Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 217

Marvel x MAGIC: THE GATHERING’s Collab Kicks Off with 5 Secret Lair Commander Drops—Storm, Cap, Wolverine and More Lead the Way

We first heard about Magic: The Gathering‘s collaboration with Marvel in October 2023. That’s just about one year ago. At the time, all we had was a brief teaser to go on, but already, everyone was more than excited. And now, this highly anticipated collection finally has its very first cards to show us. Magic: The Gathering has revealed that the first release from its Marvel collaboration will be a Secret Lair drop containing five different Superdrops you can purchase. Each new Magic: The Gathering drop, of course, will revolve around a Marvel hero commander card.

Secret Lair

The commanders highlighted in the first Marvel x Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair drop are Captain America, Black Panther, Wolverine, Iron Man, and Storm. Each of these Magic drops will come with at least four additional Marvel-themed cards (which are all reprints from Magic history) that work together well to support their commander. Some of the cards are chosen from their mechanical cohesion, while others are chosen more for theming. And that’s just how we like it!

But naturally, this is only the beginning. Magic: The Gathering has already revealed a Spider-Man-centric tentpole booster release will be coming in 2025. And all of this is just the very start of what the Marvel x Magic: The Gathering collaboration will hold for fans of both worlds.

Without further ado, let’s dive into this first Marvel x Magic Secret Lair card.

Marvel x Magic: The Gathering—Captain America Commander Secret Lair DropWizards of the Coast/Secret Lair

First up in the Marvel x Magic: The Gathering collaboration are the cards that make up the Captain America Commander Deck. Captain America is, of course, a noble hero, and so his card is a White mana Magic card, which embodies morality and order. Despite his White association, Cap’s signature red, white, and blue coloring appears throughout his cards. It was too cool to pass up, share the Magic: The Gathering team. But they hope to do some mono-white versions of the cards in the future, should there be more Captain America Magic: The Gathering Cards to come.

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In addition to the Captain America Commander card, this Marvel Magic card drop comes with four support cards. These include Sigarda’s Aid as Captain America’s Aid, Flawless Maneuver, In the Trenches, and Sword of War and Peace as Shield of War and Peace. Each of these cards captures the history of Captain America, different moments and different eras of the characters, and, of course, they honor the shield. Mechanically, they also play well together because Captain America cares about equipment.

Additionally, Captain America’s storyline is always going to different places and trying different things in Marvel’s world, and so Magic: The Gathering wanted to make sure to honor Falcon/Sam Wilson as Captain America, especially as he prepares to take flight in his own MCU movie very soon. Other pieces of Cap’s journey, such as his friendship with Bucky Barnes, also receive a place of honor. You can see World War II Bucky in his red and blue sidekick uniform in Captain America’s support card, In the Trenches. Notably, Namor the Mariner and the Human Torch are also featured on this Magic card as a wonderful homage to Captain America’s Marvel Comics history.

Marvel x Magic: The Gathering—Black Panther Commander Secret Lair Drop

Next up is Black Panther. This Magic: The Gathering card is a Green/White card. While Black Panther has a specific color moniker in his name, that mana energy was just not right for our noble king of Wakanda. Instead of Black, T’Challa’s Black Panther Commander card is a Green and White mana blend. This is Magic: The Gathering designation is perfect for the Marvel character as it reflects Black Panther’s deep goodness, as well as his strength, power, and ties to the land and nature of Wakanda.

Black Panther was the trickiest of the Commander Marvel x Magic cards to get right, share Aaron Forsythe, Vice President of Design, and Daniel Nguyen, Senior Product Designer, because his messaging that of a good king guiding his people was more complex and high concept than some of the other collaborations, which were more focused on their combat abilities. But having Black Panther be about as noble and caring as a character can be in Magic: The Gathering felt exactly right.

Wizards of the Coast

Black Panther, like Captain America, has a “Hero” creature type, and this is something that Magic: The Gathering has used before, but they’ll be leaning into it much more as the rest of the Marvel card sets roll out. More versions of Black Panther that show him as a leader and as a great fighter will likely come as the Magic: The Gathering x Marvel sets roll out. But for now, the team wanted to focus on him as the ruler of a kingdom that contains the most viable natural resource in the world. The mechanics of Black Panther’s card serve to emulate the vibranium that powers Wakanda.

Black Panther’s support cards also help underscore this theme. These are: Secure the Wastes, Warrior Token, Bast’s Blessing as Primal Figure, and Wakandan Skyscraper as Karn’s Bastion. Additionally, Heroic Intervention is also a support card in this Marvel x Magic: The Gathering drop. While it’s not necessarily mechanically tied in, it’s a Green staple that works really well. The Black Panther version of the card also depicts Black Panther vs. Klaw, and since Klaw is always trying to steal Vibranium, it ties the card into the overall theme. Notably, this is the comic’s version of Klaw. It was very important to Magic: The Gathering that these cards appealed to Marvel Comics fans.

The Black Panther cards also strive to show the eras and versions of the character. Secure the Wastes shows Bashenga, the very first Black Panther back in the Bronze Age, while Karn’s Skyscraper takes us all the way to the modernity of Wakanda.

Finally, a deep cut for you Magic: The Gathering lovers: cat decks are generally green-white in Magic: The Gathering, just like this Marvel Black Panther drop is. Shuri will surely get a kick out of that one.

Marvel x Magic: The Gathering—Wolverine Commander Secret Lair DropWizards of the Coast

Our next Marvel Commander is Wolverine. The top of this Magic: The Gathering card gives us a truncated version of Wolverine’s very long Marvel catchphrase, “I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn’t very nice.” Wolverine also gets a “Mutant” and “Bezerker” designation. Both of these have occurred in Magic before but haven’t been used very much. Although the MCU couldn’t use Mutant for a while, Magic: The Gathering is jumping right in. Wolverine also has the “regenerate” ability. Again, this isn’t something Magic uses very much, but it does have it in its history, and it was perfect to use here for this Marvel collaboration.

Wolverine’s card indicates that he loves fighting, really loves fighting, and he never dies. That sounds about right to us. Wolverine’s support cards includes Berzerk, which is a card all the way back from Magic: The Gathering Beta, so it’s a thirty-something-year-old card. It shows Wolverine in his brown and yellow suit, which is a fan favorite, busting out of the head of a Sentinel in an iconic fit of rage. Additionally, Wolverine’s Magic drop has the Right of Passage card. This version of the card shows Laura Kinney, aka X-23. Next up is Rhythm of the Wild. This Marvel Magic version of the card depicts Wolverine as James Howlett, a fun deep-cut for fans, and shows Wolverine running with the wolves. Finally, Wolverine’s drop has The Ozolith as the Adamantium Bonding Tank. This card shows off the Weapon X origin story for Wolverine.

Marvel x Magic: The Gathering—Iron Man Commander Secret Lair Drop

Of course, we couldn’t have a Marvel x Magic: The Gathering collaboration without Iron Man. The Iron Man commander card tips its hat to the MCU movies, showing Tony Stark mid-way through his iconic transformation into Iron Man, with all his suit parts floating around him. (But we also see some of his literal fabric business suit on his arm.) This Iron Man card is built around the idea of artifacts. When he attacks, Iron Man receives a treasure token with a meta value of 0; Iron Man can then sacrifice this to find something a little better. This speaks to Iron Man building and crafting as he attacks. Iron Man himself is an artifact creature, which is something a little different than the other cards.

Wizards of the Coast

Iron Man’s supporting Marvel Magic include a Treasure Token, Galvanic Blast, Commander’s Play, Soul Ring, and Inventor’s Fair. Again, these cards depict different eras of Iron Man, and you can see the suit changes throughout the cards. Soul Ring specifically depicts the first arc reactor with its copper rings. It fits really beautifully because Soul Ring is, of course, the quintessential Commander power source, and the arc reactor is the ultimate Iron Man power source. It doesn’t hurt that they’re both rings.

The team also discussed the Iron Man treasure token at some length—the Marvel x Magic team thought about showing a pile of money or a box of arms but eventually decided to stick with the Iron Man armor theme. In a fun, full circle moment, the team also enjoys that the Hasbro Iron Man helmet was shown on a kid trying to stop drones at Stark Expo in Iron Man 2 (theorized to be Spider-Man), and now that same helmet has found its way onto a Marvel Magic card in a new era crossover of the two IPs.

Marvel x Magic: The Gathering—Storm Commander Secret Lair DropWizards of the Coast

Finally, we have Storm—a mutant hero with flying vigilance. It turns out that Marvel’s Storm could go on a Magic: The Gathering card named Storm. And both Storms are incredibly powerful. The Magic team really wanted to include a character that wasn’t in the MCU, at least so far. They wanted to show that this collaboration really involved the breadth of the comic universe and not just Marvel movie nods. Storm is a beloved character, so it was really exciting to bring her back here.

With Storm, Magic wanted to depict Storm in her purest nature goddess form, connecting with the intense forces of nature and not a hero to be crossed. Storm ended up with a Yellow card designation. Then, her support cards are green, blue, and red, which are colors of weather phenomena in Magic.

But what are Storm’s Marvel x Magic Support Cards? We have Lightning Bolt, which reveals a ’90s punk-era Storm. Next is Jessica’s Well reimagined as Storm’s Well. This card features art which is a callback to the original. Also we have Ice Storm. While Ice Storm isn’t mechanically aligned per se, it adds great flavor and is a deep cut from Magic‘s history. This card comes from Beta and hasn’t been reprinted in a playable form in 30 years. The card also shows Colossus, Bishop, Jean Grey, and Ice Man, in case you were missing some of our other X-Men. Finally, we see Metamorphosis renamed as Ororo Borealis.

Marvel x Magic: The Gathering—Avengers’ Tower Card

Along with the five Commander Drops, Magic: The Gathering‘s first Marvel Secret Lair drop will include Arcane Signet reimagined as Earth’s Mightiest Emblem, a card every Commander Drop needs. On this card, we see a depiction of Avenger’s Tower. This card will be priced at the $200 price span, so if you buy one of each of the Marvel x Magic Commander Drops, you get an Arcane Signet to go with them.

Coming Soon: A Spider-Man Tentpole Booster Release

This is just the beginning of a multi-year partnership, though. Magic: The Gathering has already announced that coming in 2025, we’ll get a tentpole booster release featuring Spider-Man. He did feel absent from the above!

When Will the First Marvel x Magic: The Gathering Cards Be Available for Purchase?

You won’t need to wait long to get these drops, either! They’ll be available for purchase November 4.

The Future of the Marvel x Magic: The Gathering Collaboration

Narrowing down the first five characters for this Marvel x Magic: The Gathering collaboration was no easy task. But ultimately, the team took over a dozen characters and settled on the first wave. They looked for a balance of concepts, a mix of MCU characters and characters from the comics, and a diverse array of representation. Basically, they wanted the full breadth of what the Marvel universe has to offer to be showcased. Of course, they had no way of knowing that Wolverine was about to become the talk of the MCU town at the time with Deadpool & Wolverine. But they’re not too sorry about it. However, Magic shares that anyone else folks are hoping to see from the Marvel universe, they probably have plans to make something for them at some point.

As the Marvel x Magic: The Gathering collaboration evolves, people can anticipate seeing more characters and different expressions of them, as well as totally new cards entering the Magic space. Of course, the sets will also pull from the history of Magic as well, as these do.

When asked if there will be anything akin to Magic‘s The Lord of the Rings One Ring card, Nguyen notes that he can’t talk about specifics, but it’s going to be a super awesome few years in the Marvel x Magic space, so it’s time for us all to get hype.

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New Limited Edition MARVEL Watch Collection to Celebrate Its 85th Anniversary

Citizen Watch released two limited edition sets for Marvel’s 85th anniversary. You’ll want to snag them quickly because they really mean it when they say limited edition. Both boxed sets include the same watch, featuring superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and more.

Citizen Watch

You can find the watch above in both sets. The ECG 85th Anniversary Collector’s Set is limited to only 85 units and retails for $1,095. This set includes not only the watch and a Marvel pin but also two Marvel collector’s items. The set also has a certificate of authenticity.

Included in the set is a Jarvis Series Time Stone collectible gem and a Special Edition Reality Stone Micro Gauntlet from East Continental Gem. Jarvis Series Time Stone collectible gem is a limited piece with only 500 units. The green stone is a two-carat peridot with a vibrant green color. A protective card numbered with an official seal accompanies it.

Citizen Watch

The gem’s display provides information on the Time Stone, saying, “The Time Stone grants whoever holds it the power to manipulate the present, create infinite time loops, and to glimpse possible futures. This authentic periodt was meticoulsly handpicked for its uncommon characteristics and exquisite green hues.”

The Micro Gauntlet is a 1-inch brass model with a ruby in it representing the reality stone. As most Marvel fans know, the Reality Stone is probably the craziest stone, allowing the complete manipulation of matter itself.

Citizen Watch

If the collector’s edition is too much to splurge on, but you really want the watch, you’re in luck! The watch is available with the collector’s pin Legends 85th Anniversary Set, which retails for $495. This set has a limit of 1,300 units, making it easier to get than the collector’s edition but still challenging. A specially designed box holds the watch, along with a custom booklet printed with each watch’s unique issue number. They also engraved the issue number on the back of the box.

Both boxed sets come with a special Marvel 85th Anniversary Print by comic book artist Adam Kubert and colorist Laura Martin. Kubert has illustrated comics like Wolverine and The Incredible Hulk. The print shows the Avengers in the aftermath of their fight with Thanos.

Both sets will likely sell out quickly, so act it’s best to act swiftly when purchasing if you’re a Marvel or watch enthusiast.

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AMERICAN PSYCHO Is Getting a New Reimagining From Director Luca Guadagnino

American Psycho, directed by Mary Harron and starring Christian Bale, has become a seminal cult classic horror film. The 2000 movie is based on Bret Easton Ellis’ novel about ’80s yuppie excess, taken to its darkest conclusion. Now, according to a report in Variety, American Psycho is getting a remake from Lionsgate, from Italian director Luca Guadagnino. Guadagnino directed recent critically acclaimed films like Challengers and Queer. He’s also no stranger to remaking a horror classic, as he remade Suspiria in 2018.

Lionsgate Films

According to the original report, screenwriter Scott Z. Burns (Contagion) is writing the script. It will apparently not be a strict remake of the 2000 film, but a new adaptation of Ellis’ novel. The book centers on Patrick Bateman, a successful young Wall Street type, who has a secret identity as a brutal serial killer. The book was extremely controversial when it came out back in 1991, mainly for its depictions of grisly violence against women. In fact, several different countries banned it, or at least severely restricted access to it. Of course, all of that just helped to make the book a massive bestseller and cultural talking point.

The original American Psycho film adaptation also helped turn Christian Bale into a bonafide grown-up movie star. After American Psycho, he was no longer just “the kid from Newsies and Empire of the Sun.” Many people think his unhinged performance as Bateman is what convinced Christopher Nolan to cast him in Batman Begins. We’re sure the casting for the new Patrick Bateman will be heavily scrutinized. After all, the right actor playing this character could catapult someone’s career into the stratosphere, just like it did for Bale. We should note, there actually was an off-Broadway American Psycho musical once. If Guadagnino went in that direction, we’d honestly respect that choice.

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Family Drama Gets Hairy in WOLF MAN Trailer

Werewolf movies are notoriously hard to get right, in my humble opinion. Are the titular creatures just mindless beasts like in An American Werewolf in London? Perhaps a hippie death cult like in The Howling? Or are they secretly a good guy like in Werewolf by Night? One aspect in werewolf lore that almost always transfers is the idea that lycanthropy is a curse. This comes to the fore in Blumhouse’s Wolf Man, the second Leigh Whannell-helmed reimagining of the Universal Monsters. The first was 2020’s The Invisible Man, don’t you know. In the first full trailer, a beast claws a father (Christopher Abbott) and his wife (Julia Garner) and daughter (Matilda Firth) have to contend with his ever-worsening health. It’s presented like an illness or plague. But still terrifying.

After the unbelievably epic collapse of the barely constructed Dark Universe and its sole outing, The Mummy in 2017, Universal stepped back from it plan for big-budget retellings of its classic monsters. Enter Blumhouse which employed its brand of higher concept, lower budget horror to The Invisible Man. Under Leigh Whannell, the property took on themes of spousal abuse and gaslighting with a sci-fi edge. It proved incredibly popular during the COVID times.

Wolf Man will be a different beast, excuse the pun. Werewolves, as I said, are hard to pull off effectively and it seems like Whannell is trying to use the typical setup to tell a similar, family dynamic in peril tale. We don’t even know if this movie will depict an according-to-Hoyle werewolf. Either way, I’m mightily intrigued by this, especially with actors of Garner and Abbott’s caliber involved.

Universal/Blumhouse

What gives me a bit of pause is its release date. January 17, 2024. As a comparison, Blumhouse’s January release for 2024 was Night Swim, still one of the year’s worst. I suppose we shall see!

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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David Harbour Says STRANGER THINGS 5 Finale Left Cast ‘Uncontrollably Crying’

It feels like Stranger Things has been a phenomenon for as long as we can remember. But now, our favorite party is all grown up, and the time has come for the series’ last chapter. Stranger Things 5 will be the Netflix hit’s final season, but we have no doubt that these concluding episodes will have a ton of meat on their bones.

One mistake that the Duffer Brothers want to avoid in this final round is not sticking the landing and making fans mad, like Game of Thrones. Show editor Dean Zimmerman said the following to ScreenRant: “Their whole mission is to stick the landing on this final season where, controversially, a lot of people say Game of Thrones did not; they don’t want that, and they won’t settle for anything but perfection.”

“So I can assure you that you will not be disappointed, and I can definitely assure you that you will have about the same amount, maybe a little more, content than we did [in] season 4,” Zimmerman continued. This means the show needs to give satisfying and logical conclusions for its main characters and wrap up important storylines. Less filler and more hard-hitting content that really digs into the meat of what’s going down. We shall see.

Netflix

According to at least one actor, the show will indeed stick the landing. On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, David Harbour discussed the table read for the final episode—season five, episode eight—and how everyone was in hysterics.

“The end of this episode when we were reading it — just us reading it — about halfway through, people started crying,” he said. “Then about the last 20 minutes, it was just uncontrollably crying, waves of different people.

“I think part of that also is the fact that these kids, it was their childhood. Like, they started the show when they were 11 and 12, and here we are reading [the finale]. It’s 10 years later, and we examine that idea, and it’s so well done and so beautiful. It’s such a great episode, and it’s such a great season. You guys will love it.”

In other news, it seems we will get more about Hopper’s backstory. As reported by CBR, the series will reportedly recast his daughter Sara, whom we’ve only seen through flashbacks. She’s his daughter who died in 1978 at age 7 prior to the events of season one. We recently saw Sara in Stranger Things season four flashbacks as Hopper revealed his Agent Orange exposure caused her to develop childhood cancer.

This casting call, first seen on Knight Edge Media, asks for “[ SARA ] – Character is portrayed as 5 years old, female, white, blonde and blue/grey eyes. Sara is Hopper’s daughter seen in flashbacks. MUST MATCH TO SEASON 1 CAST MEMBER ELLE GRAHAM…CO-STAR.” The show is still shooting in Atlanta and this would be a very minor role, so it would make sense to bring someone in quickly for it.

Netflix

For now, let’s roll for initiative and head back to Hawkins one more time. Here’s everything we know about Stranger Things 5.

Stranger Things 5‘s Plot

Stranger Things 4 ended with a bang as the Upside Down erupted right into the middle of Hawkins. Although everyone came together to try to stop Vecna, the villainous monster, who is actually One, who is actually Henry Creel, succeeded in merging his evil world with the reality every day people inhabit. The party managed to injure Vecna and seemingly save Max from his clutches. However, the fallout remained apocalyptic. In the final moments of the season, the Upside Down’s ash arrives to cover everything, and a full-out war with the monstrous creatures of the dark world seems imminent.

Netflix

While we don’t know much about Stranger Things 5 yet, we assume it will have just a little to do with how Stranger Things 4 ended. The Duffer brothers haven’t provided many plot specifics but have offered several teases about Stranger Things 5. Among other bits, they shared that the action will remain centered in Hawkins and that likely we’ll see an eight-episode season. Additionally, the Duffers have noted that Will Byers will take a central role in the final season.

Finally, the series’ creators describe Stranger Things 5 as follows, “Five, the way we see it, is kind of a culmination of all the seasons, so it’s sort of got a little bit from each… Whereas before, each season was so [distinct]… [Season] 3 is our big summer blockbuster season with big monsters, and [Season] 4 was the psychological horror. Five, the way we see it, is kind of a culmination of all the seasons, so it’s sort of got a little bit from each. I think that what we’re trying to do is go back to the beginning a little bit, in sort of the tone of 1.” Or, “Season 5 is like if season 1 and 4 had a baby. And then that baby was injected with steroids.” Make of that what you will.

One character whom everyone is curious about is Max. Season four left her with broken limbs and in a coma but we do know that Sadie Sink has been filming with her co-stars. So, how will Max show up in Stranger Things 5? Sadie didn’t give away spoilers to Variety but she did hint that Max will be back in action again.

Netflix

They love having me run,” she affirmed. “That’s all I’ll say.” Of course, we don’t know exactly how that will happen. Will Max be running in the Upside Down or in some sort of Void? Or will she come out of her coma to run again at some point? Who knows.

You can take an official look at the season with a new behind-the-scenes featurette celebrating Stranger Things 5.

Behind the Scenes

Of course, the Duffer brothers, Matt and Ross Duffer, will once again take the helm of Stranger Things 5. Additionally, long-time Stranger Things director Shawn Levy will return to direct at least one episode of the season. Superstitiously, the Deadpool 3 director likes to take on episodes three and four if he can.

Ross Duffer is giving us a few peeks behind-the-scenes of Stranger Things 5. This includes a very rad photo of Steve in front of a radio station, a shred bin with a photo of our dearly departed Eddie shredding on his guitar, and some other fun bits. It makes us super excited for what’s to come.

Stranger Things 5‘s CastRoss Duffer

All our favorite characters and actors will be back for Stranger Things 5. We know for sure that Joyce Byers, Jim Hopper, Mike Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Eleven, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, Will Byers, Karen Wheeler, Stever Harrington, Robin Buckley, and Murray Bauman will be back. (And with them, their respective actors.) Sadie Sink’s Max survived season four and should return with the rest. We, of course, are still holding the torch for the surprise resurrection of Joseph Quinn’s Eddie Munson. Stranger Things takes place in a supernatural world, after all. And it just wouldn’t be a good season without one Erica Sinclair.

Netflix

When it comes to new faces, we know that Linda Hamilton has joined the cast of Stranger Things 5. But her role remains a secret for now. Additionally, Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux have joined the cast.

Stranger Things 5‘s Release DateNetflix

Stranger Things 5 does not yet have a release date, but it will not arrive in 2024.

Originally published on January 4, 2024.

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Pizza Hut Taiwan Introduces Creepy Pizza for Halloween

Pizza Hut in Taiwan is on a totally different level than in the States. Their newest creation is not for scaredy cats or the weak. Their newest Halloween offering features the face of a monster with its strange hands on the pizza. The fingers are long and extend across most of the supremely creepy pizza.

Pizza Hut Taiwan

Different toppings fill the pizza, tasting much better than their spooky appearance suggests. Deep-fried squid tentacles form the ghoulish hands on the pizza. On the other hand….see what I did there…the monster’s eyes are actually preserved eggs.

Pig blood cakes surround the pizza. The crust is unique, made from mochi and topped with spiced cherry tomatoes. As expected, mozzarella cheese and a mix of sweet and spicy mochi cover the entire pizza. Garlic crisps sprinkle the top of the pizza to finish it off, giving it a crunch.

Pizza Hut Taiwan has done Halloween pizzas before. Last year, they made a special chicken feet pizza that looked like ghosts. The year before, it was an “eyeball” pizza.

Pizza Hut Taiwan starts serving this special pizza starting Oct. 22 for around $12. The pizza is currently available for Pizza Hut app users to exclusively preorder until Oct 21. To read about another weird pizza, check out the KFC Chizza.

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Sebastian Stan Remembers the STAR TREK and GREEN LANTERN Roles He Really Wanted

Sebastian Stan is well-known among us nerds for his role as Bucky Barnes aka the Winter Soldier in the MCU. But the actor had aspirations to be in other universes. In an interview with Happy Sad Confused podcast, Sebastian Stan revealed that he was up for the role of Captain Kirk in the most recent Star Trek films as well as Hal Jordan in the 2011 Green Lantern film. Those roles went to Chris Pine and Ryan Reynolds, respectively. (Thanks to Deadline for bringing this to our attention!)

“There were a couple of things I didn’t get that I really desperately wanted,” he said. “But Captain Kirk for J.J. Abrams; that was one of the first I got very close to. I remember I was really, really close, and I remember I had a screen test with [Abrams] at Paramount, and my manager had me do a separate photo shoot where I would try and replicate all these William Shatner pictures just to send to him, see how much I looked like him, but I didn’t get it.”

“Green Lantern was another that I screen tested for,” Stan revealed. “I remember getting there, and it was like me, Justin Timberlake, Jared Leto, Ryan Reynolds and maybe one other person, and I’m looking at these guys going, ‘I’m f—ed! There’s no way this is happening!’

Marvel Studios

It’s interesting to think of Sebastian Stan as Hal Jordan or Kirk, but at least he got a very nice (and lucrative) job in the MCU, right?

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Writer Confirms THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM Is One Film, Teases More LORD OF THE RINGS Movies

There and back again, as the famous saying goes. Bilbo Baggins felt that was the theme of his life in The Hobbit, and now life is reflecting art. We are all going there and back again to the world of The Lord of the Rings. In early 2023, we learned that new live-action The Lord of the Rings movies were in the works at Warner Bros. Discovery. And now, our most recent updates reveal that Peter Jackson will once again craft these fantasy films. Additionally, we will see these new live-action The Lord of the Rings movies sooner than we think. The first of the new The Lord of the Rings films will release in 2026. (Yes, that’s 2026, not 2006, we had to check too.) It will be titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and will focus on Andy Serkis’ Gollum.

Some fans speculated that The Hunt for Gollum would be two films but, according to Comicbook.com, writer Philippa Boyens confirmed that it is just one film. It will likely be very long. Boyens also teased more potential The Lord of the Rings movies. “…we’ve begun to work, conceptually, on two different live-action films. The first being The Hunt For Gollum, the second one still to be confirmed,” said Boyens.

New Line Cinema

Most recently, Elrond’s actor in The Lord of the Rings movies, Hugo Weaving, weighed in on whether he’d return for the newest films. Weaving noted he would not, saying that he did not think it would be appropriate for him to continue to play Elrond, an immortal elf.

Here’s what Weaving had to say in full about not returning to Middle-earth in The Hunt for Gollum:

Personally, I’ve had enough of that. It was great being in New Zealand on and off over a ten year period. I did then go back and work with the same team [director Peter Jackson and writer Fran Walsh] on a project called Mortal Engines which was going to be their next big franchise, but it died on its arse. So, I’ve had enough of Middle-earth I don’t imagine anyone would ask me to do it again.

Elrond is meant to be immortal and I’m aging. Elrond is one of the few characters, I think there’s only three or four of them, who spans through The Silmarillion, Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. But even when we went back to reshoot certain parts of Lord of the Rings, I was aware I was older than I was before. And shooting stuff on The Hobbit was starting to get slightly silly. I loved being a part of that franchise but I have absolutely no plans or desires to be a part of it anymore.

Here’s what we know about The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum movie so far.

What Will the New The Lord of the Rings Movie, The Hunt for Gollum, Be About?New Line Cinema

But what story will this new The Lord of the Rings movie tell? Well, Zaslav initially noted that it will “explore storylines yet to be told.” That could mean many things. But we certainly have a few ideas of what The Lord of the Rings tales we’d like to see on-screen. However, per Variety, the working title of the movie is The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and it will star Andy Serkis’ Gollum. Andy Serkis will also direct the movie.

“Yesssss, Precious,” shared Serkis, “The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle Earth Peter, Fran and Philippa. With Mike and Pam, and the Warner Bros team on the quest as well, alongside WETA and our filmmaking family in New Zealand, it’s just all too delicious…”   

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy further noted, “For over two decades, moviegoers have embraced the Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter [Jackson], Fran [Walsh] and Philippa [Boyens] have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision. We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films. With Andy [Serkis] coming aboard to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (working title), we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the Lord of the Rings cinematic history.”

Peter Jackson Will Be Involved in the New The Lord of the Rings MovieNew Line Cinema

Zaslav also revealed that the genius behind the first set of live-action The Lord of the Rings movies, Peter Jackson, will return for these new films. He notes that Peter Jackson and his writing partners, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens “will be involved every step of the way.” The trio is producing the Gollum movie. Walsh and Boyens will also be writing the script. They will be joined by Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.

Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens noted of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, “It is an honour and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that Stinker — Gollum! As life long fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”

Recently, the movie’s creators shared a little bit more about why they chose to center Gollum in the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie.

The New The Lord of the Rings Movie Will Actually Be Two Films

Sir Ian McKellen recently shared more about his possible return as Gandalf in The Hunt for Gollum. He notes he expects to see a script in 2025 and then he will decide if he should go back. But more interestingly indicates that this new The Lord of the Rings movie is actually two The Lord of the Rings movies. “I’m told it’s two films.” McKellen says.

Will We See Other The Lord of the Rings Characters or Familiar Actors in The Hunt for Gollum?New Line Cinema

Peter Jackson revealed a bit of insight into the decision and also noted that it’s too early to tell whether other The Lord of the Rings character will appear in The Hunt for Gollum. He said, “The Gollum/Sméagol character has always fascinated me because Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, whilst his Sméagol side is, arguably, quite sympathetic. I think he connects with readers and film audiences alike, because there’s a little bit of both of them in all of us. We really want to explore his backstory and delve into those parts of his journey we didn’t have time to cover in the earlier films. It’s too soon to know who will cross his path, but suffice to say we will take our lead from Professor Tolkien.”

Serkis also teased a bit about whether other familiar characters and their original The Lord of the Rings actors could appear in The Hunt for Gollum, noting, “That’s a difficult question to answer right at this moment in time, because we’re really in the nascent stages of what it is exactly where we’re doing, and where the story’s going to take us. So I don’t want to commit anything right now. I mean, because it’s so raw and so raw and wriggling, and we are just literally having very early state script discussions and ideas of exactly where and how we’re going to drop anchor with the character and his journey and how he is or comes into contact with other characters, and the characters that we know and don’t know. So still, I would hate to say anything that’s going to commit us at this point, because it’s literally all up for grabs.”

Would Any of the Original Actors Return for the New The Lord of the Rings Movie?New Line Cinema

We haven’t yet heard from too many The Lord of the Rings actors, other than Serkis, about a return in the new The Lord of the Rings movie. But Viggo Mortensen did recently reveal that he would return as Aragorn in The Hunt for Gollum if it was right for the character.

Ian McKellen also shared he would happily return as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings movie… as long as he’s alive. McKellen has also noted that production has indicated they would like him to return.

Additionally, Orlando Bloom, who plays the elf Legolas in The Lord of the Rings movies, expressed interest in returning for the film. But his tease of what the future would look like had fans raising their eyebrows. Bloom shared, “Oh, man, those things are amazing. Yeah. I don’t know how they’d do it. I guess with AI you can do anything these days. But, if Pete [Peter Jackson] says jump, I say, ‘how high?’ I mean, he started my whole career.”

New Line Cinema

Bloom also noted, “I really don’t know what [they are planning]… I did speak to Andy [Serkis] and he did say they were thinking about how to do things. I was like, ‘How would that even work?’ And he was like, ‘Well, AI!’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK!’ It was a pretty magical time in my life, and it’s one of those things where there’s not a downside to it.”

Personally, we’d prefer recasting these iconic roles and giving new actors a shot instead of using AI on actors who have already had their turn, depending on how heavily AI is applied in the scenario. Of course, Bloom was speaking casually, so it’s too soon to understand what level of AI might be involved. Even still though, we feel wary of the note. But we guess we’ll have to wait and see what Peter Jackson has in store.

Why Gollum as the Star of this New The Lord of the Rings Movie?

Additionally, Boyens added of selecting Gollum’s story, “Gollum’s story is one of the most compelling to us in terms of a character that we couldn’t go as deeply into as we wanted to before, which sounds strange when you say that, given how familiar he is to everybody. Gollum’s life span takes place in such an interesting period of Middle-earth. When the question was first asked, this was the first story we thought of. Because I can tell you, and people might not believe this, but we had zero expectations of going back to this. It wasn’t something we were looking to do, particularly. So when the question was asked, it was, what would draw you back? And it was about working with the people we we’re working with. It was also about the chance to work with Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy at the studio. Alan Horn is now back at the studio. It just felt right.”

Once the story of the movie settled on Gollum, Serkis was the natural choice for director if it wasn’t going to be Peter Jackson. Boyens adds, “We wanted him to tell the story of Gollum and the hunt for Gollum as soon as we decided, okay, that’s the story. And Pete knew he didn’t want to direct go back into the world of Middle-earth again. [Peter] really enjoyed working with Kenji Kamiyama, who directed War of the Rohirrim. As soon as Pete decided, okay, I’m not going to direct it myself, and it’s going to be Gollum’s story, I swear to God, there was no one else but Andy Serkis.”

Finally, Serkis revealed, “Gollum has always stuck with me throughout all of these years. I’ve read audio books of the trilogy and the Silmarillion and The Hobbit, so Tolkien’s world has never left me in all of that time since we did the first films. And the character particularly has remained such an enormous part of my life. So it’s absolutely thrilling to be able to go back and do a deep dive into his world again, and specifically into Gotham’s psychology. I know we’re all interested in investigating on a deeper level who that character is, and on top of that, to be able to direct and hopefully create a film which has its place within the canon, but also something that’s fresh and new and a different approach.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum Is Coming in 2026, Other New Movies on the HorizonNew Line Cinema

During Warner Bros. Discovery’s first-quarter earnings conference call, which we first saw on Variety, CEO David Zaslav dropped the precious news. He shared that Warner Bros. Discovery is “now in the early stages of script development” for the first of the new The Lord of the Rings movies. And that the company “anticipates” that The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will “release in 2026.”

Zaslav additionally noted, “Lord of the Rings’ is one of the most successful and revered franchises in history and presents a significant opportunity for theatrical business.” With a 2026 release date, we guess we’ll hear more about these The Lord of the Rings movies sooner rather than later. Of course, given the “opportunity” here, we wouldn’t be surprised to hear about more new The Lord of the Rings movies very soon.

Originally published on June 10, 2024.

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AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON Gets a Frighteningly Good Action Figure 2-Pack

An American Werewolf in London is over four decades old now, but it’s still one of the best werewolf films ever made. It features some of the most legendary practical effects of all time, courtesy of the iconic Rick Baker. As a way of celebrating this enduring tale of lycanthropy, Mondo is releasing a new set of figures in their Nightmare Vessels series, with an amazing two-pack that showcases creatures from the disturbing dream sequence from the film. You can check out images of these new Nightmare Vessels An American Werewolf in London figures right here:

Click To View Gallery Mondo/Universal Pictures Universal Pictures/Mondo Mondo/Universal Pictures Universal Pictures/Mondo

Here’s the official description for Mondo’s new An American Werewolf in London Nightmare Vessel figures:

Haunt your dreams (and your shelf) with Mondo’s new Nightmare Vessel line, featuring articulated soft vinyl figures that arrive inside sculpted, collectible containers. Housed in a hair-raising Kessler Wolf, this premium Nightmare Demon figure set comes complete with swappable heads and weapons from the 1981 Universal Pictures film.

An American Werewolf in London is director John Landis’ iconic horror comedy. It tells the story of two young backpackers from the States, both attacked while on vacation in the U.K. One of them dies, but a feral werewolf bites the other, and he receives the dreaded full moon curse. Throughout the film, there are fever dream sequences filled with bizarre monsters of all kinds. There’s a reason fans still consider this film one of the greatest horror movies ever made.

These new figures will ship worldwide for the price of $125.00. The two-pack comes with Nightmare Vessel/Kessler Wolf Head, the Nightmare Demon/Mutant, and the Nightmare Demon/Werewolf. It also comes with two additional swappable nightmare Demon Humanoid heads, a knife, a firearm, and a torch. This set of figures is one that horror fans definitely won’t want to miss out on.

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CASETiFy Celebrates BATMAN’s 85th Anniversary With a Batmobile Phone Case

Warner Bros. partnered with phone accessory company CASETiFY to celebrate the 85th anniversary of Batman. The line of special Bat-cases are available in limited quantities in a general release starting October 16th. The collection features products that are compatible with Apple and Samsung phones.

CASETiFY

All the components in the collection use design motifs from comics and films with specific references to the first Batman film featuring Michael Keaton. As a part of the collection, CASETiFY also released a Batmobile phone case that mirrored the one from Tim Burton’s iteration. Which is also the vehicle we thought was the best in our ranking of live-action Batmobiles.

The case was only available for the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro. They not only limited the number of cases to 50 but also offered no Android option! On top of that, the case cost…drum roll please…$2000!

CASETiFY

The top of the case flips up, revealing the phone’s camera. The Batmobile case features a resin construction, with smaller details made from metal. It also came with a detachable Impact Case in case the whole setup is too bulky for your daily usage. The case even comes with a numbered card, so you can know how exclusive the item is.

There is also an easier-to-obtain that will ship out in early November and retail for $228. The signal uses durable plastic with metal parts, while the case features TPU material and a metal carabiner. The Batman figure that comes perched atop the signal is PVC.

CASETiFY

The collection also features a range of more normal priced items like phone cases for the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. In addition to the phone cases, CASETiFY is also selling crossbody straps that can be connected to the case, as well as iPad and AirPods cases.

CASETiFY

It isn’t only cases, though. Other accessories include grip stands, wireless chargers, Apple watch straps, cardholders, and MagSafe powerbanks. They released the collection for those with priority access on Oct. 15, followed by the general release the next day. They recently released other Batman collaborations, such as Crocs. The Batmobile phone case sold out quickly, but the other products are still available on CASETiFY’s Website.

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