Here’s two weeks of news highlights from the worlds of film, streaming TV and gaming, but first, a notable passing… and a missing person incident.
“Too-night on Eeeeee!” The iconic, practically-a-meme-at-this-point voice that introduced Friday Action Night movies on South African television channel e.tv for 17 years is no more. Voice-over artist and radio DJ Bongani Njoli has passed aged 54. Meanwhile, 65-year-old British actor Julian Sands remains missing since 13 January when the Warlock and Room with a View actor went hiking in the Baldy Bowl area of the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles. Bad weather in recent weeks has made the area especially hazardous. The search continues 2 weeks on, but with zero traces of him, Sands’s family is not hopeful he’s still alive.
Film
What movies are coming to Netflix this year? The streamer provided this handy summary of its star-studded original offerings for 2023, including release dates. Featured here are sequels to Murder Mystery and Extraction, plus action thrillers starring Gal Gadot and Jennifer Lopez, and even a fantasy survival tale with Millie Bobby Brown. Probably most notable inclusion, though, the first footage for Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon, out in December, which is being positioned as the filmmaker’s, and Netflix’s, own Star Wars.
Will Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves be the first good D&D movie? We have just a few months to wait to find out.
Hitting cinemas on 31 March, Honor Among Thieves injects its fantasy action with the irreverence of a tabletop session, as it follows a charming thief (Chris Pine) and a band of unlikely adventurers (including Michelle Rodriguez’s Barbarian, Regé-Jean Page’s Paladin, Justice Smith’s Sorcerer, and Sophia Lillis’s tiefling Druid) on a mission to steal a lost relic before dangerous cultists can wield its power.
“Do you like scary movies?” Following the teaser trailer drop one month ago, we now have the full trailer for Scream VI, which serves as the direct follow-up to last year’s Scream. Promising more inventive, gory murders, and a fresh setting in the form of bustling New York City, Scream VI centres on the four survivors of the latest Ghostface killings, who leave Woodsboro behind for the big city.
There’s no Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott in this installment, as the series star was dissatisfied with the offer made to her to appear in the film. However, Courteney Cox returns as Gale Weathers, while Scream 4’s fan favourite Kirby Reed is back in the form of Hayden Panettiere.
Scream VI slashes into cinemas on 10 March.
The 2023 Razzie Award nominees (AKA The Golden Raspberries, AKA The Anti-Oscars) have been announced, and not without some controversy. That controversy? Nominating 12-year-old Ryan Kiera Armstrong for her work in last year’s Firestarter remake. Faced with public backlash over the cruel move, the Razzies has since apologised, removed Armstrong’s name from the Worst Actress category, and introduced a new age-limit that means nominees can only be 18 years or older from this point.
Out of interest, leading at the Razzies are Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde (8 nominations), stoner “comedy” Good Mourning (7 nominations), Disney’s creepy live-action Pinocchio (6 nominations) and vampire superhero tale Morbius (5 nominations).
As it tradition, the 43rd Razzie “winners” will be unveiled on Saturday, 11 March, the day before the Oscars.
One other movie news tidbit: We’re getting a sequel to Without Remorse, the action thriller based on the Tom Clancy book. “Okay, fine, whatever…” you say? Well, directing Michael B. Jordan this time as former Navy-SEAL-turned-CIA-operations-officer John Clark is John Wick’s Chad Stahelski. The name of the big screen sequel: Rainbow Six. More here.
Series
Genre- and decades-spanning survival drama Yellowjackets returns to Showtime on 24 March, and Season 2 now has a teaser trailer. As a reminder, Yellowjackets focuses on a high school girls’ soccer team who, in the mid 90s, must survive in the wilderness for 18 months after their plane crashes. The series is also set in our present day, with the adult survivors battling to hide the truth about what really happened.
Lauren Ambrose and Simone Kessell join the Yellowjackets cast in Season 2 to play adult versions of Van and Lottie; while Elijah Wood is a new character addition. You can feel relatively safe watching this one. Critical and commercial hit Yellowjackets has already been greenlit for a third season.
Also back in March (1 March to be specific) is the eight-episode Season 3 of beloved Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Reunited, Pedro Pascal’s title character, and young charge Grogu, continue their journey together, crossing paths with old allies and making new enemies as the New Republic faces the lingering threat of the Empire. Confirmed returning cast members and characters include Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan, and Emily Swallow as The Armorer.
Don’t forget that if you want to be fully up to date with The Mandalorian storyline before Season 3 arrives, you’ll also have to watch The Book of Boba Fett Season 1. Both shows are on Disney+.
In TV cancellation news, HBO Max has rather unsurprisingly – given its cost-cutting, and attempts to reconsolidate its onscreen DC Comics universe – pulled the plug on superhero series Doom Patrol and Titans. The cancellation means Pennyworth and Peacemaker are HBO Max’s only remaining live-action original DC shows. Elsewhere, the CW’s Superman & Lois continues to survive, while Gotham Knights, which has nothing to do with the video game, will debut in March.
In similar “cancellation” news, both Hulu and Adult Swim have cut ties with Rick & Morty co-creator and voice actor Justin Roiland. This after Roiland was charged with felony domestic abuse relating to an incident with a woman he was dating in 2020. Work on Rick & Morty will continue, with the key vocal performances recast and Dan Harmon as the lone showrunner. Roiland has also been removed from his roles overseeing shows Solar Opposites and Koala Man, and cut ties with game studio Squanch Games, which made December release High on Life.
Ending this section on a more positive note, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is working in a scripted drama series for Hulu that will tell the story of Africa’s legendary female ruler of antiquity. Queen of Sheba is co-created by Chantelle Wells (Showtime’s Yellowjackets) and actress-writer-producer Azie Tesfai (Supergirl), and has the following synopsis:
The drama explores the rise to power of the first queen on the continent of Africa as she seeks to unite the nation now known as Ethiopia, making it one of the richest, most formidable kingdoms in the world. Inspired by true events, the potential series follows Makeda into a world of danger, deceit and political intrigue as she is forced to step into a role that no one, including her, ever imagined as the Queen of Sheba.
Gaming
It’s the crossover DLC you never knew you needed in your life. Coming 31 January is a free five-level addition (available on all gaming platforms) to PowerWash Simulator, and it takes players to Croft Manor in the Tomb Raider series. Yes, you’ll even be cleaning Lara’s iconic obstacle course!
Out of interest, PowerWash Simulator launches finally on PlayStation 4/5 and Nintendo Switch on the same day – after being previously exclusive to PC and Xbox consoles. Learn more about the Tomb Raider Special Pack and new platform launches here.
P.S. PowerWash Simulator has also just got a “next-gen” visual mechanic update: glass is now see-through.
Finally, thanks to Xbox’s livestreamed Developer Direct showcase this week (watch the show, with its many announcements, in its entirety here), we now have a release date for co-operative vampire FPS Redfall. Made by Arkane Studios, Redfall is coming to Xbox Series X|S, PC and Game Pass on 2 May.
Also, out of nowhere, Xbox revealed an instantly launched game: rhythm-based action game Hi-fi RUSH from Tango Gameworks, the makers of the Evil Within games and Ghostwire: Tokyo. Play it now on Xbox, PC and Game Pass.