Are we really getting TEN movie musicals in 2021?

by Nathaniel R

In the Heights

In the recent Yes No Maybe So post I mentioned that we were getting three musicals in the space of seven months. But that was a gross understatement as I hadn't yet finished my Oscar chart research for 2021. There are actually TEN musicals... no make that eleven (!) that are supposed to arrive before Christmas. Release dates are subject to change, of course. The current schedule represents Hollywood doubling-down, no quintupling down, on audiences salivating en masse for musicals in the way they currently only do for animated fare and superhero films. (That'd be a wonderful world of course, if audiences were so inclined.)

Lin-Manuel Miranda, of Hamilton fame, is spectacularly talented but looking at this schedule we're a little worried for him. We don't want Miranda to become the next Ryan Murphy -- i.e. stretched thin, predictable, veering into being a Brand first and artist second, and offering diminishing returns. Given that Miranda is involved in more than a third of these musicals, that's a major oversaturation risk. Tell us which of these ten you're most excited about in the comments...

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Yes, No, Maybe So: Two new fantasies "His Dark Materials" and "The Witcher"

by new contributor Maggy Torres-Rodriguez

A few days ago, the earth went a little quieter as nerds all around the world paused their latest video game obsession to turn their attention over to the new Netflix trailer for The Witcher. The Polish novel series-turned-video-game-turned-Netflix show has raised all kinds of inquisitive eyebrows, especially at the notion of Henry Cavill taking on the role of Geralt de Rivia.  But HELLO, we welcome it. 

The Witcher brings forth all kinds of magic and lore and monsters, from wraiths to vampires to elves, in this deeply sophisticated world where beasts and humans are trying (or not trying) to coexist. And as per ugee, the most beastly monsters of all tend to be human...

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Mary Poppins vs. Mary Poppins Returns: Supporting Characters

by Lynn Lee

Among the sharper observations I’ve seen regarding Mary Poppins Returns is that it is to Mary Poppins what The Force Awakens was to Star Wars: A New Hope.  In each case, the sequel feeds shamelessly off fans’ nostalgia by recreating every beat of the original film – the plot arc, the character dynamics, even the distinctive look of the original, tweaked to reflect the changing mores of the past several decades.  In short, it’s the same movie, just repackaged.

Setting aside whether it needed to be made at all, does Mary Poppins 2.0 improve at all on the original formula?  In The Force Awakens, the one real added value was the new characters.  In many ways they felt like rebooted archetypes from A New Hope, yet for the most part they also felt fresh and intriguing.  Is the same true for Mary Poppins Returns?  Let's do a side-by-side comparison...

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Rita Moreno to return to movie musicals?

by Nathaniel R

Rita Moreno in her Emmy worthy performance in "One Day at a Time"

Rita Moreno, the beloved octogenarian, EGOT and Triple Crown of Acting winner, and Latina pioneer, is back in a big way. She's doing some of her best work ever on One Day at a Time (the lack of an Emmy nod is just shameful) but we have very good news about a future movie role. She's been cast in the movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights (2020). This will be her first movie musical role in over 50 years! 

For those who don't know Moreno's career before West Side Story (1961), it wasn't her first musical...

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Mary Poppins Returns Teaser

by Murtada

Self promotion and corporate synergy hit a high on the Oscars telecast Sunday. Disney which owns ABC and is releasing Mary Poppins Returns next Christmas, made sure that the stars of the film were presenters on the show. Not only that but host Jimmy Kimmel mentioned both Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel Miranda in his jokes, and both got invited to that misbegotten visit to nearby screening of another Disney film, A Wrinkle in Time. Finally the film’s first teaser was released during one of the commercial breaks...

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