WIRE Buzz: Guillermo del Toro sets short story collection; Limetown drops trailer; Stallone takes on superheroes

Guillermo del Toro is returning to the printed page. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar-winning writer, director, and producer will publish his first short story collection courtesy of Amazon's Original Stories imprint in 2021. 

The still-untitled collection with bring Del Toro's unique collection of influences and interests to bear on the world of short prose, and will also be made available as Kindle ebook and an Audible audiobook. 

"Throughout the years, I’ve been inspired by reading short stories, from ghost stories to fairy tales. Now I have the privilege to create and share my own," del Toro said. 

This is not the first time Del Toro, best known for film's like The Shape of Water and Pan's Labyrinth, has taken his talents to the page. He co-wrote The Strain trilogy of vampire novels (2009-2011) with Chuck Hogan, and in 2016 collaborated with Daniel Kraus on the first Trollhunters novel. Both stories were also translated to the screen, The Strain as an FX original series and Trollhunters as a Netflix streaming series. There is no word yet on the subject matter of the short stories, or how many we'll get, or if any of them will be set up for adaptation soon. 

Del Toro also remains hard at work on new projects for the screen. In addition to producing projects like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and the upcoming Antlers, he's also returning to the director's chair soon. His next film, Nightmare Alley, is currently assembling an all-star cast that includes Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, and Rooney Mara. 

Limetown, the hit podcast that began as the story of a lone reporter trying to solve a mystery and quickly expanded into something more, is about to premiere as a streaming series on Facebook Watch, and we've got a new teaser to get us excited about the conspiracy. 

The new one-minute spot for the series debuted during the Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday evening, and plays up the idea that the search for the "whole truth" isn't always rewarding as it seems. 

Limetown is the story of Lia Haddock (Jessica Biel), a public radio journalist trying to find out what happened at the titular site, a research facility in Tennessee where more than 300 people mysteriously vanished after some kind of tragic event that has since been largely covered up. The story began as a podcast in 2015, and largely unfolded in the first season in the form of atmospheric, tense interviews Haddock conducted with people who could lead her closer to what really happened at Limetown. As Lia keeps pushing for the truth, the story expands into a massive conspiracy thriller involving massive corporations, cover-ups, and people who seem so hidden that they're practically ghosts. 

Limetown podcast co-creators Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie wrote and executive produced the TV series, which also stars Marlee Matlin and Stanley Tucci. Limetown will arrive on Facebook Watch October 16.

Now that he's closed the book on his legendary action hero John Rambo with Rambo: Last Blood, Sylvester Stallone is taking his knack for playing battered old legends to the superhero genre. The Wrap reports that Stallone is set to both produce and star in Samaritan, an original superhero film coming together at MGM. 

Samaritan, written by Bragi F. Schut (Escape Room) will tell the story of a boy who goes on a search for a retired superhero who disappeared two decades earlier in the wake of a tragedy. Stallone, who's shown a knack for playing heroes with their glory days behind them in both the Rambo and Creed series (which earned him a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination), will play the legendary hero.

Julius Avery (Overlord) is set to direct Samaritan, which will be produced through Stallone's Balboa Productions banner. The film is expected to kick off production next year.