Deadline reports that Universal Pictures has just made a deal to develop Dark Army, a monster movie that Paul Feig will write and direct based on an original idea by the director of Bridesmaids, Spy, The Heat, Ghostbusters and A Simple Favor. Feig and Laura Fischer will produce through his Universal-based Feigco Productions.

After The Mummy underwhelmed, the studio veered from the original ideal of an interconnected universe of star-driven films, and instead is favoring films driven by filmmaker passion that has connective tissue to Uni’s Classic Monsters legacy. That is what is being done with Blumhouse and Leigh Whannell’s upcoming Invisible Man film starring Elisabeth Moss and it is also driving Feig’s project.

No specific word on how Feig’s film will tie into the Classic Monsters universe.

Twentieth Century Studios has released a making-of featurette for The Call of the Wild, “Adventure Companions”.

Adapted from the beloved literary classic, 20th Century Studios’ The Call of the Wild vividly brings to the screen the story of Buck, a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life is turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Canadian Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. As the newest rookie on a mail delivery dog sled team -- and later its leader -- Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime, ultimately finding his true place in the world and becoming his own master.

As a live-action/animation hybrid, The Call of the Wild employs cutting edge visual effects and animation technology in order to render the animals in the film as fully photorealistic and emotionally authentic characters. (via The DisInsider)

The Call of the Wild hits theaters on February 21.

Featurette: https://youtu.be/2wQzN5BNdEM

Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid is set to start production this April, and while that’s quickly coming, the studio is putting the finishing touches on the cast, which includes characters that had a brief appearance in the original animated film.

The DisInsider reports that the studio is casting for Ariel’s sisters, Attina, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Arista and Andrina. We have also been told that they are casting women of color for these roles.

As of now, we haven’t heard any names on the top of the studios wishlist, but it would be interesting if names like Zendaya, Keke Palmer, and Chloe Bailey (Halle’s sister) were considered.

Another item reported but not confirmed is that Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beauty and the Beast) is being considered for the role of Athena, Ariel’s mother. However, that is and should be considered a rumor at this time.

The Little Mermaid will be directed by Rob Marshall, and production is expected to begin in April in the Caribbean.

DC’s smash hit mini-series DCeased, written by fan-favorite Tom Taylor (Suicide Squad, Injustice), returns in 2020 with three oversized issues to answer this question: What did the villains do when the heroes failed and the world ended?

Spinning out of the dramatic events of 2019’s techno-organic-fueled bestselling thriller, writer Tom Taylor returns to this dark world, along with new artist Karl Mostert, with a street-level tale of death, heroism and redemption: DCeased: Unkillables! Led by Red Hood and Deathstroke, over the course of this three-issue miniseries clocking in at 48 pages each, DC’s hardest villains and antiheroes will fight with no mercy to save the only commodity left on a dying planet of the undead—life!

DCeased: Unkillables #1 (of 3)
Written by Tom Taylor
Art by Karl Mostert and Trevor Scott
Cover by Howard Porter
Variant covers by Francesco Mattina and Yasmin Putri
In Shops: Feb 19, 2020
Final Orders Due: Jan 27, 2020
$4.99 US (CARD STOCK VARIANT COVERS $5.99)
48 PAGES EACH

While most groups might go with flowers, cake or a nice catered lunch to welcome a new team member, Task Force X prefers something a little less traditional—a subdermal explosive device that they can detonate with the push of a button. It’s certainly effective in keeping new recruits in line, but it doesn’t exactly make them feel like they’re part of a family. So, can anyone really be surprised that the most recent Suicide Squad is having some trouble working together?

In last month’s Suicide Squad #1, the team was formed after its new taskmaster, a mysterious and cold piece of work named Lok, sent the prior Squad to intercept the international terrorist group known as the Revolutionaries. The battle was pretty typical for a Suicide Squad mission—bloody and with more than its fair share of casualties on both sides—but Lok’s team of super-villains ultimately came out on top. Which would be wonderful, except what he didn’t tell the Suicide Squad is that the reason he wanted the Revolutionaries was to recruit them to Task Force X.

From trying to kill each other to working together as teammates? What could possibly go wrong?

Suicide Squad #2 by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas is in stores Wednesday, January 29.

DC has revealed a sneak peek at this fall’s greenest young adult (YA) graphic novel, Swamp Thing: Twin Branches. Written by Maggie Stiefvater with stunning illustrations by Morgan Beem, this original story reimagines Alec Holland for a teen audience (readers ages 13 and up), rooting the character’s journey to becoming Swamp Thing in a poignant coming-of-age tale about family, friendship, and acceptance.

Stiefvater is the award-winning author of critically acclaimed and bestselling YA fantasy novels The Scorpio Races, the Raven Cycle series, and All the Crooked Saints, among many others. Swamp Thing: Twin Branches marks Steivfater’s first work with DC. The plot follows teenager Alec Holland—a socially awkward outcast with a love of botany—as he navigates his final summer before starting college, wishing to be seen and accepted for who he is by his peers and—most importantly—by his popular twin brother, Walker.

“We live in a world of increasing connectivity and increasing disconnect,” said Stiefvater. “It’s easier than ever to meet someone with shared interests, which makes it harder to realize that just because someone looks just like you, they may see the world in a completely different way. Nature and humanity, though, have always had this difficult and fascinating relationship, equal parts longing and logic and misunderstanding and projection, and I thought a reinvention of Swamp Thing would be an incredibly satisfying way to explore how hard complex relationships are as we learn who we are and what we need.”­­

Beem is an acclaimed comic book artist whose past works include Adventure Time and The Family Trade, among others.

“Working with Maggie was awesome," said Beem. “She is such a charismatic, witty, and passionate human and writer. I am so excited about this book we have created together, along with the rest of our amazing team! For the art, I wanted to showcase something that really showed the full range of our character's feelings and struggles as a young human, and at the same time had a creepy, monstrous underbelly. I wanted our creature to be as much nightmarish monster as young person striving to find their place.”

Stiefvater added, “It was fun to see Morgan’s art grow wilder and more unsettling as the story desperately dug into the dirt and reached for the sun.”

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches is now available to pre-order and will hit stores and online retailers everywhere books are sold on October 13, 2020.

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches
Written by Maggie Stiefvater
Illustrated by Morgan Beem
Colored by Jeremy Lawson
Lettered by Ariana Maher
On Sale October 13, 2020
MSRP: $16.99

CNBC reports that MGM has held preliminary talks with Apple, Netflix and other larger media companies about an acquisition as the biggest streaming companies consider strengthening their content libraries.

Netflix, Amazon, Comcast, AT&T, Disney and Apple have all put their flags in the ground in what the media calls The Streaming Wars, an evolution from bundled cable TV to a world of a la carte services that can be watched anywhere on any device. If Comcast, Charter/Time Warner Cable, Dish and DirecTV were the Big 4 of the media distribution world for the past decade, Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Comcast, Disney and Netflix look like the Big 6 of the streaming era.

MGM, in particular, seems like a logical candidate to sell this year. Its owners include Anchorage Capital, Highland Capital and Solus Alternative Asset Management, hedge funds that acquired the company out of bankruptcy in 2010. The funds have made a brilliant decision to sit on their asset for nearly a decade, turning a bankrupt content library into an asset likely worth more than $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

MGM has reportedly held preliminary talks with a number of companies, including Apple and Netflix, to gauge their interest in an acquisitio. MGM owns the James Bond catalog and its studio has made several current hit shows including The Handmaid’s Tale, which streams on Hulu, and Live PD, a reality police show that has frequently been the most watched show on cable TV and airs on A&E. It also owns premium cable network Epix. MGM had revenue of more than $1 billion for the first nine months of the year consisting primarily of about $600 million in TV and film licensing revenue and $300 million from Epix subscriptions. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, MGM reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $123 million.

Representatives for MGM, Apple and Netflix declined to comment.

The end is not near, it's here.

On Tuesday, the franchise-building DC TV series Arrow will close the book on Oliver Queen's story.

The CW has released a new video, "End of An Era", in which Arrowverse stars take a moment to reflect on Arrow's run.

A one-hour retrospective on Arrow called Hitting the Bullseye airs Tuesday at 8PM ET. The finale begins right after at 9PM on The CW.

Video: https://youtu.be/XwkyFUwrKII

The CW has released a new preview for the coming Batwoman episode, "Take Your Choice".

What's going on with Beth and Alice (both played by Rachel Skarsten)? We don't know, but it looks like it will cost one Kate-twin their existence!

Batwoman airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW. The episode "Take Your Choice" airs Feb. 2.

Preview: https://youtu.be/w7L2Nld1RYE

The CW has released a preview for "Back From the Future Part Two," an upcoming episode of Supergirl.

The preview offers a glimpse of Winn's continued time in the present - as well as a possible budding romance for Kara.

Supergirl airs Sundays at 9/8c on The CW. "Back From the Future Part Two" airs Feb. 2.

Preview: https://youtu.be/9a9SPuLyIeg

NBA legend Kobe Bryant and one of his daughters were among several people killed Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, reported ESPN.

Bryant was 41.Bryant was on his way to a youth basketball game with his daughter Gianna Bryant, who was 13, when the helicopter crashed, ESPN sources said. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a news conference that there were no survivors, and according to the flight manifest, there were nine people on board the helicopter.

Los Angeles County fire chief Daryl Osby said Sunday afternoon that the Federal Aviation Administration was on the scene and will work with the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the crash.

Villanueva and Los Angeles County chief medical examiner Dr. Jonathan Lucas said later Sunday evening that, given the terrain and condition of the crash site, they expect the recovery effort to take anywhere from a couple to several days. After recovery is complete, the identification process can begin.

The cause of the crash was unknown. The helicopter departed from John Wayne Airport in Orange County at 9:06 a.m. PT. It was going to Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for Gianna's game, sources told ESPN. The first 911 call reporting the crash was received at 9:47 a.m.

DF News offers its sincere condolences.