Studio Coffee Run 1/14/20: SPACE CAMP is back and UNCHARTED treks onward

Welcome back, folks! Awards season is officially here with yesterday’s Oscar nominations landing on the web, so we’ve got a look at all those, thanks to SCR cohort Ed Douglas (spoiler alert, a certain clown is mentioned eleven times). This week’s Studio Coffee Run presents us with a string of snack sized headlines. Robert Zemeckis is planning to direct a genre-bending sci-fi movie called Ares, Disney is rebooting Space Camp as a streaming exclusive for some reason, Legendary Entertainment is starting work on a ’60s suspense adaptation and Syfy has just announced a limited series return to Neverland. On the trailer side of things, Netflix dropped a full trailer for Ragnarok and FX has our first look at season 4 of Fargo.

Let’s start with the big ticket item here, though:

Disney denies rumors that Hawkeye has been postponed

• Over the course of the weekend, rumors around Hawkeye being postponed indefinitely exploded and quickly rebounded in on itself. One site claimed that, because the show was removed from Disney’s 2020 slate, that production troubles were imminent. Disney was quick to step in, however, squashing tangential theories that Jeremy Renner may be ousted.

But, don’t turn off your MCU rumor mill just yet

• In an interview with Variety, Jharrel Jerome made it known that he’d love to play Miles Morales. He’s not the only one who wants to see it happen. We pointed to the When They See Us star as a great pick ourselves, along with four other actors for the live action role.

Jharrel Jerome's dream role? "Miles Morales, live action #SpiderMan. That'd be tight!" (Watch) pic.twitter.com/CCdEDnqgYT

— Variety (@Variety) January 13, 2020

Robert Zemeckis hopes to land a spot on Warner Bros.’ Ares

Back to the Future’s Robert Zemeckis is in talks to direct Warner Bros.’ new sci-fi/thriller, Ares. Should negotiations wrap up in his favor, Zemeckis will work with a script from Captain Marvel writer, Geneva Robertson-Dworet.

Her story follows an astronaut who finds himself crash landed in an African desert. At first, it seems like his primary concern is simple; to return to his family. But, as the plot unravels, so do the details of his mission and the possibly world shattering conspiracy along with it.

Zemeckis and partner Jack Rapke will produce under their ImageMovers banner, with help from Executive Producer Roland Emmerich.

The CW’s Mark Pedowitz climbs the corporate ladder

• Former CW President Mark Pedowitz has been promoted to network chairman and CEO, having also recently signed a multi-year contract to continue overseeing creative and business endeavors. Pedowitz has stuck with the CW since he joined in 2011, when its future was hardly visible at all. In his tenure, he’s grown the network into what it is now: a delightful amalgamation of melodramatic superheroes and teens in crazy situations.

Speaking of super folks, check out these new Arrow pics (featuring a new character?)

• If you’re up to date on your SCR, you’ll remember last week we got a synopsis for the Arrow backdoor spin-off. This week, we’ve got a true look at the new team thanks to some recently released photos. One character is of particular interest. Raigan Harris listed as Biance Bertinelli. Fans theorize this could be Helena Bertinelli’s (The Huntress’) daughter, which makes sense given that the episode is titled “Green Arrow and the Canaries.” Check out a few of those photos below, and find the rest over on Entertainment Weekly.

Space Camp is taking new recruits for its Disney+ relaunch

Space Camp ­– the Fox movie that originally released just five months after the Challenger accident – is getting the remake treatment as a Disney+ exclusive, from SNL writers Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell.

The ‘80s flick is a teen drama with all the expected tropes: young love, jealousy, friendship and surviving in space after an engine test accidentally shuttles you into orbit. When it first premiered, Space Camp did not do well. Disney must have some degree of confidence that Day and Seidell can turn that bad rap around, as this marks the third project for the budding duo. They were hired on for the Home Alone reboot as well as a live-action Inspector Gadget script.

Rampage and Horrible Bosses’ John Rickard steps up to produce this second trip to Space Camp. 

The elephant in the conglomerate

• In the world of princes, princesses and pressuring corporations to not be total jerks with their cash, Disney also announced that it’s made a voiceover deal with Meghan Markle, in exchange for a donation to the charity, Elephants Without Borders. Where we’ll hear Markle’s voice is unclear as of yet.

 

Séance on a Wet Afternoon adaptation invites Harry Bradbeer to direct

Harry Bradbeer, Golden Globe and Emmy award winning Fleabag director, is tackling the adaptation of Mark McShane’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon. The 1961 suspense novel follows a medium, her husband and the child she convinces him to kidnap in an effort to sort of help the police unravel a case, but mostly for the recognition.

Jack Thorne will handle the writing side of the project, returning to work with Bradbeer after their upcoming Enola Holmes. His credits are… varied, with titles including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as well as HBO’s His Dark Materials.

Thorne and Bradbeer are working with Legendary Entertainment on the production, following the studio’s recent acquisition of the property. Séance on a Wet Afternoon was previously adapted just three years after its publication, conjuring BAFTA noms for leads Richard Attenborough and Kim Stanley.

Meanwhile, Sony’s Uncharted looks for new direction

• Uncharted is still trying to find its way as it maps out a potential director in Ruben Fleischer; the Sony alum behind the monster boyfriend hit, Venom, and both Zombieland movies. If shooting doesn’t begin on this long-awaited video game adaptation, its premiere date could suffer another huge pushback, as there’s only a short window of time for star Tom Holland to shoot before his next Spider-Man movie. Should things pan out, Holland will play a young Nathan Drake, with Mark Wahlberg slated as Sully and a script from Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway.

 

Syfy and UCP have found the Lost Boys

The League of Pan, a Peter Pan limited spin-off series, is being produced by Syfy and UCP. The series is written and produced by Brian McCauley Johnson, who will pick up his first TV writing credit.

Johnson’s story begins 10 years following the kids’ arrival on the mainland. Although Wendy has found her way back to the real world in the time since, she now has to journey back to Neverland as a new threat looms over the fantastical world.

NBCUniversal President of Original Content Bill McGoldrick adds “Syfy is developing an original take on the classic, setting the limited series in uncharted lands, making for new adventures and showcasing these characters like you’ve never see them before.”

Have you ever wondered what Riverdale X Percy Jackson would look like?

The Norwegian fantasy series, Ragnarok is yet another perspective on the titular end of days. One teen discovers he’s not just a teen – he’s a descendant of Asgard’s ancient gods and giants. The burden of saving the world is left on his shoulders as Ragnarok looms closer (January 31, to be precise), from creator Adam Price.

 

Meanwhile, on cable, FX is back with another season of the crime drama series, Fargo and wow does it look like a good one. This time around, Chris Rock stars in a ’50s gang war set in Kansas City. Season 4, created and written by Noah Hawley, hits FX and Hulu beginning on April 19.

That’s a wrap for this week’s Studio Coffee Run! Tune in on Friday for more from the busiest in biz, Ed Douglas, while I try to pretend the Oscars don’t exist.