Max Brooks and Avatar Press Announce Legendary Original Television Series for Extinction Parade

Max Brooks and Avatar Press have announced Legendary Television and Digital optioned the New York Times Bestselling Author Brooks’ Extinction Parade as an original property for development as a new television series.  Brooks is closely tied to the development of the project and will be writing the Pilot episode.  

“I only brought the idea to one company, Legendary, because they do the kind of quality work of which any writer would be proud." stated Brooks. “Max Brooks is a visionary with an incredible ability to tell stories that deliver a fresh approach to the horrors that haunt our nightmares.  His work on Extinction Parade has been a stunningly rich tapestry of cultures in decline and a biting indictment of the perils of privilege.  It will make the perfect television series to appeal to fans who have until now settled for thinly veiled soap operas parading as horror,” said William Christensen, Publisher of Avatar Press.

 

Legendary is the studio behind recent blockbuster film 300: Rise of an Empire and the upcoming release of Godzilla this spring.  Their slate of film projects has firmly targeted the pop culture and comic book reading community and provided some of the best blockbuster genre movies ever created.  They bring the ideal approach to adapting a hit property like Extinction Parade into a successful television series.

Brooks is known for his meticulously researched zombie fiction and is the author of the bestselling novels World War Z and the Zombie Survival Guide.  Recently World War Z was adapted into one of the biggest theatrical horror releases of 2013 and now Extinction Parade is set to follow suit as an upcoming television series.

“While the comic series from Avatar continues, I am thrilled to be working with Legendary to develop Extinction Parade into an innovative new series for television,” stated Brooks.

 

As these two fan favorite undead species prepare to make their television debut under the direction of Brooks’ definitive vision joining programs like The Walking Dead and Hannibal as the best horror on television, the first chapter of the Extinction Parade graphic novel series is set to premiere this coming July.  The trade paperback collection offers a unique opportunity to step into the world of zombies vs vampires and experience a terrifying new chapter in horror.  

Extinction Parade, a softcover graphic novel with color interiors is available for preorder from your favorite comic book retailer, Amazon, and B&N, 6.5″ x 9.5″, 160 pages is on sale 7/1/14.    – ISBN 978-1-59291-234-6    $19.99 (US)

About Max Brooks is a critically acclaimed author most widely recognized for his New York Times bestselling novels World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide.  World War Z was adapted into a blockbuster theatrical release in 2013 and has an upcoming sequel in development.  His graphic novel, The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, is also a New York Times bestseller.

Legendary Comics Shadow Walk from Creative Team Max Brooks, Mark Waid and Shane Davis

Legendary’s new graphic novel, Shadow Walk from Max Brooks (World War Z), Mark Waid (Daredevil, Kingdom Come) and Shane Davis (Superman: Earth One) is now available.

"I Walk Through The Valley Of The Shadow of Death…" 

Is the Valley of the Shadow of Death a metaphor or could it actually be a real place? Three separate paranormal incidents over the last century, in a valley near modern day Iraq, seem to give credence to these claims. When satellite photos taken over the area hint at a dangerous new energy source, the U.S. decides to send in a Spec-Ops team to locate and extract it before it can fall into enemy hands.

Led by John Raines, a deadly soldier who has been left to rot in Guantanamo, accused of allegedly killing his entire platoon after entering the very same valley years prior, the 

team heads into dangerous territory to battle demonic creatures with little chance of survival. Armed with two arcane artifacts as their guide and protector, they will find out if the road to Hell just opened up on Earth.

Grant Morrison's Annihilator from Legendary Comics

Last year, Grant Morrison announced an all-new project called Annihilator. Today, Legendary Comics is putting a visual to the concept by revealing Frazer Irving's cover for the book.

Hellraising screenwriter Ray Spass has one last chance to restore himself to former glory as he struggles to write a new studio tent-pole movie, Annihilator. The film centers around the adventures of Max Nomax, a sci-fi anti-hero caught in an epic struggle against the authoritarian artificial life form Vada and it’s chief assassin, Jet Makro.

But when Max Nomax appears in real-life, Ray thinks it’s a side effect of the brain tumor he was recently diagnosed with. Despite all logic, Nomax is real, having escaped from an impossible prison with no memory.  Ray’s tumor is the key—it contains all Nomax’s adventures, downloaded into Ray’s head before Nomax escaped. 

Ray needs to finish his screenplay in order to get the information out of his head and shrink the tumor. Nomax needs Ray to finish his screenplay so he can remember who he is, what ultimate crime he has committed, how to defeat Vada and save the universe from annihilation – if the unstoppable Jet Makro doesn’t reach Nomax and Ray first.  

Man of Steel Panel at San Diego Comic Con 2012

Superman fans would finally have their time in Hall H during the Warner Brothers/ Legendary Pictures panel at San Diego Comic Con 2012. We would finally see the first footage in Man of Steel for the first time! The Man of Steel panel would follow Pacific Rim and Godzilla. 

This is what we would see on the big screen and the cheers were loud. 

Chris Hardwick would soon introduce Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch) to the stage, who is directing Man of Steel. 

Zack Snyder appeared to be very nervous by himself on the stage as he talked about Man of Steel. He was very quiet and kept his answers very quick. He would soon break out of his nervousness as his next guest would be introduced. 

Henry Cavill (Clark Kent/ Superman) would soon join the stage, and the man responsible for playing one of the greatest superheroes, would be welcomed by 6500 attendees. 

Zack Snyder would give us a synopsis on Man of Steel and for the first time, a World Premiere of footage from Man of Steel. 

Again, I wish we could record the footage, but under strict rules, we are not permitted.What we would see was awesome. It began with narrating and seeing a young boy. We would then see a clip of a young boy pulling up a bus in water and hearing a woman mentioning that she saw Clark pull that bus up. There would be quick clips, in between and we see Clark Kent in a full beard in what appears a small town in the winter. We would hear Kevin Costner (Jonathon Kent) as he is talking to Clark Kent about who he is. The audience would soon see what they hoped for, Superman. We finally got to see him in action with a scene of him flying straight in the air. We did not know what to expect in the footage, but we would see Superman in action fighting someone who has hit him and causing him to fly back into what appeared to be a bank vault and smashing it in during the impact. The footage shown looked very promising and I knew this would be much better than Superman Returns (2006). 

Following the footage, a quick Q&A would be open to the audience. Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill have to share with the audience how honored they were to be part of an iconic character in the DC Universe. Henry Cavill would share his excitement in knowing how incredible it was to be that person that holds that infamous symbol on his chest. A couple of guests would bring great laughter to the crowd with their questions. One gentleman would be so nervous up there and showed great emotion in tears in how excited he was. It even got Chris Hardwick to come running down to give him a hug. 

One young lady would even be so brave to ask for Henry Cavill's name tag. He did say yes and he met her at the stage where he delivered it to her. Of course, the audience was not pleased and actually booed her for asking, but I give her credit because she now owns his name tag from the panel. 

Overall, the footage and panel were terrific and has me ready to see Man of Steel next June 14, 2013.

This is the official Man of Steel teaser trailer that was released during Dark Knight Rises. 

Godzilla's Return at San Diego Comic Con 2012

We would be fortunate to attend the biggest and greatest event at San Diego Comic Con 2012 in the Legendary Pictures/Warner Brothers panel. Hall H would be in for a tremendous treat with Pacific Rim, Man of Steel, and The Hobbit, but be in for a very special treat. 

Right after the Pacific Rim panel, Thomas Tull, founder of Legendary Pictures would have something else to share with the audience. We were already thrilled with the footage and Pacific Rim panel, so what more could we get? I thought maybe a couple of exclusive clips to The Dark Knight Rises, since it was going to open the following week, but something even bigger to me. The last question that was asked in Pacific Rim by a young boy was the question I hoped for to be possible. Guillermo del Toro said that there would not be any famous, familiar Kaiju in Pacific Rim, such as Godzilla. I was disappointed, but that would soon change what we would soon see! 

Thomas Tull said that we were going to see something very special and strictly exclusive to San Diego Comic 2012 and only for Hall H!! I was ready as all other 6500 in the crowd. 

The clip would begin with a person narrating talking about the end of times and all we see is buildings that appear to have been destroyed by bombs. Then we see a few skyscrapers standing and destroyed, but with gigantic holes in them. Could those holes have been from a meteorite that struck them? We then see a cloud of smoke rising and something that begins to appear out of the smoke. The creature becomes clearer and seems to grow taller and taller. And the moment of truth would appear, he has arrived, Godzilla and his very familiar and iconic roar!!

Had to share this only for Godzilla's roar!

The goosebumps ran throughout my body once I saw and heard him! The crowd erupted with cheer and Chris Hardwick was also blown away. 

We would soon be introduced to the man behind Godzilla and who would have the great challenge of directing the film, Gareth Edwards. There was not much that could be said about the film except that Gareth Edwards was extremely thrilled to be part of something so big. The film is planned to be released in 2014.

I grew up watching the classic Godzilla films and I am a huge fan. I was very disappointed in the  Godzilla (1998) and do hope to see Godzilla being created as I remember in the originals. We were able to see the clip twice and from the short teaser, I can say that Legendary Pictures will create Godzilla as I remember! 

Pacific Rim Panel at San Diego Comic Con 2012

The Legendary Pictures/Warner Brothers panel would be the granddaddy of them all for the panels for San Diego Comic Con 2012! We would be in for a treat and the crowd who either camped out or waited for hours were ready for it to begin. Chris Hardwick would be the moderator for this behemoth of a panel and he was very excited for this moment as everyone else. We would see the greatest thing that Hall H would ever see and who knows if we will ever get this chance again. There is the normal huge screen above the stage, but we would see a transformation before our eyes that I thought would require special effects (well I guess it was like special effects). Black curtains would begin to slide open on the left and right sides of the hall that would continue moving across and we thought they would continue to open around the entire auditorium. The crowd was in total amazement and shock of what they were seeing. Chris Hardwick showed his excitement and was left speechless.

Chris Hardwick would talk about his excitement of what would be to come and he would soon introduce Legendary Pictures founder, Thomas Tull to the stage. Thomas Tull, Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers wanted to bring something "legendary" to Hall H and most memorable and it was accomplished before it even began. The first movie to be introduced would be for Pacific Rim and this was one movie I was definitely eager to learn more about. 

The Director of Pacific Rim would be non other than Guillermo del Toro and he would soon join the stage. 

Guillermo del Toro is no stranger to San Diego Comic Con and he loves being part of it. He is a true genius in his films and knows how to create very visual masterpieces. Pacific Rim will be one of those films because it will be Human and Gigantic Robots vs. Monsters. He would share how he has always wanted to do a film like this with gigantic beasts and robots and it was very easy for him to want to do this film once he received the script. 

After an introduction in Pacific Rim, a few of the cast members would soon join the stage, 

Charlie Day (Newt Gotlieb), Charlie Hunnam (Raleigh Antrobus), Rinko Kikuchi (Mako Mori), and Ron Perlman. 

Ron Perlman would receive a huge applause from the crowd! Chris Hardwick would also share something special that Ron Perlman would do earlier in the week for Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

Ron Perlman would surprise Zachary, as a Make-A-Wish, with a great surprise by dressing in full costume as Hellboy.  

The moment would finally be here and Guillermo del Toro who had only been filming Pacific Rim for a very short period of time, wanted to bring something special to SDCC. A very exclusive clip of Pacific Rim would be shown to the very lucky Hall H crowd and he stated that this footage would be the only form of clips until December. Guillermo del Toro would say that not even James Bonds cameras would ever get any access or talk about the film until the end of the year. 

What we would see in this trailer or clip left me speechless, in shock, and full of goosebumps. Truly unbelievable footage that made left me amazed. We would see huge robots that were controlled by humans and required to fight huge monsters. Two humans would control the head and if one human were to die in the head controls, the whole machine would go down as we did see in the beginning of the footage. Guillermo del Toro is one of the best in creating visual perfection if not the best and he shows his talents in creating monsters. 

There would be a great Q&A and the audience would ask some great questions and want to know more about what Pacific Rim would be about. We do learn that del Toro loves the old Japanese classic Monster films and wanted to bring the Kaiju to life as he remembered watching them. We would learn that there will be flying Kaiju, water Kaiju, and at least 9 monsters. The very last question that would be asked would be by a child and it was the one question I wanted to ask the whole time. He would ask it very simple, but nervous to Mr. Guillermo del Toro. Will there be a very famous Kaiju in Pacific Rim? I knew exactly what this boy was asking as many others in the audience were eager to know the answer. He would go on to say that he wants to make a few films in Pacific Rim, but that there would not be a famous, or familiar Kaiju in the film. I was saddened to hear this news knowing that Legendary Pictures had acquired the rights to Godzilla. It still does not make me curious to think that since he wants to do more films that it could never be a possibility! Because del Toro mentions that we will not see anything more on Pacific Rim until December makes me think we will see a trailer before the Hobbit. What does everyone think about this?

Legendary Pictures, Pacific Rim, will be in theatres next summer, July 12, 2013. 

Legendary Comics' The Tower Chronicles Cover by Alex Ross

Earlier this year, Legendary Comics revealed Jim Lee's cover for the first book of The Tower Chronicles trilogy. At that time, the company promised that the remaining covers were going to be drawn by equally renowned comic book artists. Well, if there was any doubt as to the veracity of that promise, Legendary put it to rest during its Comics panel at San Diego Comic-Con when it revealed the cover for the second part of Volume One -- as created by Alex Ross. (See below.)  The art showcases a spectacular shot of the title character in action. The release is scheduled to hit stores in November.

With a lead character created by Legendary founder Thomas Tull, Executive Producer of 300 & The Dark Knight, and developed by Tull and Matt Wagner (Grendel, Mage), THE TOWER CHRONICLES creates a new mythology on familiar worlds through a unique take on the bounty hunter storyline. The all-new IP sets the standard for future releases from Legendary.

Be on the lookout at for more information on THE TOWER CHRONICLES leading up to the launch of the first book this September.

   

Legendary Entertainment Brings Film and Comic Talent to San Diego Comic Con

Legendary Entertainment is prepared to deliver to fans an intimate look at its upcoming movie and comic releases during the upcoming Comic-Con International 2012. With a strong lineup of talent, and an unforgettable viewing experience in 3D and HD, Legendary’s booth is the hub for fans to be part of the action with panel sessions, autograph signings, and giveaways - all surrounding the company’s high-profile film and comic releases.

Additionally, a select group of lucky fans will get taken behind-the-scenes for an opportunity to see exclusive footage from upcoming movies presented by Legendary and LG – hosted by Legendary’s directors and producers. For a complete list of Legendary activities at the convention, please see below:

Comics
Comic-Con International will be a true coming out party for Legendary’s Comic division. In addition to providing new details on the label’s fall release – The Tower Chronicles – Legendary will unveil a parade of the top names in the industry who be announcing all new IPs. The talent will be hosting a Legendary Comics panel on Thursday, July 12 at 5 pm in Room 6A. Additionally, each of them will be signing in Legendary’s booth throughout the convention.

The build-up to the release of Legendary’s first original IP, The Tower Chronicles, continues as Comic-Con will be the venue for the reveal of compelling assets and information. Telling the story of supernatural bounty hunter John Tower, the three-part series features a story created by Legendary Entertainment’s Chairman and CEO Thomas Tull. The book is being written by Matt Wagner (Grendel) and drawn by Simon Bisley (2000 AD).

Film
On the film side, Legendary’s booth will feature the Mini Tumbler from The Dark Knight Rises, two costumes from Pacific Rim, both of which have never been seen, and artwork from future films like Man of Steel. Additionally, Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro will be signing in the booth on Friday. Legendary will also give attendees a peek inside the company’s upcoming projects with exclusive content on LG 3D and HD TVs and smartphones. For fans who want to find out the most up-to-date details and insider information on Legendary’s film slate, the company will have a presence in Hall H on Saturday.

LG Partnership
In addition to the activities at the Legendary booth and Hall H, the company, along with consumer electronics giant LG, will be offering lucky fans an opportunity win The Pass. By following Legendary’s social media platforms or visiting the booth during the show fans will get the chance to come to the Legendary booth at a specified time each day to win a T-shirt. A group of randomly selected fans will have a bonus wrapped in their shirts – a pass to one of two special behind-closed-doors screenings to show exclusive never-been-seen content. Taking place on Saturday night and on Sunday afternoon, these screenings will provide Pass recipients the chance to watch never-before seen footage from a selection of upcoming films (although the actual films are not being announced they will be selected from a group of high-profile releases that could include, but is not limited to, Pacific Rim, Seventh Son, and more). Each screening, which will be shown on top of the line LG CINEMA 3D Smart TVs with 3D and True HD displays, will be hosted by esteemed talent associated with upcoming Legendary features.

IMAX Partnership
Through a partnership with IMAX, the booth will showcase one of the IMAX cameras used on the production of The Dark Knight Rises. An IMAX representative on hand to answer visitors' questions about the technology and filming process.


ABOUT LEGENDARY ENTERTAINMENT
Legendary Entertainment is a leading media company with film (Legendary Pictures), television (Legendary Television) and comics (Legendary Comics) divisions dedicated to owning, producing and delivering content to mainstream audiences with a targeted focus on the powerful fandom demographic.  Through complete or joint ownership, Legendary is building a library of marquee media properties and has established itself as a trusted brand which consistently delivers high-quality, commercial entertainment including some of the world's most popular intellectual property.  Among the wholly-owned projects that Legendary Pictures is currently developing in-house are the upcoming Seventh Son, directed by Sergei Bodrov; the Jackie Robinson biopic 42; an adaptation of the phenomenally successful interactive game universe Warcraft; Godzilla, based on Toho Company’s famed character; Warren Ellis’ Gravel; and Mass Effect, based on Electronic Arts’ and BioWare’s hit videogame franchise. Upcoming Legendary releases with partner Warner Bros. include the highly anticipated Pacific Rim, as well as Hangover 3, Man of Steel, Jack the Giant Killer, 300: Battle of Artemisium, and this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises.  Previous successful Legendary and Warner Bros. releases include the critically acclaimed Inception, which has been a box office smash grossing more than $823 million worldwide, as well as the global blockbusters The Hangover, Parts I and II (over $1 billion worldwide total), Clash of the Titans ($493 million worldwide), The Dark Knight ($1 billion worldwide), and 300 ($456 million worldwide).