WIRE Buzz: Dark Horse teams up with Netflix, Marvel lands Lord and Miller

Today’s WIRE Buzz has plenty of far-reaching implications for many moviegoers, comic fans who love streaming, and anyone reading Marvel Comics.

But first, let’s talk Netflix. The streaming giant has signed a first-look deal with Dark Horse Entertainment, a partnership that’s already produced The Umbrella Academy adaptation (based on Gerard Way’s comic) and Polar (the Mads Mikkelsen film based on the comic of the same name).

According to a release, Dark Horse will give Netflix first dibs on its IP for film and TV adaptation, and the pair of companies have already started looking into new projects.

"With The Umbrella Academy and Polar, Netflix has pushed our content out into the world and allowed it to spread in a way that we’ve never experienced before, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring a whole new slate of movies and shows to their world-wide audience,” said Keith Goldberg, senior vice president of Dark Horse Entertainment.

That whole new slate looks like it’s banking off of one proven success, The Umbrella Academy, which now seems like a testing ground in hindsight — something that Netflix seems to confirm. “Following the success of The Umbrella Academy, we’re excited to extend our relationship with Dark Horse Comics,” said Cindy Holland, Netflix’s vice president of original content.

Look for much more oddball genre content coming to the small screen thanks to this collaboration. But now let’s move to the big screen.

AMC Theatres will soon allow almost everyone to reserve their seats. According to Business Insider, the world’s biggest movie theater company will roll out this policy starting on Memorial Day, May 27. While most major markets had at least some reservation presence over the last few years — since AMC began giving NYC fans the option to reserve a seat in 2016 — this is the first move that will see broad, nationwide acceptance of the policy at AMC and AMC Dine-In theaters.

"We are just on the cusp of finishing that project," Stephen Colanero, chief marketing officer at AMC, told Business Insider. "All those theaters will have reserved seating by Memorial Day, which makes it a lot easier for people to buy tickets online because they now can pick their seats." AMC Classic theaters, however, will not fall under that umbrella.

Some of these new perks could help justify the increased cost of AMC’s ticket subscription service as it strives to compete with streaming’s takeover. The updates — which will lead to expanded food and drink ordering options — will continue to roll out this summer.

Finally, some big names are making mysterious moves in the world of Marvel Comics. A series of tweets announcing new creative teams was released today, and names as well known to comic fans as Dan Slott and Chip Zdarsky were right next to newcomers like former Solo directors (and half the Into the Spider-Verse creative team) Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Is it for Marvel #1000? A series of one-pagers? Only time will tell. But just look at these names.

Take a look:

That’s some serious talent — and that’s just a tiny snippet of the people who’ve already posted under the #MarvelComics hashtag to announce their involvement with something clearly monumental. Will this team-up be Marvel’s answer to Detective Comics #1000? Let us know what you think.