The DC FanDome podcast episode has arrived. John and Joe discuss their personal highs and lows from the event, as well as take a deep dive into the new The Batman trailer.
Author: Joseph Aberl
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‘Hocus Pocus’ Sequel Eyeing Fall 2022 Release on Disney+ as it Rounds Out its Cast
Disney has long wanted to bring back the iconic Hocus Pocus film. A staple for many people’s Halloween, it was surprising that the House of Mouse waited this long before they’d greenlight a sequel. After all this time, it has finally happened as we got our first tease for the upcoming second entry and a confirmation that the Sanderson sisters will make a return. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy will return in their iconic roles.
Of course, they’ll get joined by some familiar faces which include Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham, Belissa Escobedo, Tony Hale, Hannah Waddingham, Juju Brener, Froy Guiterrez, Taylor Henderson, and Nina Kitchen. Doug Jones is also set to return as Billy Butcherson in the upcoming sequel. The new entry is eyeing a Fall 2022 release on Disney’s streaming service. While I mentioned previously it’s surprising they didn’t create a sequel, it was a box office bomb at the time. Millenials revived the franchise later on as it skyrocketed in popularity.
It’ll be interesting to see how they revive this franchise and stick to the set-up from the original. There’s always a chance that they’ll try to twist some of our understanding from the original franchise to add something unique to the story. Disney+ has become the home to various returning franchises such as Turner and Hooch, as well as the upcoming release of a new Home Alone entry. It’ll be interesting to see what other iconic franchises may make a return at some point.
Source: Twitter
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‘Superman and Lois’ Showrunner Teases Season 2’s Villain
Superman and Lois‘ first season reinvented the way we see stories around the Man of Steel. This time around, Clark Kent is faced with the biggest challenge ever, raising two sons alongside his love Lois Lane. He did face off against some new foes like Adam Rayner‘s Tal-Rho. Of course, it opened up the question of what other villains he might face off against in the upcoming second season. Luckily, showrunner Todd Helbing offered a small tease when he was asked if we’ve heard of the next villain he’ll face.
You have, yes. The only tease I will say is, in the same way that we took Morgan Edge and twisted the mythology a little bit—made him Clark’s brother and ultimately the Eradicator—we’re trying to go into the comic books to find lesser-known villains and reinvent them. We can introduce them and people can then go read the versions in the comics.
Todd HelbingIn the same interview, he also highlights that we haven’t seen the last of Tal-Rho either. So, it’ll be interesting to see how many villains he might end up facing in the upcoming second season. It’s great that they want to explore smaller villains that normally wouldn’t get a chance on the silver screen or generally in live-action. It’ll be interesting to see how they tackle it. Helbing also revealed that they recently pitched the second season to the studio. So, they are still in the early stages of getting the ball rolling on the project. So, we might not see any new updates for some time until they start entering production.
Source: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Special Collector’s Issue via TV Insider
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Matthias Schweighöfer Was a Favorite During Test-Screenings as ‘Army of Thieves’ Was Already in Pre-Production
Zack Snyder moved on from his DC franchise to establish a new universe over at Netflix. Taking another stab at the zombie genre, he twisted it in creative ways through Army of the Dead. The story explored an unlikely group of mercenaries that are pulling off a casino heist during a zombie apocalypse. In that team is the German named Ludwig Dieter played by long-time German star Matthias Schweighöfer.
He’s made quite the name in the German-speaking market but now he had his big time to shine in the States when he joined Snyder’s new film and was going to lead its first prequel, Army of Thieves. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he talks about the scene where he tried his best to prove he’s part of the big leagues now.
It was a ten-minute scene in the original version. It was huge. There was one moment where I knew, ‘OK, I’m in this film. It’s when Dave touches the blueprint, and I say, ‘Take your sausage fingers away, Mr. Big Hand.’ Dave started laughing. Zack started laughing. And I knew, ‘OK, welcome to the show.’
Matthias SchweighöferIt seems he didn’t have much time, as he just met the director before this scene and had to perform to confirm his place in this new film. His character even became quite the popular character for many viewers. So, Schweighöfer’s casting was one of Snyder’s best moves yet he does confirm it was one of the more difficult roles to cast. THR’s Aaron Couch added on Twitter that he became a fan-favorite during test screenings just as Army of Thieves was already in pre-production.
When Schweighöfer found out they were looking for a director, he threw his hat in the ring fresh off of his experience in the Amazon series You Are Wanted. The Snyders took a gander at it and it helped convince them he was the man for the job. So, once they got the green light, they gave him the call. The rest, as they say, is history.
Source: Twitter, Hollywood Reporter
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First Trailer Drops for Fan-Made ‘Spider-Man: Lotus’ Film
There are many passionate fans out there that have their vision of adapting popular characters or franchises. Some developed their games based on popular franchises, such as the Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R) or Pokemon: Uranium. Of course, Marvel and DC comics have also seen countless fans tackle their favorite heroes even if they don’t have the same budget as big-name studios. Still, that should never deter a fan from giving a project a shot to bring his own vision to life.
Among these projects is Gavin J. Konop‘s adaptation titled Spider-Man: Lotus. The passionate fan decided to tackle the story of Spidey still struggling after the death of Gwen Stacy and he starts helping a young kid facing a terminal illness. Inspired by the storyline of The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man, he got a team together to bring this passion project to life. After a long wait, he has now dropped the official trailer.
It’s not officially licensed by Marvel, but it’s meant as a non-profit project all due to the love for the character. The first trailer certainly seems to capture the spirit of everyone’s favorite wall-crawler. It also looks great considering it was most likely made with a shoestring budget. It must be a proud moment for Konop to finally put it out there and it looks quite promising. Here’s looking forward to its Summer 2022 release and a fan bringing a passion project like this to life.
Source: YouTube
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‘John Wick’ Spinoff ‘Ballerina’ Eyeing Ana De Armas
As John Wick is filming its fourth entry with an all-star cast, Lionsgate is ready to start rolling out its upcoming spinoffs. We’ve heard the news about a three-episode miniseries focused on the beginnings of the Continental hotel, but it’s not the only one. Deadline is now reporting that Knives Out and No Time to Die star Ana De Armas is currently being eyed to play a young female assassin in a spinoff titled Ballerina. The character was briefly hinted at in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and will act as a jumping-off point for the new entry as she hunts down the people that killed her family.
Lionsgate already has Underworld’s Len Wiseman aboard to direct with a script from Shay Hatten. He wrote up the previously-mentioned Parabellum as well as Zack Snyder‘s Army of the Dead. Long-time John Wick producers Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, and Chad Stahelski are also returning for the spinoff. There even seems to be some hope that Keanu Reeves might have a cameo alongside Anjelica Huston.
De Armas has been building up quite the reputation with larger tentpole projects, as she’ll also appear in the Russo brothers’ upcoming Netflix film, The Gray Man, as well as the Marilyn Monroe film, Blonde. So, it was only a matter of time before she spearheaded her own action film, especially hot off the heels of her appearance in No Time To Die.
Source: Deadline
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Denis Villeneuve Confirms Most of Pre-Production is Done for 2023’s ‘Dune’ Sequel
Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune finally got the sequel announcement with an official release date. Yet, we were quite surprised that it’s already eyeing an October release in 2023. It made us wonder if they already had most of the pre-production ready as they prepare the sequel. Luckily, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the director confirmed that they already have a script ready and have most of the pre-production done with the work from the initial film.
It’s fantastic news, but it’s also kind of a burden. The good news is that a lot of the work has been done already regarding design, casting, locations and writing. So we’re not starting from scratch. It’s not a long period of time, but I will try to face that challenge because it’s important for me that the audience sees Part Two as soon as possible.
Denis VilleneuveVilleneuve is very keen on making sure there’s not a long break between the sequels, which makes it quite interesting that it took this long until we got the official announcement for a sequel. Still, he also goes on to highlight how his approach to his sequel also highlights why he can jump into the sequel.
It’s not a sequel where it’s another episode or another story with the same characters. It actually has direct continuity to the first movie. It’s the second part of the big huge movie that I’m trying to do. So the sooner the better.
Denis VilleneuveThe approach makes sense, especially given that both parts are technically part of the same story. Part Two would take place exactly at the point where the first one ended. It’s strange they didn’t use the chance to shoot them back to back, as Warner Bros. already was eyeing to expand this franchise. So, why not keep production costs to a minimum and approach it in one massive shoot. We might never know, but it’s good Villeneuve gets to continue his vision of the series.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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Disney+’s ‘National Treasure’ Adds ‘Total Eclipse’s Lisette Alexis as Series Lead
It looks like Disney has found the headliner for their upcoming National Treasure series on Disney+. Deadline shared that Lisette Alexis from Total Eclipse fame landed the leading role. Jerry Bruckheimer returns alongside director Jon Turteltaub as executive producers. The pilot was written by Marianne and Cormac Wibberley and will act as an expansion of the original film franchise. Alexis’ character, Jess, will go on an adventure of a lifetime to find out about her past to save a Pan-American treasure.
Mira Nair will direct the pilot episode that expands the world we learned through Nicolas Cage‘s Benjamin Gates. Jess is a brilliant and resourceful mind that can’t get enough of a “good mystery.” Of course, she’s talented in solving them and it ends up leading to her uncovering some long-hidden history, which may connect to her mysterious parents. Episodes will also be written by Suits‘ Rick Muirragui.
They are currently eyeing a production start in 2022. It’s a big step for actress Lisette Alexis, as she just recently starred opposite Sierra McCormick in We Need To Do Something. Her big starring role was in a few episodes of the TV series Total Eclipse as Belle in 2019. It’ll be interesting to see if they build up a potential connection to Gates at some point to interconnect the projects.
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‘Squid Game’ Continues to Dominate With Over 3 Billion Minutes Watched in a Week
Netflix’s latest blockbuster series from South Korea, Squid Game, has been dominating the streaming market. It’s been all the rage with TikTok videos paying tribute and the recent reveal of a new Funko Pop selection. The series pulled in 142M viewers in just its first four weeks. Nielsen’s U.S. rankings have added an updated top listing and the series managed to become the sixth title to pass 3 billion minutes watched within just a week. As a result, it’s also the best performing series in the United States.
The chart also includes Ted Lasso, What If…?, Only Murders in the Building, and Goliath, but Squid Game was the clear winner. What is interesting to note is that the former Apple TV+ series had its first appearance in the top listing after its Emmy win. Interestingly enough, HBO Max is the only streaming service to enter Nielsen’s top listing regularly. The only exception was Wonder Woman 1984. to put Squid Game’s 3 billion in comparison, the second place went to another Netflix series, Midnight Mass, with 1.71B minutes watched. Lucifer took the third spot with 535M minutes.
Given Netflix’s long history in the streaming market, they are the only streaming service to pass the 3B minutes in a week milestone. Its other series that managed to do so were You, Tiger King, Ozard, The Umbrella Academy, and The Crown. Of these shows, Tiger King managed it twice while Ozark dominated three weeks. It’ll be interesting to see if there are other series that’ll join this special club.
Source: Deadline
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New Image of Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus Teases He’ll Get an Upgrade in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
Spider-Man: No Way Home will end the current trilogy of Tom Holland‘s run as the character. The first trailer teased the grand return of Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, which he openly confirmed some time ago. When we get our first look at the actor, it confirmed that he’ll be closer to what he was in Spider-Man 2 back in 2004. Yet, a new image has found its way online that features a curious difference. His tentacles seem to have red and gold included in their design unlike what we saw in previous images.
Of course, the color caught many fans’ attention, such as @Mar_Tessaract believing it might be a nod to Tony Stark’s iconic Iron Man color palette. Doc Ock was a mentor figure in the original film, which this may be a nod towards but what stands out is that when you look at previous images from Empire’s coverage on the film, there’s a distinct lack of these color additions.
If you zoom in, you might notice some golden parts in the tentacles’ design but no sign of the red highlighted in the new image. Even the arms seem slicker in the new image if you take a closer look. Not just that, but it seems his tentacles have a very different structure. It is closer to the design from the 2004 film. So, the image from Empire above is probably from their first confrontation and he’ll upgrade it at some point. Perhaps he ends up finding some Stark Technology equipment and gives his arms an overhaul. Learning of Peter’s connection to the hero, he might add the color to toy with his multiversal foe.
Source: ComicBook.com, Twitter
