WIRE Buzz: Netflix drops Cobra Kai recap; 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' Season 2 teaser; Zack Snyder talks Batman

Sweep the leg!

Before Season 3 of Cobra Kai hits Netflix tomorrow (Friday, Jan. 1), get caught up on the Karate Kid sequel series with a 20-minute recap of the first two seasons. The video features William Zabka ("Johnny Lawrence"), Ralph Macchio ("Daniel LaRusso"), and other cast members as they revisit major plot beats, like Daniel's decision to build a dojo or the high school fight that has Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) knocking on Death's door.

Watch the recap below:

Thanks to early reviews, the third season already has a fresh score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes — just four points behind the perfect score of the debut season in 2018. Critics agree that "by pairing its emotional punches with stronger humor, Cobra Kai's third season finds itself in fine fighting form."

"It's exciting to be a part of something that makes people feel good and gives them a good time and inspires them as well," Zabka recently told ScreenRant. "A lot of people saying I'm not drinking anymore. I'm putting my bottle down where I'm going to take karate or you know, I'm going to be tough. I'm going to, I'm going to flip the script on my own life."

Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, reviewer Daniel Fienberg notes that the "new season is also the closest creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg have come to evoking the actual tone of the original franchise."

Season 3 was originally scheduled to premiere Jan. 8, but was moved up a week to New Year's Day. A fourth season has already been green-lit. Netflix acquired the show over the summer after YouTube Premium decided not to renew it.

Submitted for your approval: a second season of Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark? Yes, the network's reboot of the '90s-era horror anthology is getting a second season entitled Curse of the Shadows. Not too surprising, as the show was renewed back in February.

No premiere date has been set, but we do have an initial teaser trailer, which you can watch below. Listen closely to the narrator's voice and tell us that isn't Ryan Reynolds.

Right now, it's unclear whether Nick and Paramount are still working on a big-screen adaptation of the series. Last we heard, D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye) was attached to direct the film. In May of 2019, SYFY WIRE got an exclusive update from one of the project's screenwriters, Nicholas McCarthy (The Prodigy).

"I actually just turned in the script and we’re all pretty excited about it," he said. "I think the target is to shoot it this summer. I’ve had an absolute blast. There’s been a couple of writers before who have tried to crack it, and I think I’ve done it with this version. I love the series, too, and I’ve already had an amazing time writing it. The people that are behind it also love the series and it’s just been really, really cool."

Michael Keaton is in talks to reprise the role of Bruce Wayne in Andy Muschietti's Flash movie, but if Zack Snyder ran the zoo (to quote Dr. Seuss), he'd probably cast Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the alternate universe Batman. 

"I'll be honest, I don't think it was [the intention]," Snyder told TheFilmJunkee when asked if Morgan's role in Batman v Superman was laying the groundwork for the standalone Flash project. "When I did hear about [the alternate Batman], I was like, 'Oh, that seems like an easy [choice] ... Clearly, he can do the work, that's no problem. But I don't think they're doing it."

The Supernatural and Walking Dead veteran appeared in the opening of Dawn of Justice as Thomas Wayne. Bringing Thomas back for The Flash wouldn't be too fat-fetched as the film will be based on the "Flashpoint" storyline by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert. In the story, Barry Allen finds himself in a reality where Bruce was killed instead of his parents. As a result, Thomas became Batman and Martha became the Joker.

"I will say that I love Jeffrey Dean and I cast him because I liked the idea that Thomas Wayne was like a bit of a tough guy — not a pushover," Snyder continued. "I like also the duality that that might've been the reason why they got shot — was that he didn't give his wallet right away. He tried to fight back a little bit, which I think is a thing that has haunted Bruce in some ways. I did that shot where Jeffrey Dean makes the fist and it looks like he's gonna try and punch [the mugger], and that's right in front of the kid. I thought that was like a pivotal sort of moment for Bruce. How do you confront violence that's completely life-altering and unfeeling and merciless? You have to sort of become that yourself a little bit."

Written by Christian Hodson (Birds of Prey), the Flash movie will see the return of Ezra Miller and Ben Affleck as the DCEU iterations of Barry and Bruce, respectively. The plan is to use Barry's time-traveling powers to open up the multiverse, which will include different versions of different characters (like Robert Pattinson's Batman).

The Flash is slated to run into theaters on Nov. 4, 2022.