Empire Magazine Reveals ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Covers

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November 30, 2017

The dark side and the light will face each other in December, but first, they’ll hit newsstands with Empire Magazine. The popular film magazine just revealed its themed December issues, which feature two of the most significant characters in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

More – Rey’s Story Ends After ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ According To Daisy Ridley

Representing the side of light is Daisy Ridley’s Rey, who first discovered her hidden Jedi abilities in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The dark side cover features Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren aka. Ben Solo. The character was raised by Han and Leia Solo, before betraying his family and turning to the dark side.

Check out the covers below:

Star Wars: The Last Jedi — Image via Empire Magazine

Empire has also revealed its exclusive subscriber covers, which offer a different look at the two characters. While these covers won’t be available on newsstands, they certainly look fantastic on our computer screens.

Looking at the covers revealed by Empire, it’s clear that Lucasfilm is setting up a major rivalry between Rey and Kylo Ren. Since we haven’t seen too much footage from the film, we can only speculate, but it would be safe to assume that Rey and Kylo will come into contact in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is directed by Rian Johnson and stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Andy Serkis, Laura Dern, and Domhnall Gleeson.

The film lands in theatres on December 15, 2017!

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AMERICAN GODS Loses Both Showrunners

By

Joseph Rejent

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November 29, 2017

American Gods, the critically acclaimed Starz drama, has just lost both of its showrunners. It was announced on Wednesday that Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, two of the most recognizable names in the industry at the moment, have departed from the series. They cited irreconcilable creative differences with the series producer FremantleMedia as the reason for this decision.

The main issue appears to have been related to budget. Fuller and Green were allegedly fighting for an increased budget for the second season of the series, even though sources attached to the production claim that each episode of American Gods already had a budget for almost $10 million.

As of right now, Starz and FremantleMedia have yet to name a replacement showrunner.

Regardless of what happens with American Gods, this will not be the end of Bryan Fuller or Michael Green. Green is currently working on a project called Raising Dion for Netflix, and is rumored to have other work in the pipeline as well. Fuller, on the other hand, is currently at work creating a series called Amazing Stories for Apple, along with a few other projects, not the least of which is rumored to be the fourth season of Hannibal. Fuller had previously departed from his role as showrunner for Star Trek: Discovery about a year ago.

The expectation was that American Gods season two would premiere at some point in mid-2018 on Starz, but a major shakeup like this casts doubt on the entire situation. Alan Sepinwall, noted critic for Hitfix.com, observed on Twitter that season one “wasn’t perfect, but there’s no point to continuing the show without [Fuller and Green].”

This will likely be the major point of debate among fans going forward. Can another showrunner step in and take over this otherworldly, nightmarish take on Neil Gaiman’s modern classic? Or will this show go down in the annals of series that were cancelled too soon?

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George R. R. Martin’s NIGHTFLYERS Will Have 10-Episode Season on Syfy

By

Joseph Rejent

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November 29, 2017

George R.R. Martin has announced via his Not a Blog LiveJournal page that Nightflyers, a Syfy TV adaptation of his 1980 science-fiction/horror novella, will have ten episodes. This is the first update Martin has posted about the series since early spring.

Martin wrote on his blog: “NIGHTFLYERS will be shot in the Republic of Ireland, I’m told, on sound stages in Limerick… which will give them access to the same great pool of Irish and British actors that GAME OF THRONES has tapped in Belfast (and considering how many characters we’ve killed, a lot of them should be available). ((If by some miracles I actually complete enough of my other projects to create some free time, I’ve love to go over there and kill two birds with one flight by visiting both the GOT and NIGHTFLYERS sets… but that remains a long shot, given my current word load)). If all goes according to schedule, the series should debut this summer, in late July. It will be broadcast on SyFy in the USA, and on Netflix around the world.”

Little is known about the series at the moment, other than what Martin himself announced in May. However, it is confirmed that Daniel Cerone will serve as showrunner for the series, while Jeff Buhler has written the pilot.

Martin spoke of his meeting with Cerone and Buhler, where they allowed him to read the script and look at the concept art for the series. Martin claims to have been encouraged by this news, writing that: “Honestly, at first I was baffled as to how they hoped to get a series out of my story, since at the end of the novella (and the film) pretty much everyone is dead (it was a horror story, after all). But in May, UCP got me a copy of Jeff Buhler’s script, and I saw how he’d dealt with that. It was a good read, and yes, I came away with a better idea of where they’d find a few seasons.”

Martin himself will not be associated with the project. Which is probably a good thing, because the fewer projects Martin has on the table, the more likely it is that he will be able to finally finish the long awaited Winds of Winter.

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Review: MYSTIK U #1 Brings Magic Of The DC Universe Into The Spotlight

By

Jose "Jody" Cardona

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There has been a side of the DC Universe that hasn’t had the proper spotlight in a while. I’m talking about the mystical side full of magicians, ghosts, and demons. Recently, DC has taken steps to bring more magic into the world again. While The Hellblazer series runs monthly with the rest of DC Rebirth, new miniseries have popped up as well. These series walk a horror theme such as Deadman, Ragman, and The Demon: Hell Is Earth. While I do enjoy these books, they tend to blend together. Enter Mystik U, a story that follows a young group of magical characters in the DC Universe.

Some Spoilers Below

Story:

After Zatanna Zatara accidentally sends her father to Hell, Rose Psychic offers to teach her how to control her gift. She takes the budding magician to Mystik U, the DC equivalent of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series. Zatanna goes on to meet a variety of different characters while she settles into her new life. These characters range from the familiar, such as The Enchantress and Frankenstein, to the obscure, such as Sargon The Sorcerer.

This your traditional arc building story to introduce the world and its characters. While the world itself is certainly interesting, it was difficult to get behind the characters. Of the students, I found Zatanna interesting, albeit dim at times. I know this is when she first starts out with magic, but knowing her father was a powerful magic user, she should know some of the things she doesn’t. The one character I’m actually intrigued by is the son of Felix Faust. While the ‘child of the villain is good’ trope has been played before, this character’s relationship to his father promises some interesting storytelling. The rest of the cast ends up being stereotypes in school comedies such as Saved By The Bell.

There isn’t much action packed spell slinging this issue, so it might leave some readers disappointed. If you are looking to learn a bit more about the mystical side of the DC Universe, you might want to wait until the series is collected. If you want something reminiscent of Harry Potter, where its young people build friendships and learn magic, this might be the book for you.

Art:

The team really worked some magic in this issue. The art was imaginative, colorful, and perfectly captures the world. The magical side of the DC is meant to be wondrous yet horrifying. In this book we get a terrifying devil then followed a few pages later by adorable fairies. These designs don’t feel like from two separate books either.

The designs of the characters are creative as well. The art team was able to create outfits for the students that you would see on an actual college campus while maintaining the feel of their original character design. It’s designs such as these that make the story feel more realistic, despite the magical setting.

Conclusion:

While the world is interesting, to say the least, we are left with some dull characters, but a promise of an intriguing story. The art successfully brings out the mystical feel of the story and keeps the characters realistic in design. Despite promises of an intriguing story, as a standalone issue, it falls a bit short.

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WISDOM OF THE CROWD Fails to Receive Full Season Pickup

By

Joseph Rejent

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November 29, 2017

The CBS series Wisdom of the Crowd will not be receiving a full season pickup. This means that the first season of the drama will conclude after it airs the original 13 episodes which CBS ordered.

In other words, although this is not an official death knell for the series, it does essentially mean that Wisdom of the Crowd will be cancelled. While that announcement has not been declared by CBS in any formal way, there is no other reason the network would not pick up an entire season.

Part of this decision likely comes from the fact that Wisdom of the Crowd has made no significant impact on ratings in its crucial Sunday night timeslot, which is prime, coveted real estate for a network like CBS. The series has averaged about 7.4 million viewers per episode, a very weak performance for the network. In fact, it is currently the lowest-rated freshman show on CBS. None of this bodes well for a second season.

There is perhaps a more significant factor, however. Jeremy Piven, the star of the series, has been accused of groping two different women while they were extras on Entourage, the HBO comedy series which heightened Piven’s fame. In response to this, Piven released an emphatic denial, announcing that “I unequivocally deny the appalling allegations being peddled about me.”

In Wisdom of the Crowd, Piven plays a tech innovator from Silicon Valley who utilizes a crowdsourcing app he invented in order to identify the person who murdered his daughter. In doing so, he creates something that revolutionizes the way other crimes are solved, as well. CBS Television Studios produces the series, along with Universal Television.

Earlier this year, CBS gave full season orders for Young Sheldon, the prequel to the Big Bang Theory, the SWAT reboot, and their drama series SEAL Team. The comedy series Me, Myself, and I, however, ended up in the same situation as Wisdom of the Crowd.

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Saïd Taghmaoui Abruptly Departs LEGION Season Two

By

Joseph Rejent

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November 29, 2017

Saïd Taghmaoui has abruptly exited from the second season of Legion on FX.

This information was verified by a spokesperson on Tuesday, who did not mention anything relating to the actual reason for Taghmaoui’s departure. The team behind Legion, which is currently in production in Los Angeles, has declared that there was indeed a decision to recast the role, but as of this moment, no further information has been released regarding who will replace Taghmaoui.

Taghmaoui himself took to Twitter on Saturday, declaring that “Finally I’m not going to be in Legion but a big surprise coming soon.” Considering the actor’s recent successes, including starring in Wonder Woman, it is entirely possible that this departure was without drama, and Taghmaoui simply found a more high-profile project to attach himself to.

However, Legion has been shooting since early September, and it is unknown whether or not this departure will affect a large quantity of the show. When it comes to how this will alter production going forward, representatives for Taghmaoui declined to comment.

Noah Hawley, Legion’s showrunner, announced at Comic Con back in July that Taghmaoui would be signing onto the series to play the Shadow King himself, Amahl Farouk. In the first season, Aubrey Plaza filled this role, although Taghmaoui isn’t a recast; in the series, Farouk was haunting main character David Haller by assuming the form of his deceased friend, Lenny. There was also an additional incarnation portrayed by Quinton Boisclair, who assumed the form of a disgusting, fat, yellow monster sneaking around inside David’s memories. Plaza and Boisclair will both return in season two.

Legion is a rare unity of Marvel Television and FX Productions, both of whom were united under Hawley’s strange vision for the series. Although it is not nearly as acclaimed as Hawley’s other work (rightfully so), the show is simultaneously creative and fun in a way few other series are, and hopefully this unforeseen development does not disrupt the filming of the season too significantly.

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Rey’s Story Ends After ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ According To Daisy Ridley

By

Matthew Sardo

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November 29, 2017

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ is less than two weeks away, and Daisy Ridley is ready to bail on the franchise. During an interview with Rolling Stone, Ridley told Brian Hiatt she is done after Episode IX.

Here is the exchange:

She doesn’t want to play the character after the next movie. “No,” she says flatly. “For me, I didn’t really know what I was signing on to. I hadn’t read the script, but from what I could tell, it was really nice people involved, so I was just like, ‘Awesome.’ Now I think I am even luckier than I knew then, to be part of something that feels so like coming home now.”

But, um, doesn’t that sort of sound like a yes? “No,” she says again, smiling a little. “No, no, no. I am really, really excited to do the third thing and round it out, because ultimately, what I was signing on to was three films. So in my head, it’s three films. I think it will feel like the right time to round it out.”

What do you think of Ridley’s comments? Do you think Disney should recast Rey? Only time and box office dollars will tell.

About ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’

The Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ which is written and directed by Rian Johnson continues the storylines introduced in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.’ The film stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, and Kelly Marie Tran.

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ hits theaters on December 15.

‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ ends the trilogy on December 20, 2019.

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Breathe a Sigh of Relief; Liu Yifei to Star in Disney’s Live-Action MULAN

By

Eric Morales

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November 29, 2017

Disney has found its star for the upcoming live-action Mulan remake in Chinese actor Liu Yifei, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Yifei, also known as Crystal Liu, began her career in a handful of television series broadcast in China and Taiwan, all of which earned her critical acclaim. Since then she has appeared in several films both domestic and internationally, including The Forbidden Kingdom starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and Outcast starring Nicholas Cage and Hayden Christensen. Over her now 14 year career, she has become one of China’s most popular actors.

Disney spent a year searching across five continents for their star. After auditioning nearly 1,000 candidates, they landed on Liu, due to her English ability, martial arts training, and star quality.

There was concern due to a spec script that the live-action adaptation would feature a whitewashed cast. Disney insisted that the cast would be Chinese; with Liu’s announcement, we now have evidence for the fact.

Mulan is directed by Niki Caro (The Zookeeper’s Wife) and is slated for a tentative 2019 release.

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New ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD Trailer, Now With More Christopher Plummer

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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November 29, 2017

When the Kevin Spacey scandal hit, and his projects began to evaporate in light speed, Ridley Scott’s All The Money in The World was perhaps the most curious case. The film was already in the can, cut, and set for a big Awards season push, where Spacey himself would take center stage.

Rumors abounded that the movie would be pushed to next summer, which meant it might actually fade into oblivion and become a mysterious movie of Hollywood’s sexual-assault era. Ridley Scott had a better idea: bring in Christopher Plummer to take over for Spacey’s role as J. Paul Getty, reshoot all those scenes, and hit the planned release date of December 22 come hello high water. Because there were too many people involved.

Somehow, some way, Scott has at least executed enough of these reshoots to put a new trailer together for All the Money in The World, which this movie might end up making now. Check it out:

All the Money in the World follows the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother Gail (Michelle Williams) to convince his billionaire grandfather (Christopher Plummer) to pay the ransom. When Getty Sr. refuses, Gail attempts to sway him as her son’s captors become increasingly volatile and brutal. With her son’s life in the balance, Gail and Getty’s advisor (Mark Wahlberg) become unlikely allies in the race against time that ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of love over money.

This trailer isn’t just Plummer in isolated, dialogue-free scenes. Ridley Scott has already shot substantial scenes with Plummer. It’s an amazing accomplishment when you step back and think about it.

Ridley Scott is a Boss, and if you need any more proof, he says the reshoots are already finished and this is his response to deciding to take this route:

I was finished with the film and was in [U.K. recording studio] Abbey Road finalizing the music. Someone was like: Guess what? And that’s where it began. I sat and thought about it and realized, we cannot. You can’t tolerate any kind of behavior like that. And it will affect the film. We cannot let one person’s action affect the good work of all these other people. It’s that simple.

This trailer also definitely makes All the Money in The World feel like more of a thriller than the others. We’ll see what it’s all about in LESS THAN A MONTH. Amazing.

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Review: The Walking Dead ‘The King, The Widow, And Rick’

By

Matthew Sardo

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Rick Grimes is a force of nature that only a Negan A-Bomb can slow down. The build-up to the mid-season finale is real, and nothing confirmed that more than Rick’s opening monologue from Sunday’s episode of ‘The Walking Dead,’ ‘The King, The Widow, And Rick.’

Jadis and The Scavengers could be the most interesting group in The Walking Dead Universe. What was up with the naked sculpting? I digress, the point of Sunday night’s episode was to push your moral compass in a direction and from the cast to the crew of the show, the team accomplished that in spades. Tom Payne led the debate as Jesus, along with Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon.

Remarks about ‘The King, The Widow, And Rick’

If anyone has watched ‘Patch Adams,’ then you know that Carl is not going to last long with Siddiq.
Gregory was on the receiving end of a plot-twist, and it felt so good.
Maggie Greene is quickly climbing the charts as the most bad-ass character on the show.

The best part of the episode was the plotline with Michonne and Rosita. There were suspense, action and two WTF moments. This is what happens when the writers; Angela Kang and Corey Reed are at the top of their game. Creative deaths are a unique quality on ‘The Walking Dead’ and a rocket to the chest is how you make a statement.

The most effective change to this season is how the last episode involved several different groups. The world is too vast to have singular episodes and cuts create a faster pace and build drama. We can only hope this trend continues.

The closing speech booked the episode well. Maggie holding the baby was the appropriate amount of symbolism of life and death. Overall, a well-written episode that packed several punches.

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**Some Spoilers Below**

Story:

Art:

Conclusion:

Some Spoilers Below