Rogue Titans Academy

“Ex Astris, Scientia!” — official motto of Starfleet Academy

Time for a few genre news updates that you might have missed. (Or not. Indulge me…)

First up… Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. The film was announced in Dec. 2020 with a release date in Dec. 2023. Wonder Woman‘s Patty Jenkins was set to direct from a story she would collaborate on with Matthew Robinson (Love and Monsters). But, as reported in Nov. 2021, Jenkins’ busy schedule with other projects resulted in the film getting shelved with an uncertain future.

In a recent podcast interview, Jenkins revealed that she had signed a deal with Lucasfilm right about the time the SAG-AFTRA strikes began. Now that that business has all cleared up and the possible Wonder Woman 3 project has been cancelled, she is freed up to get the Rogue Squadron development underway. Her priority now is getting a completed script to Lucasfilm. Fingers crossed that everything progresses smoothly and we finally get a good, new addition to the Star Wars franchise.

Switching franchises,… James Gunn and DC Studios recently announced that a live-action Teen Titans movie is being added to the slate of projects revealed back in Jan. 2023. The film will be written by Ana Nogueira, an actress (“Hightown”, “The Blacklist”) whose only writing credit — at least, on IMDB — is the currently-in-pre-production Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. I hope this is a good choice — “new blood” and all that — but part of the problem we have seen with disappointing genre films lately is due to relatively inexperienced writers and directors. So, this may not bode well.

The film will have no connection with the live-action “Titans” TV series that recently ended its four-season run. I think this is a good thing. For one, that show had a decent finale; for another, I hope that the film will be somewhat “mature” but less dark (whether for a standalone or first film) than the TV series was. I also hope the casting and writing are more faithful to the source material.

As of this post, no announcements have been made about cast, director, plot, or tentative release date.

I wrote last week about the Star Trek: Section 31 movie that recently finishing filming. But, another highly-anticipated Star Trek project is “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy”. It has been almost exactly a year since CBS/Paramount announced that the much-rumored streaming series had indeed been approved and a first season ordered. Filming was set to begin in 2024 for a likely 2025 premiere.

Development slowed during the strikes and further news had been virtually non-existent. Until last month, that is, when franchise-boss Alex Kurtzman revealed a few tidbits about the young adult-oriented series in an interview with Collider. For example, the writers and set-builders are now hard at work during the pre-production phase (more on this later), but filming should begin late this summer. The first season is expected to have 10 episodes, but it probably won’t air until sometime in 2026.

“There’s a lot of different kids from a lot of different places. Some of them want to be there, some of them don’t want to be there. It’s gonna be a fundamental reinforcement of all the things we love about Starfleet, in general.” — Alex Kurtzman

Kurtzman also stated that (re-)building “that optimistic future that is Roddenberry’s essential vision… is very much going to be at the heart of Starfleet Academy.”

More recently, it was confirmed that the show will take place in the “Discovery” time period (i.e., 32nd century). But, whether or not the beloved Lt. Tilly will be involved has not been confirmed at this stage. No cast at all has been announced. But, we do know that Tawny Newsome, who voices ‘Mariner’ on “Lower Decks” is part of the writing team. Gaia Violo (“Absentia”, “Blood & Treasure”) is show creator, and Kurtzman will share executive producer and showrunner duties with Noga Landau (“Nancy Drew”, “See”).

Incidentally, in a recent ST cover story, Variety revealed that Paramount is going all out on this project, building the largest single set ever created for a “Star Trek” TV show. The central set for the series, used for the Academy’s atrium, will use the entire 45,900 square foot soundstage at Pinewood Toronto.

“A sprawling, two-story structure that will include a mess hall, amphitheater, trees, catwalks, multiple classrooms and a striking view of the Golden Gate Bridge in a single, contiguous space.”

Sounds impressive! As long as the stories and characters are written well, too, I will remain cautiously optimistic.

Headline Miscellany

Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen several announcements in genre news that I thought were worth commenting briefly on. You may have seen them already, but please indulge me while I give my two cents’ worth (or less) on each. Give your own in the comments, too, if you feel led….

TV/Netflix News

A-Team:  I thought the movie version from a few years ago was just OK and only liked half of the casting choices. If they want to bring it back to TV, I guess that’s cool… as long as they stay faithful to the original. Sounds like they’re going to make at least one of the main characters female. As long as it isn’t B.A., I guess I can deal with that… maybe. Btw, I started fan-casting for an A-Team reboot long ago, so I’ll have to share those ideas in the coming months.

Iron Fist and Moon Knight:  If the rumor is true about “Iron Fist” getting scrapped (or, at least, postponed), that would be disappointing but not entirely surprising, given the problems with casting and developing a workable concept for the series. (I wonder if they’ve considered bringing in some Hong Kong talent….) It would be a shame not to see the other half of “Power Man and Iron Fist”/”Heroes for Hire” in the Defenders. On the other hand, the possible replacement with Moon Knight works for me. Not clear if MK would be part of the Defenders, but he has been in at least one version of the team in the comics. Regardless, I’ve already expressed my desire to see an MK series, so how could I say “no”?

X-Men:  Well, not X-Men, exactly, but it looks as if not one but two new shows are being developed involving some of Marvel’s not-so-Merry Mutants. The first is “Legion”, named after the illegitimate son of Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller, who happens to be off his nut (i.e., crazy) and incredibly powerful. The second will be a look at “The Hellfire Club” as it existed in the 1960s. Not sure how I feel about “Legion”, especially when there are, imho, several better options. But, a look at the clandestine mutant elitists know as “The Hellfire Club” could prove quite intriguing, and setting it in the 60s is an interesting twist.

TV/Movie News

(Teen) Titans and Birds of Prey(?):  It’s about time we heard something about this. We got a little news in May and then September that the “Titans” TV show is still in development at TNT. Now, we may be getting a Teen Titans movie, too! I was never a huge Titans fan, but I do like several of the characters, so this could be pretty cool. The quoted line that led to the speculation about a Birds of Prey movie, too, is not that clear to me. I read it as referring to the Teen Titans movie possibly having an “all female cast”. But, if they do it right, I am totally in favor of a big-screen Birds of Prey, as long as the connection to Batman and other heroes is there.

Movie News

Xenomorph (H.R. Giger)

Aliens and Prometheus:  The first part of this is that Scott is now insisting that his Prometheus 2 be scheduled to shoot before Alien 5, which is probably fine, since Blomkamp is still refining his story and script. (Downside, ofc, is that this may delay Alien 5 another year.) A few weeks later, Scott announced that his film will now be titled, Alien: Paradise Lost. This strengthens — or, at least, confirms — its connection to the Alien films. Uncharacteristically, Scott even hinted at “connections with Ripley”, the return (or would that be the debut?) of the classic xenomorph, and big plans for the android David’s severed head. Scott is 77, which may factor into his reasons for this accelerated pace. For me and the rest of the fans, I think it’s a good thing.

Superman:  A bit of bad news, this one. Rumor has it that the much-anticipated Man of Steel 2 is on indefinite hold. Truth be told, though, it’s all a bit sketchy, with nothing definitive coming from the studio or reliable sources. Far as I could tell, we never had any projected dates for production or release, anyway. Still, this is a bit disappointing, and I hope everything comes together in the near future. I’d really like to see Henry Cavill’s Supes in solo action, with focus on him and his classic foes, while he’s still in his 30s.

Men in Black:  I don’t know about this…. MiB is due to return with another trilogy (could be great!) but without Will Smith (could spell disaster). So much of the success of the first trilogy was the characters played by Smith and Jones and their odd-couple chemistry on screen. This makes me dubious of another trilogy’s success without either star. But, who knows? There may be another perfect pair ready to be cast that could — along with clever stories/scripts and F/X — give the franchise three more blockbusters.

Indiana Jones:  According to Spielberg, “I’ll probably do an Indy 5 with Harrison.” This confirms what both (Spielberg protege and current Lucasfilm president) Kathleen Kennedy and producer Frank Marshall have hinted at earlier this year, though there is no script and it will probably be awhile. Of course, if they want to have Ford, 73, actively involved, they better get a move on! One possibility is to have an elderly, possibly ailing, Indy (played by Ford) bookend the movie, as he relates a tale of his younger years to his (grand)children. Not sure how I feel about Chris Pratt (suggested by some) playing that younger version of Indiana Jones, but casting will be crucial to capture that same, lovable, swashbuckling swagger.

Die Hard:  Not sure how I feel about this. I thought the last installment was fun, yet it lacked a little something. Making a prequel could be a great idea, or it could really suck. Willis’ unique presence — the attitude (inc. the ever-present smirk) and delivery of great one-liners — is what made this franchise so popular. Without him, I’m not sure it’s worth the effort. Casting the young John McClane is key, along with a great script and director, of course. (Just as it will be for any Star Wars prequel featuring a young Han Solo, or the Indiana Jones prequel mentioned above.) If it doesn’t all come together, they should just let the franchise rest in peace.

UPDATE, 10/22/2015:  Of course, this came out the day after I published this post….

Krypton:  “It takes place 200 years before Man of Steel.… [W]e’ll learn about the politics of the world. We’ll learn about the culture, the art, all the different guilds… a lot of different locations… some of the other moons, which is kind of cool.” That all sounds cool to me. Lots of opportunity to expand on what we “know” about Krypton and its peoples. I’m sure the creators are having a lot of fun mapping it all out. Now, how about an estimated release date…?