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  • Blue Sky’s Canceled Nimona Film Picked Up by Netflix

    Blue Sky’s Canceled Nimona Film Picked Up by Netflix

    Here’s an interesitng surprise. Infamously, when Disney shut down Blue Sky, it was revealed they were working on a film titled Nimona. The film was in the middle of development when they shut down the studio, but it turns out that it lives after all. ND Stevenson took to Twitter to not only confirm that the film is back in production, but also that it’ll release in 2023 on Netflix. It was inspired by Stevenson‘s webcomic which he started in college. So, it’s great to see them manage to revive the project.

    Not just that, but the tweet also includes our first look at its titular character and the overall visual style that the film will use. It looks like it’ll remain a 3D animated project with some 2D flourishes, which has been becoming a dominant style to create unique visuals for each project. Chloe Grace Moretz will take on the titular role and is joined by Riz Ahmed and Eugene Lee Yang.

    Originally, the film was announced all the way back in 2015 but was delayed multiple times. When Bleu Sky was canceled, it was already finished around 75% and supposedly, there was some pushback from Disney due to the LGBTQ themes of the story. So, it’s great to see such an important story see the light of day after all. Netflix continues to become a safe haven for these canceled projects, as it adds another project that was left behind by another studio.

    Source: Twitter, Polygon

  • Disney+ Cast ‘The Adam Project’s Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson

    Disney+ Cast ‘The Adam Project’s Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson

    After a long search, it seems that Disney+ has finally found its Percy Jackson, as Variety has just announced that Walker Scobell, who just recently left his mark with The Adam Project, will take on the titular role. The series of Rick Riordan books was ordered to series back in January, and the writer has been actively teasing the project throughout, as he took a bigger hand in bringing it to life. He’s recently hinted that they are on their way to cast the main trio, which is now kicked off with Scobell taking on the role of the 12-year-old demigod.

    Percy has lived most of his life as an outsider due to his ADHD and dyslexia. Yet, he learns that he has a bigger family secret than he may have ever imagined. Perhaps it also gives him a new home where he’ll finally feel where he fits in rather than sticking out as he did before. Yet, he still will find himself on an unlikely adventure after the Greek god Zeus accuses him of stealing the master lightning bolt and is forced to find it to free himself from the accusations while restoring Olympus.

    Scobell made a big splash with his film debut in The Adam Project starring opposite Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, and more. The film’s success definitely also put him on everyone’s radar, as he played a younger version of Reynolds‘ character. He’s also set to appear in Paramount’s upcoming film Secret Headquarters, where he’ll star with Owen Wilson. It’ll be interesting to see who else mightjoin the cast.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Moon Knight’ From Page to Screen: Episode 2

    ‘Moon Knight’ From Page to Screen: Episode 2

    Last week’s From Page to Screen for Moon Knight Episode 1 explored the history of Marc Spector’s dissociative identity disorder in the comics, given that Steven’s revelation that another person also existed inside his body was that episode’s primary focus. Episode 2, however, introduced the major player Mr. Knight. When live-action projects diverge significantly from the comics, it always manages to create quite the discourse among fans. If you’re curious about Mr. Knight, this article compares the live-action version of the character in Moon Knight to his comics counterpart.

    Moon Knight #11 (2015)

    The Similarities

    While the live-action and comics version of Mr. Knight have major differences (see below), it is undeniable that they share significant features.

    Moon Knight #1 (2014)
    Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight Episode 2

    The Look

    Most obviously, the character’s appearance in Moon Knight looks like it was practically ripped from the pages of a Moon Knight comic. First introduced in the 2014 Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey run, he stands out with his head-to-toe bright white attire. Unlike Moon Knight, he ditches the cape and cowl and opts for a pristine suit and a mask that gives off serial killer energy. As is obvious from Moon Knight, Oscar Isaac’s Mr. Knight looks virtually the same, other than his attire is more of a pale grey than Moon Knight artist Shalvey’s blinding white suitable for a whitening toothpaste commercial. They both also utilize their stick weapons quite often. Mr. Knight in the comics has consistently kept this nearly exact look in later runs such as the 2016 Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood run, and the ongoing Jed MacKay and Alessandro Cappuccio run.

    Moon Knight #14 (2017)
    Moon Knight #1 (2021)

    Just a Smidge of His Personality

    Before anyone gets up in arms over the suggestion that the two Mr. Knights have the same personality traits, the very clear differences are discussed below. However, it is worth noting that Moon Knight’s Mr. Knight still captures the essence of the comics’ character. Between his look and his more casual presence, Mr. Knight is always slightly goofier than Moon Knight. There is something odd about him, even compared to his caped Moon Knight alter. Steven Grant definitely checks off the “odd” box, but there’s something else. In the comics, Mr. Knight is much more sociable than Moon Knight. He walks the streets, visits crime scenes, works with police, interacts with ordinary people, and even goes to therapy. In Moon Knight, if anyone that we have met is going to fill that role in live-action, all bets are on Steven Grant, not Marc Spector.

    Moon Knight #4 (2014)
    Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight Episode 2
    Moon Knight #7 (2022)

    The Differences

    Mr. Knight’s introduction in Episode 2 was divisive because he is, fundamentally, sort of an entirely different character. On one hand, in the comics, Mr. Knight is generally considered another separate personality of Marc Spector’s, not one of the others in a suit. In Moon Knight, obviously, Mr. Knight is very much Steven Grant. To be fair, Mr. Knight in the comics sometimes has no problem identifying as Marc, and quite frankly his personality is not overly divergent from Marc or Moon Knight.

    Moon Knight #13 (2017)

    Still, Moon Knight’s Steven Grant—who is also a dramatic departure from the comics—is much more of an even goofier persona, so live-action Mr. Knight is the same. Mr. Knight in the comics has plenty of comic relief moments and is not constantly entirely dark or serious, but he is still much more dark and serious than Moon Knight’s version so far. Again, Mr. Knight in the comics almost operates as a more down-to-Earth Moon Knight (no pun intended), so he still functions as a nighttime vigilante who will take down a crowd of villains with the same intensity Moon Knight might.

    Moon Knight #1 (2014)

    Moon Knight, though, explains Mr. Knight’s origin. Steven Grant, as awkward and British as he is, came up with that dapper outfit while trying to summon a lunar-god-granted “suit”. The inclusion of the mental state that would end up with Mr. Knight’s attire is one of the best parts of the live-action change. In the comics, Mr. Knight just sort of appears as a new identity in the Ellis and Shalvey revival of Moon Knight, few questions asked.

    Moon Knight’s first two episodes are now streaming on Disney+.

  • HBO Max Brasil Announces ‘The Batman’s Release for Next Week

    HBO Max Brasil Announces ‘The Batman’s Release for Next Week

    Even before The Batman hit theaters, there was the word making the rounds that under HBO Max’s new deal, the film would release at some point in April. It was hinted at that it might be within the 45-day window and would eventually get confirmed. Now, HBO Max Brasil has taken to its official Twitter account to announce that The Batman will hit its streaming service for no additional cost as of April 18th.

    While the US account has yet to tweet the announcement, it does seem likely that it’ll release worldwide on the same date. It also coincides with the overall digital release that was planned for that time window. It’ll definitely cut into the film’s overall performance and maybe halt it from reaching the $800M it was currently building up to.

    Still, this is a big win for those that haven’t had the chance to visit theaters, as the pandemic is still an issue worldwide. Plus, those that are a bit hesitant about sitting through a 3-hour film might now have their chance to break it up into pieces for their viewing comfort.

    With the expansion of Matt Reeves‘ Batman-Verse moving forward on the service, it also makes sense they’d want to make it it’s permanent home moving forward. It’ll be interesting to see if it picks up a large audience when it hits the streamer just like The Suicide Squad did during its initial release. Here’s hoping that we’ll also get more announcements for the untitled Penguin-focused series to build up on the momentum.

    Source: Twitter

  • Thor’s Indian Voice Actor Reveals Work Has Finished on ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Missing Trailer

    Thor’s Indian Voice Actor Reveals Work Has Finished on ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Missing Trailer

    There’s been a heated discussion on when we might expect the official trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder to drop. It seemingly has broken the record of the latest a trailer has even been released for the studio, as the film continues to eye its July release window. Fans were hoping they might kick off the week with the trailer, but in a surprising twist, it seems they are just wrapping up work on the project.

    Indian actor and Hindi voice actor Gaurav Chopraa may have accidentally confirmed that the trailer is in its final stages, as the dub voice actor for Thor shared a picture in his Instagram stories that highlight that they’ve just finished work on the trailer. As such, it may be a hint that it could follow sometime this week once it has been dubbed in all languages.

    While many have shared some conspiracies on why exactly it has been delayed, it seems that work simply wasn’t quite finished on it. As these trailers are released worldwide nowadays, they have to ensure that most of the dubbing is also available at the time of its release.

    So, that may have delayed some aspects of the film, as they continue working on the trailer, especially as they also have to finish some VFX that are specially made for the early preview. With it being wrapped up, here’s hoping the wait is almost over. Luckily, Chopraa‘s post in his Instagram stories will at least give some hope that the wait isn’t as long as it once believed to be.

    Source: Instagram

  • Valkyrie’s Role as King of New Asgard Teased for ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Valkyrie’s Role as King of New Asgard Teased for ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    With the release of Thor: Love and Thunder in less than three months, still little is known about the film. With no trailer, a lot of information about the fourth Thor movie has been making its way through merchandise leaks. Recently, Marvel Legends toys offered the first look at Christian Bale’s villain Gorr the God Butcher. Now, a closer look at the box of Valkyrie’s toy seems to confirm Tessa Thompson’s role in Love and Thunder. It states:

    When a dangerous new visitor threatens the livelihood of New Asgard, King Valkyrie is forced to take up her sword once more to defend her people.

    This apparently confirms Valkyrie’s role as King Valkyrie, which was hinted at the tail end of Avengers: Endgame in 2019. It also suggests that King Valkyrie is maybe reluctant to fight or maybe had attempted to live a peaceful, quiet life as leader of New Asgard only for this “dangerous new visitor“—likely Gorr—to change her plans. Check out a better look at the box below:

    Thor: Love and Thunder will release in theaters on July 8, 2022.

    Source: Twitter

  • Natasha Lyonne Talks ‘Russian Doll’ Season 2

    Natasha Lyonne Talks ‘Russian Doll’ Season 2

    Russian Doll‘s first season was a smash hit for Netflix when it debuted in 2019 that left fans eagerly wanting more of this crazy world. While the series was renewed in June 2019, the journey to Season 2 has been a long one. Thankfully, however, the wait is nearly over and no one is more excited than series star Natasha Lyonne, who served as a director this season in addition to being the show’s co-creator, executive producer, writer, and showrunner. In a recent interview with Variety, Lyonne expressed her excitement over finally sharing this “crazy” season.

    On Friday, Netflix held a rooftop celebration for the series at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. Lyonne was on hand to promote the series and took some time to discuss what it was like to finally release the trailer, without trying to spoil anything for Season 2. “It’s scary releasing trailers and things like that, because you’re trying to figure out the right amount [to show], if you want people to be able to go in cold,” she explained. “And yet, there’s a thirst, a hunger that dictates that this is the way that we do things.”

    She also talked about what it’s like to be so involved in the production, especially as she feels as though there are bits of Nadia in herself. “When I’m in the writers room, I’m much more of a stressed out person who looks tired and worn down. In prep, all of a sudden it’s that person, but with a lot of parkas, because directing loves parkas and sneakers. Then this third character emerges — now I’m inside of Nadia and it’s go time.”

    After directing the eighth episode of Season 1, Lyonne stepped behind the camera for half of this season’s episodes, with executive producer Alex Buono tackling the rest of the episodes. For Lyonne, getting to work with Buono behind the camera was special as she enjoys their partnership and what they brought to this season. “I always tell Alex, ‘I know that you have your life and you have a best friend, but just know that you’re my best friend.’ Because I don’t think I’d ever been able to get quite to the end of a thought so concretely as I was able to with Alex. There was something so special about our partnership this season. There’s these things that we wanted to do, and we actually made them happen, so he’s incredible.”

    Russian Doll Season 2 will finally hit Netflix on April 20th.

    Source: Variety.

  • Eagle-Eyed Fans Notice ‘Star Wars’ Tease in New ‘Kingdom Hearts 4’ Trailer

    Eagle-Eyed Fans Notice ‘Star Wars’ Tease in New ‘Kingdom Hearts 4’ Trailer

    After a long wait, Kingdom Hearts 4 has finally been confirmed. Not only that, but we even got a first teaser trailer that reveals Sora stuck in Quadratum. The location is strongly inspired by real-life Shibuya, which was teased in the Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC. It looks like a new direction for the franchise with a more hyper-realistic design moving forward. goofy and Donald do make an appearance, but it seems like the franchise is heading in a new direction. Yet, some eagle-eyed fans may have noticed a tiny detail that might be part of an AT-ST from the Star Wars franchise.

    As the following tweet from @dallin1016 highlights, it seems that the leg of an All Terrain Scout Transporter, better known as an AT-ST, is hiding in the background. Some believe that the location might even be part of Endor. While the trailer teases an open-world concept, perhaps we’ll see multiple worlds connected to one world. While most of us hoped to see more Square Enix representation after their absence in Kingdom Hearts 3, it does seem that Disney will still have a role of some kind.

    Influencer JSkeleton has also highlighted this connection, as many more notice this detail in the trailer. Of course, this also opens up theories that we might even see Marvel make an appearance in the upcoming fourth entry. While most of the franchises focused on Disney, and most recently Pixar franchises, it does make sense for them to expand as Marvel and Lucasfilm are Disney subsidiaries. Plus, an open world with many franchises connected could create a very unique experience for Kingdom Hearts that also unshackles them from some of the restrictions we saw in the previous entry. Here’s hoping they continue to tease it moving forward.

    Source: Twitter, YouTube

  • ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ is Paramount’s Best Opening Weekend Since 2014 With $71M

    ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ is Paramount’s Best Opening Weekend Since 2014 With $71M

    Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has beaten expectations by a longshot, as it now stands tall at a $71M opening weekend at the domestic box office. It’s a strong win not only for the family market, which has suffered the most during the pandemic, but it also is the biggest opening weekend for Paramount since 2014. Not just that, it now also holds the title of biggest opening for any video game adaptation.

    Paramount must’ve predicted how strong the film would perform, as they not only announced the sequel ahead of its release but even planned a spinoff series for Paramount+ focused on the newly introduced Knuckles. So, it seems that the company has quite the franchise on its hand that manages to find a distinct market within other cinematic universes going for all four quadrants.

    Globally, the film now stands at $141M, which isn’t too bad for a film that may have a stronger domestic audience. Its only challenger will be the next Fantastic Beasts that’ll open next weekend. For now, it looks like they definitely have another hit on their hand. Sadly, it seems Michael Bay‘s new Ambulance was struggling at the box office, as the film opened with $8.7M over the weekend. Globally it stands only at $31M.

    Morbius took a harsh drop with 74% in its second weekend, even if it still managed to hold on to the second spot. It now stands at $126.3M worldwide but a far cry from what Venom: Let There Be Carnage accomplished a few months prior. The Lost City stuck to the third spot with $9.2M over the weekend.

    The Batman is also noteworthy this weekend, as it currently stands at $735.1M worldwide for which it made $359M domestically. While a billion doesn’t seem realistic after all, it should still manage to near $800M once it ends its run in theaters. Of course, it is going to be available on HBO Max rather soon, which could also leave a dent in that.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • REVIEW: ‘Weird West’ Is Not So Immersive

    REVIEW: ‘Weird West’ Is Not So Immersive

    For all its immersive sim flourishes, Weird West falls short of being the engrossing experience it promises to be. A repetitive gameplay loop, a cast of playable characters with little to no distinction from one another, clunky combat, and a tedious quest system all make Weird West an underwhelming experience.

    Developed by the creators of the Dishonored and Prey games under their new company Wolfeye Studios, Weird West is a supernatural reenvisioning of the American myths of the Wild West. Werewolves, sorcerers, zombies, wendigos, and other monstrosities inhabit this unruly land but it’s also not without your cowboys, gunslingers, trappers, and outlaws. The player is given the reigns of 5 different characters whose stories intersect in some form. You play as a bounty hunter, a human-turned-pig man, an archer, a werewolf, and a witch in that order.

    Such distinct characters would normally offer players diversified experiences but Weird West struggles to make these experiences unique. The game makes the questionable choice of allowing these characters to play very similarly. With the exception of a handful of unique skills, all characters have the same skill trees and the same access to weapons. So the werewolf can be a gunslinger if the player wishes it so, which sounds like a fun idea. However, the problem lies in how imbalanced the two systems are. A lot of the character-unique skills aren’t that particularly interesting, efficient, or economical to use. That inefficiency is oftentimes due to the clunky combat which has a severe lack of depth. So using weapons becomes the most viable option available for the moment-to-moment gameplay which in turn makes every character feel the same.

    The gameplay loop sees players traveling from map marker to map marker to go on fetch quests they need to progress the story. There’s the occasional ambush, raid, and stealth quest but similar to the skills system, there’s a lot to be desired with these encounters. The game’s stealth mechanics aren’t responsive and oftentimes succumb to the game’s jank, leaving players better off just shooting their way through a stealth mission. As for the level design, players will see a lot of copy-pasted levels throughout their journey. So much of the world is made up of unmemorable towns, temples, and outposts. For a world that’s crawling with all kinds of life, the Weird West feels empty.

    Where Weird West redeems itself is in the way it unravels its own tale. For all the numbing similarities the characters’ gameplay share, their individual stories all have a heft to them. Each facet of the story offers players a perspective yet to be experienced. Clashing political factions, warring faiths, and stories of revenge are some of the point of views to be taken. And because this is an immersive sim, players have the freedom to mold how these stories pan out. Major NPCs can be killed on a whim as well as the characters you control. Decisions impact the world on a frequent basis. Kill everyone on every outpost and soon the West becomes a wasteland. Rack up a bad reputation and everyone turns on you on sight. Kill a wanted fugitive and their posse swears revenge on you. Make the wrong decision and the next character you play will have a harder time in the West.

    Sadly, Weird West fails to make the cut in joining the pantheon of great immersive sims. Even with the dev team’s pedigree, the game’s great art style, ambitious worldbuilding, and homages to old-school CRPGs, players might be better off waiting for this one to go on sale.