The 5 Best ‘Image Comics’ Books Under 10 Issues

January 5, 2016

Image Comics is a powerhouse in publishing right now. Marvel may be rocking the superhero world, but Image is putting out the most consistently good storytelling, without the luxury of being a household name. The Walking Dead is a tremendously popular property, and smash hits like Saga and Sex Criminals came out of nowhere to be best sellers. Spontaneous successes like these have collectors hunting for the next big issue #1 and are driving new readers to shops each week.

Unfortunately, these big titles can be a bit daunting for casual readers to catch up on (Walking Dead releases issue 150 this month). Luckily, there’s a slew of newer books that are just as good, but much easier to get caught up on. It’s hard to go wrong with Image’s current slate, but here are the five best books that you can binge in a day (in no particular order).

1. Wytches

The longest running book on this list, Wytches is actually over a year old (issue one was released on Oct 8, 2014). But, in just its whopping six issues, it has proven to be one of the best horror comics on the market. It chronicles the Rook family’s move to a new town after a strange occurrence concerning the daughter’s school bully. But trouble follows. Author Scott Snyder (Batman, American Vampire) turns the whole concept of witches on its head. No broomsticks or pointy hats here; wytches are creatures who live in the woods, and who people can “pledge” their enemies to as a sort of tribute. The book is mysterious and creepy, with astronomical thanks to art by Jock (Green Arrow: Year One, The Losers). The first arc is already available in a single trade paperback for just $10, so there’s no reason for horror fans to pass this up.

P.S. – Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, actually acquired Wytches soon after its debut at New York Comic-Con with plans of turning it into a feature film.

Issues to catch up on: 6

Next issue is scheduled for: As yet unknown, but there are definite plans for a volume two.

2. The Goddamned

This is probably the biggest gamble on this list, since very little is still known about the story. All that’s known is that it’s an alternate biblical tale, told 1,655 years after the Garden of Eden, but “Before the Flood” (this first arc’s title). At the center of the story is Cain, son of Adam and Eve, first human born, and first to commit murder. Slaying his brother Abel has cursed Cain; he is unable to die, try as he might during these dark times. Also, on the sidelines is Noah, whose motivations have yet to be revealed, but he seems to be preparing for something big (take a guess). The intrigue is a big draw on this book, but the real reason for picking it up is its savagery. Writer Jason Aaron has been known for some brutal storytelling, having written titles such as Thor, Wolverine, and Punisher MAX. But those are Marvel titles; The Goddamned is creator-owned and rated M, so Aaron can go as nuts as he wants (and he does). Artist r.m. Guéra’s work only adds to the intensity. Fans of savage, gory, interesting action stories have to pick up this story on their next trip to their local comic shop.

Issues to catch up on: 2

Next issue is scheduled for: January 27, 2016

3. I Hate Fairyland

Skottie Young worked on six Wizard of Oz comics series, a total of 43 issues. He then had a child, and was further surrounded by childish fantasy stories that make no logical sense. It drove him to the brink of insanity. But instead of lashing out, he channeled that energy into a comic: I Hate Fairyland (stylized as F*ck Fairyland on variants). The result is hilarity. Gert is a young child sucked into Fairyland, where all of a child’s dreams should come true, and placed on a mystical quest to find a key so that she may return home. It should be easy. Fast forward almost 30 years; Gert is still on her quest, and using her battle axe to cut down anyone who stands in her way. Meanwhile, Fairyland’s top brass is sick of Gert’s shenanigans, and doing whatever they can to eliminate her. Rounding out the cast is Larry, Gert’s Jiminy Cricket-like companion, and breakout character of the story. There isn’t enough good stuff to say about this comic. Its writing is laugh-out-loud funny, and it’s visuals are the same (so long as you don’t mind a lot of cartoon gore). Reading it is a cathartic experience for anyone tired of fairy tales and fantasy nonsense.

Issues to catch up on: 3

Next issue is scheduled for: January 20, 2016

4. Paper Girls

Do you love 80’s coming-of-age movies? Pick up Paper Girls. Do you love strange science fiction stories? Pick up Paper Girls. Brian K. Vaughan’s story is off-the-walls crazy, in the best possible way. What else would be expected from the author of Saga? Follow four 12-year-old girls on their paper route as they uncover the story of the decade. The plot is mysterious, and all too good to be spoiled here in a blurb. Thematically, it captures the innocence of these young girls in a way that brings readers back to their own childhood. Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman) and Matt Wilson do a tremendous job on art; the 80’s just seem to *pop* off the page. Be prepared: it gets strange, and it gets dark. But the character development and growth that stems from the story is so earnest that the reader overcomes these points right alongside the characters. Billed as Stand By Me meets War of the Worlds, this is a story worth getting in on early.

Issues to catch up on: 3

Next issue is scheduled for: January 6, 2016

5. Citizen Jack

Talk about social commentary. Citizen Jack is about a U.S. presidential election (hmm…), and a pretty radical candidate that no one likes (hmmmm…..), yet somehow he manages to surge in the polls (HMMMMMM……). The kicker? Jack is a satanist, whose demon friend manipulates events to give him an edge. This sounds like a gross exaggeration of current events, but it really isn’t, except in a very broad sense. It’s actually just a hysterically original story by Sam Humphries. Fans of political comedy will love this book. Fans of twisted dark humor will love this book. People who hate politics will love this book. There’s really not much more to say about it; its wonder lies in its simplicity.

Issues to catch up on: 2

Next issue is scheduled for: January 13, 2016

—

We want to know your favorite deep cut titles by Image Comics, so sound off in the comments!

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

MORE GREAT SHORT FILMS FROM GREAT FILMMAKERS

Oscar Moreno

January 5, 2016

Continuing with this previous article, here are other great short films from great filmmakers!

1. What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing In a Place Like This? By Martin Scorsese

A story about obsession, insomnia and writer’s block. This student short by Scorsese almost seems like a test run for the style we’d later see in Goodfellas and Casino. Incessant and funny narration, quick camera-moves, rapid-fire editing. All with a touch of the surreal that I’d love Scorsese to go back to some time. Perhaps the closest he’s created in equal is After Hours or even Shutter Island but even that has a very different style to this short.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWs1SM0xYiI[/embedyt]

2. Brink by Shawn Christensen

Mysterious and very powerful, the less said about the short the better. An apocalyptic poem that’s so easy to get lost in.

3. The Psychology of Dream Analysis by Rian Johnson

Although its low-budget origins are more than evident, this short is exemplary in its usage of available resources to create funny, imaginative visuals that match the crazy and fun story about a woman who realizes that she’s only been dreaming another person’s dreams.

4. Things I Like, Things I Don’t Like by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

A very simple but sweet short that you’ll surely love if you already love Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s humor. It feels Jeunet was planting the seeds here for Amélie, which he would make many years later.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AspmmjBl1LU[/embedyt]

5. The Critic – Mel Brooks

If you never thought a guy talking during a movie could be funny, here’s this short to prove you wrong. Although probably funnier at a time as it was a parody of the abstract shorts that would be shown before arthouse movies, fifty-three years later, it still tickles the funny bone. Mel Brooks not only writes it (or improvises it) perfectly, but also gives a hell of a voice acting performance. This short won a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PramR5oxn50[/embedyt]

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

Review: Steven Universe ‘The Answer’ – Too many fan theories

Anthony Wendel

January 4, 2016

Summary: Garnet reveals how she became a Crystal gem.

SPOILER ALERT

After a three month drought without any new episodes, Steven Universe returns. This time focusing on a character who hasn’t been getting much attention, Garnet. Waking Steven up on his birthday she tells him the story of how she became a Crystal Gem. Many fan theories and questions are answered in this episode.

First off, another one of the higher ups in the Gem Empire is revealed. This one is called Blue Diamond. With the current leader of the Gem Empire being named Yellow Diamond, it is now safe to say the Diamond class is have always been on top. Second, it’s also revealed Sapphire was a member of the Gem elite and Ruby was one of many and a foot soldier type of Gem. After the two of them accidently fuse the third revolution is revealed.Their fusion was infact taboo as Gems never fuse with any but their own kind. The two fall to Earth to escape punishment and begin an adventure discovering the beauty that the world has to offer.

Out of all the revelations in this episode it’s third one fans should pay attention too. It was already heavily theorized Diamonds were at the top of the chain and Rubies were some type of soldier class and this episode merely confirms it. The fact Gems aren’t’ supposed to fuse with any but their own kind is a big reveal to the overall story of the show.

In the history of the series, the four Crystal Gems (don’t forget about Rose Quartz) have conducted fusion with each other to power up as needed. With this new information it becomes apparent this type of casual combining is unheard of. It speaks a lot about what kind of society the Crystal Gems are fighting against and what kind of crimes they have committed in the eyes of their home planet.

If this level of quality in episodes is what fans will be looking forward to then the momentary hiatus was justified. This was a truly engaging episode with a lot of reveals and some good touching emotional moments. An episode guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

Marvel Says “Come At Me, Bro” – Daredevil Season 2 To Possibly Debut Same Day As Batman Vs Superman

Mat Douglas

January 4, 2016

UPDATE – JAN 7, 2016 Daredevil will be released March 18, a week before Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice

When Daredevil was announced as a Netflix original series, there was equal parts hope and trepidation. Netflix had a strong track record with original series like House Of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, but the Devil Of Hell’s Kitchen previous outing in a mediocre 2003 film had some fans worried. Those worries were put to rest rather quickly when Daredevil debuted April 2015. Universal acclaim and widespread appeal made Daredevil one of Netflix biggest hits in their original content offerings and another great effort by Marvel Studios.

Now it appears that Marvel Studios is stepping up their dominance of superhero media by looking to have the second season of the highly anticipated series on March 25. Now if the date seems somewhat familiar, that is the same day Warner Bros. is releasing Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice. This very interesting news is being reported by ComicBook.com and has yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios or Disney, but it makes some sense as Daredevil was originally slated to release in April 2016 and it’s release was moved to March but no date was given.

Season 2 of Daredevil is sizing up to be spectacular with the inclusion of Frank Castle aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and Elektra (Elodie Yung)

Initially Batman Vs Superman was moved from May 2016 to March 2016 to avoid Captain America: Civil War, but it seems Marvel Studios wants to make sure the fans know that they can come from multiple fronts and that Warner Bros. knows it. For the fans, however, 2016 is looking to be a banner year for anyone who is a fan of the genre.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

Watch THR’s Director’s Roundtable with Quentin Tarantino, Ridley Scott, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, and More

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

January 4, 2016

Every year, The Hollywood Reporter compiles some fascinating roundtables as awards seasons ramps up. Easily the most captivating for cinephiles is the director’s roundtable, and this season we get to hear Quentin Tarantino, Ridley Scott, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, David O. Russell, Danny Boyle, and Tom Hooper bounce ideas, methods, and general opinions on their craft off each other.

Quentin Tarantino is always fascinating to hear discuss cinema, though I’m not particularly interested in Tom Hooper and David O. Russell, who’s done this before.

Here is the new director’s roundtable:

It’s always great to see masters of their craft shine a light on what makes them so effective, and listening to QT discuss philosophical issues with theaters and film as experience these days is quite refreshing.

You can see all of The Hollywood Reporter’s roundtables here.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

Monkey’s Fighting Robot’s 2015 Wrestling Awards

Marcus Wood

January 4, 2016

Now that 2015 has come to a close, and we’ve had a chance to step back and survey it in all its glory, we here at Monkeys Fighting Robots are ready to choose our best of the year. We’re keeping it simple with just a few categories in which to represent what we thought was the top of the heap when it came to 2015.

The writers who are choosing are Marcus Wood, who was recently writing to wrestling santa and Mat Douglas, who has been predicting the future of wrestling, so let’s do it!

Chosen By Mat Douglas – @MatPDouglas

Best Men’s Performer – Kevin Owens

No performer rose as fast and made the impact that Owens did in 2015. Debuting late 2014, he won the NXT Championship in February 2014, made his main roster debut in May of 2015 and went face to face with the WWE’s franchise John Cena and beat him in his first WWE match on the main roster, then went on to win the Intercontinental Championship in October. He continually turns in solid performances, cuts fantastic promos, all while looking like some random guy you’d see in the gym.

Best Women’s Performer – Sasha Banks

The Boss has had some of the best matches, not women’s matches, but wrestling matches this past year. Winning the NXT Championship, tearing the house down at NXT Takeover Brooklyn as part of a co-main event, and being part of the first ever Iron Woman match AND main event on NXT, all while debuting on the main roster over the summer.

Best Tag Team – The New Day

The trio of Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E have taken the WWE by storm. Initially starting as what you would call a traditional good guy tag team, they’ve taken ‘the power of positivity’ and turned into a ‘ we’re awesome, and you don’t get it if you aren’t awesome.’ Not to mention some of the best merch you’ll ever see including light up unicorn horns, oh and they are the current WWE Tag Team Champions, using the Freebird rule (Google it) to defend their titles.

Best Promotion – Lucha Underground

The American presentation of Mexico’s AAA promotion, LU exploded on the scene this year with dynamic performers, cinematic style, and PPV quality matches on a weekly basis. If you don’t have access to the El Rey Network, track down any of the matches between Johnny Mundo (formerly John Morrison in WWE) vs. Prince Puma.

Best Show – Wrestle Kingdom 9

New Japan Pro Wrestling puts on its biggest show of the year right after the new year and has been delivering top to bottom fantastic matches. The best performers on the planet, in every type of match you could want, show up and everyone brings their A game. If you haven’t seen Kazuchika Okada perform, you are doing yourself a disservice as a wrestling fan.

Match Of The Year – Sasha Banks Vs Bayley at NXT Takeover Brooklyn

Billed as the co-main event, in front of a raucous crowd, and signifying Sasha’s graduation to the main roster and Bayley achieving her lifelong dream of being a champion, this match was fantastic

It is an excellent wrestling match, not a women’s match, but wrestling match period. It had solid performances, a great story, and both women left everything in the ring. It is required viewing if you call yourself a wrestling fan.

Chosen By Marcus Wood- @themarcuswood

Best Men’s Performer – Seth Rollins

It was a tough choice this year as there were a lot of great performers who didn’t manage to sustain it all year. That was the difference with Seth Rollins as right from the start of the year he had great matches and an arrogant heel character that had fans nearly unanimously hating him, a rare and tough achievement in this era. This was taken to another level after his money in the bank cash in at Wrestlemania when he was pushed to be the top guy in the WWE.
Despite being the world champion and supposedly top guy, the WWE’s booking of Seth Rollins in this role has been poor to say the least, winning very few matches and being in programs with sometimes less than ideal opponents. It was because of this that I chose Seth Rollins as whether he was getting good matches out of wrestlers past their prime in Kane and Sting or having great matches while having to be the overwhelming underdog while still a heel against Brock Lesnar and John Cena, Rollins made the best of what he was given and was the top heel in WWE for most of the year and the man I thought was the best overall performer in wrestling in 2015. Injury went against him to end his title reign in the worst way possible, but I have no doubts he’ll pick up where he left off when he returns.

Best Women’s Performer – Sasha Banks

In the interest of honesty, this was the easiest choice of any category this year. With no woman on the main roster coming close and no major standouts on the independent scene, it was always going to come down to one of NXT’s four horsewomen. Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Bayley and Sasha Banks all did fantastic work this year in NXT, with a show-stealing matches at each of the Takeover specials this year. Collectively they destroyed the ideology of what women’s wrestling had to be in mainstream pro wrestling, taking it to new levels and garnering a level of respect and attention unthinkable before.
I’ve had to choose one of them, however, and I’ve gone with Sasha Banks on the simple basis that she was involved in every one of those Takeover matches. Additionally, she was Champion for most of the year, acting as the standard bearer for the division and developed “The Boss” to a level that made her an instantly compelling character. This was all topped off by making history by competing in the first ever Ironman match between two women in the WWE and the first PPV main event between two women in the WWE.
Sasha Banks can be one of the biggest stars in the WWE, male or female; she has the potential to be the complete package, but it’s if WWE lets’s her. Since getting to the main roster the results for her and the other women who came up from NXT have been sadly and frustratingly predictable, but hopefully, 2016 can be another year of breaking ground for Sasha Banks.

Best Tag Team – The Young Bucks

2015 was a busy year for the Young Bucks as they continued to conquer independent wrestling, taking PWG and IWGP tag team titles, reforming Mount Rushmore in PWG, continuing to be members of the hottest faction in wrestling in the Bullet Club, part of multiple main events of ROH shows and signing an exclusive deal with the company toward the end of the year.
While on the grounds of sheer entertainment I might have gone for New Day, I think the Bucks are a better blend of entertainment and good matches, their work with the Briscoes in ROH throughout the year a good example of this. The team is set to continue to dominate the scene unless WWE finally takes a serious interest.

Best Promotion – NXT

While not technically a promotion in itself I consider the NXT brand of WWE different and separate enough that it should be considered by itself. By that standard, I have to choose NXT as every one of its major shows, the Takeover specials, were excellent and its tv was consistently entertaining, more so than any other promotion aside from possibly Lucha Underground (which I don’t have access to). Furthermore, it was a year that saw NXT develop beyond being a developmental promotion bringing in established talent in Samoa Joe and James Storm, begin touring internationally and putting on Takeover specials in progressively larger venues. NXT still succeeded in being a developmental brand in one aspect, introducing and developing new talent with a massive list of quality talent brought through with feuds between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, Sasha Banks and Bayley and Finn Balor and Kevin Owens among others generated multiple ‘match of the year’ candidates.

Going into 2016 it seems anything is possible for NXT going forward, the only limit being how far WWE want to take it.

Best Show – NXT Takeover Brooklyn

While Wrestlekingdom 9 had a few higher quality matches on it, I felt Takeover Brooklyn was a better show overall. As the best shows do, it had some of everything, the entertainment of the vaudevillians title match, the attraction of Jushin Liger vs. Tyler Breeze and the debut of Apollo Crews, the incredible match that was Bayley vs. Sasha Banks and the unbelievable spectacle of the Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor ladder match. Added into it were a raucous New York crowd and the chance to see NXT in a big environment and it made for a superb show that elevated it above anything else this year for me.

Best Match – Brock Lesnar Vs John Cena Vs Seth Rollins

This match happened in January and set a bar so high for the rest of the year that nothing else quite matched up to it for me. There were no doubt better technical matches this year in both New Japan and NXT, but I thought this was the best example of a great match between three of the biggest stars in a company. It was the perfect package of athleticism and spots, with Brock going through the announce table and Seth Rollins at his best to the story being told with both Cena and Rollins making it a priority to take Lesnar out of action for as long as possible then dealing with each other. It also had an element of unpredictability as it was expected Lesnar was walking out a champion, to head to Wrestlemania but as the match played out it made me doubt what I thought I knew, a sign of any great match.

It may also have helped that it preceded one of the worst Royal Rumbles of all time, a pretty big contrast. If you haven’t seen this match go and check it out to see that WWE can still put on incredible main events when they really want to.

So there we have it, our picks for the best of 2015 in wrestling, that’s not to say they were the only good things going on, far from it. If you have your own personal picks, let us know in the comments section and hopefully there will be plenty more to celebrate in 2016.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

Oscars 2016: Predicting Best Actress

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

January 4, 2016

2015 brought with it a seismic (or temporary) shift in the balance of leading star power in Hollywood. The 2016 Oscars will be a rarity with a crowded field of Best Actress nominees – with many deserving left out – and a relatively thin Best Actor list. More on them later.

Women dominated 2015, with strong work and (finally) their chance to get out of the shadow of their male counterparts, both in blockbusters and prestige pictures. Newcomers and stalwarts fill out this Best Actress category from top to bottom, and while I hope a few people manage to squeeze in the five slots, there are just too many wonderful performances that will overtake my personal faves. Here we go.

Best Actress

Brie Larson is a shoe-in, and someone I hope soon becomes the favorite for her captivating performance in Room. Larson is simultaneously strong, frightened, resolve, and weak as she struggles to raise her son in captivity and, once freed, struggles to redefine the life that was taken from her. It is a performance for the ages, and one I hope is recognized. Right behind her is Saoirse Ronan for her sublime, romantic spin in Brooklyn. If Larson isn’t the favorite, look no further than Ronan.

Then, of course, we have Cate Blanchett in Carol. Blanchett is quickly becoming the new Meryl Streep with her perennial inclusion in the Oscar discussion. Sure, Rooney Mara and Blanchett have equal claim to lead actress in Carol, but Harvey Weinstein won’t allow such a ridiculous thing as his actresses getting split votes. That’s why Mara will get her Best Supporting Actress nod.

And then there were two. Two slots, at least six reasonable hopefuls, all of which are deserving in their own right. I have been pulling for Charlize Theron to get proper accolades for her performance in Mad Max: Fury Road. It’s still a longshot, but a strange thing is beginning to happen. Fury Road is collecting more and more nominations and awards as the season moves forward. Momentum is a real thing when it comes to Oscar season, and Fury Road has momentum in its corner. That’s why I’m sticking with Theron now in this fourth spot, because I won’t be 100% right either way and there’s always a surprise here and there; why not this surprise?

We all love Jennifer Lawrence, and I’m sure she will be at the Oscars to make us all laugh and feel better about humanity regardless of any nomination. While solid in Joy, Lawrence and the film are nothing special, nothing close to her turns in Winter’s Bone or Silver Linings Playbook or American Hustle. It’s a step down from those, which is fine sometimes. It’ll leave her on the outside looking in this year. And while my fingers are crossed for Emily Blunt in Sicario, I have little faith her stout performance will be recognized. Then there’s Sarah Silverman in I Smile Back. Silverman was phenomenal as a broken housewife, but the weakness of the film as a whole will keep her at arm’s length. Alicia Vikander might be considered for The Danish Girl, although she should get noticed for Ex Machina instead.

The fifth spot belongs to Charlotte Rampling for 45 Years. I know very little about this film, other than our review from Dewey Singleton, and a few clips. I do know this is the sort of performance Oscar eats up, a soulful, intimate family drama in a tiny picture. Rampling will get the recognition on behalf of the entire film.

PREDICTIONS

Brie Larson – Room

Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn

Cate Blanchett – Carol

Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years

Up next week, Best Actor Predictions.

Here are the predictions thus far:

Screenplays

Supporting Actress

Supporting Actor

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

‘The Force Awakens’ – Official Images of Snoke and Maz Kanata

Anthony Composto - EIC

January 3, 2016

Disney put out very little imagery for Star Wars: The Force Awakens prior to the film’s release (with good reason). What images/footage they did release centered on the film’s new “Big Three:” Rey, Finn, and Poe. However, two other new main characters were left to the imagination: Maz Kanata and Supreme Leader Snoke. All that was known was derived from concept art, as well as images of Lupita Nyong’o and Andy Serkis in their motion capture suits. Kanata also had a small spot on the theatrical poster.

Now though, Disney has released official images of these two mysterious beings, in an exclusive with Entertainment Weekly.

These images do not spoil anything regarding plot points. But Snoke’s reveal is a great moment in the movie, so if you haven’t seen it yet, bookmark this article and come back later (how have you not seen it yet?!).

Force Awakens Maz Kanata — Courtesy of Lucasfilm

In an interview with EW, Nyong’o said Maz’s eyes, which are augmented by a series of adjustable lenses, gave her something compelling to explore about the little alien’s physicality. “As an actor for films, your eyes are a lot of the way you communicate anyway,” says Nyong’o. “So it was definitely a gift to have that be the means to her magic as a motion-capture character.”

Nyong’o also spoke about the advice that Serkis gave her concerning motion-capture:

“The biggest advice he gave me, that was so important to hold on to, is a motion-capture character you develop the same way as any other. You have to understand who the character is and what makes them who they are,”

The highlight of the exclusive is Serkis’ comments on Snoke:

Serkis said he sympathized with fans who were dying to know more about Snoke before the film’s debut. That’s how he felt when he started, too. “It’s the first time I’ve been on set not yet knowing what the character’s gonna look like. I mean, talk about secrecy!” the actor told EW.

“When we first started working on it, he had some rough notions of how Snoke was gonna look, but it really hadn’t been fully-formed and it almost came out of discussion and performance,” Serkis added.

Although there was much speculation about who Snoke might turn out to be (one popular theory was that he’d turn out to be a Sith Lord known from the prequels as Darth Plagueis) he actually turns out to be … just Snoke.

Serkis said the character was aware of the events from the earlier films but was a new addition to the storyline.

“Supreme Leader Snoke is quite an enigmatic character, and strangely vulnerable at the same time as being quite powerful,” Serkis says. “Obviously he has a huge agenda. He has suffered a lot of damage. As I said, there is a strange vulnerability to him, which belies his true agenda, I suppose.”

It’s also clear from the character’s scarred, cavernous face why prosthetic make-up wasn’t an option. As Serkis explained before anyone outside the film saw Snoke, it could only have been played through motion-capture. “The scale of him, for instance, is one reason,” Serkis said. He is large. He appears tall. And also just the facial design — you couldn’t have gotten there with prosthetics. It’s too extreme. Without giving too much away at this point, he has a very distinctive, idiosyncratic bone structure and facial structure. You could never have done it [in real life.]”

Force Awakens Snoke — Courtesy of Lucasfilm

It is a very bold statement that Snoke is “just Snoke.” Fans have been speculating for months what the Supreme Leader’s backstory could be, and if he’s a character that has been seen/mentioned before.

It doesn’t seem like Serkis himself confirms that Snoke is a completely new character; it seems like that is just the assumption being drawn by EW. Is Snoke’s origin still a mystery?

Check out Monkeys Fighting Robots’ Top 5 Theories on Snoke!

Star Wars: Episode VIII is scheduled for release on May 26, 2017.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will have to hold fans over until then, releasing on December 16, 2016.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

Check Out This ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Promo Art

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

January 2, 2016

Every Marvel movie generally has a ton of promo art, some of which never sees the light of day. Well, such wasn’t the case with Captain America: Civil War promo art and thanks to the twitter handle @hablemosdemarvel, you can view those pictures right here.

Captain America: Civil War finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their efforts to safeguard humanity. However, after another involving the Avengers results in massive collateral damage, pressure mounts to install a system of checks and balances, headed by by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.

The film is set to feature the return of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America, this time joined in his “solo” film by fellow Avengers Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as The Vision, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye and Don Cheadle as Jim Rhodes/War Machine. Sebastian Stan will also be back as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier alongside Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa / Black Panther, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter / Agent 13, Daniel Brühl as Baron Helmut Zemo, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow / Crossbones, William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

1...1,4341,4351,436...1,689 Page 1,435 of 1,689