Press Release

New York, NY— August 6, 2020 — Shang-Chi is back this September in an all-new series by Eisner Award-winning writer Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) with incredible art by Dike Ruan (Spider-Verse, Black Cat) and Philip Tan (Uncanny X-Men).

SHANG-CHI #1 will be an action-packed start to a redefining new chapter for Marvel’s popular hero that will greatly expand the fascinating mythos that surrounds Shang-Chi and his family.

When an ancient and evil secret society emerges from the shadows, Shang-Chi will be called upon to lead, forcing him to return to a dark and destructive world he thought he left behind. See him prepare for the fight of his life in acclaimed Korean artist InHyuk Lee’s stunning variant cover. Known for his incredible digital artwork and art style, the world-renowned artist’s new cover is oozing with intensity as Shang-Chi faces his dangerous new mission.

InHyuk Lee’s cover joins more stunning Shang-Chi variants by top talents like Ron Lim and more – to be revealed in the coming weeks! Check the cover out below, and pick up the latest chapter in the legend of Shang-Chi when SHANG-CHI #1 hits stands next month!
 

SHANG-CHI #1
Written by GENE LUEN YANG
Art by DIKE RUAN and PHILIP TAN
Variant Cover by INHYUK-LEE

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As hard as it may be to believe, it has been almost two decades since The Lord of the Rings hit theaters. Still, when we had the chance to chat exclusively with Gimli and Treebeard actor John Rhys-Davies to help promote his upcoming sci-fi film G-Loc, we had to ask which character he liked better.

It turns out that while the actor says he loves Gimli, apparently Treebeard is one of the hardest roles he’s ever had to play, and he gives a very insightful reason as to why. After that, he reveals a 10,000-year-old piece of bark-oak one of his friends gave him that looks like Treebeard.

If you’re interested in checking out the audio portion of our exclusive interview, click play on the podcast player below! John comes in around 08:20. Also, check out the video at the bottom to see John Rhys-Davies sing me Happy Birthday alongside Stephen Moyer (True Blood) and Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers).

Literary Joe: What do you think your most recognizable role is because you have so many?

John Rhys-Davies: Well, it depends on what the fashion is of the day, you know? This week, on the Isle of Man, Sliders is being screened, so I’m Arturo again. So it comes and goes, it comes and goes. 

Literary Joe: Do you like Treebeard or Gimli more? Which do you feel more at home when you’re playing?

John Rhys-Davies: I love Gimli. Treebeard is one of the very few parts that I’ve had, that I wake up in a sweat at night, thinking, “I don’t know how to play this.”

It’s the hardest part I’ve ever done, and I don’t know how to play it, and it’s not right. It’s not the way it is in the book, but I could find no way of doing it. How the hell do you voice something that has no lungs?

Oh! I want to show you something a friend of mine gave me this week! I’ve got a friend of mine who loves playing and working with wood. And a farmer gave me a piece of this; we call it bark-oak. It’s probably 10,000 years old, the oak, and it gets very black.

 

Now, look very carefully at the profile of this. He put a couple of eyes in it, but the rest is all as it came out of the Earth.

With Earth virtually destroyed, Bran Marshall flees to the Rhea, a planet hostile to Earthlings. Escaping onto a Rhean supply ship, he finds the crew slaughtered, with the only survivor a female warrior named Ohsha. As the two try to kill one another, the ship is damaged by meteorites. Bran (Moyer) and Ohsha must join forces to salvage the craft before it impacts the planet below — and the humans that live there.

This gripping sci-fi epic stars Stephen Moyer, Casper Van Dien, and John Rhys-Davies.

G-Loc hits DVD, Digital, and On-Demand Tuesday, August 11th.

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There were a lot of problems with the theatrical cut of Justice League, but chief among them was Steppenwolf. As comic book movie villains go, he was pretty underwhelming, a surprise considering the fact that Joss Whedon delivered effective antagonists in Loki and Ultron with his Avengers movies.

It didn’t really help matters that Steppenwolf looks pretty lame, with his cartoonish appearance a real sticking point for a lot of fans. He certainly didn’t look as formidable as the baddie Zack Snyder teased in a deleted scene from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it’s likely he was simplified in order to save money on visual effects while Whedon reshot most of the movie.

Now, Snyder is getting to share his vision for Justice League courtesy of HBO Max, and while a trailer for the “Snyder Cut” is set to be revealed at DC FanDome, the filmmaker has shared a huge tease on Vero today. As you can see below, this original version of Steppenwolf is quite a bit more formidable.

In fact, he looks downright terrifying, and while this is a low-res shot, it’s clear that the Steppenwolf in Zack Snyder’s Justice League will look a lot more in line with what we’ve seen in concept art.

What do you think about this take on the League’s first foe?
 

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Like any superhero project, The Batman is an extremely secretive movie, and that was particularly true when Warner Bros. and director Matt Reeves were looking for the new Bruce Wayne. While a few names did leak online, chances are we may never know the full list of actors who tried out for the role. 

Robert Pattinson ultimately won that particular race, and he’s no stranger to having to keep quiet about a role, especially after starring in Christopher Nolan’s mysterious new sci-fi movie Tenet. 

Talking to Irish Times, he acknowledges that Nolan is “secretive about everything to do with his movies,” but revealed that he was unable to even tell the filmmaker responsible for The Dark Knight Trilogy that he was trying out for the Caped Crusader. “I had to be really secretive about Batman stuff,” the actor explained. “So I had to lie to Chris about having to go for a screen test.”

“I said I had a family emergency,” Pattinson recalled about leaving the set of Tenet. “And as soon as I said ‘it’s a family emergency’ he said: ‘You’re doing the Batman audition, aren’t you?'”

It makes sense that Nolan would see through that story after working on three movies revolving around Batman, and Pattinson has previously revealed that the character isn’t one they spent much time talking about. Right now, Tenet is set to be released later this month overseas, and in early September in some U.S. cities, so there won’t be long until we get to this collaboration. 

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It’s looking like Paramount Pictures has gone back to the drawing board with the Star Trek franchise on the big screen, as Deadline reveals that Noah Hawley’s movie (which he’s written and planned to direct) has now been put on hold. Former Fox boss Emma Watts is in charge of the studio’s slate these days, and she clearly wants to get it right. 

The Fargo showrunner hasn’t exited the project – which had slowly begun to be prepped – but it’s hard to imagine it happening for a while. Why not? Well, the story reportedly revolves around  a deadly virus which starts to kill off most of the universe, and you can see why that’s not a subject Paramount wants to tackle in the midst of a global pandemic. 

There are two other options on the table; while Quentin Tarantino is no longer planning to direct, The Revenant‘s Mark L. Smith wrote a version for him which was set to follow the Enterprise crew on Earth in 1930s era New York City (where they clash with many of the gangsters of the time). 

Finally, there’s the version S.J. Clarkson was once set to helm which was going to bring back Chris Hemworth’s George Kirk and team him up with Chris Pine’s James T. Kirk. That fell apart due to money issues, but it sounds like a decision on the future of the Star Trek franchise on the big screen will be made in a matter of weeks. The TV shows have been a hit, so they’ll want to keep that momentum.

Which of these takes on Star Trek would you most like to see become a reality?

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We’re still waiting on the first Millarworld adaptation to hit Netflix after comic book writer Mark Millar signed a huge deal with the streaming service in 2017, but their adaptation of Reborn has now found a writer. Relative newcomer Bek Smith has been tapped to pen the screenplay according to The Hollywood Reporter, while The LEGO Batman Movie‘s Chris McKay has signed up to direct. 

Interestingly, Sandra Bullock is producing the project, so we can likely expect it to attract an all-star cast (the trade confirms that this will be a feature film rather than a TV series). 

In Millar and Greg Capullo’s comic book series, we follow an 80-year-old woman who dies in hospital and later wakes up as a much younger version of herself in a fantasy land of monsters and dragons where an endless war between good and evil rages on. Reunited with old friends and her loved ones, she sets off with her father and childhood dog to track down her husband. 

Both Millar and Capullo will serve as executive producers on the project. Netflix is likely hoping Reborn will be as successful as the female-led The Old Guard.

Smith is one of the talents to have come out of Marvel’s writers program, and is currently working on both the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse spinoff an an adaptation of DC/Vertigo comic book 100 Bullets.

Are you excited to check out Reborn? 

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The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Jason Bateman is set to direct a big screen adaptation of Superworld, a recently released novel by Gus Krieger. Released exclusively as an Audible audiobook, the premise is an intriguing one as it takes place on an Earth where everyone has superpowers… except for one man.

The story is set in 2038, and focuses on Ignatius Lohman, the aforementioned man without any sort of special abilities. Stuck in a white collar job, his father is one of the most powerful people on the planet and the leader of Peerless, the world’s defence organisation. However, Lohman finally gets the chance to shine when a corporate overlord emerges with the ability to neutralise powers. 

Described as having a tone similar Pixar’s The Incredibles, Mark Perez is penning the screenplay (he previously worked with Bateman on Game Night). 

While Bateman is perhaps best known for his acting career (receiving an Emmy nomination last week for “Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series” for Ozark), he’s made a name for himself behind the camera as well, and recently worked with Perez on an untitled comedy coming to Netflix which will star The Suicide Squad actor John Cena.

Given everything that’s going on right now, it will probably be a while before we get to see anything from this one, but with a writer and director now in place, a cast could start coming together soon. 

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