ICv2: 'Madame Xanadu' Series in Development; 'Dune' Moved Again; $100M for Webtoon, Wattpad Media Development; 'Shang-Chi', 'Suicide Squad' Trailers; Writer for 'Star Wars: Rogue Squadron'

NEWS

'MADAME XANADU' SERIES IN DEVELOPMENT; 'DUNE' MOVED AGAIN; $100M FOR WEBTOON, WATTPAD MEDIA DEVELOPMENT; 'SHANG-CHI', 'SUICIDE SQUAD' TRAILERS; WRITER FOR 'STAR WARS: ROGUE SQUADRON'

Geek Showbiz Round-Up

Posted by Milton Griepp on June 29, 2021 @ 4:01 am CT

Geek showbiz news has been mounting in the past few days and we round it up here.

Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television are developing a Madame Xanadu one-hour drama series for HBO Max, according to Variety. Angela Robinson (True Blood) is writing and will executive produce with J.J. Abrams and Ben Stephenson if the show goes forward. The immortal fortune teller and sorceress created by David Michelinie, Val Mayerik, and Michael William Kaluta in 1978 was introduced to television in the DC Universe Swamp Thing series (see "’Swamp Thing’ Finds Its Madame Xanadu").

The release date for Dune has been moved back three weeks to October 22, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That puts the film two weeks after James Bond: No Time to Die and two weeks before Eternals in a blockbuster-heavy Fall (see "Best in Shows – 2021").

Webtoon parent Naver is merging the studio divisions of Webtoon and Wattpad (which it acquired this year for $600 million, see "The Fan-to-Pro Pipeline is Changing") into a new entity, Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, and funding it with $100 million to support development and production costs for TV shows, films, and books. The combined studio will be run by Wattpad Studios head Aron Levitz as President. Ashleigh Garner, most recently Deputy General Manager, Wattpad Studios, Publishing, will head publishing for the combined studio.

Marvel Studios has released a new trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (below), due out September 3. A previous trailer was released in April (see "’Shang-Chi’ Trailer").

Matthew Robinson (Love and Monsters) has been assigned as writer for Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, according to Variety, due out on December 2, 2023. The film is to be directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman); the title was revealed at the Disney investor Day in December (see "Disney Drops 10 ‘Star Wars’ Announcements").

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (below), due out August 6. An age-restricted trailer was released in March (see "’The Suicide Squad’ Trailer").