It’s been another full week in the entertainment world. Netflix has raised prices again, but it also revealed some amazing looks from its Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action series. We learned that Gargoyles may turn into a Disney+ series from some excellent horror-oriented minds. Not to mention, Rick and Morty revealed its new lead voice actors. But in among the rest, some other pretty cool things happened.
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:
- Omni-Man Will Be First Downloadable Character for Mortal Kombat 1
- Pokémon Go‘s New Party Play Offers Collaborative Gameplay and Team-Ups
- Infinity Paws Comic Brings Together All Your Favorite Marvel Pets
- Knives Out 3 Has a Premise and a Setting
- The Afterparty Has Been Canceled by Apple TV+
- Saturday Night Live Takes on Barbie‘s “I’m Just Ken” with “I’m Just Pete” Parody
- MastersFX’s Monster Museum and FX Studio Opens in Vancouver
- A New Dragon Ball series Dragon Ball: Daima Is on the Way
- LEGO Brings Your Worst Nightmares to Life in Horror Posters for Halloween
- Immersive X-Men Event, The Uncanny Experience, Wants You to Enroll in Professor X’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters
Omni-Man Will Be First Downloadable Character for Mortal Kombat 1
Much to the delight of the franchise’s fans, Mortal Kombat 1 recently released into the world. And it served as a reboot for the series as a whole. The game promised to deliver “a new era of the iconic franchise with a new fighting system, game modes, and fatalities.” And so far, so good. But, of course, these days, nothing ever stops at its first release. Via the mechanism of Kombat Pass, a purchasable add-on to the game, new characters will join the Mortal Kombat 1 fun. And first up is Invincible’s Omni-Man.
In Mortal Kombat 1, Omni-Man will offer fans of both Invincible‘s comics and its TV show something to get excited about. And, as a bonus treat, Mortal Kombat 1‘s Omni-Man will be voiced by J.K. Simmons. If these trailers are anything to go by, Omni-Man is definitely not pulling ANY punches. And he’s bringing a whole lot of blood with him. Omni-Man will arrive in the game in November 9, 2023.
GameSpot shares that in addition to Omni-Man, five more new characters will join Mortal Kombat 1 via Kombat Pass. They include Quan Chi (arriving in winter 2023/2024), Peacemaker (arriving in Winter 2023/2024), Ermac (arriving in spring 2024), Homelander (arriving in spring 2024), and Takeda (arriving in summer 2024).
Get nostalgic with Mortal Kombat 1‘s recreation of a 1993 TV commercial.
Pokémon Go‘s New Party Play Offers Collaborative Gameplay and Team-Ups
Trainers, get ready to team up because soon you won’t have to go it alone anymore while playing Pokémon Go. Pokémon Go has offered fans many fun adventures, but it has always been more of a solitary game. You can occasionally get together with a member of your team to take over a gym, but that’s about it. Normally, you can play next to someone, but not necessarily play with them. But that’s all about to change thanks to Pokémon Go‘s new feature Party Play.
With Party Play, which we first saw via Polygon, Pokémon Go players level 15 and above can “adventure and complete challenges together, all in one shared in-game experience.” As a party, players can engage in “spinning PokéStops, battling in raids, catching Pokémon, and more” and do so together. The experience will appear on every player’s screen. If you raid with your party, you’ll also get Party Power which “doubles the damage of your next Charged Attack and charges with every Fast Attack.” Sounds likes a great time to us. You can learn more about how to organize a party and the mechanics of Party Play, in Niantic’s official blog post about Party Play.
For information on Pokémon‘s latest collaboration with The Van Gogh Museum check out our post here.
Infinity Paws Comic Brings Together All Your Favorite Marvel Pets
Who doesn’t love superpowered heroic animals? I can’t think of a single person. And that’s probably why Marvel Comics is bringing together our favorite Marvel Pets in an Infinity Comic series titled Infinity Paws. Infinity Paws will assemble an all-star that includes Jeff the Land Shark, Carol Danvers’ alien feline friend Chewie (named after Star Wars‘ Chewbacca), Alligator Loki, Lucky the Pizza Dog, and more. We know we’d feel safe in their paws. The adorable series will release in spring 2024 on Marvel Unlimited, Marvel’s digital subscription service. Infinity Paws is “written by seasoned Infinity Comic creator Jason Loo… and superstar artist and colorist Nao Fuji.”
“MARVEL MEOW fans will be in for a treat! Or treats,” shares Loo via a release from Marvel. “Because we have almost all of your favorite Marvel pets in this giant crossover, from the furry ones to the scaly ones. And I couldn’t be more pleased to be joined by the delightfully talented Nao Fuji illustrating this series!”
We guess we’d better have some treats ready for all of the hardworking heroes who are about to see some action.
To enjoy more Marvel animals, learn more about Frog Thor’s deleted scene from Loki
Knives Out 3 Has a Premise and a Setting
Our favorite mystery movie franchise finally has a bit of an update. Yes. Rian Johnson has shared that Knives Out 3 has a premise AND a setting. Is that exciting or what?
In full, Johnson noted to The Wrap, “It’s coming along. I obviously couldn’t work during the strike, and now that it’s over, I’m diving in full force, and so it’s coming along. I’ve got the premise, I’ve got the setting, I’ve got what the movie is in my head. It’s just a matter of writing the damn thing.”
We can’t begin to speculate what the premise or the setting of the next Knives Out movie will be… but we are happy to hear that Benoit Blanc’s next outing is well underway.
Still pondering the end of Knives Out 2? We break it down.
Jump to:
- Pokémon Go‘s New Party Play Offers Collaborative Gameplay and Team-Ups
- Infinity Paws Comic Brings Together All Your Favorite Marvel Pets
- Omni-Man Will Be First Downloadable Character for Mortal Kombat 1
- Knives Out 3 Has a Premise and a Setting
- The Afterparty Has Been Canceled by Apple TV+
- Saturday Night Live Takes on Barbie‘s “I’m Just Ken” with “I’m Just Pete” Parody
- MastersFX’s Monster Museum and FX Studio Opens in Vancouver
- A New Dragon Ball series Dragon Ball: Daima Is on the Way
- LEGO Brings Your Worst Nightmares to Life in Horror Posters for Halloween
- Immersive X-Men Event, The Uncanny Experience, Wants You to Enroll in Professor X’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters
The Afterparty Has Been Canceled by Apple TV+
Sadly though, not all mysteries are getting great news. Apple TV+ recently canceled its part-murder mystery, part-comedy series The Afterparty after two seasons. The Afterparty, from creator Chris Miller, told a different story in each of its two seasons but had some of the cast reprise their roles. It featured names like Tiffany Haddish, Zoë Chao, Sam Richardson, John Cho, Paul Walter Hauser, Ken Jeong, and more. Of course, uniquely, each episode took on a different genre of storytelling, depending on its point of view character. From taking on a Jane Austen romance to campy horror, The Afterparty really flexed its storytelling muscles.
We’ll be sad to hear we won’t see another chapter of this unique show on our screens.
The Afterparty gave us some good moments to look back on. Check out this hilarious antic.
Saturday Night Live Takes on Barbie‘s “I’m Just Ken” with “I’m Just Pete” Parody
Wait for it… Wait for it… There it is. Barbie’s hit power-ballad “I’m Just Ken” is now officially stuck in your head. But get ready for a whole new rendition to take over your life. “I’m Just Ken” is obviously ripe for parody. And we aren’t surprised that Saturday Night Live saw their chance and took it. In “I’m Just Pete,” Pete Davidson takes us through a day in the life. To give you a taste, some of the lyrics to “I’m Just Pete” are as follows, “I’m just Pete. Anyone else, I’d be a three. But I guess I’m hot for dudes in comedy.”
We expect this won’t be the last “I’m Just Ken” parody we encounter, but it sure is a good one.
There was a lot to love about Barbie. Here’s what we thought of the movie.
MastersFX’s Monster Museum and FX Studio Opens in Vancouver
Looking for something fun to do with your October? How about checking out some truly eerie works of FX mastery. MastersFX recently opened a Monster Museum and FX Studio in Vancouver, and it looks like it is well worth haunting.
A release shares:
The MastersFX team has created a Monster Museum, which is presenting “Forty Years of Monster-Making.” The experience offers visitors an interactive exhibit that takes them through parts of MFX’s actual working monster shop, showing-off their various techniques, and letting visitors operate the animatronics and take selfies with actual screen-used monsters.
Occupying the museum are an assortment of aliens, demons, devils, fairies, harpies, vampires, beasts, corpses, cadavers, robots, sasquatches, mummies, werewolves, zombies and more. These exhibits of “FX Art” have been personally curated by multi-Emmy Award-winner, Todd Masters.
The museum, now open on weekends during October, also demonstrates advancements that the MFX team has made within the field of special effects – aspects of which they call “Neo-Practical Effects.” The museum contains over 80 creatures and FX used in making shows on which MFX has contributed their special form of art, including: Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight, Fringe, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Sonic the Hedgehog, Yellowjackets; Stargate; Six Feet Under; Star Trek: First Contact and Predator. Even current projects are represented: It Lives Inside, Monster High, and The Fall of the House of Usher, to name a few.
What an incredibly fun-sounding time! The museum is located at 4185 Dawson Street in Burnaby, BC, in Canada. You can buy tickets here.
‘Tis the season to embrace Halloween. Here’s how these iconic slashers match up with the signs of the zodiac.
- Pokémon Go‘s New Party Play Offers Collaborative Gameplay and Team-Ups
- Infinity Paws Comic Brings Together All Your Favorite Marvel Pets
- Omni-Man Will Be First Downloadable Character for Mortal Kombat 1
- Knives Out 3 Has a Premise and a Setting
- The Afterparty Has Been Canceled by Apple TV+
- Saturday Night Live Takes on Barbie‘s “I’m Just Ken” with “I’m Just Pete” Parody
- MastersFX’s Monster Museum and FX Studio Opens in Vancouver
- A New Dragon Ball series Dragon Ball: Daima Is on the Way
- LEGO Brings Your Worst Nightmares to Life in Horror Posters for Halloween
- Immersive X-Men Event, The Uncanny Experience, Wants You to Enroll in Professor X’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters
A New Dragon Ball series Dragon Ball: Daima Is on the Way
It’s almost time for Dragon Ball‘s 40th anniversary. And it looks like we’ll celebrate with a brand new Dragon Ball series Dragon Ball: Daima. While not much is known about this upcoming Dragon Ball show yet, Toei Animation did release a teaser trailer for Daima. The trailer, which we first saw on IGN, hints at a brand-new story for the franchise. Its description shares that the new Dragon Ball: Daima series is “Drawn by the original creator, Akira Toriyama” and features “a story never told in Dragon Ball.”
In the Dragon Ball: Daima trailer, we see Goku transforming into a de-aged version of himself after an encounter with Shenron. De-aged versions of Vegeta, Bulma, Chi Chi, Pamput, Krillin, Piccolo, and Shin also appear to tease us. We feel like we’re about to see one adorable Dragon Ball story unfold.
Dragon Ball: Daima will release in fall 2024.
Need more anime in your life? Netflix is bringing a Yu Yu Hakusho live-action adaptation to our screens soon.
LEGO Brings Your Worst Nightmares to Life in Horror Posters for Halloween
Uh oh… Did you just drop a piece of your LEGO build mid-construction… only to step on it with your bare feet three weeks after you had to improvise with a block that didn’t match in color? Yep. We’ve all been there. And LEGO is capturing these true terrors in a set of LEGO horror posters just in time for Halloween. Whichever LEGO vision torments you in your nightmares, LEGO’s Building Nightmares posters are ready for you. And we’re kind of obsessed with this collection.
But you have to be a true LEGO fan to get your claws on these. The LEGO Building Nightmares horror posters are available as LEGO Insider rewards. You can redeem 1,750 points to unlock one poster. Don’t delay, though; according to DesignTaxi, there are only 5,400 copies available per poster type.
And good luck finding that piece in the carpet.
We overcame every one of these horrors when putting together LEGO’s incredible Rivendell set.
Immersive X-Men Event, The Uncanny Experience, Wants You to Enroll in Professor X’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters
The Uncanny Experience, an immersive X-Men event that takes you into Professor Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters, is back for its “sophomore year” (a.k.a, its second annual event).
A release shares:
The Uncanny Experience is an immersive event that transforms the historic Minneapolis Club into Xavier’s Institute – the home of the X-Men in comics, film, and cartoons. The inaugural event saw ticket holders attending classes on mutant culture, exploring the campus with rooms decorated like Wolverine’s bedroom, unraveling clues in the Mystery in the Mansion quest, being initiated into the Hellfire Club, and singing karaoke alongside Dazzler. 2024 attendees can expect much of the same with even more surprises in store.
Honestly, how amazing does that sound? Immersive events can go either way, but it’s always a good sign when they come back for round two. Additionally, the event even has some pretty cool guests. The official description for The Uncanny Experience notes, “Legendary comics writer Chris Claremont returns to The Uncanny Experience where he will continue to lead discussions on X-Men History and be available for autographs, remarks, and more. Alison Sealy-Smith and George Buza, who voice Storm and Beast in X-Men: The Animated Series and returning to the franchise with X-Men ’97, were also announced to be Special Guest attendees.”
On a practical level, this immersive X-Men experience takes place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It will run from September 28-29, 2024. Pre-sale tickets for Newsletter Subscribers are available now and the general public will be able to purchase them beginning on October 20.
Do you have what it takes to enroll? Read about the best X-Men teams ever and then decide.
