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 a surprising bit of news today, Untitled Han Solo Film directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are now former-Untitled Han Solo Film directors after a split with the Lucasfilm yesterday. Studio-head Kathleen Kennedy released a statement praising the film-makers but saying they simply “had different creative visions on this film” and nothing that a new director would be named soon. Ron Howard is currently the front-runner for the director’s chair according to Deadline. Lord and Miller’s own statement echoed Kennedy’s sentiment. Filming for the film has been underway in London since February and still requires several more weeks of shooting, which doesn’t include reshoots that have been scheduled for later this summer. In related new,s The Wrap is reporting that the duo reportedly met with DC Films during a production hiatus for Han Solo about the possibility of replacing Rick Famuyiwa as the director of The Flash.
– It is being reported that a television adaptation of “Watchmen” is in early development at HBO. Damon Lindelof, the showrunner for Lost and The Leftovers, is in talks to steer the show. This is not the first time the network has discussed a possible “Watchmen” adaptation. In 201,5 the network had talked about the possibility of partnering with Zack Snyder for a series, though he’s no longer involved. Snyder directed the 2009 film adaptation of the series which has continually been described by many as unadaptable.
– A Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Blu-Ray HD remaster has been announced for release next month. This will be the first time the film has been released on Blu-Ray. It will include the film in two different aspect ratios (16×9 and 4×3) as well as the film’s original theatrical trailer as its only special feature.
– Viceland has announced the launch of a Toonami-style late-night anime block. The network doesn’t yet have a name for the block but they have announced that the initial line-up will consist of Samurai Champloo, Eureka Seven, Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul √A, and Cowboy Bebop. It will premiere on July 17th at midnight and run as daily programming on the VICELAND channel and Viceland TV.
– Ninja Boy is returning to shelves after seventeen years this October. Ale Garza and Allen Warner, the character’s original creators, are relaunching the book after a successful Kickstarter and reacquiring the rights from DC Comics. The character who was originally created as an animation pitch was worked into Jim Lee’s Wildstorm Universe almost two decades ago and the creators have been waiting ever since to get their hands on Ninja Boy again.
– Rob Liefeld is to begin spearheading the development of Dave Cockrum’s creator-owned property the Futurians. Dave Cockrum is the creator of Nightcrawler and designer of Storm, Colossus, Thunderbird, and Mystique, though the Futurians were his favorite creation according to Clifford Meth who represents his estate. Liefeld has stated that Cockrum’s work “defined my childhood and inspired me to be a comic book creator,” and that “the opportunity to bring the Futurians to the modern comic fan is both a thrill and an honor.”
– Bryan Hitch has announced that he’s ending his run on Rebirth’s “Justice League” title. In a tweet today he stated that he was writing the outline for his last Justice League story which would begin in issue #33. No replacement has been announced, nor has the length of the ‘final story’ be revealed.
– Aftershock announced a companion one-shot for Marguerite Bennett and Rafael de Latorre’s “Animosity” this September, entitled “World of Animosity.” The two creators will be joined by guest artist Juan Doe. The issue is being positioned as a more in-depth look at the world this series takes place in that can work as great supplemental material to those already reading and a great jumping on point for those who haven’t tried it out.
– In other DCEU news, Geoff Johns and Patty Jenkins are officially working on the script for the Wonder Woman sequel. Jon Berg also confirmed that the film will be set in the past. The specific date he gave was “somewhere between 1917 and 2017.”
– DC Entertainment is partnering with Franco-Belgian publisher Darguad to publish two Batman bandes dessinees by European cartoonist Enrico Marini. The untitled books are scheduled to release on November 3, 2017, and in Spring 2018 respectively.
