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If 2022 was the year of dragons and over-the-top fantasy content, then 2023 might be the year of video game adaptations. After the success of Uncharted and Mortal Kombat, it seems like the 2020s will be the time when your favorite video game from your childhood will make its way to the big screen. Of course, for every good adaptation, there are bound to be some poorly-received ones in the mix. Not everything can be Detective Pikachu, but we’ve got high hopes for these upcoming new releases and returning favorites.

1. The Last Of Us

Date: January 15th, 2023 on HBO
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey
Created by: Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann

An adaptation of the hit post-apocalyptic game has been in the works for years, and the highly-anticipated series finally arrives in January nearly a decade after the game was first introduced. The Last Of Us will star Pedro Pascal as Joel, the tough survivalist accompanying Bella Ramsey’s Ellie as they navigate a zombie-infested future while grappling with their traumatic pasts.

We know that there will be some integral differences between the show and the game, mostly with the amount of violence that will be portrayed. All nine episodes of the series will be co-written by original game creator Neil Druckmann, so the bar is pretty high. The series also features Marvel favorite, Gabriel Luna, in addition to Anna Torv, Nick Offerman, and known survivalist Melanie Lynskey.

2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Date: April 7th, 2023
Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black
Directed by: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic

Whether you want it or not, Chris Pratt’s Mario is coming. But that also means that Anya Taylor-Joy is about to make her debut as Peach, so that’s something to look forward to! The Super Mario Bros Movie has been a long time coming, and it will hit theaters on April 7th. Alongside Mario will be Jack Black as Bowser, the main antagonist of Pratt’s plumber. Also added to the mix is Charlie Day as the arguably cooler brother Luigi, plus Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and noted video game lover Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. Despite the general lack of enthusiasm regarding the man behind Mario, the rest of the cast might just be able to make up for the lack of his signature Italian accent. Between the movie and the new Super Nintendo World opening up in Florida, 2023 is shaping up to be Mario’s year. Or maybe Peach’s.

3. Fallout

Date: TBD, Amazon Prime
Starring: Walton Goggins, Ella Purnell
Directed by: Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy

There has been no set release date for the upcoming Fallout series, but Amazon quietly wrapped production this summer, so it’s likely that we will get a series sooner rather than later. The hit franchise takes place in the late 2100s, when mutants run rampant and the threat of nuclear war is always lurking. You know, classic video game stuff.

The series is known for its signature 1950s-esque aesthetic and retrofuturistic design, which makes it distinguishable from the other (many) post-apocalyptic franchises out there. Fallout art director Istvan Pely has assured fans that the Amazon series will live up to the game’s legacy, including its signature art design. “I’ve been blown away by how much they’ve stuck with our original video and designs, directly translating that to the screen,” Pely recently recalled. “It’s reassuring.”

The upcoming series will be written by the Westworld showrunners and feature an aptly quirky cast: Walton Goggins of Justified and The Righteous Gemstones will be the unnamed lead. Also rounding out the cast will be Yellowjacket’s Ella Purnell and Twin Peaks’ Kyle MacLachlan.

4. Borderlands Movie

Date: TBD
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis
Directed by: Eli Roth

There haven’t been many updates on the Borderlands adaptation since filming wrapped in the summer of 2021, but rumor has it the movie was going through some test screenings last month, which is a good sign! The other good sign is that the film will be led by Lydia Tár herself, Cate Blanchett. If the idea of an Oscar winner isn’t enough to pull you in, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis (!) also round out the cast.

Borderlands will follow Blanchett as Lillith, an infamous alien/siren who enlists the help of various beings and an annoyingly cute robot sidekick to help find a missing girl who may or may not be extremely powerful. The final indication that this movie will be worth the wait is that it will be written and directed by Eli Roth, who is known for his seamless blend of horror and humor.

5. The Witcher

Date: Summer 2023, Netflix
Starring: Henry Cavill
Created by: Laura Schmidt

There is a lot riding on season three of The Witcher. Henry Cavill had already filmed the upcoming season before exiting the series and passing the torch to Liam Hemsworth so that he could get back into Superman mode. That didn’t work out.

Still, the upcoming season will be a nice send-off for Cavill, who has portrayed Gertalt on his various medieval adventures since season one of the hit Netflix adaptation of the popular series, which includes books and video games, so the lore is pretty expansive. There will be one more final fourth season after Cavill’s exit, so now is the time to catch up on the rest of the epic series.

6. Twisted Metal Series

Date: Early 2023, Peacock
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz
Created by: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick

Not every video game adaptation has to be a big-budget film or gritty TV series: Twisted Metal is an upcoming half-hour comedy based on the long-running video game of the same name. The series is expected to drop on Peacock in early 2023 and will be penned by Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, so there will likely be some crude comedy to feast upon.

Anthony Mackie will star as a smart-ass outsider who is offered a chance at a better life… but only if he can deliver a mysterious package across a deserted post-apocalyptic wasteland while also being pursued by the bad guys. He will be joined by Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz as Quiet, a new character with a mysterious past and a certain skill for carjacking. Will Arnett will also be lending his voice to the series, while Neve Campbell and Chloe Fineman will be recurring stars.

7. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Date: March 23rd
Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez
Created by: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein

Dragons had quite the year in 2022, so it’s only natural to bring them back into the mix in the new year. The upcoming movie adaptation of the world-famous roleplaying game will arrive in theaters in March, jam-packed with a splash of violence, sorcery, and a little self-serving thievery.

Chris Pine leads the gang in this adventure film, which is shaping up to be a Guardians of the Galaxy-type quest, but with dazzling creatures and an even more dazzling Hugh Grant. Pine will work alongside Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, and Sophia Lillis in order to retrieve a coveted lost relic before the bad guys can get to it. Oh, and if you ever wanted to see Chris Pine play the loot? He does that too.

8. Gran Turismo

Date: August 11th, 2023
Starring: David Harbour, Orlando Bloom
Directed by: Neill Blomkamp

District 9’s Neill Blomkamp will be directing the upcoming film adaptation of Gran Turismo, the fast-paced racing game, which is expected to hit theaters on August 11th, 2023. This fast-paced tale will be based on the true story of a young Gran Turismo player who aspires to be a real-life racecar driver.

Archie Madekwe will star as the unnamed teen, while Stranger Things’ David Harbour will portray his trainer. Orlando Bloom will also appear as a motorsport marketing exec, while Darren Barnet will star as his rival at the coveted GT Academy. While unconfirmed, many fans believe the plot is modeled after the life of Jann Mardenborough, a teen who eventually made his way to the Dubai 24-Hour Race.

9. Knuckles

Date: TBD, Paramount+
Starring: Idris Elba

Thanks to the success of Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey’s live-action Sonic movies, a live-action TV adaptation starring the anthropomorphic short-beaked echidna Knuckles is heading to Paramount+ in 2023. It might not be for everyone…but Idris Elba’s voice might make it worth a watch!

Is Chris Pratt the best or worst Chris? The debate ranges on, but he has the best Mario-looking mustache of the Chrises.

“New year, new stache, same us. Wishing all of you a healthy, happy, and blessed #NewYear,” the actor tweeted on the first day of 2023, along with a photo of him and his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger. It’s the most surprising picture of the Guardians of the Galaxy actor since his ripped selfie, and it’s inspired people to compare him to Eric Bana (I can see it), Tom Cruise (nope), and Ethan Hawke (huh?).

It’s obvious who Pratt looks the most like, however:

Pratt has gone method to win over the hAtErS and prove he’s the right choice to voice Mario in the upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie. (Just don’t tell his MCU co-star Martin Freeman, who has no patience for method actors.) Or maybe Pratt is using the facial hair to distract from the bee stings on his face.

“So I’ve been following this bee lady on Instagram,” he said during a video that he posted on social media. “She’s so cool and brave and she goes in front of these hives of bees and says, ‘They’re very calm today. I’m going to remove the bee, I’m going to use my bare hands to sift through the bees and look for the queen.’ So it’s built up this false sense of security in me.” Here’s how that turned out. Could the bee stings be(e) method, too?

The Super Mario Bros. Movie comes out on April 7th.

Christian Bale seems to be making good on his recent comments that Method acting is getting out of hand. According to Harry Melling, Bale’s co-star in the gothic detective film, The Pale Blue Eye, The Dark Knight actor kept it cool on set and did not stay in character the whole time as he’s famously done in the past. Bale also didn’t employ one of his trademark body transformations like he’s done for Vice and The Fighter.

Via IndieWire:

“My experience working on it was that we’d turn up, not really talk about the scene, and just start playing it,” Melling told The Independent of working with Bale, citing the fact that he “doesn’t really know” what constitutes Method acting. “There was no staying in character, but I guess you’re always held within some form of character just because you’re wearing the clothes and you’re in that environment as that person.”

“I think Method acting sometimes gets a branding that’s unhelpful,” Melling added, and it appears Bale is of the same mind. Back in October, Bale talked about his work on Thor: Love and Thunder and he seemed to noticeably less enthralled with Method acting.

“That would’ve been a pitiful attempt to do that,” Bale said of going Method for his role of Gorr the God Butcher. “As I’m trying to get help getting the fangs in and out and explaining I’ve broken a nail, or I’m tripping over the tunic.”

However, Bale did admit to slipping into some of his old ways while filming Amsterdam. He confessed to telling Chris Rock that he couldn’t hang out on set with him anymore because he was making him laugh too much.

“If I get to know people too much, I find I just don’t believe what I’m doing in the scene,” Bale said.

(Via IndieWire)

It looks like Summer Walker received a double blessing this holiday season. Over the course of the past weekend, the “No Love” hitmaker revealed she welcomed twins.

Yesterday, Walker, 26, took to her Instagram Story to express joy after having birthed her twins. Her twins mark her second and third children, after having welcomed her first in March of 2021 with producer London On Da Track. She revealed that having many children before she turned 30 is something she’s been manifesting for years.

“I really reached my goal of hella kids before 30,” Walker said. “I’m so happy lol. [They’re] all so sweet.”

In a now-deleted Instagram post, she said of the birth, “I’m so proud of myself. Just sharing to inspire other women cause I know once you carry twins to almost 42 weeks especially with (one breech) people will try to steer you towards induction or c section (which there’s nothing wrong with these I just didn’t want it for myself). You can do it, this was my second home birth all natural 7 hrs, no tearing & I couldn’t of done it without my spirit guides, Godparents, birth team, my elders, & the best dad doula ever Larry lol, he was so hands on the whole time I was really impressed.”

After years of legal battles with their former record label Tommy Boy, iconic rap trio De La Soul’s catalog is finally coming to streaming services.

The Long Island natives took to Twitter to share that to mark the 34th anniversary of the release of De La Soul’s N0. 1 debut album, 3 Feet High And Rising, their catalog will be uploaded to streaming platforms on Friday, March 3.

The members (emcees Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Maseo) are relieved that they were able to strike a deal with Reservoir Media after they acquired Tommy Boy. “We can’t believe this day is finally here, and we are excited to be able to share our music with fans, old and new. Golnar, Rell, Faith, and the Reservoir team have been great partners in this entire process. We’re grateful that our relationship with them all has enabled this to happen,” the group said.

Although their music will be available across platforms, Spotify was the first streamer to share the news with their subscribers, tweeting a promotional video announcing the catalog will be accessible on its platform.

https://twitter.com/Spotify/status/1610274066044424192/video/1

Reservoir Media, excited about the news, released a statement, “[we are] pleased to share that De La Soul’s first six albums, ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ (1989), ‘De La Soul Is Dead’ (1991), ‘Buhloone Mindstate’ (1993), ‘Stakes Is High’ (1996), ‘Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump’ (2000), and ‘AOI: Bionix’ (2001), will be available to fans everywhere.”

Rootin’ tootin’ Lauren Boebert’s 2022 closed out with apparent conflict, given some GOP infighting that included Marjorie Taylor Greene. That dust-up may not be over yet, but the Rifle Republican made plenty of other headlines throughout the year. She narrowly avoided a runoff against Democratic rival Adam Frisch, and several months ago, her beloved restaurant (Shooter’s Grill in Rifle, Colorado) shut down after losing its lease.

The restaurant was a both a source of Boebert pride (the Second Amendment fan encouraged her servers to open-carry on the job) but also controversy, given infamous reports about an alleged food poisoning outbreak involving pork sliders. Yet now there’s an odd turn of events, alright. Business Insider has reported that the location is being replaced by a Mexican joint:

[I]t appears that its location is going to be filled by a Mexican restaurant, Tapatios Family Mexican Restaurant, which now has emblazoned its “coming soon” sign on the premises’ front window.

Insider verified the location of the new restaurant by finding that “TAPATIOS2 LLC” was established in October at the same location as the former Shooters Grill.

Snopes followed up on this report with a “True” rating after an anonymous Twitter user (claiming to be from Colorado) posted a photo of the building with new signage. Boebert seemingly hasn’t responded to this news, but in the following days, she did tweet multiple times about “illegals” and “alien convicts,” who she claims are part of “an invasion supported by the government” that’s orchestrated by Biden.

Boebert also previously called for the impeachment of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas over “rapists, drug dealers, and criminals” who “have crossed the southern border.”

All of this makes the Shooter’s Grill replacement a real universe-turner, one that Boebert’s grievance-airing ex-employees probably found pretty interesting, too. And hopefully, the new place won’t be won’t be selling any pork sliders.

(Via Business Insider)

Janelle Monáe has been hard at work lately. On top of pulling off an incredible performance in Glass Onion, it appears we may finally be getting a new album from the multi-hyphenate: In a video shared to Instagram, Monáe is seen jamming in the studio to what sounds like new music from the star themself.

“No, I’m not the same / I think I done changed / I used to walk into the room, head down / Now I float,” they sing in the snippet of the song, which appears to be titled “Float.” The post is captioned, “20twentyFREE #float”

Over the years, Monáe has delivered incredible performances in films like Moonlight, Hidden Figures, and most recently, Glass Onion. Their last album, the Grammy-nominated Dirty Computer, came out nearly five years ago, in April 2018. In a recent interview with NME, Monáe teased new music, jokingly saying they have a clone who makes music while they are on set.

“I’m not going to tell you if it’s me or not,” Monáe said. “They’re in the studio right now. I just feel so humbled and super, super blessed to be doing anything. Doing something like this, you don’t take it lightly.”

It looks like said clone may be delivering soon.

Take a listen to the snippet above.

Janelle Monáe is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

With a platinum plaque, two gold records, and a Grammy Award to their names, you would think rap trio De La Soul’s catalog would be available for enjoyment across streaming platforms. But, unfortunately for the Library Of Congress inductees, due to several legal issues — including potential earning disputes with their record label, Tommy Boy — emcees Posdnuos (real name Kelvin Mercer), Trugoy (real name David Jude Jolicoeur), and Maseo (real name Vincent Lamont Mason Jr.) never signed off on the agreement.

Now that Reservoir Media has acquired the label, the pioneer posse’s music will be uploaded to streaming services this spring thanks to distribution from its subsidiary Chrysalis Records.

In a joint statement, the Long Island natives spoke on the news, saying, “We can’t believe this day is finally here, and we are excited to be able to share our music with fans, old and new. Golnar, Rell, Faith, and the Reservoir team have been great partners in this entire process. We’re grateful that our relationship with them all has enabled this to happen.”

Streaming giant Spotify took to Twitter to let their subscribers know De La Soul’s catalog will be accessible on its platform on Friday, March 3, to mark the 34th anniversary of the release of De La Soul’s N0. 1 debut album, 3 Feet High And Rising.

As for what music will be uploaded, a statement shared from Reservoir Media shared, “[we are] pleased to share that De La Soul’s first six albums, ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ (1989), ‘De La Soul Is Dead’ (1991), ‘Buhloone Mindstate’ (1993), ‘Stakes Is High’ (1996), ‘Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump’ (2000), and ‘AOI: Bionix’ (2001), will be available to fans everywhere.”

Reservoir’s Executive Vice President of A&R and Catalog Development, Faith Newman, who is also a fan of the group, shared how important this news is to the greater music community, saying, “As someone who has devoted my life to hip-hop for over 30 years, my relationship with the guys in De La Soul dates back to my early days in the industry, and I can attest to how influential their catalog is to the genre.”

Newman later added, “When Reservoir acquired Tommy Boy, the first call we made was to De La Soul. We vowed to bring their music to streaming, and it means the world to our team to make good on that promise and expose a whole new generation of listeners to one of the most important catalogs in hip-hop history.”

As a treat, De La Soul will release their hit single “The Magic Number” earlier (on January 13) to hold their fans over until their entire discography is made available.

Over the weekend (on January 1), CNN debuted Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over, a documentary about the singer (that was the runner-up for the People’s Choice Award for Documentaries at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2021). At one point in the movie, she told the story of a time in the ’90s, when she invited Snoop Dogg and other rappers to her home so they could discuss their misogynist lyrics with them.

She explained how she called Snoop, Suge Knight, and others to her home at 7 a.m. sharp. Once the rappers arrived (as CNN notes), Warwick told them to call her a “b*tch,” like they did to other women in their songs, and said to them:

“‘You know, you guys are all going to grow up. You’re going have families, you’re going to have children, you’re going to have girls. And one day that little girl is going to look at you and say, ‘Daddy, did you really say that? Is that really you?’ What are you going to say?’ I think it got through to them.”

Snoop spoke about that moment, too, saying that he and the other rappers took Warwick’s invite so seriously that they were in her driveway at 6:52 that morning. He said, “We were kind of like scared and shook up. We’re powerful right now, but she’s been powerful forever. Thirty-some years in the game, in the big home with a lot of money and success. […] She was checking me at a time when I thought we couldn’t be checked. We were the most gangsta as you could be, but that day at Dionne Warwick’s house, I believe we got out-gangstered that day.”

As Warwick suspected, her words did get through to them, or at least Snoop. He said, “I made it a point to put records of joy — me uplifting everybody and nobody dying and everybody living.” He added, “Dionne, I hope I became the jewel that you saw when I was the little, dirty rock that was in your house. I hope I’m making you proud.”

Check out the trailer for Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over below.

We’ve been beating the “put the Muppets in the next Knives Out movie” drum for months (we borrowed the drum from Animal, naturally), but would Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery writer and director Rian Johnson actually consider it? “The idea is super fun and I don’t want to be a party pooper BUT…” he tweeted, along with a link to a Tudum article with the headline, “Could Benoit Blanc Meet the Muppets?” Short answer: probably not.

Johnson thinks a Knives Out / Muppets crossover is “pretty brilliant, and I ended up really giving [it] some serious thought. As much as I take the murder mystery genre seriously, I take the genre of a Muppet movie seriously.” But “those two things have very different rules. You can either have a Benoit Blanc mystery that has Muppets in it, but they’ll feel out of place. Or you can have a Muppet movie that Benoit Blanc is in, but it’ll feel like a Muppet movie.” I understand Johnson’s hesitation. Counterpoint: Benoit Blanc has a goofy accent; the Swedish Chef has a goofy accent. It’s meant to be.

In other words, Muppet mystery fans, for the foreseeable future, Blanc will be investigating humans rather than frogs, Fozzie Bear and whatever the hell Gonzo is. “I wouldn’t want to compromise either of them,” Johnson says. “And I feel like in order to make it well and make it work, you’d have to make a choice and compromise one or the other. If I ever make a Muppet movie, I just want to make a great Muppet movie.”

So, it sounds like a movie is off the table. But what about a holiday special?

The only thing better than a Muppets Christmas movie is a Muppets Christmas movie with Benoit Blanc.

(Via Tudum)