It’s a compact pop culture news recap this week, starting with the sad news that actress Arleen Sorkin has passed, aged 67 after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. If you didn’t know Sorkin from soapie Days of Our Lives, she was the real-life inspiration and voice for DC Comics villain Harley Quinn, who made her very first ever appearance in Batman: The Animated Series. For the record, Kevin Conroy, the iconic voice of Batman in Batman: TAS passed away in November last year from cancer at age 66.

Film

David Fincher behind the camera, with Michael Fassbender in front of it? Sign us up. Based on a French graphic novel series by Alexis “Matz” Nolent and Luc Jacamon, The Killer is a psychological action thriller about a nameless, emotionally detached assassin who finds himself unraveling at the same time a hit goes wrong, generating a manhunt from both sides (namely the authorities and the assassin’s employers). Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell and Tilda Swinton are some other recognisable faces in the cast.

The Killer enjoys a limited theatrical release before coming to Netflix on 10 November. You can also check out the movie’s painted official poster here.

Still on matters of psychological thrills and matters of survival, there’s The Marsh King’s Daughter, which is being released by Lionsgate starting 6 October.

Based on the acclaimed novel by Karen Dionne, Star Wars alumnus Daisy Ridley plays a woman with a secret past: her estranged father is the infamous Marsh King (Ben Mendelsohn), the man who kept her and her mother captive in the wilderness for years. When the Marsh King escapes from prison, Helena has to draw on the same skills he taught her to protect her own family.

Prepare for controversy. Out in early 2024 is biblical comedy drama The Book of Clarence from The Harder They Fall filmmaker Jeymes Samuel. Haunted Mansion’s LaKeith Stanfield plays the title character, a down-on-his-luck resident of Jerusalem, who capitalises on the rise of Jesus Christ to improve his fortunes. Look out for the likes of Anna Diop, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, James McAvoy and Benedict Cumberbatch on the screen. The Book of Clarence will also feature new music from Samuel, JAY-Z, and more.

Series

On the TV front, Netflix has released a teaser trailer for Bodies, a British crime mystery with an intriguing twist. Four police detectives, living in four different eras (1890, 1941, 2023, 2053), find the body of the same murder victim in London’s Whitechapel. They soon come to realise their investigations have them central to a mysterious conspiracy spanning over a 150 years.

Bodies is based on the DC and Vertigo graphic novel, and stars Shira Haas, Stephen Graham, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Kyle Soller, and Amaka Okafor. The eight-episode limited series Bodies starts streaming on October 19, clearly lining up to deliver some early Halloween chills.

Bittersweet series news this week:

If it’s not removing content that just joined the streamer in the previous few months, Disney+ is now cost cutting by passing on commissioned series that have already completed filming. Such is the fate of book adaptations The Spiderwick Chronicles and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea origin tale Nautilus. It’s not all bad news though. These shows are being shopped around to other networks and streaming services so they may yet find another home.

Gaming

Tacked onto the bottom of the latest PlayStation Plus blog post, PlayStation announced that they are significantly increasing the cost of 12-month membership to their subscription service. As of 6 September, the price bump will come into effect globally, with the official reasoning listed as “This price adjustment will enable us to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service.”

In a South African context, MyBroadband has done the maths, and for our three available tiers, the price increase ranges between R200 and R450. The new cost greatly reduces the saving gained by signing up for 12 months versus monthly and 3-month subscriptions.

The new pricing is as follows:

PlayStation Plus Essential 12-Month Subscription
79.99 USD | 71,99 Euro | 59.99 GBP | 6,800 Yen | 949 ZAR (formerly 749 ZAR)

PlayStation Plus Extra 12-Month Subscription
134.99 USD | 125,99 Euro | 99.99 GBP | 11,700 Yen | 1,609 ZAR (formerly 1,239 ZAR)

PlayStation Plus Deluxe 12-Month Subscription
1,879 ZAR (formerly 1,429 ZAR)

PlayStation Plus Premium 12-Month Subscription
159.99 USD | 151,99 Euro | 119.99 GBP | 13,900 Yen

She stayed in the shadows for a while, but the Tomb Raider couldn’t be teased forever. Lara Croft is now in Call of Duty: Season 5. Here’s what her operator looks like – a design which unifies the Legend era of the character as well as her more recent trilogy. Keeley Hawes returns to voice Lara in COD, and you can see the character in action in this unofficially released clip here. P.S. She clearly has no patience for anyone’s BS.

Lifestyle

Some more news relating to this year’s Comic Con Africa, which is now just a few weeks away. Reinforcing this year’s focus on anime culture and African geek culture creation are two new announced guests.

First up is South African cosplayer, streamer, gamer, kawaii content creator, and social media personality Princess Sachiko. Then there’s Sebastain A Jones, president of Stranger Comics, the company responsible for inclusive, mature fantasy comics such as Niobe and other titles set in the Asunda universe.

By the way, in case you were wondering, like last year, you will be able to stock up on KFC sauces, and try out a new pop culture menu, exclusive to the event, in 2023 as well.

Comic Con Africa is taking place at the Joburg Exhibition Centre from September 22 – 25, 2023.