Welcome back to The Rundown, our daily breakdown on comic news stories we missed from the previous day. Have a link to share? Email our team at rundown@multiversitycomics.com.
In case you missed it over the holidays, Marvel revealed their Summer 2020 event ‘Empyre,’ while Image announced “Decorum,” and Vault unveiled “No One’s Rose.” (Filipino creator Gerry Alanguilan also passed away, aged just 51.) And in the meantime, don’t miss out on our 2019 Year in Review columns published over the break.
– Mark Millar took to Twitter to announce he has begun writing a ten-part “Jupiter’s Legacy” spin-off, titled “Jupiter’s Requiem.” This will be the fifth comic book series in Millar and Frank Quitely’s superhero saga, the television adaptation of which debuts on Netflix later this year.
– Speaking of Netflix, the streaming service renewed Raising Dion for an eight-part second season, which will begin production later this year. The show, starring Alisha Wainwright, Ja’Siah Young and producer Michael B. Jordan, was based on the comic by Dennis Liu and (an uncredited) Jason Piperberg. You can read our recaps of the first season here.
– A new “Death Note” one-shot will be published in next month’s issue of Jump Square magazine, due out February 4. The 87-page manga, which will be the first addition to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s series since 2008, will see “Ryuk’s Death Note once again falling to Earth.” It is unknown when an English translation will be released.
– Writer Laura Hudson has been working as a staff writer on HBO Max’s adaptation of “DMZ.” Hudson, who was one of the first women to allege sexual harassment from the comic’s writer Brian Wood, revealed she was brought onto the show after director Ava DuVernay (who is helming the pilot) read her story. “I can’t remember a time where sharing a #MeToo story has ended so positively,” she said, “and I wanted all of you to know not only that it did but that it can. Ava did this for me. People like her exist; they lift people up; they give stories different endings. It’s something to aspire to.”
– There were several Disney+ announcements regarding their 2020 series, with the reveal that the premiere of Marvel’s WandaVision has been brought forward for this year, and that Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 will commence February 17. The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau, meanwhile, announced the show’s second season will start this Fall.
– Jake Gyllenhaal will reportedly star in a film adaptation of the musical Fun Home, based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir. The report, originating from London’s Daily Mail, claims Gyllenhaal will play Alison’s father Bruce Bechdel and produce the film, which will be directed by Sam Gold (who oversaw the original Off-Broadway production in 2013).
– Valiant signed a deal with developer Blowfish Studios (Siegecraft, Storm Boy) for new video games based on their characters. (These will be the first Valiant games since their former owner Acclaim Entertainment went bankrupt in 2004.) In further Valiant news, the release date of the Bloodshot movie (starring Vin Diesel) was delayed by a month to March 13, 2020.
– Emmy Award-winning TV producer Lee Mendelson died on December 25, 2019, following a battle with lung cancer. Mendelson, 86, was the executive producer of countless Peanuts specials from 1965 to 2015, as well as the first two Garfield specials with Bill Melendez. Influential designer Syd Mead (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner, Tron, Aliens) also died on December 30, aged 86.
– Finally, Joker won two Golden Globe Awards at last night’s ceremony: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for Joaquin Phoenix, and Best Original Score – Motion Picture for composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. You can read the full list of this year’s winners and nominees here.
