I have a few, mostly-unrelated announcements to cover this week….
First, Conan the Barbarian is making his way to your television (or computer) screens via a new, live-action show. As per Movieweb:
“According to a new report, Fredrik Malmberg and Mark Wheeler’s Pathfinder Media has made a deal with Netflix to produce the Conan the Barbarian TV series. It is also said to be the first in a deal with Conan Properties International. Under the deal, Netflix has the exclusive rights to obtain the rights to the entire Conan library. This would mean that the company could develop further movies and TV shows, both of the animated and live-action variety, should they so choose.”
Malmberg and Wheeler will, of course, be executive producers. Since (as of this writing) this is very early in development, there has been no casting of roles, no hiring of writer or director, and no revelation of any plot details. However, I get the sense that there is no connection to the Conan reboot film (2011) that starred Jason Momoa or to any other production from recent years. It is possible, however, that Netflix might help Arnold Schwarzenegger finally get his The Legend of Conan film made (starring Arnold as an older “King Conan”), though whether they would tie it (and Arnold’s previous Conan movies) in with their TV hero or have it be a totally separate thing is obviously unknown. All speculation, at this point.
I’m not a huge Conan fan, but I might check this new series out.
Second, we have a new “Green Lantern”, live-action TV series on the horizon. This is not completely new news (is that redundant?), since the series was announced one year ago this month as being developed by Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television for the upcoming streaming service HBO Max.
What does appear to be new information is that the show will be “a one-hour drama series that will explore the darkest corners of the universe” and it will focus on… well, I’ll let Warner Bros. tell you:
“From HBO Max, DC, Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television comes a bold adaptation of the iconic comic book franchise, a saga spanning decades and galaxies. Green Lantern will depict the adventures of a multitude of Lanterns, including Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, and Alan Scott — Earth’s first Green Lantern, who, true to the comics, is a gay man — and many more. The series will also include fan favorites such as Sinestro and Kilowog, and will also introduce new heroes to the ranks of the Green Lantern Corps.”
(“True to the comics…”. Well, after they retconned him back in 2012, that is. I just hope they don’t push the whole LGBTQ+ thing.)
Major Green Lanterns from Earth like Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner are noticeably missing. Are they being saved for the Green Lantern Corps film, I hope? (Is that still on track?)
The 10-episode first season will be co-written by showrunner Seth Grahame-Smith (IT, The LEGO Batman Movie, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter) and Arrowverse architect Marc Guggenheim.
I suppose I should also mention that, on a related note, WarnerMedia officially announced that “the DC Universe program is transitioning into DC Universe Infinite and most of its content will be moving over to HBO Max.” This transferred content will include the already existing, non-CW, live-action and animated DC series — “Young Justice”, “Doom Patrol”, “Stargirl”, “Titans”, “Harley Quinn”. So, the new “Green Lantern” series will have plenty of company.
I’m only a moderate GL fan, Kyle Rayner being my favorite, but I’ll probably give this series a shot.
Finally, fans of “Dexter” — and I count myself among them — got some great and surprising news. Many of us wondered “What the heck?!” at the end of the series finale, when we saw Dex (Michael C. Hall) move off to the middle of nowhere to become a lumberjack. It looks like we will get some answers — or, at the very least, a new story and finale to look forward to.
The 10-episode limited series will tentatively begin production in early 2021, eyeing a Fall 2021 premiere date. According to Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, Presidents of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.:
“Dexter is such a special series, both for its millions of fans and for Showtime, as this breakthrough show helped put our network on the map many years ago. We would only revisit this unique character if we could find a creative take that was truly worthy of the brilliant, original series. Well, I am happy to report that [original showrunner] Clyde Phillips and Michael C. Hall have found it, and we can’t wait to shoot it and show it to the world!”
I hope they bring in at least a couple familiar supporting characters, namely Dexter’s sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) and father Harry (James Remar).
Bloody marvelous! I’m in!
Heroes and Aliens 