Netflix: Jupiter's Legacy gets cast; Joe Hill goes hunting for magical creatures

Netflix isn't slowing down when it comes to movies and shows that fall within the purview of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy projects. If anything, the docket of genre programming and originals is only ballooning with plenty of casting and rights purchases. Here are a few new developments that have been undertaken by the streaming giant.

Today, Netflix announced the full cast for its adaptation of Mark Millar's superhero comic, Jupiter's Legacy. 

Josh Duhamel (Transformers) is playing Sheldon Sampson/The Utopian; Ben Daniels (The Exorcist) is playing Walter Sampson/Brain-Wave; Leslie Bibb (Iron Man) is playing Grace Sampson/Lady Liberty; Mike Wade (Timeless) is playing Fitz Small/The Flare; Matt Lanter (Timeless) is playing George Hutchence/Skyfox; Elena Kampouris (Sacred Lies) is playing Chloe Sampson; and Andrew Horton (How to Talk to Girls at Parties) is playing Brandon Sampson.

Credit: Netflix

Much like Watchmen, Jupiter's Legacy takes place in a reality where superheroes made themselves known at a key moment in history. "In present day they are the revered elder guard, but their super-powered children struggle to live up to the legendary feats of their parents," reads the show's official description.

Steven S. DeKnight (Daredevil, Pacific Rim Uprising) is serving as showrunner and executive producer as well as writing and directing the pilot. 

Netflix, along with Sugar23, has won a bidding war for Joe Hill's short story, "Faun," according to Deadline. 

The story won't be released until the fall, but the story allegedly revolves around a doorway to a magical world à la Hogwarts or Narnia. Instead of a bunch of innocent kids going on a "pure hearted adventures," however, this doorway will become a place where big game hunters, bored with the usual animals they've already caught, are looking for something new. A quarter of a million seems like a pittance when you have the chance to shoot and mount a magical and folkloric beast.

This ingenious premise is like a mix of C.S. Lewis and Ray Bradbury, wouldn't you say? Jeremy Slater (The Umbrella Academy) will write the movie version's script, while Michael Sugar (Maniac) and Ashley Zalta (The OA) handle the production side of things.

Hill, who is the son of Stephen King, is gaining his own authorial momentum within the entertainment industry. AMC is releasing a TV series based on his novel NOS4A2 while Shudder is adapting his story, "By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain" for its Creepshow adaptation.