Netflix recently announced that Squid Game season 2 is set to premiere on the streaming service on December 26th – and during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said that this new batch of episodes is all about the idea of taking sides.

Hwang is the director, writer, and producer of the show. Squid Game season 2 has the following synopsis: Three years after winning Squid Game, Player 456 remains determined to find the people behind the game and put an end to their vicious sport. Using this fortune to fund his search, Gi-hun starts with the most obvious of places: look for the man in a sharp suit playing ddakji in the subway. But when his efforts finally yield results, the path toward taking down the organization proves to be deadlier than he imagined: to end the game, he needs to re-enter it.

Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun, and Gong Yoo are reprising their roles from the first season. New cast members include Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Lee Jin-uk, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Choi Seung-hyun, Roh Jae-won, Jo Yu-ri, and Won Ji-an.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Hwang said, “I want to highlight the theme of taking sides. In Korea these days, we’re seeing much worse conflict between the elderly and the younger generation. And you see demarcation everywhere. There’s no room for debate, only hostility. So I was inspired by the direction the entire world is taking. I was inspired by the sheer fact that everywhere you turn, people are drawing lines, whether it’s by generation, class, religion, ethnicity or race. I wanted to tell a story about how the different choices we make create conflicts among us and to open up a conversation about whether there is a way to move toward a direction where we can overcome these divisions.“

Through Squid Game, he’ll be able to explore these ideas because the players have the option to end the game at any time through majority vote. As The Hollywood Reporter explains, in this season, the vote to continue is mandatory after each round, and it divides players into clearly labeled camps. One side is motivated by economic anxiety and the belief that they have the qualities to prevail over the rest, winner take all. The other pleads that a vote for the opposition will lead to everyone’s certain destruction. To read more about the new season and the making of Squid Game, click over to the THR link.

Hwang Dong-hyuk has let it be known that Squid Game will be wrapping up with season 3, so we have more episodes to look forward to beyond season 2. In addition to the next two seasons of Squid Game, Netflix is also moving forward with a second season of Squid Game: The Challenge, a reality series in which 456 players compete for a US$4.56 million cash prize by competing in challenges based on those in the series… although without all the death. There have also been rumors that David Fincher is still working on an English-language version of the series.

Are you looking forward to Squid Game season 2? What do you think of the themes the new episodes will be exploring? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Sony has announced that it’s lowering the suggested retail price of the PlayStation 5 Slim Digital Edition as we enter the holiday shopping season. But you’ll want to act fast, as the discount ends Christmas Eve, and is only available while supplies last.

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AMC has been in the Walking Dead business for years, building a long-running show and multiple spin-offs out of the source material provided in the pages of Robert Kirkman’s comic book series. They’re in the Anne Rice business, building a franchise out of the books, characters, and ideas in Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches trilogy. Now, Deadline reports that they’re getting into the Emily Carpenter business, as they’re developing a TV series based on Carpenter’s upcoming novel Gothictown, with Abby Ajayi on board serve as showrunner, writer, and executive producer.

The Gothictown adaptation ended up at AMC through their first-look deal with Stephen Love’s company Made With Love Media, as Made With Love acquired the rights to the book in a competitive situation and will be producing the show.

Carpenter’s book isn’t even expected to reach shelves until March 25, 2025. The story follows Billie Hope, a New York City restaurateur who relocates her family to the quaint town of Juliana, Georgia, drawn by an irresistible offer: a Victorian home for only $100 and a grant to open a new restaurant. The “Juliana Initiative,” designed to revitalize the town post-pandemic, seems like the perfect opportunity for a fresh start and a new business venture. However, once Billie and her family settle in, an unsettling undercurrent beneath Juliana’s Southern charm starts to creep into her life. While she tries to brush off her suspicions as mere misgivings, the town’s eerie atmosphere and hidden darkness grow impossible to ignore. Billie soon realizes that Juliana might be holding her family captive in more ways than one, and escaping might not be as simple as she thought.

Carpenter’s previous books include Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters, Until the Day I Die, Every Single Secret, The Weight of Lies, and Burying the Honeysuckle Girls. Made With Love Media was behind the Netflix sci-fi comedy They Cloned Tyrone. Ajayi’s credits include Inventing Anna, The Riches, The Plot, Bobby Meritorious, How to Get Away with Murder, The First Lady, and the Hulu version of Four Weddings and a Funeral. She also wrote the screenplay for a remake of Curtis Hanson’s The Bedroom Window, but that hasn’t gone into production yet.

Have you read any Emily Carpenter books, and does Gothictown sound interesting to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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After casting Miya Cech (Surfside Girls, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, Always Be My Maybe) as Toph Beifong, the best character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Netflix is adding eight more to its cast to round out Earth Kingdom’s members. Anticipation for the final two seasons of the live-action series could not be higher after a thrilling February debut, with fans old and new enjoying the antics of Aang and his friends.

Joining the cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 are Chin Han as Long Feng, Justin Chien as King Kuei, Amanda Zhou as Joo Dee, Crystal Yu as Lady Beifong, Kelemete Misipeka as The Boulder, Hoa Xuande as Professor Zei, Lourdes Faberes as General Sung, and Rekha Sharma as Amita.

Netflix announced in September that Miya Cech would play Toph Beifong for the series, much to the delight of fans. Toph Beifong is a blind teenager who (eventually) agrees to train Aang in the ancient art of earth-bending. According to the Casting Call: “She is sassy, confident and unfiltered. For most of her life her strength and formidable earthbending skills have been suppressed, but now on the run as the Avatar’s earthbending master she is uninhibited to become the fierce warrior she believes she is inside.”

“Water. Earth. Fire. Air. The four nations once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping peace between them. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and wiped out the Air Nomads, the first step taken by the firebenders towards conquering the world,” reads the official description. “With the current incarnation of the Avatar yet to emerge, the world has lost hope. But like a light in the darkness, hope springs forth when Aang, a young Air Nomad — and the last of his kind — reawakens to take his rightful place as the next Avatar. Alongside his newfound friends Sokka and Katara, siblings and members of the Southern Water Tribe, Aang embarks on a fantastical, action-packed quest to save the world and fight back against the fearsome onslaught of Fire Lord Ozai. But with a driven Crown Prince Zuko determined to capture them, it won’t be an easy task. They’ll need the help of the many allies and colorful characters they meet along the way.”

Let’s go! I loved the first season of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender and cannot wait to see more! With so many actors joining the production, we’re one step closer to enjoying another intense adventure for Season 2.

The post Netflix adds eight new stars to its Avatar: The Last Airbender series as fan-favorite members of the Earth Kingdom appeared first on JoBlo.

Have you been in a relationship for a while and also really itching to play Spider-Man 2? Ready to finally tie the knot with someone you love, but also worried about being able to play most console games at 60fps? Jewelry store Helzberg has you covered with a free PlayStation 5 on every $1,800 transaction.

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Have you been in a relationship for a while and also really itching to play Spider-Man 2? Ready to finally tie the knot with someone you love, but also worried about being able to play most console games at 60fps? Jewelry store Helzberg has you covered with a free PlayStation 5 on every $1,800 transaction.

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The holidays wouldn’t be the same without a feel-good comedy to help warm your chestnuts by the fire. Thankfully, Hulu is here with a heartfelt comedy about family, frustrations in parenting, and feeling like the best gift includes stepping up to the plate for loved ones in need. Directed by David Gordon Green (Halloween Kills, The Exorcist: Believer), Nutcrackers stars Ben Stiller (Zoolander, Tropic Thunder, Night at the Museum) and Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks, Scooby-Doo, The Curse of La Llorona). Today, Hulu shared a Nutcrackers trailer to make your heart grow two sizes bigger.

Nutcrackers follows strait-laced and work-obsessed Mike (Stiller) as he is suddenly thrust into being a caregiver for his rambunctious, orphaned nephews. The foursome is more than Mike can handle while finding them a new home, and he’s quickly learning that if you can’t beat them, join them. As the group gets closer, Mike discovers a part of himself he’s never known, brought on by the daily chaos and shared sensation of grief.

Edi Patterson, Tim Heidecker, and Toby Huss star, with Homer Janson, Ulysses Janson, Arlo Janson, and Atlas Janson playing the brotherly unit.

The feature-length project is a hard left turn at Albuquerque for Green, who’s spent most of his recent filmmaking career bringing Halloween’s Michael Myers and William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist back to the horror fold. Is Green leaving horror for good, or is Nutcrackers a breath of fresh air before he returns to the bloody and brutal genre?

Stiller’s involvement with Nutcrackers ends a six-year chill time for the comedic actor. You need to imagine that something special about the script called out to him, compelling him to step back into the spotlight. Rivulet Films’ Rob Paris and Mike Witherill, Red Hour Films’ Ben Stiller and John Lesher, and Rough House Pictures’ Nate Meyer are producing.

Everybody could use a story about kindness and compassion this holiday season, and a feel-good comedy could be precisely what the doctor ordered. Warming up to four kids is no easy feat, and I’m curious to see how they win Mike over. Will the boys find a new home or live with their Uncle Mike until they’re old enough to move out? What do you think about David Gordon Green’s Nutcrackers trailer? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

The post Ben Stiller gets a harsh lesson in parenting ahead of the holiday rush in Hulu’s heartwarming and hilarious Nutcrackers trailer appeared first on JoBlo.

Stellar Blade arrived exclusively on PlayStation 5 near the beginning of this year, but a PC port is now becoming less theoretical. Shift Up, the South Korea studio behind the sci-fi action game, recently told investors that it’s aiming to bring the game to PC sometime in 2025.

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Stellar Blade arrived exclusively on PlayStation 5 near the beginning of this year, but a PC port is now becoming less theoretical. Shift Up, the South Korea studio behind the sci-fi action game, recently told investors that it’s aiming to bring the game to PC sometime in 2025.

Read more…

Marvel is still trying to make sure hope for the long-awaited Blade movie is as undead as the vampires its brutal hero battles. Weeks after the Blade reboot was pushed back from its November 7, 2025 release date, Kevin Feige wants Marvel fans to know Blade (the character) will be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That…

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