by Emily Nagle
On Wednesday morning, Tom Holland revealed the official title for the upcoming third Spider-Man film.
After teasing multiple fake titles on Instagram with co-stars Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, including “Spider-Man: Phone Home” and “Spider-Man: Home Slice,” the star posted a short clip on Instagram making public the official title of the film slated for release on December 17, 2021: the real title is Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Prior to this, Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon all posted unreleased stills from the upcoming film, but accompanied them with images featuring the fake titles. Fans figured out these titles were fake based on the generic captions they were accompanied with, such as Batalon writing, “We’re so excited to share the TITLE of our new movie!! Swipe right for the big reveal!!🤩😝😱also enjoy this exclusive still from the movie, just an extra gift from us😘”
The film will be a co-production between Marvel Studios and Columbia Pictures, and Jon Watts will be returning as the director. Also set to appear in the movie are Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, and Jamie Foxx as Electro.
Warner Bros’ DC Films has hired Angel Manuel Soto to direct their upcoming film ‘Blue Beetle’. First reported by The Wrap, Soto’s hiring brings the studio’s superhero one step closer to the big screen.
The Blue Beetle is one of the oldest superheroes to be introduced in comic books, first appearing in Mystery Men Comics issue #1 in 1939. The rights to the character were passed off to multiple comics publishers until it ultimately landed at DC Comics in the 1980s.
The upcoming movie will focus on the 2006 version of Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, a Mexican-American teen who’s powers come from a mysterious scarab that latches onto Reyes’ spine and provides him with a powerful suit of blue alien armor that can also equip him with bespoke weapons and wings. This a historic announcement as this will be DC Comics’ first Latinx super hero to have its own movie.
Angel Manuel Soto is best known for his 2020 movie “Charm City Kings” about an extreme dirt bike gang in Philadelphia. This film won a special jury prize at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival for its ensemble. We are excited to see what’s in store for DC Comics and the talented Angel Manuel Soto.
by Emily Nagle
On March 18 at 4 p.m., Nickelodeon will be hosting its first upfront event since 2018, which will put a fun, fresh twist on the traditional media presentation by appealing to their target audience in addition to media executives.
The half-hour showcase, titled Nickelodeon Virtual Upfront Show: Bring Your Kids!, will feature live-action and animated segments. Contrasting greatly from your average Zoom conference, viewers will hear from some of the channel’s most beloved characters and stars about the network’s plan to flourish, and what the brand states will be their widest content slate in their more than 40 years in children’s television.
President of Nickelodeon Brian Robbins explained in an interview with Variety that this new format was inspired by people spending more time at home and online this past year due to the pandemic. “We thought, ‘Why not do an upfront through the eyes of the audience, as opposed to the eyes of the partners?’” he elaborates. “Since families are home together, and a lot of our partners have children, let’s make something that can be a co-viewing event.”
News of this event has broken less than a week after WarnerMedia announced their plans to expand their children’s programming sector, making Cartoon Network the main focus of the media conglomerate’s Children and Family division. Disney, too, is broadening their appeal by adding more to their streaming lineups on Disney+ and Hulu, the former of which recently achieved 86.8 million subscribers after only a year on the market. As for Nickelodeon, its content is set to be available on ViacomCBS’s upcoming streaming service Paramount Plus (launching March 4), including hits like iCarly and a Spongebob Squarepants spin-off series titled Kamp Koral.
Streaming services have revolutionized the media viewing experience, causing the amount of people who watch live programs to plummet, especially for children’s networks. Viewership for Disney, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon over the past year has decreased by more than 30%. As a result, the March 18 showcase will focus on more than just live programming, explaining the significance of children’s content on streaming platforms and revealing more about what is in store for Paramount Plus.
by Emily Nagle
Growing up, I was always a fan of Bo Burnham’s work. His songs and poetry are so creative, and I loved his witty comedy style. Of course, when I found out he was making a movie that would be released in theaters in summer 2018, I had to see it.
What makes Eighth Grade so special is how authentic it is. It’s not about anything super crazy. The movie follows Kayla Day as she completes her last week of middle school. As a member of Generation Z, I knew how this felt – eighth grade is awkward, and can be scary sometimes. Kayla herself has a lot of . It’s also super realistic in showing life as an adolescent in the late 2010s, as the kids are shown to spend a lot of time on their phones and computers, mostly scrolling through social media. Although she gets voted “Most Quiet” in the yearbook, Kayla has a YouTube channel where she posts motivational videos addressing topics such as how to be confident; however, the videos get almost no views.
By Kurt Balingit
Quavo, the head “huncho” of the Atlanta rap group “Migos”, is set to make his feature-film debut in the upcoming movie “Wash Me in the River”. He makes his debut alongside a talented set of actors in Robert DeNiro, John Malkovich and Jack Huston. It is is directed by Randall Emmett who brought us “The Irishman” in 2019 and “Lone Survivor” in 2013.
Quavo is to play Coyote, the antagonist and ruthless druglord who is responsible for selling the drugs that resulted in the Protagonist’s wife dying from an overdose. The protagonist, named Shelby John and played by Jack Huston, is filled with fiery rage, as he embarks on a vengeful killing spree to right all the wrong done to his deceased fiancé by killing every link in the drug dealing chain.
Armed with nothing but adrenaline and a nail gun, Shelby John picks off dealers and junkies one by one until he gets to the top. Sheriff Church (Robert DeNiro) and Detective Zeppelin must race against the clock to put an end to Shelby’s vigilante justice before his fight with the crime lord Coyote (Quavo) turns the entire town into a bloodbath.
Quavo, excited about his role in the movie, had this to say:
“I honestly think this movie is going to be one of the greatest to come of this time,” Quavo says. “The experience was unbelievable for me, with Robert DeNiro and Jack Huston being so down to earth and making me feel like family. Gonna see me doing some stunts and a lot of what you hear from me in my raps! This is one of my biggest debuts I’ve ever had, and so proud of what we did and to get to work with Randall who’s such an amazing guy — I can’t wait to do more films with him”
Quavo is currently wrapping up filming in Puerto Rico and recently shared this video of him holding a gold plated assault rifle with a chainsaw attachment. A creation that only Pablo Escobar, Scarface, El Chapo or any other ruthless drug lord would own.
Quavo has held small roles and cameos in many television shows, including Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico”, FX’s “Atlanta,”ABC’s “Black-ish” and Fox’s “Star.”, but this is his first time landing a role on the big screen.
by Emily Nagle
Confirmed in a virtual presentation to media buyers, WarnerMedia has announced an expansion of its properties targeted at children and families, airing on Cartoon Network and HBO Max.
WarnerMedia has designated Cartoon Network as their primary children/family-oriented brand, ringing in this new era of their programming lineup by changing the channel’s tagline to “Redraw Your World.” In a press statement the company described this slogan as aiming to “empower kids to feel comfortable with who they are, embrace their uniqueness and believe in their own ability to impact change.”
The entertainment conglomerate has announced a plethora of new series, such as Gremlins: The Secrets of the Mogwai (a prequel to the 1984 film), Tiny Toons Looniversity (set to be executive produced by Steven Spielberg), Tweety Mysteries (a live-action/animated series), and Jade Armor (whose creative team consists entirely of women), and announced new seasons of Craig of the Creek, Infinity Train, Victor and Valentino, and Total Drama Island. They have also confirmed a triad of 44-minute specials as part of the Ben 10 franchise, a spin-off series of Teen Titans Go!, and a TV movie based on The Amazing World of Gumball.
Also part of WarnerMedia’s plan is the launch of a new preschool-age programming block on Cartoon Network that will be called Cartoonito. Scheduled to launch this fall, the block is set to include 20 new series that reimagine some of Cartoon Network’s most beloved franchises for younger audiences, such as Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, Tom and Jerry Junior, Batwheels, and Bugs Bunny Builders. This will be the first time that the channel has had a preschool-targeted block since 2005, when Cartoon Network briefly ran a morning block for preschoolers called Tickle U.
Not only is WarnerMedia hoping to expand the network’s appeal to children and toddlers, but they’re also hoping to appeal to families as a whole. Cartoon Network has been having movie nights each weekend, showing successful films including The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, Back to the Future, and Happy Feet.
Get Some Strange!
