The festive season was pretty light on pop culture news, so today’s catch-up is on the short side.
On the obituary front, out of nowhere came the news that veteran British actor Tom Wilkinson died suddenly at home on 30 December at the age of 75. Deftly moving between prestige cinema (like Shakespeare in Love), blockbuster fare (Batman Begins) and crowd pleasers (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), character actor Wilkinson’s breakout role is considered to be The Full Monty (1997). He was nominated for two Academy Awards – for Best Actor for In the Bedroom (2001) and Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clayton (2007).
Film
Zack Snyder’s two-part sci-fi epic Rebel Moon saw it’s first installment, A Child of Fire debut on Netflix on 22 December. On Christmas Day, the streamer dropped the trailer for the concluding chapter, AKA Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.
In Part Two, the surviving warriors prepare for an imminent do-or-die clash with the forces of the Motherworld. In the build-up, the rebels reflect on their painful pasts and why they fight. Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver premieres on Netflix on 19 April this year.
We still have a long time to wait for Todd Phillips’s Joker sequel Joker: Folie à Deux, which only comes to the big screen on 4 October. However, the day after Christmas, we were treated to two more official images to further hype us for this follow-up, which pairs Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker with Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn. Judging by the film’s title and DC canon, Folie à Deux will see Harley (AKA Doctor Harleen Quinzel) sucked into her patient’s dangerous delusions during his time at Arkham Asylum.
One final film news tidbit: Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is coming to Apple TV+ globally on 12 January. If you couldn’t set aside 3.5 hours to watch it on the big screen, here’s your opportunity to do so at home.
Series
Another Christmas Day entertainment reveal was the teaser trailer for the next season of Doctor Who. With Ncuti Gatwa playing the Fifteenth Doctor, an all-new offshoot incarnation of the Time Lord, the fourteenth season of Doctor Who has been renamed a reset-minded Season 1. The Doctor is joined by companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) who was introduced in the 2023 Christmas Special.
With Russell T Davies back as showrunner (his last Who run was 2005-2010), the new Doctor Who kicks off in May on the BBC in the UK, and Disney+ in the rest of the world.
As of 29 January, you’ll be served advertising on Prime Video, unless you sign up for a new ad-free option for an additional $2.99 per month. Well, if you’re in the US at least, and a Prime member. The change kicks in for the UK and Germany on 5 February.
Countries that don’t have the all-encompassing Amazon Prime offer (which includes shopping benefits and instant access to a library of books and comics) seem to be unaffected… for now. Meanwhile, ads will roll out gradually to Prime members in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in 2024.
Gaming
New games are added all the time to subscription service Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass (and titles make their departure too). However, the January 2024 library additions are especially notable, with AAA blockbusters Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the Resident Evil 2 remake arriving as of 9 January and 16 January respectively. As a sidenote, Close to the Sun (playable already) will scratch any BioShock itch you may have, and is worth checking out.
