Just when you thought the withdrawal symptoms from the end of prime ).
All seven episodes of The Jengaburu Curse will be available to stream August 9 on Sony Liv.
Strange Planet
When: August 9
Where: Apple TV+
Strange Planet is set in a whimsical pastel landscape of cotton candy pink and light purple, where a group of lanky beings explore the absurdity of everyday human life. A lot of it goes over their heads though, from the concept of drinking ‘jitter liquid’ (coffee), understanding what irony means, or why anyone would trash their place with confetti for celebrations. Other times, they’ll embark on epic adventures soaring around in a hot air balloon and remaining bizarrely calm when their flight crash-lands into the sea, all while coming to terms with their existence’s ruleset where both good and bad moments will pass by eventually.
The 10-episode show is based on author Nathan W. Pyle’s eponymous graphic novel and social media posts, offering a perceptive look at a distant world similar to ours. He also serves as co-creator on the show, partnering with Dan Harmon, best known for making Rick and Morty. It stars the voices award nominees Danny Pudi (Community), Lori Tan Chinn (Turning Red), Hannah Einbinder (Hacks), and Tunde Adebimpe (Rachel Getting Married).
The first three episodes of Strange Planet are out August 9 on Apple TV+, followed by new episodes every Wednesday until September 27.
Ahsoka
When: August 23
Where: Disney+ Hotstar
Following her brief appearance in The Mandalorian, Rosario Dawson returns as Ahsoka Tano, the Togruta Jedi on the prowl for a bigger fish – Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) – who is bound to return as heir to the Galactic Empire. The women of Star Wars: Rebels take centre stage in the series, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane) assuming the role of ace pilot general Hera Syndulla and Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Guns Akimbo) as the Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren. The latter has a strained history with her master Ahsoka, who abandoned her mid-training, just like Anakin Skywalker did to the Togruta years ago. Speaking of which, Hayden Christensen is reprising his role as the said Jedi Knight, who would eventually be known as Darth Vader.
Regardless of their personal feelings for each other, the trio launch into the galaxy far, far away to prevent another war. Lucasfilm isn’t too keen on providing plot details for Ahsoka, though I really hope it answers the burning question of how the aforementioned Sabine, who was once in possession of the Darksaber, lost it to Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). We’d also be treated to a cinematic lightsaber battle between Ahsoka and Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), ally to Thrawn and master to the dark Force user Shin (Ivanna Sakho). Marking Stevenson’s first release since his demise in May, Ahsoka is being brought to the small screen by showrunner and writer Dave Filoni, who’s been involved in pretty much every Star Wars TV project with Jon Favreau.
Ahsoka debuts August 23 with a two-episode premiere on Disney+ Hotstar. It will then follow a weekly release schedule, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday until October 4.
One Piece
When: August 31
Where: Netflix
Let’s be honest, Netflix hasn’t had the best track record when it comes to adapting anime to a live-action medium, with key examples of failure being Cowboy Bebop and Death Note. A One Piece adaptation has been gestating for years now, with the streamer ordering a 10-episode first season that would chronicle the East Blue Saga — which looks wackily promising. In it, you follow Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), an enthusiastic loudmouthed pirate possessing a rubber-like body, on a quest to find the ultimate titular treasure. But before setting sail on a perilous adventure across the Grand Line, he must find a ship and more importantly, assemble a crew of adept pirates — or rather, comrades — whom he could trust blindfolded.
We’ll meet the green-haired triple swordsman Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu), the enigmatic thief Nami (Emily Rudd), the cunning Usopp (Jacob Romero Gibson), and the uber-talented romantic chef Sanji (Taz Skylar), who seeks the fabled All Blue, which holds fish from all four seas. The villainous Buggy the Clown (Jeff Ward) will also make an appearance, being able to split his body into pieces and command each part to do his bidding. You’ll encounter more such out-of-the-box characters, who’ve consumed the Devil’s Fruit to gain superhuman abilities — one of them being Luffy himself, who can stretch his appendages like rubber to perform wildly dynamic finishing moves like the infamous Gum-Gum Pistol attack.
Yes, this means that a lot of the fight sequences will be reliant on heavy CGI work, which if not detailed enough can be a point of criticism for fans. Not to mention, Netflix is condensing the first 100 chapters of the East Blue Saga manga into a mere 10 episodes, which could leave out a chunk of character development. Only time will be the judge of how the One Piece live-action series plays out, though the original mangaka Eiichiro Oda remarked that numerous reshoots were done until he got what felt genuine to his vision.
All 10 episodes of the One Piece live-action series are out August 31 on Netflix.
