Fortnite has geared up to help celebrate May the 4th. From now until May 17 players can go through Stormtrooper training, and if you can complete it you will earn you an Empire Banner. Whether you will be able to hit a main character is yet to be determined. Players will also be able to wield the E-11 Blaster Rifle and most importantly, lightsabers. You’ll be able to wield Luke Skywalker, Kylo Ren, Obi-Wan, and Mace Windu’s lightsabers across the island. You’ll also be able to get every previous Star Wars outfit (excluding the Mandalorian) will return to the item shop including:
Imperial Stormtrooper
Kylo Ren
Zorii Bliss
Finn
Rey
Sith Trooper
Boba Fett
Fennec Shand
Krrsantan
Don’t miss your chance at grabbing these outfits and getting to run around the island with a lightsaber, the event ends May 17.
China is a fickle, fickle partner when it comes to the film industry. Studios want their films to open in the country because of the sheer size. It brings in huge box office numbers, and pays the filmmakers, and in turn, the studios a hefty sum when all is said and done. But China does not make it easy, often making requests to change aspects of the films before agreeing to release them. The Chinese government doesn’t want to show any films or scenes that include the critique of law enforcement or Chinese censorship rules, or footage promoting LGBT relationships. So a request for editing isn’t unusual, but when it came to Spider-Man: No Way Home, the ask was just too great.
According to Puck News, when the authorities got back to Sony, they had one request — delete the Statue of Liberty from the ending of the film. You know, the place where the entire final fight scene of the film took place, with the trio of Spider-Men swinging over and around it as they battled the supervillains.
Sony immediately said no, and figured they’d just have to cut their losses. But the Chinese counter-offered, then asking if the Statue could simply be minimized in the sequence. They hoped Sony could cut a few of the more patriotic shots of Holland standing atop the crown, or dull the lighting so that Lady Liberty’s visage wasn’t so front-and-center. The report goes on to say that, “Sony thought about this request, but ultimately passed, knowing that it almost certainly meant forfeiting that potentially massive China payday. Could the studio have made the changes? Maybe, but the move would have caused a media firestorm in the U.S. and elsewhere. Plus, even with the alterations, there was no guarantee that No Way Home would get into the country, and even if it did, U.S. films just aren’t doing as well in China as they once did. Pretty easy decision.”
The report added that this is a trend that has been obliged to in the past, with the Red Dawn villains changed from Chinese to North Koreans, the Transformers sequence being altered so the Chinese are the first responders. Now that the market isn’t as lucrative, and acceptance by regulators isn’t as common, there’s less incentive to do their bidding. Plus, studios must consider the rising anti-China political sentiment in the U.S.
Sony backed Quentin Tarantino’s refusal to omit the sequence in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood that features Bruce Lee. The studio ended up doing fine with that movie, and especially fine with No Way Home, which has grossed $1.9 billion (and counting) even without the company bending to the will of China. So it looks like the concessions will be made less and less, and the ones who are really missing out are the Chinese citizens. Hopefully they are getting to watch the unedited films in other ways.
It’s Star Wars Day, aka May the 4th, aka Wednesday, May 4. To celebrate, FUN.com has opened up pre-orders for three exclusive Star Wars shoes. There’s the Princess Leia women’s shoes based on Leia’s time on Hoth or the unisex shoes based on Boba Fett and Chewbacca. Personally, I’d go for the Boba Fett ones, but I wish there was like an Obi-Wan Kenobi pair. The shoes start at $49.99 and look pretty cool. While these are currently on pre-order, they will ship out as soon as the stock arrives, but no window has been provided, so good luck! Which pair are you wanting? What Star Wars character do you want a shoe based on?
Crunchyroll will debut the first episode of season two of The Rising of the Shield Hero Simuldub on May 4 at 5 PM ET via Crunchyroll and Funimation. You can catch new episodes of the season weekly and watch as Naofumi and friends work to be reunited and protect the world after the awakening of the Spirit Tortoise.
Learning that other nations are enduring the Calamity Waves, Naofumi vows to fight. But before he can begin, word comes that the massive Spirit Tortoise is free. Left unchecked, this rampaging monster could destroy the world. He assembles companions Raphtalia and Filo and a few new allies, one of which reveals scary news—this was no accident. Someone deliberately unleashed the legendary beast!
In addition, the English dub cast was revealed for season two under the ADR direction of Steve Staley:
Stephen Fu (Wonder Egg Priority) – English voice of Naofumi Iwatani
Erica Mendez (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) – English voice of Raphtalia
Brianna Knickerbocker (The Seven Deadly Sins) – English voice of Filo
Amber Lee Connors (Komi Can’t Communicate) – English voice of Ost Horai
Dawn M. Bennet (Black Clover) – English voice of Eclair Seaetto
Sean Chiplock (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind) – English voice of Kyo Ethnina
If you prefer subtitled episodes, you can watch new Simulcast episodes of The Rising of the Shield Hero on Wednesdays at 6 PM on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
Allison Janney (Juno, Mom) has joined the cast of Mrs. American Pie, a comedy series based on the book by Juliet McDaniel. The series was developed by Laura Dern, who is also producing as well as eyeing a lead role. She joins Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live, Bridesmaids) in the cast. The series is being adapted by writer Abe Sylvia (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and director Tate Taylor (Breaking News in Yuba County).
“Mrs. American Pie is set during the powderkeg era of the early 1970s and follows Maxine Simmons (Wiig) and her attempt to secure her seat at America’s most exclusive table: Palm Beach high society. As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have nots, the series asks the same questions that baffle us today: Who gets a seat at the table, how do you get a seat at the table, and what will you sacrifice to get there?”
Janney will play Evelyn, a full-time Palm Beach resident and member of the high society.
The series was developed by Dern and her producing partner Jayme Lemons via their Jaywalker Pictures banner. In addition to writing, Sylvia will exec produce and showrun the series. Taylor will direct and exec produce alongside his producing partner John Norris via their Wyolah Entertainment banner. Apple Studios produces.
This sounds like a great series, and with Janney, Wiig, and possibly Dern starring, it’s a no-brainer. I look forward to checking out Mrs. American Pie when it hits Apple TV+.
Netflix has released a new trailer promoting several of its animated shows including first looks at the all-new Sonic Prime, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, My Little Pony, Battle Kitty, and then there are returning shows such as Dragon Prince, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and more!
Netflix has produced some great and entertaining animated projects over the years and some of their upcoming shows are sure to be fun. Sonic is a big brand right now with the popularity of the film franchise and I’m sure that Netflix is going to capitalize on that success with their Sonic Prime series.
The rest of the animated shows on Netflix include Daniel Spellbound, Dead End: Paranormal Park, Green Eggs & Ham: Season 2, He-Man Masters of the Universe Season 3, My Dad The Bounty Hunter, My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, Pokemon Masters Journey Part 3, Samurai Rabbit Sharkdog, The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib, and The Cuphead Show.
Are there any shows here that you’re looking forward to watching?
In the past week, The Walking Dead actor Melissa McBride decided that she would not be returning to the role of Carol in the spinoff that was set to follow Carol and Norman Reedus’s character, Daryl. The Walking Dead is wrapping up its final season now, and the series has planned spinoffs in the works, but with McBride’s departure, it looks like Daryl will be going on a solo adventure.
Fans got a little crazy last week, making assumptions that Reedus had something to do with the McBride’s departure, and AMC was sure to set the record straight. McBride left the project after a 12-year run on TWD to spend time with her family and relax. Now, Reedus spoke out about the situation on an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallonthis week, saying:
“You know, it was originally Carol and I — Melissa McBride and I. And she’s taking time off. You know, twelve years [of The Walking Dead] is a grueling schedule, and she wanted to take some time off. So She’s doing that and she deserves it.”
He went on to talk about what the series will look like now, saying:
“They kind of came to me — I imagine those characters [Daryl and Carol] are going to meet back up at some point. And might even meet up with some other characters down the road. But she’s taking time off, and in the meantime, they were like ‘Hey, do you want to go on a mission?’ And I’m like ‘Yeah let’s do it!'”
I’m glad he is still moving forward with the project. He is a great character and will be able to carry the series, no problem. Plus, it sounds like McBride is maybe not completely out of the picture. She’s just not looking to star in the whole run. It will be fun to see if she, or other familiar characters from the flagship series appear in the Daryl show, and see where this adventure takes him.
Predator is coming to Marvel this summer after a decades-long relationship with Dark Horse Comics, and in celebration of the big move, Marvel Comics is launching a series of variant covers featuring the deadly alien hunter hunting down various characters across the Marvel Universe.
Marvel’s plan for Predator is to expand on the characters and settings of the various Predator movies. They are also doing the same thing with the Alien franchise.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #7 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by CORY SMITH
AVENGERS FOREVER #8 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by JUAN JOSE RYP
CAPTAIN AMERICA: SENTINEL OF LIBERTY #2 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by IBAN COELLO
DAREDEVIL #2 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by BILL SIENKIEWICZ
FANTASTIC FOUR #46 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by SUPERLOG
HULK #9 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by DALE KEOWN
JANE FOSTER & THE MIGHTY THOR #2 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by JUNGGEUN YOON
MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #40 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by MATTIA DE IULIS
SAVAGE AVENGERS #3 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by MIRKA ANDOLFO
X-MEN #13 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by JAMES STOKOE
On Sale 7/6
CAPTAIN AMERICA: SENTINEL OF LIBERTY #2 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by IBAN COELLO – 75960620168600231
JANE FOSTER & THE MIGHTY THOR #2 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by JUNGGEUN YOON – 75960620372700231
On Sale 7/13
SAVAGE AVENGERS #3 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by MIRKA ANDOLFO – 75960620290400331
WOLVERINE #23 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by KYLE HOTZ – 75960609661902321
On Sale 7/20
AVENGERS #58 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by E.M. GIST – 75960608857705821
MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #40 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by MATTIA DE IULIS – 75960609123204021
On Sale 7/27
IRON CAT #2 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by MIKE MAYHEW – 75960620377200221
X-MEN #13 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by JAMES STOKOE – 75960609999301311
On Sale August
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #7 PREDATOR VARIANT COVER by CORY SMITH – 75960620200300721
In celebration of Star Wars Day, I’ve got some cool photos to share with you from the set of The Book of Boba Fett. These photos feature Mark Hamill back in the role of Luke Skywalker! Yes, Hamill was on the set of the series shooting some of those scenes that we enjoyed.
Luke Skywalker appears in “Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger,” and the digitally de-aged character is played by Hamill and actor Graham Hamilton. Skywalker is looking to rebuild the New Jedi Order five years after the events of Return of the Jedi and he begins to train Grogu under the watchful eye of Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka.
The photos feature Hamill wielding Grugu’s lightsaber, hanging out with Ahsoka, holding Grogu, and Holding Grogu’s beskar chainmail shirt. Check out the photos below!
Celebrate #MayThe4th Eve by soaking in these shots of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in the set of The Book of Boba Fett. These images appear in the upcoming one hour Disney Gallery episode which premieres tomorrow on Disney+ pic.twitter.com/R9KL2Yb3GI
In Episode 17 of Secret Level, we talk about the classic 1987 animated film Transformers: The Movie which was produced by Hasbro and Marvel.
A lot of ridiculous and crazy decisions were made with the development of this movie and we have fun discussing all of them! While there’s a lot of stuff to joke around about and Optimus Prime was killed off along with several other fan-favorite characters, we love this movie! It’s a staple of our childhood, and we hope you have fun with us as we talk about it!
