We’re taking full advantage of the 4-day holiday weekend to take a break and work on our Comic Con Cape Town cosplays, so here’s a shortened selection of the biggest news out of the pop culture universe the past few days. One thing to bear in mind is that it’s Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 this weekend in London, so expect some announcements relating to that beloved galaxy far, far away… In that regard, Dark Horizons has a handy breakdown of the key panel times for various time zones.

Anyway, as is tradition, before we jump into the most recent trailer reveals and other stories, we acknowledge the creators and industry professionals who have passed. This week, that includes Klaus Teuber (70), the dental technician turned award-winning board game designer who, in 1995, created The Settlers of Catan, arguably the Monopoly of this generation, and the title that was to spearhead the great board game revival of the past two decades.

Lifestyle / Live events

Just a reminder for South Africans, specifically people in Johannesburg, that this Easter weekend, Friday, 7 April to Sunday, 9 April is special centenary celebration event Disney 100 – The Concert. Taking place at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Disney 100 – The Concert is a multimedia experience that combines big screen highlights from the worlds of Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel with live performances from The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and special guest vocal performers.

Tickets range in price between R320 – R685, with 2pm and 6pm shows on Friday and Saturday, and a lone 2pm concert on Easter Sunday. Book your seat through Ticketmaster here.

Film

It’s been a good week for bug-themed superheroes, especially those of Latino heritage. Coming to cinemas on 18 August is Blue Beetle, a first-time big screen appearance for the character, and the first DCU movie to centre on a Mexican American hero (who is the third person to operate under the Blue Beetle name). Xolo Maridueña stars as college graduate Jaime Reyes, who is struggling to find his purpose in the world until a chance encounter with the Scarab, an ancient relic of alien biotechnology. Bonded with each other in a symbiotic relationship, Jaime unwillingly becomes the Blue Beetle, clad in an incredible, but highly unpredictable suit of armor. Susan Sarandon is a primary villain, playing Victoria Kord, a new character created for the film.

There’s a new trailer (here’s the first) for the ultra-highly anticipated animated sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. In this installment, Miles Morales reunites with Gwen Stacy, who hauls him into the Multiverse, and introduces him to the Spider-Society, headed by Miguel O’Hara / Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac). It’s all good and well until Miguel and Miles clash over how a catastrophic threat should be dealt with, pitting Miles against all the other Spiders.

Across the Spider-Verse comes to cinemas, including IMAX, on 2 June. Across the Spider-Verse will be followed by the release of Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse on 29 March next year.

We’re officially two trailers in, and the plot for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, centred on the iconic Mattel doll, remains a mystery. We can assume it sees our perfect heroine (played by Margot Robbie) and boyfriend Ken (Ryan Gosling) leave their brightly coloured universe known as Barbie Land, and head to the real world. But does the plot really matter in this case? Unless it’s a springboard for some razor-sharp satire and memorable lines, which we hope is the case? Barbie releases on 21 July.

Along with the new trailer below, 24 (yes, 24) posters have been unveiled to showcase Barbie’s dazzling cast. It includes Issa Rae (President Barbie), Dua Lipa (Mermaid Barbie), Kate McKinnon (Gymnast Barbie), Hari Nef (Doctor Barbie), Alexandra Shipp (Writer Barbie), and Emma Mackey (Physicist Barbie); with Simu Liu, Scott Evans and Ncuti Gatwa as variations on Ken; Michael Cera as Allan; Helen Mirren as the narrator; and America Ferrera and Will Ferrell as real-world characters.

When an action movie is a hit, you know it won’t stay standalone for long. Even if the main character apparently dies at the end. Them’s the rules. So now we have Extraction 2. Turns out black ops mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) survived his Bangladeshi mission after all. Now he has a new challenge: rescuing the family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from the prison where they are being held. The teaser trailer below hints at the sequel’s plot, but is primarily about showcasing the visceral action that the first film is celebrated for. Hemsworth reunites with stunt man turned director Sam Hargrave for Extraction 2, along with producers Joe and Anthony Russo, who’ve made The Gray Man and a bunch of the MCU films, including the hard-hitting espionage thriller Captain America: Winter Soldier.

Extraction 2 premieres on Netflix on 16 June.

Two final pieces of movie news:

  • Disney has almost 90 years of animated films to choose from in terms of material for live-action adaptations. Yet, they’re now looking back as recently as 2016. Yup, Polynesian adventure Moana will be getting the flesh and blood treatment too, spearheaded by Dwayne Johnson, who would reprise his role as shapeshifting demigod Maui.
  • Filming has wrapped on Joker sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the title character, and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. To celebrate the milestone, two new images have been released of the lead characters in this unhinged musical meets exploration of madness. Joker: Folie à Deux arrives in cinemas next year, on 4 October 2024.

Series

Last week we learned that the next Marvel Cinematic Universe series Secret Invasion is premiering on Disney+ on 21 June.

Now we have our first trailer for this twisty six-episode thriller, where Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury returns to Earth to deal with an infiltration of world governments by the shapeshifting alien race known as Skrulls. Also back are Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes, and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross. Notable big names joining the MCU through Secret Invasion are Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman.

Finally, some series news tidbits:

  • David Michael Zaslav, head of Warner Bros. Discovery wasn’t just sweet-talking investors when he said that moving forward, there would be “a real focus on franchises.” This week, stories broke relating to two of the biggest IPs on Warner’s books.

    Firstly, there are plans to reboot Harry Potter as a big-budget HBO series, with each season covering a different book in J.K. Rowling’s magical coming-of-age series.

    Secondly, there are plans for another Game of Thrones prequel. Also lined up for HBO is a possible series centred on dragon-riding Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives, who set up the Targaryen Dynasty on Westeros. For the record, House of the Dragon predates the events of Game of Thrones by around 200 years, while an Aegon Conquest series would be set a further 100 years before House of the Dragon.
  • Meanwhile, a promising upcoming series is looking for a new home. Despite filming having essentially wrapped already in KZN, South Africa, the plug has been pulled on King Shaka, a $90 million historical epic centred on Shaka Zulu, the monarch who turned the Zulu Kingdom into a ferocious military empire in the 19th Century. Charles Babalola stars as Shaka, while the series is described as a passion project of filmmaker Antoine Fuqua, who executive produces the show.

    Greenlit by Showtime, King Shaka is a causality of the merger between the network and sister streamer Paramount+. Showtime and producer CBS Studios are now exploring other options for streaming/broadcasting King Shaka in future.