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South African production house Nthibah Pictures isn’t afraid to take risks. The company, which was established in 2018, is coming off the back of fully-financing upcoming big-budget, high-octane genre title Boy Kills World, which opens in the U.S. today (April 26) across nearly 2,500 screens. The film, which is being released by Lionsgate’s sister label Roadside Attractions, stars Bill Skarsgård and is produced with Sam Raimi and is, says Nthibah Pictures’ chairman Wayne Fitzjohn and CEO Simon Swart, one of the “biggest-budgeted” titles to come out of South Africa.

“Not only is it the biggest budget from a South African production company by some margin, but also we’ve doubled down on the P&a,” says Fitzjohn.

“We raised the P&a [for the release] as well,” says Swart of the Moritz Mohr-directed project, which was shot entirely in South Africa. The film centers on Skarsgård’s Boy, who vows revenge after his...

US and South Africa-based outfit Nthibah Pictures, whose genre film Boy Kills World goes out on 2,400 screens in the US this Friday (April 26), has revealed its next feature project, Project Legion, to be directed by Jozua Malherbe.

It is the first since parent company Talent10 Holdings Investment Group confirmed a multi-million dollar investment into Nthibah from the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (Idc).

Wayne Fitzjohn, chairman of Nthibah Pictures and founder and CEO of Talent10 Holdings, said the Idc funds will go towards significantly expanding Nthibah’s content slate.

Project Legion (working title), the first feature fully financed and produced under the new investment,...

Netflix unveiled and previewed upcoming original South African series and films at Mip Africa during a panel entitled “See What’s Next on Netflix.” The global streamer also touted multi-title partnerships with local filmmakers.

“We are incredibly excited to continue with our investment in South African storytelling and to expand our relationships with these amazing storytellers,” said Ben Amadasun, Netflix’s vp of content for Middle East and Africa. “These long-term partnerships with local filmmakers have enabled us to uncover unique perspectives and diverse stories from South Africa to entertain our more than 238 million members around the world. This is why we’re committed to investing in South Africa’s creative industry and showcasing the incredible talent the country has to offer.”

Here is a look at the upcoming series:

Miseducation, a new young adult series from Burnt Onion Productions (How to Ruin Christmas) making its debut on Netflix on Sept.

It turns out that Robert Eggers and Alexander Skarsgård are a match made in Valhalla. The two collaborated on the A24 film "The Northman," starring Skarsgård and co-written and directed by Eggers, an intense Viking epic based on "Gesta Danorum," a 12th century chronicle of Denmark. Skarsgård wanted to make a Viking movie for years, but wanted to find the right team to bring his childhood daydreams from the Swedish island of Ölanda to life. Eggers, who has a keen eye for making harsh landscapes beautiful, and brutal violence uncomfortably resonant, also happens to be a big history buff. With the right combination...

The post Alexander Skarsgard Says Norse Mythology is 'Like a Religion Created By People on Shrooms' [Exclusive] appeared first on /Film.

This Vikings: Valhalla article contains spoilers.

“You have gambled much on the whims of a crazy man.”

Though Christian zealot Käre might disagree, everything comes to a head in the Vikings: Valhalla season one finale, and “The End of the Beginning” employs its elegantly constructed battle sequences to tie up a few dangling plot threads and propel three survivors on to the next stages of their lives. Though Liv dies valiantly defending Kattegat against Olaf’s sinister plot, we now look to Freydis, Leif, and Harald to move on amidst an ever evolving political landscape which includes England’s Queen Emma after she successfully executes a brilliantly laid trap for the Danish interloper Queen Aelfgifu. And yet again, Godwin finds himself on the winning side.

Once more Kattegat finds itself at the epicenter of the narrative, and while it may be somewhat foolish to even consider individual stakes in a historical drama,...

TV’s erstwhile Kate Kane is about to intervene in Sarah Shahi’s Sex/Life.

Wallis Day (Batwoman, Krypton) is one of five new recurring cast members being added to Season 2 of the titillating drama, TVLine has learned. She’ll play a character named Gigi… and that’s all we know.

More from TVLineVikings: Valhalla Finale Recap: Who Survived the Bloody Attack on Kattegat? -- Plus, Grade the SeasonSweet Magnolias' Allison Gabriel Talks Playing the Most Hated Woman in Serenity, Now More Than EverVikings: Valhalla Recap: A New Streaming Home Brings a New Era -- Grade the Netflix Series' Premiere

Additionally,...

The following contains spoilers for the Season 1 finale of Vikings: Valhalla.

Time was running out for the queens of Vikings: Valhalla, as the Netflix drama’s eight-episode freshman run drew to a close. Facing internal and external threats, both Jarl Haakon of Kattegat and Queen Emma of England found their cities under siege and their power threatened. In the end, which queen came out on top in the Season 1 finale?

More from TVLineSex/Life: Batwoman's Wallis Day and Orphan Black's Dylan Bruce Among 5 Cast in Season 2 of Netflix DramaSweet Magnolias' Allison Gabriel Talks Playing the Most Hated Woman in Serenity,...

“In the first season, fans loved to hate me,” Allison Gabriel tells TVLine of playing Sweet Magnolias‘ resident troublemaker Mary Vaughn Lewis. “In the second season, they just straight-up hated me.”

And can you blame them for taking issue with Gabriel’s character? Not only was she a constant thorn in the ladies’ collective side throughout the Netflix drama’s sophomore season, but (finale spoiler alert!) she’s also directly responsible for Cal losing his coaching job, triggering a spiral that would eventually land him in jail.

More from TVLineSex/Life: Batwoman's Wallis Day and Orphan Black's Dylan Bruce...

Spinning off of the popular History Channel fixture “Vikings,” “Vikings: Valhalla” has many things in store for new and old viewers. As one would expect, there are fierce fighting scenes, strong women who wield weapons, and plenty of fur outfit combinations, alongside rugged armor. At the heart of all this fighting and protection lies the conflict of new Christian beliefs edging out the Vikings’ older pagan ways.

Creator Jeb Stuart packs a lot into the new show, set to have 24 episodes. For diehard fans of History’s “Vikings,” or for those looking for a new period drama to dive into — and anyone in between — here is how to watch “Vikings: Valhalla,” once it premieres Friday, Feb. 25.

Is “Vikings: Valhalla” Streaming?

The first eight episodes of the epic show will be available to stream on Netflix starting Friday, Feb. 25.

What Is “Vikings: Valhalla” About?

“Vikings: Valhalla” takes place 100 years after the original series,...

Do you have to have watched the History Channel’s “Vikings” series in order to fully appreciate “Vikings: Valhalla”? For this newcomer, at least, the answer is…well, yes and no.

The eight-episode season of “Valhalla,” which dropped on Netflix on Feb. 25, takes place 125 years after the events of the original “Vikings” series, with Christianity taking over Norse traditions and England’s power on the rise. So while “Valhalla” undoubtedly contains enough “Vikings” references for longtime fans to recognize, both sly and overt, the new spinoff slash sequel series prioritizes the building of a new narrative for new characters that won’t require the rather substantial foundational knowledge of “Vikings” to understand. It also incorporates historical figures like explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter), and Queen Emma of Normandy (Laura Berlin), though of course with enough artistic license to twist their stories into more useful arcs for...

This Vikings: Valhalla review contains spoilers for episode 1.

“After a long voyage on a small boat, a lot of things would sound good.”

Fourteen months have passed since Michael Hirst’s Vikings concluded its six season run, and fans of the History/Netflix series bade farewell to the Lothbrok clan. Nevertheless, the Viking saga continues with a spinoff created and written by Jeb Stuart. Vikings: Valhalla introduces Leif Ericksson and a host of new characters who immediately become embroiled in parallel tales of revenge. Though one hundred years have elapsed, the world in which we find ourselves still feels familiar, and viewers need only get comfortable with the changed landscape and the new crop of historical individuals.

The series premiere gets off to a bumpy start with some painfully stilted acting in the opening sequence, but “The Greenlanders” quickly gains its footing once the principals take center stage after The St.

“Vikings: Valhalla,” the spinoff to History’s popular “Vikings” series debuts on Netflix on Friday, and with it comes fierce fighting, shield maidens, and a crisis as those with the old pagan beliefs crash with those who’ve embraced Christianity. From showrunner/executive producer Jeb Stuart and set 100 years after the original “Vikings,” “Valhalla” introduces audiences to younger versions of Norsemen who went on to become famed figures throughout the world, including Leif Eriksson, King Canute (or Cnut in history) and Harald of Norway, as they became embroiled in conflicts, power grabs, and explorations that would put them in the history books.

TheWrap spoke to the cast, who set up their characters storylines ahead of the premiere.

Sam Corlett (Leif Eriksson)

“Leif, I think we see a man who grew up in Greenland in a very harsh environment, very survivalist kind of way and in a household in which his...

Nominations have been announced for this year’s Irish Film And TV Academy Awards (IFTAs). Scroll down for the full list.

Leading the way with ten apiece are Kenneth Branagh’s much-fancied awards contender Beflast and Irish-language feature An Cailín Ciúin, which recently won the Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus program at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Both titles are up for Best Film, alongside Deadly Cuts, Swan Song, Who We Love, and You Are Not My Mother. Of those six, four are debut features.

For Belfast, Branagh will also contend for the Best Director and Best Script prizes. The film is up for seven Oscars this year.

On the TV Side, crime drama Kin dominated the field with 13 nominations, including Best Drama, as well as director, script, actor (twice) and actress. Vikings:Valhalla, the Netflix sequel of the popular historical show, received seven noms, as did BBC show Hidden Assets.

Netflix's "Vikings: Valhalla" is very keen to remind its audience that it's a sequel show -- especially in the early episodes, which are packed rather densely with name-dropping. Ragnar, Rollo, Lagertha, Bjorn, Ivar and numerous other characters are shoehorned into speeches with the subtlety of a falling axe.

To its credit, "Valhalla" also slips the message into these speeches that it's time to put the past behind us and focus on a new generation of heroes. But before we do that, it's worth looking back at the original "Vikings" -- which, in its prime, was better than even the golden years of "Game of Thrones." It's also...

The post Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 Review: You Have My Axe appeared first on /Film.

Recently, I watched Roland Emmerich’s “Moonfall,” and wondered who in this crazy moment would want to escape to a disaster movie populated by tsunamis, towering infernos and moon chunks cratering the Earth? As it turned out: no one. But don’t we crave escape? When I want a psychic getaway, I’m always satisfied by the visceral weirdness of “Vikings.” So, how great is it that Michael Hirst’s historical epic, which started in relative obscurity in 2013 on the History Channel, lasted for six whole seasons and made stars of Travis Fimmel as legendary warrior Ragnar Lothbrok and Katheryn Winnick as his sword-slinging ex, Lagertha, among a horde of others?

Now, Hirst has passed the shield to Netflix and creator Jeb Stuart, famous for writing such classic star-driven thrillers “The Fugitive” and “Die Hard.” That means that “Vikings: Valhalla” has a narrative elegance and drive without sacrificing the pillaging,...

This article is from the Den of Geek x Vikings: Valhalla Special Edition Magazine created in paid partnership with Netflix. You can read the full digital issue here!

King Canute, or Cnut, “the Great” was Emma of Normandy’s second husband. He became King of England, Denmark, Norway, and part of Sweden. He was a Danish prince who invaded England in 1015 and became King in 1016 after both his rivals–Emma’s first husband Æthelred the Unready and her step-son Edmund Ironside–remarkably, and conveniently died. Canute married Emma to cement his rule of England, and later inherited the Scandanavian thrones.

Not every actor lands the role of a famous historical king, but Bradley Freegard has taken up the crown with authority in his role as King Canute in Vikings: Valhalla. The actor told Den of Geek about filming aboard Viking longships and how the cast created their 11th century accents.

This article is presented by Netflix

Emma of Normandy was Queen consort of England (twice), Denmark, and Norway through two different husbands, later reigning as Regent for her son Harthacnut. We know lots about her because she commissioned a history of herself while still alive to try to smooth things over between two of her sons by different husbands, Edward the Confessor (son of Æthelred the Unready) and Harthacnut (son of Canute), who were wrangling over the throne of England. The Encomium of Queen Emma is a fascinating look at her family history.

Laura Berlin brings to life Emma of Normandy in Vikings: Valhalla. As the young wife of an aging king, she’s at the right hand of the throne, and she knows what it takes to keep her country safe—even though it’s not the country of her birth, and her ancestors are the same people she’s now fighting against.

When “Vikings: Valhalla” star Leo Suter sits down for a Zoom conversation with TheWrap one sunny Thursday afternoon, it’s quickly becoming a big day in the early history of the show. As the British actor fields our questions about playing the young, passionate and fierce-fighting version of history’s Viking prince Harald Sigurdsson, he’s seeing a flutter of social media alerts pop up on the side of his computer screen. The final trailer for his Netflix series, which picks up about 100 years after events of the first “Vikings” franchise, dropped just hours before our chat, and with it, an epic poster showing Harald, sword and ax in hand atop a mountain of skulls, shields and arrows.

“As I’m doing this interview with you, I think I, just a few hours ago, posted that poster on my Instagram and so my computer is firing out notifications,” Suter laughs.

This article contains spoilers for Vikings.

Vikings brought to life the sagas of Ragnar Lothbrook and his progeny. The series’ sweeping, twisting, end-of-empire narrative – blending history with legend, fact with fiction, blood with water, war with peace – chronicled the fate of the Viking people as they fought to understand the world and their place within it, which was diminishing even as it seemed their horizons were broadening.

By the finale it was clear that the scattered, conquistadorial peoples of Scandinavia were facing the erosion and erasure of both their gods, and their whole way of life. Despite the gloom, the series ended on a note of hope for the future, celebrating the Vikings’ capacity for change, reinvention and, perhaps most surprisingly of all, love.

Netflix’s new sequel series, Vikings: Valhalla, set a hundred or so years later, reminds us that the story didn’t end with Ragnar. The Vikings changed,...

This opening letter is from the Den of Geek x Vikings: Valhalla Special Edition Magazine created in paid partnership with Netflix. You can read the full digital issue here!

On paper, a Vikings spin-off certainly seems like a no-brainer. The original series ran for six seasons and garnered legions of fans thanks to its adventurous storytelling, morally gray characters, cinematic action sequences, and willingness to take risks. The simplest choice would have been to create essentially a carbon copy of the original, leaning into its themes of legacy and explicitly tying the new series to its parent program.

Instead, Netflix has gone in a different direction, setting Vikings: Valhalla 125 years after the original, in a world where names like Ragnar and Lagertha are remembered as mythic figures more than real people who loved and struggled and triumphed.

“We had no desire to do Season 7 of Michael [Hirst]’s show.” Vikings: Valhalla...

This opening letter is from the Den of Geek x Vikings: Valhalla Special Edition Magazine created in paid partnership with Netflix. You can read the full digital issue here!

Welcome to Vikings: Valhalla! It’s hard to believe it has been over three years since I received an email asking if I would be interested in exploring some sort of continuation of Michael Hirst’s epic series that had just wrapped after six seasons. As I sit here now it’s hard to believe my first reaction was: “No way I would do that.” Don’t get me wrong, I was a huge fan of the original series, but /Vikings/ had left the bar, in terms of character and action, so high you could hardly see it. Following that was a tough assignment.

But I couldn’t argue that while the original series had shown us the start of the Viking era,...

The Africa Channel Studios has launched development on an untitled drama series exploring the true story of legendary African rock band Wells Fargo. David Straiton and Nora Lonergan (MacGyver) will produce, with writer and musician Daisy Martey penning the pilot. Narendra Reddy and Brendan Gabriel are set to executive produce for The Africa Channel Studios.

Wells Fargo is a rock group from mid-’70s Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) that was prominent in the “Zimrock” scene that popularized hippie-inspired counterculture in Africa. The series will follow drummer Ebba Chitambo and his bandmates’ rise to national fame as they find themselves on the pointy end of a revolution—impossible underdogs in the fight to liberate a segregated and white-controlled Rhodesia.

“After hearing Wells Fargo’s music and story, we were so inspired and intrigued that we dove into the band’s astonishing true story and tracked down the life rights,...

Netflix on Tuesday confirmed premiere dates for a string of genre series, including Vikings: Valhalla and Raising Dion Season 2.

First up, we have Archive 81, which has landed a January 14 premiere date for its freshman season.

The series follows archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie), who takes a job restoring a collection of damaged videotapes from 1994.

Reconstructing the work of a documentary filmmaker named Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), he is drawn into her investigation of a dangerous cult at the Visser apartment building.

Archive 81 is a supernatural horror series executive produced by showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine, James Wan and Michael Clear of Atomic Monster (The Conjuring Universe film franchise and the upcoming Malignant).

Rebecca Thomas, Antoine Douaihy, and Paul Harris Boardman (Deliver Us from Evil) are also involved.

In From the Cold, meanwhile, debuts January 28, 2022.

"During a European vacation with her daughter, an American single mom’s life is turned upside...

Disney+ has unveiled its debut Spanish original series, set casts for upcoming romantic thriller Wedding Season / live action adventure Nautilus and acquired Fremantle dystopian drama Anna.

Created by Lourdes Iglesias and 12-time Goya Award-winners Jose Mari Goenaga, Jon Garaño and Aitor Arregi, Balenciaga (working title) will tell the story of a man who dares to defy his social status as the son of a seamstress and a fisherman. Using his natural talent, constant work and sharp nose for business, he goes on to become one of the most prominent fashion designers of all time.

The six-part show from Moriarti Produkzioak and Irusoin marks the start of Spain’s original content pipeline for Disney+ and is the 21st outside of the US, as the streamer looks to meet its target of 60 by 2024. Of the 21, 16 have been scripted and five non-scripted.

Meanwhile, Dancing Ledge Productions’ drama Wedding Season has boarded Valhalla’s...

One moment, Julie, just 18, a fashion influencer, 159,258 followers, is swanning down a street in Copenhagen, with her BFFs Constanze, Micke and Sofia. The next, her parents and big brother are dead, killed in a plane crash in Africa.

Julie gets the family mansion, but can’t think of any good reasons for living.

There’s a before and after, Julie says in “Kamikaze,” HBO Max’s first Danish original. “Before when I thought of time, that would bring me closer to whatever I was looking forward to. And now I only think of time as something between myself and all the things I will never get back,” she reasons.

Over the course of eight energetic half-hour episodes, Julie seeks a reason to live, while attempting comic and dramatic life-exits in a journey which takes her to Seoul, London, Mexico and finally, in an narrative stretch which punctuates the whole series,...

Many in the gaming world let out a sigh today as Ubisoft formally announced their intentions to develop a project currently known as Assassin’s Creed Infinity: a reportedly live service take on the Assassin’s Creed franchise that may just prove to be the future of the series.

“This change means we’re also evolving along with the video game industry,” reads a blog post from Ubisoft regarding the Infinity project. “Rather than continuing to pass the baton from game to game, we profoundly believe this is an opportunity for one of Ubisoft’s most beloved franchises to evolve in a more integrated and collaborative manner that’s less centered on studios and more focused on talent and leadership, no matter where they are within Ubisoft.”

Now, it’s important to note that the words “live service” are not mentioned in that blog post. That idea was instead prominently mentioned...

“The Woman in the Window,” the Netflix thriller and mystery starring Amy Adams, was watched for 500 million minutes online in its first three days, Nielsen said in its weekly streaming figures. It was good enough to top the list of film titles for the week of May 10, but was a quieter debut compared to some recent streaming hits.

“The Woman in the Window” placed just 5 million minutes ahead of “The Mitchells vs. The Machines,” which had its third straight week among the top spots on Nielsen’s list after previously being watched for 853 million minutes the week of May 3. “Woman in the Window” and “The Mitchells” were also the No. 9 and No. 10 most streamed titles overall, behind popular series such as “Jupiter’s Legacy” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

That said, titles like the Michael B. Jordan thriller “Without Remorse” or the Melissa McCarthy comedy “Thunder Force” debuted far stronger, and it...

Fans of the Princess of the Amazons have been asking this question for a while, and we finally have the answer laid out to us today. It is now official that Wonder Woman can fly. It was not clear whether Diana had the power of flight for a long time, and that question had fans tossing and turning, but not anymore…

Confirmed in mainstream continuity, Wonder Woman is flying into the new era of DC Comics. Throughout various renditions of Wonder Woman, the Princess of the Amazons has taken different capabilities, such as being brought to life by the gods after being moulded from clay. She has been seen leaping over tall buildings and flying an invisible jet, but her power has now been confirmed in Wonder Woman #772 by Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad with illustrations by Travis Moore and Paulina Ganuecheau.

Diana has also finally accepted her title as Wonder Woman.

In an unusual show of consensus, reduced-price titles, a new PVOD title, and several independent films dominated all streaming charts. “Godzilla vs. Kong,” still #5 in theaters in its eighth weekend, followed its initial 31-day HBO Max play with PVOD availability. It placed #1 on both revenue sites, and was #3 and the best high-price title at those who rank by transactions.

The good news is “Godzilla vs. Kong” is thriving on PVOD at $19.99. The bad news is an awful lot of people don’t seem to be aware of the value of HBO Max, where it costs $14.99 for one month and allowed customers to see the same film in March. It suggests an ongoing marketing issue and, at the start of 2022, there will be another challenge when HBO Max customers realize that Warner Bros. titles no longer play day and date with theaters.

“The Marksman” with Liam Neeson remains #1 at GooglePlay at standard VOD cost,...

Liam Neeson thriller “The Marksman” defied pandemic norms with a three-month theatrical window. Five months after its release, it’s now available to rent at the standard-price $5.99 after a late-April Premium VOD debut. It claimed the #1 spot on all charts calculated after the mid-week shift. That includes FandangoNow, which ranks entries by the revenue accrued. That means it had more than triple the number of rentals as their #2 title, “Nobody,” which still costs $19.99.

VOD platforms otherwise saw ongoing success for familiar films, including “The Little Things.” The Denzel Washington action title was #1 at Spectrum, which as usual lags in reporting.

Noteworthy this week is the debut of three fresh titles, two of which are recent releases that went directly to standard pricing and saw immediate interest. “Together Together,” a comedy starring Patti Harrison and Ed Helms, and “French Exit” both saw traction. However, the real breakout is “North Hollywood,” apparently...

It’s safe to say that the Covid content drought is just about over. Netflix prides itself on being the most, let’s say, prolific streaming service in the game. With its list of new releases for May 2021 it’s once again revealing why.

There is a lot going on for Netflix this month and it all starts with some high profile original films. Zack Snyder’s latest zombie effort Army of the Dead premieres on May 21. That will be preceded by Monster, the adaptation of Walter Dean Myers’ classic YA book, on May 7 and Amy Adams Rear Window-esque The Woman in the Window on May 14.

Read more Games Castlevania Season 3: Infinite Corridor Explained By John Saavedra TV Lucifer Season 5: Devilish First Footage From Musical Episode Revealed By Kirsten Howard

Netflix’s TV offerings in May 2021 are just as packed. The adaptation of Millarworld superhero comic Jupiter’s Legacy...