WIRE Buzz: Endgame and GoT dominate MTV noms; Emma Thompson in talks for Cruella; more

The 2019 MTV Movie and TV Award nominations came out today, and the Starks reigned supreme. Whether it was a Stark in one of the biggest films of all time or a Stark in one of the biggest TV shows of all time, it was full Stark madness with a side of Stark.

Avengers: Endgame, currently snapping money up from wallets everywhere, received four nominations, including Best Movie, Best Hero (Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man/Tony Stark), Best Villain (Josh Brolin as Thanos), and Best Fight (Captain America vs. Thanos). Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) was nominated for Best Hero, but it was for her solo movie, Captain Marvel. The talented Ms. Danvers also got a nomination for Best Fight, for her with brawl with Minn-Erva (Gemma Chan) in that same film.

The Avengers were shut out of the Best Kiss category, but Aquaman (Jason Momoa and Amber Heard) and Venom (Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams) both got nominations here. Other genre representation included the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Jordan Peele's Us both getting nods for Best Movie. Lupita Nyong'o's performance in Us also nabbed her a nomination for Best Performance in a Movie. Zachary Levi grabbed a nomination for Best Hero as well as Best Comedic Performance for his leading role in Shazam!. He will also host the awards presentation itself.

When it comes to television, Game of Thrones earned yet another nomination for Best Show (alongside Riverdale and The Haunting of Hill House), and Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) was nominated for Best Performance in a Show. She'll face competition there from Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale) and Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina).

MTV merges some of its categories, which means that some big-screen heroes are going to have to face off with one Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) from Game of Thrones. She's set to take on both versions of Captain Marvel (from Shazam! and Captain Marvel) as well as Tony Stark in the Best Hero category. And her epic battle with the White Walkers will go up against the aforementioned fights from Captain Marvel and Endgame.

For the full list of nominations (or to vote for your favorites), click right here.

---

While two Starks from completely different stories may soon be battling it out, two different Emmas may end up in the same Disney film.

Variety reports that Emma Thompson is in "early talks" to appear opposite lead Emma Stone in Disney's upcoming live-action film called Cruella, an origin story of the character Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians. She's the one who wanted to turn the puppies into coats, just in case you forgot.

The film will be directed by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) and is being produced by Marc Platt, Kristin Burr, and Andrew Gunn. Stone will play the titular villain in the film, who was formerly played in live action by Glenn Close. This movie could take place before Cruella turned into a full-on villain (though with a name like that, chances were not in her favor), so there's no knowledge as of yet as to what character Thompson would potentially play.

Thompson isn't a newcomer to the Disney fold — she recently played Mrs. Potts in the 2017 live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.

Cruella was recently announced to have a release date of Dec. 23, 2020. Enjoy spending the holidays with that song in your head — you know the one we mean.

---

Finally today, we have a report of two things we never expected to be merged together — Shakespeare and space. Scratch that, we totally expected it.

Deadline reports that "a Shakespeare-inspired virtual reality series pilot" called Operation Othello has joined the lineup for the 2019 Cannes Film Festival's Marché du Film XR Arcade. It is being produced by JuVee Productions (run by Julius Tennon and Viola Davis), together with Oculus. According to Deadline, a "prototype of the pilot episode will be featured."

Based on the Shakespearean tragedy Othello, this new take on the classic play is being done with a special forces unit in the future.

The pilot, adapted from Shakespeare’s Othello, is set in the world of an elite naval special force’s unit sometime in the near future. Tennon will lead the play as Captain Othello, and Star Trek: Discovery star Mary Chieffo (Klingon High Chancelor L'Rell) will play a gender-swapped version of the play's classic villain, here called Ensign Iago.

Chieffo also adapted the material for VR and was quoted as saying, “As an avid Shakespeare lover who has been lucky enough to witness and perform his profound words on stage, I was inspired to present the original text in a way that is accessible and exhilarating to a modern audience.”

Put out the light, and then put out the faster-than-light engines.

---