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  • REVIEW: ‘Loki’ Season 2, Episodes 1-4

    REVIEW: ‘Loki’ Season 2, Episodes 1-4

    Though it’s undoubtedly at least partially revisionist, Marvel Studios has a history of success that seems strongly weighted by the Infinity Saga. The internet is full of talking heads who will tell you that following Avengers: Endgame, the MCU just hasn’t been the same and that the quality of the projects, both theatrical and streaming, has fallen off drastically. 2023 has added fuel to the fire with projects such as Ant-Man: Quantumania and Secret Invasion failing to impress the majority of fans–and even fewer critics–leading to an even louder refrain of “The MCU is dead” than ever before. Leave it to the ultimate agent of chaos and the most entropic entry in the Multiverse Saga to date to restore order to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The God of Mischief has heard your concerns and Season 2 of Loki answers them authoritatively.

    Picking up directly where Season 1 left off, Loki quickly reframes what fans thought happened in the prior season’s cliffhanger and puts Loki up against the clock. As the MCU builds towards an adaptation of Jonathan Hickman’s 2015 Secret Wars, the first episode–and then again the first four–certainly have the feel of the Time Runs Out prelude Hickman weaved through his Avengers and New Avengers titles. While Season 2 of Loki is certainly no adaptation of those–indeed it seems not to be an adaptation of any particular comic run or set of stories but rather an original idea from the production/writing team of Michael Waldron and Eric Martin–the first four episodes are fast-paced, intense and make it very clear that time is running out for all time. Getting down to brass tacks, the premise of Season 2 is this: the death of He Who Remains has created a multiverse that the TVA simply is not prepared to manage.

    (L-R): Ke Huy Quan as O.B., Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and Owen Wilson as Mobius in Marvel Studios’ LOKI, Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Gareth Gatrell. © 2023 MARVEL.

    Starting with but certainly not limited to that premise, it’s amazing just how often these first four episodes of Season 2 of Loki work as an allegory for the criticisms faced by Marvel Studios. As He Who Remains’ death allowed the timeline to break free and grow into something far too large and chaotic for the TVA to handle, so has the Multiverse Saga opened the doors to criticism about Kevin Feige and co. potentially adopting a quantity over quality approach with, at one point, 8 projects planned in a calendar year. The technological MacGuffin of the first four episodes, a Multiplier that allows the Temporal Loom to be able to collar and manage the new timelines, provides the impetus for Loki and Mobius to take a trip through time and allows for the introduction of Jonathan Majors‘ Victor Timely. As the buddy cop duo sets off to find a Variant of the man who built the TVA to restore it to its rightful status as a timespace behemoth, so has Bob Iger returned from retirement with a renewed focus on curating and managing projects and characters amid jeers that there’s simply too much content for fans to consume. And as an all-new, all-different Loki is mocked, reminded that he’s a villain, not a hero, and told to stick to what he’s always done, so too do the critics hammer away at Marvel Studios for breaking away from the “Marvel formula.” Much as the future of Marvel Studios seems up for grabs, the first four episodes of Loki’s second season end with a truly shocking cliffhanger that will leave fans suspended in uncertainty…but not before a return to form and a reminder of what these streaming series should be.

    Like its predecessor, Season 2 of Loki allows Tom Hiddleston all the room in the Multiverse to explore the nooks and crannies of the title character. Hiddleston has filled the godly shoes for well over a decade now and as easy as it might be to question what else there might be left to do with Loki, the first four episodes–and Hiddleston’s continued brilliance in the role–provide plenty of answers. Keeping in mind that this particular Variant of Loki, Variant L1130, was created when he escaped with the Tesseract in the aftermath of the 2012 Battle of New York during a botched effort by the Avengers during their time heist, allows the audience to truly see the realtime (sort of, since it technically takes place out of time) evolution of the character. Not far removed from seeking to subjugate all of humanity, Loki now seeks glorious purpose in keeping them free and, as such, Hiddleston finds space for an empathic Loki who recognizes the true beauty and power of humanity–a truly heroic version of the character, though thanks to some fun plot devices is able to get back to some fun magical mischief.

    (L-R): Owen Wilson as Mobius and Tom Hiddleston as Loki in Marvel Studios’ LOKI, Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Gareth Gatrell. © 2023 MARVEL.

    However, Season 2 is not simply the Tom Hiddleston show. So much of what made Season 1 work so well was the chemistry between Hiddleston and his co-stars, specifically Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino and, thankfully, a new creative team did nothing to change that. The Loki-Mobius dynamic is just as strong as always and the fractured relationship between Loki and Sylvie allows for an even deeper exploration of both characters. The brilliant addition of Ke Huy Quan as TVA tech guru Ouroboros will rightfully draw plenty of praise as Quan is an absolute joy in his surprisingly extended role; however, don’t underestimate Rafael Cassl’s saucy X-5/Brad Wolfe who ebbs and flows throughout the first four episodes as an agent of chaos in his own right. Majors‘ brings a definite strangeness to Victor Timely, who isn’t exactly what you think he might be and returners Wunmi Mosaku, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Tara Strong all get more to do to the benefit of the project as a whole.

    As is always the case with pre-release screenings of Marvel Studios projects, critics and press have not seen the whole series which makes a true analysis of Season 2 of Loki impossible. Simply put, no matter how entertaining the first four episodes are, if the last two drop the ball, the project won’t be seen as a success and that’s not something Marvel Studios can afford at the moment. However, what can be said is that for four episodes, Marvel Studios leaned on one of their strongest and most veteran talents to put together what is unquestionably their best effort–theatrical or cinematic–not only of 2023 but of the entire Multiverse Saga. A combination of strong creative work behind the scenes by writer Eric Martin and the directing duo of Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson and an enormously talented cast make Loki a fun sci-fi mystery that will fill the Void-sized void you may have been feeling.

  • ‘Ahsoka’ Season Finale Runtime Revealed

    ‘Ahsoka’ Season Finale Runtime Revealed

    Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars streaming series, Ahsoka, has by and large been one of the studio’s most consistently strong efforts. Led by a stellar cast including star Rosario Dawson and Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll, the series has served as both a continuation of Star Wars Rebels and an effective next chapter in the New Republic era of stories being spun by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. Now, with the series finale just two days away, a new report from a reliable source has emerged and gives fans an idea of how long the eighth and final part of the series will run.

    Cryptic HD QUALITY, who has reliably reported on runtimes for episodes of Marvel Studios and Star Wars series in the past, has shared that the finale of Ahsoka is set to run 46 minutes and 25 seconds with 42 minutes and 43 seconds of that before the credits roll.

    https://twitter.com/Cryptic4KQual/status/1708086543263338523

    Even before the show debuted on Disney Plus, rumors swirled that the series finale would put the heroes in a tough spot and end on an Empire Strikes Back-esque cliffhanger. Part 7 certainly laid the groundwork for such an ending by reuniting the Ahsoka, Ezra and Sabine just in time to take on Grand Admiral Thrawn and Morgan Elsbeth while separating Skoll from his apprentice Shin Hati. It’s likely that most of those 42 minutes will be spent on some pretty intense action scenes before setting up the next chapter in the Mando-verse.

    The final episode of Ahsoka streams Tuesday, October 3rd, at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT.

  • ‘One Piece’ Director Was Against Using The Volume

    ‘One Piece’ Director Was Against Using The Volume

    If it comes to filmmaking technology that had the biggest 180 public opinion, the Volume swiftly lost its standing after seemingly being a necessary tool during the pandemic. The idea is simple: you have LED screens built around that enable actors to interact with elements rather than just using a blank screen of various colors. The Mandalorian revolutionized technology, but its overuse in a lot of major films led to the internet changing its opinion on the tech quite hastily.

    So, it was quite refreshing when One Piece hit Netflix and one of its biggest selling points was that it built pretty much most of its relevant sets. They also filmed in South Africa on water to make sure that the sea-faring adventure actually took place on the water. It seems a big reason for that is director Marc Jobst according to cinematographer Nicole Hirsch Whitaker in an interview with The Direct.

    My director comes from the theater. So I think he was very much against that type of filmmaking for a show like this. He really felt like it was important for the actors to be in a real environment. Even when we shot [the] Gold Roger [sequence], even though that was a lot of blue screen, he took us to a real location and we shot in a castle so that they were surrounded by the walls and that they felt like they were in a space

    Nicole Hirsch Whitaker

    Of course, the use of blue screen still remains but most of the elements our cast interacts with are practical. So, the screens are simply there to help make the world feel real and ensure that the limitations of filming on a water stage don’t include the freeway from he background when the cast is supposed to be on the open seas. Whitaker also goes on to highlight that the story and use of daylight supported what they wanted to achieve with he series.

    Some people might say that that’s not something that will happen in the future, but I do think if actors fight for that, as opposed to being in a room. And listen, the Volume is incredible, it’s amazing and it’s a wonderful tool. And it’s it’s really important because we have to embrace it for so many reasons. But I think for this show, a story about family and being out in the world with a lot of exteriors and a lot of daylight, I think this was the right way to go.

    Nicole Hirsch Whitaker

    There’ll likely be a point when the Volume gets a new time to shine with more additional support rather than being the main way the film. We don’t know if future use will remain but it seems safe to say that One Piece is going to remain focused on utilizing real sets moving forward, as it was one of the series’ biggest selling points. Season 2 also featured a variety of environments that’ll give them fun opportunities to establish a variety of fun environments for the cast to interact with.

    Source: The Direct

  • ‘One Piece’ Season 2 Adds Long-Time Content Creator to Writer’s Room

    ‘One Piece’ Season 2 Adds Long-Time Content Creator to Writer’s Room

    This news actually broke earlier in the month. However, given that the WGA strike was still active and its successful resolution had a higher priority, now that a deal has finally been made and SGA is on the horizon to get one, it seems like the right time to cover the story. Randy Troy, who is a long-time One Piece content creator, and has worked in the industry as an actor and writer, has joined the writer’s room for the second season of Netflix’s live-action adaptation.

    The official announcement was made a few weeks ago on Twitter during the WGA strike that he is involved but was focused on ensuring the strike was a success. We know that the scrips are supposedly ready according to a producer of the One Piece series, which means he was likely already involved before the strike happened as they were preparing the script ahead of Season 1’s launch. While they didn’t know at the time they would be getting a renewal, it definitely was to keep everything going to ensure they can avoid a large gap between seasons’ release.

    It also marks the second time that a content creator who has heavily joined the series’ long history gained a role as part of the live-action production. The first season also involved Artur – The Library of Ohara who supported keeping everything within the timeline that the original manga series followed. So, it’s exciting to see the heavy involvement of people from the community that’ll help this live-action adaptation flourish and grow going into its second, and likely even more ambitious next season.

    Source: twitter

  • Marvel Studios Sets a New Release Date for ‘Echo’

    Marvel Studios Sets a New Release Date for ‘Echo’

    Few Marvel Studios projects have been subject to the type of pre-trailer doom and gloom as Echo. After debuting in Hawkeye, Maya Lopez, played by Alaqua Cox, is taking her own adventure that will lead her back home to explore her Native American heritage and footage shown exclusively at 2022’s D23 looked promising; however, rumors of a troubled production continued to spread and release date shuffles did nothing to quell them. Once it came to light that Disney planned to release the entire show at once–and that it has been cut back to 5 episodes–hysteria about the quality of the show reached an all-time high. One final release date shift due to the ongoing strikes in Hollywood seemed like a final kick while the show was down but now fans can scratch a new date onto their calendars…for now.

    According to a listing at the US Copyright Catalog, Echo is now set for release on January 10, 2024. That date is consistent with a previous report from THR that indicated the series has been bumped out of 2023.

    Vincent D’Onfrio is set to appear as Kingpin in Echo, which will also feature a pair of Cox as Charlie Cox is also on board as Matt Murdock/Daredevil. The official synopsis for the series can be read in full below.

    Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) struggles to reconnect with her Native American roots while balancing aspirations tied to a life of crime as successor to the brutal legacy of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) aka Kingpin. In the first episode we are introduced to Maya Lopez and her struggles.

    Source: US Copyright Office

  • Mutant Movement! Marvel Studios Looking to Begin Development on Their ‘X-Men’ Reboot

    Mutant Movement! Marvel Studios Looking to Begin Development on Their ‘X-Men’ Reboot

    With the Writers Guild of America strike coming to an end, Marvel Studios wasted no time in getting the big wheel of development up and running again. According to Deadline, Kevin Feige and crew are set to begin meeting with writers this Fall in search of pitches for their reboot of the X-Men!

    According to the report, facing a major backlog of projects–both theatrical and streaming–Marvel Studios is set to take their time in finding the scribe for the project with a decision not expected until sometime in 2024. In days of old, that would mean the project might look to start filming in 2026 but with so much uncertainty around productions as the SAG strike continues and studio space at a premium, there’s been no certainty when the film might go into production much less make its way into theaters.

    It is widely rumored that Deadpool 3 and Avengers: Secret Wars will close permanently close the doors to the Fox X-Men franchise, allowing the MCU mutants to be the only game in town. A 2021 report from The Illuminerdi indicated that, in an attempt to set its reboot apart from those Fox films, Marvel Studios was looking to develop the project as The Mutants. Though the idea was roundly dismissed online, documents showing that title did circulate and it is a title that was tossed around by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the X-Men comic back in the early 1960s.

    While Hugh Jackman is set to suit up as Wolverine for an MCU adventure, the shared cinematic universe has already seen its first mutant in Kamala Khan and a Marvel Studios-produced revival of the popular X-Men: The Animated Series is set to debut in 2024. All signs point to a BIG future for mutants within the MCU!

    Source: Deadline

  • REVIEW: Reunion and Separation in the Midst of “Dreams and Madness”

    REVIEW: Reunion and Separation in the Midst of “Dreams and Madness”

    For every way that Ahsoka has felt very, very Star Wars-y, there continues to be the personal touch that creator Dave Filoni has always put on his work for Lucasfilm. And so, while Episode 7, “Dreams and Madness” has plenty of lightsaber fights, space scenes, a touching reunion between friends and even a cameo from everyone’s favorite protocol droid, it once again gives us something new to think about hope we see come to fruition at some point.

    There’s no questioning that Baylan Skoll, played magnificently by the late Ray Stevenson, has quickly ascended the hierarchy of very impressive characters created and curated by Filoni. In case you missed the declaration, he’s no Jedi but as we’ve learned through his relationship with his apprentice, Shin Hati, and their ongoing mission in the service of Morgan Elsbeth, he’s no Sith either. Skoll is rather a pretty damn enlightened Force user who saw the Jedi order for what it was: a wonderful idea that fell to pieces as the galaxy changed around it. Skoll wants something “more” and he has eaten a lot of shit from some pretty evil people in order to get to the far reaches of ANOTHER galaxy to find it and now, with whatever it is he seeks just outside of his reach, he imparts one last piece of wisdom to Shin and abruptly bails on Elsbeth and Grand Admiral Thrawn. For as long as we’ve seen the Master/Apprentice relationship in Star Wars (and if you’ve watched Filoni’s animated series, that’s a lot), we’ve NEVER seen something remotely similar to what Skoll just pulled here…and it is fascinating. Is he displeased with Shin? Has he taught her everything he thinks he can? Whatever this man wants on Peridea, it was worth losing everything to find.

    Balancing out the separation of Baylan and Hati is the reunion of Ahsoka with her apprentice, Sabine, and, of course, with Ezra. While it takes all of the episode’s run time to get there, Ahsoka’s warm embrace of Ezra feels incredibly authentic and wonderfully earned. It’s hard to remember sometimes that much of Star Wars has always centered around wonderful friendships and this warm and fuzzy moment reminds us just how important to their survival these friendships have been. Sooner or later, however, Ahsoka and Sabine are going to have to come clean with Ezra…

    Speaking of coming clean, with–as Thrawn points out–time working against the trio of heroes how long will it be before one of more of Ezra’s secrets will come to light. As fans of Rebels may remember, Ezra has quite an interesting history with Dathomiri folks and owes a debt to the Nightsisters. His being on their ancestral home of Peridea simply cannot be a coincidence. It’s possible, no matter how terrifying, that he and Baylan could be on a collision course and Ezra’s bill may just come due.

  • Chris Evans Says His Return to Marvel Will Be “No Time Soon”

    Chris Evans Says His Return to Marvel Will Be “No Time Soon”

    Chris Evans was once just as unsure about the idea of him becoming Captain America as fans who thought he was the wrong guy for the job. However, by the time Captain America: The Winter Soldier rolled out in 2014, it was obvious there really was no other guy better for the job and as he led the charge against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame he had earned the love and resect of fans and the right to finally say “Avengers…Assemble.” Like fellow Infinity Saga stars Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlet Johansson, Evans walked away from the MCU after Endgame; however, unlike those stars, Evans‘ Steve Rogers is still alive and well somewhere within the Marvel Universe leaving fans to wonder if he’ll ever return to action.

    Nearly three years ago, Deadline reported that Evans had in fact made a deal to return as Rogers in an unnamed project with an option to return for a second theatrical project. With Hollywood still catching up from COVID, Disney slowing Marvel Studios roll and a pair of long-lasting strikes, much of what Marvel Studios may have had planned has been hit with a series of delays so if Evans had planned a return to the MCU, there’s no telling just how far off that might be. Now, in an interview with GQ, Evans addresses the possibility of his return and gives an idea of when it might happen.

    “Yeah, maybe,” said Evans about his return to Marvel. “I’ll never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience. But I’m also very precious with it. It’s something that I am very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn’t connected to that original thing. So, no time soon. And ultimately I really hope to just maybe act a little bit less in my life. I have a lot of other interests.“

    Of course, “soon” is relative and with the mountain of delays Marvel is currently looking to overcome, it looks like no new projects would be on the slate for at least another year or more anyway which would put a new Evans-led project somewhere in 2025 or 2026 anyway. That would certainly feel like something other than “soon” for a character who is already 4 years removed from his last appearance. With an adaptation of Secret Wars set to conclude the Multiverse Saga for Marvel Studios, an appearance by Cap–or even Iron Man and Black Widow–is clearly not out of the question and would likely very much live up to those expectations Evans is referring to.

    Source: GQ

  • Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Holds On to #1 Spot in its Third Week

    Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Holds On to #1 Spot in its Third Week

    It looks like people have been enjoying the adventure toward the Grand Line, as the live-action One Piece series has remained the #1 most-watched show on Netflix for a third week in a row. The adventure series pulled in 10M views with around 75.5 M hours viewed. It was a close race with Virgin River, which is in its fifth season but still couldn’t dethrone the manga adaptation while Who is Erin Carter? remained in the top three.

    It looks like Netflix knew where the series was going and that is why they gave it a second season renewal early on; not common for the streaming service. The big fear was that the third week would see a massive drop after a slight increase in its second, but it held surprisingly strong with “only” a 48% drop. It still seems unlikely it’ll kick Queen Charlotte from the Top 10 spot but shows that if they keep a consistent release, the show has a good chance to grow over time.

    It’ll be interesting to see if the show manages to still hold strong. It’s facing some big competition going into its fourth week with Sex Education’s final season and a new season of Love is Blind. So, we’ll see if the series will hold on to the top three or if it manages to even still hold unto the second spot going into its fourth week. For now, we’ll just have to wait but it does continue to seem like word-of-mouth is strong and shows the potential for the series.

    Source: Netflix, The Wrap

  • Jamie Lee Curtis is Ready to Join Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Once Strike Ends

    Jamie Lee Curtis is Ready to Join Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Once Strike Ends

    Just as the live-action One Piece series was in its earliest stages, there was much fanfare for Jamie Lee Curtis to join the Netflix series potentially. Of course, at the time we had no idea if there even would be a second season or if it’d manage to make a big enough splash with audiences. The actress has been a long-time fan of the series and is friends with Chopper voice actress Brina Palencia.

    While she mentioned in interviews, that she’d love to play Robin, she knows that she might not fit that role anymore but has openly discussed playing Dr. Kureha. Chopper is her favorite character so the role just seems to make sense. As One Piece has now been renewed for a second season, the actress has gone out of her way to highlight that she is going to campaign for the role once actors and writers are paid what they are owed.

    Some eagle-eyed readers also noticed that Matt Owens, the co-showrunner for the first season, highlighted that she won’t “need to lobby” and they’ll discuss the role once everything has been wrapped up. So, it seems like Curtis is a definite casting addition if they can finally get AMPTP to pay everyone what they deserve. With scripts pretty much ready according to the show’s producer, it’s the only big hindrance keeping them from getting the ball rolling on the production.

    Source: Instagram