![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatHmmm...in case you can't find anything interesting to watch and are wondering if there are cool films and television series coming up in sci-fi, etc...this is for you:
1. A List of Upcoming Sci-Fi Fantasy Comics and Book Adaptations.
Most of these are in the development stages or have just been optioned, which means don't hold your breath. Several have already been done and apparently someone else wants to try them again. (Death on the Nile, The Watchmen, His Dark Materials and Dune all come to mind.) Others are just continuations in current series, mainly of superhero action comic sector.
Of the list of shows that have actually gotten developed and have air dates, notable mentions? (Notable because they aren't sequels, seem a bit different and jumped out at me due to familarity, there's about 200 items on the list.)
* The Umbrella Academy ( I flirted with the comic for a bit because I like the title).
Adapted from: The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way (writer) and Gabriel Bá (artist)
Originally published: 2008, Dark Horse Comics
Optioned for: Television (Netflix)
What it’s about: “The Umbrella Academy is a dysfunctional family of superheroes—The Monocle, Spaceboy (Tom Hopper), The Kraken (David Castañeda), The Rumor, The Séance (Robert Sheehan), Number Five, The Horror (Ethan Hwang), and The White Violin (Ellen Page)—who work together to solve their father’s mysterious death while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities.”
Status: Jeremy Slater (Fantastic Four, Death Note) adapted the comic book series, with Steve Blackman (Fargo) serving as executive producer. The series is expected to premiere sometime in 2018.
Hee, Netflix has found a way around the problem of losing its Marvel properties to Disney in 2019.
* Krypton
Adapted from: various Superman comics by various writers and artists
Originally published: 1938, DC Comics
Optioned for: Television (Syfy)
What it’s about: “Set two generations before the destruction of the legendary Man of Steel’s home planet, Krypton follows Superman’s grandfather (Cameron Cuffe, The Halcyon)—whose House of El was ostracized and shamed—as he fights to redeem his family’s honor and save his beloved world from chaos.”
* A Discovery of Witches
Adapted from: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Originally published: 2011, Penguin Books
Optioned for: Television (Sky One)
What it’s about: Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer), an alchemical history professor at the University of Oxford, gets caught up with an ancient manuscript that calls to the magic in her blood, and a charming vampire, Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode), who may also have designs on her blood. Doctor Who’s Alex Kingston will play Diana’s aunt Sarah Bishop, with Sherlock’s Lindsay Duncan as Matthew’s vampiric mother Ysabeau de Clermont.
Status: While there was a film adaptation in development back in 2011, now it looks as if the All Souls trilogy will appear on TV. Jane Tranter and Bad Wolf will produce the series; Harkness is one of the executive producers and is writing some of the episodes. Watch the first trailer!
* Okay, just watch the trailer for this one...the animation is amazing.
Spiderman into the Spider Verse Trailer
* Good Omens
Adapted from: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
Originally published: 1990, Gollancz/Workman
Optioned for: Television (BBC/Amazon Studios)
What it’s about: Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett co-wrote this comedy about the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley trying to avoid the End Times, brought about by Satan’s son.
Status: At a 2016 memorial for Pratchett, Gaiman revealed that the late author wrote him a letter before his death imploring Gaiman to adapt their book on his own. (Gaiman: “At that point, I think I said, ‘You bastard, yes.’”) The six-part miniseries, which will star David Tennant as Crowley and Michael Sheen as Aziraphale, is set to premiere in 2019 on Amazon Prime Video before being aired via BBC Two.
[Hey. David Tennant and Michael Sheen !!!]
* Metropolis
Adapted from: various Superman comics
Originally published: 1938, DC Comics
Optioned for: Television (Warner Bros Television/DC Entertainment)
What it’s about: The producers behind Gotham will delve into life in Metropolis before Superman showed up, following young reporter Lois Lane and evil-mastermind-in-the-making Lex Luthor in their day-to-day life.
Status: The 13-episode series will premiere on DC’s streaming service sometime in 2019.
[Hmm, so they are doing the same thing they did with Batman's Gotham with Superman's Metropolis? Mainly because it's not like we haven't done the Batman and Superman stories to death already or anything. Also, does DC really need a streaming service? More importantly do we need another streaming service?]
* New Mutants
dapted from: New Mutants by Chris Claremont (writer) and Bob McLeod (artist)
Originally published: 1982, Marvel Comics
Optioned for: Film (20th Century Fox)
What it’s about: We don’t know much, but judging from the title, it’s likely about a team of young mutants fighting to protect themselves in a world that hates them.
Status: Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) will direct from a script by him and writing partner Knate Lee. Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones, Doctor Who) will play Wolfsbane, while Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split) will play Magik; Alice Braga has replaced Rosario Dawson in the role of Dr. Cecilia Reyes. Also, it’s going to be a “full-fledged horror movie”! Watch the first trailer.
[I don't tend to like horror films, but...this looks compelling and different and like a must see, particularly if you read the comics, like I did, in the 1980s.]
* Wicked
Adapted from: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Originally published: 1996, HarperCollins
Optioned for: Film (Universal Pictures)
What it’s about: Maguire’s political and ethical commentary is a revisionist take on the Wicked Witch’s life—reimagining her as Elphaba, the misunderstood, green-skinned girl who befriends another witch-to-be, Galinda, at Shiz University and stumbles upon corruption in the Emerald City.
Status: Technically, the movie is adapting the beloved Broadway musical Wicked, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holtzmann. But since their show was inspired by Maguire’s book, I’m counting it. The two are working on a screenplay, with Schwartz teasing at least two new songs. The movie will be released December 20, 2019.
* The Three Body Problem (the novel that won the Hugo a few years back)
Adapted from: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (translated by Ken Liu)
Originally published: 2006, Chongqing Press
Optioned for: Film (Youzu Pictures)
What it’s about: During China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military program sends signals into space to initiate first contact with aliens. Years later, a physicist uses the virtual reality video game Three-Body to discover a secret organization and uncover what the aliens might actually want from Earth.
Status: The Three-Body Trilogy is being adapted into six movies, directed by Panpan Zhang. Liu told The Atlantic in late 2017 that although the film shoot had wrapped in 2015, the project was still in post-production. Release date is unclear, as the project’s release seems to have been delayed several times. In the meantime, check out the stunning stage adaptation of the novel.
2. EW is hyping stuff up in their new issue..
* Trust - the John Getty Family Saga starring Donald Sutherland, Hilary Swank and Brendan Frazier (all of which I didn't realize were still doing stuff), and procuded by Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy and Christian Coulson...premiers on March 25 on F/X)
* RU Paul's Drag Show -- premiers' March 22 at 8PM on VH1. (One of my Buffy fandom friends on FB is really really into this.)
* Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, featuring new songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber and produced by them. Starring John Legend, Sara Bareilles and Alice Cooper. No word yet on who is playing Judas -- who really is the second lead. Interesting Legend is doing Jesus.
* Legion (YES it is coming back! YAY!) -- April 3 on FX (and no, F/X isn't nice enough to provide an actual time.)
* For the People -- got a great review in EW, I haven't tried it yet. I have "lawyerproblems" with these types of series, similar to what someone with an MD or a nurse would have with all the medical shows, I suspect. I can watch medical shows but legal shows irritate me, I'm guessing it's the opposite for health care providers?
[As an aside, that has zip to do with any of the above...you know you have a weakness for superhero action shows/films, when you have seen all the Marvel films and all the DC films with few exceptions and many in the movie theater. This is pathetic. I've seen 10 MCU films, 13 XMen/Spidermen Films, and 13 DC films...not including The 300 and Watchman (also saw), Sin City (yep that too), and most of the television series. Sigh. Add to this? I've read most of the comics. Oh and there is a nifty chart showing you how the MCU films and characters connect to each other. ]
* I'm skipping Roseanne, mainly because the only reason I watched it was Laurie Metcalf, John Goodman, and the writers who she kept firing, mainly because she's the female version of Trump and likes to fire people.
Goodman and Metcalf are returning, so tempted. Everyone in that cast but Roseanne was good.
I'd watch Metcalf and Goodman read the phone book.
It's premiering next week on March 27 at 8PM on ABC (no not Fox..surprisingly enough).
* Supernatural on March 29 decides to do an animated cross over with "Scooby Doo, Where are You?".
LOL!
Dean gets stuck in a vase with Daphne, while Sam gets stuck in one with Velma. Meanwhile Freddie and Shaggy are stuck together, and Scooby is all be his lonesome. Poor Scooby.
* Barry is premiering on HBO -- this is a weird sitcom about a former hitman who wants to become an actor.
*ON CNN - Christiane Amanpour decides to do a documentary series on Sex & Love Around the World.
I think there is too many television shows, channels and streaming channels...I'm losing track of all of them.
Don't get me wrong, I love it...it's just there are just not enough hours in my life to watch this stuff, go to work, have a semblance of a social life, eat, sleep, meditate, exercise, write, etc.
Also, I think if you did watch all these things after a bit, you're brain would melt and your muscles would atrophy.
1. A List of Upcoming Sci-Fi Fantasy Comics and Book Adaptations.
Most of these are in the development stages or have just been optioned, which means don't hold your breath. Several have already been done and apparently someone else wants to try them again. (Death on the Nile, The Watchmen, His Dark Materials and Dune all come to mind.) Others are just continuations in current series, mainly of superhero action comic sector.
Of the list of shows that have actually gotten developed and have air dates, notable mentions? (Notable because they aren't sequels, seem a bit different and jumped out at me due to familarity, there's about 200 items on the list.)
* The Umbrella Academy ( I flirted with the comic for a bit because I like the title).
Adapted from: The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way (writer) and Gabriel Bá (artist)
Originally published: 2008, Dark Horse Comics
Optioned for: Television (Netflix)
What it’s about: “The Umbrella Academy is a dysfunctional family of superheroes—The Monocle, Spaceboy (Tom Hopper), The Kraken (David Castañeda), The Rumor, The Séance (Robert Sheehan), Number Five, The Horror (Ethan Hwang), and The White Violin (Ellen Page)—who work together to solve their father’s mysterious death while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities.”
Status: Jeremy Slater (Fantastic Four, Death Note) adapted the comic book series, with Steve Blackman (Fargo) serving as executive producer. The series is expected to premiere sometime in 2018.
Hee, Netflix has found a way around the problem of losing its Marvel properties to Disney in 2019.
* Krypton
Adapted from: various Superman comics by various writers and artists
Originally published: 1938, DC Comics
Optioned for: Television (Syfy)
What it’s about: “Set two generations before the destruction of the legendary Man of Steel’s home planet, Krypton follows Superman’s grandfather (Cameron Cuffe, The Halcyon)—whose House of El was ostracized and shamed—as he fights to redeem his family’s honor and save his beloved world from chaos.”
* A Discovery of Witches
Adapted from: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Originally published: 2011, Penguin Books
Optioned for: Television (Sky One)
What it’s about: Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer), an alchemical history professor at the University of Oxford, gets caught up with an ancient manuscript that calls to the magic in her blood, and a charming vampire, Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode), who may also have designs on her blood. Doctor Who’s Alex Kingston will play Diana’s aunt Sarah Bishop, with Sherlock’s Lindsay Duncan as Matthew’s vampiric mother Ysabeau de Clermont.
Status: While there was a film adaptation in development back in 2011, now it looks as if the All Souls trilogy will appear on TV. Jane Tranter and Bad Wolf will produce the series; Harkness is one of the executive producers and is writing some of the episodes. Watch the first trailer!
* Okay, just watch the trailer for this one...the animation is amazing.
Spiderman into the Spider Verse Trailer
* Good Omens
Adapted from: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
Originally published: 1990, Gollancz/Workman
Optioned for: Television (BBC/Amazon Studios)
What it’s about: Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett co-wrote this comedy about the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley trying to avoid the End Times, brought about by Satan’s son.
Status: At a 2016 memorial for Pratchett, Gaiman revealed that the late author wrote him a letter before his death imploring Gaiman to adapt their book on his own. (Gaiman: “At that point, I think I said, ‘You bastard, yes.’”) The six-part miniseries, which will star David Tennant as Crowley and Michael Sheen as Aziraphale, is set to premiere in 2019 on Amazon Prime Video before being aired via BBC Two.
[Hey. David Tennant and Michael Sheen !!!]
* Metropolis
Adapted from: various Superman comics
Originally published: 1938, DC Comics
Optioned for: Television (Warner Bros Television/DC Entertainment)
What it’s about: The producers behind Gotham will delve into life in Metropolis before Superman showed up, following young reporter Lois Lane and evil-mastermind-in-the-making Lex Luthor in their day-to-day life.
Status: The 13-episode series will premiere on DC’s streaming service sometime in 2019.
[Hmm, so they are doing the same thing they did with Batman's Gotham with Superman's Metropolis? Mainly because it's not like we haven't done the Batman and Superman stories to death already or anything. Also, does DC really need a streaming service? More importantly do we need another streaming service?]
* New Mutants
dapted from: New Mutants by Chris Claremont (writer) and Bob McLeod (artist)
Originally published: 1982, Marvel Comics
Optioned for: Film (20th Century Fox)
What it’s about: We don’t know much, but judging from the title, it’s likely about a team of young mutants fighting to protect themselves in a world that hates them.
Status: Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) will direct from a script by him and writing partner Knate Lee. Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones, Doctor Who) will play Wolfsbane, while Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split) will play Magik; Alice Braga has replaced Rosario Dawson in the role of Dr. Cecilia Reyes. Also, it’s going to be a “full-fledged horror movie”! Watch the first trailer.
[I don't tend to like horror films, but...this looks compelling and different and like a must see, particularly if you read the comics, like I did, in the 1980s.]
* Wicked
Adapted from: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Originally published: 1996, HarperCollins
Optioned for: Film (Universal Pictures)
What it’s about: Maguire’s political and ethical commentary is a revisionist take on the Wicked Witch’s life—reimagining her as Elphaba, the misunderstood, green-skinned girl who befriends another witch-to-be, Galinda, at Shiz University and stumbles upon corruption in the Emerald City.
Status: Technically, the movie is adapting the beloved Broadway musical Wicked, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holtzmann. But since their show was inspired by Maguire’s book, I’m counting it. The two are working on a screenplay, with Schwartz teasing at least two new songs. The movie will be released December 20, 2019.
* The Three Body Problem (the novel that won the Hugo a few years back)
Adapted from: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (translated by Ken Liu)
Originally published: 2006, Chongqing Press
Optioned for: Film (Youzu Pictures)
What it’s about: During China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military program sends signals into space to initiate first contact with aliens. Years later, a physicist uses the virtual reality video game Three-Body to discover a secret organization and uncover what the aliens might actually want from Earth.
Status: The Three-Body Trilogy is being adapted into six movies, directed by Panpan Zhang. Liu told The Atlantic in late 2017 that although the film shoot had wrapped in 2015, the project was still in post-production. Release date is unclear, as the project’s release seems to have been delayed several times. In the meantime, check out the stunning stage adaptation of the novel.
2. EW is hyping stuff up in their new issue..
* Trust - the John Getty Family Saga starring Donald Sutherland, Hilary Swank and Brendan Frazier (all of which I didn't realize were still doing stuff), and procuded by Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy and Christian Coulson...premiers on March 25 on F/X)
* RU Paul's Drag Show -- premiers' March 22 at 8PM on VH1. (One of my Buffy fandom friends on FB is really really into this.)
* Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, featuring new songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber and produced by them. Starring John Legend, Sara Bareilles and Alice Cooper. No word yet on who is playing Judas -- who really is the second lead. Interesting Legend is doing Jesus.
* Legion (YES it is coming back! YAY!) -- April 3 on FX (and no, F/X isn't nice enough to provide an actual time.)
* For the People -- got a great review in EW, I haven't tried it yet. I have "lawyerproblems" with these types of series, similar to what someone with an MD or a nurse would have with all the medical shows, I suspect. I can watch medical shows but legal shows irritate me, I'm guessing it's the opposite for health care providers?
[As an aside, that has zip to do with any of the above...you know you have a weakness for superhero action shows/films, when you have seen all the Marvel films and all the DC films with few exceptions and many in the movie theater. This is pathetic. I've seen 10 MCU films, 13 XMen/Spidermen Films, and 13 DC films...not including The 300 and Watchman (also saw), Sin City (yep that too), and most of the television series. Sigh. Add to this? I've read most of the comics. Oh and there is a nifty chart showing you how the MCU films and characters connect to each other. ]
* I'm skipping Roseanne, mainly because the only reason I watched it was Laurie Metcalf, John Goodman, and the writers who she kept firing, mainly because she's the female version of Trump and likes to fire people.
Goodman and Metcalf are returning, so tempted. Everyone in that cast but Roseanne was good.
I'd watch Metcalf and Goodman read the phone book.
It's premiering next week on March 27 at 8PM on ABC (no not Fox..surprisingly enough).
* Supernatural on March 29 decides to do an animated cross over with "Scooby Doo, Where are You?".
LOL!
Dean gets stuck in a vase with Daphne, while Sam gets stuck in one with Velma. Meanwhile Freddie and Shaggy are stuck together, and Scooby is all be his lonesome. Poor Scooby.
* Barry is premiering on HBO -- this is a weird sitcom about a former hitman who wants to become an actor.
*ON CNN - Christiane Amanpour decides to do a documentary series on Sex & Love Around the World.
I think there is too many television shows, channels and streaming channels...I'm losing track of all of them.
Don't get me wrong, I love it...it's just there are just not enough hours in my life to watch this stuff, go to work, have a semblance of a social life, eat, sleep, meditate, exercise, write, etc.
Also, I think if you did watch all these things after a bit, you're brain would melt and your muscles would atrophy.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-14 11:15 pm (UTC)I have problems with medical shows, absolutely. But I can't watch police procedurals either and if they never broadcast another show about lawyers I'd be thrilled. They're so predictable that I get bored. I don't care for comic books adapted to TV series. I don't watch reality television either! Right now, the only series I wish I could watch is Star Trek Discovery. I'm a life-long Trek fan. Hiss Boo CBS.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-15 03:12 pm (UTC)Hee...you've cut out three genres. Although don't know what your issue is with comic book adaptations, for one thing they are seldom like the comics and for another it's no different than well book adaptations. Timeless is no different than many comic book adaptations.
Lucky that there are still over 150 television shows that don't fit any of those genres available.
This is US, Crazy Ex, The Good Place, Call the Midwife (well sort of medical), Victoria, The Crown, OA, Grace and Frankie, The 100, Riverdale (it's not an adaptation of Archie comics at all, even if it advertises itself that way), Rise, Big Bang Theory, Mozart in the Jungle, The Amazing Mrs. Maizel...
There's so much out there. If you can't find anything? You aren't looking.
Too Long, Don't Read?
Date: 2018-03-15 09:28 pm (UTC)I didn't mean to sound whiny. To me, it feels like I'm always looking at new TV.
We love The Good Place. I sold my husband on the series its very first year; in fact, I've been advertising a rewatch at
This is Us is very compelling TV, with good acting, writing, and characters I like; it was just too...melodramatic for me, or something? Watching was like being on an emotional roller coaster every week and I felt manipulated constantly. I waded through the first eight episodes and I couldn't force myself to watch more.
My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has those musical numbers and the music is, um, kind of terrible ymmv. We only made it through ten minutes of the pilot.
Call the Midwife is another excellent show. Someone (my son?) gave me season one (series one?) as a gift and I wasn't able to finish the entire thing. It was too realistic, and God, so emotionally intense. No, thank you. For me, TV needs to be an escape from everyday reality, even more so in the Trump era.
We just watched The Crown season one and loved it. But we don't have Netflix so we'll have to wait for season two to come out on DVD, for the library to buy it, and then get in the queue, which is true for any show that belongs to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and now CBS.
I recall having objections to the premise of The 100. I don't know what OA is? (In my world, it stands for Overeaters Anonymous. *cough*) Rise is on my DVR so I'll see if I like it. I hope I do. I watched the pilot of Friday Night Lights, and again, it was great story-telling but too emotionally intense for us. I can sustain maybe two hours of that kind of emotional drain on my psyche but I can't do it week after week.
I know it's hugely popular but when I watched it like a million seasons ago, I didn't care for The Big Bang Theory. It didn't seem at all funny back then. Maybe it got better? Humor is so individual.`
Mozart in the Jungle sounds wonderful but it is a pay-TV internet show, so is The Amazing Mrs. Maizel. I might get to see them eventually? It all depends on whether or not they get released on DVD, and if I can get the library to buy them. I'm still waiting on them to purchase season one of Stranger Things. We're retired (early due to disability), and we decided not to pay for internet-streaming TV--and even if we did, the internet in our neighborhood sucks balls. I can't even watch YouTube vids without them freezing. I'm sure the internet on the West Side (where all the movie stars and studio execs live) is fantastic but the working class East San Fernando Valley is on no one's priority list for anything. Oh, dear. I'm sounding whiny again, aren't I? Damn. I keep forgetting that I'm a coastal elite.
Comic books. I loved them as a kid and I've certainly watched my share of shows and movies in the genre. I don't know? They've come to dominate the marketplace to such an extent that it's tiresome and yes, predictable.
I no longer like magic, especially magical realism, and thanks to The X-Files, I'm pretty burned out on fantasy, too. In any medium. And I don't even enjoy The X-Files anymore. Thank you, Chris Carter.
What do I watch? I got my library to buy the first three seasons of Rectify, which was on the Sundance Channel. Abigail Spencer stars in it and she is absolutely amazing. But that's another incredibly intense show and I can only watch one episode, maybe two, of something like that at a time. I had to send most of it back unwatched but I'll request it again. I've been a fan of Madame Secretary since the beginning. Because of Trump, my husband won't watch it anymore so I watch it alone. I'm still barely hanging in there with The Americans, which my husband loathes. I started watching it when I was more emotionally resilient and got attached to the characters, I guess. I'm looking forward to it ending. I loved season one but expect I'll be quitting The Expanse this coming season. It got really stupid during the second half of season two. I still love Elementary. I'm looking forward to this season, but I expect this will be its last.
I've gotten into so many shows that got cancelled mid-season that now I have a hard time committing unless there is a couple of seasons to watch. But I cannot binge-watch which makes it hard to catch up. Believe me, I've tried because the library sends a whole season at a time now. (That's to make the young people happy. My old brain gets fried, fast.) Since I can only watch an hour or so of TV a night, it's okay that there isn't much out there for me to watch. Plus, there are too books to read and so much fic I want to write. I stay busy.