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!
Sony Debuts Madame Web Trailer
Earlier this week Sony Pictures dropped the trailer for the next movie in their non-Spider-Man Spider-Verse series, Madame Web:
https://twitter.com/MadameWeb/status/1724789357482033458
In addition to a behind-the-scenes featurette:
https://twitter.com/MadameWeb/status/1724789599669539199
Eagle-eyed comic book readers will notice the Madame Web we see in the trailer in no way resembles the Madame web of the Marvel Comic Book universe. Personally, I don’t see this as a huge issue because Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. have made many successful films simply taking the names and settings from the comic books and dressing them up in order to serve a film’s narrative purpose.
Here is the official synopsis:
In a switch from the typical genre, Madame Web tells the standalone origin story of one of Marvel publishing’s most enigmatic heroines. The suspense-driven thriller stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic in Manhattan who may have clairvoyant abilities. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women destined for powerful futures… if they can all survive a deadly present.
You may also have spotted the live action Spider-Verse which seems to be teased throughout the short trailer. Some of the characters I spotted include:
- Dakota Johnson as Cassie Webb (Madame Web)
- Sydney Sweeney as Julia Carpenter (Spider-Woman)
- Celeste O’Connor as Mattie Franklin (Spider-Woman)
- Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon (Spider-Girl)
- Tahar Rahim as (Ezekiel Sims)
From the same parent studio who brought us Across the Spider-Verse I guess we shouldn’t be surprised!
Invincible is Coming to Fortnite
The highly anticipated second season of Invincible, Amazon Prime’s hit adult animated streaming show dropped earlier this month on November 3rd.
And yesterday it was announced that Mark Grayson (Invincible), Omni-Man, and Atom Eve would be making their foray into the realm of video games through the power – and prowess – or Fortnite!
In fairness, Mortal Kombat was Omni-Man’s video game debut, Fortnite is the premier for Invincible and Atom Eve. Omni-Man is a popular addition to one beloved franchise, so it makes complete sense to merge Robert Kirkman’s superhero universe into the same video game my beloved Teen Titans joined not too long ago themselves.
This new came via Twitter from a popular Fortnite leak account:
Shiina on Twitter: “In-Game look at “Omni-Man” #FortniteOG pic.twitter.com/bmkQom4vWh / Twitter”
In-Game look at “Omni-Man” #FortniteOG pic.twitter.com/bmkQom4vWh
If you’re an Fortnite player who loves Invincible keep your eyes on the next update for your chance to engage with these three new characters.
Shadow and Bone Cancelled at Netflix
In the wake of the WGA strike and the pending ratification of the SAG-AFTRA strike resolution it seems many studios are comfortable stepping further into their villain era. Deadline is reporting 5 cancellations (so far), from the streaming giant including:
- Shadow and Bone
- Glamorous
- Agent Elvis
- Farzar
- Captain Fall
Per Deadline:
While there had been a slew of series cancellations and un-renewals by linear networks and streamers during and immediately after the strikes, Netflix had largely refrained from making cancellation decisions during the past 6½ months while announcing a number of renewals, including One Piece (S2), Ginny & Georgia (S3 and S4); The Lincoln Lawyer (S3), XO, Kitty (S2), Heartstopper (S2 and S3), The Night Agent (S2 picked up on the eve of the WGA strike), The Diplomat (S2), Fubar (S2), Sweet Magnolias (S4) and Castlevania: Nocturne (S2).
They go on to observe about Shadow and Bone, specifically, based on Leigh Bardugo’s popular YA fantasy books series known to fans as “The Grishaverse”:
Shadow and Bone is the highest-profile series and the only sophomore entry in the group. Inspired by Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling Grishaverse novels, it developed devoted following by fans and has been an important title for Netflix, also spawning a video game franchise for the streamer.
However, Season 2 of the big-budget fantasy drama, which launched in March, did not have the same impact Season 1 did. The series spent five weeks in the weekly Top 10 for English-language series without getting to No.1. That, coupled with the potential delay of Season 3, likely factored into the decision not to move forward.
Series creator Bardugo took to Instagram with the following statement:
View this post on Instagram
Deadline summarizes our current streaming show losses as thus:
The growing list of TV series canceled during or after the strikes include ABC’s The Rookie: Feds and Home Economics; Fox’s Welcome To Flatch; Freeform’s Praise Petey; Paramount+’s Rabbit Hole, Fatal Attraction and Joe Pickett; MGM+’s Chapelwaite; Prime Video’s The Peripheral and A League Of Their Own; HBO’s The Idol and Winning Time; Apple TV+’s The Afterparty, City On Fire, Suspicion and High Desert; Starz’s Heels, Run The World, Blindspotting, Ava DuVernay romantic drama series and The Venery of Samantha Bird; and Showtime’s Gattaca, Seasoned and I Love that for You.
The Legendborn Cycle Announces New Book & Release Date – Oathbound
More in the world of YA fantasy is this exciting announcement which broke a week ago from Simon Teen via Cosmopolitan, of all places:
https://twitter.com/simonteen/status/1723025694739841466
The popular Arthurian Legend pastiche cycle by Tracey Deonn which debuted with Legendborn has now been extended to be a full “cycle” – think “The Ring Cycle” for any opera nerds who may be reading – following in the epic high fantasy traditions from which it draws its inspiration:
Per Cosmo:
Bloodmarked, the second book in the series, will be released in paperback on February 6, 2024 and will not only include a teaser of the third book, but also bonus content from William’s perspective. More details, like Oathbound’s official cover, will be revealed at a later date.
Oh, and one more thing: Oathbound isn’t the end. Tracy’s new deal with Simon & Schuster includes not just one book, but two! A fourth book in The Legendborn Cycle is also on its way, with official timing to be announced.
Given the above mentioned recent loss of Shadow and Bone from the world of television I couldn’t be more excited for Legendborn to continue for a while yet!
