It’s a slightly shorter news recap this week, pared down to only the biggest stories from the various realms of pop culture. During the past few days, announcements centred on film and series have dominated.
As usual, we start with prominent deaths. This week started with news that Star Trek icon, Nichelle Nichols, who played communications officer Lt. Uhuru, passed at age 89. A much loved figure, Nichols paved the way for broader positive onscreen representation as the American Civil Rights Movement was gathering steam. Rest in peace, too, Pat Carroll, the Emmy and Grammy winning actress, vocal performer and comedian who will probably be best remembered among among younger generations for voicing Ursula the Sea Witch in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Carroll was 95.
Film
The most shocking news of the week is that Batgirl has been canned. Despite filming having wrapped, despite $90 million having been spent on the superhero movie to date, the first ever solo film for the DC Comics heroine has been aborted, and will never see the light of day.
According to Variety’s investigation into the matter, the cause was primarily a change in business objectives, stemming from the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. The new plan is to make superhero blockbusters for theatrical release first, and then bring them to HBO Max. Although things changed during its development, Batgirl was originally intended to be an HBO Max exclusive, and therefore didn’t sit well in the new scheme. Decision makers were unwilling to spend the money to fine tune and market the film for cinemas, and will now claim it as a tax write-down. To do that, though, Batgirl can never be screened.
Batgirl, helmed by Bad Boys for Life filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, had Barbara Gordon (Leslie Grace), the daughter of Gotham City’s police commission James Gordon (JK Simmons), draw inspiration from masked vigilante Batman (Michael Keaton), and take up crime fighting herself. The big villain of Batgirl was pyromaniac Firefly (Brendan Fraser). El Arbi and Fallah have expressed shock at the news.
With massive upheaval, other project cancellations and even original film removals from HBO Max, this week’s earnings call for Warner Bros. Discovery will hopefully cut through the confusion of what the media behemoth’s restructuring plans really are.
In similar news, video game adaptation Tomb Raider 2 has fallen victim to the politics of mega-corporate buyouts, more specifically Amazon’s purchase of MGM. Live-action Lara Croft star Alicia Vikander commented just the other week that the sequel, to be helmed by Misha Green, was stalled by the business deal.
Now Tomb Raider 2 is no more. MGM has lost the rights to big screen Tomb Raider adaptations and Vikander has had her contract ended. A bidding war is currently under way to seize the rights, but the next movie, whenever it happens, is likely to be another reboot with another leading lady.
Finally, let’s end the film news section with something a bit more encouraging. If Top Gun: Maverick left you craving more intense fighter pilot action on the big screen, here’s the new trailer for Devotion. Despite the title, this one isn’t a religious movie. Rather, it’s based on non-fiction book Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice, by Adam Makos.
Lovecraft Country, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s, Jonathan Majors, with Glen Powell, star in this true story. Devotion is centred on the camraderie and bravery of American fighter pilots during the Korean War, when propeller planes came up against enemy fighter jets. Devotion lands in cinemas from 23 November 2022
Series
It was supposed to be one of the August highlights on Disney+, but new Star Wars series Andor has been pushed back to 21 September. This was revealed with a new trailer drop this week. The good news is that the Rogue One prequel, which will centre on grassroots rebellion (no space sorcerers!) against the Galactic Empire, debuts with three episodes. There’s also a stylish new poster for the series.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has also been delayed, for the record, but only for a single day. The superhero comedy series, the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now premieres on 18 August.