When Amazon plunked down about $1B for their Lord of the Rings TV series, it came with the expectation of multiple seasons. You don’t spend that kind of money on a limited event series, right? So it should come as no surprise that Amazon has gone ahead and approved a second season before production has officially begun. The real news here is what comes next.
Deadline reports The Lord of the Rings has been renewed for a second season, despite the first season still being in the pre-production phase. This is all part of an interesting, somewhat unusual path that has been laid out to shorten the gap between seasons, and avoid the extensive waits Game of Thrones fans often had to endure.
So the way things will go is that the first two episodes of season one will be completed by director J.A. Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), followed by a four or five month hiatus so writers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay to script the bulk of season two. The hiatus after a couple of episodes is fairly standard so as to give a new show a look to see what works going forward.
This should allow fans to get their hands on Season 2 episodes fairly quickly, especially if Amazon decides to shoot both seasons back-to-back just as Peter Jackson did with his Lord of the Rings movies.
Come tomorrow we will be exactly one month away from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the end of the saga most of us have been devoted to our entire lives. It’s an incredible, monumental event, and J.J. Abrams, who is already prone to being secretive, is on another level keeping this one a mystery.
But there are details to be found in a new EW piece to coincide with the release of some first-look images. For instance, we now know the story picks up one year after The Last Jedi, which ended as the devastated Resistance attempts to pick up the pieces and start anew…
“They’re trying to put bandaids on this leaking ship of the Resistance,” says Poe Dameron himself, Oscar Isaac.
One secret that may not be resolved to fans’ liking, however, is that of Rey’s parentage. Many were upset when Rian Johnson revealed Rey’s parents to be of insignificance, perhaps expecting her to have ties to one of the major Star Wars families. According to Daisy Ridley, the issue isn’t satisfied for Rey, either…
“The parents thing is not satisfied — for her and for the audience,” Ridley said. “That’s something she’s still trying to figure out — where does she come from?”
She adds, “It’s not that she doesn’t believe it, but she feels there’s more to the story. And she needs to figure out what’s come before so she can figure out what to do next…”
I have a feeling Abrams will try to address the issue in a way that respects what Johnson did, while adding new details that will satisfy fans. It’s going to be tough. Frankly, I wish the entire issue would be left alone so that Rey can exist as a totally new creation, not one tethered to the legacy of others.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens December 20th. Check out more images below, including the first look at Richard E. Grant as Allegiant General Pryde of the First Order.
For my money, no actress is better suited to capturing the paranoia and desperation necessary for great psychological thrillers than Naomi Watts. So it’s to our benefit that she’s about to be seen in one that has already earned a great deal of acclaim since premiering at Sundance earlier this year. The Wolf Hour finds Watts stuck in a stuffy apartment as violence rages during the sweltering Summer of Sam in 1977 New York City.
It’s July 1977, and New York City is awash with escalating violence. A citywide blackout is triggering fires, looting, and countless arrests, and the Son of Sam murders are riddling the city with panic. June, once a celebrated counterculture figure, attempts to retreat from the chaos by shutting herself inside the yellowed walls of her grandmother’s South Bronx apartment. But her doorbell is ringing incessantly, the heat is unbearable, and creeping paranoia and fear are taking hold. Visitors, some invited, some unsolicited, arrive one by one, and June must determine whom she can trust and whether she can find a path back to her former self.
The film is written and directed by Alistair Banks Griffin, and co-stars Kelvin Harrison Jr., Watts’ co-star in the acclaimed thriller Luce. Perhaps these two should make more movies together?
So. Many. Jokes. The first trailer for Cats has been the butt of so many social media punchlines one might think Universal could pull the plug on the star-studded Broadway adaptation. Let’s be honest, the sight of so many multi-talented celebs zipped up inside those Hellish cat suits is enough to make anybody quiver. But the movie is still happening, confirmed by the latest trailer which I think is just as disturbing as before.
Honestly, I respect Universal and director Tom Hooper for just going with their nightmarish creation and not pulling a Sonic the Hedgehog-style redo. The film is based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway classic about a tribe cats as they prepare to make the Jellicle choice and decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. The cast is pretty amazing from top-to-bottom, which James Corden, Rebel Wilson, Idris Elba, Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Jason Derulo, Ian McKellen, Royal Ballet dancer Francesca Hayward, and more.
Cats arrives just in time for the holidays on December 20th.
Maybe it was all a clever ruse on Disney’s part, but the first big musical number in Frozen 2, the one they’ve been teasing since last summer, “Some Things Never Change”, couldn’t be less indicative of the anticipated sequel. While all of the core characters return for what will surely be another massive cultural touchstone and merchandising dynamo for the Mouse House, the truth is that this movie offers something different, an evolution on an emotional and visual front that makes for an enchanting, satisfying tale.
Set three years after the last film, Frozen 2 picks up with things looking pretty much the same. The kingdom of Arendelle is watched over by Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), whose magical ice powers keep them protected at all times. Her sister Anna (Kristen Bell) is still involved with Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), who is more smitten with her than ever. Their frosty snowman pal Olaf (Josh Gad) is still around, too, now made of permafrost and experiencing a bout of existentialism. Just as Elsa keeps watch over Arendelle, Anna is there to do the same for Elsa, who despite coming into her own in the last film (Wasn’t that the point of all that “Let It Go” stuff?) still battles with her self-confidence.
The harmonious mood is broken by a siren call that only Elsa can hear, one that places all of Arendelle in danger. The voice leads Elsa and her friends to a veiled, enchanted forest full of dark mysteries, nature’s most powerful elements come-to-life, and long-hidden truths about Elsa she may not be prepared to learn.
Directed once again by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, the latter also having written the script solo, Frozen 2 makes the long 6-year wait for a sequel worth it with a story mature enough to keep up with the older audience. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty for magical creatures and snowy landscapes for the kids to enjoy. At our screening you could barely go a minute without hearing them squeal with delight over some fantastical development, one of Olaf’s goofy predicaments, or Elsa’s many…MANY shimmering outfits. So….many…outfits.
But this is a story centered on personal growth, with much of it focused on Elsa and the origin of her icy powers. To that end, it gets pretty grim and ventures into territory that may be too much for younger children to handle. In keeping with the film’s message of transformation, everyone has their cross to bear and nobody emerges unchanged. Even Olaf, who has taken to ruminating on questions far too complex for your average snowman, has a moment that will make you see him as more than just comic relief. Because there is no central nemesis to be fought, the struggle is mostly internal and, the character development a crucial component. Visually, Frozen 2 has undergone a shift, as well. While the glowing whites and blues are still there, large swaths of the film are draped in autumnal reds and oranges, giving the sequel an entirely fresh, evocative look. We’ve gotten so accustomed to the beauty of Disney animation that we don’t expect to see anything new, but this may be the most stunning work we’ve seen from them yet.
The previous film leaned hard on its strong message of female empowerment and diversity, which I think is a big reason why it touched the hearts of so many. Those ideas aren’t necessarily gone in Frozen 2, but are definitely toned down in favor of establishing a larger mythology full of living elements (Be prepared for a cute little fire elemental), rock monsters, clandestine tribes, and a horse made out of seawater. The story beyond each character’s personal journey is pretty thin, however; a shame because so much of it has potential. For instance, we don’t get nearly enough from Sterling K. Brown as a soldier whose backstory crosses with Elsa and Anna’s in an unexpected way. That particular plot point is one of many (What’s the point of the elementals, anyway?) that could’ve used a greater fleshing out by Lee’s screenplay.
While the emergence of “Let It Go” made an idiot of me for thinking all of Frozen‘s songs pretty forgettable, I don’t think there’s going to be the same kind of breakout track, this time. The much-talked-about “Into the Unknown” certainly shows off Menzel’s powerful range once again but lacks the same impact. On the other hand, Kristoff’s power ballad “Lost in the Woods” will have parents laughing out loud to its cheesy ’80s music video aesthetic.
Disney easily could’ve taken an “if it ain’t broke” approach and come away with another $1B hit. But in taking a little more time and daring to go in a surprising new direction, Frozen 2 proves it doesn’t need to recapture the magic of the original when it can create its own.
If you’re one of those who follows the Twitter trends, you probably noticed #releasethesnydercut trending pretty high the last couple of days. The reason is the two-year anniversary of Justice League‘s release, and the sudden surge of demand by stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Ray Fisher to see Zack Snyder’s fabled cut of the doomed film.
So will all of this outcry from fans and A-listers convince Warner Bros. to give in to demand? Apparently not. According to THR who reached out to inside sources, “no announcement of a release of any such cut is imminent.”
Alrighty then. Because of the seemingly-coordinated efforts by Justice League stars, some had come to assume this was all just an elaborate marketing ploy ahead of a Snyder Cut announcement. But I think those people missed that the only coordination may have been between Gadot, Affleck, and Fisher who clearly still have some affection for Snyder and the work they did together.
It’s also worth noting that everything we’ve heard about Snyder’s version of the film says it is unfinished, which is obvious since he left the production early and handed the reins over to Joss Whedon. Most of the version we saw in theaters was shot by Snyder, but what Whedon did was remove numerous storylines and characters that would’ve extended the runtime to 3 hours+. Snyder has spent the last two years on social media teasing everything that did not make the final theatrical cut.
Perhaps the surest sign the Fast & Furious franchise may be winding down is the arrival of its first animated series for kids, Fast and Furious: Spy Racers, which hits Netflix next month. We’ve known since last year that it would center on the cousin of Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, a kid named Tony Toretto, and now we have a look at him and the rest of his crew.
Tony will be voiced by Teen Wolf actor Tyler Posey. Here’s the series synopsis, which kinda sounds like it’s following in the same kid-friendly vibe as Disney’s Star Wars Resistance…
Teenager Tony Toretto follows in the footsteps of his cousin Dom when he and his friends are recruited by a government agency to infiltrate an elite racing league serving as a front for a nefarious crime organization called SH1FT3R bent on world domination.
At least this is one way to bring the street racing element back, as it’s been sorely missing from the live-action movies as they’ve grown into save-the-world spectacles.
The rest of the cast includes Camille Ramsey as Layla Gray, a notable underground racer who works for SH1FT3R; Luke Youngblood as Frostee Benson, a 13-year old tech genius; Charlet Chung as Echo, a wildly talented artist and natural spy; and Jorge Diaz as Cisco Renaldo. Vin Diesel’s daughter Similce voices Frostee’s younger sister, Sissy.
The series will be exec-produced by franchise regulars Vin Diesel, Chris Morgan, and Neal Moritz, with Tim Hedrick (Voltron Legendary Defender) and Bret Haaland (All Hail King Julien) as showrunners.
Fast and Furious: Spy Racers comes to Netflix on December 26th.
Finally, Tom Hiddleston has some company in Disney+’s Loki series. He’s been the only castmember confirmed for the show since it was revealed last year, but now Variety reports he’ll be joined by Yesterday actress Sophia Di Martino.
Di Martino has joined Loki as Hiddleston’s co-star, but it’s unclear her role. There’s very little we know about it, except that the trickster god, who was last seen vanishing from the timestream holding the Tesseract, will be making his way through various points in history and probably causing trouble. Perhaps Di Martino will an Asgardian companion? I could see her playing a version of the Timebroker, a character in charge of helping to fix broken timelines.
This will be the most high-profile role for Di Martino yet. She had a small role in Danny Boyle’s music comedy, Yesterday, and also may have been seen in AMC’s Into the Badlands. Joining the MCU is a totally different ball of wax, though.
Loki hits Disney+ in 2021 with Michael Waldron as showrunner.
Well, we saw this coming, right? With the sudden cancellation of Cloak & Dagger over on Freeform, which coincides with the demise of Marvel TV as Kevin Feige takes full creative control, it was only a matter of time before an announcement on the future of Runaways. Turns out there is no future for the series after its third season kicks off next month.
Variety reports Runaways third season on Hulu will be the last. The series was created by The O.C.‘s Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, following on a group of teens, some powered and some not, who learn their parents are supervillains. In an act of rebellion, the kids defeat their parents and run away to live on the streets, bringing their telepathic dinosaur Old Lace with them. It was a fun show that I got started on late, but if I’m honest it had probably run its course after season two.
This next season does look pretty good, though, with Elizabeth Hurley joining the cast as Morgan le Fay and a crossover with Cloak & Dagger.
With Runaways finished, that leaves room for Feige to focus mostly on his Disney+ shows such as Hawkeye, WandaVision, and What If…?. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other Jeph Loeb-era shows announced for Hulu, such as Helstrom, are either canned or reduced significantly.
While there seemed to be some doubt about the future of Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye series on Disney+, the recent drop of some concept art and now this opening title sequence confirms it will definitely move forward.
The James Bond-esque title sequence is very clearly inspired by the art of David, the artist on Hawkeye’s solo Marvel Comics series during its acclaimed run under writer Matt Fraction. Hopefully the theme music will be similarly spy-worthy.
I think it’s interesting that Renner is very easy to make out, but his trainee Kate Bishop is sorta non-descript. Hailee Steinfeld didn’t sound too sure she’d be in the show and maybe she has yet to sign on the dotted line.
