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Tag: Zatanna

  • J.J. Abrams’ ‘Zatanna’ Looking for New Streaming Home

    J.J. Abrams’ ‘Zatanna’ Looking for New Streaming Home

    In 2019, HBO Max signed J.J. Abrams to a $250M deal to develop projects for the streamer. Among the highlights was the development of DC’s Justice League Dark franchise, which was to include projects such as Constantine, Madame X and Zatanna. The former two projects were recently cut from HBO Max’s budget as ongoing shifts at Warner Bros. continue to change the landscape at the streaming service. Now it seems that HBO Max has moved on from the latter as well as Zatanna is now looking for a new home.

    Amongst an incredible wealth of information in a report from THR’s Borys Kit came the news that Zatanna has joined Constantine on the scrap heap at HBO Max. According to Kit, however, while the shows are dead at HBO Max, Abrams is shopping them to other networks in hopes of keeping them alive. Constantine was the furthest along of all the Justice League Dark projects, having been set to film this Fall. Set to be 8-episodes, it was going to adapt the story of John Constantine’s fateful encounter with Astra Logue. Zatanna had been in development since early 2021 with Oscar-nominated director Emerald Fennel on the script.

    The moves happen as Warner Bros. and Discovery continue their merger and ahead of the two companies streaming services merging into one platform in 2023. For Abrams, it means that 3 years into his deal he has yet to deliver on the promise. In addition to the cancellation of his Justice League Dark projects, another project he developed, Demimonde, was scrapped. Abrams is set to produce the upcoming Constantine film starring Keanu Reeves and also working with Ta-Nehisi Coates on his Superman project, which is said to be set outside the DC Universe’s main continuity.

    Source: THR

  • Book Review: ‘Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend’ by Alys Arden and Jacquelin de Leon

    Book Review: ‘Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend’ by Alys Arden and Jacquelin de Leon

    Zatanna Zatara made her first appearance Hawkman #4 from DC Comics back in 1964. She was created by Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson and has gone on to become one of DC’s most magical characters. So, it’s not entirely surprising that the character was next in line for her own graphic novel origin for young readers. While the graphic novel stumbles occasionally, Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend by Alys Arden and Jacquelin de Leon proves to be an exciting take on Zatanna’s origin.

    Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend focuses on Zatanna’s search for the truth. The story takes place in Coney Island and follows Zatanna and her family, the Starr family, during their life at the Golden Elephant. Her parents, Ezra Starr and Lola Starr, run an illusionist show on Coney Island along the boardwalk. For the young Zatanna, life in the Golden Elephant and on the boardwalk is all she knows. However, after a series of mysterious events, she soon finds herself questioning everything as she goes on the search for Giovanni Zatara. For fans of the character, Zatanna’s search for Zatara will come as no surprise. However, for those unsure of Zatanna’s origin, the search for Zatara will come as a well-executed surprise.

    Arden does a great job of crafting Zatanna’s beginnings. The way she goes about introducing her magic and the mystery surrounding it is wonderful. There are, of course, some hiccups along the way, though. At times, it feels as though The Jewel of Gravesend spends too much time on the little moments and not enough time on the big moments. This is especially the case in the second-half of the story. While it is great to see Zatanna’s relationships with her friends and Alexei develop, sometimes it felt as though some scenes weren’t entirely necessary. The most frustrating bits came as Zatanna began to come to terms with who she was and what she was capable of doing.

    As she begins to use her newfound abilities, the entire story changes as the bad guys of the story are finally introduced. While that bit is handled incredibly well, it’s frustrating seeing how quickly the story changes because it’s all over so quickly. It’s often expected these books will get sequels, or that new fans will go to the comics in hopes of learning more about the characters. Still, The Jewel of Gravesend could’ve benefited from a somewhat tighter ending. Sure, it’s okay to leave readers wanting to know more and to tease a potential continuation, but most of the bigger questions should be answered by the end to allow for new stories in the next installment.

    Even with an open ending, though, The Jewel of Gravesend is delightful. It’s a great take on Zatanna’s origin story and the artwork is absolutely stunning. The coloring, the shading, the design — all of it is great. It’s hard not to get lost in the pages of the story when the artwork is so expertly crafted.

    These stories might be crafted for a younger audience, but The Jewel of Gravesend is a graphic novel all ages can enjoy.

  • Top 5 Candidates For The New Justice League

    Top 5 Candidates For The New Justice League

    Recent rumors have sent fans of the DCEU into a bit of a crisis, pun intended. At the center of recent controversy is the fate of the Justice League within the shared universe and just what the team roster will look like in future appearances. Luckily the DC Extended Universe continues to grow and offers plenty of prime candidates who’ve joined the team in the pages of the comics and could eventually become a member in live-action.

    Honorable Mention: Hawkgirl

    The only reason Hawkgirl did not make the actual list is due to the uncertainness surrounding the character in the DCEU. The existence of Carter Hall, aka Hawkman, would point to Shiera Sanders Hall existing somewhere within the greater DC Universe. The character is a current member of the Infinite Frontier Justice League line-up and played a prominent role in the Justice League The Animated Series in which she was quite the fan-favorite character.

    5. Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz

    Both cuts of Justice League confirm that Green Lanterns do indeed exist in the DCEU however the corps has been AWOL and yet to make an appearance in the present day. Both Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz will make their live-action debuts in the upcoming Green Lantern series on HBO Max, and while the status of the series canonicity in the DCEU is still up in the air, the two would make great additions to the league. The pair joined the league in the place of Hal Jordan and Jon Stewart upon the beginning of DC’s Rebirth storyline and have been present in the DC Universe ever since.

    4. Shazam

    Billy Batson is probably one of the most beloved characters in the DCEU with one of the best films; of course, he’s a viable candidate for the Justice League, especially with how the Shazam! ended. Rumors surrounding the future of the team state that he could very well indeed be one of the newest members. The character has been a come-and-go member of the team since the launch of the New 52 and has been a popular addition ever since.

    3. Zatanna

    Zatanna is in a similar situation to Hawkgirl, but we actually know for a fact that the character is coming with a solo film in the works from academy award-winning screenwriter Emerald Fennel. While the character will most likely be a member of the Justice League Dark, this doesn’t exactly keep her from the Justice League. If Constantine leads the JLD and Doctor Fate represents magic on the JSA, Zatanna should have a place on the JL as she’s quite a powerful magic user and the league lacks someone that specializes in that.

    2. Martian Manhunter

    A character who was there at the very beginning, Martian Manhunter is a founding member of the Justice League and should be a member of the team. He possesses a variety of different abilities and powers that make him worthy of a spot on the team. In recent years, the character has taken a bit of a backseat, with Cyborg taking his spot on the team when the New 52 came around. The character was only revealed to exist and be General Swanwick in Zack Snyder’s Justice League which isn’t technically canon to the mainline DCEU, but the character could still find a place in the DCEU and on the League in a post-Flash universe.

    1. Black Canary

    Jurnee Smollett’s debut as Dinah Lance in Birds of Prey was praised by fans for her portrayal of the character, and people instantly craved more of the character. Jurnee is set to return as the character in her own solo film, as well as rumored to appear in Batgirl. The character is usually seen on the team alongside Green Arrow, who has yet to make an appearance in the DCEU, but existence is sure due to a graphic image featuring Lexcorps corporate rivals listing Queen Industries. What we’ve seen from Dinah so far has proved she can hold her own and harnesses a killer canary cry. With Jurnee wracking up a few more appearances and quickly becoming a prominent character in the DCEU, a spot on the league is what she deserves.

    The DC universe is vast and full of plenty of diverse and beloved characters and while things may feel familiar it’s also important to welcome a bit of change. The Justice League is a team that’s gone back decades and featured an ever-expanding and transitioning roster of characters so these additions wouldn’t feel out of the ordinary.

  • Oscar-Nominated Director Emerald Fennel Set to Write ‘Zatanna’

    Oscar-Nominated Director Emerald Fennel Set to Write ‘Zatanna’

    Around this time last year, it was announced that J.J. Abrams and his production company, Bad Robot, would be taking the reigns of the Justice League Dark characters for WB. We haven’t heard too much officially on these projects but we do know that the first project in the works is set to feature the popular occult detective, John Constantine, with casting for the new character already underway. Just last week we got our first confirmation and the next character set to join Abrams’ Dark Universe, the one and only mistress of magic, Zatanna.

    It was unclear what exactly the project would be considering Constantine would be getting a show, but we now know the project is indeed a film set to be written by Oscar-nominated director Emerald Fennel, who is currently in the running for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay for her work on Promising Young Woman. The project is also currently set to be released theatrically but has no set release date, and currently has no talent attached aside from Fennel.

    Why Zatanna Needs To Be The Next DC Extended Universe Star - CINEMABLEND

    This will be the first time Zatanna has appeared in live-action since her time on Smallville, in which she was played by Serinda Swan and only appeared for a few episodes. With the project still currently on the hunt for a director, it’s possible Fennel herself could take up the reigns to bring the character to life once more and would have no complaints here. It’ll be interesting to see if the actor who is eventually cast as Constantine reprises the role for this film as he and Zatanna were both trained by Zatanna’s father, Zatara.

    SOURCE: Variety 

  • ‘Zatanna’ Project Officially In The Works

    ‘Zatanna’ Project Officially In The Works

    Almost a year ago, it was announced that J.J. Abrams and his production company, Bad Robot, would be getting into development on a series of projects that build up to a Justice League Dark series. At first, it seemed that it was going to be a series purely about the team, but a few months later words got out that HBO Max developing a new solo series surrounding John Constantine. At the time, they’d already begun searching for an actor to play the role. Now, it seems as though we could see a build-up to the eventual meeting of the JLD, as another famous member is getting their own series.

    During an AT&T Investor’s Day presentation, they revealed a variety of DC shows that are in development. Eagle-eyed fans noticed a fan-favorite magician, Zatanna, is getting her own adaptation. While it’s not known if this project will be a film or a series, it seems more likely to be the series if you consider how these characters are being handled at HBO Max. Little is known about the project considering it was just announced but we’ll hopefully get some word on it soon.

    It’ll be interesting to see what eventually brings these magical heroes together. We also will have to see who ends up on the roster of this team. In the comics, the roster has changed so frequently. So, they have a variety of choices for the upcoming series. I do believe that Zatanna is a necessity on the team. She has been part of almost every version, as such, she is a necessity. It will be great to see also see what evil might force these unlikely heroes to work together.

    Source: The Verge, Twitter