If you're someone who's been out of the anime game for awhile, here's the perfect opportunity to catch up! One of my favorite animes from a couple years back, The Devil Is A Part Timer, is currently free to purchase at the Microsoft store!

The story had a crazy premise in which Satan is losing a battle against the angels in the other world dimension, and in an act of desperation uses his magic to jump to our world to hide. He lands in Tokyo as a teenage guy. Then, with the help of his minions and enemies, he attempts to plot his rise to the top of our world. His first move? Starting a part time job at a fast food chain, which is arguably the most evil industry on Earth.

I suppose I should clarify weirdest anime in the sense of the premise of the show. There's a lot of crazier anime out there... but it's not often I find myself rooting for Satan?

When I watched the series it was subtitled (this version is dubbed). Even though I was reading, I still laughed out loud at some of the show's moments! Hopefully the humor transitions well in the translation process.

/r/Anime gets the credit for bringing this to my attention. Always a great place for finding new anime!

As a way to promote Marvel Comics' upcoming X-Men comic event Apocalypse Wars, the publisher has revealed several new variant covers that reimagine several of their popular superheroes as Horsemen of The Apocalypse from the Age of Apocalypse universe. 

Each of these characters has been given a new badass dark look with new costumes. Some of the characters you see include Spider-Man, The Avengers, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, and more. In total, there will be twenty-three comics that will get a variant cover.

Below, you'll find the full list of comics that will be getting a variant cover throughout the month of May:

Black Panther #2

Black Widow #3

Captain Marvel #5

Daredevil #7

Deadpool #11

Doctor Strange #8

Extraordinary X-Men #10

Howard the Duck #7

Invincible Iron Man #9

Ms. Marvel #7

Power Man and Iron Fist #4

The Punisher #1

Spider-Gwen #8

Thunderbolts #1

Totally Awesome Hulk #7

Uncanny Inhumans #8

Apocalypse Wars kicks off in May during Extraordinary X-Men, then makes its way to Uncanny X-Men in June and All-New X-Men in July.

Via: IGN

Director James Gunn and the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 have been hard at work rehearsing and preparing to start shooting the highly anticipated Marvel sequel. Gunn has been posting photos on social media featuring the core members of the cast including Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, and Michael Rooker. The most recent photo he posted shows us that Rocket Raccoon has made his way to the set in Atlanta. The image below was posted with the caption: "He's back." I also included a couple of the other photos in case you missed them.

SPOILER WARNING:

From what we know about Thor: Ragnarok, the movie is shaping up to be the best Thor movie from Marvel so far. We know that Thor (Chris Hemswoth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) will be teaming up for a cosmic adventure which is said to be kind of a Midnight Run-style road movie. Along the way, they will do battle with the Goddess of Death, Hela (Cate Blanchett).

Hela is a goddess and ruler of the spirits of the dead, and for those of you who are familiar with the events of the Ragnarok storyline, then you know that Ragnarok kills and resurrects the gods. So, it's safe to say that some of the characters in the Marvel universe aren't going to make it out of this movie alive.

Thanks to Latino-Review, we have some story details regarding Hela and Heimdall. If you don't want to know what these story details are, stop reading now because they do contain major possible SPOILERS. The site explains:

Hela will take Asgard and, Thor attempts to stop her. Hela lays the smackdown on the God of Thunder, destroying his hammer and straight up murdering Thor's friend Heimdall (Idris Elba). 

They go on to explain that the death of Heimdall will happen early on in the film. The report also points out a scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron when Thor is in the cave having visions. One of the visions shows Idris Elba's Heimdall warning "Thor of 'Hel' right before the visions of the Infinity Stones took over. Now it looks like Heimdall might literally go to Hel."

That's not all, though! Apparently Heimdall will be back during the final showdown in the film with Hela. That battle will feature "an army of the dead commanded by the villainess doing battle with good Valkyries from Valhalla and the souls of the righteous fallen, including Heimdall."

Holy shit, that sounds freakin' epic! If this is all true, it sounds like it's going to be quite a sight to see. What do you think about this possible fate of Heimdall in Thor: Ragnarok? For more information on the film, click here.

Our series of articles that focus on the food in the animated films of Hayao Miyazaki continues today with Castle in the Sky. To catch up on the two articles that we've posted in the series, click on the following links: Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. 

Hayao Miyazaki's movies are widely known for their warm colors, cute pets, brave characters, attractive storyline, and incredible attention to detail. But one of the most significant parts of any Miyazaki film is actually the food. Miyazaki uses food in specific ways to bring characters together, build their relationships, and add depth to the story.

In Castle in the Sky, the choice in food doesn’t seem to have too much significance apart from explaining social status. However, the presentation and reception of the food gives us insight into the relationships between characters.

In the very beginning, we see Muska’s henchman offer some food to Sheeta, who then flat out refuses his offering. At this point in the movie, we know nothing about any of the characters, so this is a great insight into the relationship between captor and captive. OK, so we don’t necessarily know that Sheeta is a captive (although it is possible to pick up since the food being offered is bread and water) at this point, but we do know that something is wrong. She doesn’t want to eat, she looks depressed, it’s all there to tip us off.

Next, we see Pazu running around with meatballs for his boss. This errand demonstrates the relationship between apprentice and master. When Pazu returns with the meatballs, Boss asks him to help around as a mentor would ask of a mentee; not doing mundane chores but actual work that he himself would do. We later find out that Pazu and Boss are very close, almost to the point of father-son as Pazu and Sheeta run away from the pirates and Muska. We as the audience get clued into all this relationship indirectly from the moment we meet Pazu ordering Boss’s dinner.

While running away from Muska and the pirates, Pazu and Sheeta end up in a cave. While here they share a meal of bread with eggs. This food is accepted by Sheeta and symbolizes that these two kids are a team now. Pazu has been friendly to Sheeta ever since catching her as she fell from the sky. Sheeta has been kind and grateful for his help in return, but has also urged Pazu not to worry about her. She is scared that anyone helping her will get caught up in trouble with the military and/or pirates. After eating this meal, Sheeta is a bit less reluctant to accept Pazu’s help (albeit those dirty rotten military guys “persuade” Pazu to leave Sheeta with them for a bit).

After Sheeta goes with Muska to spare Pazu, Pazu runs home to find Dola stuffing her face with a feast fit a king, or queen in this case. Dola sees herself as the queen of the pirates and as untouchable as royalty, so of course she’s going to eat like one. Seeing herself this way is only built upon by her sons worshiping her and always treating her as a queen.

While on the pirate ship, Sheeta is tasked with cooking food for Dola and her sons. The pirates fall in love with Sheeta and in order to show their affection are more than happy to volunteer helping her prepare the food as long as it means being with her.

By: Yifan Zhao, Tommy Wiliams, and Catherine Wilson

I thought Frank Grillo's performance as a battle-hardened badass in The Purge: Anarchy was a great audition to play The Punisher, but since he's already playing Crossbones in the MCU, that role eventually went to Jon Bernthal. But right after Grillo appears in Captain America: Civil War this summer, he'll blast back into theaters in The Purge: Election Year, reprising his role as Sergeant Leo Barnes who takes a job protecting a U.S. Senator (Elizabeth Mitchell) that opposes the concept of The Purge. They're obviously looking to capitalize on the country's concentration on the political landscape as we approach the presidential election, and if history is any indication, it's going to work — these movies are always insanely profitable. I wasn't crazy about the first film, but the second one impressed me with the ways it built out the world and showed the effects of The Purge outside of just one home.

Universal has just unleashed the first trailer, poster, and photos for the new movie, which you can check out below. The film hits theaters on July 1st.

Expanding the universe introduced in the hit franchise that electrified the culture and earned $200 million at the worldwide box office, Universal Pictures’ The Purge: Election Year reveals the next terrifying chapter that occurs over 12 hours of annual lawlessness sanctioned by the New Founders of America to keep this country great.

It’s been two years since Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) stopped himself from a regrettable act of revenge on Purge Night. Now serving as head of security for Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), his mission is to protect her in a run for president and survive the annual ritual that targets the poor and innocent. But when a betrayal forces them onto the streets of D.C. on the one night when no help is available, they must stay alive until dawn…or both be sacrificed for their sins against the state.

We already knew that Bill Hader and Ben Schwartz were the guys behind the creation of BB-8's "voice" in J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but now there's a new video of Schwartz (whom you may recognize as Jean-Ralphio from Parks and Recreation) doing a Reddit AMA yesterday in which he talks in-depth about exactly what he did to create the voice for the character.

Schwartz is one of my favorite comedic forces in Hollywood, and just seems like a great guy that would be fun to hang out with. If you're ever in town, head over to the UCB Theater and see if he's performing — he'll crack you up, guaranteed.

Via: LaughingSquid

Fans of The Talos Principle, The Witness, and Transistor might appreciate the gameplay style in this new release from Cando Santo. In Firewatch, you take on the role of a fire lookout named Henry who has stumbled into a situation involving two young women that have gone missing... View Full Post on GameTyrant

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Ryan Coogler's Creed was an excellent example of how to continue the story of a classic film character while also making a movie that feels vital and necessary instead of like a studio deciding to go through the motions. Not long ago, star Sylvester Stallone (who received an Oscar nomination for playing former heavyweight boxer Rocky Balboa in the movie) was talking about how Creed II might include flashbacks to Rocky and Apollo Creed's heyday. But last night, Stallone seemed to change his tune.

The actor was at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival last night to accept the Montecito award, and while he was there, someone asked him about Creed II. Here's what he said, according to Variety:

“I really have mixed feelings about this, seriously,” he said. “I feel like Rocky, at the end of this movie on the steps, with the help of a young man, and he looks out and says, ‘From here, you can see your whole life’ — it sort of summarizes the whole thing. I don’t know how much further you can push Rocky."

That sounds like he might want to call it a day with that character and let him go out on a high note. The studio has already scheduled the sequel to arrive in 2017, meaning that Coogler won't be able to come back and direct since he'll be busy helming Marvel's Black Panther. Marvel officially hired Coogler after Sly's comments about the story for the new sequel, so now that it's a confirmed reality that the young filmmaker won't be back to direct, is Stallone feeling a little shaky about entrusting his legacy to another director? Rocky has to have his final appearance at some point, and I think Stallone wants that to be on his own terms instead of having a Rocky V situation again. There's tremendous public approval of the character right now, and it's risky to bring him back at all. I'd be totally fine if he announced that Creed was going to be the character's final appearance, and I wouldn't blame him at all if he made that decision.

We'll have to see how much he believes in the script, and who eventually comes on board to direct this sequel. Do you want to see Stallone bring Balboa back to the big screen again?

Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick are two of the most charismatic actors working in Hollywood today, so when you put them together in a movie in which Rockwell plays an assassin with a unique moral code and Kendrick as a wild woman who falls for him, of course I'm going to be interested. The film is called Mr. Right, and it was written by Chronicle scribe Max Landis. Yahoo has the first trailer, which you can watch below. The film opens in theaters on April 8th and will available on VOD the same day.

Hyperactive at the best of times, Martha (Anna Kendrick; Pitch Perfect) has gone full-on manic since her latest breakup. She babbles, parties like a monster, cooks everything in sight - and is looking to do something terrible when she meets Francis (Sam Rockwell; The Way Way Back). To anyone else, Francis's approach would come across as creepy, but Martha can't help but be intrigued. They seem a perfect match: she's bananas, he's bananas... except he's a deadly sort of bananas. He's a professional assassin.

Francis is a hitman with a cause: he unexpectedly kills the people ordering the hits. Just as Martha begins to realize her new beau wasn't joking when he said he had to step out for a moment to shoot someone, things start heating up for Francis. His services are solicited by a dubious client who's being sought by an equally dubious FBI agent (Tim Roth; Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs). As the bodies pile up, Martha needs to decide whether to flee or join in the mayhem.

Deadpool opens in theaters this Friday, and even though I understand the character and know exactly what they were trying to do with the movie, I didn't think it worked very well. (Mick loved it, though.) We know that the movie has two post-credits scenes, but only one of them played in press screenings, so I wasn't sure what the second one would be. Now that information has been revealed, and even though I don't normally like to spoil things for people, I know there are a ton of you who are dying to know this information so I'll share it with those who are interested below.

Obvious spoiler warning: if you don't want to know what happens, turn back now.

The first post-credits scene involves Deadpool pulling a Ferris Bueller, dressed in a robe and talking to the audience in a hallway that looks an awful lot like Ferris's house in John Hughes' classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off. He says, "You're still here? It's over. Go home. Oh, you were expecting a teaser for Deadpool 2. Well, we don't have that kind of money. You were expecting Sam Jackson to show up with an eyepatch and a saucy little leather number? Go. Go."

The second post-credits scene picks up right where that one left off, with Deadpool coming back around the corner and saying, "Oh! But I can tell you one thing, and it's a bit of a secret. The sequel? We're gonna have Cable. Amazing character: bionic arm, time travel. We have no idea who we're going to cast yet, but it could be anybody. Just need a big guy with a flat top. Could be Mel Gibson, Dolph Lundgren, Kiera Knightley — she's got range — who knows? Anyway, big secret. Shh. Oh, and don't leave your garbage all lying around. It's a total dick move. Go." And then he pops back into frame and makes the "Chicka-chickahhhh" sound from the Ferris Bueller soundtrack. You can watch video here until Fox takes it down.

The Cable reveal isn't exactly a surprise, considering Reynolds has already talked about it and director Tim Miller teased it himself. But fans will be pleased to know it's moved past the early conversation phase into the "this is definitely going to happen" phase. Who do you think should play Cable in the sequel?

During a recent quarterly earnings call for Disney, CEO Bob Iger offered a couple of big updates for Star Wars: Episode VIII and the Han Solo standalone film project. During the call, he revealed that Rian Johnson's Episode VIII has official started principal photography. He went on to say that Disney had an amazing fourth quarter in 2015 thanks to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The movie has made over $2 billion at the box office and has made over $3 billion in consumer products. That money is just going to keep rolling as Disney and Lucasfilm continue to make Star Wars movies. Iger said:

"There is no better way to propel this franchise into the future than producing quality products. Filming of Star Wars: Episode VIII, the next chapter of the legendary saga, has just commenced and will be in theaters December 2017. And production of Episode IX, a 2019 release, has also begun."

Disney's CEO went on to talk about the Han Solo film project being developed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. They still have yet to give the movie an official title, but he confirmed that the movie will be released in theaters in May of 2018 and that the film is in pre-production. As you know, Lucasfilm went on a massive search to cast a young actor in the role of Solo, and the last we heard, they narrowed it down to a few individuals that include Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Dave Franco, Jack Reynor, Scott Eastwood, Logan Lerman, Brooklyn’s Emory Cohen, and Blake Jenner. 

Iger gave a brief update about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, saying that they "absolutely love what [they've] seen so far." So Gareth Edwards seems to be delivering the goods! I can't wait to see for myself what exactly he's been doing.

So, we've got Rogue One coming December 16th, 2016, Episode VIII coming on December 15th, 2017, Han Solo coming May of 2018, and Episode IX coming in May of 2019.

Via: Comic Book

The Walking Dead returns to TV this Sunday night for the start of the last half of season six, but EW jumped ahead and spoke with cast members Andrew Lincoln (Rick) and Lauren Cohan (Maggie) about the season six finale, which will air on April 3rd. We know that Jeffrey Dean Morgan's despicable villain Negan is on the way, and that the show will never be the same once he comes along, and it sounds like he's going to have a hell of an introduction. Here's Lincoln on his reaction to the season finale script:

“I felt sick to my stomach when I read the script. It was the first day in the whole six years of working on The Walking Dead that I was late for work because I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn’t get back to sleep. I was so angry and frustrated and I felt sick. And that was just after reading it.”

Cohan had a similar feeling of despair in the pit of her stomach:

“[Hearing] the word ‘finale’ gives me a physical reaction because it’s the hardest day on set that I’ve ever had in my life,” says Lauren Cohan with a sigh. “I never even imagined that as an actor you could have that experience. It’s one of the most raw experiences that I think any of us have ever had. Andy talks about being late to work; I didn’t want to go to work that day. It took a really, really long time for everybody to feel okay again after the finale, let’s put it that way.”

This clearly had a massive impact on those actors, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the audience's reaction is going to be when the finale rolls around. I think we know what's going to happen, and after the stunt they pulled earlier, it'll be interesting to see if it has the desired impact.

It looks like Battlestar Galactica is going to get another shot to be adapted as a feature film. THR is reporting that Universal Pictures is working with producers Michael De Luca (The Social Network, Dracula Untold) and Scott Stuber (Ted, Battleship) to help develop and produce the movie. The plan is to turn it into a "massive event franchise."

Battlestar Galactica was created by Glen A. Larson and the original series aired on ABC from 1978 to 1979. It was later revived in 2004 as an incredible drama on the SyFy Channel which blew audiences and critics away with its awesomeness. 

As that series was coming to a close, Universal started developing a movie and they hired director Bryan Singer to help bring it to life. After bringing in several writers to develop a story and pump out a script, the project just kind of faded away and Singer hasn't been involved with it since 2014.

This latest attempt to develop the potential film franchise is in the very early stages and it sounds like the studio will be starting from scratch. As of right now there is no writer or director involved, but hopefully they bring on some solid talent that will give fans something we'll enjoy and appreciate. I'm excited to see where Universal goes with this!

A film version of Stephen King's The Dark Tower novels has been in the works for years, vacillating between life and death every few months in a series of seemingly never-ending updates. Directors and actors have joined and fallen away over the years, but things are finally locking into place. Nikolaj Arcel will direct, and the most recent rumors peg Idris Elba as gunslinger Roland Deschain and Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black. We already know King is cool with that casting decision, but in a new interview with Rolling Stone, he seems confident that the movie will happen with those actors attached:

"It looks to me like it's more likely than not it'll happen at this point," he says. "Let's put it that way."

"I think that it's more likely than not that Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey will be in it," King says. "But I can't say with any certainty. I know that they're trying to make deals with these actors [and] with Sony, and that's the extent of my knowledge."

That's great news for those of us who think Elba and McConaughey would be great fits for the roles, but as someone who just finished reading the first Dark Tower novel for the first time a couple of weeks ago, I'm more concerned with how the hell they're going to turn that into a watchable movie. Not very much happens in the first book, and the stuff that does is pretty weird — maybe a bit too out there for general audiences. It'll be fascinating to see how they move forward with this adaptation, but at least King seems to think they're closer than ever to finally starting production.

There are still a few Coen Brothers movies I haven't seen yet (The Hudsucker Proxy, Barton Fink, A Serious Man), but I can't imagine anyone trying to argue against the claim that they're two of the most talented filmmakers working today. At this point in their careers, they seem to have a complete mastery of the form, able to jump back and forth between drama and comedy with equal aplomb and making movies that feel totally singular.

To celebrate thirty years of their movies (not including the new Hail, Caesar!, which is in theaters now), YouTuber somersetVII put together this nice tribute that I thought was worth sharing. Check it out below:

Following in the footsteps of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, another comedy sequel released many years after its zany, beloved original, Zoolander 2 arrives fifteen years after the first film — which, unfortunately, is about thirteen years too late. But if you can get past the film's questionable reasons for existing, there are a handful of laughs to be had in this idiotic farce.

In Anchorman 2, you can sense director Adam McKay trying to take down the absurdity of the real-life 24 hour news cycle under all of the jokes and insanity on screen. Zoolander 2 doesn't have any larger point it's trying to achieve. It's as brainless as its title character, and here's the thing: that would be fine if the movie was really funny all the way through. I'm cool with movies being made for the sole purpose of making the audience laugh. I enjoy engaging with a movie's themes, but it's not always a requirement, especially in a film that embraces blatant stupidity of its premise as much as this one. But Zoolander 2 spends much of its run time sputtering through recycled jokes from the first film, or making new ones that I didn't find very amusing. Obviously, your mileage may vary in this area — comedy is a very personal thing, and what didn't make me laugh might have you cracking up.

The plot is too tangled to explain succinctly, and doing so would remove some of the small amount of fun the movie offers, so I'll just talk about what I thought worked and didn't work. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are back as Derek Zoolander and Hansel, and they fall right back into character like they never left. The individual jokes aren't always great (or even good), but these two characters are still fun to spend some time with, and they're joined here by an Interpol Fashion Department officer (and former swimsuit model) played by Penelope Cruz, who admirably commits to her role and fits in pretty well with these endearing morons. Will Ferrell returns as the evil Mugatu and gives the movie a much-needed jolt of comedy, leaving me wishing that he was in the film more.

But essentially everything else ranges from passable to eye-rolling, with new cast additions Kristen Wiig and Kyle Mooney holding their own (passable) while Zoolander tries to bond with his estranged fat son (ugh) and Hansel figures out his own daddy issues as they plod toward the film's ludicrous conclusion. There is a litany of unnecessary celebrity cameos — SO MANY CAMEOS — that eventually becomes numbing (sorry, Kiefer Sutherland), and the script feels like the result of years worth of fake drafts being combined after a surprise greenlight as they rushed to meet production deadlines (no idea if this is how it actually went down...it just feels that way).

Judging by the horrible reviews the movie has already received from a lot of my colleagues, I liked it more than they did. But even as someone who kind of liked the movie, I can't recommend spending time watching this. My only hope is that, like the original, Zoolander 2 somehow gets funnier upon multiple viewings.

James Gunn took to Facebook recently for a live Q&A. Unfortunately, at this early stage of production for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, most of his answers were, “No, I will not tell you,” or some variation of that.

However, he did let us know that Thanos and the Infinity Stones will not be a factor in GOTG 2.

“Thanos will not appear in Vol. 2. No. As I've said before, Thanos isn't in this movie. I think he's gonna have a little bit to do and say when it comes to a certain wars and infinity. We've got other fish to fry in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”

Who those fish are is hard to say. Having said that, it doesn’t mean that this movie will be as untied to the rest of the MCU as perhaps Ant-Man was. Or perhaps it will, a lot of this movie is still a secret. However, now most of the plot is up for speculation as Gunn stated

“We're not really so much about the Infinity Stones in Guardians 2. Is that a spoiler? It's not really a thing.”

So whom the Guardians of the Galaxy will be fighting and what they will be fighting for doesn’t seem to have a huge relation to what we know is to come from the Avengers. 

Benicio del Toro's character The Collector will also not be making an appearance in the sequel, although Gunn would have liked to work with him again. 

A few weeks ago Gunn said on twitter that the full cast announcement would be “very soon,” but that has yet to be released. Hopefully that might give us more hints at what is to come from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. 

Mondo has revealed three limited edition posters in celebration of the upcoming Deadpool movie. The first one you see here, including the variant below, was whipped up by Deadpool creator Rob Lefeld, who had this to say in a statement:

"I am a huge fan of all things Mondo and when the opportunity to illustrate a Mondo print celebrating the Deadpool film presented itself, I leapt at the chance! I love drawing Ryan Reynolds in his Deadpool costume, he looks amazing and is the true embodiment of the Merc with a Mouth! I'm so thrilled with the print and excited to get it out to the fans of the comics and the film! Thank you Mighty Mondo! "

The other two posters were created by Phantom City Creative. The Deadpool posters will go on sale at MondoTees.com on Friday, February 12th, which is the same day the movie comes out. You'll have to follow @MondoNews on Twitter for the sale announcement.

Via: Fandango, ComicBook

J.K. Rowling recently announced that she will be publishing the script that Jack Thorne wrote for the new Harry Potter stage play currently in development. This will technically be the eighth official book in the series, and it will be called Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. So for those of us who won’t be able to actually see the play, we’ll at least get to read the book, which will most likely be adapted into a film somewhere down the road. 

Rowling came up with the story for the play with the help from Thorne and John Tiffany. The version of the script they will publish is the "Special Rehearsal Edition" of the script book, and it will be released in July after the play debuts. If there are any changes to the script between the published book and the opening night of the play, the book will be updated to reflect those changes in a later edition. 

Here are some additional details included in the announcement at Pottermore:

Print and digital editions will publish simultaneously after the play’s world premiere this summer, and will comprise of the version of the play script at the time of the play’s preview performances.

Theatre previews allow the creative team the chance to rehearse and explore scenes further before a production’s official opening night. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opens for previews several weeks before its official first performance on Saturday 30 July and the Special Rehearsal Edition of the script book will later be replaced by a Definitive Collector’s Edition.

Readers and moviegoers last saw Harry waving off his children at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, in the epilogue to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up after that moment and is staged in two parts, due to the ‘epic nature of the story’.

This book may not be written by Rowling, but it is her vision, and I’m looking forward to learning what happened to Harry Potter, his family, and his friends in this new story. Here’s what we know about the story so far:

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

There’s no doubt that fans and families are going to enjoy the opportunity to catch up with their favorite characters.