“PINOY BIG BROTHER: KUMUNITY SEASON 10” FINAL 5 Celebrity Housemates Revealed

 

It is interesting to observe the evolution of a television program on account of circumstances beyond control. ABS-CBN scored a coup in securing the local production rights for international reality show franchise “Big Brother.” Not even the pandemic and the shutdown of their TV station was enough to keep their most recent seasons going. To point out, “Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10” started last October, the second season produced in partnership with local video-share e-commerce social media network Kumu. The initial batch of celebrity housemates has since been whittled down from the initial number of 17, to just five.

As reported by The Manila Bulletin, the last remaining housemates of the celebrity phase of “Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10” have been declared as the Celebrity Final 5 this past Monday, December 27. They also represent a nice and broad regional spectrum of representation across the nation, in addition to their celebrity status. Without further ado, the latest PBB Celebrity Final 5: Batangas volleyball queen Alyssa Valdez, Siargao singer Anj Salvacion, CDO comedian Brenda Mage, Cavite viral vlogger Madam Inutz, and Palawan beauty queen Samantha Bernardo. From them, a Celebrity Top 2 will be chosen following a series of tasks given by Big Bro.

Placement in the Final 5 tasks will earn each remaining housemate an amount in Kumu diamonds to determine their ranking. The social media app will also enable viewers to choose their favorites, on top of the traditional PBB voting medium of text voting. Following the last two celebrity evictees recording artist KD Estrada and actress Alexa Ilacad, the only time the Final 5 will depart the Big Brother House regardless of outcome will be on the Big Night in the following year. They will be followed the entry of the first Adult-batch housemates into the House, six of whom were revealed also earlier this week.

Catch the remaining days of the Celebrity phase of “Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10” every 5PM weekdays (with 11:30PM replays), as well as 7PM weekends, only on the Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, Kapamilya Online Live, Jeepney TV, TFC and iWantTFC.

Image courtesy of KAMI.com.ph

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LEGENDARY NFL COACH, COMMENTATOR, VIDEOGAME Icon JOHN MADDEN DEAD at 85

 

Not all people who become iconic faces and names in sports are players and athletes. Even the ones who support them can be immortalized themselves if they are the best at what they do. The easiest examples would be the coaches. In the 1950s John Madden, frustrated at injuries prematurely ending his professional football career, turned to coaching. From college football to the NFL, coaching the Oakland Raiders, he became a legend in his own right with a Super Bowl win (XI) to cement it. Madden went on to become a football commentator and even got a game franchise with his name on it. His legend was set by the time that he passed away.

Entertainment Weekly tells us that iconic football coach and sportscaster John Madden died Tuesday, December 28, at his home in Pleasanton, California. He was 85 years old. The sad new was appropriately broken by the National Football League (NFL) via a statement from Commissioner Roger Goodell, who extended condolences to Madden’s widow Virginia, sons Joseph and Michael, and their families. "Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football,” says Goodell. “There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today."

Madden was an example of a star sports athlete transitioning to become even better as a coach/trainer. While his player future was ended by a training camp injury with the Philadelphia Eagles, it did steer him into the more-remembered path that he took. His stint as Oakland Raiders head coach led the team to championship over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI of 1977. After retiring the following year he turned to color commentating in 1979, going from CBS to Fox, ABC and NBC in three decades before retiring from football involvement in 2009.

Another avenue where John Madden became a media giant was through videogames, where his name, image, endorsement and sports expertise were lent to the “Madden NFL” franchise by Electronic Arts. Although work on the initial game (for MS-DOS) began in 1984, Madden’s insistence on realism for gameplay mechanics pushed the debut of the franchise until 1988. His involvement in the game series, which spans multiple gaming platform generations, lasted until in 2009, but “Madden NFL” remains an ongoing and popular series. “Madden NFL ‘22” came out months ago in August.

No cause of death was given for Madden. Details for his memorial services will be provided at a future time.

Image courtesy of Variety

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POSTPONED MISS WORLD 2021 Sets New CORONATION NIGHT, MARCH 2022

 

One of the biggest and most recent challenges in hosting a beauty pageant competition has been, quite obviously, the pandemic that began last year. The only options back in 2020 were to either postpone to this year, or do a virtual competition. For 2021, especially as the year went on, the prospect of a live hosting for a pageant became cautiously good. The 70^th Miss Universe pageant went off in Israel two Sundays ago after all. But with the rise of a new strain of the COVID virus, another major competition has decided to err on the side of caution.

Inquirer.net reports that the 70^th Miss World beauty pageant that should have been held in 2020, then scheduled for December 16 last week only to be postponed, will now be done in March next year. This came in the wake of a rash of COVID-19 infections among the contestants and pageant personnel beginning on the 14^th of the month. The official Miss World Facebook page announced this December 22 that the pageant will go on in March 16, 2022, still at the same coliseum venue in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Miss World organization president Julia Morley noted that they are now on final planning for the new pageant date next year. “Our team is thrilled that we will show all the wonders that Puerto Rico has to offer as a premier tourism destination to the entire world,” says Morley adding, “We love Puerto Rico.” The organizers assured that all pre-recorded material of the pageant, back when the coronation night date was still December 16, will remain in use for the new March schedule. Also as planned, the pageant night will be given a live broadcast to reach around the world.

Representing the Philippines for Miss World 2021 is Miss World Philippines 2021 winner Tracy Maureen Perez. Prior to the again-delayed coronation finale, Perez has already secured her spot in the Top 30 semifinalists during the Head-to-Head Challenges. She advanced to the second round of a group that included France and host Puerto Rico. For round 2 she bested Mexico. Tracy also won in the Beauty with a Purpose special awards. All in all, is was a good showing to reach the final stretch of Miss World from a Filipina bet who lost her footing twice onstage, the second time after being crowned MWP.

Much hope is being placed on Perez to become the second Filipina Miss World after Megan Young in 2013. Her final push will be seen in the coronation night for the Miss World 2021 pageant, now coming in March 16, 2022 instead.

Image courtesy of Philippine Star

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“HARRY POTTER” REUNION SPECIAL on HBO MAX Drops FIRST TRAILER

 

In 2001, Warner Bros. Pictures premiered in cinemas the first chapter of a modern magical fantasy epic. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” based on the book by J.K. Rowling, became a blockbuster success, with an initial-run box office take nearing a billion dollars while catapulting its primary cast of child actors to young stardom. Fans followed Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as Harry, Ron and Hermione through eight movies’ worth of Wizarding World adventures lasting a decade. And now, a decade after the end of the “Harry Potter” films, the cast and crew reunite in an HBO Max special, the full trailer of which released this week.

Variety tells us that HBO Max put up a trailer for “Harry Potter 20^th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” on their official social media pages this past Tuesday, December 21. This is a heavily-anticipated reunion special that brings back many of the cast and creative forces behind the generation-defining “Harry Potter” film franchise. The teaser released earlier only whetted appetites for fans to once again see the now-adult Golden Trio of Daniel Radcliffe and friends as they reminisce about time making the films and what the franchise meant to their lives.

The trailer footage is an absolute nostalgia bomb, being filmed on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London which preserves the sets used for the “Potter” movies. Seeing Radcliffe stroll down Diagon Alley, and Emma Watson at Platform 9¾ and the Hogwarts Great Hall where she embraces Rupert Grint, one can agree with Watson’s sentiment that both “no time has passed” and “loads of time has passed.” Radcliffe adds that he once felt that the most important part of their lives ended when they completed their last film, “Deathly Hallows Part 2.” He shares the joy of his cast-mates in realizing that it has not.

Aside from Harry, Ron and Hermione, other “Harry Potter” films stars joining the reunion include baddies Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham-Carter, Jason Isaacs, Tom Felton, Gary Oldman and more. Even the movie directors Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and David Yates will get to say their pieces here. Emma also talks of how the movies and overall franchise made life richer when things got dark and times got hard, reinforced by Grint asserting that their time in the Wizarding World is a bond they will always have, as family.

If there is one dim light in “Return to Hogwarts,” it would be the complete absence of original book author J.K. Rowling from the proceedings. Despite still being active in developing the Wizarding World through film, Rowling’s recent personal opinions have caused a split in her fan-base between those appalled at her viewpoints and those accusing the former of “cancelling” her. Nevertheless, HBO Max subscribers can expect to watch “Harry Potter 20^th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” when its streams come New Year’s Day, in 2022.

Image from Icon vs. Icon

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After TYPHOON ODETTE, FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS Pledge RELIEF AID to PH

 

Late last week and into the weekend, the Philippines faced a meteorological nightmare that has long been familiar, but never gets easier. Typhoon Rai, or Typhoon Odette to PAGASA, struck the country beginning December 16, cutting a path through the Visayas but with a reach affecting southern Luzon and northern Mindanao as well. As with strong typhoons past, Odette unleashed frightening property damage to areas where it made landfall, inflicting casualties and wreaking havoc on public utilities as well as internet access, the latter also affecting Mindanao. With the passing of the storm and reveal of devastation, the Philippines finds itself surrounded by helping hands.

According to the Philippine Star, foreign governments both near and far have simultaneously expressed sympathy to the Philippines for the damage caused by Typhoon Odette, and mobilized what they promise to be the first wave of relief assistance to the affected areas concentrated in the middle of the country. This aid comes in the form of immediate food and relief goods, emergency shelters, and financial assistance to national agencies such as the Philippine Red Cross. Any international political implications from this help takes to the background as immediate intercession for the affected citizens take priority.

Food and relief packs are the immediate response of Philippine neighbors China and Japan. The former, according to Chinese ambassador to the country Huang Xilian, notes 20,000 care packages amounting to P8 million, each with 5 kilos rice, canned goods and noodles, are ready for distribution with help from the Filipino-Chinese community, along with nearly 5 million kilos of donated rice in local ports. His Japanese counterpart emphasizes their relief consisting of shelter commodities such as tents, plastic sheets, sleeping accommodations and sorely-needed electrical generators, given that power remains down in many areas even nearly a week after Odette visited.

The US Embassy notes that their nation is also on the ground immediately to assist, courtesy of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Their first objective is providing shelter assistance to reach around 3,000 typhoon-affected families, with materials such as heavy duty sheeting. Some 10,000 government food packs are also being deployed to Butuan City, one of several Mindanao areas that bore the brunt of Odette. The United Kingdom in turn is pledging £750,000 (P49.58 million) to the Philippine Red Cross via their international governing body the IFRC, according to British Minister of State for Asia Amanda Milling.

Such help is sorely needed. Typhoon Odette was the strongest weather disturbance to strike the Philippines this year. The NDRRMC estimates infrastructural damage at P225 million and agricultural damage of P118 million. Some 375 Filipinos were killed by the storm, and not all power and communication capabilities have been restored.

Image: US Embassy – Philippines, Twitter

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“SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME” Premiere Earns RECORD MILLIONS Even in Pandemic

 

For fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what a way to send off the year with one installment of the superhero movie franchise’s current “Phase 4” story arc. And it is one that features a major MCU (and Marvel in general) character to boot: Spider-Man. Following the epic cliffhanger of “Spider-Man: Far from Home” in 2019 (and the close-call breakdown of the Sony-Marvel Studios sharing agreement with the character for films), MCU and Spider-fans have been looking forward to the follow-up in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Even with the ongoing pandemic, its weekend release last Friday was a confident record-breaker.

As told by The Hollywood Reporter, the December 17 premiere of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has seen box office returns that hearken back to days when theaters were packed without fear of COVID-19 and its variants. That pretty much translates into a global debut worth some $600.8 million dollars, $260 of which comes from US and Canadian moviegoers with the remaining $340.8 from everywhere else around the world, as of figures shared by Sony Pictures this past Monday, December 20. The turnout is in sheer defiance to concerns regarding the new COVID Omicron, as more people worldwide return to cinemas.

Ever since the pandemic struck in early 2020, no major movies that braved a release in the past two years have reached the by-then comfortable $1 billion blockbuster take. But if the current trend of 9 out of every 10 American moviegoers going to watch “No Way Home” continues to hold (according to analytics outfit EntTelligence), then this third part of the MCU Spider-Man trilogy may become the first to hit that peak again during its box office run. By now, the draw in its casting is an open secret that can really spoil Marvel fans yet to watch it.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” stars Tom Holland as embattled young superhero Peter Parker, whose costumed identity as Spider-Man was leaked in the wake of “Far from Home,” making his life and that of his family and friends very uncomfortable. An ill-advised attempt to ask magical ally Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help results in a multiverse-boundary collapse, causing super-villains from other dimensions that have fought Spider-Man to appear on MCU Earth. The fact that these characters are reprised by actors from previous non-MCU “Spider-Man” movies by Sony-Columbia Pictures hint majorly at the other members of this film’s cast that has got the movie Spider-fans excited.

The film also stars Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, and past Spider-villain veterans Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx among several others. “No Way Home” is already in some theaters worldwide, with some markets having to wait until January 2022 for release.

Image courtesy of Variety

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“FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE” Wows with FIRST TRAILER

 

After the seven “Harry Potter” books by J.K. Rowling were completely adapted by Warner Bros. into eight movies, fans of the Boy Who Lived felt that the world was finished with cinematic Wizarding World. They were pleased when Rowling wrote the plot for a new film, a prequel chronicling the Wizarding involvement in World War II, starring a wizard magi-zoologist and a young Albus Dumbledore. “Fantastic Beasts” had the feel of a new franchise, with the first film breaking the box office in 2016. Its 2018 follow-up was less than stellar however, making the installment (of five) a must-hit. Thankfully, the first trailer feels hopeful.

Entertainment Weekly tells us that the first trailer for Warner Bros. and Wizarding World’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is getting positive reception from “Harry Potter” fans. This third of five planned “Fantastic Beasts” films had a longer development-production gap with its predecessor than the one between first and second. While 2018’s “The Crimes of Grindelwald” still had solid box-office earnings, it was the lowest of all Wizarding World-set movies. Audiences were wondering if J.K. Rowling’s debut as a screenwriter had crashed. But as the visuals indicate, the story is back in good form.

Following the events of the second film, anti-Muggle Wizarding sentiments have escalated under the agitation of Dark Wizard Grindelwald (Madds Mikkelsen replacing Johnny Depp). His only magical equal, Hogwarts professor Dumbledore (Jude Law), is magically bound to be unable to confront him. Thus Dumbledore’s former student Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) serves as his agent. Newt’s Wizarding “Suicide Squad” tasked to defeat Grindelwald includes his No-Maj friend Jacob (Dan Fogler), brother Theseus (Callum Turner), fellow Hogwarts professor Lally Hicks (Jessica Williams), and American love interest Auror Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston).

But Grindelwald is heavily guarded from attack by Tina’s traitor sister/Jacob’s ex-girlfriend Queenie (Alison Sudol) and powerful but mentally disturbed wizard Credence/Aberforth Dumbledore (Ezra Miller). While this secret team struggles to take on the Dark Lord, Grindelwald’s machinations spur the world to the brink of war. This conflict he hopes would exterminate all Muggles/No-Maj for his “Greater Good” of Wizarding folk.

J.K. Rowling has help with “Harry Potter” veterans to steer “Fantastic Beasts” back to fan adoration. She shares screenwriting duties with the Potter-films’ Steve Kloves. David Yates, director of the latter eight “HP” installments and previous “Fantastic Beasts” installments, again takes the helm for “Secrets of Dumbledore,” which will premiere next year, on April 2022.

Image courtesy of Empire Online

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PH Bet BEATRICE GOMEZ Places in TOP 5 while MISS INDIA WINS MISS UNIVERSE 2021

 

To the Philippines, a Filipina winning a major international beauty pageant like Miss Universe is not an impossible dream. After all, Gloria Diaz did so in 1969, followed by Margie Moran four years later in 1973. But the following decades, filled with either swift eliminations or runner-up placements, made the public think for a time that the Miss Universe spark had come and gone, even as other beauties triumphed in other pageants. Then Pia Wurtzbach broke the MU drought in 2015, with Catriona Gray following in 2018. Suddenly pageant fans are hopeful for repeat Miss Universe victories for the Philippines again; but not for 2021.

According to The Philippine Star, Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez only got so far and no further in the recently-concluded 70^th Miss Universe pageant. The event, which took place Sunday evening December 12 at the Universe Dome in Eliat, Israel saw 2020 titleholder Miss Mexico Andrea Meza pass the crown onto Miss India 2021 Hamaaz Sandhu. She is the third beauty from India to win Miss Universe. As for Gomez, despite a strong showing she ultimately ended her race in the Top 5, short of a Runner-Up placement.

While unfortunate, it is not all that bad. Beatrice continues the Philippines’ firm grip on the Miss Universe pageant’s positioning, always placing among the Top contestants at the barest minimum for the past 12 years (2009 was the last MU so far where Miss Philippines went unplaced). She is also a significant icon of Philippine representation, being the first openly LGBTQ representative of the country in this competition. On her journey to MU, Gomez has impressed with her background, from her university varsity career while finishing a Mass Communication degree, modeling and community work, and even being a Navy Reservist.

Already Beatrice Gomez has been lauded by Malacañang Palace for her latest achievement. She is not the only Filipina earning high praise locally and internationally at the 2021 Miss Universe pageant. Actress Marian Rivera also got attention and positive reaction as a selection committee member (judge), with some Filipinos nodding with pageant host Steve Harvey mentioning her (minor) recording career. Social media even has footage of Rivera teaching the “Sabay Sabay Tayo” dance routine to fellow judge and Bollywood actress Urvashi Rautela between pageant segments.

Rounding out the Top 5 contestants alongside Miss Universe 2021 Hamaaz Sandhu and Gomez, are 1^st Runner-Up Nadia Ferreira (Paraguay), Lalela Mswane (South Africa) and Valeria Ayos (Colombia) who stood beside Beatrice at the end.

Image from The Manila Times

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“SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2”: First TRAILER from PARAMOUNT; Premiering April 2022

 

The journey towards adapting iconic Sega videogame character “Sonic the Hedgehog” into a movie was one that spanned the end of the 20^th Century up to this point in the 21^st. Things finally got serious when Paramount Pictures picked up the work in 2017, but a negatively-received first trailer in 2019 almost lost audience interest. Thankfully, a delay to redesign the maligned CGI for Sonic led to better-received follow-up previews and a very successful pre-pandemic 2020 release. A sequel was immediately green-lit, which in turn was teased way back in February this year. Now the first trailer is officially out.

Variety would have it that Paramount has dropped the first full trailer for “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” follow-up to the hit 2020 videogame film. The preview was officially premiered this past Thursday, December 9, at the 2021 Game Awards. Most of the cast from the original return to reprise their roles, led by Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic and Jim Carrey as the maniacal scientist Dr. “Eggman” Robotnik. While the sequel picks up the storyline from its predecessor, it also starts adding more lore and elements from the original Sega videogame franchise, notably the other Genesis console titles.

The “Sonic 2” trailer brings audiences back to Sonic (Schwartz), the super-fast blue anthropomorphic other-dimensional hedgehog, having adjusted to living on Earth. He staves off boredom by using his speed to fight crime, often with violent and destructive consequences, to the chagrin of his guardian Tom Wachowski (James Marsden). Their idyllic days soon end when Dr. Robotnik (Carrey), banished to another world at the end of the first “Sonic” movie, returns with a bigger robot army. And he has an obsessive score to settle with a certain blue hedgehog, as well as a mission to find the Master Emerald that would grant him unlimited power.

To face this newer, viler Eggman, Sonic must rely on a friend who has come from another dimension with orders to aid him, Miles (Colleen O’Shaughnessy) the flying two-tailed fox. But Robotnik has an ally of his own, a red echidna with super-powerful fists named Knuckles (Idris Elba) who himself is looking for the Master Emerald. The stakes have grown beyond just protecting his current home. Can Sonic prevail over this new threat to keep the universe from being destroyed by whoever possesses the Emerald?

“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” also stars Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Lee Madjoub, Adam Pally, Tom Butler, and Shemar Moore. The film will be released by Paramount on April 8, 2022 when hopefully the pandemic situation will be even more improved.

Image: Den of Geek

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BTS Taking “EXTENDED REST PERIOD” Over HOLIDAYS After US Gigs

 

When it comes to K-Pop and the world, only a handful of names of individual performers and groups might be heard on the lips of many international fans. Among these would undoubtedly be BTS, the seven-man performing dynamo that has taken the planet by storm since the latter half of the 2010s. And they established this dominance by being very busy. BTS unleashed their English-language singles “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “Permission to Dance” on the English-speaking parts of the world. They became special ambassadors for their home country of South Korea. BTS even spoke to the UN General Assembly. In short, they have done a lot.

And that, as CNN Philippines reports, is why BTS is due for an “extended period of rest” once their engagements in the US are done. This was revealed by their label Big Hit Music on social media this Monday, December 6. After completing their stateside performances at the “Permission to Dance on Stage – LA” and “2021 Jingle Bell Tour,” the K-Pop juggernaut group will go on holiday break themselves with their families back in South Korea. This is their second officially-mandated mini-hiatus since 2019, and the boys have been extremely non-stop busy since that time.

[공지] 방탄소년단 공식 장기휴가 공지 (+ENG) pic.twitter.com/TLmZTKyISE

— BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) December 6, 2021

On their statement, Big Hit Music notes the obvious in that BTS has committed themselves tirelessly with their entertainment activities. The break also happens to fall during the Holidays, and this would be the first time that Namjoon and the crew would be able to spend year-end off-time with their folks since they debuted. Therefore, the rest period will serve to “recharge and re-inspire” BTS to get their creative energy vibrant again. And they are going to need that reinvigorated creativity if they plan to start bouncing ideas for their next album, as well as a Seoul concert in March.

Big Hit ends their announcement with an exhortation to fans that they give BTS some space to celebrate their rest. The group does seem to be gearing for their best output yet, considering they are approaching the time when they must undergo their mandatory South Korean military service. They have deferments for until they are aged 30, but member Kim Seokjin (aka Jin) is already 29, and will hit 30 in December 4, 2022. At least one BTS member will hit 30 over the next four years, so fans have little time until the boy band loses people. For now, best to give BTS rest.

Image courtesy of GMA News

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SONY Drops First TEASER for “SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE” PART ONE

 

Although Sony Pictures forged an agreement with Marvel Studios to allow Spider-Man, of which the former has the film rights for, to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they are not putting all their eggs in that basket. While Spidey made waves in the MCU as played by Tom Holland, Sony and Columbia Picture started their own films with the Spider-franchise. The first was “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” in 2018, starring Shameik Moore as new-gen Spidey Miles Morales. This animated film was the first superhero movie to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar. A sequel was promised, and now the first teaser for it has excited the Spider-Man fan community.

Entertainment Weekly tells us that Sony Pictures has revealed the first teaser for “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” sequel to “Into the Spider-Verse.” That in itself was not much of a surprise, as the follow-up was long telegraphed by writer Phil Lord. What was a major shocker was that the title was appended with “Part One,” meaning that the upcoming film is just part of a whole story, akin to “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Endgame.” At least that was made clear in comparison to the “Dune” remake which premiered this year.

The teaser builds up on the pre- and post-credit scenes from the first “Spider-Verse” movie. In the former, Miles somehow regains contact with the other-dimensional Spider-Woman, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). Now however, it is framed as happening a few years after the film’s main storyline. Gwen entices Miles to join her on a trip across dimensions, and he reluctantly accepts. His journey takes him into a psychedelic 2D-animated acid trip. And in the middle of things he gets into a web-swinging fight with Spider-Man 2099. This version of Spidey from a future (comic-book) timeline was at the post-credits, voiced by Oscar Isaac. Why he is fighting Miles now remains unknown.

Phil Lord and his collaborator/co-producer Chris Miller note that for the “Spider-Verse” sequel, Miles Morales will meet up with old friends and encounter new ones. This tentatively confirms some if not all of the alternate Spiders, such as Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson). As for new Spiders, one confirmed is Spider-Woman Jessica Drew, said to be portrayed by Issa Rae. Also hinted at is Takuya Yamashiro, the live-action Japanese “Supaida-man” from the 1978 Toei tokusatsu series. “Across the Spider-Verse” Part One will release October 2022, with Part Two following 2023.

Image courtesy of Marvel.com

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