It’s been a busy week in TUDUM land with a lot of moving parts and exciting releases. The third season of The Witcher is definitely hogging the spotlight, but it’s Nimona that’s been warming hearts. The graphic novel adaptation, which was rescued by the red streamer after Disney chucked it, has been met with critical acclaim and audience enthusiasm following its Friday release.
A few announcements have also started to build up the excitement for the continuation of some of the most popular series produced by Netflix in recent years. The Sandman, Squid Game, and Monster have officially entered pre-production on their second seasons, with casting calls and confirmations spiking interest.
While a new drama thriller from Thailand, titled Delete, and Sarah Snook’s dip into horror, Run Rabbit Run, made waves in the charts, one of Japan’s most talented scribes got a chance to spread his wings. Fresh from being awarded at Cannes, Yuji Sakamoto, screenwriter of Monster (not to be confused with the Netflix series) penned an exclusive five-year deal with the streamer.
That’s gotta hurt…
Disney has got to be eating its heart out right now after the fantastic initial reactions to a movie it once almost killed. Famously axed alongside its initial production studio Blue Sky, Nimona eventually found a new home on Netflix and it seems to have been a match made in heaven.
Not only are fans praising the animated film for being even gayer than its source material (something Disney was reportedly anxious about), but it is also currently enjoying a 94% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by an audience score of 88%. There’s a kind of vindication when worthwhile projects struck by bad luck get to live a second life and prosper. Nimona, out of all the titles deserving of a second chance, is even more important given its themes.
The new players in Squid Game, new villains in Monster, and new Thor in The Sandman
In a couple of days, the new seasons of three of the most watched Netflix series of the past few years have all received new developments. Mostly related to casting, the news have given us some insight into what the upcoming chapters might look like.
A roster of new actors is bound to join the games in season two of the South Korean smash-hit Squid Game. Among them are Choi Seung-hyun, Jo Yu-ri, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Lee Jin-wook, Park Gyu-young, Roh Jae-won, and Won Ji-an. Netflix had already announced the presence of Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, and Yim Si-wan in season two during its global event TUDUM.
Meanwhile, Ryan Murphy has revealed the subjects of the second season of his controversial true crime show Monster. Following the look at Jeffrey Dahmer’s horrendous crimes in the first season, the upcoming set of episodes will turn the looking glass toward Lyle and Erik Memendez, who killed their parents in 1989. Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez have been cast to play Erik and Lyle, respectively.
Also making moves in the past few days was The Sandman, as the DC adaptation started shooting its second season. Not only was Tom Sturridge spotted filming the new chapters, but interesting casting calls have also gone out for a trio that is more than a little familiar to fans of the superhero genre. DC’s The Sandman is reportedly looking for someone to play Thor, Loki, and Odin in the show, but don’t expect the characters to resemble their Marvel counterparts in any significant way. According to What’s on Netflix, Thor will be “brusque, rude, quick to anger, and always game for a [expletive] or a fight.”
The reception to season 3 of The Witcher goes exactly as expected
Even if Henry Cavill is still the face of the Continent in the first half of the recently released third season of The Witcher, that doesn’t hide the problems that made him quit the show in the first place. As is well known by now, the Man of Steel actor decided to part ways with a project that was very much a passion for him due to creative differences with the writers and producers, whom he thought were stirring too far from the source material.
Although he was still obliged to shoot the third season, the variations from the books the show is based on are becoming increasingly evident to viewers. Safe to say, fans were not happy and, as expected, quickly turned to their most beloved vehicle of demonstration — review bombing. As a result, despite a relatively positive score from critics, season three is sporting a harsh 49 % as its current audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.