Weird Mind News Room Episode 181: August 10th - 16th

 *Music for a trip to the prehistoric Past*

Well Hello again to all of you super very wonderful people as always, My name is Sam and I would like to welcome to you all to the newest episode of my weekly series of Weird Mind News Room where for another week we will be given a focus to the array of New Releases, Trailers and News stories across the media landscape that you may have missed or were unsure of what was out this week, but lets not waste too much more time on the usual discussions and lets get to talking on all things media for another week.

Not the end of New Release Street

Movies

The End of Oak Street

On the first of the new releases for this week will be in the focus of some returning realm of a blast to the past in both point in time for this title as one day you are casually living your life of the usual hijinks of the suburban streets and then the next minute you find yourself fighting for your life on something that you thought was extinct for millions of years without any clear explanation but will be taking the concept of there goes the neighbourhood quite literally, as David Robert Mitchell is back from his success of It Follows and Under the Silver Lake to bring an all new pre-historic sci-fi tale with the release of The end of Oak Street. The film will see a mysterious cosmic event ripping Oak Street from Suburbia and transports their neighbourhood to someplace unknown in the far distinct time period of the past, where a family will soon discover that their very survival depends on them sticking together as they navigate their now unrecognizable and more dangerous surroundings. Reception on this new film has been decently well recieved with praise on the concept, performances and being an interesting approach of the genre of dinos outside of the Jurassic Park/World series, though some critiques say that it can be a little wonky with pacing and maybe the 80s nostalgia or Spielbergian tones can be a little excessive but it seems like a success overall and if you want to check it out for yourself then you can check it out now in cinemas.

Camp Rock 3

The next of the films for this week is with the focus of a return to a place that we may be familiar with from a bygone era and where we all had some memories of a summers past, but it seems after many years that it was presumed left as a time capsule of the past, it seems the camp will be open once more for another final jam session, as after 16 years since what was labelled as the Final Jam we have the release of the 3rd film of Camp Rock. The film will see The Connect 3 (The Jonas Brothers) return back to the camp to find a new opening act for their concert tour. Among some campers like Sage, Desi, Rosie and others, the competition to win the coveted spot will soon spark rivalries and romances as everyone fights to stand out. Reception to this 3rd film seems to be decently recieved from critics though a little more underwhelming from audiences that see it as a decent continuation and return to this series, though it feels a little too overly cheesy and some have some issues with some cast members and some form of love triangle dramas but I have no clue but I am sure it is harmless and if you want to return to the camp then you can catch it now on Disney+

Tony

The last of the films for this week is in the focus of serving up a sense of tasty cuisine, kitchen conflicts and the overall focus of the stress and chaos that comes from the dining and culinary industry as we have the release of the new indie film known as Tony. The film will follow 19 year old Anthony Bourdain who will stumble into the chaotic world of the restaurant Kitchen, setting off a summer that will soon shape the rest of his life. Reception on this new film has seen very strong positive reception with praise on the performances, the simple focus of the plot and the sense of anxiety of the industry and seen as one of this years best films and if you want to check it out for some fine dining then you can do so now in cinemas.

TV Shows

Reacher Season 4

On the side of TV for this week will be a return to a series that has been a recent Action title that has had a massive sense of popularity in the series of novels its based on as well as the massive size of the main protagonist as this field agent is back once again as we have the release of the 4th season of the popular Prime series of Reacher. Now based on the 13th novel of the series of Gone Tomorrow, it will see a case of Reacher dealing with unforeseen circumstances when a chance encounter with a distraught stranger on a subway train goes horribly wrong, it will draw him into a complex and deadly game that pits him against ruthless foes from the highest echelons of power. Reception on this new season like the first 3 have been very well recieved with praise on the continued focused narrative, action and performances, particularly of Ritchson's charm and if you are up for some more high octane action then you can watch the first 3 episode now on Amazon Prime with a new episode releasing every Wednesday.

Video Games

Agefield High: Rock the School

The last of the new releases will be one that may not be the biggest of gaming titles but I am putting it in as it had the potential of a game that will be a spiritual connector to a popular title from one of gaming's biggest studios and will be bringing many back to the days of the early era of the 21st century, as the company behind the Greyhill Incident will be bringing their new school based title of Agefield High: Rock the school. In this title set back in 2002, you will play as Sam, a new student as Agefield High who will deal with classes, relationships, bullys, jocks, overly hot or perverted teachers and all other ordeals a young pubescent teen will deal with as you build to the ultimate goal of ruling the prom and rocking the school. Reception on this title however is not the most well recieved currently as while the concept and potential as a title akin to Rockstar's Bully is there and some of the story has gotten some praise, the game is brought down by poor syncing issues, major noticeable bugs and just feeling some elements are lacking in a massive world with little to do or interact with but I am sure it can have some patches or fixes down the line and if you want to party like its 2002 then you can play it now on PC with consoles versions coming sometime later.

Trailers of a dino scale

Verity

Moving to the trailers the first will actually have one of the stars of the big new film release of this week but where they will be fighting to survive against some dinos, they will be more akin in this to manipulating and creating a sense of dread for this ghostwriter that will have plenty of scares as well as steamy affairs (better then what you may find in some of these books now) as we have the trailer for the next adaption of the books of Coleen Hoover with a new look at Verity. The film will follow Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) who is hired to become a ghostwriter for renowned author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway), but soon things take a bit of a dark turn when she discovers chilling autobiographical notes. Faced with a series of Deadly Family secrets, Lowen begins to struggle to separate fiction from reality while also blurring the lines with Verity's Husband (Josh Hartnett). I talked about it before but there is quite the array of opinions of the adaptions of books by Hoover with some that have their appeal, some that land flat and some that will cause an overblown legal drama that exposes some people for how they truly are in some form, but in this case there is a sense of appeal in the choice of the stars with Hathaway having the appeal, Dakota while not having the strongest of positive filmography does still bring appeal in some form and can prove it in some film like Materialists and then Hartness has decent roles when he pops up from time to time and I have read elements of what this film and initial book is about and it seems interesting and the whole psychological manipulation seen in the footage seems to be all building to something that I hope at least is a solid film adaption and not to another mess like Hoover's previous adaptions but I am sure we can see what comes from these pages when the film is published into cinemas from the 2nd of October.

Heart of the Beast

The next trailer for this week is taking more of a focus of a post-war based narrative that we often don't get too much of a focus on but will be in a case that after dealing with a focus of one war, they will have to focus on a battle of survival lost in a deep wilderness as we have the release of the newest film of Heart of the Beast. The film will follow special forces officer James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and his retied combat dog Odin after a plane crash in Alaska. Stranded deep in the wilderness, they will face a lot of harsh weather conditions and dangerous wildlife, and show the dedication to survival and the strong bond between man and dog. So I remember watching the first trailer a while back and was the footage I have seen may have been from the cinemacon and its one of those films that has an interesting focus and in all case usually a David Ayer production is usually a solid watch (hopefully his original vision of Suicide Squad will see the light of day soon) and hopefully the dog makes it out in one piece. Now I know there is some elements of concern with the main star of Pitt lately with him ending his Sobriety but hopefully it will not be of a detriment and will get a chance of being an overall decent watch and it seems like it could be worth checking out in due course as it will be making its way into cinemas from the 25th of September.

Avengers Doomsday

The remaining trailers for this week comes from the focus of a lot of the major aspect of the news and that is with some from the bi annual D23 conference and this first one is bringing us an all new look at the upcoming project that will be dropping at the end of this year with a bang and as the ideals of how we will get here and what will occour on this day will all be seen as the clock continues to count down as just coming a few short weeks before the first full length trailer we recieved an all new special look at the upcoming event film of Avengers Doomsday. Set 14 months after the events of Thunderbolts*, multiple groups of heroes from different universes, Avengers, Wakandans and New Avengers from 616, Fantastic 4 from 838 and Original X-Men from a Seperate universe - converge to face the existential threat of Doctor Doom. Now I talked about the first one a couple of weeks ago and in that case I was seeing a lot of discourse of people saying there is a mixed opinion on the overall footage as well as the ideals of Doom not having massive build up (then again neither did Thanos and look how that turned out) and in this case this new one which was the one from Comic Con and this conference has seen a lot more of a change of appeal (that and maybe Spider-Man got people back into an interest for the saga) and from all the teasers and trailers and this having a lot more of a focus on the villain I am ever so more excited then I already was and I am looking forward to this, but I am sure we will see of the overall spectacle as the clock continues counting down all the way for the release into cinemas from the 18th of December.

Vision Quest

The 2nd of the trailers from the event will be the other big news story of Marvel (there is one more but we will delve into it in News) and in this case we will be returning to a series that has been quiet for a fair bit of time and is a continued narrative of a series that spawned as a conclusion to a tv series trilogy that started all the way in westview many years ago where we focused on some genres and down a witches road and this last one will focus on a android that will have to find themselves once more as we have the release of the trailer for the upcoming new tv series of Vision Quest. After being resurrected at the end of Wandavision, the Android Vision lives in hiding while they attempt to understand who he is by communicating with various AI personas that are embedded in his programming, including the return of Rogue AI Ultron. Soon when a bounty is placed on his head, he will go on the run with a mysterious teenager who may be his reincarnated son. I will have to say the entries of this tv trilogy of shows was quite the unexpected outcome that started with a series of trippy genre based shows that to some say stumbled in the finale but still was entertaining, then the Agatha focused story that was surprisingly very entertaining and I feel will have something that will build to the narrative from this overall with this conclusion focused on a character that we have seen in some capacity across the 2nd half of the Infinity Saga but very little in the Multiverse and getting a focus to them in this series I feel will make the most sense and I hope it will build to the rediscovery of the 2 kids of Wiccan and Speed (well the latter as we got Wiccan from Agatha and I feel they may cross paths in this to bring them back). The return of Ultron is also interesting and I wonder will we see the comic accurate look to the character in this film or will it be the one from the Avengers film as it has shown so far but in all sense I am interested to see this somewhat trippy digital world and narrative in focus soon enough and its not too far from release either as the new series will be premiering on Disney+ from the 14th of October.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3

The next of the trailers for this week will be a return to the realm of the powerful tales and beings of the gods of legend and mythology and in the case we have seen many strike their claim and concern across the mortal realm from the skies and the sea in recent memory, but it looks like we have another go around for this adventure series with everyone's favourite half god coming back for another ordeal to take on as we have the trailer for the upcoming 3rd season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Now based on the 3rd book of The Titan's Curse and will see Annabeth has been captured by the forces of Kronos, which will see Percy embark on a perilous journey to rescue her that will include freeing a goddess in chains, confront the titan's curse and avoid triggering the fall of Olympus. With the aid of Grover, Percy will have to form some unlikely quest mates ton confront a prophecy of dire consequences. It really has shown a case that if you give some respect and dedication to a franchise and adaption that you can make something that has the potential to be done right which will have to be seen here given this next book in the series never got the initial film adaption the first 2 did and if there is a sense they did majorly well with those then I am sure we will see another successful run with this and I am sure I will eventually get around to watching the 2 seasons at some point cause I feel it would interest me in some capacity and this new season does look interesting but I am sure we will see by the release of this new season on Disney+ on November 20th.

Ashoka Season 2

our last of tv and streaming based trailers for this week will be bringing us back to the tales of a galaxy Far Far Away to continue the story across the galaxies of some of the tales of the heroes and fallen adversaries of the battles between good and evil as we return to one of those survivors of that long and deadly war and the fall of his mentor to the dark side where we will see her continue her developing skills in the ways of the force while also coming to terms with some deep questions on who she wants to be as after 3 years since the original first season, we have finally recieved a trailer for the 2nd season of the Star Wars series based on Ahsoka. The new season will focus on Ahsoka and her Apprentice Sabine Wren as they find themselves on the planet of Peridea on the other side of the galaxy and must find a way to get back and help in the fight, while Grand Admiral Thrawn leads the remnants of the Galactic Empire against the New Republic. I can give the efforts of Filoni and some of the other creatives in the Star Wars series with the creation of this character first established from the Clone Wars and then given some revitalized appeal from her first Live Action appearance in the Mandalorian that seeing her return as a more experience Jedi after many years brings appeal and from how this new trailer is showing that season 2 is going more in on a lot of action and conflict this time around with new Ligthsaber based weapons, a focus of a popular villain of this series and the return of more Anakin that maybe this will have a lot of appeal going into the saga in an era when the appeal of the series coming back in a positive way is needed more then ever but I am interested in checking this out and thankfully we have a release date for this as this new adventure will be dropping onto Disney+ from the 20th of January next year.

Kingdom Hearts IV

The last of the trailers for this week is the one focused trailer on the side of the gaming realm where in this case it will be the focus of many worlds and titles that we have seen across the many genres and years of the massive company and studio across the decades but in the focus that some of these lands are corrupted by the elements of darkness and must be revived by the kindness of the heart inside of us and a powerful weapons that will seal the sides of light and darkness but the location of this original hero has found themselves in a new and strange place close to our own as we have the release of the new trailer and unveiling of the new world with the upcoming and anticipated title of Kingdom Hearts IV. The new entry of this long running series will once again see you take control of Sora who this time around finds himself awakening in a strange place known as Quadratum, a vast, realistic aftermarket style city, after fading away from misusing the power of waking. While Sora Navigates this strange new reality and meets new characters like Strelitzia and travels to other worlds from the vast corners of Disney, Donald and Goofy will search for him in the Underworld and face Hades in order to find him. If there is anything I can say about this franchise is that is bewilders me in the ideals of many areas cause technically this would not be the fourth title given they had the first 2 then a boatload of spin offs in the span of the following decade or more and then possibly more after 3 but I will give the ideals that there is some interest and appeal to the series and I do hope to give it a try at some point. Now the unveiling of one of the new worlds for this title with Coco can be an interesting take on the series and I have to wonder if that since the last title was in development for a while, I have to know if we will see even more world beyond the Disney and Pixar realms and see some stuff from Star Wars and Marvel as well but I am sure we can get an idea of it or kept as a surprise until that games release which while we have no confirmed date we now have a set release window for the title set to drop sometime in late 2027.

News for the escapism

When you wish upon a star, your media news comes true: All D23 announcements

Well I have already alluded to it for the latter half of the trailers but we will be starting on the first of 2 compilation news stories with the focis of it being another 2 years have passed and it is time for the focus of the big event of D23 that take place in California once again where we will be delving into giving some distinct updates and announcements on some of the big new stories across the divisions that the company own from the main, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars divisions and we will go in a bit of an order and cover on what was unveiled at the event, so let us see what was on offer at the event.

We will start with the department with the most announcements from the event with it all being with the main studio and I will focus of it in the order of release with some to wrap up at the end of ones without official release dates in focus but there is quite a trove of topics unveiled so lets dive in.

So there is only really one remaining topic of a focus that Disney gave a little attention to for this year and that is with their annual animated film with it being Hexed this year where attendees were shown a new trailer for the film that I was thinking was probably going to be released during the weekend but I'll give it to later in the month for that, but what they did show was some extended scenes from the first trailer as well as some new footage with it unveiling the villains being a trio of witches (that feel like it has some K-Pop Demon Hunter look) and in focus a new goofy sidekick in this land known as Beef Roger Crummchuk, a bayou living 3 eyed green cat that has their own form of magic and in this is confirmed to be voiced by Walter Goggins who seems to fit the role well. Now I know there is still a fair bit of debate that this is just very Owl House coded but they have confirmed its not based or built off of it and in this case I will give them a chance to prove it as it does look decent but I am sure we will see about it by its release in late November.

Next in the timeframe would be with a return to a non Disney-owned property from a defunct studio as the next on release time would be with the 6th Ice Age film of Boiling Point which saw Denis Leary and Queen Latifah come out and discuss some brief info on what can be expected from the new title with it focusing on being set in the return to the lost world from the 3rd movie and while no new footage was unveiled to the public (well bar being leaked and uploaded online) it focused on Scrat and Baby Scrat in the conflict over getting that Acorn stored for the winter and everything falling apart in the process leading to them landing in front of the motherlode of acorns that is in the possession of a Dino-sized Squirrel and I am intrigued to see what will fully come of this narrative as there is a bit of a guilty pleasure tone to these films for me and I am interested in checking it out when it drops from the 5th of February.

Now for one that I feel is a long time coming for a character who has been for a while lost to time bar making a triumphant return in a recent pair of video games (and hoping for a trilogy conclusion) and that was with Jon Favreau coming out to reveal the all new miniseries based on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit with this confirmed to be dropping as a 3 episode miniseries in February next year. Not much was overly shown but it did unveil that the series will see a return of some 2D Hand drawn animation after all these years and the footage shown at the event saw the small rabbit exploring the halls of the Disney Studio and coming across Walt's preserved office and seeing a sense of curiosities abound. It does look really nice and wholesome and I feel and hope this will revive the character for a new outing in the future but I will be watching this when it drops in February.

Jumping ahead a few months to another IP that they own under the banner and that is with the longest running animated series as some may seem to forget but we have a sequel to the Simpsons Movie coming out next year with it unveiled with a new title simply as The New Simpsons Movie and while no plot have been given to this film as of yet, the attendees were given a rough early look at the film of a sequence shown through storyboards of Homer and some of the other members of Springfield chasing after a Baseball that may be worth a lot of money and will see them travel across vast area of the town to get their hands on it. It is an interesting aspect to think and discuss on as to what will come from this new title and what sort of hijinks they have finally come up with to top the original film but I am guessing we will see about it all when the film drops into cinemas from September 3rd Next year.

To round out the projects confirmed for next year will be one that may bring quite a chill in the air but as the song goes the cold never bothered them me anyway (well to some they do) as they unveiled and confirmed that the next animated film following hexed is with a 3rd Frozen movie where we got some concept art of a powerful winter woods, they showed off the standees of Elsa and Anna and attendees got to see the first bit of footage for the film with it set to take place after Anna and Kristoff's wedding and will see them face off against an actual established villain of an Ice Queen, which going off the brief glimpse in the footage leaked online, they are going in the form of the initial design for Elsa with this villain which I see as a good callback and the only other bit of news we know for this follow up is that it will not be a 2 part film with Frozen 4 dropping a year later as was initially foretold a good while ago and the other is that Olaf will also be getting a love interest in the form of Samantha (so again Disney not listening and having one of these characters being in a same sex relationship) but I am sure we can hope that in all sense of things that they will at least have a focus and structure t this one and not be a few weeks out and having no clear direction and answer for the aspects of the sequel but I guess we will see come its release next Christmas.

Now you probably thought they haven't mentioned about live action remakes, they must not be making them anymore after Moana bombed.... well there is none confirmed for next year (yet) but they have confirmed that we will be getting 2 live action remakes in 2028 and one we already knew that we will get to but the first one will be seeing a more recent take on an animated tale from the studio getting the treatment first  as they came along and showed a brief teaser and first look at the upcoming and currently filming live action remake of Tangled that gave us the first look at Rapunzel in the teaser and a brief unveiling of Kathryn Hahn as Mother Gothel before she took to the stage to talk on the new take of the film and introducing a video from the lead 2 stars on the set. Now since this footage there has been debate on the choice of casting that mainly comes down to Rapunzel as some feel that she doesn't really look or feel like the character, whereas Gothel and Flynn have been seen as solid interpretations but I see no issue in any of the actors (bar the male leads opinions on stuff) and my only nitpick is maybe her outfit in the sleeves cause it feels too much like some form of a sheer silk gown over her arms that granted its similar to the original dress design but maybe it just looks weird compared to the animated counterpart, but maybe that thought will change (which was how I was with the dress from Snow White after a while) and this hair-raising adventure will be dropping in cinemas from March 31st of 2028.

As for the other live action remake is the one we knew of the release date for and will be coming out shortly after and that is the only case of another remake getting a sequel after a brief window instead of taking a couple of years or whenever they decide to (like that initial planned Jungle Book sequel that I am guessing is just not happening) and this is with a Live action sequel to Lilo and Stitch. Now not much was actually shown at the event and was most given a focus of the main star of Lilo on stage with the voices of Judy and Gary from Zootopia before the stage screen is interfered by Stitch saying hello to everyone in attendance and wearing a light bracelet but then its revealed another experiment will be making an appearance in this follow up with it confirmed to be 624 or Angel, who is seen as a love interest for Stitch from the original tv series. Now it seems from this that it will not be taking an approach of Stitch has a Glitch but maybe some elements from the tv show but its hard to say at the moment. I do wonder if with this will it see a sort of redemption arc for Jumba who was the villain in the original remake and if we will see the likes of Gantu or Hamstervil or any of the other 600 experiments but I am sure we will get an idea of this soon enough by its release in Late May 2028 (but we will see these characters much sooner in animation form with Lilo and Scratch coming out alongside Hexed this Christmas).

The last of the confirmed date reveals is with the other animated film to be dropping into cinemas at the end of 2028 and while it was initially reported as Frozen 4, this confirmed that it will not be the case and will now be the focus of another new original known as Clay with this one following a character named Flip (Kieran Culkin) who will portray a reluctant mentor who is chosen during an annual ritual to become the mentor of a new person and in this case will have his work cut out for them with this being a creature made out of Clay named Mushy. Now the first look image looks really striking and appealing in the bright colours and striking world that I am sure it will have some appeal and intrigue into this new location and a bond and hijinks will surely ensue. I do have to wonder in some form will this maybe have a little bit of mixed media as given the title character is made from Clay that I wonder will it have 2D/3D animation but also claymation for Mushy and some part of the world akin to how they did with older projects like Tarzan and Treasure Planet with a Blend of 2D, 3D and Deep Canvas but I am sure we can get an ideas as the film comes closer to release at Christmas of 2028.

Now on the likes of the titles that don't have any current projected releases, Anne Hathaway came out on stage (the 3rd time this episode we talk on her) and talked about both a 25th anniversary for the original entry and some news about a planned 3rd Princess Diaries film that they will be working and developing it as they are and wanting to make it the best it can be and will likely be a bit of time before that happens given she is expecing a 3rd child (congrats to her) and then the other reports that may have been possibly confirmed is that the other big name of the films of Julie Andrews may not be returning for this 3rd film but sometimes with that I doubt some aspects on that. Either way I am intrigued to see what they will do with a 3rd film but in case me talking more about being a Princess, Shut Up!!!

One that was expected and given how it was teased in a post credits scene that it was bound to happen but at the event they confirmed that Zootopia will indeed be getting a 3rd film  which also doesn't have a confirmed release window. Now the footage that was shown was essentially the post credit scene with a slight new bit of footage focusing on Paul the IT guy from the 2nd film with it confirmed that the next film will focus on the animals of aviation with a focus on birds and this one specifically on an eagle or hawk but we have no idea on the concept yet. In all fairness there is a lot of potential with this series of films and the world and if anything I just hope and be the case that this will have plenty of time to be developed, even if its another decade for the 3rd film just to make it feel great like the first 2 but I am all for returning to this bustling metropolis for another case but we can see on that down the line. 

The last of the big announcements from the main Disney studio was a series that has long been in the rumours and it was not just the new trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 as it was confirmed that a full length Anime series based on the game series is in the works for Disney Channel and Disney+. Now its unclear if this will be a sort of retelling of the original series of games and the spin offs or if it will tell a new story with those familiar characters like Sora, Riku, Kairi and others as well as Mickey, Donald and Goofy as they stop the heartless from destroying the many worlds but I am sure we will get an idea of it as the show goes into deeper development and if the new game will have any connection to it but I guess we will find out more about it all as time goes on. Anyway that is all from the main studio, lets delve into the sub studios of theirs and start off with their longest one there.

This of course is with the focus of Pixar who had the 2nd most amount of topics in focus from the event that we will cover onto now and similar to the first studio focus will be in order of release.

What would be that closed the Pixar section of the showcase is where we will start with this one as we will focus to the newest project coming up next from the studio with the film of Gatto where audiences were treated to a clip of the film of Nero trying to obtain a distinct instrument from a street performer and enlists the aid of a very enthusiastic and possibly insane pigeon voiced by the films director Enrico Casarosa and its from that connection as well as the street musician that will see Nero's dedication and lifestyle be questioned and it seems like there is an interesting aesthetic to it all as well as them unveiling a new trailer at the event for the attendees. I think from all of the images and clips that the use of the new water colour artstyle and blending of animation will be something I hope we will start to see more of as time goes on with this studio but I look forward to checking this out when it comes along on March 5th next year.

Now there was the unveiling of one more new original in amongst all of these announcements and it was a title I had heard floating about for a little bit but it seems to have gotten a slight name change with this title being revealed as Ghost Market that will be Pixar's first foray into the supernatural (and possible horror) and will follow Kyle, a young content creator from Chicago whose vacation in Hawaii takes a supernatural turn when a late night search for food leads to a hidden market on a crossroads between the living and the dead and will be drawing some heavy inspiration from Asian culture and spirit cuisine. Now a factor that has seen some complaints is many having with the use of the bean mouth animation look but I personally don't have too much of an issue to it and I am intrigued by the glimpse that Pixar unveiled in a short online (and from what I saw of many creator posting the longer version on socials) but I am interested to see another original from this studio when it drops on March 10th 2028.
 

Then we are back to some of the follow up territory as after ending their 2024 D23 segment with this announcement we finally have some new focus and ideals of what we can expect from a 3rd entry in the Incredibles series where we were given a brief ideals of some story details with this one being a major focus on the kids of Violet Dash and Jack-Jack trying to prove they can be trusted and taken seriously as main heroes. It will not see the parent sitting this one out as it will see them returning to the public eye again after Super were made legal again by the aid of Winston Deavor's programme from the 2nd film (which those heroes and Winston are confirmed to be returning as well as Frozone too) and will see Mr Incredible having a continued identity crisis about if the superhero world has left him behind, which will come in full force with a new antagonist that was only briefly teased in shadow and not given a full explanation as Pixar CCO Pete Doctor is cut off by Edna Mode. It does sound like a lot of potential and I have a lot of faith that it will be an entertaining entry, my only one concern is with the case of not aging up the characters that many hoped for even with the sequel but maybe they found a decent reason to keep them as the age they are, but overall I am very excited for this and will be checking this out by its release on June 16th 2028.

The last of the announcements or focus pieces from Pixar will be bringing us back to a very colourful land found across the petal bridge in the land of the dead as we got our first look at the sequel to Coco that will see the film set a few years after the events of the original with Miguel all grown up into a teenager and allowed to become a musician and this plot will see him return to the land of the dead and have to team up with an unexpected adversary to stop something terrible happening in those lands and that is with Ernesto De La Cruz who is back for revenge. Since the release of the original about a decade ago it has definitely grown on me and many others as one of Pixars best and most emotionally charged films and while I can say that the likes of a sequel is likely unneeded and kept as a one off film, there is that small sense of curiosity of intrigued to see what they have for this follow up and I look forward to checking this out when it does release into cinemas from November 2029. Thats all Pixar had to offer so now its time to move to their heroes.

And this is with Marvel and while we have covered essentially most of the news with the 2 trailers unveiled, there was one other big announcement at the event that was reported and rumoured for a few weeks now but was finally made a thing at the event where they unveiled and confirmed that the first film to release post the Multiverse saga will be the MCU take on The X-Men with the film set for release on May 5th 2028 and also unveiled some of the cast members (one I will be keeping spoiler free on for the moment). Now we knew of two already with Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) as Emma Frost and Kit Connor (Heartstopper) as Cyclops, but there was a few more additions which include Christopher Abbott (Girls) as the new take on Charles Xavier, Inde Navarrette (Obsession) will portray Rogue, theatre actress Maya Boyd as Storm (her film debut) and after many years of asking and rumours, they finally confirmed that Adam Driver (Marriage Story, Star Wars) will be taking on the role of Mister Sinister serving as likely the films villain. Now there has been some mixed opinions, mainly with Inde's casting as many wanted someone with a southern twang to her role and the case she fancasted of wanting to play Mystique for the MCU but I see it as a solid choice (plus the original cartoons voice actress made a video all the way in my house county to support her casting) as I do with all of these choices. Now the big debate will be on the casting of 2 other big members with Magneto and especially Wolverine but I am sure we will come to that bridge when they do but overall I think a solid line up so far for this take on the mutants. Thats all really that was left to talk on Marvel so lets delve into what is left on the one other sector of this companies IPS.

And that last stop is to a galaxy Far Far Away with Star Wars as while we don't don't have too much to talk on this section, besides the new Mandalorian film dropping on Disney+ on September 2nd and all other bits planned and shown for the 50th anniversary of this series, there was at least one project given a bit of focus and that was with the new Starfighter film from Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling with most of the info told was the name of his character of Kade Auberon as well as his sigil of the space skull that I am sure will be made available by the end of the year and most case the attendees got to see the first bit of footage of the film with Kade having to escort a young kid across a vast and dangerous galaxy with glimpses of a lot of high octane action and visual set pieces that I am very interested to see what will come of this title and I hope that there is still a lot of life in this series (as I felt the Mandalorian film was a decent watch overall) but I am sure we will see by its release on May 28th next year.

And with all of that this was all of the content in media that was presented to us at the D23 event and I will say there was a lot of interesting announcements and projects unveiled that I am looking forward to. Sure there was some aspects I wondered if they would talk on like some news on the recently announced Monsters Inc sequel or even some sense of news about the Live Action Hercules that has been announced nearly a decade ago with no major updates or confirmation of being scrapped given Ritchie and the Russos are quite busy the last little bit, but besides that I am very interested in the outcome of it all and I am sure we will be back here in another 2 years time for updates on more media and other updates on the parks as well but the world from the magic kingdom company once again.

But what do you make of it all of these announcements, what was the biggest surprise of the event for you and what did you hope to see shown at the event and what are you looking forward to the most? Let me know your thoughts down below.

All the other media to diversify the platter

Well its time again and you thought I was done with it all but you would be mistaken as we of course have a selection of some of the usual array of the Hodge Podge that will mainly focus in the area of some stories outside of Disney and will focus solely on the areas of casting and project announcements and updates but we will see what was presented to us across the narratives of media news from this week.

So I will start on the project announcements and updates and will start with a change to a project that will see a bit of a mixed response as after taking the reigns of the series with the recent title last year, it was announced last week that Gareth Edwards will not be returning to direct the follow up of last years Jurassic World Rebirth. The reason on their decision to drop out of the follow up is from what has been described online as being creative differences that could be from the ideas and concepts that original series writer David Koepp has come up with or maybe its the studio of Universal or Spielberg being involved in some way but in this case it will have to be seen what was the real major focused reason. Now in all sense I didn't hate last years entry, it had some interesting ideas and concepts and visually was not a bad film either, some bits could've been avoided like the whole stranded family aspect but I think it has their moments when they can. Now I feel from this push that it will likely be a possible ceasing on the project or else it will have to be a focus of finding someone that will bring some unique and fresh new take on this series but I am sure sooner or later life will find a way and have this new title in general ready to go. Now at the moment there is no word on any fix to this or who they have in mind as a replacement, but if there is any updates to it I will provide in a later episode.

Most of the project updates are with some changes or shelving of some other projects and in this case this next story is in the area of some Superhero projects that is disappointing to hear as it looks like another aspect of the DCU plan is losing another pair as it was reported the planned series of Waller and Paradise Lost (the project on the Amazonians and Wonder Woman) have reportedly been shelved. Now there has been a lot of shakeups and mixed things going on at the company that I see as some being a little weird in choice to go into for the start of the new DCU and has seen a few other projects on the wayside or the case maybe all of this company buyout and merger causing a few other issues but I do hope that in some case they will have a plan to make them a reality down the line. Now its not all shelving and shutting down of projects as while the Paradise lost series may be off the radar for the moment, it is still confirmed that Wonder Woman is still a focus and priority and a film is on the way when they can get to finding the new DCU hero. The other is an update to Booster Gold where I mentioned that its not fully been cancelled and will be looking for some new writers for the project to make it an actual reality but I am sure we will see what comes of this studio and I feel with their new project out next week that we will see if like many new franchises or cinematic universe that it will have a few stumbles and make a return for these and all other characters and stories but I am sure we can see as the DCU is fleshed out into the future and if there is some new updates on all of this then I will let you know in a later episode.

One last of the project updates we have before we have confirmed or rumoured projects is looking like another colourful and super powered team will be seeing a case of what was seen as some hope falling apart as it was reported earlier this that the initial planned Power Rangers series for Disney+ from the Percy Jackson creators has reportedly been shelved. Now most of the reasons for this shelving is due to some creative differences and finding a solid direction for the project even after a concept they have been focused on for about 18 months at this point and likely case as well that the studio that owns the IP is a little all over the place with it as well since they obtained the rights as I have known from my friend who is a big fan of the IP. Now if there was a case it could've worked and had some new faces and those that are a fan of the franchise giving it a fresh idea but I assume that it was too big of a challenge to balance balance but I do hope we will see it have a chance and be a new series that many of the fans have longed for years for, but I guess we will see soon enough if that will happen and if there is any updates and changes on the IP to happen I will let you know in a later episode.

On the side of actual project announcements, it looks like Hollywood is taking the approach of let the younger audience and creatives on socials and YouTube to have a chance to make the next big thing, but the choice and project in mind for this one will be a debated one as it was reported earlier this week that we are getting a new film based on the creepypasta character of Jeff the Killer and that it will be made by Tiktoker Savanah Moss. Now the ideals of them deciding to add another Creepy pasta character to a full length film is not a new thing as we saw it with the disaster of 2018s Slenderman and then a success with this years Backrooms and another project in development on Siren Head so they are tapping into the Something Awful forums for many of these projects. The choice to helm it is where a good chunk f debate has been seen online with many saying not to support as it was seen that Moss created another short film known as Funny Bunny that used a hefty amount of Generative AI and there is a concern that will be the same with Jeff (like I am not even sure if that image above is AI touchup or the original photo) so there is a lot of concern and be seen as a lazy excuse to make a bit of cash but maybe it could be something that could turn out to be all human made and be actually a surprise but I guess we will see. Now there is no word on when we may expect this project and if there is anyone else involved, but as always if I hear anything I will update down the line.

The last of the project announcement and rumours is in the realm of some gaming news and it seems in this case a fair bit of magic will be building again and the likes of some wands will be at the ready as according to some reports it looks like we are getting a sequel to Hogwarts Legacy with the report being that the game will be revealed at Gamescom in about 2 weeks time. Now I have played through the original game and is all on my channel and I will say it had some interesting aspects in narrative and gameplay that I am sure some elements can be added and improved with a follow up, however this also comes with a caveat that this is the IP made from the world of the very bad author that shall not be named and if this ends up being released will just be an excuse to line their pockets and spout their very harmful and hurtful comments about the LGBTQAI+ community, especially to the Trans community and will have to be seen if this will cause a knock on affect if people will overlook the drama to buy it or will properly go against buying and playing it but I guess we will have to see. Now as I said it is all just rumours for the moment and I am sure we will see if they reveal it at Gamescom, but I guess we will find out by then if a return to this magical world is expected.

Just keeping it with this IP for just a moment and in the first of the few casting updates, this new addition has made waves online and not in a good way as while they have been discussions and talks on the next season of this unnecessary retelling is underway, a new casting has cause a lot of backlash as we talk on the new that Superman and The Great star Nicholas Hoult has been cast in the upcoming HBO adaption of Harry Potter and will be portraying the role of Gilderoy Lockhart. Now this character appears throughout the 2nd book as this pompous wizard celebrity that may be a little bit of a fraud and has a bit of an ego and was initially portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in the original film. Now in a world where this author was not connected to the books, the casting would've been appreciated, but like with any new addition of these known actors portraying the characters in this book (bar the young actors) have been critiqued by many for joining up when some views they have do not line up with that of the author and many feel if they make their opinions against her feel a little flat and this has now been aimed towards Hoult for joining on for this project. It just really seems that this project has been a massive mess and many signs point to if the remake was a good idea but I guess we will see by the first season premiere this Christmas on the viewership numbers but maybe some of these cast could decide to drop out when we least expect it but I guess we will see and if there is anything new for this project I will let you know in a later episode.

Moving from book to game adaption casting, this one has not been set in stone and more in the rumour space as we are talking once more about the upcoming Legend of Zelda adaption. Now we talked on this film last week as we got confirmation of the castings for Ganon and Impa as well as confirming the late Sam Neill will also be in the new film with the long confirmed Link and Zelda castings, but we have another name looming around the casting and portraying another important character from the series as it is reported a casting for the role of Hylia in the film, with the choice being with the new Emma frost herself of Samara Weaving. The choice on this casting is quite an interesting one and personally I can see the ideals of her playing the original goddess and as the first version of the princess and protector of the Tri-force would be an interesting one and given she is a big gaming fan and that I can see her being a close look to the character she may be portraying and I would not have too much of an issue with that casting if it is true. Now as I mentioned at the start it is just a rumour and will likely have to be confirmed by Nintendo from their app or from the release of the trailer at some point, but I am sure we will see by then and once I hear anything I will let you know in a later episode.

The last of the stories will be in the focus to the ideals of an ensemble as things will be a little bit more sweeter (or all come crashing down in chaos) as we got an update to the upcoming new animated sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Charlie Vs the chocolate factory as we recieved some new casting additions as well as a new release date. Now we had already known of 2 leads with Kit Connor portraying Charlie and Taika Waititi voicing Wonka (as well as directing the movie) but we have another 6 additions to the film with includes Nicola Coughlin (Derry Girls), Charithra Chadron (One Piece), Samson Kayo (The Bubble), Christopher Chung (Slow Horses), Kate Winslet (Avatar) and Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown) joining the roster of characters in this new animated world and follow up with quite the crazy outcome. Now besides this casting they also revealed that it has an official release date and it is a little bit of time out for now as the film will be releasing first into cinemas from the 5th of November next year before it will be dropping onto Netflix from the 22nd of Decemberso it will be a bit of a festive treat for next year and I am intrigued to see what will come of this whole project. I do hope we will see some new footage in due course but I am sure we will get a lot more of an insight to it all over the next few months before we will see this drop next November.

But what are your thoughts on all of this, do you think Edwards will come back to direct the new film or do you see the series going dormant or who should take over the directing duties, do you see the Waller and Amazonian series developing further, are you disappointed in the Power Rangers series being shelved, do you think a Jeff the Killer film will work out, what are your thoughts on a Hogwarts Legacy sequel and will you play or avoid, do you think Hoult is making a good choice in the HBO adaption, is Weaving a good choice for Hylia and when do you think we will see footage and what are your thoughts on all of the new additions for the Charlie and the Chocolate factory follow up and will you check it out in cinemas? Let me know your thoughts on all of this down below.

And with all of that, that brings us to the end of the very long 181st edition of Weird Mind News Room and I hope you enjoy the rambling for another week. Let me know your thoughts on all that was discussed down below and as always I hope 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 :)