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Be seeing you…and apparently sooner rather than later. During an earnings call, Lionsgate’s Joe Drake revealed that a fifth installment in the central franchise of the expanding Wickverse was in development. With the streaming series The Continental set to roll out on Peacock in September and the Ana de Armas-led spinoff, Ballerina, hitting theaters in 2024 fans of the wild, assassin-filled universe will have plenty of content to keep them entertained despite what appeared to be the end of John’s story in John Wick 4. It turns out that John may not get to rest after all.

“What is official is that, as you know, Ballerina is the first spinoff that comes out next year,” said Drake. “We’re in development on three others, including five and including the television series, The Continental, which will be airing soon,” he revealed, adding “we’re building out the world and when that five movie comes, it will be organic — will be organically grown out of how we’re starting to tell those stories. But you can rely on a regular cadence of John Wick.”

John Wick 4 debuted in theaters in March of 2023 and opened to a franchise-best first weekend at the box office. Following its debut, director Chad Stahelski indicated that while a fifth film in the series might be an option at some point, he had hoped to let the character enjoy his well-earned respite. It seems as though Lionsgate has other plans for the character and the world that’s been built around him.

Source: THR

There is no greater debate in our time than whether or not the Netflix Daredevil series should be considered MCU canon. While stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio have reprised their respective roles from the series, Cox in particular has been very firm on the fact that Daredevil: Born Again will not be Season 4 of Daredevil but rather a “whole new deal.”

For his part, D’Onofrio has given far murkier answers to the question of Daredevil’s canonicity, explaining on more than one occasion that he’s playing the same character he did in the Netflix series…until now. In an interview with Comic Book’s Adam Barnhardt, D’Onofrio now says Born Again is NOT the same show as the Netflix series.

“I think it’s definitely a new show. It’s not the Netflix show. It’s definitely a new show,” said D’Onofrio. “I mean, all I can say is that Charlie [Cox] and I are not bored. We are having a great time. We have a great cast, and I think everybody else is having a great time too,” he continued. D’Onofrio praised both his co-star and the direction of the show before returning to the question at hand and saying, “I’m trying to skirt around specifics, but I can only say that it is a different show and it feels like a different show.“

Nobody is foolish enough to presume that D’Onofrio’s comments will convince the “Netflix is canon” crew to change those tune. In fact, even if the opening scroll of Born Again claimed the events of the Netflix show were unrelated to it, the great debate would still rage on…which makes the writing of this article a questionable use of time.

Source: Comic Book

The galaxy far, far away gets a little bigger–and cuter–in Lucasfilm’s new animated series, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. The seven-episode series follows the adventures of a trio of Jedi Younglings and their normie friend during the High Republic Era. Cast in the mold of the wonderful Spidey and His Amazing Friends, each of the 27ish-minute runtimes is broken into two stories full of fast-paced action and plenty of teachable moments. As is the case with Spidey and His Amazing Friends, young viewers will have the opportunity to learn core values such as altruism, courage, patience and teamwork right alongside the Younglings. And though it’s aimed at a young audience, there’s plenty to enjoy for older viewers.

Young Jedi Adventures is a Star Wars project through and through. The series checks just about every box: Jedi. Droids. Hotshot pilot. Bad guy with a cool helmet. Strange new worlds full of fascinating creatures. Even a bounty hunter for good measure. Not to be outdone by its more adult in-house competition, Young Jedi Adventures even introduces a new species to the Star Wars universe in the Jedi Youngling Pooba, Nubs, voiced by Star Wars vet Dee Bradley Baker. The show’s core group of Nubs, fellow Younglings Kai Brightstar and Lys Solay, and the brash young pilot Nash Durango see the bulk of the action but the rotating supporting cast, including Yoda, helps to keep the series seem both fresh and familiar.

As opposed to recent animated fare such as Tales of the Jedi or The Bad Batch, Young Jedi Adventures doesn’t feel like a must for Star Wars completists. Despite being the first series of any kind set during the High Republic Era, the series doesn’t make much of an effort to cash in on the opportunity to incorporate any of the storylines or characters from the publication side. An Easter egg here, a namedrop there (Old Republic Jedi!) and a fun continuity nod or two make up the extent to which the series feels like it’s reaching out to canon completists…and that’s ok!

This is, after all, a kids’ show, and as such it really does work wonderfully. The animation is bright and vibrant and the character designs are great, especially the show’s serial “baddie”, juvie pirate Taborr Val Dorn. It’s a fun, galaxy-hopping adventure that, much like Dora the Explorer, makes you question how the Jedi Master in charge of these Younglings keeps letting them take off on their own and find trouble. If you’ve seen Spidey and His Amazing Friends, you know the template for the show and if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Young viewers are sure to love the show, especially the core group of Younglings. Jamaal Avery Jr. infuses Kai Brightstar with a wealth of charisma; Juliet Donenfeld Lys serves as the team’s empathetic center; and Nub the Poob is about to be Star Wars’ next big seller. It’s a wholesome adventure series set in an ever-expanding universe that provides a wonderful jumping-on-point for young Star Wars newbies. Top-notch work by Lucasfilm as they branch out a bit more.

4.5/5 stars!