It’s been a minute since Lara Croft had a live-action film of her own, or a big push outside of video games. But worry not, all you loyal Tomb Raider fans. The erstwhile archaeologist and adventurer returns at last in a new animated series coming to Netflix this October, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. This is in addition to a new live-action show coming soon to Prime Video. And we now have our first teaser trailer for the series. It features Marvel’s Agent Peggy Carter herself, Hayley Atwell, providing the voice for Lara Croft. You can watch Lara Croft get in and out of all manner of predicaments in the Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft trailer right here:

Here’s the official synopsis for Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft:

The animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft picks up after the events of the highly successful Tomb Raider video game Survivor trilogy (Tomb Raider; Rise of the Tomb Raider; Shadow of the Tomb Raider), and will chart the globetrotting heroine’s next chapter as the iconic adventurer. More than 25 years after her first appearance, Lara Croft (voiced by Hayley Atwell) continues to explore ancient mysteries and uncover lost truths across breathtaking and dangerous destinations.

Joining Hayley Atwell in Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft are Allen Maldonado (Zip) and Earl Baylon, returning as Jonah from the Tomb Raider video games. In the aftermath of the Survivor trilogy, Lara Croft leaves her friends behind for a new round of solo adventures. Yet nothing ever stays uneventful in Lara Croft’s world. Especially when someone steals a powerful Chinese artifact from Croft Manor, and Lara has no choice but to pursue it until she gets it back. She’ll soon discover that the thief in question is someone with whom she has personal ties. (Isn’t that always the way?) Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft drops on Netflix on October 10.

Originally published August 2024.

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Netflix is heading back to Night City. We just don’t know when. We don’t even know what the streamer is going to do when it returns there. And we definitely don’t know if this new animated story is connected to the site’s previous anime series set in the video game world. The streamer and CD Projekt Red released a “special announcement” trailer for a mysterious new Cyberpunk project. They just didn’t share any details about it.

As part of this year’s digital Geeked Week event Netflix revealed it’s getting back into Cyberpunk 2077‘s world of technology and body modification. This new animated series will seemingly just be known as Cyberpunk without any year designation just yet.

And that’s about all we actually know about it! The streaming site and CDPR only said “more info” is “coming soon.”

With so few/any details, the lack of information might be more telling. This will not be the first animated show from the franchise to debut at Netflix. In 2022 the two companies released Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, an animated miniseries based on CD Projekt Red’s video game. That ten-episode season told the story of “a street kid trying to survive in Night City” by becoming “a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk.” This brief teaser also makes no mention of Studio Trigger, which was behind Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

It’s certainly possible this new series could have a direct connection to the previous one, either through recurring characters or plot. The change in title and a complete lack of nods towards it has us lenaing towards this new show being an all-new thing. We’ll just have to wait to find out.

In the meantime, fans of the franchise can celebrate the total turnaround it has undergone since the original game’s less than stellar debut. It did not initially live up to its highly anticipated release. (To put it kindly.) Yet here it is about to have another anime spinoff series. The fact we don’t know anything about it doesn’t change how telling that fact is.

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The collectible fantasy card game Magic: The Gathering has been an institution for over thirty years. It has inspired video games, comic books, and novels alike. But despite announcing many a Magic: The Gathering TV or movie project over the years, most recently for Netflix, nothing ever came of them. Now, Magic: The Gathering is back from the dead at Netflix. The streamer has officially announced that a Magic: The Gathering animated event series is now in production, with a new creative direction from showrunner Terry Matalas. Folks may know Matalas as the showrunner of Star Trek: Picard’s popular third season. He is also the main creative voice behind Marvel Studios’ upcoming series about the android Avenger, the Vision.

The new Magic: The Gathering event series is made in partnership with Hasbro Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast, longtime owner of the franchise. A few years back, they announced that Netflix cast Brandon Routh from Superman Returns and Legends of Tomorrow in a lead role. Only that iteration of a Magic: The Gathering Netflix series never made it off the drawing board. Brandon Routh confirmed to Collider recently that despite recording lines for it, Netflix completely scrapped the version he was in.

This time, it seems production has at least begun on the new Magic: The Gathering series project. So it will likely see the light of day. Netflix describes this card-inspired creation as an “event series,” meaning that there is no guarantee of additional seasons. Event series seems to be the new word for mini-series. We are not sure what the plot of this new Magic: The Gathering series will be. We also have no idea which iteration of the franchise they will be drawing from. Also, we still have no clue as to when it’s actually dropping on the streaming service. Here’s hoping Netflix finally does justice to the iconic game that so many fans love the world over. Magic: The Gathering series, here we come!

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Zack Snyder might have never directed an MCU movie starring any Asgardian gods; however, his latest project for Netflix definitely deals with stories and heroes from Norse mythology. Twilight of the Gods is Snyder’s latest offering, an animated series offering bombastic and bloody battles. All playing out on a mythological scale. If you’ve seen 300, you know Snyder loves some epic sweeping battle scenes.

In honor of the show’s release on September 19, Netflix’s Geeked Week gave fans the gift of a Twilight of the Gods clip along with reminding everyone of its debut.

Netflix previously gave us a Twilight of the Gods teaser:

In addition to the teaser trailer, the synopsis for Snyder’s Twilight of the Gods shares:

In a mythical world of great battles, great deeds, and great despair, Leif (Stuart Martin), a mortal king, is saved on the battlefield by Sigrid (Sylvia Hoeks), an iron-willed warrior with whom he falls in love. On their wedding night, Sigrid and Leif survive a wrath of terror from Thor (Pilou Asbæk), which sets them — and a crew of crusaders — on a merciless mission for vengeance, against all odds. This heroic story of love, loss, and revenge, is a journey to hell and beyond … across fantastical lands, battlefields fierce and bloody, and wars waged against deities and demons.

For a gorier glance at the series, you can also take in the Red Band teaser trailer below.

The series features the voices of Sylvia Hoeks, Stuart Martin, Kristopher Hivju, Pilou Asbaek, and John Noble. Also in the cast are Paterson Joseph, Rahul Kohli, Jamie Clayton, Peter Stormare, Jamie Chung, Lauren Cohan, and Corey Stoll. The term “Twilight of the Gods” is another name, of course, for Ragnarok. We can see why Snyder chose to not call his series that. Marvel’s Thor kind of owns that one for now.

In recent years, after the end of his DCEU, Zack Snyder has found a supportive home on Netflix. They financed and released his Army of the Dead, as well as both chapters of Rebel Moon. Those were movies, and Twilight of the Gods is his first series for the streaming giant. We’ll see if it’s the first of many, or just a one off.

Twilight of the Gods drops on Netflix on September 19.

Originally published August 21, 2024.

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The Witcher only has two seasons left on Netflix, but they won’t be the only new chapters in Geralt of Rivia’s story. Another spinoff animated film is set to debut at the streamer before The Witcher‘s live-action series returns. And now we know exactly when it will premiere. As part of this year’s Geeked Week event Netflix announced a February 11, 2025 release date for The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. Since that’s still a long ways away for fans of monsters and magic, the site also provided something to tide them over until the movie arrives on its shores. Netflix also shared an all-new clip from the film. This The Wicher: Sirens of the Deep clip features Geralt and his best, slightly annoying friend, Jaskier.

Geralt and Jaskier talking? That’ll do. We’d watch a whole movie of that. But we’d like it to also be introduced by Dock Cockle, the voice of Geralt in both The Witcher video games and this animated film. This scene doesn’t feature any merpeople, though, so what’s going on. Well, it’s a watery tale centuries in the making. Here’s the official synopsis of The Wicher: Sirens of the Deep from Netflix.

Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster hunter, is hired to investigate a series of attacks in a seaside village and finds himself drawn into a centuries-old conflict between humans and merpeople. He must count on friends — old and new — to solve the mystery before the hostilities between the two kingdoms escalate into an all-out war.

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep comes from director Kang Hei Chu, with a script from Mike Ostrowski and Rae Benjamin. The animation is the work of South Korea’s Studio Mir Co. (The Legend of Korra, Voltron: Legendary Defender.) Studio Mir Co. also worked on Netflix’s previous spinoff movie set in the Continent, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.

We were big fans of that film. Hopefully Sirens of the Deep makes as big a splash in the world of The Witcher. Knowing it’ll feature some quiet time between Geralt and Jaskier makes us think it will.

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LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy is the latest entry into the incredible LEGO Star Wars world. At the heart of the miniseries are siblings Sig and Dev Greebling and their fabulous friend Yesi Scala. In celebration of this new entry into the Star Wars universe and its release, Nerdist sat down with Gaten Matarazzo, Tony Revolori, and Marsai Martin, who voice Sig, Dev, and Yesi, respectively. We chatted with the stars of this new Star Wars entry about their excitement for the series, what’s at the heart of their characters, and how fun it was to create a true love letter to Star Wars that’s by fans for fans.

You can check out our full LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy conversation below.

Nerdist: Were you all Star Wars fans before the opportunity to be a part of LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy? And what was your favorite thing about jumping into the galaxy, far, far away?

Tony Revolori: Yeah, I was a big fan. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid, so this was a great huge honor. I am so excited for people to see it. And then my favorite part of the series so far probably has to be Darth Jar Jar, just because I think he’s so funny. And I love the wish fulfillment of it because it’s something that I would do.

Marsai Martin: I have only been a Star Wars fan for so little time. I only know a few little things. But to be able to jump into the franchise and to talk to Dan [Hernandez] and Benji [Samit], who are our amazing writers, that was incredible. They really talked to me about their passion and their love for this project, and that really made me say an absolute yes to it.

And, of course, I know LEGO, and I have everything LEGO, and so does my sister. So, to be able to have those two worlds collide is such a dream and something to constantly keep learning about. And I feel like in the Star Wars franchise, there is so much to learn, so many layers, and it’s a constant thing that I’m very excited to jump to.

Gaten Matarazzo: I’ve been a massive Star Wars fan since I was seven years old. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. It’s the reason that I love cinema as much as I do. It’s what’s propelled my love for movie making and sci-fi as a whole, and it’s a primary cornerstone reason as to why I do what I do. So, I’m forever grateful for the franchise, and to actively be a part of something that is so fresh and fun for the world of Star Wars is just such an honor, and to do it with such an amazing group of people. Then to also be part of something that’s so low-stakes and fun and made for fans by fans is more than I could have ever asked for. It’s an absolute dream project.

Gaten and Tony, the relationship between Sig and Dev Greebling on LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy is one of the most beautiful sibling relationships I’ve seen portrayed on screen. How did you work together to create that dynamic?

Revolori: I want to say that we did so much together: that we watched movies, we had FaceTimes that lasted till three in the morning, and we were just in bed talking like, Hey, bro. But unfortunately, this is the first time I’m really getting to talk and hang out with Gaten. So, we never really got to work together on this. But I will say both he and I have siblings and brothers, so I think it wasn’t a far cry for us to have imagined each other’s characters as our brother, which helped us create that. And then I’ll give the credit to the editors for picking the right takes to make everyone well up in tears.

Beautiful! And Marsai, I love Yesi so much. She’s so naturally cool, brave, and driven, and when the Galaxy rebuilds, she really has to pay a big price for it. What are your favorite parts of Yesi, and what do you think of each of the two versions of her reveal about the character?

Martin: Ooh! My favorite parts of Yesi are how energetic she is and how excited she is to just go for anything that comes her way, no matter how much of a challenge. She’s just ready to fight; she’s ready to do whatever, and I’m down for that. Yesi is the best friend that I really would want. We’d be besties. I know she’s got my back. I also think that I feel like regardless, in both worlds, I think she’s very empathetic and very open, and you see a bunch of different emotions from Yesi overall. And that lets her formulate who she is and who she wants to become.

It just makes sense for the franchise and for them to be rebuilding the galaxy and her being a homegirl, being like, I got your back. So, it’s literally the perfect character for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Hopefully, we will be able to see where she goes from here.

Yes, we all hope for more from LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy!

Gaten, if Sig Greebling hadn’t been in the temple when the Galaxy changed, what do you imagine he would’ve become in an alternate galaxy?

Gaten Matarazzo: I think playing to the opposites has always been really fun. So, I think that he would be… I have this idea, it may be too along the line of what Dev is like, but I think he’d be like an Evel Knievel daredevil bounty hunter. I think he would have a really cool speeder and he’d be like a Western gunslinger type. That could be really, really fun. Or, I think he might be a right-hand man to an Imperial officer or something like that. The one who goes out and does the dirty work, who, you know, what I mean? But also he talks like this. [the last part said in a slimy, unctuous kind of tone] Like a little henchman.

A little Hux, maybe?

Matarazzo: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I love that. That would be really fun.

Tony and Gaten, you’ve both been in some big nerdy properties before. What do you think Stranger Things’ Dustin and Spider-Man‘s Flash would think of LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy?

Matarazzo: I think Dustin is very critical of the stuff that he watches and is a big Star Wars fan himself. But I have a hard time believing that Dustin wouldn’t have secret YouTube accounts where he comments the same mean comment on trailers. But this is when he’s 40, and his kids catch him. His kids are like, “Dad, why do you need nine YouTube accounts all devoted to how bad you think this trailer is? I think that’s what his vibe might be.

Revolori: I think Flash would secretly absolutely love this. He would have a secret tattoo of the brothers, and if anyone asked him about it, he’d be like, “No, no, no. That’s a kid show. No. Yeah, no, it’s stupid.” He’d completely deny it. But he would love secretly it so much.

And Marsai, do you think you have a character who I absolutely love or hate this show in your repertoire?

Martin: I know Diane (from Black-ish) would hate this. Only because she don’t like nobody, she don’t like nothing. That’s the very first thing I thought when you asked that, I’m like, Diane ain’t going to like this. So I don’t want this question to go to me, but it don’t matter because Marsai is in love with it, and we don’t care what Diane thinks.

And we at Nerdist love it, too! And hope to see more from the series sometime soon.

All four parts of LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy are streaming now on Disney+.

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The continued popularity of Transformers as a media franchise doesn’t surprise me in the least. It’s giant robots that turn into cars and jets and stuff. No-brainer. Genius concept. But the continued success of the film franchise has been a total shocker. The first movie in 2007 was a fun anomaly. None of the next four were any good. People loved Bumblebee, oh yay, a new beginning! But then last year’s Rise of the Beasts, which I reviewed, was just visual noise… and noise-noise. So now we have Transformers One, a fully animated prequel, and guess what? It’s kinda great.

One of the reasons I ended up not enjoying Rise of the Beasts that much is they made a big deal about the Maximals coming to prominence but then spent most of the runtime with Bumblebee, Optimus, and the rest of the car-based Transformers. I had gotten tired of all those characters, somehow. But what Transformers One has in its favor is a fresh take on those old G-1 characters. We’d never seen the origins of the Transformers we know on Cybertron, in all its vibrant, bustling glory. I think, even 40 years later, Transformers is just better suited to animation.

The story takes place in the distant past of Cybertron. The energon rivers have dried up and the massive city of Iacon is really starting to feel it. Ages ago, the ruling council of Transformers, the Primes, fought against an alien threat and lost, with the Matrix of Leadership missing. Only Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm) remains to protect Iacon and its citizens from the constant threat of destruction.

Zoom in on a couple of hapless mining bots, best friends Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry). They dig down, down, down into the core of Cybertron attempting to find more energon, day in and day out. Orion is a dreamer and a troublemaker while D-16 is a rule follower to the utmost. Despite their meager lives, Orion believes the two of them together can make a difference.

A chance discovery among rubble and garbage leads them to travel to the surface in the hopes of tracking down the Matrix of Leadership. Along the way they recruit mining shift leader Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and motormouth trash sorter B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key) and eventually discover terrible truths about their lives and eventually grow to be the bots we all know they can be (if you’ve ever seen any Transformers media).

So it’s no secret, really, who all of these characters will become. They don’t look that dissimilar to the iconic versions. The fun of the movie is seeing how they get there, and why certain characters go the way they do. Often times prequel or origin movies feel like foregone conclusions. That’s partially the case here. We know where everything ends up, but the journey is enjoyable enough to hold your attention, especially with how dark it gets.

The biggest positive of the movie is the gorgeously vibrant and tactile animation. Iacon is enormous and busy, like what New York was like in 1997’s The Fifth Element but 40 times larger and with way more realistic graphics. I was blown away by sequences like a massive F-Zero-style race through the city early in the film, or fast-paced train escape later on. It’s a blast. Letting the visuals and sound wash over you is just a delight. Transformers One is not attempting artistic heights like the Spider-Verse films or even TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, but what it’s doing succeeds fully.

Now to some less positive parts. Tonally, the movie isn’t at all consistent. Early on, Orion and D-16 get into silly shenanigans, and B-127 says goofy lines constantly, and the movie just feels like it’s totally for kids. Totally fine in and of itself, I love kids movies. However, as the story progresses, the tone gets progressively darker and more upsetting as the lines between good and evil feel more clearly defined. This too isn’t a problem. The stakes are enormous, it only makes sense for it to feel weighty. The problem is, when we get a stray joke or bit of slapstick in the second half, it feels completely at odds with the rest of the movie.

I’m a 40-year-old, so naturally I dug the more outwardly Transformery stuff we get in the second half of the movie. The action is big and exciting and packs a wallop while friends become enemies and enemies become friends. But the early part of the movie is clearly aimed at a younger audience, which I thought was just okay. I’m not saying this is good or bad. I’m merely saying, it gives the movie a bit of an identity crisis.

That said, Transformers One is a fun reminder of why we all liked the robots who were more than meets the eye in the first place. It doesn’t touch the artistic crossover heights of Spider-Verse or Mutant Mayhem but that doesn’t mean it isn’t pretty darn great. The voice cast do an admirable job assaying younger, unrefined versions of established characters. The growth of Orion and D-16 lands more than it has any right to. The movie is just solid. Bumblebee aside, easily makes for the best of the big screen Transformers. Low bar, I know, but it clears it easily.

Transformers One ⭐ (3.5 of 5)

Transformers One hits theaters on September 20.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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When Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse came out in spring 2023, they promised a sequel just one year later. However, that didn’t quite work out. Sony took Beyond the Spider-Verse off the schedule for 2024 before indefinitely delaying it. Rumors then started to surface that Sony had scrapped almost everything so far for the third chapter. Furthermore, the film would not see the light of day until 2027. That’s a full four years since Across the Spider-Verse hit theaters and left a cliffhanger ending. But now, two creatives involved have debunked this rumor.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, we’ve learned that Spider-Verse co-writer and producer Chris Miller has said the following via social media. “Nothing has been scrapped. The reels are coming along nicely.” Meanwhile, composer Daniel Pemberton said “Don’t really ever want to weigh in on this sort of stuff, BUT would you ever believe there could sometimes be stuff on the internet that might not always be particularly accurate? Hmmm.” Both creators are assuring the fans that they are not starting from scratch with the third part of this trilogy.

Of course, Beyond is still not on any schedule. While it may be true that they’re not starting over as rumors suggest, there are clearly changes going on. When Across the Spider-Verse did significantly larger box office than Into the Spider-Verse, as well as getting similar critical praise, the pressure was on to stick the landing. So we might not be waiting to find out what happened to Miles Morales until 2027. Yet it might still be 2026. It would be quite a coincidence if the MCU’s Multiverse Saga and Sony Animation’s Spider-Verse saga both ended within months of each other. Hopefully soon, we’ll get concrete information from Sony Animation on when Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse officially hits theaters.

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Few voice actors love the character they portray as much as X-Men ’97’s Lenore Zann loves Rogue. And playing the sassy mutant Southern Belle for thirty years has not diminished Zann’s affection. At the 2024 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, where X-Men ’97 received a nomination for Outstanding Animated Program, Zann took her fangirling to the next level. She actually wore one of her character’s formal outfits from recent X-Men comics to the ceremony. Lenore Zann also rocked a Rogue wig with the character’s signature skunk stripe hairdo. You can see her comic book-inspired outfit below:

Comic book artist Luciano Vecchio designed the costume, which was created for last year’s Hellfire Gala in the comics. The Hellfire Gala was a formal event thrown by the mutants of the island nation of Krakoa three years in a row. Every year, the X-Men and other Marvel heroes would bring their very best attire to the party. And every year, the fans ate up all the haute couture high-end fashion. The Hellfire Gala also gave artists like Vecchio a chance to flex their design muscles and come up with new fashion for the X-Men each time the event rolled around. With the end of the Krakoan era, it may be some time before we see the X-Men so runway-ready again.

Sadly, X-Men ’97 did not win the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. That honor went to the series Blue Eye Samurai. X-Men ’97 received a nomination for its emotional and shocking fifth episode, “Remember It.” That harrowing chapter was truly a showcase episode for Zann as Rogue. Even with no win, it’s still amazing that a sequel to X-Men: The Animated Series made decades later could receive such accolades. We’re just happy the cast and crew of the series got to enjoy their much-deserved nomination and look so fierce doing it.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks is gearing up for its fifth and final season. While many fans are sad to say goodbye to the beloved Paramount+ animated series and its wacky band of characters aboard the U.S.S. Cerritos. In honor of Star Trek Day, the series gave fans a quick clip to see what will go down on those lower decks soon. 

Here’s a quick synopsis of season five: 

In season five of Star Trek: Lower Decks, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is tasked with closing “space potholes”—subspace rifts that are causing chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. Pothole duty would be easy for Junior Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford…if they didn’t also have to deal with an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries and scariest of all: their own career aspirations. This upcoming season on Paramount+ is a celebration of this underdog crew who are dangerously close to being promoted out of the lower decks and into strange new Starfleet roles.

Star Trek: Lower Decks’ new clip makes us ready for the upcoming season. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait too long. The series will return on October 24 with two episodes. The remainder of the 10-episode season will have a weekly release format on Thursday. The series finale drops on December 19 to wrap up this journey for good.

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Netflix has finally released the full trailer for Fortiche Production’s Arcane season two. And, in short, it rocks. We learned not too long ago that Arcane season two would actually also serve as the final season of the series. But that didn’t stop this Arcane season two trailer from, as they say, going hard. The epic tease for the new episodes of this League of Legends prequel series kept us at the edge of our seats as we flashed from one intense image to the next. Civil war is brewing. A conflict between sisters is rising. The Arcane (drink) is waking up. It’s all there; we just have to take it all in as the beat unrolls around us.

You can watch the full trailer for Arcane season two below.

Drop the match and watch it all burn. Or is it rise like a phoenix from the fire? This Arcane trailer presents many possibilities. But one thing is for sure: there’s no fight like a fight between siblings. It’s clear that in Arcane season two, sisters Jinx and Vi will come clashing into one another from their opposing sides. What will that mean for them? And for the cities of Piltover and Zaun? We suppose that depends on who comes out the victor. Of course, we feel like the true winners because Fallout’s Ella Purnell voices Jinx and the MCU’s Hailee Steinfeld voices Vi. We couldn’t love these two actresses more.

In addition to the familial and political drama playing out between Jinx, Vi, and their other sister, Cait, this trailer teases that there’s plenty more League of Legends going on in Arcane season two. One idea teased by our earliest looks at Arcane season two is the appearance of the popular League of Legends character Vander. Netflix seemed to hint that Vander is actually the monster Warwick. In League of Legends, Warwick was “transformed by agonizing experiments, his body is fused with an intricate system of chambers and pumps, machinery filling his veins with alchemical rage.” We see a bit more of that monstrous evolution in the new trailer and images from Arcane season two.

Click To View Gallery

A previously released synopsis notes, “In this final chapter, Jinx’s attack on the Council sets the stage for a dire escalation of the conflict between Piltover and Zaun.” The series of course will stream on Netflix. While Fortiche directed and produced the animation, under the direction of the founders Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord. Although this trailer has us ready to watch Arcane season two now, we’ll have to wait a little bit longer for more League of Legends excitement. Arcane season two releases in November, but Netflix has not yet confirmed an exact date.

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Get ready for another round of adventure, excitement, and murder men as the campaign of Prime Video’s The Legend of Vox Machina gears up for a third season. The new season will consist of 12 episodes, premiering October 3, with the streaming service’s usual three episodes, followed by weekly drops thereafter. So 10 weeks of Vox Machina is what we’re saying. We’ve already seen the season’s new title sequence, and now to get you more hype, Prime has a brand new The Legend of Vox Machina trailer for you to check out below!

They’re still the same band of goobers, but it’s never been more dire for them as they have to (literally) go to hell and back to save Exandria from Thordak and his army. The Chroma Conclave’s path of destruction spreads like wildfire while the Cinder King hunts down Vox Machina. Our lovable band of misfits must rise above inner (and outer) demons to try and save their loved ones, Tal’Dorei, and all of Exandria. It’s bad news bears. But this The Legend of Vox Machina trailer gets us excited to see what’s in store this season.

The Legend of Vox Machina is an Amazon MGM Studios, Critical Role, and Titmouse production for Prime Video. The series stars Critical Role founders and cast members Laura Bailey (The Last of Us: Part II), Taliesin Jaffe (World of Warcraft), Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us), Liam O’Brien (Marvel’s Avengers), Matthew Mercer (Baldur’s Gate 3), Marisha Ray (Fallout 76), Sam Riegel (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and Travis Willingham (Marvel’s Avengers). The Critical Role cast also serves as executive producers alongside Brandon Auman (Star Wars: Resistance), Chris Prynoski (Metalocalypse), Shannon Prynoski (Fairfax), and Ben Kalina (Big Mouth).

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Donald Duck is having a milestone year, as the Disney animated icon is celebrating 90 years in show business. And what better way to keep yourself relevant in popular culture after nine decades than by going on the massively popular YouTube series, Hot Ones? Donald appears on the First We Feast YouTube sensation, seeing how much composure he can keep eating one spicy cauliflower bite after another. (No, they aren’t chicken wings. Donald’s not a cannibal.) Will he fare as well as Pedro Pascal did as a Hot Ones guest? Or Tom Holland? You can check out Donald Duck’s full appearance on Hot Ones right here and find out.

The folks at Hot Ones curated a special Disney Villains-themed line of hot sauces for Donald to sample during the interview, making sure he felt right at home. Well, mostly villains; there were five Disney character hot sauces in total, including Queen of Roasted Hearts, the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland’s very own brand, and Powerline Shock Sauce, a tribute to the musical icon from A Goofy Movie. Then there’s Maleficent’s Fury, Cherna Bar-B-Q, the Fantasia demon Chernabog’s own flavor, and Straight out of Hades, something fans of Disney’s Hercules should love. We’re so glad Daisy Duck convinced our boy Donald to go on the show.

Honestly, Donald seems more annoyed at watching random celebrities trying to imitate his voice while a guest on Hot Ones. Certainly more than anything he ate. Actually, we don’t blame him. Imitating Donald Duck is a skill everyone seems to think they have, but few actually do. Luckily, Donald has an Emotional Support Mouse waiting offstage by the name of Mickey when he starts blowing his top. Maybe Mickey Mouse would fare better on Hot Ones than his temperamental friend. Oh, and has anyone tried to book Daffy Duck on the show yet? We have a feeling he’d be even harder to wrangle than his Disney rival.

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Tolkien’s fans all visit Middle-earth with slightly different interests. Some think the elves are clearly the best, while others most enjoy the world of the Shire and Hobbits. Still, there are those who see the dwarves as their kindred spirits. But if it’s the journeys of man that most draw you, then you’re in luck. The next outing into the world of The Lord of the Rings will take us into the history of Rohan and explore “the untold story behind the fortress of Helm’s Deep.” The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an epic animated adventure, an original anime movie, that tells the tale of the legendary Helm Hammerhand and his previously unnamed daughter, Héra. We’ve seen glimpses of the movie before, but now we can finally immerse ourselves in the full trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

You can check out this sneak peek at this The Lord of the Rings anime movie below, and make sure you watch this The War of the Rohirrim trailer until the very last moment…

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Trailer

The Lord of the Rings fans will know, of course, of Ralph Bakshi’s animated version of the main trilogy from 1978. But The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim‘s anime style offers a much different vision of an animated Middle-earth, an enchanting and gorgeous one if we do say so ourselves. It’s clear that The War of the Rohirrim‘s director Kenji Kamiyama knows exactly what he’s doing when it comes to creating an anime movie version of The Lord of the Rings. This one brings high art and high storytelling if The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim‘s trailer is anything to judge by.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim‘s trailer also very cleverly lures viewers in by reminding them of everything they loved about Rohan in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Who among us doesn’t feel stirred by the epic sounds of Rohan’s theme? We even see small clips from The Lord of the Rings movies and watch as they transform into The War of the Rohirrim‘s animated style. Miranda Otto even reprises her role as Éowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan, to walk us through this tale with The Lord of the Rings trailer with a familiar guide.

For a special treat, you can also check out the Japanese version of the trailer, which showcases none other than Saruman.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Story and Synopsis

Éowyn’s voice echos through the trailer and introduces us to the story of The War of the Rohirrim, “All Middle-earth knows the tale of the War of the Ring, but 200 years before that, there was an older tale…” And thus our journey into the anime world of The Lord of the Rings begins.

The trailer hints at love stories gone awry, power tainting the hearts of man, the story of Héra, the daughter of Helm, coming into her own, and the gradual acceptance of her strength by her father. The War of the Rohirrim‘s trailer also makes it very plain that Helm Hammerhand is not a King of Rohan to be messed with. And last but not least, The War of the Rohirrim promises us many, many epic battles, on both a massive and small scale. We’re excited to continue to see more from this The Lord of the Rings anime movie.

Of course, though the characters in this story might not be familiar to The Lord of the Rings fans yet, even in this animated form, all the hallmarks of Middle-earth are in place. We see our favorite creatures such as the Great Eagles, Oliphaunts, tentacle monsters, and more. Éowyn even blows on a horn of Rohan to call her soldiers to battle. It gives us chills!

The War of the Rohirrim Synopsis

The synopsis for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim shared along with the trailer notes:

Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan.  A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg—a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep.  Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction. 

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim‘s Trailer Teases Rings of Power

Of course, it wouldn’t be a The Lord of the Rings movie without, well, Rings of Power. At the last moment of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’s trailer, we see what looks like the One Ring, perhaps in the clutches of Gollum?! It’s not entirely clear, but it definitely has us buzzing to learn more. We the connective thread of the rings tying on The Lord of the Rings story to another.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Poster

In addition to the above, you can also check out the epic poster for the movie.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim‘s Release Date, Cast, and More

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be released in theaters on December 13, 2024, in the US and internationally beginning December 11, 2024. We’ll also soon learn more about the movie because it’s heading to NYCC in October.

More about the movie’s cast and creators is below:

Under the direction of award-winning filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama (the “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” TV series), the talented voice cast is led by Brian Cox (“Succession”) as Helm Hammerhand, the mighty King of Rohan; Gaia Wise (“A Walk in the Woods”) as his daughter Héra; and Luke Pasqualino (“Snowpiercer”) as Wulf.  Miranda Otto, who delivered an unforgettable, award-winning performance in “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, reprises her role as Éowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan, who serves as the tale’s narrator.  The voice ensemble also includes Lorraine Ashbourne (Netflix’s “Bridgerton”), Yazdan Qafouri (“I Came By”), Benjamin Wainwright (“World on Fire”), Laurence Ubong Williams (“Gateway”), Shaun Dooley (“The Witcher”), Michael Wildman (“Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw”), Jude Akuwudike (“Beasts of No Nation”), Bilal Hasna (“Sparks”) and Janine Duvitski (“Benidorm”). 

With Kamiyama at the helm, the original feature is being produced by Oscar winner Philippa Boyens, from the screenwriting team behind “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” Trilogies, alongside Jason DeMarco and Joseph Chou, who, in addition to their many separate animation projects, collaborated on the “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” series. The executive producers are Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Sam Register, Carolyn Blackwood and Toby Emmerich.  The screenplay is by Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou, story by Addiss & Matthews and Boyens, based on characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien.  The team of creative collaborators returning from “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy also includes Oscar winners Alan Lee and Richard Taylor, along with esteemed Tolkien illustrator John Howe. 

Originally published on August 22, 2024.

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One of the big theme park announcements coming out of Disney’s D23 event was that a Villains Land was coming to the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Fans have requested such a land for years, and its announcement got the biggest cheer from the crowd. Disney released very early concept art for the lad, which does not have an official name as of yet. (We’re just going to call it “Villains Land” for now.) The art definitely leans into spooky sinister vibes of their classic fairy tale films, which we’re very here for. So which villains of their many dozens need to figure prominently in the land? We have our ideas for which ten baddies definitely must have a significant presence when the land eventually opens its gates.

We should note, we’re only using villains from animated films from Walt Disney Animation Studios. The concept art conveys a medieval feel, so we’re guessing bad guys like Syndrome from The Incredibles or Sid from Toy Story would not fit in. We’re also not including any Marvel or Star Wars villains. They have their own lands to roam. Oh, and for each of these villains, we are specifically looking at their original animated incarnations. No shade, but we go classic over those from any of the live-action adaptations every time.

10. Captain Hook (Peter Pan, 1953)

Sometimes we love a classic Disney villain because they’re menacing, or ooze sinister cool. In the case of Captain Hook from Peter Pan, however, we just love him because he’s a complete bumbling idiot. As far as villains go, he’s really just a big goof. But we must admit, he has fabulous hair and a lovely hat, that make him a fashion icon. We don’t know if he warrants his own attraction, but Disneyland used to have Captain Hook’s pirate ship as a restaurant in Skull Rock decades ago. Maybe revive that concept for Villains Land?

9. The Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937)

She may not have an actual canonical name, but that doesn’t stop Snow White’s wicked stepmother from being an icon. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 was Disney’s first animated feature film, and her appearance created the template for all other Disney animated villains to come. The unchecked jealousy, the snazzy purple and black wardrobe, the arching eyebrows; all the others followed in her footsteps in some way. She’s so iconic that her disguised form of an old hag is just as famous as her default glamorous mode. Hopefully they at least give her an apple cart somewhere in Villains Land. (It can sell churros too.)

8. Chernabog (Fantasia, 1940)

Is Chernabog from Fantasia a villain? He certainly looks like one. The silent, mountain-sized figure is based on the God of Darkness from Slavic folklore. He commands an army of the dead, which he uses to terrorize a sleepy village in Fantasia’s “Night on Bald Mountain” segment. So, we guess that counts as bad guy behavior. We’re not sure where Chernabog would fit into Villains Land, but how absolutely awesome would it be if there was an actual Bald Mountain in that land with him on top? During the day, the giant wings would be folded up and at night they would open up to reveal Chernabog’s true demonic self. C’mon, Imagineers, this is an easy one.

7. Gaston (Beauty and the Beast, 1991)

Gaston from Beauty and the Beast has no mystical powers nor is he an evil royal. He’s just a great big entitled jerk, toxic masculinity personified, someone who thinks he’s God’s gift to women. Oh, those poor ladies from Belle’s village, having to put up with his obnoxious self. So why do we love him? Well, it helps that he has a great song that goes with his name, and that kind of self-delusion can kind of be endearing. He also has a great pub where he hangs his hat, which could make for a great eatery in Villains Land.

6. Cruella de Vil (101 Dalamtians, 1961)

Like Gaston, Cruella de Vil has no magical powers and she’s not an evil queen….except in her own mind. And that’s why we love this cackling, preening fashion icon. Yes, she wants to kill adorable puppies to make herself a coat. We should totally hate her for such gruesome intentions. But she has a heck of a lot of style, and that counts for a lot. We don’t think Cruella should get her own attraction necessarily, but at least one of the higher-end clothing shops in the land should be named “Cruella’s.”

5. Jafar (Aladdin, 1992)

Jafar is another iconic villain from Disney Animation’s Renaissance era. The Royal Vizier of Agrabah in Aladdin, he wanted to rule the kingdom and get a hold of that pesky magic lamp. Animated Disney villains are known for their camp and coded queerness, and no one goes harder in this direction than Jafar. Like all good Disney villains, he rocks a great outfit, and has some killer facial hair too. His sidekick, Iago the parrot, was annoying, but Jafar is still one of the greatest. We’re sure he’ll be wandering around the land, holding his scepter, but we kind of hope he gets an attraction too. Maybe a terrifying Cave of Wonders?

4. Dr. Facilier (The Princess and the Frog, 2009)

The mystical voodoo villain Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog was the last great Disney villain introduced in classic hand-drawn animation. Voiced by the great Keith David, the Shadow Man had a spooky and suave demeanor, that made us instantly fall under his spell. And like most of the great Disney baddies, he looks snazzy in a purple and black ensemble. For inexplicable reasons, he’s not used in the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, so he needs representation in the new Villains Land. At the very least, Dr. Facilier’s Magic Shop?

3. Scar (The Lion King, 1994)

What makes for a better villain than a seethingly jealous sibling? Besides, when your name is Scar, what else is going to be your career path? Voiced by the iconic Jeremy Irons in The Lion King, Scar committed one of the more heinous acts of any of the animated Disney villains, actually killing the hero’s father. What can we say, Scar went in hard. Seeing as we likely won’t see Pride Rock in Villains Land, we’re not sure where a big imposing cat with hyena lackeys fits in. Hopefully, we should “Be Prepared” for something special in Villains Land for Scar.

2. Ursula (The Little Mermaid, 1989)

When The Little Mermaid premiered in 1989, we hadn’t had a proper witchy villain in a Disney film in 30 years. And yet, Ursula instantly took her place among the pantheon of the great witches, first with her sassy dialogue, then her banger of a signature song, “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” The Sea Witch also had a visual design no one can ever forget, based on the late, great drag icon, Divine. And let’s hear it for black and purple again for the winning color combo. Because she figures prominently in The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, she might not get her own attraction. Hopefully, she at least gets her own seafood eatery inside the land.

1. Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty, 1959)

Sleeping Beauty isn’t quite the greatest of all the animated Disney films, but it has the distinct honor of having the best villain. The sorceress Maleficent has it all—an iconic and memorable design, a tremendous voice performance by Eleanor Audley, and our girl turns into a giant dragon. Not to mention, her whole evil plan is revenge on a whole kingdom for not inviting her to a kid’s party. That’s a nuclear level of pettiness and we respect it. The concept art for Villains Land seems that Maleficent’s castle is prominently featured. The coaster also seems to show off Maleficent in dragon form. We don’t think we have to worry too much about Maleficent representation here. However, we would be remiss to not reiterate that she’s the Queen Bee. She deserves the royal treatment in Villains Land.

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UPDATE, 8/20/2024 – The latest Studio Ghibli movie to head to Netflix is Grave of the Fireflies, widely known as one of the saddest Ghibli movies ever. This time, the Studio Ghibli will movie will be available in the United States, unlike previous Studio Ghibli Netflix releases which were only available internationally. It seems like this is because the licensing rights to Grave of the Fireflies is held by Sentai Filmworks (per Slash Film), though Studio Ghibli made the movie. This allowed Sentai Filmworks to strike a deal separate from the overall Max and Studio Ghibli one currently in place for the United States. Grave of the Fireflies will arrive on Netflix on September 16, so prepare for your heart to break.

UPDATE, 1/20/2020 – Ghibli is spreading the wealth! Per a report from Variety, Netflix will also add a handful of Studio Ghibli features to its streaming library as soon as February. (The report explicitly names the Miyazaki-directed features Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and My Neighbor Totoro, as well as The Secret World of Arrietty and The Tale of Princess Kaguya.) The bad news for most of our readers is that such an opportunity for viewing won’t be available in the United States, Canada, or Japan.

As discussed in the below report, HBO Max claimed North American distribution rights for Studio Ghibli’s catalogue en masse. That HBO Max is not expected to be available outside of North America has given Netflix the opportunity to claim the rights to Ghibli within other territories. In short, no matter where you live, you may well get to stream your favorite Miyazaki movies before you know it!

10/28/2019 – The streaming wars continue to claim weaponry left and right. For every “All the Star Wars movies” Disney+ offers, Netflix fires back with “The complete series of Seinfeld.” And it’s starting to get pretty rough out there. Major studios and networks are launching their own streaming services all over the net, promising their own exclusive mixture of must-have favorites and top-tier new stuff. HBO Max, perhaps the upstart most in line to rival Disney+, has just scored a major coup for its side: it is now the exclusive streaming home of the entire Studio Ghibli library.

This is major for a few reasons. One is that, up until a few years ago, Disney had the theatrical and home video rights to the Studio Ghibli library, consisting of all of co-founder Hayao Miyazaki’s movies and quite a few of co-founder Isao Takahata’s. But those rights lapsed and slowly but surely GKIDS picked up the library. Now they’ve released every Ghibli film on Blu-ray and run theatrical screenings nationwide every year. That would have made Disney+’s already impressive offering even more so.

Studio Ghibli

The other reason this is big news is timing. Earlier this week, Polygon ran a piece essentially detailing why Studio Ghibli would never offer its films for streaming.

“Studio Ghibli does not make their films available digitally, whether for download or streaming, anywhere in the world,” a GKids representative told Polygon over email earlier this year. “They continue to believe that presentation is vital and particularly appreciate opportunities for audiences to experience the films together in a theatrical setting.”

It certainly seemed like no one would ever see a Ghibli movie on a streaming service. But before any of us could even wrap our heads around the notion of never getting to put on Howl’s Moving Castle or My Neighbors the Yamadas whenever we felt like it, WarnerMedia released their statement of the rights acquisition.

HBO Max will be the US streaming home to the entire Studio Ghibli film library, one of the world’s most coveted and revered animation catalogues. The landmark deal with North American distributor GKIDS for the twenty-one Studio Ghibli feature films marks the first time these beloved films have been licensed to a streaming platform.

HBO Max, the name given to the WarnerMedia mega streaming service, is expected to launch in late spring of 2020.

The 21 Studio Ghibli films represent perhaps the most beloved animated films of all time. Maybe even strike “animated” from the previous sentence. The attention to detail, story construction, and a sense of wonder meant their films take a long time to make. But they rival only Pixar (and beat it depending on who you ask) in terms of consistent quality and ability to stir emotion.

Studio Ghibli

Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, along with producer Toshio Suzuki, founded Studio Ghibli in June of 1985 following the success of Miyazaki’s second feature, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. In the ensuing 34 years, they produced a wide array of fantasy and drama films. Miyazaki directed 10 of the Studio’s features while Takahata directed five, though Grave of the Fireflies, his most lauded and hearbreaking work, is not among the films coming to HBO Max.

The films in the lineup are:
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Only Yesterday
Porco Rosso
Ocean Waves
Pom Poko
Whisper of the Heart
Princess Mononoke
My Neighbors the Yamadas
Spirited Away
The Cat Returns
Howl’d Moving Castle
Tales from Earthsea
Ponyo
The Secret World of Arrietty
From Up On Poppy Hill
The Wind Rises (coming Fall 2020)
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
When Marnie Was There

Is this a service-buyer for you? Is HBO Max now worth the price of admission? We’ll see; but WarnerMedia has certainly struck a blow, right in the prospective subscriber’s heartstrings.

Featured Image: Studio Ghibli

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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As every X-Men fan knows, there are many, many X-Men spin-off teams in the world of Marvel Comics. Some of them are almost as iconic as the main group, who operate out of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Well, it looks like we’re going to see at least two of those other X-teams in action in X-Men ’97 season two. Via Collider, we’ve learned that Marvel Animation’s Brad Winderbaum said the following at a Q&A screening of season one in Los Angeles, which should have fans of Marvel’s other mutants giddy with excitement:

There’s many teams, in Marvel, that have the letter “X” that are followed by a hyphen. I would put it to you like this… there’s two other X teams in Season 2.

Winderbaum stopped short of revealing which teams these were. But at the Marvel Animation panel at D23, both Lorna Dane (Polaris) and Alex Summers (Havok) appeared in the footage. Both were members of X-Factor, a government-sponsored mutant team. They appeared in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode “Cold Comfort.” That episode showed X-Factor working under the leadership of the mutant Forge. With Forge assembling a new X-Men after they disappeared into time in last season’s finale, he may seek the aide of his old team. He even had a photo of them on his wall in X-Men ’97. So we think they are the likely option for at least one new X-team.

So what about the other X-team? Well, we think we think with Jubilee and Sunspot still in the present, someone like Emma Frost might try to start a new school for the mutant teens. She may even take over as headmaster at Xavier’s. This might be a good time to bring in the New Mutants, or Generation X (or a combination of both). We also could see X-Force, the paramilitary group with Cable as team leader. We have a feeling we have not seen the last of Nathan Summers, and when he returns, he might bring friends. Of course, there’s also Excalibur, X-Statix, and the Exiles. The list goes on and on. We’ll know for sure when X-Men ’97 season two drops on Disney+, hopefully sometime in 2025.

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Disney isn’t so much planning on heading into the unknown. Instead, news we already kind of suspected to be true was all but confirmed at the company’s 2024 edition of D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. Nerdist was excited to attend the event and report back on all its major news. As part of many other D23 reveals and announcements, Disney highlighted Frozen 3… and Frozen 4. Of course, Disney’s Frozen was a huge hit for the studio, taking home $2.76 billion at the global box office and a couple of Oscar wins. And Frozen 2 was a rare sequel success, continuing the hype. Given those facts, it’s no surprise that Disney wants to expand the story of Anna and Elsa with Frozen 3 and Frozen 4.

Here’s what Frozen and Frozen 2 writer and co-director Jennifer Lee had to say about the upcoming chapters of the Frozen franchise.

Frozen 3 Gets a 2027 Release Date and First Concept Art

Before we get into Frozen 4, here’s what we learned about Frozen 3 at D23. Originally announced for 2026, Disney has now confirmed that Frozen 3 will release in 2027. The exact release date for Frozen 3 is November 24, 2027. Jennifer Lee additionally revealed the first concept art from the movie. Lee notes of the Frozen 3 concept art, “It captures the scene of Anna and Elsa…everyone at Disney animation is excited to be back in this world.”

In this first piece of Frozen 3 concept art from D23, you can see Anna, Elsa, and Olaf heading off on another adventure. This time, they seem called toward a mystical world drenched in golden light. It almost looks like they’re going to visit the clouds. Perhaps we’ll visit a fantastical realm set in the Aurora Borealis in Frozen 3. In the water, a menacing shadow is hot on their tale though. We don’t like the look of that. So far, there’s no sign of Kristoff in this Frozen 3 concept art, but we’re sure he’ll pop up sooner or later. We’re also glad to see more of the Nokk, Elsa’s beautiful elemental water horse from Frozen II.

Frozen 4 Is All But Confirmed at D23

But Frozen 3 isn’t the only thing Frozen fans can get excited about. Frozen 4 was also all but confirmed at D23. Although Disney didn’t outright say Frozen 4 was happening, it certainly heavily implied that there would be two more sequel movies in the franchise. And it’s not the first time. Let’s take a look at a timeline of Frozen 4 teases by major Disney figures.

November 16, 2023: Disney CEO Bob Iger Teases Frozen 4

In November 2023, we first heard talk of a Frozen 4. Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed on Good Morning America, “Frozen 3 is in the works, and there might be a Frozen 4 in the works too… But I don’t have much to say about those films right now. [Director] Jenn Lee, who created the original Frozen and Frozen 2, is hard at work with her team at Disney animation on not one but actually two stories.” Iger flat-out introduces the idea of Frozen 4 here. It’s the only time someone from Disney says Frozen 4 outright, but only the first of several Frozen 4 teases.

November 23, 2023: Jennifer Lee, Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation and Frozen Creator, Teases Frozen 3 and Beyond

Shortly after Bob Iger’s first Frozen 4 hint, Jennifer Lee echoed his sentiments while speaking about Frozen 3. When asked what she could tell fans about Frozen 3, Lee noted, “Only what we have already shared, which is the team is hard at work, we are deeply excited about the story we are shaping together, and it’s so epic it may not fit into just one film.” This Disney tease once again intimated that the contents were so epic that Frozen‘s next story might need Frozen 3 and Frozen 4 to do them justice.

August 9, 2024: Jennifer Lee Once Again Hints Frozen 4 Is Basically Confirmed

Although Lee again did not outrigh confirm Frozen 4 at D23 2024, she once again stressed the story of Frozen 3 was so big that it would require more than one movie to tell it. Lee said at D23, “There were a lot of questions coming out of Frozen 2. It will take two films to answer them.” That sounds like a pretty intent confirmation of Frozen 3 and Frozen 4 to us. Although we don’t necessarily think Frozen 2 left us with that many questions, it seems like Disney feels it can sell fans on at least two more Frozen movies.

In the meantime, we’ll wait for a Frozen 3 release date and official confirmation on Frozen 4.

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A generation of kids grew up loving the Ghostbusters because of what they did on the small screen rather than the big one. The Real Ghostbusters animated series was how many people fell in the love with that foursome in the first place. Without that beloved cartoon, it’s very possible the Ghostbusters franchise would now be as dead as the specters they hunt. Now Netflix wants to see if it can recapture that animated magic again with an all-new Ghostbusters cartoon, the third ever to exist.

Variety reports that Netflix has officially given the greenlight to a 3D Ghostbusters animated series. Initial talks of a potential new cartoon on the streaming service date back to 2022. It will mark the third Ghostbusters animated series ever. The most recent was Extreme Ghostbusters, which ran for 40 episodes in late 1997.

Elliott Kalan will serve as showrunner, as well as a writer and executive producer, for the latest carton. He’s best known for serving as head writer on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. His other notable credits include the Mystery Science Theater 3000 reboot and HouseBroken.

Sony Pictures Animation will be behind the show with Netflix will producing. Ghost Corps, Inc. under Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan, will also co-produced. Reitman and Kenan co-wrote and swapped directing duties for Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. They’ll each serve as executive producers on the show, which Variety says “will be tonally in line” with those films.

Whether or not the animated show will feature versions of those movie’s characters is unknown. (We’d wager it will.) But no matter which brave ghost hunters straps on a proton pack, if this Netflix series finds as much success as The Real Ghostbusters did, we’ll probably still be getting new Ghostbusters movies 40 years from now.

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At the Marvel Animation panel at D23, fans saw a very brief sizzle reel for the second season of X-Men ’97. What we saw was brief, but enough to give us ideas on what stories from the comics will serve as inspiration. Of course, in the season finale, we got several cliffhangers, teasing what’s to come when the series returns. Those also gave us some well-reasoned guesses as to which classic comics will serve as inspiration for the new season. Here are the comic book stories we are confident will be the basis for season two of X-Men ’97.

New X-Men

For a brief scene in the season two D23 teaser, we see Scott Summers and Jean Grey fighting in their uniforms from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s New X-Men run. Those uniforms, designed by Quitely, were meant to evoke the black leather costumes of the then-new live-action X-Men films. With a little more comic-book color to make them pop that is. Cyclops and Jean wore these costumes for the entirety of Morrison’s run from 2001-2004. This suggests to us that we’ll get an adaptation of the Morrison/Quitely era in some capacity. Naturally, this era already got a major adaptation with the centerpiece Genosha/”E is for Extinction” arc in season one.

Astonishing X-Men

After Morrison left the X-Men franchise in 2004, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly creator Joss Whedon took over the flagship mutant title with artist John Cassaday in Astonishing X-Men. The second arc of that title saw the emergence of a new villain with deep ties to the X-Men. Danger was the A.I. program of the X-Men’s training facility the Danger Room, brought to physical form. She hated Charles Xavier in particular for hiding her emerging sentience from the world and sought revenge. We see a brief glimpse of Danger in the D23 sizzle reel, suggesting an adaptation of the Astonishing X-Men arc “Dangerous” is part of season two.

X-Factor

We very briefly see the magnetic mutant Lorna Dane, a.k.a. Polaris, in the D23 footage. She appears to be wearing her X-Factor costume. This was from the early ’90s, when Polaris, the daughter of Magneto, was a member of the government-sponsored mutant team. She appeared in the classic X-Men: The Animated Series episode “Cold Comfort,” which also showed her on Forge’s X-Factor team. She might be one of his new X-Men recruits when the team goes missing in time to form a new roster in season two.

X-Men vs. Apocalypse: The Twelve

Wolverine got his adamantium skeleton ripped out by Magneto in the X-Men ’97 finale, barely clinging to life in the end. This was a direct adaptation of the classic comic book storyline “Fatal Attractions.” But the trailer showed Logan with his metal claws popping out of his hands, saying “I’m back!” This means he’ll definitely get them back this season.

So just how will the adamantium get bonded to his skeleton again? In the late ’90s storyline X-Men vs. Apocalypse: The Twelve, Logan made a deal to get his metal skeleton and claws back with En Sabah Nur, who then turned him into his Horseman of Death. This occurred in Wolverine (vol.1) #145. It continued over several other X-Men titles in “The Twelve” storyline. Of course, we expect a resurrected Gambit to become Death, but that might happen after Wolverine has a turn.

We also saw brief glimpses of Lady Deathstrike and Sabretooth in the D23 X-Men ’97 season two sizzle reel. No idea what storylines they are adapting for them, but at least we know they’re making a comeback.

The Rise of Apocalypse

This 1996 mini-series goes back 5,000 years to ancient Egypt and the rise of En Sabah Nur. He was the very first mutant and the being who would one day take the name Apocalypse. Written by Terry Kavanagh and illustrated by Adam Pollina, The Rise of Apocalypse details how a former slave rose up against the Pharoah Rama-Tut. (He is a variant of Kang the Conqueror, should they wish to connect to the MCU.) Apocalypse then began his war on the weakest of the species, eventually recruiting his legendary Four Horsemen. The design for young En Sabah Nur in X-Men ’97 directly recalls his design from artist Adam Pollina. So we definitely see this having a big influence on season two.

The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix (1994)

In 1991’s X-Factor #69, the tyrant Apocalypse infected Cyclops’ infant son Nathan with a techno-organic virus. The only way to save him was to send him thousands of years into the future. Cyclops was offered this choice by a warrior from the Clan Askani. We later found out the mercenary Cable, leader of X-Force, was Nathan as an adult. He’d been sent back to the present from that future.

In Scott Lobdell and Gene Ha’s 1994 mini-series The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, newlyweds Scott Summers and Jean Grey are sent into the far future. They emerge in a time period where Apocalypse rules, and they go by the names Slim and Redd. There, they meet their daughter Rachel Summers, now the ancient Mother Askani. She gives them the chance to raise young Nathan from childhood to his teen years. The arrival of Jean and Scott in the far future indicates we are definitely are going to see an adaptation of this series.

Generation X

After years of villainy as part of the Hellfire Club as its White Queen, Emma Frost’s students, the Hellions, all died in a Sentinel attack. She very nearly lost her life too, falling into a coma for months. When she finally awoke, the trauma of this loss caused her to change her ways (somewhat), and she began training a new generation of X-Men at the Massachusetts Academy, now an offshoot of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

Frost and co-headmaster Banshee taught a new group of students, nicknamed Generation X, which included Jubilee. Among the others were Synch, Chamber, Husk, Skin, and M. Writer Scott Lobdell’s Generation X series lasted 75 issues. With the school closed on X-Men ’97, and Emma narrowly surviving Genosha, she may wish to start her own school of X-Men to keep the dream alive. Maybe with Jubilee and Sunspot as students? Generation X might be a dated term now for a group of younger mutants today, but in 1997? They would have been the right age for a name Like “Gen X.”

X-Men: Blood of Apocalypse

Peter Milligan’s mid-2000s X-Men run isn’t one that gets referenced a lot. However, this comic run did contain one story that likely will inform season two of X-Men ’97. After the mutant decimation provoked by the Scarlet Witch, causing most mutants to lose their powers, Gambit was in a funk. Especially as his great love, Rogue, started a romantic relationship with another mutant with immunity to her powers. He actually volunteers to become the new Horseman of Death for Apocalypse, in a storyline that began in 2006’s X-Men #185. Gambit’s time as Death is brief, and by X-Men #200, Gambit returns to normal. This will at least partially serve as inspiration for X-Men ’97 season two.

Uncanny Avengers: The Apocalypse Twins

If Apocalypse brings back Gambit or other dead mutants as his Horsemen, it will be based on something his heirs did. This was actually something done by Uriel and Eimin, the Apocalypse Twins, in the pages of Rick Remender’s Uncanny Avengers. The Apocalypse Twins brought back to life dead characters like the Sentry, Banshee, Grim Reaper, and Daken, and turned them into their Four Horsemen of Death. If Gambit is coming back via this method, it begs the question, what other three dead mutants from Genosha are coming back too? Banshee, Sebastian Shaw, Madelyne Pryor, and Dazzler are all prime candidates for resurrection as Horsemen of Death.

Onslaught

Although Professor X didn’t wipe Magneto’s mind after he pulled the adamantium out of Logan’s body, as in X-Men #25, he did spend a lot of time in Magnus’ head. It was enough that Jean Grey worried that so much time mentally fused might break them both. While they both seem intact at the end of X-Men ’97 season one, we’re not totally buying it. We think at some point in season two (or perhaps season three) Onslaught will emerge. The entity Onslaught was born when Charles Xavier absorbed some of Magneto’s rage and hostility when he mind-wiped him, and it stayed dormant for years. We think he was in Magneto’s mind long enough on X-Men ’97 for this comic story to still happen in season two. It’s just a matter of time.

Originally published on May 17, 2024.

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Who is the leader of Uhh-Earth? Well, after a series of miscommunications, the universe thinks it’s Elio, who is definitely not a child. Definitely not. But he is definitely in for the adventure of his life after he ends up representing Earth in a galactic trial. We assume the fate of the planet is at stake. But since Elio is a Disney and Pixar movie, we also assume things will go alright for Earth and its newest ambassador. Take a look at the teaser trailer for Elio below.

Elio‘s animation already takes our breath away, and we’ve just seen a glimpse of it in this teaser trailer. We can tell we’re in for a delightful romp through this imagined universe. And we can’t wait to meet all of its fantastical creatures and out-of-this-world settings. Of course, we’d expect nothing less from a Disney and Pixar movie. The synopsis for Elio shares more about what we can expect from the story itself.

For centuries, people have called out to the universe looking for answers—in Disney and Pixar’s all-new movie “Elio,” the universe calls back! The original feature film introduces Elio, an underdog with an active imagination who finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador to the rest of the universe, and completely unprepared for that kind of pressure, Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, survive a series of formidable trials and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be. 

Although Elio is about to go on a coming-of-age adventure all on his own, we know home is where the heart is. And we can tell from the trailer that Elio and his mom have a bond like no other. One that no doubt can conquer even the hardest of alien hearts.

Elio releases in theaters on March 1, 2024. The Pixar movie features the “voices of America Ferrera as Elio’s mom, Olga; Jameela Jamil as Ambassador Questa; Brad Garrett as Ambassador Grigon; and Yonas Kibreab as the title character.” Additionally, it was recently announced that Zoe Saldaña will voice Elio’s Aunt Olga

Elio, we recognize your true leadership of Uhh-Earth.

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Just the incisive commentary we expect from the director of WALL-E. At D23 Expo 2024, Pixar Chief Creative Officer, Pete Docter, announced a fifth entry in the companies longest running franchise. Their first franchise, really. Toy Story 5 will be directed by Pixar Senior Creative Team member Andrew Stanton. Stanton, of course, directed Finding Nemo as well as the one about the robot. He says the movie will be about our hero toys taking on their biggest foe yet… screens. You can check out the first piece of Toy Story 5 concept art, as well as its release date window information below.

In the 30 years since the first Toy Story debuted and ushered in the era of digital animation, the world has not only caught up to Pixar, it shot forward like a rocket to the moon. YouTube and mobile games have taken the place of figures and pull strings in a child’s heart. If you thought Woody was out of date in ’95, he’s a relic today. Smart of Pixar to take that story on.

This will be Stanton’s first film since 2016’s Finding Dory, and his first time helming a Toy Story movie. That alone has us jazzed. Expect Toy Story 5 in 2026.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Moana stole our hearts with its epic journey into unknown waters and back. But now, Moana 2 will take us even farther, as Moana’s ancestors call her on an epic new quest. This time, she’s out to unite her people and make connections she never before could have imagined. And If you thought Moana was a beautiful movie, even just the trailer for Moana 2 will absolutely blow you away. You can watch it in full below.

Moana is older, wiser, and even more ready to throw herself into the waves in Moana 2‘s trailer. And we’re immediately back in love with this character and her world. We especially can’t resist the adorable Pua, the pot-belly pig. Pua wants to come along, but also wants a nap. That’s relatable content.

There are stormy waters ahead, though, as Moana sets out to fight the villainous Storm of all Storms and encounters other obstacles along the way, such as… vicious coconut monsters. But luckily, she’ll have her ally Maui, voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, to help her out yet again.

Regardless of what awaits Moana, if the Moana 2 trailer is any indication, it’ll be absolutely gorgeous. We cannot get enough of this animation, especially the way the ocean is so gloriously depicted. We bet it will play incredibly on a big screen.

Alongside the trailer, Disney shared a synopsis for Moana 2. It notes:

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ epic animated musical “Moana 2” reunites Moana (voice of Cravalho) and Maui (voice of Johnson) three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced. Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, and produced by Christina Chen and Yvett Merino, “Moana 2” features music by Grammy® winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Grammy nominee Opetaia Foa‘i, and three-time Grammy winner Mark Mancina. Jared Bush and Miller are writing the film, which is executive produced by Jennifer Lee, Bush and Johnson.

The film also features returning stars Rachel House (Moana’s Grandma, Tala), Temuera Morrison (Moana’s father, Chief Tui) and Nicole Scherzinger (Moana’s mother, Sina), as well as the voices of Hualālai Chung, David Fane and Rose Matafeo as Moana’s new crew members Moni, Kele and Loto, respectively. Awhimai Fraser voices mysterious new character Matangi; Gerald Ramsey plays Moana’s ancestor, Tautai Vasa; and Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda lends her voice to Moana’s adoring and adorable little sister, Simea.

We can’t wait to join Moana on this epic quest. And we especially can’t wait to hear the new songs in store for us in this film.

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Fans of The Legend of Vox Machina can officially start making plans for their next watch party. The animated Critical Role series announced it will return to Prime Video for season three this fall. But you don’t have to wait that long to see the show’s new opening title sequence because it’s already here. And as a bonus, we even have a clip from the upcoming season of The Legend of Vox Machina.

Everyone’s favorite Dungeons & Dragons mercenaries will soon return to streaming. The Prime Video animated series will debut its third season on October 3. What can fans expect when the show rolls out its new season? Here’s the official synopsis from Amazon:

Everything is at stake in the long-awaited Season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina. The Chroma Conclave’s path of destruction spreads like wildfire while the Cinder King hunts down Vox Machina. Our lovable band of misfits must rise above inner (and outer) demons to try and save their loved ones, Tal’Dorei, and all of Exandria.

You can catch them in action below, in a brand new clip from season three. In it, “Our beloved band of misfits, alongside friend Gilmore, take on a group of guards in the city of Ank’Harel, where they choose to fight or to flee.”

It’s a short clip, but it truly does capture the magic, humor, and incredible animation we’re excited to see return in The Legend of Vox Machina season three.

Originally published on June 10, 2024.

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Last year, the heroes in half shell returned with a vengeance in the excellent animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The movie was maybe the best interpretation of the Ninja Turtles in years, and fans immediately wanted more. And now, we have the trailer for the first spinoff from this iteration of the Turtles. The boys are returning for a new 2D animated series from Nickelodeon Animation for Paramount+. You can check out the trailer for the new Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles right here:

Like last summer’s feature film, this series comes from Nickelodeon Animation and Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures. The spinoff series will debut this summer as a Paramount+ exclusive. Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles takes place in the same continuity as Mutant Mayhem, and this 2D animated show “explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple.”

Reprising their roles from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem are Micah Abbey (Cousins for Life) as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. (THE CHI) as Michelangelo, Nicolas Cantu (The Walking Dead: World Beyond) as Leonardo, Brady Noon (Family Switch) as Raphael, and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) as April O’Neil. Paramount will announce more cast members soon. Among the creatives on this series is Chris Yost, writer of Thor: Ragnarok and The Mandalorian, not to mention comic books like X-Force and several animated Marvel shows. Also on board is Alan Wan, of Blue Eyed Samurai fame. Both have also written extensively for previous TMNT series.

In addition to the trailer, you can check out the opening title sequence and theme song for Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles below.

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premieres on Paramount+ this summer.

Originally published February 8, 2024.

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One of Warner Bros.’s earliest coups of the TV age was acquiring the Hanna-Barbera library of animated programming. With it, they own stuff like Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, Jonny Quest, et al. Cable network Cartoon Network began as a joint venture between Warner and Turner as a place to showcase classic animated programming. Once it started making its own new programming, and acquiring newer shows, it spun out Boomerang, a channel specifically for those older ‘toons. Eventually Boomerang launched a separate streaming service, but, as seemed inevitable, WB Discovery is sunsetting Boomerang and will absorb it into Max. Some of it, anyway.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Boomerang streaming service will cease operation on September 30 of this year. Subscribers and “some content” will be moved over to ad-free Max with no immediate change to subscriber price. That is, at least, a bargain. Boomerang is $6 per month while Max’s ad-free tier is currently $17 per month. Max already carries some of Boomerang’s content, including Looney Tunes shorts, Scooby-Doo series, Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones, etc. What else will come over is unclear at this time.

The Boomerang cable and satellite channel will continue to operate, because packages need channels. However this speaks to yet another way Warner Bros. Discovery under David Zaslav continues to consolidate all of its holdings into a single entity. Last month, WBD announced it would join with Disney+ and Hulu for a massive streaming bundle. Surely keeping as much in the Max portfolio as possible makes their end of the deal look more enticing. And I’m not going to say Boomerang was the best service out there. I tried it for a while and it was fairly pedestrian. But more and more, streaming, once the wild west of choice, is turning into mega corporations trying to increase their bottom line.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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The iconic Batman: The Animated Series ran for over 100 episodes, and gave us incredible interpretations of the Dark Knight’s legendary rogues’ gallery. But even with that many episodes, Bruce Timm and company left out a few baddies, for various reasons. In the new Batman: Caped Crusader series, Timm is finally doing his version of some of these forgotten villains. Villains that we admit are a kind of D-listers at DC Comics. These criminals are Natalia Knight, Firebug, and Gentleman Ghost. Because of their less-than-glorious status, Timm and company reinvented these bad guys almost from the ground up, with some connective tissue to the original comics. Here’s how they transitioned from comics to Caped Crusader.

Nocturna/Natalia Knight

Natalia Knight was created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Newton, and first appeared in 1983’s Batman #363. A character conceived in the Vampira/Elvira mode, she is a sexy and deathly pale woman with jet-black hair, with an equally slinky black dress. She and her brother, who went by the name Night Slayer, inherited their father’s criminal empire. When Natalia became afflicted with a disease that robbed her skin of all pigment, she adopted the name Nocturna. Although she looked like a vampire, she was actually just extremely goth. She did have the power to teleport short distances, however. In DC’s New 52 reboot, they reimagined Nocturna as Natalia Mitternacht (German for “midnight”), now an actual vampire.

Natalia Knight Was Almost in Batman: The Animated Series Twice

In the ‘90s, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini wanted to use Nocturna, and had plans to make her an actual vampire. This was something DC wouldn’t actually do for years in the comics. Timm even drew up concept art, and Dini wrote a script. Fox Kids Network censors would not allow an actual vampire on children’s programming. Even when they tried to pitch Nocturna a few years later to Kids WB for The New Batman Adventures, the answer was the same. But now that Caped Crusader doesn’t have to worry about network censors, Nocturna has finally made it to animation. Although plans for her character have changed.

Natalia Knight in Batman: Caped Crusader Channels Wednesday Addams

Instead of a slinky vampiress in the Morticia Addams style, Natalia Knight in Caped Crusader is a child, more akin to Wednesday Addams, not her mom. Natalia is now an energy vampire, sapping the strength and life energy from those around her, praying on kids who wander into a carnival. She still works with her brother, who is now a sideshow charlatan. He created a machine that would mitigate her illness. This cure left her with a need to absorb human energy. Like her original comic book counterpart, she sunlight remains deadly to her.

Firebug

Chances are, if you’re a big enough Batman fan, you’re aware of Firefly. This pyromaniac villain has appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, the 2004 cartoon series The Batman, not to mention in live-action in Arrow. He was set to be a villain in Batgirl, played by Brendan Fraser. He first appeared in the comics back in the early 50s. But there’s a second pyromaniac Batman villain who is far more obscure whom people often confuse with Firefly. His name is Firebug, although his civilian name is Joe Rigger.

Firebug Is Often Confused With Firefly

Firebug, created by Len Wein and Irv Novick, actually debuted back in 1979. Joe Rigger made a mere handful of appearances. A military demolition expert, when three members of his family all die due to negligence in their buildings, he decides to burn said buildings to the ground. He made only a few appearances over the years. Usually, the already-existing Firefly overshadows him. His original costume was like a garish red and yellow circus outfit, and for his modern appearances, he wore something a little more intimidating. He never even appeared in any cartoon, TV series, or film. Until now of course.

Firebug Finally Appears in Animation

In Batman: Caped Crusader, Firebug finally makes his animated debut. His fireproof costume and accompanying goggles look far more like Firefly’s do in the modern comics. In the episode, people even mistakenly call him Firefly, to which he quickly corrects them and lets them know it’s Firebug. Tom Kenny provides the voice. There’s not much backstory or motivation to his character beyond “pyromaniac.” He’s essentially used by the Gotham City Police as a means to lure the Batman out of the shadows. And when the corrupt cops who use him are done, they kill him. His time was brief, but after 45 years, Firebug finally made the big time.

The Gentleman Ghost

This oft-forgotten DC villain has fought the Dark Knight several times, but didn’t start out as a Batman villain. The Gentleman Ghost first appeared in 1947’s Flash Comics #88 as a villain for Hawkman and Hawkgirl to fight. The original version wasn’t really a ghost at all but a mortal criminal named Jim Craddock. Dressed in a pristine white 19th-century aristocrat’s outfit, his head only appears as a floating hat, monocle, and transparent face. He used magician’s tricks to make himself appear as a spirit but was fully alive, in a manner similar to future Scooby-Doo villains.

From Fake Ghost to Real Ghost

In the reborn DCU, Jim Craddock was indeed a 19th-century highway robber from England who made his way to America in the days of the Old West. The cowboy couple Nighthawk and Cinnamon encounter him and Craddock dies as a result of his tussle with the pair. An ancient curse says he will never move on from this Earthly plan until his killers are free of this mortal world and must always wander as a spirit. Sadly for Craddock, his killers are in an endless cycle of reincarnation, most recently emerging in the 20th century as Hawkman and Hawkgirl. So as long as they’re on Earth, so is he. Now stuck on Earth as ghost, Gentleman Jim still commits crimes of all sorts.

Gentlemen Ghost in Classic DC Animated Series

Gentleman Ghost has appeared before in animation, first in the 1970s Super Friends cartoon. Bruce Timm and the producers of Batman: The Animated Series wanted to utilize him, but it never materialized, possibly for the same reasons Natalia Knight never appeared. He appeared in the background of some Justice League Unlimited episodes but never as a main character. He did appear in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, in a more comedic take, voiced by Greg Ellis.

Gentlemen Ghost Is Truly Scary in Batman: Caped Crusader

With Batman: Caped Crusader he finally appears in a Bruce Timm series in a main role. For this show, instead of no face and floating monocle, he wears a full face mask. He also looks dressed in 18th-century attire, setting him back even further in time than his DC Comics counterpart. His origin is now that he was once the wealthy aristocrat James Craddock, who lost the family fortune due to gambling. Believing wealth was his birthright as an aristocrat, he became a highwayman, robbing the “lower classes” of their money to give to himself. After his execution, his spirit continued his same criminal activities, more for revenge against the poor and less about acquiring wealth for himself.

Will a season two of Batman: Caped Crusader introduce new versions of forgotten Batman foes? We can only hope the creators dig through the archives and find some long-lost gems, ready for their close-up at last.

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Given the 1940s noir era of Batman: Caped Crusader, many fans wondered if we’d see a version of Robin in this series. The tone of the show doesn’t seem to call for a kid hero in bright colors. And no, we don’t actually get any junior crime fighter in Caped Crusader, in bright red, yellow, and green spandex. But we do get four Robins in their civilian identities. Or at least four kids with the same first names as famous Robins. All of which could lead to something more in the future. In the episode “Nocturne,” we meet to four orphans—Dickie, Jace, Carrie, and Steph. These names should be very familiar to longtime Batman fans.

In “Nocturne,” a mysterious carnival comes to Gotham City. A pair of orphans from Dr. Leslie Thompkins’ orphanage decide to sneak into the carnival grounds at night. In the comics, Thompkins was the social worker who helped a young Bruce Wayne after his parents’ murder. The two kids then encounter a young girl named Natalia Knight. This mysterious child is actually an energy vampire who drains the older boy of his life energy. (He’s drained, but alive). The names of the two young orphans are Dickie and Jace, with viewers meant to infer that these characters are Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, the first two Robins in DC Comics. Dickie actually has an identical design to the young Dick Grayson we see in flashbacks in the classic Batman: The Animated Series. Jason also seems a few years younger than Dick, which fits with established Batman lore.

Later in the episode, Natalia Knight kidnaps not only Dickie to drain of energy, but also Jace and a blonde girl named Stephie. Clearly, Stephie is a reference to Stephanie Brown, the heroine known as Spoiler. But for a brief time, she was also a Robin. Before the episode is over, they introduce us to one more feisty orphan from Leslie Thompkins’ orphanage. This one is a young bespectacled girl named Carrie. Based on her look (and trusty slingshot) this is Carrie Kelley, the Robin from The Dark Knight Returns. We must note that noticeably absent is any kids named Tim or Damian. Given Tim’s ties to Dick Grayson, and Damian’s status as Bruce Wayne’s son, we understand why they skipped over them for now. In the end, Batman saves all the kids and returns them to Thompkins’ care.

Naming these kids with the same first names as famous Robins might just be a massive Easter egg. After all, they never give the kids’ last names, maybe allowing them to introduce “proper” versions of the Robins in later seasons if they want to. But what if these are indeed Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown, and Carrie Kelley? We have a feeling they are. Caped Crusader might have a chance to reinvent the concept of Robin for future seasons. Instead of one Robin succeeded by another, we could see a group of street kids inspired by their brush with Batman to take up crime fighting. Bruce Wayne might not like it at first, but eventually, he could take them all under his wing. At the end of the episode, he seems impressed with the kids, and tells Dr. Thompkins “They’re something.” Maybe that something is Gotham’s newest heroes.

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This video is sponsored by Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps, in theaters nationwide on July 28 and 30 with Fathom Events! Get your tickets now at https://manandwitch.com/k0zj

With a new Batman animated series on the horizon, Nerdist’s Kyle Anderson is taking a closer look at one of the Caped Crusader’s more forgotten adventures. But does The Batman hold up 20 years later?

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The Legend of Vox Machina, based on Critical Role‘s first campaign, recently premiered its second season on Prime Video. The animated series already has season three in the works, too. And soon, more Critical Role content will join it. Amazon Studios announced today that it has entered a multiyear exclusive overall television and first-look film deal with Critical Role. The first project under this agreement is Mighty Nein. The animated series will adapt Critical Role‘s wildly popular second campaign. We finally got a sneak peek at Mighty Nein and it looks awesome.

A meet cute and accidental magic✨ Enjoy this exclusive sneak peek at the new animated series, Mighty Nein! pic.twitter.com/YFB2bkAM8e

— The Legend of Vox Machina (@LVMandM9onPrime) July 26, 2024

Mighty Nein features the Critical Role cast as a new group of adventurers. According to Amazon, it follows: “a group of criminals and misfits who are the only ones that can prevent the kingdom from plunging into chaos when an arcane artifact capable of reshaping reality falls into the wrong hands.”

In the campaign, the cast was as follows:

• Laura Bailey – Jester Lavorre
• Taliesin Jaffe – Mollymauk “Molly” Tealeaf
• Ashley Johnson – Yasha Nydoorin
• Liam O’Brien – Caleb Widogast
• Marisha Ray – Beauregard “Beau” Lionett
• Travis Willingham – Fjord
• Sam Riegel – Nott the Brave and Veth Brenatto

They’ll begin production soon and Mighty Nein will premiere on Prime Video. Executive producers include Tasha Huo, Sam Riegel, and Travis Willingham alongside Metapigeon and Amazon Studios. Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, and Ben Kalina at Titmouse will also executive produce.

As for the overall deal, it will see Critical Role develop original TV series, films, and content. Their production company, Metapigeon, will also work with creatives on new projects in and outside of the Critical Role universe, too.

Travis Willingham, co-founder and CEO of Critical Role said in a statement.

Critical Role‘s livestream campaigns are the spark that lit the flame for our worldwide audience. Seeing the stories and characters from our first campaign come to life in The Legend of Vox Machina was a dream realized, and we are absolutely buzzing with excitement to do it again with Mighty Nein. But with today’s announcement, we’re confident that the stories we tell will keep expanding into realms of entertainment beyond what we can even imagine.

Until we get Mighty Nein, catch The Legend of Vox Machina on Prime Video.

Originally published January 25, 2023.

Amy Ratcliffe is the Editor-in-Chief for Nerdist and the author of Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy, The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, The Jedi Mind, and more. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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I got the opportunity to watch Batman: Caped Crusader early. While the excitement about a new Batman cartoon would be high enough, a 1940s-styled one from Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and Matt Reeves kicked it up four notches. Right away, in the very first episode, we got a sense this show was playing fast and loose with established canon and character norms. The first episode shows us a Gotham underworld terrified of one mobster: the Penguin. This is a Penguin as we’ve never seen before. As you can see in the image below, it’s a gender-swapped Penguin, Oswalda Cobblepot, as voiced by Minnie Driver.

The reveal comes out of the official Batman: Caped Crusader panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Timm introduced a screening of the first episode to the Hall H audience and then brought out executive producer Matt Reeves, Driver, and fellow actors Hamish Linklater (Batman), and Jamie Chung (Dr. Harleen Quinzel).

Prime Video also unveiled a clip from the first episode. While it doesn’t show the Penguin herself, it shows just how terrified she makes the corrupt in Gotham City.

While I can’t say much more about individual episodes, I can share that the season is tremendously good. Other villains are remixed and rethought throughout the season in really fun ways. It feels at once very different from Batman: The Animated Series and clearly from the same creator. Excellent stuff. If the other Penguin TV offering this year is as good, Cobblepot fans will be very happy.

Batman: Caped Crusader drops its entire 10-episode first season on August 1 on Prime Video.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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We’ve been looking forward to the beginning of James Gunn’s new DCU since he took over last year. While all the Superman and Supergirl news has kept us buzzing, we always knew the first project out of the gate would be the animated Creature Commandos. At SDCC 2024’s “Jim Lee and Friends” panel, Lee brought out Gunn to show all in attendance the first teaser for the series, due out in December. And because Max wants people to watch, they sent it out wide too! Check it out below.

The teaser opens with Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) bringing Rick Flag Sr (Frank Grillo) into Belle Reve to meet his new team. Presumably this takes place after The Suicide Squad, because a) this is Rick Flag’s dad, and 2) congress says Task Force X can be no more. Waller, ever the stickler for loopholes, says congress has disallowed human prisoners to go on missions. Non-humans are fair game. So monsters it is!

Flag’s team consists of fish lady Nina Mazursky (Zoe Chao), G.I. Robot (Sean Gunn), Weasel (also Sean Gunn), Dr. Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk), the Bride (Indira Varma), and Frankenstein (technically’s monster, David Harbour). The tone seems very much in keeping with the Suicide Squad violent irreverence, which makes sense. Other cast members include Steve Agee as Economos, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana, and Anya Chalotra as Circe.

With Waller, Economos, and Weasel’s involvement, it seems this series will overlap with Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad in some way. Certainly more than I initially thought. We knew Peacemaker season two would be part of the DCU. I’m honestly okay if they figure out a way to make The Suicide Squad new canon also. In any case, it’s good stuff.

Creature Commandos debuts on Max this December.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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In 2021, the animated series Arcane, based on the popular video game League of Legends, debuted on Netflix, and fans and critics went wild. As is the case with many series that debuted on a streaming service, it was denied a physical media release. Until now, that is. The series will finally get a definitive, limited-run Collector’s Edition, 4K UHD, and a Standard Edition SteelBook Editions. There’s also a Blu-Ray Standard Edition, and on Digital Download-to-Own. All editions are currently available for preorder.

So what can Arcane fans expect? The limited-run Collector’s Edition is presented in a rigid clamshell box featuring original artwork. It contains all nine episodes presented in 4K resolution, mastered in Dolby Vision HDR. The edition also contains all episodes on standard Blu-ray discs. In addition to the full series, the set also has brand new exclusives to the Collector’s Edition.

This includes a double-sided poster featuring artwork from Piltover’s “Progress Day.” It features one side defaced by Jinx, six art cards with Powder’s illustrations, Caitlyn Kiramann’s map of Piltover, and an expansive dice set containing a Hexcore-inspired d20 die, seven liquid core resin dice inspired by Hex crystals, a protective pouch and decorative dice box. This set is limited to 6500 copies for North America.

The 4K UHD SteelBook features a stunning Jinx-themed outer package, containing the full nine-episode series presented across three 4K UHD discs. There’s also an additional Blu-ray disc containing over three hours of bonus features. The Standard SteelBook edition arrives in a Vi-themed outer package, containing the same nine-episode series and the same accompanying bonus features across three discs.

Click To View Gallery

The Standard Blu-ray edition presents the series and bonus features across three Blu-ray discs. Both versions of the SteelBook edition and the standard Blu-ray edition drop on October 8, 2024 from Shout! Studios. Bonus features on all physical editions include exclusive conversations with key creative talent and writers. Also, numerous scene breakdowns from the animation staff at studio Fortiche, “making-of” videos, and more. Arcane will be available in North America starting September 24, 2024 on digital download-to-own platforms.

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For some time, it was believed that voice-acting legend Kevin Conroy’s last performance as Batman was going to be the recent Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League video game. Luckily, before his passing in 2022, he recorded one more performance as the character that made him famous. This was for the animated film Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three. The scene was only a minute or so long. But we got to see Conroy’s Dark Knight fight Mark Hamill’s Joker one last time. Conroy’s dialogue is eerily prescient, as if predicting it would be his last time ever playing the Caped Crusader. You can watch Conroy’s final Batman performance down below: Try not to get misty-eyed watching it.

The scene above is but one example in the film of the villainous Anti-Monitor’s anti-matter wave destroying universe after universe. This is a direct reference to the classic Crisis on Infinite Earths comics from 1985 that reshaped DC Comics continuity. An event that would continuously happen over the next forty years. This three-part adaptation of Crisis (the second after the Arrowverse adaptation in 2019) also features other notable cameos. Appearances from other famous animated DC universes from across the decades. We won’t spoil which ones for you, You’ll just have to watch.

A nice touch fans of the DC Animated Universe will notice is in orbit of the Earth right after the Batman scene is the Justice League Watchtower. The very same one from Justice League Unlimited. That’s because the Earth we see destroyed in the anti-matter wave is Earth-12. That’s the designated home to Bruce Timm’s various animated shows. These include Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League Unlimited. This brief scene is a final farewell to an animated universe that remains beloved by DC Comics fans everywhere. Other new DC animated universe will no doubt appear, but Timm’s DCAU, and especially Conroy’s Batman, will forever be the blueprint.

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Just before season one of X-Men ’97 aired, Marvel announced that it had parted ways with Head Writer Beau DeMayo. While the circumstances of that firing remain vague, we have since learned that DeMayo wrote a substantial amount of X-Men ’97 season two, which Marvel Studios has noted will be honored in the animated series’ second season. But when it comes to X-Men ’97 season three, a new writer has reportedly been hired. Deadline reveals that Matthew Chauncey will replace Beau DeMayo in the role of X-Men ’97 writer for the third chapter of the show.

As writer, Chauncey will work with X-Men ’97’s director, Jake Castorena, who has been with the project since the beginning. Chauncey has written for Disney+’s Marvel series What If…? and also worked on the Ms. Marvel live-action series. We will have to wait and see what his vision is for X-Men ’97 season three. The third season of the show is currently in development.

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The Legend of Vox Machina has now delighted Critters for two glorious seasons. And happily, season three of the animated series will be heading to our screens soon. But that’s not all there is to get excited about. The Legend of Vox Machina is based on Critical Role‘s first roleplaying campaign, of course. And if there’s one thing that Dungeons & Dragons fans love, it’s getting to take a closer look at the details and nuances of a world. Roll for perception, please! The Legend of Vox Machina is getting a gorgeous “making of” art book, The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina. Anyone who has so much as glimpsed the show knows that this art-filled tome will be a pleasing treat for the eyes (and minds) of fans everywhere.

You can take a look at the cover art of The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina below.

This New The Legend of Vox Machina Art Book Celebrates the Creation of the Series

Dark Horse Books and Amazon MGM Studios are bringing The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina to life. This hardcover art book will delve deep into the making of seasons one and two of the animated show. For fans who want to truly immerse themselves in the world, it’s a must-have. The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina will take fans behind the scenes of the incredible animated television series and offer “never-before-seen concept art and commentary on the show’s creation.” This art book offers a brand-new way to explore Exandria and learn more about Vex’ahlia, Vax’ilda, Keyleth, Percy de Rolo, Scanlan Shorthalt, Pike Trickfoot, and Grog Strongjaw. We bet this The Legend of Vox Machina art book holds some tantalizing trivia about your favorite character in its pages.

The Art of the Legend of Vox Machina is written by Meredith Kecskemety (The Legend of Vox Machina, Midnight Gospel) and includes the work of various interior artists from Titmouse Animation. Additionally, The Art of the Legend of Vox Machina features cover art originally sketched by Sung Jin Ahn, characters by Phil Bourassa, background by Howard Chen, and colors by Arthur Loftis.

The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina Deluxe Edition Celebrates Shaun Gilmore

For the ultimate Critter, though, Dark Horse Books and Amazon MGM Studios have a special item waiting in their merchant shop. They’d like to invite you to stop by Gilmore’s Glorious Goods for something truly sumptuous. The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina will also be available in a deluxe edition, perfect for the member of your party with exceptionally discerning tastes.

The deluxe edition will have packaging inspired by Matthew Mercer’s fan-favorite NPC, Shaun Gilmore. It will feature a purple and gold color scheme with holographic foiling and ribbing on the spine. All of this will come together to make it feel like a fantasy tome plucked right from the world of The Legend of Vox Machina. The deluxe edition will also include a slipcase, a ribbon bookmark, and a lithograph print. Truly, The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina Deluxe Edition will be a glorious addition to any superfan’s collection.

You can check out concept art for the deluxe edition of The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina above.

The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina Release Date, Price, and Other Details

For those who are already preparing a space for The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina on their bookshelves, here’s some information you’ll want to know about the book and its release. Firstly, The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina and its deluxe edition will release in bookstores on December 10, 2024, and in comic shops on December 11, 2024. The art book is now available to pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, TFAW, and your local comic shop.

The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina will cost $49.99. Meanwhile, The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina Deluxe Edition will cost $99.99. Both versions of the book will be printed in hardcover and contain 192 pages. The dimensions of the book are 9.5×13”.

For more announcements and updates on The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina and other exciting titles, be sure to follow Dark Horse Comics on social media and check out its website, www.darkhorse.com.

And, of course, be sure to tune in when season three of The Legend of Vox Machina premieres on Prime Video on October 3.

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We officially have some updates about a couple highly-anticipated animated series from Marvel Studios, as well as an exciting new announcement to enjoy. At a preview screening for What If…? season two, Marvel also shared news about its other upcoming animated properties. Firstly, an already-announced Disney+ series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is now officially set to release in 2024. Additionally, Marvel revealed a new Black Panther animated series for its line-up titled Eyes of Wakanda.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a show that was once known as Spider-Man: Freshman Year. Although Tom Holland won’t voice this Marvel Studios Spider-Man, Charlie Cox will return to give life to Matthew Murdock/Daredevil. This series will follow Peter Parker on his adventures before his time in the MCU and delve into his life as, well, a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. We look forward to seeing it sooner rather than later.

Additionally, Marvel Studios revealed a brand new animated Black Panther series. According to IGN, Eyes of Wakanda will focus “on warriors from Wakanda’s past traveling the world to recover dangerous vibranium artifacts.” The publication notes that the official description shares, “Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts. This is their story.”

Most recently, Marvel Studio’s Head of Television Brad Winderbaum gave an update on the series to Marvel’s Official Podcast, noting, “Eyes of Wakanda, more than any other show we’re doing in animation, ties directly into the MCU. This is a story about Wakandan history. It’s produced by Ryan Coogler and directed by Todd Harris who is one of our longtime storyboard artists who I first met when he designed the Hulk vs. Thor fight in Ragnarok.” Additionally, Winderbaum added, “It’s an awesome show. The action is insane and the storytelling is fantastic. It’s both about the history of Wakanda, but also expands into the greater MCU at different time periods. If you’re a fan of the movies, I think this show is going to be a real treat.”

Please note the above image is from season one of What If…? and not from the new Black Panther show. Marvel Studios has not yet shared any further cast, images, or plot details about Eyes of Wakanda. But we are super excited already. It sounds like it will be one epic adventure series.

Originally published on December 12, 2023.

The post Marvel Studios Reveals Updates on New BLACK PANTHER Animated Series, Confirms 2024 Release for SPIDER-MAN Series appeared first on Nerdist.

Jennifer Hale has enjoyed an incredible voice casting career for over three decades, with titles in her impressive resume ranging from games like Mass Effect and Halo, to animated shows like The Clone Wars and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Her most recent high-profile role is taking over the part of Jean Grey for X-Men ’97. We had a chat with Jennifer Hale about returning to the role of the mutant telepath, a role she’s played in different iterations over several years, and guiding a newer generation of voice actors via SkillsHub.

Nerdist: You took over the role of Jean Grey from Catherine Disher, who played her in the classic X-Men show. But she is still part of this universe, because she plays Val Cooper. Did she give you any advice on playing Jean? Or did you guys even record together?

Jennifer Hale: We actually didn’t record together. But I took great inspiration from her original performance, and then was guided by the team as to exactly how they wanted to update all the different elements to bring the character to a modern audience.

A lot of the original X-Men cast returned, but both you and Ray Chase stepped in for Scott and Jean. Did you two bond at all at being the new kids, for lack of a better word?

Hale: Absolutely. It’s such an honor and a responsibility to step into a role like this. The great thing about Jean, and a lot of the Marvel universe, is I have great respect for all my peers, and one of the things about that is a lot of us share these roles. I’m not the only person to have played Jean. I’ve played other roles in the universe. I even played Rogue in various projects. And to be able to be Jean in this project really feels like winning the lottery. It’s kind of awesome.

This isn’t your first time at bat with Jean Grey. You played her in Wolverine and the X-Men, the X-Men anime, and in several different video games. Did you approach playing this Jean differently, or did you think of Jean as more or less the same across the Multiverse?

Hale: They’re all inspired by the same source material. The truth is, when I step into any role in any project, I am 1000% in service of the production and writing team. What does the team need? And one of the really, really cool things about the team on X-Men 97 is a huge number of them grew up watching the original show. They were fans, which is really exciting. And now they’re working on the show.

Of course, you didn’t just play Jean in X-Men ’97, you also played Madelyne Pryor. She might have started out as just a clone of Jean, but became her own person by the time we get to Genosha. Were there subtle differences in how you approached Maddie over Jean? Besides just getting to be almost a Disney villain when she was Goblin Queen?

Hale: Absolutely. There are distinct differences between Madelyne and Jean, and obviously, the Goblin Queen has her own lane. But yeah, very much. And that’s where I really rely on our voice director, Meredith Lane, and on the team, because having a good voice director on hand like Meredith allows me to just drop in and fully be in the moment, and not worry about whether I’m slowly migrating out of the lane that is Madeline back over into Jean. And I know she’ll guide me back in if I happen to step a little too far one way or the other.

The love triangle between Jean, Scott, and Logan has always been a huge factor in X-Men lore. And in this season, things got a little heated when Jean kissed Wolverine, in a moment when she and Scott were having problems. That’s further than the classic cartoon ever took things. How do you feel about finally giving the fans that moment?

Hale: Oh, I think it’s great. But I want to know how the fans feel about it. That’s what I want to know. I want to know what it meant to them, because that’s ultimately what we do it for, right?

Jean in the original series was almost a cliché, the way she was always fainting even though she was an Omega-level mutant. X-Men ’97 finally dropped weak Jean and showed her at full power. Were you happy that Jean finally got to let loose and show off in this series?

Hale: I was absolutely thrilled. I mean, come on. The general evolution of the way women are written now is so much better than it used to be. So much more fun. We actually get to be full human beings. We get to own our power, take our power, and quite often run things

X-Men ’97 teased the arrival of Phoenix for much of the first season, and in the finale she finally arrived. The comics have different interpretations of the Jean/Phoenix dynamic, but I’m wondering how you see things between them? Do you play it as the manifestation of Jean’s power, or an outside force that possesses her?

Hale: Jean is a channel for so many things. She’s kind of the voice of the heart of the people around her. She’s a channel for ultimate power to come through, and I think that is often my experience as a performer. So I think that’s the lens that it went through for me. Jean is a channel for the ultimate powers to move through her.

Of your many voice acting roles, which is one that is nearest and dearest to your heart?

Hale: Honestly, the thing that’s nearest and dearest to my heart is the diversity of characters. I’ve been able to play the sheer variety of roles, gives me so much.

Speaking of sheer variety of roles, you have this incredibly long resume of voice acting going back, what, 30 years, and that’s both cartoons and video games. You’ve taken a lot of those skills and you’re extending it to the next generation via something called SkillsHub. Can you explain what that is?

Hale: Yes. SkillsHub, it is a site where actors at any level can come and learn about voice acting, take the career they’ve got, and create real longevity and momentum. It started out with me just wanting help with auditions. I just needed 10 minutes with someone I trust. I didn’t need an hour of coaching, or a class. What I wanted was this calendaring system I had in my head to become a reality. And my sister said, “You need to meet my friend Bill, he’s amazing.” He built the site. He’s actually the guy who puts the stuff together, programs everything, and makes it happen. And the three of us run it.

It’s evolved into a site where it’s gone from me calling 20-something of my friends who are working actors, voice directors, and casting directors to help out people like me, other voice actors. We have a ton of free stuff. I personally, have written out these paths that are step-by-step career assembly instructions for a dozen different career paths through the voice work. And we have free stuff for members. We’ve got classes. Everything you need is right there. And now we have almost 90 coaches. We really have an incredible community.

All episodes of X-Men ’97 season one are now available on Disney+.

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Fans have been waiting for a first look at Bruce Timm, Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams’ new Batman animated series. Now, we finally have our first trailer for Batman: Caped Crusader, which debuts on Prime Video on August 10. The new series is a period piece, set in a version of 1940s Gotham City. They’ve reimagined all the familiar villains, with some harkening back to their Golden Age DC Comics roots. Our new Batman/Bruce Wayne is Hamish Linklater. You can check out the first trailer for Batman: Caped Crusader right here:

The trailer showcases the distinctive animation style of Bruce Timm, who of course was one of the men behind the iconic Batman: The Animated Series over thirty years ago. Batman’s look harkens back to his earliest comic book days, in black and grey, with larger pointed ears. He almost looks like he stepped off the cover of Detective Comics #27 from 1939, his first appearance. We also see Catwoman (Christina Ricci), wearing her old school costume, which was a purple dress with a green cape. The Batman: Caped Crusader trailer gives us flashes of several other famous Bat-villains, like Two-Face, Clayface, Firefly, and a totally reinvented Harley Quinn. You can even see the Penguin, briefly.

The trailer for Batman: Caped Crusader also gives a lot of screen time to police detective Renee Montoya, who will play a prominent role in the show. Interestingly enough, Montoya was first created for Batman: The Animated Series, similar to how Harley Quinn was. Refreshingly, there is a distinct lack of Joker in this trailer. Probably the creators involved feel he is too overexposed right now. But we can’t imagine we’ll never see the Clown Prince of Crime on this series though, or The Riddler. Batman fans are just going to have to be patient.

Batman: Caped Crusader drops all 10 episodes on August 1.

The post BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER Trailer Is Moody, Stylish, and Packed with Villains appeared first on Nerdist.

Disney announced a big and necessary change for its parks in 2020: an update for Splash Mountain. The log flume ride in Florida’s Magic Kingdom and California’s Disneyland was based on 1946’s problematic Song of the South. The announced update would bring Tiana from 2009’s The Princess and the Frog into the spotlight. Four years after the announcement, the makeover is complete. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is on the cusp of opening at Magic Kingdom, bringing jazz, spice, and New Orleans flavor to Frontierland.

During a media event in advance of the ride’s opening, Executive Creative Producer Charita Carter explained why they chose to focus on Princess Tiana. “Tiana was our inspiration because Tiana is everybody’s princess. She comes from a real place in America. She wasn’t born into royalty. She has a working mom, she has military ties, and there’s so much about her life that is relatable. Everyone can find a part of Tiana’s story in their own story, and so many people are inspired by her. And you know, Tiana is a dreamer and a doer.”

A real-life dreamer and doer, Leah Chase, inspires Tiana’s story. Her and her husband ran Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans. Before The Princess and the Frog, Disney Animation visited the city and Chef Chase to learn more about them. And Walt Disney Imagineering went back to New Orleans as they developed Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. There, they talked with the current generations of the Chase family, through whom Leah and Dooky’s legacy lives on.

The restaurant Tiana started in the animated film has thrived. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Executive Creative Director Ted Robledo said, takes place about a year after the events in the film. “A lot has changed since then. One of the most exciting parts of the attractions in seeing where Princess Tiana’s life has taken her after that,” Robledo noted. “Following the successful opening of her restaurant, Tiana’s Palace, there next to the beautiful Mississippi River in New Orleans, she’s continued to grow her business, but this time she’s included members of the community and built a new beloved brand called Tiana’s Foods.”

Tiana’s Foods and Tiana’s Palace are prominent in the ride’s queue through newspaper articles about both businesses. What you hear in the queue helps set the stage for the ride’s story: Mardi Gras season is here and Tiana has a lot to do for a big party.

Robledo explained, “After we board our boats, then we pass through this beautiful, lush lagoon filled with trees, plants, and flowers of the bayou, of course we’re going to join Tiana and the jazz loving alligator trumpet player, Louis, on an adventure down the river. And we’re going to be searching for that essential missing ingredient, which you know is musicians. So along the way we’re going to meet bands of critters, this sharing all of the diverse and rich sounds of New Orleans playing their own renditions of these Tiana songs. And with the help of Mama Odie and her special magic.”

To bring authenticity to the setting of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Disney sought out artisans local to the city. They collaborated with them on the attraction. Additionally, legendary musician Terence Blanchard, born in New Orleans, returned to the world of The Princess and the Frog to record a new song for the ride with Anika Noni Rose. Rose, of course, voiced Tiana in the animated film, and Blanchard played Louis’ trumpet parts in the movie. PJ Morton wrote “Special Spice” specifically for the ride. All of these elements contribute to the attraction being what the Imagineers call a love letter to New Orleans.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens at Magic Kingdom on June 28. It’s expected to open at Disneyland later this year.

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The new animated series Batman: Caped Crusader sounds more and more interesting with each new reveal. The 1940s-set noir superhero show comes to us from the all-star creative team of Bruce Timm, Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams. Now, we finally have a voice cast revealed. Via The Hollywood Reporter, we’ve learned that Midnight Mass star Hamish Linklater is our new Batman/Bruce Wayne, and iconic Wednesday and Yellowjackets star Christina Ricci will portray Catwoman/Selina Kyle in Batman: Caped Crusader. The series, set to debut on Prime Video later this summer, has also dropped a voice-cast announcement video. You can check out that video right here:

They have also announced several other actors for the show’s period accurate first season. Among them is Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch) voicing a new take on Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel. She is now a character introduced independently of the Joker. She’ll also have a romantic relationship with detective Rene Montoya in the series. Meanwhile, Diedrich Bader will voice Gotham D.A. Harvey Dent, and eventually, the villainous Two-Face. This is a role reversal for Bader, who voiced Bruce Wayne in Batman: Brave and the Bold, and other animated projects.

Other voice actors cast in currently unknown roles include Minnie Driver, John DiMaggio, McKenna Grace, Jason Watkins, Paul Scheer, Reid Scott, David Krumholtz, Haley Joel Osment, and Toby Stephens. Among the villains revealed for season one thus far are Clayface, the Gentlemen Ghost, Natalia Knight/Nocturna, and Onomotapia. No word yet on iconic Gotham baddies like Joker, Riddler, and Penguin. Below is the official series description for Batman: Caped Crusader from Prime Video:

Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human—the Batman. His one-man crusade attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.

The entire 10-episode season of Batman: Caped Crusader will drop on Prime Video on August 10, so we will hear Hamish Linklater and Christina Ricci soon.

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Last year, the Blue Beetle live-action movie premiered to critical acclaim, but low box office. Luckily, under James Gunn, DC Studios is not abandoning the character of Jaime Reyes. Via Deadline, we’ve learned that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios are working on a Blue Beetle animated series. Miguel Puga (The Casagrandes) will serve as series showrunner and director, with Cristian Martinez on board as writer. The live-action Blue Beetle‘s director and writer, Angel Manuel Soto and Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, will executive produce. Blue Beetle centers on young Mexican-American El Paso native Jamie Reyes, who bonds with an alien scarab and becomes the heroic Blue Beetle.

The new Blue Beetle series will build upon the movie, but tell its own story. It seems they’ve approached cast members from the film to reprise their roles. There’s no official word yet though if star Xolo Maridueña is returning as the titular hero. However, DC Studios head James Gunn has said recently that Xolo’s version of Blue Beetle would be a part of his DCU. Could he be talking about the animated series? Gunn has said that much of the future DC animated output would tie into the live-action films and TV shows. This was something DC was often negligent about in the past.

The live-action Blue Beetle movie was created for the Max streaming service, but then bumped up to theatrical after positive test screenings. Apparently, Blue Beetle performed well enough on streaming that Warner Bros. still sees potential in the franchise. The first film left many dangling plot threads, so maybe a cartoon is as good a venue as any to wrap those up. Blue Beetle has appeared in animated form several times already. He first showed up in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, then Young Justice, Justice League Action, and several Teen Titans animated films. So we concur that it’s about time he got an animated show of his own.

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Of all the projects announced for James Gunn’s new DCU, the one that was already in production was the animated Creature Commandos series for HBO Max. And now, James Gunn has announced the voice cast for this series about a squad of monster soldiers based on the cult DC Comics title from the early ’80s. Gunn has filled it with quite a few names you’ll recognize, including some making the jump from the MCU. Here’s the full line-up of the DC voice cast for the upcoming Creature Commandos and a little bit more about what we can expect from the project and when we might see it release.

Creature Commandos Voice Cast

Creature Commandos will showcase the voice talents of the MCU’s former Crossbones, Frank Grillo, who will portray Rick Flag Sr. Another MCU alum joining the Creature Commandos cast is David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein. Speaking of Frankenstein, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Indira Varma will be playing The Bride. Also in the cast are Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, and Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorus. Sean Gunn is reprising his role as Weasel and also playing G.I. Robot. Finally, Steve Agee will reprise his role as John Economos from the Peacemaker series. Already announced for this series is Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, who’s giving the Commandos their marching orders.

Additionally, The Witcher‘s Anya Chalotra has joined the DCU as the voice of Circe. James Gunn confirmed the news, though he indicated the role may be a more minor part of the series. Circe is a Wonder Woman villain and power sorceress/goddess in the world of DC. And we couldn’t think of someone better to give life to the role than Anya Chalotra.

James Gunn mentioned in his DCU announcement that actors who voiced characters in animation would also portray them in live-action. So this voice-cast announcement for DC’s Creature Commandos means we’re likely to see David Harbour as Frankenstein and the rest of the squad in a live-action project—probably even a project DC has already announced. If we were to guess, it’s likely to be the Amanda Waller series. Of course, they could all turn up in a future second season of Peacemaker. However, that’s now a long way off.

Creature Commandos Will Integrate Animated and Live-Action DCU Worlds

At the Annecy Animation Festival, more was revealed about the DCU’s Creature Commandos. Variety reports that, continuity is a key aspect of Creature Commandos. The publication notes that at the Warner Bros. panel it was revealed that Creature Commandos narrative would be “both narrative and stylistic, with the animated series playing as a direct follow-up to Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” and “Peacemaker,” while the creatures designed for animation will keep their same looks once they turn up in upcoming live-action offerings like the Gunn directed “Superman” reboot and the Viola Davis-led “Waller” spinoff.”

Gunn noted specifically about this DCU continuity, “What this means in practical terms is that our characters can move in and out of animation or jump into a game or onto the big screen, but they will remain consistent throughout: same character, same history, same actor.”

Integrating animation and live-action offerings will certainly be a fascinating play by the DCU if it is successfully executed. It could also open doors for exploring unified adventures in ways not possible with live-action outings alone.

More About Creature Commandos

Warner Bros. also revealed the following brief from James Gunn about Creature Commandos, initially written in 2022. The memo notes that Creature Commandos is “dark, humorous but never goofy and unsentimental, [an] adult-themed show with political storylines.”

Additionally, Gunn revealed, “The new series picks up directly after our Peacemaker season one finale, which leaves Waller with her hands tied operationally, meaning that she’s no longer able to get away with putting human lives on the line to carry out her clandestine morally questionable mission. Instead, she recruits a ragtag band of misfits, not unlike the Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.”

What Is the Release Date for Creature Commandos?

There’s no specific date given for when Creature Commandos is set to premiere, so we’ll have to wait to see this cast in action. However, we now know that Creature Commandos will release on Max in December. Currently, Gunn notes, “Animatics and all recording done. Waiting on the first animated cuts.”

We did have a feeling it would be among the first DCU projects to make it to our screens. Hopefully, we’ll see a more specific release date emerge soon.

Originally published on April 12, 2023.

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In her big screen debut, Moana showed how far she’d go to help an ancient goddess. Now she’ll show how far she’ll go to unite all of her people. The first trailer for Walt Disney Animation’s Moana 2 brings back Auli‘i Cravalho’s young heroine for an all-new adventure on the sea, one that will bind her to her ancient ancestors even more. And once again she’ll have some help navigating both the waves and her enemies. Dwyane Johnson’s muscle-bound demigod Maui is coming back for another journey.

Disney’s teaser trailer for Moana 2 looks…uh…a lot like the first Moana. I haven’t seen the original in a couple of years, and if not for the fact Moana looks older here I wouldn’t know if the first 80% of this promo is simply reused footage from that movie. But like Maui, I know she didn’t bring a pig with her on the raft before, so we’re definitely getting a new tale this time around. What exactly is going on, though? Here’s the film’s official synopsis from Disney:

Moana 2 reunites Moana and Maui three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.

Additionally, Moana 2‘s directors recently revealed, via Variety, “This story finds Moana and her crew in search of the lost island of Motufetu, which once connected the ocean, now hidden by a jealous God of Storms.” And added, “We begin our story with Moana, three years after the first film. She’s exploring the seas, searching for new islands, mapping the ocean, hoping to find other people. As the people of Motunui have not seen anyone for generations, Moana knows that the ocean connects us. But to whom? Where are they? She’s looking for proof that others are out there. She’s curious why she hasn’t found anyone.” Why, indeed.

Moana 2 also has some newcomers behind the scenes. The film comes from directors David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller. Meanwhile, the original movie’s Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i are back as songwriters and composers, but Lin-Manuel Miranda is not. Instead Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear will contribute songs to the movie.

Moana 2 will sail into theaters this fall on November 27, 2024, just in time for Thanksgiving. The live-action Moana will follow it onto big screens in 2026. That’s a long way to go for our favorite sea-faring voyager, but we know she’s up for it.

Originally published on May 29, 2024.

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Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is still widely considered the greatest graphic novel ever written. In the years since its 1986 publication, the deconstructionist superhero drama has sold millions of copies, and spawned a big-screen adaptation from Zack Snyder in 2009, and a television sequel on HBO in 2019. Oh, and a few comic book sequels, including Doomsday Clock, where Dr. Manhattan takes on Superman. Now, a new animated adaptation of Watchmen is on its way from Warner Bros. Animation, done in two parts. They’ve released the trailer for Watchmen Chapter I, which you can check out right here:

From the look of things, this seems an extremely faithful adaptation of the source material, with images lifted straight from the comic book page. Then again, Snyder’s Watchmen was exactly the same in this regard, with scenes lifted directly from the book as if they were storyboards. We suppose the big difference here is there will be slightly more comics-accurate costumes for characters like Nite Owl and Silk Spectre. Perhaps this animated adaptation will use the original ending, which involved a giant telepathic squid killing millions in Manhattan. The animation style looks almost exactly like the 2D/3D blending of Marvel’s What If…? series.

As for why this animated Watchmen movie is in two parts, the answer is simple. These animated DC Comics features from Warner Bros. Animation are always budgeted to be 80 minutes long at most. And that is simply not enough time to adapt such a sprawling story. This is why Batman: The Long Halloween is two parts, and before that, The Dark Knight Returns. The latter ended up being a pretty great adaptation, and remains severely underrated. We’ll see if Watchmen can follow suit. One thing’s for sure — Alan Moore’s name won’t be on it, and he probably wishes this wasn’t happening. And he doesn’t want you to ever ask him about it. So don’t.

Watchmen Chapter I releases later in 2024.

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Imaginary friends are in. Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski’s recent movie, IF, was all about them. And now, they’re back in a whole new way, gorgeously animated and full of heart. Netflix recently released a trailer for The Imaginary, a gorgeously animated movie from Studio Ponoc. Hailed as a Studio Ghibli equivalent, Studio Ponoc really has outdone itself with The Imaginary. The hand-drawn animation could not be more beautiful, nor could it more powerfully convey the animated movie’s themes of love, loss, fear, and freedom. Even from just this short trailer, we feel completely riveted by The Imaginary. Take a look below to experience the Studio Ponoc adventure for yourself.

Watch The Imaginary Trailer

No imaginary friend wants to believe their human will forget them. But could it be true that the only thing more powerful than imagination is reality? The villain of The Imaginary sure does want you to believe that as he brings shadows to the beautiful dreamworld in this trailer. And It sure does seem that way sometimes, in real life. But we bet The Imaginary will have us believing in our dreams more powerfully than ever.

Synopsis, Cast, and More

Alongside the trailer, you can check out Netflix’s official synopsis of The Imaginary below:

Studio Ponoc’s The Imaginary portrays the depths of humanity and creativity through the eyes of young Amanda and her imaginary companion, Rudger, a boy no one can see imagined by Amanda to share her thrilling make-believe adventures. But when Rudger, suddenly alone, arrives at The Town of Imaginaries, where forgotten Imaginaries live and find work, he faces a mysterious threat. Directed by renowned animator Yoshiyuki Momose (Spirited Away), The Imaginary is an unforgettable adventure of love, loss, and the healing power of imagination.

That hits us right in the feelings. The Spirited Away connection hits loud and clear. Personally, that’s one of my all-time favorite animated movies. So, I love to see the legacy of it continued in The Imaginary‘s trailer. It also doesn’t hurt that Studio Ponoc’s lovely animation combines itself with an incredible voice cast that includes Hayley Atwell as Lizzie, Kal Penn as Zinzan, and LeVar Burton as The Old Dog.  Louie Rudge-Buchanan (Rudger), Evie Kiszel (Amanda), Sky Katz (Emily), Jeremy Swift (Mr Bunting), Jane Singer (Granny Downbeat), Ruby Barnhill (Aurora), Roger Craig Smith (Snowflake), Courtenay Taylor (Cruncher-of-Bones), and Miles Nibbe (John) also star.

A release reveals that “The groundbreaking hand-drawn animation of The Imaginary is heightened by first-of-their-kind techniques of light and shadow.” We can’t wait to turn a closer eye on this groundbreaking movie.

When Will Studio Ponoc’s The Imaginary Release?

The Imaginary will release on July 5, 2024. It will stream on Netflix.

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Inside Out 2 is a movie at conflict with itself, both literally and figuratively. The plot of the film features emotions battling for control of Riley, in a story full of beautiful ideas about what it means to grow up and establish our own identities. It’s a coming-of-age tale about the struggles we face building the personal belief system that will both guide and define us. It also has some genuinely funny scenes and characters. That provides the balance of heart and comedy you expect from a Pixar movie.

But Inside Out 2 has too many ideas without the time or space to explore most with enough depth. It’s also so desperate to be clever it’s often groan-inducing. But what really holds it back are its new emotions. The film introduces feelings that say they’re complex, but are really (at best) derivative, or (much worse) downright confusing. That includes the film’s villain, Anxiety (Maya Hawke), a character that makes Inside Out 2 downright terrifying for kids.

With both so much going for it and so many fundamental issues, it definitely evokes one strong emotion: “meh.”

Inside Out 2 reunites us with its young star who recently turned 13. Riley is an almost perfect child to an annoying degree. That’s intentional and has a meaningful payoff by the end of the film. But it’s still less interesting than if she were obviously flawed to start. How perfect is she? Riley is a better hockey player than Wayne Gretzky. That sounds like hyperbole but is laughably not.

Riley’s problems begin when puberty hits the same exciting day she gets news that would devastate any teenager. That’s the worst possible time because she doesn’t know how to handle so many big moments at once. Puberty means her brain gets all new, unexpected emotions: Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment.

The result is a film with a clear villain. Anxiety banishes the old emotions, including head emotion honcho Joy (Amy Poehler), from Riley’s control panel. She then begins to remake Riley in her own nervous image. Only, Anxiety also seems to be wholly responsible for Riley’s ambition, which is weird. Anxiety is also responsible for any sense of planning and forethought, which is also weird. But Anxiety is also full of fear, even though the literal emotion Fear is still around. Meanwhile, Envy and Embarrassment also overlap with Sadness and Disgust, who also overlaps with Ennui. It’s not exactly clear plot-wise or thematically why all these similar emotions exist. They seem to only exist so the movie can. That’s a big and consistent problem that detracts from the film.

We’re told these emotions are “more complex,” but it doesn’t make sense when the first film wonderfully established that feeling different emotions at the same time is complex. Why have individual, well-defined emotions at all if some convey the same feelings? And why is Anxiety—presented as a troubling emotion that is hard to control and capable of ruining your life—also responsible for things that seem good? For a film focused on what it means to have a “sense of self,” Inside Out 2 also doesn’t seem to understand itself.

Anxiety’s issues are not just for adults. The emotion’s total dominance and fear-mongering makes this a tough viewing for young kids. Some will be old enough to understand the film’s broad ideas but not old enough to get all the nuance. The result might very well be them dreading getting older. I mean, fair, but not exactly fun.

It is also is very, very, very hit-or-miss with its humor. The film features some surprise characters and concepts that are as good as anything in the original film. (Minus Bing Bong, the greatest character ever). Please try to avoid spoilers for those characters hidden away in Riley’s mind. They’re the movie’s best surprises and how they’re handled are among the film’s best moments. The problem is Inside Out 2 also has some gags, and “clever” ideas that are absolute duds and worse. There are moments so painfully unfunny, Dread might as well have been a new emotion.

Despite its rushed plot and confusing characters, Inside Out 2 sticks the landing both emotionally and thematically. Everything ultimately comes together exactly how you think it will. Being predictable doesn’t stop the ending from being effective. Like its beloved predecessor, it captures the complexity of being a living, emotional, flawed, creature full of contradictions.

The uneven journey of highs and lows on the way to that ending, though, is why Inside Out 2 left me feeling underwhelmed. That’s better than feeling anxious, but that’s not nearly as good as feeling joy.

⭐ (2.5 of 5)

Inside Out 2, directed by Kelsey Mann, stars: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Sumayyah, Nuriddin-Green, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Paul Walter Hauser and Yvette Nicole Brown. It comes to theaters on June 13, 2024.

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Lovers of Adventure Time may have a big reason to rejoice. An Adventure Time movie is in the works. According to a release from Warner Bros. Discovery, The Adventure Time Movie is officially a go. While we don’t have many details yet, The Adventure Time Movie includes animation talent like Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar, Over the Garden Wall creator Patrick McHale, and Adventure Time showrunner Adam Muto. All of these creative talents have worked on Adventure Time before.

The Adventure Time Movie Description

As mentioned, we don’t know too much about what this Adventure Time movie will include, but a release notes that its current description is as follows: “Jake and Finn embark on their greatest adventure yet.” We can’t wait to see what that will mean.

Other Adventure Time Spinoff Series in the Works

In addition to an Adventure Time movie, two spinoff series are also said to be in development. First up is Adventure Time: Side Quests, which will take viewers back to when Finn was a daydreaming child who went on fantasy adventures with his best friend, Jake the Dog. This Adventure Time series will have standalone episodes “starring early versions of fan-favorite characters, including the sometime-villain The Ice King.” In addition, Adventure Time: Heyo BMO will be a series aimed toward younger children featuring BMO.

You can check out the full information we have about them so far below:

Adventure Time: Side Quests (Kids series, Cartoon Network)

• Description: Adventure Time: Side Quests takes the Adventure Time franchise back to the early days when Finn was just a kid, excited to fight monsters and go on epic quests with his best buddy Jake. In stand-alone episodes, our heroes take on classic Adventure Time villains like The Ice King and re-connect with stand-out side characters from the original series.
• Creative Talent: Nate Cash
• Studio: Cartoon Network Studios

Adventure Time: Heyo BMO (Preschool series, Cartoon Network)

• Description: In the fantastical Land of Ooo, the little robot BMO is on a new adventure! Now settled in a new neighborhood with new friends, BMO approaches each challenge he faces with his unique brand of enthusiasm and curiosity in a quest to learn and fill his database.
• Creative Talent: Adam Muto, Ashlyn Anstee
• Studio: Cartoon Network Studios

We’ll be excited to hear more about all of these upcoming Adventure Time offerings.

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Actress Lenore Zann has been providing the distinctive Southern belle voice of Rogue since the first episode of X-Men: The Animated Series in 1992. Now, 25 years since the last episode aired, she reprised the role for the Disney+ continuation, X-Men ’97. The show took everyone by surprise by just how excellent the writing and acting were, eclipsing the classic series. And a large part of why it was so good was Rogue’s unexpected character journey, which in many ways was the main emotional thread of the series. And it was all played brilliantly by Zann, without missing a beat. We chatted with Zann about returning to Rogue after all this time, and what the future holds for the sassiest X-Man at Xavier’s School.

Nerdist: So many old TV shows have had revivals recently after decades away, usually to mixed results. Did you ever think X-Men ’97 might end up as something that didn’t live up to the original ’90s series?

Lenore Zann: No. I really thought it would be a huge hit. Judging from the fans that we’ve been meeting over the last five years at Comic Cons, who just loved the original show and couldn’t wait to see more episodes of a new show. And we had no idea that a new show was going to be happening until about three years ago, I guess 2021. But as soon as I got the scripts, I knew they were going to be good. I knew it was going to be good, because really that’s what it was the first time around. The scripts were so damn good. The writing was excellent. It’s the same this time, too. Without a script, you don’t have anything. And the scripts were amazing.

Rouge kind of had the most iconic moments of the season, from throwing Captain America’s shield to going full rampage on the military base. You could see she had the biggest character arc of the season. Which of all of the moments was the most fun for you to play?

Zann: Well, of course I loved the meeting with Captain America and throwing his shield.
“Well, if your hands are tied, I guess you won’t be needing this.” So that was a lot of fun. But to be honest, also the emotional scenes with both Remy and Magneto in episode five. And then of course, the sad, tragic loss of my loved one, my soulmate Gambit. That was a gift for an actor to be able to play those beats and those emotions and be able to use my own personal emotions and experience to channel them into my character.

It had literally been 25 years since you played Rogue in the original X-Men series. Was it like riding a bike, or did you have to learn to be that character again?

Zann: I liken it to putting on a pair of well-worn, very fine, very comfortable gloves. You just put them on. You haven’t had them on for many years, and they just fit, and they feel good. For me, that’s how it is with Rogue. She is a part of me, and there’s a lot of me in her. So yeah, it was just a joy to come back to Rogue again.

For the entire original series, Rogue’s only romantic interest was Gambit. But for X-Men ’97, you got to have a romantic storyline with Magneto. What was it like for you to play a totally different romantic dynamic with someone else in the series?

Zann: Well, it was great. Again, for an actor, any of these scenarios are fun to play. But I did wonder if the public, if our fans would be upset because there are so many Gambit fans. and Rogue and Gambit, “Romy,” as they call them, fans. But it was fun. And I also knew where Rogue was coming from, that she really wanted to touch somebody and to be able to have that physical connection.

So in the scene in episode five, where she kisses Magneto, she comes down out of the ceiling, which is a great entrance. And then they dance very seductively, and touch palms like Romeo and Juliet almost. And then they kiss. But then she pulls away from that kiss and she says, “Thanks for the dance, sugar.” And then there was another line there, and I don’t remember what it was, but I said to [former X-Men ’97 showrunner] Beau DeMayo, who was there directing me, and I said, “Would it be okay if I said something else instead? Can I try something?”

He said, “Sure, try it.” And I said, “Thanks for the dance, sugar. But Remy was right. Some things are deeper than skin.” He had already said that earlier in the episode, and I just thought that that would be the button that was needed to let people know, love, true love, is deeper than skin. And on another level, it doesn’t matter what you look like. It doesn’t matter what skin color. Love, it transcends everything. And it’s the same for the LGBTQ community. So I thought it would really sing, and they kept it in. So I’m really happy about that.

You just mentioned the LGBTQ community, which I’m a part of. We have a huge connection to the X-Men. I think more than any other major nerd property actually. Do you have any stories of queer people coming up to you, talking about what Rogue and the X-Men have meant to them?

Zann: Absolutely. I was really pleased and honored to be able to be in the West Hollywood Pride Parade. And I went with my friend Morph, JP Karliak, and we had a convertible and we had a bunch of X-Men cosplayers, about 30 walking with us. And I thought that it was so important to be able to be there and make the statement that, “Hey, we are allies. We are yours. We belong to this community, too. And that we support you.”

So yeah, actually even since that parade, I’ve had two different young men come to me. I was in the Apple store, and I was having dinner somewhere else in Hollywood. And two different people said, “I saw you in the parade. I’m in the LGBTQ community. Thank you so much for being there. It meant a lot to us. And you made my childhood. You made us feel safe. Your show was a safe place for us to go. I could relate to Rogue. I’ve always loved Rogue.” It was really heartwarming. And this is what we hear over and over again.

Episode 5 was the turning point for the series. It’s when X-Men ’97 went from being just a nostalgic exercise, taking things to another level. And it had Rogue’s most heartbreaking moment, when she cradles Gambit’s dead body and says “I can’t feel you.” This asked you to go places as an actor the classic show never did. How did it feel getting to play the same character in a more grown-up and emotionally real setting?

Zann: No, because I’ve always been an extremely emotional actor. I have no problem going to the depths of my emotions and channeling them into a performance. And I’ve been known for doing a number of very strong performances, particularly in theater. When I was 19, I was discovered to play the role of Marilyn Monroe, in a rock opera about her life. And I was only 19 when I got it, and it was called Hey, Marilyn. I had to play her from the age of 16, all the way through her Hollywood years as Marilyn Monroe, to her final denouement at 36 when she died. And I had to do it all on a song on stage with 2000 people. So that was what kickstarted my career. If I can do that, then I can do anything.

You know a show has struck a nerve when it’s got plenty of memes, and the meme game for X-Men ’97 was wild. One of them had Rogue replicating the Kill Bill poster, saying “Kill Ya’ll” after Gambit died. What was it like seeing the reactions week to week, with the fandom so engaged? 

Zann: It was very funny. AJ LoCascio, who plays Gambit, and Matthew Waterson, who plays Magneto, we all get along really well. And we’ve all got a really good sense of humor. So we were sending each other these memes. But also, they were making memes about stuff we were doing in real life. Like when we went to a dinner with a whole bunch of people. And suddenly all the people were in one end of the room, and AJ was sitting by himself at one of the tables, and I was sitting with Matthew. I said, “Let’s do a photograph with AJ, showing him in his Gambit crop top by himself, over there at the table, and we’ll just gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes.” And then they shared that on social media, and then that became a meme. It was hilarious. It was a lot of fun.

After Genosha and Gambit’s death, Rogue chooses to go and join Magneto. Did that twist surprise you when you read it in the script, or was it something they told you Rogue was going to do from the get-go?

Zann: No, they didn’t tell me from the beginning. Again, I just found out as I got each script what was going to be happening, which I like it that way, so that I’m surprised as well. And then I can delve into it. But Rogue started off as a villain. And in these comic books, sometimes the heroes become the villains, back and forth, for various reasons. So I found that I thought it was very interesting.

And I thought, in a way, it made sense for Rogue at that point to find out that A: Magneto didn’t die. And B: that she’s starting to think that he could be right. As they say, “Magneto was right.” Which I think shows that Rogue, she wants to get vengeance. She wants to get justice for Remy, and also for all of the people that were killed in that genocide. And so she does what she does for a reason. But I am glad she came back by the end.

Are the any plotlines from the original series you wanted to see followed up on in X-Men ’97 that weren’t? I was a bit surprised the Rogue and her mother Mystique never had a moment.

Zann: I think it would be fun at some point to have some scenes again with Mystique. I’m not sure when it will come. We didn’t have any in this particular season. But I’m always interested in her relationship with Mystique because it’s definitely fraught with a lot of emotions. And anybody who’s ever had any mother issues can relate. But I was glad to see Nightcrawler playing a large role, and that was really lovely. The scenes between Rogue and Nightcrawler, Mystique’s son and her adoptive brother. I love it.

It was great that X-Men ’97 was a true ensemble show and not just the Wolverine show. Having said that, you and Cal Dodd didn’t have a ton of moments together. Can we hope to see some more Rogue and Logan moments in season two?

Zann: I can’t say. But there were a lot more Rogue and Storm moments in the original show as well. And in this show, they played up Jean and Storm being really close friends. Storm is one of my favorite characters, I just love her. And I think the way Alison Sealy-Smith plays her, with her incredible voice. She is like a goddess. And she’s done so much theater in Stratford and things like this. She’s perfect for the role. So I hope I get to do some more stuff with Storm in the future as well. And of course, Cal and Alison and I, and George Buza as Beast, we’re all good friends. And it’s always great to see them at Comic Cons when we have these various reunions.

Yeah. So where are you guys now with season two? Not in terms of what it’s going to be about, but have you guys recorded your lines? Where are you guys at?

Zann: I’ve recorded all my scenes for the whole season. A lot of people have, but a lot of people still need to be recorded. But the animation is what takes a long time. So they usually start with our voices, it’s called pre-lay. And then they do the animation to the voices. And then we come back for cleanups or pickups or line changes and things like that. Yeah, I’m excited and I can’t wait for season two to air, and I hope people really like it like they liked the first season.

What are your hopes for the future of Rogue going forward into, not just season two, but maybe season three and four, if we get that?

Zann: I am happy to do whatever the writers choose to do. I’m an actor at the end of the day. I take writers’ words and I try to make them live and breathe. And I’m up for anything really. I love her journey so far. I love her journey in season two. And I’m just looking forward to seeing where she goes from here. But at the end of the day, it is, we are a team and we have an amazing team. The artists, the writers, the music, the composers, the Newton brothers, the entire cast, the producers, the directors. It’s like lightning in a bottle. The way Larry Houston, our original director, likes to call it. He said, “We had lightning in a bottle the first time around, and we’ve had lightning in a bottle a second time,” which is just amazing.

When we first met the original writers again, Eric and Julia Lewold and Larry Houston. for the very first time, it was five years ago at a Comic Con in Texas where we were all invited to come. Cal Dodd, me, the rest of them, and the writers and the director. We had never met before, because back in the ’90s, we were performing in a studio in Toronto. And they, of course, were all in Los Angeles. And there were no cell phones then. There was no internet.

So we would record together in a group with a circle of microphones in the studio, and then they’d send the tapes to Los Angeles. I think they FedExed them or something. So when we finally met, we got along so well. And we all went out for a dinner one night at the end of this Comic Con five years ago, and I said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if somebody bought the rights to the X-Men, and decided to reboot the animated series and brought us all back again?” And we said, “Let’s toast to that, and let’s put it out there to the universe to manifest.” I’d like to have seven seasons and an animated film. And then a spin-off with Gambit and Rogue. I’d like to do that, too.

All episodes of X-Men ’97 are now available to stream on Disney+.

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It’s time for Piltovans and Zaunites alike to finally say hello again to Arcane on Netflix after three years of waiting for another chapter. But it’s also time to start getting ready to say goodbye, too. The streamer and Riot Games have announced Arcane‘s second season will also be its final one. Don’t start mourning just yet, though. There’s reason to celebrate today today. They also shared this news with official images and an intense new teaser trailer from Arcane that promises an explosive finale.

Arcane Season Two Teaser Trailer and New Images

The second and final season of Arcane will put Piltover and Zaun on a collision path. The season’s official synopsis says, “In this final chapter, Jinx’s attack on the Council sets the stage for a dire escalation of the conflict between Piltover and Zaun.”

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When Will the Final Season of Arcane Release?

While fans will be disappointed to learn that Arcane is ending with season two, at least they know it will offer a real ending. That conclusion will arrive on Netflix this November, giving fans plenty of time to both get excited to say hello to Arcane again and prepare to say goodbye.

The post ARCANE to End with Season 2, Series Shares New Teaser Trailer and Images of Final Season appeared first on Nerdist.