Netflix is continuing to experiment with storytelling formats. Filming is underway on a heist thriller series called Jigsaw (which has nothing to do with the Saw movies, as best I can tell). Although it won't be an interactive project like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend, it's a non-linear show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, you can watch the first seven episodes in any order leading up to the finale, similar to Paramount+ series Interrogation.
Jigsaw is loosely based on a real story in which $70 billion in Wall Street bearer bonds were at risk due to flood waters caused by Hurricane Sandy. The story spans 25 years, from decades before the heist to a year afterward.
The show has a solid cast, with Giancarlo Esposito, Paz Vega, Rufus Sewell and Jai Courtney among those involved. Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian star Esposito will play a veteran thief who can't stay away from a life of crime. Vega, meanwhile, plays an attorney who goes above and beyond to protect those close to her.
Ridley Scott is among the executive producers of the series, which was created by showrunner Erica Garcia. There's no release date for Jigsaw just yet, but it's maybe worth keeping an eye out for so you can put the puzzle pieces together when it arrives.
Microsoft isn’t so much declaring war on passwords as bragging about a successful first strike against them. The Windows maker has announced users can now remove the password from their Microsoft account in favor of something that’s (hopefully) more secure.
The feature, which had already rolled out to enterprise users, will let you ditch your password and leverage Windows Hello’s biometric security tools. Alternatively, you can grab your phone and use the Windows Authenticator app to grant you access to your machine.
Given that passwords have now become such a pain for so many people to use, switching to something more elegant is welcome news. Of course, for this news to drop at the same time as the announcement that Microsoft had to patch a fairly substantial security vulnerability in Office is slightly less comforting.
It just has to work out how to integrate the necessary infrastructure.
The state of New York has passed a bill banning the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035 which, it hopes, will help slash the state’s emissions. It’s the third major US state to do so, after California and Massachusetts, while Washington state tried, but the bill was vetoed. Given the scale of the challenge to get New York EV-ready, leaders have already tasked a number of agencies to start working on a zero-emissions vehicle masterplan. That will include creating a market for zero-emission vehicles, rolling out charging infrastructure and developing incentives for purchase.
Xiaomi’s new device launch includes the flagship X11T Pro, the romantically named superphone with a number of gee-whizz features. That includes 120W HyperCharge technology that promises to juice your phone full in less than 20 minutes. On the imaging front, the X11T Pro is packing a 108-megapixel primary camera that can shoot 8K Video with Samsung’s HD10+ (and AI cinema modes). Watching those magnum opuses should be pretty enjoyable, too, since the phone’s display has a 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision and HDR10+.
At the same time, the company unveiled the Pad 5, an 11-inch tablet with a WQHD+ screen and support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. More importantly, however, Xiaomi’s ubiquitous Mi Smart Band 6 now has updates for NFC contactless payments. You’ll also be able to connect to Alexa for voice control, among other things.
Flight of the Navigator may not have been a global smash hit, but it certainly jibes with a certain age group right now. Now, several years after Disney first planned to do something with the film, the company has announced a reboot for Disney+ is in the works. Details are thin on the ground at such an early stage, but we do know that Bryce Dallas Howard (star of Jurassic World and regular Lucasfilm director) will helm the remake. If you’re looking for your fill of Disney content, Kris Nadus has done their regular deep-dive on this week’s episode of Marvel’s What If.
Well, it’s official, the robot dog that will hunt us all down in the end-times has learned to navigate on its own. Boston Dynamics has announced a software update to its Spot robot means the machine can reroute itself when its regular planned path is blocked. The company says this will enable Spot to better run autonomous inspection tours, taking photos in hazardous or hard-to-reach areas. Yeah, sure, that’s the reason.
The next Marvel Cinematic Universe show will premiere on Disney+ in November and, appropriately enough, Hawkeyehas a festive setting. Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye) just wants to spend Christmas with his family, but his enemies have other plans.
The series marks the return of Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. This time around, he has a new partner: Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), the self-professed "world's greatest archer." Hawkeye is said to center on the relationship between the two toxophilites, with Clint training Kate to take over as Hawkeye, as the character does in the comics. There are hints of that passing of the torch in the trailer. It shows the pair meeting for the first time and forming a bond as they work together to battle some goons.
There are a few nods to other parts of the MCU here, including the existence of a Broadway musical about Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) and a tip of the cap toward the "masked vigilante" Hawkeye battled in Avengers: Endgame. Something we don't see in the trailer is an appearance by Florence Pugh, who made her MCU bow as assassin Yelena Belova in Black Widowthis summer. She was cast in Hawkeye last December.
In any case, you won't have to wait too long to see what happens when Yelena, Clint and Kate encounter each other. The eight-episode first season of Hawkeye will debut on November 24th on Disney+.
Wrexham AFC is a non-league club in the fifth tier of the English soccer pyramid (the much-more-famous Premier League is at the top), which means it’s an unlikely candidate to feature in a FIFA game. Fortunately for Wrexham, it’s not just any club, but a (technically Welsh) team co-owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney — which is why it’ll now feature in FIFA 22.
Wrexham, based on Wales but playing in England's National football league, will appear in Kick Off mode in the "Rest of World" category. That section includes a grab-bag of clubs which are notable for other reasons but aren't members of a major FIFA-signed league. EA inked a multi-year deal with the club that includes "commitments to the Wrexham community and its fans," the company said
The news leaked out a bit early when Wrexham appeared in a list of all teams in FIFA 22, as Eurogamer reported. Other National clubs might be peeved by the decision, but Wrexham does bring a certain notoriety with Reynolds as owner. "'Rest of World' is an important geographic area known for its random assortment of cultures, climates and football clubs. If you're planning on visiting 'Rest of World,' please consider visiting Wrexham," he said in a typically sassy video.
Don't expect to stream Disney's next movies at home the moment they're available. The Vergereports Disney has revealed that all its remaining 2021 movies will debut in theaters first, including the animated robot comedy Ron's Gone Wrong (October 22nd), the Marvel blockbuster Eternals (November 5th) and a new adaptation of West Side Story (December 10th).
Outside of the animated musical Encanto (November 24th), which has a 30-day window, all of the movies will have a "minimum" 45-day theatrical run before they're available elsewhere. Disney didn't say when you might expect on-demand versions of these titles, whether on Disney+ or rival services.
This is partly a reaction to the relatively strong theater-only releases of summer extravaganzas like Free Guy and Shang-Chi. While COVID-19 still hurt box office numbers (Shang-Chi's $75.5 million US opening paled in comparison to multiple Disney 2019 releases), the revenue may have been enough to justify returning to pre-pandemic distribution.
There's also the matter of placating key factions. Disney said it has a way to pay talent fairly for hybrid theater-and-digital relases, but it wouldn't be surprising if Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow lawsuit plays a role in considering Disney+ launches. The company might not want to risk further trouble with actors and others whose income depends on theatrical performance. And then there's the theaters themselves. When chains like AMC vowed to pull Universal movies even when many locations were closed, Disney might not be willing to provoke a similar confrontation as theaters resume business.
This and Warner Bros.' 2022 return to theaters supports the expectations of many cynics — that studios only saw day-one streaming access as a temporary necessity that would disappear the moment it was reasonably safe to watch on big screens. That's not completely shocking when the movie industry's business model still revolves around theaters, but any fundamental shifts in strategy might not happen for a long, long time.
You no longer have to settle for watching tiny, random clips of the next Matrix movie. Warner Bros. has finally shared the first trailer for The Matrix Resurrections, the long-anticipated fourth movie in the sci-fi action series. As you'd expect, the preview marks the return of Keanu Reeves as Neo, who initially appears unaware of who he really is — he's even taking blue pills and visiting a therapist (Neil Patrick Harris). As you'd expect, though, he begins to question reality and finds the truth underneath, including a reunion with Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss).
You'll also see Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a Morpheus-like figure, and Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones) enticing Neo to rediscover the Matrix. The title will also see Jada Pinkett Smith and Lambert Wilson reprise their respective roles as Niobe and the Merovingian, while Jonathan Groff (Hamilton), Christina Ricci and Daniel Bernhardt are also poised to make appearances.
The movie premieres theatrically on December 22nd. It will also be available to stream on HBO Max for a month if you subscribe to the ad-free tier — the last movie to have that option before Warner Bros. switches back to a theater-first strategy in 2022.
The fifth episode of Marvel’s alternate universe anthology program on Disney+ is a star-studded affair, bringing back Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan and Mark Ruffalo to voice their characters surviving in a world overtaken by the undead. (No Tom Holland, though.) This adventure’s point of divergence takes place during the events of Ant-Man and the Wasp, leading up to the events of Infinity War. It’s the biggest What If...? yet, in both cast and concept, and it also sheds a light on some characters still waiting for their day in the spotlight.
Janet Van Dyne contracts the zombie plague in the Quantum Realm and, when rescued, ends up spreading it to her husband and Scott Lang and things escalate from there. Even the Avengers end up infected, leaving the task of saving the world to characters who weren’t officially part of the team, like Wasp, Winter Soldier and Spider-Man. They’re joined by supporting characters like Sharon Carter, Okoye, Kurt and Happy Hogan. Bruce Banner is there too, but without the help of the Hulk. Just like in Infinity War, he refuses to emerge, leaving Bruce mostly defenseless.
Marvel Studios
The episode also gives us a darker take on the Vision and Scarlet Witch, one that has a lot more meaning if you’ve watched all of WandaVision. There’s also a nod to The Falcon and Winter Soldier, when zombie Sam Wilson gets cut in half. Bucky finds himself unfeeling about the whole thing, likely because this version of the characters haven’t had time to bond the way their live-action counterparts have.
Without Captain America and Iron Man to take the reins, the role of leader falls to, well, no one, really, with this motley group of heroes and side-characters operating as a collective. It seems to work for the team for the most part, though they ignore Peter Parker’s advice not to split up with disastrous results.
Marvel Studios
In fact, Peter is the star of the show here, despite his actor being unavailable to voice him. Just as he was in Infinity War, the kid is a solid team player who more than pulls his weight in combat. But this is also the first time we get to see other heroes interact with him on a more personal level. He isn’t just Tony Stark’s mascot here, instead the team ends up looking to him for moral support, the way they might have once admired Steve Rogers. It’s a nice glimpse of what Peter can be free of Iron Man’s shadow, a thread that will be more fully explored in this December’s No Way Home.
Marvel Studios
In the teaser for the upcoming Eternals film, one of the characters, Sprite, asks who will lead the Avengers now. Though the answer is unlikely to come out of that particular movie, this most recent What If…? suggests a few intriguing possibilities. While Peter forms the heart of the team here, a lot of the thinking falls to Bruce Banner. He’s a character that’s gone underused in the MCU thus far, thanks to Universal holding the film rights. A lot of his development has had to happen off-screen, but starting with 2018’s Thor: Ragnarok and continuing with the upcoming She-Hulk show, he’s gently getting nudged to the forefront of the Avengers. With Captain America, Iron Man and Black Widow dead and Thor off in space, he’s the natural choice to take the reins as one of two OG team members left (and if you’ve seen Shang-Chi, it seems he may already have).
Marvel Studios
Ultimately, like all What If…? episodes this installment doesn’t actually matter to the grander MCU, though its open-ended nature raises the possibility of a sequel — and given how many Marvel Zombies comics are out there, it’s almost guaranteed we’ll see this reality on Disney+ again. But for fans who don’t care for this week’s horror elements the story is still a valuable tease for how a post-blip, second generation Avengers roster could function.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is both a prequel and a spinoff, depicting the adventures of the original USS Enterprise before James Kirk assumed command. It features the return of Anson Mount as Captain Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Spock, all reprising their roles from Discovery. The cast will be filled out by new actors playing other characters from the original series, with Celia Rose Gooding as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel and Babs Olusanmokun as Doctor M'Benga.
Unlike Discovery, however, Strange New Worlds is intended to be more episodic, with standalone installments similar to TOS and TNG. New characters joining the cast include Christina Chong as La’an Noonien-Singh and Melissa Navia as Lieutenant Erica Ortegas. No premiere date has been given yet, but it's likely to debut after Prodigy, Discovery and Picard finish their upcoming seasons.
You can watch the Star Trek Day event live on YouTube, while you'll need a subscription to Paramount+ to watch Strange New Worlds when it drops next year.
Netflix promised a big movie every week in 2021, and it's clearly determined to end the year with its most ostentatious movie yet. The streaming service has posted a teaser trailer for Don't Look Up, a satire where "star-studded cast" is an understatement. The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio as a grad student and professor who try desperately to warn the public of a life-ending comet in an era where 24-hour news and social media lead to gnat-like attention spans. Those two are just the start of the headliners, though — seemingly everyone involved is a big name.
Meryl Streep is the President and counts Jonah Hill as her son, while Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry host a relentlessly optimistic morning show. The flick also features Ron Perlman, Mark Rylance, Dune's Timothée Chalamet and even two pop stars (Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi), among others. The Big Short's Adam McKay directed and wrote the title.
Don't Look Up reaches Netflix on December 24th, but it's arriving in "select" theaters on December 10th. The company is clearly hoping for more Oscars glory given that timing. Not that Netflix will need critical praise. The film-a-week strategy has revolved around enticing viewers with star power, even in "dead" months like January — any statuettes from late-2021 releases are just a bonus.
Ahead of September 9th, when it plans to share the first full trailer from The Matrix Resurrections, Warner Bros. has launched a teaser for the upcoming film. The website, whatisthematrix.com, offers a first look at Neo's latest adventure.
Don't mind me, I'll just be editing #TheMatrixResurrections trailer together as I piece together screenshots from the tens of thousands of unique teases on the website all day. pic.twitter.com/Uu3hrAdy3u
In a call back to the first film, you'll see a red and blue pill on the screen when you first visit the website. Choose the former and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will narrate the clip that follows, while the latter will treat you to the voice of Neil Patrick Harris. Each will present a different interpretation of what follows and a different series of cuts from the movie.
What's more, each time you refresh the website and watch the clips again, you'll see a different set of scenes from the movie, as well as a mention of the current time — you know, to break the fourth wall. There aren't an infinite number of variations of each teaser, but you can piece together quite a few different scenes together if you watch each one multiple times.
Either way, it's a fun way to build up excitement for the film before the first official trailer drops later this week. Of course, if you want to go into The Matrix Resurrections blind, then it's best to wait until December to see it on your own terms.
