WIRE Buzz: What We Do in the Shadows lands second season, new DC shorts on the way

Today in genre news, vampire fans, DC stans, and those ready for Black Panther to go full samurai have plenty to cheer over.

First up is the FX series What We Do in the Shadows, which has gotten a second season. The show, based on the mockumentary film from Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, was renewed today, the network announced.

Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Lazslo (Matt Berry), and Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) will return in 2020 with new vampiric adventures (or whatever counts as an adventure for these losers) on Staten Island. They’ve been turning new vampires, attempting to rule the world, and avoiding the supernaturally boring energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) for six of 10 episodes of its critically acclaimed season — and now fans know it’ll be continuing.

“Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, and Paul Simms have more than delivered on the high expectations of Shadows fans by adapting the cult classic for television and building a passionate base of new and returning fans,” said Nick Grad, president of original programming at FX, commenting on the show’s ratings along with rave reviews.

What We Do in the Shadows airs its season finale on May 29.

Next, DC fans will be getting more animated content to tide them over between theatrical releases. According to a release, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, and DC will be releasing five new animated shorts through DC Showcase over the next year.

The shorts —  Sgt. Rock, Adam Strange, Death, and The Phantom Stranger — will accompany upcoming features from the animated DC world, while Batman: Death in the Family will head up a 2020 compilation.

Sgt. Rock (directed by Bruce Timm and written by Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, and Tim Sheridan) stars Karl Urban as the legendary World War II hero, who must lead monsters against Nazi zombies — as one does.

Source: Warner Bros. Animation

Adam Strange (directed by Butch Lukic and written by J.M. DeMatteis) follows Charlie Weber’s Strange is a town drunk on an asteroid mining colony that has to save his peers from some killer aliens. Death (also written by J.M. DeMatteis, who based it on Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman universe) sees Sam Liu direct Jamie Chung’s Death and Leonardo Nam’s Vincent as the artist must find peace with his demons, his art, and his death. Finally, The Phantom Stranger (also directed by Bruce Timm and written by Ernie Altbacker) sees Peter Serafinowicz’s take on the character, who saves a girl and her friends from a creepy ‘70s party.

Batman: Death In The Family is expected to reveal more details in 2020.

Finally, one of the Avengers is going back in time. No, not like that. Chadwick Boseman is playing a legendary samurai from the 16th century.

Deadline reports that the Black Panther himself will slip into the role of Yasuke, an African samurai who served the warlord Oda Nobunaga. With a script from Narcos’ Doug Miro, the film will explore the Mozambican samurai’s journey from Jesuit slave to respected (and groundbreaking) samurai.

“The legend of Yasuke is one of history’s best kept secrets, the only person of non-Asian origin to become a Samurai,” Boseman said. “That’s not just an action movie, that’s a cultural event, an exchange, and I am excited to be part of it.”

A rival project about the figure is also in the works at MGM from writer Stuart C. Paul while Netflix is working on an anime version starring Lakeith Stanfield, but solid information is scarce about either. Boseman’s, however, is the first live-action version to announce a star — and what a star it is. Are you excited to see Black Panther take on the character?