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The original Power Rangers are coming back together to face Rita Repulsa once again in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always. Fans are super hype to see the crew back together again; however, it feels bittersweet in several ways. First, there’s the fairly recent passing of Jason David Frank, who played Tommy on the series, as well as the absence of Amy Jo Johnson, a.k.a. the original Pink Ranger. Johnson spoke up recently to clear the air about why she didn’t return for more Power Rangers action, saying that it wasn’t about money and telling people to mind their beeswax. Fair enough. However, Amy Jo Johnson is writing a new Power Rangers comic book series to celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary. So she’s not done with this wacky universe just yet.
As Variety reports, the Kickstarter campaign “Power Rangers: A 30th Anniversary Comic Book Celebration” hit a whopping $250K in less than 24 hours. (At the time of this post’s publication, it is now at $445K.) Now, Amy Jo Johnson is ready to team up with Boom Studios for this Power Rangers comic book. She actually came up with the idea early in the pandemic and says it will be her version of what happens in this world.
We don’t know any further details at this time but the Kickstarter currently estimates books will go out to supporters in January 2024. There’s also some really cool swag for different donation tiers. It looks like it is indeed Morphin time in more ways than one.
The post Original Pink Ranger Amy Jo Johnson Is Writing a POWER RANGERS Comic Book appeared first on Nerdist.
The original Power Rangers are coming back together to face Rita Repulsa once again in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always. Fans are super hype to see the crew back together again; however, it feels bittersweet in several ways. First, there’s the fairly recent passing of Jason David Frank, who played Tommy on the series, as well as the absence of Amy Jo Johnson, a.k.a. the original Pink Ranger. Johnson spoke up recently to clear the air about why she didn’t return for more Power Rangers action, saying that it wasn’t about money and telling people to mind their beeswax. Fair enough. However, Amy Jo Johnson is writing a new Power Rangers comic book series to celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary. So she’s not done with this wacky universe just yet.
As Variety reports, the Kickstarter campaign “Power Rangers: A 30th Anniversary Comic Book Celebration” hit a whopping $250K in less than 24 hours. (At the time of this post’s publication, it is now at $445K.) Now, Amy Jo Johnson is ready to team up with Boom Studios for this Power Rangers comic book. She actually came up with the idea early in the pandemic and says it will be her version of what happens in this world.
We don’t know any further details at this time but the Kickstarter currently estimates books will go out to supporters in January 2024. There’s also some really cool swag for different donation tiers. It looks like it is indeed Morphin time in more ways than one.
The post Original Pink Ranger Amy Jo Johnson Is Writing a POWER RANGERS Comic Book appeared first on Nerdist.
It’s no secret that a lot of actors really, really get into their roles to the point of never breaking character. Method acting can get pretty wild, like when Tom Hanks lost over 50 pounds and refused to bathe while filming Cast Away. But when it comes to Nic Cage’s time as Dracula in the upcoming film Renfield, that is actually not the case. Director Chris McKay said Nicolas Cage was fully method acting for Renfield; however, the actor says that is simply not the case.
The actor spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, affirming that he was, in fact, not acting like Dracula between scenes. “I just don’t have that recollection, I don’t know why Chris said that,” Cage said. “I had a lot of laughs in between takes with both Chris McKay and Nick Hoult, so maybe that was his experience, maybe because I still had the fangs in my mouth that made me speak a certain way, but that wasn’t my experience.”
Now I’m wondering if those laughs were normal Nicolas Cage laughs or more in the style of The Count from Sesame Street. That character is a parody of Bela Lugosi’s Count Dracula, after all. Either way, the Renfield trailer shows that Nicolas Cage totally nails, no method acting needed, it as the most famous vampire of all time. And that’s what really…counts.
The post No, Nicolas Cage Didn’t Use Method Acting for RENFIELD Role as Dracula appeared first on Nerdist.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse blew everyone away in 2018, introducing mainstream audiences to Spider-Man Miles Morales, as well as a host of multiversal variants of everyone’s favorite wall-crawler. The film was a hit at the box office, and won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. Now, after several delays, the first of two sequels is finally hitting theaters next year, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. A third film, Beyond the Spider-Verse, arrives in 2024.
In addition to these entries, the Spider-Verse franchise will also release a short from Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks. This short will be titled “The Spider Within.” Per Variety, here is the synopsis for this next Miles Morales animation:
In the short, Miles Morales struggles to balance his responsibilities as a teenager, friend and student while acting as Brooklyn’s friendly neighborhood superhero. After a particularly challenging day living with these pressures, Miles experiences a panic attack that forces him to confront the manifestations of his anxiety and learn that reaching out for help can be just as brave an act as protecting his city from evil.
Our favorite heroes face many enemies that seem surreal and very fictional. But anxiety and the pressures of life can fell as all. Allowing Spider-Man to face these issues, especially since he’s really just a teen, will be a powerful thing. The Spider-Verse short will l debut at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June. Hopefully, it will also release to the public soon after that.
In addition, Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks will launch a new mentorship program called LENS (Leading and Empowering New Storytellers). The publication shares that “the new program aims to provide high-potential candidates from underrepresented groups an opportunity to gain valuable leadership experience.”
Here is everything we know about the first, long-awaited continuation of Miles Morales’ adventures across the multiverse.
Title
The title for the first sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘s Plot
In this movie, Miles Morales will reunite with his friends Spider-Gwen and Peter B. Parker, and also team up with Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Punk, and the original Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew. Whatever multi-dimensional shenanigans the story entails will see multiple animation styles at play. The villain is an often mocked villain from the comics, called the Spot. But for the film, they have given the Spot a power upgrade. Now he has abilities that allow for him to create portals to other realms of the multiverse. Early toy reveals for also show that Ben Reilly, the so-called “Spider-Clone” from the ’90s, as well as a Cyborg Spider-Woman also feature in the plot.
Of course, we will also see many new Spider-Man variants in Across the Spider-Verse.
And, per a recent article on Empire, five new worlds in total. According to the article, there’s Spider-Gwen’s Earth-65, which is done in watercolors. Additionally, we’ll visit Mumbattan, an India-inspired world, Nueva York where Spider-Man 2099 lives, and New London, the world of Spider-Punk. There’s one more universe besides all of those, but that’s a secret for now.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘s Cast
Across the Spider-Verse will see many returning cast members from the first film, like Shameik Moore (Miles Morales), Hailee Steinfeld (Gwen Stacy), Jake Johnson (Peter B. Parker), Oscar Isaac (Spider-Man 2099), Brian Tyree Henry (Jefferson Davis), Luna Lauren Vélez (Rio Morales), Issa Rae (Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman), Jason Schwartzman (the Spot), and Daniel Kaluuya (Spider-Punk). Shea Whigham is also part of the cast, as police captain George Stacy, Gwen’s father. Jorma Taccone plays the Vulture, as a secondary villain.
Recently, we learned that Deadpool franchise actor Karan Soni would join Across the Spider-Verse as Pavitr Prabhakar or Spider-Man India. This is an exciting addition to an already incredible cast.
There’s no official word yet if we’ll see cameos from some characters from Into the Spider-Verse not officially listed in the cast for the sequel. As far as the official cast listing, there’s no indication that variants like Peter Porker will appear again. But it would not surprise us to see some of them. It would also not shock us to see and hear animated versions of the live-action Spider-Mans like Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire, although none of them are confirmed.
One Spider-Man we won’t see returning, though is Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man Noir. Here’s what Cage had to say about Spider-Man Noir’s presence in Across the Spider-Verse.
You’d have to ask Sony. I don’t know what’s going on with that… No one’s spoken to me about that. Ask them. I don’t know. I really don’t. I wish they would. I love Spider-Man Noir, too. I think that’s a great character. Spider-Man’s the coolest superhero. And then you combine that with [James] Cagney and [Humphrey] Bogart and Edward G. Robinson, come on, it’s a great character.
That’s one Spider-Man variant we’re sad to see go.
Behind the Scenes
Across the Spider-Verse is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, in their feature directorial debuts. The script comes from the original film’s writing team of Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham. Like the first film, this one is a Sony Pictures Animation production, and Marvel Studios had no involvement.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘s Release Date
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hits theaters on June 2, 2023.
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