The big opening of Spider-Man: No Way Home heads up this week’s roundup of geek showbiz news.
Spider-Man: No Way Home opened huge, with the biggest domestic opening weekend of the Covid era (by more than 2X) and the third largest opening weekend of all time. The film (see “’Spider-Man’ Trailer“) took in $253 million in theaters in North America, compared to the $90 million grossed by Venom, which had the second biggest opening of the Covid era, according to Variety. The worldwide box office gross of $587.2 million was behind only two films all time: Avengers: Endgame at $1.2 billion and Avengers: Infinity War at $640 million.
Warner Bros. plans to release its Blue Beetle movie, in recent years headed for HBO Max, in theaters on August 18, 2023 (see “Best in Shows – 2023“). The film will be the first from DC to be based on a Latino superhero, and will star Xolo Mariduena (Cobra Kai), be directed by Angle Manuel Soto, and be written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The property has been in development for TV or movies since at least 2010; the script by Dunnet-Alcocer has been around since 2018 (see “’Blue Beetle’ Movie“).
Disney Branded Television is developing a Zorro TV series done in a modern telenovela style, according to Deadline. Wilmer Valderrama will star and exec produce. American Mythology Productions has released the first issue of Zorro Flights, a new comic miniseries written by Don McGregor originally announced for August (see “Don McGregor Pits Zorro Against a Dragon“), in October.
The Legendary and AfterShock Media production of God Country, based on the AfterShock graphic novel by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, has been picked up by Netflix, AfterShock announced. Jim Mickle (Sweet Tooth) signed on to direct earlier this year (see “’God Country’ Gets Director“).
The CW is developing Gotham Knights, a new DC-based series, with Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions. The story follows the rebellious adopted son of the murdered Bruce Wayne, who joins with the children of Batman’s enemies, who were framed for Batman’s murder, to protect Gotham. The series appears to tie in with an upcoming Gotham Knights video game from Warner Bros. Interactive, planned for release next year.
Paramount has released a trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2, planned for release April 8, 2022 (see “Best in Shows – 2022“). Sonic and Dr. Robotnik add sidekicks (Tails and Knuckles, respectively) for the sequel. Idris Elba voices Knuckles and Colleen O’Shaughnessey voices Tails. The first film in the series, after having been delayed for a visual rework of the title character, broke a record for videogame adaptations with a big open in early 2020 (see “’Sonic’ Sets Videogame Record“). Source: ICv2
