Sherlock Holmes started out as a fictional detective appearing in Victorian Era trade magazines from writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Between the films, TV shows, animated series, he has become the “most portrayed literary human character in film & TV,” according to Guinness World Records.
That includes anime. One of the first attempts was Hayao Miyazaki and Kyosuke Mikuriya’s kids show ‘Sherlock Hound,’ leading to the more recent ‘Moriarty the Patriot,’ a mystery anime based on the manga author Ryōsuke Takeuchi and illustrator Hikaru Miyoshi which follows Sherlock’s nemesis Moriarty as he rises to become one of the greatest criminal masterminds in England.
The anime kicked off in fall 2020 from the Japanese studio Production I.G and now Funimation has announced that they are producing an English dub of the show.
“A grand mystery is about to unfold. We’re excited to announce that the Moriarty the Patriot English dub is officially coming to Funimation, and we’ve got details on the release of Part 1, cast and more.” They said in a press release, “all 11 episodes of Moriarty the Patriot Part 1 will arrive in English-dubbed format on Funimation, so if you’ve been waiting to jump into this incredible series (or want to watch from the beginning), it’s almost time!”
They added, “The English cast of the series includes Aaron Dismuke (Dr. STONE) as William James Moriarty, Chris Guerrero (Overlord) as Albert James Moriarty, Howard Wang (SK8 the Infinity) as Louis James Moriarty and Theo Devaney as Sherlock Holmes.”
The rest of the cast includes Howard Wang as Louis James Moriarty, Ryan Colt Levy as Sherlock’s friend and colleague Dr. Watson, Christopher Wehkamp as Sebastian Moran, Suzie Yeung as Miss Hudson, J. Michael Tatum as Mycroft Holmes, and David Matranga as Inspector Lestrade.
Check out the Japanese trailer below:
Professor Moriarty was mentioned at least five times in ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ before making his first true appearance in “The Adventure of the Final Problem.” Holmes often referred to him as the “Napoleon of Crime.”
‘Moriarty the Patriot’ Anime Is Getting A Dub
Scorpina Headlines Super7’s ReAction Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
The next wave of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ReAction figures from Super7 will be out this October! This wave will include Scorpina, Lord Zedd, the DragonZord, Pink Ranger, Black Ranger, and Goldar. Each figure will retail for $18.00.
Super7 has a line of figures based on the classic ’80s style of 3.75″ action figures. Like Kenner’s Star Wars toys from the days of old, the ReAction figures sport five points of articulation and fit in well with your existing collection of retro toys.
Click here to pre-order the Wave 2 figures.
[Source: Super7]
New Batman, Star Trek, & Thunder Cats Replicas From Factory Entertainment!
Into collecting prop replicas from Star Trek, Batman, and the ThunderCats? Then Factory Entertainment is doing right by you! The company specializing in replicas of iconic weapons and gear is bringing scaled props to market next year!
FE will be producing the following replicas:
- Batman 1989 speargun
- Batman 1989 batarang
- Star Trek: TOS lirpa
- Star Trek: TNG bat’leth
- ThunderCats Sword of Omens
- ThunderCats Panthro’s nunchucks
The replicas are not full-size. They range in length from 6″ to 8″. The speargun measures 7″ while the Sword of Omens is 8″. The details on the replicas’ construction are lax over at the Big Bad Toy Store. The props have not officially shown up on Factory Entertainment’s website. So, all we know right now is that they’re made of “metal” and come with display bases.
The Sword of Omens looks like it has enamel paint applied to some areas. Meanwhile, the shiny metal parts of the bat’leth and lirpa look a bit dingy. This may be due to them being prototypes, but there’s no information stating as such.
From what I can tell, there are no moving parts. The speargun’s spear doesn’t look removable, and the batarang does not fold up. The chains on Panthro’s nunchucks are probably really linked, which is nice if I’m right.
What are your thoughts on scaled-down replicas? Good for display, or would you prefer the full-sized prop? What other iconic weapons from pop culture should make their way into this line? Let us know your opinions in the comments.
[Source: Big Bad Toy Store]
Retro Flip Top Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Return To Store Shelves
Expanding on a previous wave of retro figures, the original Seban Mighty Morphin Power Rangers “morphing” figures will be getting the last of the original lineup this Fall. The figures, easily recognizable by their bulky torsos used to hide the play mechanic, will include the Green, White, Yellow, and Pink Rangers.
According to Figures.com, the figures will cost $10.99 and are available now at Walmart.com. I searched the site but could not find this particular wave. The previous one is available, but no sign of the Green, White, or Yellow Rangers.
IT’S RETRO-MORPHIN TIME! Inspired by the classic MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS TV show from the nineties, the RETRO-MORPHIN figures bring back head-flipping, morphin action!
- HEAD SPINNING ACTION FIGURE: The Power Rangers Retro-Morphin Ranger figure lets kids and fans imagine the Rangers morphing into action
- RETRO AS IN THE 90S: Relive, revisit, or appreciate the decade that brought you Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with this figure inspired by the classics
- IT’S MORPHIN TIME: Press the action figure’s belt buckle, and the Rangers head flips, “morphing” them into their helmeted Ranger form.
These figures were launched originally in the mid-1990s during the height of the Power Rangers craze. This was due thanks to Saban merging a generic teen drama with the existing costumed footage from Japan. It was a risky wager, but it has obviously paid off as we’re not looking back at almost 30 years of the franchise’s success.
The previous wave is still available on Walmart’s website. These include the Red, Pink, Blue, and Black Power Rangers. The Pink one is the classic outfit, rather than the alternate one shown above.
What are your thoughts on the return of retro Mighty Morphin Power Rangers figures? Niche or a good way to introduce kids to the classic American Power Rangers franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
[Source: Figures.com]
Superman Battles Starro As A Mezco One:12 Collective Figure
Superman dons his classic red, yellow, and blue tights to enter Mezco‘s One:12 Collective line of action figures. Kal-El comes complete with several accessories, including multiple heads, heat vision, kryptonite shards, and even the intergalactic menace, Starro!
The One:12 Collective Superman: Man of Steel Edition is outfitted in his iconic suit which proudly displays the ‘House of El’ family crest and features a cape with an integrated posing wire. He comes with seven head portraits including a light-up heat vision portrait.
Superman is prepared to exact swift justice on enemies like Starro – the mind-controlling, intergalactic starfish which attaches to most One:12 Collective heads, and also Black Mercy – a parasitic alien plant with posable tentacles.
The Last Son of Krypton comes complete with a Phantom Zone Projector – used to send the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy into the Phantom Zone, two punch FX that attach to his hands, three magnetic bullet ricochet FX that attach to his chest, and a Kryptonite display trophy.
The One:12 Collective Superman has the following features and accessories:
- Over 32 points of articulation
- Five (5) head portraits
- Fitted suit with ‘House of El’ family crest
- Cape with integrated posing wire
- Waist belt
- Knee-high boots
- One (1) Starro
- One (1) Black Mercy with posable tentacles
- One (1) Phantom Zone Projector
- One (1) Kryptonite trophy display
- Three (3) magnetic bullet ricochet FX
- Two (2) heat vision FX
- Two (2) punch FX
- One (1) One:12 Collective display base with logo
- One (1) One:12 Collective adjustable display post
- One (1) pair of fists (L&R)
- One (1) pair of flying hands (L&R)
- Two (2) pairs of posing hands (L&R)
- One (1) pair of holding hands (L&R)
The last son of Krypton will ship sometime between May and July 2022. Clark is priced at $125 and requires a $31.25 deposit. He can be pre-ordered right now through Mezco.
Have you purchased any of Mezco’s One:12 Collective figures in the past? Let us know your opinions on these in the comments.
[Source: Mezco]
Live Action ‘My Hero Academia’ Movie to be Directed by Shinsuke Sato
Shinsuke Sato has been announced as the new director for the live action movie of the hit series My Hero Academia, for Legendary Pictures. This will be Sato’s first movie that will be in English-language. His past directing works have included such titles as the 2011 two-part movies Gantz, the 2018 movie Bleach and the 2019 movie Kingdom.
My Hero Academia, which was created by Kohei Horikoshi, is about a superhero fanboy Izuku Midoriya, who daydreams about being a hero in a world where 80% of Earth’s population manifests a super power (or “quirk”). Izuku is born without a quirk, crushing his dream to attend the UA superhero academy. But, after a chance encounter with All Might, the greatest hero the world has ever known, Midoriya vows to work as hard as he can, quirk or no quirk, to become a symbol of peace and a beacon of hope for the world.
The manga was first published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in July 2014, with the manga still publishing new chapters. The manga series is being distributed in the U.S. by Viz Media. The manga series is among the most popular manga titles in the world with over 50 million copies in circulation. In 2019, the series won the Harvey award for best manga. The anime made its’ debut in 2016, with the latest 5th season having premiered on March 27th in Japan. Funimation is currently airing the English dubbed version.
My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission, which started in Japanese theaters on August 6th as the third anime film in the series franchise, sold about 720,000 tickets to earn about 940 million yen (about US$8.51 million) from Friday to Monday.
Alex Garcia and Jay Ashenfelter are overseeing the project on behalf of Legendary Entertainment, while Ryōsuke Yoritomi, the manga’s editor, will oversee the project for Shueisha. Toho will distribute the film in Japan.
Here is the trailer for the first season of My Hero Academia:
So what do you think? Do the people involved in this movie instill a little more confidence in this live-action adaption?
‘Future Boy Conan’ Is Getting A North American 4K DVD Release
The post-apocalyptic steampunk adventure ‘Future Boy Conan’ holds a special place in the hearts of anime enthusiasts. It was the directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki, who went on to co-found Studio Ghibli where he directed several Japanese animated films including ‘Castle in the Sky’ and ‘Spirited Away.’
Fans were greeted with a big announcement, as GKIDS stated in a press release that they have acquired the North American distribution rights to twenty-six ‘Future Boy Conan’ and will release them on blu-ray and 4K DVDs complete with an English dub.
They explained in a press release, “GKIDS, the acclaimed producer and distributor of animation for adult and family audiences, announced today it has acquired the North American distribution rights for FUTURE BOY CONAN (Mirai Shounen Conan), the 1978 directorial debut by Academy Award-winner Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away). The 26-episode series, which was produced by Nippon Animation, will be released by GKIDS in late 2021. The acquisition marks the first time that the series will be available in North America. A new 4K restoration will be available in its original Japanese language, as well as a new English dub version. International sales are handled by Nippon Animation.”
GKIDS President David Jesteadt said, “We are thrilled to help bring this legendary series to North America.” He added, “With a beautiful new restoration, now is the perfect time for American fans of director Hayao Miyazaki to experience this classic adventure series as it was meant to be seen.”
‘Future Boy Conan’ originally aired in Japan on the NHK TV network between April 4 and October 31, 1978. It was known as ‘Conan, The Boy in Future’ in other markets.
GKIDS released a synopsis that “Twenty years ago, a terrible war fought with magnetic weapons caused the earth’s axis to tilt, and earthquakes and tidal waves destroyed civilization. Conan is born into this new world, raised by his adopted grandfather on an isolated island. But his life is forever changed when a mysterious girl named Lana washes ashore, pursued by shadowy operatives who seek to use her in a new scheme to control what’s left of the world.”
Amazon Moves ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Production To UK For Second Season
Tradition comes to an end with the announcement that Amazon Studios is moving shooting of their adaption of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ from New Zealand to the United Kingdom as the production of season two gets ready to kick off.
Director Peter Jackson famously shot both ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ trilogies in New Zealand for New Line Cinema.
While season one of Amazon’s take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth series was filmed in New Zealand, the production almost moved to Scotland following disputes with local officials, but those conflicts were resolved and filming began near Auckland.
Season two now seems to be moved to the United Kingdom with pre-production slated to begin in early 2022.
Amazon Studios said in a statement, “Amazon Studios announced (Aug. 12th) that its untitled The Lord of the Rings original series will film Season Two in the United Kingdom (U.K.). The shift from New Zealand to the U.K. aligns with the studio’s strategy of expanding its production footprint and investing in studio space across the U.K., with many of Amazon Studios’ tentpole series and films already calling the U.K. home.”
“The highly anticipated The Lord of the Rings series recently wrapped principal photography on Season One in New Zealand and is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video in more than 240 countries around the world on Friday, September 2, 2022,” they continued.
Amazon Studios exec Vernon Sanders said, “We want to thank the people and the government of New Zealand for their hospitality and dedication and for providing The Lord of the Rings series with an incredible place to begin this epic journey.” He added, “We are grateful to the New Zealand Film Commission, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Tourism New Zealand, Auckland Unlimited, and others for their tremendous collaboration that supported the New Zealand film sector and the local economy during the production of Season One.”
COO & Co-Head of TV for Amazon Studios Albert Cheng explained, “As we look to relocate the production to the U.K., we do not intend to actively pursue the Season One MoU five percent financial uplift with the New Zealand government or preserve the terms around that agreement, however, we respectfully defer to our partners and will remain in close consultation with them around next steps.”
‘The Lord of the Rings’ series will serve as a “prequel” to the events of ‘The Hobbit,’ taking place in the second age and is rumored to tell the story of the rise of Sauron and the formation of the One Ring.
Amazon Studios Releases New Images For ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ Reboot
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ is a 1997 slasher film by director Jim Gillespie that received a mixed reaction from critics, though it would be a hit with audiences. Its popularity would lead to two sequels in 1998 and 2006, respectively. The original film stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr. as a group of friends who kill someone in a hit-and-run, dumping the victim in the sea. One year, they find themselves being stalked by a mysterious figure.
Announced in July 2019, Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures are in the process of filming a television reboot of the 1997 film, this time starring Madison Iseman, Bill Heck, Brianne Tju, Ezekiel Goodman, Ashley Moore, Sebastian Amoruso, Fiona Rene, Cassie Beck, and Brooke Bloom.
Amazon released a group of “first look” images from the television show, set to be released on October 15.
The first look at Amazon’s ‘I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER’ series.
The series premieres on October 15 on Amazon Prime Video. pic.twitter.com/lRMoSWs20i
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 11, 2021
Amazon Studios describes the plot as, “One year after the fatal car accident that haunted their graduation night, a group of teenagers find themselves bound together by a dark secret and stalked by a brutal killer. As they try to piece together who’s after them, they reveal the dark side of their seemingly perfect town—and themselves. Everyone is hiding something, and uncovering the wrong secret could be deadly.”
According to a press release, “Amazon Prime Video announced (Aug. 11) that the first season of its highly anticipated Amazon Original series I Know What You Did Last Summer will premiere Friday, October 15 on Amazon Prime Video, with the official first-look images out now. The eight-episode Amazon Original series will be available exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 territories and countries around the world, and is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television.”
They added, “The first four episodes will be released on October 15, with new episodes available each subsequent Friday. The series will culminate in a suspenseful, can’t-miss season finale on November 12, 2021.”
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ was very loosely based on a 1973 suspense novel from Lois Duncan.
Todd McFarlane Celebrates After Successful ‘King Spawn’ Launch
Image Comics founder Todd McFarlane is having a good week. The debut of his new series ‘King Spawn’ reached over 497,000 copies, outselling all major competitors including Marvel and DC Comics. McFarlane wasted no time in celebrating.
“The recent launch of Todd McFarlane’s new monthly comic book, King Spawn #1, has shattered sales records,” Image Comics wrote in a press release. “With just under a half-million pre-orders by comic stores retailers, this marks the single largest new superhero monthly title launch in the comic book industry in the past 25 years based on the standard sales formula of the comic book industry (non-returnable, non-retailer exclusive sales).”
“Total pre-orders of 497K are bigger than any Marvel new monthly superhero launch, including Ironman, Hulk, Thor, or Captain America issue in the past quarter-century. McFarlane’s King Spawn #1 also topped any DC Comics new monthly title launch for the past two and a half decades, including Batman, Superman, Flash, or Wonder Woman,” they continued. “No Avengers or Justice League character has debuted a monthly book with sales numbers like King Spawn #1 in the 21st century.”
“The numbers that came in were much higher than what I had projected,” McFarlane said.
“With sales that now have a historical impact in our industry. It proves that the character Spawn and the world he lives in still resonates to fans almost thirty years after I first introduced him. But the biggest thing for me is having King Spawnbecoming another example to the creative community that you can have creator-owned success outside of the two huge publishing giants, Marvel, and DC Comics. Every story that shows you can make a career on your own will hopefully inspire other talented people to try.
He added, “As President of Image Comics, advocating for the creators has been our goal since its inception in 1992.”
Spawn is also set to receive a cinematic reboot starring Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner. The film was supposed to begin filming in 2020 but has been hit with a few delays.
