With the holiday season now right around the corner, hype is building for projects set for release in the coming months, and beyond. Here’s what’s on our radar.
Film
The new movie superhero buzzword is antihero, and that’s what Morbius offers. Based on Marvel’s “Living Vampire,” a character from the Spider-Man universe, Morbius stars Jared Leto as the title character – a scientist whose experimental treatment for a blood disorder transforms him into a vampire.
Like Venom, Morbius is spearheaded by Sony-Columbia Pictures, in association with Marvel, so the big question is whether this movie will be the door opening for Mahershala Ali’s Blade to enter the MCU? After an initial release date of July 2020, Morbius is finally hitting cinemas on January 28, 2022.
It’s been a week for casting announcements centred on charismatic leading ladies. Gal Gadot will play the Evil Queen in Disney’s live-action remake of their Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, alongside Rachel Zegler as Snow White.
Meanwhile, underrated dancer-turned-actress (and action hero) Sofia Boutella is set to star in Zach Snyder’s sci-fi epic Rebel Moon for Netflix. More here on the project, which is being described as Star Wars meets The Seven Samurai meets the opening Krypton scenes of Man of Steel.
Streaming television
Apart from news that Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim will play ruthless Fire Lord Ozai in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, it’s been a week for trailers in TV land.
Probably the most high-profile first look was for The Book of Boba Fett, the upcoming Star Wars series that continues the story (set up in The Mandalorian Season 2) of bounty hunter turned Tatooine crime lord Boba Fett. Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen star. The Book of Boba Fett starts streaming on Disney+ on December 29.
After the teaser trailer reveal in July, the official trailer for The Witcher Season 2 was finally unveiled. The official plot for this eight-episode run, starring Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allen? “Convinced Yennefer’s life was lost at the Battle of Sodden, Geralt of Rivia brings Princess Cirilla to the safest place he knows, his childhood home of Kaer Morhen. While the Continent’s kings, elves, humans and demons strive for supremacy outside its walls, he must protect the girl from something far more dangerous: the mysterious power she possesses inside.” Season 2 starts streaming on Netflix from December 17.
Gaming
Netflix Games is here. The streaming service is pushing into the gaming subscription space with the launch, globally, of five mobile games. If you have a Netflix subscription, and an Android device (iOS support is reportedly coming later), you can play Stranger Things: 1984, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Card Blast, Teeter Up, and Shooting Hoops right now.
Read the Netflix press release here.
