Trailer drops were on tap this week as we approach the end of year, with a mix of prestige awards bait and blockbuster releases. That said, here are all the stories that caught our eye from the realms of film, series, gaming and comics over the past few days.
Film
Obviously the most exciting news this week was the release of the latest Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer, plus some very cool new posters. The hype-train is gaining steam ahead of the film’s international release on 11 November. Just over a month to go, and cinema ticket bookings have opened.
Anyway, the latest trailer below gives us more tantalising glimpses of the underwater kingdom of Talacon (the great threat to Wakanda in this sequel), its anti-hero leader Namor (Tenoch Huerta), tech genius Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) AKA Ironheart, and a final, full-length shot of the new Black Panther – though who is under the mask will only be revealed when you see it on the big screen. We think you can make an educated guess though.
The next trailer that has our interest piqued is The Wonder – an adaptation of a book by Emma Donoghue (author of The Room). Starring Florence Pugh, The Wonder tells the tale of a young Irish girl, Anna O’Donnell, whose Catholic family claim she has eaten nothing since her eleventh birthday… four months ago. Pugh stars as Lib Wright, an English nurse sent to Ireland to investigate this alleged miracle. This atmospheric mystery-thriller will release in select cinemas ahead of its Netflix debut on 16 November.
Gunning for some Oscars love is historical survival thriller Emancipation, directed by Antoine Fuqua and led by Will Smith. Inspired by a true story, Emancipation centres on slave Peter, who, after being whipped nearly to death, escapes from a Louisiana plantation, outwitting cold-blooded hunters, as he makes his way North through a treacherous swamp during the American Civil War.
How The Academy will react will be interesting, considering Smith’s actions earlier this year at the 94th Oscars. Nevertheless, the highly cinematic and moody trailer with its striking visuals, sound design and cinematography, is definitely angling for awards season consideration. Emancipation is slated to premiere in theaters on 2 December 2022, ahead of its AppleTV+ streaming release on 9 December.
Finally on the film front, there’s the first teaser for animated comedy adventure The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Notably it provides audiences with their first chance to hear Chris Pratt as his non-accented Mario, and Jack Black as Bowser. Also in the voice cast are Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.
This is the first time a Mario movie has been attempted since the notorious 1993 live-action film starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper. This new one is made by Illumination, the same animation company behind Despicable Me (and Minions) and Sing, The Super Mario Bros. Movie releases on 7 April 2023.
Series
In surprising news, video game The Medium is being made into a TV series. We enjoyed the supernatural horror release from Poland’s Bloober Team, and now the studio has announced on their blog – translated by Bloody Disgusting – that they’re working with The Witcher executive producer Tomasz Bagiński to bring their tale to the small screen.
The Medium centres on Marianne, a spirit medium who can move between the real world and the warped spirit realm. Haunted by disturbing dreams, she is promised answers at Niwa Workers’ Resort, an abandoned communist-era vacation resort in the Polish wilderness, where a tragedy occurred decades previously.
Pieces are finally falling into place for the upcoming Dune TV series, centred on the powerful all-women order known as the Bene Gesserit. Variety has reported that multi-Academy Award nominee Emily Watson and Harry Potter’s Moaning Myrtle Shirley Henderson have landed the lead roles, as sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen in Dune: The Sisterhood.
Based on the novel Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the prequel series is set 10 000 years before the events of the Dune film, and follows the Harkonnen Sisters “as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit.” There is no release date for this HBO Max series, which is still in pre-production.
Gaming
That Into the Spider-Verse and Arcane aesthetic influence is coming through strong in the just revealed next Need For Speed game from EA and Criterion Games. Need For Speed Unbound (AKA NFS Unbound) promises a true next-gen experience, which, via its single player campaign, puts players in the driver seat of their own street racing fantasy as they outsmart cops and prove they have what it takes to win The Grand, Lakeshore’s ultimate street racing challenge. This means racing, collecting, upgrading, and customizing the world’s hottest performance cars.
In addition to a pumping hip-hop soundtrack with top and upcoming artists, the game features a new visual style blending elements of street art with the most realistic looking cars in the franchise’s history.
Need for Speed Unbound launches on 2 December 2022 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC via the EA app, Origin, Steam and Epic Game Store.
Rumours circulated this week that a Horizon Zero Dawn remaster is on the way for PS5, possibly introducing multiplayer. We don’t enjoy elevating rumours, though, so we’re far happier to report what has been confirmed. Like CD Projekt Red’s revelation of long-term plans for their two massive role-playing franchises The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077.
You can watch the 14-minute video presentation here, but, in short, fans can look forward to a Cyberpunk sequel and at least five more Witcher games, comprising a new trilogy saga (kicked off by the already announced Polaris project) and two separate games (codenamed Canis Majoris and Sirius) set in the Witcher universe and made in partnership with other studios. Plus, CD Projekt Red is also in the very early stages of development for a third, brand-new IP, codenamed Hadar.
Comics and Books
The global comics community is in shock. Ultra-admired Korean illustrator, cartoonist, and manhwa artist Kim Jung Gi has died at age 47 from a heart attack. At the time, Kim was in Paris for an exhibition before making his way to New York for this weekend’s Comic Con.
Kim was famous for his live drawing sessions where he would create intricate and perspective-perfect illustrations on giant canvases without reference images or base sketches. Using his brush pen, he would generate complex scenes using visual snippets he’d committed to memory, plus some on-the-spot improvisation. In addition to his own original work, Kim collaborated with writers and publishers in Asia, Europe and the US. Learn more about the man and his genius here.