Alita: Battle Angel featurette with visionary directors

Alita: Battle Angel, from visionary directors James Cameron (Avatar) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City), is in cinemas next month. The long-gestating film adaptation of Yukito Kishiro's manga pushes the boundaries of visual effects.



In related news. James Cameron has completed principal photography on Avatar 2 and 3. These sequels will be in cinemas December 2020 and 2021 respectively. Disney's acquisition of Fox's film and television assets will see Avatar fill the void whilst Star Wars fans wait for new trilogies.

Alita: Battle Angel is in cinemas 6th February.

Is Tony Stark dead in Spider-Man: Far From Home?

Marvel Studios dropped a teaser trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home on Tuesday and fans are already speculating whether or not the upcoming sequel confirms Tony Stark's death in Avengers: Endgame.



Whilst fans know Spider-Man was a victim of Thanos' infamous snap in Avengers: Infinity War, there's no telling when the sequel to Homecoming is set. That aside. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the villainous Mysterio in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Star Trek: Discovery spin-off starring Michelle Yeoh

Star Trek: Discovery’s second season starts streaming this Friday on Netflix outside the US. Longtime readers will know how much I enjoyed the first season with a few, very minor, reservations regarding the season finale.

Ahead of the new season premiere, CBS All Access has announced a spin-off series starring Michelle Yeoh as Captain Philippa Georgiou. This is Empress Georgiou from the Mirror Universe and, as such, the focus will be on the dark side of Starfleet, the infamous Section 31 introduced in Deep Space 9.

“I’m so excited to continue telling these rich Star Trek stories,” said Yeoh. “Being a part of this universe and this character specifically has been such a joy for me to play. I can’t wait to see where it all goes – certainly I believe it will go ‘where no WOMAN has ever gone before!’”

This is only the latest Star Trek spin-off from CBS All Access under the auspices of new series showrunner Alex Kurtzman. Sir Patrick Stewart is set to reprise the iconic role of Jean-Luc Picard and animated comedy Star Trek: Lower Decks is also in development.

“Michelle has shattered ceilings, broken boundaries, and astonished us with her grace and gravitas for decades,” showrunner Alex Kurtzman said. “As a human, I adore her. As an actor, I revere her. Erika and Boey are remarkable, exciting writers who bring a fresh perspective to the world of Star Trek, and we’re all thrilled to explore the next wild chapter in the life of Captain Philippa Georgiou.”

Are you looking forward to this Star Trek: Discovery spin-off series? Let me know in the comments below.

Game of Thrones' final season premieres April 14th

This is arguably the genre television event of 2019 dwarfing all before it. HBO has released a new teaser trailer for Game of Thrones and announced the date when the final season begins.



The final season spans six epic episodes with director David Nutter (Batwoman) helming half. Whilst a prequel series is already in preproduction at HBO, the Game of Thrones showrunners are creating a new Star Wars trilogy at Lucasfilm.

Game of Thrones final season begins 14th April on HBO and the premiere will be simulcast on Sky Atlantic in the UK.

Iron Man writers to reboot Masters of the Universe

Sony Pictures and Mattel Films have tapped Men In Black's Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, who co-wrote Iron Man for Marvel Studios, to reboot the Masters of the Universe franchise on the big screen with brothers Adam and Aaron Nee directing.

Mattel's toy line, which I've written about previously, was a monster hit in the eighties and spawned an animated series, a live-action film starring Dolph Lundgren as the heroic He-Man and Frank Langella as his nemesis, Skeletor, and a reimagined animated series early this century. Subsequently, DC Comics has published an expanding series of Masters of the Universe crossovers with beloved DC Universe characters.

Masters of the Universe continues to be popular among avid collectors (myself included) and a cinematic reboot has been in development (on and off) for years. David S.Goyer (The Dark Knight Trilogy) most recently wrote a draft screenplay and is executive producer.

Save Earth or leave it in Netflix's IO

Following the runaway success of Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock. Netflix has released a trailer for its upcoming post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie IO, starring Anthony Mackie (Avengers: Infinity War) and Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers).

"Sam, one of the last survivors on a post-cataclysmic Earth, is a young scientist dedicated to finding a way for humans to adapt and survive, rather than abandon their world. But with the final shuttle scheduled to leave the planet for a distant colony, her determination to stay is rocked by the arrival of another survivor, Micah. She must decide whether to journey with him to join the rest of humanity and begin life anew, or stay to fight for Earth’s survival. IO stars Margaret Qualley, Anthony Mackie, and Danny Huston and premieres January 18, 2019 only on Netflix."



IO will start streaming on Netflix from 18th January.

Star Wars Resistance renewed on Disney Channel

2019 is a bumper year for Star Wars fans (myself included).

There's Episode IX in cinemas this December, The Mandalorian live-action series and The Clone Wars on Disney+, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order video game from EA, Star Wars Celebration and the grand opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney Parks.

Star Wars Resistance is set to continue with season 2 on the Disney Channel in the fall. The animated series, created by Dave Filoni (The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels), follows a young pilot named Kaz who is spying on the First Order.

The exciting mid-season premiere introduces a major villain from The Force Awakens.



What are you looking forward to most in the Star Wars universe? Let me know in the comments below.

Special look at Captain Marvel

Avengers: Endgame concludes an epic storyline, beginning in Iron Man over a decade ago, and sees Captain Marvel play a pivotal role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). However, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) will be seen first in her own movie this March.

"Based on the Marvel comic character first appearing in 1968, the story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, “Captain Marvel” is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe."

Marvel Studios has released a special look at the upcoming MCU instalment.



Captain Marvel will be in cinemas 8th March.

Star Wars movies won't premiere on Disney+

Whilst Disney+ will exclusively stream Star Wars live-action series, the upcoming streaming service, from the Mouse House, will not premiere new Star Wars movies.

Disney CEO Bob Iger explained to Barron's.

“We wouldn’t make a Star Wars movie for this platform. When everybody goes out on the weekend and you have a movie that opens up to $200 million, there’s a buzz that creates that enhances value. We like that,” said Iger. “And eventually, the movies we’re making are going to [end up on] the service.”

Given the astronomical budget of a Star Wars movie, it is uneconomical to premiere on the small screen.

“Almost every movie the studio makes is a $100 million-plus movie, and we’re not looking to make movies at that level for the service,” Iger said. “We’re looking to invest significantly in television series on a per-episode business, and we’re looking to make movies that are higher-budget, but nothing like that.”

Disney+ launches later this year with Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian.

Apple to announce Smart TV partnerships at CES

Ahead of this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Apple and Samsung announced a strategic partnership to add iTunes Movies and TV Shows and AirPlay 2 to Samsung Smart TVs released in 2018 onwards.

Further to this. The Cupertino-based company will announce further manufacturer partnerships during CES. This is expected to include LG, Panasonic and Sony.

The move outside of Apple's ecosystem is forward-looking and taps into the company's investment in original content to compete with rivals including Netflix and Amazon Prime, spearheaded by a collaboration with director JJ Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).

Apple Music is already available as an Alexa skill in the US and AirPlay 2 is coming to third-party speaker manufacturers including Bose this year.

What are your thoughts on Apple's streaming strategy? Let me know in the comments below.