When it rains, it pours. Or, more seasonally correct, it blizzards? In either case, we got an absolute deluge of cool entertainment news this week, so hang on to your hats as today’s show is going to be a doozy.
Perhaps the biggest news this week came from the ever-expanding Star Wars universe. Not only did we get a first look at Solo, the seemingly ill-fated Han Solo origin story (the trailer for which actually looked pretty decent to this podcaster), but we also got news from Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy that Game of Thrones writers/producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will be getting their hands on their own series of Star Wars films.
For those keeping count, with Rian Johnson’s planned trilogy, a ninth and ostensibly final film in the Skywalker saga, and at least two but more likely three films from the melodramatic duo at GOT, along with rumored other side stories in the works like an Obi-Wan solo film, that officially adds up to a crap ton of Star Wars movies. Now, we already knew that Disney would be making Star Wars flicks for at least the next 10 years, and likely for the foreseeable future of humankind, but seeing them all laid out like this is a different thing. On today’s show, we’ll ask (and for ourselves answer) the question, are all these films starting to tarnish the beloved brand? Spoiler alert: Yes. Yes, they are.
But we digress. There’s plenty more to talk about on today’s show, including some new glimpses at Hollywood’s ever-deepening dive into the many realms of superhero films. Since we last hit the airwaves, we’ve gotten a look a the new Deadpool 2 trailer (awesome), the latest Avengers: Infinity War trailer (not bad), and of course the Venom trailer (where’s the beef?), which showed literally zero signs of the monster himself to the disappointment of virtually everyone online. Sure, we did get a Legion-esque look at Tom Hardy apparently losing his mind in a CT machine, but there really wasn’t much about this trailer to be excited about. Luckily, it’s rated R, and it stars Tom Hardy, so that’s still plenty to keep us interested.
Speaking of superhero oversaturation, how about that weird stand-alone Joker movie, which has now morphed from a Martin Scorsese/possibly Leonardo DiCaprio venture to a Todd Phillips flick with Joaquin Phoenix in the title role and little discussion of Scorsese in the latest news. Just what the hell is going on with this movie anyway? If we didn’t know better, we’d say it was nothing more than a distraction for our imaginations to lead us away from the next huge, embarrassing DC failure. We’re talking to you, weird CGI mustache-less Superman.
And speaking of Henry Cavill’s untamed ‘stache, we also got a look this week at the Mission: Impossible – Fallout, the movie for which the Superman actor grew that menacing face hair, which shows all the familiar action, suspense, and Tom Cruise stunt bravado you were hoping for. And Alec Baldwin, too.
But that’s far from everything prominent that hit the web this week. We’ll also hope to get to Jessica Jones season 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Westworld season 2, and more.
So tune in and hit us up live at 2 p.m. PT today, or take us along for the ride with our podcast version by following the links at the top of this story.
