Hasbro has revealed the first action figure for Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series of the title character. Hasbro and Lucasfilm dub this Star Wars: The Black Series figure of the Jedi Master “Wandering Jedi.”
Ewan McGregor debuted the figure on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Star Wars Day and you can watch the video of him doing that below. You can also see some additional photos of the figure, which looks great! If you’re a collector, you’ll definitely want to get one of these!
The 6-inch action figure includes butterfly shoulder joints, photoreal face printing, and a removable Jedi robe. It should go up for preorder at all the usual retailers in one week, on May 11th and it will cost $24.99.
It’s that time again to talk about the games coming to and leaving Xbox game pass. There are some pretty interesting sounding games coming this month including This War of Mine: Final Cut and Trek to Yomi. I haven’t played either one yet, but I might try to play them now that they are on game pass. Here’s the full list of everything coming:
Loot River (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – May 1
Available on day one with Game Pass: Explore procedurally generated labyrinths in a dungeon crawling action roguelike that combines tense, real-time combat with spatial block-shifting – slide blocks of ancient ruins, fight bestial abominations, loot, explore, level-up, strategize, cast powerful spells, die and wake up anew.
Trek to Yomi (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – May 5
Available on day one with Game Pass: Trek to Yomi is a cinematic action adventure game that follows an enthralling story of Hiroki during his fall against the forces of evil. Experience his heroic return to make good on his failed promise to save the people he swore to protect.
Citizen Sleeper (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – May 5
Available on day one with Game Pass: Live the life of an escaped worker, washed-up on a lawless station at the edge of an interstellar society. Inspired by the flexibility and freedom of tabletop RPGs, explore the station, choose your friends, escape your past and change your future.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Anniversary Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 10
On Jabberwock Island, you and your classmates were ready for fun in the sun until Monokuma returned! Trapped in a dangerous situation, you must survive through the class trials. Your only hope rests in solving the island’s mysteries. Plus, Ultimate members can play with native touch controls with cloud gaming on day one, no controller needed!
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 10
Available on day one with Game Pass: Strengthen your bonds with the launch of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising on Xbox Game Pass. Experience the prewar tales of various characters who will eventually become your companions in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, the top funded Kickstarter game of 2020 and coming to Game Pass on day one in 2023.
This War of Mine: Final Cut (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – May 10
In This War of Mine: Final Cut, remastered for Xbox Series X|S, you play a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city; struggling with lack of necessities and constant danger from snipers and hostiles. It’s an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle. Learn more here.
NHL 22 (Console) EA Play – May 12
Experience breakthrough hockey with Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play! NHL 22 is coming soon to The Play List, so all members can hit the ice. Members also get NHL 22 rewards, including World of Chel gear sets, and more.
Sadly games do need to be leaving, so don’t miss your chance to play and get your 20% off to purchase them:
Leaving May 10
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition (Cloud and Console)
Leaving May 15
Enter The Gungeon (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (Console and PC)
Remnant: From the Ashes (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Steep (Cloud and Console)
The Catch: Carp and Coarse (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Mike Myers is known for his run on the series Saturday Night Live, and his successful franchises that include Wayne’s World, Shrek, and Austin Powers. Each one is a standalone phenomenon, but are also pretty far in the review mirror. Myers has been working the last few years on just a couple of projects including appearing in Bohemian Rhapsody, as well as the series he developed for Netflix that premiers this week titled The Pentaverate.
But could an additional Austin Powers movie be on the horizon? Myers hopes so, but he can’t give us a straight answer one way or the other. In a recent interview with SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show (via CB) to promote his new Netflix series, Myers was asked about Austin Powers 4, and he said:
“I would love to do one. I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of such a project, should it exist or not exist? You know, we’re, you know…”
At that point, co-hosts Cagle and Julia Cunningham both broke in to suggest it sounded like Myers was confirming that something was in the works.
“It was a non-confirmed, confirmation confirmation,” Myers joked.
The idea of a fourth Austin Powers film is one that has been floating around for some time, starting all the way back in 2005, about three years after Austin Powers in Goldmember. The actor’s IMDb even states that it’s in development. Myers has offered various updates about a fourth film, with most of them being very positive. A May 2018 update saw Myers hint that a fourth film would feature some sort of tribute to Mini Me actor Verne Troyer who died in April of that year.
Goldmember director Jay Roach said of the possible sequel in 2020:
“I wouldn’t say never never…I’m always game for whatever [Mike Myers] wants to do. It does depend on Mike having something that he’s inspired about, and so far, after all these years, it hasn’t quite clicked yet.”
I have a feeling this will probably fall into place. There’s no reason for it not to. It would be ridiculous, but totally fun to see this cast back together for another Austin Powers. Would you like to see Austin Powers 4 on the big screen?
Peacock launched back in the summer of 2020, and one of the big titles that came with it was the reimagining of Saved by the Bell. The updated series welcomed back original stars from the ‘80s-’90s show, including Elizabeth Berkley as Jessica Spano; Mario Lopez as A.C. Slater; Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris; Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski-Morris; Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle; and even Ed Alonzo as Max. The show also featured some of the most recognizable teachers from the show’s original run.
The new series saw Jessie and Slater joining the faculty of Bayside High, which Jessie’s, and Zack and Kelly’s, kids now attend. The beginning of the series saw a low-income group of kids get transferred to the wealthy Bayside, where the kids integrated, some better than others, learning from one another and becoming friends and enemies along the way.
It was a cute series, and as a fan of the original, I wanted to see it succeed and last a bit longer. But it’s hard to catch lightning in a bottle the second time around. Peacock doesn’t release viewership stats, so we can’t know for sure how the show was performing, but it’s assumed that if numbers were high, we would have probably seen another season. It’s too bad, but it was fun while it lasted. The young cast had a lot of talent, and I’m sure we will see more of them soon.
While I enjoyed the hell out of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, I still can’t help but wonder how Ben Affleck’s version of the film would have turned out. That story would have put a focus on Deathstroke and his mission to systematically destroy Bruce Wayne’s life, his public status as Gotham City’s leading citizen, and his private existence as Batman.
Storyboard artist Jay Oliva has now shared some storyboard art that shows us a scene where Affleck’s Batman faces off with Joe Manganiello‘s Deathstroke. Deathstroke is seen holding his sword in a fighting pose and you can see Batman in the reflection of the sword, which is pretty cool. Check it out!
Manganiello previously talked about Affleck’s Batman movie, saying:
“It was a really dark story in which Deathstroke was like a shark or a horror movie villain that was dismantling Bruce’s life from the inside out. It was this systemic thing: He killed everyone close to Bruce and destroyed his life to try and make him suffer because he felt that Bruce was responsible for something that happened to him.
“The way it was written at the time I read the script was that Batman was blamed by Slade for the death of his son. Slate’s son gets killed. There were some events that led back to Bruce, led back to Batman. That he had a hand in it, that he was partially responsible for it. Slade blamed him. Word was on the street that Slade wanted to kill batman. That’s why he was summoned to Lex Luthor’s yacht and given a key piece of information to help with that as well. So that Slade could potentially get rid of Batman.”
This is an interesting story that I think would have made a great Batman movie. It’s a shame that we’ll never see it. But, I’m happy with what Reeves is doing with the franchise and I’m looking forward to seeing that expand.
Disney is teaming up with producer Larence Fishburne to develop an animated series adaptation of Shawn Amos’ debut novel Cookies & Milk, which is about the birth of Famous Amos cookies.
The book is a semi-autobiographical story inspired by the childhood of Amos, “a Blues musician and the son of iconic Wallace “Wally” Amos, Jr., founder of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie brand. The Cookies & Milk teleplay follows the summer adventures of harmonica-playing middle-schooler Ellis Johnson as he begrudgingly helps his wildly optimistic and quite possibly magical father open the world’s first cookie shop in 1970s Hollywood, California.”
Ayo Davis, president, Disney Branded Television said in a statement: “It’s an absolute coup to bring Shawn Amos’s heartfelt, humorous book to Disney television screens and, with the guiding vision, credibility and track record of our Cinema Gypsy and Jesse James Films creative team, we’re looking forward to telling this authentic and relatable story about belonging, self-acceptance and forgiveness.”
Fisburne and producer Helen Sugland added: “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Shawn Amos, Ayo Davis and the talented team at Disney Branded Television. Shawn’s semi-autobiographical novel, Cookies & Milk, is partially based on his own experiences growing up as the son of Wally “Famous” Amos. This humorous and heartwarming exploration of summer fun and friendship seen through the eyes of a young black boy being raised by his divorced father is full of joy, self-discovery and a whole lot of unconditional love.”
Producers Jesse Murphy and Sears Bryant said: “We are so excited to have found the right home for this show with Disney Television Animation, Laurence and Helen. Shawn has created such a beautiful reimagining of his childhood in a narrative that we hope will universally connect with audiences on and off the page.”
Amos went on to say: “What a dream to see this Black kid from Hollywood become a Disney character. I wrote Cookies & Milk for my son to help him understand his family, his culture, and himself. I hope kids of all colors will see something of their own selves in Ellis. I’m so grateful to Helen, Jesse, and Laurence for championing my story. I know it’s in good hands with them and the deeply creative folks at Disney.”
This sounds like it will make for a fun series that will entertain audiences. I’ll be tuning in to watch it with a bag of Famous Amos cookies and milk.
Two years after its launch, the free streaming service Tubi has announced that they are introducing a slate of original programming, planning 100 new film and TV titles over the next year as viewership continues to rise. The ad-supported streamer has been increasingly integrated into Fox’s operations and has more than doubled its viewership since its start. It offers streaming access after linear premiere for many of the top shows on the Fox broadcast network.
The new originals will join a library of more than 40,000 film and TV titles, which Tubi says is No. 1 among all free AVODs. Deadline reports, “Among the new arrivals are a comedy called Classmates, directed by Danielle Fishel, who starred on Boy Meets World. Recent forays into horror, Black cinema and holiday fare are getting a new boost.”
Tubi is also expanding its linear offerings in the burgeoning category of free, ad-supported television, or FAST. Joining the existing lineup of more than 100 24-7 channels are showcases for The Masked Singer, TMZ and Studio Ramsay Global’s Gordon Ramsay, along with Tubi Originals and Tubi en Español.
Are you looking forward to new original content from free streamer, Tubi?
Universal Pictures has released the first hilarious trailer for comedian Jo Koy’s upcoming family comedy Easter Sunday. In the film, Koy plays “a man returning home for an Easter celebration with his riotous, bickering, eating, drinking, laughing, loving family in this love letter to his Filipino-American community.”
While the story revolves around a Filipino-American family, at its core Koy has explained the movie is about family and it’s the kind of movie anyone can enjoy. While at CinemaCon Koy said the film captures relatable family chaos that everyone will recognize. Koy went on to say: “When you leave the movie you’re going to be like, ‘Holy f***k, we’re all the same.'”
Koy also explained that one of his favorite movies growing up was Friday, and he was inspired by how that movie captured the craziness of one specific day, and he went on to say, “Our day, for Filipinos, is Easter.”
The film stars an all-star comedic cast that includes Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley), Tia Carrere (True Lies, Wayne’s World), Brandon Wardell (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Eva Noblezada (Broadway’s Hadestown), Lydia Gaston (Broadway’s The King and I), Asif Ali (WandaVision), Rodney To (Parks and Recreation), Eugene Cordero (The Good Place), Jay Chandrasekhar (I Love You, Man), Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) and Lou Diamond Phillips (Courage Under Fire).
Easter Sunday was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers, The Dukes of Hazzard), from a script by Ken Cheng (Wilfred, Betas). The movie is set for theatrical release on August 5, 2022.
There’s no doubt that one day a Stan Lee biopic will be made, and it would be pretty cool if Marvel Studios madethat happen. But, who would direct that movie? Well, Kevin Smith is throwing his name into the hat.
During a live episode ofFatMan Beyond, the filmmaker was asked what biopic he would most be interested in directing and he responded, “Stan Lee would make an amazing biopic….I don’t think I’m talented to tell that story though. I think I’m only good enough to do the Kevin Smith biopic, but if somebody was like here’s a blank check and you can do whatever you want, as far as biopics go I think I would try to go with Stan Lee.”
It’s no secret that Smith idolized Lee, and he even cast him in his classic film Mallrats. It was Stan Lee’s feature film debut and that led to his appearing in all kinds of projects over the years including his awesome streak of cameos in the Marvel films.
Smith posted a heartfelt tribute to Lee upon his death, writing, “Outside of my parents, you were the one adult who gave me the most useful life skills I still use today. Thank you, Stan, for making me not only the boy I was but also the man I am today. You had great power and you always used it responsibly, fostering billions of dreamers who all know your name – a name written in the stars for all time. You were not just the literary titan of comic books, you were our modern day Mark Twain. I will miss you all my days, my friend and hero. Excelsior forevermore.”
I think it would be pretty cool if Smith eventually got the opportunity to make a Stan Lee biopic. I’d be very curious to see how he would handle it, but I bet he’d do it in a fun and creative way.
Lee previously expressed interest in having a film made about him, and at one point there were even discussions withLeonardo DiCaprio about starring in it. In regards to that Lee said, “Doing a movie of my life, with him playing me, and I said, ‘I’m not sure you’re good-looking enough. We’ll test you, see how you look, see how it comes out, don’t get too excited, we’ll let you know.”
On top of that, in 2020, there was a Stan Lee/Jack Kirby biopic script making the rounds titled Excelsior!, which would have told the story about the creation of Marvel Comics and its two primary architects. That script made The Black List of best-unproduced screenplays.
As of right now, there are no current plans that I know of regarding a Stan Lee biopic, but maybe Smith could help put it into motion. Even if he doesn’t direct it, I imagine just to be a part of it as a producer pushing it forward would be cool for Smith. What do you all think?
We’ve got a new “special look” trailer for Pixar’s Lightyear for you to watch today! It offers up even more new footage from the film, but don’t worry, it still doesn’t really give any of the more interesting elements of the story away.
I recently got to watch the first 30 minutes of the film, which you can watch our reaction to here. I was not expecting the story to start out the way it did, and I’m excited to see how the rest of the story plays out. The movie kind of starts out in a darker way than I was expecting, and Buzz has to make some difficult choices.
I imagine there are going to be a lot of cool and unexpected things involving the story that haven’t been included in the trailers.
The story follows “the legendary Space Ranger after he’s marooned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth alongside his commander and their crew. As Buzz tries to find a way back home through space and time, he’s joined by a group of ambitious recruits and his charming robot companion cat, Sox. Complicating matters and threatening the mission is the arrival of Zurg, an imposing presence with an army of ruthless robots and a mysterious agenda. A new poster and images are also available.”
The film stars Chris Evans as accomplished Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear, Uzo Aduba as his commander and best friend Alisha Hawthorne, and Peter Sohn as Sox. Keke Palmer,Taika Waititi, and Dale Soules lend their voices to the Junior Zap Patrol’s Izzy Hawthorne, Mo Morrison and Darby Steel, respectively, and James Brolin can be heard as the enigmatic Zurg. The voice cast also includes Mary McDonald-Lewis as onboard computer I.V.A.N., Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Commander Burnside, Efren Ramirez as Airman Diaz, and Keira Hairston as Young Izzy.
Lightyear was directed by Angus MacLane (co-director Finding Dory), produced by Galyn Susman (Toy Story That Time Forgot) and features a score by award-winning composer Michael Giacchino (The Batman, Up). Lightyear will hit in theaters starting June 17th, 2022.
