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WIRE Buzz: Amazon's Lord of the Rings casts villain; She-Ra gets non-binary character; more
The upcoming Lord of the Rings prequel has found its villain. The mega-expensive Amazon series has cast Game of Thrones alum Joseph Mawle as the villain known as Oren. The British actor played Benjen 'Coldhands' Stark, First Ranger of The Night's Watch, brother to ill-fated Ned (Sean Bean), and last-minute savior to Jon Snow (Kit Harington) before perishing himself in the show's penultimate season back in 2017.
Much like the plot of the show itself, details about the character are scarce at the moment. However, it's being reported that Oren will be the antagonist opposite the heroes Beldor, played by Midsommar's Will Poulter, and Tyra, played by Markella Kavenagh. Amazon hasn't officially commented on the casting at this time.
The Lord of the Rings prequel is an expensive, ambitious undertaking by the streaming service, which saw substantial success with the equally ambitious (although slightly less expensive) take on Good Omens earlier this year.
(via Deadline)
Next up, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power will introduce a non-binary character in its upcoming fourth season. Jacob Tobia, an author, actor, and activist will provide the voice.
A statement from Dreamworks Animation describes the character, named Double Trouble, as "a non-binary shape-shifting mercenary from the Crimson Waste who joins forces with Catra and the Horde."
"Able to magically transform themselves into any person they see, Double Trouble has the soul of a thespian, spending hours in 'character study' trying to perfectly mimic their target, and always looking for feedback on their ‘performance’ – just don’t ever give them a negative critique," the statement continues.
Tobia also posted an announcement about the character from the Netflix Prism Instagram account.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 4 will kick off Nov. 4 on Netflix. Hopefully, we'll get that He-Man crossover at some point, too.
(via Entertainment Weekly)
Finally, telling someone how to get to Sesame Street will now involve directions to San Diego.
The long-running HBO-by-way-of-public-access series is set to become a 17-acre theme park in the spring of 2021, Sesame Place. The site is currently the Aquatica San Diego water park just south of SeaWorld in San Diego, CA.
The new Sesame Place will feature rides, water attractions, and an interactive Sesame Street neighborhood complete with the iconic 123 Sesame Street stoop. SeaWorld has a long history with Sesame Street, with featured attractions dating back to 2008 in various attractions across the U.S.
The series recently locked in a mega-prolific deal with HBO Max, an upcoming streaming service that will include HBO properties, along with those from The Cartoon Network, DC Universe, and more.
There's no launch date for HBO Max just yet, but Sesame Place will open in Chula Vista, CA sometime in the spring of 2021.
(via Deadline)
