DF Interview: Mark Sable takes readers ‘Where Starships Go To Die’



By Byron Brewer

Point Nemo: the farthest oceanic point on Earth from any landmass. A spacecraft graveyard where rockets and satellites can be safely ditched on the ocean floor. In a near future ravaged by climate change, an African astronaut teams with an Indian shipping magnate to mount a dangerous salvage mission to recover the wreck of humanity's first interstellar starship. But what they find is beyond their worst nightmares.

Mark Sable (Miskatonic, War on Terror: Godkillers) and Alberto Locatelli (The Believers, Cinque) bring you Where Starships Go To Die, a sci-fi horror tale that will make you rethink the space race. Speaking of which, I put on my running shorts, hopped into the space race, and chatted up this new genre mashup book with my friend, scribe Mark Sable.


Byron Brewer: Mark, from the solicit it sounds like we have some space horror here with an Aliens vibe… except – very cool – it takes place in the oceans of Earth! Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea meets Aliens? Tell readers about the inspiration for this book.



Mark Sable: The initial idea for Where Starships Go To Die was in the discovery of the existence of a real world location called “Point Nemo” (the original title for the book). It’s a spot in the South Pacific that’s the farthest oceanic point from land on Earth. More importantly, it’s a spacecraft graveyard. Nations have been intentionally ditching rockets, satellites and space stations there for decades. Its remote location means that if they miscalculate it’s still very unlikely the wreckage will hit a populated area.

My mind started reeling at the possibility of what might be found down there… and what’s on them.
We created an alternate history of over a century worth of secret space programs and doomed missions. And, I think, a unique threat that we’ve rarely seen in sci-fi.
From a fictional point of view, Ridley Scott’s Alien, John Carpenter’s The Thing and James Cameron’s The Abyss were all influences. I like the idea of mixing sci-fi and horror, and of a small, isolated crew dealing with survival against the unknown.


Byron: Without going into plot or characters, can you lay out our canvas a bit? Talk about the world you and Alberto Locatelli are preparing for readers for this adventure.



Mark Sable: Where Starships Go To Die takes place in 2075. It’s a world that’s been further ravaged by climate change and war.

When the story begins, it seems there’s some hope, though – we’re about to receive the first message from the Deadalus, humankind’s first interstellar starship. It should be reaching Barnard’s Star, a star with a possibly inhabitable exoplanet theoretically reachable by a sub-light ship.
But the Deadalus is sent hurtling back to Earth at seemingly impossible speeds, coming to rest at Point Nemo. The race for the wreckage is on.


Byron: Introduce us please to your main protagonists, an African astronaut and an Indian shipping magnate. What can you tell us (non-spoilers) about their character, their collaboration and their mission?



Mark Sable: A decade before Where Starships Go To Die begins, Captain Samkeli “Sam” Dlameni is set to become the first African in space as the commander of the Daedalus. But his native South Africa is drawn into a war with corporations trying to take over debtor nations. Not only does he miss his chance at making history, he becomes an avowed pacifist due to his wartime service.

When the Daedalus crashes, he’s reluctantly recruited by Kiara Kiathra, a woman who has made her fortune from the world’s largest shipbreaking yard in India. Commander of the salvage vessel known as the Nautilus, she’s determined to recover the Daedalus’ experimental fusion reactor, which she hopes can be used to share free energy with the poor of the global south, who have been the greatest victims of climate change.
She persuades Sam to take up the mission because she presents him with convincing evidence that the Daedalus is somehow still intact, giving him a chance to finally realize his dream of piloting it. But where he’s cautious and peaceful, she’s a ruthless risk taker who believes she’s descended from Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo. They are very clearly headed for a collision course.


Byron: What other important characters can you spotlight here for us?



Mark Sable: One of the things I’m most proud of is this book’s diverse global cast. Rounding out the crew are:

Dr. Varella, an Argentinian naval surgeon. She’s there to study the corpses on the Daedalus to see the effects of deep space on the human body, with the hopes of using that knowledge to make us more resilient to the worsening conditions here on Earth. A noble goal, but having your ship’s doctor be so cold and clinical is a recipe for conflict when things start to go bad.
Eka, an Indonesian warrior in charge of the Nautilus’ security, has got a dark past. A supposedly reformed pirate, the methods he chooses to defend the crew puts him into immediate opposition with Sam’s pacifism.
Finally, there’s Danilo, a Filipino oceanographer is maybe the most critical character to the crew’s survival. He pilots the Nautilus’ DSRV – Deep Sea Recovery Vehicle. The Daedalus is located at the very bottom of the ocean, and they simply cannot reach it without him. He’s maybe my favorite character because he’s filled with a childlike sense of wonder…but when he’s tested, Danilo shows a surprising amount of courage.


Byron: There is something or someone aboard the wreck of humanity’s first interstellar starship. Any non - “read the book” clues?



Mark Sable: Oh man, that’s a tough question! I’d direct readers to one of my other sources of inspiration, a podcast called Josh Clark’s The End of the World. It poses the question of why we haven’t found life on other planets. One of the possible answers is something so terrifying it makes me thing we’re better off alone in the universe.



Byron: Could you give readers a summation, an extended overview of this series?



Mark Sable: Initially, Sam, Kiara and the rest of the crew is faced with the challenge of locating and raising a wreck from the most remote spot on Earth. But soon, they find themselves competing with the warring U.S. and Chinese navies, discovering other wrecks from doomed missions constituting secret space programs from history’s worst regimes, and finally, confronting something not of this world that is hunting them one by one. All the while, trying to survive in the most hostile environment on this planet. Each issue ups the stakes considerably.



Byron: Talk about your collaboration on this mag with artist Alberto Locatelli.



Mark Sable: Alberto was a revelation. His storytelling and characterization are incredible, filled with a tremendous amount of energy and emotion.

Because this is a project with sci-fi and horror elements, I wanted to ground this series with as much reality as possible. I threw a ton of reference at him, and he not only nailed all of it, he imbued it – and the book as a whole – with tremendous heart.
He might be the real star of this book, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see everyone clamoring to work with him.


Byron: Mark, are there any other projects in which you are involved you can tell readers about?



Mark Sable: I’m currently working on two more projects for AfterShock, which has been a great home for me since doing Godkillers and Miskatonic with them over the past couple of years. Only one has been announced, a collaboration with artist Andrea Olimpieri, and all we can say about it is that it’s hard sci-fi.

I’m doing another sci-fi book with Jeremy Haun (who did the covers for Where Starships Go To Die and my other AfterShock books) at Comixology Originals and Dark Horse, which published The Dark and Dracula: Son of the Dragon last year. I wish I could say more, but if you’ve seen Jeremy’s work, you’ll love it.
And I’m completing work on Chaotic Neutral, a combination fantasy comic/fantasy role-playing adventure that artist/co-creator Chris Anderson and I did a successful Kickstarter for in the fall. The comic has been long done, and I’m currently playtesting the module with my weekly D&D group. At some point, we hope to make it available to those who missed the Kickstarter via Backerkit – follow me on social media for updates on that front.
There’s more in the works, but that’s all I’m allowed to mention for now. I’m really grateful to my readers and publishers for keeping me so busy and giving me the opportunity to tell stories with such great collaborators.


Dynamic Forces would like to thank Mark Sable for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Where Starships Go To Die #1 from AfterShock Comics is slated to be on sale June 8th!



For more news and up-to-date announcements, join us here at Dynamic Forces, www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/, “LIKE” us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dynamicforcesinc, and follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/dynamicforces.

In a twist worthy of a Hollywood script, Ryan Coogler’s breakout horror film Sinners—a 2025 box office juggernaut—owes part of its haunting aesthetic to a Marvel movie that never made it to set. The film’s eerie, period-perfect costumes were originally designed for Marvel Studios’ long-delayed Blade reboot, which remains in production limbo. According to Sinners producer Sev Ohanian, the film’s costume designer, Oscar-winner Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther), had been working on Blade when the project was shelved indefinitely. That version of Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, was once envisioned as a 1920s-set vampire thriller—eerily similar in tone and era to Sinners. When Sinners was greenlit on a tight schedule, Carter had a warehouse full of unused, period-appropriate costumes. Marvel, in a rare behind-the-scenes collaboration, allowed Coogler’s team to purchase the wardrobe “at price”. While the main cast including Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, and others wore custom-designed costumes tailored specifically for their characters, many of the extras in Sinners were dressed in the repurposed Blade costumes, giving the film a rich, textured authenticity without the usual prep time. First announced in 2019, Marvel’s Blade reboot has faced repeated delays due to creative changes, director exits, and industry strikes. The film was removed from Disney’s release calendar in 2024 and remains without a confirmed production date. Despite the setbacks, Mahershala Ali has expressed continued interest in the role, recently telling reporters, “Call Marvel. I’m ready”. 

Nearly 50 years after One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest became a cinematic landmark, a new television spinoff is in the works—this time told through the eyes of the character who saw everything but said very little: Chief Bromden. Producer Paul Zaentz, nephew of the original film’s producer Saul Zaentz, revealed on the CK Café podcast that he has signed an agreement with the widow of author Ken Kesey to develop a TV series based on the 1962 novel. The first season will be told entirely from the perspective of Chief Bromden, the towering half-Native American patient who pretended to be deaf and mute in the original story. Zaentz explained that the series will begin within the psychiatric hospital, as in the original, but will then follow Chief’s journey after his dramatic escape—territory the original film never explored. While Milos Forman’s 1975 film adaptation won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Jack Nicholson, it famously diverged from Kesey’s novel by shifting the narrative focus from Chief Bromden to Randle McMurphy. Kesey was openly critical of this change. The upcoming series aims to restore the novel’s original point of view and delve deeper into the Chief’s inner world. Chief Bromden’s character—played by Will Sampson in the film—was a symbol of silent resistance and eventual emancipation. The new series promises to explore his backstory, his psychological trauma, and his life beyond the institution. It’s a chance to reframe the narrative around Indigenous identity, mental health, and the long shadow of institutionalization. 

Julian McMahon, the charismatic Australian actor known for his iconic roles in Nip/Tuck, Charmed, and the Fantastic Four films, has passed away at the age of 56 following a private battle with cancer. His wife, Kelly McMahon, confirmed that he died peacefully on July 2, 2025, in Clearwater, Florida. Born in Sydney on July 27, 1968, McMahon was the son of former Australian Prime Minister William McMahon. He began his career as a model before transitioning to acting in Australian soaps like The Power, The Passion and Home and Away. His move to Hollywood led to breakout roles in Profiler and Charmed, where he played the complex and seductive demon Cole Turner. But it was his portrayal of Dr. Christian Troy in FX’s Nip/Tuck that cemented his status as a television icon. The role earned him a Golden Globe nomination and showcased his ability to balance charm, darkness, and vulnerability. He later brought gravitas to the role of Victor Von Doom in the Fantastic Four films, becoming one of Marvel’s earliest cinematic villains. McMahon’s career spanned decades and genres. He starred in FBI: Most Wanted as Jess LaCroix, appeared in Hulu’s Runaways, and most recently played the Australian Prime Minister in Netflix’s The Residence—a poignant nod to his real-life heritage. McMahon is survived by his wife Kelly and his daughter Madison, whom he shared with ex-wife Brooke Burns. In her statement, Kelly described him as a man who “loved life… and whose deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible”. 

Jim Shooter was a towering figure in the comic book industry—both literally and professionally. He began his career at just 14 years old, writing for DC Comics, where he made a splash with stories for the Legion of Super-Heroes. His early creations included characters like Karate Kid, Ferro Lad, and Princess Projectra, as well as the villain group Fatal Five. Here’s a snapshot of his legacy: <!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->DC Comics: Started as a teenage writer, contributing to Adventure Comics and Action Comics. <!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Marvel Comics: Rose to become Editor-in-Chief from 1978 to 1987. Under his leadership: <!--[if !supportLists]-->o    <!--[endif]-->Oversaw iconic runs like Uncanny X-Men by Claremont & Byrne, Daredevil by Frank Miller, and Thor by Walt Simonson. <!--[if !supportLists]-->o    <!--[endif]-->Introduced creator royalties and launched the Epic imprint for creator-owned work. <!--[if !supportLists]-->o    <!--[endif]-->Created the first major crossover event: Secret Wars. <!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Valiant Comics: Co-founded the publisher in the early '90s, bringing characters like Solar: Man of the Atom and Harbinger to life. <!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Also founded Defiant Comics and Broadway Comics, though both were short-lived. Shooter was known for his strict editorial style, which helped Marvel stay on schedule but also led to clashes with many creators. Despite the friction, his tenure is credited with revitalizing Marvel during a critical period. Jim Shooter passed away on June 30, 2025, at the age of 73. His influence on comics—both in storytelling and industry practices—remains profound. 

In the ever-watchful world of fandom sleuthing, even a simple Instagram follow can ignite a firestorm of speculation. That’s exactly what happened when filmmaker and DC Studios co-head James Gunn followed actress Adria Arjona on Instagram—a move that fans quickly interpreted as a hint she might be cast as the next Wonder Woman. But Gunn was quick to clarify: “I followed Adria on Instagram, but everybody came out, ‘He just followed her, that means she’s Wonder Woman!’” he said in a recent interview with Extra. “She’d be a great Wonder Woman, by the way. But she was in a movie that I made seven years ago. We’ve been friends and have known each other since that time. I followed her then, I didn’t just follow her.” The film Gunn referred to is The Belko Experiment (2016), which he produced and in which Arjona appeared. Their professional relationship and friendship date back to that project, making the social media follow less of a casting clue and more of a long-standing connection. Still, Gunn’s comment that Arjona “would be a great Wonder Woman” has only fueled fan enthusiasm. With a new Wonder Woman film currently in development and the DC Universe undergoing a major reboot, speculation remains high—even if Gunn insists fans shouldn’t read too much into his Instagram activity. 

In a move that blends personal branding with practical necessity, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star and co-creator Rob McElhenney has officially filed to change his name to Rob Mac. The decision, confirmed by McElhenney himself, marks a significant shift for the actor, writer, and entrepreneur whose surname has long been a source of confusion—and comedy. McElhenney, whose last name has famously stumped fans and media alike (despite Ryan Reynolds’ musical pronunciation tutorial), cited global business expansion as the primary reason. As his company, More Better Industries, continues to invest internationally—including ventures in Colombia and Mexico—he found that “McElhenney” was often mispronounced or misunderstood. “As our business and our storytelling is expanding into other regions of the world and other languages in which my name is even harder to pronounce, I’m just going by Rob Mac,” he told Variety. Interestingly, the name “Mac” isn’t just a simplification—it’s also a nod to his iconic Always Sunny character, known simply as Mac. It’s a full-circle moment that blends his personal identity with his pop culture persona. The name change is already being reflected in FX press materials for both It’s Always Sunny and Welcome to Wrexham, the Emmy-winning docuseries chronicling McElhenney and Reynolds’ ownership of Wrexham AFC. 

ABC has officially pulled the plug on Doctor Odyssey, the high-concept medical drama from prolific creator Ryan Murphy, after just one season. The show, which followed a team of doctors navigating emergencies aboard a luxury cruise ship, will not return for a second voyage. Premiering in fall 2024, Doctor Odyssey starred Joshua Jackson as Dr. Max Bankman, alongside Phillipa Soo, Sean Teale, and Don Johnson. The series blended medical drama with high-seas spectacle, drawing comparisons to The Love Boat with a modern, campy twist. Its trailer broke records with 77.8 million views in 48 hours, and the premiere drew 13.6 million cross-platform viewers. Despite the flashy debut and a loyal cult following, the show struggled to maintain momentum. Ratings dipped over the season, and its linear performance lagged behind other ABC dramas. While ABC has yet to issue a formal cancellation statement, the cast contracts are expiring on Monday with no sign of renewal and the sets are being dismantled. And while the ship has sailed on ABC, Ryan Murphy retains creative control and could potentially revive the series elsewhere, such as Hulu, where it performed well on streaming platforms. 

Is The Batman Part II script finally done? It appears so. Writer/Director Matt Reeves just posted to social media a blurry picture of himself and co-writer Mattson Tomlin that shows the title page for a script with the logo from The Batman and appears to have the title "The Batman: Part II". Co-head of DC Studios James Gunn said recently that he was expecting to get the script soon but denied that the deadline had already passed. If the script is complete and ready to move forward, it is still in plenty of time to make the current release date of October 2027. This should be good news to fans of the director and franchise and also to actor Robert Pattinson who had commented recently that he was worrying he was going to age out of the role if it took too much longer.  

Prime Video’s hit action-thriller Reacher is shaking things up for its fourth season, and one of the most notable changes is the addition of Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette to the cast. The Barry actor steps into the role of Jacob Merrick, a small-town policeman, in a recasting that follows the departure of Jay Baruchel due to personal reasons. Rodriguez-Marquette’s casting came together at lightning speed—he was reportedly selected the same day the role breakdown was released and flown to set within days. His character, Merrick, is said to play a significant role in the upcoming season, which adapts Lee Child’s 13th Jack Reacher novel, Gone Tomorrow. The story kicks off with a tense encounter on a train that spirals into a deadly conspiracy involving powerful enemies. Season 4 also welcomes a host of new faces, including Sydelle Noel, Agnez Mo, Anggun, Kevin Corrigan, Kevin Weisman, Marc Blucas, and Kathleen Robertson. Alan Ritchson returns as the titular Jack Reacher, with Maria Sten reprising her role as Frances Neagley. Rodriguez-Marquette brings a diverse résumé to the series, with recent appearances in Barry, Mozart in the Jungle, and indie films like Grind and Fear, Inc.. 

In a move that’s sending ripples through both Hollywood and Her Majesty’s Secret Service, acclaimed filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has officially been named the director of the next James Bond movie. This marks the first 007 installment under Amazon MGM Studios’ creative leadership, following their acquisition of the franchise’s rights in 2022. Villeneuve, the visionary behind Dune, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049, brings a reputation for cerebral storytelling and breathtaking visuals. His appointment signals a bold new chapter for the Bond saga—one that may blend the franchise’s signature espionage thrills with a deeper, more atmospheric tone. “Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007,” Villeneuve said in a statement. “I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery. I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come”. The film will be produced by Amy Pascal and David Heyman, with Villeneuve also serving as executive producer alongside Tanya Lapointe. While no release date has been announced, production is expected to begin after Villeneuve completes work on Dune: Part Three, slated for release in late 2026. As for who will don the tuxedo next, speculation continues to swirl. Aaron Taylor-Johnson remains a frontrunner, but no official casting has been confirmed.