Back in July, it was revealed that Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries) had teamed with Universal Television to adapt a trio of novels from bestselling author, E. Lockhart. One of the titles Plec had optioned was We Were Liars, which she’ll be adapting for the small screen with Carina Adly MacKenzie (Roswell, New Mexico). Now, it looks like the series has found a home with Deadline reporting Amazon has picked up the series.
Per the outlet, Amazon Prime Video is now developing the project and has set up a mini writers’ room. Plec is set to write the first episode, while MacKenzie is set to write the second episode. The duo will produce the series alongside Emily Cummins, E. Lockhart and Universal Television.
We Were Liars is described as a tragic love story and amnesia thriller that is set on a privately owned island off the coast of Massachusetts. It features a “beautiful and distinguished family,” and a “brilliant, damaged girl” and a “passionate, political body.” The book has become a TikTok phenomenon and has been on the New York Times bestseller’s list for the past twenty-two months. The book was first published in 2014.
Under the ruthless eye of David Zaslav, Warner Bros. recently went through a massive change internally. Projects were canceled without hesitation, departments were dismantled, and the future seemed bleak for the legacy company. One of the departments that got the shaft was animation. DC, in particular, saw the axing of the Bruce Timm-led animated series Batman: Caped Crusader in the HBO Max slate.
Succeeding reports pointed to Warner Bros. being open to selling the animated series to other services but until now, there hasn’t been any clear plan as to what the show’s fate was. CEO of the TV division at Warner Bros., Channing Dungey, revealed that the company is close to striking a deal with Amazon for all future animated DC content.
Unless this deal magically goes awry in the next few weeks, it seems evident that the home for all animated DC properties moving forward will be on Amazon Prime. Fans are intensely anticipating the new Batman show not only for Timm and Matt Reeves‘ vision but also for what might be the final performance of the legendary Kevin Conroy. Amazon Prime being the new home for DC cartoons is a hopeful sign of what’s to come.
Clancy Brown has become a fixture throughout any giant IP in the market, as he’s appeared in The Mandalorian, Marvel’s The Punisher, Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok, still actively voices Mr. Krabs in Spongebob Squarebob and so much more. So, what difference does it make if he adds one more tentpole franchise under his belt, according to One Take News, Brown has now also joined The Boys. Well, it’s an upcoming spinoff Gen V to be exact.
The spinoff series is currently in production and will focus on a new group of young Supes that are just starting out to make their mark to one day become part of the Seven. Given the series’ usual staples of sex and violence, hormonal teenagers are definitely going to push that to new levels.
They have no details on what role Brown might be playing, but that he will appear in at least one episode of the season. In a college setting, it’s very likely that he’s either someone’s parent or could even be playing a professor. So, it’ll be fun to see if he has any powers of his own, which he’d definitely have a lot of fun with given the chance.
Black Adam‘s Hawkman is set to return. Well, at least Aldis Hodge is, as he has already nabbed his next high-profile project in the adaptation of James Patterson‘s Alex Cross. Amazon Prime Video has ordered the adaptation to the series with Hodge attached as its main lead. It’ll be titled Cross and has seemingly been in the works since January 2020. Amazon’s Head of Global Television, Vernon Sanders, shared his excitement about the series.
James Patterson is among the best at captivating audiences with his undeniably enthralling novels and we are confident that with Ben Watkins’ artistic vision, Cross will do the same for our global customers. We are proud to work with James and Ben alongside Paramount Television, Skydance, and the extremely talented Aldis Hodge, who we know will do an exceptional job of bringing Alex Cross to life.
Vernon Sanders
Ben Watkins is attached to write and executive produce the series as its showrunner. Hodge is not only taking on the leading role but is also set to act as a producer. Patterson joins as executive producer alongside Sam Ernst, Jim Dunn, and Craig Siebels. Skydance Television is set to produce with Paramount Television Studios and James Patterson Entertainment attached.
In Variety’s announcement, they teased that the series’ take on Cross hints at him being “brilliant, flawed, and full of contradictions. A doting father and family man, Cross is single-minded to the point of obsession when he hunts killers. He is desperate for love, but his wife’s murder has left him too damaged to receive it.”
It’s great to see the actor nab a big project after one of fall’s biggest releases. There’s still no word if we can expect a Black Adam sequel starring Hodge in the near future, or if Hawkman might get his own spinoff at some point, but the actor will certainly be quite busy moving forward.
Russo Brothers have been quite busy with their various projects and it looks like they are already eyeing to kick off their Amazon Prime Video series, Citadel. Once again taking a step into the world of spies and thrillers, they have cast the rising Italian star, Matilda De Angelis, as its lead, who recently made her name with her work on Susanne Bier‘s The Undoing. The project has now started production and was announced by Amazon Studios at Rome’s MIA content market.
For those wondering, Citadel is part of a wider event series with a U.S.-based main series and various spinoffs. Currently, Prime Video plans to expand it into India and Mexico as well with Arnaldo Catinari spearheading this project based on head writer Alessandro Fabbri‘s scripts. ITV Studios’ Cattleya is also currently producing the series with Gina Gardini set as its showrunner and executive producer alongside Marco Chimenz, Giovanni Stabilini, and Riccardo Tozzi.
The series has already cast Bernhard Schütz, Lorenzo Cervasio, Thekla Reuten, Julia Piaton, Filippo Nigro, and Maurizio Lombardi in undisclosed roles. This is the first local production to start and the U.S.-based series has already added Stanley Tucci, Richard Madden, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. It’s unclear if they will all be under the same title of Citadel or potentially each get their own titles moving forward but the project is certainly ambitios.
The neo-western series Outer Range has just received a second season renewal from Prime Video. Josh Brolin will return as the Wyoming rancher, whose life is thrown into turmoil when he uncovers something quite unnatural on his farm. The series was created by Brian Watkins, but it looks like he isn’t going to return for the second season.
Luke Cage‘s Charles Murray is taking over as showrunner, which is part of his deal with Amazon Studios and will join the production to further explore the Abbotts’ struggle with some supernatural and local troubles. It’s unclear who from the original cast will return, which included Lili Taylor, Lewis Pullman, Tamara Podemski, Tom Pelphrey, Shaun Sipos, Noah Reid, Isabel Arraiza, Olive Abercombie, Will Patton, and Imogen Poots.
Watkins is still involved with the production, as he’ll remain as executive producer on these series. There’s no word on why exactly they decided to move forward with a new showrunner in its second season but it’ll be interesting to see what Charles Murray will bring to the table with his talented work on shows like Luke Cage, Sons of Anarchy, and more.
It looks like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star, Kiernan Shipka, has found her next major project as she’s set to join Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans in the upcoming Amazon Prime Video holiday event titled Red One. It’ll be directed by Jumanji director Jake Kasdan but no further details on her role or even the plot of this Holiday event are being shared. It’s being marketed as an action-adventure comedy for all four quadrants that’ll open up a potential new “universe” in “the holiday genre.”
Amazon Studios is developing and it’ll be an original story from Hiram Garcia after they landed the bidding war for the project back in 2021. Seven Bucks Production collaborator Chris Morgan wrote the screenplay for the adaptation, who has quite an extensive history with the Fast & Furious franchise. So, we might be able to expect a lot of action cut from the same cloth.
It’s interesting to see this cast come together and theorize what direction they are going with this story. She’s joining two big-named actors in what could be a brand new franchise that opens up many new opportunities. It’s interesting how the word “universe” is used and it may be Amazon’s attempt at creating their own big recurring holiday franchise. So, we’ll see what they have in store for us.
One of the best things about the new TV trend of returning to places we’ve visited is finding connections to the older projects. It worked really well in Bel-Air and Saved By The Bell, and now, two episodes into The Rings of Power, we can safely say that it feels like it will work even if we do not know for sure yet.
The first two episodes have taken us back to places that feel familiar, but what is even cooler to see are characters who we meet here who will play a pivotal role thousands of years down the road in the fight against Sauron. In some cases, we are seeing what led to them being who they were when we first met them in either The Hobbit or the Lord of The Rings trilogies. And then there are brand new characters who, unless you have read Tolkien’s other Middle-earth pieces, are surprisingly connected to the more famous heroes of Middle-earth in different ways, including a LOTR veteran who we later see refuse a ring of power.
Galadriel and Elrond
Given the role both of these characters play down the road, it makes sense to lump them together. It’s even cooler that the older version of these characters, two of the greatest heroes in Middle-earth, are played by Hela and Red Skull respectively, two of the greatest villains in Marveldom. Galadriel was very much resigned to her fate when we saw her in The Lord of the Rings, but The Rings of Power finds her seeking vengeance for the death of her brother at the hands of Sauron, who she believes is not gone. In the source material, she actually is not allowed to return home because she rebels with her own army of elves with plans to rule over Middle-earth, and there doesn’t seem to be any mention of that here. Elrond, meanwhile, is a friend to the Dwarves and their King in a way that he does not appear to be in the films. In fact, utter indifference is probably the best way to describe his attitude towards Gimli and the dwarves who come to Rivendell. He’s definitely learning how to scheme here, whereas the Elrond we meet later on is very much content with letting the world end: at least until his daughter shares that she’s given up her immortality. Elrond is afforded a sort of reverence in The Rings of Power that can be directly attributed to the source material in which his parents played a key role in defeating Morgoth.
Gil-galad
The High King of the Elves is actually only seen briefly in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, fighting next to Elrond and Isildur in the war against Sauron, but we are getting a lot of him here. In the source material, it should be noted that Sauron kills Gil-galad with his bare hands, so folks should not get too attached to a character that is highly respected and who has the most authority of any of the elves we meet.
Prince Durin IV
Prince Durin didn’t physically appear in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so we are seeing him for the first time in The Rings of Power. However, it is his father, King Durin, who rules over what would later become the Mines of Moria. Yes, we know what you’re thinking: who rules over the mines? Well, dwarves did when the mines were actually the Kingdom of Khazad-dûm and that’s where the Balrog resides. Prince Durin is also present when the secret box is shown, and while we don’t see what is actually in it our bet is that it is mithril: mithril is what Frodo’s chainmail was made from, and what ultimately saves his life.
Celebrimbor
A name only whispered as a cautionary tale in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but one who plays a pivotal role in how we even get to the end of Peter Jackson’s labor of love. Celebrimbor, who can also be seen in the critically-acclaimed video game Shadow of War, ends up being tricked by Sauron into creating the titular rings of power, a plot point for which the wheels have already started turning. He is, also, the one who created the three elven rings in secret, so his role (while small right now) will expand as the show progresses.
Elendil
The sword of Elendil was reforged by Elrond and bestowed upon Aragorn so he could go into the mountains and return with a ghost army that had sworn an oath to the King of Men. Here, we meet the owner of THAT sword and the second to last King of Men. Elendil plays a pivotal role in Sauron’s defeat as well, as it is he who forges the last alliance between Elves and Men. He is not that person in The Rings of Power yet, but his ties to Aragorn and Numenor will most likely be explored further.
Isildur
The last King of Men, who both defeated Sauron AND allowed him to return by not destroying the ring. We last saw Isildur in The Fellowship of the Ring face down in a river with arrows in his back. He succumbed to the temptation of the One Ring and didn’t destroy it when he had the chance, but he is also who helps discover Gondor (a place that plays a pivotal role in the original trilogy).
The Boys, Amazon’s massively popular antihero series, is about to begin filming it’s fourth season. Returning for another round of violence and chaos is star Jack Quaid, who has grown to prominence on the show playing the timid-turned-tenacious vengeance seeker Hughie Campbell. The end of the third season left Quaid’s character in a unique place, with Hughie now recovering from the effects of using an experimental temporary “V” – a drug that grants people superpowers – and working to make amends with his romantic partner – Erin Moriarty’s Starlight. With so much to do in The Boys’ next season, it doesn’t seem like Campbell would have much time to appear anywhere else in the franchise, and according to Quaid, he really won’t be.
Speaking exclusively with Variety, the former Hunger Games actor was asked if fans should expect to see Hughie cameo in The Boys’ upcoming spin-off, Gen V. Set concurrently with the flagship series, Gen V follows a group of young college-age “Supes” as they attend the Godolkin University School of Crimefighting and are tested in deadly challenges. Last month, series creator Eric Kripke teased that the two shows would feature crossovers, but Quaid says he hasn’t yet been involved in Gen V in any capacity. However, he did spend an afternoon with the spin-off project’s cast in a pretty endearing way. Answering the question, he explained:
Not at this point. I haven’t really talked about that with anyone, but I’d love to be. I actually can talk about this now, because it was happening when I was shooting “Strange New Worlds” in Toronto, and that was just as the cast of “Gen V” was starting production. So I took them all out to brunch one day. I got to know a bunch of them. They’re awesome. They’re so talented. They’re so cool. I can’t wait for that show to come out. I wish them all the best. They’re gonna knock it out of the park.
Jack Quaid
Before he left, Quaid fielded one final question. While his character successfully avoided a lethal dosage of the “Temp V”, his partner-in-crime Billy Butcher, played by Karl Urban, wasn’t so lucky. In the third season finale, Butcher learns he only has a year left to live, something he hides from his companions. When asked how Hughie will respond when he finds out, Quaid said:
Man, I mean, we’re gonna have to find out, but it’s not gonna be good. Butcher is like his best friend and an older brother. So that’s pretty devastating news, when Hughie finds out but we’re just going to have to wait and see how that plays out. I haven’t read all the scripts for Season 4 yet. I don’t really know, actually. This is my time to be a fan and just kind of let things come to me and react to them genuinely as I’m reading them. But I was really happy with the way the writers teed everything up for this next season.
Jack Quaid
Neither The Boys’ fourth season nor Gen V, previously titled The Boys Presents: Varsity, have a current release date. The former has just begun production in Toronto, while the latter has been filming for most of the past year.
Not too long ago, the official The Boys‘ official Twitter account shared that some of the cast were already heading to Toronto to start filming on the fourth season. The Amazon Prime Video series saw a spike in popularity with its recent third season, excitement has been quite high for what the next entry might have to offer.
While we still have to wait a bit longer for any official information, it does seem like they may have started work already on the production. Twitter user @Justin3ric has taken to Twitter to share what seems like it is part of the set at a restaurant. On the side we can clearly see posters for A-train and potentially other heroes.
It should be noted that there’s a chance this set is also used for the upcoming spinoff Gen-V. There’s no cast on location which makes it difficult to say for sure, but the timing does hint at it potentially being part of the fourth season, especially with the upcoming spinoff taking place mostly in a college setting.
There’s a lot of hope for many characters to return and see how it potentially builds upon the previous season. Jensen Ackles became a season favorite with his performance as Soldier Boy and it’ll be interesting to see how they continue to add elements that pull from the genre it’s also technically mocking. We’ll have to see but it’s great to know they wasted no time tackling the next season.
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