Marvel’s TV department is using their new business model for development as they paused three supposedly greenlit projects.

While many people feel that Marvel movies need to get back on a cohesive track, their television division has faced their own issues. Back in 2023, it was revealed that Daredevil: Born Again was going to be completely retooled after Kevin Feige and Marvel execs were not satisfied with the direction the anticipated show was heading in. The major overhaul echoed the infamous reshoots that the recent Captain America: Brave New World had gone through. As audiences wait with crossed fingers that Daredevil: Born Again comes out unscathed by the retooling, Deadline now reports that Marvel Television has paused the development of three planned shows: Nova, Strange Academy, and Terror, Inc.

According to Deadline’s sources, these shows were never officially given the greenlight. However, even with Marvel pausing the development, they have left the door open to possibly revisit them in the future. The company has simply decided to reshift their focus onto other projects. This decision is said to be part of the company’s new model on the development of shows. Marvel is famous for announcing their upcoming slate of projects that have been more or less teased by movies or shows in the past. A couple of years ago, new senior leadership at the company would alter the development process around the same time Daredevil: Born Again was taken back to square one.

Last August, Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios’ Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation, talked about applying a new strategy to the development of new shows. Winderbaum explained, “We’re developing more than we make now, so we’re actually have a few different things brewing that we might see through to at least a pilot script to see if we want to make it. But, there’s a lot of opportunity out there, it’s hard to choose favorites… We’re really being careful about what we choose to do next.”

This also comes after the news that Marvel had chosen a showrunner for Nova back in December. Winderbaum told Phase Two podcast, “We love Nova. We are in really early development on Nova.” Kevin Feige had also told ComicBook.com that the Nova TV series is “happening, it’s coming together.” Then, it was revealed by industry insider Jeff Sneider, “Ed Bernero to showrun NOVA for Marvel.“

Deadline reports that, “Strange Academy would have been an adaptation of the eponymous comic book series, created by Skottie Young and artist Humberto Ramos, which debuted in March 2020. Set in New Orleans, it centers on a school founded by Doctor Strange to educate young individuals with magical abilities. The show was expected to focus on Wong, portrayed by Benedict Wong, and his leadership of the school. It’s not clear who was attached to develop the show. Launched in 1992, the comic book series Terror, Inc. centers on an antihero by the name of Terror, who possesses the ability to incorporate the body parts of others into his own form, gaining their memories and abilities. Created by Dan Chichester, Margaret Clark, and Klaus Janson, the character first appeared under the name Shreck in St. George #2 in August 1988 before being reintroduced as Terror in the 1992 series. Again, no word on who was involved with development.“

Would you like to see Marvel circle back to Nova, Strange Academy, and/or Terror, Inc. someday? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Coming our way from Blumhouse Television, Marker 96, and CrimeThink Production Company and set up at Prime Video, The Bondsman stars Kevin Bacon as Hub Halloran, a murdered bounty hunter who’s back from the dead after being resurrected by the Devil to trap and send back demons that have escaped from the prison of Hell. By chasing down those demons with the help and hindrance of his estranged family, Hub learns how his own sins got his soul condemned — which pushes him to seek a second chance at life, love, and country music. Today, it was announced that all eight of the show’s half-hour episodes will be available to stream on April 3rd, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide – and along with that announcement comes the unveiling of some first look images, which you can check out in this article.

Bacon is joined in the cast by Jennifer Nettles (The Righteous Gemstones), Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time In Hollywood), Beth Grant (No Country for Old Men), Maxwell Jenkins (Lost in Space), and Jolene Purdy (Orange Is the New Black). Herriman plays Lucky, “the owner of a successful country music club, who is in a relationship with Maryanne (Nettles), Hub’s ex-wife.” Grant’s character is Kitty, the mother of Hub Halloran. Jenkins plays Cade, the son of Hub and Maryanne. Purdy plays Midge, who is “weary with the understated gravitas of someone who’s learned the hard way how to hold her ground in a male-dominated world. Midge may look unassuming but she’s actually a secret emissary.”

The series was created by executive producer Grainger David, whose short film The Chair screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Erik Oleson, who was the showrunner for the second season of the Prime Video series Carnival Row (and the third season of the Netflix / Marvel series Daredevil), also serves as showrunner on this series, and is executive producing through his company CrimeThink. Blumhouse’s Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold, and Chris Dickie are also executive producing The Bondsman, alongside CrimeThink’s Paul E. Shapiro. Bacon is an executive producer on the series as well, and Erik Holmberg serves as co-executive producer.

Will you be watching The Bondsman when it premieres in April? Take a look at the images, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

The popular but unforgiving video game where your character ages with each respawn is getting brought to life as a feature.

The video game Sifu from developers Slocap is an unforgiving test of endurance and Netflix is now bringing the popular title to life. This will actually not be the first time the game is adapted into a narrative project as the Prime Video anthology series Secret Level drew upon numerous video game titles for their episodes and Sifu is included amongst them. However, the Sifu segment in Secret Level was done in a style that’s very faithful to the animation look of the video game. Netflix’s movie will be a full-on live-action adaptation.

The story of the game, per Deadline, “tells a story of revenge set in modern-day China. It follows the student of a martial arts school’s master (Sifu) as he seeks to avenge the murder of his mentor. The twist, however, is that thanks to a magical talisman, each time our hero dies, he’s resurrected, but the price paid is that he ages with every use. And should he become too old too fast, his death shall become permanent, and his quest unfulfilled.”

John Wick director Chad Stahelski’s 87Eleven production company will be producing the project along with Story Kitchen. Stahelski will be on board as a producer with Jason Spritz and Alex Young. They will work alongside Dmitri M. Johnson and Mike Goldberg for Story Kitchen. Executive producers of the movie will include Timothy I. Stevenson and Elena Sandoval. Jeff Ludwig will also be on board as an executive producer with Sloclap’s Jordan Layani and Pierre Tarno joining the fray. Sifu had sold over one million copies within the first three weeks of its release across platforms such as Playstation and Xbox.

Meanwhile, Stahelski is hard at work on his Highlander reboot with Henry Cavill in tow. He revealed recently that the movie will completely shift the timeline we might expect, saying, “We’re bringing it forward from the early 1500s in the highlands to the beyond present-day New York and Hong Kong, and seeing how it goes. There’s big opportunity for action. There’s a chance to play a character that not a lot of people get to play. And it’s a bit of a love story, but not how you think. On John Wick, I learned a lot on how to bend the storytelling a little… another kind of myth.”

About the Author

E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.

Dark Horse Books has put together an updated and expanded edition of Joe Bob Briggs’ 1987 book Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In

Back in 1987, legendary drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs gathered a bunch of his reviews and newspaper columns and released them in a book called Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In. That book has long been out of print, but now, Joe Bob has teamed up with Dark Horse Books to bring an updated and expanded edition of Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In to store shelves on October 14th! Copies are already available for pre-order on Amazon.

The artbook-sized new edition of Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In features cover art by Wallace McBride, new interior artwork illustrated by Mike Norton and colored by Bill Crabtree, and an introduction by Stephen King. Joe Bob told our friends at Bloody Disgusting, “I’m thrilled that someone still cares about these little pieces dashed off for a daily newspaper four decades ago and was amazed that they were reprinted in book form the first time. To have them now memorialized and illustrated by a prestige outfit like Dark Horse is mind-boggling. They come from a time when the mainstream media hated what I was doing and many organizations actively tried to cancel me, but today they seem so tame that nobody will believe that. I hope all the genre experts of the current day will regard them as the primitive pre-history of pop-culture film criticism.“

In this book, you’ll find “Joe Bob’s first columns for The Dallas Times Herald, essays on beloved horror classics like Basket Case, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Evil Dead, his famous B-movie reviews, fan letters and replies, and his adventures as the world’s foremost expert on drive-ins.“Joe Bob said it’s “an expanded book that includes the original reviews, plus columns not seen in 40 years, plus new writing!“

Bloody Disgusting was also provided with quotes from several filmmakers, singing the praises of Joe Bob and the book. Late Night with the Devil star David Dastmalchian said, “Joe Bob’s MonsterVision was the gateway for so many of us horror hounds and monster kids, cinephiles and schlock junkies. Once fans peeled back the full-tilt fun of his presentation style and humor, there was an aptitude of film appreciation and philosophy that clobbered us all over the head with astonishment and awe. Having his words and history lovingly curated into this collection is a marvelous gift for movie lovers. Pairing it with Dark Horse is the icing on the bloody cake.” David Gordon Green, director of the recent trilogy of Halloween sequels, said, “I’ve been inspired by Joe Bob since subscribing to We Are the Weird back in the ’90s.  He’s always pointing toward insightful tentacles (or testicles) of entertainment and opening minds to an appreciation of unusual films. If you look closely, you can see the academic within his absurdity.” Suitable Flesh director Joe Lynch had this to say: “Joe Bob has been a hero of mine since his MonsterVision days. As someone who was practically raised at the drive-in myself, I speak in the same celluloid-soaked language as this book. I am very happy to say it is the ultimate guide to the world of cult film and the people who love it. It’s hilarious, intelligent, exhaustive and always eloquent in expositing the three B’s: blood, breasts, and beasts! It is a must-read for anyone in the Mutant Family and for all the film freaks like me who have an undying love for pure Sinema. All Hail The Book of Briggs.” And another legend, John Waters, added: “Joe Bob is the Henri Langlois of exploitation films. He’s already a cinema saint, and if I were you, I’d pray for his guidance.“

Are you a fan of Joe Bob Briggs, and will you be picking up a copy of the new edition of Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In from Dark Horse Books? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and if you have read the original edition of Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In, tell us what you thought of it!

Owen Wilson returns to television in a golf comedy from Apple TV+ and is joined by a cast that includes Judy Greer and Timothy Olyphant.

Apple TV+ today revealed a first-look at Stick, a new golf comedy series starring and executive produced by Owen Wilson and created by Jason Keller. The 10-episode season will make its global debut on Apple TV+ with three episodes on Wednesday, June 4, followed by one new episode every Wednesday, through July 23.  

In Stick, Owen Wilson stars as Pryce Cahill an over-the-hill, ex-pro golfer whose career was derailed prematurely 20 years ago. After the collapse of his marriage and getting fired from his job at an Indiana sporting goods store, Pryce hedges his bets, and future, entirely on a troubled 17-year-old golf phenom named Santi (Peter Dager). Stick is a heartfelt, feel-good comedy about a found family and their relationships set within the world of golf as it has never been shown before.

In addition to Wilson and Dager, the ensemble cast includes Marc Maron, Mariana Treviño, Lilli Kay, Judy Greer and Timothy Olyphant, and features guest appearances from golf superstars such as Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley, Max Homa, Wyndam Clark, and more. Additional cameos include broadcasters Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman, Good Good’s Matt Scharff, Brad Dalke and Garrett Clark, as well as golf enthusiast Dan Rapaport. “Stick” is showrun by Keller, who also serves as executive producer alongside Wilson, Ben Silverman for Propagate Content and Entertainment 360’s Guymon Casady. The series is also executive produced by Howard T. Owens, Rodney Ferrell, Drew Buckley, Lee Eisenberg, Natalie Sandy, Christopher Moynihan, Bill Callahan, Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton. Faris and Dayton serve as directors along with David Dobkin, Jaffar Mahmood, M.J. Delaney and John Hamburg.

Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries, and series have been honoured with 550 wins and 2,557 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy Ted Lasso and Oscar Best Picture winner CODA.

The horror project This Is Not a Test, starring Olivia Holt of Totally Killer and Heart Eyes, is now filming with Adam MacDonald at the helm

A couple of years ago, Olivia Holt had a prominent role in the time travel slasher movie Totally Killer. She’s one of the leads in the rom-com slasher Heart Eyes, which reached theatres earlier this month. Now, she’s already at work on another genre project, as she’s starring in a film called This Is Not a Test, which is described as “The Breakfast Club meets 28 Weeks Later.” Adam MacDonald (Backcountry, Pyewacket, Out Come the Wolves) is directing the apocalyptic horror thriller, which is based on a YA novel by bestselling author Courtney Summers – and it was MacDonald who took to social media to announce that production is now underway!

The story centers on Sloane and four other students who take cover in Cortege High to escape a world plagued by the infected. As danger relentlessly pounds on the doors, Sloane begins to see the world through the eyes of people who actually want to live and takes matters into her own hands.

Froy Gutierrez (The Strangers: Chapter 1) and Luke MacFarlane (Bros) are in the cast with Holt.

This Is Not a Test is filming in Ontario, Canada. Cybill Lui is producing the film under her Anova Pictures banner. Blue Fox Entertainment has acquired all international rights across non-English-speaking territories and will be launching international sales at the European Film Market. BondIt Media Capital is providing the financing. Matthew Helderman and Luke Taylor serve as executive producers. Anova is producing in association with North Avenue Pictures and WorldOne Entertainment.

When the project was announced, Lui provided the following statement: “With such a beloved YA novel as our source material by Courtney and an incredibly talented cast in Olivia, Froy and Luke, I couldn’t be more excited to begin filming with Adam, whose work I’ve been a fan of since Backcountry. It’s going to be an intense ride from beginning to end. We’re dead set on making an intense, emotional, and gripping film set in the ‘90’s — a Breakfast Club meets 28 Weeks Later — as we follow our heroine’s journey and ask ourselves, what do you hold onto when everything is gone?“

Lisa Gutberlet, president of Blue Fox Entertainment, added: “The combination of Adam’s masterful direction and the compelling, young cast brings a fresh and dynamic energy to the YA horror genre. With its gripping narrative based on bestselling author Courtney Summers’ enthralling novel, This Is Not a Test is perfectly positioned to captivate international audiences.“

And Summers had this to say: “As a longtime horror movie fan, I’ve loved Adam MacDonald’s wildly intense and sharply realized contributions to the genre, and I’m thrilled he’s sharing his talents with This Is Not a Test. From its stellar script to its exciting cast, his and Cybill’s enthusiasm for the book and their passion for filmmaking has and continues to define every part of this process. I can’t wait to see the story come to life–or should I say death?–and claim its place in the zombie canon.“

Does This Is Not a Test sound interesting to you? Are you glad to hear that the next Olivia Holt horror movie is already filming? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Barbara Broccoli & Michael G. Wilson gave control of the James Bond franchise to Amazon MGM Studios, who paid $1 billion for the privilege.

Like most of you, I was absolutely shocked by the news that the Broccoli family has relinquished creative control of the James Bond franchise to Amazon MGM Studios. According to Deadline, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli didn’t come cheap, as Amazon reportedly paid around $1 billion to take full control.

When Amazon originally purchased MGM for $8.5 billion, it knew full well that it was vastly overpaying, but it was a foot in the door of the lucrative James Bond franchise. However, Wilson and Broccoli still retained creative control and Amazon couldn’t do anything without them. There have been rumblings that Broccoli and Amazon didn’t see eye-to-eye on the direction of the franchise. Amazon wanted to expand the IP and pitched a variety of 007 spin-offs, but Broccoli wanted to keep the franchise as a strictly big-screen brand, reportedly saying, “These people are f***ing morons.”

It’s been four years since No Time to Die was released, and there is no indication that the next installment is even close to getting started. Amazon clearly wanted to get things moving, which is why it was willing to shell out $1 billion. Those close to Broccoli and Wilson are shocked that they actually took the deal. “Broccoli’s] a fighter,” said one source, “but she got tired of fighting.” Wilson is also ready to retire, and Broccoli doesn’t want to keep fighting by herself.

It’s hard not to be cynical about Amazon taking over the James Bond franchise. For sixty years, the same family has shepherded it, treating each film as a special event. I fear for the Bond cinematic universe that may be in our future. The Young James Bond Adventures? The Q Chronicles? Cooking with M? A senior British film executive commented, “Without Barbara’s careful supervision, Bond just becomes Jack Reacher in some TV show.“

The only point of interest is that Amazon may be able to lure in major directors — such as Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino — who have previously expressed a desire to tackle a James Bond movie but wanted to have complete creative control over the project. This wasn’t possible when Broccoli and Wilson were in charge, but it could happen now.

Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders, says the saga will continue even after the release of the upcoming Netflix movie.

After six seasons, Peaky Blinders came to an end in 2022, but we will soon see Cillian Murphy reprise his role as Thomas Shelby in the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie. While speaking to BBC Breakfast, creator Steven Knight says that although the movie will provide “a very fitting way to end this part of the Peaky story,” the franchise isn’t over yet.

“It’s not over, let’s just put it like that,” Knight said. “I’m not allowed to announce it… but I’m just saying that the world of Peaky will continue.” Production wrapped up in December, and Knight teased that what he’s seen so far is fantastic. “The stuff that I’m watching, the rushes… no-one will be disappointed,” he said. “It is quite an incredible thing… I think we’ve got the best British actors all in one place.“

Knight isn’t kidding. In addition to Murphy, the Peaky Blinders movie stars Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Stephen Graham, Barry Keoghan, Sophie Rundle, Ned Dennehy, Packy Lee, Ian Peck, Jay Lycurgo, and more.

We still don’t know all that much about the film, only that Knight has confirmed that it will be set during World War II. He also said, “I’m genuinely thrilled that this movie is about to happen. It will be an explosive chapter in the Peaky Blinders story. No holds barred. Full-on Peaky Blinders at war.“

Knight penned the screenplay for the movie, with Tom Harper (Heart of Stone) directing. Harper previously helmed the last three episodes of the first season. Knight will co-produce alongside Murphy, Caryn Mandabach, and Guy Heeley. Executive producers include Harper, David Kosse, Jamie Glazebrook, Andrew Warren, and David Mason. “When I first directed Peaky Blinders over 10 years ago, we didn’t know what the series would become, but we did know that there was something in the alchemy of the cast and the writing that felt explosive,” Harper said in his own statement. “Peaky has always been a story about family — and so it’s incredibly exciting to be reuniting with Steve and Cillian to bring the movie to audiences across the world on Netflix.“

Are you excited to see the Peaky Blinders saga continue? Or should the movie bring it all to an end?

Nickelodeon has ordered Avatar: Seven Havens, a new series set in the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender with the original creators.

Are you ready for the next installment of Avatar: The Last Airbender? The acclaimed animated series will continue as Nickelodeon has ordered Avatar: Seven Havens, a new 26-episode series from original creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

Avatar: Seven Havens is “set in a world shattered by a devastating cataclysm. A young Earthbender discovers she’s the new Avatar after Korra – but in this dangerous era, that title marks her as humanity’s destroyer, not its savior. Hunted by both human and spirit enemies, she and her long-lost twin must uncover their mysterious origins and save the Seven Havens before civilization’s last strongholds collapse.“

Avatar: The Last Airbender aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon and was followed by The Legend of Korra, which aired for four seasons. “For two decades, the richly crafted world of Avatar: The Last Airbender has introduced audiences to a world of compelling characters and groundbreaking storylines, captivating fans globally,” said Ramsey Naito, President of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation. “We can’t wait to embark on the next chapter of this epic saga, with a new story set within the Avatarverse, envisioned by the original creators, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.“

In their own statement, DiMartino and Konietzko said, “When we created the original series, we never imagined we’d still be expanding the world decades later. This new incarnation of the Avatarverse is full of fantasy, mystery, and a whole new cast of amazing characters. Get ready to take another epic and emotional adventure!“

The creators were once attached to Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but left due to creative differences. They returned to Nickelodeon to form Avatar Studios, but the new sequel series won’t be their first project. The team has been working on Aang: The Last Airbender, an animated feature film which will follow the main cast of the original series in their young adult years. The voice cast includes Eric Nam as Aang, Jessica Matten as Katara, Román Zaragoza as Sokka, Dionne Quan as Toph, and Dave Bautista as the main villain. The film is slated to be released in theaters on January 30, 2026.

Jac Schaeffer will direct the pilot for Holes, a new Disney+ series based on the best-selling book by Louis Sachar.

Variety reports that Jac Schaeffer, creator of WandaVision and Agatha All Along, has been tapped to direct the pilot for Holes. Based on the best-selling book by Louis Sachar, the new TV series will focus on a teenage girl who “is sent to a detention camp where the ruthless Warden forces the campers to dig holes for a mysterious purpose.“

The original Holes novel follows “the story of Stanley Yelnats, an unlucky boy who is sent to a juvenile detention camp for a crime he did not commit. Now incarcerated at Camp Green Lake, Stanley is forced to spend his days digging holes in a dry lake bed. But as the story unfolds, Stanley discovers that both his own story and the story of his family are more connected to Camp Green Lake than he could have ever imagined.” The book was previously adapted into a feature film in 2003, which starred Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Henry Winkler, Patricia Arquette, Jon Voight, and Tim Blake Nelson.

Schaeffer is no stranger to directing; she helmed the 2009 sci-fi romantic comedy TiMER starring Emma Caulfield and three episodes of Agatha All Along. Alina Mankin (Lodge 49) will serve as writer and executive producer on the series, with Liz Phang (Yellowjackets) set as showrunner and executive producer.

Drew Goddard will executive produce the Holes series through his Goddard Textiles banner alongside Sarah Esberg. “My mom’s been a schoolteacher for her whole life and, as such, she’s served as a de facto book scout for Goddard Textiles,” Goddard said. “She always knows what ‘the kids’ are into long before everyone else does.  ‘Holes’ was the first book she suggested to me – this was back in the late ‘90s – and she was positive it was going to be a phenomenon.  It feels good to bring it full circle for Mrs. Goddard and her sixth grade class.” He added that Mankin and Phang have “done a wonderful job capturing Louis Sachar’s unique spirit. To say much more about what they have in store would spoil all the fun.“