That should be a LOT of fun. Then the next day, I’m also on the Everyone’s a Critic: Becoming and Being a Journalist in the Online Age panel (Saturday) at 5-6 PM in room 9 at the San Diego Convention Center (details here):

“Bill Watters (Bleeding Cool), Mary Anne Butler (Aggressive Comix), Dana Han-Klein (Mohawk Movie Review), Bill Hunt (The Digital Bits), Alexandra August (Geek Magazine, CBR), and Thomas Parham (APU) discuss the expansion of journalism over the past decade, from the rise of citizen journalism to blogging to vloggers, podcasters, and online-only news sources. Panelists will talk about the roles new media play between their readers and the industries and communities they serve, varying levels of informality versus classic ideas of professionalism, show-specific outlets versus general news sites, moving from hobbyist to being a professional, and more.”

So if you’re around for the Con, be sure to come on by, check out the panels, and say hello!

Now then, in terms of announcement news today...

I’ve confirmed with Lionsgate that their forthcoming Terminator 2 4K Ultra HD release will include the Theatrical version only on the 4K disc, and all three versions in 1080p HD on the included Blu-ray Disc (Theatrical, Extended Special Edition, and the Special Edition/Director’s Cut). I’m still working to confirm the audio you’ll find on the 4K Ultra HD release. The studio’s press release says 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, but there’s conflicting information. So we’re working to confirm, but we may not have that for you until next week.

We’ve also learned more about GKids’ plans for re-releasing most of the Studio Ghibli animated films on Blu-ray in the months ahead. They’ll release everything except Grave of the Fireflies (for which they don’t have the rights) and The Wind Rises (which is new). They aren’t going to be doing new editions of the Blu-ray titles they’ve already released (Poppy, Ocean Waves, Only Yesterday, Kaguya, and Marnie). All the other titles are coming in new BD editions. Each will have three subtitle streams: English for Japanese audio (translation), English SDH (aka “dubtitles”), and French. All of these come straight from Studio Ghibli. Essentially, if you’re familiar with the Studio Ghibli Japanese Blu-rays, everything on those discs should carry over to the new GKids releases. All will be approved by Ghibli. Per GKids’ Facebook page: “We are carefully reviewing transfers, updating subtitles (where appropriate) and going nuts on the QC process.” They’re starting to release these in October and will debut new titles a few per per month until they’re all out by the end of Q1 2018. Great news indeed! You can read more here. And you can see the cover artwork for the first batch below.

Here’s something awesome: Kino Lorber has announced that it’s going to release an OSS 117: Five Film Collection on Blu-ray on 9/26, including OSS 117 Is Unleashed, OSS 117: Panic in Bangkok, OSS 117: Mission for a Killer, OSS 117: Mission to Tokyo, and OSS 117: Double Agent! That same day, Kino will also release Dimension 5 and Cyborg 2087. Not done yet... how about a little film called SpaceCamp? And don’t forget that Kino also has the 12-episode serial Adventures of Captain Marvel coming to Blu-ray on 9/19. You can see the cover art and pre-order them below.

The Warner Archive Collection is going to be releasing Night Moves (1975) and Freebie and the Bean (1974) on Blu-ray in the weeks ahead. If you’re at Comic-Con today, Warner Archive is having a panel about their new Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Blu-ray release – 4:15 to 5:15 in Room 6A. Be sure to ask them about Batman: The Animated Series in Blu-ray and let us know what they say!

BBC Home Entertainment will release Orphan Black: The Complete Series on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/31 (SRP $104.99 for Blu-ray).

Arrow Video has J.D.’s Revenge due on Blu-ray/DVD Combo on 10/31. They also have the George A. Romero: Between Night and Dawn box set coming to Blu-ray on 10/24 – you can see the cover artwork below.

And VCI Entertainment has set The Aftermath (1982) and Satan’s Cheerleaders (1977) for Blu-ray release on 11/7.

All right, we’re going to leave you with the hot new cover artwork for a BUNCH of upcoming Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD titles. Click on the covers to pre-order them on Amazon.com, if available...

Don’t forget that Dunkirk and Valerian open in theaters this weekend. By Monday I’ll have seen both, so I’ll let you know what I think here (spoiler-free, of course), and probably sooner on social media (see the links below).

With that, have a great Comic-Con and a great weekend!

- Bill Hunt

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)