WIRE Buzz: Minecraft film blocks out release date; Big Hero 6 series gets 3rd season; more

In this edition of the WIRE Buzz, that Minecraft film (finally) gets a release date while Big Hero 6: The Series (quickly) lands a third season and a kinky horror podcast makes its way to the small screen.

First up, we’ve got some good news and bad news for those of you who’ve been waiting for that Minecraft movie. The good news? It now has an official release date! The bad news? It’s nearly three years from now.

Video game developer Mojang, which created the video game and will co-produce the film for Warner Bros., has just announced that the Minecraft movie will be released on March 4, 2022.

“Does it sound distant? We beg to differ!” reads the announcement. “It’s only 1053 days. Or about 34 months, or 150 weeks, or a million and a half minutes. Not that we’re counting, of course.”

The story will focus on a teenage girl and her unlikely group of fellow adventurers who must save their blocky Overworld after the malevolent Ender Dragon sets out on a path of destruction.

After originally being announced in 2014, the Minecraft movie finally locked down its director, Peter Sollett of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Raising Victor Vargas fame, earlier this year. Let us know in the comments if you're excited to find out his take on the uber-popular game.

Up next, the Disney Channel clearly likes Big Hero 6: The Series (or rather, it sees that its subscribers like the series), as it just ordered a third season ahead of the show's Season 2 premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The show has also brought a bunch of special guest stars on board for its second season, including Nestor Carbonell as San Fransokyo's newest police chief, Chief Cruz; Isabella Gomez as Hiro's new friend Megan; Ben Feldman as Liv Amara's assistant, Chris; Will Friedle as Krei's geeky scientist, Ian; Jane Lynch and Timothy Simons as grandmother/grandson supervillain duo Supersonic Sue and Supersonic Stu; Jessica Paré as acrobatic thief Sirque; and Horatio Sanz as Mexican wrestler El Fuego.

Based on the Oscar-winning film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Big Hero 6: The Series continues the adventures of 14-year-old tech genius Hiro, his robot buddy Baymax, and their friends Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Go Go, and Fred as they form the legendary superhero team Big Hero 6 and protect their city from scientifically enhanced villains.

The show’s voice cast includes Maya Rudolph as Aunt Cass; Ryan Potter as Hiro; Scott Adsit as Baymax; Jamie Chung as Go Go; Alan Tudyk as Alistair Krei; Khary Payton as Wasabi; Genesis Rodriguez as Honey Lemon; Brooks Wheelan as Fred; David Shaughnessy as Heathcliff; and the late Stan Lee as Fred’s dad. Its recurring guest voice cast includes Jenifer Lewis as Professor Granville; Haley Tju as Karmi; Andrew Scott as Obake; and Andy Richter as Globby.

Season 2 of Big Hero 6: The Series premieres on May 6 on the Disney Channel.

And finally, Deadline is reporting that Blumhouse Television has acquired the rights to Gimlet Pictures’ horror podcast The Horror of Dolores Roach to develop as a scripted TV series.

The Horror of Dolores Roach is a Sweeney Todd-esque story written and directed by Aaron Mark about a woman named Dolores Roach (natch) who returns to her New York City neighborhood after spending 16 years in prison. But upon her return, she discovers that her boyfriend is missing, and her family is long gone. On the quasi-bright side, her old stoner friend, Luis, lets Dolores give massages in the basement apartment under his dilapidated empanada shop.

But when her newfound stability is threatened, “Magic Hands Dolores” is driven to extremes to survive — and things, not surprisingly, get dark.

Mark will write the series adaptation and co-executive-produce. Daphne Rubin-Vega, for whom Mark specifically wrote the podcast, will serve as a consulting producer.