.

True Detective Season 3 Trailer Drops

True Detective: Season 3 | Official Trailer | HBO

The new HBO series, True Detective, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson premieres January 12, 2014. #HBO #TrueDetectiveSubscribe to HBO on YouTu…

Critical-darling-turned-victim-of-the-sophomore-slump True Detective is returning to HBO for their third season. Following the most recent episode of the equally dark celebrity-led series Sharp Objects the trailer above was released to the viewing public.

Led by Oscar Winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Luke Cage), leads this season as Detective Wayne Hays. From the trailer it appears the time travel storytelling device that was so popular in the first season is back in play for season 3. According to HBO

“the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods.”

… and the mystery continues to swirl around what is alluded to be a significant gap in Ali’s character’s memory. True Detective season 3 is set to air in January 2019.

Star Wars IX Casts Dominic Monaghan & Matt Smith

Casting announcements for Star Wars Episode IX have been on the upswing since news broke of The Americans star Keri Russell joining the film and reuniting with her Mission Impossible III and Felicity collaborator J.J. Abrams who is directing the third installment in this new Star Wars trilogy that he kicked off directing The Force Awakens.

This week The Hollywood Reporter announced that Russell would be joined by genre star Dominic Monaghan (The

Lord of the Rings trilogy, Lost), would be reuniting with J.J. Abrams. While there have been no announcements made about what role Monaghan might be playing in Episode IX he was very vocal about wanting a role in this movie and working toward it.

Abrams doesn’t just cast his friends, though, a couple days after Monaghan’s casting was announced Variety reported that former Doctor Who star Matt Smith has joined the film. Smith is currently nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in the critically-acclaimed Netflix historical drama series The Crown. Much like Monaghan, the exact nature of Smith’s role remains shrouded in mystery, but fans are definitely excited to potentially see the actor taking to space once more.

Given the mixed feelings with which The Last Jedi was received it is interesting that Episode IX is folding in so many other darlings from other genre-adjacent properties. The inclusion of Russell, Monaghan, and Smith might be a move to engender goodwill amongst fans that may have reservations about what the next Star Wars installment was going to look like …

… and considering that Episode IX has been shooting for several months already the idea that “Key Role[s]” are still in the casting phase the smell of major rewrites hangs in the air.

Gravity Falls Creator Signs Netflix Deal

Variety reports that animator and creator of award-winnning Disney XD series Gravity Falls has signed an exclusive development deal with the Netflix streaming service. It is a multiyear deal that will ensure Hirsch’s future projects will be added to the Netflix catalogue post-haste.

Said Hirsch about the deal:

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the amazing roster of talent coming to Netflix. Plus, it couldn’t hurt to be on The Algorithm’s good side before the singularity hits. Awesome things are coming!”

He is, of course, referring to Netflix’s habit of promoting only their own original content in between episodes while you are binge-watching The Great British Baking Show for the third time through desperate for them to add more than three series.

The studio itself released a statement that was equally excited:

“Alex is an imaginative storyteller with new ideas who’s quickly developed a reputation as a fresh new voice in animation.” said Cindy Holland (VP of Original Content), “We couldn’t be more excited to work with him as we continue expanding our adult animated slate.”

Given that Hirsch is most well-known for his all-ages friendly work it will be interesting to watch if he can pivot to a more mature audience with his Netflix projects. Big Mouth was a popular adult comedy developed originally for Netflix and they recently added The Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groening’s latest series Disenchantment to a mixed reception.

Legendary Pictures Acquires My Boyfriend is a Bear

Oni Press has announced that their original series My Boyfriend is a Bear from Pamela Ribon (Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet), and Cat Farris (Emily and the Strangers, The Last Diplomat),  has been optioned for development by Legendary Pictures. Both comic creators are slated to produce along with Alex Hertzberg (Last Rampage: the Escape of Gary Tison), with Ribon to serve additionally as screenwriter.

Farris was, predictably, excited:

“Pamela and I poured our hearts into My Boyfriend is a Bear, and we’re beyond excited to be able to bring this tale of love in unexpected places to an even wider audience.”

Says Ribon:

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Nora and Bear’s story to the live-action world. It’s a unique challenge, and we are so excited to see where we can take their unforgettable romance.”

At first blush many readers (myself included), probably assumed that this would be an animated adaptation. The move to live action is certainly ambition given the subject matter.

According to Oni Press:

“Bear meets girl. Nora has bad luck with men. When she meets an (actual) bear on a hike in the Los Angeles hills, he turns out to be the best romantic partner she’s ever had! He’s considerate, he’s sweet, he takes care of her. But he’s a bear, and winning over her friends and family is difficult. Not to mention he has to hibernate all winter. Can true love conquer all?”

Constantine Returns to Television

After Constantine was canceled by NBC an animated series starring Matt Ryan was developed for The CW Seed. Retitled Constantine: The Legend Continues it quickly became a fan favourite show and increased the demand that John Constantine be reinstated as a permanent member of the CW DCTV Universe. This led to appearances of the character on both Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and has culminated in Ryan’s Constantine being added as a permanent cast member to the upcoming season of Legends.

Warner Bros has announced that following the Monday, October 15th season 7 premiere of Arrow the much-beloved Constantine: The Legends Continues will be specially broadcast as an original movie on The CW in an event to be hosted by Matt Ryan, himself – the actor they can’t quite seem to quit.

Spawn Movie Signs Walking Dead Director

For many comic book fans the latest Spawn movie adaptation was the perpetual announcement of San Diego Comic-Con. We could always count on another announcement that a brand new Spawn movie was coming soon. After many years of this cycle, it appears that Spawn is finally underway. Casting has been announced right and left over the past few months and now the movie seems to have found its director.

Director and Effects Specialist of The Walking Dead, Greg Nicotero, will join the Blumhouse/MacFarlane production along with his KNB EFX Group. They previously collaborated with MacFarlane on the 1997 Spawn movie adaptation.

“I’m a long-time fan of Greg’s work and the projects his company, KNB, have done throughout the years. Working with him once again, to reinvent the Spawn ‘look’ so it will match the supernatural theme in the movie, is going to be a fun process.” Spawn creator MacFarlane said.

Given that the original Spawn movie faced criticism for some of the effects of the time, there might be heightened pressure for the contemporary movie adaptation to show marked improvement. Nicotero has several awards to his name and work within the genre of comic book adaptations and is hopefully up for the task of bringing one of Image Comics most iconic original characters to the silver screen in all of his hellish glory.

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