A hopeful ‘Superman’ trailer takes flight
The first trailer for James Gunn’s movie unveils a brighter take on the icon. And Krypto. PLUS: A ‘Bluey’ movie is in the works, a new ‘White Lotus’ trailer, and WBD opts out of ‘Sesame Street.’
Hello, Popculturology readers, it’s a Friday edition of the newsletter. (And if you’re a new subscriber who found us via Reliable Sources, welcome to the family.) It’s been a busy week of pop culture news — hopefully you weren’t too distracted by those pesky drones ...
Popculturology is taking next Friday off, but I’ll still have new editions of Deep SNL Thoughts and The Box Office Report out this weekend in addition to the December edition of The Monthly next Sunday. If you haven’t had a chance to read my chat about A Muppet Family Christmas with Jim Henson biographer Brian Jay Jones from a few years ago, now is the perfect time to check that one out.
Bill Kuchman
If you celebrate, I hope you all have a great bunch of holidays this month. As always, thanks for reading Popculturology.
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“A lot of shows biff it when it comes to sticking the ending”
What We Do in the Shadows came to an end this week. The show’s finale was a meta take on series finales, with Guillermo struggling to accept that “poof, it all ends?”
For its series finale, Shadows brought back some of its greatest hits, including Jackie Daytona, but at its core was the relationship between Harvey Guillén’s Guillermo and Kayvan Novak’s Nandor. (Which led to a great homage to one of the most iconic series finales in TV history.)
I’m impressed that Shadows was able to operate at this high of a level for as many seasons as it did. There was never a time when I thought, Huh, maybe this show should’ve ended. I’m going to miss this one. As Nandor said, “Things end. And that hurts.” (But it doesn’t hurt enough to skip the bonus hypnosis feature that you can find on the Shadows Hulu landing page.)
“Everything’s creepy here!”
There’s a version of this newsletter where I just chant “Neel! Neel! Neel!” for 4,000 words. But we have a lot of other news to cover this week, so let me just say this: Neel is the most precious addition to Star Wars in years, and I will protect him with my life.
If you haven’t been watching Skeleton Crew — maybe you dismissed it as a kids show? — it’s time to get on board. Treat the first two episodes as the full pilot. Jude Law is perfectly cast, and Skeleton Crew’s central mystery is an intriguing wrinkle to the Star Wars universe while not hitting you over the head like JJ Abrams’ mystery box gimmick.
“Let us rid the Imperium of these witches forever”
There’s one episode left of Dune: Prophecy’s first season left to go ... and I guess I’m looking forward to it? Honestly, I just want to see more of Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart. I mentioned this last week, but the way he’s channeling Tom Hardy for this role is very fun to watch.
The drama surrounding the royal family? Not so much fun to watch.
NEWS, NOTES & TRAILERS
“Krypto, home ... take me home”
When James Gunn announced that the first trailer for Superman would debut on Thursday of this week, I knew without a doubt that it would be the lead news story for this edition of the newsletter. (Sorry, Bluey movie.) There are few bigger, more important characters in our shared pop culture mythology than Superman — and everything that Gunn has been teasing about his take on the character made me believe that we would once again, finally see Superman as he should be.
Based on the first trailer for Superman, I think that Gunn got this one right.
If you’ve been reading Popculturology since I launched this newsletter in November 2022, you’ve been here for the roller coaster of a journey that Superman has taken over the past few years.
We thought Henry Cavill was back as Superman that November. A month later, we learned that Cavill’s return was just part of Dwayne Johnson’s attempt to control the DC superhero movies. In February 2023, Gunn made a new Superman movie official. Then came the confirmation that March that Gunn himself would write and direct that Superman movie. And finally that summer, David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan were locked in as our new Clark Kent and Lois Lane.
It’s been a long road for Superman fans wanting to see what was next for the character. It’s been an even longer road for those of us who wanted to see a hopeful version of Superman while Zack Snyder turned the character into something other than that with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Our daughter just discovered Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos’ I Am Superman book, and I immediately thought of its take on Superman saving a kid who has chased a ball into traffic when I saw the shot of Corenswet’s Superman protecting a girl from a blast in this trailer.
The teaser for Superman is just that. A teaser. There’s very little dialogue in it. Good luck figuring out the movie’s plot from it. But it’s a hint — a hopeful hint — at what’s to come next July.
- Look up: Gunn revealed a new poster for Superman on Monday, posted a motion version that included a snippet of John Murphy’s new theme for the movie. (James Gunn)
- Put in on the calendar: DC Studios also set release dates for Clayface (which will be written by Mike Flanagan and be set in the DCU, not Matt Reeves’ The Batman canon) on Sept. 11, 2026, and the animated Dynamic Duo on June 30, 2028. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Hooray! A Bluey movie is in the works
Bluey is heading to the big screen. Disney and the BBC made the announcement on Tuesday, revealing that a Bluey movie will hit theaters in 2027.
“I really enjoyed the experience of working with a longer format on “The Sign” in Series 3, so going even further with a feature film feels like a natural extension of that,” Bluey creator Joe Brumm said in a statement. “I’ve always thought Bluey deserved a theatrical movie. I want this to be an experiential event for the whole family to enjoy together.”
You better believe that Disney is happy about this movie. After it makes a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, it’s going to be very hard for Brumm and Ludo Studio to resist the blank check that Disney CEO Bob Iger is going to write to buy Bluey. (Short of selling Disney to Apple, it’s honestly his last big move before retiring.)
“Since its debut on Disney Jr. and Disney+, Bluey has become a global phenomenon, uniting families everywhere with its heartfelt stories of play, imagination and connection,” Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden said in a statement. “We are so proud to expand upon our relationship with BBC Studios to bring the magic of Bluey to the big screen – for real life! – and we are deeply grateful to Joe Brumm for creating a world that continues to inspire and delight families everywhere.”
Ludo Studios and the BBC will produce the Bluey movie with Disney holding global theatrical rights. Like previous Bluey content, the movie will head to Disney+ after its theatrical run. (The Walt Disney Company)
- “Now, for the trifficult”: On the same day we got the announcement of the Bluey movie, Brumm released his own letter to fans. “I always said I wouldn’t keep making the show if I thought I couldn’t make any new season as good as the last,” he wrote. “This would have been the case for me with a potential season four, so I’ve decided to take a break from my involvement in the TV series. In the event I can’t wrap my head around doing more seasons myself, “The Sign” will mark my TV finale for Bluey and I wrote it as such.” It sounds like this is the beginning of an era of Bluey where Brumm — its creator and writer on every episode — allows the show to be crafted by new voices. (Which is going to make it a lot easier to sell to Disney ...) (Ludo Studio)
- “Was Goldilocks a human or was she a Bluey-style dog?” Vulture’s Kathryn VanArendonk updated her rankings of the Bluey Minisodes ... and in the process raised some rather disturbing questions about the implications of “Goldilocks.” (Vulture)
