Multiverse News #1

The world of sci-fi and fantasy never sleeps, and every month brings new reasons for excitement and debate. The return of Silent Hill is heading to theaters, filming for a new Star Wars movie is underway, festivals are discovering the animated film Arco, and the third edition of Blood Bowl is hitting the gaming scene. And that's not all – video game adaptations, grand returns, and fresh ideas show that pop culture has another massive dose of adventure ahead.

First teaser for the Return to Silent Hill movie

The Japanese game series Silent Hill has a long career behind it. Even after nearly twenty games and two movies, the town hidden in the fog hasn't said its last word. Several sequels are in development, and a new movie will arrive in theaters next January. It will adapt the story of the legendary second installment. And finally, we can take a look at a few shots.

French director Christophe Gans returns to Silent Hill for the third time. His first film from 2006 was a bullseye – as one of the first, it broke the curse of video game adaptations and even met with a warm reception from gamers. The loose sequel from 2012 didn't repeat the success and fell into the gray group of B and C-movies. How the new film turns out is the question. The first shots don't inspire much confidence. Fans are particularly provoked by the lackluster protagonist (Jeremy Irvine), who doesn't resemble the James Sunderland character from the second game at all.

Silent Hill has a special place in my personal ranking. And the second part of the game series is among my strongest gaming experiences, which this year's brilliantly made remake confirmed.

Filming of the new Star Wars movie has begun

The never-ending story of Star Wars continues. After a poorly received third trilogy and several series of varying quality, filming for another big movie has started. It will be called Star Wars: Starfighter, my favorite Ryan Gosling will take the lead role, it will take place after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Lucasfilm has already shown the first photo! We'll have to wait a while, though – the premiere is tentatively set for the end of May 2027.

The Star Wars universe is huge and amazing. It's surprising how much of a problem it is to make a movie that lives up to that reputation. It's as if there's no screenwriter capable of writing something that makes sense. Fortunately, the situation with the series is significantly better. Whether Star Wars: Starfighter breaks the bad luck of recent years is in the stars. The premise of another sassy hero in the style of Han Solo doesn't seem that original. The Canadian Shawn Levy, who was put in charge of directing, is a known B-movie expert, but it would be really nice if he surprised us.

Arco: An animated film about time travel

It's not just the Japanese who know how to make sweeping sci-fi animated films; the French school has also left a huge mark on cinema. This year, the animated film Arco, which is already drawing attention at world festivals, will likely confirm this. Arco is the story of a boy from the future who accidentally falls through time, and it will reach theaters this winter.

A rainbow isn't just a common physical phenomenon associated with the refraction of light. It's also a sign that someone is flying around in a rainbow suit. That's exactly what the main character from the distant future is wearing, who accidentally travels back in time to, um… the slightly nearer future. He meets a girl there who joins him on a journey through time with the goal of returning him to his reality.

The French film relies on distinct manga stylization, and impressions from festivals suggest it will be a beautiful experience.

Third edition of the wargame Blood Bowl is coming

Blood Bowl may never have gained the popularity of its full-fledged brother Warhammer or other wargaming games, yet it has successfully held its own on the market for many years. Bloody American football in a crazy fantasy world simply has something to it. At the end of this year, its third edition will hit the market, promising new, clearer rules, new teams, and game boards.

Blood Bowl was first released in 1986 by Games Workshop and author Jervis Johnson as a satirical variation on Warhammer Fantasy, where instead of battles, teams of orcs, humans, elves, or chaos compete on a field full of violence and black humor.

The second edition from 1988 brought more detailed rules and a league system that turned the game into a cult classic, and even though interest waned in the 90s, the fan community kept the game alive through their own rule development. In 2009 and 2015, the popular video games Blood Bowl and Blood Bowl 2 from Cyanide Studio revived the series, bringing the brand to new players. Games Workshop returned to the tabletop version in 2016 and subsequently released the current Second Season Edition in 2020, which is the main version of the game today. Blood Bowl thus remains a living brand combining a tabletop miniature game and digital adaptations, and it has an active tournament and league scene all over the world.

Video games are taking over the film industry

The era of comic book movies is slowly coming to an end. Not long ago, it was a problem to go to the cinema for something that had nothing to do with comics. But it seems this cup has overflowed. Producers, however, have found a new source: PC and console games. Among the first films to try this were Super Mario Bros. (1993). Mortal Kombat, Tomb Raider, or Resident Evil followed. But let's be honest, except for a few exceptions, these weren't exactly cult works. Will that change?

So what's in the works? Mortal Kombat II, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Return to Silent Hill, The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2, Legend of Zelda, Street Fighter, Until Dawn, Resident Evil reboot, Devil May Cry (Netflix), Splinter Cell: Deathwatch (Netflix), Fallout – Season 2, Assassin’s Creed (Netflix), God of War (Amazon), Twisted Metal – Season 2, Castlevania: Nocturne – Season 2, or Bioshock.

Additionally, Amazon has joined the list with a Tomb Raider series, where the lead role of Lara Croft will be played by Sophie Turner, whom we know as the rather annoying Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones.

author Karel Krajča