|
04/16/15 @ 12:44 pm EST
As we get closer to the launch of Dynamite’s all-female written and lead summer event Swords of Sorrow, Byron Brewer caught up with writer Leah Moore to talk about her three-part miniseries Swords of Sorrow: Dejah Thoris / Irene Adler. Cover art by Jay Anacleto.  BYRON BREWER: Leah, how does it feel to be a part of this special event saluting the Women of Dynamite, AND to be hand-picked to write this portion of it by its architect, Gail Simone?LEAH MOORE: It feels fantastic. The line-up of talent is extremely humbling to be included in, and the characters Gail has got for us all to write are just amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crossover like it. Gail is really good at this kind of project, and she makes it look really easy, but writing the main story, and then coordinating all the other stories that are weaving into the main one? That’s so hard to do, keeping all the plates spinning. She’s a badass though. It makes you up your game to be writing alongside her. No slacking! BB: This miniseries features two strong women characters, with Dejah Thoris being one of the most popular at Dynamite. Were you a fan of either heroine before this project?LM: Well I’ve co-written two Sherlock Holmes OGN’s with my husband John Reppion, so I’m well steeped in the whole Holmes mythology. I think when we were writing them ( The Trial of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: The Liverpool Demon) we were very self conscious and didn’t want to do a second rate job, we wanted to make sure they could stand up next to the original Holmes mysteries. We have gradually loosened up, as people came and said they enjoyed those books, so when I heard I was writing Irene Adler, I thought okay, this time I can really relax and have some fun.Dejah Thoris, I was aware of from the phenomenal run she has had at Dynamite, but I had never read the novels themselves. I’ve started reading them now though, she is a fantastic character. The costume she wears can distract people I think, because when you first meet her in the novels, it’s really clear that she is in charge, she has the upper hand, it’s John Carter that is trying to work out how things work. I have been having great fun writing her. She is awesome. BB: Irene Adler has been a lot of things in her seemingly young life: fugitive, master of disguise, the quintessential femme fatale. What role does she play here? As writer, give us your perception of who Adler is.LM: Well the thing Adler is known for is that Sherlock Holmes really rates her. The great Detective says she is unparalleled among womankind, that she matches him in her powers of reasoning, and resourcefulness. This and the fact that she’s a Prima Donna opera singer, an Adventuress and can actually beat Holmes at his own game, most notably in Scandal in Bohemia, made me want to write her as a female Holmes but without the social restrictions. Holmes is known for being weird and awkward and obsessive. I wanted Adler to show that it’s possible to be a badass genius with mad fencing skills and super fast reflexes, and still be capable of human interaction and emotion. Having spent so long trying to be as careful and reverential as possible with the canonical Holmes, I love the feeling that I can poke and prod the mythos and see if it stands up to modern eyes and Adler is great for that!Irene Adler is a fixer, a brain-for-hire who will go and sort out any sticky or strange situation with deftness and aplomb. She is not afraid to ask people why they want something doing, and she judges the situation as she goes along. I would say she is not 100% trustworthy and good, she is not 100% nice, but she is a really fascinating character to write! BB: For all her flaunted sexuality, Dejah Thoris of Mars has always been, at least in the modern comics, a strong and quite capable woman. What threat is she facing on Barsoom as our story begins here?LM: Dejah Thoris is only flaunting her sexuality by Earth or Jasoomian standards. On Barsoom she is wearing the equivalent of jeans and a t-shirt.Burroughs took the idea of a white man turning up in some remote village and being utterly amazed to see the women’s breasts out in the fresh air, and transposed it into the fantasy pulp world. It’s a classic trope, where the young dashing man is sent to a planet where the natives only wear cling film and demand lessons in Earth Kissing.The difference with Dejah is that from the start she is not impressed with John Carter. She finds him gauche, bumbling and socially awkward with his total lack of Barsoomian manners. Yes she succumbs to his Jasoomian wiles eventually, but she is not just a good looking girl to drape over his arm. She is written as a smart regal woman who can handle herself in a fight, and I’m so happy to write that character!When we meet her she doesn’t know where her husband is, as he has been missing since the last Dynamite arc finished, she has had a weird black and silver sword delivered, her right hand man Tars Tarkas has vanished, a huge statue of Red Sonja has appeared, and then a mad gunman appears and starts taking pot shots at the people of Helium. Dejah is understandably vexed by all this, and the first time we see her, she is in full on battle mode. No royal manners, no nice conversation, just a chip on her shoulder and a mean right hook BB: Now will this be a “vs” book, a “team-up” book or just two women sharing the same title in separate stories. If they do come together, can you hint at how that comes about?LM: I wanted to fling them together explosively, because they are both women who know their own minds and do not suffer fools gladly. Trouble is, if you fling them together at the start, then they can’t just battle for three whole issues, people would get bored. Also Gail wanted a mystery story from me, and I couldn’t see them both walking about like something from Scooby Doo together, so I had to wrench them apart for a bit. Don’t worry, I keep it all fast and fun. And then presumably they have to find each other again, right? And do they like each other then, or are they still not happy? Too much fun writing this. Too much fun. BB: What does artist Francesco Manna bring to the table here?LM: He is the most incredible draughtsman, his pages flow really well, his lines are so full of life and bounce, there is not a dead panel, or a dead bit of a panel, the guy is amazing. His women are soooo gorgeous, he can do all the facial acting a writer could ask for, he doesn’t mind detail, he handles insanely twiddly architecture like it’s just some easy blobby trees at the back, his costumes are really fun and exciting, and if I write a document in, (and I do that, in these Holmes books) he draws the document and puts in all the pictures and lettering and makes it all look amazing. I am so lucky to have him. I know that whatever I put in there, it’s in safe hands. I can really push things, do big panels, big scenes, epic scale, and he can handle it. To be honest I’ve probably not tried hard enough. Maybe I’ll make #3 a real challenge… 02/21/26 @ 2:38 pm EST
You may have noticed that I’m not the biggest fan of ‘Industry Insiders’ who have paywalls set up to dole out rumors like… well, I couldn’t find a metaphor that wasn’t extremely insulting so we’ll just move on. Those ‘insiders’ need to have a ready supply of rumors to keep their subscribers coming back and since there is no accountability for erroneous rumors, one has to wonder if some of them are just made up out of thin air. James Gunn, co-head of DC Studios, has a times come out and addressed a batch of rumors that fans ask him about on social media. He did this again recently and here are some of the rumors he addressed along with his response. A report that the upcoming Man of Tomorrow has changed its title to Superman: Man of Tomorrow. Gunn has said before that this was more than a Superman movie and confirms the title has NOT changed by simply saying, “Nope.” Another report says that the film with begin filming in a few weeks, and while it will begin shortly, he says “by strict definition of Few, nope.” Reports say that he’s trying to rush through Matt Reeves’ The Batman Epic Crime Saga so he can then get to Brave and the Bold. That’s another ‘Nope’. Scoopers claim that Paradise Lost, the Wonder Woman prequel series was now dead or shelved. I know this will surprise you, but he said, “Nope”. And he did confirm one thing, that Superman does not believe in Santa Claus because, “He’s an adult.” Rumors can be fun to talk about and debate, but if they set unrealistic expectations that ruin the film for someone, then that’s a problem. And paying for rumors… that seems a bit crazy to me.  ... 02/21/26 @ 2:21 pm EST
Many MCU fans wonder why the events of Daredevil: Born Again won’t be even referenced in upcoming films like Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In Born Again, Wilson Fisk ( Vincent D’Onofrio) is the new Mayor of New York and has declared martial law along with creating a taskforce to hunt down vigilantes and you would think someone like Spider-Man ( Tom Holland) would be on his radar. But that’s not going to happen on the big screen, no Fisk in BND and SFX Magazine thought that would be a good thing to ask Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane about. “I’d be into it, because I dig the comics! But no, that’s been kind of a fun and challenging thing. We know there’s a huge world out there of the MCU. This corner of it has crossovers. We’ve seen Daredevil in other shows, there are other characters that are going to be popping up in movies and stuff, and that all goes into the larger MCU of it all. The joke we make is, ‘Oh, those guys are uptown – we’re downtown!’ We kind of have a pocket that’s in this world of Hell’s Kitchen, in this world of New York. I always think that maybe these characters take a little vacation into the larger world but the story that we’re focusing on is really granular.” Let me translate that, “They can borrow our toys, but we can’t touch there’s.” A shame as we all want a real Daredevil/Spider-Man crossover.  02/14/26 @ 2:33 pm EST
“You have failed this beach!” Okay, there is probably no way Stephen Amell will say that line in the new Baywatch reboot, but I can’t be the only one who thought about it. Fox announced yesterday that the former Arrow, Heels and Suits LA star would be the lead in the networks bid to recapture the popularity of their lifeguard themed drama from the 90s. Amell will be playing the role of Hobie Buchannon, a role first introduced in the OG series. Hobie’s world turns upside down when Charlie, the daughter he didn’t know he had, shows up ready to put on the red bathing suit and follow in the family business. The show got a straight-to-series 12-episode order back in September, so the network is moving quickly. An interesting note is that Amell is the right age if the network wanted to bring back David Hasselhoff to reprise the role of Hobie’s father Mitch for an episode or two.  02/14/26 @ 2:12 pm EST
You may not have known this, but in 2021 a Zatanna movie was in the works. J.J. Abrams had given the project to Emerald Fennell to script as she was coming off 2020 directorial debut, A Promising Young Woman. So, what happened? According to Fennell, who recently joined the Happy Sad Confused podcast, what she had written was “probably too far away from the genre.” She was very honest about the work, saying: “I think it was demented because I was probably going through it at the time. And the thing is, I think what I can’t help but—and then, I’d just finished A Promising Young Woman, and there was this huge thing in this world I’d never operated in. And again, it was a kind of superhero movie, and I was like, ‘How do I make the version of a superhero movie that I would connect to emotionally?’ Which is sort of the woman in the middle of a nervous breakdown, so it’s a script reflective of a woman in the middle of a nervous breakdown. And in terms of what that means, I suppose it just meant that it was probably too far away from the genre.” For those of you who are not familiar with Zatanna, she was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson in the pages of November 1964’s Hawkman and has been a consistent magical character in the DC Universe ever since, regularly teaming up with Batman, John Constantine and was a member of the Justice League. Fennell went on to describe the script, “It was really dark. I haven’t read it for a really long time, because I found it really difficult. Because, also the thing is, I love JJ [Abrams] so much, and he took a chance offering me to do it, and I really wanted to deliver something amazing for them. And I always felt like I hadn’t quite maybe delivered the thing that they wanted. So, I haven’t read it since, and I wonder if I read it now, I’d be more generous toward myself. But I felt like, I wished I’d been able to deliver the thing they wanted. They were really lovely about it, it’s even just remembering. You’re making me remember scenes, I’m like, ‘Nobody would have made that.'” I have to admit I totally want to read that script now.  ... 02/07/26 @ 11:45 am EST
Don’t expect to see Vincent D’Onofrio show up in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It seems the rights to the character still precludes him from appearing in a film unless Sony wants him to. Which, yes, Brand New Day is a Sony/Marvel production… but while visiting the Bingworthy podcast, the Kingpin actor responded to the question about the current mayor of the MCU NYC showing up by saying, “No. I think I’ll just wait until they have the rights to my character and they put me in one of those movies, and then I’ll figure it all out.” This makes sense that Marvel can’t just have the character show up in any random film, like The Thunderbolts, without Sony saying okay, but he is available for television appearances. Why Sony has chosen to not let the character show up in a Sony film though seems a little odd, unless the actor is using the rights issue as a cover to keep from telling us that Wilson Fisk will not be the mayor after the events of the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again season two, which is scheduled to release in March and complete well before Brand New Day hits theaters.  01/31/26 @ 2:22 pm EST
In 1989 writer/artist John Byrne was working on the West Coast Avengers title for Marvel and decided to have some fun. Since there was both an east and west coast version of the team, he decided to make a third one, in the middle of the country, and keeping with the body of water theme to the names… we got the Great Lakes Avengers. The team was made up of five founding members: Mr. Immortal, Flat Man, Big Bertha, Dinah Soar and Doorman and while the team has probably had more cease-and-desist lawsuits filed against them than real battles, they have been around for years now and have popped up a lot. The interesting thing though is that two of these members have now made appearances in the MCU. And not just blink-and-you-missed-it moments. Both Mr. Immortal and Doorman have had at least half, if not a full episode of a series dedicated to them. In She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, David Pasquesi plays Craig Hollis aka Mr. Immortal who has his immortal ability and uses it to get out a marriages, which he has a lot of. When pressured by his own attorneys, he leapt out of a high-rise window and plummeted to the street below, slamming into the roof of a car, only to pop right back up and walk away. It doesn’t end well for him though as he is forced to pay off all of his exes. Then we get to meet DeMarr Davis aka the Doorman in the new Wonder Man series. Byron Bowers plays the man with the ability to use his body as a door in and out of the dark dimension. While he is a mutant in the comics, in the MCU he gets his abilities by touching toxic waste from Roxxon, similar to how Cloak & Dagger got their powers. DeMarr becomes a cautionary tale about chasing fortune and fame in Hollywood that may have cost the life of beloved actor Josh Gad. It also made the industry enact a law banning superpowered people from working in show business. This is a major plot point in the series. With two of the five characters both located in Southern California, could we end up getting the rest of the team at some point and them relocating for a fresh start? Sounds like the perfect idea for one of those Marvel Spotlight one-hour specials.  ... 01/18/26 @ 2:23 pm EST
Fans are eager to see the upcoming Lanterns series on HBO and besides a still shot and a few seconds of footage, very little about the series is known at this point. We got our first comments about it from series star Kyle Chandler who will be playing one of the most well-known Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan. Chandler was being interviewed on the Today Show for his new film The RIP with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. During the interview he was asked about Lanterns and said, “I’ve never had as much fun shooting something as I did that. The people from the top to the bottom. I can’t say enough about Chris Mundy, and the producers, the DC folks. It was an excellent experience. I expect the show to be as good as the experience I had. Aaron Pierre, who I worked with, he and I had a great time.” The series is slated to be released later this year and comes from Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King. Joining Chandler and Pierre in the cast are Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner and then Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Jason Ritter, Poorna Jagannathan, and Paul Ben-Victor. There will be eight episodes and it is said to be mostly an Earth-based mystery set in the heartland of America with a True Detective vibe.  01/17/26 @ 12:41 pm EST
Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. has stirred plenty of speculation across Hollywood, but one message from the streamer’s leadership has been unusually clear: the theatrical experience isn’t going anywhere. In fact, if the sale closes, Netflix says it will strengthen Warner Bros.’ traditional theatrical model rather than shrink it. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co‑CEO, has repeatedly emphasized that Warner Bros. films will continue to enjoy a 45‑day exclusive theatrical window—a stance that directly counters fears that Netflix would rush major releases to streaming. Sarandos described Warner Bros.’ theatrical distribution as a “phenomenal” engine that generates billions in revenue, insisting Netflix has no intention of putting that at risk. This commitment marks a notable shift in tone for Netflix, which historically prioritized streaming-first strategies. But after reviewing Warner Bros.’ financials, Sarandos acknowledged that the economics of theatrical releases are stronger than Netflix had previously modeled. He framed the 45‑day window not as a compromise but as a competitive strategy: Netflix wants to “win opening weekend” and “win box office,” embracing the same metrics that drive traditional studios. Industry observers have taken notice. While some feared the acquisition would accelerate the decline of theatrical exclusivity, Netflix’s public stance suggests a more balanced future—one where streaming power and box office ambition coexist. For now, at least, moviegoers can expect Warner Bros. films to keep lighting up big screens for a full month and a half before landing on Netflix’s platform.  01/17/26 @ 12:20 pm EST
The DCU is expanding with the casting of one of the universe’s biggest bads… Darkseid. While this seems to go against something co-studio head James Gunn has said previously about staying away from the cosmic threat, but this casting isn’t for Man of Tomorrow, but rather the upcoming Mister. Miracle animated series and you can’t really tell the story of Scott Free with mentioning his adopted daddy. Writer Tom King was on the Word Balloon podcast when he talked about the series that he is showrunning and said that they had cast Darkseid and Orion along with Mr. Miracle and Big Barda. If you’re not familiar with these characters, they are all part of the Fourth World Saga created by comic legend Jack Kirby during his short stint with DC Comics. It tells the story of two warring factions, the New Gods and the planet Apokolips and a deal that was made in an attempt for peace. The leaders of the factions, High Father and Darkseid, would exchange children… this sent Scott Free to be raised on the oppressive planet while Orion was sent to the peaceful New Genesis. Scott would become and escape artist, finding a way off of Apokolips with the female warrior, Barda, and eventually come to Earth. Exactly what part of that history the series will focus on is unclear, but we do know that Darkseid and the others will be involved. Gunn also confirmed on social media that the series will be cannon to the DCU that includes the recent Superman movie, the Peacemaker series and the animated Creature Commandos. This means that whoever is voicing these characters in the series would also play them in live action in the future and King has said that the Mister Miracle series will have big ramifications on the DCU as a whole. No word on when the series will debut, but with the casting already made, we can expect an announcement in the near future.  ... 01/10/26 @ 11:52 am EST
Takashi Yamazaki’s follow-up to the 2023 Godzilla Minus One is set to hit North American theaters on November 6th, 2026, three days after its premier in Japan. The Academy Award winning film took in $11.4 million in the US on its opening weekend and $57 million total during its domestic box office run. Godzilla Minus Zero is the second film in the franchise from Gkids since taking Toho acquired the company in 2024. David Jesteadt, president of Gkids, said in a statement: “Gkids is proud to bring Godzilla Minus Zero to North American audiences, following the incredible global reception of Godzilla Minus One. This next chapter is sure to become another defining moment for the most colossal monster ever to dominate the screen. It is only fitting that this bold, new Godzilla event be experienced in its fullest theatrical glory, and we’re honored that Toho has entrusted us to carry this legacy forward.” 
|
|
|
|
|
