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07/27/16 @ 6:07 pm EST
A Writer’s Commentary: David Avallone talks Twilight Zone/The Shadow #4, on sale today from Dynamite. Cover by Francesco Francavilla, interiors by Dave Acosta. The cover.When Francesco Francavilla was doing the cover for issue#3, he tweeted that he was listening to Bernard Herrmann’s soundtrack from Vertigo. (The movie, not the comic book imprint.) When issue #4 came around and they asked if I had any ideas for a cover, I said, “Why not a pastiche of Saul Bass’ famous Vertigo cover?” Francesco ran with it, and the result is a beautiful cover. The Twilight Zone spiral gets us already halfway there.  Page one.A little Serling-esque voice-over, and we’re off. Dave Acosta found that authentic Nazi propaganda poster online, and added it to this scene. We collaborated with a private Pinterest page, swapping photo references and ideas back and forth. After this commentary is published, I’ll make the Pinterest board public so people can see a little more of the process. Check my Twitter to see it. (@DAvallone)  Page two.I spent enough time researching the uniforms and rank-systems of American Nazis/Bund that I probably got on some NSA watchlist. I promise, guys, it was all for the comic. I hate these guys. “Kreisleiter” means “regional commander”, sort of. The name Penzler might be familiar to some old mystery fans.  Page three.The Shadow makes a snide reference to talented Nazi filmmaker/stooge Leni Riefenstahl. Penzler calls the Shadow a vigilante, and not qualified to invoke the law. I always think it’s a good idea to give the villain a valid point every now and again.  Page four.“Dallenbach’s” was the name of a popular swimming hole in my home town of East Brunswick, NJ. I’ve always wanted to use the name in something.  Pages six and seven.In the fourth issue, we finally see the Shadow use one of his “powers”. In this case, hypnosis… which reveals what evil that lurks in the hearts of men… or Hitlerjugend. These kids were real. They weren’t monsters. They were people who behaved as monsters. I gave this one, for our purposes, perhaps too simple a motivation… but it’s hard to get at a topic as big and nuanced as anti-Semitism in a 20-page comic book. Pages ten through thirteen.In prepping to write this book, I ran through the synopses of all the original TZ episodes, looking for common threads, tropes, themes, etc. At the beginning, I wasn’t sure what I’d do for issue #4 … but as the story came together I realized that all the elements pointed towards this scene. The Shadow shows mercy to a Nazi youth, and introduces him to some new ideas… and the embodiment of those ideas in his long friendship with Moses Shrevnitz. I feel confident Serling would have approved of this scene. To me, this is what The Twilight Zone is all about: an arrogant man learns to apologize, and a young man consumed with hatred is shown another way. Page twelve.“…but my old friend Moses Shrevnitz is a son of Abraham.” I thought long and hard about that sentence. “Jew” is thrown around with such hatred by the Nazi characters in this issue that it seemed wrong for the Shadow to use it, even benignly. In the period, he might have said “Hebrew”, but I had a feeling that would also read awkwardly to a modern audience. “Son of Abraham” seemed appropriately poetic and Old Testament for the Shadow’s particular manner of speaking. As a Son of Abraham myself, I felt it worked best, for the period and for today’s reader. Page fifteen.Guns are loud. I love Moe putting his fingers in his ears as Margo bangs away with the .45 right over his head. Pages seventeen and eighteen.There’s a pretentious writer cliché: that the characters take over the story. Originally, this scene ended with Peter’s sacrifice and the Shadow and company making good their escape. It was supposed to be the shocker that ends the sequence. I really wanted three pages for the final scene. But I swear… the Shadow wouldn’t let me do it. He would not run away after seeing Peter Dallenbach gunned down. I was prepared to move on to the next scene, the epilogue… and then the Shadow said, “Shrevvy, stop the car!” And machine-gunned a bunch of Nazis. This story was supposed to be about the Shadow learning mercy… and this final action muddies and complicates that. But people are muddy and complicated: even having just learned a lesson about mercy, there was no way the Shadow wouldn’t avenge Peter Dallenbach, and he insisted I give him another page to do it. And who am I to say no to the Shadow? Pages nineteen and twenty.Epilogue at the Cobalt Club. The Shadow tries to understand the journey he’s just taken, and finds a little proof that it all was real. I considered making the “twist” more clear by including a little flashback inset of “Justice” slashing Allard’s hand, but decided to have a little more faith in the audience. As a Twilight Zone trope, it’s borrowed from episodes like “King Nine Will Not Return”: the dream/hallucination leaves physical evidence that it really happened. I’ve said before that my favorite part of this series was the chance to write in the “voice” of Rod Serling. I rewrote this final narration quite a few times trying to wrap it all up, to get the voice right, and to suggest that this experience will maybe have a lasting effect on the Shadow, as he continues his war on crime. I’d like to thank Dynamite, and Executive Editor Joe Rybandt in particular, for the unique opportunity to combine two of my favorite things, and tell this story. 11/16/25 @ 12:48 pm EST
While most of the focus over at Marvel Studios is currently on the pair of upcoming Avengers films, Ryan Coogler is ready to return to Wakanda for a third Black Panther film. We’d heard of the possibility of the film originally from Denzel Washington who, while speaking of his potential retirement, mentioned the film as one of his future projects and then when Nate Moore left Marvel last year, he said he would be back producing the third Black Panther film. Now, Coogler himself said while on stage talking about his film Sinners, that Black Panther 3 would be his next movie. The series kicked off with Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, king of the African Nation of Wakanda and while he reprised the role in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, he sadly passed away shortly after. The sequel dealt with the characters death and passed the mantle on to his sister Shuri played by Letitia Wright who is expected to reprise the role in the upcoming Avenger films, but with talks of a potential soft reboot of the MCU, it’s unclear who will be wearing the mask for the third film.  11/16/25 @ 12:31 pm EST
The most recent news on the DCU has to do with Jimmy Olsen. Variety is reporting that Skyler Gisondo will reprise his role from Superman in a true-crime docuseries style show that focuses on villains in the universe starting with the Flash rogue, Gorilla Grodd. Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault are set to write and showrun with James Gunn and Peter Safran joining them as executive producers. The show is planned for HBO Max and will be a mockumentary style similar to Yacenda and Perrault’s previous series like American Vandal and Players. In the original report, Variety claimed the series would be called DC Crime, something Gunn took to social media to debunk, saying there had never been any project in production called DC Crime, he then added that his saying that doesn’t mean that the rest of the report is false. This sounds like a pretty good confirmation to me.  11/15/25 @ 12:49 pm EST
A new Star Trek film is in the works and Paramount is tapping the team of Jonathan Goldstein and John Frances Daley to write, produce and direct. This news comes shortly after David Ellison, founder of Skydance who recently purchased the studio, told investors that the next Star Trek film would not be a sequel to the Chris Pine/ Zachary Quinto lead series of films. While this hasn’t been 100% confirmed, word is that the new film will be focused on new characters and not directly tied to any previous film or television series. Goldstein and Daley have a good track record when it comes to revitalizing franchises having written Spider-Man: Homecoming for Marvel Studios and wrote and directed Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves which was very well received by fans and critics.  11/15/25 @ 12:32 pm EST
With The Fantastic Four: First Steps having moved to Disney+, the Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby lead team is now first in fans minds. But one person still thinks about the First Family of Marvel presented a decade ago and what went wrong. Miles Teller, who played Reed Richards in Josh Trank’s 2015 version of the property, still thinks about the project and how he believes the problems all came down to one person. Teller was on Sirius XM’s Radio Andy show said, “You saw the movie, right? Your eyes were working during that time? I think it’s unfortunate because so many people worked so hard on that movie. And, honestly, maybe there was one really important person who kind of f***ed it all up.” While Teller didn’t say who that was, he was referring to the person who made the final cut on the film, which was not director Trank. Teller said that he wanted a superhero film on his resume to help show him as a serious leading man, but after seeing the final cut recalled, “I remember talking to one of the studio heads, and I was like, ‘I think we’re in trouble.'” The 2015 version made $167 million worldwide compared to this year’s version which made $521 million. He stopped short of calling for a director’s cut of the film.  11/09/25 @ 2:03 pm EST
The Creeper is a unique character from DC Comics, first introduced in "Showcase #73" in 1968. Created by Steve Ditko, The Creeper’s real name is Jack Ryder, a former television talk show host and investigative journalist in Gotham City. After being attacked during an undercover operation at a costume party, Ryder is injected with a serum by Dr. Yatz and gains superhuman abilities, including enhanced strength, agility, rapid healing, and a pain tolerance bordering on the supernatural. The serum, combined with a bizarre costume, transforms him into The Creeper, a vigilante known for his wild laughter, erratic behavior, and flamboyant appearance—a shock of green hair, yellow skin, and a red mane-like cape. The Creeper remains largely untouched by mainstream media, providing an opportunity to introduce audiences to a fresh face and break away from more established archetypes. His blend of horror, humor, and psychological complexity could create a film that stands out from traditional superhero fare. The Creeper’s unsettling persona and visual style lend themselves well to a film that could blend genres—horror, black comedy, and superhero action. His maniacal laugh and unpredictable methods could inject dark humor and psychological thrills, appealing to fans of films like "Joker" and "Deadpool" while carving out a distinctive identity in the DCU. Jack Ryder’s journey from cynical journalist to bizarre vigilante offers rich storytelling potential. Exploring themes of identity, sanity, and the nature of heroism, a Creeper film could delve into Ryder’s internal struggles and the impact of his dual life, making for a character-driven narrative that resonates with audiences seeking depth and complexity. And with being set in Gotham City, The Creeper’s adventures naturally intersect with the city’s gritty underworld, providing opportunities for noir-style detective storytelling. His background in journalism and investigation can be leveraged to create suspenseful plots involving corruption, criminal conspiracies, and moral ambiguity—making him an ideal protagonist for a film that explores the darker aspects of the DC Universe. The Creeper stands as one of DC Comics’ most unconventional and intriguing characters. His untapped potential, distinctive personality, and ability to straddle multiple genres make him a perfect candidate to lead a film in the new DCU.  ... 11/09/25 @ 1:37 pm EST
Predator: Badlands is doing very well, thanks for asking. The latest film in the long-running franchise set a few high franchise marks including domestic opening with $40M, best worldwide opening with $80M and best Cinemascore with an A-. The film also sits a the top of this week’s box office beating out the 2nd place film, Regretting You, by $32.9M… though that film is in its 3rd week. Other new films opening this week, Sarah’s Oil and Nuremberg, opened in 4th and 5th with just over $4M each. Badlands is the third Predator project for director Dan Trachtenberg, the first Prey showed how he could handle the franchise but then he wanted to follow it up with an animated film, Killer of Killers and then for the first time Badlands make the Predator the protagonist. 
11/08/25 @ 4:21 pm EST
Recent reports about problems on the set of Stranger Things may not have been what they seemed. There were stories being published that Millie Bobby Brown had filed a report against co-star David Habour, accusing the older actor of bullying. But the validity of those reports are now in question as both Brown and Harbour joined their Stranger Things cast members at the red=carpet premiere of the show’s fifth and final season. Brown and Harbour were seen joking together and even hugging. Brown has also spoke of Habour to Extra, saying: “It’s been amazing. We’re so lucky to have each other. The show means so much to the both of us, and to everyone here. This has been the last 10 years of our lives.” Brown stars as the psych-powered Eleven and Harbour plays Sherriff Jim Hopper who ends up adopting her. The fifth and final season will release on Netflix in three sets with Volume 1 on November 26 (four episodes), Volume 2 on Christmas (three episodes), and The Finale on New Year’s Eve.  11/01/25 @ 2:53 pm EST
There is a major movie franchise out there that is not going by its original name and it’s thanks to the star. When screenwriter Derek Kolstad finished what would become is most popular film, he was inspired by revenge-thrillers with one-word titles like Payback and Shooter. He dubbed his film, Scorn. The problem came when the star of the film went out and talked about it, he always referred to it by the lead character’s name rather than the title. After a while, the studio realized that their star, Keanu Reeves, had done millions of dollars worth of brand recognition for the name John Wick… they decided to go with it and renamed the film. Why Reeves did this is unknown, but Kolstad has since admitted that John Wick is a better franchise name, saying, “I can’t imagine it being Scorn now.” Was this an intentional thing on Reeves’ part or just a happy coincidence? We may never know.  11/01/25 @ 2:38 pm EST
If you check the major Hollywood sites like Deadline and Variety, they’ll tell you that October 2025 has been the lowest box office take in almost 30 years. It sits currently at $440 million with a few days left to add. In 1998 the box office did $455 million, which this month should just creep past. By comparison October 2018 did $832 million with just three films: Venom, A Star is Born and Halloween, taking in $481 million. But last year, October only took in $478 million showing the decreasing trend. Adding to the decline is the fact that no major releases were scheduled for this weekend because of the Halloween holiday. And what was put into theaters the whole month really didn’t get people’s attention. Tron: Ares was the highest profile film and that hasn’t even broken $70 million in its four weeks in theaters. When you look at numbers like that, it’s hard not to think about what might have been. There was a big budget film slated for release this month, a film that got delayed and delayed and hasn’t even started filming. A film that finally has a finished script and is set to release in October of 2027… that of course is Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part 2. One of the most anticipated films currently in production, the sequel to the 2022 hit, bolstered also by the fan favorite HBO series The Penguin, would easily match and likely succeed the success of the first film. The Batman opened on March 4, 2022 and ended that month with $338 million domestically. It was originally scheduled to be released October 3rd, looking at that release date, this year there really wasn’t any big film put in its place. The film would’ve done better than the first and that amount would’ve driven 2025 towards the top of the list, maybe even surpassing 2018. Ah, what could’ve been.  ... 10/26/25 @ 12:25 pm EST
DC Studios has potentially taken a significant step by filing for a trademark for a film titled "Salvation Run." A move that isn’t too surprising since the Salvation planet and the idea of using it as a prison for meta humans was introduced in the season finale of Peacemaker season 2. But the filing does indicate just how big this idea could be for the DCU. "Salvation Run" is a storyline from DC Comics that originally ran in the late 2000s. The story centers on the mass exile of some of DC's most notorious villains to a hostile alien world, forcing them to band together for survival. It was a concept originally pitched to DC by Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin. The trademark filing by DC Studios suggests that the company is considering developing "Salvation Run" into a feature film. While trademark filings do not guarantee that a film will be produced, they often indicate serious intent or early-stage development. The filing protects the title and concept, ensuring that DC Studios retains exclusive rights as plans evolve. Should "Salvation Run" move forward, it could introduce a fresh dynamic to DC's film slate. Instead of focusing on heroes, this story would shine a spotlight on villains, possibly expanding character development and offering audiences new perspectives on well-known antagonists. It also opens opportunities for ensemble casting, complex storytelling, and connections to other DC properties.  |
