Don’t look now, but the Now Playing Podcast schedule just got a last-minute makeover. Come April, you’re gonna get in the cage with our hosts for four all-new weekend-of-release reviews, plus the conclusion of our Harry Potter series and the beginning of its prequel series, and a whole lot more.
Here’s everything coming to Now Playing Podcast in April 2022.
April 1 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
We’ve reached the end of the line with Harold and friends, but through the magic of Hollywood, Warner Brothers managed to squeeze two blockbuster films out of the final book in J.K. Rowling’s young wizard series. Deathly Hallows Part 2, in case you forgot, was a monster at the box office, grossing more than $1.3 billion in the summer of 2011. Wow, it’s really been that long.
April 5 – Morbius
Jared Leto takes a bite out of another comic book franchise, this time finding his way into Sony’s Spider-Man Universe with the first live-action appearance of Morbius, the Living Vampire. It’s an origin story, so if you’ve seen one before you can probably predict what’s to come. But what the hell? It’s only 104 minutes, which is long for Sony!
April 8 – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
After eight Harry Potter films and billions of dollars, Warner Brothers wasn’t ready to walk away from this money maker. And so, we come to the Fantastic Beasts series and the Platinum Level of Now Playing’s 2022 Spring/Summer Donation Drive. The Fantastic Beasts series hit screens in 2016, serving as a prequel that takes place decades before Harold and his pals were even born.
April 12 – Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Now Playing heads back to theaters for the second time in April for the Sonic the Hedgehog sequel, which brings back the blue hero (voiced by Ben Schwartz) alongside famous franchise characters Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), Doctor Eggman (Jim Carrey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba). As the first Sonic grossed more than $300 million just before the pandemic (and scored some good reviews, although just one green arrow from Now Playing), we can expect this one to bring out big family crowds.
April 15 – Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Do you know how many times I accidentally wrote Griswold before correcting myself? Twice. But surely there’s more to this Fantastic sequel, right? Oh yeah, this is the one that had all the scandal because Johnny Depp got cast as a wizard. Yeah, he’s not coming back for the next sequel.
April 19 – The Rock
What’s this? We’re reviewing a movie about the Brahma Bull? The People’s Champion? The Most Electrifying Name In Sports Entertainment? Not this time. No, we’re talking about Michael Bay’s 1997 blow-up-the-world action spectacle starring Sean Connery, Ed Harris, and motherfreakin Nicolas Cage. Why are we reviewing this one-off that never got a sequel? Keep reading.
April 22 – Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
The third, but surely not final, film in the Fantastic series hits theaters in April, and our hosts will be there for it. This time, Johnny Depp does not return, he got recast with Mads Mikkelsen. It happens, but if Depp starts putting out holiday videos like Kevin Spacey I’m canceling the internet.
April 26 – The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Oh, that’s why they’re reviewing The Rock. That’s right, you can’t do just one Nic Cage film at a time. Our hosts will head back to theaters for the actor’s much talked-about starring role as himself in a film that just sounds too insanely awesome to be bad. We’ll find out what our hosts have to think, but let’s just hope this marks a return to big screen box office for Cage. We’ve missed him.
April 29 – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
This one, a Ben Stiller starrer based on the famed James Thurber story, comes to Now Playing via one of the show’s listeners. If you’re unfamiliar with the Mitty story, it’s about a man’s daydreams and where they take him. Let’s not spoil anything more. Mitty did make some money back when it hit theaters in October 2013, but has been largely forgotten. Could this patron pick bring the film new fans? We’ll find out.
