Did You Hear? is a weekly examination of headlines in the entertainment industry and a take on what they could mean for the future of the industry and (often), the little geeky bubble that we occupy.
Picard Drops a Teaser
CBS All-Access takes the next step in its quest to fill their streaming service with Star Trek-branded content with the first (of what I’m sure if many), teaser:
Star Trek: Picard – Teaser
The end is only the beginning. Brace yourself for the new CBS All Access Original Series Star Trek: Picard, coming soon. © 2019 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.
The teaser itself reveals very little and leans heavily into what Trek fans already know about the future of our second (third?), captain of the Enterprise – and it mostly has to do with his retiring to a vineyard. Genre star gina Torres (Firefly, The Vampire Diaries), can be heard giving narration. No clues are revealed about her character, nor is anything substantive revealed about what Picard is going to look like as a series.
My bet? We’ll see a full length proper trailer just in time for … San Diego Comic-Con!
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Eyes August Release
EW broke the exclusive news that the Netflix reboot of The Dark Crystal, subtitled Age of Resistance, will be binge-ready beginning August 30th with all 10 episodes viewable simultaneously. The show stars the vocal talents of Taron Egerton (Kingsman), Anya Taylor-Joy (Split), and Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones).
The leads are also joined by a fabulous supporting voice cast which includes: Harvey Fierstein, Mark Hamill, Ralph Ineson, Jason Isaacs, Keegan-Michael Key, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Simon Pegg, Andy Samberg, Caitriona Balfe, Helena Bonham Carter, Harris Dickinson, Natalie Dormer, Eddie Izzard, Theo James, Toby Jones, Shazad Latif, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mark Strong, Alicia Vikander, and Donna Kimball.
The series is directed by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk), who addressed the merging of practical and digital effects in the modern age and the importance of remaining true to the source material:
I was not fighting against anyone, I was fighting against common sense and practicality. It’s so so complicated to build a puppet, hire puppeteers, all that stuff. We chose the long, hardest road and we’re very thankful [we did]. It looks absolutely stunning.
Check out EW’s exclusive first look photos below:
Jim Henson properties have been notoriously difficult to adapt and update in the wake of his passing. As a lifelong Henson fan it’s my hope Dark Crystal succeeds where the most recent version of The Muppets didn’t. Given the subtitle, there’s a chance for a real message to come across in this show, which could be incredibly powerful.
Falcon & Winter Soldier Adds Movie Alums
THR reported that the upcoming Disney+ Falcon and Winter Soldier series would be dipping back into the same well both character were birthed into the MCU from. Sam Wilson and The Winter Soldier debuted in the aptly titled – Captain America: the Winter Soldier – movie and the show is in talk to pick up two more alum: Daniel Bruhl and Emily VanCamp who play Zemo and Agent 13 a.k.a. Sharon Carter respectively.
If these two characters are included in the show and it remains titled Falcon 
and Winter Soldier I’m left wondering when exactly these events are going to be set. Marvel Studios is notorious for blatantly disregarding their own timeline of events (here’s looking at you, Spider-Man: Homecoming), and from where I sit writing this it appears the Disney+ shows are fully embracing having no regard for when anything is set.
More details are likely to come out at some of the bigger conventions which lay ahead over the summer and I hope Marvel releases more details which will illuminate not only the cast of Falcon and Winter Soldier, but what exactly this show is going to be?
Netflix to Adapt The Magic Order
According to Deadline Mark Millar’s The Magic Order has been picked up for series. Given the standing deal between Millar and Netflix this announcement comes as no surprise, however the confirmation is nice. The show has Aquaman director James Wan and Chaos Walking and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s Lindsey Beer already on board on Executive Producers. Wan brings with him all the power of his production company, Atomic Monster, as well.
Millarworld already has several successful adaptation at its back, which bodes well for The Magic Order. Having EPs who have preexisting work with comic book properties also bodes well. As a fan of the series, here’s hoping it turns out amazing!
Meanwhile … Netflix Loses the CW
Deadline also broke the news that The CW would not be renewing its direct to streaming deal with Netflix. Their reporting claims new CW shows such as Nancy Drew and Batwoman would be individually shopped, but in my opinion, that’s not likely the case. DC already has its own proprietary streaming service and Warner Bros. has its own in development, which seems likely to eat its DC counterpart.
More likely than not Warner is trying to keep all profits in house and this has finally extended as far as streaming. I guess if you want to binge The Flash and Riverdale after they’ve aired live you’re just going to have to keep your ear to the ground and pretend to be shocked about where they find their home!
