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 yesterday, we interviewed “Maxwell’s Demons” writer Deniz Camp and Vault Comics EiC Adrian Wassel, and “The Adventure Zone” co-creator Travis McElroy.
– Sony has announced that actor Jake Johnson (New Girl, Safety Not Guaranteed) will be voicing Peter Parker in the upcoming animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film, which will be led by Shameik Moore (Dope, The Get Down) as Miles Morales. While a teaser dropped last year not much has surfaced since in the way of plot or villains for the movie; however, the casting announcement at CinemaCon also came with new footage showing off the film’s Kingpin, Prowler, and Green Goblin. According to those in attendance, the villains of the film all appear to be inspired by the Ultimate Universe versions of those characters, which makes sense seeing as Miles takes over for Peter in the Ultimate Universe after he is killed by the Green Goblin. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is scheduled for release on December 18 of this year so keep an eye out for that new trailer.
– In an interview with Esquire, Solo: A Star Wars Story star Alden Ehrenreich set the record straight about directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, 22 Jump Street)’s departure from the picture, in addition to spilling a few interesting tidbits about his contract for the film. Ehrenreich wanted to make everyone sure everyone was clear on the fact that he did not ask for Miller or Lord’s firing, nor did he or the crew cheer upon hearing that the pair had been fired. The scruffy nerf herder went on to add that his contract has him signed on as part of a three-film deal (Han Solo trilogy here we come). Solo: A Star Wars Story premieres in theatres May 25 just in time for Memorial Day Weekend (get it, because he died in a war… a Star War).
– Hot off the news that Dark Horse would be publishing the manga series “Mob Pyscho 100” in the United States, it was announced that Netflix will be streaming the live-action series come May. Created by artist/writer ONE (“One Punch Man,” “Makai no Ossan”) “Mob Pysho 100” follows unassuming middle schooler Shigeo Kageyama (or Mob, which roughly translates to “background character,” for short) as he attempts to subdue his growing psychic powers by suppressing his emotions until they reach ‘100,’ causing them to erupt dramatically. The first season of the live-action Mob Pyscho 100 will be available for streaming on Netflix on May 22, with the first volume of the translated manga going on sale October 24.
– Iraqi comic strip collective Mesaha was noticeably absent from Fumetto this weekend, despite their work catching more than a few glances at the Swiss graphic design festival. The artists were unable to attend the festival due to Swiss officials denying their visa applications, despite the fact that their works made up two of the featured exhibits (one of which was shown inside the Sonnenberg Bunker, the largest bunker in Europe). The denial of the group’s visas is an unfortunate setback made even more regrettable when framed against the backdrop of the Iraqi comics scene, which after years of war and a lack of institutional support, has floundered in recent years, leaving Mesaha as a lone voice pushing the artform along. The collective’s next goal is to build a place of higher learning with artists-in-residency programs for youth.
– Damon Lindelof (Lost, World War Z) has now made clear that the upcoming HBO Watchmen series will not be a straight adaption of the seminal Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons series. Lindelof used FX’s Fargo as a touchstone for his take on the series, with the story relating back to the source material but building on it as well. It is unclear if this means that Lindelof will be avoiding any direct adaption of the material from the series, which the writer made sure to point out would likely please Moore to no end as the author is notoriously against any adaption of “Watchmen.” It may even turn out that Lindelof ignores the six central characters for much of the series, who knows, we might even get just 3 seasons of the Black Freighter (a boy can dream dammit).
– Disney has announced that they will be debuting Big Hero 6: The Series on June 9th and 10th. The series will pick up following the movie and the special “Baymax Returns,” which aired on Disney Channel last year. For those unfamiliar with the film or the lesser known Marvel comic which the series is based on, it follows the exploits of robotics prodigy Hiro, his inflatable robot pal Baymax, and four of his deceased brother’s friends who become a team of robo-powered superheroes. The debut will air with back-to-back episodes on Disney Channel on both days from 9:00 am to 10:00 am EST, with new episodes airing every Saturday following that.
– A response to a fan’s tweet by author Gail Simone (“Red Sonja,” “Batgirl”) revealed that the writer is currently developing a graphic novel featuring a team-up between Swamp Thing and Poison Ivy. While Simone did not go into much detail, she did clarify the project is currently residing in limbo at DC.
