WIRE Buzz: Resident Evil film wraps; Cobra Kai S3 absence explained; Westworld throwback

While fans wait for Season 4 of Westworld, they can revisit the classic 1973 film that inspired the hit HBO series from Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan.

To inform viewers that Michael Crichton's original movie is now streaming on HBO Max, the streaming service re-edited footage from the 47-year-old feature to make a "modern trailer" that recalls the sinister nature of the fomenting robot rebellion seen within the confines of the TV show. Written and directed by Crichton, Westworld starred Richard Benjamin and James Brolin as two guests visiting the titular park. What begins as a fun sci-fi excursion turns into a battle for survival when the Gunslinger android (played by Yul Brynner) goes rogue and starts killing customers for real.

Check out the "modern trailer" below:

The film was a moderate box office success, bringing in $10 million against a production budget of $1.2 million. A sequel, Futureworld, was released in 1976 with a TV series (titled Beyond Westworld) following in 1980 for a total of five episodes. Joy and Nolan's interpretation of the source material was renewed for a fourth season in April of this year.

"From the western theme park to the technocratic metropolis of the near future, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed every twist and turn from the minds of master storytellers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy," HBO programming chief Casey Bloys said at the time. "We can’t wait to see where their inspired vision takes us next.”

Cobrai Kai's third season is almost upon us, but it won't feature the character of Aisha (played by Nichole Brown). The actress confirmed the news last September, but until now, fans didn't have an explanation as to why. Speaking with TVLine, executive producer/co-showrunner Jon Hurwitz corroborated Aisha's absence and stated that her disappearance will be addressed in the season opener.

“We love Aisha and we love Nichole Brown,” he said. “Certain characters we loved in Season 1 didn’t appear at all in Season 2, like Kyler, Yasmine and Louie. Before the season, we told Nichole the same thing we told those actors: That just because a character doesn’t appear for a period of time doesn’t mean they’ve left the universe, that they can’t return again. We love that character, and perhaps we’ll see her again one day."

“We have a long story left to tell," added fellow EP/co-showrunner Josh Heald. "We tend to look at the show in a very long view, where entrances and exits are impactful and important. Sometimes people need to exit to make their [re-entry] a little bit different and bigger."

Season 3 of the Karate Kid sequel series premieres on Netflix this Friday (Jan. 1) — a week earlier than originally planned.

And lastly, Sony's new Resident Evil movie has wrapped up production, the studio revealed on Twitter.

Written and directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down), the big screen reboot will take place across one night in the titular city, circa 1998. Donal Logue ("Chief Irons"), Kaya Scodelario ("Claire Redfield"), Hannah John-Kamen ("Jill Valentine"), Robbie Amell ("Chris Redfield"), Tom Hopper ("Albert Wesker"), Avan Jogia ("Leon Kennedy"), Neal McDonough ("William Birkin"), Chad Rook (The Flash), and Lily Gao (The Handmaid’s Tale) co-star.

Inspired by the best-selling Capcom video game franchise, Resident Evil is expected to arrive sometime in 2021. The first look above alludes to the late '90s setting with a bulky television set filled with ominous static.

In addition, Netflix is working on two Resident Evil TV shows. One is live-action and the other is animated.