Links and Updates

MAY.

It comes with an influx of trailers and announcements that pertain to what I call “the Big Three” – that is, the massive franchises that are Star Wars, Game of Thrones and the MCU. We’ve got an extended Obi Wan Kenobi trailer (set to air later this month), the first House of the Dragon trailer (as opposed to a teaser) and not only has the Moon Knight finale and Doctor Strange and the Multitude of Madness wrapped up, but we’ve got our first look at Thor: Love and Thunder (the only Marvel film I might be tempted to see in theatres).

Not only that, but Stranger Things season four drops later this month, there’s a trailer for the next Star Trek spin-off/prequel Strange New Worlds (how many are there at this point??) and The Lord of the Rings show is fast approaching. Oh, and Jurassic World 3 is just around the corner as well... (On the subject of blockbusters, we also got the third offering in the Harry Potter-adjacent Fantastic Beasts last month, but it seems to have been ignored by all and sundry).

Are Mays always this hectic?

But really, there’s only one movie I’m looking forward to, one that has me thrown into ecstatic spasms of delight and anticipation, that makes me smile and wriggle with glee every time I think about it. You can watch the trailer under the cut...

AHAHAHAHAHAHAH. This looks SO AWESOMELY TERRIBLE! The costumes! The dialogue! The fact that there are like... four guards. I am unironically thrilled that this exists and I will be eating popcorn, taking notes, and watching this on the biggest television screen I can find once it becomes available to watch. If I had a choice between watching this or any of the stuff I mentioned above the cut, there would be no contest: The Adventures of Maid Marian all the way.

I hope you will join me on this unfolding journey.

***

In other news, it appears that the CW’s winning streak of interconnected DC based shows is drawing to a close. It’s a shame in a way, as Crisis on Infinite Earths was clearly meant to breath new life into the franchise as a whole, but in hindsight, it was the beginning of the end. Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman are joining Arrow, Black Lightning and Supergirl in the realm of cancellation, and though the writing was on the wall for Batwoman (I think the departure of Ruby Rose sent it into a tailspin it never really recovered from) viewers are rightfully devastated at the end of Legends (especially since it ends on a cliff-hanger).

Perhaps there’s a way to bring together all these characters together for one last hurrah; perhaps as a grand finale crossover on one of the other shows. What’s left on the roster? The Flash will probably go on in perpetuity and Stargirl and Superman and Lois seem to be on fairly solid ground. I still haven’t checked out Naomi and have no idea what’s going on with Gotham Knights... am I forgetting anything?

This picture sums it up (yikes):

As a casual viewer, I’m surprisingly disappointed. It feels like the end of an era in a way. Ah well, all good things I suppose.

Ages ago a short film (which was more like a concept trailer) called Mr Malcolm’s List was released on YouTube and then picked up for a film-length expansion. It seemed to float about in the ether for years and years, but now we finally have proof that it does in fact exist, with these pictures:

Sadly, it seems like we’ve lost Gemma Chan, but a racially-diverse fairy tale period piece? I’m obviously down for that.

One of my favourite authors is releasing a new book and it looks FABULOUS: Unraveller by Frances Hardinge. I recommend her all the time, but she really is fantastic – melding gorgeous prose with twisty puzzle box stories and great characters.

Furthermore, F.C. Yee has penned another novel in the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise, this time focusing on Avatar Yangchen. Though she was glimpsed briefly in the show, we know next to nothing about her as a person, and the quality of the two Kyoshi books bodes well for this one.

This also caught my attention: a novelized sequel to Brave by Maggie Stiefvater, which continues the adventures of Merida and further explores the film’s mythologized Scotland.

I’ve had a copy of The Essex Serpent lying around the house for years now, but had very little idea of what it was about until watching this trailer, and now I’m going to have to bump it up the reading list (which means I’ll probably get to it in about... oh, three or so years).

A book with an upcoming adaptation that I have read however, is The Time-Traveller’s Wife, and I’m amused on some level that this is being helmed by Steven Moffat, who has been very open about the fact that it inspired his love story between the Doctor and River Song (what with the two of them meeting out of order and so on).

He must really love this material if he’s prepared to essentially adapt it for a second time, and though I’ll probably get around to watching it at some point, I’m not super excited. Henry and Clare never popped for me as characters, and I don’t see either of them (Clare especially) improving in Moffat’s hands.

We’ve seen the pictures of a Spirited Away stage show, and apparently there’s a Nausicaä one as well, which looks just as incredible. Damn, I’m so jealous.

Blue Sky Studios has been shut down after its acquisition by Disney, which cited cost-cutting measures in the face of Covid-19. Apparently some of their projects and franchises will be continued under the Disney+ banner (most notably, Nimona) but the studio put together one final goodbye for their mascot Scrat:

It almost brings a tear to your eye. He finally got his nut. And damn, I saw Ice Age in theatres when I was like, fourteen years old! Time it does fly.

An extremely interesting article from Polygon: The MCU’s Future Lies with Those It Previously Neglected: Teen Girls. On the basis of one trailer I have already seen YouTube videos complaining about Ms Marvel, which is to be expected, but damn – I’m starting to feel genuinely sorry for grown men who have nothing better to do but complain about shows that are clearly made for children.

I’m currently catching up on second seasons: having completed Evil, I’m now on The Morning Show, with The Great, Gentleman Jack and Sanditon all coming up on my viewing schedule, and all season twos of their respective shows. Reading wise, I’m still making my way through Catherynne Valente’s Fairyland series, The Silmarillion and the various publications that expand on some of its singular stories, and The Babysitters Club. So yeah, weird mix.

Finally, I’ve also found two new (and extremely obscure) Robin Hood movies to watch: Rogues of Sherwood Forest from 1950 and Sword of Sherwood Forest from 1960, so that’ll be fun!