TFF 2019 Review: You Don’t Nomi

Elizabeth Berkley as Nomi in Showgirls

For camp movie fans, the existence of a documentary about the Showgirls cult is both remarkable and unsurprising.  It’s unlikely subject matter in some ways, but if you saw Paul Verhoeven’s notorious 1995 flop for the first time with a date who did all the dance moves while watching—and then, later, with an adoring crowd led by the inimitable Hedda Lettuce—it’s no wonder someone got a whole ninety minutes out of this.  It’s a testament to writer/director Jeffrey McHale and his exceedingly witty, literate commentators that You Don’t Nomi exceeds expectations—it’s not just diverting but intensely imaginative and thoughtful, and it becomes a film not just about Showgirls but about movies and our love for them, too.

Gina Gershon (Cristal) and Berkley compare nails

Showgirls arrived twenty four years ago amidst a swirl of controversy: it was the first ever mainstream NC-17 movie, and it starred Saved by the Bell good girl Elizabeth Berkley in a potentially star making role as stripper Nomi Malone.  Nomi is running from a mysterious past—when friend Molly asks her where she’s from, she memorably blurts “DIFFERENT PLACES!!!!”—and is seeking stardom in the tawdry world of Las Vegas.  Her big break comes via Cristal Connors (a delightful, scenery chewing Gina Gershon), the star of the revue Goddess, and her entertainment director boyfriend Zack (heartthrob Kyle MacLachlan), who’s willing to help Nomi replace Cristal in the lead in exchange for some spastic swimming pool action.  Before you can say All About Eve, Nomi’s headlining at the Stardust, but at what price?


McHale forgoes “talking head” interviews in favor of a continuous montage approach. He deftly weaves together footage from Showgirls as well as Verhoeven’s other films, like Robocop and Basic Instinct, and other notable film favorites like Mommie Dearest.  All the while, we hear ruminations from an engaging cast of characters: Adam Nayman, film writer and author of It Doesn’t Suck: Showgirls; April Kidwell, a theater performer who played Nomi in the Off-Broadway Showgirls musical (pictured above) and who’s touring this summer with a new prequel show, I, Nomi; and Jeffery Conway, a poet who wrote a book of sestinas (!) based on the film.  They and others offer their perspectives on Showgirls: for some, it’s an endlessly watchable piece of trash; for others, it’s a surprisingly underrated satire that brilliantly skewers cultural attitudes towards sex, entertainment, and other issues.  Kidwell used her roles as Berkley’s caffeine pill addicted Jessie Spano (in Saved by the Bell: The Musical) and Nomi to overcome her PTSD following a rape; while some deride the scene in which Nomi avenges Molly’s rape, for Kidwell, it was an especially empowering and resonant moment.  Another commentator points out that Nomi, in seeking success in the big city, freely using her sexuality, and building her own chosen family, is reflective of many queer people’s experience (to say nothing of the unsubtle lesbian “subtext” that pervades her interplay with Cristal). 

Star Berkley and director Paul Verhoeven

The movie also examines why Berkeley became the scapegoat, in many ways, for the movie’s box office and critical failure.  While You Don’t Nomi’s participants revel in her outlandish performance, they also take pains to demonstrate that Verhoeven directed her specifically to behave in an outsize way.  They also hint at the sexism that played a part in her torpedoed career: a clip shows Gene Siskel bluntly criticizing her appearance, and Verhoeven’s misogyny is detailed at length.  When Berkley is shown introducing a packed Hollywood screening of the movie in 2015—and receiving a standing ovation—her emotion is palpable.


You Don’t Nomi is a must see for fans of Showgirls, but more broadly, this is a movie about the profound ways film can impact and inspire the lives of audiences, particularly queer moviegoers. 


You Don’t Nomi screens Tuesday at 8:30 as part of the Tribeca Film Festival.  Visit tribecafilm.com for more.

The Geeks OUT Podcast: Dream a Little Dreamer

Geeks OUT Podcast: Dream a Little Dreamer

In this week’s episode of the Geeks OUT Podcast, Kevin (@Gilligan_McJew) is joined by Rachel Greeman (@zaricharlie) as they discuss Avengers Endgame breaking box office records while introducing the first out gay character in the MCU, check out the new trailer for Men in Black International, and celebrate Supergirl’s Dreamer

In this week’s super-sized episode of the Geeks OUT Podcast, Kevin is joined by Rachel Greeman, as they discuss Avengers Endgame breaking box office records while introducing the first out gay character in the MCU, check out the new trailer for Men in Black International, and celebrate Supergirl’s Dreamer (@NicoleAMaines) as our Strong Female Character of the Week.

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BIG OPENING

KEVIN: Avengers Endgame breaks box office records
RACHEL: Star Wars comic stirs controversy

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DOWN AND NERDY

KEVIN: Avengers Endgame,Titans, Buffy the Vampire reboot
RACHEL: Gotham, Legends of Tomorrow, Justice League Dark, Wonder Woman

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STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER

Supergirl features Dreamer’s official coming out to the public

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THIS WEEK IN QUEER

Avengers Endgame director plays MCU’s first gay character

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CLIP OF THE WEEK

New trailer for Men in Black International

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THE WEEK IN GEEK

MOVIES

New look at Detective Pikachu
• New trailer for Gemini Man
• A remake of Salem’s Lot is happening
New details for James Bond 25
Final trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters

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TV

• Netflix cancels Santa Clarita Diet
• New trailer for season 4 of Lucifer
• New trailer for Catch-22
• New trailer for Swamp Thing
• The CW renews Roswell, New Mexico and most of their shows
• New teaser for Pennyworth
• Disney Channel cancels groundbreaking Andi Mack
• Nickelodeon developing animated Star Trek series

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COMIC BOOKS

DC Universe grows to over 21k digital comics

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SHILF

• KEVIN: Charlie
• RACHEL: Zari

Review – Avengers: Endgame will ruin you for any future comic book films

[***This review is ENTIRELY spoiler-free.***]

Reaching the climax of anything is always a bittersweet moment. The slow, steady build-up (in this case 11 years worth) constantly stroking the fire of your interest, keeping you on the edge of satisfaction. You’re perfectly happy with what is going on at the moment, all the while knowing that something bigger and more exciting is going to come soon. Once it finally comes, you’re able to release the immense (11 years worth of) tension that has been building in one big explosion. That’s exactly what Avengers: Endgame does to the committed fans who have stuck through all the phases Marvel’s cinematic universe has thrown to us, many with mixed results. After the euphoric ecstasy that the film brings, we are left with the sad thought: Will any Marvel film feel this good again?

It’s been a long journey from the first Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame, but it will easily prove worth every minute. First off, you have to applaud Marvel’s commitment to establishing a multifaceted universe before just slamming all the characters together for one major meet-up (*cough, cough* Justice League *cough, cough). Watching Endgame, I got the same chills that the first Avengers film gave me, but that Age of Ultron didn’t. Whether these Avengers films are an obvious cash-grab becomes a moot point when their quality is this high. Out of any of the previous Marvel films, Endgame is a love letter to the fans. Every cameo, every silly plot development, every note of sadness, and even every callback (many of which you’ve probably forgotten about) to previous films shows the attention to detail, not just for the MCU but also for the fans that have kept it running.

The Russo Brothers have shown us the full potential of the comic genre by subverting it ever since they first joined the MCU with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Up until that point, the Marvel films had a fairly predictable tone and narrative. The Winter Soldier proved that there are no limitations to a comic book film and that even they can be elevated. Since then, we’ve gotten gems like James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok. All three game changers, but each for a different reason. If Endgame suffers from any flaws, it is because of the variety of different tones from each of the films. The Russo Brothers try their best to appease the tonal origins of each superior hero, but the lighthearted and humorous nature of one ends up undermining the emotional development of the other.

There will be moments in the film where an overwhelming feeling of sadness will take over. You’ll probably end up watching the climax of the film through misty eyes and a runny nose, so the things that are meant to be the emotional high and low points aren’t that affected by the uneven tone. What is affected are all of the small, somber scenes leading up to those big emotional gut punches, that get ruined because the scenes aren’t given time to breathe before someone throws in a funny one-liner. Luckily, the tone doesn’t affect the pacing in the slightest. At 3 hours, this film goes by pretty briskly. Unless you made the mistake of not peeing beforehand or buying a soda and popcorn, you won’t notice the runtime at all. There is a lot packed into this film and they make every minute count.

Just like Infinity War, Endgame is made fun because all the character interactions we haven’t seen on-screen before. There is one scene in particular, when all the female heroes of the MCU are the focus of a battle, that rivals the power of the No Man’s Land scene in Wonder Woman. During the climax of the film, you’ll run the full gamut of human emotions, going from one feeling to the next. Even though there are a few too many forced pop culture references in the film, seeing the evolution of all our favorite characters makes it more than worth it. Some of them we are reintroduced to, some we say goodbye to, and others we say see you later as the film teases what new adventures are in store for them in the future. Once you experience Avengers: Endgame, you’ll quickly realize that there will never be anything like it again (or at least not for another 11 years), and honestly, maybe there shouldn’t be.

Beetlejuice’s Big Bi Broadway Energy

An interview with Tim Burton I watched at my university’s library (which had an enviable collection from different directors) hit me deep and hard, with this sentiment:

It doesn’t matter how successful you become – if you have ever been an outcast, the feeling of being an outcast never goes away. 


This feeling was communicated to me so beautifully, even through the limitations of white, cisnormative, heterosexual stories that Burton sticks to. Why do so many marginalized groups resonate so fiercely and deeply with Tim Burton’s narratives, when he puts little to no effort to actually represent marginalized groups in his casting choices? 


It was with this love and preparation in my heart that I saw Beetlejuice the Musical, and was completely delighted.


Stylistically, Beetlejuice The Musical takes Burton’s trademark blend of Edward Gorey and Walt Disney influences, and skews it more toward an absurdist John Waters direction. The style, both visual and performative, matters more than any perceived philosophy of story, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  


Others will write exhaustively, I’m sure, about the adaptation from film to stage, but I’d like to touch on what spoke to me personally.


I grew up with the Beetlejuice cartoon series, which I would run home after school to catch the last 15 minutes of. I hardly remember the referential, pun-laden humor or rushed animation – the important thing about it was the friendship between Lydia and BJ. Unlike any other children’s media at the time, the relationship was not familial or romantic, it was a beautiful and rebellious friendship between a young girl and a male ghost. It was strangely wholesome and comforting to see a kid character who could summon a monster on command.


When I was old enough to watch the film, I was disappointed that Lydia and Beetlejuice weren’t friends, and the story didn’t involve their anti-authoritarian alliance, but instead the uncomfortable peril of forced marriage. 


Not only does Broadway the Musical resurrect the mischievous bonding of Lydia and BJ (Sophia Anne Caruso and Alex Brightman), it also undercuts the marriage plot by featuring an 11th hour number about the absurd menace of creepy old guys feeling entitled to love and affection. It’s one of the many aspects that the source material could have never been self-aware enough to feature. The script is more satirical of white nonsense than anything Burton could ever do, but the white audience is very much in on the joke, and white characters always deliver it. It lacks some of the edge it might have had with any characters of color in the main cast.


Let’s talk about Beetlejuice’s Big Bi Energy.


Beetlejuice the Musical uses the language of cartoon shorthand. For example, Lydia’s presumably fashionable parents want to force her into a frilly pink dress to look less strange and unusual in front of guests. It’s a visual that’s about 60 years out of date but still works as shorthand for the ongoing problem of children being pressured to conform to an acceptable version of femininity. 


Another cartoon shorthand is something queer viewers are intimately familiar with – the queer coded villain. In this particular show, the villain title is debatable, but the title of Monster is not. Part of Beetlejuice’s villainy is his inability to respect personal boundaries. Few of Disney’s villains are without this trait. He is constantly groping, catcalling, and manipulating both Barbara and Adam (Kerry Butler and Rob McClure), who act and sing as though they came out of a normal Broadway musical about the complex and sympathetic lives of privileged white heterosexuals and have found themselves on this lurid green and purple stage by accident.


The thing that brings this queer coded male-kissing-for-laughs shorthand into a more genuine place is Beetlejuice’s sincerity in these affections. Adam eventually uses Beetlejuice’s affection for him to manipulate him (and is joined separately by ghost wife Barbara) and it works. Because Beetlejuice isn’t just queer-coded – he is a queer cartoon. He is fiendishly hungry to be alive again, to be loved, and to be admired, and that hunger applies to both men and women.


Is an uncontrollable personification of the id good queer representation? No – but I do not ascribe to the rule that queers need to be paragons of virtue in order to be valid. Such a character would be out of place in this musical. This show is not about genuine human conditions. (And when genuine themes of grief do occur in the show, it’s honestly a little jarring.) The show is about irreverent attitudes about death and the afterlife. It’s about a giant sand worm you can ride like a mechanical bull, and living cartoons reciting absurdist gags, and watching your favorite Harry Belafonte song rake through human puppets like they’re being struck by lightning. The fact that queerness has an unapologetic home in the main character is powerful. Cheap gags aren’t at our expense as outsiders, they include us. And I love that. 


Queer coded villains are out of date because we don’t need code anymore – what we need is more unapologetic queer monsters, breaking the 4th wall and howling from the beyond. 


I came away with a genuine affection for every character in this bonkers show, delivered by some really wonderful performances and enhanced by the sexiest puppets and lighting design I’ve seen in a very long time. It touched on all the things I loved about both the Beetlejuice animated series and the film, paying homage to both, but evolving into its own sort of monster. 


Speaking of queer monsters…. that sand worm though. I’d ride that thing all the way to the netherworld. 


Beetlejuice The Musical opened on Broadway today – tickets here. 

Image Credit: Beetlejuice The Musical Facebook page, featuring Alex Brightman and Rob McClure

Tribeca Film Festival Preview

The Tribeca Film Festival returns this week for its eighteenth edition.  Always inclusive, this year’s fest (running now through May 5) boasts films largely directed by women (40%), people of color (29%), and/or LGBTQIA folks (13%).  Here are some titles to look out for.

LGBT

Nick Borenstein in “Sweater”

            Queer-themed works this year include the documentary Seahorse, about a trans man who carries a baby to term; Gay Chorus Deep South, recounting the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus’ post-Trump tour; N.O.W. Digital Showcase, featuring the hilarious quasi-musical “Sweater,” by local filmmaker Nick Borenstein, and the intriguing sexual awakening tale Kiss of the Rabbit God; and the first Tribeca Pride Day (May 4), boasting talks with legendary ACT UP founder and playwright Larry Kramer, Neil Patrick Harris, trailblazing non-binary actor Asia Kate Dillon (Billions, John Wick 3: Parabellum), Pose creator Steve Canals and costar Angelica Ross, and the premiere of the Wigstock documentary Wig.

MIDNIGHT & MORE

            The always reliable Midnights category includes Come to Daddy, a twisted family horror show starring Elijah Wood; the buzzy, balls-to-the-wall vampire flick Bliss; and You Don’t Nomi, a documentary about the phenomenon that is ShowgirlsCharlie Says reunites American Psycho writer Guinevere Turner (Go Fish) and director Mary Harron in a look at the troubled disciples of Charles Manson (Matt Smith).  There will also be a free, family friendly Star Wars: A New Hope screening on the morning of May the Fourth.

You Don’t Nomi

TELEVISION

            Oscar winner Rami Malek and Christian Slater appear live to give a Farewell to Mr. Robot; Pilot Season includes Lady Liberty, starring Shea Miller as a young queer comedian; Seth Rogen premieres his new comics adaptation The Boys; and Yeardley “Lisa” Smith leads a Simpsons thirtieth anniversary panel with Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Harry Shearer, and more. 

            TALKS

            Geeks OUT readers will be interested in a number of the Talks during Tribeca: Queen Latifah and director Dee Rees will discuss “gender and racial equality behind the camera”; Guillermo del Toro appears in conversation with Alec Baldwin; Questlove and filmmaker Boots Riley compare notes; and Michael J. Fox chats with pal Denis Leary.

            To learn more about Tribeca Film Festival, visit tribecafilm.com.  Watch this space for more coverage.

The Geeks OUT Podcast: R.L. Stine’s Queer Street

The Geeks OUT Podcast

Opinions, reviews, incisive discussions of queer geek ideas in pop culture, and the particularly cutting brand of shade that you can only get from a couple of queer geeks all in highly digestible weekly doses.

In this week’s super-sized episode of the Geeks OUT Podcast, Kevin is joined by J.W. Crump, as they discuss R.L. Stine’s Fear Street being adapted into a trilogy, bemoan Syfy’s The Magicians decision to “Bury Your Gays”, and celebrate Tuca & Bertie as our Strong Female Characters of the Week.

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BIG OPENING

KEVIN: DC Universe cuts the episode order and releases a teaser of Swamp Thing
J.W.: New trailer for the Child’s Play remake

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DOWN AND NERDY

KEVIN: Star Trek: Discovery, Happy!, Young Justice: Outsiders
J.W.: The Act, Matt D’Avella on YouTube

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STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER

New trailer for Tuca & Bertie

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THIS WEEK IN QUEER

The Magicians ends season 4 “burying their gays”

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CLIP OF THE WEEK

New trailer for season 10 of Archer

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THE WEEK IN GEEK

MOVIES

Final trailer released for Dark Phoenix
• The Eternals seeking gay asian lead
• Captain Marvel surpasses all Batman movies
Mash-up of True Detective & Detective Pikachu
R.L. Stine’s Fear Street adapted into movie trilogy

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TV

• The Gifted has been canceled
• New trailer for season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• New teaser trailer for The Boys
Halo casts their Master Chief
Y: The Last Man loses showrunners

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VIDEO GAMES

• First look at Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Mortal Kombat 11 leak of DLC characters (Joker, Spawn, Ash)

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SHILF

• KEVIN: Raiden
• J.W.: Sonya Blade

Review: Hellboy never stood a chance in hell

When I finally went to college, I suddenly realized that I could pretty much do whatever I want since my parents weren’t around to tell me otherwise. This mostly translated into eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and as much as I wanted. Two semesters and four pants sizes later, I learned a valuable lesson: Just because I could doesn’t always mean that I should. Much like the end of my freshman year, the team behind Hellboy learned this lesson much too late.

Before I started writing this review, I tried to convince myself not to spend the whole time talking about how far superior Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy run was, but the more I think about it, the less I can keep that promise. The two previous Hellboy films were both PG-13, but even then they didn’t shy away from violence. You really can’t have Hellboy, AKA World Destroyer AKA Beast of the Apocalypse AKA the Right Hand of Doom, without there being some sort of fighting or destruction involved. Del Toro has never shied away from that, but in his films, he focuses on crafting a world full of whimsy and mayhem, and then has the brutality become a part of it. Where this new Hellboy goes wrong is that instead of having the violence and carnage being the result of the plot or story, the film treats it like it’s a character all its own.

Director Neil Marshall, who has brought us forgettable, over-stylized films like Doomsday and Centurion, give the Hellboy universe the same treatment. With it’s new, hard R rating, Marshall goes above and beyond to push the limits, but not in any constructive way. He mainly focuses on copious amounts of blood and more gore than you get from even the messiest slasher film. Where del Toro put an emphasis on the magical nature of the unseen world, Marshall tries to distinguish his film by focusing on the hellish aspect creating scenes of blood and dismemberment that would make even Spawn blush. This darker take would be a problem at all were it not for the seeming pointlessness of it all. For a few scenes, this corporal brutality works perfectly, but for most of them, it is literally overkill.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be such an eyesore if visuals didn’t look like something out of an early 2000’s film. The first Hellboy came out in 2004, and even it had visual effects that still hold up today. Everything from the CGI characters to the horrible animated blood and even the obvious green screen landscapes makes you appreciate the visual opulence of every single Fantastic Four film. Yes, even the unreleased 1994 Fantastic Four film was more appealing than this film. If it weren’t for the previous Hellboy films, we wouldn’t have a standard set for every subsequent film. Guillermo del Toro’s use of practical effects, magnificent creature design and use of make-up and prosthetics over CGI all make for an engaging cinematic experience whose attention to detail shows you just how much the filmmakers care about their film.

Really the only good character design in this new Hellboy is Hellboy himself, and much of that is because actor David Harbour does a good job in bringing him to life. His one-liners and nonchalant attitude embody the character well-enough to almost make up for the nonsense story that ultimately feels like it is filler meant to take you from one battle to the next. The performances are the most enjoyable part of the entire film, but aside from Harbour, the only other two people who breathe life into this film are Ian McShane and Sasha Lane, who play Professor Broom and Alice Monaghan, respectively. Even our main villain (aside from the filmmakers), Milla Jovovich who plays the Blood Queen, feels like she is just rehashing a mix of the other villains she has played in the past.

As a reboot for the Hellboy franchise, this film crashes and burns. With enough wanton gore and guts to drown a small island, it ends up getting lost in a sea of red. Great characters could have been enough to save the ill-conceived, lazy story, but even those were mostly hard to come by. Somewhere, Guillermo del Toro just finished watching this film and thought to himself, “They didn’t let me finish my trilogy for THIS?! To hell with them.” To hell with them, indeed.

The Geeks OUT Podcast: Star Wars – The Rise of Streaming Services

Geeks OUT Podcast: Star Wars – The Rise of Streaming Services

In this week’s episode of the Geeks OUT Podcast, Kevin (@Gilligan_McJew) is joined by writer David Nora (@davidnorajr) as they discuss all the details that were released about Disney+, take a look at the new Charlie’s Angels revival, and celebrate Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as our Clip of

In this week’s episode of the Geeks OUT Podcast, Kevin is joined by David Nora, as they discuss all the details that were released about Disney+, take a look at the new Charlie’s Angels revival, and celebrate Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as our Clip of the Week.

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BIG OPENING

KEVIN: Disney+ launch date, price, and rumored series confirmed
DAVID: New teaser for AHS: 1984

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DOWN AND NERDY

KEVIN: Hellboy, Missing Link, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
DAVID: Pet Semetary, Camp Strange, Fluffy’s Revolution

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STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER

First look at new Charlie’s Angels revival

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THIS WEEK IN QUEER

Sequel to Love, Simon series coming to Disney+

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CLIP OF THE WEEK

New teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

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THE WEEK IN GEEK

MOVIES

The MCU won’t see the X-Men for a while
• New trailer for The Lion King “live-action” remake
New trailer for The Addams Family animated movie
• New trailer for Anna

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TV

• First look at The Mandalorian
Hawkeye series featuring both Clint & Kate coming to Disney+
• Monsters, Inc series, Monsters at Work coming to Disney+
• New trailer for new Netflix horror series Chambers
Pose returning June 9th
• First teaser for the Veronica Mars revival
• Season 2 of AMC’s horror anthology The Terror: Infamy to premiere in August
• AMC orders new Walking Dead spinoff centered on young female leads
Killing Eve renewed for season 3

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COMIC BOOKS

• DC releases trailer for Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale
• Brian K. Vaughan reveals Saga will go to issue 109