Tag: TV News

REPORT: ‘VELMA’ Character Descriptions Hint at HBO Max’s Reinterpretation of the Scooby Gang
Scooby-Doo is no stranger to countless interpretations over the years. It has probably seen the most revamps of any franchise. Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated was a personal highlight due to its overarching plot and Lovecraft-inspired elements. Yet, a brand new interpretation is heading our way with a prequel series focused on Velma.

HBO Max announced the series in February, which will see Mindy Kaling starring in the titular role that wants to explore a time in the gang’s life without the titular pup. It’s certainly a surprising twist on the franchise and the Geeks WorldWide may have offered a closer look at the story threads. Here are the descriptions of the show’s interpretation of our favorite Mystery Inc. members:
- It looks like Shaggy is the editor-in-chief of Poortown High’s newspaper. He’ll be on the spectrum and has a hard time handling social norms especially when he is Velma’s only real friend. It looks like there’s a family secret, which he’ll need to solve with her help. So, we’ll see what pushes him towards the type of character we know him as in the series.
- Daphne is the adopted daughter of two female police officers, who still faces daily challenges of being abandoned. There’s a curious emphasis of her red hair and she’s quite ruthless in trying to become the popular kid in their school.
- Some characteristics remain for Fred Jones, who’ll be a “gym rat, riddled with daddy issues.” It seems that he’ll also face the trouble of never having gone puberty and is trying to hide it from Daphne, who he is dating in the series. All it takes is a false imprisonment to get the gears in motion and he learns to value Velma.
Various character descriptions also include their parents, who might have a bigger role in the story. Scooby-Doo normally features the gang traveling the States taking down one fake ghost after another. So, only the before-mentioned Mystery Incorporated included their parents as essential characters to the mythos. Perhaps the series is taking some clues, but there’s no mention of “people in masks.”

There’s a good chance this new interpretation also moves away from the various monsters they’ve faced in the past. Overall, it’s a bit disheartening that the clichés are still present with the character, as the popular Daphne and jock Fred seem well alive in these incarnations. Who knows if the actual show twists the interpretations presented here.

Source: GWW
August 17, 2021
‘STAR WARS: VISIONS’ Voice Cast Includes Simu Liu, Temuera Morrison, Neil Patrick Harris, and Many More

It looks like Lucasfilm has finally shared its official voice cast for the upcoming anime spin-off Star Wars: Visions. They recently released a brand new trailer featuring the full voice cast and it’s quite impressive, as it includes various high-profile names including Lucy Liu, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Neil Patrick Harris, Alison Brie, Simu Liu, David Harbour, and many more. Temuera Morrison even returns to voice Boba Fett in one of the episodes. You can check out the full cast list right here for the English dub of the series:

The Duel”: Brian Tee (Ronin), Lucy Liu (Bandit Leader), Jaden Waldman (Village Chief).
“Tatooine Rhapsody”: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Jay), Bobby Moynihan (Geezer), Temuera Morrison (BobaFett), Shelby Young (K-344), Marc Thompson (Lan).
“The Twins”: Neil Patrick Harris (Karre), Alison Brie (Am), Jonathan Lipow (B-20N).
“The Village Bride”: Karen Fukuhara (F), Nichole Sakura (Haru), Christopher Sean (Asu), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Valco), Andrew Kishino (Izuma), Stephanie Sheh (Saku).
“The Ninth Jedi”: Kimiko Glenn (Kara), Andrew Kishino (Juro), Simu Liu (Zhima), Masi Oka (Ethan), Greg Chun (Roden), Neil Kaplan (Narrator), Michael Sinterniklaas (Hen Jin).
“T0-B1”: Jaden Waldman (T0-B1), Kyle Chandler (Mitaka).
“The Elder”: David Harbour (Tajin), Jordan Fisher (Dan), James Hong (The Elder).
“Lop & Ocho”: Anna Cathcart (Lop), Hiromi Dames (Ocho), Paul Nakauchi (Yasaburo), Kyle McCarley (Imperial Officer).
“Akakiri”: Henry Golding (Tsubaki), Jamie Chung (Misa), George Takei (Senshuu), Keone Young (Kamahachi), Lorraine Toussaint (Masago).

As you can see above, the episode “Akari” is also strictly voiced by an Asian cast, which is a great move considering the episode’s focus and characters. They’ve also revealed the Japanese dub for the series:

“The Duel”: Masaki Terasoma (Ronin), Akeno Watanabe (Bandit Leader), Yūko Sanpei (VillageChief).
“Tatooine Rhapsody”: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Jay), Kōusuke Gotō (Geezer), Akio Kaneda (Boba Fett), MasayoFujita (K-344), Anri Katsu (Lan).
“The Twins”: Junya Enoki (Karre), Ryoko Shiraishi (Am), Tokuyoshi Kawashima (B-20N).
“The Village Bride”: Asami Seto (F), Megumi Han (Haru), Yūma Uchida (Asu), Takaya Kamikawa (Vaan), Yoshimitsu Shimoyama (Izuma), Mariya Ise (Saku).
“The Ninth Jedi”: Chinatsu Akasaki (Kara), Tetsuo Kanao (Juro), Shin-ichiro Miki (Zhima), Hiromu Mineta (Ethan), Kazuya Nakai (Roden), Akio Ōtsuka, (Narrator), Daisuke Hirakawa (Hen Jin).
“T0-B1”: Masako Nozawa (T0-B1), Tsutomu Isobe (Mitaka).
“The Elder”: Takaya Hashi (Tajin), Kenichi Ogata (The Elder), Yuichi Nakamura (Dan).
“Lop & Ocho”: Seiran Kobayashi (Lop), Risa Shimizu (Ocho), Tadahisa Fujimura (Yasaburo), Taisuke Nakano (Imperial Officer).

“Akakiri”: Yū Miyazaki (Tsubaki), Lynn (Misa), Chō (Senshuu), Wataru Takagi (Kamahachi), Yukari Nozawa (Masago).

It’s quite an impressive cast for this anime adaptation. Not just that, it’s also a sign of how invested Disney and Lucasfilm are in the project. They believe this new direction for an anthology series may stand out and also accompanies this same approach with What If…? which includes mostly actors who previously played the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It may be a sign for a new direction for animation and it’ll be interesting to see how this develops.

Source: Collider

August 17, 2021
‘TITANS’ Vincent Kartheiser Unlikely to Return After Season 3 Due to Misconduct Investigations

Titans‘ third season has finally and it seems its premiere is smeared with some rather surprising news. Deadline has revealed that new cast member Vincent Kartheiser will very likely not return for a fourth season due to the actor being subject to multiple investigations by the studio. It seems the actor triggered at least two complaints and two internal investigations over the course of the season’s production. He was accused of disruptive, juvenile behavior alongside inappropriate comments. All investigations were done remotely from Burbank due to COVID protocols.

According to them, the accusations haven’t risen to the point that he would get kicked from the show’s production, but he did get a representative that was monitoring the actor’s behavior closely. Naturally, Kartheiser‘s spokesperson denies the allegations and only shared the following statement on the matter:

Warner Bros investigated this matter and made clear to Mr. Kartheiser its expectations for behavior on the set, and he agreed to comply with their directives.

It’s quite shocking that these allegations have only seen the light of day now. Of course, there is no official confirmation or statement by Warner Bros. So, we still need to consider there is more to this story but it’s not a great way for Titans to kick-off its third season. Kartheiser took on the role of the famous Batman villain Scarecrow and only had a one-year contract. So, it seems they might write out the character and focus on a new villain for the fourth season.

Source: Deadline

August 13, 2021
Marvel Studios Begins Casting for ‘ECHO’ Series Ahead of Early 2022 Start

We’re still anxiously awaiting the November release of Hawkeye. It’ll introduce us to Kate Bishop and the assassin known as Echo. Alaqua Cox will take on the role in the series. The best part, she must’ve left quite an impression, as Disney+ and Marvel Studios decided to give her a spin-off series ahead of its release.

We know very little about the series direction but we did hint that they are potentially eyeing an early 2022 production start. Well, it looks like the actress confirmed it herself, as she took to her stories and shared a casting list for the following two characters:

The casting offers a small glimpse into the story and given Echo’s background, the character of Jessica might be a younger version of our titular heroine. The giveaway is the inclusion that the character is described as deaf. So, Iris might possibly be her mother. In the comics, she is raised by Kingpin who killed her parents and it was uncertain if they’ll explore this part of her upbringing in the Hawkeye series. It’s definitely a curious direction to take a closer look at the character’s backstory in the spin-off, as she might try to put together her own history.

We are still waiting for a trailer for the Hawkeye series, which was given a definite release date and a first look image. It’s been oddly quiet on that front as they waited for the official release of What If that started this week. So, we might get our first glimpse at Cox as the character in the coming weeks once the trailer drops.

Source: Instagram

August 13, 2021
AMC’s ‘Interview With the Vampire’ Finds Its Lestat in Sam Reid

It looks like AMC’s adaptation of Interview With the Vampire has found its Lestat, as Variety shared Sam Reid joined the project. The show has been in production since June and explores the story of a journalist interviewing vampire Luis de Pointe du Lac. He was turned into the nightly creature by Lestat de Lioncourt, who Reid will play in the project.

It’s quite a long-term commitment due to their plans to adapt all of Anne Rice‘s The Vampire Chronicles novels where he has a recurring role. Yet, only one has been greenlit for now and he’ll be part of the eight-episode The character was previously played by Tom Cruise in 1994 before Stuart Townsend tackled the role in 2022.

AMC also owns the rights to The Lives of the Mayfair Witches from Rice. There haven’t been any hints if they are already developing a series based on those books, or if they are focusing on the Vampire Chronicles first before they start expanding the franchise. They definitely have a lot of hope for the franchise as it continues to expand.

It’ll be interesting if they play on the last adaption of the novel, or take a different route to make it stand out. They could take a more modern approach while keeping the core values of what made that story stand out back in the day. Though, it would be a lot more fun to embrace the aesthetic connected with the series to make it stand out from other series currently running. A modern adaptation seems like the easy route rather than also exploring its importance within a historical context.

Source: Variety

August 13, 2021
RUMOR: ‘ONE PIECE’ Cast Descriptions May Hint at Season 1 Adapting the Entire East Blue Saga

It feels like forever since we heard about Netflix’s plans on adapting One Piece into live-action. The project was delayed due to the pandemic, but Illuminerdi shared some first details on the various members of the Straw Hat Pirates. While it offers our first details on the personalities of the characters, the casting offers a clearer picture of what may potentially get adapted in the show’s first season.

The list includes Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji. They were the first members to join the crew before they head out into the Grand Line. It starts with Luffy setting out years after he ate the Rubber Rubber-Fruit and his body turned into literal rubber. The entire saga consisted of his meeting with the various members and the emotional Arlong Park Arc. It ended with a brief stint in Loguetown before they entered the most unpredictable seas of their world. It was the sage with the most arcs in the franchise, but later stories were considerably longer in comparison.

So, does their inclusion mean the first season will end in Loguetown? It would make the most sense to end the arc just as they set out into the sea. Still, they might also end with the Baratie Arc, where they recruit Sanji. It might be worth giving more time to the iconic Arlong Park arc, which has some of the strongest emotional moments. Plus, the introduction of the Fishmen might be costly and they could always shorten the season length if necessary. Still, it’ll be exciting to finally set out into the East Blue if the series enters production sometime in the near future.

Source: Illuminerdi

August 12, 2021
RUMOR: Netflix’s Live-Action ‘ONE PIECE’ Series Eyeing Ludi Lin as Zoro

There’s been no information on the live-action adaptation of Netflix’s One Piece series. Its showrunner Steve Maeda did share an Instagram post that the pandemic postponed their show back in March. That was the last official update we got our hands on since. Luckily, it seems that the folks over at Illuminerdi might have gotten their hands on some curious details on the upcoming project alongside what could be the first potential casting for the show, as Netflix is eyeing Ludi Lin in the role of Zorro.

Illuminerdi got their hands on the character descriptions for the various member of the Straw Hat Pirates. The before-mentioned casting would be the biggest inclusion. His background as a martial artist would make him a good choice due to Zoro’s affinity for swordplay. He’s a key member of the team as the crew’s first mate. After Luffy sets out to the sea, he comes across the pirate hunter and they build an inseparable bond throughout their travels on the Grand Line.

His character description hints at some familiar characteristics. They highlight his time as a mercenary, as he does any work to get around. They also highlight his love for his weapons and a good drink. Sadly, no mention of his terrible sense of direction which would’ve been a fun addition given his perchance of getting lost at the worst possible moments.

Source: Instagram, Illuminerdi

August 12, 2021
RUMOR: ‘AHSOKA’ Sabine Wren Short List Includes Lana Condor, Tati Gabrielle, and Havana Rose Lui

It looks like casting is underway for the upcoming Disney+ spin-off Ahsoka. It’ll continue the story set up in The Mandalorian, where Rosario Dawson‘s take on the iconic Star Wars character sets out to find out what happened to Ezra after the events of Rebels. Cinelinx’s Jordan Maison and SlashFilm’s Adam Frazier shared some insight into the potential actors up for the role, as they shared information that includes Lana Condor, Tati Gabrielle, and Havana Rose Lui.

https://twitter.com/JordanMaison/status/1425484573631295492?s=20

Sabine Wren has quite a few ties to the plot focused around the return to Mandalore. She is a female Mandalorian warrior, who acted as a revolutionary leader in the early times of the rebellion. She even was another Mandalorian to wield the Darksaber. Her goals align with those of Bo-Katan and her introduction into live-action might be the first inklings towards the overarching plot of the various stories.

The Mandalorian’s third season got delayed by some time, as we’re first to expand the franchise through the upcoming The Book of Boba Fett series. With Ahsoka rumors making the rounds, it might possibly enter production after Djin Darin’s story continues in the third season. So, they might even introduce Sabine in the mainline series before she takes a central role in the spin-off.

Source: Twitter

August 12, 2021
Scrapped ‘WHAT IF…?’ Storylines Included Captain Hydra, Worthy Loki, and More

Marvel Studios kicked off the What If…? animated series with a strong episode exploring a timeline where Peggy Carter received the Super Soldier serum. The first season consists of nine episodes that’ll take a unique perspective on the multiverse. Luckily, there’s also a second season heading our way, but Head Writer A.C. Bradley offered some insight into episodes that were left behidn ont he cutting room floor.

What If….Steve Rogers Joined Hydra

The first idea is one we recently saw realized in the Secret Empire storyline. We are introduced to a version of Captain America that ends up as a minion of Hydra. It seems the idea was on the table, as they wanted to explore a version that became a minion of the evil organization and evne hold the title of Captain Hydra.

My idea was, if Steve fell off the train, we would jump forward in time,” Bradley says. The Steve Rogers version of Winter Soldier would not slyly operate in the shadows, but instead aggressively and openly pursue the cause of his new evil overlords.

The story would’ve had a big twist with former enemy, the Red Skull, joining forces with Peggy, Howard, and Bucky to take down the man that ended up replacing him at the top of Hydra’s food chain. She reveals this was the pitch that got her the job in the first place.

What If … Tony Stark Was Indiana Jones

It looks like Bradley also was curious about the estranged relationship between Tony and his father. At one piont, she considered creating a story inspired by The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. She wanted to explore how their relationship would’ve been shaped throughout the years and show the sparks flying between them.

At the end of the day, Tony Stark is the guy who was never supposed to be the hero, becoming the hero,” she says. The real promise of this alternate storyline might have been showing us who Tony was before he put on the cynicism that became his very first, unseen armor.

What If…Loki Was Worthy

Bradley highlighted that they wanted to avoid giving characters a focus who already are getting their own spin-off series, but there was a fun Loki pitch in the works. At the time of the initial pitch, this rule wasn’t known and showcased Loki wielding Mjolnir. It’s similar to the deleted scene from Thor: The Dark World where Loki imagined himself wieldign the hammer. They’re only concern was that it might change teh character too much from what made him standout.

What If… Spider-Man Turned Into a Spider

We know that Spider-Man will appear as part of the mysterious zombie episode due to his naming as the Zombie Slayer. Yet, it seems they had a much darker story planend for him, as they were inspired by Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis. Yet, it seems a David Cronenberg-esque body horror was too much for Marvel to sign off on. Yet, they said okay to zombies.

If would have been hard-R for a show that probably your kids will end up watching. It was a little too dark. So I was like, okay, that’s fine. Can I do zombies? And they said, yes, you can do zombies

What If…Tony and Pepper Travelled Through Space

It looks like love is in the air, as one of the pitches would’ve seen Tony Stark and Pepper Potts spending their time travelling through space. It seems they wanted to include all kinds of characters with them jokingly including Star Wars characters. Earlier on they also reference taht the original pitch even included Rocketman making an appearance.

I would pitch Star Wars characters. That was me half the time having a joke, and also just really liking Mark Hamill, having worked with him on Trollhunters. Sometimes you would push the crazy ideas just to see if there was any movement.

It seems they truly tested what was possible with Marvel Studios, and the ideas vary quite a bit in fun ways. I think the Cronenberg-inspired story would be a great storyline to explore in the mainline MCU at some point. Captain America turning into a Hydra agent would be a great story to explore, as we got glimpses of a “What If Hydra won” storyline in Agents of SHIELD. Who knows, maybe these ideas get a chance to return with a potential third season.

Source: Vanity Fair

August 12, 2021
Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Finally Confirms Showrunner and Finds its Cast

It looks like the long wait has finally come to an end, as Netflix is moving forward with their live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Not only that, but they also found their core cast and creative team for the project. Sleepy Hollow’s Albert Kim has joined the project as showrunner, executive producer, and writer. It’s the first confirmation of his involvement since Illuminerdi dropped the rumor back in February. He’ll work alongside fellow executive producers, Dan Lin, and Lindsey Liberatore. Goi Roseanne Liang and Jabbar Raisani join the project as directors.

They also found their cast with Gordon Cormier playing Aang, the “fun-loving twelve-year-old who just happens to be the Avatar, master of all four elements.” The waterbending siblings’ Katara and Sokka will be played by Kiawentiio and Ian Ousley. Finally, the firebending prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko, also joins the cast in the form of young actor Dallas Liu, who some might know from PEN15. Kim had the following to say in a blog post on the importance of this series heading into live-action:

A live-action version would establish a new benchmark in representation and bring in a whole new generation of fans. This was a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly
exists, very similar to the one we live in.

It hasn’t been an easy road for the project, as it originally included the creators of the Nickelodeon animated show before they left due to creative differences. The Last Airbender ran for three seasons before it got a sequel in 2012 titled The Legend of Korra. Nickelodeon is currently looking to expand the franchise, with the creators starting a new studio, which will develop films and series for Paramount+. It’ll be interesting to see how the live-action version will adapt the original series, and how different the paths will be from the new studio.

Source: Deadline, Netflix

August 12, 2021