With Star Wars in a state of flux due to the poor reception of several releases since Disney’s acquisition of LucasFilm, several projects have seemingly stalled or have been canceled. One of the major announcements that has appeared to be moved to the backburner is a new feature in the galaxy far far away helmed by ‘Jojo Rabbit’ director Taika Waititi.
The New Zealand filmmaker has already directed three episodes of ‘The Mandalorian’ and even provided the voice acting for the bounty hunting robot IG-11, but there has been little to no news about his proposed Star Wars film.
Waititi recently sat down with the Sydney Morning Herald to discuss his upcoming Marvel Studios feature ‘Thor: Love and Thunder,’ but the conversation soon moved to his desire to make a Star Wars movie.
“I don’t know if that’s going to be ‘Star Wars,'” he explained. “I hope it’ll be that but there’s a whole lot of other little things that I’ve got my sticky little fingers attached to so we’ll see.”
Waititi is slated to not only direct the film but also co-write it with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, who won a BAFTA for Outstanding British Film of the Year for her work on the war film ‘1917.’ No release date or title has been given for the proposed Star Wars movie.
With ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ wrapping production, Waititi seems to be eager to get back to work while praising the cast and crew for his Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel.
“I think this might be funnier. Everything we did with ‘Ragnarok’, we’ve just multiplied it,” he said. “Who knows if we do another one after this but I definitely feel like we put everything – every idea and every single ridiculous concept or gag or stunt or character – into this film. I couldn’t be happier with it.”
Taika Waititi Wants To Make His Star Wars Film
A Rainbow In The Night! Super7 Is Making Silverhawks!
Wings of silver! Nerves of steel! Silverhawks are here!
Super7 is going to send us all to the poorhouse. The company has been launching so many toy lines based on retro properties that we GenXers are going broke collecting all this awesome stuff.
Joining Super7’s elite line of merchandise known as Ultimates is the 1980s Rankin/Bass cartoon Silverhawks.
At long last, it is a pleasure to finally bring back SilverHawks to battle Mon*Star and the forces of evil throughout the universe,” said Super7 Founder & Owner, Brian Flynn. “What is super exciting is that the ULTIMATES! figures are just the beginning. We have a much larger relationship with SilverHawks LLC, and we will see SilverHawks available again for years to come.
Since this is Super7’s Ultimates line, that means the prices reflect that. Quicksilver, Steelheart, and Buzzsaw will all be priced at $55 apiece. Mon*Star, however, will command a larger price tag due to his size. For 11″ of villainous plastic, you’ll be paying $85.
The Silverhawks line will launch in the Spring of 2022.
The short-lived but memorable series has been long overdue for the high detail, high articulation treatment. They’ll join the Thundercats and Masters of the Universe in a line of highly sought-after collectibles.
If you were a kid in the ’80s, you’d remember the original toys from Kenner. They all had that awesome chrome-like finish. Due to the show’s short run, these toys became difficult to find and now fetch a pretty penny on eBay.
The downside to the figures was that the Silverhawks themselves didn’t have much articulation due to the wingspread action feature. Essentially the Silverhawks were the first toys that T-posed as a selling point.
Buzzsaw was my favorite. He had multiple spinning blades, and his action feature was biting. Awe yeah! He could have given up intergalactic crime and just gotten a killer job at a lumber yard.
Does anyone remember the Silverhawks toys that were in the Burger King kids’ meal? If I recall correctly, I kept getting the Mon*Star thing. I think it was a ring with a sliding top half that would use a red plastic lens to reveal Mon*Star’s other form.
At Last! Arcade1Up Is Making a Simpsons Cabinet!
The classic Konami arcade machine featuring The Simpsons is finally coming out! When Arcade1Up first started producing scaled-down cabinets a few years ago, all I’d hoped for was this very thing.
If you had an XBOX 360 years back, Konami released multiple classics from their arcade line. These included The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The X-MEN. After all this time, each machine is available for home purchase. Does this mean I can finally sell my aging XBOX?
GameSpot is where I spotted this news. While looking for more details, it was noticed that this product does not even show up on 1Up’s website.
The cabinet features the original color scheme and artwork and thankfully comes with four joysticks. This is a prototype, so expect some things to get tweaked. I hope the screen gets shifted down a tiny bit. Being 6’1″ makes playing these things a bit of a pain even with the lift kit on.
The Simpsons arcade game has a pretty basic, though expectedly silly premise. One day Smithers, for some reason, decides to rob a jewelry store. Upon exiting, he bumps into the Simpsons. The accident causes a large diamond to fly up in the air and land in Maggie’s mouth. Rather than just grabbing the gem from the baby and running off, Smithers takes both the youngest Simpson and the diamond.
So, your family quest starts. The Simpsons, each with varied attacks and co-op attacks if you’re playing with 2-4 players. The journey takes the animated family throughout Springfield and beyond in one case. Krustyland, Moe’s, and even a graveyard are some of the locations you’ll visit. It’s your basic beat’em up. Smash all the goons and save the baby.
Pre-orders won’t be available until later this Summer. We’ll let you know when they are, for sure. So, don’t have a cow.
Do you remember the first time you played this classic? I do. Islands of Adventure in 1991! Five dollars worth of my dad’s quarters later, I was in love with the game.
A One-Bit Hand-Cranked Game Console Called Playdate?
I was skimming through Arstechnica and saw this weird little yellow box that looked like a squished GameBoy with a hand-crank. It’s called the Playdate, and it will be available for pre-order in July.
We’ll give you the basic rundown in my typical blunt style. It’s a portable game system that will feature lots of indie games. It’s a true boutique item.
Yes, that crank is functional. What does it do? In Playdate’s own words, “Yes, the crank. Is it a gimmick? Nah. Does it charge Playdate’s battery? Nope. Is it really fun? Yes yes yes. It’s an analog controller that flips out from the side, allowing you to precisely dial in the action. Not every game uses it, but some really do …”
It works with some games. I don’t want to be a contrarian, but that does make it a bit of a gimmick. Hey, a new way to play … but will you want to play something that way at length?
The Playdate will also come with games:
Here’s the truly unique bit. Playdate isn’t just an empty system. Once you set up your Playdate, you’ll start to receive two brand new games… every week. For 12 weeks.
That’s 24 free games, in lots of genres. Some are short. Some are long. Will you love them all? Probably not. Will you have a great time trying them? Absolutely.
That’s a step up from the Ouya, for sure. The first “season” of games features the following titles from a list of developers.
● Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure, developed by uvula (Keita Takahashi, Ryan Mohler), Matthew Grimm, and Shaun Inman
● Battleship Godios, developed by TPM.CO SOFT WORKS
● Boogie Loops, developed by May-Li Khoe and Andy Matuschak
● Casual Birder, developed by Diego Garcia; music/sound by Max Coburn
● DemonQuest 85, developed by Alex Ashby, Lawrence Bishop, Duncan Fyfe, Belinda Leung, and Jared Emerson-Johnson
● Echoic Memory, developed by Samantha Kalman, Everest Pipkin, Carol Mertz, and Rachelle Viola
● Executive Golf DX, developed by davemakes
● Flipper Lifter, developed by Serenity Forge
● Forrest Byrnes: Up in Smoke, developed by Nels Anderson and Christina “castpixel” Neofotistou
● Hyper Meteor, developed by Vertex Pop
● Lost Your Marbles, developed by Sweet Baby Inc. & Friends
● Omaze, developed by Gregory Kogos.
● Pick Pack Pup, developed by Nic Magnier and Arthur Hamer; music by Logan Gabriel
● Questy Chess, developed by Dadako
● Ratcheteer, developed by Shaun Inman, Matthew Grimm, and Charlie Davis
● Sasquatchers, developed by Chuck Jordan; music/sound by Jared Emerson-Johnson
● Snak, developed by Zach Gage; art by Neven Mrgan
● Spellcorked!, developed by Jada Gibbs, Nick Splendorr, Ryan Splendorr, and Tony Ghostbrite; music by A Shell in the Pit (Em Halberstadt)
● Zipper, developed by Bennett Foddy
● Saturday Edition, developed by Chris Makris; music by A Shell in the Pit (Gord McGladdery, Alfonso Salinas)
● Whitewater Wipeout, developed by Chuhai Labs
Specs? Yup, here they are:
What do you think of the Playdate? Innovation or innovat-yawn? Let us know in the comments.
[Source: Arstechnica]
Battlefield 2042 Leaked And Officially Revealed On The Same Day
Well, this is awkward. A couple of hours after artwork for the newest Battlefield game was leaked, EA officially revealed it. Maybe this really shouldn’t be classified as a leak? More like a premature release, right?
GameSpot posted Tweets of the leaked art, and later on, showed off the official reveal trailer.
More images.
THIS LOOKS AMAZING!! #BATTLEFIELD pic.twitter.com/nbca6VWlna
— Okami (@Okami13_) June 9, 2021
I’m not gonna lie; that art looks cool. I’ve been burned before by Battlefield, though. Battlefield V felt like a half-hearted effort that led to the least amount of hours I’ve ever banked into that franchise in 15 years. Will 2042 fix the problems? The trailer hints at gameplay elements that may freshen up this old mare.
Weather is now a mechanic in the game, I guess. That could be really cool as long as it isn’t boiled down to one tornado on a map that you can easily evade. If the winds are strong enough to throw tanks around and drastically change the map due to destruction, I’m all in.
Another positive is the map size. Gamestop interviewed the game’s design director Daniel Berlin where he stated, “So if you just took a classic Battlefield map and a classic size, and you just said like, yeah, we’re just going to scale this up, almost just take it and you just expand it, that doesn’t necessarily turn out to be a good gameplay experience. Talking from experience, we tested it, it didn’t really play well. So we lean into this concept of the clustering, right? And this is a way for us to control the pacing and really let players choose their own pacing in a sense.”
A concern I have is that this game is launching on both new and old consoles. So, is this really going to be optimized for console owners? Then again, the only real way to play and compete is by choosing the PC version. Regardless, we’ll find out how this all pans out of October 22, 2021.
[Source: GameSpot]
Elijah Wood Wants To Remake ‘Children of the Corn’ AND ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’
Reboots and remakes have become one of the most normalized trends in Hollywood with studios rehashing old properties with new takes or perspectives.
Horror flicks in particular have been targeted for remakes with new directors wanting to remake the films with their own spin. Both 1984’s ‘Children of the Corn’ and ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ spun off massive franchises with both garnering twenty-first century remakes in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
That does not seem to matter to ‘Lord of the Rings’ actor Elijah Wood, who seems keen on doing remakes or direct sequels to both films through his movie production company SpectreVision.
“I know that there’s already a remake coming out, but we still really love ‘Children of the Corn,’ he told Comicbook.com. “I feel like that would be an exciting thing to … from the ground up, taking it from the novel, not remaking the movie, but actually take the short story and flesh that out in an interesting way.”
“I feel like that would be an exciting thing to … from the ground up, taking it from the novel, not remaking the movie, but actually take the short story and flesh that out in an interesting way,” Wood said.
The original ‘Children of the Corn’ was based on a short story by Stephen King which follows a married couple getting lost in a rural community where the children have murdered their parents and worship a mysterious being known as ‘He Who Walks Behind the Rows.’ The original franchise produced seven films with the reboot producing three.
When it comes to ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street,’ Wood expressed his desire to either do a remake or a direct sequel to the original franchise. Either way, he wants Robert Englund to reprise his role as the dream slayer Freddy Krueger.
“We, personally, have talked a lot about, internally, ‘Elm Street’ and how incredible it would be to play in that universe again and see that universe, to see Freddy and just that concept be explored again,” Wood said. “That’s something we’re fascinated in. Obviously, that is not a lesser-known, smaller thing that should be remade into a big one.”
“You have to bring Robert Englund back for one more film. I think, especially if you’re going to open up a new franchise and take it in different directions, you have to establish it with him and then you can move on.” He added,
“I don’t think it’s interesting to tell the same story over and over again, we don’t need another origin story of Freddy Krueger, I don’t think it should even really be so much about Freddy.”
The original version of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ was written and directed by Wes Craven. The horror franchise had a total of eight films with 1994’s ‘A New Nightmare’ being the only sequel Wes Craven returned to direct.
Mini-Pufts Figures Join The Ghostbusters Plasma Series Line
It’s been almost a year since Ghostbusters Afterlife was supposed to hit theatres. The merchandise has been hitting shelves throughout the past 12 months and is looking to ramp up as the film’s revised November 11, 2021 release date approaches.
New cereal. New drinks. New toys. New props. New Pufts?
Yep, the Baby Yoda trend has infected the Ghostbusters brand for better or worse. They are cute. Yes, they’re probably only in the film for a couple of minutes. However, the Mini-Pufts have been the stand-out characters from all the promo material we’ve seen.
The Mini-Pufts are priced just a bit higher than the previous Plasma series figures. This pack of pint-sized plastic Pufts costs $26.99 and will be available in February 2022. Click here to pre-order a set or dozen.
The bodies each have different hand configurations, and slightly varied standing poses. These are just prototype images. So, the final product may vary. Where are the accessories? No toothpicks, butane lighter, or s’mores?
Hasbro also needs to produce more of the Terror Dog Luis two-pack. It’s hard to round out a Ghostbusters collection when you’ve got only one possessed Manhattanite.
Head on over to Entertainment Earth and pre-order your minis now.
Jack Dylan Grazer On ‘Shazam 2’: “The script is hilarious.”
‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ is an upcoming sequel to the DC Comics film ‘Shazam!’ The movie has generated a huge amount of buzz considering its connection to the upcoming ‘Black Adam,’ which stars Dwayne Johnson as the title character and antagonist to Shazam in the comic books. There is no word yet on if the two characters will clash at any point in their respective films.
Most of the principal cast is returning for ‘Shazam 2’ including Zachary Levi as Shazam with Asher Angel as his child form Billy Batson. Another actor returning is Jack Dylan Glazer who played Billy’s friend Frederick “Freddy” Freeman. The character got his own superhero upgrade when Shazam shared his power with him at the climax of its predecessor.
Glazer sat down with Collider to promote his upcoming film ‘Luca’ before the conversation quickly turned to ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods.’
“It’s a great cast. We got Helen Mirren, we got Lucy Liu, we got the new up-and-coming star Rachel Zegler from Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story,'” he said. “The script is hilarious. It’s funnier than the first one, I’d have to say. We’re getting away with a lot more this time. It’s action-packed and it’s got twists and turns and it’s super-duper fun. The costume is different, no hood. And the shoes kind of look like Iron Man’s shoes. Oh, wait, no. Iron Man doesn’t exist. Who’s Iron Man?”
‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ is currently set to be released on June 2, 2023. While little is known of the plot, it will follow Shazam battling the daughters of Atlas, Hespera and Kalypso, played by ‘RED’ actress Helen Mirren and ‘Charlie’s Angels’ star Lucy Liu respectively.
Besides Levi, Angel, and Glazer, the returning cast includes Adam Brody, Faith Herman, Meagan Good, Grace Fulton, Michelle Borth, Ian Chen, Ross Butler, Jovan Armand, D.J. Cotrona, Marta Milans, and Cooper Andrews. ‘Shazam’ director David F. Sandberg will return with Henry Gayden who is penning the script.
Oh, F$#%! Rob Zombie Is Making a ‘Munsters’ Movie
Oh, f$#% indeed.
I love the Munsters. For a month, I painstakingly painted the Moebius model kits of Herman and Grandpa. The show was in syndication for a while when I discovered it as a kid in the ’80s. Being a horror fan, I instantly grew to love it and the friendly morbid humor.
Via Variety, we saw that over at Rob Zombie’s official Instagram; he announced that he finally secured the necessary things to make a Munsters movie with Universal Studios after much effort. This may be in the very early stages. So, who knows when this will manifest.
I’ve talked to Rob over the years about various projects, some of which never came to be. He is a very dedicated filmmaker and loves his craft. He has passion. He has a great talent for the visual aspects of cinema.
But… is he the right guy for the Munsters?
The Munsters have been in a bit of a holding pattern for years. After two failed reboots (see below), I wasn’t holding out for anyone to do the Munster family justice. Given what Zombie did with Halloween, I’m not sure if he is the right guy.
Rob Zombie can certainly nail the aesthetic. The character concepts will probably be amazing. However, do the Munster‘s really need f-bombs in every third line of dialog? That may be selling him short and making it sound like his filmmaking style is one-note, but it is a question that has to be asked.
The charm of the original came from Fred Gwynne’s loveable Herman Munster and Al Lewis’s crafty Grandpa Munster. Even the reboot that tried to replicate the characters couldn’t recapture the magic—something about how it was created and black and white rang true and oddly wholesome.
Trying it now; even when attempting, a more gritty tone falls flat. I blame this on the characters of Herman and Grandpa being embedded within our subconscious through years of reruns.
As I mentioned earlier, revivals of the Munsters brand were hit and miss. Some were huge misses. So, for your enjoyment, I’ve collected some of them below, including the very short-lived 1313 Mockingbird:
What are your thoughts on a Munster‘s movie by Rob Zombie? Let us know in the comments.
[Source: Variety]
The Villainous Terry Silver To Return In Cobra Kai Season 4
Thomas Ian Griffith will be returning as the fiendish Terry Silver in season four of Cobra Kai. We spotted this info over at Empire. A short teaser trailer was released featuring audio clips of Griffith’s character while we get a look at the now silver-haired character’s iconic ponytail.
Silver appeared off and on in flashbacks with a younger John Kreese throughout the third season. Obviously, the plan was to bring back the original actor at some point, and that point is now.
Throughout the seasons, we’ve seen actors from the original trilogy of films appear now and again. Some are quick appearances; others are more impactful. Silver will probably be the big bad of this newest season, but what will be his arc?
In Karate Kid 3, Silver worked secretly with Kreese to undermine Daniel LaRusso’s training. This lead to a strained relationship between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. It also resulted in Daniel nearly crippling himself due to Silver’s overly intense lessons.
Ultimately the film ended much as the first Karate Kid did. The climax is at a tournament, and young LaRusso is victorious. So, after so many decades, what is the game plan? Have more kids crushing their knuckles against wooden dummies?
Earlier this year, I spoke to Han Soto, who appeared in season two as a pivotal force in John Kreese’s backstory. Mr. Soto did mention that parts of his appearance were cut due to being too violent. Maybe these scenes will reappear to help flesh out Kreese’s and Silver’s time in the armed forces.
Check out my interview with Han Soto below:
What are your thoughts on Cobra Kai and Silver’s return to the franchise? How much can you milk the idea of karate rivalries before they get stale? Will Silver become more sympathetic as Kreese did in the third season? Is this really what we want out of our villains? Let us know in the comments.
[Source: Empire]
