On this week’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan, it was time to say goodbye to Scrappy.
The summer thriller season is coming to an end later this month when Idris Elba and Universal Pictures bring one last thriller to the big screen.
He plays one of the leading roles in the new survival thriller, Beast, directed by Baltasar Kormákur, in which he plays the role of Dr. Nate Daniels, a father who takes his two daughters to South Africa for an adventure. Eventually, the newly widowed Daniels and his daughters find themselves being hunted by a rogue lion during a safari, which leads to the newly widowed Daniels having to fight for the lives of himself and his daughters. In spite of the fact that he had intended for this trip to heal his strained relationship with his daughters, it has turned into one where he is forced to test his bond with them in a competition for survival. Iyana Halley (The Hate U Give, This is Us series) plays Daniels’ 18-year-old daughter, Meredith, and Leah Sava Jeffries (Rel series, Empire series) plays his 13-year-old, Norah.
We recently caught up with Idris Elba to talk about Beast. He was thrilled to say that he had a great time being part of the cast and to be in Africa to see the wildlife. We also talked about the stuntwork, and if he would like to see DC’s Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Black Adam, and Superman all in one film!
On NETFLIX, Kausar Mohammed also appears as one of the top stars in the hit animated series Jurassic World: CAMP CRETACEOUS, as well as as a top star on THE FLASH. The show features the character of Dr. Meena Dhawan, or Fast Track, who has a moral compass. Her character is referred to as a titan in the scientific community. The character eventually realizes that she possesses the ability to travel at a super fast pace, a power that is granted to the entire population.
The actress is currently starring in the hit TV series The Flash, and she can be seen on the show throughout the year.
In addition, Kausar’s character Yaz will be appearing in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, which airs on July 21st. It focuses on a group of teenagers who are stranded on the island of Isla Dublar after a dinosaur escapes from its habitat and the group becomes stranded. To name a few of the cast members, it also features Sean Giambrone, Jenna Ortega, Ryan Potter, and many others.
During the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Kausar wrote, directed, and starred in the holiday romantic comedy The Syed Family XMAS Even Game Night. As part of the family’s annual game night, which happens to fall on Christmas Eve, Noor, a Queer Pakistani Muslim woman, brings home her Puerto Rican girlfriend for the first time. Throughout the short film, themes of sisterhood, belonging, and breaking tradition are explored. As Muslim women and non-binary people are underrepresented in popular films, this short is a landmark for them.
In this exclusive interview, we catch up with Kausar about her role on The Flash, voice acting, and much more!
New York City was lit up in style at the rooftop party hosted by STARZ in conjunction with Power Book III: Raising Kanan.
The party had a red carpet arrival for the stars that were in attendance such as Patina Miller, MeKai Curtis, Joey Bada$$, Antonio Ortiz, Malcom Mays, Omar Epps, London Brown, and Shanley Caswell.
Also in attendance, were Wu-Tang: An American Saga stars Johnell Xavier Young and TJ Atoms, The Wire star Wendell Pierce, Hip Hop legend The Roxanne Shante, and much more that came out to celebrate the second season of Raising Kanan.
There was more to the event than just the stars. It also served as a mini-activation site in which you can have a photo opp at a location of late 80’s-early 90’s televisions with the Raising Kanan branding on the screens. There were also cocktails themed from the show, a billiards table where you can actually play against your friends or a cast member, and a good reception area. All to make the evening as engaging as possible. To top it all off, there was a DJ there that played and spin a large number of 90’s hip-hop music.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan returns for its second season on August 14 on STARZ.
The annual Entertainment Weekly Comic-Con closing-night bash that takes place at Float at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego is a tradition where everyone gathers together to celebrate the end of Comic-Con. Seeing as this was the first EW Comic-Con party since 2019, the stars – including Simu Liu and Aisha Tyler – were ready to have a good time! However, the stars of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power were also there.
In September 20, 2022, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be launched globally on Prime Video as an epic and ambitious retelling of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fabled Second Age of Middle-earth, based on Tolkien’s fabled novels.
It is the first time that the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history are being brought to the screen for the very first time in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set thousands of years before the events of this epic drama.
Hours after the cast took the stage at Hall H during Comic Con week to promote the series, we got a chance to catch up with Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, and Cynthia Robinson. It was their first Comic Con and they were thrilled to be there and to see the awesome cosplay. Check out our exclusive interview with the three stars!
The second season of Power Book III: Raising Kanan premieres on August 14 and it is going to a dark territory.
That is because Kanan is starting to learn more of the drug game that his mother Raquel Thomas introduced him too. Raquel now controls every aspect of the product distribution due to Unique getting framed for murdering Officer Howard on the previous season. I must say, Patina Miller brings a fearsome presence whenever she is on the screen portraying Raquel.
Everything from her acting, delivery of lines, and mannerisms, makes me suspend my disbelief to see how strong and intimidating of a character Raquel is as she is the boss in town.
There are also more stories that are going to be fleshed out during this season of Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Jukebox might be moving forward with her singing career, Lou and Marvin doing whatever they can to prove their loyalty to the family (even on the dinner table as they all talked about it), and Officer Howard being alive. Howard survived the gunshot wound that was inflicted by Kanan. But that came with a price as he does not remember anything from that night. Could Howard be doing this to protect Kanan since he is his father? We will have to see.
There is something about Unique that the viewers will be looking forward to by the end of the episode. I cannot spoil what transpired, but Unique might be looking for revenge soon. Joey Bada$$ joined Power Book III: Raising Kanan on the previous season and I had no clue that he had it in him to play as a villain. Unique is one of the best villains in the Power universe and I am curious to see where his story is going.
Overall, this is a strong opener for the second season of Power Book III: Raising Kanan. The dark and suspenseful period of the 1990’s in Queens, NY is all on display for this episode as Kanan is starting to evolve to the Kanan that we first seen on the original Power. Vacation time is over for the family as it is time to get back to the streets because Power Book III: Raising Kanan is back with a vengeance!
AMC announced two years ago that a new spinoff of The Walking Dead franchise would be in development. That spinoff later became Tales of The Walking Dead.
Tales of The Walking Dead will have six episodes for their first season. Each episode will tell a different story with different characters as it will be an anthology series. Outside of Alpha, who was on the main show, the other characters are completely new. I had the chance to watch episodes one, two, and four over the last few weeks. Here is my review of those episodes.
Episode one titled “Evie/Joe” is a story about Joe (Terry Crews), who used to be a college football player in Ohio State, leaving his house to meet with a woman named Sandra that he has been emailing back and forth since before the apocalypse hit. On the way, he meets Evie (Olivia Munn) and they both bonded and told each other who they were both looking for. What I like about this episode, is that Terry Crews was comedic when it mattered and serious without making any jokes or puns. There is a sad moment early on in the episode that involves his dog, but I will leave it there. Within a few days, Joe meets Sandra. You know what they say about talking with people over the internet? Do not trust them at the first meet. Both Joe and Evie found this out the hard way which lead to a deadly situation. Overall, a good episode and a good road trip!
Episode two titled “Blair/Gina” starts in the year 2010 where Blair, who runs an insurance company and Gina works for her. Blair is oblivious about the early start of the end of the world. Also to note, this episode takes place in Atlanta. You will find out right away that Blair is a horrible boss and more so, a horrible person. What I like the most about this episode, is that you see the line of cars on the highway that you saw on the first episode of the main show begin to form. That was the best detail about the episode.
What I did not like about this episode, is how it was structured. If you watch Netflix’s Russian Doll, then this is the episode for you. Unlike that Netflix show, the writing is messy on this episode of Tales along with the amateurish hour of horrendous dialogue that plagued the episode. To put it short, there is a continued time lapse every time Gina and Blair “died.” But the positive that came from that, is you see the two main characters come to the realization that the end of the world that they knew it, is here. I wish I could like this one, but I could not.
Episode four titled “Amy/Dr. Everett” takes place years after the apocalypse as Dr.Everett (Anthony Edwards) has been studying nature and walkers for the last decade. It makes me wonder why the CRM did not find Everett. But then again, he has been isolating himself the entire time. I love the narration that he did at the opening as you would think that you are watching a National Geographic show except that he is describing the walkers. Everett thought that Amy (Poppy Liu) was part of a group that was taking down walkers. The situation escalated when one particular walker that Everett marked is off his radar. At the end, one of the characters die and the other lives on.
Tales of The Walking Dead is acquired taste. My gripe is that I cannot get invested with any of the new characters when we know that we will not see them again. It is not a negative opinion, but I think that there needs to be more of a connection between either the main show, Fear, or World Beyond to justify these short story outside of Alpha and the Atlanta highway. The episodes that I saw are digestible and I think there could be room for improvement if Tales gets picked up for a second season. My gripes aside, I do recommend watching as I believe everyone in The Walking Dead family will have their own thoughts on which episode they liked and disliked.
Xavier Woods is an American professional wrestler and television personality. He is known under his ring name Xavier Woods, and is a former victor of the King of the Ring tournament. In addition to wrestling, Austin Creed has also made public appearances outside of the sport under the name of Austin Creed. In the past, he worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as Consequences Creed, and as a member of the Lethal Consequences tag team with Jay Lethal, he was a TNA World Tag Team Champion.
After signing a contract with WWE several years ago, Xavier Woods was assigned to one of the most advanced developmental territories in the world, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). In 2013, Woods was called up to the main roster by the WWE and is now part of their NXT roster, which was rebranded from FCW in 2013. The New Day, comprised of Woods and Big E, was formed in 2014 alongside Kofi Kingston and Big E, and has since then achieved many accomplishments as a WWE tag team champion.
A record was broken by New Day in February 2021 when the second reign of the Raw Tag Team Championship was broken. King Woods became Xavier Woods’ ring name in October 2021 after becoming the 22nd winner of King of the Ring.
He has hosted a gaming YouTube channel, UpUpDownDown, as Austin Creed, since 2015, where he invites fellow WWE performers, gamers, friends, and guests to play games. Additionally, he hosts the G4 television network, which covers video games, following its revival in 2020.
At San Diego Comic Con, The Knockturnal had the opportunity to speak with Xavier Woods about WWE, gaming, and the speedrunning community!
During the final TWD panel, Chris Hardwick moderated each of the panelists who participated in the event for the last time. Scott M. Gimple, Angela Kang, Greg Nicotero, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, Seth Gilliam, Lauren Ridloff, Cailey Fleming, and Michael James Shaw participated in the discussion.
In general, there was an overall feeling of gratitude amongst the members of the cast, especially those who were fans. Throughout its history, the show has been made possible by the fans. There is no doubt in Reedus’ mind that the show belongs not only to the cast and crew, but also to the fans of the show. During the SDCC panel, many reminiscences were shared about previous SDCC panels. This includes the time when Andrew Lincoln tried to play a prank on Reedus by blowing glitter into his face in order to make him laugh. As a result, Lincoln’s beard ended up covered in glitter as the prank backfired.
It has been stated by Kang in the upcoming finale that our people, the Team Family, are engaged in a heavy conflict with the Commonwealth during the third part of the finale. This series of eight episodes is about bringing the gang back together with the goal of finishing this series with their goal in mind. Be prepared for some surprises along the way.
Director Nicotero certainly felt the weight of the fans’ expectations during the finale. He knew that it was his responsibility to do everything in his power to make the show as good as it could be for the fans.
This was Shaw’s first time participating in a panel in person. The first day he had on set was really cold, according to him. On the other hand, on his last day, hey wrapped up around six in the morning and just watched the sun come up. Moreover, he said that the walkers were some of the most delicious people to work with on the set.
The original panel schedule included Christian Serratos and Khary Peyton, but they were unable to attend. Payton announced on his social media that he has COVID so he could not make it.
A few questions were asked by Hall H fans. There were a lot of people who cried during the wrap party, according to Gimple. An episode-by-episode video with one second of each episode was put together by the post production team and shown at the wrap party. Kang explains that they are hoping to show that to the fandom at some point, but they don’t want to spoil any surprises by showing it now.
Rick’s movies were the subject of Hardwick’s question. He couldn’t get an answer from Gimple, of course. However, two people backstage were able to help. In that moment, Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira emerged from the crowd. Richonne’s story had to be wrapped up because they felt they owed it to the fans to do so. It was decided by Lincoln and Gurira, after meeting with Gimple, that a six episode series would be the most effective way to tell this story. A date was set for Lincoln and Gurira to return to SDCC in 2023, and they are looking forward to it.
The first season of Tales of the Walking Dead is more like an anthology series than a regular TV show, with each episode telling a standalone story set within the Walking Dead universe, as opposed to the previous TWD shows. Tales of the Walking Dead features a number of new characters, including several played by Parker Posey, Jillian Bell, and Anthony Edwards, but some familiar faces are also returning, including Samantha Morton as Alpha, who is set to play a major role in the series.
In addition to Morton, Terry Crews and Danny Ramirez were all on hand during Friday’s SDCC panel to discuss the series. Scott M. Gimple, the showrunner of Tales of the Walking Dead Charnning Powell, and the executive producer of Tales of the Walking Dead Michael Satrazemis were all on stage with the actors.
Over to the press conferences that took place after the panel, not too much new information was shared other than Greg Nicotero talking about the finale.
“It’s definitely a challenge. Other shows if you’re talking about…you know, Game of Thrones had five seasons. Breaking Bad had six seasons. 11 seasons! Our story continued to evolve. The story really did change. The exciting thing for me after season one is, okay, finally everybody else catches up to me and realizes how cool zombies are. I grew up in the George Romero world where Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, that was sort of like my gossip. Frank Darabont used to say to me that the show was always about survival. He had always wanted to do a zombie apocalypse story. We talked about something years before The Walking Dead comic book even came out, so it was sort of like a match made in heaven when Frank put the ensemble cast together with Sarah, Jon, Steven, Melissa, and Norman. You know, the show certainly has evolved since then,” said Nicotero.
It has been almost three years since All Elite Wrestling made an appearance at San Diego Comic Con. But the upstart promotion is back. Before the stars of AEW meet their fans at the Jazwares booth along with the panel, they took their time to speak with the media.
I had the chance to speak with AEW stars CM Punk, Britt Baker, Orange Cassidy, and Jade Cargill. This was Punk’s first public appearance since he was injured over a month and a half ago. The topics of discussion were about Punk and Cargill’s workout regimen, Britt Baker balancing her career as a dentist while also being a professional wrestler, the agents that help them on their matches, and Punk providing an update on the second season of STARZ’s Heels.
Also to note, I attended the All Elite Wrestling panel that took place at San Diego Comic Con. The stars listed above including Chris Jericho, and Bryan Danielson took the center stage to talk about the promotion. The biggest piece of news to come out the panel, is that Bryan Danielson is cleared to wrestle. This comes after about a month from his injury. CM Punk also stated that he did not know when he will be able to return to the ring again. Chris Jericho also teased that AEW Dynamite could soon make their AEW debut sometime this year.
