JUL 13 | EDITION #5 - Read Time: 10 minutes

We’re back.

As promised, this edition is juiced. I straight up don’t want to waste any precious space with some witty, half-funny intro so let’s just do it. Might be a little more dense than usual, but there’s a lot I want to touch on.

Highlights:

• Barbenheimer madness

• A dozen new movie/show trailers

• Major DCU casting news

• SAG-AFTRA joins the WGA on the picket line

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The Franchise Report

Content updates from our favorite IPs

🌌 From A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Ahsoka releases next month (which is insane to type out) and we received a new trailer, poster and some leaks of what’s going on. As we ramp up toward the release date, I’ll put together a resource guide of everything you need to know before watching the show to be up to date on the lore.

• Speaking of Ahsoka, we got our first look at Jacen Syndulla, Kanan and Hera’s son, that will appear in the series. It’s through a Lego set that reveals he’s endured some aesthetic changes compared to the epilogue of Rebels.

• Stellan Skarsgard mentioned that he gave this monologue 10 times before he was satisfied. I'm glad because this is a contender for one of the best moments ever in Star Wars, and potentially my favorite writing in the franchise.

• The Acolyte cast Abigail Thorn, making her the first transgender actor to appear in a Star Wars project. I’m sure Star Wars fans will be perfectly normal about this.

• This video goes viral every few months but I had to share - Freddie Prinze Jr is a legend and just GETS Star Wars.

🦸‍♂️ Cape Shit

Marvel

Secret Invasion

Since our last Modern Mythos edition, Marvel’s Secret Invasion has released three episodes…and I haven’t had time to catch up after the wedding, honeymoon and returning to normalcy. I plan to get my content consumption back to usual levels before next week. I’m sorry, I failed you.

Deadpool 3 News:

• A ton of set photos are leaking for Deadpool 3 and it’s teasing a crazy storyline featuring a post-apocalyptic 20th Century Fox sign (who previously owned the X-Men). Guessing Wade tears through the old Fox universe and we’ll see some hilarious character moments and meta jokes.

• Alongside the leaked set photos, Reynolds released the first look at the new costumes for Deadpool and Wolverine - and they’re beautiful.

Spider-Man

• The working condition for animators on Across The Spider-Verse was apparently dogshit, and I’m not shocked. Animators have been tasked with impossible deadlines and expectations - maybe it’s time to strike?

• While it doesn’t make up for their mistreatment, it does look like they got sick crew gifts. I need this jacket.

• The first ‘Spider-Verse’ event was adapted back in the 90’s Spider-Man animated series. This throwback popped up and reminded me how much better cartoons used to be.

More:

• The new, official Guardians Of The Galaxy roster from the post credit scene of Vol. 3. Curious as to where they go from here.

• Ben Fritz, a longtime industry insider, is starting a podcast called ‘With Great Power: The Rise of Superhero Cinema’ and he’s talking to some of the largest personalities in the scene like Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, etc.

• Anthony Mackie said that an actors strike would be a shit show and that’d he’d expect a swift resolution, ‘unless they get a bunch of fucking YouTubers to make Avengers 5.’ Well - the actor’s strike is officially happening, so someone hit up Mr. Beast to get the next Avengers film assembled.

DC

Superman: Legacy

Well, well well…we have our DCU Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan have been cast in the leading roles for Superman: Legacy and I’m ecstatic. They look the part and both have previous work where it’s clear they can shine as these characters.

Adding to this, Alexandar and Bill Skarsgard are on the shortlist to play Lex Luthor - both would body Lex. We should take some time and pour one out for Nicholas Hoult who has now lost out on both The Batman (Pattinson) and Superman: Legacy (Corenswet) after being shortlisted for both.

Great article on all of this here.

• The cast for Superman: Legacy continues to expand as Gunn announced multiple super-powered characters for the project:

  • Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho

  • Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl

  • Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific

  • Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner (a Green Lantern)

• I have no fucking idea what this story is going to be, and it’s slightly worrying that they’re including a ton of DC characters in the next reboot of Superman - but Gunn took to socials to stress that it all fits in his story to service Superman, not to set up future movies.

More

• Jackie Earle Haley has mentioned that he would love to play Mad Hatter in Matt Reeves’ The Batman Universe. This would be phenomenal casting.

• While we’re on DC castings - it was fun to see Bryan Cranston say that the decade-long fan casts of him as Lex Luthor were lazy.

• I’m late on this, but The Flash did a buy-one-get-one ticket offer after it tanked. A movie running a sale is INSANE lmao.

🎥 The Rest

Oppenheimer

At the time of writing this, the cast of Oppenheimer has left the UK premiere to go join the strike that was announced earlier today. This is unprecedented and a big move - I’m planning on having a large feature next week on the SAG and WGA strikes, so we’ll let it simmer for now. I knew it’d happen, but it’s still cool to see the big dogs in the industry support their peers.

• AMC Theaters has reported that over 20k AMC Stubs members (hi) have purchased tickets for both Oppenheimer and Barbie on the same day. Double feature - Barbenheimer is coming.

• Nolan’s Oppenheimer has an IMAX print that is 11 miles long. Please make sure you watch this film in IMAX if you can.

• Oppenheimer has also taken over Times Square and it looks sick.

Streaming

• The Bear Season 2 was FX’s most-watched premiere ever - jumping up 70%. Massive.

• Invincible Season 2 will deal with the multiverse. There’s an entire comic run that this is based on - so I’m not worried. Just annoyed that this seems to be the only storytelling mechanic anyone is using recently.

• Dan Trachtenberg is directing an episode of the final season of Stranger Things. He's directed 10 Cloverfield Lane and Prey, both great films with the tension, scope and action needed for the finale of this show.

• The Boys showrunners say that Season 4 won’t release until after the WGA strike is over…I respect this tremendously.

• The Idol got canceled. Rest in piss.

More

• Studios are comic book villains, confirmed. One studio head was quoted saying ‘the endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.’ It quite literally does not get more terrible than this. Cartoonishly evil.

• The Emmy nominations were released. You can find them here.

• Two phenomenal threads from ATRM - a joy to scroll through:

  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

  • Blade Runner.

• Tom Cruise being a movie star and promoting the theaters and other creatives like the king he is.

• Jonah Hill got exposed for being incredibly controlling and toxic in his last relationship, and some other stories about his problematic behavior in the past are also being brought to light. Hollywood is trash, but we’ve known this.

• Just a really, really cool designed Blu-ray case for Studio Ghibli’s Totoro.

The Gaming Industry

What’s new in the world of gaming & esports

Streaming Wars

• Kick Streaming claims they've reached 10 million account sign-ups in their 7 months of activity. If this is true, they hit the 10M number faster than plenty of industry-leading websites and platforms. Wild growth.

• Twitch is adding a new feature to improve discoverability without taking viewers away from streams. Looking forward to how the clips push users to live channels.

Sony vs Microsoft

• For a minute there it looked like the courts officially ruled that Microsft would be able to acquire Activision Blizzard in the US, but that result is now being appealed. This is going to be a lengthy, boring process.

• Microsoft almost acquired Sega and Bungie before they pivoted….which would have been wild.

• The next generation of Xbox and Playstation will release sometime around 2028. Feels like time is flying.

• RIP to E3 - unsure when or if we’ll see it again.

Games

• Some great Starfield information from Todd Howard in a podcast he was on. Find it here.

  • He also says that Edler Scrolls 6 is 5 years away. Pain.

• Homelander, Starlight and Black Noir have all been added to Call of Duty in a new LTM event.

• There are whispers of a Red Dead Redemption remaster - which would be immaculate.

• All upcoming Marvel video games - the only two I have high hopes for are Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine as they’re both developed by Insomniac Games. The rest will be a wait-and-see.

Esports

• Sam Larwew, otherwise known as Octane, has announced his retirement from competitive Call of Duty. Truly one of the greats.

• Great breakdown on esports viewership from Mark Cai.

• Valve banned 40 CS:GO skin traders that had over $2 million in skins that can no longer be accessed. WILD.

Quick Hits

👨‍🍳 Weekly Ranking
No ranking this week. Just vibes.

💣 Random

• Tom Holland was on a podcast and got incredibly vulnerable about his mental health and social anxiety. A great watch imo.

• The chemistry between Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is amazing.

• A quick and concise explanation of how to craft a good story.

• The Grimace Shake tiktoks have taken over my life. GenZ is fucking hilarious.

• I’ve seen the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie no less than 87 times. This movie shaped the course of my life, no doubt.

• Blade Runner 2049, but make it vertical format. Beautiful.

• This sign is a litmus test to determine if you’re chronically online. I failed miserably.

• An incredible throwback to VHS viewing.

• Top 10 domestic box office opening weekends for the MCU vs DCEU. The MCU was a fucking WAGON for a while.

�� Read of the Week
No video or big read this week - give your family a call and go pet your dog. They miss you.

📽️ Trailer Recap
Some rapid-fire thoughts.

• Five Nights At Freddy’s | Official Trailer

  • Cult following - looks creative.

• Bird Box Barcelona | Official Trailer

  • Somehow never saw the original, probably won’t see this.

• WONKA | Official Trailer

  • Love Timmy but I’m hesitant on this. Looks fun but misses a bit of that mysterious lingering feeling Gene Wilder brought.

• Ahsoka | Official Trailer

  • This trailer spoke to me. Hype is rising tremendously.

• Blue Beetle | Official Final Trailer

  • Xolo Maridueña fits the role perfectly and Gunn confirmed this character will exist in his new DCU. Should be okay.

• Napolean | Official Trailer

  • I’m in on this. Ridley Scott, Joaquin Phoenix and excellent cinematography. Day 1.

• Godzilla Minus One | Official Teaser

  • Fuck yes.

• Killers of the Flower Moon | Official Trailer

  • LOCKED AND LOADED. AWARD SZN GONNA BE CRAZY.

🐦Tweet of The Day
Just in a silly goofy mood.

👀 Keep An Eye Out

• Jul 12 | Secret Invasion Episode 4

• Jul 12 | Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

• Jul 14 | Bird Box Barcelona

• Jul 19 | Secret Invasion Episode 5

• Jul 21 | Barbie

• Jul 21 | Oppenheimer

• Jul 21 | They Cloned Tyrone

• Jul 23 | SHARK WEEK

All the gods, all the heavens, all the hells, are within you.”

Would love to meet some of you and get some feedback for the newsletter. Too long? Too boring? Love it? Feel free to reach out and yell at me.

See you next Thursday!

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