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Tag: Madame Xanadu

  • ‘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

  • HBO Max Developing ‘Madame Xanadu’ Series

    HBO Max Developing ‘Madame Xanadu’ Series

    A while back, it got announced that J.J. Abrams and his production company, Bad Robot, had entered an exclusive deal to develop various projects based on characters on the magic corner of the DC Universe. A year later, we got word that Bad Robot was developing television series for the famed occult detective, John Constantine, with Guy Bolton. Not just that, it got confirmed that the director and writer of Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennel, would be writing a feature film following Zatanna. That’s not all, as another founding member of the team is jumping into action. Madame Xanadu set to make her HBO Max debut in a brand new series.

    Announced by Variety, Bad Robot will work on a series focused on the sorceress. Angela Robinson will write the project. There’s currently no series order, but Robinson will serve no as executive producer on the project alongside J.J. Abrams, Ben Stephenson, and Rachel Rusch Rich serving as co-executive producer.

    The character’s roots travel back to the fall of Atlantis. Some branched off and evolved into a race of magically abled humans called the Homo Magi. The sisters, Xanadu, Morgaine le Fey, and Vivienne are descendants of these individuals. They were relevant characters during the days of Camelot, which is home to yet another essential member of the Justice League Dark, Etrigan the Demon. He would end up traveling alongside Xanadu but fears that the foretold would come true before he finds a cure, as he is destined to kill her. 

    She’s the perfect character to introduce the world of DC’s sorcery. It’ll be interesting to see if the series and the overall Justice League Dark universe on HBO Max ties into the greater DCEU and maybe even see it tie into the fall of Atlantis shown in Aquaman.

    Source: Variety