WIRE Buzz: Solar Opposites trailer; Reebok's Alien Day Shoes; Studio Ghibli wallpapers

After showing off a first glimpse at Rick & Morty creator Justin Roiland and Rick & Morty head writer Mike McMahan's upcoming sci-fi show Solar Opposites a few weeks ago, Hulu has dropped the first R-rated trailer for the madcap take on 3rd Rock from the Sun's planetarily displaced premise.

Basically, a group of aliens escaped to Earth from their exploding home planet, Kal-El style, and are trying to make it work on humanity's bizarre homeworld. Two hate it - Korvo (Justin Roiland) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambroni) - and two love it - Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack). In the middle is the "baby" known as Pupa, who's actually a supercomputer that will one day consume the aliens and change the Earth forever. Normal alien stuff. In the meantime, expect plenty of sci-fi weirdness and profane violence coming from these intergalactic ambassadors.

Take a look:

Pouring soda on your dissected classmate's brain is definitely not in the biology class code of conduct. And helping a disabled man walk again only counts as a good deed if he doesn't immediately drown himself afterwards. Basically, think of everything Rick could do to humans if he wasn't a bored drunk, and these aliens do it. And cocaine. They do lots of cocaine.

The show's extensive list of guest stars includes Alan Tudyk, Alfred Molina, Andy Daly, Christina Hendricks, Jason Mantzoukas, Ken Marino, Liam Cunningham, Nat Faxon, Natalie Morales, Neil Flynn, Phil LaMarr, Rainn Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Tom Kenny, and way more.

Solar Opposites brings its alien antics to us humans on May 8.

Next, Reebok has made it a tradition to release a new pair of sneakers themed around James Cameron’s Aliens each year on Alien Day. That holiday, for the uninitiated, is on April 26 because 4/26 translates to LV-426, which is the name of the moon where the xenomorphs are discovered. 

Any company whose shoes are worn by Ripley as she kicks xenomorph butt during one of the best sci-fi movies of all time deserves to milk it. Often, these kicks look like the red-and-white high-tops sported by Ripley in the franchise’s second film. Sometimes, there’s a twist in the colorway that takes a thematic turn — like black, high-sheen patent leather to represent the Queen. This year, Reebok is leaning into a military angle.

This year’s Alien Day offerings, found here, take the same look and build of the throwback footwear and give it a camo twist. These Bug Stompers, “inspired by the ones worn in a legendary 1986 science fiction movie” as the product copy reads, are leather and feature a strap making them “easy to slip on and off quickly for quick scene changes.” They’re also emblazoned with the phrase “Bug Stomper” in case the camo and Aliens reference was too subtle.

Check them out:

Source: Reebok

The $240 U.S.M.C. Bug Stompers will drop April 25, presumably right before Alien Day starts.

Finally, the artists behind some of the most beloved animated films in history have put together a small library of images for one of the most important factors in fans' day-to-day lives: video calls.

While Zooms, Skypes, and more have seen a massive increase in popularity since the coronavirus sent many workers to home offices around the world, people want to customize their backgrounds so their co-workers can't see their homes that may or may not have gotten a little dirty while fans binge Netflix shows. That's why Studio Ghibli has made eight background images, from eight of its different films, available to download to spice up video meetings

Here's just a preview:

Source: Studio Ghibli

The films represented - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, and The Secret World of Arrietty - include some of Ghibli's best, offered up like never before.

Now fans can insert themselves into some of their favorite anime movies during working hours. And that won't be all: the website hints that more will be coming in the future.