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Arcade1Up is Making a TMNT ‘Turtles in Time’ Cabinet!

Not a single arcade in Tampa Bay had Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time when I was a radical teen in the ’90s. We had to settle with the SNES port. Admittedly, that port was great, but the SNES pad doesn’t do justice to an arcade cabinet beat-em-up’s joystick and buttons.
Arcade1Up has yet again supercharged our nostalgia cells and is releasing the second TMNT arcade game for the home market.
Turtles in Time will come with wi-fi. This will allow you to play with all four turtles via online multiplayer. That’s a great addition, especially for someone like me who only has the rebooted game from 2009.

Arcade1Up | Konami
Arcade1Up | Konami
Arcade1Up | Konami
Arcade1Up | Konami
Arcade1Up | Konami
Arcade1Up | Konami

“Cowabunga!” Turtles in Time™ plays exactly how it did in the early ’90s. Take control of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, or Raphael with up to four simultaneous players, making for endless animation inspired fun.
Ready to team up for some remote play? The Turtles in Time™ home arcade game is equipped with Live WIFI; yes, you can fight your way through each level with the help of fellow retrogamers playing from their own machine!
Beautifully bold cabinet artwork, stunningly vibrant graphics. It’s time to add some Turtles to your life, with this home arcade machine from Arcade1Up!

Friggin’ sweet! Oh, and the original TMNT arcade game is included! Thank Splinter! Finding the first TMNT cabinet right now is tough. Walmart deeply discounted them a few months ago, and the boxes vanished. Pre-orders start on July 1st!

Turtles in Time had a brief resurgence on the XBOX 360 when Ubisoft Singapore made a new version of the game sporting 3D graphics. Sadly, Turtles in Time Re-Shelled has long been delisted from the XBOX Arcade store. The same fate befell the original TMNT Arcade Game and the Konami X-MEN game.

It is still possible to download the games via a 360, but only if you’d purchased them on release. Here’s a guide on how to do just that:

Do you remember this cabinet in arcades back in the ’90s? Let us know what your favorite TMNT game is in the comments.

‘Hanna’ Star Saoirse Ronan Joins Cast Of Sci-Fi Movie ‘Foe’

‘Hanna’ actress Saoirse Ronan joins Paul Mescal (‘Normal People’) and LaKeith Stanfield (‘Judas and the Black Messiah’) for the upcoming science fiction thriller ‘Foe,’ slated to be directed by Garth Davis (‘Mary Magdalene’).
‘Foe’ is based on a sci-fi novel by Iain Reid, which tells the story of a husband who has been selected to the space station OuterMore. Hesitant to leave his wife, he is told that he will be replaced with a “biomechanical duplicate” to take care of her while he is away. This opens up the door for paranoia and suspicion as the mysterious man continually returns to ask the husband probing questions about his life ahead of his journey into space.
“I’ve been on the hunt to do something in sci-fi, it was always on my bucket list, and also to find material I could make an actor’s piece with a Cassavetian level of performance,” Davis explained to Deadline in an interview. “I read ‘Foe’ and could not put it down. It’s incredibly suspenseful, very moving and dealt with sci-fi in a most grounded way that spoke to where we are heading as a society, with a lot of the questions we all have, explored in a profound way.”
He continued, ‘And the love story just broke my heart, this story of self-determination, fighting for the things that are most precious in our lives, and reminding audiences that this time we have here is precious and the way we treat each other is the way we need to be treating the planet. Foe was just a bull’s-eye, for me.”
Davis praised the casting of Ronan and how she was the right choice for the part of the wife.
“What I love about Saoirse is, you see her on screen and she is just so unfiltered and alive,” he said. “She represents to me all the things we need to protect in the world. Putting her in the belly of this suspenseful and uneasy story is the whole point. What she represents is precious, she’s an empath. She fights for the things we all should be fighting for. I was looking for an actress who just had those qualities, and that beauty.”
‘Foes’ will be an Anonymous Content Studios production with Davis co-producing.

Temuera Morrison Shares Insight Into Star Wars Spin-Off ‘The Book of Boba Fett’

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Star Wars fans were given a taste of the upcoming spin-off of ‘The Mandalorian’ which showed actor Temuera Morrison reprise his role as a bounty hunter for the upcoming Disney Plus show ‘The Book of Boba Fett.’
Morrison recently sat down with Rotten Tomatoes where he gave some clues into the upcoming LucasFilm series, including how Boba Fett’s experiences prior to ‘The Mandalorian’ will be explored as part of the plot.
“Well, we can’t say too much, but we’re going to see his past and where he’s been since ‘The Empire Strikes Back’,” the ‘Couples Retreat’ actor said. “Somebody pointed out he’s been kind of stuck in this one place, and now’s the time to actually go back in time and check out his journey and find out more about him.”
‘The Beautiful Country’ actor discussed working with ‘Spy Kids’ director Robert Rodriguez who is not only executive producing ‘The Book of Boba Fett,’ but will return to direct.
“So this was an opportunity again, to work with Robert Rodriguez, who gave it a little bit of an edge,” he explained. “And I think Robert’s ability was to sort of make a good point of making this guy explode. After it, Jon Favreau come up to me and just said, ‘Congratulations, the fans loved it.’”
“But yeah, that was the advantage for me, was that we hadn’t seen him do much,” Morrison continued. “And along with Robert Rodriguez as director, we were able to sort of introduce him in a dynamic way, bring him back in a dynamic way alongside the Mandalorian. It was just an honor to be asked back.”
Morrison described the difficulty of working around pandemic safety measures but that they worked with “some wonderful directors.”
“I just hope I meet the expectations, because you can somehow kind of feel those things,” he said. “You asked me that question earlier about ‘Occupation’ – could you feel or sense anything, but definitely on ‘The Book of Boba,’ you can get more of a sense and a feeling for if it’s working or not.”
‘The Book of Boba Fett’ is set to premiere in December 2021 on the Disney Plus streaming service. ‘Mulan’ actress Ming-Na Wen is set to reprise her role as the bounty hunter Fennec Shand.

G-Force / Gatchaman Funko Pops Coming This October!

Maybe this is just the boomer in me, but I remember my initial shock when I learned that the anime I watched as a kid was drastically different from Japan’s originals. One of those shows in question was G-Force Guardians of Space.
Oh, the history of G-Force / Gatchaman is a messy one. So many hands in the pie of its Westernized releases in America. Many, many sticky hands. That’s not to say what we got wasn’t good, but we wouldn’t know the full scope of the origins of G-Force for years. Then the internet came along, and we could finally see what we’d been missing.
Regardless, I’m still going to call the show G-Force because it sounds cool. Funko is going to refer to it as Gatchaman, as shown in their upcoming release Pops. We spotted these over at Entertainment Earth.
This initial release won’t feature all five champions but the more prevalent trio of Ken the Eagle, Joe the Condor, and Jun the Swan. Expect Jinpei the Swallow and Ryu the Owl at a later date, probably. Maybe Ryu and Jinpei will come packaged together since they’re both of different proportions to the other three in the Science Ninja Squad. 

Entertainment Earth
Entertainment Earth
Entertainment Earth
Ken, Joe, and Jun are available for pre-order now. Expect the trio to hit store shelves in October 2021.
If Gatchaman doesn’t found familiar, but G-Force does, that’s not surprising. Like many anime that hit the American shores in the ’80s and ’90s, the shows were rebranded, companies even changing the entire series in the process. Shows would air out of sequence, even skipping a season. The dubs would also make major deviations in the storylines or a character’s portrayal.
Check out the video from Toy Galaxy below for more background on the original series and its Westernized counterpart.

For those Gatchaman fans out there, what did you think of the live-action film?

Let us know in the comments your opinions on the anime, its various dubs, and the 2013 movie.

‘Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’ Brings Cameron’s Films Back To Gaming

I’d totally forgotten that 2009’s Avatar had a video game adaptation. Much like the movie itself, it came out, and I can recall very little about it.
Thanks to Ubisoft, we’ll be getting a brand new Avatar game in 2022 to coincide with the long-overdue film sequel, hopefully. Check out the “first look” trailer below. I will warn you that there’s no real gameplay shown off, but it is all supposedly in-game footage.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a first person, action-adventure game developed by Massive Entertainment – a Ubisoft studio, in collaboration with Lightstorm Entertainment and Disney. Built using the latest iteration of the Snowdrop engine, and developed exclusively for the new generation of consoles and PC, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora brings to life the alluring world of Pandora with all of its beauty and danger in an immersive, open world experience. In this new, standalone story, play as a Na’vi and embark on a journey across the Western Frontier, a never-before-seen part of Pandora. Explore a living and reactive world inhabited by unique creatures and new characters, and push back the formidable RDA forces that threaten it.

Since the Na’vi are very nimble and athletic creatures, you’d think a 3rd person game would be a better fit. Regardless, the environments look lush and amazing. The caption at the beginning states this is “game footage powered by Snowdrop.”
The Snowdrop engine powered some of Ubisoft’s other releases like Mario + Rabbids and both Division games. I wouldn’t call the thing a powerhouse by any means. Though here, the game world appears pretty awesome.
Temper that excitement, though, as Ubisoft has been known to downgrade games’ visual fidelity upon release drastically. It’s like a whole YouTube subgenre of its own with comparisons of E3 footage next to the released game.
Speaking of 3rd person, the original Avatar game was just that. It featured both human, and Na’vi ranged weapon combat and vehicular/beast riding sections. It wasn’t too bad of a game, just totally forgettable.
If you’re trying to recall the original game that hit PCs and PS4 back in ’09, check out this complete playthrough.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will be out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Stadia, and Luna in 2022.
What did you think of the trailer? Is Avatar still a property worth exploring after all these years? Let us know in the comments.

Ron’s Gone Wrong Movie Trailer and Release Date

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On April 8th Walt Disney Studios celebrated Friendship Day by announcing a new movie with a trailer from the U.K.-based CG animation studio Locksmith Animation and 20th Century Studios. It is Locksmith Studio’s first theatrical release and it is set to be released worldwide on October 22.

Locksmith was founded in 2014 by Sarah Smith, formerly a creative director at Aardman, with backing from Elisabeth Murdoch and DNEG. Smith had made her animation debut as director and co-writer of 2011′s Arthur Christmas, and co-executive produced The Pirates! Band Of Misfits in 2012. In September 2017, Locksmith signed a multi-year production deal with what was then Twentieth Century Fox Film to produce a new animated feature film every 12-18 months. A month later, they announced Ron’s Gone Wrong as their first feature, with Alessandro Carloni (Kung Fu Panda 3) and Pixar story vet Jean-Philippe Vine (Cars 3The Good Dinosaur) co-directing.

Ron’s Gone Wrong was intended to mark the beginning of a new line of Fox Animation features that would complement its output from Blue Sky Studios. That all changed though after Disney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox in 2019. Disney proceeded to dismantle Fox Animation, shut down its subsidiary Blue Sky Studios, and Locksmith’s deal with Fox collapsed.

Ron’s Gone Wrong had become caught up in the corporate turnover, and Disney ended up with the film. Locksmith has since signed a multi-film deal with Warner Bros.

The new animated movie is the story of Barney, a socially awkward middle-schooler and Ron, his new walking, talking, digitally-connected device, which is supposed to be his “Best Friend Out of the Box.” Ron’s hilarious malfunctions, set against the backdrop of the social media age, launch them into an action-packed journey in which boy and robot come to terms with the wonderful messiness of true friendship.

The animated comedy adventure stars Zach Galifianakis, Jack Dylan Grazer, Olivia Colman, Ed Helms and Justice Smith.

Ron’s Gone Wrong is directed by Jean-Philippe Vine and Sarah Smith, with co-directing by Octavio Rodriguez (story artist on Coco and The Incredibles 2). The script is written by Peter Baynham (Arthur ChristmasBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Subsequent Moviefilm) and Smith. Julie Lockhart (Shaun the Sheep MovieThe Pirates! Band of Misfits”), also a co-founder of Locksmith, and Lara Breay produce, with Locksmith chairman Murdoch, Smith, and Baynham serving as executive producers.

Here is the trailer:

What do you think of the movie trailer? Will you go see it in theaters in October?

Source: Walt Disney Studios, CartoonBrew & AWN

Chris McKay Discusses Canceled LEGO Batman Movie Sequel

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Chris McKay brought the Dark Knight to life in a new way with 2017’s ‘The Lego Batman Movie.’ The featured starred Will Arnett as Bruce Wayne, Michael Cera as Robin, Zach Galifianakis as Joker, and Rosario Dawson as Batgirl. It was a huge hit with audiences, garnering over $312 million at the box office.
It stood to reason that the animated film would receive a sequel as its predecessor, 2014’s ‘The Lego Movie,’ got one in the form of 2019’s ‘The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.’
After laboring for a time in development limbo, ‘The Lego Batman Movie 2’ would never receive a green light from Warner Media.
In an interview with ScreenCrush, Chris McKay briefly touched on the proposed sequel and why it would has not come to fruition.
‘The Tomorrow War’ director confirmed that a script was drafted with ‘Community’ and ‘Rick and Morty’ co-creator Dan Harmon’s team.
“It was a story about the Justice League and where Batman was in terms of the Justice League now, and the struggles they were going through, as well as flashing back to how the Justice League came together,” explained McKay. “[It also featured] Batman and Superman’s relationship, as well as Batman’s relationship to a lot of the other members of the Justice League. And Robin, obviously, there was a really great part for Robin.”
While the chances of a sequel are getting smaller, Arnett has expressed an interest in returning to the role of Batman.
“For me, the highlight was getting to do The LEGO Batman Movie, which I stand by,” he told SyFy in 2020. “Chris McKay and I put a lot of hard work into it, so it would be nice if we got to do it again.”
He did briefly in the form of a “deleted scene” on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ which spoofed the library scene from ‘Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.’ When Arnett walks onto the set, Kimmel, Henry Cavill, and Ben Affleck shout, “Nobody cares about Lego Batman!”

AnimeLab Streaming Service Is Joining Funimation

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AnimeLab is a video-on-demand service that was started in 2014. It brought several anime titles to the Australian and New Zealand markets. At its inception, it had several titles from Madman Entertainment and in 2017 received select titles from Adult Swim’s back catalogue.
In June 2021, it was announced that AnimeLab would merge with Funimation, joining their streaming service.
According to the Funimation blog, “A big g’day and kia ora to Funimation Australia/New Zealand! We’re thrilled to share the news today that AnimeLab will soon become Funimation, starting June 17, 2021.”
“All the anime you can handle, plus a global community of fans just like you,” they continued. “With exclusive benefits to being a part of the global Funimation family, plus the same local team you know and love, your world of anime is about to get a whole lot bigger.”
Funimation explained that AnimeLab’s social media will also be merged into their service.
“Though your existing Aussie social media team is still here, over the next couple of months, you’ll start to see some changes to the AnimeLab social accounts rolling out as handles and branding evolve,” Funimation continued. “Once the transition is complete, the AnimeLab blog will ultimately retire, and we’ll continue publishing our articles over at (Funimation Blog.) We’d love to tell you all our secrets right now but shhh… there are a few more coming in the next few weeks. Until then, sit back and relax – we’ve got you.”
“AnimeLab was built from the ground up by a team of Australians,” said Senior Vice President of International for Funimation Global Group Tim Anderson. “To be able to take what we have built and unify to be part of an expansive global growth brand like Funimation, it presents opportunities that we never dreamed possible. With the same great local team and access to a world-class service, it’s a win for fans locally.”
Anderson is also a co-founder of Madman Anime Group and AnimeLab.
The official AnimeLab Facebook page added that they will “be around for a few more months to smooth out any bumps, but will ultimately close.”

Bruce Campbell Narrates The Gameplay Reveal for ‘Evil Dead: The Game’!

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The first teaser trailer for the game dropped late last year and showed off a tiny bit of gameplay. That’s all we’ve had to go on for a while. Today the first extended look at what the game is like has jetted out of the woods and right into our internets!
Let’s check it out!


Bruce Campbell should narrate all things. The Bible. Government legislation. The phonebook. I could listen to that man read anything, any day, of any week.
Well, now that I’ve seen the gameplay, I have more questions. Are we just killing Deadites in a small map? Is there a campaign mode? Is this multiplayer only? Is there a leveling-up system or upgrades to the weapons? How is the multiplayer structured? Are there multiple modes? Sigh…
All we’ve really been able to work out from the available material is that Evil Dead: The Game will mix elements and characters from all over the franchise’s lore. From the original film to Ash VS The Evil Dead, expect many easter eggs and familiar characters. Pablo, Kelly, Cheryl, and even Arthur, to name a few, will be in the game.
From the game’s official website, the Evil Dead: The Game is described as, “Step into the shoes of Ash Williams or his friends from the iconic Evil Dead franchise and work together in a game loaded with over-the-top co-op and PVP multiplayer action! Play as a team of four survivors, exploring, looting, crafting, managing your fear, and finding key items to seal the breach between worlds in a game inspired by all three original Evil Dead films as well as the Starz original Ash vs. Evil Dead television series.



What are your thoughts on the gameplay footage? Have you played any of the other Evil Dead games from years past? Let us know in the comments.

‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ Director Confirms T-Rex Rumble With Gigantosaurus

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The Tyrannosaurus Rex stunned audiences when it first appeared in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jurassic Park’ back in 1993. Since then, the T-Rex has made varying appearances in the dinosaur film franchise from Universal Pictures.
With Colin Trevorrow returning to direct ‘Jurassic World: Dominion,’ he has set his sights on another giant dinosaur to appear on the silver screen. The Gigantosaurus, a dinosaur ironically from the Cretaceous period, is billed as “one of the largest known terrestrial carnivores.” The giant lizard will make his Jurassic Park debut and rumble with the mighty T-Rex in the upcoming sequel.
“If you were brutally murdered 65 million years ago, [you’d] probably [be] pretty mad about it,” Trevorrow joked to Slash Film, referencing upcoming IMAX footage featuring the Gigantosaurus defeating a T-Rex.
“The Giganotosaurus, who’s the one that takes down our T-Rex, I knew that that’s the largest carnivore known to humankind and I really wanted to make sure that we held her back to make sure that we had a villain for the third movie,” he explained. “We are introducing a major villain and a rivalry in a lot of ways.”
Trevorrow also talked about other dinosaurs that will appear in the film, including some that are incredibly small compared to other creatures we have seen in the franchise.
“The Morus Interpidus was the one that’s eating out of the Giganotosaurus’ teeth,” ‘The Book of Henry’ director said. “It was discovered only a couple of years ago and I’m sure it probably popped into your feed if you follow dinosaur stuff.”
He continued, “They called it the tiny T-Rex, and I just got fascinated with it immediately. That’s one of the great joys of making these movies. I marched into the office and said, ‘We’re putting this guy in the movie, this is cool!’ It’s fun.”
“We chose the ones that seem cool, but it’s a combination of also knowing that if we got to make more than one movie, that we wanted to keep certain species in the tank to really hold back for scientists and fans who follow this stuff,” Trevorrow added.

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