We are inching closer to the marketing cycle for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming adaptation of Ready Player One, and today Entertainment Weekly gave us the first look of Tye Sheridan, as the story’s hero, Wade.
Check out the image:
When the creator of an MMO called the Oasis dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all Oasis users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. Wade Watts finds the first clue and starts a race for the Egg.
This image definitely captures the image of the inside of the stacked mobile homes in Ernie Cline’s novel. Spielberg appears to have the visual side of the story down, what will be interesting is how he handles the pop culture references, which are basically the thread of the plot.
Along with Sheridan, Ready Player One stars T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, Ben Mendelsohn, Olivia Cooke, and new Spielberg muse Mark Rylance. It’ll be here March 30 next year.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is a success at the box office, and a sequel is already in the works for 2019.
Now, the big question is who’ll be the villain?
Spider-Man star Tom Holland hopes for a few favourites of his, according to reports.
In a Cinemablend interview, the young actor gushes about the Spidey Rogue’s gallery. He already has a wish list of villains he would love to face onscreen.
“Oh, well I love Doc Ock. I think Spider-Man 2 is one of the greatest superhero movies ever made,” Holland says. “But I think Venom is someone I’d love to kick the crap out of one day.”
We know Venom won’t be in the sequel, because Sony is planning a solo movie. Tom Hardy is going to star as Eddie Brock in that film, but it won’t connect to the mainstream Marvel Cinematic Universe. As for Doctor Octopus, his last appearance onscreen was in Spider-Man 2, in which Alfred Molina played the role.
As for other Spidey villains, Holland is eyeing a few other choices. “There’s so many good villains,” he says. “I really like Mysterio, I like Kraven.”
Right now, Sony is planning Kraven and Mysterio solo films, but it’s unclear how they could work as standalone stories. While Kraven the Hunter is a cool villain, Mysterio would be a little harder to carry a film. Furthermore, it seems kind of strange to introduce villains in a solo flick before establishing their conflict with the hero. Suicide Squad was a success, but let’s not forget it is an ensemble team movie.
Mysterio is more of a supporting villain than a main antagonist. In the comics, VFX wizard and stuntman Quentin Beck assumes the role to impersonate Spider-Man while committing crimes. The idea of Spidey being framed as a criminal is a compelling one, but Mysterio would need to be developed more as a character.
Marvel Studios confirms there are no plans to revisit the Green Goblin or Oscorp in the near future. In a Movieplot.com interview, Kevin Feige explains they don’t want to retread old ground. “There are certain characters I don’t think there’s anything more to say about them right this minute,” he says. “I don’t know how many more times we can do the Green Goblin.”
Since Norman and Harry Osborn were big players in the Raimi and Webb films, it makes sense to give them a rest for now. There’s no need for the new Spider-Man films to become repetitive. If Sony turns to the comics, it would be interesting for Peter to meet the Osborns when he begins college. Plus, this could set the MCU Spidey apart from past cinematic incarnations.
Remember last time the Goblin showed up?
Feige explains they will focus on villains who haven’t been on the big screen before. “I think it might be interesting to revisit some of the characters we’ve seen in films before, but right now, we think there are a lot of new ones we haven’t played with yet,” he says.
So, that probably means we won’t see Doc Ock in the MCU for a while. Then again, there are other villains that Marvel and Sony can explore.
While Mac Gargan is in Spider-Man: Homecoming, he only appears in a minor role, and he does not become the Scorpion. As the mid-credits suggest, he is looking to form a team of sorts. Could this be the MCU’s version of the Sinister Six?
Spider-Man: Homecoming is now playing in theatres.
Legendary director Christopher Nolan recently chatted with Yahoo! Movies and gave his thoughts on DC’s latest film, Wonder Woman.
“I did and I loved it. I mean, I watch the films. I enjoy films very much as a moviegoer these days. I spent 10 years of my life dealing with one of the greatest characters in popular fiction. It was a great honor and a privilege to work with that, but there’s a time to pass it on to new people.”
Nolan has been involved with the DC Extended Universe, but obviously not to the same extent as he was with The Dark Knight trilogy. He was an executive producer on both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, the second which introduced Wonder Woman to the world.
Do you agree with Nolan’s take on Wonder Woman? Comment below, let us know.
Along with that Punisher poster we posted a short while ago, Entertainment Weekly has dropped a new poster from The Defenders.
“Marvel’s The Defenders” follows Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. A quartet of singular heroes with one common goal – to save New York City. This is the story of four solitary figures, burdened with their own personal challenges, who realize they just might be stronger when teamed together.”
The Defenders hits Netflix on August 18. Are you excited? Comment below, let us know.
THE LIFE OF SIDESWIPE! A Junkion machine finally gives long-injured Sideswipe a new lease on life! But when his brother goes missing, Sideswipe and Arcee return to Cybertron—and nothing will be the same between them ever again.
Writing
After a traumatic battle, Sideswipe was put into status. This issue of Optimus Prime is all about him finally waking up and bringing him up to speed with the world. This allows Arcee and Sideswipe to have some time together. Given how Arcee has been pretty much a loner who tries to relies on no one, seeing her and Sideswipe interact allows for some very nice character development. There is also mention of Arcee having a brother. Hopefully this will be expanded upon in later issues.
This issue also offers a surprising emotional moment as events unfold. John Barber really tells an engrossing story and finds a way to keep the story active while at the same time giving the audience a chance to breath a bit before another massive scale alien invasion erupts.
Artwork
The art work by Kei Zama with Josh Burcham on colors helps create a gritty environment which is perfect where it needs to be. It helps to give the audience and Sideswipe the illusion of Cybertron being as bad as Sideswipe remembered. Also, points for the reference back to Transformers: Robots In Disguise as Sideswipe revives in the same way Wheeljack did by landing on his head as he comes out of the restoration tank.
Conclusion
It is really impressive how good this run of Transformers stories has been. More because, for a book named Optimus Prime, it’s the side characters who are stealing the spotlight. Considering what Jazz and now Sideswipe have had to endure, this is not hard but it just feels like the book should be telling stories of this caliber with the titular character. Despite his iconic nature, it’s hard to remember the last time a story featuring Optimus had the same emotional impact. It is possible to pull back the facemask and show him as being more than simply a stalwart character of righteousness. Might help him feel a bit more relatable.
San Diego Comic-Con is nearly here. While we can only speculate as to what Marvel is planning to show, it’s no secret that the company is going to have huge years. Further hyping up the presentation, Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo teased fans on his Twitter.
Marvel Fans… I just saw a preview of what Marvel is showing at Comic-Con. You are about to get your mind blown! Best I've seen yet. Kaboom
What do you think we’ll see from Marvel at SDCC? If I had to guess I’d say we get a new Thor: Ragnarok trailer, an extended look at Black Panther, and even an Infinity War teaser.
SDCC takes place in San Diego, California, from July 20-23.
As Deadly Class approaches thirty issues, the new crop of students are really starting to find their footing. Creators Rick Remender and Wes Craig threw readers in an emotional meat grinder not too long ago by wiping out nearly half of the main cast. They boldly replaced them with new freshman characters who are now stepping up in a major way.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
Kings Dominion is full of horny teenage assassins desperate to gain leverage and climb the ladder of school hierarchy. What initially looked like just another wave of 80’s cliches are now blossoming ito fully formed characters. The new class kicks as much ass as the previous one.
With Saya out of commission, in the clutches of her brother, and Marcus and Maria in hiding, the characters closest to our hearts are vulnerable. They’re fragile little eggs that Remender will purposely carry forward with a noticeable wobble. This series has always been able to deliver major gut wrenching drama. Right now, it’s trending towards a read that’ll have readers on edge.At the center of all the Saya deception is Quan, who’s backed himself into a corner. By trying to snake his way into the good graces of not only the school but also Saya’s Yakuza asshole brother, he’s found his balls firmly in the clutches of both he and Viktor.
Zenzele finds herself abandoned by her mentor, Saya, and steps up big time in this issue. White power loving redneck princess Brandy gets served by Zenzele who ditched strong & silent for ready & able. Big Z is quietly becoming a prominent force, poised for a key moment in the near future.
The second half focus of Deadly Class #29 is Helmut as he attempts to shake a certain member of the student council out of a funk. Helmut and Petra debate the future of certain music genres and their sellout potential while terrorizing a random man with a frozen burrito.
The heart and soul of this issue is the night these two shares together. The narrative stars are aligning elsewhere, but this intimate experience between these two is another example of the heart that Deadly Class is capable of at any moment amidst the gruesome chaos.
Deadly Class continues to be one of the most compelling comic books available right now. If you’re not reading and sharing this Image Comics experience, you should reconsider the priorities of your pull list.
Remender and Craig are one of the rare gems of comic book chemistry today, their partnership should be the goal of every creative team. One would not meet the artistic potential they achieve each issue without the other.
If you’re someone who was concerned about the new students coming aboard, fear not. These new kids are fully acclimated and as crucial to this book as those who didn’t make it past the King’s Dominion Freshman Final.
The Power Rangers mythology is about to embark on a new chapter by introducing a new team of Rangers. Or you could say an old team, as an upcoming story line in the October issue (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #20) of the running series by Kyle Higgins will feature a story about a group of rangers in 1969. Given the time period of this story line, it will be no doubt focus on the Moon Landing and making sure Rita Repulsa isn’t released from her lunar prison. The official synopsis is:
An eye-opening new piece of Power Rangers history is revealed! Well before Jason, Zack, Kimberly, Billy, and Trini became Power Rangers, Zordon was forced to recruit Rangers to battle a foe who’s downright…psycho.
This is not the first time a Power Rangers story has focused on a group of rangers appearing in the past. An episode in the second season of the original Power Rangers TV series featured Kimberly being transported back in time to the Wild West era. There she got assistance from ancestors of her friends and had them transform into Cowboy Power Rangers. A clip of it can be found below.
Given how entertaining the stories have been from the Boom! Studios series, this will no doubt help to weave a greater tapestry of the history surrounding the Power Rangers. Also, considering how entertaining the first arc of Kyle Higgins’ run on the series has been, he has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to telling stories in the Power Rangers universe. Expect a full review of this issue from Monkeys Fighting Robots when its released in October.
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Are you excited for more Power Rangers through history? Or do you feel like the series should go in a different direction? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Welcome to the fourth episode of the Comic Show by Monkeys Fighting Robots! Anthony and Matt have a lot to discuss with you today: Gary Moloney covered Small Press Day in Dublin over the weekend, Black Bolt is a series that’s making waves over at Marvel, Batman gets closer to METAL, and Violent Love is our must-read of the week.
