Funko drops, trailer reveals, and panel buzz — Pop Culture brings you entertainment news and fandom updates from across the media universe.
In June 2016, director Adam Wingard began principal photography on a Death Note feature film for Netflix. Less than a year after the announcement, the streaming network has released the first teaser for the movie, which appears to be set in an American high school (though it was shot in Canada and U.S.).
With Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay preparing to release the director’s fifth Transformers movie in 10 years, they’ve decided to change up the marketing a little. The most recent trailer for Transformers: The Last Knight was distributed via teen star Isabela Moner’s Facebook account and is screening in theatres before the recently released live-action Beauty and the Beast.
There is a general perception that manga comics mostly contain fantastical stories about young people with magical powers who battle evil in colourful costumes or dark tales of brooding teens dealing with the supernatural. Although those comprise a large portion of the narratives available, there is another variety consisting of thoughtful dramas, often historically based, that chronicle the lives of ordinary people. These have served as the source for several celebrated Japanese animated films, the latest of which is titled In This Corner of the World.
While last year’s Captain America: Civil War pitted the Avengers against each other in a battle of right vs. also right, there were a couple of members missing from the fray. Bruce Banner/Hulk’s absence is easily explained by his tendency to go into hiding after major skirmishes, but where was Thor (Chris Hemsworth)? Marvel subsequently released a YouTube video, titled “Team Thor,” in which Thor explains he’s taking a break from being a superhero and living a “normal” life in Australia with his roommate, Darryl — also, he wasn’t asked to join either side of the conflict. In conjunction with the release of Doctor Strange on Blu-ray, Marvel checks in with Thor and Darryl who are having a bit of a disagreement over the rent in “Team Thor: Pt. 2, Where Are They Now?.”
Aardman Animations isn’t exactly a household name, but their characters are certainly well-known. Shaun the Sheep has amused the young and young at heart for about a decade, while Wallace and Gromit have entertained audiences for approximately twice that time. Their stop-motion clay animation characters are somewhat unusual looking and some of them don’t even speak, but that is all a part of their charm. Each has starred in their own feature films, but Aardman has made a number of unrelated features showcasing one-of-a-kind personalities. Their latest original film is called Early Man.
There is a long line of one-man wrecking machines who are able to takedown entire operations without assistance. Their backgrounds vary from government agents to experienced assassins to angry fathers or all of the above. Yet their female counterparts are almost non-existent. But that’s about to change with Charlize Theron‘s latest picture, Atomic Blonde, in which she portrays an elite MI6 spy.
Sequels rarely compare to the original, but that doesn’t mean they’re not still enjoyable. Despicable Me introduced audiences to Gru (Steve Carell) and the Minions seven years ago, and they’ve experienced a lot of changes since then. After adopting three girls, Gru switched sides and started playing for the good guys — a transition that was more difficult on his yellow helpers than their boss. However, fighting the good fight is often a thankless job… and being bad is so much more fun. Thus, in Despicable Me 3, Gru has a choice to make.
It feels like only yesterday Doctor Who celebrated its 50th anniversary, but a lifetime since season nine concluded in December 2015. Now the show is in a new phase of transition as both the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi, and long-time showrunner Steven Moffat have announced the 10th season will be their last. The April 15th premiere is a little more than a month away and BBC America is ramping up its promotional campaign with the release of a one-minute official trailer.
It’s common for there to be a few years between writer/director Edgar Wright‘s projects, but it’s always worth the wait. It’s been four years since his sci-fi comedy The World’s End came out, so schedule dictates he was due for another big screen appearance. Wright’s latest picture, Baby Driver, had its premiere at SXSW last night. But for all those who couldn’t be there, they’ve released the official and international trailers to build anticipation for the summer 2017 release.
A great story has the ability to attract exceptional talent who are excited to contribute in any capacity. The Promise was an official selection at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and is set in 1914 during the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. The film stars Academy Award winner Christian Bale and Golden Globe winner Oscar Isaac, and is directed by Academy Award winner Terry George who also helmed Hotel Rwanda. And now it features a new original song by multi-Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Chris Cornell.
Ridley Scott‘s newest sci-fi thriller, Alien: Covenant, doesn’t hit theatres until May 19, but fans don’t have to wait that long to meet Michael Fassbender’s character. Twentieth Century Fox just released a short titled, “Meet Walter,” which introduces audiences to the film’s artificially intelligent synthetic android.
Television has generally been ahead of the curve when it comes to pushing the limits of antiquated boundaries. Recently, a significant difference has been in the number of female-driven narratives on the small screen versus the big screen. And it seems this trend has poured over to the streaming networks as well.
