We finally have a US released date for the highly anticipated “Demon Slayer” movie “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.”
The release date for theaters, 4DX and IMAX in North America will be on April 23, 2021. Digital will release on Apple TV, Microsoft Store, Vudu, Google Play, and PlayStation Store June 22, 2021.
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train arrives in theaters, 4DX, and IMAX screens in North America subbed and dubbed on April 23 and digital on June 22! 🚂
“After his family was brutally murdered and his sister turned into a demon, Tanjiro Kamado’s journey as a demon slayer began. Tanjiro and his comrades embark on a new mission aboard the Mugen Train, on track to despair.
Tanjiro Kamado, joined with Inosuke Hashibira, a boy raised by boars who wears a boar’s head, and Zenitsu Agatsuma, a scared boy who reveals his true power when he sleeps, board the Infinity Train on a new mission with the Flame Pillar, Kyojuro Rengoku, to defeat a demon who has been tormenting the people and killing the demon slayers who oppose it!”
Finally we will get to see the film in the United States! It’s already destroyed the Japanese box office record set by “Spirited Away.” The film has already grossed $350 million (¥38.61 billion) in Japan and $417 million worldwide. The global amount is about to go up significantly.
The ‘Demon Slayer’ manga has also been destroying records selling 82.3 million copies in 2020 according to the Oricon sales rankings.
“Demon Slayer” is taking the world by storm and for good reason. It’s a great story, with beautiful art and animation and fantastic characters. We love it!
“A family is attacked by demons and only two members survive – Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko, who is turning into a demon slowly. Tanjiro sets out to become a demon slayer to avenge his family and cure his sister.”
Right now you can’t yet pre-order tickets, but they should become available on April 9, 2021.
Mods of a popular Star Wars fan subreddit called Saltier Than Crait (r/saltierthancrait/) have announced that they will ban anyone who posts links to articles from Forbes, other sites including We Got This Covered and some YouTube Channels, including our very own Clownfish TV.
The reasoning? These news outlets and YouTube channels are reportedly “too negative” about Lucasfilm and Star Wars for the subreddit’s liking.
The great irony here is that r/saltierthancrait/ began as an outlet for fans to vent about their disappointment with Disney’s handling of the Star Wars franchise, specifically The Last Jedi.
Here are a list of the sites and channels that will get you an immediate ban, per the subreddit mods. Sites that will get you banned include Forbes, We Got This Covered, Bounding Into Comics and even our Disney and theme park specific sister site Pirates & Princesses.
Banned YouTube channels include Geeks + Gamers, Doomcock, Midnight’s Edge and ComicArtistPro Secrets.
There does seem to be a twinge of “professional jealousy” as in addition to the site ban, mods want everyone to know that they originated Star Wars fan bitching.
I didn’t know that you could corner the market on complaining about one of the most popular pop culture things ever, but there you go.
Bounding Into Comicscovers the situation here, and cites many examples of frustrated fans outside of that subreddit voicing strong opinions on The Last Jedi a day or two after the movie hit theaters in 2017, including Nerdrotic and a few others.
Clownfish TV will go you one better. Kambrea Pratt (Geeky Sparkles) slammed The Force Awakens and called Rey a Mary Sue way back in 2016 when Clownfish TV was still Clownfish Radio, a humble little nerd podcast.
But Forbes. Forbes?! And the mods retain the right to ban you for linking to any other article from any other site they might deem “problematic” at any point in the future.
Sheesh.
Could this REALLY be about Lucasfilm executing Order 66 on a certain subsection of Star Wars fandom?
Now, this could just be r/saltierthancrait/ being jealous of YouTubers and/or legitimately trying to clean up its act.
But given all the Twitter drama over the weekend in regards to newly announced The High Republic Show host Krystina Arielle and that some are publicly calling for Lucasfilm to publicly denounce “The Fandom Menace”, I do have to wonder if there isn’t something a little more… insidious going on behind the scenes.
Could Lucasfilm adjacent people be applying some pressure to some larger subreddits and news outlets to turn “The Fandom Menace” into the next “Gamergate” in the eyes of the media?
Possibly. But it’s pure speculation at this point.
Whatever is actually going on, it’s clear that even with Luke Skywalker’s triumphant return in The Mandalorian, the Star Wars fandom is more fractured than ever.
Anime is a hot commodity now, and several streaming services are bolstering their catalogs with series new and old. The classic Robotech series is joining “the Funimation family,” courtesy of distributor Kew Media Distribution.
Here’s the official press release…
Leading global distributor Kew Media Distribution has licensed the highly successful original anime sensation Robotech: The Series and the sequel films Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles and Robotech 2: The Sentinels to Funimation, the global leader in sub and dub anime content and a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television. Upon expiration of existing third-party deals, this expansive agreement gives Funimation all rights (including VOD, EST, home entertainment and merchandising) worldwide, excluding Japan, to over 45 hours of the cutting-edge CGI anime.
Produced by Harmony Gold and Tatsunoko Production, the action adventure animated series Robotech introduced an entire generation of viewers to anime when it first premiered in 1985 and to this day, has a thriving and extensive fan base around the globe.
Separately, the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Pictures Group is currently developing the eagerly anticipated Robotech live action feature film.
Robotech: The Series starts as the human race finds itself on the brink of annihilation under attack by a fleet of gigantic alien warships capable of destroying an entire planet in a split second. The only hope for survival lies with the secrets of Robotech, an advanced alien technology which has given humans access to powerful robotic systems and interstellar spacecraft.
Produced in high definition 5:1 with digital surround sound, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles film sequel picks up the story many years later with vibrant anime characters voiced by Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Chase Masterson (Star Trek: Deep Space 9).
Based on the popular series, Robotech 2: The Sentinels is the enthralling film sequel, where two cultures, the citizens of Earth and the planet Optera, come together to determine the fate of their two worlds in a compelling story of love, courage and the pursuit of freedom.
Jonathan Ford, EVP Sales of Kew Media Distribution comments, “Funimation is the ‘go-to’ destination for sub and dub and we are very pleased to have licensed Robotech to this global anime powerhouse where it will join the very best series in the genre. We know this highly-regarded and incredibly popular cult animation series will excite and delight Robotech fans around the globe.”
Colin Decker, General Manager of Funimation, also commented. “Robotech is a beloved and foundational series for fans around the world. We are so proud and excited to connect this iconic series with millions more fans through Funimation.”
What are your thoughts on this? Some Macross fans were a little salty that Harmony Gold has retained to the rights to Macross for years to come. In fact, we had Harmony Gold’s Kevin McKeever on a Robotech Q&A livestream immediately after that controversial announcement at this year’s Anime Expo.
It seems like Funimation gets access to all of Robotech, including home video (blu-ray?) and it will eventually wind up on the Funimation streaming service.
It’s official. We are getting a Stranger Things Season 4.
It starts out as a normal logo and then it appears in the Upside Down and becomes covered in growth.
It finishes by saying “We aren’t in Hawkins anymore.”
Some interesting things people have already pointed out is the “Welcome to Hawkins” sign
The clock on the tree.
What looks like it could be Hopper’s cabin in the background.
The newspaper in the foreground.
The sound of a clock like Big Ben?
This all comes out after it was announced that Netflix green-lit a fourth-season and signed the Duffer brothers to a multiple-year deal for both film and television that was “worth nine figures” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Personally, I think Hopper could still be alive, so I am looking forward to the next season! No date has been released yet.
While Sony definitely had its share of supporters, it seemed as if the vast majority of MCU fans, naturally, wanted Tom Holland’s Peter Parker to stay under Disney’s control… even if Disney was making some pretty unreasonable financial demands of Sony.
And what these fans seem to forget is that Sony’s Spider-Man films really kicked off the current superhero movie craze with the Sam Raimi trilogy (along with the early X-Men movies). In fact, it could be argued that the Marvel Cinematic Universe wouldn’t even exist at all without Sony’s Spider-Man movies being such huge successes in the 2000s.
(Yeah, we’ll just gloss over the Amazing Spider-Man reboot for now.)
Paramount wanted some of that superhero money, and the MCU was born. Disney only swooped in when it was clear there were big bucks to be made off other Marvel properties.
That’s right. Disney didn’t even create the Marvel Cinematic Universe.Mind blown, right?
Original Raimi Spider-Man Screenwriter David Koepp Says It’s “Weird” for Fans to Want Spider-Man to Stay with Disney.
In a recent interview with Den of Geek, the screenwriter of the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man film, David Koepp, had some thoughts on the current situation with Sony and Disney.
Disney wants what it wants, and obviously it’s used to acquiring and controlling. But I understand Sony’s point of view better: ‘But wait, it’s ours. We own it. You can’t just have half of it. You can’t just take it.’ So it’s a tough situation. And I think certainly the last couple of Spider-Man movies have been terrific. But the animated film that they did without Disney’s involvement was, you know, even more terrific. What’s weird to me is those Marvel movie fans who are quick to spring to Disney’s defense like they’re a plucky underdog who needs to be defended.
Disney wants what they want, and they’re rapidly buying up the entertainment landscape. Hollywood is looking more and more like, well, Disneyland.
Now that they’ve acquired Fox (and with it, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four) I have to admit that there’s a bit of satisfaction in seeing them not be able to have that one Infinity Stone that would give them complete control over all of Marvel’s characters.
And yes. Into the Spider-Verse was a damn fine movie, and Venom did much, much better than anyone could have predicted.
Speaking of “weird,” Disney CEO Bob Iger stepped down from the Apple board of directors.
It makes sense. Apple makes high end electronics, so does Sony. It would push Apple to the top of the video game market, and give them a ton of much-needed media for their Apple+ streaming service right out of the gate, as most other content is tied up with Disney, Warner and Universal — all of which have their own streaming apps on the way.
Will Spider-Man: Far From Home be Peter Parker’s last foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
But what happens to Spider-Man if Apple buy Sony?
Well, the word is that if Sony sells to anyone, the Spider-Man film rights revert back to Marvel. Which Disney owns. And bam, Spider-Man is back in the MCU.
So, is this Iger’s own Endgame? Knowing that his friends over at Apple are going to make a play for Sony, and just biding his time?
It’s completely possible.
Forever the sidekick: Is Spider-Man better off sitting out Phase 4 of the MCU?
There’s word that Spider-Man might be better off sitting out the next phase of the MCU anyway. The rumor is that Peter Parker was being positioned to forever stay a teenaged sidekick — first with Tony Stark, and next with Captain Marvel.
Yikes.
Maybe Spider-Man is better off sitting out Phase 4. Honestly, maybe Spider-Man is better off staying out of the MCU entirely so he can be the superhero he was always intended to be.
What is better than Hello Kitty? Hello Kitty wearing a kaiju costume!
Kidrobot teamed up Sanrio to release the epic Hello Kitty Kaiju Dinosaur Cosplay Plushie of awesome (full disclosure I added the “of awesome” part”.)
Apparently I missed it when this plush debuted at San Diego’s Comic Con International 2019 aka SDCC! But she comes with a Comic convention pass laynard that says “Cosplay Con” and “Hello Kitty Worldwide.” She’s a geek like me!
After an outstanding sold out debut at San Diego Comic Con 2019, the Kidrobot x Sanrio Hello Kitty Kaiju Plush is here to conquer the rest of the world with cuteness and destroy your heart with plush perfection! Stomping around in her perfectly constructed dino costume, Hello Kitty in 16 inches tall and ready for a movie, a comic con, costume contest and most importantly your Hello Kitty collection. Rawwrrrrr!
I have been a Hello Kitty lover since I was little! I remember going to store and looking at all the stationary and pens, and begging my mom for it! My daughter also loves her and used to have a bunch of her DVDs. She saw it as I writing this article and had me buy her one too! She did have a cute suggestion for Kidrobot though. Her idea was making this into a backpack to wear to conventions or take to school. There you go!
You can order her right now on the Kidrobot website HERE. She is $29.99 + shipping. I used the Honey App, on my computer, to find discounts and was able to get a coupon for 10% off with code KID10. Not sure how long it will work for though.
Mattel/Barbie has announced three new Barbie doll based on concept art from the Original Trilogy Star Wars era concept art!
That’s right. Original Trilogy (my favorite!) Thanks to a friend on Twitter for tagging me in it!
Introducing the all-new #StarWars x @Barbie Dolls, inspired by the film, Star Wars: A New Hope.✨Celebrating the original concept art, this collectible set pays homage to three iconic characters.
The Star Wars x Barbie collaboration is an homage to Star Wars: A New Hope.
This eponymous collection, inspired by the film’s original concept art, re-imagines iconic characters through a distinctive Barbie high-fashion filter.
This collectible Star Wars x Barbie doll captures Darth Vader’s Sith armor silhouette in head-to-toe black. She wears a shiny-black peplum top, panelled pencil skirt and knee-high boots.
Metallic details at her collar and waist, dark glasses and a long, black cape finish the look.
Star Wars Darth Vader x Barbie Doll includes a Star Wars doll stand and Certificate of Authenticity.
Star Wars X Princess Leia Doll – Pre-order price $100.00
The Star Wars x Barbie collaboration is an homage to Star Wars: A New Hope.
This eponymous collection, inspired by the film’s original concept art, re-imagines iconic characters through a distinctive Barbie high-fashion filter.
This collectible Star Wars x Barbie doll captures Princess Leia’s iconic look in an elegant gown with dramatic, floor-length sleeves.
Details include a silvery peplum belt, cuff jewelry and an up-do inspired by her signature bun hairstyle.
Star Wars Princess Leia x Barbie doll includes a Star Wars doll stand and Certificate of Authenticity.
The Star Wars x Barbie collaboration is an homage to Star Wars: A New Hope.
This eponymous collection, inspired by the film’s original concept art, re-imagines iconic characters through a distinctive Barbie high-fashion filter.
This collectible Star Wars x Barbie doll captures R2-D2’s look in a geometric ensemble with a dome skirt, bomber jacket and thigh-high boots over silvery tights.
A vibrant blue ponytail and “radar eye” detail complete the look.
Star Wars R2-D2 x Barbie Doll includes a Star Wars doll stand and Certificate of Authenticity.
She has a C-3PO purse! Plus that hair is very long and brushable! Mattel if you want someone to review these please let me know!
These dolls are currently on pre-order via Amazon. The release date is November 18, 2019!
I really do like these and the details on them. Darth Vader screams “The Devil Wears Prada” but it really fits here! The price per doll is a bit high, but when I collected Barbie dolls back in the day, I saw much higher prices!
A billion dollar Star Wars theme park expansion being ridiculed as a “flop” by the media.
A steep decline in Star Wars merchandise sales that even toy manufacturer Hasbro seemingly blames Disney for.
The last theatrical Star Wars film, Solo: A Star Wars Story, bombing at the box office.
And a vocal fanbase that feels betrayed by Star Wars’ current custodians, and is constantly at odds with the people behind the franchise on social media.
It’s clear we’re no longer living in 1979. Or even 1999.
Welcome to 2019, where it’s obvious to anyone paying attention that Star Wars is a damaged franchise under Disney’s stewardship. And after months of denial on Disney’s part, CEO Bob Iger seems to finally, finally be admitting it.
Kind of.
Star Wars merchandise sales are in decline. Again.
It’s pretty common to see sequel era Star Wars toys on clearance. Sometimes they collect dust on shelves for many months. (Photo: Reddit)
The increase at our consumer products business was due to growth at our merchandise licensing and retail businesses. Growth at merchandise licensing was primarily due to higher revenue from merchandise based on Toy Story, partially offset by a decrease from Star Wars merchandise. The increase at our retail business was due to higher comparable store sales and online revenue.
Go to any Walmart or bargain outlet and take a look at the glut of sequel era Star Wars merchandise they can’t even unload at rock bottom prices.
Or just ask a Toys ‘R Us employee about it. Oh, wait…
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is being called a “flop.” Disneyland’s attendance plummets over the summer.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge effectively turned Disneyland into a “ghost town” — the opposite of what Disney had hoped for. (Photo: Marketwatch)
Despite Disney defenders trying to put as positive of a spin on the disaster that is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the mainstream media has seen right through it and continues to throw shade at the billion dollar expansion’s failure to draw crowds.
And when there was some pushback from Disney fandom about the validity of people’s claims about the park being empty, USA Today had to step in and provide aerial photos as proof to shut that debate down hard.
But hey, it’s just the jealous naysayers throwing shade at Disney, right?
According to that same third-quarter earnings report, Disney Parks attendance was down overall.
So, no, it’s not our imaginations.
And Disney CEO Bob Iger had to put his own positive spin on the situation. Saying that Galaxy’s Edge will be profitable… someday.
“And so all of those factors [prince increase, fear of crowds] contributed to attendance that was below what we would have hoped it would be. That said, guest satisfaction, interest in the attraction in the land is extremely high, it’s the most popular thing at the park. And so, long term, we build these things for the long term, we have no concerns whatsoever about them. We’re opening Galaxy’s Edge in August in Orlando, the second attraction there will open in December, and, as I said, the second attraction in Anaheim will open in January, so we feel great about the product we’ve created, it just takes some time to, basically for us, to work themselves out in terms of how the marketplace is reacting.”
Kids today love Nintendo. They don’t care much about Star Wars.
Speaking of which…
Kids today don’t care about Star Wars. So why keep insulting their parents?
According to Bloomberg, kids today just aren’t into Star Wars.
Well, not like their parents were.
It’s just another sci-fi fantasy franchise to them, and one that doesn’t seem to hold the same level of interest as Fortnite, Harry Potter or Disney’s other big franchise, Marvel.
While Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge has seen sparse crowds, Universal Orlando’s new Harry Potter roller coaster had wait times of up to 10 hours. However, crowds for Galaxy’s Edge may be heavier in Orlando than Anaheim. (Photo: Orlando Sentinel)
Star Wars toy sales popped with 2015’s “The Force Awakens,” the start of a trilogy that united Han, Luke and Leia with a new band of heroes, but have slumped since. “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” last year’s spinoff featuring the backstory of beloved characters, utterly bombed. “The Last Jedi,” the second in the new trilogy, was profitable but fell shy of its predecessor’s performance. The next installment, “The Rise of Skywalker,” will have the very future of the franchise riding on it when it debuts in December.
Attempts to make Star Wars more relatable to today’s youth with all new protagonists and villains has seemingly been met with apathy, judging by the unsold toys clogging clearance aisle shelves.
And old school Star Wars fans were dismayed at how their childhood heroes were sidelined, the victims of character assassination, or killed off entirely.
In the case of the original trilogy’s series protagonist Luke Skywalker, it’s all of the above.
‘The Last Jedi’ irreparably damaged the brand. But Disney will not acknowledge it.
To say that The Last Jedi split the fandom is an understatement. In fact, it could be argued the movie’s terrible treatment of classic characters (and its poor handling of the Star Wars fandom in the aftermath) directly lead to the current state of the Star Wars franchise.
Many fans feel that the character of Luke Skywalker was irreparably damaged by The Last Jedi. Even Mark Hamill himself seems unhappy with how his character was handled in Episode VIII. Here, Luke is seen swigging some green milk, freshly squeezed from the alien teet. (Photo: Lucasfilm)
Many fans threatened to boycott Star Wars after The Last Jedi. Yet the internet media pundits laughed it off as just a “vocal minority” of disgruntled, basement-dwelling fanboys.
Months later, Solo bombed at the box office. Toy sales plummeted. The theme park is a ghost town. And there’s a deafening lack of chatter about The Rise of Skywalker from the general public, compared to the previous two sequel trilogy films.
If Star Wars is not resonating with children, then Disney must do what it can to keep the adult fans happy if they want the franchise to survive.
It’s mostly adults who are buying the toys, and certainly adults who are paying the exorbitant theme park ticket prices for their families. And I can almost guarantee you that only an adult would purchase a $200 designer lightsaber.
Beyond splitting the fandom, The Last Jedi weirdly became a litmus test of sorts for a fan’s political affiliation. The fans who loved the film, generally speaking, seemed to be more progressive and those who despised it seemed to be more conservative.
And you can thank the (predominantly progressive) pop culture media outlets for that, as they stoked the fires for months by trying to incite the old school fans with endless article after article calling them misogynists, trolls and worse.
But hey, director Rian Johnson said he loved to make polarizing films. So if he intended to troll old school Star Wars fans all along, he succeeded on an unprecedented level.
Unfortunately, the franchise has suffered tremendously for it.
Star Wars has been relegated to direct-to-TV status. How embarrassing.
The Mandalorian is coming to Disney Plus from showrunner John Favreau. It’s mega expensive, so we’ll see how long it actually lasts. (Photo: Lucasfilm)
Oh, and did we mention that those guys are now despised by the Game of Thrones fandom for dropping the ball on Season 8?
Yeah, this might not be the way to win back the Star Wars fandom, Disney. Just saying.
You had ONE job, Lucasfilm.
Han, Luke and Leia all together in one scene. That’s all many Star Wars fans hoped for, and what was expected when it was announced the trio would return for the sequel trilogy.
Star Wars fans expected to see Han, Luke and Leia reunited for one last adventure together in The Force Awakens. After Han was killed onscreen and Carrie Fisher passed in real life, it was clear that this would NEVER happen.
And when Mark Hamill posted an innocuous image about what he wished would have happened in the trilogy — a sentiment echoed by many fans — Twitter attacked him for it.
The proof is in the pudding. Or lack of it. Star Wars is not making the money it should be making, and Disney needs to take a good, hard look at why and stop burying its head in the sand and blaming the fandom.
Bob Iger’s acknowledgement that the franchise is in decline is a good first step, but it might be too little, too late.
Hasbro has created their biggest Transformers toy yet, based on the biggest Transformer in Transformers lore — the planet eater Unicron.
While there have been previous attempts at Unicorn before (most notably in the Transformers: Armada line in the early 2000s) none have been G1 accurate, and certainly not this massive.
— Matt Moylan ⚙️@ SDCC #4529 (@LilFormers) July 19, 2019
This mega-sized action figure will be available via Hasbro’s collector oriented crowdfunding platform, Hasbro Pulse. He will cost $574.99 and be available starting in 2021… the 35th anniversary of Transformers: The Movie, in which he was the “big bad.”
Last year, Hasbro used the same platform to crowdfund the massive Jabba’s Sail Barge playset for their 3.75″ Star Wars line.
Here are more photos of this beautiful toy via Hasbro…
You can now pre-order a GameStop Funko Pop! exclusive-Sanrio’s Hello Kitty: Gamer Hello Kitty vinyl figure!
That being said, there really isn’t any info on it, just that it will be released on September 1, 2019 and you won’t be charged for your pre-order until the shipment is processed.
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