Ridley Scott is still working on The Forever War. And Safety Not Guaranteed's Colin Trevorrow has set his sights on a science fiction property that's almost as well-regarded. Kellan Lutz is making one seriously bonkers film as his Twilight follow-up.
All that plus Doctor Who hints, a new trailer for The Host, a fearsome new Arrow adversary, a ridiculously spoiler-heavy description of The Walking Dead's midseason finale, and so much more!
Spoilers from here on out!
Top image from The Walking Dead.
The Forever War
Now that Ridley Scott is firmly ensconced again in science fiction, one of his several next projects after Prometheus and his Blade Runner sequel will be an adaptation of Joe Haldeman's uber-classic The Forever War. Scott has actually been planning to making this film for at least 25 years, but his time spent directing Thelma & Louise and 1492: Conquest of Paradise apparently created a massive time dilation effect, accounting for the horrible gap in time between when Scott planned to make this movie and when he actually might get around to it. Anyway, All You Need Is Kill writer Dante Harper is currently working on a draft, which seems apropos since that movie seems to have a pretty decent chunk of The Forever War in its premise. This is at least the fourth or fifth rewrite for the project. [Deadline]
Flight of the Navigator
Remember about a week ago when someone unearthed an old podcast with Safety Not Guaranteed director Colin Trevorrow in which he talked about hoping not to entrust a beloved franchise with which he's been entrusted, and everyone (yes, us at least somewhat included) just kind of assumed that must mean Star Wars? And then he denied it, saying it was some other, presumably equally beloved sci-fi franchise? Well, it appears that other franchise was Flight of the Navigator, which at least some of you probably remember as that 80s movie about the kid who gets caught up with aliens and somehow travels forward from 1978 to 1986, which among other things means he misses out on the final two-and-a-half years of the Carter Administration (the golden years!). Anyway, if it sounds like I'm not terribly enthusiastic, just wait until you hear from Safety Not Guaranteed writer Derek Connolly, who will be reteaming with Trevorrow on this project:
"'Flight of the Navigator' wasn't a seminal movie of my childhood but I remember liking it and the original meant a lot to Colin as a kid, so it's really his baby. It'll be good to have some balance so it's not two fanboys writing the movie."
[Variety]
The Host
Here's the second trailer for the adaptation of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's other book, starring Hanna Saoirse Ronan and directed by Gattaca's Andrew Niccol.
Tatua
Kellan Lutz, who I'm reliably informed played a vampire in the Twilight movies, has bested even Taylor Lautner's Abduction for the most gleefully ludicrous post-Twilight project. Here's the description for the project, which is to be directed by visual effects expert and first-time director Aaron Sims:
Tatua is about a man with a rare blood type that allows him to be tattooed with a powerful ink. He is able to pull those weapons straight off his skin, giving him an enviable leg up as a covert assassin. The tattooed weapons are culled from the combination of the ink, the character's blood and adrenaline. They must be used quickly or they begin to dissolve, and the whole process takes a toll on the body of the assassin. All this becomes an afterthought when the assassin's son is kidnapped by one of his most notoriously violent targets.
Man, that's one seriously rare blood type. The concept is from comic book creators Paul Jenkins and Rob Prior, and while this might seem like the kind of idea that's perfectly suited to the comic book medium and seems like it's just going to look stupid as a live-action movie, well... just check out this quote from producer Rick Schwartz about what this film is really all about (emphasis mine):
"Kellan was in the foreground and the background of the Twilight Saga films, but he is a formidable physical presence and this is an opportunity for him to step up. Also helpful is that Lutz looks good without a shirt, which will be part of the bargain as he strips tattoos off his body to create mayhem. Tatua at its heart is a cool, visually arresting origin story."
An origin story, eh? Thank goodness, I was worried there would only be one of these. [Deadline]
Doctor Who
Here's a short description for this year's Christmas special, "The Snowmen":
A sombre Doctor comes out from the cold in this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special, The Snowmen, just in time to save the world with a little help from a feisty young governess called Clara.
The phrasing of the beginning of that description mostly just makes me realize that this thing could have been called "The Doctor Who Came In From The Cold", and now my life won't be complete until that's an actual episode title. Anyway, here's a slightly longer synopsis the BBC has also released:
Christmas Eve 1892, and the falling snow is the stuff of fairytales.
When the fairytale becomes a nightmare and a chilling menace threatens Earth, an unorthodox young governess, Clara, calls on the Doctor for help. But the Doctor is in mourning, reclusive and determined not to engage in the problems of the universe. As old friends return, will the Doctor really abandon humankind or will he fight to save the world – and Christmas – from the icy clutches of this mysterious menace?
Starring Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Richard E Grant and Tom Ward.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Brett Dalton, who has made appearances on Army Wives and Blue Bloods and has a starring role in National Geographic's upcoming Killing Lincoln, has reportedly been cast in one of the main roles on Joss Whedon's S.H.I.E.L.D. show for ABC. Dalton will reportedly play Agent Grant, described as "one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s highly-skilled rising stars [who is] deadly, precise, and cool under fire - but not so great with the people skills." Sounds a little like show's answer to Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, actually, although I'm guessing Grant will be sans bow and arrow. [TV Line]
The Walking Dead
We haven't had as many of these this season, but an extremely detailed description of this Sunday's midseason finale, "Made to Suffer", has popped up online. Here's a taste:
Lots of screaming in the woods. Tyrese and friends fight through walkers in the forest. One of their group is bitten. They stumble across the prison and debate whether to leave their injured comrade behind. Tyrese decides that they will bring her with them for now, and they climb over a broken-down section of the fence. Andrea and The Governor share some more sweet-talk. Gov pays a visit to Penny and sings her a lullaby. He gets angry with her when she won't make eye contact and sends her back into her closet without dinner.
Glenn rips the bones out of the walker he fought off last episode and hands one to Maggie. Makeshift weaponry. Meanwhile, Rick's rescue party surveys the Woodbury wall and opts to sneak in around the side. Merle and The Governor plot the decimation of the prison faction and plan to let walkers reclaim the place to cover their tracks. Merle is concerned about Daryl and The Gov agrees to make a play for Daryl to be their inside man. Glenn and Maggie are to be disposed of tonight.
There's still at least twice that much again at the link. [SpoilerTV]
Person of Interest
Haven
The season finale will reportedly be called "Thanks for the Memories" and is set to air December 21. You know, title like that really seems like the sort of thing you save for a series finale. No, I'm not sure why I'm spending so much time critique season finale titles either. [SpoilerTV]
Additional reporting by Rob H. Dawson and Charlie Jane Anders.