RJ Writing Ink

Unless you’ve been living under a rock or don’t pay attention to it, then you have to had heard of Disney Investor Day 2020. On December 10th, 2020, Disney did a four hour stream showcasing their plans for the entertainment industry over the next few years. And to sum them up with a gif:

Yeah, it was really good! I meant to do this sooner, but I couldn’t find the way to appropriately communicate my thoughts on everything. After thinking it over for three days, though, I’m ready to give my thoughts on everything we learned at Disney Investor Day!

The Force is Strong with Lucasfilm

Since they acquired LucasFilm in 2012, Star Wars has become one of Disney’s most profitable franchises. While they arguably stumbled with the Sequel Trilogy and the lack of a coherent story, Disney managed to rally with The Mandalorian. Throw in the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Star Wars is more popular than ever. And they’re going to build that success over the next few years.

• As everyone thought, Ashoka’s getting her own live-action show, Ashoka!
• Star Wars: Visions, an anime anthology series
• The Obi-Wan Kenobi is coming up, and Hayden Christensen’s playing Vader again. Taking place ten years after Revenge of the Sith, this could see the former Master and Padawan fight in a previously unknown rematch!
• The Clone Wars is getting a spin-off starring the Bad Batch as they go through the rise of the Empire
• LucasFilm is bringing Harrison Ford back for Indiana Jones for one last time, and working with The Jim Henson Company on another project
• Star Wars: Acolyte will take us back to the final days of the High Republic

Bottom line, Disney has a lot of plans Star Wars.

The MCU Returns Better Than Ever

Thanks to 2020, the MCU’s taken several heavy hits. Firstly, this marks the first time in ten years where we have no new Marvel movies or shows. Secondly, we lost Chadwick Boseman to cancer. So, it’s been a dark year for Marvel. However, Disney is ready to make up for lost time.

Starting in 2021, Phase Four of the MCU will start with a bang, with more shows and movies than ever.

• On January 15th, WandaVision premieres on Disney+. Part sitcom, part mystery, we see the mysterious return of Vision after his death in Infinity War. Having read the comics and seen how mentally unstable Wanda can be, I know she has something to do with this.
• Armor Wars and Ironheart will see War Machine and a new character deal with the legacy left behind by Tony Stark
• Falcon and The Winter Soldier premieres in spring 2021, and it will be glorious
• Loki is getting his own show! I’m still confused as to whether it takes place in an alternate timeline, though
• Groot’s getting his own series of shorts.
• Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. ‘Nuff Said.
• Disney is going to do the Fantastic Four justice at last!
• Black Panther 2 is still on, but they will not recast for Chadwick Boseman!
• So many more annoucements!

Disney Animation and Pixar

Disney Animation and Pixar aren’t being lax, either. They’ve got plenty of new things in the works.

• A new musical show based on The Princess and the Frog, Tiana
• Moana is getting its own series.
• Zootopia and Big Hero 6! are getting their own series.
• Win or Lose, Pixar’s first animated series.
• A series for Pixar’s Cars.
• A new series about iconic Pixar characters starts in January.
• Dug from UP is getting his own series, Dug Days.
• Lightyear, an origin film for Buzz Lightyear, premieres in 2022 and stars Chris Evans (SO PSYCHED FOR THAT!!!!!!!!)

Disney: The Path To Global Conquest

At this point, I’d think it would be crazier to deny the idea that Disney is on the path to achieving total hegemony on Western Culture. On the one hand, this doesn’t bode well for healthy competition in the Entertainment Industry. On the other hand, Disney makes a lot of good stuff, and as long as that keeps happening, people may not care. Either way, Disney looks set to remain on top for the 2020s.

A big key to the company’s long term plans seems to be Disney+. With a large chunk of its library available on the streaming service, Disney has begun to dominate the streaming business. As a result, they’re willing to raise the subscription costs by a dollar because they think they can afford it. And to be honest, I think so, too.

Overall, I’m very happy with all these announcements from Disney, and I think that it’s going to make them more money than ever. Anything that you guys are excited for, though?

One Piece Chapter 998 Review/Recap

When I was growing up, one of my great loves was Dinosaurs. I must have spent hours watching Walking with Dinosaurs on my TV. And while I didn’t watch it until I was in my teens, I’m a big fan of the Jurassic Park franchise. Why am I bringing all this up right now? Because at this point in One Piece, the Beast Pirates are the anime equivalent to Jurassic Park. Especially as we see the powers of the Tobi Roppo.

Full disclosure, this post will be shorter than normal, since there’s not as much to talk about.

Recap

When we last saw the island of Onigashima, Kaido was using his powers to make the entire island float in the air! As everyone panics about this, Marco makes his move. Using his Phoenix powers, he manages to suppress the spread of the Ice virus in Chopper. As a result, he’s able to get to work on the antidote. Marco, X Drake, and the others then tell Zoro that they’ll hold the line so he can head to the roof to confront Kaido.

On the fourth floor, Luffy and Jinbei realize that Sanji’s nowhere to be found. Jinbei tells Luffy to push forward as he faces another member of the Tobi Roppo, Who’s Who. In actuality, Sanji’s facing down Black Maria and her spidery form. With multiple women. Down below, Franky’s forced to face down Sasaki of the Tobi Roppo in his Triceratops form.

Outside the dome, Page One and Ulti have gone full Dinosaur in search of Yamato’s group. Fortunately, he’s brought Momo and the others to a store room where they find this giant, broken statue of a dragon.

Review

I wasn’t joking about the Jurassic Park thing. Or at how short this post would be. There’s not a lot to discuss beyond the fact that the Tobi Roppo all use Ancient Zoan fruits. It fits with the theme of the Beast Pirates, and they are sufficiently scary enough.

The two things that are notable outside the prehistoric beasts is the fact that Marco’s turned the tide back in the Alliance’s favor. With the virus temporarily suppressed, Chopper can cure everyone. And despite Queen trying to fool the Beast Pirates into thinking he means to abandon them, I know they’ll switch sides the moment Chopper proves him wrong.

The second is the fact that we now know why Ace came to Wano: to kill Kaido. He failed, obviously, but I look forward to learning more about his adventures in Wano.

Also, we are now two chapters away from the momentous 1000th chapter, and I can’t wait to celebrate!

I Give “Ancient Zoans” a 2.5/5

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