Continuing our coverage from San Diego Comic-Con, here are several stories the came out over this past weekend. On Friday I gave a rundown of last week’s development announcements.
Buffy Will Slay Again, but With a Different Actress in the Lead Role
Reboot fever continues to be all the rage, and a return to Joss Whedon’s cult classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer is in the works. FOX 21 TV had talked about this last year and now they are moving forward with the project. Writer Monica Owusu-Breen (Midnight Texas, Agents of SHIELD) is working on the script with Whedon and he will be aboard as executive producer. Their current plans are to have a black actress take over the lead role. According to Hollywood Reporter, the new series “will be contemporary and build on the mythology of the original”. Whether that means it will be a continuation from the original and characters from that show will also appear in the new series remains to be seen. Also, Whedon’s long-term involvement with the series is uncertain because he currently has other commitments (such as his upcoming HBO series The Nevers which I covered on Friday). No network is attached at this point, but the reboot should draw plenty of interest.
A Star Trek: Discovery Spin-Off to be Titled Short Treks is on the Way This Fall
As previously reported, CBS wants to expand its Star Trek offerings on its All Access streaming service, and a spin-off to be titled Star Trek: Short Treks is planned for this Fall. According to Hollywood Reporter, this will initially consist of four episodes to run ten to fifteen minute that “feature deeper storytelling surrounding the characters and themes from Discovery and the expanding Star Trek universe”. Here is the rundown of the four eps currently planned:
Rainn Wilson will reprise his role as Harry Mudd in a short he will direct. Aldis Hodge (Hidden Figures, Showtime’s upcoming City on a Hill) will star in another installment as Craft, a man who finds himself the only human on board a deserted ship. Additional episodes will explore Saru’s (Doug Jones) backstory as the first Kelpien to join Starfleet and Tilly’s (Mary Wiseman) journey aboard the USS Discovery and her friendship with an unlikely partner.
The episodes will be released a month apart during Fall to help fill the gap while fans are waiting for the show’s return in early 2019. In addition to this news, a trailer for the second season of Star Trek: Discovery was released and word broke that Rebecca Romijn (X-Men, The Librarians) will be joining the show in the coming season to play the classic Trek character Number One.
Stephen King’s Creepshow to Get a Television Reboot
The 1982 film Creepshow, which was written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero will be getting a television reboot on the AMC horror-focused streaming service Shudder. The original film was a homage to the horror comics of the 1950’s and the television series will continue with the same anthology format. Executive producer and make-up artist for The Walking Dead Greg Nicotero will be helming the series and will direct the first episode. The current plan is to bring in other horror filmmakers to direct subsequent episodes. The series is currently in the works and will likely debut on the streaming service at some point in 2019.
Sci Fi TV Status Report: Wynonna Earp Was Renewed Over the Weekend While Colony Was Cancelled
Several renewal announcements came out over the weekend and one show was given its walking papers. Syfy’s supernatural western Wynonna Earp received a fourth season renewal announcement during its Comic-Con panel. YouTube Premium’s sci fi series Impulse received a second season renewal last week as did Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger, also returning for a second season. Amazon’s The Man and the High Castle received a fourth season renewal as fans wait for the third season of that show to debut this Fall. And Disney will revive Star Wars: The Clone Wars on its streaming service for a twelve-episode season that will wrap up its storylines. The show that was sent to the Network Executioner was USA’s Colony as its ratings have been down notably in its third season. Be sure to follow CancelledSciFi.com and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site to keep track of the renewal / cancellation prospects of your favorite shows.
Sci Fi TV Schedule: Castle Rock Debuts on Wednesday, Several Premiere Dates Were Revealed at Comic-Con
On Wednesday, Hulu’s horror series Castle Rock, inspired by the works of Stephen King, has its debut on the streaming service. The first three episodes will be available for streaming that day with new eps released on subsequent Wednesdays. Several shows revealed their upcoming debut dates this weekend at Comic-Con which included Netflix’s Iron Fist Season 2 (September 7th), Hulu’s new series The First (September 14th), Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle Season 3 (October 5th), and FOX’s The Passage (January 2019). You can see the preliminary Fall schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows at this link and you can keep up with the weekly listings at this link.
More Sci Fi TV News
The fan-favorite alien mercenary Lobo will be joining the cast of Syfy’s Krypton in its second season. There is no word at this point on who will play the character.
Samantha Morton will be joining the cast of The Walking Dead as Alpha, the leader of the Whispers. In the comics, she is a Negan-level villain.
The upcoming eighth season of American Horror Story will be titled “Apocalypse”. It will crossover the storylines of Season 1, “Murder House”, and Season 3, “Coven”. That show is set to return on September 12th.
