JUL 27 | EDITION #7 - Read Time: 12 minutes

Movie theaters are fucking BACK. After a historical opening weekend between Oppenheimer and Barbie, both are continuing their run and it’s apparent that the train won’t stop. It’s been a joy seeing fans dressed up, stoked, buying all the concessions and waiting in line for movies they’re excited about.

Alternatively - Elon is rebranding Twitter from a world-renowned brand to an X because he’s a child, and the government has confirmed that they’ve recovered objects and species that are not from Earth. I got bills to pay man, I can’t find the energy anymore. I’m just tired.

Highlights:

• Oppenheimer, Barbie and MI7 reviews

• Ahsoka preview

• Invincible & Gen V trailers

• Huge Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 news

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of writers and actors currently on strike, the movies and shows being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Created by Sean | Subscribe

The Franchise Report

Content updates from our favorite IPs

🌌 From A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Ahsoka

We’re less than a month out from the premiere of the new Star Wars Disney+ show Ahsoka and I’m (stupidly) wildly excited. Ahsoka is one of the best characters ever created in the SW universe and I want all of you to be updated on the lore and background so you can fully enjoy it.

Her story begins in The Clone Wars Animated movie. From there, she was integrated into the Clone Wars Animated show as Anakins full-time padawan. She has since appeared in Tales of The Jedi, Star Wars Rebels and dozens of comics - all of those stories being canon to this upcoming show.

Ahsoka is the continuation of Rebels. It’s picking up right where we left off in S4 of the animated show. When you get some time, binge all of the shows, it’s rewarding. Trust me on this.

If you’re short on time, here are the important ones, chronologically:

• Tales of The Jedi

  • E1 and E5

• The Clone Wars

  • S1 E19 | S2 E6 | S3 E21-22 | S5 E17-20 | S7 E9-12

• Tales of The Jedi (again)

  • E6

• Star Wars Rebels

  • S1 E1, E2 E10, E15 | S2 E1-4, E10, E15, E18, E21-22 | S3 E1-2, E15-16, E21-22 | S4 E1-2, E7, E9-16

For those of you that don’t feel like binging Star Wars shows (how dare you), I’ll link some recaps from my favorite YouTubers as we get closer. I’m personally watching Rebels S1 this week and will do one season a week until the premiere.

🦸‍♂️ Cape Shit

Marvel

Secret Invasion

Last week I said I would do a full spoiler breakdown of the series after the finale, but unfortunately, I just couldn’t find the energy to give a shit. The reveals, the powers, the stakes…it’s been basically the same story retold across multiple shows and somehow they haven’t learned. It’s the lowest MCU project ever on Rotten Tomatoes, with episode 6 sitting at 11%.

The Disney+ shows need to be reserved for small-scale stories OR one-off, deserving specials. It was a terrible finale that falls into the same trap most of the others have - a weird CGI fight and nonsense plot points to a BS resolution. The 6 episode format doesn’t work, I’m done with it until a show tries something that’s ACTUALLY new. How was the budget for this show over $200M???

Bring me 18 episode seasons of Daredevil: Born Again, please.

DC

• Gunn says that the DCU canon starts with Superman: Legacy. Any project before this is not considered to be part of the same storytelling. It’s still confusing because Gunn recently told us that Blue Beetle is the first DCU character appearing…but maybe he’s rethinking this too. I hope Xolo stays.

• This might be because Blue Beetle is projected to be a major flop - they’re estimating anywhere from $27M-$55M globally. WOW.

• While Legacy is the first DCU film, the first official project is Creature Commandos - the animated ragtag group coming sometime next year.

• We’re getting a Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 7-issue comic series. THIS IS SO COOL.

• Say what you want, Zack Snyder is elite at cape porn.

🎥 The Rest

Streaming

• Invincible S2 is coming - here’s all of the news. ATOM EVE special episode out now. Streaming for S2 begins Nov 3. Part 2 will come in early 2024. The S3 voice recording is also complete. ensuring a quick turnaround (!).

• A new trailer is out for The Boys spin-off Gen V - the first 3 episodes release on Sep 29. You can consider me in for any show related to The Boys.

More

• Movie delays are coming - the first is from Luca Guadagnino’s tennis/romance/thriller film Challengers. There are rumors Dune Part Two, The Color Purple and Aquaman 2 are next. This could all be solved if the studios would just pay their workers fair wages.

• Timothee Chamalet is working with a movement coach and a dialect coach in preparation for his upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown.

• An animated Watchmen movie is releasing in 2024. This is a dream come true.

• Anyone else having a The Bear summer? No? Just me?

• The Rock donated a historic 7-figure donation to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. This will help support families while the strike is ongoing.

• David Fincher’s Netflix thriller The Killer is confirmed at a runtime of under two hours. I’m intrigued.

• They’re already talking about a sequel to the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem film. Looking forward to this one, the animation looks unique and refreshing.

• Netflix listed an AI Product Manager role for $900k a year. Studios could use this $900k to afford health insurance for over 25 families.

The Gaming Industry

What’s new in the world of gaming & esports

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

We got a ton of news from this fall’s Spider-Man 2 at last week’s SDCC and the community hype is at an all-time high. I mean, even the voice actor for Peter hit the iconic Spider-Man 3 dance on stage in celebration.

We got our first story trailer (below), and it teases multiple Venoms, suspenseful storytelling, the Peter/Harry/Miles dynamic and more…all while Kraven is on the hunt. We even got our first look at the official Spider-Man 2 PS5 wrap.

The character models look fantastic, the graphics and motion look perfect and the map is confirmed to be plenty bigger than the first. October 20 can not come soon enough. ‘We’re going to heal the world.’ More here.

Other News

• Massive streamer iiTzTimmy qualified for the Apex Legends Pro League Grand Finals in dramatic fashion - the prize pool is $2M. His team qualified on a 3 day, elimination tournament where the top 2 of over 40 pro teams make the cut. Incredible.

• A live-action Borderlands movie will release Aug 9, 2024, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and more. WTF.

• Omni-Man, Homelander, Peacemaker and others are coming to Mortal Kombat 1. About damn time - this is awesome.

• Industry sources have learned that the iconic FaZe Clan is positioning to sell the brand, and it seems that Game Square Holdings is looking to purchase.

  • Game Square is owned by the Dallas Cowboys and have a ton of profitable brands. I’d love for FaZe to be sold by adults who care and can revitalize it as one of the industry’s top lifestyle brands.

• The original Gears of War trilogy has turned back on its multiplayer and matchmaking. Might be time to make a comeback.

Weekly Rant

Oppenheimer, Barbie & Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1 Reviews

Oppenheimer

‘I am become death. The destroyer of worlds.’

This is the movie of the year. Multiple Oscar wins are guaranteed and dozens of nominations will be coming. It’s both haunting and beautifully crafted. If you only go to the theater once a year, this is the time. The story about the Father of the Atomic Bomb was one of my favorite movies of the 2020s.

Cillian Murphy and RDJ hammered this. Emily Blunt and Matt Damon were fantastic. The rest of the all-star supporting cast played their parts perfectly. I wouldn’t be shocked if we get multiple best-supporting actor nominations here.

Ludwig absolutely smashed the score and the sound design was perfect. The screenplay was tight, cohesive and mysterious while exploring multiple decades of the life of Oppenheimer.

Nolan plays with his usual non-linear storytelling in a new way and it’s incredible. Using both color and black & white film to represent objective vs subjective moments had me stunned. Three hours absolutely fly by, I will be seeing this multiple times more before it leaves theaters.

It has what I believe to be the best ending to a film that I can remember. Emotional, book ending, future imagery, swelling score, passing of the torch through generations, the dread…man. I just loved this film so, so much.

A crowning achievement of filmmaking. See this in IMAX, I beg you.

Oppenheimer Quick Hits:

• Oppenhermier is smashing at the box office for an R-rated, historical biopic - and has grossed over $200M globally. Here’s how it compares to other Nolan opening weekends.

• I particularly loved this foreshadowing of the ‘chain reaction’ from the establishing shot of the movie.

• Together with Barbie, it fueled the fourth-biggest overall weekend in domestic box office history - behind only Infinity War, Endgame and The Force Awakens. BOOM.

• MEGAN.

• Cillian Murphy said that he and RDJ improvised plenty of their scenes and that he is the most ‘engaged, present, unpredictably brilliant actor I’ve ever worked with.’

• Can you hear the music? 

• Here are my Nolan rankings, post-Oppenheimer.

5 stars. Letterbox review here.

Barbie

"When I found out the patriarchy wasn't about horses, I lost interest anyway."

I'm going to start this out by saying I was absolutely not the target audience for this, and that my wife LOVED this film and was locked in from the start. It was fun to watch her enjoy and engage, so that warrants the price of admission.

It's cheesy, it's corny, it's direct and on the nose...and it's supposed to be. There are multiple dramatic, long monologues and they basically hit you over the head with the messaging, but I think it's mostly fine and touching.

The casting was great. America Ferrera carried the emotional weight on her back, had a great monologue and sold the mother/daughter relationship. Simu played a great Ken antagonist (who apparently is the same way in real life lol) and I really enjoyed the rest, but it's Gosling who absolutely stole the show. If the primary Ken was played by any, ANY other actor, I'm not sure I would have bought it. He brought perfect (ken)energy and genuinely made me laugh dozens of times - the musical performance had me rolling.

The real conflict came internally from the mother/daughter relationship, coming to terms with being a woman in the real world, and Ken taking over Barbie Land with horses and beer. The Mattel corporation and businessmen felt unnecessary and bloated.

So, it's a 3-star for me and I'm upset it's not a little bit higher, but again, I'm not the target audience here. I'm just Ken, and that's okay.

Barbie Quick Hits:

• Barbie is a powerhouse at the box office after it had the biggest Monday ever for Warner Bros at $26M. What film did it pass? A small indie film called The Dark Knight.

• Tracking to hit $500M at the global box office in the first week. Absurd numbers.

• Unfortunately, Mattel is already planning its mogul takeover and building a “Mattel cinematic universe” with properties like Polly Pocket, Hot Wheels, UNO, American Girl, etc. Greta has said she’s ‘at a zero’ in terms of thoughts on a sequel.

3 stars. Letterbox review here.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

After binging all of the MI series in a string of five days, I completed all 6 films in time to see Dead Reckoning in theaters for its final day in IMAX. I hit the unconventional MI7/Oppenheimer double feature, and it was glorious.

This was straight gas. I'm not ready to say it was better than Fallout, but it's in the same tier. There's a bit too much exposition at the start, but once it gets rolling, it's PROPOLSIVE. The set pieces were great. New cast additions nailed it. Atwell steals every scene she's in. I was in it from the jump.

One of my fears with aging actors in action franchises is that it becomes corny or slow. I don’t know what Scientology does to a man, but at 61, Cruise moves the same way he did 20 years ago, his iconic sprinting looks smooth. I might have to take one of their pamphlets.

Here are my Mission: Impossible movies ranked.

4 stars. Letterbox review here.

Quick Hits

💣 Random

• Oppenheimer summed up. Please watch, this made me lol.

• An iconic Stephen A. Smith rant paired with the Oppenheimer score. Perfection.

• Messi’s first goal for Inter Miami. Just fun.

• These women saw Greta and Timmy having lunch and asked Timmy to hold the camera LMAO. It really is Barbie’s world.

• The Twitter rebrand as told by Teen Titans.

• “My bf just thoroughly explained to me what he would do in this situation if he were Spider-Man” - HE’S LITERALLY ME.

• Man, I fucking miss Beyblades.

• Football is under 50 days away. Hold on people, we’re almost there.

📹 Video of the Week
The future of gaming. AI and using a mic to talk to any NPC. LOOK AT THIS.

�� Read of the Week
The Real Meaning of ‘Barbenheimer’: If You Build Exciting Movies, They Will Come by Owen Gleiberman.

📽️ Trailer Recap

• Invincible | S2 Teaser Trailer

• Gen V | Official Teaser Trailer

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 | Story Trailer

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem | Final Trailer

• ONE PIECE | Official Trailer

🐦Tweet of The Day
Pain.

👀 Keep An Eye Out

• Jul 27 | Twisted Metal

• Jul 27 | The Witcher S3 Part 2

• Jul 27 | Harley Quinn S4

• Jul 28 | Haunted Mansion

• Aug 02 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

• Aug 04 | Meg 2: The Trench

‘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!

Twitter | Instagram | Letterbox