Along with a new trailer for the upcoming third season of the Star Wars Disney Plus streaming series, The Mandalorian, comes news on the group of the team of directors that worked on bringing it together. The team, made up of equal parts new faces and old hands, looks to have leaned heavier than ever into the mythology of Mandalore for the new season of Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau‘s baby.
Rick Famuyia, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Carl Weathers, who also portrays Mando mainstay Greef Karga, will return to helm an unknown number of episodes of the third season. That trio will be joined by newcomers Lee Isaac Chung, Rachel Morrison and Peter Ramsey, all of whom are entering the galaxy far, far away for the first time. Chung directed the highly regarded Munyurangabo, which debuted at Cannes in 2007 and later that year won the grand prize at the AFI Film Fest. Morrison has a long resume as a cinematographer, including working as the director of photography on 2018’s Black Panther, but has begun to direct more and more over the past 6 years, including several episodes of the STARZ series Hightown. Interestingly, Ramsey has extensive experience in art and animation, having worked as a story artist on films such as Minority Report, Monsters vs. Aliens and Sausage Party, and directing the acclaimed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018.
Season 3 of The Mandalorian debuts on Disney Plus on March 1st.
Fans of the award-winning video game franchise, The Last of Us, have been anticipating the arrival of the HBO Max streaming series since word of the project first circulated in late 2020. Led by Pedro Pascal, Anna Torv, and Bella Ramsey, the adaptation kicked off with an 80-minute first episode that covered a lot of ground (55 years to be exact), most of which was incredibly familiar to fans of the game and has fans of the game pretty fired up for more. But what about your average outsider? As a certified outsider, I have a lot of questions about just what the hell is happening at the end of the world in The Last of Us.
Science!
Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann came out swinging with some heavy science in the show’s opening scene. The science showdown between Quintus and The Swede was legit but it also really felt like HBO did a test screening of some portion of the series with a group of average IQ types and realized that without an explanation of what was going to happen 15 minutes later, they would have way too many questions. Then they went ahead and loaded it up with so much science that they may just have further confused the average IQ types. Fans of The Walking Dead spent several seasons trying to figure out how the end of the world began before getting over it, so at least there was some effort here.
D-Day
Pretty standard stuff for the day the music died, really. Pedro Pascal‘s Joel seems like a real dawg and the stuff with his daughter, Sarah, clearly exists to make you sad soon and open a spot in Joel’s heart later. Outside of that, Joel’s brother (that’s Gabriel Luna?!) is a rowdy Army dude–seems important. The Mycelium Mouths are just simply terrifying. Thankfully, Quintus’ pre-present-day exposition allowed for some understanding of how an otherwise decrepit old lady could become a WMD…oh my God he smashed her skull with a pipe wrench! Thankfully the failed escape attempt didn’t go on too long (I want to see what was going on in that plane; I feel like it was World War Z-level action with the Mycelium Mouths).
As the D-Day stuff comes to a close, it seems pretty clear that the only necessary piece was the death of Sarah. As the audience makes the jump 20 years into the future, there’s no understanding of how or why the Mycelium Mouths came to be, only that they did, leaving us to imagine that Sarah’s death will mark the beginning of Joel’s origin story as “The Governor” of some post-apocalyptic civilization.
What Are Fireflies? What a Mouthy Brat!
Joel is just…a grunt? He should be running this DMZ but instead, he’s willing to burn bodies and work in the sewers? All these FEDRA people are faceless goons and someone kicked the shit out of I-didn’t-recognize-her-but-that’s Anna Torv. Obviously, these Fireflys are a big deal; that brat they have chained up is mouthy as hell. If you’re already chaining her up, add a modified Hannibal Lecter mask to keep her from talking unless you need her to. Where’s a wight giant when you need one? I adored the abstract art on the wall in the subway tunnel; I could have stared at the blown-up Mycelium Mouth all day trying to figure out exactly what I was looking at.
Joel and Agent Dunham are sneaky! Joel’s brother is now estranged…hopefully Joel reminds him that he’d likely be dead if he hadn’t bailed him out of jail…and that Sarah would probably not have been shot and killed if Joel hadn’t spent the time bailing him out. At this point in the series, it’s tough to accept swapping out sweet Sarah, who fixed her Dad’s watch for his birthday, with the abrasive, vulgar Ellie but she’s apparently the Mycelium Messiah, so I guess she’s going to fill that hole in Joel’s heart with all sorts of cuss words.
The biggest outstanding question at the moment is why Joel is so terrifying. I assumed his 20 years of experience would have included murdering his way to the top of some group of survivors so he could lead a revolution against the government that took his daughter away from him. Murders, maybe some light torture, and developing some mild psychoses; instead, he’s just a dude who while resourceful, would seem to be no more or less threatening than any other dude. Surely his war vet brother would be scarier.
Next!
It seems like most of the people in this episode were faceless because we’ll never see them again now that Joel, Tess, and Ellie left the zone. Though it was nothing extraordinary, the closing shot of the episode worked as a really great tease for me. The thought of them heading into a completely ruined city full of loud, screechy noises might not be Rick riding into Atlanta on his high horse, but it definitely portends bad things man, I mean bad things…
Experiencing The Last of Us never gets any easier. It’s a painful, heartbreaking story that might feel gratuitous if it wasn’t so devastatingly good. Of course, the difficulty involved with balancing so much grief with a storytelling necessity for actual payoff is a huge reason why the game was so beloved, but it’s not a task so easily accomplished. That’s why, as with any adaptation of an iconic video game, fans were likely terrified of a live-action series that would fumble the chance to convey this unicorn act to a wider audience. Luckily for them, HBO’s revamped take on Naughty Dog’s 2013 classic hits all the same marks as its predecessor in a shockingly faithful premiere episode that even manages to improve on a few key moments in the franchise’s lore.
The series’ first 80-minutes are essentially broken up into two segments – a 20-minute prologue detailing Outbreak Day and the origins of the Cordyceps takeover, followed by a proper hour that introduces viewers to the show’s post-apocalyptic world and its grungy cast of characters. Truthfully, it’s hard to remember the last time a major adaptation converted its source material from format-to-format with such pinpoint precision. The story beats are all almost exactly the same, with the episode only straying from what previously existed in brief efforts to expand upon what fans were already expecting. Normally, a word-for-word translation could prove costly for a series of this caliber, but The Last of Us is, quite frankly, not normal.
Perhaps it’s because the video game previously existed as a somewhat cinematic experience, but the show’s surprising method of sticking to what works is admirable for multiple reasons. The obvious positive is that The Last of Us is still The Last of Us, and not an entirely new tale riding the original’s credibility. Those who played the games and loved them will be thrilled to see certain scenes play out exactly as they did on their PlayStations nearly a decade ago; those who are witnessing this story for the first time can take comfort in the fact they’re not “missing” anything the former group has raved about for years. As mentioned before, The Last of Us is special in large part because of its emotional tight-rope act, and series creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin clearly don’t want to mess with that wildly effective formula.
Both Mazin and Druckmann stated before the series premiered that there would be new elements and expanded segments throughout the story’s retelling, and the colossal first episode wastes no time in proving this to be true. Viewers are quickly treated to a 1960s cold open explaining the science behind Cordyceps, and a much longer tenure with Nico Parker’s Sarah and the pre-apocalypse Miller family. Thankfully, neither of these bits wear out their welcome and actually end up serving the overall plot rather well. Parker is so likable in her elongated stint on the show that Sarah’s ultimate demise becomes all-the-more tear-jerking, while the eventual collapse of society is made far more upsetting after an incredibly stressful sequence involving the Miller’s neighbors that will likely qualify as one of the most tensity-filled television scenes of the year.
Among the show’s greatest achievements, thus far, is how successful it is at conveying the brutality of The Last of Us without most of the gut-wrenching action. This is accredited mostly to the brilliance of the cast. Pedro Pascal‘s Joel and Anna Torv‘s Tess are more delicate than ever before, stripped of their near-superhuman survival abilities in a slightly more realistic version of the apocalypse than the game was allowed to portray. As such, the series is forced to show their capabilities through smaller moments, leaning heavily on the dramatic aspects of the story, and both performers are adept at meeting the challenge. Bella Ramsey, the biggest question mark leading into the series’ premiere, is outstanding. The most important part of bringing existing characters to life is capturing their essence, which they have in spades. The same goes for Gabriel Luna as Tommy, and, obviously, Merle Dandridge‘s Marlene.
All-in-all, it would appear that HBO has a bona fide hit on their hands.The Last of Us recaptures magic in a bottle, mixing sorrowful, awe-inducing set pieces with the damaging beauty of the human condition, and finally revealing to the greater world why they should be so invested in the journey of Joel and Ellie. The premiere does an excellent job of pacing itself through its own expository chapter and leaves off on an intriguing-enough note that promises a thrill ride when viewers return next week. If the first episode is any indication, newcomers to the franchise are in for a treat, and longtime fans should be excited about what they already know comes next.
One Piece‘s live-action adaptation will offer a new take on the iconic manga from Eiichiro Oda. We were lucky to follow the production with various set photos that teased larger-than-life production. They are using real boats to showcase some iconic iconography from the original series, and we’re still anxiously awaiting a first look at the costumes of the various actors.
While joining the One Piece community discussing the last year, showrunner Matt Owens got the opportunity to offer some minor tidbits on what to expect. In it, he revealed that his new favorite character from the live-action adaptation is Mihawk, played by Steven Ward.
I will say that my favorite character in the live-action is Mihawk. I will say that.
Matt Owens
Of course, he doesn’t really give away any details or why he’s enjoyed the character but YouTuber Rogersbase did add a bit, as he had the opportunity to visit the set some time ago.
I will say, I understand why Matt be saying that. I will also say that I think there is a story arc that when we get to it, people are going to be very impressed with how that story arc turns out, and looks in live-action.
Rogersbase
The YouTuber highlights that “he has complete faith now” after having had a chance to see the set from the arc that he is teasing. Of course, this led to many speculating what exactly he is referencing, but it seems like there’s a lot to be excited bout in how they bring this project to life. Owens did tease that we’ll get an update “very soon“ so we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see what the project has to offer.
There’s always a heated discussion online about the relevance of remaking something in live-action. Some believe that these projects should remain in their original format, but there’s also an opportunity for these adaptations to draw in a completely new audience. That is something that showrunner Matt Owens seemingly believes with his adaptation of One Piece for Netflix and Tomorrow Studios.
While being asked about the upcoming live-action adaptation, Owens got an opportunity to highlight what he and his co-showrunner Steve Maeda hope to accomplish with this show, and that is to establish this “as an entry point.” A series like One Piece consists of 1,000+ chapters and just as many anime episodes. So, it’s not an easy show to just jump into, but that is something Netflix’s One Piece can offer.
We want to be able to use this as an entry point. We’ve all had experiences trying to get people into this who aren’t that are like: “How many chapters is it? How many episodes is the anime?” So, to be able to offer this as a new and different entry point. See, now you can jump in. Now, you can see what we were talking about.
Matt Owens
It’s an ambitious goal and also reflects how much care is going into this project from everyone involved. They highlight that the cast, crew, and anyone working on the project loves or fell in love with the series, ensuring they want to bring it fully to life. There’s always a challenge with adapting an animated project into live-action, but the team gives a lot of hope.
There’s also the fact that some people simply don’t care for animation. Hollywood still struggles to highlight that animation is an art form and not just something for children. Guillermo del Toro highlighted this fact once again during his speech after winning for Pinocchio. Yet, some might not be interested to jump into an animated project or read a manga. So, the live-action project may give them that entry window to give it a chance after all.
One Piece is among Netflix’s biggest and most ambitious releases for 2023 (if it does) but with no real update for quite some time, there’s a lot of hope that it’s only the calm before the storm. Showrunners Matt Owens and Steve Maeda are still hard at work bringing an iconic world created by mangaka Eiichiro Oda to life and also trying to avoid the usual pitfalls of anime or manga adaptations.
There is, however, one major difference with the creative team this time around, as they are quite proactive in the fan bases for this franchise. Owens has recently participated in the Reverie, an ongoing meeting between One Piece content creators, where he offered a tiny but hopeful glimpse into what’s heading our way with this ambitious project. While he couldn’t give away any details or drop any reveals, he has given hope that an update is just around the corner.
During the live cast, he revealed that “you’ll have something new to see very soon.” The wording seemingly implies that we’re not only getting an update on casting, but perhaps we’ll actually get more from the set or even the cast in their iconic costumes. Of course, there could be the potential of a teaser trailer of some kind, but it may also be too early to say given that strongly depends on when the series may release on Netflix. Either way, it’s a great way to hint that we won’t have to wait too much longer until we get an update on where the series currently stands.
Things have calmed down quite a bit on the shore of the One Piece live-action series since production wrapped up some months ago. Tomorrow Studios and Netflix are working on what may be one of their most ambitious adaptations yet, as the original series by Eiichiro Oda is quite a bit different from the more grounded stories of Death Note and even Cowboy Bebop. The world includes a wide variety of creatures, cultures, and environments that are out of this world.
There’s always some worry with live-action translations that cartoony elements may not make it into these adaptations. While visual effects have come a long way, there are still some limitations or even creatives who might be shy about fully embracing that wacky concept. Luckily, showrunner Matt Owens revealed that this series is definitely going to “look like the One Piece world” during his participation in the yearly One Piece community-driven live-cast known as the Reverie.
The world is going to look like the One Piece world, that is what it is. Are characters going to have razor-sharp teeth when they get mad? No, we won’t have that but elements that make the One Piece world what it is, we’re not shying away from it.
Matt Owens
For long-time fans, this is a releasing statement to hear, especially with just how creative some of the islands become that we see in the series are. It also makes sense that we won’t be seeing the usual anime tropes for the various reaction shots, but it’s great to know that once we hit the Grand Line, there’s going to be a lot of chaos awaiting this new take on the Straw Hat pirates.
I don’t know what day it is. I spent 20 years of the apocalypse keeping track. Funny I would die not knowing.
Let’s just get it out of the way – this is probably my final journal entry. I thought I could talk to people, help them understand what the world needed to heal. Make them see the light.
I was wrong.
We raided a Hunter settlement. Tried to bring them into our fold. We severely underestimated how many of them there were. They killed everyone in my mission, and now I’m in a cage on the way to sacrifice. Well, execution really. Being “thrown to the beasts“, an example for anyone else who might dare oppose them. Sacrifice just sounds better in my head. Doing it for the cause, and all.
I haven’t slept in… a while? So, I apologize if any of this sounds delusional. It’s hard to sleep when you know you only have a little time left. They took all of my things, but one of the guards left me my journal. Maybe he’s just curious what I’ll write. Like an insane social experiment. Obviously, he doesn’t know what I’ve got in here. The second half of my life. A series of events you clearly shouldn’t replicate.
If this is the last hurrah, though, I guess I’d better make it count.
I started this survival guide when I was only 22 years old. So much hadn’t happened yet. I didn’t know how humanity would change, or what might happen on a planet filled with monsters. I was just scared, and alone. I told myself I didn’t care if I died, that I wasn’t afraid of death. But that was bullshit. A lie to make myself feel better, while I listened to gunshots every night. Never sure if they were aimed at people or the infected. Never sure when they’d be aimed at me.
Now, they are. Metaphorically, of course. Literally, I’m being fed to a herd of Clickers. I’ll try to fight back – of course I will – but like I’ve said before, that fungus ain’t just for looks. It’ll hurt, I’m not looking forward to that, but maybe I’ll manage to get one last laugh in before I go. Of all the ways I thought this world might take me, gladiatorial combat against the undead was NOT on the list. It’s sorta hilarious if you’ve got a morbid sense of humor like mine. If you don’t, I suppose it may come across as tragic.
Either way, I’m trying to keep my spirits up. I think I had a pretty good run, all things considered. And, if you’ve somehow found even just a handful of my rules, I’d like to think I saved a life or two during the ride. Based on what I’ve heard, I should have just enough time to get one more lesson down on paper, and I’m not really doing anything else at the moment, so why not?
It’s an obvious one, keeping the circumstances in mind. However, now that I’m old (in apocalypse years), I’m gonna try to throw a little wisdom in there as well. Really flesh out the topic. It’s the antithesis of my current situation, the solution to the mistake that finally did me in. I believed in something, and for the first time, I wasn’t afraid of dying for it. I knew it could get me, but somehow I never really thought it would. So, please, if you’d like to avoid becoming plant bait, do the following –
Rule #88, Don’t Be A Martyr
What I’ve come to learn is that people aren’t designed to be satisfied. Survival is not based around ideals. Its foundation is simply the next thought, the next need that must be met. That’s where this country has landed, and that’s where it will likely stay. Honestly, there’s a good chance it was always headed towards this – whether a fungus took us there or not.
Humanity will always run towards perfection, just to throw it away. We get bored. Salvation is too easy. We make our own problems because deep down, we love the chaos. We love the sensation of hating something from the bottom of our stomachs. It makes us feel better to think everything else is terrible because then we don’t feel as bad about ourselves. It’s sickening, but it’s just how things are. I thought I could fight against that, change it even, and instead I learned the world has become exactly what it was meant to be.
Society was too complicated for us to handle. It was overstimulating. We were always supposed to live in tribes, hunting for basic needs. That’s what we have now. No borders, no government, no money. Just animals, roaming the land. Anyone who allows themselves to think higher thoughts, or commit to something bigger, has already written their future on the wall. People, as we know them, will never change.
I remember when we were still concerned about “Global Warming.” Someone told me it was narcissistic to think we would kill the Earth. That it was more likely the Earth would kill us, like the parasites we are. And, they said, that it was most likely a meteor would take us all out before any of that happened. The universe would hit the reset button, the only true method of bringing about peace.
Maybe a meteor is what we need. We’re too full of hate and greed to let anything else in the door. So many stories end with people being too stubborn to let their feelings go. To do what’s right in the name of the bigger picture. But you have to let go if you ever hope to move forward. Move forward, or you’ll die with the past. Don’t be a martyr. Just hold your loved ones close and keep yourselves alive.
I wasn’t able to do any of that. I let my emotions get in the way. I thought too much. Now the universe has cut my rope short. Thankfully, I have my writings. A legacy. Something for you to remember me by. In a weird way, my life has become devoted to you. The ones who can still make it. If I have to be a martyr, I’m hoping it’s worth something. That I can make you among the last of a drowning breed – those who decipher between good and evil, and know when to use both.
So, if you’ve found this journal, use it well. Enter this world knowing how it works, and learn to survive. I’ll see you sooner or later. Let me know how it goes.
Fans of the hit series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba will be able to revisit the iconic series’ second season quite soon, as a new listing on Netflix has it set for a release on January 21st. There are no details on what is included in this second season, as the Mugen Train Arc was available as a standalone film, but was also redone in a seven-episode arc for the series. There’s a chance that they’ll simply include that arc with the Entertainment District Arc, the actual second season of the anime.
Kimetsu no Yaiba was a popular manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotoug, which was first published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in February 2016. The series ran until May 2020 and follows the story follows the journey of a Tanjiro, whose life is changed forever when his family is killed by demons. With his sister infected, he sets out to find a cure and save what is left of his family.
The series saw a massive increase in popularity after the release of its anime adaptation. It offered a beautiful showcase of what animation is capable of, and the colorful cast of characters added a lot to get viewers hooked on its surprisingly dark premise. The series is currently set up for the next season, which will adapt the Swordsmith Village Arc from the manga series.
Production on Marvel Studios’ first project of the new year, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, kicks off next week in Atlanta and after months of unofficial announcements, the studio worked with THR to unveil the talent working on the streaming series. Tucked away in that announcement may have been one of the studio’s most important new castings in relative newcomer Miles Gutierrez-Riley. As the slow march toward a Young Avengers project continues, Gutierrez-Riley may be filling the role of one of the last remaining original members of the team.
In October of 2022, a pair of casting calls for Agatha: Coven of Chaos seemed to indicate that Marvel Studios was set to introduce two founding members of the Young Avengers: Billy Kaplan and Teddy Altman. While the casting of Joe Locke as the “witty”, “astute fanboy” momentarily made absolute nobody Nicholas Scratch everyone’s favorite character, it’s much more widely accepted now that he’s playing Billy Kaplan, aka Wiccan. The case for Locke as Wiccan is significantly strengthened by the presence of a pair of casting calls for Jewish parents, a description matching Billy’s parents from the comics and accepting Locke as Wiccan goes a long way toward making the case for Gutierrez-Riley as Hulkling, assuming he’s been cast in the other role revealed in October.
That role called for a gay actor 18-20, described as “a kind soul” with a “great sense of humor” who is totally in love with his boyfriend and has an athletic build. While Gutierrez-Riley doesn’t hit the age range (he graduated from Fordham University in 2020), the age ranges have always served as guidelines and Marvel Studios has routinely reached outside of them when they find the right fit. To that end, Gutierrez-Riley, who was a Denzel Washington Scholarship Recipient at Fordham before landing role in Amazon’s The Wilds and director Sanaa Lathan’sOn the Come Up, certainly could fit the bill.
Whether or not that role is Teddy Altman/Hulkling, of course, is a different matter entirely as is the nature of that character in the MCU. In the comics, Hulkling is a Kree/Skrull hybrid with a powerful heritage on both sides. As the grandson of Skrull Emperor Dorrek VII, Teddy (Dorrek VIII) is heir to the Skrull empire; as the son of Kree hero Mar-Vell, Teddy carries on a legacy valued greatly by the people of Hala. Marvel Studios has made a series of choices, however, that all but eliminate any of that background. Dorreks don’t exist yet in the MCU and Mar-Vell had no super powers nor was she a revered hero of Hala, so short of creating an entirely new backstory for Teddy, it seems that being Wiccan’s boyfriend (and likely being able to shape-shift) is the role for the time being. Of course, with Secret Invasion and The Marvels coming in 2023, there’s still time to add a little more depth to the Kree-Skrull War and give Teddy something more to do.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos is currently slated to stream on Disney Plus in late 2023 or early 2024.
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