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WIRE Buzz: Resident Alien blends genres in new spot; Tiffany Haddish goes sci-fi; 'We Can Be Heroes' gets a sequel
There's something about Harry in the latest spot for SYFY's Resident Alien.
With the premiere just a few weeks away now, the latest teaser highlight's the show's various genres, describing the project as the "small town, murder mystery, sci-fi, doctor, dramedy Earth needs right now." That doctor is Harry Vanderspeigle (Doom Patrol's Alan Tudyk), a socially awkward alien pretending to be human, who finds himself roped into a homicide investigation within a small Colorado town.
Check out the fresh spot below:
Not only must "Harry" try and solve a local murder, he must also decide if humanity is worth sparing from cosmic destruction. His fleshy disguise works on almost everyone except a young boy, and to add insult to injury, the government is hot on his heels, dispatching the ruthless General McCallister (The Terminator's Linda Hamilton) to hunt down and capture the visitor from outer space.
Based on the Dark Horse comic book series of the same name, Resident Alien hails from showrunner Chris Sheridan (Family Guy). Tudyk's other co-stars include Sara Tomko ("Asta Twelvetrees"), Alice Wetterlund ("D'Arcy Bloom"), Corey Reynolds ("Sheriff Mike Thompson"), and Levi Fiehler ("Mayor Ben Hawthorne"). David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) directed and executive-produced the pilot episode.
According to Sheridan, he was inspired to take on the series (co-produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin TV) after experiencing an actual close encounter with a UFO.
"I was in the Bahamas, with my wife at the time. It was 10 p.m. on a Sunday night [and we] saw a dot rising up on the horizon," he said in early 2020, harkening back to his honeymoon. "Two seconds later, it was over us. It was triangular with six circular lights [that were] sweeping the beach ... It got me interested in aliens. And then in October 2015, Amblin TV sent me a copy of the graphic novel and asked me if I was interested in developing. I fell in love with it."
Resident Alien debuts on SYFY Wednesday, Jan. 27.
As Deadline reports, actor/comedian Tiffany Haddish is making the jump from comedy to sci-fi in MGM and Plan B's Landscape with Invisible Hand.
Cory Finley (Thoroughbreds, Bad Education) is attached to write and direct the adaptation of M.T. Anderson’s award-winning 2019 novel of the same name, which takes place in a future where Earth has been conquered by an alien species known as the Vuvv. The aliens' miraculous "labor-saving technology" results in the collapse of the global economy. In an effort to drum up cash, "a teenager and his girlfriend cook up a way to make much-needed money by broadcasting their dating life to the fascinated aliens," writes Deadline. Of course, as expected, things don't quite go as planned.
No word yet on when the film will be released.
Speaking with Empire for the magazine's latest issue, writer-director-musician Robert Rodriguez said that he has ideas for a sequel to his latest movie, We Can Be Heroes. Those ideas (which had to be axed from the first movie) will soon get to see the light of day, as Netflix has ordered a sequel, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
We Can Be Heroes debuted on the streaming service Christmas Day, competing against studio heavyweights like Soul and Wonder Woman 1984. According to Netflix, however, the film was a hit, drawing in 44 million households during its first 28 days.
Made in the same vibrant vein of Rodriguez classics like Spy Kids and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, the movie (which also utilizes characters from both of the aforementioned franchises) currently holds a 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus reads: "Although it may be too zany for adults, We Can Be Heroes balances its sophisticated themes with heart and zealous originality."
Rodriguez will return to write and direct the follow-up.
"My kids and I had come up with 15 kid characters we had to pare back and save for the sequel," the filmmaker told Empire. "So we're excited to keep the Rodriguez-verse going."
Featuring an all-star ensemble that includes Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Priyanka Chopra Jonas (The Matrix 4), and Boyd Holbrook (Logan), Heroes is about the children of the world's greatest super-team: The Heroics. When the team's members are kidnapped by aliens, it's up to the next generation to rescue their parents and save the planet.
