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Newstime: The Stories You Might Have Missed This Week

Written by Cristian Stanic, Kieren Henfling, Nikita Binetti, Terry Phillips & Wes Sukh -

From film to TV, gaming to comics and everything in between, here’s what you might have missed in pop culture news this week.

TV

Clear your schedules and get the popcorn ready! After months of talk about the Disney+ streaming service, the Mouse House is launching their first strike in the streaming wars this November. Disney has announced that Australian audiences will be able to access the new platform from November 19, one week after its initial US rollout, and will cost $8.99AU a month.

Not one to be outdone, Apple TV+ is also looking to get in on the fight, and are reportedly looking to step up their own plans for a November 2019 launch date. In the immortal words of Yoda, “Begun, the streaming wars have”.

And closer to home, Aussie streaming service Stan has just cinched a multi-year distribution deal with Paramount Pictures, which will include a raft of new content currently under development, including the forthcoming Vampire Chronicles TV series based on the Anne Rice novels.

In other streaming news, Warner Bros’ new platform, HBO Max, has reportedly ordered a pilot episode for Rules of Magic, a prequel series to the 1998 film Practical Magic starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. The new series, based on the Alice Hoffman book of the same name, will follow the exploits of the aunts Sally and Gillian, who were played in the film by Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest.

Earlier this year we took a look at Stephen Amell’s love of pro-wrestling. Now it looks like he’s combining his love of the sport with his love of acting! When Amell finishes up Arrow’s final season, he is lined up to move onto a new wrestling drama named Heels for Starz.

Also in Arrow news, whilst on stage at Fan Expo Boston 2019, Amell has also revealed that Supanova alumnus John Barrowman is set to return to the role of Malcolm Merlyn in the show’s final season.

Superman fans were dealt a double blow this week, with news that not only was the Superman prequel series Krypton being cancelled, but the planned Lobo spin-off show was also axed at the same time. Krypton’s showrunner Cameron Welsh was seemingly taken by surprise by the announcement and has since revealed a look at what would have been the first episode of season three.

In a recent interview with MTV News, actor Tom Hiddleston has revealed the planned Loki series will run for six episodes and see him come face-to-face with some new opponents never previously revealed in the MCU.

While fans are waiting for The Haunting of Bly Manor to hit Netflix, Amblin Entertainment has recently announced a special, extended director’s cut of The Haunting of Hill House is due to be released on Blu-Ray and DVD this October.

Rounding out our televisual news, Supanova TV chatted One on One with June Supa-Star Barbara Eden, revealing how she overcame her apparent ‘shyness’. Check out the insightful new episode below!

FILM

Production on the South Australian based Mortal Kombat reboot is heating up, and three new cast members have recently been announced. Reportedly joining the previously announced Joe Taslim (playing Sub-Zero), is Supergirl’s Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Power Rangers’ Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, and relative newcomer Sisi Stringer playing Mileena. Reports also suggest that Thor: Ragnarok’s Tasanobu Asano is currently in negotiations to play Raiden.

With big things afoot in the South Australian film industry, a new Chief Executive has been appointed to the SA Film Corporation. Film and TV producer Kate Croser, whose credits include box office hit Top End Wedding and award-winning films The Infinite Man and Boys in the Trees, is stepping into the role in early September.

Spider-Man fans were thrown into a state of a shock earlier this week when negotiations between Sony and Disney’s Marvel Studios broke down over the continued use of the character in the MCU. According to Deadline, the two studios were unable to reach agreement on a mutual co-funding arrangement, and as a result, Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios will no longer be involved in producing the webslinger’s future adventures. Hawkeye’s Jeremy Renner, however, does not seem to be a fan of the decision.

Prior to this news breaking, Sony Pictures had officially announced they would be re-releasing an extended cut of Spider-Man: Far From Home with an approximate four extra minutes of footage. The extended cut is planned to be released in the US later this month.

Whilst Dwayne Johnson will not be returning to Fast and the Furious 9 after his own Hobbs and Shaw spin-off, the MCU’s Yondu, Michael Rooker, has reportedly joined the cast alongside Vin Diesel and Charlize Theron.

Proving once again that he is by far the nicest guy in Hollywood, fan-favourite Keanu Reeves recently went out of his way to invite a young fan onto the set of Bill and Ted Face the Music, after hearing her Make a Wish dream was to meet him in person. Reeves went as far as personally selecting the scene she would get to see being filmed for the day.

 
Also in news related to our favourite Wyld Stallyn, Keanu has recently been confirmed to return to his role of Neo in a fourth Matrix film, alongside original co-star Carrie Ann Moss and with Lana Wachowski set to return to the director’s chair. This also puts a halt to rumours of a potential prequel film that would have focused on a younger Morpheus.

A new official Aliens short film has been released online, in celebration of the second anniversary of Alien: Covenant’s home release. Titled Last Signs of Life, it shows a Wayland-Yutani scientist discovering a facehugger egg in David’s abandoned laboratory on Paradise.

 
After months of going without an official title, the 25th James Bond film finally has a name. No Time to Die, which is to be Daniel Craig’s final outing as Bond, will be released in April 2020.

T2 and Terminator: Dark Fate’s Edward Furlong recently attended the Terminator panel at Silicon Valley Comic-Con, and whilst he was tight-lipped about the nature of his return to the role of John Connor in the new film, he is quoted as saying he was “really, really happy to be doing it”.

Sylvester Stalone is going to war one last time as John Rambo in Rambo: Last Blood, scheduled for release on September 20. A new trailer has been released promising an action-packed last ride for Sly.

 

GAMING

New details have been revealed for Hideo Kojima’s new game, Death Stranding, in a recent livestream. Among a range of new mechanics, the game has a heightened level of realism.

New trailers have been streamed for One Piece Pirate Warriors 4, which show off gameplay from the Whole Cake Island arc of the anime, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, which now features battles from the Cell arc, and One Punch Man: The Hero Nobody Knows, which added Atomic Samurai, Tatsumaki and Silverfang to the roster.

 

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, which was previously only a Switch exclusive, is coming to PS4 and PC on October 27. The Complete Edition will include all the previously released DLC from the Switch version.

Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 are all coming to the West very soon in a remastered collection on modern consoles! Yakuza 3 is available now, with 4 and 5 being unlocked on October 29th, and February 11th respectively.

 

And finally, ICYMI: April Supa-Star Matt Ryan, voice of Edward Kenway in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, discussed his experiences in the video game industry in a brand new Supanova TV Panel Pick!

ANIMATION

Netflix is returning to Castle Grayskull and bringing Silent Bob along for the ride! Kevin Smith is helming a ­Masters of the Universe animated series revival aimed at resolving storylines left over after the original ‘80s run.

For fans of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure looking to scratch the itch that only JoJo can, there is a very slight relief coming up in the near future. David Production has announced that they are adapting two more episodes of the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan OVA spin-off, for release in December this year.

And sports anime fans, there’s good news for you too, as Haikyu!! returns for a fourth season. Production I.G confirmed that the new season will debut in January 2020. On top of that, a two-episode OVA covering the Tokyo Qualifiers will also be released in January.

Elvis Presley is set to join the cartoon screen as Netflix has greenlit Agent King, an adult action-comedy focusing on The King himself as he is recruited into a spy program to fight injustice in his country. Co-produced by Priscilla Presley and John Eddie, the series sees a collaboration between Netflix and Sony.

Star Wars Resistance is returning for its second and final season this year on October 6, and a trailer for the series was released earlier this week.

 

COMICS

Legendary artist and animator Darwyn Cooke may soon have a Toronto street named after him. Cooke, who passed away in 2016, grew up in the area of Etobicoke Centre. He got his start in comics in 1985 and worked on projects such as The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, DC: The New Frontier, The Spirit and Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter.

Amazon’s premier digital comic service, ComiXology, has announced four original titles that will be released throughout September. Each week starting from September 4, a brand new series will debut for Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited and Comixology Unlimited customers. The series are:

  • Breaklands, set 150 years in an apocalyptic future where everyone has powers except for Kasa Fain, a woman on a mission to find her kidnapped brother. 
  • Field Tripping, about a teacher who possesses an interdimensional school bus and gets stranded with her students on a world that’s not theirs.
  • The Black Ghost, which follows journalist Lara Dominguez as she attempts to solve the mystery of the Black Ghost’s identity.
  • Quarter Killer, a cyberpunk-themed action story surrounding Quentin Kidd, an ex-corporate computer hacker who offers their services to those willing to pay in quarters, an untraceable form of payment.

Image Comics is releasing an exciting new series entitled Heart Attack. The synopsis reads as follows: “In Heart Attack, gene therapy has saved Americans from disease — only to give birth to Variants: people with powers so unique, the government denies their human rights. But a rebellion has begun… Charlie North is on the run from the police when he crosses paths with Jill Kearney. Instant attraction becomes mass destruction when they unlock powers neither knew they had. Now, the question isn’t how to use them — but how far they’re willing to go.”

COLLECTIBLES

Sideshow Collectibles’ Unruly has announced an entire wave of new and creative figures based on beloved pop culture properties. The designer series takes a character and reimagines it to work with a unique and respected designer, resulting in creative and exclusive works of art. Their latest series rapidly expands upon their range and is currently available for pre-order. Available works include the likes of Iron Man, The Joker, Black Panther and Deadpool.

DC Collectibles has teased its upcoming Harley Quinn project. With an undisclosed release date, the figure features the traditional look and colour scheme beloved by fans. Keep your eyes peeled for further info regarding the drop.

 

Lead image: The Black Ghost #1.

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