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09/29/16 @ 9:06 pm EST
Film producer and writer Michael Uslan talks with Byron Brewer about Lone Ranger/Green Hornet #3, on sale now from Dynamite. Cover by Jan Duursema and interior art by Giovanni Timpano.  BYRON BREWER: Michael, you have an amazing affinity for the characters in this miniseries. Where did the notion come from to bind the lives of these two heroes, Lone Ranger and Green Hornet, together into a family saga?MICHAEL USLAN: I have known for many decades about the relationship between The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet, as created primarily by writer Fran Striker. I have also been aware for a long time of the legal difficulty in finally being able to tie these two members of the Reid family together in one family saga. So for quite a while, I had been nudging Nick Barrucci to be a magician and legally make this happen after 80 years. When he did, I plunged into my research then my writing with massive adrenalin. As far as my comfort zone with the characters goes, I grew up an awestruck fan of Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels on The Lone Ranger TV series. When I write these two characters, I write with them in mind. As a young teenager, I discovered the old Lone Ranger dramatic radio series and became familiar with the work of Brace Beamer and others. With respect to The Green Hornet, my initial exposure was actually seeing the golden age comic books, then seeing a few chapters from the 1940s movie serial at New York Comic Con in 1964, followed about a year later by being able to access the old radio series on a radio station in Newark, New Jersey. But it really wasn’t until the TV series that Britt Reid and Kato really came to life for me. In my head, I hear the voices of Van Williams and Bruce Lee when I write these characters. BB: One of the big “wows” in this series – and I do not think we are risking any spoilers here, since it has been discussed in other interviews – is that Tonto comes “from out of the past” to train and guide Kato. Was this a way of upping the import of both classic sidekicks in the story? MU: Because I only had five issues to tell this three generation story of the Reid family, I knew I had to devote the page count to the Lone Ranger, Dan Reid Jr., and the Green Hornet. I could not allow these three characters to lose the absolutely necessary screen time to tell the story effectively. That meant that regarding both Kato and Tonto, it would be a matter of quality over quantity. By having Tonto surprisingly return at the end of issue #3 and be asked by Kato to become his “Yoda” and train him, this to me became the most effective way to make each of these two characters very important to the story and give them the quality attention they deserve. BB: I think it is wonderful how you have worked real life folks of the “period,” such as Olympian Jesse Owens, into the series. Tell us what you can about the decision to include Owens …MU: When I chose to set this story historically in 1936 and 1938, I carefully researched all the events in U.S. and world history taking place then. In light of our current national situation regarding racism, I felt that if I utilized Jesse Owens in an important role here that it would give the series, thematically, a very contemporary and important feel. There are issues today just as there were 80 years ago about racism in America. And when I learned that in reality, during Jesse Owens’ tickertape parade down Broadway in New York after the 1936 Olympics that some unidentified-to-this-day man rushed his car and threw him a paper bag filled with $10,000 as a thank-you to standing up to Hitler and the Nazis, I realized I had my connection between Jesse Owens and the Lone Ranger. BB: … And Murder Inc.? MU: Once I settled in on Eliot Ness as the lynch-pin to the bridge between the Lone Ranger and the Green Hornet, all roads led me to Murder Inc. My son, David, is a leading archivist on the history of organized crime in America. He was able to provide me with all of the direction and research I needed for this. Plus … As a kid, I loved The Untouchables television series starring Robert Stack. In that show, the most often recurring villain was Frank Nitti, as played by the great actor Nehemiah Persoff. That also influenced my choice. Murder Inc. also gave me the opportunity to present the origin of the Green Hornet’s decision to be perceived as a bad guy, and the Lone Ranger’s need to warn him of the repercussions of that, having worn a mask for so many years himself. BB: There is also apparently another Reid out there. Can you give us any clues at all about this family trifecta?MU: Fearful of spoilers here, let me only say that they find themselves related to a certain Sergeant from the Yukon, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as learning that they are all descendants of Revolutionary War hero “Mad” Anthony Wayne, this tying the Reid family with the Wayne family. Hmmm… I wonder where that could lead! BB: These first three issues, including #3 now on sale, of Lone Ranger/Green Hornet have had neither the atmospheres (re: mood) of the western LR or the urban GH. Instead, there almost feels a gathering storm coming. If you will not be revealing spoilers, can you hint at what is to come in the series’ second half?MU: If our upcoming issues #4 and 5 of The Lone Ranger/ Green Hornet do not stun you into silence, then I will have failed in my efforts to make this historical story as impactful as it deserves to be. I do ask fans not to reveal the last three pages of either #4 or #5 because the spoiler effect will be too great. For more on Lone Ranger / Green Hornet #3, click here. 05/30/26 @ 2:41 pm EST
Sony’s new Spider-Noir series has out done the MCU when it comes to fans. According to Forbes, the new Nicholas Cage lead series with him playing a 1930s variant of Spider-Man has garnered the highest audience score of all Marvel related television projects on Rotten Tomatoes. In the new series, Cage plays detective Ben Reilly who used to be the web-swinging hero called The Spider but hung up his mask after the death of his fiancée. Audience have really taken to the series that is available in both color and B&W, giving it a 93% (a point higher than when Forbes did their article) and even scored well with the critics at 92%. While the critic score is impressive, other Marvel projects have done better such as X-Men ’97 with a 99% score and Ms. Marvel with a 98% among critics. But on the audience side, 93% is tops beating out shows like Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil (Netflix) and WandaVision. While there has been no word on a second season, it would be hard for Amazon and Sony to ignore results like this.  05/30/26 @ 2:08 pm EST
James Gunn, co-head of DC Studios and writer/director of the upcoming Man of Tomorrow film, was back on social media this week answering questions and one in particular stood out. A Threads user named “boyturizmo” asked, “Will we ever see General Zod, Doomsday, Dr. Fate, Black Adam, Ultraman (with his Crime Syndicate) or Darkseid?” Gunn replied, “Two of them in not too long…” This of course led to a ton of speculation on which two and where? Now the obvious one is Darkseid, and while Gunn has said his DCU isn’t building toward a big Thanos like battle with Darkseid, the character is going to be appearing in the upcoming animated series Mr. Miracle. The series is in production with comic writer Tom King onboard as the showrunner and he recently showed off a clip to interviewer Brandon Davis, who did not share what he saw. Mr. Miracle is an escape artist raised on Darkseid’s planet Apokolips who falls in love with a warrior woman named Big Barda and they escape to Earth. Though no casting has been announced for the series, Gunn has stated that the animated series are cannon to the DCU and actors cast in the animated shows, like Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., would carry over into live action like Grillo did in both Peacemaker and Superman. As for the second character we will see soon, it is possible that Gunn could bring back more characters from the DCEU and have Dwayne Johnson return as Black Adam or Pierce Brosnan don the helmet of Dr Fate once more. And Ultraman could return from the black hole he was sucked into… but I think the most likely possibility will be in flashbacks to Krypton, possibly in Supergirl, where we could see General Zod cameo in a scene with Jor-El ( Bradley Cooper) and Zor-El ( David Krumholtz) discussing the fate of the planet and how to handle it. This would be a great scene for world-building… though part of me really wants Brosnan back as Fate.  ...
05/24/26 @ 1:45 pm EST
With The Batman Part 2 going into early production, fans are eager for news, information and confirmations and we may just have one thanks to one of the newcomers to the franchise, Sebastian Stan. It’s been rumored for months that the actor who has played everything from Bucky Barnes to Donald Trump to Tommy Lee was moving to Gotham in the role of District Attorney Harvey Dent aka coin-flipping villain Two-Face, and while his casting was confirmed by director Matt Reeves a few days back, we have not had an official announcement on the part he will be playing. While speaking to Deadline about his film Fjord, Stan spoke a bit about his summer plans which include a trip to London to work with Reeves where he says he will be playing “many roles in this one”. The article states that he’s talking about the role of Dent and how the character transforms from D.A. to villain when acid is thrown in his face by mobster Salvadore Maroni. Stan goes on to say, ”I’m excited, I’m nervous and trying to keep surprising myself.” He also he has been working with hair and make-up already trying to figure out how his disfigurement will look. Stan doesn’t come out and say in the quotes that he’s playing Two-Face, but Deadline strongly implies it and are one of the sites that had been reporting that he had been cast in the role early on. The Batman Epic Crime Saga, as Reeves calls it, does have one hitch to overcome. During The Penguin series on HBO Max, Maroni was played by Clancy Brown and does not make it through the series. So, either the attack on Dent takes place prior to the events we’ve already seen portrayed or Reeves is going to change up who throws the acid. Not a huge problem but it will be interesting to see how the moment will be handled if we end up seeing it at all. The Batman Part 2 is beginning to film and is on track for an October 2027 release.  ... 05/16/26 @ 2:01 pm EST
Winter is coming to Gotham and Matt Reeves is heating up the internet with his social media posts. He started it off with a couple camera tests showing the Batmobile in the snow, letting us know that production had begun on the long-awaited sequel. Then he began letting fans know the cast for the upcoming The Batman Part II starting with a gif of Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader with the quote, “We meet again, my friend.” This led into a series of posts that welcomed back the Dark Knight’s to main allies, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth and Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon. Then we got the two sides of the city fighting for control represented by Jayme Lawson as newly elected Mayor Bella Real and Colin Farrell as crime boss Oz Cobb aka The Penguin. Then he welcomed back the true hero of the film, Gil Perez-Abraham as Officer Martinez. Martinez is the representation of how the GCPD views The Batman as he appears multiple times in the first film, each time becoming more comfortable with working with the vigilante. Reeves would return to posting the next day and introduce the new characters to the film, but through gifs from their previous projects and not officially naming characters. This would include three MCU veterans starting with Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan. Then Game of Thrones patriarch Charles Dance, from A Good Day to Die Hard, Sebastian Koch and from Atlanta and the Eternals, Bryan Tyree Henry. Stan has been heavily linked to the role of Harvey Dent aka Two-Face with Dance likely playing his father Christopher. Johansson is believed to be playing Dent’s wife Gilda but that has never been confirmed and there had been no rumors at all about Koch and Henry, though Koch’s management posted a tweet about him helping rid Gotham of evil. Many on-line are speculating that Henry could be playing Detective Harvey Bullock. What is interesting are the names not mentioned in posts such as Con O’Neil as Chief Mackenzie Bock, Barry Keoghan as the Joker and Paul Dano as the Riddler. I wouldn’t assume that not being mentioned doesn’t mean they don’t show up in the film, just that the character may not have a lot of screen time. The assumption is that the film will focus on Dent working with Gordon and Batman to clean up Gotham, so there will be lots of room for other characters in this film. The film has started production and is on track to premiere in October of 2027.  ... 05/09/26 @ 3:03 pm EST
We are in the age of Matthew Lillard and everyone except Quentin Tarantino seems to be happy about it. The Scream and Scooby-Doo actor has been having a bit of a resurgence lately coming shortly after Tarantino made some disparaging comments about the actor with no provocation. Many in the industry stood up for Lillard and now the actor seems to be popping up everywhere including the latest Scream film, the second season of Cross and the second season of Daredevil: Born Again. The latest news reported by multiple sites has the actor joining the cast of Man of Tomorrow, the next DC Studios film written and directed by James Gunn. Gunn, who is good friends with Lillard and has worked with him previously on both Scooby-Doo movies, posted the below image of the pair together, commenting on the news reports as “pure speculation” and saying that they are just “casually hanging out”. Most took the posts to be sarcasm and assume that Lillard is now in the film as that is where Gunn is right now, filming the project. Fans on-line have begun even more speculation as to who Lillard could be playing including various heroes and characters with the most notable being Jim Gordon from Gotham and Plastic Man, a character that Gunn and Lillard once tried to pitch as a project to DC/Warner Bros. It’s my belief that he will be a more Superman centric character such as STAR Labs Professor Emil Hamilton or police detective Dan Turpin. But that also would be pure speculation.  05/09/26 @ 2:44 pm EST
Fans of Matt Reeves’ film The Batman got excited this week because of driving in the snow. The director posted images to his social media showing test footage of the Batmobile driving in winter conditions, which were the first signs that the long-awaited sequel had begun production. Though it has been postponed many times, it is set to be released in October of 2027 and will make the first time live-action Batman and Superman films will be released in the same year. The cold weather setting has long been assumed for the film based on the timeline created in both the first movie starting on Halloween and ending on Election Day and then The Penguin series on HBO Max which took place over a week or so immediately after the flooding of Gotham. The new film will pick up right after the award-winning series which places the time frame squarely in December. The plot for the film is still under wraps, but along with returning stars Robert Pattinson, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan and Jeffrey Wright, the project has reportedly added Scarlett Johannson, Sebastian Stan and Charles Dance. Stan is reported to be playing Gotham DA Harvey Dent aka Two-Face while Dance is said to be his father, Christopher. These castings have been reported by multiple reputable outlets but not confirmed by DC Studios or Reeves. With production having begun, the film is on track to keep its release date of October 2027.  05/02/26 @ 1:59 pm EST
James Gunn, co-head of DC Studios, has addressed the strange “partial reboot” of the DCEU and why he didn’t just start completely fresh. With the new DCU starting with the animated Creature Commandos series and the new Superman movie, certain elements from the previous regime carried over like Viola Davis as Amanda Waller and there were some questions about more recent projects like Gunn’s own The Suicide Squad and Blue Beetle. And Gunn’s first DC movie also had elements from previous films including Margot Robbie as Harley Qiunn. So why not just start over? Turns out a lot of it has to do with the John Cena lead Peacemaker series on HBO Max. According to a social media post by Gunn, “Peacemaker Season 2 deals were all in place when I became head of DC. It was either break everyone's contracts and pay out all that money and take away HBO Max's biggest show at the time or find a way to make it work. I chose the latter. Mostly tho because I love the character and the show and thought he/they could be an important part of the DCU.” Now, this has left quite a mess trying to figure out what is and isn’t cannon, and Gunn realizes this. He posted, “I've been thinking about this a lot in regards to The Suicide Squad & Blue Beetle and I've been meaning to rewatch both with an eye towards that knowing what I know now almost three years into the DCU (with a couple more years of scripts being actively filmed or created). Maybe after MoT Jenn & Steve & I can get together for a special couple podcasts to discuss. What do you guys think is potentially or definitely NOT canon from TSS & BB?” He is referring to Jennifer Holland, his wife and actress who plays Harcourt and Steve Agee who plays Economos. The three of them did the post-episode podcasts for Peacemaker season two. Doing The Suicide Squad film makes sense with its ties to Peacemaker, but the reason for the Blue Beetle is that there are talks of an animated Blue Beetle series based on the 2023 film with Xolo Maridueña continuing in the role of Jaime Reyes. The fact it’s included here confirms the animated series is still happening.  ...
04/18/26 @ 12:44 pm EST
David Harbour is heading into the jungle. The actor has joined the cast of John Rambo, an upcoming origin-story film set before the events of First Blood. Harbour will portray Major (also known in earlier films as Colonel) Sam Trautman, the tough-minded commander and mentor figure long associated with the franchise. The film stars Noah Centineo as a younger John Rambo and is directed by Jalmari Helander ( Sisu) from a screenplay by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani. The project is expected to explore the experiences that forged Rambo into one of action cinema’s most enduring figures—years before he returned home to the confrontation that launched the original 1982 film. John Rambo is backed by Lionsgate and Millennium Media, with Templeton Media and AGBO also involved, and has reportedly wrapped production in Thailand. Additional cast members include Yao, Jason Tobin, Quincy Isaiah, Jefferson White, and Tayme Thapthimthong. Sylvester Stallone—who originated the role across five films—is attached as an executive producer, alongside Anthony and Joe Russo and other producers tied to the project.  04/18/26 @ 12:24 pm EST
Deadline is reporting that Game of Thrones actor Charles Dance will be joining the cast of the upcoming The Batman Part 2, which is set to start filming in the next few weeks. While this is unconfirmed by DC Studios, Dance is believed to be playing Charles Dent, the father of Harvey Dent aka Two-Face played by fellow newcome to the franchise, Sebastian Stan. There had been many reports over the last few months of other actors turning down the role of the elder Dent which is believed to have some parallels with the role Dance is best known for, Tywin Lannister. He joins a cast that also returns Robert Pattinson, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell and that has added Scarlett Johansson in an undisclosed part. Prior to joining the Matt Reeves’ sequel, Dance appeared recently in Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein and the Peacock series Day of the Jackal. 
04/11/26 @ 11:27 am EST
FX is doubling down on one of television’s most unlikely success stories. The Emmy‑winning docuseries Welcome to Wrexham has been officially renewed for three additional seasons, ensuring the show will run through at least Season 8. The announcement comes just weeks ahead of the series’ Season 5 premiere on May 14, 2026. The series chronicles the ownership journey of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney—often credited onscreen as Rob Mac—after their 2020 takeover of Welsh football club Wrexham AFC. What began as a celebrity‑owned sports experiment has evolved into one of FX’s most successful and beloved nonfiction franchises, following the club’s extraordinary rise through the English football pyramid. FX Entertainment president Nick Grad called the renewal “nearly unheard of,” praising the creative team and the global connection audiences have formed with the club and its community. Reynolds and McElhenney echoed that sentiment in a joint statement, crediting the documentary crew and Wrexham’s rapid on‑field success for making such a long‑term commitment possible. Season 5 will continue to track Wrexham’s pursuit of promotion to the Premier League following three consecutive promotions, a feat never before achieved in English Football League history. With cameras set to keep rolling for years to come, FX has made it clear that Wrexham’s story—both on and off the pitch—is far from finished.  |
