Good Morning Youtinians.  This was quite the week for television fans with many updates on existing projects and announcements of new shows on the way. Last week, we asked your thoughts on The Hunt for Gollum. While slightly more people were cautiously optimistic than excited, combined, they comprised 70% of the responses.

— Corey Helton & JG Carse

Actress Sigourney Weaver Might Be Joining The Mandalorian & Grogu Cast

What We Know: Though no contracts seem to have been signed just yet, we have been graced with the news this week that Sigourney Weaver may join the cast of the upcoming movie The Mandalorian & Grogu! This decision makes perfect sense—and honestly feels very similar to Laura Dern’s inclusion in The Last Jedi, causing us all to reminisce on our nostalgia for Jurassic Park—given Weaver’s long history of starring in some of the best science fiction movies ever to hit the big screen.

Why We Are Excited: We really don’t know what to expect from this movie as far as storytelling goes at this point. Season 4 of The Mandalorian has already been greenlit, so we can guess that perhaps the movie will act as a fifth season of sorts or even the ultimate tie-in with Ahsoka. Still, those are really just our best guesses. But the thought of having Sigourney Weaver in a Star Wars film is enough to get us very excited. From Ghostbusters to Avatar to the movie that introduced her to the world as Ripley, Alien, Sigourney Weaver has a long history of making some incredible science fiction.

We're all fine here now — how are you? We’re pretty stoked at the possibility of seeing Sigourney Weaver in our favorite galaxy far, far away! How do you feel about seeing her in a Star Wars film? Let’s talk about it in the Youtini Discord!

Amazon Steals the Show at TV Upfronts

Last week, there were plenty of TV news, trailers, and announcements from the big studios at their upfronts. What is an upfront, you might be wondering? Upfronts are events where major television networks showcase their upcoming fall and midseason series to advertisers, the press, and other networks. Recently, these presentations have shifted from small, sales-focused meetings to large events, often featuring the talent from the shows. Held in New York during the third week of May, upfronts mark the ceremonial end of pilot season, highlighting the year's development work. Let’s take a look at some of these big announcements from Amazon’s inaugural upfront presentation.

• LotR: Rings of Power season 2 revealed a teaser trailer and release date scheduled for August 29. The description states, “Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will.

• Nicholas Cage will reprise his animated role of Spider-Man Noir in a live-action show from Amazon Prime, MGM+. Per the official logline, Noir will tell the story “of an aging and down on his luck private investigator (Cage) in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.”

• The Tomb Raider TV series is officially in work at Amazon Prime. While she won’t be playing the lead character, Lara Croft, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is set to write and produce the series. A feature film and a new video game are also on the way and will connect all the projects together. 

• Legally Blonde is getting the prequel treatment through a series titled Elle. Produced by Reese Witherspoon and “created by Laura Kittrell (High School, Insecure), who will serve as showrunner, Elle follows Elle Woods in high school as we learn about the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the first Legally Blonde film.”

Amazon made it very clear in its slate of television shows that it is in the business of advertisement. Many other studios also made presentations. Continue reading as we highlight some in the Ready for Dispatch section.

NBA Conference Finals Preview

The stage is now set for the NBA Playoffs' Conference Finals. The Minnesota Timberwolves will face the Dallas Mavericks, while the Boston Celtics will face the Indiana Pacers. The winners of each series will face off in the NBA Finals, which will begin in June.

Western Finals: The Minnesota Timberwolves staged the biggest Game Seven comeback ever. They rallied from behind by overcoming a twenty-point deficit against the Denver Nuggets to reach their first Western Conference Finals since 2004. This was a more difficult series for them than their first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns. The Dallas Mavericks advanced past Oklahoma City after coming back from being down seventeen points, which pits them head-to-head against the Timberwolves, who defeated them three times out of four games during the regular season. However, Dallas point guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving sat out most of those games.

Eastern Finals: The Boston Celtics have once again proven their mettle, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the sixth time in eight years, where they will face the Indiana Pacers. Their journey was challenging, as they had to overcome the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics, who have had almost an entire week's additional rest compared to their next opponent, were number one in scoring and second in defense rating among all NBA teams. At the same time, the Pacers ranked second offensively but struggled on defense. The Celtics' dominance is further underscored by their regular-season record against the Pacers, having triumphed over them three games to two with an average winning margin of just over twelve points per game.

We're all fine here now — how are you? With the playoffs getting closer to the finals, we want to hear from you. Join the discussion in the Younited Discord server in our basketball channel, and let us know who you are rooting for in the poll below.

🛰️ In the Youtiniverse

• Eric dove into gaming again on YouTube, this time exploring Helldivers 2 and why it is perfect for every gamer. Helldivers 2 can potentially change gaming, but can they keep it up?

• The guys on The Youtini Show recently explored the magic of storytelling in sports. They discussed the culture of the Miami Heat and what drew them into the sport.

• The Bounty Hunt crew started their two-part special exploring Tales of the Empire. Last week, the first episode was released, covering the Morgan Elsbeth episodes. This week, they'll cover the Barriss Offee episodes.

🚀 Ready for Dispatch

• Max released what will probably be the final trailer for Season 2 of House of the Dragon. This time, the trailer shows both sides of the upcoming war that will affect not only this specific family but also the land of Westeros around them.

• Max also released a teaser trailer for Dune: Prophecy. The upcoming series, set to release in the Fall, will take fans of the Dune universe 10,000 years before the events of the first film. 

• Marvel has finally ended the speculation, officially announcing the release windows for Agatha All Along, Daredevil Born Again, and Ironheart. After a series of mysterious and confusing 'official' name changes, the show that centers around Agatha from Wandavision now has a clear and definitive title.

• The official full trailer for Wicked was released. It shows more of Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda and teases the music to come. 

• The Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark’s season premiere brought in record viewers. Across all platforms, 2.1 million viewers tuned in making it the most-watched WNBA game on ESPN.

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