One of the more unusual consequences of the coronavirus happened this week in Thailand, where the lack of tourists caused rival gangs of monkeys to begin a brutal war. The Lopburi monkeys are a feature of the local Phra Prang Sam Yod Buddhist temple, where they are typically divided by train tracks. However, the monkeys' reliance on tourists for food has been hit by COVID-19, forcing them to search further afield, and into a clash over a single banana. As was to perhaps be expected, reactions to the story have caused Planet of the Apes to trend on Twitter.
Coming off the back of reports that a new Freddy vs. Jason reboot or sequel could be on its way, Kane Hodder has indicated he'd be up for returning to the role of Jason Voorhees in a new Friday the 13th outing. Hodder, who played Jason four times in the movie series, and in the video game, still sees himself as able to fill the role, despite now being in his 60s. According to an interview with Screen Geek, Hodder is excited about the prospect of the Friday the 13th franchise being relaunched.
2003's Freddy vs. Jason remains a fan favorite for pitting two iconic horror characters together in a battle for supremacy, albeit with an open-ended conclusion. Although we're also hearing that a reboot of the movie might be on the cards, it seems that the original writers of Freddy vs. Jason are keen to develop a sequel. The question of how a follow-up film could work came up in a Twitter Q&A with Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, and it appears that they're still actively trying to make it happen.
The effect of the coronavirus is becoming increasingly serious, with many events and public attractions being shut down, not to mention movie releases being pushed back. The latest casualties of COVID-19 are Anaheim's Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure, which have now been closed in a bid to combat the virus. Given that this is only the fourth time in Disneyland's history that they've been shut down, the decision demonstrates what is becoming a depressing trend across the United States and worldwide.
Disney's announced that Mulan The New Mutants and Antlers will have their release dates delayed due to coronavirus, and we look at the wider impact of this.
While it might seem odd to make a movie out of the Halloween Horror Nights, which are effectively theme park adaptations of classic horror properties, this doesn't seem to be stopping the unstoppable Jason Blum and Blumhouse Productions from considering the idea. It was floated to Blum and Ike Barinholtz by Collider as part of an interview for The Hunt, and it seems that Blumhouse could feasibly make this a reality, alongside the many other projects they have on their slate right now.
Although he's been variously portrayed as a supernatural being, the early appearances of Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th franchise positioned him as a more human threat. Fans of the series may have wondered how Jason always seemed to stay ahead of his victims in Camp Crystal Lake, even without the mystical powers he's sometimes endowed with. According to ScreenRant, though, the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th provides one answer that explains how the killer might realistically be able to track his targets.
A live-action Spawn reboot has been on the cards for many years, with character creator Todd McFarlane seemingly determined to get it made. Indeed, the project has been at various stages of development over the last little while, with McFarlane repeatedly stressing that he wants a brutal adaptation of his own work. The success of Joker last year has seemingly re-established the appeal of an R-rated Spawn movie for studios, and recent reports have it that shooting will begin this year. However, McFarlane still has some clear ideas of what he wants from the picture, including himself in the director's chair.
One of the more common elements of Star Trek is the use of stardates to mark particular missions. Star Trek: Picard, set in 2399, has dropped this convention for its serialized storytelling though, alongside other familiar Trek conventions such as the use of Starfleet. Indeed, the show has frequently departed from previous series in its tone and use of language and violence, and showrunner Michael Chabon has now provided an explanation as to why stardates weren't considered important for Picard.
While we've had many seasons and spinoffs for The Walking Dead, it's never been definitely answered how the zombie virus happened in the first place. Even the 15 years or so of the original comic book series never gave fans a specific reason for the virus, meaning that there remain a lot of unresolved questions over the history of the Walking Dead universe. However, creator Robert Kirkman has recently provided an explanation for it. Well, sort of, anyway.
