Author: Megan Williams

With Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe coming to a close, the trailer for final film in this phase was revealed on Monday: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’.

The sequel to the fantastic 2018 film sees a new Black Panther emerge in Wakanda after the death of King T’Challa, all while the city faces destruction.

The trailer shows a lot in its 2-minute runtime, and it looks fantastic. The original Black Panther is one of my favourite Marvel films, so anticipation for the sequel has been high. The trailer shows fans the new Black Panther and their suit, rumoured to be T’Challa’s sister Shuri. If it is, then that’s a fantastic narrative decision that makes sense. After actor Chadwick Bosman’s unfortunate passing, it’s a respectable decision by Marvel Studios; this is personally preferable than finding a new actor to replace him. 

But the most surprising part of the trailer is that it introduces Ironheart for the first time, seen in an Iron Man-type suit. Ironheart is a female black girl who takes the role of the Iron suit, with Issue 1 released in 2016. This is another reason to be excited for the sequel; I am a huge fan of the Ironheart comics and have been looking to her debut live action appearance ever since her debut and own show was announced in 2020. 

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ looks fantastic. After loving the original film, this is my most anticipated Marvel property. 

Four years after ‘Hellraiser: Judgement’, the 11^th film in the franchise had its first trailer revealed last week much to a lot of positive feedback.

‘Hellraiser’ serves as a reboot that sees new characters become victim to the demonic Pinhead and the Cenobites after completing a unique puzzle.

After being continuously being disappointed by the sequel’s, the reboot’s first trailer actually looks brilliant. While the previous instalments started to lean towards CGI to capture the grotesque imagery, this entry looks to be going back to its roots and implementing practical effects. And they look fantastic and gruesome.

Furthermore, Pinhead and the Cenobites look incredible. Instead of an organic, fleshy look, these demons have been given a new, almost mechanical design which also represents the new puzzle perfectly. And Pinhead is haunting! Portrayed by Jamie Clayton (Netflix’s Sense8), she’s made a fantastic first impression of her performance in the trailer and I cannot wait to see her full portrayal of the character when the film is released.

After being disappointed by the poor sequels, ‘Hellraiser’ looks fantastic. The decision to use practical effects was a good one and the new Pinhead and puzzle look incredible. Hopefully, the film is just as good as the trailer, because it’s made me very excited.

Hellraiser is an upcoming American supernatural horror film directed by David Bruckner, with a screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, from a screen story they co-wrote with David S. Goyer. Intended to serve as a new adaptation of the 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, which served as the basis for Barker’s 1987 film Hellraiser, it is a reboot of the titular franchise and the eleventh installment overall. A co-production between Spyglass Media Group and Phantom Four Films, the film stars Odessa A’zion and Jamie Clayton as Riley and Pinhead, respectively. Brandon Flynn, Goran Višnjić, Drew Starkey, Adam Faison, Aoife Hinds, Selina Lo and Hiam Abbass also star in supporting roles.

Next to ‘Top Gear’, one show that I watched regularly with my dad were repeats of the show ‘Quantum Leap’. Created in 1989, the sci-fi show ran for five seasons and followed a time traveller as he tried to get back to his own time via transporting through various people. It was charming and consistently well written and well-acted. So, I was wary when a modernized revival was announced by NBC.

The revival of the same name follows the same concept as its source material. Set 30 years after the original’s finale, Raymond Lee (Top Gun: Maverick) stars as Dr Ben Seong, a scientist who must restart the Quantum Leap Accelerator project in the hopes to learn more about the machine and its creator.

The most important thing to remember when bringing a beloved piece of media back is to keep the same aspects of its source material, i.e.: it’s plot and overall concept. And thankfully ‘Quantum Leap 2022’ looks to be taking this crucial step. The two leads, Raymond Lee and newcomer Caitlin Bassett, who stars as Ben’s only contact Addison, look like they’ll act well against each other, something that is also important to the show. It also looks like a lot of fun, despite the change in atmosphere and the slightly more serious tone it seems to be going for.

The one downside to the show is that ‘Quantum Leap 2022’ will show viewers Ben’s present day, as the Quantum Leap team try and get him back. The original show was primarily set in the past, so this additional detail is a little jarring and has the unfortunate possibility of breaking any tension that might occur.

However, as a huge fan of the original show, I am definitely willing to give the revival a watch. It does look like it could be fun and will hopefully carry a similar charm that the original show had, but only time will tell.

Earlier this year, the copyrighting for beloved children’s book character Winnie the Pooh ended, giving it to the public domain. This means that the book character (not Disney version) of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet can be adapted into any media and form. 

And, of course, the first adaptation is a horror film. 

The first images of the film were released at the end of May to a shocked and confused fanbase, which included me. And, last week saw the first trailer of ‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ revealed.

‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ follows the beloved bear and his piglet friend in a completely new way, as the two friends go on a killing rampage after a college-bound Christopher Robin abandons them. 

It should come as no surprise that, with a crazy premise such as this, the film is as low budget as possible. The acting looks terrible, and the pacing of the trailer suggests that the editor has never approached a film trailer before. However, curiosity still has a hold on me, and probably many others. Plus, the gore effects look good for a film about a killer Winnie the Pooh. 

I grew up with Winnie the Pooh and have never seen the beloved character in this way before, and probably never will after this. However, while I am confused by its existence, I can’t help but still be intrigued despite the poor trailer. It’s such a strange film to exist but one where the creator of this clearly thought ‘why not?’. Whether that’s admirable or not depends on the individual. 

With the gaming convention Gamescon in full swing, it looked like the perfect time for HBO to release information on the official live action series ‘The Last of Us’. However, a reveal in the form of a teaser trailer was an unexpected but welcome surprise.

‘The Last of Us’ is an upcoming live action series based on the games of the same name by developers Naughty Dog (Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, Uncharted), and follows the lives of Joel and Ellie as they survive a post-apocalyptic world. 

Bookending a compilation of HBO’s upcoming shows is the video game adaptation, with Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) taking the lead roles of Joel and Ellie. From the 20 seconds that were shown, the lead actors fit the roles perfectly, both in acting and appearance, and there’s a hint that it could be a direct adaptation of the first game. This was something that worried me, but hopefully the series will have a new direction compared to its source material to make it stand out enough without being a straight remake. There are already two remakes of the first game after all!

Coming next year, ‘The Last of Us’ looks incredible from the glimpse that was revealed, and the lead actors fit the roles of Ellie and Joel perfectly. However, I hope it isn’t a straight remake of its source material and is able to distinguish itself from the video game.