Ahead of its July 31st premiere date, Netflix has released a brand new poster for the upcoming second season of The Umbrella Academy, featuring all seven members of the superpowered family sporting some very cool sunglasses that are literally more than meets the eye. 

While you’ll have to zoom in closely on the poster to make out what’s happening, the reflection of each character’s glasses features an Easter Egg that teases some of what’s to come in season two, which is expected to feature a ton of time traveling as the Hargreeves head to the ’60s and beyond. 

It’s uncertain when a trailer might arrive, but with this new poster, recent character posters and fresh stills, it seems like its arrival may be just around the corner.

The critically acclaimed series stars Ellen Page as Number Seven, Tom Hopper as Number One, David Castañeda as Number Two, Emmy Raver-Lampman as Number Three, Robert Sheehan as Number Four, Aidan Gallagher as Number Five, and Justin H. Min as Number Six. 

On the same day in 1989, forty-three infants are inexplicably born to random, unconnected women who showed no signs of pregnancy the day before. Seven are adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a billionaire industrialist, who creates The Umbrella Academy and prepares his “children” to save the world. But not everything went according to plan. In their teenage years, the family fractured and the team disbanded. Now, the six surviving thirty-something members reunite upon the news of Hargreeve’s passing. Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Vanya and Number Five work together to solve a mystery surrounding their father’s death. But the estranged family once again begins to come apart due to their divergent personalities and abilities, not to mention the imminent threat of a global apocalypse.

The Umbrella Academy is based on the popular, Eisner award-winning comics and graphic novels created and written by Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance), illustrated by Gabriel Bá, and published by Dark Horse Comics. The live-action series stars Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, David Castañeda, Aidan Gallagher, Cameron Britton, and Mary J. Blige, and is produced by Universal Cable Productions for Netflix. Steve Blackman (Fargo, Altered Carbon) will serve as executive producer and showrunner, with additional executive producers Jeff F. King (Hand of God), Bluegrass Television, and Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg from Dark Horse Entertainment. Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá will serve as co-executive producers.

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During last night’s virtual BET Awards ceremony, Universal Pictures dropped a scary new TV spot for their upcoming horror sequel Candyman, offering bits and pieces of new footage as well as what sounds like Tony Todd (The Flash; Final Destination) reprising his role as the titular slasher icon.

Nia DaCosta (Little Woods; Top Boy) directed, utilizing a screenplay co-written by Jordan Peele (Get Out; Us), Win Rosenfeld (The Twilight Zone), and herself.

The film stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen; Aquaman), Teyonah Parris (WandaVision; Empire), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Dracula; The Kid Who Would Be King) and Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead; Selma) in the main roles. While unconfirmed, original franchise star Tony Todd (The Flash; Final Destination) is also expected to appear in his iconic role as Daniel Robitaille, a.k.a. the Candyman.

Don’t say his name.

This summer, Oscar® winner Jordan Peele unleashes a fresh take on the blood-chilling urban legend that your friend’s older sibling probably told you about at a sleepover: Candyman. Rising filmmaker Nia DaCosta (Little Woods) directs this contemporary incarnation of the cult classic.

For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; HBO’s Watchmen, Us) and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, The Photograph), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.

With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer (Colman Domingo; HBO’s Euphoria, Assassination Nation) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifyingly viral wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.

From Universal Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures, in association with BRON Creative, and Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld’s Monkeypaw Productions, Candyman is directed by DaCosta, and is produced by Ian Cooper (Us), Rosenfeld and Peele. The screenplay is by Peele & Rosenfeld and DaCosta. The film is based on the 1992 film Candyman, written by Bernard Rose, and the short story “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker. The film’s executive producers are David Kern, Aaron L. Gilbert and Jason Cloth.

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It looks like The Simpsons has finally decided to do the right thing.

In an official statement, the Disney-owned FOX announced yesterday, “Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters.”

Their decision comes in the wake of the recent #BlackLivesMatter protests and the subsequent call to action, which has seen countless organizations, including film and television productions, across the globe attempt to do better when it comes to racial sensitivity and inclusion. 

While Hank Azaria already decided to part with the role of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon in January, he will now also leave the role of Carl, Dr. Nick, Lou, Julio, and Bumblebee Man. behind. Harry Shearer will step down from voicing Dr. Hibbert, while Tress MacNeille will now longer provide the voices of Bernice, Manjula, and Cookie Kwan. 

Azaria, Shearer, and MacNeille will remain series regulars and will continue to voice their other popular characters.

The Simpsons is the latest – and easily most prominent – animated series to announce the decision to recast key non-white voice roles with actors of color, following Mike Henry stepping down as the voice of Cleveland Brown on fellow FOX series Family Guy, Jenny Slate deciding to no longer voice Missy on Netflix’s Big Mouth, and Kristen Bell leaving the role of Molly on Apple TV+’s Central Park.

The showrunners behind several prominent NBC series have also decided to remove and/or edit a number of past episodes for depictions of blackface. Three episodes of Scrubs (“My Fifteen Seconds;” “My Jiggly Ball;” “My Chopped Liver.”) were removed from Hulu at the request of series creator Bill Lawrence, four episodes of 30 Rock (“Believe in the Stars;” “Christmas Attack Zone;” “Live Show – East Coast”; “Live From Studio H”) were removed from streaming services and syndication at the request of series creator Tina Fey, and one episode of Community (“Advanced Dungeons & Dragons”) was removed from Netflix.

The Office also removed a blackface scene from the season nine episode “Dwight Christmas” at the request of series creator Greg Daniels, but left the rest of the episode intact.

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Following a big week that saw Netflix set a season five premiere date and officially renew the series for a sixth and final year, TV Line is now reporting that Supernatural veteran Rob Benedict is set to guest star in an upcoming episode of Lucifer.

However, while he may play the all-powerful God, a.k.a. Chuck Shurley, on the long-running CW series that stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, he’ll be playing someone considerably more human when he crosses paths with the Devil this fall. His character is named Vincent Le Mec, and is described as a hardened French Mercenary whose violent work brings him to Los Angeles – and into the crosshairs of Lucifer (Tom Ellis), Chloe Decker (Lauren German) and the LAPD.

Benedict will appear in episode fifteen, which will be Season 5’s penultimate hour. He completed shooting just days before production on the series was ordered to shut down due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The fan-favorite series is fronted by Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar, with a supporting cast consisting of Lauren German (Det. Chloe Decker), Kevin Alejandro (Det. Dan Espinoza), D.B. Woodside (Amenadiel), Lesley-Ann Brandt (Mazikeen), Scarlett Estevez (Trixie Espinoza), Rachael Harris (Dr. Linda Martin), and Aimee Garcia (Ella Lopez).

Dennis Haysbert (24; Brooklyn Nine-Nine) will also recur this season, playing the show’s version of God.

The first eight episodes of Lucifer season five will premiere on Friday, August 21; with the second half debuting sometime later in 2020.

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Thanks to her stellar work on The Mandalorian, Deborah Chow has been put on the map in a big way, and it’s really no great surprise that Lucasfilm decided she should take the helm of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series coming to Disney+. Very little is known about The Jedi Master’s solo adventure – especially after the studio went back to the drawing board to remove similarities to The Mandalorian – but Chow has been given a rare opportunity to work on both shows. 

During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chow was asked about the difference between directing two different Star Wars properties, despite them both being set in the same Galaxy Far, Far Away.

“It’s definitely going to be different, just in terms of the sheer workload, obviously, of doing the whole thing,” Chow explained to the trade. “But in some ways, I’m going to miss having a team, and having people who are there to bounce ideas off of. But then obviously the flip side is, it is nice to have a coherent voice and know what you’re doing from beginning to end.”

Having been given the chance to collaborate with other directors on The Mandalorian, it will obviously be a big shift for Chow to now be in charge of Obi-Wan Kenobi. There are big expectations on her to deliver, too, especially as calling this series highly anticipated would be an understatement. 

Production on Obi-Wan Kenobi is expected to begin next year and Ewan McGregor will, of course, reprise the role of the Jedi Knight as we explore his time in isolation on Tatooine. 

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Despite being killed off in Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson’s use of time-travel brought his fiancee Vanessa back to life, and that obviously leaves the door open for the character to return in the planned third film being developed by Marvel Studios (where we could finally see her finally discover her mutant powers and become Copycat). 

Unfortunately, during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, actress Morena Baccarin confirmed that she’s yet to hear anything about the third instalment of the Deadpool franchise. 

“I have no idea,” she admitted when asked if she has a bigger role in Deadpool 3. “Apparently, they’re still writing it. I genuinely don’t know. I have not been asked, or approached. There’s been no conversations yet, so I’m waiting with bated breath.”

Baccarin added that she hopes her role is “as big as possible” while noting that Ryan Reynolds “will always be the lead,” but that, “I would love to be right by his side.”

After barely appearing in Deadpool 2, the actress pointed out that working on the first movie was, “one of the best times of my life. It was so fun to be on that set, and it was creative, and fulfilling, and enjoyable all around. [Reynolds] is the best person to work with, and so sweet, and so damn funny it hurts.”

Are you hoping to see Baccarin make her debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

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After Mjolnir’s arrival on Earth was teased at the end of Iron Man 2, the God of Thunder made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut the following year with 2011’s Thor. Chris Hemsworth suited up as the character, but when the casting process was still taking place, many fans (on this very site, believe it or not) wanted WWE Superstar Triple H to play the character!

While it’s unlikely Marvel Studios ever considered casting “The Game,” you can (coincidentally) sort of see him in this very early design for the iconic hero before Chris Hemsworth was chosen. 

It’s a cool, slightly more Viking take on the Asgardian hero, and definitely a badass design. Thor even has some tattoos, while his hammer looks more like a mallet than the Mjolnir from the comics. This could have worked in live-action, but Marvel Studios ultimately ended up embracing the source material.

Check out the artwork – along with Park’s comments – below:
 

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