ThaOGDreamWeaver

...but we're not the same...

Nobody would have believed, in the opening years of the 21st Century, that human affairs were being played like a video game from the timeless worlds of space... ...although given the reality show finale the world's turning into, I wouldn't have been surprised. Yep, very impressed if this is a pre-alpha, though the humans are currently getting less animation love than the aliens. I think I'm probably too much of a nervous disposition to be watching this, let alone playing it...

There is an awful lot of Wanda fandom out there in dedicated corners of the interwebs - slightly mad bunch even by my standards. Ms Marvel... less so, but she does have her following. Speaking of which: while Hawkeye was a fun little thing at the time, nobody's talking about Renner or Stanfield. And Black Widow... less than memorable. But there are endless, endless Flo Pugh/Yelena fan threads and memes. Just casually walked into both of those projects, stole every scene that wasn't nailed down, made Kraft dinner and wandered off again. Some characters just catch fire, and it's down to writing and performance. Speaking of that - and recasting... can you imagine Iron Man as anyone other than RDJ these days?

Whom Gods Destroy - In The Name Of War

Feeling fairly proud of teaching my IT crew the term "PIC/NIC error". Not sure if I'm proud that our users haven't twigged what it means yet and adjusted accordingly. .

Personally: I laughed my backside off, and I'd quite like to see Tatiana and co back in animated form, in non-Hulked guest shots on other series, or in Thunderbolts if that ever happens. But I didn't expect an S2. The CGI cost was just way too much for the likely audience size of this series - even for Mando and Andor $200m+ for a limited series is pushing it. They could have lampshaded it by having Jen fully played by her Amazonian body model, and being even more freaked out by her appearance in the mirror. (I actually kinda know someone 6'5" with not dissimilar features, if they're casting - or at least close enough to bridge the gap with makeup and prosthetics.) As it is, it's a fun little curio in the MCU, and they should be proud of trying all this different stuff. Though maybe keep a closer eye on the budget...

Never gone that route. Though Agent Atwell does have a shield drone called C.O.U.L.S.O.N that she talks to occasionally. (Hey devs - can we get /petsay for Gun and Shield Drones at some point?)

I'd quite like to get my original Defiant-era DreamWeaver name back again. But I've had Miss DreamWeaver, Dr. Amy Weaver and a couple of other variants. Other than that, if I can't get the name I want, I'll come up with something original, or a workaround. For example, I wanted to try a Flo Pugh fan toon DP/Devices. Yelena Belova (and many spelling variants) were taken, as well as being lawyerbait. But Agent Belova wasn't, or Agent Atwell for that matter. I also like to see if folks can spot references or jokes in names or bios. Like an ancient wise storm magician wanting to be known as Breaker Of The Winds, and unsure why people keep sniggering.

Hevisaurus - The Sign Of The Horns

Lombolo - Slap Thyne Enemy

Needed a heavy edit - probably down to 4 episodes - and better structuring. Has the typical D+ flaw of front-loading backstory: sure, it's meant to be binged, but every episode needs to hold your eyeballs. Much use of skip button. What did hold attention - and needed more of - was D'Onofrio/Cox time. Those two are good together, but their interactions were spread thinner than the trailers would suggest. So... IM(np)HO, not great (as it wants to be), not terrible (as some would say), eminently skippable. If there's one bit to note going forward...

If you need me, I’ll be practicing the big sustain notes on “Get Away From Her, You B****”

I've noticed that happening with AR quite a lot, but not so much with DP. I use the match pistols with lasers quite a lot so that'd be quite noticeable.

Skeleton Crew wrapped primary in January 2023, and there was a closed-audience trailer in April at SWC. There's no official release date I can find (yet), and a metric tonne of badly-AI'd "concept" trailers using Jude's Captain Marvel footage. With the budget issues and strike delays, I imagine D+ will be pacing out fresh content a bit more this year. Given it's an Amblin-esque, kid-friendly-but-proper-threats offering ("the kids all think they're in Andor" sounded promising, as did "Stand By Me...In Space"), I'd lay even money on Easter holidays. Acolyte is also slated for this year. Andor S2 got hit by the strikes with just two weeks left to wrap, but rescheduling meant that's unlikely to drop till late 2024 / early 2025 now. The only announced release I know has been officially canned is Rangers Of The New Republic. The Donald Glover Lando thing is still in Development Hell. Taika's movie will be greenlit (or not) when he finishes the script. And the next Proper Movie, whether it's the Mando one or the New Jedi Order flick, is going to be 2025 at the earliest.

And they're good. Turning Red might have the anti-woke brigade frothing a bit - but is also objectively bloody hilarious. Stop me if you've seen this one before, but I loved this trailer... Luca's also... just for once, I'm a bit lost for words, but "warm" and "wonderful" spring to mind, as does "pasta". Not been quite so sure about Soul - bit more high concept. I also think Onward deserves a second crack at it, as its original release was cut short or canned completely in many territories. It does just show that they're not 100% wedded to a D+ first-and-only release for new content. Also new news: all of the storylines from the Filoniverse will get tied up in an End Of The New Republic flick, including Mando, Ahsoka, and Boba Fett. There'll also be the much rumoured Rey movie, and a Dawn Of The Jedi movie from James Mangold.

Depends how tightly Favreauloni structure their movie. They do love an epic (space) Western, and those do need room to breathe. On the business side of things… D+ pandemic releases Turning Red, Soul and Luca are getting limited cinema runs this year. That could be a knock-on effect of the actors’ and writers’ strike leaving big holes in the schedule, but does seem like nerves are wavering over at the House of Mouse.

Dimeeach - This Is How We Imp It

Bringing this thread back with a bang... specifically, this one... And while you're busy setting that as your screen background, everyone's favourite intergalactic DILF and his adorable Disney cash machine adoptive son are officially coming back... to the big screen. Production starts later this year. https://www.starwars.com/news/the-mandalorian-and-grogu Not much more to it in that article, but... reading between those few lines, and reading the lines of my Financial Times (don'tcherknow)... ...interesting strategy change. This is pivoting one of the breakout D+ properties back to a full ticketed cinema play. I don't think Iger is losing faith in D+: the Streaming Wars will continue, and D+ will continue to be a major force. But with angry activist investors like Nelson Peltz* around his isn't the only opinion that counts. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/03/disney-board-member-bob-iger-valueact-blackwells-trian *no relation to Nelson Muntz, though quite a few CEOs he's wedgied might disagree with that

Small bit of news: Ahsoka Season 2 is... "in development". Which could mean a lot of things, but more hopeful than no news at all. They've not been in touch with Dawson yet about that, but presumably picks up where S1 left off. However - The Filoni has bigger things on his mind...

Just tagging in that Montana Jane (DP/Energy) is a whole bunch of fun to play, with Boost Range giving some extra tactical options (sniping Nemesis snipers has been fun). Plus the ability to quickly smackdown / KB golf anyone who gets too close is useful. I've gone with an all-out-assault / glass cannon build, but IOs have helped build up a semi-respectable DEF score.

Buffy The Demon Slayer. (Though she's only here because Crowley's been prank calling Angel since the 1970s).

I used to be more of an Angua. But I'm all right naaoooowwww....

Well, it's about damn time. Send a particularly fine scotch to Mr. Offerman's table, please... https://tvline.com/awards/nick-offerman-emmys-acceptance-speech-the-last-of-us-1235109514/ And I may be framing this on a wall somewhere: "What we do to care for each other... is the whole damn point."

On the biz side: DIsney is currently fighting off two sets of "activist investors" - large groups of shareholders who nominate directors for the board that others can vote for, who then change the company, usually to get it to try to make profits they can take. D+ is still lossmaking, but "only" $387m loss in Q4 this year compared to one and a half billion last year. The SW series were a large chunk of that spend - Ahsoka S1 is rumoured at $100m+. Mando and Andor both clocked around $15m to $25m per episode, so that's been relatively slimmed-down already. They also generated huge interest in the SW franchise, which means... more merch and licensing deals. Yes, you too can buy Mando helmets and Lego, Ahsoka lightsabers. headpieces and Loth stuffies, and Andor electrified carpeting to keep your little ones safely tucked up in bed.