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  • ‘Ironheart:’ Cree Summer Joins, More on Sacha Baron Cohen

    ‘Ironheart:’ Cree Summer Joins, More on Sacha Baron Cohen

    As production on Ironheart looks to move production from Georgia to Chicago, the Disney+ series has added yet another cast member. Deadline has announced that Cree Summer has joined the series in an unspecified role.

    Summer is perhaps known for her voice work. She has voiced characters in shows like The Proud Family, Rugrats, Danny Phantom, Friday: The Animated Series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, and Teen Titans Go! She’s next set to appear in Star Wars: Detours and The Magician’s Elephant.

    The outlet also commented more on Sacha Baron Cohen‘s role in the series. Per Deadline, Cohen is thought to be appearing later in the series. The outlet believes Cohen’s mysterious character, thought to be Mephisto, will appear in episodes five and six, specifically. They also revealed the actor has shot in-person scenes and undergone CGI scans for his role.

    Ironheart, which consists of six-episodes, hails from head writer Chinaka Hodge and stars Dominique Thorne as Marvel character Riri Williams. Olayiwola joins a cast that includes Anthony Ramos, Shakira Barrera, Manny Montana, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Shea Couleé, and Zoe Terakes. Sam Bailey (Dear White People) and Angela Barnes (Atlanta) are directing the forthcoming Disney+ series. As of now, the series has no release date.

    Source: Deadline.

  • ‘Nancy Drew:’ The CW Series to End with Season 4

    ‘Nancy Drew:’ The CW Series to End with Season 4

    On Wednesday, The CW announced that Nancy Drew would end with its fourth season. The series, which stars Kennedy McMann in the titular role, will end following its upcoming fourth season. The news, of course, isn’t entirely surprising as the network was recently purchased by Nexstar. Production on Season 4 is currently underway, and the cast and crew were informed of the cancellation on Wednesday.

    In a statement to the press, showrunners Noga Landau and Melinda Hsu commented on the show’s cancellation. The duo explains that they’re glad to have brought this story to life, and to be given the chance to end it intentionally and with kindness. “We are so honored and proud to have brought Nancy Drew’s iconic determination, individuality and resilience to life in a years-long collaboration with incredible creative talents in front of the camera, behind the scenes and among our studio and network partners,” they said. “Our hearts are full of gratitude, knowing that we are able to bring this chapter to a close with intentionality, inclusivity and kindness — and of course with plenty of sleuthing twists, supernatural scares and star-crossed romance along the way. We are especially indebted to our wonderful fan community, whose connection with our themes and stories has meant the world to us. Season four will be a worthy and resonant payoff for their continued love and support.”

    The show’s cancellation comes after The CW canceled its spinoff series, Tom Swift, over the summer. That series ended its run with a single season after failing to draw in viewers. Reports suggested the first five episodes of that series had pulled in a measly 0.1 in the all-important 18-49 demographic. While the season 3 finale of Nancy Drew pulled in 0.08 in the same demographic. Neither are impressive, but Nancy Drew was pretty inline with most other CW titles.

    Leading lady McMann thanked the fans for their support, expressing her thankfulness at bringing a character like Nancy Drew to life. “Thank you, thank you, thank you for every ounce of passion and kindness you have shared with me and with each other.”

    As of right now, Nancy Drew does not yet have a release date for Season 4.

    Source: THR.

  • ‘House of the Dragon’-Episode 10 Recap

    ‘House of the Dragon’-Episode 10 Recap

    After seeing how the Greens reacted upon learning of King Viserys’s death, acting on long-laid plans and instilling his son Aegon II as king, over Rhaenyra, Episode 10 took the story to Dragonstone.

    The Black Council

    The episode opened with Rhaenys serving as the bearer of bad news. Not only is Viserys dead, but Aegon had been named king in front of all of King’s Landing. Daemon point blank asked Rhaenys why she didn’t roast them alive when provided with the opportunity in the previous episode. Rhaenys said it wasn’t her war to start, which makes sense, but come on! They were right there!

    The shocking news of her father’s death sent Rhaenyra into labor with her third child with Daemon. She wasn’t due for months, and sadly lost the baby. While this wasn’t the final straw for her to declare war on her childhood best friend and half-siblings, it was just another thing to blame on the Greens.

    Rhaenyra was very restrained in the war council, asking if it’s her duty to hold the realm together, or to tear apart the country to get to her throne. This moved Rhaenys, and in turn garnered both her and Corlys’s support and fleet, providing one of many lords and armies she’ll need to take the Iron Throne.

    Daemon

    Our warmongering rogue prince got up to his usual shenanigans. He’s eager to show Westeros who is the rightful heir to the throne, and he is willing to use dragons to do so. Damon addressed the many dragons that are still unclaimed and stated that the Blacks needed to find riders for them. Even with Vhagar’s sheer size, the Blacks having 13 dragons vs the Greens having 4 would make this war short-lived. But we see later in this episode what a dragon can do to another dragon. Is it worth the cost?

    A much-talked-about scene from the episode saw Daemon grab Rhaenyra by the throat and choke her. What forced this? We haven’t seen violence like this between Daemon and Rhaenyra, but he does have a history of murdering his wives. Well, turns out that even though Daemon was the heir before Rhaenyra was confirmed, he didn’t get all of the privileges that a Targaryen heir gets. He had no idea about Aegon the Conqueror’s vision, which is The Song of Ice and Fire (what the entire series is based on) when Rhaenyra brought it up. There’s a very good quote from Emma D’arcy, the actor that plays Rhaenyra, that might help explain the scene. “On the one hand, he can say that he doesn’t believe in prophecies. But he was never trusted to anyway.”

    This revelation that he was never really considered as the heir sent him off to try and bring out some of the unclaimed dragons, and we see him singing to Vermithor, the dragon to King Jaehaerys, who ruled before Viserys. Expect to see a lot more of these unclaimed dragons in Season 2.

    Storm’s End

    Having read Fire and Blood, I knew that this scene was coming, and I knew that the show had to nail this sequence. Aegon being crowned isn’t the catalyst that drove the realm into war. A woman being named heir over a male isn’t the catalyst. It is simply a young man with a vendetta and a nuclear weapon at his disposal that he can’t control.

    To set the scene, Rhaenyra was seeking to confirm who her allies are. By sending Jace north to the Vale, White Harbor, and Winterfell, as well as Luke being sent to Storm’s End, it sent a stronger message than just sending a raven. But when Luke gets to Storm’s End to treat with Borros Baratheon (who was chosen to lead, not to read), he finds Vhagar causing a ruckus outside, and Aemond the anime warrior with the sapphire eye already there. Luke was spurned by Baratheon and turned to leave to go back to Dragonstone. Aemond demanded justice, however, telling Luke to cut out his own eye and he’d let bygones be bygones. Borros stopped things and let Luke go. But he also let Aemond go.

    If you’re reading this, you saw the dragon fight, if you want to call it that. Vhagar is at least 5 times the size of Arrax, and it was not much of a battle so much a light snack for the oldest dragon in Westeros. But it also proved to be a major deviation from the book, and it might have some effects on the main series, Game of Thrones. Both Arrax and Vhagar disobeyed their riders, with Arrax shooting flame at Vhagar, and Vhagar going after him and killing both Luke and Arrax. With both Aemond and Luke repeatedly screaming for their dragons to stop and obey, it recalls a warning given by Viserys throughout this season that dragons are something that the Targaryens trust in too much, being that they are still uncontrollable wild animals at their heart. That came to life here. Aemond meant to just intimidate his nephew, and instead he started a civil war that will tear apart the Seven Kingdoms.

    Things to Come

    With the dragons acting on their own will in the ending sequence, I hinted that this may have further effects on Game of Thrones, in particular, when Dany burns King’s Landing to the ground. Could House of the Dragon possibly be trying to retcon this action, by placing the blame on Drogon instead of Daenerys? Something to think about.

    In Season 2, we’ll be seeing the Vale again, as well as Winterfell, where Jace will be traveling. We’ll also finally see Daeron, the third son of Viserys and Alicent, who has been in Oldtown for all of this season, along with his dragon Tessarion. He’ll have a large part to play in the coming war. Exciting things to come, and it was a great start to the show.

  • First Reactions to ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Hit Social Media

    First Reactions to ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Hit Social Media

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to premiere worldwide earlier next month but select members of the press have now been able to experience the highly anticipated Black Panther sequel and are making their thoughts known. With the social media embargo lifted, here are some of the early reactions to, what seems to be, another Ryan Coogler masterpiece:

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuts in theaters November 11th.

  • Kevin Feige Teases Marvel Studios ‘Young Avengers’

    Kevin Feige Teases Marvel Studios ‘Young Avengers’

    Marvel Studios Phase 4 has seen the introduction of Billy and Tommy Maximoff, Elijah Bradley, Kate Bishop and America Chavez. Those characters join Cassie Lang as members of the comic book team knowns as the Young Avengers who are currently making their respective ways through the MCU. With fans now familiar with the members of the core team, it seems just a matter of time before they find themselves assembling and avenging. At last night’s premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Studios One-Above-All Kevin Feige was asked what he could say about the potential future for the Young Avengers.

    I think people pick up what we’re putting down, sometimes, and we take our cues from the comics. And yes, introducing as many characters as we can from the comics is what I’ve spent the last 22 years doing and those are among the many that we’ve introduced.

    Kevin Feige

    It’s no secret that Marvel Studios was looking to develop a Young Avengers project not too long ago. As the Multiverse Saga goes on, it’s not clear if that project will be part of Phase 6, which now looks to begin in 2025 with Fantastic Four, or if their first team-up might take place in another live-action project. But given Feige’s response, it feels like fans should feel good about the chances of seeing them together sooner rather than later.

  • Kevin Feige Responds to Questions About the X-Men’s MCU Debut

    Kevin Feige Responds to Questions About the X-Men’s MCU Debut

    The mutants are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe…in fact, some are already here. Ms. Marvel made a major change to Kamala Khan’s origins and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which premiered last night in Hollywood, introduced Namor, often known in the comics as The First Mutant, even though that’s a wildly misleading misnomer. But the question that everyone wants answered, including She-Hulk, is when are the X-Men going to join the fray.

    Marvel Studios One-Above-All Kevin Feige was asked that very question at the Purple Carpet Premiere of Wakanda Forever and gave an answer all too familiar to this reporter: “No answer.“

    Feige did go on to give a little more information about the potential future of mutants in the MCU saying, “Deadpool and Wolverine…we’re getting close” in reference to the news that Hugh Jackman joined the cast of Deadpool 3, if that’s what it ends up being titled, after years of being pursued by co-star Ryan Reynolds.

    Even with that little bit of information, Marvel Studios’ plans for the X-Men remain a tightly-guarded secret. Three years after the merger between Disney and Fox that allowed for the characters to be used in the MCU, no live-action X-Men projects have been announced and it’s unclear whether or not the X-Men are expected to play any role at all in Marvel Studios’ ongoing Multiverse Saga. The studio is, however, working on a revival of the classic X-Men: The Animated Series titled X-Men ’97, which is expected to stream on Disney Plus in 2023.

  • Fool’s Theory Developing a Remake of ‘The Witcher’

    Fool’s Theory Developing a Remake of ‘The Witcher’

    The Witcher is back, literally. While work has begun on a fourth entry of the iconic gaming franchise by CD Project Red, developer Fools Theory is actively working on a remake of the first entry. It is the project that was hinted at with the codename Canis Majoris and will be developed in Unreal Engine 5 according to the new announcement. they also unveiled the logo for the Remake, which teases the firey return of the game that started it all.

    If you’re wondering if the game will release anytime soon, it is only in its early stages of development. Veteran Witcher staff are working on the project under the banner of the Polish studio Fool’s Theory with CD Projekt Red still having full creative supervision of the project. Studio head Adam Badowski had the following to say about the game’s development:

    The Witcher is where it all started for us, for CD PROJEKT RED. It was the first game we made, ever, and it was a big moment for us then. Going back to this place and remaking the game for the next generation of gamers to experience it feels just as big, if not bigger. Collaborating with Fool’s Theory on the project is just as exciting, as some of the people there have been previously involved in The Witcher games. They know the source material well, they know how much gamers have been looking forward to seeing the remake happen, and they know how to make incredible and ambitious games. And although it will take some time before we’re ready to share more about and from the game, I know it’ll be worth the wait

    Adam Badowski

    Given that the first Witcher game was released in 2007 and was a far cry from what the series would develop into, it’s also a great chance fo those that didn’t get a chance to play it. Plus, with the hype surrounding the Netflix series, it’s a perfect time for the franchise’s return.

    Source: The Witcher

  • Charlize Theron Teases Clea’s Return to the MCU

    Charlize Theron Teases Clea’s Return to the MCU

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow with many new iconic characters from the comics making their debut throughout the Phase 4 entries. While there are still quite a few questions on what the future has in store for them, there are a few that seemingly may have a bigger connection to the overarching plot of the Multiverse Saga. One of those characters is the recently introduced Clea, who appeared as a surprise cameo in the post-credit sequence of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

    Charlize Theron is taking on the role, but there hasn’t been any announcement or hint on when we might expect her in a future project. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she didn’t give away any details but did play around teasing that she is definitely going to return to the MCU at some point in the future.

    Let’s just say I have some work to do… I don’t quite know who she is yet, but I will.

    Charlize Theron

    Her introduction in the MCU was certainly a random addition that many might not have quite understood, especially with how fast the post-credit followed up the events that finished the film. It’ll be interesting to see how they explore her ties to Dormammu or even if we get a sequel to Doctor Strange that leads into the new Avengers films. The Multiverse Saga has only just begun and there are many possible routes where she could return.

    Source: Jimmy Kimmel via The Direct

  • ‘True Detective’ Season 4 Adds Three to its Cast

    ‘True Detective’ Season 4 Adds Three to its Cast

    HBO has been quite busy with quite a few adaptations on the way. While all eyes at the moment are on The Last of Us adaptation, they are already continuing their work on the fourth season of True Detective. With the subtitle Night Country, the anthology series will see Jodie Foster and Kali Reis taking the lead this time around. Now, the project which will be run by Issa López, has added to its cast with Aka Niviâna, Joel D. Montgrand, and Isabella Star Lablanc joining the production.

    The story will explore the long winter nights in Ennis, Alaska as six men vanish after working on an Arctic Research Station. Foster will play the role of detective Liz Danvers alongside Reis‘ Evangeline Navarro. Niviâna will take on the role of Julia, who is Navarro’s sister who is battling demons. Montgrand is taking on the role of Navarro’s love interest Eddie Qavvik, who is a local musher. Danvers’ stepdaughter Leah will be played by Lablanc.

    It’s definitely looking to be another promising entry in the anthology, which followed a different set of detectives each season. The first entry made quite a splash with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in the leading roles. It’ll be interesting to see what they may add to this project and how it’ll stand out from the previous entries.

    Source: Deadline

  • REVIEW: ‘Andor’ Episode 8

    REVIEW: ‘Andor’ Episode 8

    Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars streaming series, Andor, has been routinely described as a “slow burn”; to date, no episode has served as a better exemplar than Episode 8. The 12-episode first season has been neatly broken up into 3-episode arcs and, so far, the second episode of those arcs has seemed to work as the table setter for the high-energy third episode of each arc. That seems to be the case again with “Narkina 5,” though setting the table doesn’t make the episode any less critical.

    Episode 8 takes the time to make the characters and the audience feel the extent of the Empire’s response to the Aldhani heist. Ironically, as three different factions search for Cassian for different reasons, he’s already found himself caught in the tightening grip of the Emprie. As Luthen Rael had hoped, the Empire’s response was swift and fierce and Cassian experiences it first-hand in the prison work camp on the planet of Narkina 5. By the end of the episode, a month has passed and while there’s no telling just how long Cassian will be in prison (we know it won’t be his entire six-year sentence), it’s worthwhile to wonder how his time there will shape him into the who we know he becomes. Director Toby Haynes makes the audience feel the mundane nature of Cassian’s time in prison, putting them through the same automated paces the prisoners experience, while also illustrating the hopelessness of the situation through the suicide of a fellow prisoner.

    Meanwhile, it’s the wrong time to be a Rebel. As the episode showcases the precision of the Imperial machine (indeed the series’ lead finds himself a cog in the very machine he hoped to take down), it does so in contrast to the fractured nature of the Rebellion. Rael’s visit with extremist leader Saw Gerrera on Segra Milo illustrates just how slipshod the fledgling Rebel Alliance is, if it’s really an alliance at all. Rael and Gerrera lie and posture and argue only to ultimately find themselves no more likely to achieve their “shared” purpose than they were before their meeting, in fact, in light of the enlightening conversation they share, they seem to be parsecs apart.

    A slow burn to be sure, but “Narkina 5,” which is another in a line of beautifully shot episodes in this series, brings the tension down a notch from previous weeks but does so simply to lay the groundwork for the next “event.” Though he tried to walk away, Cassian’s mission on Aldhani has led the ISB to Ferrix where they have begun to wrangle up any and everyone associated with him. Episode 8 begun to weave together many of the series’ ongoing, individual threads, causing the rough-and in some cases unexpected-intersection of their arcs. Karn and Meero’s meeting went about as smoothly as Rael and Gerrera’s, which certainly isn’t the way most fans had it playing out. How long does someone with Karn’s ambition stay sidelined? How will he respond to being dismissed by the Empire? These are fair questions which we didn’t even know needed answering. And that’s emblematic of what Andor has provided fans of Star Wars so far. For a series about a dead character, it’s certainly proven to be one of the most thought-provoking streaming series Lucasfilm has made to date.