Welcome to The Rundown report (as gathered by Taryn Belle) with Nerd Union for June 4th, 2021 (Happy Pride Month!).
MOVIES
James Gunn revealed on Twitter that his upcoming film Suicide Squad is going to feature original tracks not only from ONE of his favorite current musical artists but TWO! He tweeted: “So one of my favorite current musical artists wrote & recorded a song for #TheSuicideSquad & I feel like I’m standing so close to a pop classic that it’s burning my brain. I have been singing it non-stop for a week. Can’t wait to share… soon.” before adding: “In all honesty it actually features TWO of my favorite new artists who I’ve professed love for in the past.”
Zachary Levi took to Instagram to celebrate Shazam: Fury of the Gods starting production in Atlanta, Georgia. The Shazam! star shared a retrospective of gratitude to all who supported him over the years and how 16-year-old Zachary would be in shock if he knew just what the future held for his acting career. The actor paired the heartfelt message with a photo of special edition Shazam themed Nike air he had commissioned through the custom kicks company Geeky Blinders.
Indiana Jones 5 is set to begin production in the UK this coming week, according to yahoo!Entertainment: “Logan director James Mangold is taking over directing reins from Steven Spielberg, who still is serving as a producer and very much involved in various elements of the film. Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanuel are also producing. John Williams, who has worked on every score in the 40-year-old franchise including its iconic theme, is also returning as composer.”
Marvel Studios has once again updated their official logo for the Captain Marvel sequel to bridge the gap between the original Captain Marvel 2 design and the logo announcing the change of title to The Marvels. The new logo is meant to represent the symbols of all three Marvels set to star in the Phase 4 movie: the gold-red lettering overall of Captain Marvel and the cosmic blue background for Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, a transparent Spectrum symbol of the “A” in “Marvels” for Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau, and the Ms. Marvel “S” at the end for Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan.
Knives Out 2 has landed in Greece to begin filming over the summer and the film has officially added Kate Hudson to the growing star-studded cast list. Greek City Times released a photo of Hudson with Greece’s Consul General Evgenia Beniatoglou as the cast was welcomed to the country. The article also notes that Dave Bautista’s mother is Greek, but it is unclear if his familial connection to the filming location will play into the film.
According to Deadline, Jonathan Majors is in talks to star against Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed in the upcoming Creed III movie which marks Michael B. Jordan’s first time as a director. Majors has been gaining a lot of worthy buzz over the last year due to his previous roles in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Da 5 Bloods, and Lovecraft Country as well as joining the MCU as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Killmonger vs. Kang? Bring it on!
SHOWS & SERIES
Brazilian singer Liniker will be starring in Amazon Prime Video series September Mornings, which follows “a trans woman whose dreams are suddenly halted when she learns she may have a son.” EW exclusively debuted the first trailer for the five-episode drama, which comes out June 25th. According to Wikipedia, “Liniker is an openly trans woman, and her music is an influence on young Brazilians facing gender discrimination, an audience which ‘rarely finds itself represented in Brazilian music.’”
Over at Nickelodeon, Blue’s Clues started off Pride Month with a special episode that included RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11 contestant Nina West leading a sing-along Pride Parade. Sung to the tune of “The Ants Go Marching,” the lyrics feature LGBTQ+ references which include naming identities such as Ace, Bi, Pan, and multiple positive shout outs to queer families, as found on the “Blue’s Clues & You!” YouTube channel. This is a continued thread from Blue’s Clues alphabet song from earlier this year including “‘P’ is for Pride” while a host of LGBTQ+ flags appeared for illustration.
Netflix has officially announced via Twitter, that Jenna Ortega will be playing the titular character Wednesday in the upcoming spin-off from the Addams Family. Directed and executively produced by Tim Burton in his TV-directorial debut, Wednesday is a “sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday’s years as a student at the peculiar Nevermore Academy. Wednesday’s attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago – all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships of the strange and diverse student body.”
Deadline reports that Freddie Stroma has replaced Chris Conrad in HBO Max’s Peacemaker show starring John Cena. “Vigilante, otherwise known as Adrian Chase, (is) a hand-to-hand combatant, a brilliant marksman and a master of the lariat. He was a New York City DA who sought justice in his own way as his alter ego after his wife and kids were killed by mobsters. Vigilante also has the ability to heal quickly and regenerate his body from injuries as serious as stabbings or gunshot wounds. Conrad had originally been cast to play the character but is leaving amicably due to creative differences.”
The official Twitter for news on Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has released a new poster as part of their “For Your Consideration: Outstanding Drama Series” campaign for Emmy nomination. It includes Carl Lumbley’s Isaiah Bradley spotlighted at the top, which is actually the first static promo image featuring his character, who was an integral element for the show’s storyline of Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson wrestling with the meaning and symbolism behind Captain America’s shield as a mantle passed directly to him from Steve Rogers.
FX has announced the premiere dates for Archer, What We Do in the Shadows, and a new show Y: The Last Man according to CBR.com. Archer premieres Wednesday August 25th at 10pm with two episodes. What We Do in the Shadow is set for Thursday September 2nd at 10 pm, also with two episodes. Both of those shows will air on FX first, then be available on Hulu the next day. Y: The Last Man premieres Monday September 13th on both FX and Hulu.
ACTORS
Red Nose Day Live is coming up on May 27th and EW has the scoop on more stars taking part in the Comic Relief US event: Jack Black, D’Arcy Carden, Paul Beattany, Jennifer Garner, Tony Hale, Jason Alexander, Joel McHale, Justin Long, and Seth Green. The show “which raises money to combat child poverty, is taking a multiplatform approach for this year’s installment. It all starts at 5:30 p.m. ET with a pass-the-baton-style approach, moving across creator channels and streams. But the easiest way to view it is on Red Nose Day’s YouTube channel or at RedNoseDay.Org/Live, powered by fundraising platform Tiltify.”
John Mulaney is making a comedic comeback by adding 10 more dates to his current standup tour. All 10 shows will be perform between August 14th and 21st at Boston’s Wilbur Theater, per yahoo!Entertainment. After taking a break at the end of 2020 to voluntarily check into a rehabilitation center, Mulaney’s new tour has been reported to contain completely fresh material that included his substance abuse and mental health struggles. A Vulture review noted, “‘Candid, loose, sometimes hard to watch, sometimes so funny it made the audience convulse in laughter, it was a writing session … He was doing all-new material, not attempting to work in any of the jokes he was building in outdoor shows before rehab. It was raw, both in its frankness and in the complete lack of polish that we typically associate with Mulaney’s work.’” Here’s to hoping this tour is a cathartic self-expression for Mulaney along his journey of self-care.
CONS
E3Expo 2021 is almost here! The online interactive convention is being held June 12th-15th, 2021. According to GameSpot: “The schedule so far includes Geoff Keighley’s Kick Off event on June 10, followed by Ubisoft Forward on June 12. The Xbox/Bethesda briefing is slated for June 13, with Razer’s event following on June 14. Sony is not expected to show up at all. An E3 2021 awards show will cap things off on June 15.”
GAMING Speaking of E3, Nintendo announced via their official Twitter that Nintendo Direct showcase is slated for June 15th at 9am PT and will feature exclusive information on Nintendo Switch software (with most releasing in 2021) and then transitioning into roughly 3 hours of Nintendo Treehouse Live gameplay footage.
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