FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE Trailer

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore starring Jude Law

After an extended wait since The Crimes of Grindelwald, Warner Bros. has now unveiled the first trailer for David Yates’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. It’s the third film in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter spinoff series, which began in 2016 with Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.  

The upcoming film is set several years after the events of the last movie, as Jude Law’s Albus Dumbledore tasks Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) with an important mission. Their quest will take Newt and his friends (“a magizoologist, his indispensable assistant, a wizard descended from a very old family, a school teacher, and a muggle”) into the heart of Grindelwald’s army.

Grindelwald will this time be played by Mads Mikkelsen, taking over from Johnny Depp who portrayed the infamous wizard in the first two films. The role was re-cast after allegations of domestic abuse surfaced against Depp. The rest of the cast includes Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Callum Turner, William Nadylam, Poppy Corby-Tuech, and Jessica Williams.

Check out the new trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore below. It is due for release in the UK April 8th, 2022. Two more Fantastic Beasts films are currently in development.

New MATRIX RESURRECTIONS Clip Answers Some Questions, Raises More

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Morpheus in the Matrix Resurrections

As we approach its release date, the marketing campaign for The Matrix Resurrections continues to prove exemplary. The latest clip of of the highly-anticipated instalment, which dropped during The Game Awards, answers fans’ phone booth questions and goes some way towards explaining Laurence Fishburne’s absence in the franchise’s latest.

In the roughly one minute footage, Bugs (Jessica Henwick) explains to Neo (Keanu Reeves) that Redpills “don’t have to run to phone booths anymore” to enter and exit the Matrix, and that hackers instead create portals. Handy, considering their near-extinction in the modern world. She then leads Neo into a room where he is met by another version of Morpheus, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, while Fishburne’s Morpheus is projected onto the walls through clips of the first Matrix film. It confirms that while Resurrections’ Morpheus might be played by a different actor, he is aware of his own history over the three previous films.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Candyman actor also explained that fans will soon learn the new rules of The Matrix; “Age, appearance, the things we identify as real, can be manipulated in that world,” while also reaffirming that his portrayal is a “different iteration” of Morpheus.

Yet this new clip might suggest that the changes in appearance are purely cosmetic, and that Abdul-Mateen’s Morpheus is the same character as Fishburne’s; so the statement that Morpheus is a different iteration may just be a reference to the character’s development over the period elapsed, as opposed to some parallel universe version of character. After all, “nothing comforts anxiety like a little nostalgia,” quips Abdul-Mateen’s Morpheus in a meta wink to the viewer. For any hard answers though, we’ll have to wait for the film’s release.

The Matrix Resurrections releases in cinemas on December 22nd, with a simultaneous release on HBO Max in the U.S. Watch the trailer here, and watch the clip in question below:

COWBOY BEBOP Cancelled After One Season

Cowboy Bebop Netflix reboot series starring John Cho, Mustafa Shakir and Daniella Pineda

Sorry friends, but Netflix has opted to cancel Cowboy Bebop. The live-action anime adaptation will not be moving forward with a second season, the streamer has confirmed, less than a month after the series was first released on its platform.

Based on Shinichirō Watanabe’s cult anime series, Cowboy Bebop followed a group of bounty hunters led by Spike Spiegel (John Cho) as they search for the galaxy’s most wanted criminals. Mustafa Shakir also starred as Spike’s trusted co-pilot Jet Black and Daniella Pineda as their third crew member, Faye Valentine.

Despite significant buzz around the show before its premiere, the live-action take on the anime was met with mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. What’s worse, the series didn’t do too well in Netflix’s Top 10 rankings which, combined with its significant budget, contributed to the platform’s swift cancellation.

In response to the news, first announced by The Hollywood Reporter, the show’s co-executive producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach expressed his disappointment on Twitter: “I truly loved working on this. It came from a real and pure place of respect and affection,” he wrote. “I wish we could make what we planned for a second season, but you know what they say, men plan, god laughs. see you space cowboy…”. In response to a tweet by Gren actor Mason Alexander Park, he added that the show “had so much cool sh*t planned for s2”.

At least Cowboy Bebop fans can always go back to the original anime series…

 

 

THE WOMAN IN THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW… teaser.

Kristen Bell in The Woman in the house across the street from the girl in the window

Kristen Bell stars in Netflix’s latest series as the titular woman in the house across the street from the girl in the window – the latter of whom likely gets murdered. That’s how those things go, no?

A spoof of many genre tropes, the show certainly has no shortage of inspiration: from classics like Rear Window, more recent works like Disturbia, to book adaptations like The Girl on the Train and the very bad The Woman in the Window, there’s plenty of “voyeur witnesses crime but everyone thinks they’re crazy so they have to go out and do the police’s job for them” movies to draw from.

Kristen Bell in The Woman in the house across the street from the girl in the window

For heartbroken Anna (Bell), every day is the same. She sits with her wine, staring out the window, watching life go by without her. But when a handsome neighbour (Tom Riley) and his adorable daughter move in across the street, Anna starts to see a light at the end of the tunnel. That is until she witnesses a gruesome murder… Or did she? She does have a penchant for mixing pills and comedic amounts of red vino, after all.

From breaking endless casserole dishes to the rampant alcoholism and sceptical law enforcement, this concisely-titled, eight-episode series looks to poke fun at this very successful, very niche thriller subgenre. The best part? Apart from one snippet of dialogue (“I just feel like I’m falling apart like a house of cards, like a sandcastle when the tide has come in, like a rickety chair, or an old jalopy”), the teaser plays it completely straight.

Michael Ealy, Mary Holland, Shelley Hennig, Cameron Britton, Christina Anthony and Benjamin Levy Aguilar also star in The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window, which is due to launch on Netflix January 28th.

Watch the teaser trailer below:

STAR WARS Series THE ACOLYTE Casts Amandla Stenberg

The Hate U Give actor Amandla Stenberg cast in Star Wars: The Acolyte

Amandla Stenberg is in final talks to join the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte. Though the project is shrouded in mystery, Disney and Lucasfilm previously confirmed that the live-action series will be a “mystery thriller” taking place in the final days of the High Republic era – which would place it some fifty years prior to the events of The Phantom Menace – focusing on the emergence of the Dark Side.

The Acolyte Star Wars logo

Stenberg, who broke out in the role of Rue in The Hunger Games, has since gone to star in films like The Hate U Give, The Darkest Minds, and this year’s film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen. Details on who they would play are being kept under lock and key, though The Illuminerdi (who first broke the news of Stenberg’s involvement) suggest that they might be playing the lead role, Aura. The “Acolyte” is more than likely a code name, typically used in the Star Wars universe to refer to a Sith who has just begun their training under an experienced Sith Lord – this, of course, prior to Darth Bane’s implementation of the Rule of Two.

Such a storyline is rife with opportunities to subvert the concepts of “good” and “evil” that have long dominated narratives around Sith and Jedi, for example by showing a character with Dark Side aspirations painted as the hero.

The Acolyte is currently in development, helmed by Leslye Headland (co-creator of the amazing Russian Doll series).

 

 

 

INVASION Renewed For Season 2

Sam Neill stars as rural American law enforcement in Invasion series, renewed for Invasion season 2

Good news for Invasion fans, because Apple TV+ has renewed the drama series for a second season, ahead of the season one finale on December 10th. It’s the latest in a string of series renewals for the streaming platform, which has already announced a third season of thriller Truth Be Told and a second season of the Asimov epic Foundation.

“I’m profoundly grateful to Apple for being so supportive every step of the way, and trusting us to make a deeply human, emotional alien-invasion story. And most of all I’m thankful to our amazing fans, without whom we wouldn’t have this opportunity to continue the invasion. I’m super excited about what we’re planning for season two, expanding our universe in the most intimate and epic ways” said Simon Kinberg, the series co-creator alongside David Weil, via Deadline.

“From day one, we have been hooked on this unique, engrossing and very human telling of an invasion story which deftly explores how the lives of different characters around the world are impacted when Earth is under siege,” added Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV+. “It has been so rewarding to witness global audiences respond to the brilliant performances, the captivating mystery and the sweeping cinematic vision, not to mention some pretty terrifying alien intruders. We couldn’t be more excited for viewers to see what Invasion creators David Weil and Simon Kinberg have in store for these characters – as well as our planet – in season two.”

Until Invasion season 2 however, you can look forward to the season one finale on Friday this week, December 10th.

 

 

V/H/S Producers Are Backing Sci-Fi Horror KIDS VS ALIENS

Kids Vs Aliens behind the scenes of horror sci-fi

From the producers of the V/H/S franchise comes a sci-fi horror that follows what happens when aliens attack a house party, titled Kids VS Aliens. It joins a long and unrelated line of “X Versus Aliens” films and series, including Monsters Vs Aliens, Alien V Predator, Wizards Vs Aliens, Cowboys Vs Aliens (so we tweaked that last one, but you get the idea). It’s about time we let the kids have a go.

V/H/S/2 director Jason Eisener is helming the project, on which principal photography has recently wrapped. He also reunites with the creative team behind the 2011 grindhouse-inspired cult horror Hobo with a Shotgun, co-writing the script with John Davies. Dominic Mariche (Are You Afraid Of the Dark?), Calem MacDonald (The Umbrella Academy), Phoebe Rex, Ben Tector, Isaiah Fortune, Asher Grayson, and Emma Vickers star.

“Bringing alien terrors to life is a literal dream come true,” said Eisener. “‘Kids vs Aliens’ is inspired by my childhood nightmares and obsessions. Hopefully my parents will forgive me for using their house as our main location.” The Lighthouse and Possessor creative Rob Cotterill is also producing for Yer Dead Productions, with Josh Goldbloom of Cinepocalypse Productions and Brad Miska of Bloody Disgusting.

Photo credit: Mike Tompkins / courtesy of Outer Space Pictures LTD

 

China Races Canada For Prestigious SciFi Con

The future of Worldcon has become a race between China and Canada. Fans will get to determine where 2023’s Worldcon will be hosted. If China wins, it will be a first for Worldcon.

Next week the world will see the launch of DisConIII, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention, hosted in Washington DC, USA.  Part of the convention will be to allow fans to decide where 2023’s Worldcon will be hosted.   Worldcons are a long-running international Science Fiction convention that tends to be hosted in North America or Europe, and the next venue is determined two years ahead of time.

Recent years have seen the convention come to other parts of the world, such as Japan and New Zealand. Chinese fans have been actively seeking to bring the world-renowned event to Chengdu, China since 2014.

Previous attempts from China have met with failure, with a low number of convention attendees voting for the Chinese bid during the Site Selection process. This may change at DisConIII however, as over 800 convention members are Chinese, a record for any Worldcon.  These members are mostly ‘supporting’ members; they will not be attending DisConIII but have purchased a special membership that allows them a say in way parts of Worldcon is ran.

With a total of 6416 members attending, supporting or virtually attending the convention,  China is definitely in with a strong chance.

Worldcon is a relatively small but highly significant convention, mostly due to its international standing. Truly ran by fans for fans, it has a number of long-standing traditions that have made it resistant to the usual commercial concerns of more modern geek gatherings. It tends to draw in academics, novelists, script-writers, content creators and sci-fi super fans as a crowd and has done so for decades.

It’s influence on science fiction and fantasy media over the years has been incredible though largely unacknowledged. Until recently, the majority of Worldcons have been hosted in North America.

You can find out more about Worldcon Site Selection here.

 

 

Dave Bautista To Star In M. Night Shyamalan’s Next Film

Dave Bautista from Army of the Dead cast in Knock at the Cabin

Dave Bautista will star in master-of-twists M. Night Shyamalan’s next project, Knock at the Cabin, Deadline has announced. Very little is known about this upcoming (obviously) film, except that Shyamalan will be writing and directing the feature over at Universal, continuing a long-standing partnership which oversaw the releases of Old, Glass, Split, and The Visit. 

Bautista first rose to acting fame when he was cast as Drax in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, before going on to secure a small role in Blade Runner 2049; Denis Villeneuve would later rehire the professional wrestler-turned-actor for his sci-fi tentpole Dune. His biggest role to date however, has to be as mercenary and team leader Scott Ward in Zack Snyder’s zombie heist film Army of the Dead earlier this year.

Bautista is currently in production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which some suspect will be his final appearance as Drax – following the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder. He is also confirmed as part of the sprawling ensemble cast for Rian Johnson’s Knives Out 2.

 Knock at the Cabin will release February 3rd, 2023.

 

Charlie Cox Is Returning As DAREDEVIL

Charlie Cox as Daredevil aka Matt Murdock in the MCU

Praise be, for Charlie Cox will reprise his role as Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Confirmed by none other than big boss man Kevin Feige, Cox is the franchise’s Daredevil should he return at some point in the future for the MCU, after portraying the Hell’s Kitchen hero for three seasons on Netflix.

“If you were to see Daredevil in upcoming things, Charlie Cox, yes, would be the actor playing Daredevil,” Feige told CinemaBlend. “Where we see that, how we see that, when we see that, remains to be seen.” Coy as ever, then.

Cox himself has also been keeping a tight lid on any potential reappearance, stating that he doesn’t want to ruin any potential reveals that Marvel could have in store: “If there was a chance of that happening in the future,” the actor stated when addressing rumours of his return in Spider-Man: No Way Home, “I don’t want to say something that could potentially jeopardize those chances because the people high up at Marvel, maybe they see this stuff or hear what I say and maybe that influences. I don’t know. I have no idea. I love how passionate the fans are and I feel very, very, very touched that so many of them have gone online and made their voices heard about the desire for me to come back.”

Charlie Cox to reprise role as Matt Murdock Daredevil in Marvel Cinematic Universe

Funnily enough, one of the first people to congratulate Cox on the news was his Daredevil co-star Vincent D’Onofrio, who played Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. Why is that funny? Because many fans speculate that D’Onofrio himself will beat Cox to the punch when it comes to rejoining the MCU – it’s increasingly likely that Fisk will make an appearance in Hawkeye, given the character’s ties to Maya Lopez/Echo in the comics. In the most recent episode, titled “Echoes”, it’s even indicated that Fisk may be the criminal figure known as “Uncle”, who appears in a shot without his face being revealed. Even if D’Onofrio doesn’t appear in Hawkeye, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to feature the character in the upcoming Echo-centric series on Disney+.

Hopefully, we’ll see Daredevil and Kingpin brought into the mainline MCU sooner rather than later. Might we even get more Defenders making appearances?