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  • New Hint at Possible ‘One Piece’s Netflix Release Date Surfaces

    New Hint at Possible ‘One Piece’s Netflix Release Date Surfaces

    We’re still anxiously waiting for an update on the live-action adaptation of One Piece that is heading to Netflix. Since the poster reveals in January, the project has been silent but that isn’t too uncommon in how Netflix promotes most of its projects. So, we only have a tease of the main cast’s costumes from behind. The biggest rumor, however, that followed was a hint at a late August release on the streaming platform for One Piece that still hasn’t been confirmed.

    Interestingly enough, a new article from the South African newspaper, The Saturday Star, features an interview with Nojiko actress Chioma Antoinette Umeala. As shared by the actress on her personal Instagram account, the article seemingly adds to the fact that the series might be getting an August release with the following statement.

    She also appears as Nojiko in One Piece, a live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s beloved manga story, to be released on Netflix in August.

    Keep in mind, this is still not an official confirmation that the series will release in August. Netflix has yet to release any specific time and they commonly won’t do so until around two months before a series’ release. There’s a good chance that they simply took the recent rumor as confirmed and added it to the article. It’s not the first time something like this has happened but there’s always a chance some information was accidentally shared in the process. So, we’ll just have to wait for that official confirmation and if they really release it in August, we might find out in June.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Cast Reunites for Netflix Anime Series

    ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Cast Reunites for Netflix Anime Series

    The cast of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is reuniting for Netflix’s anime series of the same name, lending their voices to their characters. The series features Michael Cera, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, and eleven original cast members.

    Bryan Lee O’Malley is joining forces with BenDavid Grabinski to write and executive produce the project. “We can’t wait for fans and newcomers alike to see what our partners at Science SARU and we have been cooking up,” O’Malley said in a statement given to Variety, adding “It’s going to be a wild ride.” Edgar Wright, the film’s director, co-writer, and producer, is also adding his name to the executive producer list.

    Scott Pilgrim vs. The World follows Scott, a struggling musician in Toronto, Canada who has his sights on landing a record deal but falls in love with a girl with insanely evil ex-partners. A release date for the project is pending.

    Source: Variety

  • Oscar Winner Jamie Lee Curtis Campaigns for ‘One Piece’ Role

    Oscar Winner Jamie Lee Curtis Campaigns for ‘One Piece’ Role

    We’re still anxiously awaiting any news on when we can finally see Matt Owens and Steven Maeda‘s attempt at bringing Eiiichiro Oda‘s iconic One Piece series into live-action. The passionate team behind the project makes this an anime adaptation that should not be missed out on with the potential to break the ongoing curse of adopting the medium.

    Even though we haven’t even seen the first season, there are already some talks about who else could take on an iconic role further down the line. One of the biggest fan castings was of long-time One Piece fan Jamie Lee Curtis getting a chance to play Dr. Kureha. Even her daughter, Ruby Guest, said she’d be interested as Chopper is her favorite Straw Hat and now it seems the recent Oscar winner isn’t wasting any time to get cast.

    Curtis took to her personal Twitter account to seemingly start campaigning for the role with the hashtag #CurtisforKureha. She even added an image of the character with her face on it, which highlights just how great this potential casting would be for the series, and an opportunity to have an Oscar winner of all people join this high-profile Netflix series.

    https://twitter.com/jamieleecurtis/status/1641909128640757761

    Emily Rudd, who plays Nami in the live-action adaptation, even took to Twitter further push that she should be cast in the project. So far non of the showrunners have reacted but they’ll be keeping their eyes on the actress once they know they can move forward with a second season, which would feature the character. We already have hints that they started work on a second season in case of renewal by Netflix. So, here’s hoping the series pulls in those record-breaking numbers that the streaming service is looking for.

    Source: Twitter

  • Atlus Teasing “Exciting News” for ‘Persona’ Fans in Upcoming Livestream

    Atlus Teasing “Exciting News” for ‘Persona’ Fans in Upcoming Livestream

    There’s something funny about how Atlus loves using Persona concerts to announce projects. The thing is, there’s now a live stream announcement for the Blu-Ray release of the Persona Super Live performance, and also hinted at “exciting news” for the franchise to arrive during the broadcast. It’s a way to get people to check it out on April 9th but it raises the question of what exactly they might mean.

    Now, to temper expectations that are likely going to flare up as we’ve been desperate for any news on the rumored Persona 3 Remake and especially Persona 6. The 25th Anniversary also teased something one could describe as exciting going by early teases, but we ended up getting a bunch of merchandise as part of the announcements.

    Yes, we did get the remasters of Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax but they didn’t quite give us a hint at the future. Maybe this Blu-Ray release is a way to balance that out and add some big news at the tail-end of the showcase. It’s also their way of establishing their own little Nintendo Direct equivalent but we should not expect anything big for now.

    Source: GameRant, Persona Central

  • Disney Finds its Lilo for the Live-Action ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Adaptation

    Disney Finds its Lilo for the Live-Action ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Adaptation

    So far, we only knew that Zach Galifianakis has joined the upcoming live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, but it seems they have finally found one of their leads. Newcomer Maia Kealoha has been cast in the role that’ll bring the 2002 version to a new generation with director Dean Fleischer Camp of Marcel the Shell With Shoes On fame. The script is based on work by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright.

    The news was first reported by Knight Edge Media and is now confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. The story seemingly is set to stay quite true to the original adaptation, which saw the story of an alien experiment make his way to Earth and ending up as the adoptive dog of a local Hawaiian girl named Lilo. Their bond is what defines the heart of the story in addition to the beauty of Hawaii adding that additional charm.

    It’ll be interesting to see who might give Stitch his iconic voice. Chris Sanders played the character in the original film and given he’ll very likely be a fully CG character, he could potentially return to the role. Though, they might also find an A-list celebrity to bring the character to life. Perhaps Chris Pratt wants to nab one more voice-acting gig after The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the upcoming Garfield movie.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Knight Edge Media

  • Simu Liu Talks Potential ‘Shang-Chi’ Sequel

    Simu Liu Talks Potential ‘Shang-Chi’ Sequel

    We’re still waiting for the official confirmation that Shang-Chi‘s sequel is on the horizon. Outside of quite a few rumors, Marvel Studios has been surprisingly shy about announcing one even as the first entry was quite the critical darling. It also was the first sign of strong legs for the studio that it hasn’t quite enjoyed since the pandemic recovered.

    Still, the film’s star Simu Liu has shared his thoughts on what it means to tackle a sequel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially after introducing the world to this unique corner of the universe. He also highlights that he hopes they can “still afford Michelle Yeoh” after her major Oscar win for Everything Everywhere all at Once.

    Going into a sequel feels exciting. It doesn’t necessarily feel like there’s a pressure to perform or a pressure to exceed. It feels like we’ve established a world and there’s just something really nostalgic and exciting about returning to that world that we’ve spent so much time ideating on and thinking about. And then, we’re getting to revisit some things, but also show the viewer new things. We’ll deliver all of the amazing action that we were celebrated for on the first movie, but then also hopefully explore new sides of Shaun’s character and the characters around him. That is, of course, if we can still afford Michelle Yeoh. She’s on top of the world and just the queen of everything.

    Simu Liu

    It’s strange to think how much time has passed since the film was released in theaters. There was something special about this kung fu-inspired project, and here’s hoping we get quite a few more. There’s also the rumor of a potential 10 Rings Disney+ spinoff they might be working on. So, we’ll see if we get more out of the Shang-Chi corner of the MCU.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Director Reveals How They Got [SPOILER] to Cameo

    ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Director Reveals How They Got [SPOILER] to Cameo

    The following article contains a major spoiler for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. So, only continue at your own risk if you haven’t watched the film.

    Dungeons & Dragons is a very self-contained story with an already stacked cast including Hugh Grant, Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and more. Yet, there’s a fun little cameo in the middle of the film that further explores Rodriguez‘ character of Holga Kilgore. We learn that she gave up everything for her love but not being able to let go would push them further apart.

    The funniest part, the cameo of her tiny lover was nonother than Bradley Cooper. It’s a very out-of-nowhere cameo that is perfect and it’s funny how Cooper keeps playing small characters in big-budget releases. Especially as we’ll see him return as Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in just a few more weeks.

    So, the question on everyone’s mind might be how they managed to get this A-list character to join the production. Well, it turns out that director John Francis Daley. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Daley reveals he sent him an unfinished film to convince him to join.

    Well, I co-starred with Bradley [Cooper] on the show KitchenConfidential when I was 19 years old, and we appreciated each other’s careers from afar after that experience. And so when this opportunity came up, we knew we wanted someone to inhabit the role that brought with it this sense of gravitas and just full-on acting chops. So I don’t remember who it was that pitched Bradley, but the second I heard the name, I thought, “Oh, let’s go for it.” So we sent him a copy of the unfinished film and he loved it. So he was ready to jump on board, and it was such an awesome day.

    John Francis Daley

    It was a great little surprise to see him in this tiny role. not only was it one of the funniest jokes in the film seeing Olga’s preference for men but having Cooper‘s sincerity in the role gave us one of the most heartfelt moments in the film.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Matt Shakman’s ‘Fantastic Four’ Adds ‘Avatar 2’ Writer

    Matt Shakman’s ‘Fantastic Four’ Adds ‘Avatar 2’ Writer

    Josh Friedman of Avatar: The Way of Water and Snowpiercer fame has found his next project, and it’s quite the big one. It seems he is joining the upcoming Fantastic Four film that’ll be the first arrival of Marvel’s first family in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He’ll join director Matt Shakman in what may be one of their most ambitious projects yet.

    It’s a big get for the studio given he was part of one of the biggest releases in 2022. Previously, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were attached to write. Friedman joining may be a hint that they are moving further away from the pure comedic direction the project may have had given their involvement with various comedies. Friedman is more serious in tone with his tone and, bigger yet, a huge sci-fi veteran.

    He was involved with Steven Spielberg‘s War of the Worlds, created the Terminator spinoff series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and more. Given the announcement dropped now, he has likely been involved with the project for a few months now. We also recently found out that Thunderbolts also added a new writer in Beef‘s Lee Sung Jin. Some may not remember but this is very much a pre-pandemic Marvel movie. Outside of a handful of writers, they had a variety of people work on the scripts before releasing a film. So, perhaps something for the “quality over quantity ” crowd.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ Rolls the Dice to Take Down ‘John Wick 4’

    ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ Rolls the Dice to Take Down ‘John Wick 4’

    This weekend will see an interesting battle between fantasy and gun-fu, as Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is rolling out in theaters worldwide. After pulling in a good $5.6M in previews at the domestic box office, the film is trying its luck on potentially dethroning last weekend’s big hit, John Wick Chapter 4. As of now, the film is eyeing an opening between $30M to potentially $40M but tomorrow’s numbers will give us a clearer picture.

    John Wick 4 is heading towards a stronghold in its sophomore weekend with around $36M expected. Though given its popularity it might even go higher as well. The only issue for Dungeons & Dragons lies in the fact that it has quite a steep $150M production window. So, it will have to bank on good word-of-mouth to keep it going as the summer box office is just around the corner with quite a line-up.

    March generally has been a strong month with some break-out releases on small to medium budgets like Creed 3, Scream 6, and John Wick 4. While Shazam Fury of the Gods floundered and didn’t even have a big opening like Ant-Man 3, it’s great to see some strong showings after the pandemic years making many wonder what the future holds for theatrical experiences.

    If the Chris Pine project manages to pull in some strong word-of-mouth and heads to the $40M opening, it might have a chance to balance its softer opening throughout the coming weeks. But, interestingly, it’s not too different from Shazam: Fury of the Gods which had a smaller budget of $100M but opened to $30M. Perhaps it’s not quite superhero fatigue but blockbuster fatigue in the off-season.

    Source: Variety

  • Ed Harris Reportedly Joins Marvel Studios ‘Wonder Man’

    Ed Harris Reportedly Joins Marvel Studios ‘Wonder Man’

    Marvel Studios streaming series Wonder Man, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, is gearing up for production and continues to add to its already stellar cast. Demetrius Grosse was recently confirmed to have joined the series as Eric Williams, the brother of Abdul-Mateen‘s Simon and the villain known as the Grim Reaper, but it’s been known for some time now that Wonder Man will feature another villain. In late 2022, rumors swirled that Bob Odenkirk was offered the role of Simon’s agent, a role that was later revealed to be the primary antagonist of the project. Unfortunately, Odenkirk and Marvel Studios didn’t strike a deal but they did find a very capable replacement.

    According to YouTube personality Jeff Snieder, Westworld’s Man in Black, Ed Harris, has joined Wonder Man as Simon’s agent, Neal Saroyan. Murphy’s Multiverse first posited that Neal Saroyan was the identity of the character and the villain of the piece shortly after Odenkirk’s name was circulated in association with the project.

    The 72-year-old Harris is one of Hollywood’s most well-respected method actors and capable of turning any role into a memorable one. Harris has played memorable villains in The Rock, Enemy at the Gates, The Truman Show and National Treasure: Book of Secrets as well as a chilling performance in A History of Violence. He’ll certainly bring something special to the role, though it looks as though it will be quite some time before audiences get to see exactly what that is. Marvel Studios has dramatically slowed the streaming pipeline and Wonder Man isn’t expected to stream until late 2024 at the earliest.

    Source: YouTube