This week on the Rundown, Taryn discusses Doctor Strange rumors, the legal challenges to the Microsoft-Activison deal, and tons of product deals from Amazon, Samsung, and more merch, like a Mandalorian Potato Head?
Written transcript / article and show links below:
Welcome to The Rundown with Nerd Union! I’m Taryn Belle, reporting for the weekend of January 21st, 2022.
MOVIES
The synopsis for the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel may confirm that the multiverse Doctor Strange is the primary threat. In an updated synopsis on Disney’s Japan site and translated by Cosmic Circus, reveals that the villain bears a striking resemblance to Strange. The multiverse Strange was included in the Multiverse of Madness trailer last year. While other threats were shown in the trailer, like Mordo or Gargantos, this description leans more towards the doppelganger being the biggest worry.
We have even more teases for Doctor Strange; While we did get a glimpse of America Chavez in the latest Multiverse trailer, recent promo art over on artist Jerry Wilson’s Instagram page gives us a good look at her face and full uniform, showcasing her classic denim jacket and star design. One thing you might have seen in a blink and miss moment was a variant of Doctor Strange that works with the Defenders…you know, the New York based team that features Matt Murdock, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist. A new shot of the Marvel Legend series statue, captured by Twitter user eljaunleon gives us a great look at this version of Strange, sporting a ponytail and new uniform.
Set photos from Disney’s The Marvels may clue us in on the new cast members. On a Instagram post from new cast member Zenobia Shroff, the picture’s background showed headshots of actors from previous Marvel series, like Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie or newcomers Seo Hun Park and Shroff in currently unrevealed roles, though speculation has it that Shroff will be Kamala Khan’s mother.
When The Eternals 4K blu ray releases next month, it will feature a number of deleted scenes, mostly consisting of different team members, discussing popular culture, more interactions in London, or an additional scene in Babylon. The extra features will also include an audio commentary from Chloe Zhao, interviews with the cast and crew regarding diversity and of course, a gag reel. You can grab the Eternal 4K bluray on February 15th, if you prefer to stream the extra features or catch the Assembled episode of Eternals though, you’ll have to wait until March.
STREAMING
If you’ve wanted to try out HBO Max, there’s a massive sale that you’ll want to take advantage of. The Verge is reporting that you can currently grab either the Ad-supported or non-Ad version of HBO Max for 20% less than it’s normal price.
Ready for more Disney+ spin-off series? The correct answer is: I Am Groot. That is the title of the newly announced animated series, coming in 2022, which will be focused on Baby Groot. As a lover of cute baby sci-fi creatures, I honestly am surprised I had forgotten this series had been announced back at Disney Investor Day 2020, so now that it’s back on my radar, I’m extremely excited that it has not fallen off the production lineup. The Direct notes that Kirsten Lepore has been confirmed as executive producer and director of the series. The official title card for Marvel Studios’ I AM GROOT shows Baby Groot supporting some mossy accents, such as a pompadour, mustache, chest hair, and exaggerated biceps or possibly shirtsleeves. The only other information released regarding the plot is that there will be “unexpected characters from MCU canon and lore,” according to Kevin Feige, himself. What can I say except: We Are Groot!!
Hulu has greenlit a new show to get reloaded? restarted?….rebooted! That’s it. While it shares the same name as that classic ABC, CGI-cartoon, the pilot revealed a comedy from 20th Television and showrunner Steven Levithan will play off studios’ constant rebooting of shows and various properties, with Judy Greer (of Arrested Development and Halloween series fame) playing the lead who’s brought back with her previous castmates, either all grown up or dealing with fresh challenges in the modern TV environment. Keegan Michael Key and Johnny Knoxville are set to star alongside in the fictional show as fellow actors, with Rachel Bloom as a modern writer, amid newcomers Calum Worthy as a hip-hop artist and Krista Marie Yu representing the fictional studio corporation. No word yet on when the show will debut.
AWARDS & EVENTS
Sony’s runaway box office hit Spider-Man: No Way Home will not qualify for this year’s BAFTAs. The studio didn’t provide the film for voters to view as part of the normal procedure and failed to quality, though Sony hasn’t confirmed with Deadline if this issue is due to them attempting to respect the theatrical window or prevent further leaks when the deadline was established.
Tickets are on sale now for Disney’s yearly expo, D23, which is currently set to happen Sept 9-11th, 2022 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. While you need a D23 account to sign up for tickets, you don’t have to have their paid, gold membership to purchase, although doing so can save you some dough on their individual or full event passes. If you wanted the Hall D23 experience however, those tickets sold out within the first hour. With no word yet if any of the events will be hybrid, those lucky fans may get the exclusive privilege of seeing new Disney content trailers and announcements in-person which hasn’t happened since the pandemic started.
GAMING
The biggest news this week came from Microsoft and Activision, as the Xbox creator announced they would purchase the legally-embattled company for $68 billion dollars in a cash deal set to conclude next year. But that doesn’t mean the merger is approved yet and it will have legal hurdles to overcome, primarily anti-trust issues and the sexual harassment case that’s currently plagued Activision and it’s work culture would become Microsoft’s issue to handle. There’s been no clear gauge on how Microsoft’s deal will be perceived by regulators or how they plan to address the toxic work culture within Activision’s doors. Xbox Chief Phil Spencer did try to allay fears this morning, tweeting that existing deals with Activision and Sony for example will continue, but given the studio gold rush that’s occurred recently, it’s still going to raise eyebrows about how competitive the gaming landscape is going to remain.
MERCH
There’s more sales that dropped this week, like grabbing the Samsung Galaxy S21FE that will net you $100 Amazon gift card with purchase over on their site. If you have a Nintendo Online subscription, there’s an exclusive offer for members that will net you the classic NES controllers for only $35 bucks, down from their normal $65 dollar price tag. For more on those deals and others that happened through the week, check out the link in our show notes.
How can you make the relationship between The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda even cuter…make them into Potato Head figures. In February, Hasbro is releasing “The Yamalorian” Potato Head toy based off the title character, featuring all this gear and a pouch containing our favorite little Jedi-spud-in-training Grogu. If you think “Spuds Are The Way” like Hasbro does, you can pre-order it for $15 dollars over on their website.
In inclusivity news, Lego’s headquarters in Denmark recently pledged to eliminate gender stereotypes from their toy products. Lego stated, and I quote, “The company will ensure any child, regardless of gender identity, feels they can build anything they like … free of gender bias and harmful stereotypes” and went onto to say that society on a wider scale needs to “rebuild perceptions.” In another statement emailed to NBCNews, Lego noted that their marketing department is transitioning from gender-specific language to framing product groups through interests and passions; the company also highlighted a playbook update for the product design and marketing team members focused on inclusivity and diversity.
About Author
