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Newstime: The Stories You Might Have Missed This Week

Written by Cristian Stanic, Kieren Henfling, Nikita Binetti, Raviv Mezhubovski, Terry Phillips & Wes Sukh -

From film to TV, gaming to comics and everything in between, here’s what you might have missed in pop culture news this week.

TV

The CW’s upcoming crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths is shaping up to be the DC television event of the decade, with long-time Batman voice-over artist Kevin Conroy finally getting the chance to play Bruce Wayne on screen for the first time. Unfortunately, though, Smallville‘s Michael Rosenbaum has hosed down rumours that his version of Lex Luthor would also be joining the line-up. The latest Arrowverse crossover event will begin with Supergirl on December 8 this year and continue into early 2020.

DC fans have also been treated to the first trailer for Titans season two, in which we get our first glimpse of Game of Thrones’ Iain Glen as Bruce Wayne and the season’s main villain, Deathstroke.

Screen Australia has announced an extensive list of TV, online and film projects granted a share of over $675,000 of development funding. Of particular note is Over and Out: A 10-part television series about two parents, Lewis and Freya, who are struggling to survive the trials and tribulations of raising toddlers while being smack bang in the middle of the post-apocalypse. This project sees writers Christian Van Vuuren and Adele Vuko, and producer Bridget Callow-Wright building on their online series of the same name which won Best Short Form at Cannes Series 2019. It will be co-produced by Abi Tabone and Gemma Knight.

In Amazon Prime news, the streaming service has just announced they’ve managed to poach adventurer Bear Grylls from competitor Netflix to host the World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji, a team race across Fiji in what’s been dubbed as the ultimate expedition challenge. Most recently Grylls starred in Netflix’s interactive adventure series You Vs Wild.

Fans of Netflix’s The OA will be frustrated to learn that there will be no resolution to the cliffhanger ending to the second season of the critically acclaimed show, with the streaming service officially announcing that the series will not be renewed.

I am the law! For years, fans have been desperate for a follow-up to the 2012 Dredd film, which starred Karl Urban as the titular futuristic street judge. Now hope comes in the form of a tease offered by Judge Dredd: Mega-City One producer Jason Kingsley that a finished script for the pilot episode of a new series is ready to go. It is unknown whether Urban will return to his role for the series, but he has previously expressed his desire to don the helmet once more.

Also in news for Urban, Amazon has announced that a second season of hit superhero series The Boys is on the cards and is likely to hit sometime next year.

And rounding out our TV news, Supanova TV has released a new episode featuring panel highlights from sci-fi Supa-Stars Gary Lockwood and Keir Dullea’s visit to Brisbane, last November.

FILM

It’s time for the ’90s reboot of the week, and this time we can now officially look forward to a fresh remake of Home Alone, the film franchise which turned a young Macaulay Culkin into a household name and had kids pondering new and fantastic ways to booby-trap their homes. Whilst details are scant at this stage, Disney (who took control of the Home Alone IP during the Fox merger) are forgoing a theatrical release of the new reboot in favour of releasing the new film directly on their Disney+ streaming service.

The appearance of Ecto-1, the original Ghostbusters mobile, was first hinted at in the original teaser, which first revealed that the Ghostbusters 2020 project was in motion. Now it would seem we have definite confirmation with photos taken from the set showing the old beast back in action.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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#Ecto1 spotted on the set of #Ghostbusters2020 … excited for this?. . . #ghostbusters

A post shared by Nerd Nook (@nerdnook) on

 

Last week we spoke of rumours that Andy Serkis was being considered for the director’s chair for the upcoming Venom sequel. Well, it would seem it’s no longer a rumour, as Serkis himself has officially confirmed he will be helming the Tom Hardy-led sequel, which is expected to pit him against Woody Harrelson’s Carnage.

A follow-up to the Charlize Theron-led Atomic Blonde is still on the cards, with director David Leitch confirming that talks are still in progress and that the sequel may find itself being produced by a certain, otherwise unnamed, streaming platform.

Whilst Robert Pattinson is getting ready to don the cowl in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, cinematographer Robert Richardson, who was originally slated to work on the Ben Affleck version of the film, has recently dished some details about the Batman film that never was. Speaking to the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Richardson has suggested the Affleck script was originally planned to be largely set in Arkham Asylum and would focus on a much darker, more intimate version of Batman than what had previously been seen on screen.

GAMING

With EVO closing out this week, there are a lot of fighting game reveals, and some incredible matches to cover.

Arc System Works basically ran the show, showing up to support a lot of their games. BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle 2.0, one of the most bonkers crossover fighting games, is getting even more wacky crossover characters, with Senran Kagura and Akatsuki Blitzkampf characters now joining the roster alongside RWBY, Persona, Under Night In-Birth, and of course the BlazBlue original fighters.

ArcSys also showed off Janemba and Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta as the next fighters for Dragon Ball FighterZ, with Broly soon to follow. Janemba is out right now, so go download him and start mixing people up with his teleports! On top of that, a new version of UNIST was announced for next year, as well as a new Guilty Gear, which may we say, looks absolutely beautiful.

King of Fighters XV was announced. No news on the character line-up, when it’ll be out, or what system the game will run on as yet, so stay tuned!

Samurai Shodown continues its DLC rollout with a new character each month for the next four, and is apparently so powerful it started handing out DLC to an entirely different game, with Haohmaru being announced as a new character in SoulCalibur VI, along with three other characters.

Street Fighter V, thankfully not dead despite Capcom’s radio silence, is adding classic characters E. Honda, Poison, and Lucia back into the brawl, with more news coming later this year.

Finally, Tekken 7 confirmed two new characters in their Season 3 DLC, both set to be released this September. First, returning fighter Zafina, and second, Leroy Smith.

Nintendo dropped a two-minute info blast about the upcoming Sword and Shield titles, including Galarian Forms, new evolutions, and a Pokémon with a Hangry Form, which is definitely a mood.

We are excited to see that the “evil” team are nothing but stans for your rival, instead of returning to the well of “big secret shadow organisation taking over the world”, and with the Pokémon Job Board acting as some kinda Galarian Gig Economy, we also look forward to living it up and having a Delibird deliver whatever the Galarian equivalent of UberEats is.

ANIMATION

Ahead of the Australian release of Makoto Shinkai’s latest animated masterpiece, Weathering With You, on August 22, we’ve teamed up with Madman to giveaway in-season Double Passes to five lucky Supa-Fans! Enter now via the Supanova Facebook page, or for more details on the stunning new film, head to the Madman website.

An exclusive trailer for Wonder Woman: Bloodlines has been released, showing Diana facing up against a variety of foes, after she gets caught up returning a stranded Steve Trevor to his home in America.


In anime news this week, new teasers for two huge films have dropped, both being continuations of tentpole anime series Gintama and Fate/stay night.

Gintama hasn’t had too much exposure in the West but it’s one of the funniest shows around. The manga ended on June 20, and it’s been revealed that a new movie is in the works, most likely adapting the final Soul Silver arc.

The Fate series is practically inescapable in anime, and fans have been waiting to see the Heaven’s Feel route of Fate/stay night animated for a long time, so it’s a big deal that the third film in studio Ufotable’s trilogy will be concluding in 2020. The teaser trailer also looks absolutely gorgeous.

It looks like Netflix’s Aggretsuko anime still has some steam left in it, with a third season being green-lit! This is despite the director saying he put everything he had into the first two seasons, and has no idea what season three will be about yet. We’re sure he’ll come up with something!

And for the cosplayers, it’s official, we are the world’s best at the craft! Australia won the World Cosplay Summit 2019, an event where cosplayers from around the world gather in Japan to represent their country’s costume-making efforts. Congratulations to winners K and former Supanova Cosplay Ambassador, Wirru!

COMICS

DC Comics and Warner Bros. have officially extended an invitation to all Aussie Batman fans to celebrate 80 years of the “World’s Best Detective” with a unique, one-off fun-run in Brisbane city. Fittingly hosted on Batman Day, September 21, the 5km run stretches throughout the city’s many landmarks; commencing at Brisbane’s own Gotham Central Station (Ann Street) and finishing at the Maritime Museum, which will receive a special makeover for the event. Participants will receive a race kit and a limited edition 80th anniversary medal at the finish line, where they can also enjoy live entertainment, photo opportunities and more. You can find out more details via the DC Batman Run website.

Not quite a comic, but Australian comedian, videogame designer and ‘professional strange person’ John Robertson, released his debut children’s comedy-horror novel, The Little Town of Marrowville, this week. The former Australian Idol contestant told Supanova: “It’s a fusion of Roald Dahl comedy and grossness with the story of a brave sister looking after her brother in a weird town that’s hard to escape.”

SPIDEY SPOILER: Marvel will apparently be killing Peter Parker in the latest issue of Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man. Spider-Man himself will seemingly have a crisis of identity as he sets out to solve the mystery behind his own death. No one knows yet what the situation will be, however it appears unlikely that the web-swinging superhero will face anything permanent, as his Amazing Spider-Man comic is still going. The intriguing issue will be released sometime this month.

In related Marvel and Spidey news, artist Stanley “Artgerm” Laus’ variant cover for the upcoming The Amazing Mary Jane has just been released. The cover evokes the style of the pulp novels popularised in the 1920s and ’30s. Readers will “hit the jackpot” in October, when the first issue goes on sale and are able to dive into the brand new series, which will see Mary Jane out front and centre.

AfterShock Comics will be releasing a brand new horror anthology, Horde, by Marguerite Bennett and Leila Leiz, which is set to be a housebound tale of fright. The official synopsis reads as follows: “After the death of her father, Ruby Ando tries to reconnect with her estranged and isolated mother, whose hoarder house is a nightmare labyrinth of secrets and dangers. All the love Ruby was never shown she sees her mother lavish on her treasures and trinkets, the possessions that possess her. But when Ruby desperately tries to free her mother, the house wages war, ensnaring both women within its maze. Brought to hideous and twisted life by a mother’s love, the “Horde” is determined to purge Ruby from the collection — or see her join it forever.”

Lastly, founder and former owner of cbr.com, Jonah Weiland, has joined the staff of DC as Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services. Not much is known about how things will proceed from this point, but Weiland is set to bring a fresh and bright perspective to the comics giant.

COLLECTIBLES

Whilst this week may be a little quiet for collectibles, this month’s latest drop from DC Comics is sure to excite even the casual collector. Fans of the beloved Batman: The Animated Series will be pleased with this detailed yet affordable “Batcycle and Figure” set. Including an interchangeable helmet, the set presents a stylised take (designed by Jay Kushwara) on a classic pairing – available/shipping this month for $60USD.

He is the Lord of Chaos. The Planet Eater. He is Unicron.

Aussie Transformers fans no longer have to scrounge for US Middle-Man services, pray for cheap postage, or find random strangers to help them pre-order and purchase the HasLab exclusive 27-inch tall Unicron, as local juggernauts EB Games/Zing are allowing pre-orders via their own site!

Keeping in mind, as with all HasLab products, that this figure needs to reach a certain amount of backers by the end of the month, allowing local pre-orders to count towards their lofty goal of 8,000 backers is definitely a win for us.

Melbourne

March 29-30, 2025

Melbourne Showgrounds

Gold Coast

April 12-13, 2025

Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre

Sydney

June 21-22, 2025

Sydney Showground Olympic Park

Perth

June 28-29, 2025

Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre

Adelaide

November 1-2, 2025

Adelaide Showground

Brisbane

November 7-9, 2025

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

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in 2025!