It has been a massive week with a lot of stuff going, particularly, with all the Marvel and Star Wars announcements that came out of the big Disney investors meeting. Naturally, it’s one of my biggest Nerd News Headlines segments as I recap it all. But that’s not all! I also head out to sample Dairy Queen’s Peppermint Hot Cocoa Blizzard in another Mark Tastes Random Things, and in The Streaming Report, I check out The Grinch and Noelle.
All in Episode 10.32: Bundle Up!
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My social media feeds lit up this afternoon because Disney had their annual investors meeting. This is where Disney pretty much laid out their slate for the next five years, and because COVID cancelled all the cons, this is where all the big announcements they would have made throughout the year were made. There was a ton of stuff, especially in the realm of Star Wars and Marvel. Since I was rapidly texting it to all my friends, and there's far too much to tweet, I figured I'd fire up the ol' blog and share everything here.
Firstly, the Star Wars announcements. The TV shows. Let's start with the one that made me squeal:
Obi-Wan Kenobi - Hayden Christensen is back as Darth Vader! And the show is officially titled Obi-Wan Kenobi. Takes place 10 years after Revenge of the Sith
Ahsoka - Live action Ahsoka Tano show starring Rosario Dawson
Rangers of the New Republic - Soldiers of the New Republic, taking place during the time of the Mandalorian
Lando - Lando's getting a show! Justin Simien, creator of the Netflix show Dear White People, has been hired to develop it.
The Acolyte - This is the mystery project from Leslye Hedland, creator of the Netflix show Russian Doll. It's "a mystery thriller set in the time of the High Republic." The High Republic is 100 years before Phantom Menace
Star Wars Visions - An animated series. Japanese animators giving us some anime short films set in the Star Wars universe.
And here's our first trailer for the Cassian Andor series, titled Andor.
Films:
A Droid Story - An animated film about R2-D2 and C-3P0 mentoring a young droid. Going straight to Disney+.
The Taika Waititi Film - Still nothing is known, just that they confirmed it's still happening.
And the showstopper that ended the Lucasfilm presentation.
Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins is doing a Rogue Squadron film. The first Star Wars film to come to theatres, coming Christmas Day 2022.
And now on to the Marvel stuff. Let's get the trailers out of the way first.
New trailer for WandaVision. Hitting Disney+ on January 15.
First trailer for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Hitting Disney+ on March 19.
First trailer for Loki. Hitting Disney+ this May.
First trailer for What If...? Hitting Disney+ Summer 2021.
First look at Ms. Marvel. Hitting Disney+ late 2021
What else we got?
It's finally official! Sam Raimi, director of the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy, is directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and it will directly tie-in to WandaVision and the next Spider-Man film. March 25, 2022.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has officially wrapped. Coming on July 9, 2021
Captain Marvel 2 is coming November 11, 2022. After being introduced in her own show on Disney+, Iman Villani will be reprising her role of Ms. Marvel in the film. And after being introduced in WandaVision, Teyonah Paris will be back as Monica Rambeau.
It's finally official: Hailee Steinfeld is Kate Bishop in Hawkeye.
It's finally official: Tatiana Maslany is She-Hulk in She-Hulk. Mark Ruffalo is back as Hulk and, the announcement we've been waiting for since 2008, Tim Roth is back as Abomination.
The title of the Nick Fury series is Secret Invasion. Samuel L. Jackson is back as Fury, Ben Mendehlson is back as the Skrull Talos.
Riri Williams/Ironheart is getting her own show on Disney+! Riri will be played by Dominique Thorne
War Machine is getting his own show on Disney+! The title? Armor Wars. Don Cheadle is back as Jim Rhodes/War Machine.
In addition to Guardians of the Galaxy 3, James Gunn will be giving us the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Dropping on Disney+ Christmas 2022.
Batman himself Christian Bale has joined the cast of Thor: Love and Thunder. He's playing the villain, Gorr the God Butcher.
The title of the third Ant-Man is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Jonathon Majors is Kang the Conqueror.
And the final announcement: once he's done the MCU Spider-Man trilogy, director Jon Watts will be giving us the MCU's Fantastic Four.
I love Pixar, so let's sum up the Pixar announcements, too. Firstly, they've got a bunch of new shows coming to Disney+:
Dug Days - Dug, everyone's favourite talking dog from Up get his own show as he explores suburbia. Coming fall 2021.
Untitled Cars Series - Mater and Lightening McQueen go on a road trip. Coming fall 2022
Win or Lose - Pixar's first original series (i.e. not based on one of their existing properties.) We follow a middle school baseball team as they work their way to the championship. Each episode will be told by a different player on the team. Coming fall 2023.
And the films:
Turning Red - From director Domee Shi, who picked up the Oscar for best short film for her Pixar short Bao. Following the adventures of Mei, a teen girl who turns into a giant red panda when she gets overexcited. Coming March 2022.
And the one that made the Internet sit up and take notice
Lightyear - The "true" story of the "real" astronaut who inspired the action figure. Starring Chris Evans as the "real" Buzz Lightyear. July 2022.
And the last one that caught my eye...in fact the one that opened their presentation. Disney is finally going to add a "mature audiences" section to Disney+. Called Star, this is where you'll find some of the more mature franchises Disney has thanks to the Fox buyout. You know, stuff like Deadpool, Die Hard, and Alien. That launches on February 23, and you won't have to pay extra for it.
And that's all I have to say about that.
As is my custom, I am blogging my annual Christmas card letter, for those I may have drifted away from and are googling my name out of curiosity.
Good day! Mark Cappis here, updating you on how his 2020 is going.
I like the picture I included this year. It’s the last known photo of my radio career.
St. Patrick’s Day, 2020. I bought a snazzy new green shirt for the day. Thanks to watching my weight, it was the first time in years I’d confidently bought a 2XL shirt. I decided to take that “selfie in front of the station logo” that so many radio folks do. When that was done, I went back on the air to read the latest update about the COVID-19 pandemic. The station’s salesperson rolled his eyes at my newscast. “Look at me!” he said. “I just got back from Mexico, and I don’t need to self-isolate because I’m feeling fine! This COVID-19 is just a bunch of fake news.”
My doctor didn’t think so when I saw him a few days later about a prescription. I was ordered in to two weeks self-isolation for coming into contact with a foreign traveler who was refusing to self-isolate. At the end of the first week was when I got the call: a temporary layoff notice.
(As I copy-paste this over to my blog, I realize that some may infer I was laid off because I was self-isolating. That's not the case at all. I was one of ninety people the Company laid off at the end of March. The pandemic has not been kind to radio. It seems that every month another broadcaster is announcing another round of mass layoffs.)
I figured, “Hey, it’s temporary. I’ve got CERB. $2000 a month is pretty much my salary, so I’ll enjoy this paid vacation.” Yup, I’m one of those guys the politicians warned you about. I was living high on CERB, eating cheezies and watching cartoons. Although, if I knew I could have cheezies, I wouldn’t have blown it on my rent. The notice said the temporary layoff would end in six months, and at the end of September I got the call: the temporary layoff was being upgraded to permanent.
And that brings us to the now. Haven’t tried on that green shirt in a while. Stress eating (and Westlock’s new Dairy Queen) kind of threw my diet out of whack. With CERB done, I’m on EI. Fourteen years with the Company resulted in a not-too-bad severance package, and with the economy being the way it is, I figure I’ll coast through the holidays and start job hunting with a passion in the new year.
Not gonna lie...I’m scared. I’m 43. That’s too old to start over. But then they also told me I was too old to start over when, at the ripe old age of 26, I went back to school to fulfill my dream of being on the radio.
I’ve done it before. I can do it again.
Anyway, I hope your 2020 treated you a lot better. Merry Christmas, and all the best in 2021.
Mark Cappis
Had a pretty busy week gathering stuff for this here show. The viral sensation this past week was Spotify’s 2020 Wrapped, where they told you your music preferences in the past year, so I share mine. We’ve got another Mark Tastes Random Things, where I sample KFC’s Cinnamon Dessert Biscuit. In The Streaming Report, I’m diving into some obscure Christmas specials. And the Nerd News Headlines brings you the latest casting news on Marvel’s Hawkeye TV series.
All in Episode 10.31: Zeroes Across the Board!
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