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Tag: Bad Robot

  • Rachel Hilson and Josh Holloway join HBO Max’s ‘Duster’

    Rachel Hilson and Josh Holloway join HBO Max’s ‘Duster’

    Rachel Hilson and Josh Holloway will star in J.J. Abrams and Latoya Morgan‘s series Duster. Announced in 2020, the project has officially landed a series order from HBO Max after initially only being given a development commitment by the streaming service. The first two episodes of the eight-part series are said to have been written by Abrams and Morgan, with Steph Green on board to direct them.

    Holloway plays the getaway driver to Hilson’s character, Nina, a black FBI agent hoping to take down a growing crime organization. Morgan, at the very least, was not afraid to share her excitement:

    “Duster is an amalgam of all my favorite things – high octane storytelling with deep characters and so much heart. It’s a dream project and I’m supremely grateful to all the folks at Warner Bros. and HBO Max for believing in this show. And I couldn’t have asked for a better partner in crime than J.J. to build this incredible world.”

    Morgan

    Also set to appear in Duster are Keith David, Sydney Elisabeth, Greg Grunberg, Camille Guaty, Asivak Koostachin, Adriana Aluna Martinez and Benjamin Charles Watson.

    Abrams’ Bad Robot initially signed on with an overall deal at Warner Bros. Discovery in 2019. Since then, very little has become of the deal. Abrams was developing Demimonde fir the streamer, but as the budget continued to grow, HBO Max ended up canceling the project. He was also working on two DC titles for HBO Max, Constantine and Madame X, both of which were passed over. And his The Shining spinoff, Overlook, moved to Netflix but was originally set up at HBO Max. So long as no further issues pop up behind the scenes, Duster looks likely to be the first project under the overall deal to make it to series.

    A premiere date for Duster has not been released.

    Source: Deadline.

  • ‘Constantine’ and ‘Madame X’ Dead at HBO Max, Will Be Shopped Elsewhere

    ‘Constantine’ and ‘Madame X’ Dead at HBO Max, Will Be Shopped Elsewhere

    Back in 2020, JJ Abrams signed a massive deal with HBO Max for his production company, Bad Robot. The deal would give him exclusive access to developing projects from the supernatural side of the DC Universe, specifically Justice League Dark. While numerous projects were announced throughout the years, and one seemed to have secured a leading actor, nothing ever became of the deal. Unfortunately, now it looks as though two projects being developed under the deal are no longer moving forward — at least, not at HBO Max.

    Upon today’s news that, after seventeen years, a sequel to the Keanu Reeves film, Constantine, is in the works, Variety confirmed that JJ Abrams and Bad Robot’s upcoming Constantine and Madame Xanadu series will halt development at HBO Max. The plan is for the shows to be shopped elsewhere. It is of note that the decision was reportedly not due to creative issues.

    This, of course, shouldn’t be entirely surprising. News of the Constantine sequel noted that Abrams would be involved, which could hint that he may have possibly dumped previous plans with the series and could build his Justice League Dark universe from there.

    There is still the matter of the Zatanna film, though, which is currently set to be penned by Emerald Fennel who is best known for her award-winning work on Promising Young Woman. It’s unknown if Abrams is involved in that project at all, but his overall deal with WB would suggest that he is indeed involved.

    Abrams will work with the original film’s director, Francis Lawrence, and Akiva Goldsman on the Constantine sequel which will see Keanu Reeves return to the titular role. There is currently no word on where the other series will be shopped to or if anyone at all shows interest in the projects.

    SOURCE: Variety

  • J.J. Abrams’ DC Projects Future Uncertain Due to Warner Bros. Discovery’s Restructure

    J.J. Abrams’ DC Projects Future Uncertain Due to Warner Bros. Discovery’s Restructure

    In 2019, J.J. Abrams signed an overall deal with HBO Max that cost the streaming service $250 million. Since then, Abrams’ Bad Robot has yet to actually produce anything under the said deal, which is leading Warner Bros. Discovery to question what the holdup is.

    Ever since Discovery completed its acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T in April, WBD CEO David Zaslav has been going over projects in various stages of development to try and determine whether or not they are worth continuing. One project that has already received the axe is the recently announced Wonder Twins film. The project was originally announced in February, then the project cast its leads in April, only for the film to be halted in early May. Unfortunately, Wonder Twins looks to be only the start of Zaslav’s changes. It’s expected that the newly merged studio will continue to crack down on projects in development – potentially even those being developed through Abrams’ overall deal.

    One of many projects announced as part of Abrams’ overall deal was Demimonde, a science fiction drama set to star Watchmen alum Danielle Deadwyler. The project was expected to consist of 10 episodes, but it might now be on the bubble with Bad Robot reportedly eyeing a budget north of $200 million for the series. As if that isn’t bad enough, Abrams is also developing HBO Max’s DC Comics-based Justice League Dark franchise, which will include shows like Constantine and Madame X. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it is possible to even those projects could come under scrutiny from Zaslav.

    Part of the frustration is said to be that Abrams has “laid claim” to numerous DC characters but has yet to see a project through to fruition. While Warners has seen scripts for Constantine and the pilot of Madame X, the lack of movement could result in action from Zaslav as the streaming service is said to be dealing with a pipeline issue. As it stands, there is reportedly no delivery plan for any of the projects being developed under Abrams’ Bad Robot banner.

    It is of note that, along with producing a new Star Trek movie for Paramount, Abrams was just announced to be producing a Speed Racer series for Apple TV+ through his Bad Robot banner. That project is actually being produced as part of his overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, which is also producing the project.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter