As Batman continues his investigation into a mysterious metal, his path crosses with Wonder Woman and Talia Al Ghul, both of which give him weapons of both great power and danger. Carter Hall, the Hawkman, continues to narrate his tale across time. And in the Batcave, Duke Thomas and Green Lantern continue to fight an escaped Joker, who’s insanity seems to hold dangerous and vital information.
DARK DAYS: The Casting Written by: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV Art by: Jim Lee, Andy Kubert, John Romita Jr., and others Published by: DC Comics
Now we are on our second step toward DC: Metal and things are showing no indication of slowing down. Like The Forge, Dark Days: The Casting is a rollicking story filled with action, easter eggs, and plenty of “oh shit!’ moments. Read on for 11 reasons pick up Dark Days: The Casting. Oh yeah, there are SPOILERS!!!!!
The appearance of Ras Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul. Always love a drop in from the In-Laws!
Batman getting Apollo’s Sunblade, an actual weapon for a God.
“Be wary of the Gods, they have their own agenda”-Wonder Woman. “So do I” –Batman
The pure, non-stop narrative pace of the story.
The art. Somehow having three artists just works, giving each segment a specific feel.
The explanation of how the Joker’s face got healed.
The use of the Joker in general.
How there is aLovecraftian nod and feel throughout this whole thing.
“Oh, I know how this story is going to end. Because it’s happened before.”
Two issues into a prelude, and this whole DC: Metal event is shaping to be one hell of a fun ride. It’s great to see a comic crossover like this that embraces the fun and throws in a ton for the fans but not at the cost of the story. DC fans REALLY need to check this out.
Warner Bros. seems to be moving fast with a sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad!
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jaume Collet-Serra – who directed 2016’s shark thriller The Shallows – has emerged as the studio’s frontrunner to helm Suicide Squad 2.
Quentin Tarantino is sneaking around Hollywood recruiting A-list actors for his next film that centers around the Manson Family murders, according to THR.
According to the report, Tarantino will write and direct the film that centers on Sharon Tate, the actress, and wife of director Roman Polanski who was murdered by Manson and his followers in 1969.
Over the course of several hours on the night of Aug. 8, four of Manson’s followers, using guns and knives, brutally killed Tate, who was eight months pregnant, and four other occupants.
Jennifer Lawrence and Brad Pitt have been contacted about the film, with a plan to start filming in 2018. No title has been announced.
Check back as more details become available on the breaking news story.
Netflix announced late Tuesday afternoon it will bring a ten-episode series from Dark Horse Comics ‘The Umbrella Academy’ to the network in 2018.
“I am thrilled that The Umbrella Academy has found a home at Netflix. I couldn’t think of a better place for the vision Gabriel Bá and myself had when creating the comic, and cannot wait for people to experience that world as a live action show,” said Gerard Way.
The series will be based on the Eisner award-winning comics and graphic novels created and written by Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) and illustrated by Gabriel Bá. According to Netflix, ‘The Umbrella Academy’ is a live action series that follows the estranged members of a dysfunctional family of superheroes (The Umbrella Academy). The team is made up of; The Monocle, Spaceboy, The Kraken, The Rumor, The Séance, Number Five, The Horror, and The White Violin. They have joined forces the best that they can to solve their father’s mysterious death while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities.
“What drew us to The Umbrella Academy is that it’s wholly unique, visual and stylized,” said Cindy Holland, Vice President, Original Content for Netflix. “These aren’t the usual superheroes, and this series will embrace the singular tone of the graphic novels — dark yet humorous, supernatural yet grounded in reality. We’re excited to see this world and introduce these unforgettable heroes to Netflix members around the globe.”
‘The Umbrella Academy’ will be produced by Universal Cable Productions.
“It’s a thrill to be producing this wonderful show for Netflix,” said Jeff Wachtel, Chief Content Officer, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, and President, Universal Cable Productions. “It’s been a passion project for the UCP development crew and we can’t wait to bring it to life.”
Steve Blackman (Fargo, Altered Carbon) will serve as executive producer and showrunner, with additional executive producers Bluegrass Television and Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg from Dark Horse Entertainment. Gerard Way will serve as co-executive producer. The pilot script was adapted from the comic book series by Jeremy Slater (The Exorcist).
In 1979, astronomer, astrophysicist, and author Carl Sagan and his wife Ann Druyan wrote a 100-page script for a film called Contact. However, in the midst of StarWars and Alien, Contact never saw the light of day and instead, Sagan morphed the script into a novel. Flash-forward ten years and several fired directors later, including Mad Max’s George Miller, before Robert Zemeckis would take to turning the script-turned-novel back into a film. In 1997, Zemeckis released Contact, a movie starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. The film was a breath of fresh air in a year of science fiction that, while pretty impressive, was stagnant when it came to smarts.
The premise of Contact is beautiful in its simplicity. SETI, the group responsible for spending countless hours listening to space noises, receives a message that is undeniably from an alien source. The world reacts to the news in diverse ways. From cultists doomsayers to those seeking the guidance of a higher intelligence. In the meantime, the message turns out to be schematics for a machine, and the government intends on building it. The alien device is designed for one occupant to travel and Elle Arroway, the protagonist of the film, wants to be that lone traveler. However, the battle between science and religion tries to dominate who will play ambassador to an alien civilization. Treachery, betrayal, love, hate, God, and more are subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) debates woven into the movie.
THE DIRECTOR
In 1985, at the same time that Sagan released Contact the novel, Zemeckis broke through with a science fiction comedy known as Back to the Future. Over the next ten years, Contact the book sold millions and Zemeckis made millions at the box office. In 1997, two two would finally meet. After many stalled attempts at turning Contact into a film, Zemeckis made it happen. Zemeckis’ journey from action-comedy director to a full-blown master of the cinematic arts was already complete when he made ForrestGump. In Contact, Zemeckis created smart science fiction with a brilliant mix of performance, writing, and the director’s innovative use of effects.
We don’t often see Zemeckis mentioned as one of the great directors, but his films are a masterclass in quality from all angles. Contact features tracking shots integrating CG in near-perfect ways. These are methods common today, but this movie, and many of Zemeckis’ films, were a significant influence in making it happen.
THE STARS
In 1997, Jodie Foster was, well, Jodie Foster, a child star turned acclaimed actress and director. Foster plays Elle Arroway, the scientist who discovered the alien signal and wants to be the one to make first contact. Arroway is decidedly a scientist, believing there’s no need for a God, that’s it’s a waste of time. Elle also believes one of the central tenants of what the film preaches “If there’s no life out in there, it’s an awful waste of space.”
“… they both see the beauty of thinking about the universe and everything in it.”
Featured in the film are the likes of Tom Skerrit, Angela Bassett, James Woods, John Hurt, Robe Lowe and Jake Busey. There’s also a young Matthew McConaughey who plays the ying to Foster’s yang. As Palmer Joss, McConaughey presents the theistic point of view and the argument that, while no single religion may be right, they all believe in a God, a creator. If this “alien” message is the creator, it should be someone who believes in him or her to make the first contact. Despite their differences, Arroway and Joss share an attraction, perhaps simply because they both see the beauty of thinking about the universe and everything in it.
THE IMPACT
Critical reception to Contact then was very positive. Contact released in the same year as Men in Black, Starship Troopers, The Fifth Element, and Gattaca. Only Gattaca presented a non-action orientated science fiction film. Today, most cinema analysts put Contact in the same class as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Contact doesn’t have quite the awe-inspiring cinematic brilliance of 2001, and it doesn’t have the darker aspects of Close Encounters. However, in its right, Contact deserves mention with both. Like Close Encounters, Contact presents a much more positive view of aliens and, to some degree, mankind.
Contact is smart, particularly the ambiguous ending that creates friendly (I hope) debate among viewers. It’s not as heady as 2001, but it does pose aspects of some of our most difficult questions. It’s also sneakily a technically brilliant movie with shots like the opening galaxy scene or the wormhole sequence that still feel fresh and look fantastic.
Twenty years later and Contact is as fresh today as ever.
The new season will contain 13 episodes, and will adapt the events of Voyager, the third novel in the eight-part Diana Gabaldon saga on which the show is based. Voyager takes place in the immediate aftermath of Dragonfly in Amber, with Claire, played by Caitriona Balfe, struggling with returning from the 1700’s to 1948. She is reunited with her husband Frank (Tobias Menzes) though she is pregnant with Jamie’s (Sam Heughan) child. She is no longer the outlander referred to in the title, but she no longer seems a part of the time in which she was born.
While Frank is dealing with the emotional upheaval of his wife’s return, Jamie remains in the 18th Century, coping with her loss. It doesn’t help that he’s also recently lost the Battle of Culloden. He and Claire must continue their lives without each other, living on in radically different time periods, haunted by memories of their love. Can they find their way back to each other? And if they can, will they feel the same as they did when they separated?
Outlander is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Story Mining & Supply Company, as well as Left Bank Pictures, an associate of Sony Pictures Television. In addition to showrunner Ronald D. Moore, Matthew B. Roberts, Maril Davis, Anne Kenney, Andy Harries, and Toni Graphia serve as its executive producers. Gabaldon herself serves as a paid writing consultant, and wrote the script for the episode “Vengeance is Mine” in season two. Outlander also features Bear McCreary as its composer. McCreary is also responsible for the incredibly distinct music of Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, and 10 Cloverfield Lane.
Are you excited to see that Outlander is returning?
Superheroes Get Scary In Upcoming Comic Book “DC House of Horrors.”
On October 25th, DC Comics is amping up the horror! DC House of Horrors is an 80-page, one-shot comic book retelling of classic DC stories.
Horror novelist Brian Keene, Edward Lee, Weston Ochse, Mary SanGiovanni, Wrath James White, Nick Cutter, Ronald Malfi, and Bryan Smith are crafting the scares. Two of those novelists (Brian Keene and Weston Ochse) are Bram Stoker Award winners, while Edward Lee and Mary SanGiovanni have been nominated. Rags Morales, Bilquis Evely, Howard Porter, Scott Kolins, and Dale Eaglesham will serve as the illustrators. DC Comics called them “some of our best artists” in the official press release.
Here is the synopsis and teaser art for DC House of Horrors:
Martha Kent fights for her life against a creature from a spacecraft that lands in front of her farmhouse! A young woman is possessed by the spirit of a murderous Amazon warrior! The last surviving member of the Justice League faces down a horror beyond imagining!
How bad-ass is Vampire Batman?! I can’t wait to see the sci-fi/horror take on Superman; the design looks chilling already.
House of Horrors isn’t DC’s first foray into horror. The entire Justice League Dark series feels drenched with horror elements. Also, you can’t forget the iconic House of Mystery anthology that started in the 1950’s.
The Halloween release is perfect for this project. It will spark the interest of horror fans and comic fans alike but also grab anyone looking for some seasonal scares. It also comes only a few weeks before one of the biggest DC Comics movies of all time, Justice League. So the hype for this brand will be at an all-time high.
Grab the 80-page DC HOUSE OF HORROR #1 on October 25, 2017!
What do you think of this horror-inspired project? Will you pick up the first issue?
‘Supergirl’ season 2 ended with heartbreak and the promise of fresh challenges for Kara Zor-El. The final scene showed ominous figures sending another pod to earth on the day Krypton died. The contents of the ship have been revealed to “Worldkiller ‘Reign’.
What is a “WorldKiller”?
“How do I know so much about the Worldkillers?! Because I AM one. Born to fight. Born to slaughter. Born to conquer. The desire burns in me like a million suns. But I do not know why.”
Reign
Created as a biological weapon on Krypton the “Worldkillers” are destruction personified. The “Worldkillers” were eventually outlawed by the Kryptonian Science Council after being deemed too dangerous. The result of testing on embryos from different worlds, the “Worldkillers” first appeared in New 52 Supergirl #5.
The four “Worldkillers” pictured above are Reign, Deimax, Flowerof Heaven and Perrilus. They awoke on a Kryptonian space station far from the prying eyes of the Krptonian council. With no knowledge of who they are, they discovered fragments of their past from the damaged data-cores on the ship. Although they found very little of who or what their purpose is. All that they were left with was a hunger to conquer and destroy along with the need to find the home worlds of their respective species origin.
“Only a worldkiller can defeat another worldkiller”
Reign
Using their ship, the “Worldkillers” departed only to discover that Krypton had been destroyed. Undeterred they continue to search out the origin of their purpose. It’s during this time that they realize the extent of their powers. The leader of the group, Reign has claimed that the “Worldkillers” were expert warriors and could only be destroyed at the hands of another”Worldkiller”. Additionally, because they are relatively young, they haven’t even unlocked the full potential of their power.
Kara meet’s Reign for the first time in issue #5 of Supergirl. After an emotional trip to Argo, she ends up getting into a fight with the leader of the”Worldkillers”. After a mighty beat down Supergirl is left for dead as Reign heads to earth to begin her rampage.
In Issue #7 Kara must face off against all Reign and her team. She had tried to talk them down and reason with them in issue 6 but it didn’t work. The fight is brutal but Kara manages to hold her own against the four. This impresses Reign so much that she offers Supergirl a position on their team. She declines and the fight continues. Remembering Reign’s boast that their only weakness was each other, she uses their own abilities against them. After gaining the upper hand she turns the tables on them – unable to lose another member of her team Reign leaves.
” Reign was right. I can’t beat all of them. But I’m not going to let them hurt these people. I’ll die before I let that happen. Krypton might be gone… but there’s still something left to save. ”
Supergirl
Reign Vs Supergirl
The character of Reign appearing in the third season of Supergirl is an exciting one for a few reasons. The main one being that it’s a good chance to introduce a character who can stand up to Supergirl physically. Admittedly Kara’s had a fair share of fights in the last two seasons that have pushed her to the edge. The fight with the “Worldkillers” pushed her to her limits in the comic. Being able to see this on the small screen will be an organic way for the show to help push the boundaries of Kara’s powers. We’ve seen her fight Superman and win this season. Where do you go from there? Onto something bigger!
Reign isn’t going to be a single episode character either. With her taking the mantle of season villain, it hints at further Krypton based story-lines. There’s no denying that Supergirl works well on Earth. However, the opportunity to see the show expand its reach and take Kara to space could be a breath of fresh air for its third season. If they follow closely to the comic, it would allow further chances for Kara to deal with more with Krypton. They touched on her evolving views on her home world through non-nostalgic eyes in season 2 and this would be a chance to take that further. Could we be seeing Argo in season 3? It’s certainly going to pose a moral dilemma for Supergirl, she will be fighting a part of her home world.
Introducing Odette
It has been confirmed that Odette Annable has joined that cast as Reign. Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg has said, “We are beyond excited to have her join our cast in the scary, powerful and heartbreaking role of Reign”.
Odette Annable
Season Three and Beyond?
It will be interesting to see what how the Reign storyline will play out over the course of season 3. Will she be alone or will the show bring in the rest of the world killers as the season progresses? Using Reign as a springboard for more space orientated adventures for Kara would make sense. They could even have the two team up to explore further afield. It’s an exciting story for Supergirl’s third season and after such a strong second season the show seems to be moving in the right direction.
Now all I want to know is – when are they going to do the Red Daughter Of Krypton storyline?
Get excited, Steven Spielberg fans (i.e. about 95% of you out there), HBO is bringing the documentary to end all documentaries on the filmmaker.
Shocking twist: Tom Hanks is heavily involved in the doc. But there are dozens and dozens of other notables attached to this. Here’s the synopsis:
One of the most famous filmmakers in the world, Steven Spielberg pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career more than ever before in the exclusive HBO presentation SPIELBERG. The feature-length documentary examines Spielberg’s filmography in depth, revealing how his experiences fed his work and changed it over time. Directed and produced by award-winning documentarian Susan Lacy, this unprecedented chronicle debuts SATURDAY, OCT. 7, exclusively on HBO. The documentary will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.
As for the stacked list of celebs putting in some time for Spielberg, back in the glory of this list:
J.J. Abrams, Christian Bale, Drew Barrymore, Cate Blanchett, Francis Ford Coppola, Daniel Craig, Daniel Day-Lewis, Brian de Palma, Laura Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Richard Dreyfuss, Ralph Fiennes, Harrison Ford, David Geffen, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Holly Hunter, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ben Kingsley, Kathleen Kennedy, George Lucas, Liam Neeson, Martin Scorsese, Oprah Winfrey and Robert Zemeckis.
Need we say any more about this? Think about the list of great films we will get insight into. This should be juicy entertainment for movie geeks.
Like every other Marvel film, Homecoming is rife with Easter Eggs, references to comics characters, and connections to other films in the MCU. A top ten list from Variety points out perhaps the most important Egg for fans of the Spider-verse: a very subtle reference to Miles Morales.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Donald Glover, Miles Morales, and You
Homecoming has a huge cast of characters, most pulled right from the pages of one Spider-Man book or another. Many of them are introduced seamlessly within the story, including an ancestor of a Howling Commando. One of the most subtle introductions, however, is Miles Morales, barely mentioned by his uncle Aaron Davis. In the books, Davis is a low-level baddie named the Prowler, and in Homecoming he’s certainly not much more of a threat. During a conversation with Peter, he mentions he doesn’t want supernatural weapons in his neighborhood. His reasoning? “I got a nephew who lives around here.”
For those who didn’t pick up the reference (read: me), the line is a throwaway. It makes Davis more likable, and gives him motivation for his objection to the weapons, but doesn’t have a lot of weight in the main plot. For those with better Spidey-senses, Davis’ reference to his nephew was a quiet way to introduce Miles.
Glover is a long-time Spider-Man fan, who rallied for the on-screen role of Miles several years ago. While he didn’t get to play Miles in a live-action role, he did voice the character for several episodes of the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man.
Miles is a fan favorite, for plenty of reasons (anything but that Uncle Ben origin story again, please). He’s even getting his own animated film in December 2018. But Miles is important for more than just his popularity: he would mark an obvious shift in the racial diversity of the MCU.
The Even Younger Avengers
At the end of Homecoming, Peter decides to “stay grounded” for a while, taking care of his home-burrough of Queens instead of joining the Avengers upstate. How long can that last? Perhaps we’re moving towards a world where Peter joins the Avengers, leaving his home in the capable hands of Miles. Chris Evans is already on his way out as Cap. There’s a good chance Anthony Mackie will replace him. Is the introduction of Miles a teaser for a far-off passing of the Spider-Man cowl? Who else might we see as the old guard begins handing off their Super-responsibilities?
Based on Marvel Comics characters, Spider-Man: Homecoming was released July 7th, 2017. The film stars Tom Holland (Peter Parker), Jacob Batalon (Ned), Michael Keaton (Vulture), Zendaya (Michelle/MJ), and Laura Harrier (Liz). Directed by John Watts with a screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers and Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Homecoming is now in theatres.
Homecoming