News

In fact, there's only a bit more than seven weeks left until the start of the Prime Video series »The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power«! Five days ago, there was a teaser that showed the flight of a meteor across the sky, while many pairs of eyes followed its path with meaning-laden gazes. The teaser ended by hinting at another teaser that was supposed to be coming today ...

Throughout the day we kept refreshing the Amazon YouTube channels - now the teaser is finally here and it turns out to be a real two and a half minute long trailer that actually spreads a Lord of the Rings feeling:
https://youtu.be/ewgCqJDI_Nk

Still, it's a complicated thing. As an inexperienced fantasy fan who has just seen the Peter Jackson movies, you can probably enjoy the series (along the lines of "tell me what you want, the main thing is that it's a good fantasy story"). But how might die-hard Tolkien fans take the series? Apparently the fears that the show will do violence to the beloved object of worship outweigh the fears. And everywhere there is more talk about diversity than about the story. With the new trailer, there is further material that invites exegesis.

For our part, we're curious about the series. We think that the trailer is a tasty appetizer. Whether it's in the spirit of Tolkien or the master will be turning in his grave in the end, we'll just have to wait and see. September is coming ...!

The countdown to this year's Comic Con is running! Starting next Thursday, San Diego will once again become the epicenter of pop culture. To get in the right mood for the event of the year, Sideshow is already presenting the »Sideshow Con« daily from July 11th to July 19th, raising the curtain and giving a glimpse of upcoming attractions. We will present the highlights to you in a summary next week.

Like every year, we will again celebrate the Comic Con with our guests at the S.P.A.C.E headquarters and get in touch with you live. Stay tuned!

Last week Empire Magazine published some new information and new exclusive pictures from the upcoming movie »Avatar: The Way of Water« by James Cameron.
One picture debuts Kate Winslet in her role as Ronal and Tonowari, played by Cliff Curtis. The two lead an underwater tribe of Na'vi.

Two people who died in the first movie are also back. However, Sigourney Weaver does not play Dr. Grace Augustine, but Kiri, the adopted young daughter of Jake and Neytiri. Playing a teenager is quite an achievement for the 72-year-old actress! Trick technology makes it possible.
Also the consciousness of the antagonist Colonel Miles Quaritch, played by Stephen Lang, seems to have survived and is now in a blue Na'vi body, which he probably doesn't like at all.

Talking to Empire Magazine, James Cameron compared his upcoming »Avatar« movies to Tolkien's »Lord of the Rings« novels and film adaptations. The big difference is, that with the »Lord of the Rings« films you could build on the book series, while for the »Avatar« series he had to create the template himself. So it's no wonder that we had to wait 13 years for the second part of his saga.

»Avatar: The Way of Water« will be released in cinemas on December 14th, 2022. So we have a good reason to look forward to winter.

Today we have a little "delicacy" for you - our product of the month July, the 1/6 scale John Wayne by Kaustic Plastik and Infinite Statue, is being examined more closely!

Mick, our in-house film encyclopedia on two legs, has now tackled the Duke in a very detailed review in the Action Figure District and illustrated it with a large number of photos. Check it out.

There has probably not been as much speculation about a game in the last few days or weeks as about the latest part of our beloved god of war Kratos.

It even got to the point where the Santa Monica Studios development team had to deal with abuse and inappropriate comments. Which of course we don't want to endorse at this point, because after all, a successful game simply needs its development time. And in times of a pandemic, there are also one or two problems that need to be solved. As a gamer, you wouldn't want a second Cyberpunk 2077, would you?

»God of War Ragnarok« will be released on November 9th, 2022 for the Playstation 4 and 5. We are excited to see how Kratos and Atreus will continue. Not much has been revealed yet, but the short FATHER AND SON trailer definitely gives us goosebumps!

Only one thing is certain: God of War Ragnarök will be the last part in Norse mythology. Let's hope Kratos stays with us after this adventure.
What do you think, will Kratos also slice through Egypt or another mythological culture?

»Thor: Love and Thunder« hit German cinemas yesterday. The first reviews are mostly positive. In addition to Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster aka Mighty Thor, we are of course very excited about Christian Bale as Gorr. Will HOT TOYS also present the God Butcher and Mighty Thor as 1/6 collector's figures?

For us, an important argument for going to the cinema is the direction of Taika Waititi, who had already taken a seat on the director's chair for »Thor: Ragnarok«. We just love his weird humor and »Thor: Love and Thunder« promises to have a lot of that again. So off to the cinema!

Are you also into those nice old-fashioned Agatha Christie-style whodunits? »Knives Out« recently proved that such a murder hunt is great fun. Which brings us to »See How They Run«.

In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt end after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.

The trailer already looks like a lot of fun.

https://youtu.be/Q00qh7Ab6Mk

Cinema release in Great Britain is September 9th. There is no German start date yet. The movie may also end up very quickly with one of the major streaming providers.

How about a bit of a horror show in an air-conditioned cinema? Here are three horror movie trailers that will be released in the near future.

»The Owners« with Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) in the leading role hits cinema on July 14th. What starts out as an ordinary home invasion story leads to a few unexpected twists. Breaking into a remote country house seems like a safe bet for a group of young criminals. However, the Huggins return unexpectedly, beautifully played by Rita Tushingham (Last Night in Soho) and Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who) ...

Hanna Bergholm's Finnish body horror movie »Hatching« will follow on July 28th. A young gymnast discovers a strange egg in the forest. She hides it in her bed and keeps it warm, but when it hatches, what emerges shocks everyone ...
The visually stunning trailer made us curious and immediately ended up on our watch list.

We'll meet another Game of Thrones acquaintance on August 25th, because that's when »The Invitation« starts with Missandei actress Nathalie Emmanuel. The trailer is already staged quite noble and suggests that it is probably some kind of vampire story. Let us surprise.

This time we've decided on a real classic: JOHN WAYNE as the drunken roughneck Rooster Cogburn in Henry Hathaway's western »True Grit« from 1969. Just in time for the beginning of the month, the Duke rode into our camp and is enthusiastically celebrated by us.

Anyone who says Western must also say John Wayne! No other actor in the golden era of Hollywood became so synonymous with the western hero.
Wayne's career is closely linked to director John Ford, under whose direction he rose to stardom as Ringo in »Stagecoach«. Other milestones followed, such as »She Wore a Yellow Ribbon«, »Rio Grande«, »The Searchers« and »The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance«. With Howard Hawks Wayne shot »Rio Bravo« and »El Dorado«.

The two Italian manufacturers INFINITE STATUE and KAUSTIC PLASTIK, who erect a monument to the Duke here in 1/6, also prove to have true grit. The producers have to be credited for not riding the mainstream wave, but for dedicating themselves to the classics of cinema, as there are countless cinematic masterpieces for which there are still no collectibles. Cinema is so much more than just »Marvel«, »DC« and »Star Wars«.

We are very excited to see which screen legends our Italian friends will surprise us with in the future. We can expect a new premiere at Comic Con in San Diego. Fabio Varesi from Kaustic Plastik will be there at the booth of the American distributor SIDEHOW. If we had to guess, our pick would be the world premiere of the Terence Hill figure, but maybe Fabio has something up his sleeve that no one else has in mind. Let's be surprised.

The epic Season 4 finale of »Stranger Things« premieres on Netflix tomorrow. The trailer released last week got us excited, not to mention the fact that we dug out all of our Kate Bush CDs that have been on a loop here ever since.

Featuring two feature-length episodes, »Papa« (1 hr 25 mins) and »The Piggyback« (2 hrs 19 mins) will once again put a bold exclamation mark behind one of the best series on streaming TV right now. The weekend is saved.

https://youtu.be/sBEvEcpnG7k

And we're certainly not the only ones looking forward to the announced collectibles: the cool Mini-Epics from Weta Workshop and the awesome 1/6 figures from threezero.

 

Before going into a little summer break with ABGESPACED, Andrea and Sven will take you on an excursion through the month of June. As always, there was a lot of new stuff that we needed to talk about.

Our highlights in the current show are a very usable goodie, a super pleasant talk on the "red telephone" with our customer Ronny and even two First Looks: the Teela Legends Maquette by TWEETERHEAD and the 1/4 Scale Lurtz as Premium Masterline Statue by PRIME 1 STUDIO! Tuning in makes sense ;).
https://youtu.be/VXyzP224LPk

PS: In the meantime, Andrea has her 12-times deluxe bronchitis under control and Sven learned that the great granddaughter of Michael Knight's commlink is called "Apple Watch". Hallelujah!

Last weekend, IRON STUDIOS showed us some innovations in their monthly »Inside« stream again. We were pleasantly surprised that there weren't any 20+ reveals this time. The whole thing was kept a bit smaller, but there were really some nice surprises along!

First and foremost, the 1/10 Art Scale Casey Jones, who complements the »Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles« line-up. Heavy dude, really a bad-ass!

Also a replenishment in the MOTU section: Stratos, the winged warrior, is swinging into the range. He is also a great addition to the line, as we think.

The Marvel theme has also grown again: on the Disney+ series »What if...?« two new characters will be added by the 1/10 Strange Supreme and 1/10 Infinity Ultron as well as Kate Bishop and Hawkeye for the series of the same name. On »Shang-Chi and the Legends ...«, the two main characters were introduced: Shang-Chi and Wenwu.

A fist teaser was given on a new Gandalf the Grey in battle pose with whom you can set the battle in Moria against the Orcs and the Cave Troll in scene - thanks to BDS!

We look forward to presenting you all the highlights in our shop during the week :)!

There's just over two months until »The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power« starts on September 2nd on Amazon Prime Video!

When the first teasers were released four months ago, the enthusiasm of fans and critics was rather limited. The teasers were quickly taken apart frame by frame, and prophecies of doom were raised that already predicted a disaster. We think it's a bit early for such pessimism.

An article in EMPIRE MAGAZINE with statements from the showrunners about the already fully developed five seasons of the series and the image of a tower against the light made us look forward to an epic adventure.

Now an IGN interview with the production team revealed new interesting facts about the series. First of all, we will meet female orcs for the first time! And there will probably be far less CGI bombast than feared. To confirm this, a batch of photos of series Orcs in classic handmade F/X make-up was published with the article.

We're certainly looking forward to seeing these pretty-ugly fellows in action, not to mention plenty of opportunities for fantastic collectibles. Who do you think is going to grab the licenses for the Second Age?

Let's go to the movies and pay homage to the King of Rock'n'Roll! Today, after eight years of hard work, Baz Luhrmann's biopic »Elvis« is finally hitting cinemas. Even if the film is sometimes accused of glorifying Elvis in a very one-sided way and the downsides are neglected a bit, that shouldn't stop us from wallowing in the music and the pictures.

And as the trailer already shows, the great expressionist Luhrmann pulls out all the stops here. Then there's this Austin Butler, who only caught a glimpse of our attention in »Once Upon a Time In... Hollywood«. He crawls under Elvis' skin and makes the king his own with skin and hair and swinging hips. We're looking forward to an Oscar-worthy performance and we're sure we'll be hearing more from Butler in the future. We're also looking forward to Tom Hanks under pounds of make-up in the unfamiliar role of the antagonist, Elvis Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker.

If you are an Elvis fans, then today It's Now or Never and off to the cinema, Shake, Rattle and Roll as you probably Can't Help Falling in Love with this movie. And if you're not an Elvis fan, Don't Be Cruel and have a nice evening at the Heartbreak Hotel.

»Game of Thrones« is the highest-grossing series in HBO history. Even if the final season ended a little rushed and rather unsatisfactorily for many fans, the success of the series made sure that one thing became clear very quickly: it wasn't the last time that HBO was visiting Westeros.

With his »Ice and Fire« novels, George R. R. Martin created a large and rich world with a historical background of more than 10,000 years. There is of course a lot of material that calls for serial processing. The prequel »House of the Dragon«, which takes place about 200 years before the events of the parent series and revolves around a bloody family feud in the house of the Targaryens, starts on August 21st.

Other series ideas on Westeros history are also juggled, such as »10,000 Ships« (Nymeria) or a series based on Martin's »Dunk and Egg« novels, which are also set in Westeros before the GoT events.

According to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER a sequel starring Kit Harington as Jon Snow is also in development. Disney did it with »Marvel« and »Star Wars«. Take a fan-favorite character like Loki or Boba Fett and give the character its own spin-off series.

What else can come in the case of a Jon Snow series? Because his story was actually told to the end and it has nothing to do with the »Ice and Fire« novels. It remains to be seen whether the series will actually come. Of course, that also depends on how successful »House of the Dragon« will be - and some series ideas never leave development hell. So there's still a lot of water flowing down the Trident before Jon Snow perhaps returns.

From time to time, takeovers or fusions do happen also in the world of collectibles. We still have in mind that the brand »Gentle Giant« was passed on more than once.

Now »Funko, Inc.«, best known for their giant POP! vinyl figure line, took over the Texan manufacturer »Mondo« from the movie theater chain »Alamo Drafthouse«!

Tim League, the founder of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, announced that they would like to focus on expanding its chain of movie theaters after the pandemic and are handing over the "pop culture" division rather to capable hands. According to Funko Mondo may stay Mondo - they probably wanted to get a larger foot in the door when it comes to action-figures and higher worthy collectibles.

Let's see what the deal will mean for us collectors on long term ...

Although the current temperatures are rather good for a swim, there are three movies worth to be mentioned that hit (hopefully well air-conditioned) movie theaters today ...

Nicolas Cage can play anything - even himself, or rather, the fictional version of himself! And he does that in the comedy »The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent «, which is finally starting also in German cinemas. The plot may be a bit run-of-the-mill, but Cage, who once again throws himself into the role wholeheartedly, proves his massive comedic talent and with all the references to his previous cinematic work, the film surely is a must-see for all Cage fans. In interaction with Pedro Pascal, the two actors deliver a wonderful bromance.

We met Buzz Lightyear as an action-figure in the »Toy Story« movies. »Lightyear« is now practically the movie that inspired the action-figure. Clever move!

Then we are very curious about »Dark Glasses«, the first Dario Argento film in 10 years. Initial reviews confirm that the Giallo Maestro is returning to his old form which not only makes us happy but also very excited about the flick.

The current motif of the S.P.A.C.E Postcard Collection will probably make the hearts of all »Masters of the Universe« fans - actually the hearts of the followers of the »Evil Horde« - beat faster!

Our customer Knud teamed up with his MOTU Classics Horde Trooper to shoot this stunning picture and contribute it to our collection. We love it and hope you love it as much as we do ... when you find a free copy in your package this month. A big thanks goes out to you, dear Knud, for this great work!

Check out Knud's Instagram feed for more: @k.sch.47

At the end of »Ghostbusters: Afterlife«, the Ecto-1 crosses the Brooklyn Bridge towards Manhattan. The promise that the journey is not over yet and that we can count on more could be read from this. The success of the film then did its part ...

Writer and director Jason Reitman has now confirmed that the Ghostbusters sequel is coming! The story, which currently has the working title »Firehouse«, takes us back to the Big Apple. Reitman describes the film as “the next chapter in the Spengler family story”.

So we can count on Carrie Coon as Callie, Finn Wolfhard as her son Trevor and Mckenna Grace as her daughter Phoebe. Whether Paul Rudd and the original Ghostbusters Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray will also be on board is not yet known. But we are counting on one or the other cameo appearance.

But the proton packs are already heating up elsewhere. Netflix is ​​planning a new Ghostbusters animated series in collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation and the »Ghostbusters: Afterlife« duo Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan.

And Winston Zeddemore actor Ernie Hudson revealed at a Countdown City Geeks panel that a new video game is also in the works.

Ghostbusters everywhere - that's almost a small Ghostbusters universe. Most of it is still kept secret and safe at Sony in a ghost trap. But we are very excited like the two terror dogs and the ectoplasma in our veins is boiling with the (now not so paranormal anymore) imagination for the upcoming projects ...

The film »Joker« was a great success and crowned Joaquin Phoenix's performance with an Oscar. No wonder, then, that the question quickly arose as to whether there would be a »Joker 2«. Director Todd Phillips didn't seem averse and Phoenix has said in the past he has "mixed feelings" on the matter.

Then, on June 8, Phillips posted two pictures to Instagram, confirming that a sequel will be coming. The first image shows a script bound in red with the title »Joker: Folie à Deux« and the addition "written by Scott Silver & Todd Phillips". The second photo then shows Joaquin Phoenix who appears to be reading this script.

The working title »Folie à Deux« naturally gives rise to a lot of speculation. Such a mental disorder as a couple is most likely to apply to the toxic relationship between the Joker and Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel (better known as Harley Quinn), whom the Joker meets at the place where the first film ends - at Arkham Asylum. So it seems more than likely that we'll get to see Harley Quinn, or at least a character modeled after her, in the second film. Of course, the question of the cast is particularly exciting here. Which actress can embody the counterpart in this insane duo ...