Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
WIRE Buzz: Descendants 3 trailer; Amazon cuts down on kids' shows; more
The children of Disney villains, Amazon's big plans for children's programming, and Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters sequel. We've got em' all in our latest edition of WIRE Buzz.
Today, Disney Channel dropped the official trailer for Descendants 3, which will wrap up the villain-centric trilogy that first kicked off back in 2015. Returning for the third installment are director Kenny Ortega (Hocus Pocus) and screenwriters Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott, all three of whom worked on the first two entries in the series. Based on the trailer, it seems like they've really raised the stakes this time around.
You can watch the new trailer below:
Here's the description of the film's plot:
Mal (Dove Cameron), Evie (Sofia Carson), Carlos (Cameron Boyce) and Jay (BooBoo Stewart) return to the Isle of the Lost to recruit a new batch of villainous offspring to join them at Auradon Prep. When a barrier breach jeopardizes the safety of Auradon during their departure off the Isle, Mal resolves to permanently close the barrier, fearing that nemeses Uma (China Anne McClain) and Hades (Cheyenne Jackson) will wreak vengeance on the kingdom. Despite her decision, an unfathomable dark force threatens the people of Auradon, and it's up to Mal and the VKs to save everyone in their most epic battle yet.
Descendants 3 will premiere on Disney Channel Friday, August 2.
Amazon is scaling back its plans to produce a slew of animated shows geared toward younger audiences, according to a report from The Los Angeles Times. Instead, the company will focus on content that appeals to entire families as well as young adults.
“When we looked at our customer feedback, we identified a need to expand and broaden our audience targets and have decided to focus on developing content for families inclusive of but not exclusively for kids,” Amazon Studios said in a statement run by The Times. “We are also continuing to develop animated content that will target young adult audiences ... We will continue to produce our current kids animated series. They are available alongside our licensed kids content, as a part of our offerings.”
Per the report, this change in policy could have something to do with the fact that it's much easier to license kids' content for syndication than it is to actually produce it from scratch. In 2013, Viacom signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Amazon, which allows Prime to carry programs like SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.
It could also be due to Tara Sorensen, former head of kids' programming, leaving the company in 2017 for a similar post at Apple. Melissa Wolfe replaced her, but her title has since been changed to "head of animation and family programming."
Right now, Amazon has around 20 shows oriented toward children, including The Stinky & Dirty Show, Niko and the Sword of Light, and Lost in Oz.
Similar to Amazon and FedEx, the Domino's restaurant chain is embracing the future in the form of self-driving delivery trucks, currently known as the "R2." The company announced today that it would first be rolling out the autonomous vehicles, developed by the Nuro robotics company, in Houston, Texas, later this year.
"We are always looking for new ways to innovate and evolve the delivery experience for our customers," said Kevin Vasconi, Domino's executive vice president and chief information officer. "Nuro's vehicles are specially designed to optimize the food delivery experience, which makes them a valuable partner in our autonomous vehicle journey. The opportunity to bring our customers the choice of an unmanned delivery experience, and our operators an additional delivery solution during a busy store rush, is an important part of our autonomous vehicle testing."
Nuro has successfully carried out robotic deliveries in Houston since March of this year, which offers the unique option of seeing their food arrive via robot. "Once they have opted in, customers can track the vehicle via the Domino's app and will be provided with a unique PIN code to unlock the compartment to get their pizza," reads the release.
"We are excited to expand our autonomous delivery service in Houston with Domino's delivery," added Cosimo Leipold, Nuro's head of partner relations. "Domino's delivers millions of pizzas around the world every day, and the company shares our passion for focusing on the customer experience. We see incredible opportunity in offering Nuro's world-class autonomous technology to Domino's customers, accelerating our shared mission to transform local commerce."
