WIRE Buzz: Universal Studios' VelociCoaster teases raptor racers; Star Trek fundraiser; Deadpool podcast

Universal Studios Orlando’s new dino-inspired ride, the VelociCoaster, is roaring to life in a new teaser trailer showing off its slick ride vehicles that let guests race raptors at super high speeds. 

In the 27-second clip below, we find out the toothy ride — which, according to Collider will become Florida’s fastest and tallest launch coaster upon opening in 2021 — is “designed for speed” and “engineered for the hunt.” We also get a good look at some of the InGen-branded vehicles, named for the fictional company behind the creation of the fictional Jurassic Park on the fictional island of Isla Nublar.

Check it out:

The VelociCoaster is the latest installment in the Jurassic Park area inside the Universal Studios Orlando park, Islands of Adventure. (Yes, the ride is branded as a Jurassic World attraction, which perhaps creates some canonical challenges for the real-world theme park, since the fictional Jurassic Park and the parks found in the Jurassic World films technically never existed at the same time.)

Canon or not, the ride will jettison guests up to 70 mph and 150 feet in the air, higher than any flesh-and-blood velociraptor could jump, even Chris Pratt’s beloved Blue.  

The VelociCoaster opens at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida in Summer 2021.

(SYFY WIRE and Universal Studios are both properties of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.)

A crew of Star Trek cast members are getting together virtually once again, this time to raise money for Georgia’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidates, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

Deadline reports that the event will take place at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 12. Tickets are open to anyone and start at $5 (the Tribble level) and can go up to $500 (the Vulcan level). Crew members taking part include Alison Pill, Anthony Rapp, Brent Spiner, Evan Evagora, Gates McFadden, George Takei, Isa Briones, Jeri Ryan, Jonathan Del Arco, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Sonequa Martin-Green, Wil Wheaton, Wilson Cruz, and Captain Kathryn Janeway herself, Kate Mulgrew.

Stacy Abrams, a proven Trekkie as well as the former Democratic candidate for Georgia Governor, will also take part in the event. This is the second Trek reunion in recent history, as Abrams and members of the various casts held a similar event in October for President-elect Joe Biden.

Interested in taking part in the event? You can sign up here.

Rob Liefeld, the artist who created Deadpool (aka Wade Wilson) is celebrating the character’s 30th anniversary via podcast. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Liefeld will cover 30 years living with the Merc with a Mouth over five episodes on his podcast, Robservations with Rob Liefeld. The episodes are scheduled to drop in January.

In addition to the podcast episodes — where Liefeld says he will share “untold tales” — the artist will also be drawing 30 covers for Marvel Comics next year, including a contribution to the March one-shot, Deadpool Nerdy 30, which will have a number of Deadpool stories told by various artists.

Ryan Reynolds, who plays the character in live action, confirmed back in December 2019 that Deadpool 3 is still in the works after the Disney/20th Century Fox deal. Liefeld, however, has been less optimistic about it happening in a way that he thinks will do justice to the character. No news yet on whether he’ll dig into that more during his five-episode podcast into his history with Wade Wilson dropping next month.