WIRE Buzz: Tigers Are Not Afraid drops trailer; Game of Thrones S8 VFX reel; more

This WIRE Buzz is full of horror — whether it’s the magical terror of Tigers Are Not Afraid, the production horror of unloved CGI dragons, or the existential horror of The Tiger Who Came to Tea. Come to think of it, this Buzz has plenty of tigers too.

But first things first is a horror movie so good that it inspired Guillermo del Toro to work with its director. Writer/director Issa López’s Tigers Are Not Afraid made its debut back at 2017’s Fantastic Fest. Now it’s finally dropped its first official trailer and it’s full of the allegorical, fantastical elements that del Toro loves best. Fans can check the trailer, which offers pull quotes from the likes of Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, out over at Deadline to see how Estrella, an orphan to cartel violence, changes her life with three wishes.

There’s a reason the film is being given a theatrical release by horror streamer Shudder, however. Estrella seems to bring back her dead mother as a protective supernatural spirit, giving the gritty tale of childhood its own lens through which death can be viewed. Survival is one thing, but coping is another. With plenty of creatures appearing in the trailer (including a living stuffed tiger), it looks like Tigers Are Not Afraid will be a uniquely poignant story of terror and youth when it hits theaters on Aug. 23.

Next, even if fans were let down by Game of Thrones’ final season, there are few denying that the HBO fantasy show’s eighth season lacked VFX style. Now, thanks to a three-minute video from Scanline VFX, fans can go behind the scenes into one of the more impressive aspects of the show’s end: its dragon-based destruction.

Check it out:

Whether the Iron Throne itself is being melted or King’s Landing is being demolished, the chaos inflicted by Daenerys Targaryen’s final surviving dragon, Drogon, looks great. This reel highlights “over 615+ shots, across the final 3 episodes and thousands of man-hours invested by our talented artists,” according to the video’s description — and peeling back the layers really does make the CGI look more complicated than its final product.

Finally, a children’s book adaptation has landed some big names. Deadline reports that the extremely British The Tiger Who Came to Tea has landed Benedict Cumberbatch, Tamsin Greig, David Oyelowo, David Walliams, and Paul Whitehouse as its voice cast.

Judith Kerr’s story will be adapted by Joanna Harrison into a half-hour hand-drawn animated special, with the party-crashing tiger still enjoying a meal with its protagonists before the family patriarch returns home. Clara Ross, a 7-year-old newcomer, will play the heroine Sophie. Cumberbatch will voice her father, with Greig as her mother, Oyelowo the Tiger, Walliams the narrator, and Whitehouse the Milkman. But of course, the titular role is always most exciting.

“Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to play the iconic tiger from The Tiger Who Came to Tea?” Oyelowo said. “He’s a big cat of few words because he’s too busy eating! But I relished all of the growling, chomping and slurping, which called on me to find my inner cat.”

The Tiger Who Came to Tea will air on the BBC’s Channel 4 this Christmas.