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WIRE Buzz: Charlie McDowell finds some 'Patience'; Doctor Strange 2 casts newcomer; and Kinderfanger
Charlie McDowell is about to test his patience by directing a film adaptation of Daniel Clowes' Patience graphic novel, Deadline confirms. McDowell, who just happens to be the son of actors Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen, is penning the screenplay alongside his creative partner Justin Lader. The duo previously wrote the afterlife-based mystery drama The Discovery for Netflix. Clowes, an Oscar nominee, wrote the first draft of the script for Focus Features, which has reportedly been trying to adapt the comic for the last several years.
Patience tells the story of Jack, a man who falls into a pit of despair after his wife (whose name gives the book its title) is murdered. A decade later, Jack learns of a time machine that will allow him to bring his love back. "From there, he plunges into a psychedelic journey through Patience’s past and the events that shaped her into the woman he knew and loved," writes Deadline.
Before it heads into the Multiverse of Madness, Marvel's Doctor Strange sequel needs a firm cast in place. We already knew that Benedict Cumberbatch ("Stephen Strange"), Benedict Wong ("Wong"), Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Mordo"), and Elizabeth Olsen ("Scarlet Witch") would be appearing in the Sam Raimi-directed film, but now the horror-inspired project has itself a relative newcomer. Per Deadline, The Baby-Sitters Club actress Xochitl Gomez has been cast in an undisclosed role.
If we had to wager a guess, we'd say that Gomez could be portraying Zelma Stanton, a young New York City librarian who, in the comics, comes to work at the Sanctum Sanctorum after Dr. Strange cures her of Mind Maggots. The character first debuted in 2015 during Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo's run on Doctor Strange. Some fans on Twitter are speculating that she'll be portraying America Chavez, a hero who goes by the title of "Miss America." Like Gomez and Stanton, the character (created by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta) is rather new on the scene, having debuted in 2011. She hails from another dimension known as the Utopian Parallel, so it would make total sense to place America into a Strange movie.
But who knows — Gomez could always be an entirely new character for the MCU.
Kevin Feige has said that Multiverse of Madness is inspired by the PG-13 '80s horror like Raiders of the Lost Ark (the face-melting climax in particular) and Poltergeist. The WandaVision TV series, which debuts on Disney+ this winter, will somehow tie in to the movie's narrative. In addition, Cumberbatch was recently cast in the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel as a mentor figure for Tom Holland's Peter Parker. This has led some to speculate that the Sorcerer Supreme will use his dimension-hopping powers to bring past Spider-Men (like Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield) back into the cinematic fold (though those are all just wild rumors at the moment).
Scott Derrickson was originally supposed to return for Multiverse, but ended up bowing out over creative differences with Marvel Studios. He's staying attached to the feature as a producer. Loki showrunner Michael Waldron (Rick and Morty) was tapped to take over screenwriting duties from Jade Bartlett.
Crypt TV is taking us back to school with the Kinderfanger, an upcoming horror series that's being released under the company's overall deal with Facebook Watch. Angel Theory (The Walking Dead) stars as Olivia, a deaf teacher, who discovers that she may hold the key to defeating an evil force that is assembling an army of troubled souls. Theory is hard of hearing/deaf in real life and will communicate through spoken word and American Sign Language on the show.
Aaron Burgess and Matt Golad wrote the show (whose title is German for "child catcher"), which is based on a previous Crypt TV series of the same name from 2017. Bridger Nielson directs. Christopher Alender, who produced and directed the original, is on board as a producer.
Kinderfanger's 10 episodes will release weekly every Friday on Crypt’s FB Watch show page, starting Friday, Oct. 10. Crypt has over 10 million followers on its Facebook page and over 14 million across different social media platforms.
The company is currently in preproduction on its first animated series, Woman in the Book. Starring Doom Patrol's Diane Guerrero, the multi-lingual project follows a group of siblings, who, while fighting over their inheritance, accidentally unleash a book-bound horror that has terrorized their family for generations.
