News Shotgun 12/18/21

Here’s all the movie and TV news you need to know from the past week, it’s the News Shotgun

• Blue Beetle movie coming to theaters: Originally announced as HBO Max streaming exclusive, the Blue Beetle movie is now coming to theaters in 2023.  Cobra Kai’s Xolo Maridueña is playing Jaime Reyes, who becomes the DC superhero when he comes into contact with an alien scarab that becomes a high-tech suit.  Shazam: Fury of the Gods is also coming out DC/WB in theaters in June 2023.
• Power Rangers meet Godzilla in new comic crossover: The Power Ranger have faced many giant kaiju over the years but they’ll face the King of the Monsters in the comic pages next year in a new crossover from IDW.  Cullen Bunn will write the series with art from Freddie Williams II, who previously worked on Batman and TMNT.  The plot finds Rita Repulsa traveling to another dimension with no Power Rangers to try and conquer it but finds herself in the world of Godzilla.  The Rangers follow and have to stop Rita and deal with the big G.  The first issue of the five-issue series arrives in March next year.
• Frank Sinatra biopic series coming to Netflix: Frank Sinatra is the latest legend to get a biopic series with a new upcoming Netflix show that will follow his humble beginnings in New Jersey to being one of the biggest stars in the world alongside the Rat Pack. Bill Condon, who directed the Beauty and the Beast remake, the final two Twilight movies, and Dreamgirls is directing and writing the pilot and will serve as showrunner for the rest of the series and Tina Sinatra will executive produce, allowing full use of her father’s songs and performances.
• Ben Schwartz joins Renfield: The cast of Renfield keeps getting better with Ben Schwartz joining Nicolas Cage, Nicolas Hoult, and Awkwafina in a new spin on the Dracula story.  The movie is told from the perspective of Dracula’s deranged assistant, played by Hoult, with Cage as the Count himself.  Chris McKay is directing the movie, having most recently directed The Tomorrow War for Amazon, and the movie is based on a story from Walking Dead/Invincible creator Robert Kirkman.
• Jeff Garlin leaves The Goldbergs for on-set behavior: The Goldbergs is losing another key cast member following the death of the beloved George Segal with Jeff Garlin leaving the series following an HR investigation into alleged misconduct on the set.  The investigation has apparently been ongoing for three years and culminated this week with Garlin exiting the series.  He did not finish production of the show’s current ninth season, so it is unclear how they will explain Murray Goldberg’s exit from the series.
• Denis Villeneuve directing Rendezvous with Rama movie: Denis Villeneuve is tackling another sci-fi classic after Dune with an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama.  The book was published in 1973 and is, “…set in the 2130s, and it involves a massive cylindrical alien starship that enters the Solar System. The story is told from the point of view of a group of human explorers who intercept the ship in an attempt to unlock its mysteries”.  Villeneuve is currently working on Dune Part 2.
• CSI: Vegas renewed for second season: The CSI revival that brought things back to Las Vegas with some of the original cast has been renewed by CBS for another season.  William Petersen will not return as Gil Grissom but Jorja Fox may stay on as Sarah Sidle, as her contract gives her that option and the new cast are all expected to return.  The show is now streaming on Paramount+ and it grew stronger in the ratings as the season went on live on CBS, eventually growing 60% from the premiere episode to the season finale.
• God Country adaptation coming to Netflix: Jim Mickle, the showrunner of Netflix’s Sweet Tooth, is tackling another comic adaptation with God Country coming to the streaming platform.  Original comic writer Donny Cates is writing the series with Mickle and the series is about, “…an aging man with dementia who acquires a mythical sword when a tornado blows through his town. While the sword cures him of his disease, he must use it to protect his family against terrifying otherworldly creatures seeking its power”.
• Fast & Furious 10 release date moves: The tenth entry in the Fast & Furious franchise has moved its release date to May 19th, 2023.  It’s a month after the original date of April 7, 2023, and puts it in prime summer blockbuster territory.  Universal slotted an untitled animated feature into the April timeslot left by F&F 10.
• Zorro series coming to Disney+: Iconic pulp hero Zorro is coming to Disney+ in a new original series with Wilmer Valderrama starring and producing the series.  The show will have the classic swashbuckling action and humor the series is known for but shot in “a very modern telenovela style”.
• New class of National Film Registry films announced: The Library of Congress added another group of films for preservation that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and some genre favorites made the cut.  Nightmare on Elm Street, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Return of the Jedi, Strangers on a Train, and Wall-E were among the 25 movies that will be preserved in the National Film Registry.
• Gotham Knights series coming to The CW: The CW is expanding their Batman side of the DC universe with an upcoming series based on Gotham Knights.  Coming from the same team behind Batwoman, Gotham Knights logline is: “In the wake of Bruce Wayne’s murder, his rebellious adopted son forges an unlikely alliance with the children of Batman’s enemies when they are all framed for killing the Caped Crusader, and as the city’s most wanted criminals, this renegade band of misfits must fight to clear their names. But in a Gotham with no Dark Knight to protect it, the city descends into the most dangerous it’s ever been. However, hope comes from the most unexpected of places as this team of mismatched fugitives will become its next generation of saviors known as the Gotham Knights.”  It’s not clear who the “adopted son” will be but Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, and Jason Todd have been featured on Titans on HBO Max and Damian is Batman’s biological son, so the logline doesn’t make sense for him.  Hopefully, it’s not some made-up character they create just for the series.  It’s also not clear if it will be set in the proper Arrowverse or be a different Earth, like Titans or Stargirl.
• Mega Man live-action movie coming to Netflix: The blue bomber is coming to Netflix with a live-action reboot coming to the streaming platform.  Fox was working on a Mega Man movie before being bought by Disney but now Netflix is working with Chernin Entertainment to develop a live-action Mega Man movie.  It seems like it will be based on the original game series and not the X series or the other spin-offs.  Catfish and Nerve directors Henry Joost and Rel Ariel Schulman wrote and will direct the movie.