A Galaxy Quests to TV

Transcript

Tonight! Marvel switches apps, Max has a bunch of shows planned, Section 31: the movie, Galaxy Quest the series, and we remember Barry Humphries and Al Jaffee, all that and more on this edition of multiverser tonight.

The Spinner Rack

Marvel

Important news for Marvel Comics fans who purchase and redeem comic books digitally.

The Marvel Comics app (operated by Comixology) will be shutting down on June 2, 2023. Starting May 2, the ability to purchase comics will be removed from the Marvel Comics app ahead of its June shut down date.

So you might be asking, what about the comics I already have in the Marvel Comics App . To support those fans , they will be making digital comics purchases made prior to May 2 on the Marvel Comics app (operated by Comixology) available and accessible on the Marvel Unlimited app. No Marvel Unlimited subscription purchase will be required to access your previous Marvel Comics app digital comic library.

Mia Goth, who established herself as a rising talent in horror with last year’s X and Pearl, is jumping into the horror-centric side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Goth is a late addition to Marvel Studios’ Blade, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.Blade stars Mahershala Ali as the titular half-human, half-vampire who spends his time hunting vampires to avenge his late mother. Yann Demange, the director known for Lovecraft Country, is at the helm of the project, which has a script by Michael Starrbury.

A brand new original documentary about Stan Lee will arrive on Disney+ this summer. after first having a premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. Stan Lee will premiere on Disney+ on June 16, 2023,

Former Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso has reportedly settled with Disney, following her sudden firing from the company last month. On Thursday, new reports indicated that The Walt Disney Company has reached a settlement with Alonso, following her surprising departure from Marvel Studios last month. While the specifics of the deal are confidential, it was reportedly reached within the past few days, and Alonso was reportedly given a multi-million financial compensation.

Alonso, who was the President of Physical, Post Production, Visual Effects, and Animation at Marvel Studios, was suddenly fired last month. In the time since, reports have hinted that Alonso was fired by Disney due to her work as a producer on Amazon's Oscar-nominated film Argentina, 1985, which could have violated the non compete clause of her Marvel contract.

DC Comics

James Gunn took to social media on April 18th, celebrating the 85th anniversary of Superman's first appearance by announcing that Superman: Legacy has officially entered pre-production. With Gunn's script complete, the movie is now officially in the design phase, with Gunn saying that costume and set design (as well as some other departments) are up and running on the film, which is expected in theaters in 2025. The movie will serve as a clean start for the DC Universe, featuring a new Superman actor, rather than continuing the previous continuity established with Henry Cavill in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League.

HBO Max is becoming Max — what Warner Bros. Discovery calls "the one to watch for every mood and every moment." And when the rebranded streaming service combining content from HBO Max and Discovery+ relaunches on May 23rd, there will be plenty to watch: Max will be the destination for HBO Originals, Max Originals, Warner Bros. films, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, kids content, and programming across food, home, reality, lifestyle, and documentaries from leading brands like HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID and more.

Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday introduced its newly "enhanced" streaming service and announced a slew of HBO and Max Originals — including a "faithful adaptation" of author J.K. Rowling's books in the first-ever Harry Potter scripted television series, new Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, and a series based on The Conjuring Universe of films — and revealed first looks at previously announced originals like The Batman spin-off series The Penguin, the Max Original kids series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, and the upcoming True Detective: Night Country.

Star Trek

Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh is officially returning to Starfleet.

Paramount+ has greenlit Star Trek: Section 31, an original movie for the streamer. Yeoh will reprise her role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, a character she first played in Star Trek: Discovery‘s first season.

Deadline first revealed that Yeoh was in talks for the project in 2018 and it was later confirmed in 2019 that it was in development as a series at CBS All Access. It will now be retooled as a streaming movie.

In Section 31, Emperor Philippa Georgiou joins a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets. But she also faces the sins of her past.

“I’m beyond thrilled to return to my Star Trek family and to the role I’ve loved for so long,” said Yeoh. “Section 31 has been near and dear to my heart since I began the journey of playing Philippa all the way back when this new golden age of Star Trek launched. To see her finally get her moment is a dream come true in a year that’s shown me the incredible power of never giving up on your dreams. We can’t wait to share what’s in store for you, and until then: live long and prosper (unless Emperor Georgiou decrees otherwise)!”

Ahead of the tabletop games industry's GAMA Expo next week, Funko Games unveiled a number of captivating new board and party games, including Star Trek Cryptic!

Star Trek Cryptic: A Puzzles and Pathways Adventure, which hits shelves this June, allows fans to climb the ranks of Starfleet and explore strange new worlds in this puzzle-filled, action-packed "escape room" game.

Using your PADD as your guide, decipher subspace transmissions, discover new civilizations, and prevent planetary disaster with logic, deduction, and creative thinking. Prepare to boldly go where no one has gone before, as you play through missions from the beloved era of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Star Trek Cryptic features an innovative new take on the popular escape room game genre, providing hours of smart and suspenseful fun. The game includes three missions with unique envelopes of components to decipher clues, outwit foes, and resolve otherworldly encounters. Puzzle through over 70 pages of logbook content, and draw your path through 15 thrilling Star Trek-inspired challenges.

Since October, IDW has proudly embarked on new missions to the final frontier with a riveting, interwoven storyline across two ongoing monthly comic books, a flagship Star Trek series and its spin-off, Star Trek: Defiant. Hailed by critics and fans alike for their heart-pounding action, fascinating character dynamics, and masterful storytelling, these two series are on a maximum warp collision course toward the first-ever Star Trek comic crossover event: Day of Blood!

Attentive fans already know to get their first taste of the chaos to come with a special prelude story in the upcoming Star Trek Free Comic Book Day 2023 one-shot, available in comic shops everywhere on Saturday, May 6th, with a story written by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Christopher Cantwell, and illustrated by Mike Feehan.

Beginning in July with the Star Trek: Day of Blood #1 one-shot special, the emperor of the Klingon Empire, Kahless II, will declare war on all those who do not follow the cult of the Red Path! Having raided ancient tombs, claimed near-limitless power for himself, and slaughtered cosmic entities across the stars, Kahless sees the genocide of gods as simply his first step to total domination. The iconic crew of the U.S.S. Theseus, led by Benjamin Sisko, and the renegades who follow a desperate, violent Worf aboard the U.S.S. Defiant must unite for a common cause. Only together can they hope to stop the Day of Blood!

Star Wars

According to Al Pacino, Han Solo owes him a thank-you. The Oscar winner opened up about his career during a recent conversation with Vanity Fair at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, sharing that he was offered the plum role of Han Solo in Star Wars—but decided to pass on it, and ultimately “gave Harrison Ford a career” in the process

“Well, I turned down Star Wars,” Pacino said at the event. “When I first came up, I was the new kid on the block. You know what happens when you first become famous. It’s like, ‘Give it to Al.’ They’d give me Queen Elizabeth to play…. They gave me a script called Star Wars…. They offered me so much money. I don’t understand it…. So I said I couldn’t do it. I gave Harrison Ford a career.”

Moff Gideon's heated battle with Din Djarin in the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian was apparently so intense to film, that Giancarlo Esposito broke six Darksaber props — much to the chagrin of the show's anxious prop master.

Sitting down for a lovely chat with Kelly Clarkson this week on her talk show, Esposito (who plays a former governor of the Empire) revealed that he made the decision to perform his own stunts for the duel after it became evident that the younger stuntman did not match his own body type.

"He was 25 years younger, he was standing like this, and his shoulders were kind of small. Very nice boy, but I went, ‘How is that gonna work? We never see his face and my body is very different,'" the actor remembered. "So Jon [Favreau] went, ‘Hmmm, you’ve got a point there.’ Before he could finish his sentence, I said, ‘I’m doing the fight.’ I went off in the corner with [stand-in and stunt double for Pedro Pascal] Lateef Crowder — a great, great stuntman. I wanted to do it so badly."

Esposito described the experience as "phenomenal," including the part when he mistakenly failed to parry a blow from Mando's Beskar spear and fell to the ground. "I missed blocking him this way, he came over the top, he hit me — bang! — on my forehead, I went backwards. The whole room stopped. Slow-motion, I’m falling backwards and I hit the ground. I went, ‘DO NOT CUT!’ I jumped up with my lightsaber [slashing the air]. It really was great. The room gasped and they kept going."

As filming progressed, however, the "sweating" prop master continued to switch out Darksaber props, not telling the rest of the crew that they were fast running out of blades with each subsequent take.

"He’s just shoving them away," Esposito said. "He comes over to me and says, [panting] ‘I just want you to know, I just have one more. You’ve gotta be careful.’ Because you want to pull your shots, you want to be really careful. But you [also] have to make it look good. We made it through. I got a great, great scene and I learned a lot."

Geek

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/

What happens when the kids from Hawkins visit the bustling, neon-tinged streets of New York City? Their world will be turned upside down all over again as they come across four totally radical reptiles in the ultimate 1980s nostalgia crossover, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things from IDW!

Written by Cameron Chittock (Mapmakers) with art by TMNT comic superstar Fero Pe, this first-ever comic book mash-up of Nickelodeon’s and Netflix’s beloved brands will hit stores as a four-issue comic book miniseries beginning in July.

Eleven, Max, Dustin, Mike, Will, and Lucas are looking forward to a nonthreatening, fun-filled trip to New York City. With the gang hundreds of miles from the otherworldly weirdness of their hometown, they’re sure to catch a break this time…or at least that’s what they think until they encounter a threat both bizarre and familiar. To face that threat, they must unite with a fearsome fighting team every bit as bizarre…but green!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things #1 will be available with multiple cover variants for fans and retailers to enjoy, including Cover A by series artist Fero Pe, Cover B by Jorge Corona (Batgirls), Cover C by Jenn Woodall (Sleeping Beauties), Cover D by Adam Gorham (Jughead: The Hunger), and rare retailer incentive variants, including those by Rafael Albuquerque (Detective Comics) and Daniel Warren Johnson (Murder Falcon).

A “Galaxy Quest '' series is in early development, this time at Paramount+.

Variety has learned that Paramount+ and Paramount Television Studios are in the nascent stages of adapting the cult classic comedy film into a television show. At this time, the only member of the creative team officially attached is Mark Johnson, who produced the original film and would serve as an executive producer on the potential series.

This is the latest attempt to adapt “Galaxy Quest” for the small screen. It was previously reported in 2015 that Amazon was developing a series version that would have reunited the film’s cast, but those plans ended upon the death of Alan Rickman. There have since been various writers attached to the project, though none of their versions have ultimately gone forward.

The live-action “Knuckles” series starring Idris Elba at Paramount+ has assembled its cast.

The show was first announced in February 2022. In addition to Elba reprising the role of Knuckles from “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” Variety has learned that Adam Pally (“Happy Endings,” “The Mindy Project”) is set to star in the series, once again playing the role of Wade Whipple from the film franchise.

The film takes place between the events of “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” which is slated to hit theaters Dec. 20, 2024. In the series, Knuckles “agrees to train Wade as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior,” per the official logline.

Edi Patterson (“The Righteous Gemstones”), Julian Barratt (“Mindhorn”), Scott Mescudi (“Don’t Look Up”), and Ellie Taylor (“Ted Lasso”) will recur in the series. Rory McCann (“Game of Thrones”) will guest star, as will Tika Sumpter, reprising the role of Maddie from the films. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

Rovio, the Finnish games studio behind “Angry Birds'' said on Monday that it had accepted a takeover offer from Sega Sammy, part of the Japanese consoles and games giant Sega. The deal values Rovio at ($776 million).

Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch film has cast newcomer Kahiau Machado as David Kawena, Nani’s love interest and Lilo’s friend, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Disney declined to comment.

Newcomer Maia Kealoha is playing Lilo, while Sydney Elizabeth Agudong is playing Nani. Zach Galifianakis joined the cast in February. Stitch, naturally, will be a CG confection. Dean Fleischer Camp, the filmmaker behind indie darling and best animated feature Oscar nominee Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, is directing the remake that is intended to be a major release on Disney+.

There will be no second season for National Treasure as Disney+ has opted not to renew the freshman adventure series.

The show, from Disney Branded Television and ABC Signature, is an expansion of the National Treasure movie franchise told from the point of view of young heroine Jess — a DREAMer in search of answers about her family — who embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover the truth about the past and save a lost Pan-American treasure.

Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time has cast Danish model-actress Maja Simonsen, Icelandic actress and former Olympic swimmer Ragga Ragnars, Irish actor Jay Duffy and New Zealand singer, actress and comedian Rima Te Wiata in recurring roles for the hit fantasy drama’s upcoming second season. The announcement was made during today’s virtual panel at JordanCon.

The four will play familiar characters from Robert Jordan’s best-selling novels the series is based on.

Simonsen and Ragnars will portray Chiad and Bain, respectively. Chiad is a Maiden of the Spear of the Stones River sept of the Goshien Aiel who is bonded as a first-sister to Bain.Duffy will play Dain Bornhald, a high-ranking officer of the Children of the Light, while Wiata plays Sheriam Bayanar, an influential Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah.

Barry Humphries, the Australian comedian, actor, author, and satirist who was best known for the characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson has passed away at age 89. According to the BBC, Humphries had been hospitalized in Sydney, Australia. The comedian fell in February and has been suffering from complications following surgery that occurred in March. Humphries' family issued a statement, remembering him as "completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit".

"A great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind, he was both gifted and a gift," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after Humphries' death was announced. "RIP Barry Humphries – one of the greatest ever Australians – and a comic genius who used his exuberant alter egos, Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, to say the otherwise unsayable. Also an infallibly brilliant Spectator contributor. What a loss," former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter.

In addition to Humphries's on-stage personas, he was also known for an array of films and television shows. He voiced Bruce in Finding Nemo and the Great Goblin in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. He also appeared in Bedazzled (1967), The Great MacArthy (1975), The Getting of Wisdom (1977), Shock Treatment (1981), Napoleon (1995), Spice World (1997), Ally McBeal (2001-2002), May and Max (2009), and much more.

Humphries also appeared as Edna Everage in an array of projects, including The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) and Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974) which were directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Beresford and Humphries, and helped the character rise to fame. Edna Everage also appeared in Pleasure at Her Majesty's (1976), Saturday Night Live (1977), The Barry Humphries Show, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), Top of the Pops (1979), The Don Lane Show (1983), Howling III (1987), and much more in addition to an array of specials.

Humphries' one-person show, Dame Edna: The Royal Tour, had a run on Broadway and earned Humphries a Special Tony Award for a live theatrical presentation in 2000. In 2014, Barry Humphries' Farewell Tour – Eat, Pray, Laugh! was nominated for an Olivier Award. He was last seen playing Dame Edna onscreen in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie in 2016. He also won a lifetime achievement award at the British Comedy Awards in 1999 and the Sir Peter Ustinov Award at the Banff Television Festival in 1997.

Humphries is survived by his wife, Lizzie Spender, who he married in 1990 in addition to his two daughters from his previous marriage to Rosalind Tong, Tessa Humphries and Emily as well as two sons from his marriage to Diane Millstead, journalist Oscar Humphries and Rupert Humphries.

Al Jaffee, a cartoonist who folded in when the trend in magazine publishing was to fold out, thereby creating one of Mad magazine’s most recognizable and enduring features, has passed away. He was 102.

His granddaughter Fani Thomson told the press that his death, at a hospital, was caused by multi-system organ failure.

In 1964, Mr. Jaffee created the Mad Fold-In, an illustration-with-text feature on the inside of the magazine’s back cover that seemed at first glance to deliver a straightforward message. When the page was folded in thirds, however, both illustration and text were transformed into something entirely different and unexpected, often with a liberal-leaning or authority-defying message.

For instance, the fold-in from the November 2001 issue asked, “What mind-altering experience is leaving more and more people out of touch with reality?” The unfolded illustration showed a crowd of people popping and snorting various substances. But when folded, the image transformed into the Fox News anchor desk.

Almost as long-lived as the fold-in was “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions,” a running compendium of the kind of retorts that people are never quite quick enough or brave enough to toss off in the heat of the moment. “Is it okay to smoke?” asks a man sitting directly under a no-smoking sign in an office. “Yes,” answers the receptionist, “the signs don’t apply to illiterates.”

In real life, however, Mr. Jaffee was the opposite of a smart aleck: a genteel, unassuming man whose in-person humor was delivered with a wink, not a cudgel. He adorned each of his drawings with a tiny self-portrait, a kind of logo, with his name scrawled in his hair.

In 2020, Mad celebrated Mr. Jaffee with a “Special All Jaffee Issue,” full of his work. It was to mark his formal retirement, and it included a fold-in that he had created in 2014 in anticipation of that eventuality.

It starts with an image of Alfred E. Neuman, Mad’s mascot, amid assorted stores that have all posted going out of business signs, under the headline “Economy Collapsing! Unemployed Starving!” But when it was folded in, a new message appeared: “No More New Jaffee Fold-Ins.” Mr. Jaffee’s blissful image is seen hovering above the cityscape.

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