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When I first saw the To Be Hero X trailer about a year ago, I was immediately impressed by its heightened sense of style and visual language. The blending of 2D and 3D animation is a difficult line to walk, and the not quite 90 second trailer managed to do so deftly. The warping of perspective and dimension to a hypnotic soundtrack was utterly captivating and barely knowing the premise other than “superhero,” I was sold. So when the screener for the pilot became available, I knew I had to see what the whole world was about.
As it turns out, To Be Hero X is set in a world where Trust (colloquially, public approval, and belief) has a physical, tangible benefit. If the world has entrusted you Trust, you have superpowers. However, even if you had some sort of innate special power, a lack of Trust can actually strip you of your powers.
As such, the vibe of To Be Hero X sort of stands in an entirely different corner of the world than its peers. It’s not a straight up parody like One-Punch Man, nor is it a diehard love letter to the genre like My Hero Academia. Instead, it falls in a sort of realm of playful deconstruction. A little more cynical outlook on large scale organizations managing heroes, but it is certainly a lot more optimistic than say The Boys.
It surprised me how it played with conventions I have seen time and time again, while still feeling fresh. Although, no small part of that is due to the stellar animation. The blend of 2D and 3D works just as well in the opening trailer, accentuating different tones and story beats perfectly. It’s visually delightful, and while busy at times, always feels incredibly easy to read. Lots of different techniques are used in tandem to create something that looks like nothing else on the market (not quite Into the Spider-verse levels of innovation, but it’s still remarkable).
The music’s fantastic. The pilot moves quick (don’t expect story beats explained here. Y’all need to watch it for yourselves), and I am already itching for the next episode.
To Be Hero X is so good that I am planning to revisit a different Haolin Lee work, Link Click, something that ironically didn’t quite click the first go around, but To Be Hero X is that good. It’s really heartening to see CrunchyRoll expand what anime looks like and functionally is, as this series is a collaboration betwen bilibili and aniplex, making it both anime and donghua (Chinese animation).
It is kinetic, it is original, it is just getting started, and if you like superheroics, this is gonna be a must-watch for sure.
To Be Hero X premieres April 5 at 5:30 PM PT only on Crunchyroll!
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The post ‘To Be Hero X’ is Unlike Any Other Superhero Story I’ve Seen, and That Says Many Things appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
When I first saw the To Be Hero X trailer about a year ago, I was immediately impressed by its heightened sense of style and visual language. The blending of 2D and 3D animation is a difficult line to walk, and the not quite 90 second trailer managed to do so deftly. The warping of perspective and dimension to a hypnotic soundtrack was utterly captivating and barely knowing the premise other than “superhero,” I was sold. So when the screener for the pilot became available, I knew I had to see what the whole world was about.
As it turns out, To Be Hero X is set in a world where Trust (colloquially, public approval, and belief) has a physical, tangible benefit. If the world has entrusted you Trust, you have superpowers. However, even if you had some sort of innate special power, a lack of Trust can actually strip you of your powers.
As such, the vibe of To Be Hero X sort of stands in an entirely different corner of the world than its peers. It’s not a straight up parody like One-Punch Man, nor is it a diehard love letter to the genre like My Hero Academia. Instead, it falls in a sort of realm of playful deconstruction. A little more cynical outlook on large scale organizations managing heroes, but it is certainly a lot more optimistic than say The Boys.
It surprised me how it played with conventions I have seen time and time again, while still feeling fresh. Although, no small part of that is due to the stellar animation. The blend of 2D and 3D works just as well in the opening trailer, accentuating different tones and story beats perfectly. It’s visually delightful, and while busy at times, always feels incredibly easy to read. Lots of different techniques are used in tandem to create something that looks like nothing else on the market (not quite Into the Spider-verse levels of innovation, but it’s still remarkable).
The music’s fantastic. The pilot moves quick (don’t expect story beats explained here. Y’all need to watch it for yourselves), and I am already itching for the next episode.
To Be Hero X is so good that I am planning to revisit a different Haolin Lee work, Link Click, something that ironically didn’t quite click the first go around, but To Be Hero X is that good. It’s really heartening to see CrunchyRoll expand what anime looks like and functionally is, as this series is a collaboration betwen bilibili and aniplex, making it both anime and donghua (Chinese animation).
It is kinetic, it is original, it is just getting started, and if you like superheroics, this is gonna be a must-watch for sure.
To Be Hero X premieres April 5 at 5:30 PM PT only on Crunchyroll!
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram!
The post ‘To Be Hero X’ is Unlike Any Other Superhero Story I’ve Seen, and That Says Many Things appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
The long-delayed third film in Disney’s TRON franchise began production in Vancouver in January 2024. The original 1982 TRON was a groundbreaking sci-fi film, using then state-of-the-art computer graphics to realize the world of “the Grid.” This was a digital world, living entirely inside a computer system. Video game developer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) gets sucked into the Grid and has a grand adventure. TRON became a cult classic, and eventually spawned a follow-up film, TRON: Legacy, in 2010. A third TRON movie, TRON: Ares, is on the way. Watch the trailer now.
TRON: Ares will continue the musical legacy of the TRON franchise. This time, Nine Inch Nails will score the movie and create the TRON: Ares soundtrack. We look forward to an earful of that. This change for the score marks the film’s grittier nature, according to director Joachim Rønning. In his interview with Empire, Rønning said that TRON: Ares is a new version of this world that’s more industrial.
“With Nine Inch Nails making the music, this instalment will be a little grittier, a little bit more industrial,” the filmmaker said. “It’s been important for me to contrast The Grid and the real world. In that sense, Nine Inch Nails lends itself perfectly into this new Tron world that we are creating.”
Here’s everything else we know about TRON: Ares.
Title
The name of the third installment of the TRON franchise is TRON: Ares.
TRON: Ares’ Plot
We know next to nothing about the plot for the TRON: Ares. The second film, TRON: Legacy, ended with Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) escaping the digital world of the Grid, with escaped Grid refugee Quorra (Olivia Wilde) in tow. The implications that they were going to change the “real” world were there. Will the third TRON film follow up on that plot point? Rumors are that this installment will be a reboot of sorts. Jared Leto’s character of Ares was not in previous films. The film’s director said the third TRON is “a movie subsequently about AI and what it means, and takes, to be human.”
We do have a brief synopsis for TRON: Ares:
TRON: Ares follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.
Behind-the-Scenes
Sitting in the director’s chair for the third TRON film is Joachim Rønning. Rønning became known thanks to his 2012 film Kon-Tiki, after which Disney hired him to direct Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and the upcoming Disney+ film Young Woman and the Sea. This script is from screenwriter Jesse Wigutow. Nine Inch Nails will score the film, and we hope they take notes from Daft Punk’s iconic score from TRON: Legacy.
Rønning said in a release, “I’m excited to be part of the TRON franchise and bring this new film to fans around the world. TRON: Ares builds upon the legacy of cutting-edge design, technology and storytelling. Now more than ever, it feels like the right time to return to the Grid.”
Sean Bailey, Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, Jared Leto, Emma Ludbrook and Steven Lisberger are the producers, with Russell Allen serving as executive producer.
TRON: Ares’ Cast
Jared Leto is in the lead for TRON: Ares as the (possibly) titular character of Ares, who joined the cast back in 2020. Joining him are Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson.
Jeff Bridges recently revealed that he will also appear in TRON: Ares. “I’m heading off this Saturday to play a part in the third installment of the ‘Tron’ story; I’m excited about that,” he told the Film Comment podcast. “It’s wild. Jared Leto is the star of this third one, and I’m really anxious to work with him, and I’ve admired his work.” We know that his OG character, Kevin Flynn, sacrificed himself in Tron: Legacy but in a way that left his ending open for interpretation. We will see what happens.
TRON: Ares Release Date
TRON: Ares will release on October 10, 2025.
Originally published on January 23, 2024.
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Broadway producer Brian Anthony Moreland’s love for theater began in elementary school.
“I did my first play in the third grade,” Moreland shares as a featured guest of Beyond The Hype with BLACK ENTERPRISE.
“The play was an elementary school revue called Be What You Want To Be, and I was Santa Claus. I don’t remember the performance itself; that memory does not live in my mind. But the beginning, going to start it, standing on the stage, and ending on the stage, that memory I have, and I knew when I was done with that, that I wanted to be in theater.”
That alluring magic of raising and closing curtains has led Moreland to success beyond anything he could have imagined as a third grader. Today, the native Californian is a New Yorker and the lead producer of the highly anticipated Broadway revival of Othello, featuring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, and directed by the acclaimed Kenny Leon, which opens on March 23 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre after setting all-time ticket sales records in previews. In Othello, Washington in the title role and Gyllenhaal as Iago deliver powerful performances in one of Shakespeare’s most searing tragedies—brought to life by two of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors.
With Othello, Moreland is the only Black lead producer on Broadway this season. He has distinguished himself as a visionary lead producer for theatre, film, and television. With two Tony Award nominations, Moreland’s triumphs as a producer on Broadway include the critically acclaimed production of The WIZ, featuring the talents of Wayne Brady and Deborah Cox; August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson, which became the highest-grossing revival of the season and starred Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Brooks, and John David Washington; The Lifespan of a Fact, featuring Cherry Jones, Daniel Radcliffe, and Bobby Cannavale; Sea Wall / A Life, a dual narrative starring Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge; and The Sound Inside, a compelling drama headlined by Mary-Louise Parker.
Moreland’s journey in theater was not a straight line into production but via a more scenic route of lessons, relationships, and experiences as he matured professionally in the industry.
“Through the course of theater, I’ve performed on/off [Broadway], national tours, cruise ships, all that stuff, which then led me to having the opportunity to become a line producer on a project with Otis Sallid and Debbie Allen, and I enjoyed it,” says Moreland.
“There was no secret to it. I just enjoyed it. And I then started slowly dipping my toe in as a co-producer and then moving up to a lead producer with my own projects. And so, I think everyone finds their own path and their own journey to becoming a producer. For me, it was more of a progression. I just got very lucky. I love it; I love all the facets of theater.”
That love is not an optional luxury to be a lead producer but is practically a requisite for success. Moreland makes it clear that to excel in his profession, he must be just as passionate about the business of Broadway as he is about the art of theater.
“The lead producer is the one who is financially responsible for the production,” Moreland states with flat-out emphasis.
“So I sign my name with the SEC, and I am the one who goes out and I raise the capital for the productions. I have a fiduciary responsibility to get my investors their money back and, if there is an opportunity, to create some profit for them as well.
“But like any investment, it’s always a gamble,” he continues. “One out of every five Broadway shows actually recoup. My job is to blend commerce with art, and hopefully, the two can balance out so that people can still invest in Broadway and have Broadway be something that is really profitable, and they can be proud of it and also produce great art.”
Set your calendar and clocks for Moreland’s Beyond The Hype interview that goes live at 12 pm ET this coming Tuesday, March 25.
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