The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Just got the D23 Expo ‘Special Look’ footage for ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ (2019) uploaded. Some have asked for 4K, but 1080p is the highest quality I have access to. I really like this as it does a nice job of tying the old and new together. The part that most people will be concerned with is the photo above. It is probably a vision of the future, like when Luke chopped off Vader’s head in the cave in The Empire Strikes Back (1980). However, perhaps she isn’t evil but just really likes the look of a red light sabre. Who knows? I guess we will have to wait and see. And we don’t have long to wait now, it is less than 4 months until release date.

You can get the D23 Special Look (which really is a trailer) at the link below, and if you want to check out the first trailer (and trailers from other Star Wars films), go here: Star Wars Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

D23 Special Look
Video: AVC H264 30Mbps
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, AC3 5.1 (Upmix)
Image: Scope
Format: MKV
Size: 623.7 MB

Initial Release: December 20, 2019 (USA)
Director: J.J. Abrams
Writers: J.J. Abrams, Chris Terrio
Stars: Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Kelly Marie Tran, Domhnall Gleeson, Adam Driver
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

Joker (2019)

A number of people have been asking for the trailer for Joker (2019) and until recently there was a user uploaded trailer, which is no longer available. Since Joker is a Warner Bros. production, I do not have access to masters, like other studios. I have placed another request for access to Warner, which is pending. I don’t expect the result to be any different than before. With that in mind, this is the best I can do. The source is Apple’s encode of the official trailer. The video has not been changed. The audio on the Apple encode was AAC 128 kbps, which is not super, so I opted to only do an AC3 encode of a 5.1 mix I created using the DTS:Neural upmixer. This is the best I can do for Warner Bros. films.

Joker (2019) tells the origin story of the DC villain the Joker, aka Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). Don’t expect a happy ending. Trailer 1 can be found at the link below.

Trailer 1
Video: AVC H264 9 Mbps
Audio: AC3 5.1 upmix using DTS:Neural
Image: Flat
Format: MKV
Size: 171 MB

Release Date: October 4, 2019 (North America)
Director: Todd Phillips
Writers: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Stars: Robert De Niro, Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz
Studio: Warner Bros.

Top Gun: Maverick (2020)

Tom Cruise returns to the role of Top Gun fighter pilot “Maverick”, and Val Kilmer is even back as “Iceman”. The first Top Gun was released in 1986 and I was 12 years old at the time and I could not wait to see it. The 12 year old me was hoping for a lot more action from being pumped up by Kenny Loggins Danger Zone. Wow, I almost forgot how terrible 4:3 Pan and Scan was, that music video is a nice reminder of how far we have come.

Top Gun: Maverick is not in theaters until June 26 of 2020, but I am already excited. I don’t care, I love Tom Cruise. I enjoy his movies. I can’t wait. Sadly, we don’t have a 5.1 studio mix of Trailer 1. But I am quite impressed in the information that the DTS:Neural upmixer was able to pull from the two PCM channels. There are a lot of directional sounds but it isn’t overly aggressive. Until a true 5.1 mix surfaces, this will fill the gap.

Trailer 1
Video: AVC H264 30Mbps
Audio: (DTS:NEURAL UpMix) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, AC3 5.1
Image: Scope
Format: MKV
Size: 596 MB

Release Date: June 26, 2020 (North America)
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Writers: Jim Cash, Peter Craig
Stars: Jennifer Connelly, Tom Cruise, Jon Hamm
Studio: Paramount Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Skydance Media

Ad Astra (2019)

Directed by James Gray, Ad Astra is about an astronaut (Brad Pitt) who discovers a mystery surrounding his father that could lead to the destruction of the solar system. Originally set for release in January 2019, and then rescheduled to May it is now set for September 20, 2019. Let’s hope that this release date holds. Ad Astra also stars Liv Tyler, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland. I created a DTS:Neural 5.1 UpMix from the stereo master, which you can get from the link below.

Trailer 1
Video: AVC H264 30Mbps
Audio: (DTS:Neural UpMix) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, AC3 5.1
Image: Scope
Format: MKV
Size: 653 MB

Release Date: September 20, 2019 (North America)
Director: James Gray
Writers: James Gray, Ethan Gross
Stars: Brad Pitt, Liv Tyler, Tommy Lee Jones
Studio: 20th Century Fox

The King’s Man (2020)

Exciting news. The new trailer for The King’s Man (2020), which is the third film in the “Kingsman” (2014/2017) series was released by the post production company that normally creates the trailers for Disney films. So, now that 20th Century Fox is part of Disney, it appears that 20th Century Fox trailers will now be released from the same firm. Why is that exciting you ask? Because Disney releases their trailers with a 5.1 mix. Now the bad news. While Trailer 1 for The King’s Man (2020) had a title card indicating the 5.1 channel assignment, the file itself only contained a 2 channel mix. I am hoping that this is just an oversight, and that in the future the full 5.1 mixes for 20th Century Fox trailers will be provided. Nevertheless, I will contact the distributor to see if there was an error. In the meantime, I have created a DTS:Neural upmix from the 2 Channel master and it sounds pretty good. The King’s Man will be in cinemas on February 14, 2020.

Trailer 1
Video: AVC H264 30Mbps
Audio: (DTS:Neural UpMix) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, AC3 5.1
Image: Scope
Format: MKV
Size: 483.5 MB

Release Date: February 14, 2020 (North America)
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writers: Dave Gibbons, Jane Goldman
Stars: Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes
Studio: Walt Disney Studios / 20th Century Fox

What do you think of the trailer? Leave your comments…

Mulan (2020)

Disney continues with live action versions of their popular animated films. First up for 2020 will be Mulan. For those new to title, it is about a young Chinese maiden who disguises herself as a male warrior. The trailer doesn’t give too much away, and I think it has some of the best directional sound effects (swords swishing through the air) found in a trailer in a long time. Turn it up and enjoy.

Trailer 1
Video: AVC H264 30Mbps
Audio: (Studio Mix) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, AC3 5.1
Image: Scope
Format: MKV
Size: 405.3 MB

Release Date: March 27, 2020 (North America)
Director: Niki Caro
Writers: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Stars: Yifei Liu, Jason Scott Lee, Donnie Yen
Studio: Walt Disney Studios

What do you think of the trailers? Leave your comment.