Though the Green Arrow comic-book character showed up briefly in “Smallville,” fans looking for any story continuation with the CW's newest series adaptation, “Arrow,” will be sorely disappointed. The show is an entirely revamped affair, going for a more down-to-earth aesthetic and characters, but while the show won't appear on the network until fall, those looking for an early peek will get just that if they pack a bag and head to San Diego next month.
CW has announced the “Arrow” pilot will screen two nights at the San Diego Comic Con, which runs July 12 – 15. A extended trailer has also been released, which gives a nice glimpse at the cast and story, which involves billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) returning home after being presumed dead, only to create the Arrow persona to fight crime in his hometown of Starling City (not Star City, one of the many tiny changes made by the show). He also seeks to get back with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), who has a few secrets to keep herself. If SDCC is in your near future, take a peek at the schedule and get ready to line up. [MTV]
Following nicely along after the History Channel miniseries “Hatfields and McCoys” garnered 13.8 million viewers over three nights, NBC is now finalizing a deal with producer Charlize Theron and her company Denver and Delilah Productions to bring a modern-day version of the story to television screens. John Glenn (“Eagle Eye”) created the show, which Theron's company will produce through their deal with ABC Studios. While Theron has no plans to star, and no real need to considering her success recently on the big screen, a series with the actress in the lead could be a fantastic turn, and this project might be the one she finally chooses. [Deadline]
In terms of pure fan devotion through thick and recent thin, “Community” just about rivals “Lost” with its user-created tributes inspired by series in-jokes or narrative strands. The latest, and one of the most remarkable, is an actual 8-bit video game based off of the one played in May 17th's episode, “Digital Estate Planning.” A user on Reddit created the game, entitled “Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne,” and while only three levels have created thus far, the detail and effort put into the project is pretty admirable, to say the least. A character select screen gives the choice of Jeff, Britta, Troy, and others to play with, and it faithfully recreates everything glimpsed momentarily in the actual episode. The game is currently crowd-sourcing coding to make the game better, so pitch on in if so inclined to make the game something even more impressively reverent. [Indiewire]
From one thriving fanbase to a reboot desperately looking for one, NBC's “Munsters” reboot, “Mockingbird Lane,” has cast Jerry O'Connell in the starring role as family patriarch Herman Munster. The “Piranha” star joins previously-cast Eddie Izzard playing Grandpa Munster, and while the first instinct is to dismiss this debacle entirely, note creator Bryan Fuller's (“Wonderfalls,” “Pushing Daisies”) and Bryan Singer's involvement, and hope that he can nail the dark, archly amusing tone Tim Burton mostly missed with “Dark Shadows.” [EW]
Finally, after public reaction turned from “What?” to “Oh, I guess he's still doing that” fairly quickly, Smashing Pumpkins-frontman Billy Corgan has now cemented his love for professional wrestling by taking his endeavors into the reality arena. Speaking to MLW Radio, Corgan said he plans to have a new reality show follow his company, Resistance Pro, as they organize matches, and also chart wrestlers' struggles to find work in the industry. No word on whether Corgan will ever enter the ring, but a WWE crossover match with Doink the Clown would certainly be a sight to see. [Rolling Stone]
