Welcome and thank you for dropping by. Babylon 5
brought many of us together -- and it remains with us, despite the fact that
is no longer in production. The good thing is that the internet gives a LOT
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If you have questions or items for the news, drop me a line at sgbruckner@aol.com.
NEWS FROM MARCH 2016
FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2016
POWER
The small screen adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis’ acclaimed superhero cop comic Powers is gearing up for Season 2, and it’s adding a whole lot of new faces along the way.
The new, 10-episode season looks to adapt the iconic “Who Killed Retro Girl?” storyline from the comics, but with more than a few twists thrown in along the way. The first season was good (but certainly not perfect), though it managed to build one heck of a fun world. Judging by this action-packed new trailer for Season 2, it looks like Bendis and the gang will finally get a chance to kick over the sandbox in the best possible way.
"I'm insanely thrilled with the opportunity to introduce season 2 on PlayStation Network,” Bendis said. "The new season tells the story of Detective Christian Walker's obsession with solving the murder of beloved hero, Retro Girl, with the help of his partner Deena Pilgrim. We focused on what fans loved about Season 1 and amped up the visual effects, cinematography, and stunts so Season 2 is going to be louder, faster and more electrifying than anything you've seen from us before.”
Along with returning stars Sharlto Copley (District 9) as Detective Christian Walker and Susan Heyward (Vinyl) as Detective Deena Pilgrim, the new season features a ton of cast shake-ups. New additions include Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica), Michael Madsen (The Hateful Eight), Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars) and even Wil Wheaton (The Big Bang Theory). But, don’t worry — Season 1 alums Olesya Rulin (High School Musical), Justice Leak (Supergirl), Logan Browning (Hit The Floor), and Michelle Forbes (Orphan Black) will also be back.
Season 2 of Powers is set to premiere May 31 on Playstation Network.
LEGO BATMAN MOVIE
He was one of the breakout stars from The Lego Movie, and now Will Arnett’s Batman is finally getting a chance to go solo. Want to see?
Warner Bros. has dropped the first trailer for The LEGO Batman Movie, which serves as a sequel/spinoff to 2014’s The LEGO Movie and puts the focus on LEGO Batman’s blocky world of Gotham City. The first trailer shows off the same look and style of The LEGO Movie, and Arnett’s Batman has certainly not lost any of his irreverent charm. From bragging about saving the city (“It was off the chain”) to geeking out over the lobster dinner Alfred saved for him, this looks like it could be just as fun as The LEGO Movie.
We don’t get much of the actual story in this trailer (do we do get a fleeting glimpse at the rest of the Justice League!), though it’s reportedly set to focus on The Joker’s hostile takeover of Gotham City. With the odds stacked against him, Batman is forced to team up and work with some other heroes (this is probably where that Justice League shot comes into play) to hopefully save the day.
The LEGO Batman Movie opens Feb. 10, 2017.
STAR WARS REBELS
Disney XD and Lucasfilm have released eight new images and a clip from the Star Wars Rebels finale, confirming that Sith lord Darth Maul from Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace will make his debut in the series. You can check them out below along with a featurette on Ahsoka Tano and Darth Vader. Will we see the two famous Darths battle in the finale?
In the shocking season 2 finale of Star Wars Rebels, destinies will be forever changed and iconic characters will re-emerge in what will surely be the most talked about episode of the season. In the one-hour finale, Kanan, Ezra and Ahsoka seek out an Inquisitor to gain information about Vader, but soon encounter an unexpected ally in their fight against the Sith. When their search leads them to a confrontation with Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones), the three Jedi and their new ally must marshal all their strengths to survive.
The two-part finale, directed by series Executive Producer Dave Filoni and featuring the return of Darth Maul (voiced by The Clone Wars’ Sam Witwer) debuts Wednesday, March 30 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT on Disney XD.
VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER
Netflix and DreamWorks Animation (via USA Today) have released the first look at the new Voltron from their upcoming original series, Voltron: Legendary Defender. In addition, new details on the series have been revealed, including the names of the five teens caught in the middle of the intergalactic battle: Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Shiro.
In the series, the five heroes get their own lion bots and become “the last line of defense for Arus and other planets against an evil alien force led by King Zarkon.”
“We’re trying to keep as much of that classic feel to it as we can, because ultimately we have huge amounts of nostalgia for (the original) show,” says co-executive producer Lauren Montgomery.
The series will aim for a wide age group as its target, but the producers claim they were aiming for a “Game of Thrones feel with some humor.” They go on to say that some encounters will be more dangerous than others.
“You actually feel like, ‘Oh man, is Voltron going to get out of this one?’ ” executive producer Joaquim Dos Santos says. “There are some of those encounters they just manage to survive.”
“Not everything is solved by Voltron alone,” Montgomery adds. “Sometimes they need to beat something just as the lions. Sometimes they just do it as themselves fighting as men.”
The first 13 episodes of Voltron: Legendary Defender will be released later this year on the streaming service with the first footage to make its debut Friday at WonderCon in Anaheim.
The original Voltron series, based on the Japanese anime properties Beast King GoLion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV, aired in the United States from 1984 – 1985 and became a pop culture phenomena in its own right. A TV special, Voltron: Fleet of Doom, was released in 1986 with a computer
animated series, Voltron: The Third Dimension, following in 1998.”The Third Dimension” was short-lived, lasting just 26 episodes. Another attempt at rebooting the series came with 2011’s Voltron Force on Nickelodeon, which also lasted just 26 episodes.
VALERIAN
Luc Besson has taken to his Facebook page to reveal the first official photo of Cara Delevingne and Dane DeHaan as they appear in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. You can check out their awesome costumes, along with Besson himself wearing a jacket bearing the comic characters, in the full Valerian photo.
Vale
Delevingne and DeHaan lead the cast of the upcoming comic adaptation, which co-stars Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke, and Grammy Award winners Herbie Hancock and Rihanna.
In the film, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner- blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him.
Under directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe. Alpha’s seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time- uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.
Adapted for the screen and directed by Besson (Lucy, The Fifth Element), the film will be the most expensive film yet produced and distributed by his EuropaCorp banner. It is based on the French comic series “Valerian and Laureline” by Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières. Created in 1967, the comic has since sold over 10 million copies in 21 languages.
SKULL ISLAND: REIGN OF KONG
This summer, Universal Orlando will be debuting its latest attraction at their Islands of Adventure park, taking you to the harsh and dense jungles of Skull Island. In a new ‘Making Of’ video, Creative Director Mike West takes you up close with some of the island’s most fearsome inhabitants.
When it opens this summer, Skull Island: Reign of Kong will bring the next generation of the King Kong legend to life. You will be thrust into an exotic world filled with the menacing, the intense – and the wildly entertaining. A powerful storyline, a stunning 3D experience, innovative technology – and the unexpected – will pull you into one of Universal Orlando’s most massive adventures yet. This is a multi-dimensional experience filled with surprise – all wrapped into what will be one of the longest Universal ride experiences ever created.
The adventure begins as you set out to explore an island rife with prehistoric creatures of unknown origin – and the legend of a beast still undiscovered. You find yourself at a campsite of the 8th Wonder Expedition Company, the research team leading your adventure.
Once beyond camp, the menacing terrain shows signs of a native presence; beating drums draw you toward an ancient temple. Moving deeper into the ruins reveals a lost shrine – and proof you are not alone. You ignore warnings to turn back.
You board a specially designed expedition vehicle that will take you deeper into the island. Mysterious sounds pierce the air and you hear chanting. And then – you confront an enormous temple wall, complete with carvings and images that seem to pay homage to something you cannot quite comprehend. The temple’s massive wooden doors slowly open, revealing a labyrinth of caves.
Inside the caves, you meet your expedition leader – and suddenly find yourself in the midst of a raging struggle between creatures of incomprehensible size and ferocity. Then, as those creatures turn on you, there is an even more enormous, earth-pounding presence – bigger, closer and more overwhelming than you can possibly imagine. It is Kong.
JUNGLE BOOK
Walt Disney Pictures has brought online a new behind-the-scenes look at director Jon Favreau‘s upcoming live-action take on Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale. Check out a new The Jungle Book featurette in the player below, courtesy of Fandango!
The Jungle Book offers an all-new, live-action/CGI epic adventure about Mowgli (Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (Bill Murray) . Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (Scarlett Johansson), a python who’s seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
Also starring Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ Lupita Nyong’o, The Jungle Book will hit theaters on April 15, 2016. You can check out our D23 Expo interviews with Jon Favreau and his Jungle Book cast members by clicking here. If you enjoyed this Jungle Book featurette’s behind the scenes look, be sure to check out our recent preview of the film’s impressive visual effects technology.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016
THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR
A new trailer for the The Huntsman: Winter’s War has arrived, and though the sequel seemed like an odd proposition at first, it’s actually shaping up to be one heck of a potential guilty pleasure.
The film, a follow-up to Snow White and the Huntsman, dropped Kristen Stewart from the roster and made some tweaks to ramp up the concept for an all-out war in this twisted fairy tale. Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain join the cast, along with returning stars Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth. The footage here looks to embrace the insanity of the first film, and this A-list cast seems to be having a lot of fun with the universe.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
Theron stars as evil Queen Ravenna, who betrays her good sister Freya (Blunt) with an unforgivable act, freezing Freya’s heart to love and unleashing in her an icy power she never knew she possessed. Retreating to a kingdom far to the north, Freya raises an army of Huntsmen as her protectors, with the only rule that no two of them should ever fall in love.
As a war for domination escalates between the two queens, the hero standing between them is Freya’s most elite Huntsman, Eric (Hemsworth). Alongside fellow warrior Sara (Chastain)—the only woman who has ever captured his heart—Eric must help Freya vanquish her sister…or Ravenna’s wickedness will rule for eternity.
The Huntsman: Winter’s War opens on April 22.
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE
While the world waits with anticipation for the premiere of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the first images from The LEGO Batman Movie have emerged.
A spinoff of 2014’s The LEGO Movie, the upcoming LEGO film sees the return of Will Arnett as the voice of the Caped Crusader. Directed by Chris McKay and produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the movie will introduce Dick Grayson/Robin (voiced by Michael Cera) and Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (voiced by Rosario Dawson). We'll also dig deep into the Batcave.
Arnett had a few things to say about Bruce Wayne's secret lair: “The Batcave is even better than we remembered it, it’s awesome” says Arnett. “But I also love getting into the ho-hum day-to-day of being Batman and what it’s like to fight crime each day. Like the idea of Batman oversleeping his alarm clock makes me laugh. It really does humanize him.”
Even though Batman’s main relationship is (as always) with his butler Alfred (voiced by Ralph Fiennes), the Dark Knight’s life will be turned upside down with the arrival of his future sidekick, Robin, and Batgirl. He’ll also be joined by a league of superhero friends. “Batman is an island onto himself; the only thing he doesn’t have is relationships,” says McKay. “We're making About a Boy as directed by [action director] Michael Mann.”
Of course, there’s no Batman without The Joker (Zach Galifianakis), so the Clown Prince of Crime will act as a major thorn in the Caped Crusader’s side. The movie will also feature Mariah Carey in the role of Gotham’s mayor, Marion Grange. “We’re nothing but exhaustive about the cameos and other characters that try to enter Batman’s life,” says McKay.
The LEGO Batman Movie opens Feb. 10, 2017.
DEAD 7
Fans of '90s boy bands, zombies and Sharknado, rejoice, for a new Syfy movie mixing and matching all of the above ingredients is coming our way.
Yep. You read that right.
Titled Dead 7, the upcoming horror western movie was penned by Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter and Sawyer Perry. It also hails from the makers of everyone's fave Syfy cult movie, Sharknado, and is helmed by Danny Roew (Shotgun Wedding).
It stars members of NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees and O-Town facing down a horde of brain-eating ravenous zombies, and the first trailer and poster for the movie have dropped for our viewing pleasure.
Sure, let’s all agree this won’t win any best-of-anything awards anytime soon, but the movie looks like it could be a whole lot of silly fun, and I’m sure if you’re a fan of The Asylum’s many, many, many offerings and '90s boy bands, you could end up enjoying the ride. Heck, maybe it’ll even become another cult movie a la Sharknado? Here’s a synopsis:
This is a post-apocalyptic Western that follows a group of gunslingers as they look to rid a small town of a zombie plague.
Dead 7 is set to premiere on April 1 at 8 p.m. on Syfy, and nope, it’s not an elaborate April Fool’s Day joke.
MAC GYVER REBOOT
CBS’ MacGyver TV reboot has finally found its leading man after a weeks-long search.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, X-Men: Apocalypse star Lucas Till (he plays Alex Summers, aka Havok, in Bryan Singer's new trilogy of films kicked off by First Class) has been cast in the role of Angus MacGyver, a secret agent with the knack of being able to build anything out of everyday household items such as paper clips, rubber bands and chewing gum to get out of the stickiest situations imaginable and avert disasters.
Joshua Boone (Fan Girl) has also come on board the drama pilot as a series regular in the role of Gunner, MacGyver's BFF from high school, while CSI alum George Eads has been cast in the role of Lincoln, a “man who could easily be written as an eccentric conspiracy theorist but he’s a legit government employee with great capability for compassion.”
The new series will serve both as a reimagining and a prequel to the cult TV show that starred Richard Dean Anderson in the title role for seven glorious seasons (1985-1992), making him a household name. It follows a 20-something Angus MacGyver as he gets recruited into a clandestine organization where he uses said knack for solving problems in unconventional ways.
The new series was originally written by R. Scott Gemmill (NCIS: LA), but CBS decided to go with a new take penned by Paul Downs Colaizzo (CBS pilot LFE). Original series executive producer Henry Winkler will be back in the same capacity, where he will work alongside James Wan (Aquaman), who's been shepherding the project since the beginning; he was even supposed to helm the pilot, but had to pull out because of a scheduling conflict with the post-production on The Conjuring 2. David Von Ancken (Salem) will now direct the put pilot and executive produce alongside original MacGyver creator Lee Zlotoff.
BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
A somewhat spoilery 4-minute video of B-roll footage goodness from Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has made its way online, and in the time-honored tradition of B-roll footage, it contains a cool behind-the-scenes look at some brand-new scenes.
The level of anticipation for this superhero showdown is reaching fever pitch, and if there's one thing the video succeeds in doing, it's making us even more impatient for the battle between the Caped Crusader (Ben Affleck) and the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill).
The video features scenes with the film’s main two stars as well as Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons and Holly Hunter. It also gives us a sneak peek at a few of the actions pieces we’ll see in the movie, including a look at Batman's sweet ride (aka the Batmobile) in action. Before all those special effects were added.
Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens March 25.
DIRK GENTLY
BBC America‘s Dirk Gently series, based on the books by Douglas Adams, has today cast Elijah Wood (Cooties, Wilfred) in a leading role. Wood will play Todd on the show, which is adapted for television by Max Landis (Chronicle, American Ultra). Eight 60-minute episodes of the Dirk Gently series are being prepared to premiere this fall.
The Dirk Gently series offers a comedic thriller that follows the bizarre adventures of eccentric “holistic” detective Dirk Gently and his reluctant assistant Todd, as they wend their way through one big, seemingly insane mystery a season, crossing unlikely paths with a bevy of wild and sometimes dangerous characters, each episode landing them a few random steps closer to uncovering the truth.
He’s not a sidekick. Todd’s just flat out better than Dirk at a lot of things. He always attempts to solve matters with the fewest steps possible; despite being a compassionate, sweet, smarter-than-average man with biting wit, Todd often finds himself at the intersection of morally gray crossroads. Thus, his bad habits of lying and stealing have dire consequences that he can’t put off forever, even though he tries. Todd’s not a bad person. He’s not a good person yet, either, but he’ll get there.
As Todd describes himself to Dirk Gently: “I am not your Watson, as....le. I am not available for side-kicking on something I am not involved with. I am my own messed up person with my own messed up problems.”
The Dirk Gently series is a co-production of AMC Studios, IDEATE MEDIA and IDW Entertainment with Circle of Confusion producing. In addition to Max Landis, executive producers on the show include Ted Adams and David Ozer for IDW; David Alpert and Rick Jacobs for Circle of Confusion and Zainir Aminullah and Arvind Ethan David for IDEATE MEDIA.
CODE 8
Ten days after the trailer was dropped at FanFest Chicago, Code 8 has officially launched on Indiegogo. The short film was shot over the summer to give fans a sample of what the full length movie would be. It stars Robbie Amell (The Duff, “X-Files”), Sung Kang (Fast and Furious), and is executive produced by Stephen Amell (“Arrow,” Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows). We had the chance to have an exclusive chat with Robbie Amell about the film, working with his cousin Stephen, and attempting to create a cool new sci-fi world.
The story follows a young man with special powers (Amell) struggling to find work as a day laborer. After a dispute over payment, he finds himself in a confrontation with a police officer (Kang) and the autonomous robots backing him up. Code 8 takes place in a world where 4% of the population are born with some type of supernatural ability. Instead of being wealthy superheroes, most ‘specials’ live in poverty and resort to crime, forcing the police to become more militarized.
Director Jeff Chan, who co-wrote the film with producer Chris Paré, had previously helmed live-action shorts for Activision ’s “Call of Duty” franchise. The Indiegogo campaign is full of exclusive perks, the most notable being “Go Fast and Furious” where you get to race Robbie and Sung in gocarts or “Big Time Birthday Party” where fans can celebrate Robbie and Stephen’s birthday. The Indiegogo campaign will run for 31 days and can be found at this link.
BABYLON 5 BOOKS
CNN DOCUMENTS BABYLON 5 - Historic, on-set footage and interviews shot by CNN with additional content produced by B5 Books.
Disc 1: Uncut interviews with cast members while the series was in production for seasons one, two and five (includes optional video footnotes). Like you are sitting beside the CNN interviewer for all the chitchat between bouts of "serious" Q&A.
Disc 2: Uncensored on-set footage from the production of four episodes, featuring take after take of filming and the bustle of the set between shoots (includes optional beat-by-beat audio tour). Like hanging out on the set with the cast and crew.
Disc 3: "Ivanova" and "Garibaldi" look back on CNN's visits with twenty years of hindsight, and gossip about life on the B5 set (featuring picture-in-picture video to showcase commentators and the footage they're watching).
The retail price will be $79. $48 during debut discount. Our agreement only allows a deep discount for orders before the official release scheduled the week of April 5, 2016.
For all the details, go to http://www.cafepress.com/b5books.
MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016
WYNONNA EARP
Along with space epics and time-travel thrillers, Syfy’s 2016 lineup is also mixing things up with a supernatural thriller with some gunslinger swagger.
The network (Corporate owner of Blastr -Ed.) has released a new featurette going behind the scenes of the new series Wynona Earp, a supernatural series about a descendant of Wyatt Earp (get it?) tasked with hunting down demons and defending the planet from all kinds of evil. Based on the cult hit IDW comic of the same name, the series looks to be one part Supernatural, one part Tombstone and one part From Dusk Till Dawn. Weird? Sure. But definitely interesting. The series stars Melanie Scrofano (Supernatural, RoboCop) in the title role, along with Tim Rozonm, Shamier Anderson and Dominique Provost-Chalkey.
Here’s the logline to break down the basics:
After years away, Wynonna Earp has traveled back to her home town of Purgatory to reluctantly take on the role destined for Wyatt Earp's heir: Demon protector. Her enemy: Revenants, the resurrected (and twisted) souls of the criminals Wyatt Earp once took down. Using only her wits and her wit, Wynonna, along with sister Waverely, associate Agent Dolls and Wyatt's cursed-with-immortality-best-friend Doc Holliday, must try to stop the Revenants from taking over the town - and escaping into the world.
Wynonna Earp is slated to premiere Friday, April 1, on Syfy.
SYFY AND MAKERBOT
The folks at Syfy Labs teamed up with MakerBot for some 3D models to promote The Expanse a few months back, and now that deal has been expanded to include a whole lot more sci-fi shows and models.
The two companies announced an expansion of the partnership, with a new line of exclusive 3D models from the network’s original series 12 Monkeys, The Magicians, Hunters, Killjoys and Dark Matter. Some of the new models will include the Project Splinter time machine from 12 Monkeys, plus an alien skull from the new action thriller Hunters.
Printable files will be available on Syfy’s Thingiverse page, and the network will launch additional models in the coming weeks.
Matthew Chiavelli, Senior Vice President, Syfy Digital, noted that the MakerBot partnership has found an “enthusiastic and growing audience” among the 3D printing community. He also pointed out that the burgeoning 3D printing market is a natural avenue to enrich the network’s relationship with fans in a new way.
“We’re excited not only to see the partnership between MakerBot and Syfy Labs grow, but also for the new designs that will be uploaded to Thingiverse,” said Eric Mortenson, Community Manager, MakerBot Thingiverse. “Since Syfy joined Thingiverse at the beginning of this year, they’ve reached nearly 1,000 followers who, among others, are no doubt excited to see what comes next.”
Syfy notes that the next wave of 3D models from Syfy’s programming will be introduced March 18 at Silicon Valley Comic-Con in San Jose, Calif.
INDIANA JONES 5
Following this week's official announcement of Steven Spielberg re-teaming with Harrison Ford for Indiana Jones 5 in 2019 comes hot news of A-list screenwriter David Koepp being brought on board this all-star project to pen the script. If this name sounds familiar, you're right.
Koepp is a card-carrying member of Spielberg's creative posse, writing the screenplays for Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and the ill-received Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was based on a treatment by George Lucas and drafts by Jeff Nathanson (so hopefully he's not entirely to blame for that mess).
In addition to working with Spielberg, Koepp also crafted the scripts of Mission Impossible, Stir of Echoes, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and Angels and Demons. While one can't argue the resume isn't impressive, one mention of Indy bottled up in a refrigerator to survive a nuke test in Crystal Skull or the birds perched atop the Martian tripods ending of War of the Worlds might make you temporarily cringe.
No word on what time period or format Indy 5 may follow, but due to Ford's advancing age (73), some framing device may be used to drift back to more adventurous times.
MARVEL COMICS-CIVIL WAR II
For the past few weeks, Marvel Comics has repeatedly dropped teaser images for Civil War II, the next summer event which will pit Captain Marvel against Iron man in an ideological battle over the future: Specifically, whether or not you should use the ability to stop crimes before they actually occur. Carol Danvers believes that's a valid strategy, while Tony Stark wants to allow events to unfold naturally. It's this conflict that will spark the new series from writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Marquez.
As with the first Civl War event, this division between two of the most prominent Avengers will inevitably cause other heroes to take one side or another, and now Marvel has finally dropped a pair of teasers by artist Jim Cheung (in the gallery below) to let us know who's on which side.
First, there's the formidable Team Carol, made up of Captain America (Steve Rogers), She-Hulk, Spectrum, Blue Marvel, Winter Soldier, Vision, War Machine, Medusa, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, and Hawkeye. Then, there's Team Tony, made up of Captain America (Sam Wilson), Black Widow, Deadpool, Hulk, Thor (Jane Foster), Miss America, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Star-Lord, and Hercules. There are a lot of close friends on different sides in this one, including War Machine and Iron Man, the two Captains America, and Black Widow and Hawkeye, so it'll be interesting to see how the different factions take shape in that light.
So, we seem to have our teams in place, but don't be surprised if they grow in the coming weeks. Past Civil War II teasers have featured more Mutant character, including Jean Grey, and the Marvel Universe is certainly vastly bigger than the groups depicted here. We don't know, for example, where Black Bolt might come down, or Kamala Khan, or Black Panther. So expect to see this scenario get more complicated as the promotional campaign move forward.
Civil War II kicks off with a #0 issue that drops on Free Comic Book Day (May 7), followed by the main series launch in June.
WARCRAFT
Legendary Pictures has unleashed an extended TV spot and a new poster for Source Code director Duncan Jones’ upcoming epic fantasy movie, Warcraft.
The one-minute promo actually plays more like a sweeping movie trailer than a TV spot and features a bunch of awesome new footage; including a fantastic opening sequence.
The movie stars Travis Fimmel (Vikings) as Sir Anduin Lothar, Toby Kebbell (Fantastic Four, Ben-Hur) as Orc chieftain Durotan, and Robert Kazinsky (True Blood, Second Chance) as the legendary Orgrim Doomhammer. Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol), Ben Foster (X-Men: The Last Stand), Dominic Cooper (Agent Carter, Preacher), Clancy Brown (Sleepy Hollow), Ruth Negga (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Preacher), Daniel Wu (Into the Badlands) and Ben Schnetzer (The Book Thief) round up the cast.
As most of you know by now (even though you are not a gamer), Warcraft is based on Blizzard Entertainment’s cult hit MMORPG video game World of Warcraft. From what I gleaned from the trailer and TV spots released so far, this may turn out to be the must-see fantasy movie of the year. It’s already giving me all the epic feels!!
The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: Orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people and their home. So begins a spectacular saga of power and sacrifice in which war has many faces, and everyone fights for something.
Warcraft is co-written by Charles Leavitt and Duncan Jones and will open in movie theaters on June 10.
PREACHER
Everything we’ve seen from AMC’s adaptation of the cult hit comic Preacher has looked great, and not surprisingly, that didn’t happen by accident.
With the series set to debut in just a couple of months (and the first trailer blowing fans away), showrunner Sam Catlin opened up to The Verge about the challenges of bringing something so dark, funny, violent and terrifying to life. Turns out, nailing down the right tone was the hardest part of making it happen. Caitlin said they’ve worked hard to find a balance that doesn’t slide too deep in any one direction, while also setting its own unique style.
Check out an excerpt from her comments below:
“The tone is the hardest part. It’s the hardest part for the actors, it’s the hardest part for the writing, it’s the hardest part for costumes, directing; all of it. It’s the hardest because you don’t want it to become too silly, but you don’t want it to become too heavy. And you don’t want to be disgustingly violent, but you want it to have that same sort of fun.
We talked about Tarantino a lot, as somebody that’s able to balance humor and real stakes, but also violence. But it’s sorta hard when we’re trying to figure out these stories, because there’s nothing to really compare it to. Which is what’s so exciting about it, but it’s also: Oh god, is this going to work? We’ve never seen it before. That tone, and that balance… You’ve got characters talking about the meaning of life, and God, and all that stuff which could be really preachy and navel-gazing. But to go from that, to comedy, and action — it’s the real fun challenge of the show.”
Preacher is set to premiere Sunday, May 22, following the midseason finale of Fear the Walking Dead.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
Walt Disney Animation Studios‘ Zootopia dominated a third straight weekend at the worldwide box office. Featuring the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Idris Elba, Alan Tudyk, Tommy Chong, Octavia Spencer, Bonnie Hunt, Jenny Slate, Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister, Don Lake, and Raymond Persi, the film added $38 million in first place domestically and another $64.8 million overseas this weekend for a global take of $102.8 million. The worldwide total now stands at an impressive $592 million with the UK and Japan still to open.
In North America, Zootopia today crosses the $200 million mark with an estimated end-of-weekend total of $201.8 million. Internationally, Zootopia is closing in on $400 million with $389.9 million. In China alone, Zootopia grossed an estimated $38.6 million for the weekend to take its estimated cume to $173.4 million there. Next weekend sees openings in the UK, along with Israel and Hong Kong. Zootopia will open in Japan on April 23.
Opening in second place domestically was Summit/Lionsgate’s The Divergent Series: Allegiant with an estimated $29 million from 3,740 theaters, an average of $7,767 per theater. That’s a big drop from the debuts of the previous two films – the first Divergent opened to $54.6 million in 2014 and Insurgent started with $52.3 million last year. Allegiant, directed by Robert Schwentke and starring Shailene Woodley and Theo James, earned $22 million overseas this weekend and has earned $53.5 million internationally since opening last weekend. $2.3 million of the domestic total came from 370 IMAX screens, while 139 international IMAX screens took in $400K. Allegiant received a B CinemaScore from audiences. The fourth and final film, Ascendant, is scheduled to open on June 9, 2017.
Sony Pictures‘ faith-based Miracles from Heaven took third place domestically with $15 million from 3,047 theaters, an average of $4,923 million per theater. Miracles from Heaven opened last Wednesday and earned $18.6 million its first five days. Directed by Patricia Riggen, the $13-million budgeted film stars Jennifer Garner, Kylie Rogers, Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, Eugenio Derbez and Queen Latifah. Miracles from Heaven received an A+ CinemaScore from audiences, which should help it continue to perform strong through the Easter holiday.
In its second weekend, Paramount Pictures’ 10 Cloverfield Lane added $12.5 million in the fourth spot to take the thriller’s total to $45.2 million. Made for just $13 million, the film was produced by J.J. Abrams, directed by Dan Trachtenberg, and stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr.
20th Century Fox’s popular comic book adaptation Deadpool earned $8 million in fifth place its sixth weekend in theaters. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Ed Skrein and Brianna Hildebrand, the movie has now brought in $340.9 million in North America on a budget of just $58 million. Internationally, Deadpool has now earned $389.7 million for a worldwide total of $730.6 million.
In sixth place, Gramercy Pictures’ London Has Fallen earned $6.89 million its third weekend for a domestic total of $50 million. The $60-million sequel stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman.
In limited release, Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special opened in just five theaters where the film earned $184,000, an average of $36,800 per screen. The Warner Bros. Pictures release stars Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Jaeden Lieberher, Adam Driver and Sam Shepard.
FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016
TARZAN
Much like Zorro, Flash Gordon and the Lone Ranger, Tarzan is one of those iconic characters in pop culture who gets a rebirth every few years -- sometimes brilliantly, other times with disastrous results.
Now, the vine swinger is receiving a high-profile, big budget reboot -- although, we're sad to report that the film production apparently couldn't afford a shirt for star Alexander Skarsgard. After you've checked out the newly-released trailer, read on for a history of Tarzan interpretations over the last century or so.
The film doesn't come out until July, but we want to give you something to do in the meantime to stop you from pounding your chest in anger.
SUPERGIRL-FLASH CROSSOVER EPISODE
CBS has unleashed the first teaser trailer for “Worlds Finest,” the highly anticipated Supergirl episode featuring Grant Gustin’s Scarlet Speedster.
The crossover sees Barry Allen, aka The Flash, popping up on Kara’s (Melissa Benoist) home turf of National City (which is an alternate universe, by the way, but still within the DC TV multiverse). The short video teases what will no doubt be an iconic meeting between two legendary DC Comics superheroes from two different networks.
In “Worlds Finest,” Barry and Kara team up against the villainous Silver Banshee (Italia Ricci) and Livewire (Brit Morgan) in an episode penned by Andrew Kreisberg and Michael Grassi, based on a story by Greg Berlanti.
“Worlds Finest” – Kara gains a new ally when the lightning-fast superhero The Flash (Grant Gustin) suddenly appears from an alternate universe and helps Kara battle Siobhan, aka Silver Banshee, and Livewire in exchange for her help in finding a way to return him home, on SUPERGIRL, Monday, March 28 (8:00-9:00 PM) on the CBS Television Network. Grant Gustin crosses over as The Flash.
The epic Supergirl/The Flash crossover event will zoom its way onto our TV screens in the March 28 episode of Supergirl on CBS.
IRON FIST
Even though the news broke about three weeks ago, Marvel and Netflix have now officially confirmed the casting of Game of Thrones star Finn Jones in the role of Danny Rand for their upcoming Iron Fist series. They also shared an intriguing pic ... but more on that in a bit.
The 13-episode series, which is listed as “coming soon,” centers on Daniel “Danny” Rand (Jones), who returns to New York City after being MIA for years: dude had actually gone to the mystical Chinese city of K’un L’un, where he learned to become a badass martial artist and became the wielder of a mystical force known as the Iron Fist. Much like fellow vigilante Daredevil (Charlie Cox) before him, Rand fights the good fight against the criminals running rampant in the Big Apple by using his mad kung-fu skills and his ability to summon the power of the Iron Fist.
Here’s what executive producer and showrunner Scott Buck said about the character and the casting of Finn Jones in the role of Danny Rand:
“Danny Rand is a very complicated character. He’s a billionaire New York Buddhist monk martial arts superhero who’s still trying to figure out what exactly that all means. Finn is able to play all these levels in such an honest, revelatory way that as soon as I saw him I knew he was our Danny.”
Executive producer and Head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb added:
“Finn wonderfully blends confidence with vulnerability, making him the perfect choice as he struggles to find his place in the world. Now that we’ve found our Danny Rand, we’ve completed our principal cast for the upcoming Defenders on Netflix and we are thrilled to continue to show audiences unexplored corners of the Marvel Universe.”
Now, here’s the pic Marvel shared with the tagline: “Some secrets can’t be buried.”
As you can see, the name Joy Meachum appears on the telephone note. A week ago, a rumor emerged that Joy Meachum (along with her uncle Ward Meachum and Colleen Wing, as well as Shang-Chi) would be one of the main characters for the new Iron Fist series. I guess that’s as good as an official confirmation that she will indeed appear in the Marvel and Netflix series.
Long story short, in the Marvel comics, Joy Meachum is CEO of Rand Meachum INC., a company co-founded by Joy’s father, Harold Meachum, and Danny’s father, Wendell Rand. Believing Iron Fist to be responsible for her dad’s murder, Joy tries to get revenge and hires the Steel Serpent (also rumored to appear on the series) to assassinate him. Danny’s name is eventually cleared and Joyce makes peace with him, the two uniting in managing Rand Corporation and becoming somewhat *ahem* closer.
Fun Fact: The character of Jeryn Hogarth becomes the company’s lawyer and financial advisor. Jeryn Hogarth has already been introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Marvel and Netflix’s Jessica Jones as Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss).
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
“You’re not students anymore. You’re X-Men.” 20th Century Fox has unleashed an explosive new trailer for director Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse.
The mutant-filled superhero film sees the return of Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), James McAvoy (Professor X), Rose Byrne (Moira MacTaggert), Lucas Till (Havok), Evan Peters (Quicksilver) and Nicholas Hoult (Beast).
The final movie in Singer's new X-Men trilogy (the one begun with X-Men: First Class) also introduces Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler), Lana Condor (Jubilee), Oscar Isaac (Apocalypse), Ben Hardy (Angel) and Olivia Munn (Psylocke).
The exciting new trailer offers a peek at the mystical origins of the first mutant, En Sabah Nur, aka Apocalypse (Isaac), and we also have a look at Angel’s feathered wings, before Apocalypse got his hands on him and turned them into those lethal razor-blade thingies. From the looks of things, the stakes have never been higher for the X-Men (and the world).
Below is the official movie synopsis:
Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshiped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel’s X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.
X-Men: Apocalypse will blast into movie theaters on May 27, 2016.
MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN
Asa Butterfield (Ender’s Game) and Eva Green (Penny Dreadful) take the lead in this first magical trailer and poster from iconic director Tim Burton’s new fantasy movie, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
The upcoming film is based on the 2011 best-selling novel by Ransom Riggs and tells the story of Jacob “Jake” Portman (Butterfield), a teenaged boy who, in the wake of a horrible family tragedy, follows clues from his grandfather’s past and stumbles onto a mysterious orphanage run by the equally mysterious Miss Peregrine (Green); a shape-shifter who can turn into a bird. An ymbryne, she can manipulate time and create time loops to protect children with special powers from big, bad, scary monsters called hollows, or hollowgasts.
Released by 20th Century Fox, this whimsical and Burtonesque trailer centers on Miss Peregrine’s orphanage and its inhabitants, offering a peek at the children’s peculiar powers, which include invisibility, superstrenght and levitation. As for the character played by the luminescent Eva Green, Burton called her a “weird Mary Poppins like character - a strong and mysterious person who looks like she could turn into a bird. That’s Eva.”
Here's a synopsis for the upcoming movie:
From visionary director Tim Burton, and based upon the best-selling novel, comes an unforgettable motion picture experience. When Jake discovers clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds a magical place known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers…and their powerful enemies. Ultimately, Jake discovers that only his own special “peculiarity” can save his new friends.
Along with Eva Green and Asa Butterfield, the movie also stars Ella Purnell, Chris O'Dowd, Allison Janney, Terence Stamp, Rupert Everett, Judi Dench and Nick Fury Samuel L. Jackson. As for the movie’s peculiar children Lauren McCrostie stars as Olive, Pixie Davies as Bronwyn, Cameron King plays Millard, Ella Purnell plays Emma, and Thomas and Joseph Odwell are the twins.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children opens its doors Sept. 30.
DAREDEVIL-SEASON TWO
The second season of Daredevil is almost here, and Netflix has dropped a final trailer to ensure we’re fully psyched for Matt Murdock’s return.
This cut includes a ton of new footage and actually sets up a whole lot of the real plot that looks to drive the back half of the season. We get some new shots of The Punisher, Elektra kicking butt and taking names, and Daredevil showing he is just as fierce in that new suit he picked up in the final episode of Season 1. Oh, and there look to be a whole lot of Yakuza ninja fights.
Having seen the first seven episodes, we can attest to the fact that Season 2 is a worthy followup to the acclaimed first season, taking some surprising twists and turns along the way. Jon Bernthal's Punisher is like nothing we've ever seen before and makes for an organic expansion of the New York we've come to know in Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Which, judging by the footage here, it looks like we’ve only just scratched the surface of what’s coming.
Here’s the official synopsis for Season 2:
Just when Matt thinks he is bringing order back to the city, new forces are rising in Hell’s Kitchen. Now the Man Without Fear must take on a new adversary in Frank Castle and face an old flame – Elektra Natchios. Bigger problems emerge when Frank Castle, a man looking for vengeance, is reborn as The Punisher, a man who takes justice into his own hands in Matt’s neighborhood. Meanwhile, Matt must balance his duty to his community as a lawyer and his dangerous life as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, facing a life-altering choice that forces him to truly understand what it means to be a hero.
The full second season drops Friday, March 28, on Netflix.
WARCRAFT
Legendary Pictures has released a new Warcraft commercial, which you can watch in the player below. Warcraft is an epic adventure of world-colliding conflict based on Blizzard Entertainment’s global phenomenon.
The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: Orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people and their home.
So begins a spectacular saga of power and sacrifice in which war has many faces, and everyone fights for something.
Directed by Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) and written by Charles Leavitt and Jones, the film stars Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Rob Kazinsky and Daniel Wu.
Warcraft is a Legendary Pictures, Blizzard Entertainment and Atlas Entertainment production. The producers are Charles Roven, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Alex Gartner and Stuart Fenegan. Jillian Share, Brent O’Connor, Michael Morhaime and Paul Sams serve as executive producers. Rob Pardo, Chris Metzen, Nick Carpenter and Rebecca Steel Roven co-produce.
Universal Pictures will release Warcraft in theaters on June 10, 2016.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016
INDIANA JONES 5 COMING IN 2019
Yes it's true: Indiana Jones is coming back, and so is his director.
Walt Disney Studios announced this morning that a fifth Indiana Jones movie will arrive in theaters on July 19, 2019, with Harrison Ford returning to star and Steven Spielberg once again directing. The series' longtime producers, Kathleen Kennedy (now head of Lucasfilm) and Frank Marshall, will produce the movie. There's no title yet, and no word on whether a finished script exists, but I'm sure more information will be forthcoming as this project ramps up.
Ford and Spielberg last teamed for 2008's less-than-well-received Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and for the past few years the word seemed to be "reboot," with stars like Chris Pratt and Bradley Cooper in the rumor mill to take over the role and give it a younger face. But all that is moot now. The original Indy is coming back, and Steven Spielberg will once again be cracking the whip behind the camera.
Read the full press release right below and let us know: Are you excited about Harrison Ford putting on the fedora one more time?
Indiana Jones will return to the big screen on July 19, 2019, for a fifth epic adventure in the blockbuster series. Steven Spielberg, who directed all four previous films, will helm the as-yet-untitled project with star Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role. Franchise veterans Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall will produce.
“Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can’t wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019,” said Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “It’s rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven.”
Famed archaeologist and explorer Indiana Jones was introduced in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark – one of AFI’s 100 Greatest American Films of All Time – and later thrilled audiences in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The four films have brought in nearly $2 billion at the global box office.
MARVEL'S CIVIL WAR
Marvel's sprawling Civil War comic-book storyline written back in 2006 is a lot more confusing than a simple Team Cap Vs Team Iron Man clash. It encompasses mass quantities of team-ups, secret unions, imprisoned mutants and caped crimefighters spread out across the entire territory of the Marvel Universe.
To make sense of the intricacies and issues presented before the new Captain America movie unfurls in May, Noah Sterling's Bite-Size Comics has created this animated educational tool which sifts through the clogging collection of characters featured in the vast Civil War arc.
If knowledge is power then you should be feeling mighty strong after ingesting this funny 4-minute Civil War primer. Once more unto the breach, dear friends!
HUNTERS
With less than a month to go before the premiere of Syfy’s new alien series Hunters a new explosive trailer and a bunch of cast promotional images have been released.
Syfy’s new sci-fi series is based on best-selling author Whitley Strieber’s novel Alien Hunter. It’s also the TV baby of Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead) and Natalie Chaidez (12 Monkeys) and with a pedigree like that, I hope the new series is as good as it looks.
Hunters centers around an FBI agent named Flynn Carroll (Nathan Phillips), who is investigating the abduction of his wife, Abby (Laura Gordon). On the hunt for his missing missus, he stumbles across a secret government unit that’s been assembled to hunt down a group of lethal terrorists who are not of this world. Joining the team, he is partnered with Regan (Britne Oldford) a valuable asset who also happens to be an alien.
In “HUNTERS,” when Baltimore FBI agent Flynn Carroll’s (Nathan Phillips, Wolf Creek) wife goes missing, his search leads him to a highly classified government organization – the Exo-Terrorism Unit (ETU) – who track and fight alien terrorists. Britne Oldford (“American Horror Story”) plays Regan, a valuable ETU operative keeping secrets of her own. The gritty sci-fi thriller also stars Julian McMahon (“Nip/Tuck”) as the dangerously unhinged terrorist McCarthy.
Hunters premieres April 11 on Syfy with a 13-episode first season.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
We’ve had to wait a while, but we finally got our first look at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’ big bad villain, Shredder (now played by Brian Tee), all suited up.
The actor debuted the image over the weekend on his Instagram and Twitter accounts in the wake of the movie’s first clip, which aired during the Nickelodeon's 2016 Kids’ Choice Awards on Saturday.
The clip features our turtles Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Donatello trying to put a stop to the Foot Clan’s freeway robbery in a high-octane action scene. Turtle Power!!!
As for The Shredder’s new look, it seems like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles powers-that-be have learned from the backlash they received for the 2014 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film and have endeavored to stick a teeny-weeny bit closer to the source material for the sequel.
In the new movie, April O’Neil (Megan Fox) and the Turtles join forces with hockey-mask-wearing vigilante Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) as they take on Shredder, Krang, Baxter Stockman and fan favorites Bebop and Rocksteady.
The Ninja Turtles come into conflict with T.C.R.I. scientist Dr. Baxter Stockman with the association of the Foot Clan and the return of the Shredder, who has hired Stockman to create mutants of their own in the form of Bebop and Rocksteady and an unknown invasion above New York City. To prevent the end of the world, the turtles and their human friends April O'Neil and Vern Fenwick comes to the aid with vigilante Casey Jones.
Directed by Dave Green, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Pete Ploszek, Jeremy Howard, Stephen Amell, Tyler Perry, Brian Tee, Laura Linney, Sheamus and Gary Anthony Williams. The movie will open in theaters June 3, 2016.
WHEDON RETURNS TO MARVEL COMICS
Along with his seminal work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, wonder-geek Joss Whedon has also left a mark on the comic side of Marvel’s empire. Now he’s making a return trip for a brand new Captain America story.
Whedon is set to reunite with his old pal John Cassaday (the duo previously collaborated on the fantastic Astonishing X-Men) for a new Cap story to coincide with the iconic hero’s 75th anniversary. The eight-page story will appear in Captain America: Sam Wilson issue No. 7, which hits shelves on March 30. Whedon told Marvel he was lured back to comics by the chance to work with Cassaday again (seriously, go read their Astonishing X-Men run if you haven’t already) and the short commitment of an eight-page story.
Here’s an excerpt from Whedon’s comments about the mystery project, which seems to be set in World War II:
“You know it’s always a chance to look at the definition of a hero and the way that it changed and [the] definition of masculinity and the way that’s changed and you know the idea of a guy working with a platoon in the middle of a war zone where there is civilians; you get this feeling of selfless commodity that’s a lot different than just beating up the bad guy or shooting him…
I had had a very big concept years ago that I desperately wanted to do which actually was a crossover with Captain America and Jenny Sparks from the Authority. It was about Captain America early in his career learning about the history of America, what’s good and bad about how this country was formed and how that’s reflected in Europe and so he didn’t have this jingoistic bad view of Europe and so the point that’s made in the little piece that we do here is how I wanted to end that which is him realizing what his purpose is and it’s not you know to hit people.”
It’ll certainly be interesting to see what Whedon brings to the Cap canon, and if you needed another reason to pick up the latest issue of Sam Wilson (which has been a really fun comic in its own right), now you have it.
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD
With the second season premiere of Fear the Walking Dead looming ever closer, AMC has unleashed an intense new promo (via Entertainment Weekly) for their Walking Dead companion series.
The 30-second promo features lots of brand-new scenes to amp up the level of anticipation for the return of the zombie drama series. Our blended family have made it to Victor Strand’s (Colman Domingo) boat Abigail, but it looks like being on the water will bring its own boatload (see what I did there?) of problems which include zombie-infested waters, as well as living, breathing people with guns.
The video features new scenes with Travis (Cliff Curtis), his son Christopher (Lorenzo James Henrie), Travis' girlfriend Madison (Kim Dickens), her son Nick (Frank Dillane) and daughter Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey), fan favorite Daniel Salazar (Rubén Blades) and his daughter Ofelia (Mercedes Mason), along with Strand.
About the show’s new setting, Fear the Walking Dead showrunner Dave Erickson said that putting our West Coast survivors on Strand’s yacht in the middle of the ocean “creates a whole different dynamic. The levels of anxiety and tension and paranoia you get from that are pretty interesting — and being stuck in the middle of the ocean is one of my greatest fears.”
As you guys may already know, escaping the zombie apocalypse on a boat isn’t a new idea. Fans have wondered time and time again over the course of six seasons why Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and co never explored the idea of making their escape out to sea. Rest assured that Season 2 of Fear the Walking Dead will provide an answer as to what happens when you do.
“The good thing about The Abigail is that as a boat, it’s a vessel we can live on for quite some time, which has its advantages but is also something that others might potentially envy. And what we will learn is we weren’t the only people with the bright idea to go to the water. You’ve got thousands of miles of coastline, and I think one of the interesting themes for us in the first several episodes is this question of displacement; we’ve literally watched our home be destroyed and we know we can’t go back – there’s no going home again, so where do we go?”
MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016
THE CW RENEWAL NEWS
The CW has more than a few hits on the schedule, and it looks like pretty much all of them will be sticking around into next season.
The network has announced renewals for a mind-boggling 11 series, including The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane the Virgin, iZombie, Reign, Supernatural and The 100. For those keeping count, that’s pretty much every show currently on the air. Not bad, right?
“The CW has become home to some of the most critically-acclaimed shows on broadcast television, with a wide array of fantastic scripted series across the week, ranging from musical comedy, to superhero action, to gritty sci-fi dramas,” CW president Mark Pedowitz told Entertainment Weekly. “As we continue to further our strategy of more year-round original programming, picking up these 11 series for the 2016–2017 season puts us in a great position of having proven, high-quality shows to launch in the fall as well as midseason and summer of 2017.”
In regard to genre fare, most of these were no-brainers. The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow the three biggest shows on the network. The 100 has become a critical hit, you can’t kill Supernatural, and the Vampire franchise remains a consistent (if waning) performer.
One interesting piece of this puzzle: how the second season of Legends will fit into the mix. The producers have talked about it like an anthology, so does that mean a whole new cast and mission? Or will Rip keep some of the team together, remix the pieces and go after another Big Bad? Whatever faults the series may have, the cast isn’t one of them. This will be an interesting piece of the story to watch.
BLACK PANTHER COMIC
With Black Panther taking a prominent role in the rebooted Marvel Comics universe, not to mention his big-screen debut in Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa is finally getting a solo series truly worthy of a king.
In an effort to shake up the approach, Marvel has tapped acclaimed journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me) to write the series, with Brian Stelfreeze (Domino) providing the art. The first arc, dubbed “A Nation Under Our Feet,” will follow a dramatic upheaval in Wakanda and the Black Panther’s struggle to do right by his people as their ruler.
The problems apparently begin when T’Challa has to take on a superhuman terrorist group called The People that have served as the catalyst for a violent uprising among the citizens of Wakanda. Considering Coates’ extensive experience writing about politics, it's great to see the non-superhero conflicts behind Wakanda come to the forefront. Marvel has been looking to do something different with Black Panther, and this could be a fascinating change of pace for the publisher’s catalog.
“Can a good man be a king, and would an advanced society tolerate a monarch? Research is crucial in both cases. The Black Panther I offer pulls from the archives of Marvel and the character’s own long history,” Coates told The Atlantic. “But it also pulls from the very real history of society—from the pre-colonial era of Africa, the peasant rebellions that wracked Europe toward the end of the Middle Ages, the American Civil War, the Arab Spring, and the rise of ISIS.”
Yeah, this is sounding really, really good. If nothing else, it's insanely ambitious, and could be one of the most well-rounded approaches ever taken to the character.
Black Panther No. 1 hits shelves April 6.
THE DARKNESS
Ghosts with dirty hands are causing a lot of problems for Kevin Bacon and family.
That seems to be a major part of the premise behind The Darkness, the latest entry from the Blumhouse horror factory (Insidious, The Purge), which has dropped its new trailer today.
Bacon stars as the head of a family who return home from a trip to the Grand Canyon and inadvertently bring some sort of supernatural presence back with them. They are confronted and attacked by the entity, whose calling card seems to be handprints that it leaves all over everything, including the family members themselves.
It's not revealed in the trailer if there's a backstory to that (I'm guessing yes) but it reminds me a little of the scene in The Blair Witch Project in which two of the characters find the abandoned house in the woods and spy children's handprints all over the walls.
Anyway, it looks like at least one of the children gets taken over by the entity, too, which means Bacon and wife, Radha Mitchell, are going to have to be very strict with this kid about washing his hands.
The Darkness is directed by Greg McLean, who made the unsettling Wolf Creek and the pretty intense monster alligator movie Rogue, so even if this looks a bit generic (as some of the Blumhouse films tend to do on first view), I'm willing to give it a shot. The Darkness opens on May 13.
THE TICK
Amazon has ordered a pilot for a new live-action reboot of The Tick. It’s a good day to be a geek.
According to Deadline, creator Ben Edlund is back as writer and executive producer, and they’ve already cast two of the main characters. Griffin Newman (Vinyl) has been tapped as Arthur Everest, and Valorie Curry (The Following) will play his sister Dot.
Patrick Warburton, who played the titular character on the Fox series, will not return to reprise the role (he's currently busy starring in the new NBC comedy series Crowded, set to premiere next week) — despite earlier reports that he would be back — but he’s expected to serve as executive producer. Casting for the lead character is apparently underway, and it'll be interesting to see who they pick to play the blue-clad antennae-sporting superhero.
While the 2001 comedy series saw The Tick fighting crime alongside Captain Liberty (Liz Vassey) and Batmanuel (Nestor Carbonell), the reboot will have our hero and his sidekick Arthur surrounded by a bunch of new characters. Here’s what Deadline reports about the reboot:
In the new incarnation, the blue suit-wearing Tick is recovering from a memory loss. He ends up re-teaming with Arthur to fight evil. Newman’s Arthur, played in the Fox series by David Burke, had been labeled as a schizophrenic because of his statements that evil plans to rule the city, and no one believes him until he runs into Tick. Curry’s Dot Everest is a nurse who loves her brother Arthur to death and worries about him.
Executive producer Barry Josephson, who worked alongside Ben Edlund on the original series, is also returning. Transcendence director and cinematographer Wally Pfister, known for his work on Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, is apparently in talks to helm the pilot.
Even though it ran for only nine episodes, the superhero comedy series has become a cult hit over the years, garnering a strong fan following. News of a series revival for The Tick have been making the rounds since 2014, and it seem the deal has finally come together.
AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
ABC and Marvel Entertainment have released the first batch of photos from episode 3.13 of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, featuring the agents taking a quick trip to Russia!
Titled “Parting Shot,” the March 22 episode is officially described as follows:
“Bobbi and Hunter become ensnared in an assassination plot after tracking Malick to Russia. As S.H.I.E.L.D. races to save the lives on the line, the team is changed forever.”
The Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD cast includes Clark Gregg as Director Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Grant Ward, Chloe Bennet as Agent Daisy Johnson, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons, Nick Blood as Agent Lance Hunter, Adrianne Palicki as Agent Bobbi Morse, Henry Simmons as Agent Alphonso “Mack” MacKenzie and Luke Mitchell as Lincoln Campbell. Which of those names will be returning for Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD season 4 remains to be seen.
THE OUTSIDERS RENEWED
WGN America has ordered an Outsiders Season 2, it was announced today by Matt Cherniss, president and general manager, WGN America and Tribune Studios. The hour-long series follows the struggle of the Farrells, an off-the-grid Appalachian clan, and their battle to defend their mountain and way of life from the town below and anyone who would dare challenge them.
Hailing from Sony Pictures Television and Tribune Studios, production on Outsiders Season 2 is scheduled to begin this summer on the 13-episode order.
“We are thrilled that ‘Outsiders’ has connected with fans in such a powerful and palpable way, and met our highest expectations on every possible level, thanks to Peter Mattei, Peter Tolan, our extraordinary cast, creative team and partners at Sony Pictures Television,” said Cherniss. “We look forward to venturing up Shay Mountain in search of some Farrell wine for a second season.”
“It’s been gratifying to watch the ‘Outsiders’ audience steadily grow as viewers continue to be drawn in and riveted by this double-edged story of a family fighting to maintain their traditions and way of life,” said Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, Presidents of Programming and Production, Sony Pictures Television. “We’re looking forward to another season of masterful storytelling from our creative team, Peter Mattei, Peter Tolan and Paul Giamatti, and to continuing our prolific partnership with WGN America.”
Creator and executive producer Peter Mattei and executive producer Peter Tolan said, “It’s a dream to bring this combustible mash-up of fairy tale, hillbilly gothic, epic drama, current headlines and good old mayhem to life. We are thankful to the extraordinary cast, crew and our supportive partners at WGN America and Sony Pictures Television, and the wonderful Farrell fans who tune in each week. We look forward to getting back to Blackburg and Shay Mountain and continuing this journey for a second season – ged-gedyah!”
In an all-new episode of Outsiders, “It’s Good to be King,” premiering Tuesday, March 15 (9:00 p.m. ET/PT) on WGN America, the clan mourns the death of Lady Ray as Big Foster declares himself the new Bren’in. G’Win is suspicious of Big Foster’s involvement in Lady Ray’s death as Big Foster concocts a plan to keep his enemies close, upsetting Lil Foster. Meanwhile, Sheriff Houghton gets trapped in a mine while searching for his son and Hasil is determined to reconcile with Sally Ann.
WGN America’s Outsiders will be featured at the 23rd annual South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW), on Sunday, March 13 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the InterContinental – Stephen F. Austin Hotel. As part of the SXSW Film Happy Hour, fans of the hit series can meet the creator, writer and executive producer Peter Mattei and experience Farrell Wine for themselves.
Outsiders is WGN America’s third original drama, since the network launched its aggressive strategy to deliver distinctive programming of the highest quality. The provocative series is created and written by award-winning playwright Peter Mattei, who executives produces alongside Fedora Entertainment’s Emmy Award-winner Peter Tolan (“Rescue Me,” Analyze This), Touchy Feely Films’ Emmy Award-winner Paul Giamatti (“John Adams,” Sideways), Michael Wimer (2012, “Rake”), and Dan Carey (All Is Bright).
“Outsiders'” acclaimed ensemble cast includes David Morse (“Treme,” Hurt Locker), Thomas M. Wright (“The Bridge,” Top of the Lake), Ryan Hurst (“Sons of Anarchy,” “Bates Motel”), Joe Anderson (“The Divide,” Across the Universe), Gillian Alexy (“The Americans,” “Damages”), Kyle Gallner (American Sniper, “Veronica Mars”), Christina Jackson (“Boardwalk Empire,” “Deception”), Francie Swift (“Hostages,” “House of Cards”) and Phyllis Somerville (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, “The Big C”).
PENNY DREADFUL
Showtime has debuted the new Penny Dreadful Season 3 trailer.
Season Three includes a wealth of new and returning stars for the series. Tony Award winner LuPone (“American Horror Story”), who guest starred last season as the Cut-Wife, returns as a series regular in the new role of Dr. Seward, an American therapist who treats Vanessa with an unconventional new approach. Wes Studi (“Hell On Wheels,” A Million Ways to Die in the West) is a new series regular starring as Kaetenay, an intense, enigmatic Native American with a deep connection to Ethan (Josh Hartnett) who also becomes an ally to Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton). Guest stars Sarah Greene (Hecate) and Simon Russell Beale (Ferdinand Lyle) return, along with new guest stars Shazad Latif (The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) as Dr. Henry Jekyll; Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Christian Camargo (“Dexter”, The Hurt Locker) as zoologist Dr. Alexander Sweet; Sam Barnett (2012, Jupiter Ascending) as Dr. Seward’s mysterious young secretary; Jessica Barden (“Far from the Madding Crowd”) as Justine, a young acolyte to Lily (Billie Piper) and Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney); and Perdita Weeks (“The Tudors”), as Catriona Hartdegan, a scholar with expert knowledge of the supernatural. Rory Kinnear (as The Creature) and Harry Treadaway (as Dr. Frankenstein) also star.
Penny Dreadful is created, written and executive produced by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator) and executive produced by Logan’s Desert Wolf Productions, along with Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) and Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, Call The Midwife), both of Neal Street Productions. Penny Dreadful is a co-production with SHOWTIME and Sky.
Penny Dreadful will premiere on Sunday, May 1 at 10 PM EST.
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
Captain America: Civil War would've been plenty exciting if it had just featured the characters who we already knew from Avengers: Age of Ultron, but Marvel Studios was not content to stop there. First, they added Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, a hero comics fans have been waiting years to see onscreen. Then came the icing on the cake: the first appearance of Spider-Man (Tom Holland) in a Marvel Studios film.
When Marvel announced that it would dropping the "final" trailer (outside of TV spots and other featurettes) for Civil War this week, the situation seemed pretty clear: If we didn't see Spidey in this trailer, then we probably weren't going to see him until the film was actually released. Well, we got him today.
There's plenty of great new footage in here, including a better look at just how the divide between Tony and Cap starts, some great Black Panther fight scenes, and more development of exactly how much damage the Avengers have done over the years. I also love that it makes us wait right up until the very last moment to see Spider-Man. It's a perfect entrance, and Tom Holland's simple "Hey, everyone" feels very in-character to me.
THE DARKNESS
Ghosts with dirty hands are causing a lot of problems for Kevin Bacon and family.
That seems to be a major part of the premise behind The Darkness, the latest entry from the Blumhouse horror factory (Insidious, The Purge), which has dropped its new trailer today.
Bacon stars as the head of a family who return home from a trip to the Grand Canyon and inadvertently bring some sort of supernatural presence back with them. They are confronted and attacked by the entity, whose calling card seems to be handprints that it leaves all over everything, including the family members themselves.
It's not revealed in the trailer if there's a backstory to that (I'm guessing yes) but it reminds me a little of the scene in The Blair Witch Project in which two of the characters find the abandoned house in the woods and spy children's handprints all over the walls.
Anyway, it looks like at least one of the children gets taken over by the entity, too, which means Bacon and wife, Radha Mitchell, are going to have to be very strict with this kid about washing his hands.
The Darkness is directed by Greg McLean, who made the unsettling Wolf Creek and the pretty intense monster alligator movie Rogue, so even if this looks a bit generic (as some of the Blumhouse films tend to do on first view), I'm willing to give it a shot. The Darkness opens on May 13.
X-MEN APOCALYPSE
A brand-new poster for X-Men: Apocalypse has been released following the one featuring the movie’s villain En Sabah Nur, aka Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), and his Four Horsemen. Taking the mutant spotlight this time are Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and his new X-Men, with the tagline reading “Defend,” as opposed to the previous one, which was “Destroy.”
Alongside a now-bald Professor X we find Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee); Jean Grey (Sophie Turner); Cyclops (Tye Sheridan); Quicksilver (Evan Peters), who’s finally decided to join the team after his fantastic turn in X-Men: Days of Future Past; Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence); and Beast (Nicholas Hoult). Conspicuously absent from the X-Men lineup is Jubilee, played by Lana Condor.
Bryan Singer's new superhero film will also introduce Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Storm (Alexandra Shipp) and Angel (Ben Hardy) as three of the Four Horsemen, with the fourth being Magneto (Michael Fassbender).
X-Men: Apocalypse arrives in movie theaters on May 27.
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
Focus Feature has released a second official trailer for Laika Studios’ upcoming new stop-motion animated film, Kubo and the Two Strings.
Set in an ancient, fantastical Japan, the movie centers on a young storyteller named Kubo (Art Parkinson, aka Rickon Stark on Game of Thrones), who uses magic to tell his stories and ends up accidentally summoning a spirit from his past hell-bent on enforcing an ancient vendetta. Oops!
Directed by Travis Knight (who was lead animator on Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls), the fantasy saga also features the voice talents of Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro and George Takei.
Read up on the official movie synopsis:
An epic action-adventure set in a fantastical Japan from acclaimed animation studio LAIKA. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of “Game of Thrones”) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (George Takei), Akihiro (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), and Kameyo (Academy Award nominee Brenda Vaccaro). But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara), to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family, and fulfill his heroic destiny.
Kubo and the Two Strings will open in movie theaters on Aug. 19, 2016.
BRIGHT COMING TO NETFLIX
Along with original TV shows, Netflix is diving into the deep end with feature film projects — and the next one could be really, really good.
The streaming service is set to pick up the sci-fi cop film Bright, which will be directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, Fury) and star fellow Suicide Squad alum Will Smith. If buzz is to be believed, the duo worked well together on DC’s antihero team-up, so they’re keeping the band together for Bright. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix won a bidding war for the film, which carries a budget of around $90 million.
The script was written by Max Landis (Chronicle) and is described as a mix between gritty cop flick End of Watch (which Ayer also directed) and the 1988 sci-fi thriller Alien Nation, where a human and an alien cop must work together. But instead of aliens, Bright is set in a world where magic exists side by side with the regular world. Smith will play a human cop who is forced to work with an Orc (played by Joel Edgerton) as they look into a case involving a powerful wand.
It sounds like a positively fascinating pitch, and attracting top-tier talent to something this quirky could make for one heck of a cool movie. Plus, Ayer has proven he knows how to handle a cop movie, so his skill set should lend a unique perspective to the project.
It’s worth noting the concept is also reminiscent of 17th Precinct, the potential television series pitched to NBC by Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) back in 2010. The network passed on the series, though a pilot was commissioned, following a team of cops as they work cases in a world where magic is real. The pilot actually leaked a few years ago (it’s pretty good!) and can be found in places where less-than-legal videos sometimes wind up.
GAME OF THRONES - SEASON 6>br>
“He’s gone.” And with that, HBO has released the first official trailer (a red-band one) for the upcoming season of Game of Thrones.
While no one was expecting this one today (myself included), I can say that I’m really excited to see HBO giving the fans what they’ve been clamoring for ever since that awesome teaser trailer was released a few weeks ago. It was about time, show.
The first and foremost thing in the trailer is Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) death and how it affects our characters at The Wall, especially Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and Davos (Liam Cunningham).
It also features most of the key players in the game of thrones, including Dany (Emilia Clarke), Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Theon (Alfie Allen), Cersei (Lena Headey), Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright), and more.
Game of Thrones returns April 24 on HBO.
LIFE
Variety is reporting that Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Southpaw) is set to co-star with Ryan Reynolds in Life, which is also set to star Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation‘s Rebecca Ferguson. Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick wrote the screenplay for the original science. Life will follow a crew aboard the International Space Station who, after retrieving a sample from Mars, discover that it displays signs of life. Said life, of course, proves to be more intelligent and cunning than expected.
Life is set to be directed by Daniel Espinosa, the Swedish filmmaker behind films like Easy Money and Safe House. The latter, released in 2012, pulled in more than $208 million at the worldwide box office and starred Reynolds opposite Denzel Washington.
David Ellison and Dana Goldberg are producing Life alongside Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn.
Gyllenhaal is next set to shoot the Boston bombing drama Stronger, and will be seen onscreen in April starring in Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition.
A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING
Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions and Saban Films (via Fandango) have posted the first trailer for the comedic drama A Hologram for the King, starring two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies, Cloud Atlas).
The story takes place far away from the recession-weary USA, as an up-and-coming Saudi Arabian city provides the backdrop for foundering American businessman Alan Clay’s (Hanks) last-ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy, pay his daughter’s college fees, and finally accomplish something big. A Hologram for the King aims to offer a gentle, crazy, wistful ballad recounting the journey of a man, who has lost almost everything, to a country that requires him to rise to completely unknown challenges and that answers old questions in new and unexpected ways.
A Hologram for the King also stars Alexander Black, Sarita Choudhury, Tom Skerritt and Ben Whishaw.
The film is directed by Tom Tykwer (Cloud Atlas, Perfume), who also adapted the script from the novel by Dave Eggers. A Hologram for the King is being produced by Uwe Schott and Stefan Arndt of X Filme Creative Pool, Arcadiy Golubovich and Timothy D. O’Hair of Primeridian, and Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman of Playtone in Association with Silver Reel Entertainment and Fábrica de Cine. Eggers, Steven Shareshian of Playtone, Claudia Bluemhuber of Silver Reel, Gaston Pavlovich of Fabrica de Cine, and Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel of Lotus International executive produce.
Look for A Hologram for the King to hit theaters Friday, April 22.
MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2016
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
Rejoice, Harry Potter fans! J.K. Rowling has confirmed that Warner Bros.’ upcoming Harry Potter spinoff/prequel, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, won’t be the only film set in the wizarding world of Harry Potter.
And no, I’m not talking about Harry Potter and The Cursed Child: Parts I & II, which is a play set to open on July 30, 2016, at the Palace Theatre London, with a few preview performances starting in late May 2016. But fear not! For those of us who can't make it across the pond to see the play, we can get our hands on it here.
Now, back to our story.
J.K. Rowling, who has penned the screenplay for the upcoming movie starring Eddie Redmayne as magizoologist Newt Scamander, has confirmed via her Twitter account that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is indeed the first in a trilogy of films. Yay!
Here’s an official synopsis:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident…were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.
Along with Eddie Redmayne, the movie stars Katherine Waterston (Alien: Covenant) as Tina, Dan Fogler (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) as Jacob, Alison Sudol (Dig) as Tina’s sister Queenie, Ezra Miller (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) as Credence, Samantha Morton (In America) as Mary Lou, Jon Voight (Ray Donovan) as Henry Shaw Sr., Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as Gnarlack, Carmen Ejogo (Selma) as Seraphina, Jenn Murray (Brooklyn) as Chastity, newcomer Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty and Colin Farrell (True Detective) as Percival Graves.
Directed by David Yates, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will open on Nov. 18, 2016.
STAR WARS: HAN SOLO
Chewbacca already got his moment in the comic-book limelight, now it's time for his nerfherder partner. Han Solo has landed a prime spot in Marvel Comics' summer lineup, grabbing his very own five-issue miniseries written by Marjorie Liu and art from Mark Brooks, revolving around his daring deeds occuring between the original 1977 Star Wars and 1980's The Empire Strikes Back. Joining him will be his faithful cross-bowed sidekick Wookiee in a storyline that includes Princess Leia and a legendary contest called the Dragon Void Run.
Here's the official synopsis:
Han is placed between a rock and a hard place: he can help Leia's Rebellion by sheltering her contacts aboard the Millennium Falcon, or he can enter the starship race the Dragon Void Run -- something he's wanted to do his entire life.
"This is a Han Solo who doesn't quite know who he is anymore," Liu explained to Entertainment Weekly. "He doesn't think about politics, and suddenly he's thrust into this life-or-death struggle for beliefs he didn't even know he cared about -- and it has changed him. He doesn't want to believe that change, but he has."
"Han's been dreaming of entering this thing for his entire life," Liu explained. "He finally gets the chance, except there's a catch: Leia thinks there are spies in the Rebellion, and she doesn't dare send anyone else to retrieve these vital informants who are on various planets in the system. Basically, I was told that the story takes place between 'Episodes IV' and 'V,' and then they sort of just let me loose. I turned in several different ideas, but the core of them -- what I kept at the front of my imagination: He's this working-class dude who lives paycheck to paycheck who has a business to run. He's the Han we know and love. He's a con artist, he's a smuggler, he's this wisecracking, streetwise dude, but he's got this internal conflict where there wasn't one before. He's really trying to figure out who he is. The Empire pokes its head into it briefly, but they’re not the main heavies.. I would say one way of describing it would be, there's a heavy from Han's past, and there's a heavy from the present, someone who wishes to thwart Leia's mission."
Here's a preview cover by Lee Bermejo and three pages of interior art from Mark Brooks in the gallery below to tide you over until Star Wars: Han Solo #1 arrives in June.
AFTERMATH
The end of the world is a popular muse these days, and now Syfy is expanding its apocalyptic repertoire with the new series Aftermath.
Deadline reports the network has picked up 13 episodes of the post-apocalyptic thriller Aftermath, a Canadian co-production that follows a family trying to survive after the end of the world. Production is set to kick off in May, ahead of a summer debut on Syfy and Space (in Canada).
Julie Sarah Stone (The Killing), Levi Meaden (The Killing) and Taylor Hickson (Deadpool) are set to play three siblings “coming of age in the apocalypse.” Stone plays Dana Copeland, the “practical, sardonic and quick-witted twin with a thorough knowledge of science.” Hickson is Brianna Copeland, the “emotional, romantic and rebellious twin," while Meaden plays Matt Copeland, a “fierce competitor pushed into brutality.” Leslie Hope (24) is also attached to guest-star.
“Halfire Entertainment has brought to Syfy a powerful and poignant story of a lone family fighting against a mad world turned upside down,” Chris Regina, SVP, Program Strategy, Syfy & Chiller, said in a statement.
Behind the camera, the production team has lined up Jason Stone (This Is the End) to direct the first two episodes and produce, along with series creators William Laurin (Missing, Power Play) and Glenn Davis (John Woo’s Once a Thief). Additional directors set for the first season include genre alums Stefan Pleszczinski (Being Human), Kaare Andrews (Cabin Fever 3: Patient Zero), April Mullen (Killjoys) and James Marshall (The Shannara Chronicles).
Aftermath joins a growing slate of original scripted fare at Syfy, along with The Expanse, Twelve Monkeys, Killjoys, The Magicians and Dark Matter, among others.
AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. RENEWED
Will Phil Coulson and the gang be back for a fourth set of adventures?
The answer is yes. According to The Wrap, ABC-TV just announced the early renewal of some 15 series, and Marvel's TV flagship, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., is among them. Other shows that got the vote of confidence were Once Upon a Time, Quantico, Shark Tank, Dancing With the Stars, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder, along with eight others. The fate of Marvel's other ABC series, Agent Carter -- which just wrapped an excellent second season -- is yet to be determined.
But perhaps the fact that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is coming back could be a good sign for Peggy Carter as well. S.H.I.E.L.D. has never been a ratings juggernaut; it's safe to say that it struggled for a while but has managed to scratch out a decent and relatively stable niche audience for itself. And there's no question that Season 3 has been a vast improvement so far over the show's first two years, during which it toiled in the shadow of Marvel's theatrical output and couldn't decide whether to embrace its comic-book roots or not.
But the show went fully into comic-book mode in Season 3, focusing on storylines involving HYDRA and the Inhumans and even taking the cast across time and space to another planet. As a result it became more exciting, more distinctive and subtly aligned itself closer with the movies and the impending Inhumans film that's due out in 2019.
It remains to be seen whether Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. can make it to a sixth season -- which would dovetail with the arrival of the Inhumans movie -- but with the back half of Season 3 kicking off next Tuesday (March 8), the showrunners, cast and crew at least have the comfort of knowing that whatever they've cooked up for the end of this season will get a chance to play out next year.
MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN
Eager to take a peek inside the oddball orphanage of Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children? Feast your eyes on these newly-released images from 20th Century Fox via our friends at Entertainment Weekly showing the weird residents of Miss Peregrine's strange time-twisting sanctuary. Based on the novel by Ransom Riggs, it's the story of Jake (Asa Butterfield), a troubled teenager who travels to a mysterious orphanage run by a shape-shifter (Eva Green) known as an ymbryne, protecting gifted children from monsters called "hollows."
Here's the official synopsis:
From visionary director Tim Burton, and based upon the best-selling novel, comes an unforgettable motion picture experience. When Jake discovers clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds a magical place known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers…and their powerful enemies. Ultimately, Jake discovers that only his own special “peculiarity” can save his new friends.
Have a look at Eva Green and Asa Butterfield above and the lineup of Olive (Lauren McCrostie), Bronwyn (Pixie Davies), Millard (Cameron King), the twins (Thomas and Joseph Odwell), and Emma (Ella Purnell), with a levitating Emma at the beach below and tell us if you think this freaky film featuring a "scary Mary Poppins" might be Burton's return to visual vitality or just another uninspiring indulgence.
Also starring Terence Stamp, Rupert Everett, Allison Janney, Judi Dench and Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children opens September 30th.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia opened in North America this weekend along with China, Russia and Germany with $73.7 million domestic and $63.4 million international (its fourth weekend of overseas release) for an impressive $137 million global weekend and a total global sum of $232.5 million. The North American opening was the largest three-day opening for Walt Disney Animation Studios ever, beating the $67.4 million posted by Frozen, and the fourth-largest March opening weekend in industry history. The film, featuring the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Idris Elba, Alan Tudyk, Tommy Chong, Octavia Spencer, Bonnie Hunt, Jenny Slate, Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister, Don Lake and Raymond Persi, received an A CinemaScore from audiences.
The estimated $19.5 million Friday is the largest opening day gross ever for Walt Disney Animation Studios (topping Big Hero 6‘s $15.8 million), and the estimated $31.8 million Saturday is the largest single-day gross ever for Walt Disney Animation Studios (topping Frozen‘s $26.8 million second Friday).
Globally, IMAX screens for Zootopia grossed $8.5 million for the weekend. In North America, 366 IMAX screens grossed $5.2 million, becoming IMAX’s second-best animated opening ever at the domestic box office (second to Disney•Pixar’s Toy Story 3, which opened to $8.4 million during summer playtime). Internationally, Zootopia earned $3.3 million on 355 screens, with $3 million of that total coming from 278 Chinese IMAX screens.
Gramercy Pictures‘ London Has Fallen opened in second place at the domestic box office with an estimated $21.7 million from 3,490 theaters, an average of $6,222 per theater. The debut came in behind the $30.4 million opening of Olympus Has Fallen in 2013. The sequel, which was made for about $60 million and received an A- CinemaScore, stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman.
Third place belonged to 20th Century Fox’s Deadpool, which added $16.4 million in the third spot and has now earned $311.2 million domestically. Made for just $58 million, the comic book adaptation has now reached $361.8 million overseas for a worldwide total of $673 million! Deadpool stars Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Ed Skrein and Brianna Hildebrand.
Coming in at No. 4 was Paramount Pictures’ Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Alfred Molina and Billy Bob Thornton. The $35 million-budgeted film opened to $7.6 million from 2,374 theaters, an average of $3,201. The dramedy received a B CinemaScore from audiences.
Rounding out the top five was Lionsgate’s Gods of Egypt, which earned $5 million its second weekend for a total of $22.8 million so far. The film, also starring Gerard Butler along with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites, Chadwick Boseman, Elodie Yung, Courtney Eaton and Geoffrey Rush, cost a hefty $140 million to make.
In more box office news, 20th Century Fox’s The Other Side of the Door debuted with $1.2 million from 546 theaters, Kung Fu Panda 3 is now starting its international roll out and has reached $324 million globally, and Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups opened to $56,688 from four theaters.
DAREDEVIL SEASON TWO
With just two weeks to go before the premiere, Netflix and Marvel Entertainment have released a new poster for Marvel’s Daredevil Season 2 which you can check out below! The new 13-episode season of the series will premiere on March 18, 2016.
Just when Matt thinks he is bringing order back to the city, new forces are rising in Hell’s Kitchen. Now the Man Without Fear must take on a new adversary in Frank Castle and face an old flame – Elektra Natchios. Bigger problems emerge when Frank Castle, a man looking for vengeance, is reborn as The Punisher, a man who takes justice into his own hands in Matt’s neighborhood. Meanwhile, Matt must balance his duty to his community as a lawyer and his dangerous life as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, facing a life-altering choice that forces him to truly understand what it means to be a hero.
Marvel’s Daredevil season two will feature the return of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock (who moonlights as The Man Without Fear), Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Scott Glenn as Stick and Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple. The new season will also see Jon Bernthal debut as Frank Castle (aka the Punisher) with Elodie Yung also set to appear, playing the deadly assassin Elektra Natchios.
Marvel’s Daredevil is Executive Produced by Doug Petrie (American Horror Story, Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Marco Ramirez (DaVinci’s Demons) and Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods, Lost), along with Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel’s Jessica Jones.) It is is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios.
FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016
DOCTOR WHO'S CLASS
More information regarding the upcoming Doctor Who spinoff series, Class, has emerged.
The new eight-episode BBC 3 series is all set to begin filming in April, but we’ve yet to hear any casting news, which is a bit of a bummer, but I’m guessing we’ll hear something about that soon. The series will take place in Coal Hill, the school where many Doctor Who stories took place in the past and where Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) taught.
Since it’s been commissioned by BBC3, Class will air online first. However, the BBC isn’t yet sure if the episodes will be released weekly, or if all eight of them will be dropped at once so that we can all binge-watch the entire first season in one go. Once it has finished its run on BBC3, it will probably air on BBC1.
If there’s one thing for sure about Class, it's that Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor is likely to show up. A source apparently close to the production has told Radio Times, “It will have a close connection with Doctor Who so don’t be surprised if Peter pops up.”
The Doctor Who spinoff is set to air toward the end of 2016, and the BBC said about the show that “incredible dangers are breaking through the walls of time and space, and with darkness coming, London is unprotected” and promises “all the action, heart and adrenalin of the best YA fiction.”
Class showrunner and YA novelist Patrick Ness said about the new sci-fi show, “I can't wait for people to meet the heroes of Class, to meet the all-new villains and aliens, to remember that the horrors of the darkest corners of existence are just about on par with having to pass your A-Levels.”
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
It seems like just yesterday we were foaming at the bit awaiting the launch of J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens in movie theaters around the globe and seeing the inevitable avalanche of cash fall into Disney's coffers in the aftermath. Hard to believe we're now at the threshold of being able to watch it a jillion more times in the comfort of our own sanctum sanctorums next month. Lucasfilm and Disney just released the lowdown on the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release of The Force Awakens, with a breakdown of all the bonus features, deleted scenes, documentaries and dealer exclusive content, along with a rousing promo trailer heraldling the event.
Check out the roster of added goodies and the Blu-ray release trailer below, and tell us what you're most psyched to see when you get your mitts on it in April.
Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey – For the first time, discover the complete story behind the making of The Force Awakens, revealed through in-depth footage and exclusive interviews with the actors and filmmakers in this feature documentary.
The Story Awakens: The Table Read – Cast members familiar and new reflect on the memorable day they all first came together to read the movie’s script
Building BB-8 – See how the filmmakers brought the newest droid to the screen, creating an instant fan favorite in the Star Wars
Crafting Creatures – Watch movie magic as the filmmakers bring a cast of new creatures to life
Blueprint of a Battle: The Snow Fight – Go deeper into the epic, climactic lightsaber battle between Rey and Kylo Ren
John Williams: The Seventh Symphony – The legendary composer shares personal insights of his work on Star Wars and The Force Awakens
ILM: The Visual Magic of The Force – An insider’s look into the remarkable digital artistry of the movie’s visual effects.
Force For Change – Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. See how the Star Wars: Force for Change initiative has united Star Wars fans all over the globe to help others
Plus Deleted Scenes
Bonus features may vary depending where you purchase the content from as certain retailers will have proprietary versions of the home video release so check the packaging to make sure the content you want is included.
TARGET – The Target Star Wars: The Force Awakens Blu-ray Combo Pack comes with exclusive packaging and an added 20 minutes of bonus content, including never-before-seen interviews with Daisy Ridley and John Boyega and a deeper look at the movie’s costumes and weaponry
WALMART – The Walmart Star Wars: The Force Awakens Blu-ray Combo Pack comes with exclusive BB-8 packaging and an exclusive Star Wars Galactic Connexions trading disc
BEST BUY – The Best Buy Star Wars: The Force Awakens Blu-ray Combo Pack features exclusive SteelBook Packaging
Star Wars: The Force Awakens will launch on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere begining April 1 and on Blu-ray Combo Pack/DVD on April 5.
SECRET WARS
After finding some major nostalgic success with the throwback Secret Wars tie-in, Marvel Comics is set to debut a proper new X-Men ’92 series at the end of this month.
The new run will spin directly out of last year’s limited run, with writers Chris Sims and Chad Bowers back, along with artist Alti Firmansyah (Star-Lord & Kitty Pryde). The series tapped into the look and feel of the beloved 1990’s animated series, and is set in a variation of that universe, with all the big hair and neon colors you know and love. Think the general idea behind Batman '66, but more X-Men-y.
Here’s the synopsis for where the plot will pick up:
Get ready as Marvel’s merry mutants roll back the clock to a time when the pouches were big and the action was X-TREME! Cassandra Nova has been defeated, but she was just the beginning. Omega Red has resurfaced, and he’s bringing the Soviet Super Soldiers with him! Their mission? Destroy the recently re-opened Xavier’s School for Gifted Children! And that’s just the first issue True Believers! Don’t miss one minute of the action when X-MEN ’92 #1 comes to comic shops and digital devices this March!
The debut issue is set to hit comic store shelves on March 30.
MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
Marvel has released the first clip from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Season 3 midseason premiere episode, “Bouncing Back.”
The Marvel series is set to return for a “game-changing” second half of the season next Tuesday on ABC, following an agonizingly long three-month hiatus, during which Agent Carter aired its sophomore season.
The sneak peek features Fitz (Iain de Caestecker) and Coulson (Clark Gregg) talking about Lincoln (Luke Mitchell) and having a heart-to-heart about the events of the dramatic midseason finale, with Fitz still feeling guilty about Will’s (Dillon Casey) death.
But hey, what happens in Maveth stays in Maveth, right?
At least, that’s basically what Coulson’s thinking here. The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t seem too hung up about killing Ward (Brett Dalton), who’d murdered Coulson's new squeeze Rosalind (Constance Zimmer). Dude deserved to have his chest crushed to death. “You did what you had to do,” Coulson tells Fitz. “We both did. Sometimes there’s no choice but the hard choice. That’s the job.”
Here's the extended synopsis:
In the mid-season premiere, “Bouncing Back,” in the aftermath of his trip to Maveth, Coulson is more determined than ever to get to Gideon Malick and put an end to Hydra once and for all. Meanwhile, Daisy and the team encounter more Inhumans who have powers like they’ve never seen before, but will they be friends or enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
No longer able to keep powered people out of the public eye, Daisy and Mack press forward to find more Inhumans, building a team of secret warriors whose mission is to train and protect powered people. However, the growing presence of Inhumans proves to be a polarizing issue, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. team must face conflicting public opinions and defend their team from groups who have a more extreme ideology.
The divide between those who want to protect Inhumans and those who seek to destroy them is constantly widening, and Hydra, now strengthened by Grant Ward, looms once again. However, Ward is no longer the same villainous traitor that they once knew, and the team faces an all-new enemy, whose motivations, goals and strengths are unclear. Uncertain about who (or what) they are facing, the stakes for S.H.I.E.L.D. and their assembled group of Secret Warriors are higher than ever, bringing some members of the team closer together and driving others apart. Will S.H.I.E.L.D. be able to stop one of the most powerful Inhumans to walk the Earth?
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns Tuesday, March 8, on ABC.
FINDING DORY
Though it might not be seen as the invincible hit machine it once was anymore thanks to slight misstepps like The Good Dinosaur, Pixar Animation Studios remains a consistent source of excellent filmmaking, as proven by last year's Inside Out. Yeah, they make more sequels than they used to, but sometimes those sequels can build on their predecessors in surprisingly moving ways (see Toy Story 3). This year, after sequels to Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and Cars, Pixar's going to try to revisit one of their most beloved worlds again with Finding Dory.
Director Andrew Stanton, who's been a part of Pixar's feature film success since the beginning and delivered triumphs like WALL-E, returns us to the world of Finding Nemo this summer, and as the title suggests, this time it's Nemo and Marlin's forgetful pal Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) who goes missing, not because of some random mishap, but because she has something extremely rare to her: a memory. When something in her brain triggers this memory, she recalls that she has a family and sets off to find them, while Marlin and Nemo try to figure out where she's gone.
Today, DeGeneres used her daytime talk show to reveal a new trailer for the film, which gives us that very simple plot and then serves to remind us what it was about Finding Nemo that we loved so much, the journey. It's really just an underwater road movie with talking fish, and that gives Stanton and the rest of the Pixar team the chance to weave in plenty of amusing vignettes, from a camoflauging octopus to Dory's old best friend (voiced by Kaitlin Olson).
Finding Nemo is one of Pixar's best films, so Finding Dory's got some big shoes to fill. We'll see if it pulls it off on June 17.
THE EXORCIST TV SERIES
Fox’s upcoming The Exorcist TV series has just cast its two main leads.
According to Deadline, Alfonso Herrera (Sense8, The Chosen) and Ben Daniels (House of Cards, Flesh and Bone) are set to headline the new drama pilot inspired by William Blatty’s 1971 book — and not the 1973 classic horror movie directed by William Friedkin — with a script written by Jeremy Slater, who wrote last year’s Fantastic Four (yep, that one).
Herrera will play Father Tomas, who is described as a “warm, selfless and compassionate leader of a small but hearty little church” while Daniels will portray Father Marcus, “the intense holy warrior carrying out an occupation that the church no longer acknowledges in public.” So no Father Merrin, then, uh?
As I mentioned above, this new version of The Exorcist is a modern reinvention of Blatty’s novel and not the film that scared the cr*p out of moviegoers when it came out back in 1973 (and it’s still scaring people to this day). The movie starred Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Linda Blair and Max von Sydow as Father Merrin. Deadline describes the new series as:
A propulsive, serialized psychological thriller following two very different men — Father Tomas Ortega (Herrera) and Father Marcus Lang (Daniels) — tackling one family’s case of horrifying demonic possession and confronting the face of true evil.
The Exorcist pilot is not the only exorcism drama series heading to the small screen. Cinemax has Robert Kirkman’s Outcast coming up some time this year, and the Devil is also pretty much IN on TV right now, with Damien (a follow-up to The Omen) premiering March 7 on A&E, and Lucifer currently having a blast on Fox.
AMC has announced earlier today that it had given the green light for a new anthology drama series (a la American Horror Story) based on Dan Simmons’ bestselling novel The Terror. The 10-episode one-hour series has an expected premiere date of 2017 and will be produced Scott Free, Emjag Productions and Entertainment 360 in association with AMC Studios.
The Terror will be written by David Kajganich (The Invasion, Blood Creek, True Story, IT), who’ll also serve as co-showrunner with Soo Hugh (The Killing, The Whispers). Ridley Scott will also executive-produce.
Set in 1847, the anthology series (and the book) centers on a Royal Naval expedition crew looking for the Northwest Passage in the arctic when they are attacked by a soul-devouring monster that stalks their ship all the while the crew is faced with starvation, scurvy, mutiny and cannibalism.
The story is a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, with the characters based on almost all the actual members of Franklin’s crew. The Terror was nominated for the British Fantasy Award in 2008. In an official press release, David Kajganich stated:
“Dan’s novel is that rare combination of fascinating actual history, ground-breaking genre storytelling, and the complex character work of literature. The chance to launch a series that will incorporate all of these elements going forward, and with a team of this caliber, is extraordinary.”
With Soo Hugh adding, “As a long-time fan of Dan Simmons, the opportunity to join this project is a dream come true. We look forward to bringing this story to life for the passionate AMC audience.”
About bringing an anthology series on the cable channel that already airs a couple of successful genre series, such as The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead and soon Preacher, Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV, said:
“We’ve been focused on developing this incredible story for television with these great partners for a couple of years, and we think it provides rich dramatic material but also an opportunity to explore the anthology format, which is something we’re extremely interested in and offers some unique possibilities. Originality is still something that gets our attention every day, and the very unique mixing of historical non-fiction with a gripping and imaginative science fiction overlay in Dan’s novel is something that we hadn’t seen before. That, combined with an exceptional team behind the project made this something we really wanted to bring to air on AMC.”
THE TERROR
AMC has announced earlier today that it had given the green light for a new anthology drama series (a la American Horror Story) based on Dan Simmons’ bestselling novel The Terror. The 10-episode one-hour series has an expected premiere date of 2017 and will be produced Scott Free, Emjag Productions and Entertainment 360 in association with AMC Studios.
The Terror will be written by David Kajganich (The Invasion, Blood Creek, True Story, IT), who’ll also serve as co-showrunner with Soo Hugh (The Killing, The Whispers). Ridley Scott will also executive-produce.
Set in 1847, the anthology series (and the book) centers on a Royal Naval expedition crew looking for the Northwest Passage in the arctic when they are attacked by a soul-devouring monster that stalks their ship all the while the crew is faced with starvation, scurvy, mutiny and cannibalism.
The story is a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, with the characters based on almost all the actual members of Franklin’s crew. The Terror was nominated for the British Fantasy Award in 2008. In an official press release, David Kajganich stated:
“Dan’s novel is that rare combination of fascinating actual history, ground-breaking genre storytelling, and the complex character work of literature. The chance to launch a series that will incorporate all of these elements going forward, and with a team of this caliber, is extraordinary.”
With Soo Hugh adding, “As a long-time fan of Dan Simmons, the opportunity to join this project is a dream come true. We look forward to bringing this story to life for the passionate AMC audience.”
About bringing an anthology series on the cable channel that already airs a couple of successful genre series, such as The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead and soon Preacher, Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV, said:
“We’ve been focused on developing this incredible story for television with these great partners for a couple of years, and we think it provides rich dramatic material but also an opportunity to explore the anthology format, which is something we’re extremely interested in and offers some unique possibilities. Originality is still something that gets our attention every day, and the very unique mixing of historical non-fiction with a gripping and imaginative science fiction overlay in Dan’s novel is something that we hadn’t seen before. That, combined with an exceptional team behind the project made this something we really wanted to bring to air on AMC.”
AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. RENEWED
With the series set to return from its midseason break next week, ABC and Marvel Entertainment have confirmed that Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD season 4 is on the way later this year! ABC has also set renewals for America’s Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor, black-ish, Dancing with the Stars, Fresh Off the Boat, The Goldbergs, Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder, The Middle, Modern Family, Once Upon a Time, Scandal, Shark Tank and Quantico.
Before Agents of SHIELD season 4 arrives, Clark Gregg’s Director Coulson and his team will have to face the fallout of the midseason finale. Airing Tuesday, March 8, the new episode, 3×11, is titled “Bouncing Back” and is officially described as follows:
“In the aftermath of his trip to Maveth, Coulson is more determined than ever to get to Gideon Malick and put an end to Hydra once and for all. Meanwhile, Daisy and the team encounter more Inhumans who have powers like they’ve never seen before, but will they be friends or enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D.?”
The Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD cast includes Clark Gregg as Director Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Grant Ward, Chloe Bennet as Agent Daisy Johnson, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons, Nick Blood as Agent Lance Hunter, Adrianne Palicki as Agent Bobbi Morse, Henry Simmons as Agent Alphonso “Mack” MacKenzie and Luke Mitchell as Lincoln Campbell. Which of those names will be returning for Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD season 4 remains to be seen.
STAR TREK TV SERIES
CBS‘ new Star Trek series is making sure that history never forgets the name Roddenberry. Roddenberry Entertainment President Rod Roddenberry, son of the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, and COO Trevor Roth, have joined the new Star Trek television series as executive producers alongside Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin and Bryan Fuller.
“Gene Roddenberry, the Great Bird of the Galaxy, left a finely feathered nest for all who love ‘Star Trek’ to enjoy,” says Fuller, “And it is only fitting that Rod Roddenberry and Roddenberry Entertainment join our new Trek adventure to ensure that his father’s legacy of hope for the future and infinite diversity in infinite combinations runs through our tales as Gene Roddenberry intended.”
“Moral dilemmas, human issues, complex characters and a genuine sense of optimism: These are the cornerstones of ‘Star Trek’ and are what have made it such an influential and beloved franchise for the last 50 years,” says Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry. “While I will always be humbled by its legacy and the legions of fans who are its guardians, it’s a genuine honor to be joining a team of imaginative and incredibly capable individuals whose endeavor it is to uphold the tenets of Star Trek’s legacy while bringing it to audiences in a new era and on a contemporary platform.”
The new series will launch with a special preview broadcast on the CBS Television Network in early 2017. The premiere episode and all subsequent first-run episodes will then be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access, the Network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service. The new Star Trek series marks the first original series developed for CBS All Access.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
ORPHAN BLACK
BBC America has released two new video featurettes ahead of the fourth season of Orphan Black.
Granted, the two videos offer more of a look back than a look forward at the new season for the hit clone drama series, but if you don’t want to do a complete re-watch of the previous three seasons (although you most definitely should) and want a crash course as to where we left off, who’s who (don’t forget, more clones are coming!) and more, they're definitely what you need. The featurettes also manage to whet one's appetite for what's in store for the clone seestras (played by Tatiana Maslany) come Season 4.
Titled “Orphan Black 101: Welcome to the Trip,” the first featurette serves as the perfect refresher course to prepare you for a furthering of the show's clone mythology when it returns next month, while the second video, “Orphan Black Season 4 Insider: Trust Yourselves,” looks back at some of the new characters that were introduced back in Season 3 and whose motives and intentions were murky at best, hinting we'll get even more of that this year.
Orphan Black returns on Thursday (change of days, you guys) April 14, at 10/9c on BBC America.
DARK TOWER
It’s official! Master of horror and legendary author Stephen King himself has confirmed that Idris “for everything” Elba and Matthew McConaughey are on board Sony’s big-screen adaptation of King’s epic The Dark Tower book saga. Yesss!
The author revealed the news via his Twitter account right before the announcement was made official in Entertainment Weekly. King also revealed what the first line of the movie — which is set to enter production in about seven weeks and will film in South Africa — would be. “It should start that way,” King said. “I’ve been pretty insistent about that.”
Both actors have long been rumored for the movie, but it’s actually pretty exciting to see the news being made official. While Elba will play Roland Deschain, aka The Gunslinger, McConaughey will play his demonic archnemesis, Walter o'Dim, the Man in Black. Both actors will be joined by Mad Max actress Abbey Lee.
About the time it took for The Dark Tower to get a movie adaptation, King said:
“The thing is, it’s been a looong trip from the books to the film. When you think about it, I started these stories as a senior in college, sitting in a little sh-tty cabin beside the river in Maine, and finally this thing is actually in pre-production now.” He laughs. “I’m delighted, and I’m a little bit surprised.”
If you're expecting the upcoming movie to be a straight-up adaptation of the first book, The Gunslinger, which was published back in 1982, don't. Stephen King says that the film will start around the middle of the eight-book series.
“[The movie] starts in media res, in the middle of the story instead of at the beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit, but they’ll get behind it, because it is the story.”
Keeping mum as to which books the movie would be focusing on, Danish director Nikolaj Arcel (who also wrote the screenplay) teased that “A lot of it takes place in our day, in the modern world.”
Are you guys excited to see Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey officially confirmed in the respective roles of The Gunslinger and the Man in Black? What do you think about the movie not using The Gunslinger as its launching pad?
The Dark Tower is set to open in movie theaters on Jan. 13, 2017.
ALIEN: COVENANT
In an interesting piece of casting news, Watchmen star Billy Crudup has joined the crew of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel/Alien prequel Alien: Covenant.
A new report over at Bloody-Disgusting reveals Crudup has come on board the movie, and the actor is now listed as a cast member on IMDb (yes, I know IMDb is not always the fountain of all knowledge).
As some of you will recall, Crudup played the blue-skinned (and naked), all-powerful Doctor Manhattan in Zack Snyder’s comic-book movie based on the awesome Watchmen graphic novel miniseries created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons.
The Almost Famous actor is only the latest in joining a cast that now includes Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Apocalypse), Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Demian Bichir (The Hateful Eight), Danny McBride (Your Highness), Amy Seimetz (The Killing), Jussie Smollett (Empire), Carmen Ejogo (The Purge: Anarchy), Callie Hernandez (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series) and Alexander England (Gods of Egypt).
While it looks like the cast making up the crew of the colony ship Covenant is shaping up nicely, the major bummer is that Prometheus star Noomi Rapace will not return as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw.
Check out the official movie synopsis:
Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the “synthetic” David (Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.
While the original release date was Oct. 6 2017, Alien: Covenant is now set to burst into movie theaters on August 4, 2017, so don't forget to mark your calendars.
BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
The armored suit and lifetime of experience help, sure, but Batman is still going to have to bring his A-game if he wants to knock off the Man of Steel.
Apart from several trailers showing some GRIM DARK snippets of the fight between DC’s two titans, we haven’t actually seen much in regard to how the two heroes interact in Batman v Superman. Or, you know, how Batfleck is managing to keep this fight interesting — considering he is heavily overpowered in just about every reasonable respect. Well, this new clip shows off one tactic Batman will be pulling from his bag of tricks.
The clip focuses on one of the battles we’ve already glimpsed in the trailers, with Superman lifting Batman up above the city, then tossing him down on the roof of a building. But, as Supes commands Batman to stay down, the Dark Knight pulls out some trademark misdirection to finally get a shot off. But what is in that bullet, you ask? Guess we’ll have to wait a few weeks to find that out.
This scene is classic Zack Snyder, and as expected, it looks great. But can a 2+ hour movie of this actually work as a coherent film? Or is this basically just shaping up into several stunning set pieces jammed together with heavy exposition? That’s the question we’re still asking.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens March 25.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Luc Besson will direct the pilot episode of Artificial Intelligence, a new sci-fi series he’s co-creating for TNT
EuropaCorp TV USA announced today that TNT has picked up their original science fiction series, Artificial Intelligence. The show will be penned by Luc Besson and Bill Wheeler, who together will co-create and executive produce the series. Artificial Intelligence marks the first time Besson has written a television series for the US market. Besson is considering directing the pilot as well, which would be another first for the film director.
In the series, an artificial intelligence entity escapes its laboratory confinement and begins a methodical quest to carry out mysterious plans. The creator of the AI assembles a team of specialists to discern its objective, while simultaneously working to counter its rapid maneuvers and warn the world of imminent dangers.
Also serving as executive producers on Artificial Intelligence are Matthew Gross (Body of Proof, Sons of Liberty), Edouard de Vesinne and Thomas Anargyros. The project is a co-production between EuropaCorp TV USA and TNT Studios.
Bill Wheeler’s upcoming projects include The Queen of Katwe, starring David Oleyowo and Lupita N’yongo, which Disney is releasing next year. He also scripted DreamWorks‘ upcoming Ghost in the Shell, starring Scarlett Johanssen. Most recently, Wheeler – along with his brother Tom Wheeler – was tapped to write the upcoming LEGO franchise feature, Ninjago.
Luc Besson, meanwhile, has written, directed and produced over 100 feature films over the last thirty years, including La Femme Nikita, Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element and Lucy, the Transporter franchise and the Taken franchise. He is also an Executive Producer on the upcoming Taken TV series for NBC.
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Copyright - SBruckner, 1999-2016
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