Today, we’ve got a special Thursday edition of Between the Streams, brought to you by the Portland winter that wouldn’t die. In other words, yet another ice storm is threatening to keep us away from the office on Friday. That’s OK, though, because we’ve got plenty to discuss as we head into the weekend, including some odd choices at the box office, a Batman shake-up, Aquaman news, and much more.
First, we’ll discuss those odd choices coming your way this weekend, which include a throwback to the 2000s horror hit The Ring, as well as what appears to be a mix between The Fault in Our Stars and a Mission to Mars-style sci-fi film that’s more of a coming of age romantic drama. In The Space Between Us, Asa Butterfield stars as Garner Elliot, a boy who was born on Mars — he accidentally stowed away, as it were, inside his astronaut mother, who dies in childbirth. Garner just wants to go to Earth, but it turns out the Mars boy’s organs won’t work there, etc., etc. Frankly, it feels a little bit too much like a device-inspired storyline, and it’s pitching for the teen audience, so we’d probably advise most people to skip this one.
Rings may be the movie to see if you’re looking for new blood at the theater this week, but this one is a retread of pretty well-worn ground as well, picking up the story about a movie that kills you seven days after you watch it. There’s been some interesting marketing leading up to its release, and the movie does feature Vince D’Onofrio, but we wouldn’t expect Shakespeare when it comes to the story. Both films have yet to get early reviews, which is usually a troubling sign.
Elsewhere in the entertainment world, we got some news about DC Comics’ Aquaman film this week, including possible new cast members in Nicole Kidman and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Netflix’s The Get Down). Kidman is rumored to be intalks to play Aquaman’s mother, Atlanna, who left Atlantis and fell in love with a lighthouse keeper, which is how Aquaman got his underwater powers. If the deal goes through, Mateen is expected to play Black Manta, a dangerous villain who has a customized suit that allows him to fight Aquaman in his own element.
Also from the DC film world, it was announced this week that Ben Affleck has stepped down as director of his passion project, the solo Caped Crusader film known simply as The Batman. Affleck says the film is still going forward as planned, but he realized he couldn’t give his full effort on both sides of the camera, so the film is now on the lookout for someone — hopefully someone other than Zack Snyder — to helm the film.
Speaking of comic books, we’ll talk about FX’s X-Men offshoot Legion, which is under the direction of the brilliant Noah Hawley (creator of the Fargo TV series). Starring Dan Stevens as a supermutant with psychological issues named David Haller, and other familiar faces like Parks and Rec’s Aubrey Plaza, the show looks like it’s going to be a winner for the red-hot network.
Also this week, we’ll discuss a big move for the forthcoming Dune movie reboot (it has to do with Arrival director Denis Villeneuve), a big new part for Stranger Things star Millie Bobbie Brown, a Young Pope review, the latest Scarface reboot starring Diego Luna, and more.
Tune in at our adjusted time this week of 1 p.m. PT, or take our podcast along with you by following the links above!
