Hayden Panettiere’s newest ‘do sparks speculation about a potential new Scream. A Sarah Jane Adventures star is coming to Doctor Who, but with a twist. Stephen King discusses HBO’s adaptation of The Outsider. Plus, a tiny snippet of new Birds of Prey footage, and teases for what’s to come on His Dark Materials’ finale. Spoilers get!
Death Rider
During a recent screening of his directorial debut, Verotika, Glenn Danzig revealed Devon Sawa is attached to star in his follow-up, a “vampire spaghetti western” titled Death Rider, which is “already close to wrapping production” according to Bloody-Disgusting.
Scream 5
Hayden Panettiere posted a photo of herself on Twitter with a hairstyle similar to her Scream 4 character Kirby Reed. The new look has prompted several outlets to speculate she could be reprising her role for a rumored fifth entry in the series.
Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
A couple of new seconds of Birds of Prey footage aired during Margot Robbie’s in-character presentation at the Game Awards last Thursday.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
According to Deadline, Desmond Chaim (Reef Break) and Miki Ishikawa (The Terror: Infamy) have joined the cast of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in undisclosed roles.
Doctor Who
Meanwhile, Doctor Who News reports Laura Fraser (Better Call Saul) and Anjli Mohindra (playing a different character than she did as a regular on The Sarah Jane Adventures, Rani Chandra) are attached to guest-star in two separate episodes of season twelve.
The Stand
Speaking of guest stars Variety also has word Natalie Martinez will guest-star in an episode of CBS All Access’ adaptation of The Stand.
The Flash
According to TV Insider, Keiynan Lonsdale will make his post-Crisis return to The Flash in the fourteenth episode of season six.
In the meantime, TV Line has an image of Iris convalescing in S.T.A.R. Labs’ med bay from “Marathon,” the series’ February 4 midseason premiere.
The Outsider
Stephen King discusses The Outsider in a new featurette from HBO.
Relatedly, Spoiler TV has synopses for both episodes of the January 12 two-hour premiere.
Episode 1: “Fish in a Barrel”
Debut date: SUNDAY, JAN. 12 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
When the body of an 11-year-old boy is found in the Georgia woods, detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) launches an investigation into the gruesome murder. With eyewitnesses and physical evidence pointing to local teacher and baseball coach Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman), Ralph makes a very public arrest but is perplexed by Terry’s seeming indifference to hiding his crime. After Terry’s wife Glory (Julianne Nicholson) calls their attorney Howie Salomon (Bill Camp) for assistance, a bewildered Terry produces an ironclad alibi during interrogation. Meanwhile, Howie calls in his PI Alec Pelley (Jeremy Bobb) to look into Terry’s side of the story.
Written by Richard Price; directed by Jason Bateman.
Episode 2: “Roanoke”
Debut date: SUNDAY, JAN. 12 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)
During a surreptitious late-night visit with Terry (Jason Bateman), Ralph (Ben Mendelsohn) admits to being baffled by conflicting physical evidence. The next day, an unexpected tragedy throws the investigation into a tailspin, and ornery detective Jack Hoskins (Marc Menchaca) is forced to cut his hunting trip short to return to work and pick up the slack. Meanwhile, Glory (Julianne Nicholson) tries to soothe her daughter Jessa (Scarlett Juniper Blum), who says she’s been visited by a strange man in her room at night.
Written by Richard Price; directed by Jason Bateman.
His Dark Materials
Spoiler TV also has a synopsis for “Betrayal,” the season finale of His Dark Materials.
As the Magisterium closes in, Lyra (Dafne Keen) assists Asriel’s (James McAvoy) efforts, but at great personal cost.
Written by Jack Thorne; directed by Jamie Childs.
Mr. Robot
Elliot finds himself in the trailer for Mr. Robot’s two-hour series finale.
Van Helsing
Finally, Tricia Helfer’s Dracula has a couple of guests over for dinner in the trailer for “The Beholder,” next week’s episode of Van Helsing.
Banner art by Jim Cooke.