After releasing two posters back in January, Netflix has gone its usual cold turkey approach to promoting the live-action One Piece series. To be fair, we’ve had far more news than the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender which hasn’t even had a bit of news since production started. Yet, the One Piece fans have been quite proactive in trying to get their hands on any bit of news they can, even if it’s the smallest role.
@OP_Netflix_Fan has seemingly shared the news that One Piece has added composers Sonya Belousova, who was heavily rumored last year, and Giona Ostinelli. Both have worked on Netflix’s other series, The Witcher, which even led to Belousova winning the BMI Streaming Series Award. They were both also nominated for Best Main Title Theme for a TV Show or Limited Series by the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli are the Composers for One Piece Live Action. They previously worked with Netflix on 'The Witcher'. pic.twitter.com/uQrguAOmof
— ONE PIECE NETFLIX FAN (@OP_Netflix_Fan) April 29, 2023
Joseph Trapanese went on to take over the second season and it is unclear how long they’ve been involved with the series. This has yet to be announced officially by anyone, but a short piece shared by Belousova on her personal Instagram account sparked a lot of theories that it was part of the future soundtrack. We also had a Japanese commercial for the series during TUDUM, which had some speculation if it’s from the series as well.
As we’re still waiting for an official look at the series, it would be great to hear the music alongside the trailer rather than the usual popular hit song that most trailers use. Luckily, Netflix has seemingly avoided that trope in its fantasy trailers and it would be great to see if that piece teased so long ago is actually in the series. There’s also the fun question if the classic pirate instrument, the Hurdy-Gurdy gets used.
Peter Pan & Wendy joins the ranks of another live-action remake from Disney that debuted on Disney+. The former was Robert Zemeckis‘ Pinocchio remake from last year and 2019’s Lady and the Tramp. Yet, there’s something special this time with visionary director David Lowery at the helm after his work on The Green Knight creates a higher expectation of bringing Neverland to life in a whole new way. Does it live up to the original and can it change the experience some have had with recent live-action releases?
There’s an interesting dynamic at play with how Peter Pan & Wendy adapts the original Disney film from 1953. A lot of familiar elements are here and most of the opening pretty much just echoes the animated classic. In some ways, the only thing it does is further highlight the bond between Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson) and her mother (Molly Parker) that becomes the center of her story in the original. Also, it’s funny seeing Alan Tudyk in another Disney film in another minor side role as George Darling.
Her life is changed the moment Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) enters the picture and they are cast off into an adventure. It all feels so familiar and even drags on a tad bit, but that all suddenly changes the moment we travel to Neverland. The visuals kick off in such a beautiful manner that feels like something out of a surreal experience than just a bunch of kids using fairy dust in a long-forgotten realm. The sound design and visuals (with a cute little reference to the animated Peter with an iconic stance from the actor) just hit this tone that makes it feel like everything will be different from this point on.
On one side, there is a lot more in this story compared to others. Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatahk) has a better role in the story and gets her time to shine early on and is among the more notable side characters. We still follow similar plot points from the original but unlike other live-action remakes the film doesn’t really spend too much time on things that aren’t truly necessary. Hook’s introduction is handled great and I was surprised to see his men sing classic songs as a sea chanty.
Speaking of, the biggest change this time around is in the way they handle Hook as well as his rivalry with Peter Pan. Jude Law gives quite a subdued performance for a character that was showcased as bumbling in the original animated series. There’s a beautiful balance at play highlighting his role in the story that has been changed to add more depth to his character and his ongoing battle with a child that refuses to grow up. This addition might be the second-best thing the film does besides casting Jim Gaffigan as an amazing Mr. Smee.
What stands out in this film is truly its beauty. The sets feel like they tell a story and the updated looks of the Lost Boys’ home or even just the pirate ship lend to this world feeling way more fleshed out than ever before. You can also see him returning to the magic that made his other live-action remake, Pete’s Dragon from 2016, stand out even from the original. Even as elements remain the same, it feels just that slightly bit more mature when it needs to be and childish when it wants to have fun.
The film embraces its own whimsy with the way it handles even the simplest scenes. There’s a fun irony of the most childish performances coming from the pirates that act a bit more unhinged unlike the children, who seemingly take things quite a bit more seriously. My only gripe would be Alexander Molony is a bit wooden in his performance. While you do get that arrogance you’d expect from Peter Pan, his character’s personal growth doesn’t truly feel reflected in his performance. He’s a great choice for the role but it just doesn’t quite come together here.
The performances overall are great; the pirates are especially some of the bits I looked forward to seeing the most. John and Michael Darling (Joshua Pickering and Jacobi Jupe) have some fun moments but are mostly sidelined with the story taking a stronger focus on Wendy’s plot that gets intertwined a bit more into that of Hook’s and Peter Pan’s rather than her just taking don’t he role the original set upon her. Ironically, in a way, the story feels like it has grown up quite a bit since we last saw it in 1953, but it didn’t forget that childish charm that made it so special.
At first, I was worried that this film would only retread familiar ground from the original but once we enter Neverland, it makes a story of my childhood feel new and fresh. There’s a lot more depth this time around that makes it stand out from others that simply feel like they are replicating the “feel” of the original and missed the heart of why we fell in love with these stories. The struggle of wanting to stay a child forever and growing up is a big conflict many of us go through even as we get lost in our work life. Sometimes we don’t truly leave that childishness behind and are a bit blind to the things that make us smile. You’ll cry, you’ll laugh and you’ll be astonished by some of the beautiful shots at play in Peter Pan and Wendy.
Zack Snyder is always a big discussion point online, as his very specific group of fans continues to try to keep the “legacy” alive as much as possible. Even as the DC franchise is starting to move away from what he initially started with Man of Steel. It seems Michael Shannon wasn’t sure either when Andy Muschietti asked him to reprise the role of Zod from the film in the next DCEU entry, The Flash.
I was hesitant [to come back] because I wasn’t really happy about what happened to Zack Snyder in that whole deal … And I really love Zack. The fact that Zack asked me to play that part to begin with – that’s probably the biggest surprise of my career. It almost felt like a practical joke. I was like, ‘You’re kidding me, right?’
Michael Shannon
He goes on to share what it was like when Muschietti offered him the role and it seems he even had some drawings prepared to showcase his vision of what The Flash would look like if he returned to the role and how it would shape the story. Shannon even still owns a drawing from that pitch.
But I talked to Andy [Muschietti] about it, and I liked Andy, and I said, ‘Andy, look – I just want to get Zack’s blessing on this because it just doesn’t feel right without that.’ And Zack, to his credit, was very understanding. He gave me his blessing, and I went to do it. I loved Andy, too. I loved working with Andy. They’re both super creative guys. Andy’s an amazing artist. He would just make these drawings when I was sitting there talking to him. I’d look over and say, ‘Hey, can I keep that?’ and he’d go, ‘Sure!’ and sign it and give it to me.
Michael Shannon
He does, however, highlight that we shouldn’t expect much depth from his version of Zod in The Flash, as they may have seemingly used him as a way to set up an antagonist that blocks our heroes’ way as teased by the trailers.
But, you know, it’s just really different – these kind of multiverse situations … The story is a lot more all over the place, you know? And I feel like I mainly exist in ‘The Flash’ as, like, an obstacle or a problem. Whereas, in ‘Man of Steel,’ it was more of a story. Like, ‘The Flash’ is definitely about The Flash – as it should be. So, it’s not as in-depth.
Michael Shannon
It’s great to know that Zack Snyder gave his blessing to the project and that he was able to return. This film almost feels like a final swan song for that era of DCEU that was built upon Man of Steel’s release. So, we’ll see if it pays tribute to the past while setting the stage for the future.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s big CinemaCon showcase seemingly had two big centerpieces: DC Studios and Timothée Chalamet. Besides sharing the first footage for his upcoming major release of Dune: Part 2, they also had some footage ready for his other big project, Wonka. The Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory prequel explores the early days of the chocolatier in musical form, and it seems we also know who will take on the role of at least one Oompa-Loompa.
It should be noted that this was first reported by One Take News, as it has been unveiled that Hugh Grant, who recently had a major role in the Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves film, will be playing an Oompa-Loompa in the prequel. There’s no word if they are sticking to what we saw in Tim Burton’s take, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where all Oompa-Loompas were played by Deep Roy.
Some reactions have hinted that the visual of Grantin the role has burned itself into their mind, it definitely sounds like it would be quite a fun role for the actor. Though, it’s unclear how big of a role he might truly have in the film and if we will also see him sing. It does seem likely and the visual of him in the make-up from the original 1971 film creates a potentially hilarious nightmare fuel for viewers.
We’ve known for some time that a big part of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would likely explore the origins of Rocket. The character was a major part of the franchise’s emotional core and James Gunn openly discussed that he centered a lot around that character from his own personal experiences. With the third Guardians entry being his last before he continues to focus on DC Studios’ future, it seems almost fitting to use this chance to explore that character’s true emotional background.
In a new piece of footage, we get a new look at the characters that grew up alongside Rocket into becoming more humanoid under The Evolutionary’s watchful eye. Linda Cardellini has been confirmed to play Lylla the Otter, who is Rocket’s main love interest. Asim Chaudhry is taking on the role of Teefs the Walrus while Mikaela Hoover is Floor the Rabbit. Gunn shared the following on what makes these characters stand out in the film:
They’re best friends… and I think it’s a really beautiful scene with them… where they talk about going outside into the sky, in the world, which they’ve never experienced.
James Gunn
Of course, the big surprise for many is likely that Cardellini is set to take on the role of Lylla after having played a major part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Avengers: Age of Ultron as Laura Barton, the wife of Clint Barton and a former SHIELD agent as teased in the Hawkeye Disney+ series. Though, it’s not the only time this has happened and not even the first time this year, as David Dastmalchian also took on a new voice role in the recently released Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
While most eyes have been on the future presentation of DC Studios and their current releases, which still were developed under the former leadership, they had quite a bit of other projects to show off during this year’s CinemaCon. They gave visitors a look at Barbie and its unique world and it seems the first footage of the long-awaited Dune sequel has been released for attendees. Us online at least got the description of the footage that was showcased during CinemaCon.
It seems the big focus of the footage was on Paul Atreides, played once again by Timothee Chalamet, learning to ride a giant sandworm. It makes sense given that this was the big tease at the end of the first entry and Paul’s entire storyline is wrapped around him finding his way among the locals of the planet Arrakis. They also seemingly got a first look at Florence Pugh and Austin Butler during the footage but not many details have been shared on what they might look like.
It’s definitely interesting that this is their selling point as Chalamet made the bold statement of it being “done practically” which has become a bit of a habit to imply certain elements are done that way with the rest added afterward. It’s also become a bit of a marketing habit to make the film stand out in the pool of effects-heavy film selection. Most of what we’ll see on the screen will be effects work as there is no real giant sandworm, but it makes for a good way to sell it to audiences.
CinemaCon has given Warner Bros. Discovery the chance to highlight its future slate with a strong emphasis on 2023. It’s a big movement for the studio as they have been struggling with their recent DC releases like Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods. While the big focus is on The Flash which is being screened in its entirety for attendees, they also got some footage teasing Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The big surprise is that quite a bit of the footage shown includes some major spoilers for the sequel. Some reports are sharing that the footage includes Aquaman having a child and that Black Manta is seemingly the main antagonist in the upcoming sequel. Of course, they might be hiding some secrets as there’s no word of the “Lost Kingdom” in the title.
Black Manta has seemingly gotten his hand on an ancient weapon known as the Black Trident and starts an attack on Atlantis. The rest of the film will see him forced to work alongside his murderous brother Orm the Ocean Master. Of course, they weren’t going to spoil everything but it’s definitely interesting that many early reports are pretty much on point with what we can expect. It’s also great to see Yahya Abdul-Mateen II get a bigger role in the sequel.
CinemaCon has brought us our first look at what the summer has planned for us and it looks like quite a doozy. Warner Bros. had the second day to kick off with quite a few announcements from their various projects. It’s also quite the gamble for them, as they are putting all their money on the next releases truly making a mark to water down the bad blood that rose with their HBO Max activities in the last few years.
Among their first big new streaming-to-theatrical releases is Blue Beetle, which only recently got its first trailer. Warner Bros. Discovery took to the stage to showcase the talent they have, and among them was Blue Beetle’s star Xolo Maridueña. The actor took the chance to share why he believes Jamie Reyes stands out from other superheroes.
I think he’s the only person ever to get superpowers and not want them.
Xolo Maridueña
It’s easy to say that there are countless superheroes that aren’t quite happy with being given the powers they have, especially characters like Hulk or The Thing. But, it’s definitely a potential first for the current roster of DC heroes that managed to embrace their powers. Still, Maridueña‘s excitement is infectious and it was great that he was given the stage during CinemaCon.
Seems Netflix is cleaning the house, as one of its longest-running shows is coming to an end. Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg’sBig Mouth has been renewed for an eighth season ahead of the release of its latest season. The big twist is that the show about kids going through their puberty, which manifests itself into different types of creatures, will be ending with that season.
But wait folks, there’s more as Human Ressources, a spinoff show of Big Mouth, is also set to return for a final season. It only got two seasons in total and the spinoff is set to arrive later this year. What does make this stand out is that Big Mouth’s eighth season also will act as a send-off to both entries due to how they connected in the past.
Kroll shared the following statement as a joke referencing the series coming to an end:
If you would have told adolescent Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg that middle school would take 8 years to finish, they would have been like ‘yeah, that sounds about right. This seems like it will never end.
Nick Kroll
With this cancelation, Big Mouth is the longest-running series in Netflix’s library of originals that isn’t categorized under Kids & Family. This renewal puts it ahead of Grace & Franky, which ran for a total of seven seasons. With a live-action adaptation of One Piece on the horizon, perhaps it might break its record given just how long the manga has been running; if it turns out to be quite popular of course.
The show’s popularity had many surprised given its very in-depth but fantastical look at hormones, becoming an adult, sexuality, and coming of age. Both entries combined have reached one billion hours viewed on Netflix and have been watched by 50M+ households.
It looks like Nintendo has fully dominated the box office, as The Super Mario Bros. Movie faces another soft drop in its third weekend and has pulled in $58.2M domestically and another $70M internationally. As such, the film is now at a strong $434.33M stateside and $437.5M in international markets, which sums up to a powerful $871.8M. It’s interesting that the film has such a strong weekend hold but seems to fizzle out a bit during the week after a strong 81% drop on Monday. Still, it seems that the film just pulls in multiple generations to relieve their gaming childhood.
That is not all, as Evil Dead Rise, the counter-programming for the weekend, has been released and finds its way into quite the strong start at $23.5M. That is quite the number considering it only cost around $15M and proves once again just how powerful horror is in the market. It’s also a sigh of relief for Warner Bros. who originally wanted to release this film as a direct-to-streaming offering on HBO Max before the new leadership changed gears.
It received a B CinemaScore but that has become quite common for anything with horror elements or gore in it. So, it should be taken lightly and we’ll see how its legs develop. Evil Dead Rise has the task to beat 2013’s Evil Dead reboot which had a slightly higher opening but also a just as slightly higher budget. If it has strong legs it might even surpass the $97.5M budget but Super Mario Bros. Movie is taking up most of the market at the moment.
Guy Ritchie’s latest film, The Covenant, sadly isn’t doing too hot as it opened to a soft $6M which won’t help much even with an A CinemaScore. Dramas aimed at adult audiences and regular family films without a bigger nostalgic draw have still been struggling a bit at the box office. Even after a good early push, Beau is Afraid has stumbled to $2.7M while expanding its theater count which isn’t a good sign for its $35M budget.
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