Newstime: The Stories You Might Have Missed This Week

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

’90s kids, rejoice! Disney+ has confirmed classic Marvel animated series will be ready to stream when the platform launches in November.

Disney+ will have classic Marvel animated series like X-Men ‘92, Spider-Man ‘94, Spider-Woman ‘79, Spider-Man ‘81, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, Iron Man ‘94, Fantastic Four ‘94, Incredible Hulk, Silver Surfer, and Spider-Man Unlimited. pic.twitter.com/Yzj3DiZtwg

— Disney+ Updates (@moredisneyplus) September 12, 2019

Apple is keen to ensure no one forgets they’re entering the streaming wars soon, too. Not only has Apple just announced a November 1 launch date, getting in just ahead of the Disney+ launch on November 19, but it has also released a new trailer for its original post-apocalyptic series See. Starring Aquaman’s Jason Momoa, who plays a warrior and father of twins in a world where everyone is born blind, the series is directed by The Hunger Games’ Francis Lawrence, and written by Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight.

Bad news for fans of The Muppets. Earlier this year it was announced that Josh Gad was developing a Disney+ series titled Muppets Live Another Day, which would pick up after the 1984 Muppets Take Manhattan film, but the series has reportedly been cancelled due to creative differences with the studio. A second Muppets project, Muppets Now, is still moving ahead and is aiming for a 2020 release.

Netflix is also keen to keep its original content coming and has most recently signed a three-year contract with Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins worth $10 million for her to develop a number of new shows for the platform. At the moment, no details have emerged in relation to the type of shows Jenkins will be producing.

HBO’s collaboration with the BBC on the His Dark Materials adaptation has an official November release date, thanks to a new tweet from the show’s official account.

It’s time. #HisDarkMaterials premieres November 4 on @HBO. pic.twitter.com/XvtoCBDZ5h

— His Dark Materials (@daemonsanddust) September 12, 2019

The 1960s vampire drama Dark Shadows, which also inspired a 2012 film reboot starring Johnny Depp that was directed by Tim Burton, is undergoing a series revival on the CW network under the rumoured title Dark Shadows: Reincarnation.

HBO has given Watchmen fans a new look at its upcoming series, based on Alan Moore’s classic graphic novel, before it begins to air next month in the US on HBO, and will be simulcast to Australian audiences via Foxtel.

The wicked ride begins 10/20. #WatchmenHBO pic.twitter.com/6wWddKxptd

— Watchmen (@watchmen) September 9, 2019

Sony may have taken Tom Holland’s Spider-Man back from Disney, but Disney has reportedly got its own plans to poach Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’s Hailee Steinfeld and introduce her into the MCU as Kate Bishop in the Disney+ Hawkeye series. Having voiced Spider-Gwen in Spider-Verse, Steinfeld has also appeared in films such as Bumblebee and Pitch Perfect 3. Her new role would likely see her assume the mantle of Hawkeye from Clint Barton, before becoming a member of the New Avengers.

Also in Hawkeye news, Marvel Studios has announced its new showrunner, Jonathan Igla, who will be overseeing the show’s creation. Igla is best known for his role as a screenwriter and executive story editor on Mad Men.

In a recent interview, Ashley Bradley, who is currently working as the showrunner on Marvel’s What If…? series for Disney+, has revealed that one of the episodes will see Black Panther’s T’Challa assume the mantle of Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. The series, which poses a series of alternate scenarios being played out in the Marvel Universe, has also previously confirmed another episode where Peggy Carter is the one to receive the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, becoming Captain Britain.

Back to Spider-Man, Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra has confirmed that they’re currently working on “five or six” new TV series set in the Spider-Man universe. This fits with previous news that Spider-Verse directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller had signed a five-year deal with Sony to produce a number of Spider-Man related TV properties, both in live-action and animated formats.

Titans season two has already begun airing in the US on the DC Universe platform, and showrunner Greg Walker has confirmed in a new interview that fans looking to see Dick Grayson make the long-anticipated transition into Nightwing will “be satisfied by the end of the year”. There is currently no official confirmation about a Netflix release date in Australia, but if it follows the pattern set by season one, we could possibly see it as early as December this year.

The Titans take on their biggest challenge yet. #DCUTITANS is now streaming, only on @TheDCUniverse. pic.twitter.com/8I4csGbIdY

— DCUTitans (@DCUTitans) September 6, 2019

Speaking of Titans, Supanova TV caught up with Beast Boy himself, Ryan Potter, in an all new Flashback from Brisbane 2018! Hear what the star had to say about meeting the legendary Marv Wolfman, being the first bi-racial animated character in the Disney universe and more in the episode below.

It must be good to be Stephen King, as his latest book, The Institute, only hit shelves this week and has already got a TV series adaptation in the works. Set to be helmed by veteran TV producer David E. Kelley, The Institute follows the story of 12-year-old Luke Ellis, who is orphaned when his parents are murdered during a home invasion, and finds himself in an institute for children with special abilities.

FILM

It would seem that one of Supa-Star John Travolta’s best-known films, the 1997 John Woo action film Face/Off, is set to get the reboot treatment. The Fast and the Furious producer Neal Moritz is reportedly driving the film alongside the film’s original producer David Permut, using a script penned by 22 Jump Street scribe Oren Uziel. There is no word on which actors will attempt to fill the roles once played by Travolta and Cage.

Margot Robbie seems to be swapping out Harley Quinn’s baseball bat for something with a little more firepower, as she is now expected to take on the role of another rebellious comic book anti-hero, Tank Girl. Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, has secured the rights for a film reboot of the property, which previously had a 1995 film adaptation with Lori Petty in the lead. Robbie is reportedly refusing to officially confirm whether she will indeed assume the film lead role herself, at least until the film’s script is finalised, though most consider her direct participation a foregone conclusion.

Now that production has wrapped on Bill and Ted Face the Music, Keanu Reeves does not seem to be wasting any time, with production for his return to the world of The Matrix just around the corner. According to Production Weekly, filming on the fourth film in the series is slated to begin in February 2020.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson may have divided Star Wars fans with his unique spin on the franchise last year, but his latest project, Knives Out, seems to be earning nothing but high praise from critics and test audiences. Helmed by James Bond’s Daniel Craig, the film is a comedic murder mystery with an all-star cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, and features Chris Evans’ first onscreen performance since finishing up in the role of Captain America. Knives Out will officially release in cinemas this November.

Another MCU star is broadening their horizons, this time Peggy Carter’s Hayley Atwell has been added to the cast of the upcoming Mission: Impossible 7, as recently revealed by director Christopher McQuarrie’s Instagram, and later confirmed by Atwell’s own post.

GAMING

The first trailer for Nioh 2 has been released online, with a release date confirmed for early 2020. The first Nioh was well-received for its dark setting and combat.

And for Resident Evil fans, it’s no RE3make, or Resident Evil 8, but we do have the first trailer for Project Resistance, a “team-based survival horror experience”, set in the Resi world. It’s 4-player co-op, but a neat feature is the presence of a fifth player called The Mastermind, who will be in direct competition with the other four, trying to trip them up.

Good news for classic arcade fighter fans – SNK has announced a new retro console for you. (Perfectly timed with Terry Bogard’s appearance in Smash… Crazy coincidence, huh?) The NeoGeo Arcade Stick Pro will be bundled with 20 classic SNK titles, so you can brush up on your Terry combos before he gets to Smash!

In a move that has bewildered gamers all over, KFC has announced that they are making a Colonel Sanders-based dating sim. In the game, you play as a culinary student trying to date their classmate, Colonel Sanders. The game trailer comes across as somewhat surreal and features the Colonel, an awesome art style, a cute corgi pal and, of course, lots of fried chicken. KFC is yet to release a date for this PC title.

Sims 4 now features the mystical world of witches and wizards in its new expansion pack, Realm of Magic. The pack features a new area, new clothing items and of course, the opportunity to teach your Sims magic! Head to the beautiful new world of Glimmerbrook, where you can attend magic school, buy potions and duel with other magical students. Realm of Magic is out now on PC and will be available to console players this October.

Life is Strange 2 has been pulled from digital stores in Australia following a review of its age classification. The Life is Strange Twitter account announced the pull on Monday and has yet to give an explanation as to why the classification board decided to take the game down.

Heads up for Australian digital store customers. #LifeisStrange2 will be unavailable to purchase on ALL platforms as well as re-download on PS4 for approximately 2 weeks from Wednesday onwards, while we work with the Australian age ratings board (ACB) to review age ratings.

— Life is Strange (@LifeIsStrange) September 9, 2019

COMICS

The Suicide Squad is returning to DC Comics in a big way. Supanova alumnus Tom Taylor is relaunching the insane team in a brand new series that promises to have deadly consequences. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor expands on this: “For a long time, there’s been a sense of safety around the Suicide Squad… In our book, that’s not the case anymore. Truly, no one is safe.” The new series will go on sale December 18.

Marvel fans who are excited for the upcoming Avengers video game will be happy to hear that it will also be getting a prequel comic book series. Marvel’s Avengers: Iron Man #1 will be written by Jim Zub and illustrated by Paco Medina, and will follow Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, and Hulk as the Lethal Legion strikes, making our heroes have to dig deep to work together.

Everyone’s favourite arachnid pig, Spider-Ham, will be getting his very own series, following his appearance in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, will be a five-issue miniseries written by Zeb Wells and illustrated by Will Robson, and will feature the cartoon-esque character jumping through time and meeting up with Spider-Man. Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 goes on sale in December.

Finally, Marvel has revealed some information about its upcoming event Incoming. The series will feature big-name writers and artists and will “bring together the heroes of the Marvel Universe in the search for a killer”. According to the official solicitation text, the event is “the closing chapter to MARVEL’s 80th year, which will connect the dots of everything that happened in 2019 and propel the narrative into the year that is to come!” As of yet, no official release date has been announced.

COLLECTIBLES

What an exciting week for Funatics – starting off with some more NYCC 2019 drops. Pop! Television and Pop! Animation have an abundance of new additions, with exclusive releases for Dragon Ball Z, Daria, Stranger Things, Community, Samurai Jack, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Rick and Morty and The Simpsons. Pop! Games also gained some new exclusives, with releases for Fortnite and Overwatch joining the already very full line up for NYCC. PIXAR made an exciting NYCC announcement later in the week for a Deluxe Pop! Vinyl for fan favourite film UP and an addition to the Toy Story set.

Needing some assistance in tracking the Dragon Balls? Bandai has created an awesome 1:1 scale life-size replica of the Dragon Radar seen in the Dragon Ball franchise. It is the perfect role-play accessory with the option of various displays and sounds effects that mimic the on-screen scanning device.