Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
WIRE Buzz: Anakin's Force Ghost almost appeared in The Last Jedi; Tom & Jerry could hit HBO Max; & Adult Swim
As divisive as Star Wars: The Last Jedi is, it could've been a lot more controversial among fans. Answering a fan question on Twitter, writer-director Rian Johnson admitted that he considered bringing Anakin's Force Ghost into the scene where Luke freaks out over the sacred Jedi texts catching fire.
In the end, he decided to go for Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) instead. "Luke's relationship was with Vader not really Anakin, which seemed like it would complicate things more than that moment allowed," the filmmaker wrote. "Yoda felt like the more impactful teacher for that moment."
Johnson's instincts proved right since Luke's only interaction with Anakin's Ghost was during the Ewok celebration at the very end of Episode VI.
At the end of Last Jedi, we learn that Rey (Daisy Ridley) stole the books before leaving Ahch-To.
Johnson's professional relationship with Oz continued into the director's follow-up project, the inverted whodunit, Knives Out.
Warner Bros.' Tom & Jerry movie could follow in the footsteps of Wonder Woman 1984 and receive a dual rollout in theaters and on HBO Max. According to a new report from Variety, the studio is considering a similar option for the feature, which is currently scheduled to open in theaters in early March 2021. Helmed by Fantastic Four and Shaft director Tim Story, Tom & Jerry (a Roger Rabbit-esque blend of CGI and live-action) debuted its first trailer in November.
The contemporary update of the WWII-era cartoon co-stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney, and Ken Jeong.
WB reportedly thought about a similar strategy for the James Wan-produced Mortal Kombat adaptation, but that project is expected to simply be delayed. Not too long ago, producer Todd Garnder tweeted that the film (directed by Simon McQuoid) still has a few more shooting days left.
"We won’t have a release date for the movie until theaters re-open. Same for trailer," he wrote.
Originally slated to open in early June of this year, the Wonder Woman sequel arrives in theaters and on HBO Max Christmas Day (Friday, Dec. 25).
Adult Swim's block of surrealist animation has a new member: Teenage Euthanasia. Premiering in 2021, the new series is described as "a dystopic coming-of-all-ages comedy series about death, family, and accidental resurrection." The show was created by Alissa Nutting (Made for Love) and Alyson Levy (The Shivering Truth).
Taking place in "a mildly apocalyptic near-future," Teenage Euthanasia follows the Fantasy Family, which operates a Florida funeral home called Tender Endings. As a teenager, Trophy Fantasy (Maria Bamford) ran away from home, leaving her teenage daughter, Euthanasia "Annie" Fantasy (Jo Firestone) to be raised by her Oedipus-complex-stricken Uncle Pete (Tim Robinson) "old country" immigrant grandmother Baba (Bebe Neuwirth).
Fifteen years later, Trophy returns to the funeral home as a recently-deceased corpse for burial. "But when a bolt of lightning strikes Baba's homemade embalming fluid, and one of Annie's tears magically bring Trophy back from the dead, Trophy finds herself a resurrected woman with a second chance at unplanned parenthood (and a variety of quasi-useful death powers)," teases the official synopsis.
"With Teenage Euthanasia, Alissa and Alyson have created both a world and a family that everyone can relate to, laugh at, and ultimately feel relieved that they aren’t a part of," Michael Ouweleen, president of Adult Swim, said in a statement.
Co-produced by PFFR, the show is animated by Augenblick Studios.
