Today's news digest: Star Trek 3 , Constantine , 2000 AD , X-Men and more!
• It's looking highly likely that Roberto Orci is directing Star Trek 3 . Deadline reports that Orci is the frontrunner to take over the franchise from JJ Abrams, who is now busy on Star Wars: Episode VII . Orci, who co-wrote the Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness , recently split from screenwriting partner Alex Kurtzman (although they will continue on their TV projects, including Sleepy Hollow , together) and this would be his first directing gig.
• This time of year is rarely fun for TV fans, as many fan-favourite shows are canned during the upfront presentations from networks in the US. Along with the others we reported before the weekend, Believe , Intelligence , Revolution and Dracula have also been killed off. The cancellation of these low-rated shows doesn't come as a surprise, although the offing of Community before it could reach its "six seasons and a movie" is particularly upsetting. We truly are in the darkest timeline.
• On the plus side, new TV is coming. NBC's Constantine has released a three-minute long trailer that you can watch below and it's looking exciting. The tone feels right for this project and the wisecracking performance from Matt Ryan is fun in ways that should help you forget the much-maligned Keanu Reeves-starring 2005 film version.
• Michael Cobley's Shadowkings trilogy is finally available in ebook and audiobook formats. The first book was originally published in 2001 with the series taking a bleak look at an apocalyptic war between the forces of good and evil:
– Book 1: Shadowkings ( ebook / audiobook )
– Book 2: Shadowgod ( ebook / audiobook )
– Book 3: Shadowmasque ( ebook / audiobook )
• 2000 AD is petitioning fans to help find missing Judge Dredd newspaper strips. The hunt has been called to fill the gaps in publisher Rebellion's archive of the national Daily Star strips from the '80s. It's a search that the British Library has failed in, with Rebellion only having low-resolution scans of the strips. It is looking to gather high-quality versions of nine strips drawn by artist Ron Smith , including the first episode "Devil's Island" from August 1981. Anyone with good scans or physical copies should contact press@rebellion.co.uk .
• Excited for X-Men: Days of Future Past ? Twentieth Century Fox has released new "power pieces" for Mystique and Quicksilver that provide a closer look at the characters and some glimpses of what they'll be getting up to in the upcoming film.
• The filmmaking team behind Iron Sky , the "Nazis on the moon" spectacular, are offering fans the chance to become shareholders in Iron Sky Universe . You can have your say on the direction of the franchise and get involved in the process of developing Iron Sky 2 . By allowing the audience to buy shares, Iron Sky Universe (a company that produces films, games and TV series) is pioneering a new approach to crowdfunding.
• Entertainment Weekly has debuted the latest piece of artwork in the " Agents of SHIELD : The Art of Level Seven" series. This piece accompanies the season finale "Beginning of the End" but can hardly be considered spoilery if you're up-to-date (or have at least seen as far as " Turn, Turn, Turn "). It is an impressive reworking of the show's original character poster that moves everybody around and places Agent Ward in the red glow of the Hydra logo that has cracked apart the SHIELD one.
Simon Cocks
