October is always full of excitement. This week, Netflix released The Fall of the House of Usher and gifted us with some truly gory deaths, McDonald’s revealed its latest Boo Buckets to the world, and A24’s The Iron Claw shared its trailer to the world. But that’s not all that took place. Plenty of other exciting happenings revealed themselves, and we wouldn’t want them to get lost in the shuffle.
Here are some of our favorite pop-culture news odds & ends that you don’t want to miss reading about.
This Week’s Odds & Ends in News
Jump to:
- New Digimon Adventure 02 Movie Heads to Theaters
- One Piece‘s Showrunner Reveals He’s Writing Doctor Kureha for Jamie Lee Curtis and Other Season Two Teases
- Ian McKellen Told Patrick Stewart NOT to Do Star Trek
- Ghostface Is Here to Cause Halloween Mayhem in Youtooz Line
- Netflix Has Renewed Castlevania: Nocturne for Season Two (But Canceled Vikings: Valhalla)
- Girl Scouts Have Discontinued Popular 2022 Flavor, Raspberry Rally
- Go Camping with Pokémon in Adorable New Live-Action Hybrid Series
- D&D Beyond Wants to Make Gameplay Easier with Maps Tool
- Mickey and Friends Celebrate Avengers and X-Men‘s 60th Anniversary with Disney What If? Variant Covers
- Gaming Highlights: Slimmer PS5 Coming for the Holidays, Logitech Shares Cool Star Wars Gear
New Digimon Adventure 02 Movie Heads to Theaters
Feeling nostalgic for Saturday morning cartoons of yore? Us too. That’s why we were excited to hear about a new Digimon Adventure 02 movie coming soon to theaters. A release shares more about Digimon Adventure 02 The Beginning:
This November the DigiDestined are back in theaters with a brand new movie. Toei Animation and Fathom Events revealed today details for the U.S. theatrical release of “Digimon Adventure 02 The Beginning” as a two-day event on November 8 & 9. It is present day and the chosen children from “Digimon Adventure 02” have returned with all new adventures — but now they’re 20 year old young adults!
If Kari, T.K., and Ken are among some of your favorite Digimon characters ever, like they are mine, then you’re in luck. You can snag tickets from Fathom Events. The film will screen in both the English dub (November 8) and in Japanese with English subtitles (November 9). Additionally, “the first 50 guests to arrive at each night’s screening will receive a complimentary Digimon Card Game Tamer Party Pack -THE BEGINNING- ver. 2.0, which includes 3 out of 14 possible cards from the new Digimon Card Game deck commemorating the film (first come, first served). Lucky recipients will be among the first fans in the U.S. to own these new “Digimon Adventure 02 The Beginning” themed cards before they are released to the general public in December.”
Sounds like some throwback fun to us. A synopsis for the new Digimon movie further shares:
It’s 2012, and ten years have passed since the adventure in the Digital World. Daisuke Motomiya is now twenty, and he and the rest of the DigiDestined seem to be changing bit by bit in terms of appearance and lifestyle. Then one day, a giant Digitama suddenly appears in the sky over Tokyo Tower. Daisuke and the others encounter a mysterious young man named Lui Ohwada, who informs them that he’s the first ever DigiDestined in the world…
For even more nostalgia, check out our Power Rangers throwback, here:
One Piece‘s Showrunner Reveals He’s Writing Doctor Kureha for Jamie Lee Curtis and Other Season Two Teases
Netflix’s One Piece defied the anime adaptation curse to become a much-beloved piece of the long-running franchise. Happily, Netflix green-lit season two of the show, and with the conclusion of the WGA strike, we can now hear more about it. Speaking to Deadline, One Piece co-showrunner Matt Owens discussed one of the most eagerly anticipated season two castings. For a while now, buzz has been circulating about Jamie Lee Curtis joining the live-action One Piece adaptation as Doctor Kureha. And it turns out, it’s more than just buzz.
Owens notes, “Doctor Kureha, very luckily, is a character who is coming up in our story, and is someone who is perfect for Jamie Lee Curtis.” And further adds, “After she won her Oscar, the writers’ room sent her a figure of Doctor Kureha with a nice note that said, ‘Congratulations on your statue, here’s another one to put next to it. Hope to speak to you soon.’ When she reposted that, it got a lot of fan interest, and I commented on it. We’re trying to manifest it.” Of course, with the current SAG-AFTRA strike still in play, no official casting can be confirmed. However, Owens shares of the writers’ room, “We’re writing for her — we really, really want her to come and play with us in Season 2.” Fingers crossed!
In a Reddit AMA, Owens further noted that he’d love to see live-action spinoffs, especially on starring a Young Mihawk, that One Piece’s Lougetown arc remains upcoming in the live-action, and that he can’t wait to adapt Law and Carrot.
Learn how to watch One Piece without filler episodes, here:
Ian McKellen Told Patrick Stewart NOT to Do Star Trek
In a different timeline on the multiverse, beloved actor Sir Ian McKellen almost destroyed the universe. Well, not exactly, but he may have convinced Sir Patrick Stewart not to go forward with Star Trek, thus denying us Stewart’s rendition of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Patrick Stewart’s memoir, Making It So, has given us many fun and fascinating tidbits about the actor’s journey. But recently, via Insider, we learned Ian McKellen urged Patrick Stewart not to sign on to Star Trek. Stewart reveals in his book, “When I told him I was going to sign the contract, he almost bodily prevented me from doing so… ‘No!’ he said. ‘No, you must not do that. You must not. You have too much important theater work to do. You can’t throw that away to do TV. You can’t. No!'”
It was an impassioned plea, but Stewart followed his gut. He writes, “There are few people, particularly with regard to acting, whose counsel I trust more than Ian’s… But this time, I had to tell him that I felt theater would return to my life whenever I was ready for it, whereas an offer of the lead role in an American TV series might never come again.”
Happily, Stewart says, “Ian has acknowledged that he was wrong and I was right… More than once, in fact – primarily because I like making him say those words.” What a delightful friendship and conclusion to this tale.
Check out more stories from Patrick Stewart’s memoir, here:
Ghostface Is Here to Cause Halloween Mayhem in Youtooz Line
You scream, I scream, we all scream for Ghostface. Who doesn’t love the ever-changing masked menace? As we wait for Scream 7, and whatever new kills and frights it will bring, you can take Ghostface home for yourself. On Friday the 13th, Youtooz will release three, dare we say, adorable Ghostfaces that we can add to our collections. They are classic Ghostface, Aged Ghostface, an Entertainment Earth Exclusive, and Glow in the Dark Ghostface, also an Entertainment Earth Exclusive.
You can check out the full Ghostface collection on Youtooz’s website.
Enjoy other Youtooz shenanigans, here:
Netflix Has Renewed Castlevania: Nocturne for Season Two (But Canceled Vikings: Valhalla)
Fans of Netflix’s gorgeous Castlevania series and its spinoffs can rejoice. Netflix has renewed Castlevania: Nocturne for another season. The Castlevania series follows Richter Belmont, weaving “a never before seen origin story” for the Belmont descendent and tells the tale of vampires in the French Revolution.
Its beautiful first season is now available to stream on Netflix. And we can’t wait to see what exquisitely intense tales Castlevania: Nocturne season two will reveal.
Sadly, it’s not all good news for spinoffs. Netflix has canceled Vikings: Valhalla after three seasons. Vikings: Valhalla existed as a sequel series to History’s much-watched drama Vikings, and fans will be sad to see it go. The third and now final season of Vikings: Valhalla, however, has not yet aired. The Vikings spinoff will arrive on Netflix in 2024. Hopefully, the season will bring the show to a fulfilling close.
Catch up with season one of Castlevania: Nocturne, here:
Jump to:
- One Piece‘s Showrunner Reveals He’s Writing Doctor Kureha for Jamie Lee Curtis and Other Season Two Teases
- Ian McKellen Told Patrick Stewart NOT to Do Star Trek
- Ghostface Is Here to Cause Halloween Mayhem in Youtooz Line
- Netflix Has Renewed Castlevania: Nocturne for Season Two (But Canceled Vikings: Valhalla)
- Girl Scouts Have Discontinued Popular 2022 Flavor, Raspberry Rally
- Go Camping with Pokémon in Adorable New Live-Action Hybrid Series
- D&D Beyond Wants to Make Gameplay Easier with Maps Tool
- Mickey and Friends Celebrate Avengers and X-Men‘s 60th Anniversary with Disney What If? Variant Covers
- New Digimon Adventure 02 Movie Heads to Theaters
- Gaming Highlights: Slimmer PS5 Coming for the Holidays, Logitech Shares Cool Star Wars Gear
Girl Scouts Have Discontinued Popular 2022 Flavor, Raspberry Rally
Cancellations are really everywhere. As if it weren’t enough that TV shows get canceled, now the Girl Scouts are canceling cookie flavors. We learned via Food & Wine that the Girl Scouts of the USA announced that they have discontinued 2022’s hit flavor Rasberry Rally. Rasberry Rally, a chocolate-coated Raspberry cookie, became an instant hit. The cookies sold out almost everywhere. I personally never got to try one. And now it seems they will not return. A Girl Scout representative offered the following statement, “Last year, Raspberry Rally cookies were introduced as part of a pilot online-only sales strategy… While Raspberry Rally was extremely popular last year, we are taking a pause this season to prioritize supplying our classic varieties.”
We guess Thin Mints couldn’t take the competition. But happily, many Girl Scouts cookies will return to us shortly. The next season of cookie-selling begins in January.
Learn how else you can enjoy Girl Scout Cookies, here:
Go Camping with Pokémon in Adorable New Live-Action Hybrid Series
Need something soothing for your soul? How about a live-action/CGI hybrid web series starring Pokémon nomming on delicious-looking desserts as they prepare to go camping? In all honesty, we have no notes. We could watch this Pokémon series all day. Camping with Pokémon will run for three episodes, but that doesn’t feel like nearly enough.
Next, we hope to see Pokémon telling scary stories around their Charmeleon campfire; maybe they can be joined by some ghost Pokémon for the occasion. And we also hope one day we can go camping with Pokémon ourselves.
We also want to give an honorable mention to Pokémon‘s Dream Plush collection. Could anything be cuter than soft, napping Pokémon plushes?
Indulge in more adorable Pokémon fun, here:
D&D Beyond Wants to Make Gameplay Easier with Maps Tool
Playing Dungeons and Dragons can feel intimidating. After all, there’s a lot to plot and execute in order to create an amazing campaign. But D&D Beyond has introduced a new tool that aims to help simplify gameplay prep and get players going.
Prep less, play more. That’s our guiding star for Maps, the latest tool for D&D Beyond. Whether you play online or in person, we want Maps to offer a quick and easy way for DMs to connect with players and launch their adventures on D&D Beyond.
With Maps, you can pull official maps and monster tokens from your D&D Beyond digital library to play with. You can also upload your own maps, drop in player tokens, and apply a fog of war. When you’re ready to play, you can invite players who have a free or upgraded D&D Beyond account into the shared play space. The Game Log will help you keep track of dice rolls on the fly.
The Maps tool is still on the first step of its journey. So stay tuned for more updates.
You can now introduce Baldur’s Gate 3 characters into your D&D campaign. Check out our article about it, here:
Mickey and Friends Celebrate Avengers and X-Men‘s 60th Anniversary with Disney What If? Variant Covers
We love a good crossover, especially one that involves our favorite franchises. In celebration of the 60th anniversary of two all-star Marvel teams, the Avengers and the X-Men, Marvel Comics will release 12 Disney100 Variant Covers that bring Disney and Marvel even closer together. These fun Disney What If? covers will see “Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and more take over milestone moments in both Avengers and X-Men history.” That’s what we call iconic. This “monthly variant cover program [adorn] select issues of Amazing Spider-Man.” The covers will also be available in black and white.
A release further shares, “The first trio of covers kicks things off in the Silver Age with a spin on the Avengers and X-Men’s very first appearances in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original Avengers #1 and X-Men #1 from 1963. Both homages also feature Peg Leg Pete as the group’s respective archenemies–Loki and Magneto! Then, Mickey and friends assemble for a turning point for the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Avengers #16, which saw Captain America lead a brand-new Avengers roster that included new recruits like Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver!” That Peg Leg Pete is always causing trouble.
To get your hands on these Disney What If? variant covers, check in with your local comic shop or keep an eye on Marvel’s website. The first three covers will go on sale on January 3, February 14, and March 6, 2023.
Learn more about the Avengers and X-Men’s Marvel Comics anniversary, here:
Gaming Highlights: Slimmer PS5 Coming for the Holidays, Logitech Shares Cool Star Wars Gear
The PS5 is getting a whole new look for the holidays, kind of. It doesn’t look that much different to me, but it is slimmer. According to PlayStation’s official blog, the PS5 has “been reduced in volume by more than 30%, and weight by 18% and 24% compared to the previous models.” That does feel significant, even if it doesn’t necessarily look it. This new PS5 model also comes with “an attachable Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive and a 1TB SSD for more internal storage.” Nice. The updated PS5 will completely replace older models over time. Its rollout begins in November. In the US, a PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive is projected to cost $499.99, while a PS5 Digital Edition will cost 449.99 USD.
Meanwhile, Logitech G wants you to game in style with a new gaming mouse and mouse pads that celebrate Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. We especially love the mouse, which, among other excellent utilities, offers “custom Millennium Falcon-inspired thruster animations and graphics with 8-LED full-spectrum RGB lighting.” Plus, it just looks really cool. And it really ought to because it will cost you $159.99. Steep, but fabulous.
The Battle of Endor and Darth Vader editions of the Logitech G840 XL Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad will only set you back $49.99 each.
Game in style, we must!
Check out more on PlayStation’s latest updates, here: