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.
Saturday was a big day for superheroes at SDCC with Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios‘ panels revealing what to expect from the next few years of superhero films. There was also a lot more:
– Hannah John-Kamen was revealed to be playing the Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Originally introduced in “Iron Man” #219, the casting of the Killjoys star as the mysterious supervillain indicates large changes in store for the character. Meanwhile, Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi revealed Clancy Brown will be voicing Surtur in the movie.
– Batman and Harley Quinn had its world premiere, accompanied by the announcement that next year’s DC Animated Original Movies will consist of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay and Death of Superman. Reign of the Supermen will follow the last film in 2019, altogether promising a much more faithful and thorough adaptation of the original story than 2007’s Superman: Doomsday.
– Meanwhile, the CW released trailers for the next seasons of Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl. It was revealed The Flash‘s next big bad will be the Thinker, played by Neil Sandilands (The 100), while Danny Trejo (Machete) will play Breacher, the father of Gypsy. The network also announced another animated CW Seed webseries, Freedom Fighters: The Ray.
– Geoff Johns revealed the Syfy series Krypton, which is set in its own universe, revolves around a plot to travel back in time to prevent the birth of Superman. Characters like Adam Strange, Hawkwoman, Brainiac, and Doomsday will appear on the show. Johns also indicated the Kryptonian gods Nightwing and Flamebird may make an appearance.
– Marvel and Netflix confirmed a second season of Iron Fist, though showrunner Scott Buck (who is still overseeing Inhumans) will step down to be replaced by Raven Metzner (Sleepy Hollow, Falling Skies). It was also revealed Iron Fist’s traditional love interest Misty Knight (Simone Missick) will be making the transition from Luke Cage and The Defenders to join the show. Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb teased the formation of the Daughters of the Dragon, Knight’s partnership with Colleen Wing from the comics.
– At the DC Master Class panel, Frank Miller announced he will write a Superman series, which DC has announced will be titled “Superman: Year One.” Clearly evoking Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s seminal Batman origin story, a single panel was shown of Clark Kent, not Superman, hovering in mid-air. John Romita Jr. is attached as the penciller.
In other news across the comic-verse:
– A new “Gears of War” comic from IDW Publishing, set after the events of last year’s Gears Of War 4, will start in January. It is written by Kurtis Wiebe (“Rat Queens”), but no artist has been announced.
– Top Cow and Image have a new creator-owned series titled “Port of Earth,” from writer Zack Kaplan (“Eclipse”) and artist Andrea Mutti (“Rebels”). The setting involves aliens reaching a deal to open a spaceport on Earth, and the formation of an Earth security agency who hunt down and deport visitors who leave the port to cause chaos in human cities. Newsarama have a four-page preview of the series, which begins this winter.
– Sony Pictures have optioned the film rights to “Princeless.” An Action Lab comic created by Jeremy Whitley and Emily Martin, the series tells the story of Princess Adrienne, a headstrong black princess who sets out to rescue her six sisters from their fairy tale predicaments. Stefani Robinson (Atlanta, FX/Marvel’s animated Deadpool) has been attached as screenwriter.
– The role of Happy the Horse in Syfy’s adaptation of Image Comics’ “Happy!” has been recast. Patton Oswalt will be taking over from Bobby Moynihan, who voiced the character in the pilot. “Happy!” writer Grant Morrison is serving as executive producer, and co-wrote the pilot with director Brian Taylor. There is still no word on when the series will debut.
