The Witcher has become one of Netflix’s biggest series and has taken a comfortable position alongside series like Stranger Things, You, and more. During the TUDUM event, they offered a first look at the upcoming prequel series Blood Origin while also revealing that Minnie Driver has joined the cast as the series narrator and teases ties to the story of Geralt.
Source: Tudum
Netflix has been quite hopeful to establish their new Stranger Things with some upcoming releases. Among them are their live-action adaptations of classic franchises One Piece and Avatar: The Last Airbender. The other big potential lies in the new series 3-Body Problem that has the Game of Thrones‘ showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss working with Alexander Woo to bring the book to life.
Bridgerton has become quite popular among Netflix’s many offerings, as Shonda Rhimes takes her usual writing style to offer something drenched in the Regency era of England, taking a look at the powerful family of the same now as they attempt to find love. During this year’s TUDUM event, they unveiled a first look at the recently announced Queen Charlotte spinoff simply titled Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
Allison Janney might’ve kicked off her career back in 1989, but her star has only continued to rise in recent years thanks to roles like Bonnie in Mom and Margaret Scully in Masters of Sex. And now, Netflix’s Lou looks to let Janney shine in brand new ways, turning the usually comedic actress into an action hero in her own right.
Lou tells the story of Janney’s Lou, a mysterious woman who spends her days with her dog, Jax, hunting in the nearby woods and renting out a nearby property to a single mom named Hannah (Jurnee Smollett). Very little is known about Lou at first. In fact, it isn’t about until the half-hour mark that the mysterious layers of Lou begin to be unraveled. She’s a tough as nails woman who doesn’t mince her words. Outside of Jax, she seems incapable of caring about anything or anyone, but when Hannah’s daughter mysteriously disappears during a major storm, Lou steps in to help without little to no questions asked. What soon unfolds is a story of troubled pasts and how far people are willing to go to right their wrongs.
Lou is a character that, had she been written poorly, could’ve easily been one-note, but Janney excels in tackling this multi-layered character. She’s flawed and doesn’t shy away from her mistakes, but she’s also driven by guilt and love. Her actions might be unorthodox, but she always succeeds in doing what is right, no matter the cost. Janney is perfect casting and her on-screen chemistry with Smollett is fascinating. The two characters could not be more difficult from one another, and yet, the moments they share on screen are some of the best in the film. More impressive is how well the ladies work off of Logan Marshall-Green, who delivers yet another terrifying performance as the mysterious Peter. It’s such a small cast for such a massive story, and the three actors help to sell this action flick with such ease. From the emotional moments to the big action moments, Janney, Smollett and Marshall-Green are a top-notch cast that deliver a hell of a film.
It’s honestly a bit frustrating that Lou is going straight to Netflix because this is the type of film that deserves to be seen on a large screen. It’s fast-paced and action-packed, and will surely keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Yet, despite the film being a blast, the cinematography in Lou is hit or miss. More often than not, it leaves something to be desired. While the island is meant to be dreary and dull, the imagery doesn’t always match the tone of what is occurring onscreen. Thankfully, this is a very minor problem and during the action sequences, the fights are shot with a skilled eye which makes them more enjoyable.
Honestly, the only bad thing about Lou is the film’s name. It’s not really memorable, nor does it really offer much intrigue for those unsure whether to give the film a chance. It’s all the more frustrating because this is clearly meant to be the start of a potential franchise. Lou isn’t a catchy name compared to the likes of John Wick or even Atomic Blonde.
All in all, Lou is a thrilling action movie that is worthy of a watch.
The Sandman has become one of Netflix’s biggest hits as it dominated the top spot for quite some time on the streaming service. Yet, we still haven’t gotten any word on an official confirmation for a second season. While the wait still continues, it does seem like the team behind the production are confident they’ll get to continue work on the series. In an interview with ScreenRant, VFX supervisor Ian Markiewicz has hinted that they’ve already prepped the scripts and are even looking into how to tackle the VFX as they wait for a confirmation.
We have a really wonderful framework for what we think season 2 looks like. Allan is still touching up scripts and reworking things, but we have an arc. Up until pretty recently, I think maybe even two weeks or so, Gary, our production designer, myself and Allan meet over lunch, and we will do a script over that meeting. It’s like, “Okay, let’s look at 201,” and we’ll do our breakdowns together, where we do page turns on 201, and we say, “Okay, what do we think? Where can we film this? Can we film this in a real space? If not, what do we need to build, if we need to build it?
Ian Markiewicz
He also reveals that they’ve been trying to adapt their approach for the second season, as they decide what can be tackled through VFX and what would make use of a practical set. The work on the first season definitely helped them shape their approach.
Are we building this as a physical set, or can it be a building as a virtual set or a combination thereof? Is it physical to a certain extent, and then digital beyond that?” Just trying to break each one down to be like, “What’s the most value for this, what’s the most sensible way that covers the need for what we need it to be?” That process is happening now, which is great, and it’s really fun and exciting to be able to sort of have season 1 and behind us to know what we feel worked there, things that we wanted to sort of finesse further, and how that impacts our approach for season 2.
Ian Markiewicz
The team certainly sounds confident even as Neil Gaiman has been hesitant regarding the missing confirmation by Netflix itself. Here’s hoping that the wait isn’t much longer and we’ll finally get a confirmation in the coming weeks.
Source: ScreenRant
Fate: The Winx Saga quickly became one of Netflix’s most popular titles when Season 1 was released in January 2021. It wasn’t without controversy, though. The series is an adaptation of the animated series, The Winx Club, and fans of the original show were quick to note that the Netflix series had seemingly whitewashed some of the characters for live-action. Criticism which some of the actors took to heart. Now, with Season 2, the series seems keen to try to do better by being more inclusive, and ultimately, these decisions help to carry an otherwise uneven season.
The second season of Fate: The Winx Saga picks up after the events of Season 1. The students of Alfea College are adjusting to life at school with headmistress Farah Dowling (Eve Best) still missing and Miranda Richardson‘s Headmistress Rosalind seeking to take back control. She’s strict, secretive and focused on Bloom because she’s the first fairy to transform at Alfea College in a long time. Sadie Soverall‘s Beatrix and Ken Duken‘s Andreas remain by her side as she seeks to right the “wrongs” of Dowling. Unfortunately for her, though, Bloom and the girls are not on board with her secrecy and the mysterious disappearance of Dowling. Eager to seek answers, Bloom and the others will have to take risks that could ultimately cost them everything.
Fate: The Winx Saga Season 2 is a lot better than the first season. But there is one issue the writers seem to continue to struggle with. Bloom remains the least interesting character of the group, which is unfortunate given her powers and what she’s meant to be capable of doing. It’s frustrating because it’s not the actress that fails in the role. Abigail Cowen gives her all to Bloom’s story. The problem is in the writing. It feels like Bloom’s story is never going to change. She has the dragon flame, yes, but when will she be able to be more than the fairy with the dragon flame? Allow the character to grow instead of making her reckless, leaving those around her to constantly clean up her mess. Thankfully, the other girls are fascinating.
Season 2 sees the rest of the girls spread their wings – pun intended. Aisha (Precious Mustapha), Musa (Elisha Applebaum) and Terra (Eliot Salt) all get a chance to shine. Especially Aisha, who was often used to drive the plot forward in Season 1 by “snitching.” Season 2 allows her to become a fully realized character. She’s allowed the chance to be an actual student and, more importantly, an actual teenager. The first season made Aisha out to be a goody two shoes who had no problem snitching on her friends. Her entire identity was the upstanding student who dared not to be reckless like her friends. This season, though, she’s allowed to have faults, she’s allowed to have relationships outside of the girls. It’s a much-appreciated change. The same can be said regarding the others, too. Terra and Stella, especially, feel as though they’ve grown tremendously since the first season. The only character to feel poorly conceived is Beatrix, who doesn’t change much from the first season. She’s a frustrating character who truly sees no real character development; it’s hard to decipher who she truly is as the show still remains unclear of who she is until the very last episode of the season. As for the boys? Some of them make strides this season, but honestly, they’re around more so to serve the plot than to truly become their own important characters.
As for the story, well, this is where Fate: The Winx Saga struggles a bit. Overall, it’s a strong season, sure, but there are plenty of issues throughout that do pull it down quite a bit. The fight scenes are still incredibly short; it usually takes a matter of five minutes for someone to come out on top and it’s always rather predictable. More importantly, though, the story has not changed much since the first season. Which is frustrating because by season’s end? There’s still plenty we don’t know regarding questions brought up during the first season. Should a third season be ordered, there’s sure to be plenty of new and exciting stuff to cover judging by the ending, however, the season does often feel like filler because it doesn’t advance nearly as much as it should. With that in mind, the character moments this season make for a strong sophomore effort. The young cast gives it their all, delivering some stellar moments in an otherwise uneven season.
Is it the best sophomore season of a Netflix series? Far from it. Is it still enjoyable? Yes.
While there’s still plenty of things Fate could do better, it does make an effort to try to be more inclusive this season. That, of course, does not make up for the casting issues many brought up during season one, but there is an obvious effort being made this time around and it doesn’t feel forced, which is a nice change.
In a few weeks, Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil will make his highly anticipated appearance in Marvel Studios’ streaming series, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. General audiences have seen footage of The Man Without Fear in teasers, trailers, and Episode 5 of the series, “Mean, Green and Straight Poured into These Jeans”, ended with a glimpse of Ol’ Hornhead’s new hornhead, getting fans primed for his eventual entrance. And while Murdock has already appeared in one MCU project in the past year, his brief cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home didn’t give fans enough time to get a sense of who he is. That’s all about to change and it’s a foregone conclusion that a whole lot of fans aren’t going to like it.
Reading between the lines-hell, just reading the lines-of everything anyone associated with She-Hulk: Attorney At Law has had to say about Daredevil appearing in the show, it’s clear that Marvel Studios, who regained the live-action rights to the character just a couple of years ago, is rebooting the character in a way that seems to knock the three season of the Netflix series off the required viewing list. It’s not to say fans of Daredevil can’t still enjoy the show and that new fans couldn’t watch it and glean some important information from it. It’s just that this doesn’t seem to be the EXACT SAME Matt Murdock.
Marvel Studios is smart here to let this play out on screen without ever giving a definitive answer because it allows them to both keep the conversation alive (all publicity is good publicity) and to “keep” the parts of the story built on Netflix that they like attached to the character, if only in the minds of the people who watched it. So much as they did with Peter Parker, they probably won’t redo the whole origin story and new fans will just get a condensed version of how this seemingly ordinary, blind lawyer ended up as a ninja with supersenses. However, when the character appears on She-Hulk in a few weeks, it’ll start to become pretty obvious that this version has some different bells and whistles.
As part of the Marvel Studios Showcase at D23 Expo 2022, fans were treated to an exclusive first look at a scene from the DD episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. The scene, involving Jen as Jen and Matt as an All-New, All-Different Daredevil, complete in his brand new mustard yellow suit, took place on a rooftop and instantly gave the audience the visual equivalent of the new car smell. Everything about Cox’s performance from his demeanor to his cadence, to the flirtatious nature of his interactions with Jen felt intentionally different. It’s not to say Cox never smiled or had a good time playing the character on Netflix; it’s more that he’s playing the character with a different bent here and one that tonally fits what fans have come to know about She-Hulk.
And it’s not just Cox’s delivery that’s different. It’s more nuanced and detailed than that. His movements, his body language and, most notably, the Man Without Fear front flip he does off the top of the building as the scene comes to a close all look and feel brand new. Other than the piss poor handling of The Hand, one of the most frustrating things about the Netflix series was the lack of high-flying, acrobatics. For a character known as, you know, Daredevil, he didn’t do much Daredeviling. Doing some light somersaulting across a rooftop is a long way from the character’s comic book roots and in a 2-minute clip, Marvel Studios managed to get more thrilling acrobatics in than I remember in 3 seasons. That’s not to say he didn’t do any high-flying bits in Daredevil, there were maybe 5 spread out over the years, it’s just to say that it certainly wasn’t a big part of who that character was. Add that to the fancy flip that fans have seen in promo material for the show and you have reason to believe that Marvel Studios is going to make that a part of their DD’s toolbox.
It’s a hard argument to make, especially since his new costume seems to be nothing more than a repainted version of his old costume and that it is the same actor wearing it. And maybe it’s not an argument worth making based on a 2-minute clip, but everything in that clip FEELS like an incredibly intentional effort to let fans know that while this is the character they know and love, it’s not exactly the character they know and love.
Ultimately, Cox’s one-episode and change appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law may not provide enough evidence to definitively say whether or not this MCU version of the character really is an All-New, All-Different Daredevil. That might be something that isn’t entirely clear until his longer appearance in Echo ahead of his own 18-episode series, Daredevil: Born Again. It also might be something that’s never made crystal clear. However, what is clear is that when everyone sees Cox’s performance in She-Hulk, it’s going to cause quite the stir on social media and message boards, because no matter how hard people want to hold on to what they love, this appearance looks like it’ll sound the death knell for the canonical relevance for the Netflix version of the character, which may die a slow death over several years.
It’s hard to imagine, but before Thor: Love and Thunder, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson first made a name for herself with the MTV series, Sweet/Vicious. The short-lived series was critically acclaimed and focused on two girls named Jules and Ophelia who set out as wannabe vigilantes to make abusers on their college campus pay for what they’ve done. Robinson would then go on to direct a romantic comedy titled Somebody Great for Netflix which saw the film’s leading lady seek one last adventure with her best friends as she struggles to deal with a breakup. All of these projects have one central theme at hand: female friendships. It’s one of Robinson’s strongest abilities as a writer – it’s something that we even get to see in Love and Thunder with Jane and Valkyrie. However, Do Revenge might just be Robinson’s best effort yet.
If one were to judge Do Revenge simply by the film’s trailer, they’d more than likely bill it as yet another teenage drama. But that isn’t necessarily the case. It’s so much more than that. The film centers on Drea (Camila Mendes) and Eleanor (Maya Hawke), two students who seemingly have nothing in common but will soon find they’re all they have. Simple concept, right? Sure, but what Robinson manages to do with said concept is impressive. Drea is an IT girl – she’s dating the most popular guy at school, she has three friends who follow her every command and she’s on track to get into Yale. Unfortunately, just as things seem to be going perfectly for Drea, everything seemingly falls apart. Enter Eleanor. She’s the complete opposite of Drea. After a traumatic event, she struggles to fit in and make friends and she’s eager to try to move beyond her past. At least, until she meets Drea.
As the title would suggest, both girls are on a mission for revenge in the film. This is where Do Revenge begins to pull from Robinson’s work on both Sweet/Vicious and Someone Great. It shouldn’t work as well as it does, and yet, Do Revenge is a movie full of thrilling surprises. This isn’t just another teen movie. It’s about friendship, identity and growth. There are some serious issues addressed in Do Revenge, and while admittedly handled with a lighter tone than perhaps required, Robinson and Celeste Ballard (Sweet/Vicious) don’t shy away from the screwed-up way society responds to such screwed-up scenarios in the end.
Mendes and Hawke are fantastic in Do Revenge. They have such good chemistry on screen that it helps sell the relationship with ease. For those only familiar with Mendes from Riverdale, Do Revenge is proof that she’s capable of more than the CW series has shown her to be capable of doing. She’s great in the film overall, but she truly shines when it comes to the emotional moments. While Hawke steals the show from the moment she arrives on screen. Much like her father, the young actress has a magnetic presence on screen, and she slips into the role of Eleanor with skill. Of all the characters featured in the movie, it is Hawke’s Eleanor that goes on the most rewarding journey and it’s hard to imagine another young actress that could’ve successfully tackled the role as well as Hawke. She’s fantastic.
That isn’t to say the film isn’t without its faults. While a fun watch, sometimes, Do Revenge fails to properly handle the traumatic storylines it introduces. When the tone should be more serious, Do Revenge takes a more comedic approach. Thankfully, by the movie’s end, the film does get itself back on the right path, but those bumps in the third act? They are quite uncomfortable and hard to ignore while experiencing them.
Overall, Do Revenge is a good story about female friendships and the many issues women face in society. It’s campy at times, but in those moments when the film is sure of itself and its characters? It shines brightly. Revenge might not always be the answer, but in this case, it is best to Do Revenge.
Last night, the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards took place and the Netflix drama, Squid Game, managed to earn history-making wins. After making history for its nominations, Squid Game walked away with multiple wins last night. Leading man Lee Jung-jae won Lead Actor in a Drama Series, while series creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk won for Best Directing for a Drama Series. Jung-jae’s win makes him the first Asian man to win the award, and the first to win it for a non-English show.
The series first made history back in July when it became the first non-English language drama to secure an Emmy nomination in the main drama category. Outside of Jung-jae and Dong-hyuk’s nominations, the series also received 12 additional nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series.
Squid Game took the world by storm when it debuted on Netflix last year. It quickly became one of the streaming service’s biggest titles ever, and fans have been eagerly awaiting a second season ever since. Thankfully, Dong-hyuk has confirmed Season 2 and Season 3 are in the works, although no specific timeline as to when they’ll be released has been unveiled. Along with a second season, Netflix is looking to expand the Squid Game franchise with the addition of a reality series inspired by the hit series.
Cinematic Universes are all the rage as many are still chasing after what Marvel Studios has seemingly accomplished. While that franchise still moving forward with more diverse projects that offer something new, many others still trying to get theirs going. Yet, there are some surprising new additions to the “cinematic universe” catch-up such as Netflix trying to build one based on the Power Rangers, which is fitting given the legacy series’ way of building multiple teams throughout the years. Yet, it seems they also have plans or one more franchise, Stranger Things.
Stranger Things veteran Shawn Levy, who is currently also set to direct the third Deadpool movie, teased the future plans for the popular Netflix series and seemingly confirmed they are building a “STCU” and he’s currently taking a few cues from his work with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
Yes, we are building out the STCU, and now that I’m spending time with [chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment] Kevin Feige, I’m learning a lot about how to manage a universe. So I’m taking those skills and applying them to the STCU.
Shawn Levy
Some might have concerns regarding a “Cinematic Universe” approach to the series but we’ve heard in the past that the Duffer Brothers are already working on spinoff projects. So, they may simply be looking into ways to use the Upside Down as a basis for various horror franchises. They also are likely simply using the name with the various future entries that simply take place in the same world as Stranger Things but
Source: Variety
