Geek showbiz news for both movies and TV has been rolling in, and we round it up here.
Disney will release Eternals and The King’s Man, along with several other (non-geek) films, exclusively in theaters through the end of 2021 (see “Best in Shows – 2021“), according to Variety. Over Labor Day weekend, Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings broke a string of big geek films that major studios had released simultaneously on streamers, either for an up-charge (Black Widow) or free to subscribers (Suicide Squad). It opened big, and held up better in its second weekend than Black Widow, which was also offered on Disney+, according to The Hollywood Reporter, providing a rationale for studios to return to exclusive theatrical windows sooner rather than later.
Paramount+ has released a featurette featuring the new cast and providing other details for Star Trek: Discovery spinoff Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (see “New ‘Star Trek’ Series“), which is embedded below. The series will star Anson Mount in the role of Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock. Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers are co-showrunners.
Disney+ will drop Just Beyond, an eight-episode series based on BOOM! Studios R.L. Stine graphic novels (see “Series Based on Stine Graphic Novels“), on October 13, per BOOM!’s President, Development Stephen Christy in a Linked-In post, which noted that this will be the first series based on a non-Marvel comic to air on Disney+.
Lionsgate will release the original 1995 Ghost in the Shell anime feature, directed by Mamoru Oshii with cinematography by Hisao Shirai, exclusively to IMAX in the U.S., Japan, and selected other markets on September 16, the studio announced (trailer below). The film has been remastered in 4K and undergone remastering for IMAX screens.
Cartoon Network will launch Acme Night, a new family entertainment block airing on Sunday nights, on September 19 at 6 ET/PT. The first block will kick off with DC live-action feature Shazam, the first of a run of family-friendly blockbusters that will begin the programming each week. Others include Man of Steel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Detective Pikachu, and Scoob!. New original programming has been greenlit, including Merry Little Batman, an animated holiday movie; an untitled Looney Tunes cartoon feature in the style of the HBO Max series; joining previously greenlit programming including an Aquaman animated series (see “Aquaman Animated Series“), a new Bruce Tim Batman series (see “Bruce Timm’s New Batman Series“), a Gremlins animated series (see “HBO Max Takes Shape“), Genndy Tartakovsky’s Unicorns: Warriors Eternal, and others. Acme Night programming will also be available on HBO Max starting next year.
Paramount has moved both of its upcoming Tom Cruise blockbusters, with Top Gun: Maverick moving out of 2021 entirely to Memorial Day weekend 2022. That bumped Mission: Impossible 7 to September 30, 2022 (see “Best in Shows – 2022“). The move of Top Gun: Maverick out of 2021 allowed Ghostbusters: Afterlife to move to 11/19 from earlier in the month (see “Best in Shows – 2021“).
Source: ICV2
