First Look at "Johnny Thunder and the Gift of the Nile: Special Edition!"

By: Andrew Bermudez

(Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; March 3, 2019)

     Today, we're doing a little something to kick it old-school, so for the first time in years, we are giving out a first look press release for one of our upcoming re-releases!

     Johnny Thunder and the Gift of the Nile is one of our most celebrated sequels to date, as the popularity of Johnny Thunder and the Secret of Marco Polo buoyed up anticipation for this sequel back in 2009 and 2010. However, time has not been kind to the film. Copyright strikes, advancements in current technology, and other factors have made this film into something like the Heart of Osiris: a relic from the past that is overshadowed by more current films. That's not right, so we're enhancing the film to make it look as stellar as ever! Here's what you can expect.

Branding Unity for the Johnny Thunder films!

     If you've noticed something about the new title treatments for our Johnny Thunder films, its that the words "Johnny Thunder and the" are all uniform with the same colors, font, and texture. We're working to make our Johnny Thunder films as visually cohesive as possible, while still retaining the identity of each film. As you can see with this film's new title treatment, the name "Gift of the Nile" retains its reference to LEGOLAND California's Land of Adventure, while giving the lettering more distressing and rendering. This title design scheme is something that is being slowly implemented for all of the Johnny Thunder films.

Overhauled Opening!

     While we aren't re-shooting the prologue for this film, we are giving it a massive makeover to make it feel more like a historical event. To start, the opening will be re-contextualized as initially being a presentation before coming to life. As the original dialogue was written from actual historical records, the lines will remain the same, but will be re-recorded. New effects will accentuate the famine scene, hint at the Heart of Osiris' properties, and more.

Amazing Action Made More Awesome!

     All of the film's action scenes are going to be updated with new effects that we were unable to implement at the time of the film's original release. Most of the film's effects were done on-camera, but we're adding new digital effects to make the excitement more exciting! Muzzle flashes, dust, particles, and more are going to make this film feel more alive!

A New Scene?

     While it is true that we aren't filming anything new for the opening, we ARE filming a short scene that visually demonstrates an event that the original film only mentions in passing. It's a critical scene to fill in what could have been a plot hole, so we are glad to finally realize this scene. Here's a fun fact: the new scene is going to feature new dialogue and a prop that connect this film to Pharaoh's Quest: The Curse of Amset-Ra! We're also re-shooting parts of the zeppelin, as that sequence had chroma keying issues on its first pass.

Dialogue Redone!

     We're replacing all of the audio in this film, which means that all of the existing dialogue will need to be discarded. But this does mean that we're going to be bringing back some very high-profile actors from our past who haven't performed in any of our films since this film's original release! Jason Ecks' performance as Slyboots has been salvaged and modulated for the re-edit and Alyssia Derenski will be reprising her role as Sarah Thunder! In fact, only a few roles, like some of the unnamed civilians, are being re-cast.

Updated Ending and More Surprises!

     Don't spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't seen the original, because they're going to get a kick out of the new version we're working on! The events and raw footage will remain the same, but we're adding new effects, spectacular new special effects for the big finale, and more! In addition to this, the end credits are going to be overhauled with a new surprise at the end!

Other Changes!

     Throughout the film, we're going to engage in more mundane changes, like color correction, sharpening, updated sound mixing, and more. The biggest audio change is the presence of an original score. We do not have a composer attached to the project yet, but we are looking around. The film's poster will also be overhauled as the release date for this special edition nears.

Lead Out

     We hope you're excited for this re-release! We don't have a specific release date yet, but we're hoping to have it ready by the end of this year. Stay tuned!