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.
Mini-Pufts Figures Join The Ghostbusters Plasma Series Line
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]
Corey Feldman Talks Jason Versus Michael Myers, ‘Goonies’ Sequel
‘Lost Boys’ actor Corey Feldman is a staple of 80s feature films and cult classics. Two of his most well-known roles include the talkative Clark “Mouth” Devereaux in 1985’s coming-of-age movie ‘The Goonies’ and Jason Voorhees’ twelve-year-old target Tommy Jarvis in ‘Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.’
In a recent interview with Dread Central, Feldman discussed returning to these roles and pitching the idea of a crossover between the ‘Halloween’ and ‘Friday the 13th’ franchises.
“I got a call from New Line who said, ‘We want to meet with you and talk to you about doing a Friday the 13th thing, do you have any thoughts?’” He said, “And based on that early idea [I had for Jason vs Michael Myers], I said ‘Well, yeah, I like the idea of Jason coming back and looking for Tommy Jarvis and having the whole H20 kind of vibe.’ Where it would be me coming back playing the original character for the first time as an adult and the fight between Tommy and Jason. So like do Tommy vs Jason.”
“Or you could add another layer to it,” Feldman opined. “…you could bring in Danielle [Harris] from Halloween and she could reprise her role as an adult and I could reprise my role as an adult, and how cool would that be? Is that not the wet dream of every horror movie fan from the 80s?“
When asked about a possible sequel to ‘The Goonies,’ he expressed his disappointment that there has not been any movement in that direction.
“Well, Sean Astin and Josh Brolin want a sequel but you know. It’s one of those powers that be things,” he said according to Celebretainment. “Every time I thought, ‘OK, it’s really gonna happen’, I’ve been let down and had my heart broken.”
He added, “And Chris Columbus even said on the call with all of us, and in subsequent emails, ‘Guys I’m so inspired, I’m actually writing again. Like I’m gonna do this. We’re gonna do this. We’re doing this.’ And then, nothing.”
While rumors about a sequel to ‘The Goonies’ has been circling since 2007, Fox did order a pilot for television remake from ‘The Bold Type’ creator Sarah Watson in 2020. The pilot was canceled in May 2021, according to Deadline.
Justin Theroux Denies ‘Joker’ Sequel Rumors
‘The Mosquito Coast’ actor Justin Theroux addressed rumors that he was cast in the planned sequel to the Todd Philip directed DC Comics film ‘Joker.’
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Theroux discussed his cameo appearances in ‘Joker’ and ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi.’
“Yeah, I’m not averse to doing those at all,” he said. “‘They’ sort of tell you, ‘Yeah, you shouldn’t really do that because you’re doing so well. You don’t really need to do that.’ Well, why wouldn’t I do that? It’s super fun.”
“‘Joker’ was just random,” Theroux explained. “Todd Phillips just called me and said that they were shooting in New York, And since I was in New York, he said, “Hey, do you want to do this quick little thing?” And I said, “Sure, yeah.” It was shooting in a week or two weeks. I was like, “Yeah, I’ll do it.” If I wasn’t free, I wouldn’t have done it, but I was free, so I said, “Yeah, I’d love that. That would be super fun.” What’s wrong with sitting around and giggling for a day with Robert De Niro and Todd Phillips? I’m not averse to that. I don’t have too much pride around those things. I won’t say, “Well, that’s not a big enough part,” or, ‘If you give me some more lines …’”
“Same with Star Wars,” he continued. “I got to go to London for a couple of days and see this incredible set with all of the incredible animatronics, puppetry, design and wardrobe. Yeah, it was absolutely fun.”
As for the rumors of him returning for an expanded role in the much-discussed ‘Joker’ sequel, he denied any involvement.
“All I can say is I haven’t spoken to Todd in forever, and I have not approached him about doing anything for Joker,” Theroux added. “I won’t say any more than that. Unless he has some brilliant way to weave in that small character, that would really be shoehorning a character into the movie that probably doesn’t need to be there.”
As Cinema Blend notes, there is not a lot new to report on the ‘Joker’ sequel other than Todd Philips hinted at a possible Batman appearance.
What will ‘The Boys’ Do With Soldier Boy Out In Full View?
No sooner had I published the shield teaser story did this news drop over at Variety. Jensen Ackles is decked out in a very MCU-inspired outfit as WWII-era superhero Soldier Boy. Given the nature of heroes in The Boys series, I’d bet SB isn’t all that he appears.
I like this costume. Run it through Photoshop with some color swapping, and you’d have a pretty awesome Captain America getup. Go black and red; Soldier Boy would make an even better U.S. Agent come to think of it.
The whole ensemble looks the part of a WWII hero shown in historical parts of The Boys comics. The Soldier Boy we see in the modern times of the comics was not the first hero to hold that title. Odds are Ackles is playing the original as stated by the showrunner Eric Kripke, “… he was Homelander before Homelander, so he’s from a different era, but he’s got the ego and the ambition — it just comes across differently because he’s from a different time.”
If this version turns out to be as cowardly as the one we see in the books, it will greatly subversion of expectations. A career hero celebrity who maybe didn’t do all the best on the front lines in WWII is eventually outed by Butcher and the boys as yellow. Oh, I can almost hear Butcher calling Soldier Boy the “C” word as he bites his nose off.
After all, the live-action series has taken many departures from the source material, usually for the better. Some things won’t translate well unless Amazon is ready for a XXX show.
[Source: Variety]
Film Director Jon M. Chu On Adapting The Hit Musical Play ‘Wicked’
The Broadway musical ‘Wicked’ has garnered a massive fan following since its premiere in 2003 in San Francisco before arriving in New York. The stage play’s music is written by Stephen Schwartz and has gone on to receive numerous awards.
The play follows the Witches of Oz and acts as a sort of prequel and retelling of the popular novel ‘The Wizard of Oz’ by author L. Frank Baum.
Ever since its success, talk of a film has been around since 2004 when Universal Pictures announced they were making an adaption.
Now it appears that a movie is finally moving forward with ‘Jem and the Holograms’ director Jon M. Chu being tapped to helm the feature.
Chu recently sat down with Collider to discuss ‘Wicked’ and what direction the movie will take.
“We’re in the beginning stages of Wicked,” the ‘In the Heights’ director explained. “However, I think the philosophy of what musicals mean to me personally now that I have actually made a movie musical… you know, there’s theory about what movie musicals mean to me as being a watcher of movie musicals.”
He continued, “Now that I’ve gone through it, what really has hit me is the power of music and why musicals exist in the first place when words aren’t sufficient. Nowadays, words really aren’t sufficient for what we’re going through. So for me, it’s finding the truth of each song and working our way inside out of why that exists.”
“Yes, of course, we’re going to have Oz, and you’re going to be in this crazy world, and you’re going to revisit this innocent place and you’re going to see that it’s not as innocent as it had been in the past,” Chu explained. “But you’re also going to see that the relationship between these two women [Elphaba and Glinda] is more real than ever, that we’re going to be that close to them. We’re going to root for them to try to get into that school or when one crosses the other. You’re going to hate the other one at some point.”
He added, “You’re going to want them to make up at another point, and you’re going to feel when they separate. That’s the most important thing. The spectacle? That’s the easy part, we can hire a lot of people to do that. It’s those little moments… that’s what’s going to make that.”
‘Wicked’ is based on the novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire.
Batman 1966 Figures Coming From Todd McFarlane!
Nananananananananananana YES PLEASE!
More classic Batman! Sorry, but I’m tired of bulky Batman looking like he stole parts of Iron Man’s suit. Give me some classic black, blue, and gray spandex. The Batman of blue and yellow is my guy. More of him, and you’ve got yourself a customer for life.
Yesterday Todd McFarlane teased on Twitter the upcoming release of an action figure line based on the classic 1966 Batman series. The three figures shown off include Adam West’s Batman, Burt Ward’s Robin, and Cesar Romero’s Joker. All three figures appear in a Batcave diorama with George Barris’s legendary Batmobile.
BATMAN 66 ON 6/6! It couldn't be a BETTER time for a FIRST LOOK at McFarlane Toys upcoming Batman 66' lineup! McFarlane Toys will be showing off some more looks of the DC Retro lineup featuring your favorites from the Batman Classic TV series during the Summer Showcase! #batman pic.twitter.com/VcuziNkiDA
— Todd McFarlane (@Todd_McFarlane) June 6, 2021
The articulation and detail point to these being 6″ or 7″ figures. Though cool for display, it may also limit vehicles and playsets. I’m not sure if the Batmobile in the background is part of the McFarlane line.
It may be one of the several that hit the market when the Funko 3.75″ line was on the market years ago. If you didn’t see it, that line produced a lot of characters from the campy old show. Yes, even two versions of Mr. Freeze.
The overall appearance of these toys look great. Will they represent the final product? Possibly. If I had to nitpick, I’d say Robin’s face looks a bit too boyish. He almost looks like our buddy Butch Patrick. Though slightly out of focus, the Joker is undoubtedly looking like Cesar Romero.
DC Universe Classics also had Batman, Robin, and the Joker. To be honest, those figures suffered from the same problem all the other DC figures had, ugly joints and poor paint application. Ugh.
McFarlane Toys are known for great attention to detail, tons of articulation, and amazing paint jobs. You can see hints of that in the teaser image. I’m astonished at the detail in Robin’s mask and Batman’s cowl. They’re probably not removable, but the depth gives that illusion.
Which characters from the classic show should McFarlane produce after this batch? All versions of Catwoman? The Riddler in all his outfits and swappable actors’ heads? Let us know in the comments.
Soldier Boy’s Shield Teased For ‘The Boys’ Season 3
Satirizing and twisting well-known comic book heroes can be done well in certain hands. On paper, it’s easy to pull off. Adapting that to a movie or show takes real skill. So far, The Boys has been banger after banger. I will admit, however, that some of the “current year” topical stuff in the second season was a tad groan-inducing. I chalk that up to us not being able to escape politics and social topics thanks to social media.
I am looking forward to seeing how Homelander contends to a character who may have better-established roots as a superhero than he does. Remember, Homelander’s ego and personal life took a huge blow in the latter part of season two. How will he recover if another hero comes and steals his PR power?
That character may be Soldier Boy. Jensen Ackles, who is also voicing Bruce/Batman in the adaptation of Batman: The Long Halloween, dropped a teaser of his character’s shield. Check it out below:
Every dent, every scratch, every mark tells a story. A story that ends with me, winning. 😏#SoldierBoy #SoldierBoyShield
Full character reveal tomorrow!!! 🤘🏼😎. @TheBoysTV @PrimeVideo @ljsupersuits @VoughtIntl pic.twitter.com/UYgousdSLL
— Jensen Ackles (@JensenAckles) June 6, 2021
Will we see more of the character soon? Maybe.
Real images of #soldierboy coming soon. 😉 https://t.co/5wcRf8fFa9
— Jensen Ackles (@JensenAckles) May 28, 2021
From the way the character has been mentioned in the show before, this version may be much different than his comic book counterpart. Much like Stormfront, expect Soldier Boy to be revamped a bit. It would be funny to see Soldier Boy ultimately turn out to be a coward, leaving Homelander to clean up his mess.
Soldier Boy is this show’s version of Captain America, much like how Homelander is a twisted and immoral version of Superman. Expect there to be a lot of heroic speeches followed up with backroom debauchery. Stories have floated about that a certain scene between the two won’t happen as it did in the comics, but knowing the show, the writers will find something equally offensive to take its place.
Not yet jumped into the gritty superheroes show? Start binging right now on Amazon.
What are your predictions for the third season? Will Homelander finally go full-on psycho like in the comics? Let us know in the comments.
