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  • ‘One Piece’ Showrunner Reveals How He Pitched the Live-Action Show

    ‘One Piece’ Showrunner Reveals How He Pitched the Live-Action Show

    One Piece is celebrating its 25th anniversary in a big way. We’ve finally wrapped up the Wano arc and have entered the “final saga.” That isn’t all, as showrunners Steven Maeda and Matt Owens have also been actively working on a live-action adaptation of the long-running manga series by Eiichiro Oda. With live-action anime adaptations rarely hitting the mark, there’s the question if a cartoony series like One Piece could be adapted.

    It seems that Owens shared that concern when he pitched to Tomorrow Studios, who hold the rights to the franchise. In an interview with influencer Nux Taku, they watched failed adaptations in the past, where he also shared his initial pitch for the project. He shares that he wanted to make sure if anyone screwed up adapting One Piece, he wanted to make sure it was at least someone who loved the original.

    The thing that got me this job was when I first met with Tomorrow Studios when they had the rights, I said to them in my first meeting: “I don’t know if this can be done, but I also know if this is going to get fucked up, I have to be the one to try and fuck it up. Cause you’re not going to meet anybody in this industry that knows or loves One Piece more than me. That was the pitch that I made.

    Matt Owens

    He also highlights the challenge of adapting anime, such as how Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop leaned too heavily into Ed’s out-there personality that doesn’t translate effectively into live-action. Even long before production started, Owens has been quite active within the One Piece community to share his views on the best way to adapt it, and we also recently learned that Oda is heavily involved to ensure the spirit of the original remains alive in this adaptation. The more we hear about this project, the more one can believe they’ll truly pull it off this time around. The only thing missing is some actual footage to go along with it.

    Source: YouTube

  • Kang the Conqueror is Trapped in the Quantum Realm

    Kang the Conqueror is Trapped in the Quantum Realm

    Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is only a few months away, as it introduces us officially to our next major threat to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kang the Conqueror. Jonathan Majors is taking on the iconic role after a brief introduction of his Variant in Loki, whose death leads to unlocking the many others from across the multiverse that has been kept hidden through the TVA’s ventures. While we don’t know if this is the same version we were teased by the Disney+ series’s final moments, a new article from Empire Magazine reveals how Kang ended up in the Quantum Realm.

    As it turns out, he is not there on purpose but is trapped. There are no details offered on what may have ended up leading to him getting stuck in the sub-atomic realm, but it does open up a rather interesting question. Perhaps an Ant-Man from across the multiverse is the cause of it, or his time in the Quantum Realm is what lead to his ability to time travel. The events from Avengers: Endgame could also be at play here, or with multiple Variants out there, a different version of himself may have led to it.

    We do see in the trailer that he made this place his home, and has seemingly built up an army. He also hints during the D23 footage that he’s actually killed an Avenger in the past. Perhaps this version of Kang has already defeated all the heroes that opposed him and they may have pushed him into this realm as a last-ditch effort. Whatever he may have planned for Ant-Man could also be a way to help him to find a way out.

    Source: Empire

  • ‘Quantumania’ Director Reveals Why Ant-Man and the Wasp are Facing Kang the Conqueror

    ‘Quantumania’ Director Reveals Why Ant-Man and the Wasp are Facing Kang the Conqueror

    When the announcement dropped that Jonathan Majors would play Kang the Conqueror in the Ant-Man and the Wasp sequel, many were a bit perplexed about why his first true arrival would be against that specific Marvel hero. It seemingly created the vision of an instant loss for the character, though the more we see of the project it seems like it won’t be as straightforward as one might expect. Still, the main antagonist of the Multiverse Saga as part of the third entry in the franchise the internet loves to call “filler” may have become one of the most important entries.

    Surprisingly, it seems that Quantumania‘s director Peyton Reed had the very same idea, as he had some joy in visiting this idea of the “weakest Avenger” taking on this villain that is more than just your typical villain but rather what he views as an “absolute force of nature.”

    That’s interesting to me: to take the tiniest, and in some people’s minds weakest Avenger, and put them up against this absolute force of nature.

    Peyton Reed

    With the reveal that the character is also trapped in the Quantum Realm, perhaps he could use Ant-Man’s unique ability to find a way to escape. It would definitely make him an antagonist but not the main threat to the character. It seems obvious that no one would take him on directly, but with the confirmation of MODOK as part of the film, we may see our favorite group of ant-themed heroes stuck between two sides vying to conquer the Quantum Realm.

    Source: Empire

  • ‘Strange World’ Scores Disney Animation’s Worst CinemaScore

    ‘Strange World’ Scores Disney Animation’s Worst CinemaScore

    Here’s a shocker, the latest animated film by Disney Animation, Strange World, has seemingly gotten a B CinemaScore from the general audience. For those that may not know, CinemaScore is an analysis conducted based on cinema-goers after watching a film. It’s a rather rough showcase of overall interest in film but mostly is used to get a feeling for how a film will perform at the box office. Disney Animation has been very consistent and always got at least an A-. So, this marks the first time ever that a Disney Animation film got a B score.

    https://twitter.com/CinemaScore/status/1595766105012056065

    What makes this interesting is that Strange World has barely been advertised for a Thanksgiving release. With weaker word-of-mouth, keep in mind that this scoring is very frontloaded, it’ll hurt the film even more considering it pulled ina rather disappointing $800K in its opening previews. It looks like the high-budget film will only make around $40M or less over the Thanksgiving holiday. While the animation isn’t always the biggest box office draw, it’s still not a good sign for a production that cost $180M.

    Earlier this year, we’ve seen a similar issue with Lightyear, Pixar’s latest release that was seemingly struggling at the box office. Though, outside of two productions, most films were underperforming throughout the year as we’re still seeing the ripples from the pandemic on the market. Yet, as animation has seemingly not gained any momentum over the weekend, Minions: The Rise of Gru, one of the two productions mentioned previously, has pulled in $937.8M.

    Source: Twitter, Variety

  • Warwick Davis On How ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Helped ‘Willow’ Become Reality

    Warwick Davis On How ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Helped ‘Willow’ Become Reality

    2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story didn’t truly land with audiences or critics. More than that, it seems to have inspired Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy’s decision not to recast iconic roles. Having done so unsuccessfully with one of Harrison Ford’s most iconic roles, Kennedy refuses to do it again even as Ford’s last adventure as Indiana Jones prepares to hit theaters, choosing to create an Indy-adjacent streaming series for Disney Plus rather than misfire on another recast. However, not all the takeaways from Solo were negative; in fact, it turns out that some behind-the-scenes conversations during its production were the genesis of the Disney Plus streaming series Willow.

    During the global press conference for the upcoming series, star Warwick Davis, who first starred as Willow Ufgood when he was 17 years old, shared his belief that despite many attempts to get a follow-up to the 1988 movie off the ground, it would never happen. “For years it’s been talked about, not by anyone official but by the fans“, said Davis. “They’ve constantly pestered me“, he continued, “saying ‘when are we going to see a sequel to that movie?’ And it’s a question that I could never answer.”

    A question, Davis says, he wasn’t able to answer until fate intervened. A Willow sequel seemed impossible for the star “Until I met Jon Kasdan“, said Davis of the writer and executive producer of the Willow streaming series. It turns out Kasdan, the son of frequent Lucasfilm collaborator Lawrence Kasdan who also worked on the script for Solo. As it turned out, Kasdan the younger was a fan of the Willow film as a kid and, according to Davis, joined him in feeling the time was right for a sequel series.

    We decided that there should indeed be more ‘Willow,’ and so that was the catalyst for this project to happen, really, and it happened very quickly in Hollywood terms. You know, it wasn’t years and years of development, before I knew it I was sat on set, in Wales for the very first day of filming. Once again looking just like ‘Willow, but a slightly older, more mature, better-looking version. Sexier.

    Warwick Davis

    Of course, it didn’t hurt the chances of a follow-up happening that the conversations about it happened on the set of Solo, where Ron Howard, who directed Willow, was helming the Star Wars origin story. According to Kasdan, the three of them formed a triumvirate that believed there was more story to tell.

    There was the impulse certainly between Ron and Warwick and myself to continue this story, and return to this world. And I came at it as a fan, and they came at it both as the creators, and they found a champion in me, and I kept fighting and sort of hoping that we’d get a chance to go back here, and my ace was always that Warwick would be back and that he would look so attractive and America would – and the world – would really fall on their knees. I think everyone got that, and everyone appreciated that, that there was something really special in the opportunity to bring this character back to the screen.

    Jon Kasdan

    Fans of the original film will have a chance to decide for themselves how necessary the sequel series is when Willow streams on Disney Plus beginning November 30th.

  • ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Writer Still Hopes for a Sequel

    ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Writer Still Hopes for a Sequel

    Star Wars has grown quite a bit since its purchase by Disney. They started off with a new trilogy that further explored the aftermath of the original, tested out some unique spinoffs, and went on to establish a variety of TV series on Diseny+. At the moment, Andor has been dominating the Internet with a prequel series to Rogue One, but it’s not the only prequel entry with the protagonist’s name in the title.

    Back in 2018, we had the first prequel film that featured Alden Ehrenreich in the leading role of a younger Han Solo. Sadly, the film wasn’t quite the box office draw that many hoped it would be, but it still told an interesting story and has a set up that still hasn’t seen a payoff to this day. It seems writer Jon Kasdan agrees, as he’d love to return and tackle a sequel even after all this time.

    The reason for a Solo 2 is if there’s a great reason and certainly I’d be game if there was…there were so many great characters we were able to establish, and for me, the strongest argument for a Solo 2 is the movie was Alden’s journey to owning that mantle, and by the end of it I thought he really did, and he didn’t get the fun of getting to just inhabit it for a movie, so I’d love to see him back.

    Jon Kasdan

    Any project tackling one of the original trilogy’s main casts was going to face an upward battle. Ehrenreich‘s recasting was an inspired and fitting choice, but the controversy surrounding it led to Lucasfilm preferring to digitally de-age its actors, such as Mark Hamill reprising his role as Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian. For now, we’ll have to wait if they might decide to tackle a sequel at some point, or at least pick up where the film left off.

    Source: YouTube via ComicBook.com

  • ‘John Wick’ Director Teases What to Expect in the Latest Franchise Entry

    ‘John Wick’ Director Teases What to Expect in the Latest Franchise Entry

    John Wick is set to return for a fourth entry and it continues to be one of the most exciting franchises hitting cinemas. While superheroes and the usual blockbusters have taken the medium by storm, there’s something refreshing about a revenge story continuing to unfold through the eyes of Keanu Reeves‘ John Wick. Even in a grounded world, he is facing ever bigger challenges. Luckily, director Chad Stahelski offered a tease of what’s to come in the upcoming fourth entry and it already sounds insane.

    If you took The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, crossed it with Zatoichi, and threw in a Greek myth, you’d probably get something close to this. And who else fucking says those kinds of sentences? Now you know why I like doing John Wicks.

    Chad Stahelski

    Zatoichi is definitely a curious tease and might mean we’ll see a lot more samurai action throughout the entry. Samurai showdowns aren’t truly new to the franchise, but with the addition of Hiroyuki Sanada it does seem like we’ll get some more stunning action sequences inspired by it. We know very little about his character, but a blind samurai would be quite an interesting opponent for Wick to tackle.

    The tease of Greek myth is also quite a curious addition to that list. One of the franchise’s biggest assets is the unique world-building it uses to make its world and The Continental stand out. So, perhaps we’ll explore more corners of this assassin-filled world and find out what exactly is funding all these hits.

    Source: Empire

  • ‘Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’ is Nintendo’s Biggest Worldwide Launch Ever

    ‘Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’ is Nintendo’s Biggest Worldwide Launch Ever

    It seems people are still just as crazy about Pokémon as ever, as the latest two entries Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have now sold over 10 million units worldwide within just three days. 4.05 million units were sold in Japan alone. As such, this marks the biggest launch ever for a Nintendo console release and a continued showcase of just how big this franchise remains to this day. It’s a testament to just how big this franchise is and why it has such a memorable place on the Nintendo console to this day.

    The new open-world concept introduced in Legends Arceus has become the new staple of this mainline entry in the franchise. It even includes multiplayer modes such as four players interacting with each other, which likely played a big role in its growing numbers. Of course, Pokémon is one of the few franchises that still forces a dual release on gamers, as you have to decide between one of the two versions that offer some unique differences. The game combines elements from the spinoff with the mainline games, but there’s also been quite some controversy surrounding the title.

    The game has been facing some performance issues with many sharing their frustration online. Plus, the game has been described as rushed by many given how barebones the game seems to be while facing countless glitches. With such high sales numbers, it’s hard to see developer Game Freak not continuing their three-year release plan moving forward but perhaps having found a new system could push them to build upon it moving forward. Of course,

    Source: Business Wire

  • Den Den Murphy Episode 27 – Post-Wano & Egghead Arc

    Den Den Murphy Episode 27 – Post-Wano & Egghead Arc

    Suki and Joe return to catch up on what they missed from the manga, as they not only discuss the Post-Wano chapters but also jump straight into the Egghead Arc with the tease of many more secrets set to be revealed in the world of One Piece.

  • ‘Andor’ Showrunner Teases a Fan-Favorites Arrival in Season 2

    ‘Andor’ Showrunner Teases a Fan-Favorites Arrival in Season 2

    While many downplayed a prequel series to Rogue One‘s Cassian Andor, the Disney+ series has quickly become a fan-favorite. Unlike the previous series on the streaming platform, it feels the most detached from the weight of Star Wars legacy. We did see some familiar faces, but they don’t overstay their welcome in a series that doesn’t hide away from the darkest aspects of the Empire’s rule.

    Diego Luna’s return as Andor gave the series a familiar face while telling a very detached story from the original film, but the upcoming second season will start introducing some familiar elements. The biggest hope for Rogue One was the arrival of the fan-favorite droid K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk, and in an interview with Collider, showrunner Tony Gilroy seemingly hints that the character will finally join.

    Well, I think that’s one of the responsibilities of Part 2. Obviously, if we’re going to walk into Rogue, we have to deal with that.

    Tony Gilroy

    It’s ironic that when the show was initially announced, it seemed like K-2SO would feature in the series before suddenly Tudyk confirmed he wasn’t involved with the production. Seeing how the show tackled the Empire from the eyes of Andor, it does make sense that wanting to give him a more personal story it might’ve been too early to introduce the character. Keeping him for the second season opens up more potential, especially in how it established Andor’s overall view of the Empire. So an Empire droid ending up on his side might take the reluctant Rebel on a wild ride.

    Source: Collider