Panic, the developer of the Playdate handheld, has announced that the device has sold over 53,000 units since its release in April of last year, exceeding the company’s initial sales target. Despite facing challenges like parts shortages that forced delivery lead times out by as much as a year, Panic expressed gratitude for the sales growth and looks forward to an even better second year as delivery becomes more immediate. The 53,000 figure is twice as many units as Panic had initially forecast to sell in the device’s first year, with 27,000 Playdates already in the hands of customers and the remainder expected to ship by the end of the year. Despite a recent price increase to $199 due to manufacturing costs, existing orders that have not yet been fulfilled will not be affected. Panic also launched the Catalog store, which offers a curated selection of new and existing indie titles to bolster the library of 24 games that come bundled with Season 1. While Playdate has a charming lo-fi appeal, IGN’s review noted that the handheld’s ergonomics and lack of a screen backlight may be frustrating for some users.
Legendary and Warner Bros. Discovery have released the first teaser for the upcoming film, now officially titled “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”, set for release in 2024, and it looks like a new monster is set to join the Monsterverse. The teaser shows a menacing Titan monster with glowing blue eyes sitting on a throne surrounded by bones. Godzilla and Kong are also seen, but only as glowing skulls. The film will follow the two titans uniting against a new threat from Hollow Earth, and will explore the origins of the Titans and Skull Island, furthering the mythology of the Monsterverse. The Monsterverse began in 2014 with “Godzilla”, followed by “Kong: Skull Island” in 2017, and “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” in 2019. All of these films were building up to the mega showdown between Godzilla and Kong, which occurred in 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong”. The new film is directed by Adam Wingard and stars Rebecca Hall, Bryan Tyree Henry, Kaylee Hottle, Dan Stevens, Fala Chen, and Rachel House. Although the two titans teamed up to defeat MechaGodzilla in the previous film, fans should not expect them to be all buddy-buddy in the upcoming one.
Starting April 20 at 10 AM local time, Shaymin, the Gratitude Pokémon, will make its global debut in Pokemon Go, after initially being released during Pokemon Go Fest 2022. Players from all over the world will have the opportunity to catch Shaymin by completing the Special Research during Sustainability Week, which runs from April 20-26. By completing the research, players will get Shaymin in its Land Forme for free. In order to catch this elusive creature, players will have to help Professor Willow track it down by showing gratitude along the way.
Shaymin is a Mythical Grass-type Pokemon that first appeared in the Diamond and Pearl games for Nintendo DS during Generation IV. It has the unique ability to transform between its land and sky forms, which is not possible for most other Pokemon. Those who previously encountered Shaymin during Go Fest 2022 will also have a chance to catch the Pokemon again this week.
Niantic, the developer of Pokemon Go, recently received backlash from the community for increasing the in-game prices of Remote Raid Passes and limiting players to one Remote Raid per day.
In a highly competitive bidding war, Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to the much-sought-after action thriller, Maude v Maude. The film will star Angelina Jolie, known for her roles in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Tomb Raider, and Halle Berry, known for her roles in Monster’s Ball and the X-Men franchise. The film will be directed by Roseanne Liang, who previously directed Shadow in the Cloud, and produced by Jolie, Berry, Holly Jeter, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Joe Roth, Mosier, and Liang.
The plot details of the movie are being kept confidential, but an insider has described it as a “Bond vs. Bourne” style of action thriller. This project marks the first time that Jolie and Berry have worked together. Berry is currently filming for the Lionsgate movie, Never Let Go, in which she and Jeter are executive producers. The film is being directed by Alex Aja, with 21 Laps producing.
Jolie, on the other hand, continues to keep herself busy with her directorial projects. She recently directed Without Blood, a movie starring Demian Bichir and Salma Hayek, and was also seen in Marvel’s Eternals.
James Carter Cathcart, a renowned voice actor known for his work as Professor Oak, Gary Oak, and the iconic villains James and Meowth in the Pokémon anime, among other characters in anime and video games, has retired from his career due to throat cancer. His wife, Martha, announced his retirement in a blog post on CaringBridge, explaining that Cathcart’s cancer had not been responding to treatments and that a more aggressive approach would be taken. In January, it was revealed that the 69-year-old voice actor had developed a tumor on his tongue that had spread to his neck and that he had been undergoing chemotherapy to shrink it.
Martha noted in her post that Cathcart would be starting a new round of treatments on May 1, which would consist of seven weeks of radiation therapy five days a week with simultaneous chemotherapy on weeks 1, 4, and 7. As a result, he has decided to retire as a voice actor for the English dub of the Pokémon anime after the conclusion of Season 25 in the United States.
Cathcart’s work on the Pokémon anime dates back to its first episode, making his retirement a timely decision as the series transitions to new characters and storylines. Pokémon Horizons, a new series that will introduce new protagonists to take Ash’s place, is set to debut. In addition to his work on the Pokémon anime, Cathcart has lent his voice to a number of other anime and video game characters, including Weevil Underwood in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sir Gallant in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Team Chaotix leader Vector the Crocodile in Sonic X and Shadow the Hedgehog, Butchie in One Piece, and Roger Bacon in Shadow Hearts.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the popular vampire romance franchise Twilight is set to receive a television series adaptation. It remains unclear whether the series will retell the story from the original novels by Stephanie Meyer or take a different approach.
The script will be penned by Sinead Daly, known for her work on TV shows such as Tell Me Lies, Raised by Wolves, and The Walking Dead: World Beyond. Lionsgate Television is reportedly developing the series, but there is no word yet on which network or streaming service will carry it. Currently, the Twilight movies are available to stream on Peacock, having previously been on Netflix. Meyer is expected to be involved in the series, along with Twilight film producer Wyck Godfrey and former Lionsgate co-president Erik Feig, who will serve as executive producers.
The Twilight series comprises four novels released between 2005 and 2008, with the movies starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner being released from 2008 to 2012. The final book, Breaking Dawn, was split into two parts.
Interestingly, this announcement follows closely on the heels of Warner Bros. Discovery’s announcement of their plan to adapt all seven Harry Potter books for its Max streaming platform over the next decade. Both Twilight and Harry Potter rose to prominence in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and now both franchises will be attempting a comeback at the same time.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Lego and the official Sonic the Hedgehog account have teamed up once again to release four new grown-up play sets on August 1. The new sets include Sonic’s Green Hill Zone Loop Challenge, Tails’ Workshop and Tornado Plane, Amy’s Animal Rescue Island, and Sonic’s Speed Sphere Challenge. This isn’t the first time Lego and Sonic have collaborated; in 2021, Lego released the Sonic the Hedgehog Green Hill Zone set which featured a minifig for Sonic and an Eggman made out of bricks. However, in the new sets, Eggman receives his own custom-made figure, which some fans have noted as a significant improvement from his previous Lego appearance.
The 2021 Green Hill Zone set was designed by UK builder Toastergirl for Lego Ideas, a program where Lego enthusiasts submit custom creations to be judged by their peers for the chance to become an official Lego set. Other sets that have been greenlit through this program include the Friends’ apartment, the magical trunk from Harry Potter, and a typewriter.
The four new Sonic Lego sets will be priced similar to other grown-up sets and include a variety of features such as loops, planes, islands, and speed challenges. Sonic fans and Lego enthusiasts alike can look forward to the release of these new sets on August 1.
The latest trailer for Fast X has been released, featuring the villainous Dante Reyes (played by Jason Momoa) promising to destroy Dom Toretto’s family and detonating a bomb at the Vatican. The trailer, which heavily focuses on Momoa’s character, appears to reference the villain from Fast Five, Herman Reyes, who is Dante’s father. Additionally, Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw and Sung Kang’s Han Lue make appearances, with Han and Shaw seemingly joining forces despite their tumultuous history. The trailer also shows a fight between Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty and Charlize Theron’s Cipher, filmed without a director. The movie is set to be the first part of the Fast and Furious franchise’s finale, and is expected to tie up loose ends from the series. The release of the film has not been without complications, as director Justin Lin left the project due to reported disagreements with star Vin Diesel. However, Lin co-wrote the screenplay and is credited as a producer, with Louis Leterrier taking over as director. Fast X is scheduled to release on May 19.
The official website for the live-action film adaptation of Yumi Tamura’s manga “Do not say mystery” (also known as “Mystery to Iu Nakare”) released a new teaser trailer for the movie. The teaser showcases the main character, Totonō Kunō, in several well-known locations in Hiroshima, interacting with members of the Kariatsumari family. The film will focus on the “Hiroshima Arc,” which appears in the manga’s second to fourth volumes. In this arc, Kunō travels to Hiroshima and becomes embroiled in a dispute over the inheritance of the Kariatsumari family.
The movie stars Nanoka Hara as Shioji Kariatsumari, one of the potential inheritors, with Kou Shibasaki playing Yura Akamine, Shioji’s cousin, and another potential inheritor. Kōhei Matsushita plays Asaharu Rumazaka, the grandson of the Kariatsumari family’s lawyer and Shioji’s first love interest. Keita Machida plays Rikinosuke Kariatsumari, another potential inheritor and cousin of Shioji and Yura, while Riku Hagiwara portrays Neo Hahakabe, another cousin and potential inheritor. The film will debut on September 15, with Masaki Suda reprising his role as Totonō Kunō from the live-action series.
Hiroaki Matsuyama, Tomoko Aizawa, and Ken Arai, who worked on the live-action series, are returning as director, scriptwriter, and music composer, respectively.
“Mystery to Iu Nakare” manga follows Totonō Kunō, a college student who solves mysteries. The story begins when the police bring him in for questioning as a murder suspect in the death of his classmate.
Tamura published a one-shot for the manga in Monthly Flowers in November 2016 and launched a full serialization a year later in November 2017. The manga won the Kodansha Manga Award in April 2020 and was nominated for the Manga Taisho Award in January 2020. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga and will begin releasing it in omnibus volumes starting in May 2023.
Tamura is also known for her manga “7SEEDS,” which ran for 35 volumes from 2001-2017, winning the Shōjo Category of the 52nd Annual Shogakukan Manga Awards in 2007. The manga inspired two anime series that premiered on Netflix in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Tamura’s “Basara” manga, which ran from 1990-1998, won critical acclaim and inspired a 13-episode anime series in 1998. Tamura’s other works include “Chicago” and “Wild Com,” both published by Viz Media in English. Tamura’s “Tomoe ga Yuku!” manga also inspired an OVA series in 1991-1992.
On Thursday, Shueisha made an announcement that Yoko Kamio’s manga series Boys Over Flowers (also known as Hana Yori Dango) has been certified by Guinness World Records as the shōjo manga series with the highest number of published copies by a single author. As of November 2022, 59,409,000 copies of the manga have been printed and circulated.
Boys Over Flowers follows the story of Tsukushi Makino, a 16-year-old girl from a middle-class family who gets admitted to the prestigious Eitoku Academy. However, she quickly finds herself on the wrong side of the school’s most powerful male group, the F4.
The manga has been adapted into various forms of media, including a Japanese anime, a 1995 live-action film, and a 2005 television drama which became a hit and had a sequel and a film. The manga was also remade into a Taiwanese live-action university drama called Meteor Garden, and a Korean live-action adaptation was streamed on Crunchyroll in 2011. A Filipino adaptation was announced in 2017 but has not been released yet. A Chinese live-action series adaptation was also produced by Hunan Television in 2018, and a new live-action series was produced by Thai television production company GMMTV in 2021.
The manga also inspired a stage musical adaptation in Japan in 2016 and was adapted into an all-female Takarazuka Revue musical in 2019.
Kamio’s Boys Over Flowers Season 2 (Hana Nochi Hare HanaDan Next Season) sequel manga premiered on Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ website and app in February 2015 and ended in December. Viz Media published the manga as a free simultaneous digital release. The manga also inspired a Japanese live-action television series which debuted in April 2018.
