Category Archives: Immortality

Chad Stahelski, known for his creative direction and stunt work in Keanu Reeves John Wick franchise, is helming the much-awaited Highlander reboot with Man of Steel star Henry Cavill in the lead. The director signed to spearhead the project in 2016, while the Superman actor joined the team in 2021.

Based on the 1986 fantasy action film, Highlander will explore the hidden world of immortals from centuries ago. It was directed by Russell Mulcahy with Christopher Lambert as the mystical Russell Nash.

RELATED: Director Hints 4 Other Stars Other Than Jackie Chan We Could See In John Wick 5 Opposite Keanu Reeves

In an interview with Screen Rant, former stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski revealed his passion for the upcoming reboot of Highlander and the reason behind his desire to explore more of its mythology. He stated:

If youre a fan at all, you know about the TV shows and the mythology there, the things that worked in the feature aspect of the franchise, what didnt. I would like to think that it has I guess, I hope Im bringing to it the realization of the potential that we all see in that franchise. Now, we probably dont love all the other ancillary stuff thats come out of it, but we love the potential of it.

Stahelski felt there could be more to the franchise because of the vastness of its potential. He wants to touch on some aspects that could be relatable to people:

For whatever reason, 20 years later, I want more Highlander. I think that franchise with the mythology of people going through the centuries, and the burden of immortality as much as the wish fulfillment of immortality, you know, how you relate to people you love and dont love, both mortal and immortal, and what you can do with that is some of the most romantic, interesting, existential stuff Ive ever seen.

He also noted how the franchise would be an experimenting ground as well as a new avenue to channel his other artistic vision because it is far from what he worked on in the famed John Wick series. Stahelski further added:

I think its a playground for everything that I love about the John Wick series and everything that I cant do in the John Wick series because Im dealing with mortals, so it gives me another realm to play in. So, I just look at it as a natural evolution of world building and potential behind that is more than any other property that Im attached to.

The director hopes to devote more time to the upcoming project and assures fans that he will use all of his talents to bring this long-overdue reboot of Highlander to life.

RELATED: Chad Stahelskis Ridiculous John Wick Plot Proves Keanu Reeves Anti-Hero Deserves His Own Place in Looney Tunes

The Highlander reboot will be the most significant work of Chad Stahelski after Keanu Reeves John Wick films. Receiving a production budget of over $100 million, fans could expect this is going to be one epic tale of adventure.

Speaking with Digital Spy, the Rainbow Six director shared his love for the original film and how he wants to keep its vibe while bringing a fresh take on it. He confessed:

Were still in early development, and finding the right people to develop the script. I love the original. I know its dated in certain ways, but I love the vibe and the mythology. So, my take on it would be to somehow maintain the vibe and mythology and feeling of the first movie.

He further vowed to make a faithful remake that would capture the fascinating world of the immortals:

Not go off the rails with too much plot, and really develop the world of the immortals. I dont care what the mortals are doing. I want to be invested in the immortal world and hold true to the original as much as I can.

Highlander is one of the most loved franchises in the world, with five Highlander films already made, two TV series, one animated series, ten original novels, and nineteen comic book issues to date.

RELATED: Chad Stahelski Claims Keanu Reeves Falling Down 200 Stairs in John Wick 4 Was Peak Comedy Due To An Incredibly Clever Plot Device

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Henry Cavills Highlander Reboot is Everything that I cant do in the ... - FandomWire

The article contains major spoilers for Chucky season 3, episode 4, "Dressed to Kill."

Chucky creator Don Mancini teases the titular characters mindset in the forthcoming season 3 part 2. Based on the Child's Play movie franchise, Chucky follows Jake Wheeler, a teenager who finds a Good Guy doll he intends to use for his school art project for Halloween. Unfortunately for Wheeler, the doll is inhabited by the murderous spirit of Charles Lee Ray, a.k.a Chucky, who relentlessly torments him. With season 3 wrapping the first batch of episodes, the biggest twist was that the once-immortal killer doll is aging and dying, making attempts to stop the process without much success.

In a recent interview with Variety, Mancini explains that the stakes are higher for the titular doll following the recent conclusion of Chucky season 3, part 1. The creator explains that for the first time, Chucky is pretty vulnerable as he battles legitimate contenders who threaten his place in the pop culture world. Read his full comments below:

There are four episodes to go. Yes, Chucky has the upper hand now, but as you see from the very last scene and last shot of Episode 4, he is more vulnerable than he has ever been. Chucky is aging and dying. The stakes are completely different now.

He really has to contend with legitimate new contenders to the throne like M3GAN and Annabelle. He has to deal with that place for himself in the pop culture world and thats how we really touch the ground with Chucky. We give this off-the-wall character a crisis that has the sting of real pain and real life. But it just makes him angrier and you know what happens when Chucky gets angry.

In season 3, episode 3, "Jennifer's Body," Chucky visited a voodoo specialist, revealing the cause of the killer doll's unexpected aging. As a result of the exorcism at the School, the spirit Damballa, who animated Chucky, is no longer attached to him. As a result, Chucky must sacrifice six people in evil locations to regain the spirit's conviction and restore his immortality. Despite two ritual attempts at a house in Amityville and the White House, his attempts failed, and the final moments of episode 4, "Dressed to Kill," showed a heavily aged Chucky getting closer to death.

As a result of the events at the White House, the second half of season 3 will likely explore more of Chucky's aging and his attempts to accept his possible fate as indicated by the creator. As a result, the big questions for the remaining episodes will likely focus on Chucky's next moves and whether he has any chance of overcoming such obstacles. The outcome could be crucial to the slasher show's future, especially if USA Network and Syfy plan to continue the series. If season 4 is in the cards, this may improve Chucky's chances of survival by the end of season 3.

As of writing, there is no official confirmation of a season 4 renewal. If Chucky gets renewed for season 4, it most likely wont arrive until 2025 at the earliest. Regarding the cast members who could feature, its difficult to predict that until after season 3's conclusion, as multiple characters may die before the finale. However, Chuckys main cast will likely include Brad Dourif, Zackary Arthur, Bjrgvin Arnarson, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Teo Briones, and Devon Sawa. For now, Chucky must handle the situation regarding his aging, which seems to be taking a huge toll on him.

Source: Variety

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More Vulnerable Than He Has Ever Been: Chucky Season 3 Part 2 ... - Screen Rant

Mercyful Fate is celebrating 40 years of Melissa with the first-ever stream of the album's 2005 remaster by Ted Jensen of Sterling Sound. The 2005 remaster has previously only available physically, and can now be found across all digital platforms.

To further celebrate the 40th anniversary of Melissa, Mercyful Fate also worked with their merch company Bravado to create a new line of Melissa themed items that are now available to fans worldwide. Get the merch line here and get the digital version here. This is all in addition to a slew of recent vinyl represses, all of which you can check out here.

As for new Mercyful Fate, vocalist King Diamond said in an interview with The Electric Theater With Clown this past July that it's still in the works.

"There's a lot in the works right now," said Diamond. "I'm writing with Hank [Shermann, guitar] for Mercyful Fate and writing with Andy [La Rocque, guitar] for King Diamond and writing on my own for King Diamond. For King Diamond, it's an album that's gonna be called The Institute, which is part one of two; there'll be two full albums that will be completing that full story. As the title says, it's gonna be some creepy, weird stuff. And for Mercy, I also have the title, but I'm not giving it out to anybody at the moment. We have the front cover for the new Mercy too. It's very correct, very right for Mercyful Fate. It's very back to basics.

"For my part with both Mercy and King Diamond even more King Diamond, I would say all vocals are gonna be lead vocals again, like they were in the old days for me. It didn't matter if it was a choir singing on the right or the left side or whatever; they would still go in and pick up parts of the lyrics to progress the story and so on. So it's gonna be anything goes with the vocals, for sure back to the old style. And for Mercy too; it's gonna be very old-fashioned. Hank is writing very much like the old days. And it's nice to feel that we can capture that again.

"So that's the two albums that are being worked on, that will be done by the time we go out on tour again, I'm sure."

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MERCYFUL FATE Streams 2005 Remaster Of Melissa For The First ... - Metal Injection

What will last of all our toils?

The things distant historians will "remember" about us are likely to be pretty random. So much of what we know of the pastor think we know, anywayis based on stuff that happened to survive, despite time's attempts to shave it away.

Your blog or well-curated social media? Unlikely to make the cut. Think more along the lines of Ikea dishes, car parts, lawn gnomes, Legos, Barbies ... probably every piece of plastic you've ever touched that hasn't been slowly broken down into plankton food.

Then there's the statues: of General Custer, George Washington, that horrible gynecology man, various iterations of Medusa and Perseus, the Stock Market Bull, Fearless Girl. We take this habittrying to chisel some aspect of ourselves, symbolically or otherwise, into stone, praying immortality meets us halfwayfrom the many civilizations that came before us. We don't always know why they immortalized the people, stories or entities they did, but we know whywedo it.

You know what posterity could use? Statues of ad people. Ad people doing ad things: Staring at computers, eating pizza, "brainstorming." For its new global brand platform, "Ads That Work as Hard as You Do," Amazon Ads and Anomaly have created the Museum of Modern Advertisers, a neoclassical attempt to immortalize "the hardworking heroes of marketing and the seemingly ordinary moments that lead to extraordinary work."

See the gallery below:

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These Statues From Amazon Immortalize Ad-Biz Heroics - Muse by Clio

Throw away the anti-ageing serums and stop worrying about your wrinkles because scientists might have found a way to stop the ageing process!

Okay, maybe don't throw away the serums just yet - they're expensive, and the science does have some way to go.

Researchers have made progress, though, as they've uncovered elements in our DNA which have the ability to destabilise genetic codes and cause ageing.

By conducting research on worms, scientists have also found a potential way to control these elements.

The discoveries came from researchers Dr dm Sturm and Dr Tibor Vellai, from Etvs Lornd University in Budapest, Hungary.

The team looked at parts of our DNA known as transposable elements (TEs), also known as 'jumping genes', which can move around in our genetic code.

When TEs move too much, the researchers found they can destabilize the genetic code and disrupt cell function, which in turn leads to ageing.

However, there are some cells which do not age, including cancer stem cells, and scientists have identified a certain process at work in these particular cells, known as the Piwi-piRNA pathway.

In their previous articles, titled 'The mechanism of aging: primary role of transposable elements in genome disintegration' and 'The Piwi-piRNA pathway: road to immortality', Dr Sturm and Dr Vellai theorised about the relationship between the Piwi-piRNA system and the concept of 'immortality'.

Taking their theories to the next level, the scientists sought to strengthen the Piwi-piRNA pathway in a worm called Caenorhabditis elegans, by using techniques to 'downregulate' the activity of the TEs.

When carried out on specific TEs in worms, the creatures showed signs of ageing more slowly.

And when multiple TEs were controlled simultaneously, the effects multiplied to increase the worms lifespan by up to 30 percent.

Controlling TEs also resulted in changes in the way genes worked in the DNA of the worms as they aged.

Commenting on the findings, which have been published in Nature Communications, Dr. Sturm said: "In our lifespan [experiments], by merely downregulating TEs or somatically overexpressing the Piwi-piRNA pathway elements, we observed a statistically significant lifespan advantage.

"This opens the door to a myriad of potential applications in the world of medicine and biology."

The researchers added that the study could inform ways to extend life and improve health for humans in later years, with Dr Vellai adding: "This epigenetic modification may pave the way for a method to determine age from DNA, providing an accurate biological clock."

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Scientists discovered a way to potentially slow or even halt the ... - UNILAD

In folklore, animals are depicted as messengers, symbols, or omens. Many of these stories are similar in cultures throughout millennia and featurefolk beliefs brought on by fear of death, illness, and the unexplained. The animals mostly related to symbols or omens of death are scavengers, nocturnal, or associated with negative events.

"So generally, in folklore, animals that are associated with death are the ones that are omens of death," says Sabina Magliocco, a folklorist and professor of anthropology at the University of British Colombia Vancouver.

Animals are associated with symbolism because they are part of the natural world. When we started looking at nature to learn about the environment, we began to look at the natural world for omens. "There's a tradition of people looking to nature and interpreting signs in nature as though [they] were speaking directly to them," says Magliocco.

Dogs, as symbols of death, go back thousands of years. One of the most known depictions isAnubis, the ancient Egyptian god of funerary practices, mummification, and protection of the dead.

(Credit: Shutterstock/Jirik V)

Also known as Inpu or Anpu, Anubis is depicted with the head of ajackal and the body of a male human. According to theRosicrucian Egyptian Museum, Egyptians imagined Anubis this way because jackals often roamed cemeteries feasting on the flesh of the deceased. In this ancient civilization folklore, they thought the depiction would protect the bodies against the wild jackals.

In Egyptian mythology though, Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, would guide souls and dead Pharaohs into the afterlife. Anubis was also known as the guardian of the dead, so mummies wereburied with amuletsadorned with a jackal.

Aside from protecting the dead, Anubis wouldweigh the hearts of the deceasedagainst a feather and ensure a fair judgment, according to the folklore. Anubis was one of the earliest funerary gods in ancient Egypt and was aprominent figure for more than 3,000 years.There were alsoseveral other jackal-like godsin ancient Egypt.

(Credit: Shutterstock/Creative_Bird)

Another ancient depiction of a dog assisting the dead is Mexico's Xoloitzcuintli, or "Xolo" for short, also known as the Mexican hairless dog. This psychopomp, or a spiritual guide, is associated with the Day of the Dead.

(Credit: Shutterstock/Photo Spirit)

According to Mexica or Aztec mythology, the canine assists the dead in reaching their final resting place and helps them cross an uncrossable river. Cynthia L. Vidaurri forAmerican Indian Magazinewrites that humans go through several levels of Mictln to reach the last resting place and endure various challenges.

Vidaurri also writes that in these creation stories, humans and Xoloitzcuintli were created from the same Bone of Life. The dogs were created to guard humans in life and guide humans once life ended.

(Credit: Shutterstock/Agami Photo Agency)

Bats are associated with darkness, obscurity, and creatures of the night. Their connections with symbols of death began with their links to blood-sucking vampires in Western literature. In Christianity, they are known as "the bird of the devil," or the embodiment of the devil, according to theUniversity of Michigan's dictionary of symbols.

Like black cats, bats are connected to black magic and witchcraft because they appear at dusk. In Dante Alighieri'sInferno, Satan is described with bat wings that freeze hell over with a simple flap of the wings.

Read More: Bat Faces Are Vast and Varied

(Credit: Shutterstock/Eric Isselee)

In Chinese culture, cicadas are associated with a range of meanings. Some intertwine the cicada as a symbol of rebirth and immortality. The insects are linked with symbols of resurrection because of their life cycle, according to theSmithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Soon after hatching, cicadas will bury themselves into the ground and live on tree roots for 13 to 17 years before rising from the ground again.

(Credit: Yale University Art Gallery/ Hobart and Edward Small Moore Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. William H. Moore)

Chinese cultures see the insect's process of emerging from the ground as an analogy of the dead rising into eternity. According to the National Museum of Asian Art, during the Han dynasty, cicada-shaped hade amulets were placed on the tongues of corpses.

Read More: The Cicadas Are Coming

(Credit:Shutterstock/Tahmid Hasan Sobuj)

In ancient Greece, the word for butterfly isPsyche, whichmeans the soul of the dead. The mythology of Psyche, a mortal woman released from death by the god Zeus, who gave her immortality inspired the meaning. On Greek pottery and in mythology, Psyche has butterfly wings.

The butterfly is thought to represent freedom from death, where the soul can fly after it emerges from the constraining chrysalis, according to a paper published inArquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria. A butterfly's transformation from a caterpillar into a winged insect can also symbolize the soul's exit from the body.

Symbols of a chrysalis have been found on ancient sarcophagi in Patras, Greece, and in Greek, chrysalis ornekydallonmeans "the shell of the dead."

Read More: How the Smallest Butterfly in North America Travels Using Gusts of Wind

(Credit: Shutterstock/Trevor Partridge)

Owls make various appearances in the stories from North American tribes. Depending on which tribe, Owls can be a good or bad omen. For example, Apache tribes fear great horned owls and consider them a bad omen. Whereas other tribes believe owls are messengers and are a guardian spirit, perThe Pueblo Chieftain.

"The owl is generally not a good sign, it is associated with death," says Magliocco. "If you've ever heard a screech owl cry out in the night, it's a very eerie sound. So, you can see how you can see how people develop this belief."

Some Mediterranean folklore also has stories about women who could turn themselves into screech owls and, at night, suck out the breath of babies.

Read More: An Extinct Owl Once Hunted by Day

(Credit:Shutterstock/Rudmer Zwerver)

Crows often get associated with death. As scavengers, they were found in battlefields, cemeteries, and around dead bodies. In literature, circling crows above sites where humans or animals are expected to die soon represent omens of death or foreboding.

Swedish folklore sees the birdsas ghosts of those murdered without a Christian burial. At one point, humans blamed the birds forspreading the Bubonic plague.

Calling a group of crows a "murder" stems from a folk tale that said crows would come together,hold a court, and decide the fate of another crowthat committed offenses against the flock. The fate could end in a 'murder' of the accused.

While most of the symbolism explained in these fauna is dark, many also have positive connotations of hope, renewal, intelligence, and destiny.

Read More: The Term 'Spirit Animal' Means More Than Your Favorite Animal

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Why Do These 6 Animals Represent Death in Cultures Around the ... - DISCOVER Magazine