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The cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender

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Unruly Folk
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Avatar: The Last Airbender Cast

The upcoming live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender is getting some big names added to the already talented cast. Arden Cho, George Takei, Momona Tamada and more have joined the ranks of the highly anticipated show.

Showrunner Albert Kim said the adaptation would be “a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly exists, very similar to the one we live in.”

The previously announced cast members include Gordon Cormier (Aang), Kiawentiio (Katara), Ian Ousley (Sokka), Dallas Liu (Zuko), Elizabeth Yu (Azula), Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Iroh), Daniel Dae Kim (Fire Lord Ozai), Maria Zhang (Suki), Tamlyn Tomita (Yukari), Yvonne Chapman (Avatar Kyoshi) and Casey Camp-Horinek (Gran Gran). With a surge of new actors, you can get to know them and their characters better below.

Water Tribe

Amber Midthunder (she/her; Prey, Roswell) as Princess Yue:
The compassionate spiritual leader of the Northern Water Tribe.

A Martinez (he/him; Cowboy Bebop, Ambulance) as Pakku: 
The veteran waterbending master of the Northern Water Tribe and a fierce defender of their traditions.

Irene Bedard (she/her; Pocahontas, The Stand) as Yagoda: 
An empathetic healer who serves as a role model for her tribe’s female waterbenders. 

Joel Oulette (he/him; Trickster, Ruby and the Well) as Hahn: 
A strong and skilled warrior with unwavering loyalty to his tribe. 

Nathaniel Arcand (he/him; Heartland, FBI: Most Wanted) as Chief Arnook: 
Father to Princess Yue and the respected leader of their tribe.

Meegwun Fairbrother (he/him; Burden of Truth, Mohawk Girls) as Avatar Kuruk: 
A previous Avatar with a haunted past. 

Earth Kingdom

Arden Cho (she/her) as June: 
A tough and persistent bounty hunter known for her ruthless efficiency. 

Utkarsh Ambudkar (he/him; Ghosts, World’s Best) as King Bumi: 
The ancient and mercurial ruler of the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu.

Danny Pudi (he/him; Mythic Quest, Corner Office) as the Mechanist: 
An eccentric inventor and engineer doing his best to raise his son in a war-torn world. 

Lucian-River Chauhan (he/him, Encounter, Heartland) as Teo: 
The idealistic and high-flying son of the Mechanist.

James Sie (he/him; Stillwater) as the Cabbage Merchant: 
A long-suffering vegetable vendor in Omashu. 

Fire Nation

Momona Tamada (she/her; Secret Headquarters, One: Thunder God’s Tale) as Ty Lee: 
An energetic and upbeat teen and one of Princess Azula’s best friends. 

Thalia Tran (she/her; Raya and the Last Dragon, Little) as Mai: 
An unflappable and deadpan teen who, along with Ty Lee, is one of Princess Azula’s closest allies.

Ruy Iskandar (he/him; Yes Day, Benders) as Lt. Jee: 
The first officer of Prince Zuko’s ship. 

Hiro Kanagawa (he/him; Altered Carbon, The Man in the High Castle) as Fire Lord Sozin: 
The ruthless and ambitious previous ruler of the Fire Nation and grandfather of Fire Lord Ozai.

C.S. Lee (he/him; Dexter, Warrior) as Avatar Roku: 
A wise and benevolent past Avatar from the Fire Nation.  

François Chau (he/him; The Expanse, American Gigolo) as The Great Sage: 
The venerated spiritual leader of the Fire Nation and guardian of Avatar Roku’s shrine. 

Ryan Mah (he/him; The Good Doctor, Snowpiercer) as Lt. Dang: 
Commander Zhao’s second-in-command. 

Spirit World

George Takei (he/him; Star Trek, Resident Alien) as the voice of Koh: 
An ancient, predatory spirit.

Randall Duk Kim (he/him; Kung Fu Panda, John Wick) as the voice of Wan Shi Tong: 
Appears in the form of a giant owl and is also known as the Spirit of Knowledge. 

The live-action adaptation of the animated Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender is brought to you by showrunner Albert Kim, Rideback’s Dan Lin and Lindsey Liberatore, and Michael Goi. Additionally, this project is helmed by directors Goi, co-executive producer Roseanne Liang, Jabbar Raisani, and Jet Wilkinson.

The cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender is shaping up to be one of the most diverse ensembles on television. This adaptation is a must-see event with an all-star team behind the scenes and in front of the camera. Will you be watching?

James Earl Jones to retire as Darth Vader

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Unruly Folk
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James Earl Jones

For Star Wars fans around the world, the voice of Darth Vader is unmistakable and irreplaceable. James Earl Jones first voiced Vader in the original 1977 Star Wars movie, and his deep, menacing tones have become one of the most recognisable aspects of the character. So understandably, after over 40 years, Jones is retiring from the role – but his voice will live on thanks to artificial intelligence (AI).

Star Wars sound supervising editor Matthew Wood told Vanity Fair the 91-year-old actor “was looking into winding down this particular character”.

However, Jones has licensed the use of his voice for future productions. This means that even though he won’t be performing as Vader anymore, his voice will still be used to bring the character to life in new Star Wars projects.

Artificial intelligence will recreate synthetic speech for future Disney and Lucasfilm projects to imitate Jones’ iconic voice from earlier films.

Respeecher, a Ukrainian-based voice cloning firm, will use artificial intelligence to create new conversations from rejuvenated old voice recordings.

Over the years, many different actors have taken on the role of the villain. However, Jones’s deep and now distinctive voice has been a constant tie through the series, giving life to the character through generations.

Disney’s decision to use AI to preserve Vader’s voice will likely stoke disagreements over how such technology should be used in creative fields.

What do you think? Let us know!

NASA’s DART mission is on target

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Unruly Folk
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NASA made headlines today when it smashed a spacecraft into an asteroid seven million miles from Earth. The crash was no accident–NASA did this on purpose, as part of a trial run for planetary defence.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is the first-ever trial of a “planetary defence system.” If humans can change an asteroid’s orbit by sending an object into space, humanity may have a chance to protect itself from the kind of disaster that rid the Earth of dinosaurs.

The Need for Planetary Defence

The idea of planetary defence might conjure up images of Hollywood blockbusters like Armageddon, Deep Impact or, more recently, Don’t Look Up. Still, the reality is that the risk of a devastating asteroid impact is genuine. Some scientists estimate a one in 20,000 chance of a disastrous global impact in any given year. Thankfully, we have never experienced an effect of this magnitude in modern times, but the threat is real.

Fortunately, we now have the technology to do something about it. The DART mission tests whether we can change an incoming asteroid’s orbit by impacting it with a spacecraft. If successful, scientists could use it to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.

“Asteroid moonlet Dimorphos as seen by the DART spacecraft 11 seconds before impact. DART’s onboard DRACO imager captured this image from 42 miles (68 kilometres). This image was the last to contain all of Dimorphos in the field of view. Dimorphos is roughly 525 feet (160 meters) in length. Dimorphos’ north is toward the top of the image.
Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL”

The DART Trial Run

The DART mission was carried out using a “vending machine-sized” spacecraft collider. The last image from the collider showed the surface of the asteroid Dimorphos seconds before impact. Early indications are that the blast successfully changed Dimorphos’ orbit as intended. While confirming these results will take some time, they are promising.

The NASA team and their international collaborators meticulously chose their target. The success of the collision depended on being able to monitor the asteroid post-crash carefully. They also needed to ensure that any impact wouldn’t send pieces of rock hurtling towards Earth.

Dimorphos is already orbiting its larger partner, making it the perfect candidate to study the behavioural changes that follow a collision.

Betsy Congdon, DART’s mechanical systems engineer at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, says, “What Dart is going up there to prove is that we actually do have a system for kinetic deflection, nudging these away and nudging them off course,”.

Although the spacecraft hit Dimorphos at nearly 15,000 miles an hour, scientists expect its effect on the asteroid to be small – checking its speed by only 0.4mm per second. However, given enough time, this should have a perceivable influence on its orbit. A combination of telescopes based on land and space – NASA and ESA’s new James Webb Space Telescope included – will study the asteroid to gauge the test results.

According to scientists, a slight push could be enough to deflect an oncoming asteroid on a collision course with Earth off-target.

“An asteroid impact is the one kind of natural disaster that we could potentially see coming decades away,” says Prof Colin Snodgrass, a member of the DART team.

This is just the beginning of NASA’s planetary defence efforts. The DART mission is an exciting start, reassuring that we now have the technology to defend ourselves from potentially devastating impacts. With any luck, we will never need to use it.

Jurassic World Dominion joins billion-dollar club

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Unruly Folk
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In celebration of Jurassic World: Dominion passing the $1 billion mark at the global box office, Bryce Dallas Howard posted a new behind-the-scenes photo to Twitter expressing her gratitude to franchise fans.

In the photo, Howard offers a cheeky kiss to an animatronic dilophosaurus. She captioned the image with a heartfelt message thanking fans for supporting the movie.

She wrote, “A billion kisses to everyone who watched and supported! As someone who, like so many others, poured my heart and soul into making these movies, it means the world how you all showed up.”

Howard continued, “I’ve been texting with the cast and director, all of us cheering that the film reached this incredible milestone in theatres. It’s no small feat.”

The Jurassic Park franchise is one of the most successful movie franchises of all time, and Jurassic World: Dominion is the fourth instalment to pass the $1 billion mark at the box office.

Jurassic World: Dominion is now streaming on Peacock.

Super Mario Bros. trailer debut at NYC Comic-Con

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Unruly Folk
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Super Mario Bros Teaser Trailer

It’s official, folks! The first trailer for the upcoming untitled Super Mario Bros. movie will premiere at New York Comic-Con on October 6th at 4 pm ET.

First announced in 2018, the film is being produced by Nintendo and Illumination.

Starring Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach and Jack Black Bowser, the film initially aimed for a December 2022 release but has since been delayed until April 7th 2023.

We’ll keep you updated on any new information about the Super Mario Bros. movie as we find it. Are you excited? Let us know!

Queer As Folk cancelled after one season

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Unruly Folk
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Queer as Folk

Just one season in, the show Queer As Folk – which was a reboot of the groundbreaking original British series of the same name – has been cancelled by Peacock.

Although there was much anticipation for the franchise to be reborn and a massive plot twist in the season one finale, Queer As Folk will not be returning for a second season.

The show’s creator, Stephen Dunn, was disappointed with the news. He remarked that it was a “rare gift” to create a program that is so “fearless and unapologetic.”

Jaclyn Moore, another executive producer on the show, said, “Love this and the show we all made”, and icon Kim Catrall added: “I am so lucky & proud to be asked to join you, Stephen. A joy to be part of our #QueerAsFolk family. XO”

The news of the cancellation was a blow to fans of the show, who had taken to social media to share their love for it.

It’s a shame but not a surprise that Queer As Folk has joined the massive pile of LGBTQ+ stories that networks have axed this year. Here’s hoping another show can fill the void it left behind and give us the representation we desperately crave.

The lasting damage of true crime documentaries

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Unruly Folk
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The Victims

You’ve probably heard Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starring Evan Peters, began streaming on Netflix this week. The news has been impossible to avoid on social media. Now imagine that it is about your family, your trauma, your life. Yeah, not so fun.

For many people, true crime dramas are a source of entertainment. But it is anything of the sort for victims of crimes and their families. These shows are re-traumatising, dehumanising, and a constant reminder of the horrific event that changed their lives forever. Yet, streaming giants and television networks can monetise it without gaining consent from or reimbursing the families they exploit.

It is time for this to change.

When someone commits a crime, the victim and their family’s trauma becomes public property. The media swarms, strangers offer up their opinions, and in some cases, the criminal trial puts the events of that day on full display. And then, years later, Hollywood does it all over again.

This is not just some abstract issue. It is a genuine and growing problem with lasting consequences for those affected.

A family member of victim Errol Lindsey took to Twitter, saying:

A whole genre of true crime shows has taken over our screens recently. Making a Murderer, The Jinx, The Staircase, Evil Genius — the list goes on. And while these shows can be fascinating viewing for some, and I admit that I’ve been a part of the problem, for victims, they are a constant reminder of the nightmare they lived through.

Some have even called for a ban on these kinds of shows, arguing that they are nothing more than “trauma porn” that exploits the victims for entertainment.

While I don’t think banning these shows outright is the solution, I believe the victims and their families deserve consideration and respect. At the very least, they should be consulted and compensated for using their lives this way.

Whether you think these shows should be banned or not, it’s important to remember that these are real stories, constantly reminding people of the darkest times in their lives on a loop. And that is something we should all keep in mind if we choose to watch them.

What do you think? Is it time for a change? Let us know in the comments.

Tim Burton’s Wednesday: Poster and release date

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Unruly Folk
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Tim Burton's Wednesday
(Source: Netflix)

Snap, Snap. It’s spooky season, and Tim Burton is back with another dark and twisted tale—this time, a spin-off of the classic Addams Family story. The new show, Wednesday, starring Jenny Ortega in the title role, will be available to stream on Netflix from November 23rd (yes, a Wednesday, of course!).

The series will follow Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), the ultimate princess of darkness, as she is sent away to Nevermore Academy, a mysterious supernaturally-infused boarding school for outcasts, after being expelled from her public high school due to a piranha-related run-in with bullies.

There, we’ll watch as Wednesday navigates her new life while attempting to master her developing psychic abilities and being drawn into a gruesome murder mystery.

Ortega is joined by an all-star cast that includes Gwendoline Christie, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán, Emma Myers, and Hunter Doohan.

“We’ve never seen [Wednesday] as a teenager before. Her snarky, snide remarks might not necessarily sound as charming when they’re coming from somebody who should probably know better than a 10-year-old girl,” Ortega comments. “That was a balancing act. We didn’t want to make her sound like every other teenage girl, but we also didn’t want to make her too ignorant. And we’ve never seen her on-screen this much. Any other time you’ve seen Wednesday, she’s been the one-liner, the end of a joke, she always hits it, and I think that’s what people really love about her. But in this show, every scene is Wednesday. There’s an opportunity to give her a bit more dimension, and she becomes a bit more of a real person, which I don’t think we’ve ever seen before.”

So there you have it, outcasts! Mark your calendars for November 23rd, when Wednesday will be available to stream on Netflix. In the meantime, why not brush up on your Addams Family lore by rewatching the original films or reading some of the comics?

Spider-Man: Miles Morales coming soon to PC

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Unruly Folk
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Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Are you ready to suit up and swing into action? Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is coming to PC this autumn, and it’s available to Wishlist on Steam and Epic Games today!

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is an action-packed adventure that follows the story of Miles Morales as he becomes the Spider-Man of his generation. The game features iconic locations from the Marvel Universe, an original score by John Paesano, and appearances by fan-favourite characters.

Can’t wait for the release? Check out the trailer below for a sneak peek of what’s in store.

Detective Pikachu 2 is coming soon!

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Unruly Folk
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Detective Pikachu
(Source: Nintendo / The Pokémon Company)

There is some excellent news for gamers and Pokémon fans out there! The much-anticipated Detective Pikachu 2 game for Nintendo Switch is nearing release! So get ready to enjoy hours of fun as you help Detective Pikachu solve crimes and uncover mysteries in the city of Ryme.

Now, three years since The Pokémon Company announced it, the sequel to the 3DS game is finally on its way. The sequel’s plot is yet to be uncovered, but we know it will pick up where the first game left off and conclude the story.

We can expect new locations, quests, and more lovable characters. The developers have promised that Detective Pikachu 2 will be the ultimate detective adventure for all gamers to enjoy.

Jonathan Murphy, the senior programmer at Creatures Inc and PTCG Development Division, confirmed the news on his LinkedIn page, which reads:

“Using Unity/C#, worked on one unannounced project and one nearing release, Detective Pikachu 2.

– Had ownership of core game features, doing everything from initial system design to final implementation.

– Provided expert consultation on effective use of Unity and modern development practices.”

So get ready to put on your thinking cap and help Detective Pikachu solve some crimes! The release date has not been announced yet, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated. In the meantime, start brushing up on your Pokémon knowledge so you can be prepared for whatever challenges come your way.

We’re so excited about the release of Detective Pikachu 2! Are you? Let us know in the comments below what you’re looking forward to in the sequel. And don’t forget to check back here for updates on the release date. Until then, happy gaming!

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