WIRE Buzz: Owl House's bisexual lead; Pattinson almost in Scott Pilgrim; more

Slowly, but surely, Disney's increasing its lineup of LGBTQ+ characters, starting with The Owl House's Luz Noceda. The Disney Channel show made history this week when creator Dana Terrace (Gravity Falls, DuckTales) confirmed that the character was bisexual.

The animated series follows Luz, a 14-year-old Dominican-American girl who discovers a portal to a magical realm where humans aren't liked, so she disguises herself so she can attend witch school there, despite not having magical abilities. On Aug. 8, the show aired a prom-themed episode, which had Luz dancing with Amity, another female character who'd been revealed to have a crush on her.

"In [developing the series] I was very open about my intention to put queer kids in the main cast," tweeted Terrace after the episode aired. "When we were greenlit I was told by certain Disney leadership that I could NOT represent any form of bi or gay relationship on the Channel."

She went on to add: "I'm bi! I want to write a bi character, dammit! Luckily my stubbornness paid off and now I am VERY supported by current Disney leadership... Not to mention the amazingness of this crew."

Disney has been taking steps forward in terms of LGBTQ+ representation lately, including a gay teen on Disney+'s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and the gay adult male protagonist of its PIXAR short Out.

The Owl House is currently airing on Saturday at 8:45 p.m. ET on the Disney Channel. 

If alternate universes do exist, then there might be one where Robert Pattinson (Twilight) stars in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World instead of Chris Evans (Captain America).

According to a recent Vanity Fair article that looked back on the casting process for the 2010 cult classic in celebration of its 10th anniversary this year, it was revealed that the Batman actor had come in and read for the part of Lucas Lee, one of Ramona Flowers' (Birds of Prey's Mary Elizabeth Winstead) ex-boyfriends, and a member of the League of Evil Exes who Scott (Arrested Development's Michael Cera) must fight in order to date her.

“I remember it vividly,” said director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) of Pattinson’s audition. “He did a much more intense read of it as well. Obviously, Robert is an incredible actor and someone who I’d love to work with now. But it was a very different take from what Chris did.”

He's not the only one who remembered Pattinson's having come in that day.  

"I remember we were asking him about Twilight, and he was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t know. I just saw it. It’s okay, I guess. I don’t know,’" said casting director Allison Jones. "He was really good at an American accent."

And that's not the only "what-if" in the film's star-studded cast — which includes Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Brandon Routh (DC's Legends of Tomorrow), Mae Whitman (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Anna Kendrick (Twilight), Alison Pill (Picard), and Aubrey Plaza (Little Demon) — with Sebastian Stan (Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) having almost played Lee and Betty Gilpin (The Hunt) and Rooney Mara (Nightmare Alley) both having read for Kim Pine, one of Scott's bandmates.

While there won't be any new Scott Pilgrim content for a while, Wright has mentioned that there is the possibility of the movie (which is based on a graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley) becoming an anime, and that ABKCO Music Records will be releasing a complete official soundtrack to the movie, something fans have been waiting for. 

Now, for some horror news!

Liongate's Sarah Paulson-starrer Run will now be foregoing a U.S. theatrical release, instead launching straight onto Hulu.

"We're super excited audiences will get to stream [the film] on Hulu, a platform that's really committed to giving the movie the same, big splash that was always intended for it." said Director Aneesh Chaganty (Searching) in a statement from Hulu. "Plus, the film is about a girl who's been quarantined at home her whole life; watching it the same way should be a fitting experience in 2020."

The film follows the relationship between Chloe (Kiera Allen) and her mother (Paulson), who's raised her at home for her whole life. Only as she gets older, Chloe starts to suspect that her mother might be keeping secrets from her and goes in search of what they could be.

Despite AMC's decision to once again re-open cinemas on Aug. 20, the move is becoming a common one for studios, with highly anticipated upcoming releases like Disney's Mulan, Bill & Ted's Face the Music and the Janelle Monae-starring horror-thriller Antebellum making the switch to releases on premium video on demand, the former launching on Disney+. This will be Hulu's latest original release following this summer's Palm Springs. The streaming platform is yet to set a date for release.

But that's not all that homebound horror fans can look forward as we inch closer to Halloween. Keep your calendars marked for Nightstream, a four-day horror film event that features a collaboration between the Boston Underground, Brooklyn Horror, North Bend, Overlook and Popcorn Frights festivals.

Between Oct. 8-11, horror fans will be able to stream a lineup of feature films selected by programmers from all five festivals, as well as short films programs curated individually by each festival. There will also be a full slate of live events and panels taking place over the weekend. 

Earlybird badges for the festival are now on sale, with the two options available: a five-film bundle for $55 and a 10-film one for $90. Both badges will grant unlimited access to the whole festival. All proceeds made from the event will be shared with all participating filmmakers and artists, along with donations made on behalf of each festival to charities and local businesses in their respective cities. 

Nightstream has yet to announce its upcoming lineup.