What to know
A Game of Thrones play is eyeing Broadway, London, and Australia | Deadline
Hey, it worked for Harry Potter! George R.R. Martin is developing a prequel play about the legendary events that came just before A Song of Ice and Fire, namely the Tourney at Harrenhal, the kidnapping of Lyanna Stark, and Robert’s Rebellion. You’d think Warner Media would be repeating their Cursed Child playbook here, but the GoT play is actually being developed by outside producers with HBO having the option to come aboard later. Considering how spectacular Cursed Child is live, I think this could really work.
Pixar employees feel ‘demoralized’ over Disney+ relegation | ComicBook
And wouldn’t you? While Disney is giving some of its movies theatrical and Disney+ premium releases, it has relegated the 2nd straight Pixar film (Luca) to a no-extra charge streaming release. I’m sure Bob Chapek and company have their reasons, but it’s unfortunate that they seem to not be prioritizing Pixar. Pixar make visually stunning movies that deserve big screens, damnit!
Live-action Thundercats movie on the way from Godzilla vs. Kong director | Deadline
Godzilla vs. Kong hits theaters and HBO Max tomorrow and the hype is real. It’s got a solid RottenTomatoes score and WB must be pretty satisfied with the job director Adam Wingard did. I have no attachment to Thundercats, but adapting ‘80s cartoons has worked out in the past for Hollywood (Transformers). As long as the CGI cats don’t have buttholes, it should be fine.
The Oscars plan to have a European ‘hub’ — and no masks? | Deadline
This feels like a good compromise. As I wrote about previously, traveling to the U.S. was a bit problematic for some international Oscar nominees, so the Academy might have a UK live location for its European nominees to gather. Additionally, the show is asking L.A. attendees to quarantine for 10 days in advance so everyone can go mostly maskless at the ceremony. Seems risky?
Actors and studios don’t want to attend Thanksgiving Comic-Con | THR
Speaking of people not wanting to attend things, actors and producers are balking at San Diego Comic-Con’s plan to host an in-person event over Thanksgiving weekend. It turns out planning a mass gathering in what could still be a global pandemic over a holiday weekend isn’t so popular with the people who have to work it.
Also...
Sylvester Stallone wants to write a Rocky prequel series … isn’t the whole premise of the original Rocky movie his origin story? 🥊
There’s a new Handmaid’s Tale s4 trailer … if you’re still watching TV’s bleakest show amid a global pandemic 🤰
Diana: The Musical is returning to Broadway and coming to Netflix … Netflix loves its Diana content 👑
Pete Holmes to lead CBS multicam pilot about a factory worker turned pro bowler … but will he make it weird? 🎳
Donald Faison will play Prof. Utonium in CW’s live-action Powerpuff Girls … mmhmm 👨🏽🏫
Jordan Fisher joins The Flash TV series … that’s good casting ⚡️
Star Wars: The Bad Batch gets new trailer for 70-minute premiere … hope you like clone soldiers 🌌
Ariana Grande is joining The Voice … small woman, big chair, bigger voice 🎤
Mystic Pizza stage musical to include 80s/90s hits … I know we all want theater back, but not like this 🍕
William Shatner will be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame … he’s boldly going again 🤼♀️
Netflix is going totally green … are you saying I can’t power my Roku with diesel? 🌱
Jeremy Strong will play the Polio vaccine inventor in new biopic … how very timely 💉
Pokémon card thief scales building … I know Pokémon cards are hot right now, but this is pretty extreme 😱
What to watch
TV Trailer: Shadow and Bone — Apr 23 (Netflix)
Created by Eric Heisserer, starring Jessie Mei Li, Ben Barnes, Archie Renaux, Amita Suman, Kit Young, and Freddy Carter.
I think Netflix has a big fat hit on their hands with this one. Boiling down this show on paper makes it seem pretty derivative: It’s a YA fantasy adaptation about a chosen one with special abilities and there are dragons. Netflix itself is even comparing it directly to Game of Thrones and The Hungers Games (and Ocean’s 11, interestingly). But this trailer hints at something really special in scale, tone, and sizzle. Even with its familiar tropes, Shadow and Bone feels special and poised to breakthrough into the mainstream. I knew basically nothing about the show or the books prior to watching this trailer and am very intrigued.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!
New notables this week:
The Last Cruise (Mar 29) — HBO Max pandemic doc | 100% RT
Godzilla vs. Kong (Mar 30) — HBO Max monster feature | 80% RT
Made for Love (Apr 1) — HBO Max sci-fi series | 88% RT
Top Chef s18 (Apr 1) — Bravo cooking competition | No RT yet
Law & Order: Organized Crime(Apr 1) — NBC, Chris Meloni returns | No RT yet
Concrete Cowboy (Apr 2) — Netflix family drama w Idris Elba | 78% RT
Hysterical (Apr 2) — Hulu doc on women comedians | 100% RT
Gangs of London (Apr 4) — AMC crime series | 88% RT
SAG Awards (Apr 4) — Acting award show on TNT & TBS
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About the author: Alex Rabinowitz has led the way on social media and story packaging at media outlets big and small. With his acclaimed Tumblr site PopCultureBrain.com, Alex became a leading figure in emerging social networks and entertainment news. Sourced by many top destinations, including New York Magazine, BuzzFeed, and Videogum, Pop Culture Brain was featured by BuzzFeed and TIME as the best pop culture blog on Tumblr. Alex's writing has appeared on The Huffington Post, GQ.com, Mic, and Time Warner Cable.