Weird Mind News Room Episode 164: April 13th - 19th

 *Music to unearth the tomb of ancients*

Hello again to each and every single one of you very fine and wonderful people, my name is Sam and I once again welcome you to another episode of Weird Mind News Room, where for this massive bumper packed episode of New releases, a selection of ever evolving trailers and a massive lengthy focus on the news cause of one big event, but we can get to all of that now, so let us get into all things media for this week.

New Releases of Livin' the Dream

Movies

Lee Cronin's The Mummy

The first of the new releases of this week and the only film in focus for the week is that we have seen many interpretations of this classic movie monster from the classic B-Movies of yesteryear, a fun adventure series and one that started and ended a planned cinematic universe, but this time around, we will be seeing a new take on this monster being unraveled from a more established creator in horror and one from my home country as Lee Cronin has returned after the success of his Evil Dead movie to bring his all new take on The Mummy. The film sees the sudden disappearance of the youngest daughter of a Journalist somewhere in the far reaches of the desert without a trace, but suddenly the shattered family is stunned when she reappears eight years later. However what should've been a joyful family reunion turns into a true and horrifying nightmare. The reception on this new version of the franchise is a bit more of a mixed outcome that while the design, tone, graphic element and performances are praised, the film comes up short in the story aspect and some feel its nearly a copied version of their previous film of Evil Dead Rise the a Mummy film, though it does have some fans and if you want to unwrap the horrors unfolding then you can catch this film out now in cinemas.

TV Shows

Euphoria Final season

On the first of the tv shows from this week, it will bring the case of getting another insight into the aspect of Drugs, Sex and Rock and Roll, but this may a lot more of an extreme format this time around with a lot more questionable qualities since we last saw this group, as after nearly 4 years and a whole lot of baggage, we have the release of the 3rd and final season to Euphoria. The new season jumps forward 5 years into the future, with the now adult characters post High school with it focusing on themes on faith, redemption and evil as they navigate life, careers and complex relationships with Rue dealing with drug debts in Mexico, Cassie and Nate's troubled marriage, Jules in Art school, and Maddy working in Hollywood, all while exploring the fallout of their intense pasts. Now reception on this season however has not been the most acclaimed and is currently the lowest rated of the series that while some performances have been praised and the cinematography is done well, the scattershot plots, questionable material and some other elements including a sense of episodes dragging have made this last season a bit of a slog to get through but if you want to see where the story goes, you can catch the first episode now on HBO Max, Sky Atlantic and Now TV with a new episode releasing every Sunday Night / Monday Morning.

Smiling Friends Final 2 episodes

Now for a bit more of a somber posting, one I would never thought I would see come to this early and a contrast to what this show was supposed to do as these colourful and wacky characters have reached their time and will be heading off into the sunset when I am not ready to see them leave but it has come to that time with the release of the final 2 episodes of Smiling Friends. Now these last 2 have a focus of different adventures with the first entitled 'Friend Bot (Version 12589218731809213528796879521)' will see the gang come across a little fast helper bot from a job that doesn't last long and ends up dying before it can begin with crazy outcomes and in 'Charlie's Uncle dies and doesn't come Back' we finally meet Charlie's Uncle after hearing about him across the series to help him to smile, while Allan goes on a Date-uh and things will not be as simple for these characters when things occour. Now reception on these 2 episodes like the previous seasons have been very well praised for their animation, concepts, humour and some relatable dialogue focus and showing that this was a show of a diamond in the rough and I know deep down in my heart that it may be the end now after I watched them earlier this week, but I have a feeling they will return in the future to make us smile again (hopefully) and if you want to check out the final 2 episodes then you can catch them now on Adult Swim and HBO Max.

Beef Season 2

For the last of the shows this week, it looks like that what may feel like some elements of conflict or rivalry could have some way of coming to an end, but it seems in some aspect, a few will continue on much longer in outcome as we have the release of a surprise 2nd season to the popular Netflix series of Beef. The new season will follow a selection of new characters and move away from the rage on the road to the rage in a country club between a general manager and his unhappy wife as their marriage implodes into a screaming match and become much more to deal with and their club reputation in disarray when a Gen Z person records their outburst. Reception on the new season like the first still has gotten some very well recieved reception with praise to the performances of the cast and change in storylines instead of continuing the same narrative, even if some feel the narrative this time around is a little bit of a step down in quality, but still seems like an entertaining watch and if you want to check it out for yourself you can watch the 2 season now on Netflix.

Video Games

Tomodachi Life Livin' the Dream

Onto games now and while we have a massive triple A title this week, there is one game that has taken the internet by storm with a follow-up that many people have been waiting for about decade and now that it is out, they can finally feel a bit more like myself as its time for you to create what you want as we have the release of Tomodachi Life Living the Dream. In this title, you can create your unique and colourful Mii characters and have live and connect on an island of your own creation and make friendships, relationship, weirdness and of course a fan favourite jester. Now reception on this new entry has been very well recieved with praised on the visuals, content and the light filter option on the game, even if some aspects have not been added yet (likely a future update) and some hoped for more sharing options. So I have been playing it myself since launch (and the demo as well) and have enjoyed my time and if you want to become part of my island, then you join my streams on Twitch and I'll try and add your own mii or any specific character you want and if you want to live the dream then you can play it now on Nintendo Switch.

Mouse P.I for Hire

For the 2nd game of this week is a title that is a long time coming and a title that will be a focus of all the games and all the styles in the world, this game walked into mine and we are about to turn some rogue adversaries into some swiss cheese as we have the release of the all new title of Mouse P.I For Hire. Set in a world inhabited by Anthropomorphic Mice in the 1930s, you will take control of jack Pepper, a private investigator who must solve a case of a disappearance across the town of mouseberg where things may feel like a simple explanation will spiral into a bigger conspiracy then expected. reception on this new FPS has been very well recieved with praise on the animation, gameplay, narrative, performances and for getting the tone of a Noir, 30s Cartoon and FPS done well (even if one company whos reviews are wacky complaining about all of the Cheese Puns like that is expected in a game like this) and if you are up for the case then you can play this title now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2 and PC with a Switch 1, PS4, and XBox One version coming somepoint later this year.

Pragmata

And the last of the new releases for this week is taking us in the far reaches of the cosmos where a unexpected occourance has happened that leaves you stranded and must find a way home, but in this case you will not be alone on this journey with the assistance of an unexpected ally as after years of development and delays, we finally have the release of the newest title from Capcom with Pragmata. In this title you will play as Hugh Williams, a Spacefaring engineer who is sent to a space station on the moon known as the cradle when communication between the station and earth has gone silent where after becoming trapped, will come into contact with Diana, a small android child that will accompany you on a journey to restore the station, take down the rogue AI of IDUS and find a way to get back home. Now reception on this title has been very well recieved with praise on its story, its visuals and the wholesome dynamic between the main characters of Hugh and Diana (Capcom really making a lot of parenting sims this year, first Resident Evil and now this) and is seen as another strong game of the year contender so far and if you want to play it for yourself, you can play it now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2 and PC.

Trailers for hire

Insidious: Out of the Further

On the first of the trailer for this week, most of these are connected to the release of Cinemacon bar one or 2 of them (and we will get to that event in a few) but for the one bit of horror footage in this weeks release is in the focus that in some form of the world and legacy that even when dead or that some spirits may want to harm they can't do it much in the real world but if they can drag you into their territory it is a whole different story as we have a trailer for the 6th film in this horror franchise with a new look at Insidious Out of the Further. The film follows Gemma (Amelia Eve) a young mother who discovers that she can travel into the Further, a Purgatorial Realm of lost Souls. When something evil comes after her, she realizes she can bring what lives there back into the real world and once the demon realize her power, our world soon becomes their playground. So I have had a whole mixed appeal to this franchise as I have one that has not really kept up with this series. I probably watched at the most the first film and seen a bit of the 2nd or 3rd film but I felt a little with this franchise that if you see one of them you've seen them all in some capacity but I can see that they are trying, though am unsure how much of this will connect to the other films besides the women that can tap into the supernatural from the previous films but I am sure we get an idea of it all by the release of this film into cinemas from August 21st.

Hunger Games Sunrise on the Reaping

For the 2nd trailer for this week is seeing the return to the past for another round of a sadistic game that appeals to the masses of elites for entertainment and make them as spectacles for others where we have seen case about all of these from the early events and the one that took it all down, but in this case we will get the insight to the year of the games that showed when the real change began for the beginning of the downfall as we have the release of the 2nd trailer for the upcoming adaption of the most recent book of the Hunger Games series with Sunrise on the Reaping. Taking place 24 years before the events of the original novel and film, this new story follows a young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) who is selected to compete in the 50th Hunger Games, or known as the second Quarter Quell, where for this special edition of the games will see each district of Panem send twice the number of tributes to the capitol, who will all battle to the death in the annual games. Again similar to the first trailer but more in a interest is that I have yet to really delve into this series of films or even the novels themselves but I will at a point dive into these narratives and see what they are all about and give a proper insight to the projects themselves. I will have to say that for a moment in time from the images and photos I was seeing of the poster and trailer for this one, I thought it was some form of expansion to the film of MidSommar from Ari Aster but I can see now that its just in a display to something bigger for one of these games for the anniversary of these events taking place and I am sure it will have its appeal and give a better insight into a character that was in focus from the original novels but I guess we will find out in due time with the games beginning into cinemas from the 20th of November.

Focker in Law

For the 3rd trailer that released this week and from the movie event this week is the focus of the ideals that we have at one point or another have had the ordeal of meeting the relatives of our partner and in some case we can make a good first impression to many of the family, but sometimes some aspects of it all can be a bit too perfect to others and that seems to be the case with this new entry in a long running comedy series as we have the release of the first trailer for the 4th movie in the Meet the Parents / Fockers series with Focker in-Law. The film will see Greg Focker's (Ben Stiller) Son, Henry (Skyler Gisondo), bring his Girlfriend (Ariana Grande), a trained FBI Hostage negotiator, home to meet the family, however Greg soon begins to get worried when Henry tells everyone that he plans to propose to her and he feels that there is something that doesn't really seem right about it. It is interesting to think on the likes of the last entry in this series was 16 years ago and it was also a surprise that we would get a follow up to this but it does seem like they have a concept and idea to this overall. Now my thoughts on Grande playing the Girlfriend in the film is not a bad option, I just hope she more in focus of being practical and energetic compared to how I felt with her in Wicked where she felt a little stilted but so far from this they seem to have some focus and overall the original trilogy was enjoyable so it could be worth a watch and I guess we will find out when we meet the family once again when it releases into cinemas on November 25th.

Street Fighter Movie

For the 4th trailer and the only video game adaption in focus for this week, it will be time for the gathering and the call out to some of the worlds greatest fighters who will all come together to prove who is the best of the best, but it could be a lot more then it seems to be presented here as it is time for battle and prepare to fight as we have recieved the first full length for the upcoming video game adaption of Street Fighter. The film will see estranged street fighters of Ryu and Ken Masters get thrown back into the world of combat when the mysterious Chun-Li recruits them for the next world warriors tournament -- A brutal clash of fists, fate and fury. However behind the battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons from their past. It does seem like it will be a proper battle of the fighting games this year as both of the biggest and longest running fighting series will be battling for glory this year with each having some distinct tone to it all. While I was intrigued by the brief teaser shown at the game awards a few months ago, this new version does have some sense of appeal to it all and looks like it has the sense of over the top goofiness of the original film from the 90s but also the not overly serious tone of the games and the choices for the cast for these characters were a bit of a weird shock at first, this new ordeal after seeing the trailer actually has me invested in all this now and I am looking forward to checking this out in due time as the fight begins when the movie comes swinging into cinemas on October 16th.

Jack Ryan: Ghost War

For our 5th trailer for this week and one that comes from outside the movie event is the focus of a return to a series of novels from an acclaimed wartime writer with another return to one of his most well known characters in his series as Jack Ryan is back for another project with the release of a trailer for the new film of ghost war. The new film will see Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) reuniting with some fellow CIA Operatives to navigate betrayal from an enemy who knows their moves and faces a past once though settled. So I have dabbled a little into this series in particular from seeing clips and pieces from the series or other films and I know my dad has discussed about the series and says its very enjoyable and I may delve into the franchise more when I can. It doesn't look too bad and usually most adaption of novels from Tom Clancy tend to be decent in all regards so maybe I won't write off this film just yet and I am sure we will get an idea of it real soon as the newest mission will be released onto Amazon Prime from May 20th.

The Mandalorian and Grogu

For the 6th trailer for this week is taking us once again to a galaxy far far away as we will be in focus to a time between the saga once again and focus to the tales of a famous bounty hunter that lived by a code and the tales of his journey with a small creature with great powers and it seems to be a case that they are heading from the small screen to the big screen as we have the release of the final trailer for the upcoming film in the world of Star Wars with The Mandalorian and Grogu. The film will follow on from the events of Season 3's conclusion with the New Republic enlisting Din Djarin and his apprentice Grogu to take on a job following the fall of the Galactic Empire, and take down some of the remaining Imperial Warlords that still threaten the galaxy. I have stated a fair few times with this project that in all sense that I actually enjoyed this series that sure has had its share of ups and downs throughout the seasons from a properly great and well loved first season, a 2nd that is still great, even with a lot of fan service appearances and a 3rd that may not have been the strongest but had some potential amongst all of it and I like the dynamic of this character and his tiny child companion as they travel across the galaxy to take down powerful adversaries and I know there is some that may not appeal to the franchise but I still have some hope to this turning out good and hope it will have the appeal of the first season but I guess we will find out in due time as the film will be released in cinemas in about a months time on May 22.

The Dog Stars

the 7th trailer for this week and the last of the film trailers for this week is an all new project from a well established filmmaker who seems to be taking a jab at a bit of an established piece of fiction about the end of days and giving his own spin on the project itself as we have the release of the trailer of the new Ridley Scott directed piece known as The Dog Stars. Now based on the novel by Peter Heller, the film is set in a world after the events of a devastating Flu Pandemic that has almost eradicated humanity and will follow Hig (Jacob Elordi), a civilian pilot, and Bangley (Josh Brolin), a hardened Ex Marine as they confront outside threats and hold onto the possibility of a better life beyond where they currently live when they search for a signs of a mysterious radio transmission. So I had not heard much about the novel myself from the past but it seems like it could be a decent novel to read through and for a moment when I was watching the start of this trailer, I was getting the vibes of I am Legend from the lone survivor and his dog but it does seem like an interesting concept and aspect just on the ideals of how people make some focus to their post apocalyptic world and from the brief tease and cast here, it could be a well decent project to watch and check out and its not too far from release as this new film will be released into cinemas from the 28th of August.

Metro 2039

And for the final trailer for this week and the only game trailer we have in focus (a surprise game trailer is a bit of a rare appearance for this category) is seeing us head to a place in the not too distant future where after the affects of a disaster of the past will see many living underground to survive and where initially we journeyed above to find the answers, it may be a case to escape from the past we caused to to return back to face those demons as after nearly a decade since the last entry of the series, we have recieved a trailer for the 4th mainline entry in the popular metro series with Metro 2039. Based on the novel series and set about 4 years after the events of Exodus, you will take on the role of a new protagonist that is known as the stranger, who seems to be plagued by violent and traumatic nightmares where you will find yourself traversing into the post-apocalyptic metro of Moscow that he swore that he would never return to in order to find some answers to his nightmarish visions. So I have dabbled a little bit into the series with playing the original game which was decent and I have played a small bit of Last Light and Exodus (I haven't touched much of the other forms like the VR series or other spin offs) but I can say that the games are usually decent in gameplay, combat and story and will look into those other game real soon and from what I can get from this cinematic announcement trailer, this one looks like it could be a decent game and could be going much darker then the other titles in the series and I feel it could be another hit game on their hands and I will give this a go when it does. Now while no release date has been given, it is confirmed at the moment to be releasing on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC sometime this winter.

News that is a double whammy

The Vast array of the world of Cinemacon

So I do hope with everything that you are strapped in for all of this weeks news coverage as we have a lot of focus to the realm of film this week as this week after initially being delayed this year possibly, we have the release of this years Cinemacon as we have a selection of new announcements, updates, footage descriptions and a whole more across multiple studios for this years event and I will go through every studio with a focus presentation (where there is at least 5 studio discussions) and will cover all that was occoured, so buckle up as we have a lot to talk on.

Now like the previous event, there is a few big studios and done in a schedule of focus and the first one is focus with the studio of Sony as they had a selection of some few projects and unveilings of some new aspects to the upcoming projects (I know there was some with Angel and StudioCanal I think but I have no clue on a lot of the former studio and there is 3 announcements I will grab from the latter) but lets give some rundown on the projects shown off

So we will start on the ones from studiocanal and the first one is one that I am all for more wholesome adventures as it was announced the lovable marmalade loving bear from Peru of Paddington is confirmed to be getting a 4th film in the series of movies that have shown great critical reception and box office and I personally am all fine with a follow up to these stories. Plus its not the only Paddington project as an animated film is also on the way for this bear that I am sure will either be in the style similar to the tv series that has been still kicking about or else it will be in a similar artstyle similar to the original novels  but I guess we will see and I know for sure some more kindness from that bear will be more then needed in this day and age.

As for the other 2 announcements that I am aware of from Studio Canal that I am aware of, it looks like some classics from the 80s and 90s will be making a form of a new take in a modern age as it was confirmed that a reboot to both 1981's Escape from New York and The Howling will be getting some new takes. Now the likes of rebooting some iconic films may be a bit of a concern and mess but there is some I can see the likes of getting the right creatives and people involved with the project to really make it work (like I know with one director that is a fan of the original Escape from New York and that is Matt Reeves or the other creative is Hideo Kojima so either of them I will be perfectly fine with helming that project) but I am sure we will get an idea of what is to come in due time.

So the first on the ordeals from Sony is some small news update on some projects on the way with the first being the first American made from from Godzilla Minus One and Zero creative Takashi Yamazaki with his film of Grand Gear that is now gotten an official release date by Sony with is coming out on February 21st 2028. The film is being produced by Abrams and the ideals of what to expect from this film is currently being kept under wraps and as a mystery for the moment but I am sure we will learn in due time of what this director, visual effect artist and writer will have in store for his first English language film.

we have the first of some dates on the focus of some expanding video game adaptions as Democracy will be on the menu as the new film based on the popular Helldivers series and being helmed by Fast and Furious director Justin Lin, now has an official release date of November 10th 2027. Now not much is known on the project besides one of the leads of the film is Jason Mamoa so we could still see some more names popping up in between then and I am sure we will see what the group that will show democracy for the glory of Super Earth in due time but I am sure we will see by its release.

One of the only 2 projects of Sony Animation (we will get to the other one) was the unveiling of a new original animated film known as Buds that will follow the focus of plants breaking the rules of the Plant Kingdom and speaking to the human world in a sort of Environmental message project and it seem like it could have some interesting potential (gives me a little bit of a vibe to this years Hoppers from Pixar) and also has a set release coming sometime in December of next year so we will get a date on that in due time.

For one of the big new announcements to come from the event was actually a surprise and one that has a lot of potential as much demand for a follow up to this game title, we are getting something from this universe as they announced a R-Rated animated film based on the popular PlayStation title of Bloodborne coming in the future and with one of the big names involved with the production is with YouTube star Jacksepticeye as a producer on the project. Now the ideals can be a worrying aspect and some will write off the film already (I know one or 2 that have already) but I see this as potential with ones that love the game and concept with the right cast, a striking visual aesthetic (that Sony has shown with animation as of late) and everything worked with the creator and studio that made it I am sure it could work out and will be well worth a watch when it releases in the near future.

Now for projects with some proper footage introduced and we will start off on the superhero front as they unveiled an extended scene from the new Spider-man Brand New Day film that will start with Peter at a Bodega where Ned and MJ meet up and then he follows them to an apartment where Ned is trying to figure out who Spider-Man is during a house party where he is introduced again to MJ as Maynard before discovering she has a new Boyfriend before cutting to a sizzle reel of footage including a clip of Peter's eyes going completely black and may hint to the rumours of him becoming Man Spider that have floated around the last few weeks. While we have not got any of the footage yet, we did get 2 new posters that are quite cool of one of Peter fighting the Hand clan and then another being a callback to the classic Raimi posters so it does have some appeal and I am sure it will be an interesting outcome by its release on July 31st.

Next in focus was with the new Insidious, but since a trailer released we can move to the other horror that was shown which is a new look at the upcoming Film adaption of Resident Evil form Zach Cregger. Now not much is really shown besides a teaser of focusing on an unnamed protagonist (Austin Abrams) investigating through dark abandoned houses, streets and sewers with glimpses of otherworldly horrors in the background and while not heavily focused on horror, Cregger's tone with horror and tension seems to resonate well in this teaser and he looks to want to keep it in tone to the mechanics and respect of the games in the film and I am sure we will get the teaser to this and more in due time before this drops in mid September.

Then from horror to more biographical, they then unveiled some new look at the upcoming sequel to the Social Network with the social Reckoning which unveiled a look at Mikey Madison's character of Facebook engineer Frances Haugen discussing with Journalist Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) about the exposing of the secrets of Facebook before they cut to the first look at Jeremy Strong's take on Mark Zuckerburg with a transformation that is quite a sight to behold and may be something that was worth developing a sequel for after all but I guess we will see this look soon before its release on October 9th.

There is a few projects with some of the names already mentioned unveiled at the event that are present across more then one project and this is the first one in focus from director Taika Waititi as they unveiled some footage for his new take and adaption on Klara and the Sun which will see Jenna Ortega portray the title character, an android who will find the purpose of being the perfect Android for every family which will come to affect in the home of a little girl who takes a shine to the robot, though the mom (Amy Adams) may think a little otherwise. The project from focus sounds like it could have a lot of whimsy and colour and seems that it may appeal more to people who felt underwhelmed by Taika's previous works of next Goal Wins and Love and Thunder so I guess we can see in due time and get an idea of when the film releases sometime this year.

Moving back to a form of game adaption, in this case it looks like another adventure was unveiled as they showed off the first bit of footage to the upcoming new entry of the Jumanji series with the film now entitled Jumanji: Open World with the footage unveiled showing clips of the previous 2 entries with the games avatars exploring across the jungles and desert but then cutting to the present with the affects of how the last film teased that the real world and world of Jumanji are about to crossover with the human characters meeting their game avatars (including The Rock's that now stuck in Spanish Mode) and will be on a big new adventure across the 2 worlds and it does sound ambitious and I feel it will be well worth a watch around Christmas and hopefully will be as entertaining as those previous films but I guess we will see by proper first bit of footage and release later this year.

To wrap up on the Sony coverage will of course have to be with my most anticipated film of next year and that is the conclusion of the Spider-verse trilogy with Beyond that while no footage was released to the public outside the event we did get some sick new images that I need to have hanging on my wall pronto, but in the footage it seems to be the opening few minutes of the film with Miles captured by the alternate universe version of him as the prowler with him trying to explain the multiverse and canon events with not much success before he escapes using his electricity powers and it begins a sizzle reel of other footage from Miles Dad and Uncle Aaron when they were younger getting up to trouble in a cool new artsyle focus, an army of Spider-people in a neon cityscape, Gwen in a multiversal bridge, 2099 standing in front of multiple portals and a glimpse at the Spot in a menacing tone stating "I Just wanted to be taken seriously". The footage was also shot and developed in a format for the biggest screen possible and I am so excited for this projects release and will be all down for checking it out when it drops in June next year.

And that is all Sony had to offer, while not a lot of project, the few they had showed potential and the start of some events and presentations with a lot of appeal but lets dive into see what is next on the list.

And that next event was with the studio with a lot of focus in recent weeks as we have the event by Warner Bros next in focus and it seems like they have quite a bit of focus to discuss about so lets see what was unveiled at their presentation.

The first section I will focus on is with the new project announcements or ones with nothing major to show but the first is with the new film from Oscar Winner Sean Baker with their new project of Ti Amo! which is being developed as it is currently and the most new announcement is with this project being one of the first films under the new film company of Clockwork, so it seems it could have some potential and I am sure we will see what will come of this project when it comes out in the future.

While no footage has been shown for this new project, we got some update to the new film from the world of Middle Earth with the official cast for the new film of the hunt for Gollum with Serkis back as Smeagol and directing the film as well and the confirmation of the return of Ian McKellen, Lee Pace and Elijah Wood in the new film with 3 new additions including Kate Winslet as Marigol, a character from Smeagol's past, Leo Woodall playing a member of the Dúnedain of Halvard and one recasting for the characters with Jamie Dornan playing Strider as the original actor for the character is a little too old for the project and character focus of this in mind and the choice is overall pretty solid. Likely case it will be a bit of time before we get any footage for this but we will get it by the release of the film next Christmas.

One of the newest announcements and one of the only 2 animated projects in focus from this event was with the new animated musical of Bad Faries that will star Ncuti Gatwa and Cynthia Erivo that could be some new interesting high fantasy based project but I guess we will see and learn about what the story entails in the future but could be an interesting one.

While we have a new entry of this series on the way out to us this summer, it was also confirmed another film in the evil dead series with Wrath will be on the way soon after the new film of Burn with this title dropping sometime in early 2028.

The other animated film in focus from this event and also supposedly another musical film was unveiled with Margie Claus a new film with Melissa McCarthy playing a character who will be on a journey to save Christmas set for a release in November 2027.

Then they unveiled a confirmation of the newest film from Mr Robot creator of Sam Esmail with Panic Carefully that is set to be a tech based Silence of the Lambs as Julia Roberts hunts for a Cyber Terrorist with this film set for release possibly in Late February next year.

They then unveiled that they have acquired the rights to the new film from Deadpool Director Tim Miller's Shiver with it being a new action thriller film starring Keanu Reeves as he battles against sharks that seems like some strong potential and will be interesting to watch when it releases sometime next year.

Cregger is back once again with some new project as WB with the first in focus being a new original film being released known as The Flood which will be a new film set in space (which makes it sound like they are making a film on the enemy faction from Halo) and will be produced by Spielberg's production company, its simple and ambitious but will be interesting to check out when it releases on August 11th 2028.

And as for his 2nd project from this director, it looks like he will be returning back to his recent Oscar winning film's world again as it was also confirmed that the spin off prequel focused on the character of Aunt Glady's from Weapons has also confirmed the release date of that film with it set a month after his new original on September 8th 2028 and give us a history of this unsettling character and her past leading up to the ordeal of the film we saw last year but I guess we will see in due time.

It was then shown that another figure of history will be getting the film treatment as Baz Luhrmann will be helming a project based on the figure of Joan of Arc with Isla Johnston set to take on the role and I feel it could be an interesting take on the character from this director with a reported release set for November 2028 but nothing has been made official as of yet.

We then return to the realm of horror of the Conjuring Universe with the first being the confirmation that a sequel to La LLorona with the title of Revenge set and confirmed for release on April 7th next year and whether this will connect back to the original film or have a connected story is uncelar yet but I guess we will see

The other being a focus of where it all began for these "Paranormal investigators" with the confirmation that the prequel film of the Conjuring series, entitled First Communion, is in development and will be also set to come out on the 10th of September next year so we will see where it all began then.

From Horror to fantasy for the moment, it was confirmed we are returning to the world from the mind of George R.R Martin with the first film in the Game of Thrones series with the title of Aegon's Conquest set to be made, with it written by one of the creatives behind the acclaimed Andor series and will be well worth seeing this great heroes journey with it set to release sometime in the next few years.

Then back to horror for just once more for the moment, it will come to the focus that the curse of death is every continuing as they confirmed the next entry of the Final Destination series is on the way with the film set for release on May 12th 2028 which will be certain to have a lot more grizzly deaths for these character to be dealt with or try to avoid but I am sure we will see by its release in 2 years.

The last of the project announcements was the confirmation that the return to the world of organized crime is on the way as the prequel film to the Oceans franchise is on the way from the studio with it set to be directed, written and starring Bradley Cooper alongside Margot Robbie and will have them portraying the parents of Danny and Debbie ocean as they try to infiltrate the Monaco Grand Prix for a grandiose heist and I am sure will be worth a look into when it releases sometime in the future.

We will start off on WB's Footage showcase with an extended look at the new game adaption of Mortal Kombat II with it seeing Johnny Cage traveling with Liu Kang to confront Baraka with it showing some of the quips and unserious nature that Cage is known for in the games and showing a bit of a fight between the 2 with some humour and serious action fighting mixed in and it sounds like the film will be something well worth watching with its release on May 8th.

On the one focused DC superhero of the event, they were given an extended look at the upcoming release of Supergirl with it focues on here having to deal with some Space Pirates on some transporter while with weakened powers to hold them off before they reach a yellow sun and start to throw down with a music backdrop of Smile by Wolf Alice. It sounds like she really fits the tone and style well for the character and I hate to see the complaints of those usual suspects pulling the same crap on Milly Alcock that happened to Brie Larson and Rachel Zegler but she seems to be calling it out and taking it well and honestly I see this as being another entertaining project when it release on June 26th.

So things will be getting a lot more dark with the one as they unveiled the first bit of footage and trailer for the upcoming entry of the Evil Dead series with Burn Which shows it going a lot more grotesque and outright unhinged in tone from the use of the necronomicon unleashes a hell ton of deadites, car gore and even something involving a dishwasher which sounds like things are trying to keep it going in the all out gorefest that this series is known for and I am sure we will get the idea of this unhinged project in a few days or so from a trailer release before it drops into cinemas from the 24th of July.

The next project in focus was with a new look and focus with the upcoming project of The End of Oak Street that we had a trailer released for about 2-3 weeks ago with the footage mainly being the trailer that released with some slight appearances of some new things, specifically that the thing that is stomping about outside the house at the end of the trailer came from a Dinosaur so it seems like it will be some weird twisty time travel tale and could be something to look out for in the future when it releases in August.

Then it is time for a bit of fantasy in focus for the next project in focus as we have some focus of a follow up to the original classic film of practical magic with a focus of some trailer footage of the 2 sisters of Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock with their 2 nieces being played by Joey King and Maisie Williams as they mentor a new array of multi-family generational of witches and it seems they hope to capture the spark and appeal of the original film from the mid 90s and it could be interested to see this trailer released and revealed to us all before its release in early September.

We then had a focus and look at the newest film from Alejandro G.Inarritu with a proper full look at the film of Digger that will see Tom Cruise portray a haggard man named Digger Rockwell who is crass, foul mouth, balding, have a thick country accent and based in a manor in the woods and see him on some madcap tale of trying to save the planet from a consequence that he has caused from the head of an industrialist means and must use a shovel that has been reported to be passed down from generations of his family to save the day. It sounds completely insane of a concept and may be a more comical aspect then his more tonally previous film of the Revenant but it may be well worth a watch by its release in October of this year.

The last of the horror projects that was shown during this event and the last as well from DC Studios is with the project that is another standalone film of an iconic or maybe not overly well known villain of the caped crusader as they got to see the first trailer for Clayface with the teaser showing him with the bandaged face while in the hospital as we are shown all snippets and scenes of his life and career as an actor before this supposed accident before ending on a scene of him in a bathtub with some of his skin and material peeling off from the experimental clay material he used to restore his face after the accident and while not showing too much, it gives the vibes to the whole body horror aspect that the film is aiming for and fitting in tone for the Halloween season with this dropping a week before the day but I am sure we will see this trailer in the not too distant future.

The last of the animated titles from this studio presentation is another adaption of a beloved children's story as they were unveiled some new footage for the upcoming take on the cat in the hat with the footage giving more of the narrative based focus of the 2 kids moving into the city and being unhappy of moving away from their old home which will soon see the cat appear to make them happy and will soon see the kids activate a device that will transport them into a very colourful and vibrant world of their memories in order to help find what has them feeling unhappy and get back home in one piece and it does sound very vibrant and I hope it will have the abstract zaniness of the books from Dr. Seuss and from that first trailer from a few months ago and I am interested to see what will come of this in the future by its release this November.

We have one more project with J.J Abrams in the focus as he will be in directing duties with his new film of the Great Beyond that while a small teaser is shown off, keeping in tradition to Abrams and his mystery box thinking, it is keeping things very vague but looks to use the aspects of analog technology with some flashes of the cast including Glen Powell, Jenna Ortega, Samuel L Jackson and Emma Mackey and I am sure we will get an idea of more of what to expect as well as a proper look and footage of the trailer before the release of this film on November 13th.

The last of the projects in focus is one of the big ones of the year as of course this is to do with the 3rd and final film of the Dune series of Denis Villenvue with attendees being screened the first 7 minutes of the movie with it focused on a battle scene of Freman troops being dropped onto a stormy and soaked drenched planet where there is quiet at first before they are nearly slaughtered by a mechanical turrent and a powerful beacon from the sky as we see the affects of this Jihad and Holy war that Paul Atredis has begun to enact over those years and the affects it will have as the film progresses before it shows snippers of scenes from the first trailer released last month. It sounds quite ambitious and as one that is at this point a little mixed on the previous films, I hope this will have more of a oomph to it all but I guess we will see by its release around Christmas time this year.

And that was Warner Bros which had a fair amount more to their lineup and a lot of interesting aspects that felt established but some more new as well and I can see them having their appeal and hopefully some footage for them all released soon to see them properly, but for now lets head to the next studio presentation.

Now we are heading to the studio that is currently having the biggest box office success so far this year and that is with Universal as we have the focus for some project across their different departments with some big hitters still to come but we can get into focus of what is to expect from this company now.

Now there is only one new project announcement for this studio and that is we have another biopic in the works and that will be in the focus of iconic musician of Snoop Dogg with the the rapper set to produce the project with Outer Banks actor Johnathon Daviss set to play the musician and the film being directed by Song Sung Blue Director Craig Brewer and it seems like it was about time for the iconic musician to get a film adaption with this possibly aiming for a 2027 release but it is unclear at the moment but we will keep an eye on that.

A focus of one of the big films from this studio in focus starts with an extended clip of the new film from Spielberg of Disclosure Day that sees a focus to the clip from the trailer of Emily Blunt entering the news station and speaking the Alien Language that she starts talking in and learning of others that can understand the language themselves, alongside her on a journey to find Josh O'Connors character, houses with Glowing Lights, animals that transform, car chases from the government and some sense of confirmation that Colin Firth may be playing the films antagonist and Colman Domingo playing some form of doctor that seems going full disclosure as the way to go. It is quite an elaborate concept and they have emphasized that thy are not marketing any form of content from the last act or much of the 2nd half of the film which helps to keep it more of a mystery and I am definitely going to check it out by its release on June 12th. 

For the only bit of animation from this panel, it is a return of those Yellow henchmen in overalls as they unveiled some new footage for the upcoming 3rd Minions film of Minions and Monsters with the clips shown focused to 2 different films they will find themselves hijacking with a western of them chasing after a bandit with money using a train and then a more extended clip from the trailer of them fighting the Vikings and I am certain that it will be a film of chaos and uncertainty with how the Minions are usually but I guess we will see more of this by its release on July 1st.

Now for one of this summers big epics as they unveiled the footage to the Odyssey and in this case it will be mainly in the focus of some footage that was already released in front of the IMAX screenings of Avatar which is of the battle with the Trojan Horse with some slight new footage of Odysseus meeting the goddess Calypso (Charlize Theron) and then be most of the footage already seen from the trojan horse and a better look at the practical Cyclops that he battles as well and it seems Nolan is keeping things close to the chest on new footage (which I will say will likely be for the next trailer whenever that is) and it will be interesting to see his new Historical epic (and whether the reports the film will be shorter then Oppenheimer are true) by its release in Mid July this year.

Then for Universal side with Horror, they unveiled a trailer for a new film known as Other Mommy that sees a focus of a very enthusiastic Jessica Chastain being loving and caring for a small child but some things feel off with the focus to the mom suggesting strange things for breakfast and then it goes a bit more sadistic when the father comes in to burning breakfast before a contorted version of the mother appears from under the table. It essentially becomes a case that a malevolent doppelganger has infiltrated the home of the mother and the mystery of some scenes after that one is if its the normal mother or the "other mommy" which gives it that sense of tension for the film. It reminds me of that 2 sentence horror story (one that has a really unsettling animation that someone made for it years ago) that I believe went "One Night I was in my room, my mom called me from the kitchen down the hall. As I walk down the hall, I'm pulled into the closet and a hand clasped over my mouth to silence me 'Shh, I heard it too' My Mom Whispers into my ear". It is giving me that vibe and I am interested to see the trailer itself before it drops later this year in early October.

There is one other story that is not brought up in the information I am finding but there is reports that Osgood Perkins is essentially making a sequel to his 2024 title of Long Legs and teaming up with Nicolas Cage again to portray the killer from the first entry. the Issue is that with how that film ended I am not sure how it would work as a sequel but maybe more as a prequel sequel but I hope it turns out good and if it has that sense of cryptic marketing that was so well done with the original then I will be invested but I guess we will see what will come of this project.

Then for a more focused period piece, we will be getting a new take on the classic book of Sense and Sensibility with the footage of the trailer focused on it being a fairly faithful take on the novel with Daisy Edger Jones at the lead of the project and looks to have a focus about the choice between love and a more logical, serious disposition and it seems to be a case that I am sure there have been many takes on this classic Jane Austin Novel and I am sure it will have its appeal and we can see by its release in Mid October.

The next I had on my list was Focker in Law but since that dropped a trailer we have already talked on it so we will move onto something a little more action heavy but also very festive as they have given some footage and a new look at the sequel to Violent Night with David Harbour back as Santa Claus who was hunting down the people on the Naughty List in the first film, now finds himself on said list due to losing the Christmas Spirit. He looks to find it again by becoming a mall santa but will soon have to defend it when assassins try to take over the mall and out for revenge against the Christmas figure with scenes of all out battle, festive music and the confirmation that Mrs. Claus is also present and played by Kristen Bell ready to fight against the assassins and it seems it is keeping the madcap craziness of the original and upping the ante for this follow up and I am sure it will be another surprise success and a bit of entertainment by its release this December.

The last of the projects unveiled during the Universal presentation was with an official first look at the new film of Werewulf from Robert Eggers, with a trailer unveiled and possibly confirming the film will be in 4:3 ratio and shows the gothic tone he is well known for of a grimy town in a medieval English Countryside as Willem Dafoe narrates the tale of the beast known as the Werewolf, as well as getting glimpses of his character as well as Lily Rose Depp before we get the focus clip of Arron Taylor Johnson transforming into the creatures spliced with other footage before the title drop and a confirmed Christmas release. It really seems that Egger's knows what he does best in the style of film and it looks like he will be set to be another hit for the end of the year and I am interested to see this trailer and check it out later this year.

And that was all Universal had to offer that may be slightly less then some other studios but they had a fair amount of solid projects on the way in mind, but now lets more to a streamer company that is still big in releasing big screen projects.

Yes Amazon MGM was also present at the event as they had a few projects in focus to discuss that will be making their way into the cinemas in due time and we can delve into it all and discuss some aspects to it all as well.

So first in focus we will delve into the new footage shown for the upcoming adaption of Masters of the Universe that starts with Adam being questioned by the police over him having the large sword on hand before they are attacked by the creatures known as Beast man where he holds him off before Teela appears to help and brings Adam back to Eternia to help fight against Skeletor. Speaking of the villain we get a better idea of Leto's voice and it seems to have the iconic high pitched laugh with a bit of a snarl before we get some all out action featuring Shadow Cat and the Man at Arms as well with some bright colours, cool camera works and some all out brawling and it sounds like it will appease the fans of the original cartoon and more and it does sound promising and will be well worth a watch from the release on June 4th.

The next project that was shown in focus was a new film known as How to Rob a Bank which seems to have a bit of a true story premise of following characters played by Nicholas Hoult, Pete Davidson and Anna Sawai as they pull off a Robin Hood based fantasy of stealing from Banks and giving to charity while recording their crimes on YouTube while John C. Riley's FBI agent is enlisting Zoe Kravitz character who was a former member of the team, the ex of Hoult's character and hacker to hunt them down. It does sounds like quite the bombastic and stylish form of the project and I am certain it will be well worth looking into it when it comes out later this year on September 4th.

They then showed off some footage of a trailer to the new biopic film of I Play Rocky that shows Anthony Ippolito playing the young Italian Stallion of Mike who gains the name of Sylvester Stallone to stand out and then the trailer shows him meeting with executive heads and other elements of their creation to the first original Rocky film that he was making and it seems like he had the look and feel to it all and I am sure it could be a possible award contender in the future with its release on November 13th.

Next in the focus of footage was with a new film known as Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother with some of the footage in focus with Mahershala Ali in focus playing a Hitman who has to balance his life with this and caring for his kids while going through elaborate jobs and taking a break from a job as a Perfume seller. While it has a bit of a lighter tone, there is a sense of some darker elements of it all and it could be something that could be some entertaining outcome to it and may be something well worth watching when it releases sometime in the future.

We got a new look at the focus of the sequel to the film of the Beekeeper with Jason Statham back in the focus once again and will see his character of Adam Clay looking to take down the Beekeeper Organization and lead all the way to take down the us government and you can be sure this will have a large array of content of all out action and him taking things into his own hands and it does look like it may appeal back to the first one that had some appeal in the reception and could be another fun popcorn flick when it releases sometime in the near future.

Then we had a focus with Oscar Winner Michael B. Jordan coming out to present his own passion project that he will be directing and starring in with a new remake of the Thomas Crown Affair and will be a passionate Cat and Mouse chase and romance between a famous thief of Thomas Crown and an Insurance investigator played by Adria Ajorna and will see the focus from the trailer of these characters in a confrontation after stealing a large quantity of artworks and plan a heist to steal from a high profile elite figure being played by Kenneth Branagh and the trailer does well with tone, sleek action, character moments and a fair bit of spectacle for the big screen and I am sure it could be a decent take on a modern day approach of this classic and worth a watch with it releasing in cinemas from the 5th of March next year.

Now the focus to this next one may have gotten some small teaser that really doesn't show any footage, Mel Brooks has come along to unveil some footage for the sequel to the original SpaceBalls with this sequel being subtitled The New One, where the difference to the attendees getting some footage with the unveiling of Dark Helmet again with a focus to his mask in the desert and figures that look like Rey and Finn, some online creators talking and speculating about the film, scenes joking about unfinished VFX, a Harry Potter parody, jokes about franchises like the MCU and legacy characters having children in this series, Dark Helmet getting a new head piece being inspired by Kylo Ren's Mask, a cubic BB-8 Parody and even the likes of a Na'vi appearing with a lot of goofy and wacky characters and highlights that looks like it will poke fun at the other films in the Star Wars universe and other film franchise in general and I am optimistic about it and I hope will be very entertaining when it releases in Late April next year.

While no date has been given for this project, the attendees were however given their first official look at the upcoming reboot of Highlander starring Henry Cavill, that while the film is still currently deep into development, the project still has some sense of appeal from Cavill walking into a church with his sword and with a thick Scottish accent, showing the commitment to the role, as well as a brief appearance from Bautista as Krugen and brief snippets across the footage of Russell Crowe as Ramirez and show some action with sword battles, fighting some soldiers from the 2nd World War and some great Neon hued cities and it does have their appeal of it all to be an entertaining project and personally could be some fun when it does release in the future and prove that their can be only one.

One final focus unveiling from this event was with a look at the next film from Gareth Edwards as he unveiled some footage of his upcoming remake of the original 1967 film of A Colt is my Passport which will follow Sope Dirisu as a Hitman in 1970s Detroit as he is showing unloading 2 guns worth of bullets into a mans chest at point blank range. We then get a focus of Tim Roth stinging him out of paying him for the job and will see him being hunted down by an army of hitmen after him. It seems very stylish and cool from use of colour in unique ways and interesting shots in focus to it all and it really does seem he has a love for the original and giving it his own take overall and I am for certain will be an interesting watch with its release sometime in the future.

And that was all Amazon had to show off showing that while they may be a bit more in the focus to their streaming service, they still have a fair bit of content that fits well for the big screen. But now we move to the studio that has been on many people's radar for not the most positive of reasons.

And that of course is with Paramount Pictures who seem to be making a mess of a lot of things but they have travelled on over to provide a look into some projects in focus to it all in the future outcome but lets see what was brought with them.

So the first of the 3 game adaptions giving some confirmation is one that will be seeing going above and beyond as they announced at the event the official release date of the new film based on Call of Duty with it dropping on June 30th 2028 and will be written by Taylor Sheridan, the creator behind the popular series of Yellowstone. The ideal of this can be a bit of a concern as sure you can have the likes of it being like every warfare based project of recent memory, I do feel the writing could be solid and the director has a clear image for it and hopefully it will be more with the concepts of the leads being connected from the games and not really with big Hollywood actors (or what setting it will be and if its adapting one of the titles or a new original story) but I am sure we will get more info on it closer to its release in 2 years time.

But keeping it in the focus of the discussion about the concepts of the Military Industrial Complex, it looks like we are heading back to the danger zone as it was announced that its now confirmed a 3rd film in the Top Gun series is in development with the case of Tom Cruise likely reprising his role in this 3rd film and the case that a script for this project is currently in development. Now in this case, if there is anything I do hope it will be as entertaining as the surprise sequel that had every right to be a mess as a legacy sequel but so far it has shown mass appeal and I will be for certain checking it out with interest (and a bit of skepticism) when it drops in the future.

As for the likes of ones that have some footage shown, while the project is still in early filming, they showed some brief footage for the 4th entry of the Sonic Movie franchise, confirming that Jim Carrey is back as Eggman who may be back in some form to cause more chaos, possibly in a form of an alternate universe or timeline, alongside some footage of the trio of heroes having a friendly race and a new look at the newest addition of Amy Rose. While nothing has been shown of the other new additions to the cast as of yet I am sure we will get an idea of it by its wrapping of filming, the return of another Hedgehog and all other sorts of things by its release next March.

On the side of the "horror" but more in the vast focus of comedy, they unveiled some all new footage at the upcoming long awaited entry of the Scary Movie franchise which gives a focus of some parody in the films they will take a jab at like Get Out, Weapons, the recent Scream films, smile and a fair bit more will be in the process of getting mocked and joked with in a form of being described as the "Equal Opportunity Offender" of going all in on the crass to mock and I think from that first teaser it has some appeal to be a good laugh and I hope its good with its release in Mid June.

Next on my list was a trailer for the Street Fighter film that I have already covered and keeping things in comedy for just once more, Johnny Knoxville appeared on stage to unveil the first trailer for the 5th and final film of the Jackass series which is now dubbed as Best and Last with the footage unveiled being a sense of emotions but also a barrel of laughs from a Robot named Larry looking to perform a Prostate exam on Steve-O with a claw, something with Goats and a Fiery Escape room is for what will be in store for this next project and I am certain we will see this trailer be unveiled to us in due time with this going out with a bang with its release on June 26th.

We got a new look at the upcoming project of heart of the Beast that they unveiled footage of the film with Brad Pitt playing a veteran who ends up in a place crash in the middle of the woods and a focus of the bond between him and his German Shepard dog and must survive against the elements and creatures in the Alaskan Wilderness and I feel it will have a wholesome message and outcome for the project and to hope they make it out ok but I guess we will see by its release sometime later this year.

It looks like it will be a possibly spooky festive season upon us as well as Johnny Dep appeared on the stage for this presentation with some new footage of his take on a Christmas Carol that will be directed by X trilogy Ti West with a focus of Depp portraying Scrooge and a first look at the spirits of Jacob Marley being played by Ian McKellen, Ghost of Christmas Past played by Andrea Riseborough and a glimpse of the Ghost of Christmas Present played by Tramell Tillman and while it may be a little lighter on the horror aesthetic and a bit more humourous, the horror and gothic elements are still present in the ghosts and aesthetic of the world and it is a case that the new take in an endless array of adaptions may be worth checking out when it releases in mid November this year.

The last of the game adaptions and the only animated film in focus for this event (nothing was shown for the Mutant Mayhem sequel but was confirmed that the main villains for that will be Shredder and Krang) was the attendees given the first glimpse at the upcoming 3rd film of the Angry Birds series and will see that in this case that Red..... Fucked, because he has gone full circle from a grumpy grouch to caring for a flock of birds (I believe it is 3 kids of different ages) with Silver from the previous film and will also see Bomb and Chuck trying to help in babysitting the little terrors in the teaser. Now I have no idea on what the likes of the conflict is for this entry of the series and if the likes of Leonard and the pigs will have much of a presence in this as they have not specified some of those character castings but I am sure we will get an indication of this footage when it releases just in time for Christmas this year.

The 2nd last project that has a focus from this presentation was with a new look at the upcoming project known as Mr Irrelevant with Superman himself of David Corenswet showing off the footage of the true story of football player of John Tuggle and see his journey as a young man meeting his roommate Joe Morris and try to get into the New York Giants and we see his journey from a nobody to Football star and see his life while also going through some medical struggles. It seems like it could be another star turn for the Superman actor and could be a feel good underdog story when it set to release on Christmas Day.

The last of the projects given a focus to it all at the presentation was with a first look at the new film adaption of the Children of Blood and Bone with a focus to the afrofuturist aesthetics of the book that is massive in scale to it all and see some aspects of the VFX of one of the characters casting a spell to forge a giant tree guardian to smash through an army of soldiers and really bringing this fantasy world with a massive talent in focus to it all and could be well worth checking out when it releases in February next year.

And that is all that Paramount has to offer in their presentation and there is a fair few here that despite my issues with this company at the moment, they do have a lot of projects that has an appeal to it all and will have its entertainment to come. But now it is time we bring this all to an end to a studio that before the presentation commenced, pulled some moves that many were not impressed with.

And that is of course with the house of Mouse with Disney as they have a selection of films to talk on from their departments of their studios from their main department, Live action, Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel and Fox to go though, so it will be well worth a look into it when we see what will come from it all but lets delve into what was shown.

Now before I talk on the films, there has been a bit of a discussion of some issues that have been raised about this company as it feels a little manipulative that they gave a focus to all of their massive box office success of all the films that crossed a Billion Dollars at the box office and gloating of their massive profit last year from films like Avatar Fire and Ash, Lilo and Stitch, Zootopia 2, Fantastic 4 and a fair few over the last year or 2, which fair play to them, but it feels a little stingy when just before this presentation, they announced that the company was doing massive layoffs at the company which included about 1000 members of the Marvel company, mainly in the area of the visual department, which has already been a point of concern with some of their projects in recent memory and have now made a point that the new CEO has emphasized that the visuals of the next Avengers will be helmed with some AI aspects that will be a bit of a disaster (though there is a skeleton crew still working on it). It was also not the only thing affected as they also laid off the entire department that focused on the Home Entertainment section that sold the physical media, with them trying to say that they see the future being the streaming service but in actuality I would still be majorly focused on Physical media overall and this layoff for it is dumb. The decisions of this new CEO so far is not that great and I hope some things are altered because it does not sound good, but I guess we will see. But for now, lets get to the projects already known to be on the way.

So we will start off with the film that will be coming out first on the list and that will be with the long awaited sequel to the Devil Wears Prada where Anne Hathaway talked on the influence of the original and this project and then delved into a clip that may have been shared online over the last week in focus of Miranda Prietsly giving her thoughts on a new range on attire and clothing range with her shooting down a lot of it with her assistant being at arms lengths to stop her from saying anything controversial before we cut into a sizzle reel of footage from the film. It seems that the original flair and charm is still there and I am sure they will work in some aspects of the modern day to make it work and appeal to the original but I guess we will find out in due time as the film is only another 2 weeks away.

Now while technically we do have a trailer for this film, there is a bit more to it from what attendees saw at the event as they were shown the first 18 minutes of the film which tells us that Din Djarin is working for the new republic as a for hire bounty hunter with him hunting down the last high ranking remnants of the empire with a focus of it all taking place on a snowy planet (its unclear if this is a return to the planet of Hoth from Empire Strikes Back) but will see him take down Snowtroppers and stop the benefactor who has been protecting the high generals remaining of the empire before we get some other aspects of the narrative that Sigourney Weaver is a New Republic general that hired Mando to take those criminals down, sometimes with the aid of Zeb Orrelios from Rebels and must find one of the highest ranking members remaining of the empire whos identity is shrouded in mystery and where he will come into contact with the hutts that will provide the information if they can help rescue one of their own of Rotta the Hutt who is captured by a rival crime syndicate. It does seem like their will be a lot of appeal and action and what was seen from the recent trailer it does have hope and I hope that it will have the appeal and style of the original first season of the series as it was great but I guess we will see in about a months time.

Now we are heading over to one of my favourite studios of Pixar (and side not I don't blame them for the cancellation of a film they were developing known as Be Fri that was essentially their K-Pop Demon Hunters cause it was the higher ups at Disney that cancelled it) and we are in focus on the project of Toy Story 5 with 2 scenes in focus which starts with Bonnie getting her Lily Pad from her parents and becoming addicted to the device and after a screen break, Jessie and Bullseye confront the tablet to try and tell them off about ruining their plans for Bonnie to make friends during the summer but it seems that Lily Pad is well ahead of them making them a part of an educational group chat that leads to her going to a sleepover with some new friends. As for the 2nd scene it sees the return of Woody after being asked for help by Jessie and shows that he is sporting a bit of a new look from a Poncho, a big bald spot on his head and even what appears to be a beer belly (which I am not sure how that works given they are toys and don't eat food, unless its like water absorption) and then a bit of a playful competitive fight between Woody and Buzz about who the real deputy is for this whole ordeal and Bo and the other Lost Toys heading off, making it unclear of how much of a presence they will have in this film. I think in all sense of things that I am still very excited for this project in general and I am interested in the case of how this will all come together cause if they had mentioned more stories after this film is unclear but I think this would be the overall perfect sendoff to it all on this series (unless they do the shorts again) but I am for sure checking this out when it drops in June.

Moving now over to the live action side of content as The Rock and Catherine Laga-aia appeared on stage and talked about the all new live action take on Moana and shows a focus of a trailer of snippets and clips of her stranded out at seas calling out for guidance by her grandmother while the song of I am Moana plays out while snippets of the adventure played from their confrontation of the Kakamora pirates, her obtaining the fish hook from Tamatoa and the parting of the sea as a path forward before finishing with her belting out "I am Moana". They also got a glimpse at the new take of the Rocks rendition of "You're Welcome" with all the animated tattoos and all as well in this follow up. While I can say the likes of this project can feel a little unnecessary, I will probably give this a watch but this one looks the roughest of them all personally but I am sure we will see this make a boat load of money when it releases on July 10th.

On the side of the sole Fox Searchlight project, we now turn our attention to Martin McDonagh's next project of Wild Horse Nine which seems to focus of some clips that were seen in the trailer from a few weeks ago with the film set in the early 70s and see the 2 CIA agents played by John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell talking with some students at an airport as they were assigned to fly at the way to Easter Island where they are talking with 2 Chilean women talking about the indigenous name of the country they are assigned to, which sets off Malkovich's character and talks if they enjoy their Left-Wing President and threatens to "destabilize their democracy" before it focuses on the next scene of the 2 agents bickering with each other on the plane about their pasts. It seems to really have the humor and tone that McDonagh has in his previous films and writing and I feel this could be another big hit success for the director and likely hitting the film festivals in the fall but I think will be well worth a watch by its release in November.

We are moving back over to animation for 2 more pieces of content and the first in focus is with the next animated winter film from the studio with the official first look at the film of Hexed which seems to have had a bit of a change in focus since it was first announced back in September last year with the gender of the main lead being changed from male to female and the footage shows the character of Billie Doe (Hailee Steinfeld) an unconventional teenage girl who discovers that she comes from a lineage of witches and we see her fall down a dark and mysterious lair full of twisty tree branches and vines and discover a magical talking book and pen which soon give her a series of questions to prove that she is a witch, which has some comical answers connecting to the tropes of witches like being burned at the stake but she passes from feeling she doesn't belong in the regular world where she is teleported through a portal to a place called Hex which looks like a Renaissance-era village. The scene gives off a vibe that hopefully will be a new magical adventure that will provide a hopefully entertaining journey with the focus as well to confirm that Rashida Jones will be playing the mother of Billie and I am interested to see some of the footage when it releases on November 25th.

on the other side of animation from this studio and the remnants of the animation studio of Fox, the attendees were given a new look at the upcoming 6th film of the Ice Age series with Boiling point with most of the footage shown focused on that iconic Squirrel of Scrat as he tries to keep hold of his Acorn while also caring for the return of baby Scrat with this being his first film debut in the series with Scrat burying his acorn in the ice before suddenly lava spews from the ground and send the 2 squirrels tumbling into the underworld of the Dinos where after landing (with the larger Squirrel taking quite the tumble down the chasm) see's his acorn turn to ash, which sees him throw the remnants of the acorn at a T.Rex Fossil that caused lava to splash back at him, having him burnt to a crisp. After that whole ordeal we pan to a focus of Manny, Sid, Diego and Ellie and looking across the lost world and looking into the far distance and trying to find a new home. It seems like it is unclear if anyone else besides that main group of cast shown will appear like Peaches and her husband, Crash, Eddie, Buck, Sid's partner from the end of Collision Course and others cause it seems unclear at the moment but I am sure we will get an idea of it all in due time and personally there is a bit of a guilty pleasure for these films to me and I am sure will be worth a watch when it releases next February.

And to wrap up the entire presentation and all of the events of these presentation is one of the last big films of this year and that is of course with the next Avengers Movie of Doomsday which had Chris Evans, Kevin Feige, Joe and Anthony Russo and Robert Downey JR appeared on stage at the event to talk on where this project will be set in the timeline, as well as the focus of getting an exclusive trailer in focus for this project (and I mean exclusive as there was people with Night Vision goggles using laser to blind out camera trying to film it and people were even kicked out of the auditorium because of it). The trailer opens to Charles Xavier watching an energy rift from inside the x-mansion that lies in shambles with the famous sign for the school left in ruins. We get the official first look at Downey as Victor Von Doom unmasked and shown with a scarred face, speaking with a Latverian accent, threatening that 'Something is Coming' that cannot be stopped. After the logos we cut to the new and improved Avengers Tower with the newly painted A on the side where we will see the Fantastic 4 interacting for the first time with other heroes, specifically with Sam Wilson's division of the Avengers talking with Reed Richards, while the Thing comes into contact with the Wakandans (as we saw with the 4th 1 minute trailer from earlier this year) while Shuri and M'Baku are trying to make an alliance and peace with Namor and the Atlaneans of the kingdom of Talokan. It is then shown some conflict between different heroes like Shang chi fighting against Gambit with him holding off the Ten rings with his Purple staff, Yelena fighting against Mystique that has transformed herself into a copy of her and a fight between the 2 ensues. the Main focus comes from the return of Thor who tries to stop the heroes from fighting one another, but before we see this, we see the remaining god of Asgard taking on Doom by himself and showing that even with Stormbreaker and trying to summon Lightning, Doom is able to stop it with just the palm of his hand. While trying to stop the quarrels of the heroes and rally abou tfriends and allies dying by those less powerful then Doom and while he does show fear of all of this he hopes for the aid of "America" (now to emphasize not the country, and by go we don't need that right now with whats going on over there), which he then looks to someone off screen before it is revealed to be Steve Rogers himself with Mjolnir flying back into his hand before the title drops (and I also heard he has his look again from Infinity War which is the long hair and beard look which is the hair style I try and go off of and best version of Steve). Now this does sound pretty interesting and seeing all of these characters new and old joining forces or fighting one another sounds like strong potential and personally hope they drop this trailer soon cause there seems to be a demand for it and would save them all that flashing at camera instead but I am optimistic for this and will be checking this out when it comes out on December 18th.

And that is all that Disney had to show at their event which does seem like an interesting aspect of their projects that seem to mostly focus on the contents of this year and one for the next when they had potential to show more but I am sure they are saving that for D23 in August but overall not too bad of the contents shown. And from that also ends all of the presentations of Cinemacon and there was some bits that felt missing or not really discussed on from them showing the full film at the Universal panel for the live action How to Train your dragon sequel footage and the full near complete film of Forgotten Island and Warner confirming the Minecraft movie sequel title is literally just a Minecraft sequel. Sue some hoped for some more projects like Universal giving some updates on the likes of Shrek 5 from reported rumours, Warner not having much else for DC like news on Man of Tomorrow or The Batman Part 2 but both have yet to start filming (I believe Superman start next week) or even Disney delving into some other early 2027 releases like Catto for Pixar but they probably had to work with what they can for the timeframes and it does seem like quite the array for this years contents and give me a reason to head back to the movies for a fair amount of times this year and beyond.

But with all of this, what did you make of the Cinemacon of this year and what stood out to you the most and what did you hope get some new updates and when do you see some of these clips and trailer be released to the public? Let me know what you think about all of them down below in the comments. 

The building of a OGRE, A new take to save the environment, legal woes and a follow up on leaks

You thought I was done after all of that from Cinemacon, you must be mistaken, but luckily for you this is a much shorter story in focus that will be a bit of a hodge podge that may consist of 2 new projects on the way in film that occoured after the events and some new items and updates on other things that happened this week, but let us delve into all of this and see what else this week has to offer.

So it has been a little bit of time since we have discussed about some new products from this company but we have some news in relation to the world of those wonderful building bricks of LEGO as for this weeks set reveal is one that I mentioned about a rumoured set about 2 to 3 months ago at the end of January where we have seen the rumoured ones on Tintin, Snoopy and the Luigi Mach 8 build become a reality, there was one more I alluded to that was more focused in being a set that more bigger, cruder and with a very strong use of the colour green as after initially being rumoured a few weeks ago, they finally unveiled this week the offiical first set build based on the popular ogre of Shrek. Now its not the swamp set piece that was floating around for a bit of time, but rather it was a rumoured large build of the Ogre with his wise talking Donkey in this large build display and also comes with a minifigure for the famous fearless feline of Puss in Boots. Now the set looks really well designed, it has a good build with a fair bit of easter eggs and also comes with the confirmation of when we can expect this set. Initially the reported date for this set being dropped was for sometime in September, but it has now been confirmed that this set will be dropping on June 1st of this year and coming in at a price of about €130 which is honestly not a bad price for the build, around the same price as the Legend of Zelda set that released last month and I am for sure interested in buying this set and giving it a build. Now I feel this is just the first of set based on this series of films as likely we will get some based on the upcoming film next year and maybe even a large build version of his swamp, but as things go right now it is unclear on that and we can appreciate this set for the moment, but if more of this ogre comes about in future waves, I will provide it in a later episode (while also waiting for the confirmation of another titan of cinema to have their set revealed).

It is not the last of the stories in focus with some film discussion as there was another project being unveiled to be coming to us from the established studios and it looks like they will be taking a page out of the Disney book of animation into live action, but its not with any project from the house of mouse as it was confirmed on Friday that a live action take on the classic 90s animated film of Ferngully is in the works at Amazon studio and will be helmed by Marielle Heller, a director behind Nightbitch and a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood. Now for those unfamiliar with the film, it followed the magical inhabitants of an Australian rainforest as they fight to save their home that is being threatened by a logging company and a polluting force of destruction known as Hexxus, so it will definitely have a strong focus about saving the environment. Now I can see it working with a solid focus and if there is a love for the original entry then I can see it happen, but the case with any live action remake it is to take it with a sense of caution but also some optimism as well too. Now at the moment we have no idea of when we can expect this project or who will be portraying the cast in this film, but I hear anything new, I will provide it as well in a later episode.

But in a more different approach, this next film announcement is keeping it in the realm of animation and taking a focus to another established story we have seen in adaption in live action form 2 based on the book, one that was a prequel from about 3 years ago (and that is supposedly getting a sequel that apparently starts film in the summer), but in this case it looks like a follow up is occouring for a classic childrens story, but its more in a different outcome then you think, as it was announced that we are getting a sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate factory, with the film confirmed as Charlie vs the chocolate factory (which makes it seem it is unlikely to adapt the great glass elevator). The project is being helmed by Taika Waititi who will also be portraying Wonka in this new film which will take place in modern day London with Wonka returning back to controlling the factory after a stint in prison for turning a child into a blueberry and looks to try and bring some sweetness to a bitter world. However, this is where a teenaged Charlie comes into play as to avoid their homes being taken over and being evicted, him and his "rotten" friends will have to break in and steal and priceless Wonka bar, but what lies inside this factory will be more then they can chew for these kids to obtain their prize. Now it does like an interesting follow up and I can see this having some appeal to the concept and outcome and I have seen that the studio behind the animation of Into the Spiderverse and K-Pop Demon Hunters are involved with this project so I have some hope this will have some very dazzling visuals to this narrative concept with its release aimed for sometime next year. Now at the moment we have no idea of what other big names besides Waititi and Kit Connor as Charlie are involved in the cast of characters as of yet but if there is any new updates I will provide it in a later episode.

Lastly there is an update to a story from last week, which is to do with the unexpected "hack" or leak on the new animated Avatar film. Now since we last discussed the leak, there has been a complete ordeal that the film has now been leaked online by the person who was accidentally sent the film by email and after not hearing any word from Paramount has leaked it online. Now this ordeal has been a bit of a hectic one as it seems to be underwhelming for this film to now be leaked online and puts a detriment on the series of ever seeing a new entry of a film or follow up sequel series from this leaks, which has been echoed by some of the artists on the film and even the voice actress for Toph weighing in, which is a shame that it has happened and the fact as well that Paramount is not taking fault, as following the ordeal with this situation, they have made it out that they were not at fault and was caused by an outside source leaking it when it really was their own fault to blame about it leaking. Now I am personally going to avoid these leaks for now and wait until the film properly releases later this year as most should do as these animators, story artists, writers and more have put their time and effort into it and should be given their flowers and support them to make more of this series, while also telling the studio to do better and take some form of accountability, but if we will see that happen is anyones guess at the moment but if something new comes up I will provide it in a later episode.

But what do you make of these stories, will you be picking up the LEGO Shrek set and do you see more of them being made, do you think a Fern Gully Live action remake will be good and who would you cast, will you be watching this Charlie and the Chocolate Factory sequel and do you think that Paramount needs to own up for the leak on Avatar? let me know what you think down below and we can discuss it there.

And with all of that, this brings us to the end of the overly long 164th edition of Weird Mind News Room and I do hope you enjoyed the rambles for another week. Let me know your thoughts on all that was discussed down below and as always you all stay being wonderful people and have a great day everyday and I will see you all in the next episode :)

Take Care, Keep being you, signing off

Sam H :)