This week has been packed full of pop culture news that would get even the most casual of geeks intrigued, especially with both Gamescom and D23 taking place within days of each other.
So, without any further delay, here’s some of the excitement from this week in geekdom.
Films
Spider-Man Leaves The MCU
Spider-Man is out of the MCU due to a pay dispute between Sony Pictures and Disney, as the latter sought a 50/50 take in the profits, which is a 45% increase of the current deal, while also financing half of the next Spider-Man films.
According to reports, Sony was not pleased by the new proposal, especially due to Marvel/Disney having exclusive rights to all profits from the web slinger’s merchandise. They did, however, offer compromises to which Disney refused.
Spider-Man: Far From Home earned over one billion dollars at the box office, but Sony believes the IP, which they own can exist and be successful without the MCU.
This isn’t without merit, as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse won best animated picture at this year’s Academy Awards and the Venom stand-alone film grossed $856 million dollars.
At this stage no resolution has been met.
Bond 25 Has An Official Title
The 25th film in the Bond franchise has an official title. The upcoming film will be called, No Time To Die.
In addition to that awesome title, we also have a release date for the film, currently set at April 20th, 2020.
No Time To Die, will be Daniel Craig’s fifth and most likely, his final, outing as 007.
Cary Fukunaga is helming the film, taking over for Sam Mendes who directed Skyfall and Spectre.
The cast includes newcomers to the franchise, Rami Malek, who is believed to be the main villain and Lashana Lynch, who is rumoured to have taken on the moniker of 007.
Returning to the world Bond is Christoph Waltz as Blofeld, Ralph Fiennes as Q and Naomie Harris as Moneypenny.
Fourth The Matrix Film Confirmed
Warner Bros. are taking the red pill once again after announcing that a fourth The Matrix film is in the works with one half of the Wachowski duo.
As reported by Variety, Toby Emmerich from the Warner Bros Pictures Group made the announcement earlier this week.
“We could not be more excited to be re-entering The Matrix with Lana”
“Lana is a true visionary, a singular and original creative filmmaker, and we are thrilled that she is writing, directing and producing this new chapter in The Matrix universe,” Said Emmerich.
Production is set to start first quarter 2020 and both Keanu Reeves and Carrie- Anne Moss are set to reprise their roles.
Streaming
Masters of the Universe: Revelation
Earlier this week, Netflix announced that a Masters of the Universe animated series would be coming to the streaming service from the master of geekdom himself, Kevin Smith. Masters of the Universe: Revelation will take place after the events of the original 80s cartoon.
“I’m Eternia-ly grateful to Mattel TV and Netflix for entrusting me with not only the secrets of Grayskull, but also their entire Universe,” Smith said. “In Revelation, we pick up right where the classic era left off totell an epic tale of what may be the final battle between He-Man and Skeletor! Brought to life with the most metal character designs Powerhouse Animation can contain in the frame, this is the Masters of the Universe story you always wanted to see as a kid!” Smith told Variety.
Powerhouse Animation, the animation studio behind Adi Shankar’s Castlevania, will be animating the series. There has been no indication of when the series will arrive on Netflix at this stage.
Disney Plus
Disney Plus has been announced for Australia and New Zealand. The streaming service will become available one week after it launches in the U.S, on November 19th.
The service will launch with a massive line up of content both new and old, including The Mandalorian, a Jeff Goldblum narrated National Geographic series and a live action Lady and The Tramp film.
With D23 in full swing, several new shows, films and release dates have been revealed. Check out the wrap-ups here.
Video Games
Mortal Kombat 11: Kombat Pack 1 Revealed
At Gamescom, NetherRealm Studios dropped the full roster trailer for the Mortal Kombat 11 Kombat Pack.
The trailer reveals Spawn, Sindel, Joker, and the T-800 Terminator, as well as, the already released Shang Tsung and Nightwolf.
The inclusion of Sindel, Joker, Spawn and the Terminator confirms a leak that occurred earlier this year where a datamine revealed the characters along with several others that haven’t been confirmed nor denied.
Yakuza Series Getting A Remastered Collection
Sega has announced that the PlayStation exclusive franchise, Yakuza, is getting a remastered collection, making the 3rd, 4th and 5th games of the franchise available on the PS4.
The Yakuza Remastered Collection kicks off digitally with the launch of Yakuza 3 which is available now, Yakuza 4 will launch on October 29th and Yakuza 5 will land on February 11th. A physical edition of the collection will be available on February the 11th.
This completes the franchise and makes all six main games and its spin-off game, Judgment, available in the west.
Now we just need them to bring Yakuza Ishin to the west. I mean who doesn’t want to play as a 19th century samurai version of The Dragon of Dojima?