We had hoped for it to be just digital presence and not actual presence but I guess C's tag was a hint. You can go to A's story if you're just dying to see fakery in motion... all it is: her standing in front of L and a few pics of the stage and her acting like she's happy.
I don't have much to say except that the obligations aren't done and I do NOT think it bodes well for L's image (still) or people wanting to watch his upcoming projects or even his upcoming appearance.
We could still be in a hollowing out phase as we thought the cheek kiss time clock wasn't up (it's still there for one), but shippers are tired, and I'm not sure you can count on their good graces much longer. I still believe the messages were baked into the songs L posted, and I suppose he's still paying the price.
It could be back to "we're all just friends" since C & T were also there; it seemed to be the narrative they were trying to promote w/ the JV brunch but sorry, if this were a movie I'd give it all the rotten tomatoes for ZERO through line on the plot...
This changes nothing about where I stand on Lukola but I think circumstances are starting to make ppl like them a little less. I'm glad N posted Muriel's Wedding, though, to at least hint at the fakery/ underlying misery. Anyhow, Lukola is together and have a 5 mo. old baby, and I'll be surprised if they can hide it much longer... or if anyone cares much longer.
the zombies universe makes no sense and i need to talk about it
okay i need to TALK about the disney zombies franchise because this has been festering in my brain for way too long and i’m finally snapping
like. i loved the first movie. genuinely. unironically. it was FUN, it had a clear concept, and most importantly it actually made sense within its own universe.
the whole premise?? a power plant explosion causes zombies. boom. done. explained. it’s sci-fi, it’s a little campy, but it WORKS. there’s a cause, there’s a consequence, and the entire worldbuilding is built around that one event. segregation between humans and zombies? makes sense. the z-bands stabilising them? makes sense. the social commentary? surprisingly solid for a disney channel movie. like… it had a foundation.
and then the franchise just… completely loses its mind.
because tell me WHY in the second movie we suddenly get WEREWOLVES???
and not even in a “this is a new development” way. no. they’ve apparently just… always been there. living outside the town. existing this whole time. and no one mentioned them. EVER.
like i’m sorry??? you’re telling me a town that literally built its entire identity and social structure around one supernatural event (zombies) just casually ignored the existence of a whole other supernatural species??? that’s been THERE the entire time???
it breaks the internal logic immediately. because now the question isn’t “how do humans and zombies coexist” it’s “what the hell is going on in this world???” like are there rules?? are we just adding creatures every sequel like it’s a checklist???
and the werewolves themselves don’t even feel integrated into the original concept. they feel like they walked in from a completely different franchise. the aesthetic shifts, the lore shifts, the tone shifts. it stops feeling like a continuation and starts feeling like a spin-off that accidentally got glued onto the main story.
and then. THEN.
the third movie said “you know what would fix this?? ALIENS.”
ALIENS.
i wish i was joking.
so now not only do we have zombies (science accident) and werewolves (??? just there ???), we now have literal extraterrestrials showing up because their planet got destroyed.
and again—this isn’t built up. there’s no groundwork. they just arrive. suddenly. and we’re supposed to accept that this universe now includes space travel and intergalactic refugees???
it completely nukes the scale of the story. the first movie was local. contained. it was about a town dealing with one massive change. by the third movie, the stakes are so all over the place that nothing feels grounded anymore. if aliens exist, why should i care about high school dynamics?? why should i care about cheer competitions?? the world just became infinitely bigger and the story didn’t evolve to handle that.
it’s like the writers kept asking “what’s bigger than the last thing we did?” instead of “what actually fits the world we created?”
and THEN—because apparently we hadn’t reached peak chaos yet—the fourth movie goes “okay but what about VAMPIRES.”
not just one type either. no no. TWO different kinds.
and they’re connected to some moonstone?? or magical energy?? or whatever the explanation was supposed to be???
at this point i genuinely felt like i was watching a different franchise entirely.
because what even is the logic anymore.
we went from:
– science-based mutation (zombies)
to:
– unexplained long-existing supernatural species (werewolves)
to:
– literal space aliens
to:
– magical vampire lore with mystical objects
THAT IS FOUR DIFFERENT GENRE SYSTEMS.
four.
and none of them properly connect.
there’s no cohesive mythology tying it all together. no unifying rule. no “this is how the world works.” it’s just stacking ideas on top of each other and hoping the audience doesn’t notice the cracks.
and the thing is—people DO notice.
because it stops feeling like storytelling and starts feeling like escalation for the sake of content.
which is why the last three movies feel like cash grabs. i’m sorry but they do.
they don’t expand the world in a meaningful way, they just add to it. and adding isn’t the same as building. building requires structure. consistency. intention. and it genuinely feels like that got lost after the first movie.
and this isn’t even just a zombies problem, this is a wider disney problem right now.
because instead of developing strong, original ideas and actually nurturing them, they keep:
– stretching franchises past their natural lifespan
– throwing in bigger, flashier concepts to keep attention
– relying on recognisable branding instead of solid writing
– remaking old content instead of creating new stories people can actually connect to
and it shows.
because when you compare the first zombies movie to the later ones, you can literally feel the difference in care.
the first one had something to say.
the others just… had more stuff.
and i hate that because there was SO much potential there.
they could have deepened the zombie/human dynamics.
they could have explored the consequences of the original incident more.
they could have built a richer, more layered world.
but instead we got supernatural creature bingo.
and i’m still mad about it.
anyway if you actually read all this you’re a real one and i need to know if this bothered anyone else as much as it bothered me because i feel like i’ve been holding this rant in for YEARS
okay AND ANOTHER THING because i’m still not done and now we need to talk about zed and addison because this part actually makes me more annoyed the longer i think about it
because what happened to them???
like genuinely—WHAT happened???
in the first movie, their relationship WORKED. it had a clear emotional core. it was literally built on the idea of two people from completely different worlds choosing each other anyway. it was messy, it had conflict, but the conflict made sense. zed wanted acceptance for zombies, addison wanted to fit in with humans, and they both had to unlearn stuff to meet in the middle.
and most importantly—they actually LIKED each other.
there was effort. there was mutual growth. they both messed up, but they both tried. that’s what made it good.
and then the next three movies just… slowly dismantle that dynamic piece by piece until it’s barely even the same relationship anymore.
because from movie two onwards it starts feeling like this weird imbalance where zed is constantly expected to prove himself over and over and OVER again while addison just… stands there judging him half the time.
like every film turns into:
zed trying to fix everything → zed messing up (because he’s being put under ridiculous pressure) → addison getting upset → zed scrambling to fix it again
and it’s exhausting.
because it stops feeling like a partnership and starts feeling like zed is in a constant performance review for a relationship he’s already in.
and addison???
girl.
what are you doing.
because the way she acts in the later movies genuinely feels like she just does not care about him in the same way anymore.
she expects so much from him—emotionally, socially, politically—and then when he inevitably fails (because he’s literally juggling EVERYTHING), she gets disappointed or distant or frustrated instead of actually supporting him.
and it’s like… he is TRYING.
constantly.
and she just keeps raising the bar without ever really meeting him halfway.
and don’t even get me started on the way she just… runs off every single movie.
because WHY is this a pattern???
movie 2: suddenly she’s questioning everything about herself because of the werewolves and is ready to drop everything to go figure that out
movie 3: aliens show up and now she’s like “wait maybe i’m one of them??” and is once again ready to leave everything behind
movie 4: vampires enter the chat and now there’s ANOTHER identity crisis tied to some moonstone situation???
like i’m sorry but at some point this stops being “self-discovery” and starts being “girl you are abandoning your entire life every time a new species walks into town”
and the worst part is how casually it’s treated.
she just leaves. or almost leaves. or emotionally checks out. again and again.
and everyone else just has to deal with that???
like zed especially is just expected to sit there and be supportive while she repeatedly questions whether she even belongs with him, with humans, with anything she’s built.
and it’s framed as this deep, meaningful journey but it honestly just comes across as inconsistent and frustrating.
because it completely undermines the message of the FIRST movie.
the whole point back then was:
you don’t need to change who you are to belong.
addison’s whole arc was about accepting that she’s different and that’s okay. her white hair wasn’t something to fix or explain or justify—it was just part of her.
and that was actually a really nice message.
but then the sequels turn around and go:
actually no, we NEED to explain it. we NEED her to belong to something. we NEED her to fit into a specific category.
and suddenly she’s desperately trying to find a label, a group, a species—ANYTHING that will “make sense” of her.
and it feels like such a regression.
because instead of growing into herself, she keeps trying to become something else.
and every time a new supernatural group shows up, it’s like the story goes “maybe THIS is what you are” and she just latches onto it immediately.
no hesitation. no grounding. just full identity crisis mode.
and meanwhile zed is just… there.
trying to hold everything together.
trying to support her.
trying to prove himself.
trying to not screw up.
and getting very little of that same energy back.
and that’s what makes it so frustrating because they USED to feel balanced.
they used to feel like two people choosing each other despite everything.
now it just feels like zed is chasing someone who keeps drifting further away every movie.
and i hate that because they had something really solid in the beginning.
they could’ve grown TOGETHER.
they could’ve faced these new challenges as a unit.
but instead the writing keeps pulling them apart in the same repetitive way:
addison questions who she is → distances herself → zed tries to fix it → conflict → temporary resolution → repeat next movie
and after a while it just stops hitting.
it’s not emotional anymore, it’s just predictable.
and honestly???
it makes addison kind of unlikeable in the later films.
not because she’s complex—but because the writing refuses to let her actually commit to anything.
not to herself, not to zed, not to the life she already has.
she’s always halfway out the door.
and that’s not compelling after the third time, it’s just tiring.
anyway yeah. i’m still mad. their relationship deserved better and i will die on that hill
So by now, hopefully you have seen the news about Moon Knight.
While they have not flat out said they will never do a Season 2... They have said it isn't anywhere on their list of things to do anymore.
Marvel MCU has taken a turn in a new direction, and I totally could see this coming.
So Marvel has had Phases where they introduce certain characters and connections in movies and what not.
All those were slowly building up the MCU as a sort of experiment to see if there was any money in it and if people would remain excited. When momentum took off, they were at the peak of Super Hero era fandom.
All of that built up to the Infinity Wars and End game.
At this point many of the actors expressed that they were thinking about being done with MCU, so you got major character deaths and changing of stories. You also got the peak of Marvel fucking over their writers, hiding the stories from the actors who NEEDED TO KNOW THE STORY TO ACT THEM, and other shenanigans.
After End Game, Disney Plus was acquired and a new experiment started. You got mini series.
So now we entered into the lesser side of Marvel. Big movies and shows with characters that a lot of average movie goers had no idea who they were. Only die hard comic fans really knew these characters and what it meant when they entered into the MCU.
Winter Soldier and Falcon was Marvel cashing in on the Bucky Fandom and also trying to switch the gears to the new MCU without Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.
At the same time, you also got what I think of as "The Grief" age of Marvel: Wanda Vision, Moon Knight, and even Loki.
(I could write a manifesto about the grief period)
Moon Knight was a love letter in many ways. It was an honest to God stand alone show. They had no intention to connect it, but hoped it would do well enough to try.
While Wanda Vision was a way to bridge End Games with the Dr. Strange Movie that I hate, Loki was supposed to bring in the Kang Dynasty.... Who I have always hated in the comics.
For... several reasons... Both those things failed. Fans loved the shows, but weren't big at turn out for the movies. The age of Superhero hype has passed and Disney/Marvel is doing what it does best now and sabotaging itself. (What was that CGI in Shehulk?)
You know what DID do well? Dare Devil and Punisher.
Dare Devil is coming back and Punisher is going back into the show as a tie in. You know what else they are doing?
Moon Knight tie in.
Marvel has released that their main goal now with Moon Knight is to build up a Multiverse tie in where show characters can appear in other shows without getting their own shows.
If this goes well, they might look at doing a bigger Avenger-esque movie that can show all these characters (in the background).
The biggest problem with casting a huge star like Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight? He's a busy man. He has actual movies to put out and other series to follow up on.
Things that tend to be more lime light than a little background appearance now and then.
Charlie Cox? Jon Bernthal? Those guys were MEANT to play DareDevil and Punisher. Like... I can't get over how perfect that casting was. Those guys have no other obligations at the moment and can keep doing this.
So... TLDR: No Moon Knight Season 2. Only background characters work and eventual tie in events as time permits.
Ik I'm supposed to hate the umbrella academy S4 but I can't it's too funny it like a sci-fi romantic comedy in the worst way possible like I haven't laughed that much in a long time and you can tell the writer lost the plot completely from e4 😭😭😭
Re: They lost the plot, we're a bit behind in making sense of the chaos...
But don't you worry the Lukola FBI always catches up! 🕵♀️
1) This isn't good no matter how you slice it. 🍞🚫
•L is losing followers by the minute, and his last F1 Boss post w/ A accelerated that rate. We only have estimated numbers in the thousands rn, and it's dynamic as info. spreads. Anyhow, if you want to keep track (this shipper ain't got time for that, lol) you can go here, as it also shows hidden tags: instapv.com.
• Most accurate summary from an Anon, imo: "There is no explanation that people are willing to tolerate". Whatever reason you think Lukola is doing this, none of it holds up as something people want to see, tolerate, or for which they can advocate. All one can do is ignore what one doesn't want to see and why does anyone want to have to skirt around the truth when they can move on to more joyful, aligned experiences...
2) We got options: 📝
• I've always said, it takes a month or two to figure out what the previous mos. were about so I put forth several options for @jmuz09 to feed the Robot, and asked for any other options - w/ no "hybrids" and no "last" verbiage, to pare it down as much as possible.
• W/ that said, I do think it could be a hybrid of 3 & 4 - damage control + post renegotiation concession OR initially planned. The Robot thinks the initial plan is low because Lukola would've been suppressed, BUT I'm not sold... Easter eggs could've been seen as better than nothing/ I do believe they retained the right to hint for the fans. Also, the clueless X users who believe Antluke are a thing were celebrating A posting L on her IG, and we know it's been a checklist of things fans said he'd never do so it *could* be in the original plan...
3) What is the MOST likely? 🤔
4) Final Thoughts 🧠
If you're always looking at it through the lens of the PR f*ckery that it is/ an NDA contract negotiation, it becomes a little easier but there are some things we just can't be privvy to so we have to be comfortable w/ the probabilities, or "something in the category of". It's barely been 24 hrs, and we'll only know the direction it's heading in over time. I wouldn't blame any of you if you take a good long break! Tbf, they simply aren't making the investment worth it, imo, but you have to decide for yourself.
Bonus Robot analysis per the vigilant @jmuz09 about PR monitoring for damage control 👀
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"Antonia’s accounts were online constantly while the stories were up. Then both went offline when they expired..." ⬇️
