Ravensburger is no stranger to Disney. The games publisher has made a mark on the world of trading card games with Disney Lorcana, which first launched in August of last year. Before that, there was Disney Villainous. This time, the game company is combining Disney with RPG-style gameplay in Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition). The tabletop game will feature Disney and Pixar heroines joining forces to conquer a darkness threatening the world. This new Disney game is an immersive adventure that combines roleplaying, storytelling, and cooperation. All of that comes in an approachable board game package.

The game’s cover art shows Disney heroines Maid Marian, Belle, Moana, and Violet. We do not see enough of Maid Marian from Robin Hood, and I’m happy to see her here wielding a badminton racket like a weapon. We don’t know too much about Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls, but here’s a brief description from Ravensburger:

In Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition), players work together to form dynamic alliances of Disney and Pixar heroines, including Moana (Moana), Violet (The Incredibles), Maid Marian (Robin Hood) and Belle (Beauty and the Beast). Materializing as radiant crystal versions summoned into the realm, the heroines drive back shadows of infamous Disney Villains and restore the Realm of Light. Along the way, the team explores a brand-new illustrated world and encounters familiar characters, items, and creatures on their quests. Fully designed and illustrated by women, the game’s diverse missions and modular board generate new adventures every time it’s played.

Ravensburger recommends the game for four players ages eight and up.

We look forward to seeing more illustrations and discovering more about the gameplay.

Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition) is now available for pre-order at Target.com. It will then be available for purchase at Target and hobby stores nationwide on July 21. The MSRP is $29.99.

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Disney Lorcana is a game that has only continued to pick up speed and fan love. And without anyone realizing it, the release of Disney Lorcana‘s fifth set is here. Ravensburger has announced the next set of Disney Lorcana cards will be called Shimmering Skies and has given us a brand new look at what’s in store. Here’s everything we know about this magical fifth set, Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies.

Title

As mentioned, the fifth set of Disney Lorcana cards is called Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies.

Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies’ Story

Disney Lorcana‘s fifth release will continue the story told in the first four sets of cards. A release shares, “The realm of Lorcana holds a great festival to celebrate its recent victory over Ursula, which concluded the previous set, Ursula’s Return, filling the realm with fun and revelry. During the celebration, a new mystery begins to unfold as parts of the Great Illuminary fall off, crashing down around the crowd.”

Uh-oh, what could that mean for Disney Lorcana? We’ll just have to play Shimmering Skies and find out.

Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies‘ New Franchise and Characters

One of the most exciting parts of Disney Lorcana is the gorgeous new renditions of familiar and beloved Disney characters. Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies will bring Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph into the mix. A release notes, this Disney franchise will join “Lorcana in a substantial way and is the franchise’s first appearance since Ralph appeared on the Pick a Fight action card in Rise of the Floodborn.” That’s very exciting for fans of this particular Disney adventure. New Wreck It-Ralph characters coming to Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies include “Wreck-It Ralph, Vanellope Von Schweetz, King Candy, Fix-It Felix, Jr” Additionally, Elemental spirits from Frozen 2, including Bruni and Gale, will join in the Disney Lorcana fun.

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A release additionally shares, “Shimmering Skies features Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph with the introduction of Disney characters like Vanellope Von Schweetz and Fix-it Felix, Jr. In addition, players can anticipate new gameplay mechanics with an evolved story with gorgeous art – all of which is infused with electric energy that amplifies both the celebration and the gameplay. More details on mechanics and other cards will be unveiled closer to availability. All cards in this set can be used to update existing Disney Lorcana TCG decks or played alongside the previously released sets, The First Chapter, Rise of the Floodborn, Into the Inklands, and Ursula’s Return.”

What Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies Will Include

The Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies release will include the following

• Two Starter Decks
  • Amethyst and Ruby (Elsa and Wreck-It Ralph) 
  • Emerald and Steel (Scar and Kronk) 
• Illumineer’s Trove
  • Contains: (8) booster packs, lore counter, card dividers and new shimmering dice
• Two new Deck Sleeves and Boxes
  • Featured glimmers are fan favorites from sets 1 and 2
    • Tiana – Celebrating Princess
    • Aladdin – Heroic Outlaw
• Two New Portfolios
  • Back of card artwork (Front and back)
  • Six glimmers by artist Nicholas Kole across the front and back

Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies Release Date

Disney Lorcana will be released at local game stores, Disney Stores, and Disney Parks on August 9, 2024. Shimmering Skies will then be released by mass market retailers and DisneyStore.com on August 23, 2024. 

A Disney Lorcana and Disney VIllainous: Introduction to Evil Crossover

Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies and Disney Villainous: Introduction to Evil will be having a crossover this summer. An exclusive, alternate-art, foil version of the Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies card, Prince John – Gold Lover, will be available in new, stickered, and limited copies of Disney Villainous: Introduction to Evil board game. This limited-edition Disney Lorcana card will be illustrated in the art style of Disney Villainous.

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Actress Lenore Zann has been providing the distinctive Southern belle voice of Rogue since the first episode of X-Men: The Animated Series in 1992. Now, 25 years since the last episode aired, she reprised the role for the Disney+ continuation, X-Men ’97. The show took everyone by surprise by just how excellent the writing and acting were, eclipsing the classic series. And a large part of why it was so good was Rogue’s unexpected character journey, which in many ways was the main emotional thread of the series. And it was all played brilliantly by Zann, without missing a beat. We chatted with Zann about returning to Rogue after all this time, and what the future holds for the sassiest X-Man at Xavier’s School.

Nerdist: So many old TV shows have had revivals recently after decades away, usually to mixed results. Did you ever think X-Men ’97 might end up as something that didn’t live up to the original ’90s series?

Lenore Zann: No. I really thought it would be a huge hit. Judging from the fans that we’ve been meeting over the last five years at Comic Cons, who just loved the original show and couldn’t wait to see more episodes of a new show. And we had no idea that a new show was going to be happening until about three years ago, I guess 2021. But as soon as I got the scripts, I knew they were going to be good. I knew it was going to be good, because really that’s what it was the first time around. The scripts were so damn good. The writing was excellent. It’s the same this time, too. Without a script, you don’t have anything. And the scripts were amazing.

Rouge kind of had the most iconic moments of the season, from throwing Captain America’s shield to going full rampage on the military base. You could see she had the biggest character arc of the season. Which of all of the moments was the most fun for you to play?

Zann: Well, of course I loved the meeting with Captain America and throwing his shield.
“Well, if your hands are tied, I guess you won’t be needing this.” So that was a lot of fun. But to be honest, also the emotional scenes with both Remy and Magneto in episode five. And then of course, the sad, tragic loss of my loved one, my soulmate Gambit. That was a gift for an actor to be able to play those beats and those emotions and be able to use my own personal emotions and experience to channel them into my character.

It had literally been 25 years since you played Rogue in the original X-Men series. Was it like riding a bike, or did you have to learn to be that character again?

Zann: I liken it to putting on a pair of well-worn, very fine, very comfortable gloves. You just put them on. You haven’t had them on for many years, and they just fit, and they feel good. For me, that’s how it is with Rogue. She is a part of me, and there’s a lot of me in her. So yeah, it was just a joy to come back to Rogue again.

For the entire original series, Rogue’s only romantic interest was Gambit. But for X-Men ’97, you got to have a romantic storyline with Magneto. What was it like for you to play a totally different romantic dynamic with someone else in the series?

Zann: Well, it was great. Again, for an actor, any of these scenarios are fun to play. But I did wonder if the public, if our fans would be upset because there are so many Gambit fans. and Rogue and Gambit, “Romy,” as they call them, fans. But it was fun. And I also knew where Rogue was coming from, that she really wanted to touch somebody and to be able to have that physical connection.

So in the scene in episode five, where she kisses Magneto, she comes down out of the ceiling, which is a great entrance. And then they dance very seductively, and touch palms like Romeo and Juliet almost. And then they kiss. But then she pulls away from that kiss and she says, “Thanks for the dance, sugar.” And then there was another line there, and I don’t remember what it was, but I said to [former X-Men ’97 showrunner] Beau DeMayo, who was there directing me, and I said, “Would it be okay if I said something else instead? Can I try something?”

He said, “Sure, try it.” And I said, “Thanks for the dance, sugar. But Remy was right. Some things are deeper than skin.” He had already said that earlier in the episode, and I just thought that that would be the button that was needed to let people know, love, true love, is deeper than skin. And on another level, it doesn’t matter what you look like. It doesn’t matter what skin color. Love, it transcends everything. And it’s the same for the LGBTQ community. So I thought it would really sing, and they kept it in. So I’m really happy about that.

You just mentioned the LGBTQ community, which I’m a part of. We have a huge connection to the X-Men. I think more than any other major nerd property actually. Do you have any stories of queer people coming up to you, talking about what Rogue and the X-Men have meant to them?

Zann: Absolutely. I was really pleased and honored to be able to be in the West Hollywood Pride Parade. And I went with my friend Morph, JP Karliak, and we had a convertible and we had a bunch of X-Men cosplayers, about 30 walking with us. And I thought that it was so important to be able to be there and make the statement that, “Hey, we are allies. We are yours. We belong to this community, too. And that we support you.”

So yeah, actually even since that parade, I’ve had two different young men come to me. I was in the Apple store, and I was having dinner somewhere else in Hollywood. And two different people said, “I saw you in the parade. I’m in the LGBTQ community. Thank you so much for being there. It meant a lot to us. And you made my childhood. You made us feel safe. Your show was a safe place for us to go. I could relate to Rogue. I’ve always loved Rogue.” It was really heartwarming. And this is what we hear over and over again.

Episode 5 was the turning point for the series. It’s when X-Men ’97 went from being just a nostalgic exercise, taking things to another level. And it had Rogue’s most heartbreaking moment, when she cradles Gambit’s dead body and says “I can’t feel you.” This asked you to go places as an actor the classic show never did. How did it feel getting to play the same character in a more grown-up and emotionally real setting?

Zann: No, because I’ve always been an extremely emotional actor. I have no problem going to the depths of my emotions and channeling them into a performance. And I’ve been known for doing a number of very strong performances, particularly in theater. When I was 19, I was discovered to play the role of Marilyn Monroe, in a rock opera about her life. And I was only 19 when I got it, and it was called Hey, Marilyn. I had to play her from the age of 16, all the way through her Hollywood years as Marilyn Monroe, to her final denouement at 36 when she died. And I had to do it all on a song on stage with 2000 people. So that was what kickstarted my career. If I can do that, then I can do anything.

You know a show has struck a nerve when it’s got plenty of memes, and the meme game for X-Men ’97 was wild. One of them had Rogue replicating the Kill Bill poster, saying “Kill Ya’ll” after Gambit died. What was it like seeing the reactions week to week, with the fandom so engaged? 

Zann: It was very funny. AJ LoCascio, who plays Gambit, and Matthew Waterson, who plays Magneto, we all get along really well. And we’ve all got a really good sense of humor. So we were sending each other these memes. But also, they were making memes about stuff we were doing in real life. Like when we went to a dinner with a whole bunch of people. And suddenly all the people were in one end of the room, and AJ was sitting by himself at one of the tables, and I was sitting with Matthew. I said, “Let’s do a photograph with AJ, showing him in his Gambit crop top by himself, over there at the table, and we’ll just gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes.” And then they shared that on social media, and then that became a meme. It was hilarious. It was a lot of fun.

After Genosha and Gambit’s death, Rogue chooses to go and join Magneto. Did that twist surprise you when you read it in the script, or was it something they told you Rogue was going to do from the get-go?

Zann: No, they didn’t tell me from the beginning. Again, I just found out as I got each script what was going to be happening, which I like it that way, so that I’m surprised as well. And then I can delve into it. But Rogue started off as a villain. And in these comic books, sometimes the heroes become the villains, back and forth, for various reasons. So I found that I thought it was very interesting.

And I thought, in a way, it made sense for Rogue at that point to find out that A: Magneto didn’t die. And B: that she’s starting to think that he could be right. As they say, “Magneto was right.” Which I think shows that Rogue, she wants to get vengeance. She wants to get justice for Remy, and also for all of the people that were killed in that genocide. And so she does what she does for a reason. But I am glad she came back by the end.

Are the any plotlines from the original series you wanted to see followed up on in X-Men ’97 that weren’t? I was a bit surprised the Rogue and her mother Mystique never had a moment.

Zann: I think it would be fun at some point to have some scenes again with Mystique. I’m not sure when it will come. We didn’t have any in this particular season. But I’m always interested in her relationship with Mystique because it’s definitely fraught with a lot of emotions. And anybody who’s ever had any mother issues can relate. But I was glad to see Nightcrawler playing a large role, and that was really lovely. The scenes between Rogue and Nightcrawler, Mystique’s son and her adoptive brother. I love it.

It was great that X-Men ’97 was a true ensemble show and not just the Wolverine show. Having said that, you and Cal Dodd didn’t have a ton of moments together. Can we hope to see some more Rogue and Logan moments in season two?

Zann: I can’t say. But there were a lot more Rogue and Storm moments in the original show as well. And in this show, they played up Jean and Storm being really close friends. Storm is one of my favorite characters, I just love her. And I think the way Alison Sealy-Smith plays her, with her incredible voice. She is like a goddess. And she’s done so much theater in Stratford and things like this. She’s perfect for the role. So I hope I get to do some more stuff with Storm in the future as well. And of course, Cal and Alison and I, and George Buza as Beast, we’re all good friends. And it’s always great to see them at Comic Cons when we have these various reunions.

Yeah. So where are you guys now with season two? Not in terms of what it’s going to be about, but have you guys recorded your lines? Where are you guys at?

Zann: I’ve recorded all my scenes for the whole season. A lot of people have, but a lot of people still need to be recorded. But the animation is what takes a long time. So they usually start with our voices, it’s called pre-lay. And then they do the animation to the voices. And then we come back for cleanups or pickups or line changes and things like that. Yeah, I’m excited and I can’t wait for season two to air, and I hope people really like it like they liked the first season.

What are your hopes for the future of Rogue going forward into, not just season two, but maybe season three and four, if we get that?

Zann: I am happy to do whatever the writers choose to do. I’m an actor at the end of the day. I take writers’ words and I try to make them live and breathe. And I’m up for anything really. I love her journey so far. I love her journey in season two. And I’m just looking forward to seeing where she goes from here. But at the end of the day, it is, we are a team and we have an amazing team. The artists, the writers, the music, the composers, the Newton brothers, the entire cast, the producers, the directors. It’s like lightning in a bottle. The way Larry Houston, our original director, likes to call it. He said, “We had lightning in a bottle the first time around, and we’ve had lightning in a bottle a second time,” which is just amazing.

When we first met the original writers again, Eric and Julia Lewold and Larry Houston. for the very first time, it was five years ago at a Comic Con in Texas where we were all invited to come. Cal Dodd, me, the rest of them, and the writers and the director. We had never met before, because back in the ’90s, we were performing in a studio in Toronto. And they, of course, were all in Los Angeles. And there were no cell phones then. There was no internet.

So we would record together in a group with a circle of microphones in the studio, and then they’d send the tapes to Los Angeles. I think they FedExed them or something. So when we finally met, we got along so well. And we all went out for a dinner one night at the end of this Comic Con five years ago, and I said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if somebody bought the rights to the X-Men, and decided to reboot the animated series and brought us all back again?” And we said, “Let’s toast to that, and let’s put it out there to the universe to manifest.” I’d like to have seven seasons and an animated film. And then a spin-off with Gambit and Rogue. I’d like to do that, too.

All episodes of X-Men ’97 are now available to stream on Disney+.

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Gee, thanks, Disney Pixar! Way to remind us that growing up is hard to do. But it turns out that it is, even for animated children becoming animated teenagers. The latest trailer for the much-anticipated sequel to Inside Out, aptly named Inside Out 2, spotlights Anxiety, Envy, Ennui (boredom/angst), and Embarrassment. These are all very frequent emotions for teenagers, obviously. Everyone, please make Anxiety and friends feel very welcome…

It happens to us all. Demolition day and BAM. Anxiety, boredom, and jealousy have moved in. We have to say that Inside Out 2‘s trailer has captured the spirit of anxiety very well… Too well… We honestly can’t look this trailer directly in the eye. Anxiety is perfectly voiced by Maya Hawke (a.k.a. Robin Buckley from Stranger Things), And she’s already apologizing for not getting it right. Nooooo! And even worse, she’s not the only one to arrive. Inside Out 2 also features Embarrassment (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Envy (Paul Walter Hauser). This movie does not look like it intends to slow its roll. And we can’t forget Nostalgia, of course, kindly, but here to make you feel a little too much.

Inside Out 2 Synopsis Dives Into Anxiety and Other New Emotions

Along with the trailer, Disney and Pixar revealed a lengthy new synopsis for Inside Out 2. It shares:

The little voices inside Riley’s head know her inside and out—but next summer, everything changes when Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 introduces a new Emotion: Anxiety. According to director Kelsey Mann, the new character promises to stir things up within headquarters. “Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke, might be new to the crew, but she’s not really the type to take a back seat,” said Mann. “That makes a lot of sense if you think about it in terms of what goes on inside all our minds.” A trailer, poster and film stills are now available for what promises to be the feel-good (or feel-everything) film of Summer 2024.

Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone. Maya Hawke lends her voice to Anxiety, alongside Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Tony Hale as Fear, and Liza Lapira as Disgust.

Well, there you have it. Inside Out 2 arrives on June 14, 2024. We’re not quite sure it will make us feel “good” but we bet it will definitely hit hard.

Originally published November 9, 2023.

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The next few years are going to bring about many exciting Star Wars series to Disney+, including Ahsoka and further adventures for The Mandalorian and Andor. But one, in particular, announced in 2020, is The Acolyte.

In a wholesome video, Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen, welcomes The Acolyte‘s Amandla Stenberg to the world of Star Wars. Christensen offers, “I just wanted to send you a quick message to say congratulations. And I’m very excited for the show, and wanted to wish you all the best and welcome you to our Star Wars family. Hopefully I’ll get to meet you soon, maybe at a Star Wars Celebration or something.” This is the kind of content we love to see.

Here’s everything we know about The Acolyte, a set a century before the events of the Skywalker Saga.

Title

The official title for the upcoming Lucasfilm Star Wars series is The Acolyte. Its official title may or may not wind up as Star Wars: The Acolyte.

The Acolyte’s Plot

The Acolyte‘s trailer gives us our first good look at the series, which cautions that even in times of peace, evil is always rising. A synopsis shared with the trailer reveals:

In “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….

When Disney officially announced the series back in December 2020, we got a slightly different description, which noted:

The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated. 

We’ve also learned that the drama unfolds about a century before the events of The Phantom Menace, during a time when the Sith were still in hiding, getting ready to make their move to take over the galaxy. Aside from canon novels, the High Republic is an era totally unexplored in any live-action or animated Star Wars projects.

Behind the Scenes

Leslye Headland is on board as writer and producer. Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). A release shares, “Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.”

The Acolyte’s Cast

The Acolyte‘s cast is turning out better than we could have imagined. Playing the lead role in the show is Amandla Stenberg, recently seen in Bodies Bodies Bodies. Joining Stenberg are Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joonas Suotamo. Suotamo is playing a Wookiee and Henderson will portray Vernestra Rwoh. This High Republic character was one of the youngest ever to become Jedi Knight. Of course, we’ll see her much older in this Star Wars series.

In The Acolyte, the green-skinned Jedi Master, played by Rebecca Henderson, is a cool 116 years old and lives in the temple on Coruscant. In an interview with Empire, series creator Leslye Headland affirms that Rwoh is the only character from that book series who will be in The Acolyte …at least, for now. Headland speaks more on the character’s personality, saying she’s been through a lot. “That has resulted in her going from this fun-seeking adventurer character [in the books], to a little bit closer to the [type of] Jedi that we see in The Phantom Menace.”

The Acolyte‘s Release Date

The Acolyte will release on June 4, 2024. It will premiere with its first two episodes.

Originally published on May 10, 2023.

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Disney Parks announced in 2020 that they were reimagining Splash Mountain at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The new theme? The Princess and the Frog. The attraction is currently themed around Song of the South. You know, the deeply problematic and racist 1946 movie Disney will not even put on Disney+. And now, we know the name of the updated attraction and when we might expect to ride it. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open on June 28 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, with a later 2024 opening for Disneyland in California. You can check out everything we’ve seen so far from the ride, including some looks inside of it, below.

A Look Inside Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

First up is a neat look inside the ride. You can check out an abridged version from Walt Disney Imagineering’s Instagram below. Alternatively, you can go on a fuller adventure via YouTube. The section about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure begins around 16:15, and the look inside the ride itself kicks off at around 18:07.

The Tiana Animatronic Comes to Life and More

We also have a good look at the animatronic Tiana that will be a part of the new Disney attraction. Unlike the scary ones in Five Nights at Freddy’s, this one is actually cute.

You can also check out these wonderful new photos from Disney Parks Blog:

The Story of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

The story of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will pick up after the ending of The Princess and The Frog film—right after the final kiss. Featuring some of the incredible music from the animated feature, the attraction will follow Princess Tiana and Louis as they prepare for their first Mardi Gras performance. Given that Splash Mountain is adjacent to New Orleans Square in Disneyland, this story goes hand-in-hand with the area. The voice of Princess Tiana, Anika Noni Rose, will reprise her role for the re-themed Splash Mountain attraction.

According to the Disney Parks Blog:

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will take guests on a musical adventure inspired by the beloved story and characters from the fan-favorite film. Picking up where the film left off, guests will join Princess Tiana, Naveen and jazz-loving alligator Louis on an adventure through the bayou as they prepare to host a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras celebration where everyone is welcome. Along the way, guests will encounter familiar faces, make new friends and travel through the bayou to original music inspired by songs from the film as they are brought into the next chapter of Tiana’s story.

Disney Parks updated the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in 2017. The company removed the bride auction and give Redd the pirate a prominent role. The parks are making this much needed change to Splash Mountain.

When Will Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Open?

Splash Mountain closed in both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom in 2023. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open at both parks in 2024. As mentioned above, it will first open in Walt Disney World on June 28.

Originally published on June 25, 2020.

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The final post-credits tease of X-Men ’97 season one saw the ancient mutant Apocalypse among the ruins of Genosha, after the genocidal attack by Bastion. He was lamenting his dead mutant children, saying “So much pain. So much Death.” He says the words “death” holding Gambit’s charred playing card, suggesting that just as in the comics, En Sabah Nur will transform the deceased X-Man into his Horseman of Death. This role once belonged to another former X-Man, Archangel. But what about the three other Horseman? Which mutants will take those roles?

Where there is a Horseman of Death, there are always three other Horseman at the side of Apocalypse. They are War, Pestilence/Plague, and Famine. The question is, which dead mutants will the ancient Apocalypse raise from the grave to join Gambit? While it’s not necessarily a given that all four horsemen will be resurrected mutants, we have a feeling their master will want to make a statement—using dead mutants murdered by Sentinels against humanity. Here’s who we think will join Gambit as the other three Horsemen.

Dazzler/Horseman of War

Longtime X-Men fans were thrilled to see mutant pop star Alison Blaire, a.k.a. Dazzler, in X-Men ’97, partying it up in Genosha. She’s a major X-Men character who only appeared briefly in the ’90s X-Men: The Animated Series. Her return was short-lived, as when tragedy struck Genosha, we saw Ali among the dead after the Sentinel attack. If Apocalypse resurrects her as a Horseman, our guess is she’ll be the Horseman of War. Even though her powers of turning sound into light may appear goofy, it also means she can fire deadly lasers from her hands. This is something she did handily in the original 1989 X-Men pilot. It’s a pretty outwardly aggressive power if perverted by someone like Apocalypse.

Banshee/Horseman of Pestilence

Poor Sean Cassidy. The romantic partner of Moira MacTaggert of Muir Island, the mutant Banshee was a major X-Man for many years in the comics. He appeared a handful of times in the ’90s cartoon. We see the Irish mutant flying away from the destruction in Genosha in “Remember It,” when a Sentinel blast incinerated him, along with the mutant Marrow. However, since his mutant ability involves a highly powered sonic scream, given how an airborne disease travels, we think Banshee might be a prime candidate for the Horseman of Pestilence. In the comics, the Apocalypse Twins resurrected him from death as one of four Horseman of Death. We could see a twist on that in X-Men ’97 year two.

Madelyne Pryor/Horseman of Famine

Jean Grey’s clone Madelyne Pryor was one of the breakout stars of X-Men ’97 as the Goblin Queen. Sadly, her life ended tragically after briefly connecting with her son Cable moments before she died in Genosha. As an Omega Level mutant, since she’s Jean’s genetic double, Apocalypse would be wise to use her as a Horseman. With her vast mental powers, she could lay waste to the Earth as only the Horseman Famine could. We also think she’d be the first of Apocalypse’s Horseman to break free from his control, just as she broke free of Sinister’s control in the episode.

Many other mutants died in Genosha, so the possibilities for new undead Horsemen is endless. We’ll find out who makes the cut for Apocalypse when X-Men ’97 eventually returns to Disney+.

The post Who Will Be the Horsemen of Apocalypse in X-MEN ’97 Season 2? appeared first on Nerdist.

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been one of the most lucrative of all time for Disney. In the era before the company owned Marvel or Star Wars, it was easily the studio’s biggest live-action franchise. But it’s been seven years since Dead Men Tell No Tales. Will the Jolly Roger flag ever fly again on the big screen? According to series producer Jerry Bruckheimer, it will. Only this time, Pirates of the Caribbean will receive the complete reboot treatment. During an interview with ComicBook, Bruckheimer said “We’re gonna reboot Pirates, so that is easier to put together because you don’t have to wait for certain actors.”

But wait, there’s more. Apparently, there are two movies coming out and one will hopefully star Margot Robbie. According to IGN, Bruckheimer said that Disney still wants to make at least one of them with Robbie portraying the lead character.

That comment seems to put the final nail in the coffin for any return of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Frankly, we probably won’t see Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbosa again either. Or any of the original cast, unless we’re talking cameos. A few years back, reports circulated that Margot Robbie was a possibility to lead a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. However, that was before her star went supernova after the success of Barbie. Although, we’re still not opposed to the idea—especially if she can bring some of that Harley Quinn energy to it.

The Last of Us creator Craig Mazin developed the story for a Pirates reboot alongside the first film’s original screenwriter, Ted Elliot. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mazin described their new Pirates as “weird.” He said, “We pitched it and thought there’s no way they’re buying it, it’s too weird. And they did! And then we wrote a fantastic script and the strike happened, and everyone’s waiting around.” With the strikes over, it seems only a matter of time before we hear something about this new reboot.

What is unclear is if this reboot will take place in the same continuity as the original films or not. The first five films created a vast pirate mythology, one that got a bit unwieldy. But they might want to keep certain elements of the original films—mainly, the iconic ship, the Black Pearl. Maybe the movie could utilize the pirate ship from the original Disneyland attraction, the Wicked Wench, placing the action there? It will be interesting to see if Pirates can grab hold of audiences without Captain Jack Sparrow, or if another character can fill those iconic boots.

The post New PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Movies Will Be Reboots, One Possibly Starring Margot Robbie appeared first on Nerdist.

At the end of season one of X-Men ’97, our team of mutant heroes are now lost in time, and presumed dead to the world. We see that Forge is planning to keep the dream of Charles Xavier alive however, and he has a corkboard of several known mutants he plans to recruit. While many of the X-Men are listed as “Presumed Dead,” or in the case of Scarlet With and Quicksilver, “Off World,” several others are prime candidates. Based on Forge’s board, here’s who we expect to become the all-new, all-different X-Men in season two.

Colossus (Piotr Rasputin)

Piotr Rasputin, the metal-skinned mutant powerhouse called Colossus, is a mainstay of the team in the comics. In the animated shows, the Russian-born mutant was just a guest star a few times, and never formally joined the team. He only appeared in two episodes, displaying an over-the-top Russian accent. His appearance on Forge’s board suggests next season, Colossus will finally step up and become a real X-Man at last.

Magik (Illyana Rasputin)

Colossus isn’t the only member of the Rasputin family on Forge’s board. Also seen is his sister Illyana, a.k.a. Magik. We saw the mutant teleporter as a child in the original series, but here we see her as a teenager. That’s not a continuity error either. In the comics, Illyana spent years in the Limbo dimension as a child, when it was just months here, returning as much older. As a mutant sorceress and owner of the Soul Sword, she’ll make for a formidable X-Man if Forge recruits her. Like her brother, Morph transformed into Magik in one episode of X-Men ’97.

Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde)

One of the most requested (and beloved) characters in X-Men history finally appears on Forge’s board. Katherine “Kitty” Pryde, born with the power to phase through solid objects, is finally confirmed as existing in the X-Men: The Animated Series universe. Despite appearing in the original pilot episode “Pryde of the X-Men,” she never appeared in the ’92-’97 series. This appears to be the older version of the character, using her Shadowcat codename and costume. So if she joins the team, it’s unlikely she will be the junior member she originally was.

Havok (Alex Summers)

We know from this season that Scott Summers/Cyclops has a complicated family tree. This is a guy who has a cyborg son that’s older than he is, and a father who’s a space pirate. But he also has a powerful brother named Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok. A powerful energy manipulator, they separated Scott and Alex as children. When they met in the original series, Havok was a member of the team X-Factor, and they didn’t know they were brothers. As far as we know, they still don’t. It’s time to rectify that mistake next season with Forge officially recruiting Alex Summers into the X-Men.

Iceman (Bobby Drake)

Robert Drake, better known as Iceman, is a founding member of the team who only appeared once in the original X-Men: The Animated Series. He was front and center in the third season episode “Cold Comfort,” but we haven’t seen him since. This season, we kept seeing Bobby in the original X-Men class portrait in Xavier’s office, hinting there was more to come for him. The fact that he’s on Forge’s board suggests it’s finally time for this Omega Level mutant to rejoin the team. Besides, it’ll be nice to have such a prominent gay superhero on the X-Men.

Archangel (Warren Worthington III)

Another original X-Man on the board is Warren Worthington III, also known as the razor-winged Archangel. He’s listed as “Presumed Dead” on Forge’s board, although not because he was fighting with the X-Men on Asteroid M. We saw him flying around Genosha when the massacre happened. Yet given his upgrades from Apocalypse, who gave him his metal wings, it’s highly unlikely he died there. And if the X-Men’s “Big Bad” of season two is indeed Apocalypse, they’ll probably need his former Horseman of Death to fight him.

The White Queen (Emma Frost)

Emma Frost, the former White Queen of the Hellfire Club, made a brief appearance in season one of X-Men ’97. She was part of the ruling council on Genosha, before Bastion’s Sentinel massacre happened. Emma was presumed dead, but just as in the comics, she survived when her secondary mutation happened, emerging in her diamond form. She also took a romantic interest in Cyclops. But she’s still a telepath of the highest order, and Forge’s new team is going to need one of those, especially with Jean and Charles gone. Also, Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde have a great love/hate dynamic we’d love to see in the show.

Dust (Sooraya Qadir)

This character is a more recent addition to Marvel Comics X-Men canon, first appearing in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men series in 2002. Dust, whose real name is Sooraya Qadir, is a young Muslim mutant who has the power to transform her body into a pliable cloud of sand. Originally from Afghanistan, the X-Men recruited Sooraya as a student of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. She’s quite powerful, and in her dust form is hard to detect telepathically. She would be an asset to any team that Forge forms.

Exodus (Bennet du Paris)

This one’s the wild card. On Forge’s board we see the image of Exodus, one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Comics pantheon. Bennet du Paris comes from the 12th century, where his telekinetic, telepathic, and teleporting abilities became augmented by Apocalypse. He’s served En Sabah Nur as well as Magneto in the modern age, even leading his Acolytes. We saw him on Genosha in episode 5, “Remember It,” partying it up. It looks like he survived the massacre. Exodus isn’t really a joiner, so it might be shocking to see him as an X-Man. But with Apocalypse in play next season as the main villain, anything is possible.

The post Did the X-MEN ’97 Finale Reveal a New Team? appeared first on Nerdist.

I’ve made some jokes over the years, but I don’t hate “Disney adults.” Why hate people who aren’t harming anyone? My issue is that I’ve just never understood them. That has nothing to do with Disney, either. I love going to new places and meeting new people. I can’t relate—even with friends and family I love and adore—to those who only seem interested in going on the same exact trip multiple times a year to a place seemingly meant for children. Or at least I couldn’t until now. Because after a once-in-a-lifetime experience as a guest of Walt Disney World, I might not be a “Disney adult,” but I definitely understand why so many are.

Nerdist was recently among the handful of media outlets Disney hosted at its video game-inspired Level Up! event. (Read all about Level Up! and what it taught me about Disney parks in our multiple part series which starts here.) It’s an understatement to say I got the full VIP experience. Among the many perks involved was getting into parks early, going on the best rides without waiting, and eating at exclusive locations. It was amazing in ways I can’t fully explain. Without my wife and young son in tow—technically this was work!—it was like being a worry-free kid at myself. The adults handled everything, my (second) job was just having fun. Only this was like my uncle was also married to Walt Disney’s daughter.

Obviously all of that special treatment contributed to how I feel about my time there and I wouldn’t pretend otherwise. But as you’ll see it’s not why I’m writing this.

My Disney adulthood education is rooted the universal truths I learned about Disney and why so many find it intoxicating enough to keep going back. The most important was something I already knew, but couldn’t fully understand until now. No one offers nostalgia like Disney. How can they when few others have a century of stories, movies, shows, characters, and shared experiences to draw from? That history, and how it binds us to loved ones, is why being in a Disney park is like stepping into a living memory. It’s a memory that is free of all other worries and burdens, the type of memory that really does make you feel like a kid.

As I walked back down Main Street U.S.A. at the Magic Kingdom for the first time in 30 years (almost to the day!) it was as though I’d never left. It all felt familiar in the best, most innocent, purest way. I had the same emotional, childlike reaction on rides I loved as a kid. Space Mountain still thrilled me. Pirates of the Caribbean was as fun as I remembered. Even Dumbo, which I assumed I was way too old to enjoy without my son, had me smiling like I didn’t have a care in the world. It all just felt good. And that feeling was wonderfully simple. Who wouldn’t want to feel that kind of joy as often as they can? Who wouldn’t want their biggest problem in life to be a long line for the Tea Cups? No wonder people who can keep coming back.

It also helps that in addition to being timeless, visiting Disney feels like stepping outside of reality. The parks’ immersive, self-contained environment makes being there feel like you exist on another planet. It’s a place unmoored from the stress and issues of normal life back on Earth. Obviously being able to ignore the outside world, even for a few days (especially right now), is a huge privilege. That chance to briefly escape reality is a big reason why I felt immense gratitude while there. I knew/know how lucky I was. And though I was much luckier than almost every other person visiting, that feeling was a communal one.

I know Disney is a billion dollar, money-printing conglomerate that’s inherently and unavoidably a political monster, but being at a Disney park is apolitical in a way few things are anymore. (Even the people who work there give that impression. Disney the company might be like the heartless studio counting box office dollars, but the individual people responsible for providing a great experience are like filmmakers only concerned with making a great movie.)

At no point did I ever have to hear a stranger pontificate about politicians or elections. No one was spewing hate or bigotry, either. (Though I thought a ton/felt very guilty about that considering the state I was in.) It’s as though everyone who goes to Disney understands there’s an unwritten rule prohibiting such talk. Breaking it would instantly make someone the worst person at the happiest place on Earth, and no one I encountered wanted to burst the bubble of joy we were all living under for a brief respite. People just get along there the way you wish they’d get along everywhere.

(The only other place I’ve ever experienced that sense of shared, apolitical, escapist joy was on a cruise, which makes a whole lot of sense. “Vacation cruise people” are the floating equivalent to Disney adults. There’s just something impossibly appealing about having a good, self-contained experience that also serves as an uncomplicated reprieve from regular life.)

I get it now. Those universal truths are the reasons Disney adults exist. They aren’t looking for what I am in a normal vacation. They’re not worried about going to a new place, because Disney is not a place. They’re not worried about new experiences, either, because Disney is not defined by its rides, attractions, or food. Disney adults keep going back because Disney is a feeling. It’s a feeling that everything there is alright, always has been, and always will be. I know that’s not actually true, but in the moment, when you’re enjoying a Dole Whip, riding up into Spaceship Earth, dropping on the Tower of Terror, or just watching a kid hug Goofy, it feels that way. When you’re there your brain has a way of blocking at all the bad stuff. When Disney is at its best you are, too.

But that fun, freeing escape from adulthood and reality isn’t what Disney adults are really chasing there. It’s not why I wanted to write this, either. The shared communal delights of Disney escapism is responsible for the real reason Disney adults exist. It’s about the people we go to Disney with. That includes those we went with long ago, those we go there with right now, and those we hope to go with in the future.

Disney might be timeless, but we’re not. An amusement park can remain a simple joy, but we get old and life gets more complicated as our memories fade. And the older we get the more we say goodbye to people we’d like to hold on to forever. At Disney, where time doesn’t exist, we can. I did.

I spent 30 years telling people I don’t care about fireworks because once you’ve seen Disney fireworks nothing else compares. I’ve been pretty damn convinced of that opinion despite it relying on the memories of a 10-year-old me. Turns out I’ve been entirely right, just not entirely for the right reason.

Our first official night as a group ended with the fireworks display at Magic Kingdom. It was incredible, as good as any fireworks display I’ve ever seen. But the reason nothing has ever compared to Disney fireworks for me is that they also have something going for it no other show can offer. As I watched Cinderella’s Castle and the night sky come to life, I wasn’t thinking about the colors or the music. I wasn’t thinking about work or even why I was standing there and under what circumstance. All I was thinking about was my sister Kayla, gone, impossibly, more than 12 years now, the first real Disney adult I ever knew even though she never really got to be an adult.

Being back at that spot in the Magic Kingdom, it felt like she was there with me. I could feel her presence, another living memory. As were my sister Jenna and my mom, just as the four of us had been there together thirty years ago at the end of an amazing day. It was like we had never left. More importantly it was like Kayla—who’d been so many times since my last visit—had never left. And that was before the show ended with Tinker Bell, my sister’s favorite character, coming out. As that little fairy in green danced away from the castle, I felt closer to Kayla than I have in a long time.

As Tinker Bell disappeared and the last firework vanished from the sky it was like my sister went with them. I quietly wiped my eyes before anyone noticed. I didn’t want to ruin anyone else’s experience by making them feel bad for me. They were surely all having their own personal moments. That’s what Disney offers everyone. I wasn’t as successful hiding my feelings the next night, though, when we gathered at EPCOT to watch its fireworks display.

All I could think about that night was my mom and the last time I went to Walt Disney World. It had been the site of many childhood trips until my last vacation there at 10. My mother, struggling with a divorce she neither wanted nor was responsible for, yet feeling as though she had somehow failed us, was determined to prove nothing had changed. She wanted her young kids (including me, the oldest) to know everything would be alright.

To prove that she brought the three of us all on her own to Disney for a trip she couldn’t afford at a time when she was so hurt and lost. Thirty years after she did, as the music blared and fireworks went off from every corner of EPCOT’s World Showcase, I thought about how happy we’d been that week even when we had every reason not to be. I thought about what this place and those parks had meant to us. Most importantly, I thought about what my mom had done for us then and what it still means to me now.

When the show ended I didn’t move. I didn’t want to. Mom and Jenna were back in Massachusetts, and yet they had been right alongside me, just as Kayla was again. I didn’t want want any of them to leave. That’s when my new friend and fellow Level Up! attendee, Fanside’s Camila Domingues—another longtime Disney prodigal who made my trip so much better and more special than it would have been without her because we got to share so many new experiences together—asked if I was okay. (You really don’t have to know me long to know I’m not usually quiet.)

I didn’t know how to explain everything I just said, so I told her the simplest version of the truth: I was thinking about my sister. She asked if she could give me a hug and I said of course. In that moment I had created a new memory, one I’ll carry with me in my heart same as my old ones when I return to EPCOT. And return I will, because this trip was emotional not just because of the past and present, but because of what it will mean in the future.

Over my four days at Walt Disney World, I couldn’t stop texting my overjoyed wife who wanted a million updates. (She’s a frequent Disney visitor because we have a dear friend who is a Disney adult.) Courtney and I kept discussing when we should bring our son Alexander for his first trip. I thought about which rides he’d love and which ones will scare him. I also thought about how I’d tell him about his aunt’s favorite rides and his grandma’s favorite restaurant they closed. Just as I want him to see where me and my friend Camila geeked out over being inside the Millennium Falcon. And I’d like him to be with me the next time I buy him Mickey Mouse ears.

But while I don’t want to wait too long, I want him to be old enough he will at least retain the feeling of being there. I’m (obviously) a sentimental person, the kind most prone to Disney’s unique charms. I want every trip he ever makes to Disney to give him that feeling, the one that combines the past, present, and future into something that is whole, pure, and timeless for a brief, perfect moment when the problems of life simply don’t exist.

If only all of life could feel that way all the time. I know all the reasons it can’t. There are also too many other experiences I want to chase to only want this to relive this specific feeling. But while that might mean I’ll never be a full Disney adult, I now understand why so many are.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who didn’t even tell you how every Beauty and the Beast related thing he saw at Walt Disney World made him emotional for family reasons. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Disney Didn’t Turn Me Into a ‘Disney Adult,’ But It Helped Me Understand Them appeared first on Nerdist.

Before joining us for the end of our Level Up! journey through Walt Disney World and Disney video games with Part 4, make sure you read the previous installments first. Part 1 explains why Disney hosted us at the parks and began our trip at the Magic Kingdom to learn about Disney Dreamlight Valley. Part 2 explores our time at the Animal Kingdom’s Pandora – The World of Avatar learning about the video game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. And Part 3 races through EPCOT to see why the free-to-play Disney Speedstorm is a winner.

Star Wars Outlaws

The upcoming Star Wars Outlaws will be the first-ever open world game set in the galaxy far, far away. It takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Players will visit planets both infamous and new as a smuggler trying to establish themselves in the underworld. And while it was the only Level Up! game no one has actually played, it was also the easiest to understand why being at Disney was the single best way to promote it.

Our final full day at Walt Disney World brought us to Hollywood Studios to experience Galaxy’s Edge. It is simply the most immersive, complete, and incredible amusement park land I have ever experienced.

As a dedicated Star Wars fan who has also spent many years writing about the franchise and this attraction, I couldn’t believe I was actually there. Then I couldn’t believe it actually exceeded my impossible expectations. I was in awe in every sense of the word. It’s like walking directly into a Star Wars movie. The level of detail, both big and small, is unlike anything else. Everywhere you look, both inside and out, there’s something to appreciate.

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Galaxy Edge’s stores, especially Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities, feel like they actually exist as part of the market of distant planet. The restaurants, most notably Oga’s Cantina and Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, are so authentic you expect to see Han Solo shooting someone at the next table. I could have spent all day just sitting in Galaxy’s Edge drinking green milk (better than the blue!) and that would have been enough for me.

Thankfully we did a lot more than that. (Like meeting the Mandalorian and Grogu. Grogu was the only character I nerd’ed out over during my time at Walt Disney World.) I know I’m not saying anything countless other Star Wars fans haven’t already learned, but Galaxy’s Edge has two rides that will blow any fan’s mind. They each left me, someone who never shuts up, speechless for different reasons. The first we went on was Smuggler’s Run.

The ride itself is super fun. It has you work as a team to steal something for Hondo Ohnaka. But it’s what precedes the actual ride that left me floored. Before you’re seated you walk into a replica Millennium Falcon. It’s one of the coolest places I have ever been, period. It was absolutely surreal and had me geeking out in ways I didn’t know I could.

Of course I sat down at the Dejarik table and pretended to be playing. How could you not!? How. Could. You. Not?

Then came the masterpiece: Rise of the Resistance. For a sentimental Star Wars fan it’s the most hypnotic ride at any of the four Walt Disney World parks, but you don’t have to know Andor from Endor to appreciate it. If you’ve never ridden it don’t watch any videos about it. Wait–hard as it might be—until you experience it in person. That’s what I did and I am so very happy I did. There’s nothing like it for reasons I refuse to spoil.

What I will say is that when Rise of the Resistance (which celebrates two of my favorite Star Wars traditions: terrible security and daring escapes) ended I couldn’t find any words to convey how I felt. My hosts asked what I thought and all I could do was stare at them in silent wonder. I simply couldn’t believe that ride was real. I felt the exact same way the second time I rode it.

If Star Wars Outlaws captures even a tiny fraction of the feeling and joy Galaxy’s Edge gave me, I am going spend a whole lot of time in front of my TV working as a smuggler in the galaxy far, far away.

I wasn’t planning to do that before Disney invited me to Orlando, which is exactly the reason they did.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who is not exaggerating about Rise of the Resistance leaving him speechless. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post What Going to Disney Taught Me About Disney Video Games Part 4 – Hollywood Studios’ Galaxy’s Edge and STAR WARS OUTLAWS appeared first on Nerdist.

Before joining us on Part 3 of our Level Up! journey through Walt Disney World and Disney video games, make sure you read the previous installments first. Part 1 explains why Disney hosted us at the parks and began our trip at the Magic Kingdom to learn about Disney Dreamlight Valley. And Part 2 explores our time at the Animal Kingdom’s Pandora – The World of Avatar learning about the video game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

EPCOT and Disney Speedstorm

Disney Speedstorm is the Mouse House’s free-to-play answer to Mario Kart. The arcade-style game lets players race as beloved characters through Disney and Pixar movie levels. It’s also the closest any Disney game comes to recreating the feeling you get on a Disney ride.

After spending the first part of our second day at Animal Kingdom, our group reconvened at EPCOT. We were there to play some Disney Speedstorm against the surreal backdrop of Spaceship Earth. That’s also where we learned Inside Out 2‘s Joy and Anxiety are joining as racers.

Speedstorm is the fast-paced companion to the more fanciful Disney Dreamlight Valley. Those two games might seem like opposites, but in their own way they each capture the same experience of physically being in a Disney park. Speedstorm not only lets you play both as and against your favorite characters, it takes you through levels that re-create beloved Disney locales. I raced through Beast’s Enchanted Castle a day after eating at Beauty and the Beast‘s Magic Kingdom restaurant.

The combination of immersive levels, characters you know and love, and fast-paced action is why playing Speedstorm also felt like the virtual equivalent of going on a ride like Frozen Ever After or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Those two super fun EPCOT attractions are set in their respective movie worlds and are equally parts thrilling and enchanting. That’s Speedstorm at its best.

We also, for reasons both aesthetic and thematic, played Speedstorm in the GM Lounge above EPCOT’s Test Track ride. That’s the game’s closest, most obvious one-to-one real-world attraction. But every thrill ride at Walt Disney World is a companion to the game. That includes highlights like Tron Lightcycle Run, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and the absolutely amazing Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. It’s so good I’m still riding it in my sleep after going on it three times while awake. Not just because I’m a huge Guardians of the Galaxy fan, either. If you’ve been on Cosmic Rewind you know exactly why. (If you haven’t, I am sorry, but I’m also jealous you still get to do it for the first time. Besides, you’re going to be jealous of our view from the GM Lounge.)

Obviously you can’t get the same kind of physical sensation an amusement park ride provides while sitting in a chair playing a video game. There are pretty clear limits to how much you can reproduce a physical experience digitally. But with its characters, themed tracks, and gameplay, Disney Speedstorm is clearly inspired by the fun and excitement you get on a Disney ride. Races are short but exciting, just like an actual ride. And with both you’ll want to jump right into the next one. The fun of the game isn’t about fully re-creating the sensation of going on a Disney ride. The fun is trying to remind yourself of the feeling you get from a Disney attraction while at home. That’s a feeling worth chasing down.

Plus, Speedstorm does have two big advantage over its real-life inspirations. For one the line to play it at home is definitely a lot shorter than lines at Disney. And second, you don’t have to play in muggy Orlando heat.

After three parks, three games, way too much food, and even more rides, I thought I finally had a firm grasp on exactly what I was doing at Level Up! It wasn’t until our final day and stop that I truly learned why Disney parks are the best promotion for Disney games. To go from a Padawan to a Master on that subject I had to visit the galaxy far, far away.

Finish our Level Up! journey through Walt Disney World and Disney video games with Part 4: Hollywood Studios’ Galaxy’s Edge and the upcoming Star Wars Outlaws open-world game.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He got his #1 song choice (“September”) on Cosmic Rewind his very first ride. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post What Going to Disney Taught Me About Disney Video Games Part 3 – EPCOT and DISNEY SPEEDSTORM appeared first on Nerdist.

Before joining us on Part 2 of our Level Up! journey through Walt Disney World and Disney video games, make sure you read Part 1. It explains why Disney hosted us at the parks and began our trip at the Magic Kingdom to learn about Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Animal Kingdom and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a first-person, open-world action-adventure game (with a co-op mode) that has you play as an abducted, RDA-trained Na’vi warrior rediscovering your heritage on Pandora. It also includes bringing fans into an all-new area, the Western Frontier. And yes, in the game you can ride a banshee, same as you can at one incredible Animal Kingdom ride.

Level Up! day two kicked off at Animal Kingdom, home to one of Walt Disney World’s best themed areas, Pandora – The World of Avatar. If, like so many, you walked out of James Cameron’s historic hit angry you had to bid farewell to that beautiful bioluminescent planet for our regular old world, this is where you’ll want to go. It’s like traveling to Pandora without a spaceship. From the moment you walk into this part of the park you’re surrounded by floating mountains, glowing plant life, and Na’vi culture.

Then things get really good. The World of Avatar is also home to Flight of Passage, one of Walt Disney World’s best attractions. After some immersive pre-ride storytelling and silly fun you’re strapped into your own seat for a wild 3D journey as Na’vi hunter atop a banshee. During the ride your mount takes you through Pandora high above the ground (with plenty of huge, exciting swoops near it). While the ride itself is a total blast, what makes it special is how much it makes you feel like you’re really exploring Pandora. The giant screen is so big and vivid you can’t possibly pick up on all the details you soar past. It’s a fully realized place, and it made me appreciate Avatar in a way I never have.

It’s not the only attraction that did that. The slow ride Na’vi River Journey is a peaceful trip through a bioluminescent Pandora jungle. It also features a full-sized Na’vi Shaman of Songs, my single favorite animatronic at Walt Disney World. The area also has some of the best restaurants and food options at any of the four parks. That includes Satu’li Canteen, where we had an Avatar themed-breakfast. It was so good I was slightly bummed out while eating because I didn’t know when I’d be able to come back.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, our hosts also brought us to Pandora’s very own store, Windtraders. It has every type of Avatar merch you’d want, but we went for something unique.

Windtraders can turn you into a physical (mini) Na’vi. The store is home to the ACE Avatar Maker. There a tech scans your face and has you make some style choices so you can be transformed into a Na’vi avatar. In less than an hour you walk away with a custom action figure of blue you. Mine doesn’t look like my twin or anything—in the same way Zoe Saldana’s Neytiri didn’t look like her—but I love my one-of-a-kind collectible. Especially because it perfectly captures my toned swimmer’s body. (Note to Editor’s: no need to fact check that we’re good.)

I’m not exactly the biggest fan of Cameron’s Avatar movies. But my immersion in a real-life re-creation of Pandora still won me over. So much so I want to see how this experience might change my opinion of the films. And I want to play Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. To paraphrase Ariel, I loved being a part of that world rather than a passive viewer of it. Until I go back to Animal Kingdom the only place that can send me back inside Pandora is a video game.

Not every thrill ride or action-packed game requires a giant blue body or a banshee. For the rest there’s a different high-octane game that will send you back into Disney.

Continue with us on our Level Up! journey through Walt Disney World and Disney video games with Part 3: EPCOT and the Disney Speedstorm video game.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who really hopes you don’t look into his Na’vi swimmer’s body claim. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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When Disney invited Nerdist to Walt Disney World for its Level Up! event the team behind the curated experience was coy about specifics. The only thing we knew for sure were which video games inspired the outing: Disney Dreamlight Valley, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Disney Speedstorm, and Star Wars Outlaws. Until I showed up I could only guess at what we’d actually be doing there and why. Would we play games with Mickey and Minnie in Cinderella’s Castle? Was there news so big the announcement demanded Spaceship Earth as a setting? Were they launching a new video game attraction at Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom?

Whatever the reason for hosting me, I couldn’t wait to learn exactly how bringing media members and influencers to every park would promote games you play alone at home. Only, when I arrived, I still couldn’t figure out what I was doing there. There didn’t seem to be an obvious, direct connection between being at Disney World and playing Disney video games Or at least that’s what I thought at first. Big surprise, the people who work at Disney know the most important thing about the place. Because it was only by actually experiencing the parks personally that I understood why they’re the most natural and powerful way to promote Disney video games. Those games make something that is hard to get easily accessible to Disney fans everywhere.

The Disney experience isn’t defined by the rides, attractions, or the food you find there. They’re all important, obviously. But amusement parks everywhere have all of that. So do some malls. What makes Disney “Disney” is the specific feeling you can only have when you’re there. It’s a timeless feeling of escapism built on a century of characters, stories, and memories that bind generations. It’s a place that combines nostalgia, wonder, and joy into something wholly unique to Disney. But unless you live nearby a park, that feeling is not one you can easily get.

Few of us can jump on a plane and take off for a Disney trip whenever we like. And almost certainly not when we would most like to. What we can do, though, is pop in a video game that reminds us of the feeling we get at Disney. That’s why my hosts brought me to Florida for Level Up!. This experience was all about showing how Disney video games let you recapture something you can otherwise only get at Disney.

How exactly does each of those games do that? What elements of the real parks can be found in Disney’s digital entries? And how are both constantly in conversation with the other? To answer those questions we started our own Disney Dreamlight Valley journey down Main Street, U.S.A. at the Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom and Disney Dreamlight Valley

Disney Dreamlight Valley is part life-sim, part adventure game. It’s set in a magical land consisting of iconic Disney locales where everyone is under a curse that makes them forget their pasts. In that realm players can go on fun quests or serenely explore and build a home of their own design. And they do so while living alongside Disney and Pixar characters. Those famous faces are the people you meet, befriend (or not), and share activities with. It’s basically digital Walt Disney World.

Before we flew in our hosts asked us to blindly pick either a fantasy or adventure “track” for our day at the Magic Kingdom. The two options captured the dual aspects of Disney Dreamlight Valley. I picked “fantasy,” but, fittingly, still ended up doing a whole lot of adventuring.

After learning Daisy Duck had joined the game that very day, along with a new “parks package” that allows players to add famous Disney rides to their valley, I headed out with some fellow “fantasy” cohorts. We’d been given a checklist that embraced that immersive, whimsical aspect of the game. Our itinerary included Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mad Tea Party, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, and lunch at the Beauty and the Beast-themed Be Our Guest Restaurant. (Adventure people headed to the Jungle Cruise, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, and Magic Carpets of Aladdin before their own lunch at Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen. Believe me, both tracks had FOMOS about the other.)

For someone who did not have Dumbo and the Tea Cups on his list of must-rides, I couldn’t have been happier revisiting both. It had been so long since I’d ridden either (almost exactly 30 years to the day). Yet, getting back on each was like living in a wonderful memory. Disney parks might never be finished, but they don’t totally change for a reason either. And Mickey’s PhilharMagic felt like a quintessential Disney show. I’m a sentimental dork and loved how it reframes classic songs from some of Disney’s best animated movies.

I had that same reaction of wonderful, easy familiarity on “it’s a small world.” (Or at least I did for the first half of the way-too-long ride.) That was also true on Pirates of the Caribbean. That joyous feeling was there even on rides I’d never done before, like the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. New attractions celebrate stories I’ve known and loved all my life. And the more I did and explored at the Magic Kingdom, the better I felt. Even after decades away there were moments during my day where I felt like I’d never left. Combined with the excitement of making new memories with new friends, I had the same enthusiasm I did as a kid.

I was confused when my day started, but by the end, as I watched fireworks go off around Cinderella’s Castle as I had so often as a kid, I understood completely why I was there. Dreamlight Valley is Disney’s digital way of reliving a day at the Magic Kingdom. And being in the park is like living in a real-life Dreamlight Valley. Just like in the game, I was able to control my real-life “playthrough.” I never knew who I’d run into at any point while on a Disney property, yet always had the option to visit characters and attractions I wanted to see.

I love The Little Mermaid, so I went and saw Ariel and Ursula on the Under the Sea ride. Same with my favorite silly old bear and personal childhood favorite at The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Meanwhile, Aladdin was right over there in Adventureland, which I visited over and over again.

When I wanted something more exciting and fast-paced, just like in Disney Dreamlight Valley, I jumped on a thrill ride instead. I made two trips each on mountains of thunder and space, which combined match the whopping four times I went on Tron Lightcycle Run. (Forget just Walt Disney World, that might be my favorite coaster ever.) When I needed a break I relaxed at the Carousel of Progress or sat with a Dole Whip taking everything in.

It was only fitting our Level Up! event kicked off with Disney Dreamlight Valley, too, because while the Magic Kingdom most felt like being inside the game, everywhere I visited at Walt Disney World captured elements of it. I definitely got that same kind of surge of delight at Hollywood Studios’ Toy Story Land. It even happened at my hotel, where Goofy, Donald, and Pluto showed up unannounced in the lobby of Boardwalk Inn moments after I checked in.

No, I didn’t run up and take a picture with them, but I loved seeing all the kids and families who did. I remember doing that with my sisters and how excited we were at their age. If you’re a Disney fan that’s the simplest, purest joy you get at a Disney park, where reality and fiction blend into something magical.

I wish I could feel it everyday, but since obviously none of us can go to the Magic Kingdom everyday, I now understand why so many people I know love playing Disney Dreamlight Valley. (One member of our group said she plays it every night.) It’s the closest digital experience you can get to being at Disney. It mixes fantasy and adventure while placing you in the middle of places, stories, and characters you know and care about. It’s based on the best ideals of what a Disney Parks experience should be. And I wouldn’t understand any of that the way I do now had I not been at Walt Disney World.

It’s not the only Disney video game that does that. Only, the next park and game on our agenda wasn’t about an overall feeling you get at every Disney location. It was all about making a fictional alien world feel as real as our own planet.

Continue with us on our Level Up! journey through Walt Disney World and Disney video games with Part 2: Animal Kingdom’s Pandora – The World of Avatar and the Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora video game.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who regrets not riding Tron Lightcycle Run five times. You can follow him on Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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These times are uncertain for streaming services. Platforms that were once separate have merged. Various streaming services have increased prices and brought in ad tiers. Let’s not even get into various crackdowns on password sharing. But in a turn of events we could not have seen coming, Disney Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery have announced a new streaming bundle. This streaming bundle comes with Disney+, Hulu, and Max and will be available this summer in the US. What times we live in.

A Disney+, Hulu, and Max bundle obviously brings a lot of brands together. The release points out it encompasses ABC, CNN, DC, Discovery, Disney, Food Network, FX, HBO, HGTV, Hulu, Marvel, Pixar, Searchlight, and Warner Bros. among others. Customers will be able to purchase the bundle on any of the three streaming platform’s websites and choose between ad-supported and ad-free plans. It’s not yet clear if subscribers will be able to access the bundle through a single interface or separate services. If it’s a single interface, we can’t wait to see that design and how they make it not overwhelming.

Joe Earley, President, Direct to Consumer, Disney Entertainment, said in a release:

On the heels of the very successful launch of Hulu on Disney+, this new bundle with Max will offer subscribers even more choice and value. This incredible new partnership puts subscribers first, giving them access to blockbuster films, originals, and three massive libraries featuring the very best brands and entertainment in streaming today.

During a Warner Bros. Discovery earning call, JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games shared that this bundle would be “priced very attractively for the consumer.” Additionally, Perrette revealed that Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery were unlikely to invite any other streamers beyond Disney+, Hulu, and Max into the bundle, noting, “We don’t feel like we need anybody else in that package to make it incredibly compelling.”

Additional details about the Disney+, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle will be shared “in the coming months.” Summer arrives next month, so we’ll see.

Originally published on May 8, 2024.

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Bundles are becoming an increasingly common offering in this age of streaming. But Disney+ and Hulu have now taken their bundling to a whole new level. As previously promised, Disney has merged Disney+ and Hulu apps into one unified service on the Disney+ platform. While Disney+ and Hulu are still available as stand-alone apps, Hulu on Disney+ has now officially launched. And this content merge is “branding color change” official.

What Does Hulu on Disney+ Mean for Users?

Essentially, Hulu on Disney+ means that Hulu will now become a tile within the Disney+ ecosystem. Users who subscribe to both Hulu and Disney+ will soon see Hulu content populating their search and viewing recommendations. Of course, subscribers will be able to watch Hulu content inside the Disney+ app. Disney hopes this will streamline the user experience and create a hub of desirable content.

A release shares:

The Walt Disney Company announced today the official launch of Hulu on Disney+ in the U.S. for Disney Bundle subscribers, bringing together the extensive Disney+ and Hulu libraries – including beloved characters, award-winning films and series, and 100 years’ worth of inspiring stories – all in one place.

The new experience is a seamless showcase of the value of the Disney Bundle that allows Bundle subscribers (or those who hold subscriptions to both standalone apps) to stream extensive Hulu content, including critically acclaimed fan favorites like Grey’s Anatomy, Only Murders in the Building, Poor Things and The Bear, directly in the Disney+ app. 

What Does Hulu on Disney+ Cost?

Of course, Hulu on Disney+’s merged content means a price increase for subscribers. With ads, a Disney+ and Hulu bundle costs $9.99/month (that’s $2 more than Disney+ Basic currently costs). Without ads, the Disney+ and Hulu merged offering is priced at $19.99. This is a bit of a higher increase from the cost of Disney+’s standalone premium offering, currently priced at $13.99/month ($6 more per month).

Of course, purchasing Disney+ and Hulu separately will cost users more than the bundle cost. And ostensibly, at some point, the ability to purchase these streamers separately will vanish. (Likely just in time for a cost increase.)

ESPN Tile Also Coming to Disney+

ESPN will soon be joining Hulu on Disney+. Bob Iger reports that ESPN will have its own Disney+ tile by the end of 2024. According to Deadline, this ESPN tile “will feature ‘select live games’ as well as studio programming, to watch within Disney+. This feature will be available for all U.S. subscribers.”

Iger notes, “We see this as a first step to bring ESPN to Disney+ viewers as we ready the launch of our enhanced standalone ESPN streaming in the fall of 2025. It’s a start in terms of essentially conditioning the audience or subscribers to Disney+ and Hulu to the fact that sports is going to be there and it also will help us in terms of overall engagement with our bundle.”

Iger notes that ESPN will turn toward digital, but will not abandon linear television entirely.

Disney+’s Logo and Branding Change Color to Include Merge Hulu Green and Disney Blue

We know this Disney+ and Hulu merge is serious because Disney+ has changed all of its branding to accommodate the new content on its platform. Disney+ blue has become a Hulu-fied greenish blue hue, which The Verge reports Disney is calling “Aurora.”

A release notes about the new Hulu on Disney+ branding, “The roll-out also features refreshed branding for Disney+, including a refined logo, color palette, and orchestral mnemonic created by Academy Award®-winning composer Ludwig Göransson. This evolution blends Hulu’s signature green into the legacy Disney+ blue, creating a premium and elevated feel to welcome Hulu on Disney+ and mark a new chapter in storytelling for the streaming service.”

You can listen to the new sound from The Mandalorian and Black Panther composer below.

As streamers continue their bid to increase their profits, we’re likely to see more of this kind of thing occur. But it does make us wonder… When will all streamers combine on one platform and bring us back to the age of cable?

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X-Men ’97 has been a stellar series so far, and one of the best things that Marvel Studios has ever produced for Disney+. The show started out as a fun nostalgia trip. Yet by episode five, it eclipsed almost every other non-comics X-Men media so far. Now, we’re heading into the three-part finale, titled “Tolerance is Extinction.” Marvel Animation has released a new trailer for the season’s end that hints at ominous things to come, particularly with Bastion’s Prime Sentinels. And possibly some big status quo changes too. Watch it down below, and then we’ll unpack all the mutant goodness together:

The trailer opens with a voiceover from Professor X, saying “You were my first students. My family. I wanted you to be free.” This leads us to guess that Charles returns from space, and has a heart-to-heart with Jean and Scott, his first students. We also see him wiping the dust off his old hover chair, suggesting he loses the Shi’ar exo-suit. We also see that Storm returns to the team, in her new/old costume. She appears next to Forge, and what looks like Sunspot, now in his New Mutants uniform from the comics. One shot shows the Professor’s office burning down, suggesting Xavier’s School goes down in flames. The destruction of the X-Mansion is an X-Men comics staple at this point.

The best new scene in the trailer though has to be Cable suiting up for battle alongside his father Scott. He makes a mention of the X-Men costumes looking like colorful circus outfits, and Cyclops retorts “What would you prefer? Black leather?” This was of course a dig at the original X-Men film. Specifically, the scene where Wolverine makes fun of the leather costumes, and Cyclops says “What would prefer, yellow spandex?” Something which every X-Men fan in the audience said “YES!” to. Although in fairness to those films, after movies like Batman & Robin, we get the initial impulse to not go the multicolored route. (There was no excuse for it in later years though). Cable’s new costume his son hands him looks suspiciously like his late ’90s X-Force look. Which we are very down with.

X-Men ’97 releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

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The long-delayed third film in Disney’s TRON franchise began production in Vancouver in January 2024. The original 1982 TRON was a groundbreaking sci-fi film, using then state-of-the-art computer graphics to realize the world of “the Grid.” This was a digital world, living entirely inside a computer system. Video game developer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) gets sucked into the Grid and has a grand adventure. TRON became a cult classic, and eventually spawned a follow-up film, TRON: Legacy, in 2010. A third TRON movie, TRON: Ares, is now in the works.

Jeff Bridges recently revealed that he will appear in TRON: Ares. “I’m heading off this Saturday to play a part in the third installment of the ‘Tron’ story; I’m excited about that,” he told the Film Comment podcast. “It’s wild. Jared Leto is the star of this third one, and I’m really anxious to work with him, and I’ve admired his work.” We know that his OG character, Kevin Flynn, sacrificed himself in Tron: Legacy but in a way that left his ending open for interpretation. We will see what happens.

In terms of story creativity and visuals, this franchise has always felt ahead of its time. One of the film’s stars, Cameron Monaghan, promises that the third TRON installment will continue to follow that trend. “I think this one, in a very similar way, is going to really push forward what can be done, from a visual perspective,” he told Collider. “I would sometimes even come in on days I wasn’t working, because that set was really amazing. A lot of the practical sets were pretty phenomenal, and I would love to go look at those as well.”

Here’s everything else we know about TRON: Ares.

Title

The name of the third installment of the TRON franchise is TRON: Ares.

TRON: Ares’ Plot

We know next to nothing about the plot for the TRON: Ares. The second film, TRON: Legacy, ended with Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) escaping the digital world of the Grid, with escaped Grid refugee Quorra (Olivia Wilde) in tow. The implications that they were going to change the “real” world were there. Will the third TRON film follow up on that plot point? Rumors are that this installment will be a reboot of sorts. Jared Leto’s character of Ares was not in previous films. The film’s director said the third TRON is “a movie subsequently about AI and what it means, and takes, to be human.”

We do have a brief synopsis for TRON: Ares:

TRON: Ares follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.

Behind-the-Scenes

Sitting in the director’s chair for the third TRON film is Joachim Rønning. Rønning became known thanks to his 2012 film Kon-Tiki, after which Disney hired him to direct Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and the upcoming Disney+ film Young Woman and the Sea. This script is from screenwriter Jesse Wigutow. We don’t know who is scoring the film, but we hope they use elements of Daft Punk’s iconic score from TRON: Legacy.

Rønning said in a release, “I’m excited to be part of the TRON franchise and bring this new film to fans around the world. TRON: Ares builds upon the legacy of cutting-edge design, technology and storytelling. Now more than ever, it feels like the right time to return to the Grid.” 

Sean Bailey, Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, Jared Leto, Emma Ludbrook and Steven Lisberger are the producers, with Russell Allen serving as executive producer.

TRON: Ares’ Cast

Jared Leto is in the lead for TRON: Ares as the (possibly) titular character of Ares, who joined the cast back in 2020. Joining him are Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson.

TRON: Ares Release Date

TRON: Ares will release on October 10, 2025.

Originally published on January 23, 2024.

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There are lots of ways to tell when a show has made its way to the forefront of pop culture. Sometimes it’s as simple as bonkers ratings and robust social media attention. You can also get a good idea how much people care by how many theories and explainers sites like ours write. Even an influx of popular memes and jokes can indicate a project has thoroughly made its way into the cultural consciousness. But there’s one specific sign something is truly connecting with audiences that is especially fun. It comes in little plastic brick form. We know viewers can’t get enough of a series when it gets a LEGO recreation. And that’s exactly what Disney+’s X-Men ’97 just got for its opening credits.

YouTuber LegoBricks Studio has turned Marvel’s mutants into a delightful LEGO short. Over three weeks the channel used Mecabricks to re-create the opening credits for the MCU’s X-Men: The Animated Series reboot. It recently launched to widespread acclaim. That’s true of both the show and its fantastic opening sequence. Accompanied by the original series’ iconic theme song, this intro shows Charles Xavier’s most important X-Men character by character before they run into battle against Magneto and his forces.

You can really appreciate how good this LEGO version is by seeing how it stacks up to the actual intro.

Not every LEGO re-creation is (re)created equally, though. Some are truly just full on shot-for-shot LEGO versions. But this X-Men ’97 takes it a step further by full embracing its LEGO-ness. You can see that when Beast goes from docile doctor to fierce warrior by spinning his LEGO head. He goes from smiling to growling just like an actual LEGO mini-figure. And rather than just a regular light emanating from Professor X’s head, it’s an illuminated LEGO piece.

Perfection.

And also the latest sign just how much people love this show.

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Disney animated movies wouldn’t be the same without adorable animal companions helping out the protagonists. Actually, all the critters have to do is appear and look cute and/or menacing, and we’re sold. It’s been a delight to see our favorite Disney animals in Disney Lorcana, the trading card game from Ravensburger. The next set of Disney Lorcana, Ursula’s Return, will have animal companions too, obviously. Today we can reveal five of the animal companion cards from Ursula’s Return. All of these buddies are making their first appearance in Lorcana, too!

Click To View Gallery

We have an Emerald Cri-Kee (Mulan), an Emerald Jaq (Cinderella), a Ruby Khan (Mulan), a Steel Rajah (Aladdin), and an Amethyst Tick-Tock (Peter Pan). We know Tick-Tock isn’t an animal companion in the traditional sense, but we still wanted to show him off. After all, he’s only a crocodile doing what crocodiles do. Even if he does eat people, Tick-Tock has his charms.

Of these cards, Cri-Kee jumps out. With a value of three lore, Cri-Kee will be excellent at questing. Plus, when you play this little one, all of your other characters get an additional three strength—not just one, all of them. Played at the right time, Cri-Kee could help your characters throw down in some challenges. We also appreciate Jaq simply for this line on his card: “Teamwork makes the cheese work.”

These animals join a ton of new faces from movies like Encanto and Fantasia, along with new Floodborn heroes. Rise of the Floodborn saw Ursula freed from the Illuminary and now she’s ready to take over Lorcana. Ursula’s Return sounds a lot like it’s going to be Ursula’s revenge. We’re eager to know more about how gameplay will evolve with this fourth release of Lorcana. We won’t have to wait for too long. Ursula’s Return will release at local game stores, Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Paris, and select Disney Store retail locations on May 17, 2024. It will then be available from mass market retailers on May 31, 2024.

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The opening credits sequence for X-Men ’97 is incredibly faithful to the one for the ’90s X-Men: The Animated Series. At first glance, you might think it’s exactly the same as it was before. But there are subtle changes to the opening sequence with each episode. These changes include many Easter eggs referring to the original animated show, as well as the classic Marvel comics. Let’s break them down, episode by episode.

X-Men ’97 Episode 1,”To Me, My X-Men”

The first episode of X-Men ’97 rather faithfully recreated the original X-Men: The Animated Series opening credits. But from the get-go, there were some changes. The entire team is inside the Blackbird cockpit now, including Jubilee. Jean Grey no longer wears her ponytail, and Storm is sporting her new mohawk. Both Morph and Bishop are added to the “roll call” in the credits. Morph also has a moment where he’s tormented by Mister Sinister. In the final showdown, where the X-Men and their enemies are running towards each other, Lady Deathstrike and the White Queen replace Thunderbird and Gargoyle.

X-Men ’97 Episode 2 “Mutant Liberation Now”

The second episode sees Magneto in his new costume as the first X-Man we see in the credits, effectively replacing Professor X. Although we still see Charles in the credits, right before the title card comes up. Other additions include Storm fighting and beating Callisto in the Morlock tunnels, from the original series episode “Captive Hearts.” We see a brief moment of Jean Grey in full Dark Phoenix mode from the original series’ adaptation of “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” We catch a glimpse of Bishop tumbling through time from the original show’s “Days of Future Past” adaptation. Finally, we see Magneto’s orbiting base Asteroid M, from the X-Men: The Animated Series fourth season episode “Sanctuary.”

X-Men ’97 Episode 3 “Fire Made Flesh”

For the third X-Men ’97 episode’s credits, new additions include a brief shot of the X-Men fighting Magneto. This is from the second episode of the classic series, “Enter: Magneto.” We see mutant Roberto da Costa, chased by the angry mob running toward a chain link fence, just as Jubilee did. Next we see Empress Lilandra of the Shi’ar with Charles Xavier, in a moment from “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” We also witness Jean Grey’s sacrifice in that same episode, in front of a very distraught Cyclops. Finally, there’s a shot of Rogue and Gambit on the basketball court. This scene is a recreation of Jim Lee’s art from 1992’s X-Men #4.

X-Men ’97 Episode 4 “Motendo/Lifedeath Pt. 1”

For the episode four credits, Jean Grey is back in her original X-Men: The Animated Series ponytail, letting us know this is the real Jean, and not the clone Madelyne Pryor. We also catch a glimpse of Jubilee saving the other-dimensional warrior Longshot from Mojo is from the X-Men: The Animated Series episode “Longshot” from season three. Next is a moment is from the classic episode “Cold Comfort,” which introduced Iceman to X-Men: The Animated Series continuity. We see Forge with the government-sponsored team X-Factor, including Lorna Dane/Polaris. Finally, we see Emma Frost, the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, making telepathic contact with Charles Xavier. This is also from “The Dark Phoenix Saga” episodes of the classic show.

X-Men ’97 Episode 5, “Remember It”

This episode, despite its game-changing events, only had two new scenes in the credits. The first shows the cyborg mutant mercenary Cable, fighting a giant size version of the ancient mutant Apocalypse. This is from the original X-Men: The Animated Series episode “Time Fugitives.” Next, we see Gambit and Nightcrawler fighting side by side, presumably from the classic episode “Bloodlines.” Since Cable made his X-Men ’97 debut in this episode, and we got a visit from Nightcrawler, the inclusion of these two scenes makes sense.

X-Men ’97 Episode 6, “Lifedeath Pt. II”

The opening credits for episode 6, “Lifedeath Pt. II,” make another change to the team roster. We now have Nightcrawler, who jumps on his own logo, which was first designed for his 1985 miniseries. We also get a quick flash of the X-Men fighting Nimrod, the future Sentinel. Speaking of Sentinels, we also see a Master Mold produce many of its Sentinel offspring, probably from the original X-Men season one finale. The X-Men fighting the Shi’ar Imperial Guard is from the end of “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” and Lilandra meeting Xavier for the first time is from the opening episodes of “The Phoenix Saga.”

We expect many more new scenes and Easter eggs added to the opening credits as each new episode of X-Men ’97 drops on Disney+.

Originally published on April 3, 2024.

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Surprise! Moana’s story isn’t over. During a recent earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced Disney Animation is working on Moana 2. The sequel follows up the 2016 movie centering on a girl who longed for adventure, and in taking said adventure, helped her people and found herself. The Moana sequel is already well underway and will see the characters Moana (obviously) and Maui returning. Happily, the voice of the original Moana, Auli’i Cravalho, will also be back for the Moana sequel. Dwayne Johnson will also reportedly return as the demi-god Maui. Disney even already has a brief first look. Watch it here:

The footage accompanies an image that hints at a grand journey ahead for Moana and Maui. It’s making us hope that Moana 2 has even more of life under the sea. For now, we know this about Moana 2‘s story:

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ epic animated musical Moana 2 takes audiences on an expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.

Given that Journey of Water recently opened at EPCOT, it feels right to get more Moana stories. We know there’s a live-action Moana in the works, but that’s not the same as continuing her tale. As much as I wish Disney would focus on original stories, I still feel excited about watching Moana return to the sea and learning what happened after she saved Motunui. This round, however, had better include more Pua. The first film didn’t feature enough of that cute little pig.

Dave Derrick Jr. will direct Moana 2. The film will feature music from Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear, Opetaia Foa’i, and Mark Mancina.

What Is Moana 2‘s Release Date?

We won’t have to wait long for Moana 2. It’s sailing to theaters on November 27, 2024.

Originally published on February 7, 2024.

The post Disney Is Making MOANA 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

X-Men ’97 on Disney+ has been a hit with both fans and critics, restoring Marvel’s mutants to their proper place in the pop culture pantheon. Although the show’s first two episodes have focused solely on the X-Men, there have been tiny hints of other Marvel heroes for the eagle-eyed viewer. Episode one displayed a Daily Bugle paper with a mention of Spider-Man for example. Speaking of Spidey, could we actually see the wallcrawler show up in X-Men ’97? According to a Screen Rant interview with X-Men ‘97 executive producer Brad Winderbaum, he dropped the following nugget of information when asked about other non-mutant Marvel characters appearing. And it sounds promising.

X-Men ’97 fits directly into the continuity of the 90s animated shows, and as you know, there were some awesome crossovers, most notably with Spider Man[: The Animated Series.] I will say that if you remember the awesome cameos from the original show, you’re going to be happy in X-Men ’97, without going into spoiler territory. It’s an exciting timeline to explore that ’90s world!

It sounds like there is definitely some kind of crossover in the works with the greater Marvel animated universe. Of course, this may occur in season two, which is well into production already. Technically, eight ’90s animated series take place in the same continuity as X-Men. These include Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and more. Although, the most notable crossover was with Spider-Man: The Animated Series, where the X-Men appear in a two-part episode. (It helped that both series were on the same network). Spider-Man ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. It would be fascinating if they resolved that storyline 25 years later in an X-Men series. Thanks to his popularity, we imagine Iron Man is a candidate too. We’ll find out as X-Men ’97 continues to unfold.

The post X-MEN ’97 Producer Hints at Crossover with Other ’90s Marvel Animated Characters appeared first on Nerdist.

On September 20, 1997, a dying Charles Xavier said goodbye to his fellow mutants. That left them to navigate a dangerous world without their wise leader. At least they would have had to if Fox hadn’t canceled X-Men: The Animated Series. What awaited Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Beast, and the rest with the Professor? We’re finally going to find out. At long last, the show’s highly-anticipated Disney reboot, Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97 has released.

X-Men ’97 Picks Up Where The Animated Series Left Off

Bust out your best pogs and crack open a can of Surge soda cause the ’90s are back. X-Men: The Animated Series will get to resume its story on Disney+ with X-Men ’97. The show’s first trailer picks up right where the old series left off, too. The death of Professor X means the team needs a new leader to emerge. They’ll also be forced to deal with an old enemy who will now have an even bigger role in their lives. Charles Xavier left everything he had to none other than Magneto.

That will make for a whole lot of fun. For us. That will be fun for us, not the X-Men.

Sentinels Have Landed

And Magneto won’t be the X-Men’s only headache in X-Men ’97. The latest clip from the series reveals the team fighting massive Sentinels. These murderous robots are programmed to hunt down and destroy all mutants. Yikes!

X-Men ’97‘s Episode Titles

X-Men ’97 has revealed the titles of its ten episodes. The series will conclude with a three-part arc titled “Tolerance is Extinction.” Of course, eagle-eyed fans will already be drawing connections to other X-Men lore from comics, cartoons, and beyond. What Easter eggs do you spy in this line-up of titles?

X-Men ’97 Will Not Be a Part of the MCU

For the curious, X-Men ’97‘s former head writer, Beau DeMayo confirmed on Instagram that X-Men ’97 would not be a part of the MCU’s continuity. He replied, “We are our own thing,” while answering a question that pondered whether the series would be canon to the MCU.

The Series‘ Cast and Production Team

Disney also announced the cast for the show. X-Men ’97 stars: Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, JP Karliak as Morph, Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, and Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler. Theo James also joins the cast in a mysterious role.

Jake Castorena, Chase Conley, and Emi Yonemura serve as the ten-episode season’s directors, with Beau DeMayo on as head writer.

When Is X-Men ’97‘s Release Date?

Despite this being the first trailer for a reboot more than 25 years in the making, we won’t have to wait long to see its first episode. X-Men ’97 premieres on Disney+ on March 20. X-Men ’97 will run for 10 episodes. The series will release its first two episodes on the 20th.

Obviously, mutants are just as eager to resume their story as we are to see what happens to them next.

Originally published on February 15, 2024.

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Marvel Studios has revealed the ten episode titles for the first season of X-Men ’97 in a fun way. The X-Men are on what looks like a TV Guide cover straight from the ’90s. These titles tell us a lot, especially if you are a longtime comic book fan or a fan of the classic animated series. Let’s break down what each episode title is likely referencing from the X-Men’s long history.

Episode One: “To Me, My X-Men”

This X-Men episode title reference is simple enough. We hear Cyclops say this turn of phrase in the trailer. Traditionally in the comics, “To me, my X-Men” is what Charles Xavier says to his students when he’s summoning them. This goes all the way back to X-Men #1 in 1963 and later leaders of the team carried on that tradition. Our guess is this episode will mainly deal with who gets to lead the team after Xavier — Cyclops or Magneto.

Episode Two: “Mutant Liberation Begins”

The phrase “Mutant liberation begins” is usually uttered by Magneto in the comics. He says it in his introductory episode of X-Men: The Animated Series, “Enter: Magneto.” We have a feeling this episode will deal with Magneto transitioning from the X-Men’s enemy into a member of the team. Maybe he will be the team’s leader.

Episode Three: “Fire Made Flesh”

When Jean Grey became the Dark Phoenix, Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont had her say the phrase “I am fire and life incarnate.” This happened midway through “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” In the animated adaptation, Dark Phoenix said the words “I am fire made flesh.” While we don’t expect to see the Phoenix return, the death of Dark Phoenix (or in the animated series, its departure) is when Jean’s clone Madelyne Pryor awoke. Based on this X-Men ’97 episode, it could mean we will discover that the pregnant Jean from the trailer is really Madelyne.

Episode Four: “Motendo/Lifedeath Pt.1”

We know there is a Nintendo-themed episode this season, which features the X-Men as ’90s video game characters. The episode centers on mall arcade aficionado Jubilee. We think this will take place in Mojoworld, the dimension ruled by the grotesque Mojo, who believes the X-Men are just fodder for entertainment.

As for the meaning of the X-Men ’97 episode title “Lifedeath,” it is a reference to another seminal story from mid-’80s Uncanny X-Men focusing on Storm coping with the loss of her powers. It also marks the start of a romantic relationship with the mutant inventor Forge. We know Forge appears in the series, so it might be an adaptation of this story.

Episode 5: “Remember It”

Gambit’s catchphrase on X-Men: The Animated Series after defeating a villain is usually “The name’s Gambit! Remember it!” in a thick Cajun accent. So we bet this episode focuses mainly on Remy LeBeau. Since Mr. Sinister is the main villain of the season, we might get into their mutual past and how Sinister helped stabilize a young Remy’s powers.

Episode 6: “Lifedeath Pt. 2”

The seminal Storm story in Uncanny X-Men #198, by writer Chris Claremont and artist Barry Windsor-Smith, actually got a sequel of sorts. This issue featured Storm and no other X-Men characters, except as hallucinations. Maybe this one is a Storm solo episode, exploring her African past in a story that is not tied to the rest of the series.

Episode 7: “Bright Eyes”

During the original X-Men: The Animated Series, “bright eyes” is something that Rogue often said in her signature southern drawl. Often before landing a punch on a baddie, she’d say “Remember me, bright eyes?” Sometimes she said this regarding Gambit. Our best guess is that this episode explores the Rogue/Gambit romance and its many obstacles. Of course, the chief obstacle is that Rogue can’t touch anyone without draining their life force.

Episode 8-10: “Tolerance is Extinction”

This three-part finale could draw inspiration from three separate X-Men comic book events of the past. The first is “The X-Tinction Agenda,” a 1990 storyline that had the Genoshan government, which used mutants as slave labor, put the X-Men on public trial. The word extinction spelled normally however means we could see an adaptation of Grant Morrison’s 2001 “E is for Extinction” storyline that introduced Xavier’s evil twin sister, Cassandra Nova.

One other clue in the title is the word “Tolerance.” It suggests “Operation: Zero Tolerance,” a story that ran in the X-Men comics (appropriately enough) in 1997. That story had the human/Sentinel hybrid Bastion create a new army of government-backed Sentinels to wipe out the remaining mutant heroes after the Fantastic Four and Avengers disappeared. Maybe X-Men ’97 is adapting all these stories, combining them into one. Certainly, the X-Men movies have done that in the past.

We’ll know for certain how X-Men ’97 draws inspiration from the classic comics when the series drops on Disney+ on March 20.

The post The X-MEN ’97 Episode Titles Reference Many Past Marvel Comics appeared first on Nerdist.

Back when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge first opened, some theme park fans worried Disney would drop Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. The classic Disney Parks ride—Disney’s first Star Wars attraction—remains a wild and delightful. Happily, it’s a ride Disney continues to update as new Star Wars stories release. And it will be getting an infusion of fresh adventures soon. Star Tours is adding features and locations from the Disney+ series Ahsoka, Andor, and The Mandalorian.

Click To View Gallery

The Disney Parks Blog shared the news on Tuesday morning, saying these additions mean that Star Tours now has more than 250 storyline variations. If you haven’t been on the ride, it randomizes between different segments. You’ll have one kind of opening, travel to different locations, get a transmission from one of a variety of characters, and all of those parts are variable. The update will include Peridea from Ahsoka, so you could get to travel beyond the known galaxy. Please don’t get stranded out there. The below video teases the journey to Peridea.

The ride is getting transmissions from Ahsoka Tano, Cassian Andor, Din Djarin, and Grogu too. You’ll have to board the Starspeeder multiple times and see if you can catch everyone. It’s not an easy mission, but we believe in you.

Star Tours will start its new adventures at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris on April 5, 2024. This date coincides with the launch of Season of the Force at Disneyland.

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Disney+’s unexpected (yet very welcomed) foray into physical media was clearly a success. After letting fans take home their own copies of Loki, WandaVision, and The Mandalorian on 4K UHD and Blu-ray, the Mouse House has announced a new batch of streaming shows will join their counterparts in stores. Disney+ shows Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Moon Knight, and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier are all getting their physical releases, specifically Steelbook editions.

On April 30, 2024 The Walt Disney Company is going to let fans take home four new Collector’s Editions Steelbooks. The lineup includes streaming shows for both Star Wars and the MCU. Each series come in 4K UHD and Blu-ray options. They’ll also feature Steelbook packaging with art from Attila Szarka, concept art cards, and brand new bonus features. Here are all the extras fans will get with each release:

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: The Complete First Season

BONUS FEATURES

• Featurette: Cap’s Shield – Sometimes a shield isn’t just a shield. Anthony Mackie and the creative team behind The Falcon and the Winter Soldier discuss what Captain America’s iconic accessory ultimately represents — along with the numerous challenges of capturing the cumbersome prop in action once cameras started rolling.
• Gag Reel: Watch the hilarious outtakes with cast and crew.
• Deleted scenes:
  —Flight Lesson – Sam and Rhodey have a heart to heart and bond over flying.
  —Still Not Funny – Bucky brings a treat to Sam’s family gathering.)
• Documentary: Assembled: The Making of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier – Embark on the making of this high-flying, globe-trotting action series with the cast and crew in Assembled: The Making of Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

Moon Knight: The Complete First Season

BONUS FEATURES

• Featurette: Egyptology – Join Egyptologist Ramy Romany, Oscar Isaac and more, as they further explore the ancient Egyptian mythology that helped inspire the Moon Knight series.
• Documentary: Assembled: The Making of Moon Knight – Pull back the curtain with Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, and the rest of the cast and crew in ASSEMBLED as they reveal how MOON KNIGHT was brought to life.
• Deleted Scenes:
  —Don’t Go There – While walking in the streets of Egypt, Layla questions Marc’s state of mind and motivations.
  —Breaking the Cycle – Arthur delivers a prompting speech to his crew, urging them to take action alongside him.
• Gag Reel: Watch some hilarious outtakes on set with the cast and crew.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Complete Series

BONUS FEATURES

• Featurettes:
  —Duels of Fate: Obi-Wan vs Vader – Deborah Chow, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen examine the lightsaber battles of Obi-Wan and Darth Vader.
  —The Dark Times: Villains – Uncover the lore of the deadly Inquisitors, and Darth Vader’s iconic look.
  —Designing The Galaxy – Say hello to Leia’s loveable sidekick, Lola, then explore the new planets of the Star Wars galaxy.
  —Director’s Commentary – Join director Deborah Chow for an exclusive audio commentary on the action-packed finale.

Andor: The Complete First Season

BONUS FEATURES

• Featurettes:
  —Ferrix Part 1: Imperial Occupation – Tony Gilroy, Kathleen Kennedy and Diego Luna discuss the series’ origins.
  —Aldhani: Rebel Heist – Join the shoot in Scotland with character spotlights, rebel training, stunts, a VFX breakdown and more.
  —Coruscant: Whispers of Rebellion – Explore the stories of ISB agent Dedra, Senator Mon Mothma and spymaster Luthen Rael.
  —Narkina 5: One Way Out – Uncover the Empire’s penal system and the prison’s stark look, get to know Kino Loy, and view VFX breakdowns.
  —Ferrix Part 2: Fight the Empire – Tony Gilroy, Diego Luna, cast and crew reveal the making of the season finale.

Physical media lovers can start pre-ordering their favorite Disney+ shows on March 12, 2024 with a release dates coming soon. If enough people do it’s likely other streaming shows will one day join them on store shelves.

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Each Disney Lorcana release brings a change that impacts the game and player strategy. Sure, the Ravensburger game is only on its third release, but this has been true so far. The latest chapter, Into the Inklands, brought location cards. To say they change everything sounds dramatic, but the cards do change a lot by adding another dynamic to the board. Along with the starter decks and other products, each Disney Lorcana release comes with an Illumineer’s Trove and a Gift Set. Ravensburger sent Nerdist one of each for review, and the Illumineer’s Trove in particular has some nice extras, but they come at the cost of our favorite part of past troves.

Into the Inklands Illumineer’s Trove

Here’s what comes with the Illumineer’s Trove:

• 8 booster packs
• 1 lore tracker
• 6 dice to track damage
• 6 card dividers
• 1 storage box

For a $49.99 MSRP, the Illumineer’s Trove remains, in my opinion, the best value in Disney Lorcana. The booster packs alone would cost $47 on their own, and the extras that come in the trove have improved in quality. Let’s look at those extras first.

The Into the Inklands Illumineer’s Trove box features card art from the adventurous set. Pirate Piglet is one of the best illustrations in Into the Inklands and you can’t convince me otherwise. The sides of the storage box showcase some of the locations from the set, and as someone who always wants to look at backgrounds in Disney animation art of books, these grabbed my attention.

The lore tracker is sturdier than previous iterations and carries the theme of Into the Inklands well enough. However, the dice and the card dividers are the winners here. I imagine dice will only become more of a thing for Lorcana as Ravensburger flexes on Lorcana merchandising and products (which seems like a matter of time), and these are a lovely start. They’re a inky, shimmery dark blue with gold numbers and pretty enough that I’d buy them on their own. Then the card dividers, one for each ink, are well-constructed and helpful for sorting out your collection. They’re much more functional than the so-so quality deck boxes from previous Illumineer’s Trove sets.

And speaking of the deck boxes, they’re gone in this release’s Trove. I don’t mind since they were flimsy. However, my favorite part of the previous Illumineer’s Trove releases is gone too: the booklet! The booklet had a list of the cards and called out some specific cards and ink combos to look out for in the set. More importantly, it featured part of the Lorcana lore and brought the game’s world to life more with text and illustrations. I’d rather have that than card dividers. Hopefully this means Ravensburger is working on standalone story booklets. We’ll see what the future brings.

Into the Inklands Gift Set

The Into the Inklands Gift Set comes with:

• 2 oversized foil cards
• 2 playable foil cards
• 34 damage counters
• 4 booster packs
• 2 lore tracker tokens

The Gift Set has a MSRP of $29.99. The booster packs alone get you to almost $24, so if you’re into collecting the oversized cards, this set is for you. While I like the idea of the oversized cards, they don’t do anything for me. I store them and then never look at them again. However, if you want to frame them or otherwise display them—maybe in your gaming space—then this is the set for you. While the damage counters and lore tracker tokens have improved in quality over time, I switched to tracking damage with dice ages ago. I do appreciate the attention to detail with the tokens changing to match the current chapter, in this case Into the Inklands. Gift sets can be fun to pair with a starter deck for a new player.

Disney Lorcana: Into the Inklands is already out in local game stores. Mass market retailers get the third set later this week on March 8, 2024.

The post DISNEY LORCANA Changes Things with INTO THE INKLANDS Illumineer’s Trove appeared first on Nerdist.

The trailer for X-Men ’97 was brief, but it gave us a glimpse of some important plot developments. Magneto inheriting the X-Mansion? A pregnant Jean Grey? Many of these things were actually set up in the original ’90s series. Here are some episodes of the classic X-Men: The Animated Series you may want to watch again before X-Men ’97 releases in March on Disney+.

X-Men: The Animated Series Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2, “Night of the Sentinels”

In the trailer for X-Men ’97, we see the unmistakable hand of a Sentinel robot. The giant mutant-hunting machines are the embodiment of humanity’s hatred of homo superior. In many ways, they are the X-Men’s biggest enemy. We were first introduced to these Sentinels in the two-part opening episode of X-Men: The Animated Series, “Night of the Sentinels,” way back in 1992. They are responsible for killing the shapeshifting X-Man named Morph (he gets better), who will be a key player in the new series. Besides, what’s a better place to start getting ready for X-Men ’97 than with X-Men: The Animated Series very first episodes?

X-Men: The Animated Series Season 1, Episode 3, “Enter Magneto”

The trailer for X-Men ’97 also shows Magneto inheriting the X-Mansion, and, presumably, the fortune of Charles Xavier via his last will and testament. It shows that Charles Xavier believed in the good within his former friend turned enemy. The backstory of their complicated relationship is explored in Magneto’s first appearance in X-Men: The Animated Series, “Enter Magneto.” Given Magneto has such a big role in the new show, there’s no better time than now to go back and see how the friendship between Xavier and Magneto fractured. This X-Men: The Animated Series episode will surely come into play in X-Men ’97.

X-Men: The Animated Series Season 1, Episodes 11 & 12, “Days of Future Past”

“Days of Future Past” is one of the most iconic X-Men stories of all time. It tells of a future where Sentinel robots have all but made the mutant race extinct. So, one of the future X-Men must go back in time to change history, preventing this apocalyptic future. The original ’80s comics had Kitty Pryde as the time-traveling X-Man, while the film adaptation used Wolverine. But in the two-part adaptation of the story for the cartoon, Lucas Bishop was the character to go back in time. Since Bishop is now a member of the “prime timeline” X-Men in X-Men ’97, the version of the story found in these episodes of The Animated Series may be one you wish to revisit.

X-Men: The Animated Series Season 4, Episode 8, “Nightcrawler”

Although not seen in the trailer for X-Men ’97, Marvel Studios has confirmed that the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler will be a series regular. For the show, he’ll be voiced by Adrian Hough. Although a main member of the team since 1975 in the comics, X-Men: The Animated Series only used him twice. Still, the episode “Nightcrawler” was a great chapter in the series. It really summed up why the demonic-looking (yet devoutly religious) mutant is so amazing. This is one episode of X-Men: The Animated Series you might want to revisit to get to know Kurt Wagner better before his X-Men ’97 return.

X-Men: The Animated Series Season 4, Episode 18, “Beyond Good and Evil Part 1”

Jean Grey and Scott Summers are the premiere X-Men couple. Although they attempted to get married in season two, their actual nuptials actually took place at the end of season four. Why does this matter? Because in the X-Men ’97 trailer, we see a very pregnant Jean Grey. But what if that’s not Jean, and Scott married someone else? Toy releases tied to X-Men ’97 show that Madelyne Pryor, Jean’s clone and Scott’s first wife in the comics, will play a big part in the show. These toys also show Maddy with a baby. That baby grows up to be the cyborg warrior Cable in the comics. Our theory is that they replaced the real Jean shortly before their wedding in Beyond Good and Evil. Therefore, Scott actually married her clone Maddy. Considering that, it might be a great time to revisit this famous wedding episode of X-Men: The Animated Series.

X-Men: The Animated Series Season 5, Episode 75, “Descent”

Marvel has already confirmed that Mister Sinister will be the main villain of X-Men ’97. The white and pasty-skinned mad scientist has a fixation with mutant bloodlines, and he experiments to create even more powerful mutants. But who is he really? In the final season, the episode “Descent” tells us the origin story of Nathaniel Essex, who used his gifts to give himself powers back in Victorian England. It also ties Sinister into the real-life legend of Jack the Ripper. Given his importance to the upcoming X-Men ’97 series, this episode of X-Men: The Animated Series feels like essential viewing.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Season 2, Episodes 17 & 18, “The Mutant Agenda” and “Mutants’ Revenge”

You might be confused about these episodes being included, as they are part of the ‘90s Spider-Man animated series, not X-Men. But in the X-Men ’97 trailer, we see a copy of the Daily Bugle, with the headline “Is Spider-Man a Mutant?” This lets us know that Spidey is part of the X-Men: The Animated Series world. But we knew this already because the versions of the X-Men from the ‘90s cartoon appeared in a two-part episode of Spider-Man. It is possible that we might see that version of Peter Parker appear in X-Men ’97. How cool would it be to see these Marvel ‘90s icons meet once again? The ‘90s Spider-Man series is also on Disney+. So it’s worth rewatching the X-Men’s two-episode appearance, as it might actually matter to upcoming events in X-Men ’97.

The post 7 Important X-MEN: THE ANIMATED SERIES Episodes to Watch Before X-MEN ’97 appeared first on Nerdist.

From a slew of new Disney release dates and windows to cool apparel collections and more, here are some recent odds and ends from the news.

Jump to:

• Disney Sets Zooptopia 2 Release Date; Frozen 3, Toy Story 5 Release Windows
• Planned Joe Manganiello Dragonlance Live-Action Series Has Been Cancelled
• Cyberpunk 2077 Sequel Is in the Works
• Reese’s Puffs and Dragon Ball Z Team Up For Limited Edition Box Collection
• Pokémon and 100 Thieves Release New Apparel Collection
• DC’s Peacemaker Sets Mortal Kombat 1 Arrival Date
• Disney | American Girl Princess Dolls Are Available Now
• True Detective: Night Country‘s First Episode Is Free To Stream on YouTube
• BoxLunch’s Minnie Mouse Collection Is So Sweet

Disney Sets Zooptopia 2 Release Date; Frozen 3 and Toy Story 5 Arriving in 2026

Disney revealed a whirlwind of information in a recent earning’s call. But among the rest, they shared some exciting news for highly anticipated Disney animated sequels. Zootopia 2 will release on November 26, 2025. Meanwhile, Frozen 3 and Toy Story 5 will release in 2026.

Moana 2 was also announced.

Planned Joe Manganiello Dragonlance Live-Action Series Has Been Cancelled

Unfortunately for lovers of the fantasy series Dragonlance, a planned live-action series helmed by notable nerd Joe Manganiello has been canceled. Manganiello shared with ComicBook.com, “Dragonlance is not a property [Wizards in the Coast] are interested in developing further, currently.” The publication shares that “Hasbro’s sale of the eOne studio and the poor performance of a Dragonlance D&D adventure and board game in 2022″ were come of the cancellation culprits here.

Manganiello further notes, “What I had planned for the first season was mind blowing. I just….I want to make [the Dragonlance show] because I want to see it and I just want to feel that excited and electric about something. The characters…like the casting, I have a look book with over 1,000 pages, but it’s not what you expect. The design concepts I had for the world, for the armor, for the swords….I had a fresh take on what the dragons were going to look like, it was going to be nothing like anyone has ever seen. And these beloved characters that have been read by…I think Tracy said there’s 35 million copies in circulation.” 

Perhaps someday, we’ll see the series come to life.

In the meantime, D&D fans have a lot to look forward to.

Cyberpunk 2077 Sequel Is in the Works

Meanwhile, there is good news for Cyberpunk 2077 fans. A follow-up to the game codenamed Project Orion is in the early stages of development at CD PROJEKT RED North America. And it sounds like its about to be a big focus for the studio. We can’t wait to see what’s in store.

If you haven’t yet, check out the trailer for Phantom Liberty.

Reese’s Puffs and Dragon Ball Z Team Up For Limited Edition Box Collection

Click To View Gallery

Who doesn’t love Reese’s Puffs? Who doesn’t love Dragon Ball Z? Who doesn’t love limited-edition Dragon Ball Z-themed boxes of Reese’s Puffs? These are all great questions. And the answer to them all is to get your hands on one of these cool anime-themed boxes of cereal. There are seven in total, and they celebrate the 40th anniversary of the franchise with cool art of its main characters. This Reese’s Puffs x Dragon Ball Z collection is available now nationwide. An exclusive eighth box (featuring, well, a dragon) is available only at Sam’s Club.

Which cereal do you think should get an anime makeover next?

Pokémon and 100 Thieves Release New Apparel Collection

We love a good collection of nerdy apparel. And that’s why we’ll be first in line for this Pokémon x 100 Thieves collaboration. A waterproof Blastoise jacket? Brilliant. And who can say no to a Pikachu varsity jacket? Team Pokémon all the way. This collection will go live  on February 10, 2024 at 12pm PST on the 100 Thieves website.

Click To View Gallery

It’s much more reasonably priced than the Tiffany’s Pokémon collaboration.

DC’s Peacemaker Sets Mortal Kombat 1 Arrival Date

Fans of the DC character will be excited to hear that Peacemaker will land in Mortal Kombat 1 on February 28. But even more exciting, John Cena will reprise the role in both voice and appearance. That should tide us over until Peacemaker season two. At least, it will help a little.

Speaking of Peacemaker, James Gunn is making progress on season two of the Max series.

Disney | American Girl Princess Dolls Are Available Now

American Girls have been icons of the doll world for generations. And now they’re teaming up with some even bigger super stars. That’s right, you can now buy American Girl versions of Ariel, Cinderella, and Tiana. It’s the greatest crossover the world has ever seen. These iconic dolls are available for purchase now.

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American Girl is also getting a Mattel movie.

True Detective: Night Country‘s First Episode Is Free To Stream on YouTube

Maybe you’ve been hearing about True Detective: Night Country‘s brilliance. Maybe you’ve been hearing about it from us. But if you haven’t gotten to watch the Max show yet, the first episode is now available free on YouTube. You’re welcome!

We’re diving deep into True Detective: Night Country‘s secrets.

BoxLunch Minnie Mouse Collection Is So Sweet

Valentine’s Day may be over, but you can celebrate the sweetness of the day anytime. BoxLunch’s Minnie Mouse collection is full of pink treats and soft things to help chase away any winter or post-V-Day blues. We’re obsessed with its perfectly rosy Minnie Cardigan. If you aren’t ready to let go of hot Barbie summer’s pink, cozy Minnie winter is here.

For even more pink fun, check out this new book all about Barbie‘s fashions.

The post Disney Sets Animated Sequel Release Dates, DRAGON BALL Z Cereal, And Other News Odds & Ends appeared first on Nerdist.

Disney’s first-ever full-length animated film remains one of its most beloved movies. Now it’s ready to be one of your most beloved LEGO sets. The company’s newest collectible will let you move in with an iconic princess and her seven hi-ho’ing roommates thanks to the LEGO Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Cottage.

Bring to life a legendary home from Disney’s distant past with LEGO’s new 2228-piece set. Designed for ages 18 and up, the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Cottage is a colorful re-creation of the 1937 animated classic’s cozy forest abode. Inside the replica cottage fans will find plenty of notable touches from the film. There’s a bedroom with seven beds, a room with the dwarves’ pipe organ, a baking table, sink, and plenty of cupboards.

The set measures more than 13.5-inches long, 7.8-inches tall, and 7.8 inches wide. It also comes with plenty of characters to fill it. There are 10 minifigures in total: Snow White, each of the Seven Dwarfs, the handsome Prince, and the evil Queen, who comes with her red apple. Plenty of animal friends also join the musical fun. You can place some of those woodland creatures at the nearby wishing well included with the set. Or they can stop by the collection’s sleeping chamber where those under a spell can remain under glass.

Anyone can get their set early next month on March 4, either online or in stores. LEGO Insiders can get theirs even earlier if they want. They can order online starting March 1. The LEGO Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Cottage retails for $219.99.

Putting this set together will also be a fun way to prepare for Disney’s upcoming live-action Snow White remake starring Rachel Zegler. It comes to theaters next year on March 25, 2025. Until then avoid getting close to any sleeping chambers except for this mini LEGO one.

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Disney Lorcana‘s third set, Into the Inklands, approaches. The trading card game from Ravensburger puts the spotlight on Disney animation. Each of the two released chapters has altered gameplay in varying ways with new abilities and items. The most powerful ink combinations have mostly stayed consistent, just with new characters, items, and actions to fuel them. Players like me are settled in and comfortable with our preferred decks and strategies. But Disney Lorcana: Into the Inklands is here to shake things up with location cards and fresh mechanics to go with them. Ravensburger sent us Into the Inklands starter decks for review, and we like how the location cards morph the game.

Disney Lorcana starter decks come with 60 cards each. They’re meant for playing right out of the box, making them ideal for newcomers and for learning a set’s new mechanics. In Rise of the Floodborn, for me, that was learning how to use bounce abilities to maximize lore. Though I wasn’t sure of bouncing at first, I soon built an Amethyst and Steel deck around it. Here, the starter decks will help you learn how to leverage the location cards.

The Into the Inklands starter decks also introduce new movies and series to Lorcana. We have DuckTales and TaleSpin characters (Don Karnage!), a million puppies from 101 Dalmatians, and Kida from Atlantis. In a touch representative of the level of detail given to this game, the text on Kida’s card is only in Atlantean. Somehow, the Ruby and Sapphire starter deck includes another HeiHei card—someone at Ravensburger must be HeiHei’s number one fan.

This time the two starter decks come in the following ink combinations: Amber and Emerald and Ruby and Sapphire. Amber and Emerald leverages those million puppies I mentioned, bringing in super adorable Dalmatians that offer support. Like the Seven Dwarves in Rise of the Floodborn, the puppies play best when they have each other to rely on. Plus, there’s the silly ability of being able to have up to 99 copies of the Dalmatian Puppy – Tail Wagger card in your deck. The Ruby and Sapphire deck includes some teamwork making the dream work, too, through Huey, Dewey, and Louie. If you manage to play that whole trio, you have a nice array of levers to pull.

Each deck has two location cards each: Never Land (Amber), De Vil Manor (Emerald), Agrabah (Ruby), and Motunui (Sapphire). Certain characters have abilities that interact with the locations and showcase the boosts locations can offer. The Emerald Peter Pan can gain lore once per turn from moving to a location. When the Ruby Moana quests at a location, you can ready all other players at the location (which recalls the Amber Moana’s ability from The First Chapter).

These character abilities are on top of those a location may already have. Location cards have an ink cost, a cost to move characters to them, willpower, and a lore value. A player gains a location’s lore if the card is in play at the start of the turn; a location doesn’t quest like a character does. Location cards’ ability to go after lore alone makes the addition of the card type a game changer. To win a game of Disney Lorcana, a player must gain 20 lore. So, having another kind of card to help you do that—another card one’s opponents must challenge to remove—means changing strategy.

Aside from experimenting with location cards, two of my favorite cards in the starter decks are an inkable Emerald Robin Hood that delivers four lore for a cost of only six ink and an uninkable Ruby Simba card that delivers three lore for a cost of two ink. If I played an Emerald deck regularly, I would absolutely consider including four of those Robin Hood cards. The Simba card is like Pinocchio and Lilo from previous releases.

While some aspects of gameplay in Into the Inklands are familiar—using groups of characters for support, sometimes in ways that overwhelm your deck—the locations bring a breath of fresh air. Even if you enjoy the deck you’ve built and honing your strategy, it can feel repetitive. That also holds true if you’re playing the same competitors regularly. But the introduction of a card type and all that comes with it comes at the right time. Into the Inklands brings an exciting change to the world of Disney Lorcana, and we can’t wait to see how it plays out.

Disney Lorcana: Into the Inklands will first release at local game stores on February 23, 2024. Mass market retailers will get the third set on March 8, 2024.

Featured Image: Ravensburger

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Epic Games found incredible global success in 2017 thanks to the immense popularity of Fortnite. Now, they are taking things to the next level, thanks to a partnership with Disney that lives up to their name. Via The Hollywood Reporter, we’ve learned that The Walt Disney Co. and Epic Games will create a brand new “games and entertainment universe” that brings Disney characters from their various franchises together. In the brief teaser trailer they released, we see characters from Frozen, Star Wars, the Avatar films, Indiana Jones, Pixar, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all in one world. You can watch the brief teaser, which states it’s all coming “soon(ish)” right here:

Here’s what Disney CEO Bob Iger said about the upcoming partnership:

Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe. This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion. We can’t wait for fans to experience the Disney stories and worlds they love in groundbreaking new ways.

Disney will also invest $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games alongside this gigantic multi year project. “This will be a world-class game experience, inter-operating with Fortnite,” the statement said. The new “persistent universe” allows consumers to engage with characters from across the Walt Disney Company’s vast library of IP. Players will create their own stories and experiences and share content with each other. And Unreal Engine will power all of this. Disney has already utilized Unreal Engine for the attraction Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Not to mention the games Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Marvel’s Nexus War with Galactus, and Kingdom Hearts 3. We expect a lot more details about this new venture over the coming months.

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Last year, Marvel Comics celebrated 100 years of the Walt Disney Company with several variant covers. Each of these reimagined classic Marvel issues with iconic Disney characters. Now, in celebration of 60 years of the Avengers and the X-Men, Marvel is releasing a trio of What If? variants showcasing Mickey Mouse and pals as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the students at Xavier’s School. Disney characters as Avengers and X-Men? Yes, please. You can check out previews for each issue below, alongside the original covers the issues are paying tribute to:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #47 

The Disney What If? variant cover by Alessandro Pastrovicchio pays homage to Al Milgrom’s West Coast Avengers #1 from 1985. This was the first official spinoff title for the iconic team. It features Donald Duck as Iron Man, Goofy as Hollywood hero Wonder Man, Mickey Mouse as the Avenging Archer known as Hawkeye, Minnie Mouse as his wife Mockingbird, and Daisy Duck as the cat/human (cat/duck?) hybrid hero Tigra. This issue hits comic book stores on April 10.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #49 

For Disney What If? variant cover by Giada Perisonotto, the artist recreated X-Men #58 by Neal Adams. This one features the original five X-Men encountering the mutant hero Havok. Goofy stands in for Cyclops/Scott Summers, while Mickey Mouse is Angel/Warren Worthington, Minnie is Marvel Girl/Jean Grey, Daisy Duck is Iceman/Bobby Drake, and Pluto is Beast/Hank McCoy. Appropriately enough, the ever-high energy Donald Duck is Havok/Alex Summers. This X-Men homage issue arrives on May 8.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #51 

Put your disco dancin’ shoes on, because this Disney What If? variant cover by Ivan Bigarella homages 1980’s Uncanny X-Men #129 by John Romita Jr. It spotlights the first appearance of the mutant heroine Dazzler and the start of The Dark Phoenix Saga. Minnie Mouse is decked out like Alison Blaire/Dazzler, the mutant pop star who can turn sound into light. Surrounding her in shock are Mickey Mouse as Cyclops/Scott Summers, Daisy Duck as Phoenix/Jean Grey, and Donald Duck as Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner. This truly uncanny issue comes out on June 5.

We expect more What If? Disney Avengers/X-Men variant covers before the year is out. How about 1991’s X-Men #1, Marvel?

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The first season of American Born Chinese—the series starring Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan—ended on a cliffhanger. Ben Wang’s Jin had begun to master his abilities, but he returned home to find an empty house. The show ended with Princess Iron Fan telling Jin he’d have to go with her if he ever wanted to see his parents again. Where was she taking him? Fans waiting to find out better hope the answer is another streaming site. Disney+ has cancelled American Born Chinese due to low ratings. Fortunately producers could look for another place to continue the story.

Variety reports that despite Disney executives’ high opinion of the show the series is done with the Mouse House. There were simply not enough viewers to continue with a second season. Positive reviews from critics and fans alike were unable to save it as well. All hope is not loss for those who did watch, though. Variety says the show’s producers “plan to shop the series to other outlets.”

Based on Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel, the comedy also features Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Jimmy Liu, Sydney Taylor, and Daniel Wu. Kelvin Yu serves as showrunner and executive producer. It’s official logline says it “chronicles the trials and tribulations of a regular American teenager whose life is forever changed when he befriends the son of a mythological god.” That teenager is Jin, and his story is a “battle for his own identity, told through family, comedy, and action-packed Kung-Fu.”

If his story is to continue onscreen, his battle will now also include finding a new television home. Hopefully the show’s diverse cast, universal themes, and unquestioned star power will help it land on its feet. Fans, cast, and crew are certainly hopeful it will. But Jin’s parents are depending on it.

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We continue unbidden into the age of digital streaming dominance in the entertainment industry. CEOs and studio heads, therefore, feel the need to clamp down even more on their beloved bottom lines. To that end, many of the majors have focused on combining their various streaming services into one. Take WBD, for example, which recently (and without anyone else wanting it) merged their HBO Max and Discovery+ services into Max. Not to be outdone (never to be outdone), Disney CEO Bob Iger announced something new in May. Hulu—which Disney acquired in the Fox deal—will find its content combining with Disney+. A beta test of a combined Disney and Hulu app is here and, according to Deadline, a full rollout is coming in March 2024.

As far as costs, subscriptions to for the Hulu and Disney+ duo start at $10 a month, $2 more than the basic tier of Disney+. Subscribers will see a “Hulu” button alongside those for Marvel, Pixar, Disney, Star Wars, and National Geographic. The apps will still offer standalone services, though.

Disney CEO Bob Iger shared the following on a recent earnings call:

“We are basically putting it in beta so that we can prepare parents, largely, to basically implement parental controls, because you’ll be able to access Hulu programming on the same app… We found that where we bundle, we lower churn.”

We should note, in countries, such as the United Kingdom, where Hulu never existed, the content of both platforms was always on Disney+.

At a time when the future of art as entertainment, and the viability of working in the entertainment industry, remains uncertain, one of the few things we can count on is enormous companies looking to make it easier for them to make billions of dollars. Consolidating Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ under one app won’t change too much for you, the consumer. But potentially making everything like old terrestrial cable packages might.

Originally published on May 10, 2023.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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The pandemic prevented or delayed the theatrical release of many movies. More than one studio leveraged the closure of theaters to boost their streaming services, including Disney+. Disney made the baffling decision to premiere three Pixar movies directly on Disney+: Soul, Luca, and Turning Red. The latter was especially confusing, as it released in March 2022. Theaters had been open again for months. But now, whatever decisions were made in the past, these three Pixar movies are coming to theaters nationwide. We can finally see Soul, Luca, and Turning Red in the format they (and all the people who worked on them) deserve.

That trailer is a brief reminder of how excellent each of these movies is. Rewatching them on Disney+ hasn’t been the same. Plus, now that Pixar movies will be in theaters, they each get the traditional animated short film airing ahead of them. Even though the shorts aren’t new, it’s comforting to see these films following form.

Here’s the release schedule:

• Soul with “Burrow” – January 12
• Turning Red with “Kitbull” – February 9
• Luca with “For the Birds” – March 22

We can’t wait to go see our friends on the big screen.

Featured Image: Pixar

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Disney’s newest animated musical, Wish, is technically about a girl helped by a magical creature after learning her beloved sorcerer king is not so wonderful. But Wish is really about Disney writing itself a love letter. The film is overtly based on “When You Wish Upon a Star” and “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” It’s also overstuffed with elements, like singing woodland creatures and a fairy tale framing, meant to pay homage to Golden Age Disney classics. And it’s structured like the studio’s Renaissance era movies while looking like an early 2000s release. It’s Disney-Inception. And none of it works.

All that self-adulation and referential storytelling detracts from a great idea, as does a woefully incomplete, subpar script. The result is a film with a major identity crisis made worse by subpar animation. If not for its clever premise and insightful themes, two leading stars, and some great songs it would be a total nightmare. Instead it’s merely a disappointing dream.

As someone who craves the return of shorter movies, it pains me to say the 92-minute long Wish desperately needs at least 15 more minutes. That way it could incorporate elements most good movies tend to have have, like meaningful characterization and plot development. Instead the film has too many shallow characters defined by a single trait, inexplicable plot points, and payoffs that come out of nowhere.

The script—which is actively unfunny the harder it tries to be humorous—is so incomplete that the more you think about it the worse it gets. The fantastic performances of stars Ariana DeBose (the young hero Asha) and Chris Pine (the villain King Magnifico) cover up many of Wish‘s flaws. As do some incredible songs. Wish has memorable numbers that are are more musically mature and intense than a lot of Disney fare. (Which is a pleasant surprise after a very standard opening number.) But not even DeBose and Pine can cover up some huge, obvious mistakes in the screenplay. The movie’s biggest emotional moments and some very important scenes, like the big ending, aren’t earned. More focus on incorporating basic storytelling elements would have been a huge improvement.

Unfortunately Wish isn’t interesting to look at, either. The animation style is not “retro” so much as it’s regressive. It seems to want to recreate the look of Disney film’s like Tangled and Bolt, but it looks like a cheap knockoff of those movies. What’s especially frustrating is that it occasionally employs other animation styles that look amazing. Wish has backgrounds that are truly gorgeous. A simple, stunning post-credits scene also shows what could have been. I wish we got to see the version of the movie with that animation instead.

The film isn’t a total disaster, though, even beyond its leads and songs. It’s premise is so good it covers up some of the movie’s many failings. Wish takes place in the magical kingdom of Rosas. People from all over the world come to live on the beautiful, peaceful island under King Magnifico’s protection. All he asks of them is when they move there or turn 18 they literally give him their heart’s most important wish via magic. The sorcerer then keeps their wish, which they don’t remember, as floating blue orbs. He not only keeps them safe, he grants one person their wish every month. All of which sounds great until Asha realizes why that’s horrible. That leads her to wish upon a star, which in turn brings the magical being called Star to Rosas.

Star’s arrival results in Magnifico going full villain. Only, his transformation doesn’t carry any heft. But nothing that happens in Wish does, since it’s main focus isn’t the story, but rather celebrating Disney. It’s somehow overly meta despite being total earnest. There’s no “winking” at the camera, at least not until the credits roll, and yet it’s so overtly about Disney it still feels meta. It’s too bad, because the rare times Wish does its own thing it’s a lot of fun. There are also a few moments where it seems like it might get weird and interesting, but then a talking bunny shows up and it feels trite. There’s a fine line between tribute and banal. Wish is not close to the line. It revels in being derivative.

The perils of the film’s Disney-ness is best exemplified in its title. If the movie only cared about telling the best story possible, Wish wouldn’t be Wish. It would be Dream, because that’s what it’s really about. This movie is about how the dreams we hold dearest in our heart shape us, both good and bad. It’s about how dreams can push us to greatness just as much as they can fill us with disappointment and regret. And it’s about the fact that who we entrust with helping make our dreams come true is just as important as what our dreams are.

That’s exactly the type of idea that should make for a great Disney animated movie. But the word “wish” does not have the same connotation as the word “dream.” One has a power the other does not. “A wish is a dream your heart makes” doesn’t sound as good as the original because it’s not. We send our wishes far away to the stars, but we keep our dreams in our hearts.

Too bad for us that long ago Jiminy Cricket didn’t sing “When You Dream Upon a Star.” It might have led to a much better movie now.

⭐ (2.5 of 5)

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Once upon a time, Snow White was Disney’s first full Disney princess movie. Incredibly, the animated Snow White first released in 1937. And now Snow White will re-release in 2025 as a live-action movie starring Rachel Zegler. Per Deadline, Disney recently moved the release date for the live-action princess movie from March 22, 2024 to March 21, 2025. That’s a year’s delay, but to tide us over, the studio also released our first look at Rachel Zegler as Snow White in the live-action Snow White movie. She’s accompanied by dwarves Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy.

Disney live-action adaptations of animated movies have been kind of hit or miss. And so far, we’re not positive this one’s a hit. But we suppose we will wait and see a little bit more.

Joining Zegler in Disney’s live-action Snow White is Gal Gadot, who will play the Evil Queen. Tony Award winner Andrew Burnap will play a new male lead character. We guess just being a generic prince doesn’t cut it anymore. Behind the scenes is director Marc Webb who will oversee the script penned by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson. The live-action Snow White movie will include original songs.

I’ll be honest, of all Disney movies, Snow White is the one I remember the least. It’ll be interesting to see if the live-action adaptation of this classic will take the story in new directions. At the very least, the singing will likely be very good. We’re crossing our fingers for an excellent costume department as well.

As mentioned above, Snow White will now be released on March 21, 2025. Just don’t take any apples from strangers between now and then. No matter how nice they might seem.

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We’re not absolutely positive what makes a haunt happy, but cocktails probably help. That means the ghosts aboard the Disney Treasure will be delighted because the cruise ship will feature the first-ever bar inspired by the Haunted Mansion. The beloved Disney Parks attraction has exactly the right vibe for a cozy bar with its spooky Victorian style. And from the looks of photos, the Haunted Mansion Parlor nails the atmosphere. We can’t wait to be some of the many foolish mortals who sit at this bar.

It’s been quite the year for the Haunted Mansion. The ride inspired a new film adaptation over the summer, and Hatbox Ghost is making his way to Walt Disney World. And now a Haunted Mansion bar! Disney Cruise Line shares that the Haunted Mansion Parlor focuses “on the story of a jovial captain who entered the ghostly realm after a disastrous dinner with his beloved fiancé.” Composer Shruti Kumar wrote a custom musical arrangement inspired by the ride to further set the mood. Walt Disney Imagineering is bringing the illusions to the party, too, with characters from Haunted Mansion rides around the globe haunting the bar.

We can see the iconic purple wallpaper around the Haunted Mansion bar. The space has a number of decor touches that look to be right from the ride. Then you have the three hitchhiking ghosts appearing in a window behind the bar. We wouldn’t be surprised to see other familiar ghouls show up there.

The Haunted Mansion Parlor will serve craft cocktails and sell souvenirs—a music box, a mantle clock, and a parlor mirror—and a sculpted mug. In other words, yes, we will leave one whole suitcase empty just for our Haunted Mansion bar haul. Flip through the gallery below to see them all.

Click To View Gallery

You can wrap your ghostly hands around these cocktails when the Disney Treasure sets sail in December 2024.

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Few things were as awesome in the ’90s as the animated Gargoyles. Disney’s attempt at a dark action series to rival Batman: The Animated Series was a dark fantasy epic with a mix of sorcery and science. It’s one of the coolest cartoons ever. And like everything cool in the ’90s, it spawned a video game. The 1995 Gargoyles game was late in the life of the Sega Genesis and as such was one of the best looking, most robust games on the platform.

Hot on the heels of news of a new live-action version, Disney Games has released Gargoyles Remastered, a gussied-up version of the beloved game. We received a review code for the game from Disney Games on the PlayStation 4. It’s never looked better, but it’s still just as hard and fast-paced as it was nearly three decades ago.

Disney Games and Empty Clip Studios have given the original game a very impressive facelift. As great as the Sega game was back in the day, the sprites were very dark and weren’t quite the look or the aesthetic of the cartoon. This version has remedied that. Goliath is a vibrant purple, the backgrounds truly pop, levels show tons of detail. They’ve also cleaned up the music and made a few quality of life changes—like a rewind function—but other than that, it’s still the same game, for better and worse.

Gargoyles spans five levels and puts players in control of Goliath, the leader of the titular creatures. The game roughly covers the story of the show’s five-part opening. The first two levels put Goliath against Viking invaders attacking the Scottish Castle Wyvern. After that the action heads to modern day NYC where Goliath fights robots on buildings, a speeding train, and in a laboratory. Eventually you get to square off against Xanatos and his Steel Clan robots, and finally evil gargoyle Demona. All of this serves a greater quest to destroy the Eye of Odin, which threatens all life.

The levels all require Goliath to climb walls, or smash through them, to fight enemies and avoid environmental hazards. Goliath can jump and double-jump (flap, because of wings), slash with claws, and flip enemies. The controls are straight forward. Easy to pick up but tough to master, the game’s primary challenge comes from platforming and puzzle solving. You have to figure out which walls to break to get health power-ups or to find the critical path. Sometimes you have to break a floor or grab a thing to open a secret passage. Like a lot of games of the era, the difficulty comes from timing and reflexes more than fighting.

And that’s what I mean when I say it’s the same game, for better or worse. When you’re firing on all cylinders, landing jumps, finding the right path, you can beat the game in less than 30 minutes. Unlike the original, this remaster offers several difficulty levels, giving Goliath more lives and taking less damage per hit. The rewind function is also clutch when you totally biff a jump or fall off a wall. These elements make for a more forgiving playthrough, but if you don’t vibe with the timing, it can be very frustrating. Sense memory for games like this needs to take over. Luckily it’s a short playthrough, but even on easy don’t expect to go in with your Elden Ring or Resident Evil 4 skills and fly through it.

Gargoyles Remastered is a beautiful update to a classic side-scroller. The art and music are superb, and for those who want the old-school experience, you can flip to the 16-bit visuals without even pausing. It’s a fun game that evokes the cartoon better than just about any game of the era. But definitely make sure you’re in a ’90s platforming state of mind or you’re likely to roar louder than Goliath.

Gargoyles Remastered is available for download on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam beginning October 19, 2023.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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In a perfect world we’d be waiting for a very specific movie this fall. We’d be waiting for the premiere of a followup to the 2022 MCU Halloween special Werewolf by Night. The creepy black-and-white tale of monster hunters and their prey remains one of the franchise’s best and most original post-Infinity Saga releases. But while we don’t live in a perfect world, it’s not all bad either. Disney+’s 2023 “Hallowstream” lineup will include the newly announced Werewolf by Night in Color, a special version debuting this October.

And it now this colorful rendition has a scary good trailer.

Hulu subscribers can now catch the original Werewolf by Night on the streamer. Disney added the special starring Gael García Bernal to the site as part of its “Huluween” collection. But customers of the Mouse House’s flagship streaming service will be getting a very different version on October 20.

Marvel Studios’ Werewolf By Night in Color will give viewers an opportunity to see the film in a whole new way. Disney is giving its spooky story a companion version that comes in “vibrant color.”

On Twitter X, director Michael Giacchino said they “spent a lot of time working on this color version” because they “wanted to pay homage to the incredible vibrant color in horror films like the ones Hammer made.” Giacchino said the result is “a whole new look for the film.”

Prior to this trailer we had only seen colorized images from the set thanks to the behind-the-scenes doc Director By Night.

Before we learned of this colorized version we were planning to rewatch the black-and-white original a couple times anyway. Now? We’re still going to do that, we’re just also going to enjoy Werewolf by Night in Color.

Hopefully next year we also have a second original movie to enjoy, too. That won’t make the world perfect, but like this special colorful version it will get us one lycanthrope step closer.

Originally published September 15, 2023.

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Whatever promise streaming services once offered is not just dead, it has been replaced by existential dread. Viewers no longer have to only worry their favorite films and TV shows will get pulled from sites at month’s end. They now have to worry new, finished films and TV shows will never see the light of day. Warner Bros. shelving the completed Batgirl film was not an isolated incident. It was a harbinger of things to come. Disney+ canceled its The Spiderwick Chronicles series before it could debut, despite the fact it was already completed.

The only good news was another studio or platform could ultimately bring it to the small screen. And happily, in this increasingly rare case, that has come to pass. The Roku Channel has “landed the exclusive, premiere U.S. rights to The Spiderwick Chronicles.” Roku will release the now-saved The Spiderwick Chronicles series in early 2024.

We first learned about Disney+’s decision not to release its live-action The Spiderwick Chronicles show in August. It’s based on the children’s fantasy novel series from Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. All eight episodes—starring Christian Slater, Jack Dylan Grazer, Lyon Daniels, Noah Cottrell, Joy Bryant, and Mychala Lee—are totally finished. But in 2023, that simply doesn’t matter much of the time. In this case, Disney+ treated The Spiderwick Chronicles as a write-off, as it continues to service investors at the sad cost of creatives and fans.

The good news is that, unlike Batgirl, this show had a chance to live again. It was developed at Disney but comes from Paramount Television Studios and 20th Television. And these studios worked to find a new streaming home for The Spiderwick Chronicles. We’re glad it will appear on The Roku Channel. In 2008, we saw a movie version of The Spiderwick Chronicles, but a series will allow us to journey even deeper into the magical world. As mentioned, The Spiderwick Chronicles series will release on The Roku Channel in early 2024.

Of course, despite this saving, The Spiderwick Chronicles series might not be available for good. Even shows and movies that do make it to streaming don’t always stay there very long. That’s the complete opposite of what streaming seemed to be offering not too long ago. But, at least for the previously canceled The Spiderwick Chronicles series, there’s a happy ending for now.

Originally published on August 28, 2023.

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Disney fans of all ages know what can happen when you wish upon a star. But soon they’ll get to see what happens when you wish with Star, the cosmic being of energy at the heart of the Mouse House’s upcoming animated movie Wish. He’s far from the only notable member of the film. The trailer also serves as an introduction to Ariana DeBose’s Asha and Alan Tudyk’s talking goat Valentino. They’ll be joined by Hollywood royalty, Chris Pine‘s King Magnifico.

That might sound like a dream come true, but this is one Chris Pine character we’ll be wishing comes up short.

Seventeen is a tough enough age without having to save your entire community. But that’s exactly what Asha and her surprisingly deep-voiced goat pal will have to do for Rosas, “the kingdom of wishes.” That magical land off the Iberian Peninsula is the setting for Disney’s Wish.

Fortunately the two will have help from a very special being. Here’s the movie’s official synopsis from Disney:

In Wish, Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star confront a most formidable foe—the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico—to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen. 

Wish comes from directors Chris Buck (Frozen, Frozen 2) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (Raya and the Last Dragon). It also features new songs from Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice and a score by composer Dave Metzger. The musical-comedy comes to theaters this fall, on November 22, 2023.

Originally published on April 27, 2023.

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Fans of Marvel’s Mutants are eagerly anticipating the early 2024 arrival of X-Men ’97, the new Disney+ continuation of the classic ’90s X-Men: The Animated Series. The original show adapted many classic storylines from the pages of Uncanny X-Men over its run. At least, stories that were written up until that point. But since it went off the air in 1997, many new and seminal X-Men stories have been added to the canon in the Marvel Comics. And we think these would make for perfect animated episodes in the upcoming revival series. Here are our top picks for X-Men stories we’d love to see adapted next.

X-Men: Onslaught (1996)

Onslaught is not from a particularly creative high point for the X-Men titles. This story was mainly a function to remove the Avengers and Fantastic Four characters from the 616 Universe for a year in the Heroes Reborn event. But the basic premise would still be great for animated episodes. In the Fatal Attractions story a few years prior, Xavier had mind-wiped Magneto, in an attempt to put an end to his schemes once and for all. But a seed of Magneto’s mind lived on in Xavier, becoming the unstoppable and ridiculously huge psychic entity called Onslaught. This story is maybe too over the top and too ’90s for live-action, but would be perfect for the world of X-Men ’97.

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (1982)

This early ‘80s original graphic novel by Chris Claremont and artist Brent Anderson was the template for X2: X-Men United. But that film changed some key elements of the story, such as changing the villain William Stryker from a televangelist to a military general. The original story dealt more with the concept at the very core of the X-Men comics, which is how people use religion and politics to justify bigotry. It represents key X-Men writer Chris Claremont at his creative peak. Some elements of the story haven’t aged well. However, the core ideas would still work in the animated format. Plus, this might be the perfect excuse to bring in key characters from that story, like Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler. This storyline was a bit too mature for Saturday morning audiences, so it was never adapted then. But it’s perfect for today.

X-Men: Inferno (1988-1989)

Rumors persist that the clone of Jean Grey, Madelyne Pryor, is making her way into X-Men ’97. With Mister Sinister confirmed as one of the series’ main antagonists, it makes sense that Maddy would appear. After all, she was a creation of that pasty-skinned mad geneticist. If Madelyne does appear, then it would be an ideal time to adapt her most famous storyline, Inferno, for animation. In that 1988-1989 comics event, Madelyne, bitter her husband Cyclops left her for his resurrected lover Jean Grey (her genetic template), makes a deal with powerful demons to unleash Hell on Earth. X-Men vs. demons from Limbo might be a tad much for live-action, but for animation? It’s just perfect.

New X-Men: E is for Extinction

In the early 2000s, superstar writer Grant Morrison lent their genius to refreshing the X-Men franchise for the 21st century. And the first story out of the gate for them in what was called New X-Men was E for Extinction. That storyline saw the addition of Emma Frost to the Xavier School faculty. It also introduced one of the best modern X-villains, Cassandra Nova. Unlike many X-Men baddies, she actually presented a real threat, destroying the island nation of Genosha and murdering millions of mutants in one heinous act. And did we mention Cassandra is Xavier’s secret twin sister, whom he believed he killed in the womb? This is one story that we’d really love to see the animated series tackle.

X-Men: House of X and Powers of X

In 2019, writer Jonathan Hickman upended decades of mutant status quo in the series House of X and Powers of X. For once in their long publication history, mutantkind would be on top. He reintroduced the mutant island of Krakoa, a living island where Xavier and Magneto welcomed every mutant as a citizen. But Krakoa had secrets. Among them is the key to mutant immortality. This era raised the X-Men to the level of almost gods on Earth. Marvel Comics has done a version of this era as if it happened in the X-Men: The Animated Series world. And we think adapting that for the cartoon would be amazing. And it would really meld the classic ’90s X-Men with the storytelling daring of the modern Marvel Comics. Put Wolverine’s claw to our head? This is the one we want the most.

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Disney Lorcana debuted to huge success in August. Such huge success, in fact, getting hold of The First Chapter has been a challenge. Ravensburger recently announced it would be reprinting chapter one in 2024 to meet demand. That reprint will come after the game’s second set of 200 plus cards. And now we know more about that second set. Ravensburger has revealed details for what’s next for its Disney trading card game. Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn brings new characters, different starter decks, and the origin of the floodborn glimmers. Here’s how Disney Lorcana will expand.

What Are Disney Lorcana‘s Floodborn?

Glimmers with the floodborn trait are characters whom a mysterious flood of ink transformed. The same flood damaged the Great Illuminary. That caused the game’s six inks (Amber, Amethyst, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, and Steel) to blend and release in a mixed-up, chaotic form. Ravensburger shared in a release, “When storyborn or dreamborn glimmers encountered this mixed ink, they surged with a power that changed them, transforming them into floodborn glimmers. As the magical ink poured out of the Illuminary, treasured lore went with it, including Disney’s King Triton’s powerful trident.”

Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn New Characters and Cards

Click To View Gallery

Matching The First Chapter, Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn will have over 200 cards, all with brand-new artwork. We’ll see familiar characters in different ways, but this second Disney Lorcana set will also bring newcomers to the game. Winnie the Pooh and Tiana will both appear for the first time. Additionally, the set will include glimmers from The Jungle Book, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Great Mouse Detective, Pinocchio, Zootopia, and Raya and the Last Dragon.

All the new Disney Lorcana cards are playable with the first set. You can preview 13 of the cards above, and you may notice a different game ability: Resist. The Resist keyword indicates how much additional damage characters may be able to withstand. For example, Resist +2 on a character would mean any damage dealt to them is reduced by 2.

Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn Starter Decks and Booster Packs

Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn will include two starter decks featuring different combinations of inks from set one. The pairings this time are Amber and Sapphire and Amethyst and Steel. Starter decks will be priced at $16.99. Booster packs will cost $5.99.

Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn Illumineer’s Trove and Playmats

The set will also feature a new Illumineer’s Trove and at least two new playmats, one featuring Winnie the Pooh and the other depicting the Beast. As a reminder, the Illumineer’s Trove includes collection storage box, two deck storage boxes, eight booster packs, 15 game tokens, and a player’s guide.

Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn Release Date

Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn will release first at local game stores on November 17, followed by mass market retailers on December 1.

Disney Lorcana: Disney100 Edition

For the holidays, Ravensburger will release the Disney Lorcana: Disney100 Edition. Available at local game stores and mass retailers on December 1 for $49.99, the Disney100 Edition comes with six cards. The cards are from The First Chapter and Rise of the Floodborn but feature alternate artwork from Disney animators. Each card features an exclusive Disney100 frame design, a satin holographic foil finish, and a copy of the animator’s signature prominently displayed.

Artists featured include:

• Mickey Mouse – Friendly Face – Mark Henn
• Elsa – Gloves Off – Brittney Lee
• Genie – Powers Unleashed – Eric Goldberg
• Stitch – Abomination – Alex Kupershmidt
• Maleficent – Uninvited – Lorelay Bové
• Maui – Demigod – Bill Schwab

Each Disney100 Edition comes with four Rise of the Floodborn booster packs.

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2023 marks 100 years since Walt Disney and his brother Roy began the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Needless to say, the entertainment world has never been the same since. Although the Walt Disney Company has produced all kinds of different forms of media, most will forever associate them mainly with animation. Now, as a way of celebrating a century of animated movies, Disney has announced the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection. It features 100 animated films from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Pixar on Blu-ray. The box set packages all these movies together in a hardbound, self-standing three-volume set that unfolds into your own storybook. However, the retail cost of this Disney collection is not exactly a fairy tale.

What Does the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection Cost, and What Does it Include?

As part of Disney’s 100th anniversary celebration, a limited number of these  Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection sets will be available for pre-order only on Walmart.com. This comprehensive Disney collection will go on sale beginning September 18, and each set will include a numbered certificate of authenticity. It’s a true collector’s item, and that means it comes with a true collector’s item price tag. Just how much will the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection cost? According to The Wrap, the collection will retail for $1,500. It’s enough for anyone to say “Holy Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.”

But does this potential expense buy a Disney fan? Well, the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection set includes 100 animated titles on Blu-ray and digital codes for each movie. The Disney box set also features the original theatrical poster art for each Disney animated movie and comes with a collectible lithograph from Disney Animation’s all-new animated musical Wish, as well as a collectible crystal Mickey ears hat with exclusive Disney 100 engraving. As for which 100 films from the Disney library made it onto the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection, the real question is, which ones didn’t? It seems every major animated Disney film is a part of this set, from 1937’s Snow White to this year’s Elemental. Below is the full list of films.

Click To View Gallery

Movies Included in the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection

1. Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
2. Pinocchio (1940)
3. Fantasia (1940)
4. Dumbo (1941)
5. Bambi (1942)
6. Saludos Amigos (1943)
7. The Three Caballeros (1945)
8. Make Mine Music (1946)
9. Fun And Fancy Free (1947)
10. Melody Time (1948)
11. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
12. Cinderella (1950)
13. Alice in Wonderland (1951)
14. Peter Pan (1953)
15. Lady and the Tramp (1955)
16. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
17. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
18. The Sword in the Stone (1963)
19. The Jungle Book (1967)
20. The Aristocats (1970)
21. Robin Hood (1973)
22. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
23. The Rescuers (1977)
24. The Fox and The Hound (1981)
25. The Black Cauldron (1985)
26. The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
27. Oliver & Company (1988)
28. The Little Mermaid (1989)
29. The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
30. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
31. Aladdin (1992)
32. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
33. The Lion King (1994)
34. A Goofy Movie (1995)
35. Pocahontas (1995)
36. Toy Story (1995)
37. James and the Giant Peach (1996)
38. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
39. Hercules (1997)
40. Mulan (1998)
41. A Bug’s Life (1998)
42. Tarzan (1999)
43. Toy Story 2 (1999)
44. Fantasia/2000 (2000)
45. The Tigger Movie (2000)
46. Dinosaur (2000)
47. The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
48. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
49. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
50. Return to Never Land (2002)
51. Lilo & Stitch (2002)
52. Treasure Planet (2002)
53. The Jungle Book 2 (2003)
54. Piglet’s Big Movie (2003)
55. Finding Nemo (2003)
56. Brother Bear (2003)
57. Home on the Range (2004)
58. The Incredibles (2004)
59. Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (2005)
60. Chicken Little (2005)
61. Cars (2006)
62. Meet the Robinsons (2007)
63. Ratatouille (2007)
64. Wall•E (2008)
65. Tinker Bell (2008)
66. Bolt (2008)
67. Up (2009)
68. The Princess and the Frog (2009)
69. Toy Story 3 (2010)
70. Tangled (2010)
71. Cars 2 (2011)
72. Winnie the Pooh (2011)
73. Brave (2012)
74. Frankenweenie (2012)
75. Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
76. Monsters University (2013)
77. Planes (2013)
78. Frozen (2013)
79. Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014)
80. Big Hero 6 (2014)
81. Inside Out (2015)
82. The Good Dinosaur (2015)
83. Zootopia (2016)
84. Finding Dory (2016)
85. Moana (2016)
86. Cars 3 (2017)
87. Coco (2017)
88. Incredibles 2 (2018)
89. Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
90. Toy Story 4 (2019)
91. Frozen 2 (2019)
92. Onward (2020)
93. Soul (2020)
94. Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
95. Luca (2021)
96. Encanto (2021)
97. Turning Red (2022)
98. Lightyear (2022)
99. Strange World (2022)
100. Elemental (2023)

Movies You Won’t Find on this Disney Set

We should note that these are only Disney’s theatrically released (or originally intended for theatrical release) films. So, none of the straight-to-video sequels to Aladdin and Lion King you watched on VHS back in the day made it into this set. Given how Disney has doubled down on streaming only these past few years, it’s nice to see a recommitment to physical media from them lately. Because the truth is, physical media is really the only way you’ll ever really own a movie, folks. But as mentioned, this Disney collection will set you back. The price is a not-so-thrifty $1,500. But we imagine there are many Disney die-hards out there who will want this baby on their shelves, regardless of price.

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If you want to keep not seeing commercials, it’s going to cost you even more. Disney, the company that commands 28% of the media landscape, has announced it will raise its prices for ad-free tiers of both Disney+ and Hulu. Disney+ Plus Premium (ad-free) will go from $10.99 per month to $13.99 per month, an increase of just over 27%. Hulu’s ad-free offering will also raise its price $3, from $14.99 to $17.99, an increase of 20% per month. There will also be a bundle of Disney+ Premium and Hulu (No Ads) for $19.99. The yearly subscription model will also go up accordingly.

Additionally, Hulu’s Live TV packages will see increases as well, both the ad-free and ad-supported plans will increase by $7.00. Hulu’s Live TV with ads plan will go from costing $69.99/month to $76.99/month, and Hulu’s Live TV ad-free plan will increase from $82.99/month to $89.99/month. The Hulu and Disney+ subscription cost increases will come into play on October 12.

This all comes in addition to even more ad-supported tier options for international subscribers, including folks in Canada and Europe. The ad-supported tiers in the United States are currently $7.99 per month for each Disney+ and Hulu. A statement in the press release reads:

The strong momentum of our ad-supported plans in the U.S. demonstrates the importance of providing consumers with choice, flexibility and value,” said Joe Earley, President, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment. “We are excited to expand that offering in more markets across the globe, including in Europe and Canada, and to launch a new premium duo bundle of ad-free Disney+ and Hulu this Fall, as we take steps toward making extensive Hulu content available via Disney+ later this year for Bundle subscribers.

As The Hollywood Reporter points out, this move is a bid by Disney to “bring its direct-to-consumer business to profitability.” This move comes at a particularly interesting time for big media corporations and their streaming services with regards to the striking WGA and SAG-AFTRA members. The lack of profit sharing and residuals from streaming content are at the forefront of the guilds’ complaints against the AMPTP, of which Disney is a member.

With its estimated 150 million subscribers as of September 2022, a $3 per month increase for premium subscribers could net as much as $450 million more per month. In 2022, Disney+ had a revenue of $7.4 billion, which contributed to Disney’s total revenue of $84.7 billion that year. And lest you fear, Disney has been losing money in 2023: Q1 2023 was the company’s largest on record, with $23.51 billion. Q2 tied for the second-highest ever, along with Q1 2022, at $21.82 billion. According to Reuters, Disney CEO Bob Iger’s new contract, which he signed in July, could net him five times his base salary in annual incentive bonus. His previous contract gave him $27 million per year in total compensation.

Why am I sharing all of these revenue and salary numbers? Well, it’s interesting to see just what “weak” box office means to a company like Disney. Disney, who still managed to bring in $55 billion in 2022 from media and entertainment. It may only be $3 extra dollars a month out of your pocket for Disney+ and Hulu each, but look where it’s going and know who is actually benefitting.

As mentioned, the new tiers and prices will take effect on October 12. The new Disney+ and Hulu ad-free bundle meanwhile arrived on September 6. Remember, both apps will merge in the fall as well, while the services will still remain separate.

Originally published on August 9, 2023.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Season two of The Mandalorian introduced a live-action Ahsoka Tano. First introduced in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (voiced by Ashley Eckstein), the character is beloved by many Star Wars fans. And Ahsoka’s appearance in The Mandalorian was just the beginning. Ahsoka Tano got her very own live-action series. Ahsoka is coming to Disney+.

Here is everything we know about Ahsoka so far.

Title

The title of the series is Star Wars: Ahsoka, or simply Ahsoka.

Ahsoka‘s Plot

When Ahsoka turned up in “The Jedi” episode of The Mandalorian, she revealed she’s searching for the missing Grand Admiral Thrawn. Who, as Star Wars Rebels fans know, disappeared into the Unknown Regions with Ezra Bridger at the end of that series. The epilogue of Rebels sees Ahsoka and Sabine Wren take off together to search for their missing Jedi friend and the genius Imperial leader. Ahsoka is likely to pick up those story threads. The synopsis says:

Set after the fall of the Empire, “Star Wars: Ahsoka” follows the former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.

The Ahsoka trailer plainly shows lots of the World Between Worlds:

Director Dave Filoni told Vanity Fair the following about the series:

Ahsoka is a continuous story. It is definitely driving toward a goal, in my mind, as opposed to being little singular adventures. That’s what I want the character to be doing, and I think that’s what fans want now. They have such a relationship with her. I’ve only recently started to understand that all those kids that watched Clone Wars are now a lot older—they’re very excited about all the things they grew up with, as they should be.

We will also see quite a few familiar faces, including Star Wars Rebels legend Hera. We cannot get over how cool this character looks in this photo. There will even be a mysterious Inquisitor in play.

Ahsoka‘s Cast

Rosario Dawson will star as the title character, reprising her introduction on The Mandalorian. Joining Ahsoka is her Rebels cohort, Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren. In live-action, she’ll be played by Australian actress Natasha Liu Bordizzo from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny. According to a release, Diana Lee Inosanto will play Morgan Elsbeth. Meanwhile, Ukrainian actor Ivanna Sakhno has also joined the cast as Shin Hati and Ray Stevenson will appear as Baylan Skoll. Shin Hati and Baylan Skoll appear to be villains in the series and wield orange-colored lightsabers. Eman Esfandi will play Ezra. We can’t wait to see Ahsoka and Sabine search for their lost friend.

Meanwhile, Birds of Prey star Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Hera Syndulla on Ahsoka. Additionally, Lars Mikkelsen will reprise his Rebels role in live-action and play Grand Admiral Thrawn. David Tennant is also part of the cast; he will play the droid character Huyang, whom he previously voiced.

Additionally, Deadline reports that The Expanse and Hunger Games star Wes Chatham will also be a part of Ahsoka. Chatham will apparently play “the right-hand man to Lars Mikkelsen’s Admiral Thrawn.”

Behind the Scenes 

The Mandalorian’s Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau are showrunning for Ahsoka. Filoni has confirmed that he wrote all the episodes of the season. Additionally, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Peter Ramsey, co-director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, will direct at least one episode of the show. We still don’t know how many episodes Ahsoka will have.

Ahsoka‘s Release Date

Ahsoka arrives on Disney+ on August 22 at 6PM PT. The series will launch with two episodes on its premiere day. The Star Wars series will continue to air on Tuesdays at that hour throughout its run, a departure from previous Disney+ releases.

Originally published on December 22, 2021.

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The galaxy can rejoice. At least this time around, the latest Star Wars Disney+ series will not premiere in the dead of night. Disney+ has been famous, or is that infamous, for dropping episodes at midnight Pacific Time/3 am Eastern Time, testing the resolve of even the most ardent fans of Star Wars, Marvel, and more. But the new Ahsoka series will bring about a change in Disney+’s release timing that will hopefully stick around. The show, it turns out, will mark not only the exciting return of Ahsoka and friends, but also an earlier release time that will bring happiness to all. Here’s what we know about Disney+’s change in release strategy.

When Will Ahsoka Series Episodes Release? Here Is the New Time and Day They’ll Drop on Disney+

Per the official Star Wars Twitter, Ahsoka episodes will now release on Tuesdays at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET. What a relief! This change will kick in starting with Ahsoka‘s two-episode premiere on August 22.

This means that fans won’t have to choose between sleep and spoilers. The new Disney+ release strategy also means the episodes will get a more typically “prime time” release schedule, and hopefully that will pay off for both streamer and viewer. Other streamers like Prime Video, Apple TV+, and etc. have already adopted similar strategies, so it’s nice to see Disney+ coming onboard.

Will This Earlier Release Time Apply to Other Disney+ Star Wars and Marvel Shows?

To date, every Disney+ series has dropped 12 am PT, so it does seem a change is in the works. But, as of now, Disney+ has only announced an earlier release time for the Star Wars series Ahsoka. (As mentioned, Ahsoka will release on Tuesdays at 6 PM PT.) Hopefully, though, we will see this change in release timing and episode drop strategy apply across the board.

It’s hard to be a hero without a good night’s sleep! Ahsoka will definitely need it as she takes on some of Star Wars‘ most fearsome villains, and we’ll need it to be with her every step of the way.

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