Melbourne
March 29-30, 2025
Melbourne Showgrounds
Written by Sarah Minazzo, Chris Daniel & Kieron Byatt
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
Walking Dead fans expecting Andrew Lincoln’s departure from the show’s upcoming ninth season to also mean the death of Rick Grimes may have jumped the gun. The franchise’s official Twitter account posted the following amid a series of new online rumours about the character’s fate:
Don’t believe everything you hear
— The Walking Dead (@TheWalkingDead) July 2, 2018
Kevin Smith is trying to find a new network for his show Comic Book Men after AMC pulled the plug last month.
Thanks for the kind words about @ComicBookMenAMC! We’re pitching it around to other networks now so I’ll let you know if it comes back to life! https://t.co/bjqK7zopCL
— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) July 3, 2018
Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins is reuniting with Chris Pine for limited thriller series I Am The Night. The show’s first trailer promises an insight to post-war Hollywood, with the series set to premiere in January 2019.
Incredibles 2 director Brad Bird has jokingly shutdown any hope of a TV series via Twitter.
Most tv seasons are 22 episodes. With no quality slippage, and at our current rate (14 year gaps between episodes), it would take us 308 years to make the first season. 😉 https://t.co/vFZl7ZPXvu
— Brad Bird (@BradBirdA113) July 2, 2018
FILM
Funnyman Jim Carrey has officially signed on for the Sonic The Hedgehog movie as villain Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik, alongside previously announced cast members James Marsden and Tika Sumpter. The film is said to be a blend of live action and CG, so it remains to be seen as to whether this will be a voiced CG character or a physical performance of Sonic’s nemesis.
The new Men In Black spinoff film is set to start shooting in London next month and has this week added Rafe Spall (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) and Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) to the cast in undisclosed roles. The film starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson is slated for release in June 2019.
Rumours are circulating that Nicolas Cage may have been cast in Sony’s upcoming animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Liev Schreiber, Hailee Steinfeld, Shameik Moore and Mahershala Ali have all been confirmed for the project so far.
Fantastic Four star Miles Teller has scored the role of Nick “Goose’” Bradshaw’s son in the long-awaited Top Gun sequel announced by Tom Cruise last May. Production of the film began last month.
My Hero Academia has unveiled key visuals from its upcoming first film, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, including a first-look at a young All Might.
GAMING
The Australian Classification Review Board has reversed their decision to ban BioShock-inspired title We Happy Few in the country. The game will be released on PS4 and Xbox One on August 10 and will be rated R18+.
Valve has now partnered with Chinese developer Perfect World to establish Steam in China, which will see games and other products brought to the second largest economy in the world.
Described by developers as the “world’s least realistic pool simulator”, Adult Swim has dropped a new trailer for insane billiards game Pool Panic and given it a July 19 release date.
COMICS
Marvel announced the full creative team behind the soon arriving Spider-Geddon event, which will unite all Spideys from all around the Spider-Verse. The series will be written by Christos Gage with art by Jorge Molina and is a direct follow-up to the events of Spider-Verse as well as continuing on from Dan Slott’s Spider-Man #800.
Boom! Studios have announced they will publish a new ongoing Firefly comic series. The title will expand the world of the beloved TV series by focusing on the story of the Unification War. The book will be written by Greg Pak and pencilled by Dan McDaid.
THIS WEEK’S PICKS
Batman #50 – The wedding day is finally here, in a landmark issue decades in the making! Batman/Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle/Catwoman tie the knot at last… or will they? Only Tom King and a cavalcade of artists know for sure!
Catwoman #1 – It’s the first of a brand new ongoing series for Gotham’s fiercest cat burglar, which see Selina Kyle interrupting her wedding night to expose a copycat pulling heists on her turf! Written and drawn by Joëlle Jones.
Captain America #1 – The last ongoing series of the First Avenger packed a wallop with some controversial twists and turns, now Cap is no longer the figure of hope and truth he once was, with Hydra taking over the United States! Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and pencilled by Leinil Francis Yu.
Death of Inhumans #1 – The Kree have laid waste to most of the Inhuman race and now Black Bolt and his family are next! Written by Donny Cates with art by Ariel Olivetti.
Lead image: Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik
