‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ Casts Matt Smith in Key Role
Sources tell Variety that “The Crown” star Matt Smith is joining “Star Wars: Episode IX,” which is currently in production in the U.K. It’s unknown at this time whether the “Doctor Who” alum will be on the side of the rebels or the evil empire. Smith joins returning cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver, as well as newcomers Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant, Dominic Monaghan, and Naomi Ackie. Billy Dee Williams is reprising his role as Lando Calrissian, and Carrie Fisher will be featured as Leia Organa in the final installment of the Skywalker saga, using previously unreleased footage shot for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Fisher died in December 2016 at the age of 60. Mark Hamill will be returning as Luke Skywalker and Anthony Daniels will reprise his role at C-3PO.
‘Rick and Morty’ Renewed For A Whopping 70 More Episodes
The fate of the popular animated series “Rick and Morty” has been up in the air since Season 3 wrapped in October 2017. But fans can now rejoice because Adult Swim has ordered a staggering 70 new episodes, co-creator Justin Roiland (and the voice of both title characters) announced Thursday on Twitter. Since the show debuted in 2013, it has created 31 episodes in three seasons, which means the order is more than double the number of episodes that the show has already produced. The series also has a reputation for having long hiatuses between seasons. Over a year passed before Season 2 debuted and there was a two-year gap between seasons two and three (One episode, however, was released in April 2017 while the next episode came out in late July 2017.) The show, however, is self-aware of its exceptional lulls and at the end of Season 3, a character broke the fourth wall and told the audience they’ll “see ya in Season 4 in, like, a really long time.”
Rick and Morty co-creator sets new series, Solar Opposites, at Hulu
“Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. We’re all going to die. Come watch TV.” Come 2020, we’ll have more TV to watch from the creatives behind that genius summation of existence, as Ricky and Morty co-creator/star Justin Roiland and writer/executive producer Mike McMahan have set a new series at Hulu. Entitled Solar Opposites, the animated comedy has been picked up for a two-season, 16-episode order. Solar Opposites centers on a family of aliens coming from a better world than Earth who are forced to take refuge in middle America. It’s pretty easy to see where the show’s commentary will come from, while the family members disagree on whether their new home is the best or just the worst.
DC streaming platform to launch daily show for your comics fix
Need a new way to stay on top of all the latest superhero news? DC Daily, a daily show covering what’s happening in DC world, will be included in DC Universe, a subscription streaming service covering DC movies, comics and shows. “DC Daily will offer fans entertaining news and insights, exclusive guest appearances, interviews and panel discussions with some of the most knowledgeable voices in the DC universe,” the company said in a blog postWednesday. The show kicks off at 4:30 p.m. PT on Aug. 29 with a livestream hosted by comedian and comic book writer Kevin Smith. Until DC Universe launches, DC Daily will stream on DC’s YouTube channel. The livestream will also run on the DC Universe page on Facebook and on the DC Comics channel on Twitch. For those who won’t be paying the $7.99 monthly subscription for DC Universe, certain segments of the show be available outside the app. DC Universe is expected to launch before year’s end.
How The Predator remake is ushering in a new golden age of gore
Last February, director Shane Black tweeted exactly what fans wanted to hear about his new Predator movie: “Just to be clear … PG-13 is for pussies. Spines bleed … a lot.” Black knew that, as well as Schwarzenegger in his prime and some macho sci-fi action, part of what made the original 1987 Predator movie a cult classic was its abundance of “strong bloody violence, language throughout, and crude sexual references”, as the ratings board would put it. It wasn’t exactly PC, but Predator represents a bygone era of ripe, risky, reckless action movies, often dripping with blood, testosterone and cheese but also wildly entertaining. So many enduring classics and guilty pleasures from the 80s were rated R (roughly equivalent to a UK 15): the Predators, Aliens, Terminators, Die Hards, Mad Maxes, First Blood and Rambo, Lethal Weapon (which Black wrote), RoboCop, Total Recall.
Wile E. Coyote Movie in Development at Warner Bros.
Wile E. Coyote, the eternally doomed Looney Tunes character, will star in the upcoming Warner Bros. animated film Coyote Vs. Acme. Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie) will produce the comedy, with sibling writing duo Jon and Josh Silberman (Living Biblically, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) onboard to write the script, Variety reports. The beloved coyote is part of a iconic Looney Tunes stable that includes Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzalez, Tasmanian Devil and Yosemite Sam. The ever-silent character debuted in the 1949 segment “Fast and Furry-ous” and appeared in 48 more episodes – attempting, and always failing, to catch his nemesis, the Road Runner. The “acme” of Coyote Vs. Acme references Wile E.’s ill-fated attempts to utilize “Acme Corporation” gadgets, which often resulted in him dropping out of thin air, running into brick walls and, most famously, exploding.
