Wonder Woman 1984 variant Nicola Scott Featured News 

The Rundown: December 3, 2020

By | December 3rd, 2020
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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.

Cover by Nicola Scott

– Now that Wonder Woman 1984 is finally heading for release, DC’s line of variant covers from the film are back on the schedule as well. Via GamesRadar, the Wonder Woman 1984 covers will run as variants in January on some of the publisher’s ‘Future State’ issues. The lineup includes covers from a host of fan-favorite artists, including Nicola Scott, Jenny Frison, Artgerm, Frank Cho, and Adam Hughes. You can check out all nine of the covers over at GamesRadar.

– As the theatrical distribution landscape continues to change during COVID-19, the details of Wonder Woman 1984’s international rollout are similarly changing. Via Variety, Wonder Woman 1984 will spend just one month in theaters in the UK before potentially getting a video-on-demand release on Sky. While Variety notes that the deal isn’t complete, the plans reflect the level of uncertainty around theatrical distribution in the UK, where several of the country’s biggest urban areas remain on lockdown. Wonder Woman 1984 will premiere on December 16 in the UK with a staggered rollout in other countries, and will premiere on December 25 in the US on HBO Max.

– In further Wonder Woman news, the current theatrical Wonder Woman is teaming up with one of her most celebrated comic scribes for a new film. Via Deadline, Gal Gadot is set to star in Heart of Stone from comic writer-turned-screenwriter Greg Rucka. Tom Harper (The Aeronauts, Wild Rose) has been tapped to direct the international spy thriller, which is being billed as a female-driven take on Mission: Impossible and James Bond. No timeline has been revealed for the film’s release, and production company Skydance Media is said to be keeping their options open regarding whether the film will have a theatrical or a streaming release.

– Sad news for fans of the Disney XD revival: DuckTales will not return for a fourth season. The news initially came from Collider’s Drew Taylor, who posted on Twitter that the show had concluded and that it “has been done for a little while now.” In a full post on Collider, Taylor revealed that the team had been informed of the show’s ending last September, and noted that most of its primary creative figures have moved on to other projects. A spokesperson for Disney XD later confirmed the show’s completion, praising the show’s 75-episode run, and promising an “epic series finale” next year. DuckTales is currently on hiatus after their Christmas episode aired on November 30, but the final episodes of season 3 are expected to air sometime in early 2021.

– Just as their partnership with Marvel is wrapping up, Fortnite is featuring characters from another corner of the House of Mouse. Via The Verge, Chapter 2: Season 5 of Fortnite features The Mandalorian, accompanied by his genocidal partner-in-crime Baby Yoda (a.k.a. Grogu). Following up on last season’s Marvel theme, Season 5 will feature a host of hunters from different realities joining forces to fight something called “the loop,” including The Mandalorian and a number of original characters. Epic Games also teased “even more hunters from realities beyond,” suggesting that this season might also feature further licensed hunters from different franchises. Fortnite Chapter 2: Season 5 – Zero Point is currently live.

– Via Publishers Weekly, HMH/Etch has picked up the world rights to the YA graphic novel “Pillow Talk” by Stephanie Cooke and Mel Valentine Vargas. The book follows Grace Mendes, a.k.a. Cinderhella, a competitor in an underground pillow fighting league called the Pillow Fight Federation. “Pillow Talk” is intended for release in 2023.

– The annual publishing trade shows BookExpo, BookCon, and Unbound are being “retired” according to organizer ReedPop. Publishers Weekly reports that the news comes following the conventions’ 2020 cancellations due to coronavirus. ReedPop attributed the decision to “continued uncertainty surrounding in-person events at this time,” and stated that they will instead be looking to develop more virtual programming.

– Via Deadline, AMC has announced The Walking Dead Holiday Special, an hour-long event that will premiere on the network’s streaming platform AMC+. Current and former cast members Lauren Cohan, Melissa McBride, Josh McDermitt, Khary Payton, Eleanor Matsuura, Cooper Andrews, Cassady McClincy, Lauren Ridloff, Cailey Fleming, Emily Kinney and IronE Singleton are set to appear on the special, which will be hosted by Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick. The cast, alongside Walking Dead Universe COO Scott M. Gimple and showrunner and executive producer Angela Kang, will reminisce about past moments in the show’s history, and look forward to its future. The Walking Dead Holiday Special will premiere on December 13.

– The newspaper Hochi Shimbun revealed the winners of their 45th annual Hochi Film Awards. Via AnimeNewsNetwork, the anime film Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train took the prize for best animated film. The film has been a massive success in Japan, earning 27.5 billion yen and passing Titanic become the second highest-grossing film of all time in Japan, behind only Spirited Away. The film is set for a limited theatrical release in the U.S. through Funimation in early 2021.

– Finally, iconic actor Hugh Keays-Byrne, best known for his villainous turns in the Mad Max franchise, has died at 73. A trained stage actor who decided to remain in Australia following a tour there with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Keays-Byrne gained international recognition for his role as the main antagonist Toecutter in director George Miller’s sleeper hit Mad Max in 1979. He appeared in a number of TV films and low budget movies throughout the next 30 years, most notably an appearance on the science fiction series Farscape as Grunchlk. When Miller was set to direct the Justice League adaptation Justice League: Mortal, he tapped Keays-Byrne for an unannounced role that was rumored to be the Martian Manhunter. That film was eventually scrapped, paving the way for Miller and Keays-Byrne to reunite one final time. Keays-Byrne earned an MTV Movie Award nomination for his role as Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015. The film was a moderate box office success, but it was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and was frequently cited at the end of the 2010s as the best film of the decade. The Mad Max Twitter account shared a memorial for Keays-Byrne following his passing. He is survived by his partner, Christina.


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Reid Carter

Reid Carter is a freelance writer, screenwriter, video editor, and social media manager who knows too much about pop culture for his own good. You can find his ramblings about comics and movies at ReidCarterWrites.com and his day to day ramblings about everything else on Twitter @PalmReider.

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