From Ghostbusters letting Janine suit up to Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning coming to streaming (and changing its name) to a tub of Oreo filling you can buy to Lizzie McGuire’s bucket list achievements, here are some of our favorite pop-culture news odds & ends from recent history.
Recent Odds & Ends in the News
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Sets Paramount+ Streaming Date, Removes “Part One” From Title
- Rachel Zegler Wants to Play Poe Dameron’s Mother in the Star Wars Universe
- The CW’s Logo Is Now “Hot Sauce” and “Icing” Colored
- Lizzie McGuire Would Have Hooked Up with Ethan TWICE in Cancelled Reboot
- Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Creators Reveal First Teaser Image of Pinocchio: Unstrung
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Will Be Inspired By ’80s Cartoon Series, Will Let Janine Suit Up
- Hayao Miyazaki Reveals the Identity of Spirited Away’s No Face
- A Chuck E. Cheese Game Show Is Coming Our Way, and It’s A Little Like Squid Game, But Includes Massive Prize Wall
- OREO and Betty Crocker Are Teaming Up to Bring You Oreo Filling in a Tub and More
- The Last of Us’ Young Mazino Teases Horse Riding and Gun Shooting in Season Two
- Ubisoft+ Adds Cheaper Subscription Tier to Offerings
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Sets Paramount+ Streaming Date, Removes “Part One” From Title
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning is finally heading to streaming. It will arrive on Paramount+ on January 25. But although it’s gaining a new home, it’s also losing something. The “Part One” has been removed from the title of the Mission: Impossible movie, originally titled Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Perhaps this was just a story decision, or perhaps the shift has something to do with the plot. We’ll have to wait until “Not Part Two” to find out.
Whatever it was called, this Mission: Impossible movie was one of our favorites of 2023.
Rachel Zegler Wants to Play Poe Dameron’s Mother in the Star Wars Universe
Rumors abound there could be a Star Wars version of What If…? in the works for Disney+. While these rumors are presently only that, they did lead to an excellent discovery. Rachel Zegler would love to join the Star Wars universe and has a character in mind to play. She revealed, “As a fan of the comics, I would like to throw my hat in the ring to voice Shara Bey, mother of Poe Dameron because her ship was an RZ-1 (my initials!) for Green Squadron.” Honestly, that seems like a lot of fun. We’d love to see more Shara Bey, more Poe Dameron, and Rachel Zegler in the Star Wars world.
In the meantime, you can check out our first look at Rachel Zegler as Snow White, below.
The CW’s Logo Is Now “Hot Sauce” and “Icing” Colored
The CW is looking to create a new image for itself. Not only is it dropping the “The” in its new logo, but it’s trying a veritable buffet of flavors on for size. The CW chief marketing officer Chris Spadaccini revealed to Variety that the network has selected a new color for its logo that it is branding “Hot Sauce.” Additionally, Hot Sauce will be surrounded by pink “Icing.” A light green is also in play that the CW calls “Mint.” We must say, hot sauce, icing, and minto are not three flavors we would immediately pair. But maybe The CW can make this weird combination work.
Alas, the end of the DC show era has arrived at The CW.
Lizzie McGuire Would Have Hooked Up with Ethan TWICE in Cancelled Reboot
The Lizzie McGuire reboot was sadly canceled before we could see what was in store for our favorite heroine. But recently, we learned a little more about the show. Writer Jonathan Hurwitz revealed that while Lizzie and Gordo were not endgame, Lizzie does get to fulfill her childhood dreams of hooking up with Ethan Craft… twice. You go girl! That is what dreams are made of.
We love seeing Lizzie wherever we can.
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Creators Reveal First Teaser Image of Pinocchio: Unstrung
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey horrified and delighted us when it first revealed its monstrous Pooh Bear and friends. And now its creators hopes to recreate the magic. We officially have our first teaser art from Pinocchio: Unstrung. Mind you, every version of Pinocchio is kind of creepy, so our expectations are pretty high.
Let’s take a look back at Blood and Honey in the meantime.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Will Be Inspired By ’80s Cartoon Series, Will Let Janine Suit Up
Speaking to Empire, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire director Gil Kenan discussed the inspirations for the new movie. He revealed that the ‘80s animated series The Real Ghostbusters and its “wild, original and weird-as-fuck villains” informed Frozen Empire‘s creatures. Kenan notes, “We wanted to bring that show’s looseness and fearlessness to this movie… I think it’s going to surprise people just how big this film is.” Empire touches on the various strange creations from the series that may come into play, including “a werechicken, a boogeyman, and an alternate reality with ‘Peoplebusters’.” Other inspirations noted for the film are John Hughes and Wes Anderson.
Additionally, Ghostbusters fans may feel excited to know that Janine Melnitz, played by Annie Potts, finally gets to be a Ghostbuster in Frozen Empire. In the original movies, Janine played the role of receptionist and delivered some iconic lines. But now, she’ll suit up and head out to the action. And it’s about time. She’ll even get “a fresh bit of ghostbusting kit.” But we don’t yet know exactly what it will entail.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will also see much of the original team reunite.
Hayao Miyazaki Reveals the Identity of Spirited Away’s No Face
Ever wondered just who No Face is? Well, Hayao Miyazaki has finally revealed the identity of this Spirited Away favorite. He shares, via Comicbook.com, “There are many people like No Face in our midst… it’s the type of person who wants to latch on to others but doesn’t have a sense of themselves. They are everywhere.” It all makes sense now.
Here’s our review of the latest Studio Ghibli movie, The Boy and the Heron.
A Chuck E. Cheese Game Show Is Coming Our Way, and It’s A Little Like Squid Game, But Includes Massive Prize Wall
A new game show that takes place in Chuck E. Cheese will soon have adults playing super-sized versions of childhood games, reports The Hollywood Reporter. This may sound like Squid Game, but there’s no murder involved this time… As long as no Five Nights at Freddy’s style animatronics come to life. No, there will only be lots of tickets and a giant prize wall. We only hope all the teams get enough tickets to get that bubble wand or giant bouncing ball.
It looks like a Five Nights at Freddy’s sequel is in the works.
OREO and Betty Crocker Are Teaming Up to Bring You Oreo Filling in a Tub and More
Ever wish you could just eat a tub of Oreo creme filling? Well, now you can, and it’s enhanced by icing. Oreo and Betty Crocker have come together for this dream team-up. In addition to Betty Crocker OREO Creme Flavored Whipped Frosting, you can also get your hands on Betty Crocker OREO Chocolate Cake Mix, White Cake Mix, Lava Cake Mix, and Brownie Mix. Yum!
Just don’t apply Ranch dressing lip balm before you dive into these treats.
The Last of Us’ Young Mazino Teases Horse Riding and Gun Shooting in Season Two
We still don’t know too much about what to expect from The Last of Us season two. But Young Mazino, who was newly cast as the game character Jesse, recently painted us a little bit of a picture. He told Variety that his preparation for filming the series includes “learning ‘how to ride a horse’ and brushing up on his firearm training.” Sounds like we can expect some major action in the upcoming episodes.
The Last of Us season two has cast its Abby.
Ubisoft+ Adds Cheaper Subscription Tier to Offerings
Ubisoft is changing up its subscription offerings. A release shares, “Ubisoft+ Multi-Access and PC Access will now become Ubisoft+ Premium, offering day-one new releases and early access where applicable, alongside premium editions, monthly rewards, and more. Ubisoft is also introducing a new offer: Ubisoft+ Classics on PC, a curated selection of popular back-catalog and live games.” Ubisoft+ Premium will cost $17.99 a month, while Ubisoft+ Classics costs $7.99 per month.
We really enjoyed previewing Ubisoft’s latest release Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.