The upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries premiering on Disney+, is the cover story of this month’s issue of EW. They also published these exclusive images from the upcoming show.
Now, Disney’s dropped the first trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi and looks pretty damn awesome. Take a look:
Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres May 25th on Disney+
Thanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
The SUMMER ain’t over yet! These are my picks for the movie, TV, streaming, and comic book content to check out in August 2021.
TV
UFO – Documentary Series (Sunday 8/8) Showtime
UFO’s have been in the news now more than ever. As a long time UFO researcher, it’s very satisfying to see this topic finally being taken seriously. This is a 4-part documentary series from JJ Abrams premiering on Showtime. Abrams may have fallen out of grace as a filmmaker, for me at least, but the subject matter makes this a must watch.
Stargirl Season 2 (Tuesday 8/10) The CW
This was a very pleasant surprise when the first season premiered last year. A great cast, cool villains, and fantastic use of classic characters and lore from throughout DC‘s history. This is a great superhero show that the whole family can enjoy. From what I’ve seen, they seem to have really kicked it up a notch in Season 2.
Marvel Studio’s WHAT IF…? (8/11) Disney+
After the events of LOKI, this promises to be very cool.
Titans Season 3 (8/12) HBO
An underrated superhero show that I highly recommend checking out. The first two seasons are available on HBO Max right now.
The Walking Dead: The Final Season (8/22) AMC
I gave up on The Walking Dead a few seasons back, but I just might tune in to see how everything wraps up.
Blu-Ray/4K
Batman: The Long Halloween Part II (8/10)
This has been one of the stronger stories put out by DC Animation over the last few years. Part 1 was great and reviews for Part 2 are even better. I’ve heard that the best way to watch this, is to watch Part 1 & 2, back-to-back. As one movie, like the filmmakers created it to be. I’m sure that, just like their adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, DC animation will release a Deluxe Edition that is the entire Long Halloween story as one film.
Movies
The Suicide Squad (8/6)
This is a James Gunn movie. Enough said
Free Guy (8/13)
I had zero interest in seeing this film, however I’ve heard nothing but great things about it. The early word is that it’s phenomenal, which is kind of shocking. Friend of the podcast Mark Fitzgerald, who I interviewed, a few months back worked on this movie. So I’m definitely going at the very least auto for loyalty my friend Mark.
The Green Knight (8/18)
This unique and captivating retelling of a classic Arthurian fable has been receiving rave reviews since its release. The film is very far from your typical fantasy movies like Lord of The Rings, as a result some have found it difficult to find a local theater playing the movie on the big screen. So the company that produced the film is giving moviegoers as chances to watch this excellent new story online. Here are the details on how to watch courtesy of Screen Rant: The A24 Screening Room will be playing The Green Knight for one night only in an online format. It will be available on Wednesday, August 18 at 9PM EST and tickets are available now on the A24 Screening Room site at the price of $20 per ticket. The film is accessible through the web, Apple TV, and Roku. After creating an account and buying a ticket, customers will be able to have access to the movie at the aforementioned date and time. Audiences will have 4 hours to watch the film and any other content provided.
New Movies On Streaming
Godzilla VS Kong (Available on HBO Max on 8/17)
A sometimes dumb, but nonetheless fun watch.
Comic Books/Graphic Novels
The Trial of Magneto (8/18)
Someone murdered Wanda Maximoff, The Scarlet Witch, and Magneto is the prime suspect. But what if Magneto is innocent? Did he really kill his own daughter or is there something far more sinister at play? The 5-Issue miniseries is the latest chapter in Jonathan Hickman’s ongoing X-Men Saga that continues to rock the Marvel Universe to it’s core.
Kang The Conqueror #1
SPOILERS FOR LOKI!!!! Fans of the recently wrapped first season of Loki, had a lot of questions following the standout finale episode. The character at the center of many of those questions, was the man pulling strings of The TVA: He Who Remains. He Who Remains, is of course better known to comic book readers as Kang The Conqueror. Kang, He Who Remains, or whoever you want to call him, has gone by many names while becoming the self proclaimed Master of Time. No matter the incarnation we see him in next, this character is going to be massively important moving forward into Phase 4 of The MCU. This 5-issue miniseries is a great place to start for anyone wanting a better understanding Kang and how this fascinating villain will shape the past, present, and future of The MCU.
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
If you’re a frequent visitor to World’s Best Media, you probably already know that I love Batman and Superhero Animation. So I tend to get excited when I hear about a new animated Batman project. Warner Bros. and HBO recently announced a new Batman animated series in the works for HBO Max, called Batman: The Caped Crusader. The new series is being developed by Matt Reeves (the director of the upcoming film The Batman), JJ Abrams, and Bruce Timm (one of the creators of Batman: The Animated Series). There’ve been rumors floating around for a while now that Warner Bros. was developing a sequel series to the beloved and classic Batman: The Animated Series. While Batman: The Caped Crusader is not a direct sequel series or continuation of Batman: The Animated Series, it’s definitely a spiritual successor. When The Caped Crusader was announced Reeves and Abrams explicitly stated that BTAS (Batman: The Animated Series, for all you cool kids) was the new show’s biggest influence. Through the involvement of Bruce Timm as well as this promo art released during The Caped Crusader’s announcement, served to reinforce how much of an influence BTAS will have on this new show. As I mentioned before, Bruce Timm was one of the creators of Batman: The Animated Series and an icon in DC animation, and as you can clearly see in the promo art, which I posted below, Batman: The Caped Crusader is very evocative of the neo noir look of the 90s Batman series.
However, when I read the announcement for Batman: The Caped Crusader, I couldn’t help but think that I’d heard this all somewhere else once before. Which brings me to the main topic of this article, an animated series that you may not have even heard of called Beware The Batman. An extremely underrated animated series that I’ve been wanting to write about for a long time, Beware The Batman. The announcement about The Caped Crusader reminded me a lot of how Beware The Batman was described when it was first announced. Especially because of the comments made by Abrams and Reeves about “reinvention” and “reimagining” the Batman mythos. It was very similar to how Beware The Batman was pitched when first heard about it, just with some keywords turned around here and there. Beware The Batman was “pitched” to the audience as a darker, grittier animated Batman story, that wasn’t going to do the same old thing. The series certainly lived up to the claim, because it isn’t quite like any other adaptation of the character. The core of the show was something we see far too little of, in on screen adaptations of The Dark Knight, Batman: The World’s Greatest Detective. This was still a relatively early days Batman, at least a few years into his grand mission. The series really played up the “World’s Greatest Detective“ aspect of the character, which many of you may know, I fucking love.
The writers weren’t afraid to play up some of Batman’s other underutilized character attributes. For example. I loved how they played Bruce Wayne as a really fucking weird guy. Because of course he would be. This guys lives a pretty fucked up lifestyle, so he’s bound to be at little… off. It wasn’t over the top or anything like that, but this is not a normal dude and i thought it brought out something special in this version of Batman.
Bruce Wayne wasn’t the only character who went through some changes on Beware The Batman. Wherever Batman goes, so goes Alfred Pennyworth. There’s been a slow moving trend over the last 10 years or so, to change Alfred from an elderly butler into a slightly younger, badass in his own right, with a more active role in Bruce Wayne’s war on crime. This version leaned into Alfred’s history as a military combat vet/spy. Beware The Batman drew upon parts of the character seen in projects like the Epix TV series Pennyworth, the Batman: Earth One graphic novels, and arguably Jeremy Irons’ Alfred in the DCEU. In this animated series, Alfred was former MI-6 and his past catching up to him drives a surprising amount of the story throughout the season, but it works.
Batman may seem like a loner, but he surrounds himself with a lot of surrogate family. So when it came to figuring out who would be Batman‘s partner, the writers chose to buck the trend once again. Instead of Nightwing, Robin, or Batgirl, Batman‘s main partner in crime was Tatsu Yamashiro also known as Katana. Alfred brought her in as potential back up for Bruce. Tatsu was formally a member of both The League of Assassins (where she picked up the alias Katana) and MI-6, a formidable combination. Katana was also Alfred’s protege, Alfred having served with her father in MI-6. Alfred looked at Tatsu as a surrogate daughter. Which makes it almost poetic that he would call upon the woman he sees as a daughter, to help protect the man he sees as his son. Her presence in the story added a unique dynamic that wasn’t present in other animated Batman projects.
Beware The Batman also distinguished itself by not using any of the major Batman villains for the majority of the first and only season. Which I thought that was a really smart and cool way to go. You didn’t see villains like The Joker or The Penguin pop up immediately, which gave the show the opportunity to showcase lesser known villains. Batman has such a fucking incredible rogues gallery, you have to go real far down the list to find a character that is genuinely lame. Kite Man! Yes, there’s a Batman villain called Kite Man! Shockingly enough, in the right hands, even Kite Man is interesting.
So Instead of the usual suspects, Beware The Batman offers up villains like the horrifying Professor Pyg, or Magpie, a thief Bruce becomes infatuated with, or Simon Stagg, everyone’s favorite piece of dog shit industrialist. The overarcing villain for the series was Anarky, a white clad terrorist and madman with skills and fighting abilities dangerously close to Batman’s own.
The writers framed him as the polar opposite opposite of Batman. Anarky, the broken funhouse mirror version of The Dark Knight. Anarky adorned himself in white to Batman’s black, where Batman embraced order, Anarky embraced chaos. Watching Anarky and Batman playing an elaborate game of cat and mouse across the entire season, with Gotham City hanging in the balance, was a hell of a lot of fun.
But Anarky wasn’t the only Big Bad putting Batman to the test over this 26 episode series. The League of Assassins were present early on in the season, which gave Lady Shiva (another awesome, but under utilized Batman villain) some time to shine as the face of The League.
Until about halfway through the season when Ra’s Al Ghul himself enters the fray, menacingly played by The Wire’s Lance Reddick.
As the season went on, some other familiar faces began to pop up, like Killer Croc and Man- Bat. There was also a fair amount of set up dedicated to stories that would have played out had their been second season.
Harvey Dent was introduced in the final few episodes and had already suffered his infamous facial scarring by the end of the season. Presumably setting up Two-Face as the Big Bad for Season 2.
It really is a shame that we never got to see more of this show because the season ended with a cool mystery involving Deathstroke and Alfred’s past once again coming back to haunt him and the people he loves. I would’ve loved to have seen how these writers would’ve interpreted some of Batman’s other classic villains.
The animation style can be a little jarring at first, but it works once you get used to it. I really loved how the shine and texture of The Bat-Suit makes it looks like it’s made out of the same material as the Michael Keaton Batman suit‘s, but has the flexibility and range of motion of a much lighter material. The CGI animation also allows for some choreographed fight scenes that wouldn’t be possible in 2-D animation.
As I wrap it up here, I’ll also add that the show doesn’t really hit it’s stride until Episode 6 “Toxic“. That’s not to say that the first 5 episodes are bad by any means, but Episode 6 was really the one that clicked for me and made me begin to fall in love with the show. So if you plan on giving this series a try, make sure you give the show until at least Episode 6 “Toxic”, it only gets better from there. Honestly, you could probably go straight to Episode 6 without missing that much. Then once you’re really into the show, you can always go back and watch those first 5 episodes. Beware The Batman: The Complete Series is available to watch on HBO Max, iTunes, and Blu-Ray. If you a fan of superhero animation, I highly recommend you check out this unique hidden gem.
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. We’re on Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
This week on The World’s Best Podcast, I review the premiere episode of HBO’s excellent new horror/drama series: Lovecraft Country. The new series, based on the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, produced by Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams.
It’s a story of Lovecraftian horror set in the backdrop of Jim Crow America, focusing on one an African-American family from the south side of Chicago. When the novel came out in 2016 it was my favorite book of the year and this new series looks to be an excellent adaptation! Lovecraft Country air Sunday nights on HBO at 9pm EST.
Listen here for my full review: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/40368562 Or subscribe on Stitcher, Spreaker, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Podchaser, Castbox, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, & Apple Podcasts/ITunes…
Thanks for listening! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
I read Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, when it was published in 2016, it was by far my favorite book of the year. Naturally, I was excited when I heard that the book was being developed as a TV series by Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us) for HBO.
The novel, which takes during the 1950’s Jim Crowe era, comprises of several interconnected stories that form one large narrative. The story follows an African-American family in a time still ripe with prejudice and hate (As I was typing that last sentence I realized, sadly, that it can still apply to today). When Atticus Turner sets out to find his missing father, last seen up in Massachusetts in “Lovecraft Country”, Atticus and his family soon find themselves exposed to a world of monsters, dark magik, ghosts, cults, and eldreitch horrors from other dimensions.
The combination of this shameful time in American history and supernatural horror, heavily inspired by H.P Lovecraft, makes for one hell of a compelling story. The cast includes some fantastic actors including Michael Kenneth Williams, Courtney B. Vance, Jonathan Majors, and Jurnee Smollett-Bell, among others. The series which is produced by Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams premieres on HBO this summer. This looks like it could be great, so check back here for continuing coverage of the series. Take a look the trailer below…
Lovecraft Country premieres on HBO in August.
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
On this episode of The World’s Best Podcast, I reviews the highly anticipated final installment in The Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. A movie over 40 years in the making. I think this episode should just speak for itself. Huge SPOILERS! Thanks for listening! Enjoy!
Thanks for listening! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, which go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again!
First things first, I wanted to apologize to all of my loyal readers and listeners. I intended to have much more content posted this week, but unfortunately I’ve been under the weather and I’m just starting to feel like myself again. So make sure you check back here over the next week because I’m going to to be posting a lot of new articles, videos, and podcasts. For example, we should have the next episode of The World’s Best Podcast up by the end of this weekend, where we’ll be discussing the first ever live-action Star Wars TV series, The Mandalorian, currently streaming on Disney +. Keep a lookout for my review of the Season 2 Finale of TITANS as well.
For now, I have a slice of pure nostalgia for you. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Star Wars is my religion. With the final entry in The Skywalker Saga debuting in theaters in just a little over three weeks, now is the perfect time to get Star Wars fever. Let’s get excited for the final chapter in a story that has touched the lives of generations of filmgoers.
As we’ve gotten closer to the release of Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, I’ve been avoiding any new trailers and TV spots. There have even been a few partial scenes posted online. For the most part, I haven’t watched any of them because I think I saw everything I needed to see with the original teaser and the first two trailers. I don’t want to know much more about the movie going into it. I want to watch it as fresh as possible. This featurette below is really cool because even though there’s some footage from The Rise of Skywalker (almost nothing we haven’t already seen though), it’s mostly a nostalgia piece, with footage of the original cast of Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope (Mark Hamill, Alec Guinness, Harrison Ford, and Peter Mayhew) as they film a scene the set of The Millennium Falcon. I love stuff like this because it reminds me of the weight behind a story. There will have been an episode of The Skywalker Saga in each of the last five decades by the time it’s done. It’s crazy and wonderful how this story has touched the lives of literally generations of people. Anyway check out this really cool video below and get excited for Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker….
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, which go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again!
Wow! That trailer… man, it just blew me away. This was the footage shown at D23 this weekend. I was still coming off my Marvel summer high. After Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and all the PHASE 4 announcements, this was definitely the summer of Marvel for me. Then I saw the new poster for Rise of Skywalker. It shook me out of my Marvel coma and now I’m back in the Star Wars game! You can watch it right here, posted below:
I’ll be honest, I got chills watching this trailer. Because it’s not just a movie, it’s crazy to think that back in 1977 your parents would’ve been sitting down in a movie theater waiting to see the original Star Wars. Now you could take your own kids to see the final film in the series. We know that we’re going to keep getting Star Wars movies after Episode IX, but this is the end of The Skywalker Saga. The nine film, legendary, epic that George Lucas first teased decades ago. Now, we’re finally getting to see the end of that story. The beautiful thing about Star Wars is that there’s been a new Star Wars movie out every single decade since the 70s, so it’s truly a multi generational story.
Telling stories is part of who we are as humans. People huddling around the campfire together, telling tales of good and evil, love and family, adventure and heroes. Star Wars is primal. Despite the fact that some of the Star Wars films have a major faults, I honestly I love all of them, because I love the universe Lucas created. This is it: the end of The Skywalker Saga. I have faith that J.J. Abrams is the man to bring this on home and give us a satisfying ending to one of the greatest stories ever told.
The last shot of the trailer shows what appears to be Rey going full Dark Side. Black cloak, sick double bladed trick red lightsaber, the whole deal. I don’t think what we see in that quick moment can be taken at face value. It can mean a whole number of different things. I would love to hear your theories though! Anyway I did want to include these 2 awesome pieces of fan art, that shows what Dark Side Rey could look like, made by one of my favorite artists BossLogic ( follow him on Twitter he doesn’t amazing stuff!).
Anyway, below we have some more cool Star Wars news from the D23 Expo. Check it out. More STAR WARS new from D23:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7 will premiere in February 2020 on the Disney+ for what is likely to be the final season for the popular animated series. Dave Filoni, the talented writer and director who’s worked at Lucasfilm for years, the co-creator of Star Wars: The Clone Wars will write and direct the final 4 episodes of the 12 episode season. Filoni was also the showrunner on Star Wars: Rebels
Ashoka VS. Maul
Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi Series
Another cool announcement at D23 was confirmation that a live action Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor will be premiering Disney+. According to an interview Kathleen Kennedy, the head of Lucasfilm, gave to EW.COM, there are scripts currently being written with production to start early next year. Even though it may be a little while before we get to see the series, it’s still cool to know that it’s finally happening.
Disney/Lucasfilm also showed an up to date time lines of the films and shows that are currently “in canon”. Take a look…
So, what did you think of the new trailer? Do you think Rey is really going to the Dark Side? Which of the upcoming Star Wars TV shows are you most looking forward to? Comment below or reach out to us on social media! We always love hearing from you guys!
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting the show. We really appreciate the loyalty shown to us by World’s Best Media fans, so thanks again!
Star Wars is like a religion to me. Those films are a large part of why I love movies so much. However, even with Star Wars Episode IX coming out in December, all of my attention as a fan has been focused on Avengers: Endgame and Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones ended up being a bit of a mixed bag in it’s final season, but man oh man, did Endgame deliver. Avengers: Endgame was one of the most thrilling movie going experiences of my life. The movie surpassed expectations to deliver a masterpiece of blockbuster filmmaking. I’ve often said The MCU is this generation’s Star Wars, which makes Endgame the modern equivalent of The Empire Strikes Back. Like, The Empire Strikes Back, Endgame has already reached the status of modern classic. Anyway, back to Star Wars! With Game of Thrones and Avengers: Endgame out of the way, I can focus my fandom on Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker! The final chapter in The Skywalker Saga, 40 years in the making.
The new issue Vanity Fair has given us the best look at the film so far. The June cover story is all about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, with an excellent article by Lev Grossman that’s the most in depth look at the film yet and just a damn good read. You can read the full article the full article right here (I highly recommend that you do): https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/star-wars-cover-story?verso=true
The coolest part of the Vanity Fair issue is the amazing photos taken on the set by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. Vanity Fair and Leibovitz have been covering the Star Wars movies for decades now. I still have the Vanity Fair issue that focused on The Force Awakens because of the incredible photographs she had taken. In my opinion, Annie Leibovitz one of the best photographers in the business and these fantastic photos for The Rise of Skywalker are a testament to how stunningly beautiful her photos can be. You can see them all below.
The Knights of Ren (FINALLY!!!)
Well, the countdown to Star Wars Episode IX has officially begun! Spider-Man: Far From Home is the last, “next BIG movie”, that I’m really looking forward to, but once I see that, I imagine my Star Wars mania will really start to heat up! As always, thanks for reading!
World’s Best Media 