News Around the Net!

I was delighted by this long-awaited teaser for the third Deadpool film, bringing Deadpool into the Marvel Cinematic Universe at last:

Hearing Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool describing himself as “Marvel Jesus” in an official MCU film is just amazing.  I love that the title is the catchy and simple Deadpool & Wolverine.  (I’m surprised they kept Hugh Jackman entirely hidden in the trailer!  Does the general audience understand that he’s really in this movie?)  I loved seeing the TVA (from Loki) so heavily involved, and I loved seeing Aaron Stanford reprising his role as Pyro from the original three X-Men movies — that was a surprise!!  There are a LOT of other rumored cameos in this movie that the filmmakers are keeping under wraps for now, which makes sense to me.

This is a kick-ass new trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes:

I am an enormous Planet of the Apes fan — I love all five goofy but great original films, and I’ve really enjoyed all three films in the recent rebooted series.  (The second one, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, is a true masterpiece.)  I’m all-in for new Apes films, and this new trailer looks epic.  I’m somewhat surprised that they’re still making these Apes films (and apparently spending so much money on these CGI-packed films) — is there really still an audience for this series?  I hope so.  The title is a mouthful, but I’m excited for this and really hope it’s good.

I liked A Quiet Place, but I’m not sure I need multiple sequels or a prequel for that film.  This teaser for A Quiet Place: Day One is well-made, but I haven’t decided yet whether I’m interested in this:

Here’s a new trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire:

Do I actually detect a few attempts at jokes in there?  I hope the filmmakers remember that Ghostbusters was a comedy (something that was forgotten in Ghostbusters: Afterlife)…

Wow, they’ve really gone and made a sequel to Twister! 

I don’t think I’ve ever rewatched the first Twister since it came out… does this mean it’s time for a rewatch?  I’m not sure I’m interested in this sequel, but I’m intrigued they actually went and made this after so many years…

As readers of this site know, I’m a big Guy Ritchie fan.  So I’m excited for his latest film, the wonderfully-titled: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare:

I like this trailer for Richard Linklater’s new film, Hit Man:

That looks interesting!

The folks at Collider posted this in-depth interview with the makers of For All Mankind, looking back on the end of the fourth season:

This is cool — Jon Stewart is returning to The Daily Show as a host every Monday during the 2024 election season!  I can’t wait to watch that.

In my last News Around the Net post I asked the folks behind the Reacher TV series to stop teasing and just tell us what book they’d be adapting for season 3.  Well, it’s official: they’ve chosen Persuader, the seventh Reacher book.  I haven’t read that one yet; I’ll have to get to it!

Marvel has finally announced the cast for their Fantastic Four film!  This is a strong cast and I’m excited.  The only off note for me is that Pedro Pascal feels wrong to me for Reed Richards.  Reed isn’t an action hero, he’s a bookish intellectual.  Still, Mr. Pascal is a terrific, charismatic performer, so I’ll keep an open mind.  I LOVED the look of the characters in the retro Valentine’s Day poster that Marvel released.  I hope this movie will be good!!!  I would love to see a genuinely great FF film.

I am thrilled that Dan Trachtenberg is working on a new Predator sequel!!  Mr. Trachtenberg directed the wonderful (and not widely-enough seen) Predator sequel Prey.  I’m super-excited to see Mr. Trachtenberg craft another Predator film, set in a new time-period and setting.

Sad news that actor Gary Graham has passed away.  Mr. Graham is best known for appearing in the Alien Nation TV show, and for playing Vulcan Ambassador Soval on Star Trek: Enterprise.  (I always thought Mr. Graham was terrific, and far better than the often mediocre material he was given to play on Enterprise.  I loved seeing him reprise his role as Soval in the magnificent fan short-film Prelude to Axanar, and the infamous (and absolutely spectacular) “Vulcan scene” that was a tease of the full-length Axanar film that was crushed because of CBS’ lawsuit.  Sigh.  That “Vulcan scene” is amazing, in large part due to Mr. Graham’s pitch-perfect performance as Soval.  I yet dream of the awesome Star Trek fan-made feature film that might have been…)  Condolences to Mr. Graham’s family.

Speaking of Star Trek, click here for another fun interview with Dave Blass, the excellent production designer for Star Trek: Picard season 3.  This is another opportunity to comment that it’s crazy that Mr. Blass and Picard season 3 show-runner Terry Matalas are still not currently employed on a new Star Trek project.  These two are two of the few professionals involved with modern Star Trek who seem to totally get Trek and what it should look and feel like.  Why haven’t they been rehired to work on a new Trek project???

This is a sad story about another film that Warner Brothers Discovery seems to be trying to erase — the animated Looney Tunes movie Coyote vs. Acme.  I feel awful for all the hard-working creative people who spent years making this movie.  I hope it sees the light of day someday.

I’m sad to read that the spectacularly talented comic book artist Paul Neary has passed away.  Mr. Neary was an incredible talent; I know him best as the inker for Alan Davis on projects including Excalibur, The Uncanny X-Men, Batman and the Outsiders, Wolverine: Bloodlust, and many more terrific comic-books.

So… that long-rumored Beatlejuice sequel is really happening, huh??  I like the newly-announced title: Beatlejuice Beatlejuice.

Speaking of sequels, in addition to the in-the-works live-action Moana, they’re making an animated Moana 2?! I’m surprised to see Disney going so all-in on Moana!  I did really enjoy the film, so I’m curious about these new projects.

Jerry Seinfeld is making a Pop Tarts movie…?  Ok…!

Here’s a great interview with J.B. Smoove, looking back on Curb Your Enthusiasm!  And here’s an interview with Curb executive producer Jeff Schaffer.  Both are interesting reads.

It looks like Quentin Tarantino’s next (and final?) film is starting to come together… I can’t wait!  Boy, I wish he’d actually gone and made his proposed Star Trek film.  That would have been awesome.  I’m also so bummed that Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion, and the in-the-works new Alien TV show) never got to make his planned Star Trek film.  Apparently it might have starred Cate Blanchett and Rami Malek???  What??!!  Sigh.  What a missed opportunity.

I wish I lived in California and could attend this awesome-sounding Marvel Infinity Saga live concert!

I was sad to read of the death of Mojo Nixon.  I became a fan of his from listing to the Imus in the Morning show as a kid.  (Don Imus used to occasionally play his songs, and Mojo was on as a guest a few times.)  His music always made me smile.

Looks like the long-in-the-works Babylon 5 live-action reboot might not be dead yet.  I hope this show actually gets made someday.  (I really enjoyed the recent B5 animated film, The Road Home.)

Also apparently not dead yet: Marvel’s VisionQuest series.  This was announced a while ago as a spin-off of WandaVision, following the story of the White Vision.  But with Marvel’s recent problems and their Disney’s apparent pull-back on Disney+ shows, I’d thought this might be dead.  Paul Bettany says he’s definitely returning to the character, so maybe the show is still happening, or maybe Vision will return in an upcoming film…

On the other side of the coin, Apple TV+’s Foundation was renewed for a season 3, but post-strike the show seems to be in trouble, and production on the third season has been postponed.  I was lukewarm on the first season and haven’t watched the second one yet, but I always root for the success of sci-fi shows.

I was fascinated to read this article about the line cut out of the end of the Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise film Minority Report.  That line would have addressed one of my big problems with the film’s ending!!

I’ll leave you with this: a fascinating look at David Lynch’s recently-discovered draft script for a sequel to his 1984 Dune film, adapting Dune Messiah!!  I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for David Lynch’s Dune, despite it’s being a mess.  I loved reading about what he had planned for a possible sequel.  Very cool.  Meanwhile… I am consumed with anticipation for Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming Dune Part Two…!!!

Please help support my site by purchasing a copy of my latest comic book, Brother’s Keeper, which tells a true story from Israel’s 1948 War for Independence.  Click here to order a print copy, or click here to read it FREE on Kindle Unlimited!!

OR, click here to order a copy of my graphic novel, José and the Pirate Captain Toledano, a story of Jewish pirates that’s also a powerful coming-of-age story about “finding one’s tribe” and one’s place in the world.

Please support my website by clicking through one of my Amazon links the next time you need to shop!  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  That means I’ll receive a small percentage from ANY product you purchase from Amazon within 24 hours after clicking through.  Thank you!