Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 237

Toph Arrives! Live-Action AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER Reveals Toph’s Casting

So far in live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, we’ve had: Water, Fire, Air… but one element and one important character have been conspicuously missing. Who is that, you might ask? Why, it’s Toph Beifong. Toph is the last official member of Team Avatar, or The Gaang, that still need to be introduced into Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender. But everything has changed now that… Netflix has officially announced Toph’s casting for the live-action Avatar series. But just who is it that plays our favorite earthbender in Avatar: The Last Bender? It’s actress Miya Cech. Let’s dig into it.

Who Plays Toph Beifong on Netflix’s Live-Action Avatar: The Last Airbender?Netflix

Netflix has officially revealed that Miya Cech plays Toph Beifong on live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender. Here’s what Executive Producers Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani had to say about her casting as Toph.

We make a point of reviewing submissions separately and after countless tapes, we both had the same reaction … Miya is our Toph! Miya is a brilliant performer who knows how to precisely balance the sarcastic sense of humor, stubbornness, and vulnerability that is Toph Beifong. Her physicality and emotional dexterity really put her in a class of one.

It seems that although Netflix put out a special open casting call for Toph which noted “Actors who are blind or low vision are encouraged to submit,” Cech is not herself blind or low vision. However a release notes that “Cech will also work with a producer and consultant who is blind and a professional from the blindness community, to make sure the blindness community is represented appropriately.”

Meanwhile, Chech seeks to also represent the communities she is a part of. She notes of playing Toph in the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, ““I personally am of Chinese and Japanese American descent and I’m so excited to represent my Chinese heritage in Toph Beifong… One of the most incredible aspects of this show is the diversity of the Asian cultures in the ATLA world. Even though the universe is fantasy, it feels like every culture is represented in some way and tied to the history and traditions of that culture or country. Just a few years ago, you might have seen one or two of these actors in a show or movie, but on this show we are all able to represent this world together and work together and collaborate. It’s really amazing and a gift as an actor.”

Our First-Look at Live-Action Toph in ATLA

Toph’s great strength lies in her feet. She sees the world through them and kicks some serious butt with their powers. Honestly, this Avatar: The Last Airbender season two teaser of Toph stomping her Earthbending powers to life is point-perfect. It gets us seriously excited for what’s to come in the series. We can just hear Toph saying, “Hey Twinkle Toes,” to Aang. And we just can’t wait to see The Gaang complete. After Toph comes aboard in ATLA season two, we just need Zuko to get his act together, and we’ll be set. We hope the series gives us some more time with all five members as a full team. That’s the best part of Avatar, after all.

Why Is Everyone So Excited For Toph to Join Live-Action Avatar Season 2? Who Is Toph? Nickelodeon

In a word, Toph is badass. We said it. Toph is a snarky, sassy, unafraid tank and she knows how to conquer the earth and dish it out with the best of them. We love Katara, Sokka, and Aang, (and Zuko, of course), but Toph adds a little something special. In the anime, Toph is the daughter of a rich Earthbending family, the Beifongs, who think she’s a fragile doll. But in secret, Toph spends her time taking down master Earthbenders in the fighting ring. She becomes Aang’s Earthbending master and though her style is not quite his, they come to understand each other on a deep level. Toph’s frenemies to friends relationship with Katara and her semi-flirtatious relationship with Sokka are also quite fun. Maybe live-action Toph will eventually get to take that field trip with Zuko that she never got to in the anime.

In any case, we’re so excited that Miya Cech has been cast as Toph in live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender season two, and we can’t wait to see where the story will go.

Netflix’s Avatar The Last Airbender Also Begins Production

In addition to this casting announcement, Netflix also revealed that Avatar: The Last Airbender season two is now in production.

Producers Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani notes of the start of live-action ATLA season two’s production, “We’re looking forward to working with all of our actors again and digging into the deeper, more complicated relationships that develop as their journey continues in Season 2. We are going to show the real-world versions of iconic scenes from the original, and explore some of the stories that the animation didn’t. Mainly — we’re looking forward to seeing our gang all together again… We’re going to challenge our characters with more complex and nuanced obstacles as they navigate a more tactile world. Just as the animated series matured and progressed, the live-action will also take these characters and worlds and grow them.”

Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender season one is now streaming on Netflix.

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Here’s Why Carmine Falcone Was Recast in THE PENGUIN Series

The universe of Matt Reeves’ The Batman is expanding exponentially. Separate from the DCU involving the other DC heroes, Reeves’ world is hyper gritty, and focused solely on the world of Gotham City. And the first project of this new The Batman-verse is a Max (formerly HBO Max) series focusing on Oswald “Oz” Chesterfield Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin.

Warner Bros.

Recently, showrunner Lauren LeFranc revealed an interesting tidbit about why one character, Carmine Falcone, was recast. John Turturro played the character in The Batman, but in The Penguin, Mark Strong will play him instead. LeFranc reveals:

Well, practically, John was just unavailable to us. He had scheduling conflicts, and we couldn’t make it work, but honestly, I’m so thrilled that we brought Mark Strong on. I think he’s really good. Even though, maybe in the beginning when you first meet him, you might think, “Oh. Well, for fans of The Batman, I’m so used to John Turturro,” and obviously John’s a great actor, but I feel like the gravitas that Mark brings, it’s different. It’s very specific, and I hope, by the end of that episode, you’re just thinking, “That’s Carmine Falcone,” and you’re engaged in what Mark brings to it.

There you have it.

Max

Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming The Penguin series centered on the so-called criminal King of Gotham, once again played by Colin Farrell.

Title

The title of the series is simply The Penguin.

The Penguin‘s PlotWarner Bros.

Based on early statements, it seems the plot of the series focuses on Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot as he rises in the ranks of Gotham’s underworld, and becomes a power player. It will take place in the aftermath of the flooding of Gotham City, as seen in the final act of The Batman. Here’s what producer Matt Reeves had to say about the show’s premise:

Colin exploded off the screen as the Penguin in The Batman. Having the chance to thoroughly explore the inner life of that character on HBO Max is an absolute thrill. Dylan and I are so excited to work with Lauren in continuing Oz’s story as he grabs violently for power in Gotham.

The Batman spinoff show does have a confirmed timeline and a bit more about its plot. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, showrunner Lauren LeFranc confirms that The Penguin takes one week after The Batman‘s events. We’re in Oz’s world,” LeFranc says. “We’re living in the underbelly of the city. Oz is a mover and a shaker. He can’t always be trusted. He’s very smart and very methodical, but he’s also extremely impulsive. You can’t predict what he’s going to do.”

Max

LeFranc confirms that the show will be a bridge between The Batman and its upcoming sequel in 2026. As we already know, this all exists in its own universe, now known as the “Batman Epic Crime Saga.” …Okay.

Colin Farrell says we will get into his villain’s backstory and personal life, including Oz’s relationship with his mother and with Carmine Falcone’s daughter Sofia. She’s fresh from Arkham Asylum and ready to add her madness into the mix. “They’re two survivalists who’ve been immersed in worlds of duplicity and defeat and violence,” Farrell said about Sofia and Oz. “They’re very suspicious. They also have a very personally connected backstory.”

Additionally, Farrell shares of The Penguin series:

It’s dark, that’s what I can tell you about it. It’s really dark. It’s really heavy, I think – it certainly was doing it. Which is not to say I didn’t have fun, I had an amazing time doing it. It’s incredibly violent.

It’s one man’s rise to what he’s always dreamed of inhabiting which is a certain power or social status. The death of Carmine Falcone at the end of [The Batman] the film, leaves this vacuum in Gotham to be filled and so there are various people that are grabbing for that power and this is Oswald’s journey trying to rise to the top through extraordinary obstacles.

The series will have eight episodes.

Behind the Scenes

Lauren LeFranc will write the script for the series and serve as showrunner. The Batman director Matt Reeves and producer Dylan Clark will serve as executive producers, along with star Colin Farrell. Reeves won’t be directing, at least not early on. Directing an early episode is Craig Zobel.

The Penguin‘s CastWarner Bros.

In the title role is the returning Colin Farrell. Also in the cast is Cristin Milioti as the female lead of the show, Sofia Falcone.

In addition, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Zegen, James Madio, Scott Cohen, Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, David H. Holmes, and Theo Rossi will also appear.

Most recently, we learned that Clancy Brown has joined the cast as Salvatore Maroni. Worth noting, in the comics, Maroni was responsible for throwing acid at Harvey Dent. This, of course, led Dent to become Two-Face. This could be an interesting way to bring the iconic villain into The Batman‘s world.

ShowtimeThe Penguin‘s Release Date

The Penguin will officially come to Max on September 19.

Originally published November 9, 2022.

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THE BOYS Will End with Season 5, Lots of Death Coming

The Boys fourth season is days away from premiering, but we already knew it wouldn’t be the series’ last. Prime Video recently announced it had already ordered a fifth season. But now we know that season five of The Boys will also be its final season. Showrunner Eric Kripke took to Twitter to say that, after admittedly being “cagey,” he’s ready to admit season five will be The Boys supe swan song. Yes, The Boys will end with season five.

#TheBoys Season 4 Premiere Week is a good time to announce: Season 5 will be the Final Season! Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final OK from Vought. Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax. Watch Season 4 in 2 DAYS, cause the end has begun! pic.twitter.com/3p7Wt4jGA6

— Eric Kripke (@therealKripke) June 11, 2024

After it seemed as though The Boys might (maybe even likely) continue past season five, Kripke has surprisingly revealed it will actually end after five seasons. (Plus what should be at least two years of its spinoff Gen V.) The showrunner said that ending The Boys after five seasons was always his plan, which is both good and bad.

It’s good because it means Kripke is telling the story he set out to tell and it’s ending where he thinks is the show’s natural endpoint. But it’s bad because this means no more The Boys, one of the best, most consistently entertaining shows in TV history, after season five.

Prime Video

In full, Kripke’s message about the end of The Boys reads as follows, “The Boys Season 4 Premiere Week is a good time to announce: Season 5 will be the Final Season! Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final OK from Vought. Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax. Watch Season 4 in 2 DAYS, cause the end has begun!”

Additionally, Kripke later shared, “This story of The Boys will not continue on. With any luck, Gen V will continue on, there will be hopefully a couple others in development that we’re talking about that can continue on, but The Boys story ends in season 5.”

Of course, this begs the question, does Eric Kripke know exactly how The Boys‘ ending will play out? It sounds like Kripke has a vision for season five of The Boys‘ very final moments… But not necessarily the whole arc of the season. Here’s what he had to say:

I’d say we’re squarely in the middle. Every season we know that we want Homelander to get a little more disconnected from reality, and we want Butcher to get a little scarier. The show is, at the end of the day, about these two forces charging towards each other, between Butcher and Homelander. I know that them finally smashing into each other, once and for all, will be a big part of whatever end game we come up with. But beyond that, and beyond knowing where I want Hughie, it’s like I know where I want a lot of the characters to end up. That’s what I would say. I actually don’t even necessarily know the climax of the show, as much as I know that 10 pages that happens at the end, when they say six months later, and you see where everyone is. I know where everyone is. Then my job, as whenever we get to it, my job is to just make sure we can back into that.

On top of this, Kripke warns fans that “there will probably be lots of death” to come in season five of The Boys and offers “no guarantee” anyone will survive. Additionally, he notes that since season five of The Boys is the final season, it doesn’t have to worry about anything after it and “you can have really shocking, big things happen all the time.” More shocking than what The Boys already has on offer? That’s a hell of a warning, indeed.

Prime Video

Recently, another The Boys figure, Giancarlo Esposito, commented on The Boys season five, noting, “I think it’s going to be a whirlwind season… Every show that comes to an end has an explosive ending in its final season, and The Boys is just such a very outrageous show, but also reflective of the world we live in now.”

Giancarlo Esposito on ‘The Gentleman,’ ‘The Boys’ final season, and ‘Megalopolis’ | #Emmys pic.twitter.com/tkpRk3an5D

— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 15, 2024

With all that said, the end of The Boys is still a ways away. And f***ing hell, we are going to enjoy every last second of this series.

Originally published on June 11, 2024.

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How THE RINGS OF POWER Connects Sauron’s Crown to Morgoth’s

Adar told Galadriel his plan for defeating Sauron forever during episode six of The Rings of Power season two. The Uruk leader wants to combine the strength of the three elven rings with something just as powerful. He has the Dark Lord’s own crown. Only, Adar said that crown once belonged to someone else. He claims it was reforged from the Iron Crown Morgoth used to carry the famed Silmarils. Is Adar telling the truth? Or does he only think he’s telling the truth because “the deceiver” lied? To find out we must dig into J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore to see how The Rings of Power is connecting Sauron’s to Morgoth’s, either in truth or deception.

Prime Video

Morgoth was the most powerful of the Valar who brought evil to the world. (You can read more about him with our primer Who is Morgoth?) He was also the Dark Lord of the First Age, the era before The Rings of Power‘s time period. Sauron was Morgoth’s most loyal servant and hand-picked heir, but while more famous than his master, Morgoth was even more powerful.

Morgoth crafted his own Iron Crown in the volcanic mountains of Thangorodrim. He made it to hold the three famed Silmarils he’d stolen. Those were the jewels that contained the light from the Two Trees of Valinor. Celebrimbor’s grandfather Fëanor, the greatest elf craftsman whom Celebrimbor has been desperate to live up to throughout season two, made the Silmarils.

The Iron Crown was not easy to wear, but Morgoth refused to take it off. Ultimately he would be forced to wear it for eternity. When Morgoth finally fell in the War of Wrath the Valar beat the Dark Lord’s Iron Crown into a collar for his neck. They then threw the bound Morgoth into the Timeless Void outside of space and time. According to The Silmarillion that’s where the remnants of Morgoth’s crown remain. That’s likely the story Galadriel was told, the one she was about to reference when Adar cut her off during their conversation at dinner.

Prime Video

Adar tells a different tale of the crown’s fate. For while he says “there are many stories of what happened after the Silmarils were pried from (the Iron Crown’s) settings,” he was “there when Sauron re-fired it to to fit himself.” Adar says he was present when Sauron “kneeled to be crowned,” just as he was the one who used the crown to slay Sauron.

We saw Adar try—but ultimately fail—to kill Sauron in a flashback at the start of season two, so at least part of his story is true. What we didn’t see was Sauron actually finding and taking Morgoth’s crown. In fairness, we did not see the Valar turn it into a collar, either. So could Adar’s story be true? Yes, we just don’t know how yet.

Prime Video

The Silmarillion is a definitive text, but The Rings of Power is an adaptation that has not been bound by Middle-earth canon. The show does more than just fill in gaps or use a lack of lore to tell its story. (Like how it gave a backstory for the creation of mithril.) The series sometimes makes major change to Tolkien’s writings, like how it has reversed the order Celebrimbor forged the rings of power. (He made the elves’ rings last and without Sauron, not first with him like on the Prime video series.) Adar might have told Galadriel a totally true story within in the reality of the show.

Adar could also be telling the complete truth without breaking any Tolkienian lore considering what else we know about Morgoth’s Iron Crown. It had to be huge. Morgoth was gigantic, anywhere from two to three times bigger than the seven-foot elves he fought with during the First Age. His presence, as briefly seen during the Prime Video series’ first episode, was easily that large. The Silmarillion itself says Morgoth stood over an elven king “as a tower” and “cast a shadow over him like a storm cloud.” That’s how he’s always depicted.

Prime Video

Did the Valar need all of Morgoth’s humongous, lengthy spiked crown to make a single collar? What if they only needed some of its iron and left the rest behind? That would have been plenty for Sauron, who was around a third the size of his master, to make his own crown out of Morgoth’s.

For sticklers that might seem like a convenient way to technically not break lore while still being too loose with it, but it actually fits in seamlessly with other Middle-earth adaptations. Sauron’s crown, including in Peter Jackson’s films, is based on Tolkien’s description of Morgoth’s. Since Sauron was his chosen successor, that has always made sense. The Rings of Power is now building on that tradition in a meaningful way. This season has seen Annatar manipulate Celebrimbor into creating the rings of power. He’s been able to do that because the elven craftsman is desperate to best his grandfather and the Silmarils, the very thing Morgoth’s crown was made to hold. The history of Middle-earth, the elves, and evil are all connected.

This is Sauron we’re talking about, so it’s possible the story Adar “knows” is nothing but a lie. Sauron would have many reasons to claim his crown came from Morgoth’s. It would give him legitimacy and authority as Morgoth’s rightful heir. It would also serve as an imposing symbol and a feared source of actual power, one imbued with both Morgoth’s strength and that of the Silmarils, just as mithril is on the show.

New Line Cinema

If Sauron was lying that might explain why Adar couldn’t kill him with just the crown. That deception could now also be leading Adar down a faulty path. He hopes to combine Sauron’s helm with the elves’ rings Sauron himself helped make. Or it might be even simpler. It might be that Morgoth’s crown could never truly harm the original Dark Lord’s chosen one.

Whatever the truth is—as interesting and meaningful as it might be—it won’t change one thing. Sauron is coming back for his crown and he’s going to get it.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He never trusts Sauron, but this time? This time it might be different. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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All the WANDAVISION Characters Who Appear in AGATHA ALL ALONG

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Agatha All Along is finally here after a very lengthy wait. For the past three years, Agatha Harkness a.k.a. Agnes has been living in a Westview preoccupied with her various delusions, including masquerading as a homicide detective. In the show’s first episode, we see a very different yet oddly familiar version of Westview that initially starts as a play on True Detective (and true crime shows in general) known as “Agnes of Westview,” and it includes a handful of familiar faces. Episode two continues to unveil more about Westview and even brings one character along for a wild adventure. Here are all the WandaVision characters who lived in Westview that appear in Agatha All Along. 

Herb (Real Name: John Collins) Marvel Studios

Wanda and Vision’s neighbor Herb is in Agatha All Along. But this time, he’s not rocking an Afro nor catching anyone on the flipside. Instead, he’s been dealing and going along with Agatha’s constant delusions stemming from her entrapment in Wanda’s distorted spell. She imagines him as a forensics investigator who finds Wanda’s dead body in the woods. In reality, Herb is just a neighbor who 1) doesn’t want to see Agatha naked and 2) is probably over all the weird things happening in his town. 

Like everyone else, Herb remembers what happened in WandaVision and knows that Agatha is trapped mentally and cannot really leave. The town seems to go along with her ramblings until Teen and Rio show up to break her from the spell’s slumber. 

Dottie (Real Name: Sarah Proctor) 

The very bougie Dottie from WandaVision is actually a lot more chill and likeable in real life. In Agatha All Along, Dottie is Sarah Proctor, a Westview librarian who gives Agatha a piece of information about a library book checkout card she found near Wanda’s body. (Of course, Agatha still uses everyone’s sitcom names.) Well, not actually, but in her delusional/transfixed state. We later see Dottie and her family, including a daughter and husband Harold, watching Agatha run in the streets naked after she reclaims herself. 

Phil Jones (Real Name: Harold Proctor) 

In WandaVision, Phil Jones is the employee who is fired by Mr. Hart after a “terrible” dinner at his house. I guess that’s what happens when you wear a turtleneck. In Agatha All Along, Phil is regular ole Harold, husband to Sarah. We can assume he’s still a piano teacher, even though he was the chief of police for a bit in Agatha’s true crime loving mind. 

Norm (Real Name: Abilash Tandon)Marvel Studios

Vision’s cheerful co-worker Norm is seen in Agatha All Along working at a pawn/repair shop. She stops in and shows him a locket with a piece of auburn hair inside of it. He looks as her oddly as she walks away, probably aware of what’s happening with her grip on reality. We see him later humorously as he runs in the opposite direction of a naked Agatha. Hopefully everything is okay with Norm’s dad and sister, whom he talked about briefly when he wasn’t under Wanda’s spell. 

Dennis (Real Name: Unknown)

Dennis was a pizza delivery man turned mail delivery guy in WandaVision. He is in the library and speaks to Agnes in Agatha All Along, telling her that there was a fire and every copy was destroyed. So technically he is still “just the messenger.” She doesn’t know it until a bit later, but he’s talking about the Darkhold. His cameo is perhaps the strangest of them all.

Señor Scratchy (Real Name:…presumably Señor Scratchy, possibly Nicholas Scratch) Marvel Studios

The infamous bunny rabbit that everyone thought was some mage or evil being in WandaVision seemed to be not real. But now we know that Señor Scratchy is real and appears in Agatha All Along. He lives with Agatha and makes a couple of cute appearances before the coven heads off down Witches’ Road. It’s not lost on any of us that Scratchy is similar to her deceased (??) son’s name Nicholas Scratch. Could her son’s spirit be in her familiar’s bunny body. Maybe we will finally get answers about this bun.

Mrs. Hart (Real Name: Sharon Davis) Marvel Studios

The most important WandaVision character to appear in Agatha All Along is Mrs. Hart. She was the wife of Vision’s boss Mr. Hart who came over for that humorous and disturbing dinner in episode one of WandaVision. In this series, she accidentally hits Teen with her car while he’s trying to run from Agatha. This allows her to apprehend him and eventually find out that he wants to go to The Road, also known as Witches’ Road. He wants to discover power on its path and says it is what Agatha is missing.

There are entities coming to kill a magicless Agatha and she’s intrigued by Teen, so she really has no choice. But to do it, she needs a coven of people who are at least witchy adjacent to access The Road. She pieces together a few folks but they remind her that she needs a green witch. There wasn’t a name on the conjured list but there was a black heart symbol. So Agatha goes to Mrs. Hart, who is now a widow and deep into maintaining her garden. She invites Mrs. Hart to a “party” and ends up going right along with the adventure.

As far as we know, Mrs. Hart isn’t a witch in the sense that the others are. But this show will likely give us some surprises. Was she perhaps playing along with Wanda at that dinner? We shall see. 

We don’t know if we will see more WandaVision characters in Agatha All Along. Of course, there’s always the hope to see Wanda, but who knows what will happen. Agatha and her new coven are on their way down Witches’ Road, so a return to Westview probably won’t happen any time soon, if it happens at all. Either way, it was fun to return to the town and once again see it from a weird perspective.

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Colin Farrell Talks ‘The Carnage’ of Oz in THE PENGUIN and Batman Not Being Top of Mind

HBO’s The Penguin is bringing to life a new chapter of The Batman universe. And this time, it’s all about, you guessed it, Penguin. and a gritty street-level series the likes of which has never quite been seen before, Colin Farrell’s Penguin is ready to take the crime underworld of Gotham by storm. He’s a man on a mission and he is not stopping. Through Oz’s many schemes, betrayals, wins, and losses, the audience will get a front-row seat to the innermost workings of this Batman villain like never before. In celebration of The Penguin, Colin Farrell, who, as mentioned, plays Oz Cobb in a deeply transformative turn, spoke to Nerdist and other press about the character at its NYC premiere.

Max

According to Farrell, we’re in for a wild ride with Oz in The Penguin. This series will take us all the way back to Oz’s childhood. “There are some extraordinary scenes, flashback scenes, and scenes in the present that kind of refer to certain things that happened in his childhood. Oz is someone who is not to be trifled with and he can be extraordinarily cruel, it’s a descent into his psychosis really in the show in many ways, I say that not lightly.”

That said (with gravitas), Farrell is very clear that nothing in Oz’s past seeks to absolve him of his bad behavior on The Penguin. And yet, seeing some of what transpired in his life does help to understand the person he has become in this The Batman series. Farrell continues, “There’s no justification for so many of the things he’s done. But you can kind of see how somebody who might have been born a little bit broken already. But if he was, that break was agitated and was magnified by certain things that took place in his early years.”

HBO

As to how The Penguin connects to The Batman series as a whole, Farrell tells the press in a question asked by Comicbook, that Batman is not top of mind for one Oz Cobb. “Oz has other things on his mind.” Farrell offers. “He’s trying to keep his shit together, and he’s trying to fill the power vacuum in Gotham. Maybe he has a passing thought [about Batman], like, is that guy gonna turn up? But there’s so much happening to him already that the immediate present is really the most important thing.”

HBO

Like Oz Cobb, Farrell himself had things on his mind other than The Batman movies while creating The Penguin. “It wasn’t so much for me about the things that connected The Batman and The Penguin.” He notes about his time as Oz Cobb in this spinoff in a question asked by The Mary Sue, “It was more the stuff that I got to experience anew. Working with Cristin [Milioti] as Sofia Falcone, she’s extraordinary. The relationship between Rhenzy [Feliz]—the relationship there is really interesting.”

Ultimately, though, the black heart of the series lies in the relationship between Oz and his mom. Farrell notes of the Penguin’s familial ties. “The relationship between Oz and his mom… really, there’s something so anchoring and deeply meaningful about the relationship between Francis, Oz’s mom, so wonderfully played by Didi [Deirdre O’Connell] and myself, as Oz. I loved those scenes. There’s something so heartfelt about those scenes. And I think that’s where you see Oz at his most vulnerable, when he’s with his mother. And there’s so much carnage around that. Any time you get to see Oz’s true vulnerability is always interesting to show and access.”

HBO

And indeed, The Penguin is all about carnage of many kinds. Colin Farrell makes his grand return to the villainous Batman character in The Penguin, which premieres on HBO and Max on September 19 at 6pm PT/9pm ET.

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Why THE PENGUIN Changed Oswald Cobblepot’s Name

The Batman in 2022 gave us our first glimpse at Matt Reeves’ version of Gotham City. While not the first “realistic” version of the fictional comic book city, though arguably more in line with a lot of more comic-booky Batman aesthetics, The Batman perfectly thread the line between grounded and fantastical. It’s not The Dark Knight, but it’s also not Batman & Robin. Because of that, several of the sillier elements had to change to fit better. Some of those are the names of characters. Chief among them, the Penguin (Colin Farrell). In the movie, we learn he goes by “Oz,” and the series The Penguin confirms his name is not Oswald Cobblepot.

Max

The series changes the name Oswald Cobblepot to Oswald “Oz” Cobb. Small change, but bigger ramifications. In the comic, Oswald Cobblepot is a criminal in the vein of high-society wannabe. He’s the black sheep of a decidedly white sheep family. That really doesn’t fit The Batman‘s version of the character one bit, a mafia enforcer who fancies himself a bigshot. Similar vibe, wildly different execution. So the easy answer is, “Oswald Cobblepot” is a silly name.

Speaking to SFX (), The Penguin producer Dylan Clark explains the change further. “[DC] never got around to changing his name in the comics like they did with the Riddler, going from Edward Nigma [or Nygma] to Edward Nashton, from an unreal name to a real name.” This, of course, is true. In the comics, we learn Edward Nygma was a retrofitted pseudonym for Edward Nashton once he took on the persona of the Riddler.

Warner Bros.

“We had a lot of conversations with DC Comics and with Jim Lee [President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics],” Clark continued. “They had thought about changing his name at some point but had never done it. Matt asked, ‘Can I call our character Oz Cobb?’ And Jim said, ‘Absolutely!’ So we got a blessing from the king himself. That small change of the name allowed us to look at this character in a grounded way.”

Boy, they are really worried about a story where a guy dresses up like a bat feeling grounded. Ah well, it is what it is. Oz Cobb does fit the character better, somehow, so maybe they had the right idea.

The Penguin premieres September 19 on HBO.

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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TIME BANDITS Canceled at Apple TV+, Spirit Halloween Cinnabon Box Costume, Kelsey Grammer Teases Beast “Conversations,” and Other News Odds & Ends

Check out the latest odds and ends of entertainment news.

Mr. Crocket

Get ready for a creepy children’s show to come to life, complete with an eerie jingle. Mr. Crockett is here to snatch children and kill parents. Yikes!

YouTubeYouTube

YouTube will soon allow creators to organize their contents by “season” and “episode” on its platform. YouTube Chief Product Officer Johanna Voolich shares in a blog post, “To help our creators’ content shine on TVs, they will soon be able to organize their content into seasons and episodes, making it easy for viewers to tune into the new must see TV… We’re making other improvements to the TV experience with immersive content that plays directly from a creator’s channel, streamlined subscription options and easier access to links in descriptions.” This update will arrive in 2025.

Time Bandits Apple TV+

Alas, although fans were excited about the Time Bandits series reboot/adaptation of Terry Gilliam’s cult favorite movie and seemed to like it overall, it was not meant to be. Joining a pile of other Apple TV+ series that somehow didn’t manage to make a big mark despite a big budget and a good amount of star power, Time Bandits has been canceled after one season. It seems like Time Bandits just didn’t garner a large enough audience. And so, to the canceled heap it goes. We barely knew you!

Apple TV+

For the interested, The Time Bandits season one synopsis shared:

Guided by Lisa Kudrow, the eccentric crew of bandits embark on epic adventures while evil forces threaten their conquests, and life as they know it. As the group transports through time and space, the gang stumbles upon fascinating worlds of the distant past while seeking out treasure, depending on Kevin to shed light on each situation. The “Time Bandits” witness the creation of Stonehenge, see the Trojan Horse in action, escape dinosaurs in the prehistoric ages, wreak havoc during medieval times, experience the Ice Age, ancient civilizations and the Harlem Renaissance, and much more along the way. 

Spirit HalloweenSpirit Halloween

Spirit Halloween is here to make Halloween miracles come true. Now you can dress like a Cinnabon Box or an Auntie Anne’s Pretzel Nuggets Cup. Isn’t that what every little kid dreams of? We just have to wonder if these costumes also include a Cinnabon and Auntie Anne perfume spray to really set the scene.

The Lord of the Rings

How many Hobbit feet have we made? The truth is, we’ve lost count. Here, Elijah Wood finds the perfect fit for his role as one of the most beloved Hobbits in the world of Middle-earth, Frodo.#wetaworkshop #tolkien #lordoftherings #lotr#middleearth #film #hobbits pic.twitter.com/8Glrf42B8b

— Wētā Workshop (@WetaWorkshop) September 16, 2024

Wētā Workshop can’t recall how many Hobbit feet its made, but does recall Elijah Wood looking for his perfect fit.

MCU – Beast Marvel Studios

Kelsey Grammer surprise reprised his role as the X-Men’s Beast in The Marvels. But Grammer can’t say much about whether his Beast will return to the MCU in the future. He notes that there have been “some conversations” about Beast returning to the Marvel franchise. These, he seems to imply, are bolstered by the “overwhelming” response to his cameo. In full, Grammer shares, “There’s nothing I can talk about. What I do know is that there was a huge sort of outburst when I showed up at the end of The Marvels; I guess it was. The response was really almost… it wasn’t unexpected. There’d be some response, but it was pretty overwhelming, and so there are some conversations.”

MCU – Scarlet WitchMarvel Studios

Elizabeth Olsen recently gave voice to what some MCU fans of the character have themselves felt. She noted, “It’s a character that I love going back to when there’s a way to use her well, and I think I have been lucky that when I started I was used well. I think people didn’t know what to do with me for a second there… if there’s a good way to use her I’m always happy to come back.”

She seems to imply Marvel wasn’t super sure what to do with her character for a time, but the good news is Olsen is always happy to return as Scarlet Witch… If there’s a reason.

MCU – RDJ’s ReturnRobert Downey Jr.

We were shocked when it was announced Robert Downey Jr. would return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. And we weren’t the only ones. MCU co-star Don Cheadle shared his reaction was about the same. He revealed, “I was like, ‘What the f*ck?’ I think that’s exactly what I said,” 

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomNintendo

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom almost had a much more spoilery name. Producer Eiji Aonuma shared more about the title in Tears of the Kingdom‘s art book. In it, Aonuma notes, “One of the candidates for the title that made it to [the] end [of development] was ‘Tears of the Dragon,'”But it would be a bad idea to have the keyword ‘Dragon’ in the title, and we wanted to have dragon patterns in the logo, but decided otherwise. It’d emphasize the Light Dragon, after all.”

Nintendo

The game’s development team didn’t want to emphasize the Light Dragon too heavily in the title because it would have pointed to a huge game spoiler. The Light Dragon is, of course, Princess Zelda herself. To save her kingdom and restore the Master Sword to its full power, Zelda sacrifices her humanity and becomes the dragon. In this way, Tears of the Kingdom also makes perfect sense but doesn’t draw too much attention to The Light Dragon and her identity.

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THE OFFICE Australian Remake’s Trailer Gets Back to Work with Franchise’s First Female Boss

The Office, fittingly, is never going to let us go. We’re clearly always going to be tethered to a sitcom desk. And not just because we can’t stop watching old reruns. The franchise that started in the UK before making waves across the Atlantic is still going strong. An upcoming spinoff will return the show to U.S. airwaves (likely) in 2025. But before it does, we’ll have another way to get our fix of workplace comedy with a very different kind of boss. Well, not that different. Because while the new trailer from Prime Video’s Australia remake of The Office features the franchise’s first-ever woman boss, she reminds us a whole lot of David Brent and Michael Scott.

Meet Hannah Howard (played by Felicity Ward), manager of the latest iteration of The Office. She’s heading up the Aussie version of the show, the first iteration in any country to ever star a woman. This trailer also introduces Lizzie (played by Edith Poor), who is clearly the show’s answer to “Dwight.” Steen Raskopoulos’ also joins them as Nick, who looks to be Australia’s version of Jim. Of course you can’t have a Jim without a Pam, and Shari Sebbens’ Greta will fill that role.

The rest of the cast includes What We Do in the Shadows‘ alum Jonny Brugh as Lloyd, who takes his job so seriously he lives at it. And Josh Thomson plays Martin, whom we already empathize with.

Prime Video Australia

They all work at the fictional packing company Flinley Craddick. But its boss isn’t the show’s only twist. It will also see its characters responding to a post-COVID world. Here’s what Australia Prime Video said about the new boss show when it was first announced:

When she gets news from Head Office that they will be shutting down her branch and making everyone work from home, she goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep in order to keep her ‘work family’ together. 

We’re confident she’ll only be able to do some of that. And even less of it well. We’ll find out just how much when Australia’s The Office debuts at Prime Video on October 18.

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STAR WARS: SKELETON CREW Reveals First Look at Jaleel White’s Cyborg Space Pirate

Lucasfilm revealed a new live-action Star Wars television series at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in spring 2022. The show from MCU Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts and writer Chris Ford sounds like a Goonies-style adventure set in a galaxy far, far away.

The Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has finally confirmed its release date. The series will arrive on Disney+ on December 3. And when it does, it promises to be an incredibly fun Star Wars time.

The most shocking recent news is that Jaleel White, who played the infamous Steve Urkel, will be a space pirate named Gunter in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. That was not on our 2024 Bingo cards. Anyway, here’s some first images from Entertainment Weekly.

First look at Jaleel White (@jaleelwhite) as a pirate in SKELETON CREW

(Source: @ew) pic.twitter.com/Hsm9EI7Y3y

— Star Wars Holocron (@sw_holocron) September 18, 2024

New look at Jude Law in SKELETON CREW

(Source: @ew) pic.twitter.com/MCc4q5Pj6q

— Star Wars Holocron (@sw_holocron) September 18, 2024

Star Jude Law revealed that Star Wars: Skeleton Crew would have loads of Easter eggs for Star Wars fans to find. He noted, “If you look carefully, [we] got some Star Wars tech that dates right back, I believe, to the original film… They do [easter eggs] so well. That’s one of the joys I think of this universe for those who know there are these little details always hidden away or Easter eggs that people can find and link up.”

Lucasfilm

Creator Watts adds that there are indeed “a lot of Easter eggs” to be found. Noting that, “even in the first episode, there’s a couple really, really great references that certain fans will immediately recognize.” And Ford adds that he and Watts had “the fun and the challenge of finding some deep cut [references].”

But of course, that’s all extra. “You don’t have to know everything about Star Wars to enjoy the show,” Watts reveals. “You can come into it completely fresh and enjoy the story. But if you do happen to be a Star Wars super fan, there’s a lot for you.”

Lucasfilm

Here’s what we know about Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

Title

The title of the upcoming Star Wars live-action TV series is Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s PlotLucasfilm

We know a few details about the plot of Skeleton Crew. The story will take place in the New Republic era. That’s the same timeline as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. It centers on a group of children lost in space. The Star Wars: Skeleton Crew series also takes inspiration from the Amblin movies of the ’80s.

A synopsis for the series shares:

“Skeleton Crew” follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home—and meeting unlikely allies and enemies—will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined. 

Behind the ScenesNerdist

Jon Watts directs Skeleton Crew and Chris Ford is writing on the series. The duo created the show. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau provide producing support. Skeleton Crew was production since at least September 2022, as the creatives shared an image from the set at D23 Expo during that time. The series is now done with production.

Directors include Watts, Ford, David Lowery, the Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Jake Schreier, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Lee Isaac Chung. 

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s CastLucasfilm

The first cast member Lucasfilm confirmed for Skeleton Crew was Jude Law. Joining Law on the journey are Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, and Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Tunde Adebimpe, Jaleel White, Marti Matulis, Dale Soules, Mike Estes, and Kerry Condon. According to Entertainment Weekly, White will portray the space pirate Gunter, Matulis as Vane from The Mandalorian, Estes as Pax, Soules as Chaelt, and Fred Tatasciore (voice)/Stephan Oyoung (physical) as the wolflike character Brutus.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s Release Date

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will release on December 3, 2024.

Here's your first look at the upcoming Star Wars Original series, #SkeletonCrew, streaming December 3 on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/QkMxeE8Kn8

— Star Wars (@starwars) July 31, 2024

Originally published on September 22, 2022.

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