Month: July 2018

Amazon has hired a pair of writers for its upcoming and very expensive Lord of the Rings prequel TV show. The company is bringing on JD Payne and Patrick McKay to write the show. The pair have no previous TV writing credits, but as EW points out, neither did Game of Thrones TV show writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff. That seemed to work out pretty OK.

Payne and McKay said in a statement that they are “thrilled” to be working on the Lord of the Rings show for Amazon. “We feel like Frodo, setting out from the Shire, with a great responsibility in our care–it is the beginning of the adventure of a lifetime.”

They added: “The rich world that J.R.R. Tolkien created is filled with majesty and heart, wisdom and complexity. We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Amazon to bring it to life anew.”

Payne and McKay have been writing partners since high school when they were on the debate team together. In addition to the Lord of the Rings show, they are writing the upcoming Star Trek 4 and the new Jungle Cruise movie for Disney.

The new Amazon Lord of the Rings show is based on Tolkien’s acclaimed and much-loved novels. Amazon is committed to multiple seasons of the show, which will be produced in partnership with the Tolkien Estate, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema.

Little is known about the story for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show, but it’s been confirmed that it’s set in Middle-earth and will “explore new storylines” in the time before The Fellowship of the Ring.

No casting announcements have been made yet, but those details could come soon. Given the timeline, you shouldn’t expect Frodo or Sam to show up, but according to a report, one of the storylines in Season 1 could involve a young Aragorn. Given his age, it’s also possible that Gandalf could show up.

Per the supposed terms of an agreement between Amazon and Lord of the Rings rights-holders, the show must enter production within two years, so Amazon is understandably eager to get things going. Amazon is reportedly spending $1 billion to produce the Lord of the Rings TV show, so it is no small undertaking.

August has some big comebacks like Shenmue 1 & 2 and Yakuza Kiwami 2, plus the next World of Warcraft expansion, Battle for Azeroth.

As Mission: Impossible – Fallout hits theaters, we look at some other movie franchises that improved with time.

One of the recurring criticisms of Netflix’s programming – especially its drama shows – is the phenomenon known as “Netflix bloat,” where series are accused of having too many episodes and not enough story to fill them, resulting in early episodes that seem slow or inconsequential, as if the showrunners are spinning their wheels until they get to the halfway point and the true narrative kicks in.

This was especially true of recent sophomore seasons of Marvel’s Jessica Jones and Luke Cage – neither of which seemed to recapture the momentum of their freshman years after killing their primary villains, Kilgrave and Cottonmouth.

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Hearthstone’s newest set, The Boomsday Project, is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in the game’s history. It’s out on August 7, and every day new cards are being revealed showing off interesting, powerful and new concepts, and today is no exception. I present to you, IGN’s Boomsday card reveal, Mecha’thun!

Part Eldritch abomination, part machine.

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Better Call Saul has been renewed for a fifth season, network AMC has announced (via Collider). That’s great news for fans eager to see the show continue and add more Breaking Bad characters down the road as has been hinted at.

But the real news is that Bob Odenkirk is so dedicated to the show that he dropped his pants at a Television Critics Association event this weekend and revealed a Better Call Saul (temporary) tattoo. The tattoo shows the Better Call Saul logo and the August 6 premiere date for Season 4. Here’s what it looks like:

Earlier this month at San Diego Comic-Con, creator Vince Gilligan teased that a number of Breaking Bad characters will likely show up in future seasons of Better Call Saul. In addition to Saul Goodman, Better Call Saul already features Breaking Bad characters Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) and Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks).

Interestingly, Gilligan recently told EW that Better Call Saul Season 4 will feature some scenes set during the Breaking Bad timeline, so that could be a signal for Hank Schrader or another character to appear.

In other Breaking Bad news, you can enter this contest for a chance to “cook” with Cranston and Paul in the actual RV from the acclaimed AMC show.

This review contains spoilers for Sharp Objects episode 4, titled “Ripe.”

There’s a really nice balance struck between everything Sharp Objects has been doing well since it premiered in “Ripe.” Rich family drama is used to develop not just one, but all three of the women in the family. Progress in the case directly ties to the personal stakes of Camille’s return to Wind Gap. And there’s this searing tension throughout, as if something terrible is about to happen. While it’s frustrating that said tension doesn’t pay off here, this episode leaves us on a wicked and cruel cliffhanger that makes you realize just how well Sharp Objects is working.

“Ripe” opens with images of all the dead that have been affecting Camille’s psyche since she returned to Wind Gap. Her sister, her cellmate, and the murdered girls are shown in montage together to create an uneasy feeling that carries through the entire episode. Whether it’s Amma suddenly treating her half-sister with an ounce of respect (maybe even empathy), or the way Camille’s return to several old crime scenes with Richard trigger some very unhappy memories, there are so few moments in this episode that feel trustworthy for Camille.

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Stranger Things Season 3 won’t be out this year, Netflix has announced.

Netflix programming boss Cindy Holland said at a Television Critics Association event that the hit sci-fi show won’t return until 2019. The wait will be worth it, Holland said.

“It’s a handcrafted show,” Holland said, according to EW. “The Duffer Brothers and Shawn Levy–they understand the stakes are high. They want to deliver something bigger and better than last year. I think it’s going to be a fantastic season. It will be worth the wait.”

Holland added that Season 3 will have more special effects than the previous two. This is part of the reason why Stranger Things won’t be back until 2019. “It’s a really exciting season, just takes a little more time,” Holland explained.

Producer Shawn Levy recently revealed that Season 3 will be set in the summer of 1985, following the previous seasons which were set a year apart in ’83 and ’84 respectively. At least two new cast members are joining the show for Season 3, including Carey Elwes and Jake Busey. Busey will play Bruce, who is a “corrupt and sexist news reporter,” while Elwes is Mayor Kline, a “slick and self-serving politician.”

Season 3’s story emphasis is expected to shift away from Will. “We’re going to give Will a break,” Levy said previously. “We’re not going to put Will through hell for a third season in a row. He’ll be dealing with stuff, but he won’t be at rock bottom the way we forced the amazing Noah [Schnapp] to play.”

For more on Stranger Things, check out GameSpot’s theories about Season 3.