It might be gaming showcase season but the movie announcements, and other pop culture news, certainly piled up this week. Let’s get stuck in.

Film

The first teaser has dropped for Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical. This film adaptation is based on the hit stage musical – which features music and lyrics by Tim Minchin – which is itself based on Roald Dahl’s 1988 children’s novel. In other words, expect something different from Danny De Vito’s beloved 90s adaptation, about neglected child prodigy Matilda Wormwood (Alisha Weir) who clashes with evil school headmistress Miss Trunchbull (an unrecognisable Emma Thompson), but is nurtured by kind teacher Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch).

Matilda the Musical is coming to Netflix, and cinemas in select regions, in early December.

Oh, hey, here’s your first look at Ryan Gosling as Ken in Greta Gerwig’s all-star take on Barbie. We’ve already seen Margot Robbie as a living version of the iconic Mattel doll. Barbie hits cinemas on 21 June 2023, and the cast includes America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, Will Ferrell, and more.

Batman, but make him Aztec.

HBO Max Latin America has ordered animated feature-length film Batman Azteca: Choque de Imperios (Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires). This Spanish language effort transplants the Batman mythos to 16th Century Mesoamerica.

The official plot synopsis sees young Aztec boy Yohualli Coatl experience tragedy when his father, a village leader, is murdered by Spanish Conquistadors. Using the temple of Tzinacan, the bat god, as a lair, Yohualli trains with his mentor and assistant, Acatzin, developing equipment and weaponry to confront the Spaniard invasion, protect King Moctezuma’s temple, and avenge his father’s death. More here.

Speaking of Batman, despite filmmaker Todd Phillips long resisting a follow-up to his Joker movie, starring Joaquin Phoenix, a sequel is now in the works. The news dropped last week, but now the plot thickens.

Lady Gaga is reportedly in early talks to presumably play Harley Quinn in the sequel Joker: Folie à Deux, which will be less Taxi Driver and more… musical. For the record, “folie à deux” is a term known as shared psychosis or shared delusional disorder (SDD), where two or more individuals share an identical or similar mental disorder. Which is very Joker and Harley! More here.

In your TV news tidbits this week:

  • Shooting has started on The Old Guard 2, the sequel to 2020’s action hit about immortal warriors, based on the comic by Greg Rucka. With Charlize Theron and the protagonists from the first film returning, Uma Thurman and Henry Golding are new additions to the cast.
  • The third Paddington movie starts production in 2023, and it now has a title Paddington in Peru, as well as a new director in the form of Dougal Wilson. Previous writer-director Paul King is still on board as executive producer, and he co-wrote the story.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino may have walked from the live-action Netflix adaptations but they’ll be producing three upcoming animated films set in the Last Airbender universe for Paramount and Nickelodeon.
  • Director Justin Lin’s shocking last-minute departure from the tenth Fast & Furious film has been followed by another surprise. He’ll now be helming a One Punch Man movie, based on the popular superhero manga and anime.
  • The first sequel to Rian Johnson’s all-star murder mystery comedy Knives Out is due on Netflix before the end of 2022. Now we know its name – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Daniel Craig is back as Poirot-esque Detective Benoit Blanc, this time tackling a case in Greece.

Television

In no great surprise, Squid Game Season 2 has officially been greenlit by Netflix. No details on when we can expect the second season of this surprise hit out of Korea, but fans from around the world can enter now to take part in a real-life version of this gruelling elimination challenge. 456 players will compete for a cash prize of $4.56 million. Learn more, and enter here.

Tired of Game of Thrones? Maybe you will be after the seven projects (three of which are animated) in development at HBO, to capitalise on novelist George R.R. Martin’s vast A Song of Ice and Fire universe. These are in addition to the upcoming House of the Dragon prequel series. The latest announcement is a main GOT series sequel and spin-off centred on Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), a member of the Night’s Watch, who defends Westeros from threats north of the Wall. More here.

Books & Comics

In sad news, Eisner Award-winning comic book artist Time Sale passed yesterday at age 66, after being admitted to hospital on 13 June with “severe health issues.”

Sale’s career in comics dates back to the early 80s, and he is probably best known for his collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb – which include Batman: The Long Halloween (the primary influence on this year’s movie The Batman), Superman For All Seasons, Catwoman: When in Rome, and Marvel’s “colour” miniseries Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, Hulk: Gray and Captain America: White. Read Sale’s obituary here.

Gaming

We’re at saturation point in terms of gaming news over the past week and a bit, so we’ll be keeping this section short today, with two news stories and a couple of tidbits.

If you can believe it, Assassin’s Creed turns 15 this November, and to celebrate the historical action adventure franchise, Ubisoft has all sorts of special treats planned for the next two months – starting from this week. Central to the festivities is the dedicated 15th Anniversary website, where you can take the 12 Trials Quiz (for prizes), check out assorted fan efforts, download the #AC15 fan kit, listen to a podcast and more. Every week, a different Assassin’s Creed game will be spotlighted, with new content and rewards unveiled.

Come September there will be a dedicated Assassin’s Creed event, which promises to reveal what’s next for the beloved franchise.

At the Capcom Showcase this week, the Winters’ Expansion DLC for Resident Evil Village was unveiled. Included is Shadows of Rose, a third person survival horror story set 16 years after the events of Village, centred on Ethan Winters’s daughter Rose. (Warning: If you haven’t played Village, the trailer below contains spoilers).

Also part of the Expansion is a Third Person Mode that allows you to play the main Village story from a new perspective, and Mercenaries Additional Orders, an intense arcade-style minigame with new playable characters and stages. The Winters’ Expansion releases 28 October, along with Resident Evil Re:Verse, the RE multiplayer experience free to all owners of Resident Evil Village.

P.S. An upcoming Resident Evil Village – Gold Edition will consist of the base game and the Winters’ Expansion.

  • In gaming news bites, joining the likes of Borderlands and Ghost of Tsushima, Duke Nukem and Gran Turismo movies are in the works. It’s early days for the Duke Nukem adaptation, but the film project, based on the over-the-top action shooter, is being spearheaded by the creators of Cobra Kai – who also were responsible for Hot Tub Time Machine and Harold & Kumar.
  • Gran Turismo is set for an 11 August 2023 release date, with District 9’s Neill Blomkamp directing this true story of a Gran Turismo player who went on to become a professional race car driver.
  • Oh, and starting 2023, there will be a Grammy Awards category for video game scores.