The Easter break means we have two weeks of pop culture news highlights to cover today. Sadly this time period included two deaths: one an Oscar-winning industry veteran, and the other a charismatic up-and comer taken far too soon.

After starting his acting career in the ’50s on Broadway, Louis Gossett Jr. was the first African-American to win an Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actor category, for 1983’s An Officer and a Gentleman, a role which also won him a Golden Globe and other accolades. Gossett was also well known for Roots, which netted him an Emmy, and beloved 80s actioner Iron Eagle. According to a statement by the family, he passed away at home on 29 March, aged 87.

The sad news also reached us this week that British-American actor Chance Perdomo, best known for his role as Ambrose Spellman in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and, most recently, Andre Anderson in Gen V, died at 27 as a result of a motorcycle accident. Production on Season Two of The Boys spin-off series has paused indefinitely following Perdomo’s untimely passing.

Film

The Fantastic Four has found its Silver Surfer in Emmy-award winning Ozark actress Julia Garner. According to sources, reported by Deadline, we won’t be seeing Norrin Radd though in the movie that brings Marvel’s First Family into the MCU. Garner will instead play Shalla-Bal, a different version of Silver Surfer from the comics.

Set to release on 25 July 2025, Garner joins the previously announced cast of Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/the Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/the Thing).

We have our first images from actress-turned-director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s upcoming film The Bride. Inspired by the classic Universal monster movie The Bride of Frankenstein, and updated to the 1930s, Christian Bale stars as Frankenstein’s Monster, with Jessie Buckley as the titular Bride. Gyllenhaal revealed camera tests of both actors in their roles on her Instagram account.

The Bride also stars Penelope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard, and Annette Bening. The film is due for release next year.

Some final movie tidbits for this section:

Drew Goddard will be reviving The Matrix franchise. Along with assorted TV work (Buffy, Alias, Lost, Daredevil), Goddard is the writer of Cloverfield, The Martian film adaptation and writer-director of The Cabin in the Woods. Matrix co-creator and director of all four previous films, Lana Wachowski will be an executive producer on the new Matrix entry.

Olivia Wilde has picked a new project for her behind-the-camera career: a film adaptation of “edgy” 90s comic Avengelyne, co-created by Rob Liefeld, about a fallen angel who defends humanity against demonic forces. Margot Robbie’s production company is driving the movie, though the Barbie and Suicide Squad actress is unlikely to star.

Series

There will be even more new faces on The Continent as more cast announcements for The Witcher Season 4 have rolled in this week. Variety has reported that Sharlto Copley, James Purefoy, and Danny Woodburn are set to join The Witcher’s ensemble when production on the new season begins later this year. Copley has been cast to play bounty hunter Leo Bonhart, Purefoy will play Skellen, a high-ranking spy and court advisor to Emhyr, while Woodburn will play Zoltan, a fan-favorite dwarf character from the novel series and video games.

The trio joins Liam Hemsworth as the recast Geralt of Rivia (following Henry Cavill’s departure) and series newcomer Laurence Fishburne as noble vampire Regis.

Disney+ has released the trailer for upcoming, original animated series Star Wars: Tales of the Empire. The second installment of the “Tales” series, Tales of the Empire stylistically follows 2022’s critically acclaimed Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. Launching exclusively on Disney+ on Star Wars Day, 4 May, with all six episodes, Tales of the Empire is a journey into the fearsome Galactic Empire through the eyes of two warriors on divergent paths, set during different eras.

You TV news tidbit for this week:

Showmax subscribers won’t have to wait for Season 2 of House of the Dragon. Locals may remember that Season 1 of the Game of Thrones prequel was a DSTV exclusive before heading to streaming at a later date, but that’s not the case this time around. South Africans will be able to watch House of the Dragon S2 express from the US, with new episodes every Monday from 17 June.

Also, in case you missed it, there’s another new trailer for the upcoming BBC and Disney+ series of Doctor Who, which looks to be spending big with that House of Mouse budget. The new space adventures and time-travelling shenanigans from showrunner Steven Moffat will premiere on BBC iPlayer in the UK on 11 May, and Disney+ where available on 10 May.

Lifestyle

We’ll be devoting a post to all the celebrity and comics industry guests you’ll be seeing at Comic Con Cape Town at the end of this month. What can’t wait til then is the news that a local actor who has achieved global success, and a really surprising star, have been announced as appearing at the pop culture celebration – which is taking place over five days, from 27 April to 1 May at the CTICC.

First up is Lesley-Ann Brandt, the South African born actress who is probably best known for playing Mazikeen in the long-running Lucifer series. Brandt also had a substantial role in both Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, and appears in the Rick and Michonne-centred spin-off The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

Then there’s Guardians of the Galaxy star Sean Gunn, brother to filmmaker and new DCU movie head James Gunn. Sean is probably most recognisable for playing Ravager turned Guardian Kraglin Obfonteri in the MCU, but he’s also been Weasel in The Suicide Squad, was a series regular in The Gilmore Girls, and will be playing scheming billionaire Maxwell Lord in next year’s Superman reboot.

P.S. As of this week, day tickets for the first day of the con, Saturday, 27 April, are sold out; with Sunday 60% sold. Just 20% of the five-day passes remain. If you want to attend Comic Con Cape Town 2024, don’t leave it too late or you will miss out.

Gaming

Our standout gaming story from the past fortnight? We’re getting a team-based character shooter in the vein of Overwatch, set in the Marvel comics universe – specifically the Multiverse. From developers NetEase Games, Marvel Rivals is a 6v6 PVP shooter featuring characters (to start) like Iron Man, Loki, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and Black Panther. Apart for the ability to play these beloved superheroes and villains, Marvel Rivals is distinguishing itself by having Team-Up Skills depending on character pairings, adding an extra bit of strategy to every fight.

Alpha access for Marvel Rivals begins in May. The game will be free-to-play and is beginning life as a PC exclusive.

Comics

We love horror anthologies in any format, so count our interest very much piqued by the return of Misty – especially since writer Gail Simone is involved in the project. Out on 17 July is a one-shot anthology special, which revives the classic horror comic released for teenage girls in the late 1970s under the same banner as 2000 AD.

The 48-page Misty 2024 Special features four new stories, with three penned by Simone, who is joined by artists Carola Borelli (The Deadliest Bouquet, Spider-Woman), Aly Fell (A Trick of the Light) and Marianna Ignazzi (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The fourth story in the anthology is written and drawn by Letty Wilson (Owl People), while the one shot features a cover by Tula Lotay.

Here’s what you can look forward to:

  • In Eleven Lonely Deaths, a true-crime podcaster visits a decades-old crime scene where eleven women lost their lives at the hands of a vicious strangler. There, he meets a mysterious young woman who knows more about the crimes than should be possible.
  • At The Pub at the End of the Road, an unscrupulous landlord of a dreary pub in the English countryside makes his gifted daughter work her fingers to the bone, and turns a blind eye to the customers’ wandering hands. She seeks solace in a secret love… until she’s forced to use her extraordinary gifts.
  • Happy Birthday, Mrs. Parker is set in a small English town where nothing’s been quite the same since the murders of eleven women some years ago.
  • The Cracked Glass is a tale too terrifying to even tell you about! Writer/artist Letty Wilson has some dark surprises in store for readers.

See more preview pages from the Misty 2024 Special and pre-order the book here.