SciFiNow – September 2019

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UPCOMING 2019 SHOWS

25 THE MANDALORIAN [SCI-FI]

ŭȀ˔ФPedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Nick

Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow,

Werner Herzog

ǺƔŭȇǘˀаȀưǘȢǺȌǐǐƔˀФ Jon Favreau

̧ưƔʖаȢưƔǺɛФ 12 N o v e m b e r/

Disney+ (US)

Exclusive for upcoming Disney+

subscribers, the Star Wars series is set

to take place after the fall of the Empire

and before the emergence of the First

Order. It will follow Narcos’ Pedro Pascal

as the Mandalorian, a lone gunfighter in

the outer reaches of the galaxy far from

the authority of the New Republic. With

Jon Favreau serving as a writer, creator,

showrunner and one of the series’ many

executive producers, it ought to be a

wild ride.

26 HIS DARK MATERIALS

[FANTASY]

ŭȀ˔ФDafne Keen, Ruth Wilson,

James McAvoy, Clarke Peters,

Lin-Manuel Miranda

ǺƔŭȇǘˀаȀưǘȢǺȌǐǐƔˀФJane Tranter,

Julie Gardner

̧ưƔʖаȢưƔǺɛФ TBA/HBO (US),

TBA/BBC (UK)

After 2007 film The Golden Compass’

somewhat lacklustre attempt at bringing

Philip Pullman’s trilogy to life, the screen

gods have decided to give His Dark

Materials another chance, this time as a

TV series for HBO and the BBC. Logan’s

Dafne Keen is starring as Lyra, a young

orphan living with the teachers at Jordan

College, Oxford. Though the series is set

to be a relatively loyal adaptation to the

famous books, it will also feature some key

changes, which director Otto Bathurst has

said have been included in order to give it

a bit of a twist, and to modernise the story.

27 STAR TREK: PICARD [SCI-FI]

ŭȀ˔ФPatrick Stewart, Santiago Cabrera,

Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Alison Pill

ǺƔŭȇǘˀаȀưǘȢǺȌǐǐƔˀФAlex Kurtzman

̧ưƔʖаȢưƔǺɛФTBA/CBS All Access (US),

TBA/Amazon Video (UK)

Set 20 years after Jean-Luc Picard’s last

appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis, the

retired admiral and former captain of the

USS Enterprise-D and USS Enterprise-E

is trying to enjoy his senior years on a

vineyard when he finds himself deeply

affected by the destruction of Romulus after

the events of 2009’s Star Trek. Following

Nemesis, Stewart had said he felt his time

in the franchise had run its course, but has

since been humbled by the

response to his character

and the impact he has had

on the lives of fans

all over the world. As

well as starring in Picard,

Stewart also serves as an

executive producer.

28 LOVECRAFT

COUNTRY [HORROR]

ŭȀ˔Ф Jonathan Majors,

Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Wunmi

Mosaku, Aunjanue Ellis,

Abbey Lee

ǺƔŭȇǘˀаȀưǘȢǺȌǐǐƔˀФ

Jordan Peele, Misha Green,

JJ Abrams, Ben Stephenson

̧ưƔʖаȢưƔǺɛФ TBA/HBO

(US), TBA/Sky Atlantic (UK)

HBO’s latest horror series

is based on Matt Ruff’s

2016 novel Lovecraft

Country, which explores

the conjunction between

the horror fiction of HP

Lovecraft and racism in the US during

the era that enforced racial segregation

in southern states. The show will follow

Jonathan Majors as science fiction fan

Atticus Black, who joins his friend Letitia

(Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and his Uncle George

(Courtney B Vance) on a road trip across

Fifties Jim Crow America while searching

for his missing father. However, it isn’t

long before Atticus finds himself fighting

to survive and overcome both racist

white Americans and terrifying

Lovecraftian monsters.

Will The Mandalorian

tempt you to Disney+?

Lin-Manuel Miranda as

Lee Scoresby.

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