fantasy
George R. R. Martin Under Fire for Working with Co-Authors Accused of Racism
George R.R. Martin is under fire for enlisting married author couple Elio M. García Jr. and Linda Antonsson as co-writers on his upcoming book The Rise of the Dragon: An Illustrated History of the Targaryen Dynasty, Volume One amid accusations of racism. García and Antonsson are longtime Game of Thrones fans and began contributing to Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series since long before it was adapted into an HBO smash. But some casting choices in the TV show and its new spinoff House of the Dragon prompted the pair to make some eyebrow-raising critiques: For example, Antonsson argued that Black actor Steve Toussaint was miscast as Corlys in House of the Dragon, because (via Variety) “there are no Black Valyrians and there should not be any in the show...
10 Films Canceled Before They Made It to Theaters
The recent merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery has already transformed the entertainment industry. As the companies’ streaming services, HBO Max and Discovery+, combine, HBO Max has canceled a slew of its original series, and on August 2nd, Warner Bros. shelved its planned Batgirl film despite the $90 million project already being filmed. HBO Max had originally planned to introduce a slew of streaming-exclusive DC Extended Universe films, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, new Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav opted to kill Batgirl and take the tax write-off instead. Zaslav plans to switch the company’s strategy completely and revert back to producing streaming films for a much smaller budget. Killing an expensive film in post-production seems like a shocki...
Morpheus Hunts His Nightmares in New Trailer for The Sandman: Watch
The Sandman will officially bring us a dream next month, but we’ve got a lot to look forward to now thanks to Netflix’s latest trailer for the Neil Gaiman comic book adaptation. The newest trailer focuses on the conflict between Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) and a rogue nightmare that has escaped to the waking world, the Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook). “My creations do not walk among the living killing mortals for pleasure,” Morpheus says in the new trailer, though his words are undercut by violent spurts of blood. Meanwhile, the Corinthian is having the time of his un-life. “Oh, you don’t think dreams can’t die? Let’s find out,” he smirks. Check out the trailer below. Based on Gaiman’s DC series of the same name, The Sandman premieres on August 5th and co-stars Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer,...
Idris Elba Grants Tilda Swinton Three Wishes in Teaser for George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing: Watch
If a Djinn had granted us three wishes, we might very well have spent one conjuring Three Thousand Years of Longing, the new flick from Mad Max mastermind George Miller. It stars Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, and a 20-second teaser is out now. Swinton has been cast as Dr. Alithea Binnie, a levelheaded academic who doesn’t believe in magical nonsense. But while attending a conference in Istanbul, she chances upon an ancient Djinn (Elba), who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. According to the official logline, “This presents two problems. First, she doubts that he is real and second, because she is a scholar of story and mythology, she knows all the cautionary tales of wishes gone wrong. The Djinn pleads his case by telling her fantastical stories of his pas...
First Avatar Sequel Gets Title, Teaser Trailer to Debut Next Week
The long-awaited second Avatar film has received a title: Avatar: The Way of Water. What’s more, fans will get their first glimpse at the film beginning next week, as a teaser trailer will be shown prior to screenings of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 6th. Following its theatrical premiere, the teaser will debut online a week later. Set to hit theaters internationally on December 14th and in the US on December 16th, Avatar: The Way of Water is the first of four sequels in James Cameron’s blockbuster franchise. Speaking during Disney’s presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, producer Jon Landau said, “One of the strengths of Jim Cameron’s scripts is they are always universal and relatable themes that he weaves into them.” Advertisement Related Video “At the center of eac...
Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV Series Coming to Disney+
Calling all demigods: a TV series based on Percy Jackson and the Olympians is coming to Disney+. The beloved young adult fantasy novel is getting a new live-action adaptation, co-executive produced by the author, Rick Riordan. Production is scheduled to begin this summer. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series follows the titular 12-year-old demigod, who’s still adjusting to his newfound mystical powers (alongside the usual strife of modern tweenhood). The adventure unfolds when Zeus accuses Percy of stealing his master lightning bolt, prompting the young hero to journey across America to find it, return it, and bring peace to Olympus. “With Rick Riordan, Jon Steinberg and Dan Shotz leading our creative team, we’re deep into creating a compelling TV series worthy of the heroi...
Mads Mikkelsen’s Grindelwald Revealed in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore First Trailer: Watch
Another dose of magic is on the horizon: Warner Bros. has unveiled the trailer for The Secrets of Dumbledore, the next installment in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. A prequel to the beloved Harry Potter series, the film will hit theaters on April 15th, 2022. As its title implies, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore follows the tribulations of future Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore (long before The Boy Who Lived received his acceptance letter). The clip shows Dumbledore (Jude Law) assembling a team of wizards, witches, and one Muggle in an effort to stop dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) from seizing control of the wizarding world. With Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) leading the efforts, they encounter a slew of magical beasts as Gr...
Toss a Coin to The Witcher’s Strong, Straightforward Season 2: Review
The Pitch: In the wake of the battle of Sodden Hill, rumbly-grumbly witcher Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) has finally reunited with the adopted child handed to him by destiny: exiled Princess Cirilla (Freya Allen), last seen trundling around the woods by herself for an entire season. But now, winter has come and it’s time for Geralt to get some R&R at Kaer Morhen, where witchers go to fill up on elixirs and ale and put up their feet till spring. With Ciri in tow, it may well be time to train her into a new witcher (even as the secrets of her true parentage threaten to upend the land). Meanwhile, Geralt’s on-again-off-again sorceress lover Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) finds herself magicless after her explosion of fire “chaos” (read: magic) at the end of last season, first captured by...
Rosamund Pike Warns of “The Last Battle” in First Trailer for The Wheel of Time: Watch
Fantasy fans, assemble: Amazon Prime Video has unveiled the first trailer for The Wheel of Time, the upcoming series based on Robert Jordan’s novels of the same name. Rosamund Pike stars as Moiraine, who mentors young women sensitive to the One Power while trying to determine which of three men is the prophesied Dragon Reborn. The series is set to premiere on November 19th. The trailer for The Wheel of Time boasts some impressive special effects as its cast channels the One Power throughout various stunning locations. Alongside Pike, The Wheel of Time also includes Josha Stradowski as Rand al’Thor (the main character in the book series, though you won’t see much of him here), Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara, Zoë Robins as Nynaeve, Barney Harris as Mat Cauthon, and Madeleine Madden as Eg...
Wheel of Time Film Series Taps Thor Scribe Zack Stentz
Wheel of Time, the most popular fantasy series of the past 30 years not named Game of Thrones, is heading for the silver screen. As Deadline reports, Zack Stent (Thor, X-Men: First Class) will pen the first film in a planned trilogy. Robert Jordan’s enormous Wheel of Time saga boasts nearly 3,000 named characters and spans 15 books, with the last three completed by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan’s death in 2007. That’s a lot of source material to draw from, and so it’s interesting to note that Stentz’s film series plans to do without most of it — the better to avoid competing with Amazon’s upcoming TV adaptation. Instead, the cinematic trilogy will be set in the Age of Legends, which was already several millennia old by the time the series launched with the first book, ...
Netflix Announces Premiere Date for The Witcher Season 2
After several pandemic-related delays, Netflix has finally announced the premiere date of The Witcher Season 2. The Polish-American medieval fantasy series, based on the books by Andrzej Sapkowski, is returning December 17th. According to a press statement, the synopsis of the next season of The Witcher is as follows: “Convinced Yennefer’s life was lost at the Battle of Sodden, Geralt of Rivia brings Princess Cirilla to the safest place he knows, his childhood home of Kaer Morhen. While the Continent’s kings, elves, humans and demons strive for supremacy outside its walls, he must protect the girl from something far more dangerous: the mysterious power she possesses inside.” Many stars of the season one cast will be reprising their roles, including Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan,...
Mortal Kombat Is a High-Gloss Gore Fest That Repeatedly Delivers: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-22T23:35:23+00:00“>April 22, 2021 | 7:35pm ET The Pitch: Hi, kids. Do you like violence? Get over here and check this out. Mortal Kombat is an ages-old tournament of death between members of the Outworld (mutants, mystics, people with fabulous costumes) and the Earthrealm (UFC fighters, mercenaries, a woman eerily resembling Marjorie Taylor Greene). Sanctioned murder to determine the fate of the world, winning tournaments so the bad guys don’t turn Earth into Mordor. The current tournament’s roster includes heroes like: Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a pit fighter from the South Side of Chicago. Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and his behatted cousin Kung Lao (Max Huang). There’s also Jax (Mechad B...
