Warner Bros. official San Diego Comic-Con press release has gone out, informing news outlets, general fans, and attendees, of what the studio plans to show off.
“On Saturday, July 22, beginning at 11:30 a.m., Warner Bros. will light up Hall H with a presentation showcasing some of its eagerly awaited upcoming releases, with exclusive footage and revealing conversations, helmed by master of ceremonies Chris Hardwick. The lineup includes:
Director Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” based on the hugely popular Ernest Cline novel, with stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke and T.J. Miller, author/co-screenwriter Cline, co-screenwriter Zak Penn, and Spielberg on the panel;
The long-awaited “Blade Runner 2049,” Alcon Entertainment’s sequel to the cult classic takes us 30 more years into the future, with stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, as well as Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Lennie James and Mackenzie Davis, writers Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, and the film’s director, Denis Villeneuve;
And the greatest Super Heroes of the DC universe, united for the first time on the big screen, with stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher talking all things “Justice League,” as well as an early look at director James Wan’s “Aquaman.”
In addition to the Hall H presentation, Warner Bros. will host several activities and activations throughout the convention and around the town. Starting things off on Wednesday, July 19, the Studio will frighten fans with a screening of “Annabelle: Creation,” the newest feature in New Line Cinema’s “Conjuring” horror-verse, which debuted out of the Los Angeles Film Festival with a score of 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The screening will take place at the Westfield Horton Plaza and will be followed by a Q&A with director David F. Sandberg and stars Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson and Anthony LaPaglia.”
WB has a good slate this year, and it will be interesting to see what DC surprises they have in store. A Justice League trailer is essentially a lock, but besides that, who knows?
What do you think WB will debut at SDCC? Speculate in the comments below.
This years San Diego Comic-Con international takes place from July 20-23.
Warning: Below Will Contain Minor Spoilers For Justice League
Another big superhero movie, more spoilers in the form of toys. Like Spider-Man: Homecoming or even last year’s Batman v Superman, the industry can’t help itself from marketing their projects early on. This time, it comes in the form of Steppenwolf. He will be the upcoming villain in Zack Synder’s Justice League. While the monstrous man is in a deleted scene from Batman v Superman, this is the first real look at the character.
Check out these photos, courtesy of Batman-News.com!
In the comics, Steppenwolf is the right-hand man to Darkseid. Darkseid is the biggest evil in all of DC Comics, so this seems like a great step to introducing the character. Other than jumping right into the world of Apokolips, Steppenwolf will be the testing of the waters.
Let’s hope this is the only look we get at the character until the film’s release. The DCEU can not handle another Doomsday fiasco.
What do you think of the character design?
Let me know in the comments below!
“Fuelled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.”
Justice League is directed by Zack Snyder, from a screenplay by Chris Terrio, based on a story by Snyder and Terrio. The film stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J. K. Simmons, and Ciarán Hinds.
It’s the end of an era, Peter Capaldi’s time as The Doctor is ending and stage actress Pearl Mackie has taken over the role as The Doctor’s Companion. Whilst Series 10 had a couple of great episodes it was made up mostly of episodes that can be best described as decent.
The tenth season of Doctor Who sees The Twelve Doctor undercover as a university professor where he and Nardole (Matt Lucas) guard against the contents of a mysterious value. The Doctor uses his position to take canteen worker Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) under his wing, and make her his personal student and companion to venture across time and space.
Steven Moffat’s time as the Doctor Who show-runner has mired with complicated storylines ingrained in the show’s vast mythology and Peter Capaldi has suffered from having some of the worst storylines in the modern era of the show. Because of this, the tenth season acted as a soft reboot of the show using Bill as an audience proxy: the Doctor gets to example facts to his race and the rules of time traveling. This is especially true for the first three episodes of the series.
Most of the episodes in Series 10 are standalone adventures and many of them are lighter stories: episodes like “Empress of Mars” and “The Eaters of Light” are swashbuckling romps as Romans, Picts, and Victorian soldiers battle alien threats. These episodes were perfectly entertaining but they are hardly going to leave a lasting impression and this is indicative of the series as a whole: mostly unmemorable.
The highlights in the series were the episode “Oxygen”, “The Lies of the Land” and the two-part finale. These were the darker episodes in the series and since I like my Doctor Who being on the darker side they easily appealed to me. “Oxygen” was basically Doctor Who version of Alien, focusing a crew on a spaceship who not only have to survive against a small area of space zombies but were also the victims of their employers and the extreme form of capitalism they follow. “The Lies of the Land” was dystopia story where Earth is taken over by an alien race, rewritten Earth history, and the episode has an air of the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The finale, “World Enough and Time” and “The Doctor Falls” were the most emotional episodes as it pushes The Doctor and Bill to their limit as they face old enemies from The Doctor’s past.
An issue affecting the tenth season of Doctor Who was it was too reference-heavy. As already mentioned “Oxygen” and “The Lies of the Land” shared plot and visual from other sources and other episodes like “Extremis” was basically The Matrix – whilst “The Eaters of Light” is based on a Scottish legend some audience members may think of the films The Eagle and Centurion. Other episodes were also rehashes of previous Doctor Who: “Smile” had similar plot points to the Series 5 episode “The Beast Below”.
The weakest episode in the season was “Knock Knock” which saw Bill move into a new house with fellow students which sees them haunted by alien bugs. David Suchet gave a sinister yet emotional performance as the villain but it was just a filler haunted house episode and had an ending that was too much like a Simpsons Halloween special. “The Pyramid at the End of the World” – the middle part of “Monk Trilogy” – was also a weak episode in the series: it had interesting ideas about whether humanity could sacrifice its freedom for safety but it was just a debate between The Doctor and generals from America, Russia, and China. However, these episodes fall into the realm of mediocrity – they are certainly not a “Love and Monsters” or “Kill the Moon”.
Pearl Mackie’s role as Bill was heavily promoted before the broadcast of the first and she has the distinction of being the first openly gay full-time companion. Mackie was an incredibly likable presence as the companion. Compared to Amy Pond and Clara Oswald who were made out to be special women who will save the Doctor – Bill was an ordinary woman. She was smart, witty and a little geeky and acts like a sci-fi fan given the opportunity to travel time and space. Whilst she was gay, it was never overstated: it is referred to a few times but for the most part, it was treated as she’s gay, deal with it. Racism was also a theme in a series with Bill being on the receiving end of prejudice in the third episode “Thin Ice”.
From this point on, the review will go into SPOILERS.
Series 10 acted as a soft reboot but for long-time fans, it was just re-establishing facts they already know. It is was also the worst time for Doctor Who to have a soft reboot because as well as Peter Capaldi leaving as The Doctor, Mackie only lasted one season as The Doctor’s companions – making her appearance almost pointless. Bill was turned into a Cyberman and later transcends into a higher form of life. This is a huge disappointment because she has a relatable screen presence and Mackie showed she had the comedic and dramatic ability for the role. At least she was given an emotional send-off and, hopefully, Mackie will land more roles. Getting rid of Mackie as the companion is obviously a way to give the new showrunner a clean slate for his version of Doctor Who.
Capaldi got to show off his acting skills, giving grand emotional moments throughout the final episodes. He gave an impassioned speech asking his nemesis to help him against the Cybermen, when battling the Cybermen The Doctor states all his previous victories against the cyborg and the most impact was when he refuses to regenerate. Capaldi acted similarly to how he did in the great episode “Heaven Sent” and he was given a much better send off than Matt Smith received. The setup for the Christmas Special is certainly intriguing.
Series 10 is far from a bad season of Doctor Who: it has the best finale since Series 5’s and Peter Capaldi was given a proper send-off: it’s the least the show could do considering Capaldi had some of the worst Doctor Who stories in the modern era. However, it was plagued by having too many middling episodes and few that will join the pantheon of great episodes the show has offered.
There Was A Time Before Marvel Was Hollywood’s Golden Child
With critical praise and box-office success, Spider-Man: Homecoming is another success for the Marvel. Not just the MCU but for the brand as a whole. In theory, when one does well so do the others. But the same can be said about failures. Sometimes one major mistake can trickle down and hurt others.
This list will be a mix of entire films, franchises, or moments that stink up the joint. Buckle up because this will be a bumpy ride.
Howard The Duck (1986)
– Marvel’s first movie misstep is also their first theatrical release. It wasn’t until Blade in 1998 that the brand fully recovered. When Howard The Duck hit theaters in 1986, no one knew what to make of it. The animatronic suits and the puppets came off as unconvincing to the viewers and critics tore into the film. Both those negatives factored into a weak box-office and turning Marvel’s attempts at movies into a joke.
Oddly enough, Howard The Duck gained a cult-following with certain fans. Marvel isn’t sweating this film anymore as they’ve become a Hollywood starlet; they’ve even brought back Howard The Duck in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
Mandarin Change In Iron Man 3
– Placing the horrible Iron Man 2 is this position is almost too easy. While being another person to call out the Mandarin change is cliche, it’s just too bad to ignore. I’m never one for source material and believe an artist can change characters as they please, especially when it’s a filmmaker like Shane Black. Somehow this is all kinds of bad.
There are layers of horrible to this infamous Iron Man 3 moment. Ben Kingsley’s’ portrayal before the twist that he’s just an actor playing is just brilliant. With references to real American terrorism, it felt timely and needed within the genre. For me, superhero films should challenge how we look at society and force us to think. Instead, Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 decided to go the comedic route with Kingsley and turn Guy Pierce into The Mandarin. Not only did it change one of the most iconic Iron Man villains forever but it ruined any chance of a thought-provoking villain in the MCU.
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
– Personally, I don’t hate Spider-Man 3 as much as most fans. Being a fan of director Sam Raimi, this is the type of cheesy humor one would expect. Does it work for Marvel’s biggest superhero? Obviously not. Did this franchise need an emo Peter Parker dancing like a fool? No. Sadly, this became a big downfall for on-screen Spider-Man.
Spider-Man 3 contains a plethora of issues. One of the most glaring issues is the inclusion of so many villains. Something even Spider-Man: Homecoming didn’t fix. This movie has Venom, Sand-Man, and Green Goblin all trying to kill Spider-Man…it’s overkill! One villain can’t get over when you have another one you have to build. Add in the fact that nearly every character is cringy and you can see why this is so hated.
Losing Patty Jenkins/Edgar Wright For MCU Films
– The Marvel Cinematic Universe has an excellent financial track record. For the most parts, the brand also wins over the critics. But it’s been shown that some artists in the industry are not fans. It goes back as early as Ed Norton being re-cast as The Hulk or the Terrence Howard drama. Sadly, two of the biggest missteps is losing Patty Jenkins as director of Thor: The Dark World and Edgar Wright leaving Ant-Man.
Honestly, losing Patty Jenkins worked out for her as she landed the dream job of directing Wonder Woman. On the other hand, Edgar Wright’s removal from Ant-Man will live on as a sour moment in his career. His influence is still all over the project, but only die-hard fans will know to give him the proper credit. Imagine the state of the MCU if they let artist create what they wanted; they might still have Joss Whedon on tap.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
– It’s hard to pinpoint the exact thing that made The Amazing Spider-Man 2 flop. Again, the movie suffers from too many villains and too much of a “cheese” factor. While Andrew Garfield delivers another memorable performance, it couldn’t help anything. This movie saw so much hate that it forced Sony to reboot the franchise again this year.
The worst offender in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is Jamie Foxx as Electro. Blaming the script is easy as everything here is garbage. But Foxx is known to elevate any weak material, so it’s sad to see him lost in the shuffle. Add in the fact that he’s the weakest villain out of any Spider-Man movie and it’s safe to say Jamie Foxx won’t be returning to superhero movies anytime soon.
Fox’s ‘Fantastic Four’ Film Franchise
– Originally this spot went to 2015’s Fantastic Four film but the entire franchise is a massive misstep for Marvel. The 2005 movie and its 2007 sequel came at one of the worst time for comic book movies. This era is known as the dead zone for the genre with blunders like Elektra, Ghost Rider, and Catwoman hitting theaters. With a 2015 reboot, Fox hoped that Fantastic Four would finally work. If only they didn’t hire a Josh Trank as director, maybe they could’ve had a chance.
Conversationally, I’m not in support of sending the Fantastic Four franchise to Disney. These characters just don’t translate on-screen. Some properties or characters that are popular with comics fans will not work in a cinematic sense. The four heroes have had a light-heartened attempt and a darker reboot; neither worked. Just let this franchise die peacefully and don’t try another reboot.
Blade: Trinity
– Remember how I mentioned earlier that Blade saved Marvel. Well, this third installment in the franchise started a steep decline in the product. Blade 2 isn’t as polished as the first movie, but it is nowhere near the level of Blade: Trinity. Honestly, this movie suffers the most from being a product of the horrible mid-00’s
Wesley Snipes infamously hated Blade: Trinity as well. From reportedly smoking marijuana on-set all day to calling Ryan Reynolds a “cracker” on multiple occasions, Snipes wasn’t feeling it. All that drama stems from a change in the director that Wesley Snipes protested heavily. As he is the producer and lead actor, it’s a legitimate complaint. Sadly, the ones who suffer from this are the fans and the film itself.
Marvel Cinematic Universe Villain Problem
– Sixteen movies in and the Marvel Cinematic Universe produced one famous villain. Loki is carrying the franchise on his villainous back after a strong debut in Thor. The villain problem goes back earlier than that film though. The villain in Iron Man is forgettable, and we only remember Whiplash from Iron Man 2 for how bad he was. The Incredible Hulk started the trend for a somewhat decent villain killed off unceremoniously. Phase 1 of the MCU introduced Red Skull only to dump him into another world and re-used Loki as The Avengers’ villain. Phase 2 continues with forgettable names like Yellowjacket and Ronan The Accuser. Can you even name Robert Redford’s character in Winter Soldier? The current MCU era, Phase 3, isn’t much better.
For me, Marvel suffers from the problem of trying to make their heroes look so badass and marketable that it hinders the villain. With being a brand aimed at a younger audience, it’s common, and something I believe hurts WWE as well. Hopefully, all the MCU building toward Thanos will pay-off with the best bad guy in superhero history!
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
– This spot could have easily gone to X-Men: The Last Stand but X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a beast worthy of discussing. Once this franchise stumbled with The Last Stand, it tripped again with this movie. Trying to find things to praise X-Men Origins is nearly impossible. The script is weak and filled with even weaker characters. All of the CGI looks unfinished and like a parody of itself.
The only positive thing to come from this film is comic fans got their first glimpse of Deadpool. Though the filmmakers covered his trademark mouth, it launched enough nerd rage to get a solo Deadpool movie in 2016. So look, I said one nice thing!
Selling Off Film Rights
– If you told me to pick only one of these missteps, this is my choice. Looking back at all of the issues on this list, selling off the film rights can be considered as the root to a lot of problems. Not saying that Marvel didn’t need to do this. No, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy when it decided to sell off the rights to characters. It was also long before Marvel Studios would find a home at Disney. So yes, it makes sense on why they did this, but it doesn’t stop it from being a major misstep.
Many fans wish to see every Marvel character under one roof. It’s something that has helped DC Comics as they’ve always worked with Warner Brothers. Marvel doesn’t have that luxury as Paramount, Fox, Sony, and Disney can all make Marvel movies. For fans of the brand, this means a lot of classic comic stories won’t work because the characters are all over the place. Spider-Man’s inclusion into the MCU is the first step to correcting this misstep, but that still sees some criticism from fans.
What do you think of this list? Did I miss a major mistake in Marvel movie history?
There is a Willy Wonka prequel in the works to be helmed by producer David Heyman (Harry Potter series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them). And it seems former Mouseketeer and La La Land star Ryan Gosling is in talks to play the eccentric chocolatier.
Willy Wonka is the creation of author Roald Dahl, featured in the 1964 children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and its sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has previously been adapted into two films — in 1971 with the late Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, and more recently in 2005 with Johnny Depp taking on the iconic role.
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp’s take on Willy Wonka was certainly different, and met with mostly negative, if not blase, reviews. Gene Wilder’s portrayal is nothing short of iconic. Ryan Gosling has proven he can take on comedic (see The Nice Guys) and musical (see La La Land) roles. As talented as he is, however, it will be a big hat to fill.
According to Variety, the film will be set before the events of Roald Dahl’s book but “will not be an origin tale.” Instead, it will see Wonka venture into Loompaland, where he meets his musical workers.
If successful, the upcoming prequel project could open the possibility for a franchise.
What do you think of Ryan Gosling bringing Willy Wonka to life? What do you think of another rehash of the character? Let’s discuss!
After the tragic passing of Stan Lee’s wife, Joan Lee, Marvel Entertainment has released a tribute video, Remembering Joan Lee.
“On April 14, 2017 Joe Quesada, Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer, sat down with Stan Lee at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills, Calif. The video below was originally planned to be part of a series from the event scheduled for release later this year. In remembrance of Joan Lee and her importance to Marvel and the history of comics as a whole, we felt it appropriate to release this now.”
Our thoughts are with the Lee family whilst dealing with this unfortunate death.
The Tracking Board’s Jeff Sneider is reporting that Randall Park, known from his role in The Interview, will be playing S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jimmy Woo in Ant-Man and The Wasp.
No other details on this casting were announced.
Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are returning for the sequel, with Peyton Reed once again directing. The film also added Hannah John-Kamen in a currently unknown role.
Ant-Man and The Wasp is slated to hit theaters on July 6, 2018. Are you looking forward to it? Let us know in the comment section below.
Castlevania was just released on Netflix. The first season, only four episodes, is streaming, but season two has been confirmed. I was at the show’s panel at Anime Expo 2017, where a Netflix executive told us, in person, that season two is happening and will double the amount of episodes.
Given that season one is a mere four episodes, fans will be glad to hear that the next season will be longer. Additionally, although details haven’t been officially released, Adi Shankar, Executive Producer, made it seem like all the main cast, writers, and director will be back for season two.
Have you seen Castlevania yet? If not, do you plan to watch it? Sound off in the comments below.
Months ago Netflix announced an animated series based on the beloved video game franchise Castlevania from Konami. Today, the Dracula-slaying series has finally whipped its way onto the streaming service. As advertised, the series is R-rated, featuring plenty of bloody, monster-fighting action. But does it deliver otherwise? Well, that might depend on who you ask and what you expect from the series. At four episodes and just over 80 minutes total, Castlevania’s a short series that ultimately leaves a lot to be desired.
Castlevania was written by storyteller extraordinaire Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan = Life).
Castlevania begins with a woman, Lisa, who befriends Dracula in the hopes that he will teach her ancient “magic” secrets otherwise known as science. Dracula and Lisa fall in love and marry. Soon after, local townspeople take Lisa and burn her. Naturally, this pisses off Dracula who vows revenge on the town and all humanity one year from the day. A year passes, the people did nothing to appease the vampire lord, and all hell breaks loose. Cue Trevor Belmont, a member of a disgraced family of monster slayers who gets wrapped up in what’s going on even while the townspeople despise the Belmont lineage and he, at times, seems uninterested in helping.
The first thing viewers will notice about Castlevania is the obvious — the animation. Castlevania is beautifully rendered, while it’s not groundbreaking, the mood and atmosphere of the show come alive and are ever-present in the artwork. Action scenes are clear and impactful and, as mentioned before, there’s plenty of guts and gore.
Castlevania was written by storyteller extraordinaire Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan = Life. Ellis typically combines so many interesting elements into his story. Here everything is pretty straightforward and in part, self-defeating. From the early moments, Ellis creates a sympathetic villain who is supremely powered. It’s reminiscent of Khan in StarTrekIntoDarkness. It seems to be an attempt at blurring the good versus evil lines, especially since Ellis writes other, human, characters as a-holes. Blurring lines of morality is practically essential in modern storytelling but a story still needs someone to root for and someone to root against.
Fans of Castlevania will appreciate the in-jokes referring to the third game in the series, Dracula’sCurse, on which this series is heavily based.
One of the most disappointing aspects of Castlevania, though, is the lack of any complete narrative. There is a definitive beginning that slips into a middle that never ends. At four, twenty-minute episodes, the series ends before it ever really gets going. In fact, the “cliffhanger” ending introduces us to an entirely new character (familiar to those who know the franchise). The entire series takes just over 80 minutes to tell a quarter of a story. Yes, Netflix already renewed the series with more episodes, but it doesn’t change the fact that these four episodes serve as a glorified commercial for the rest of the show with no real resolution in and of itself. And any hope of resolution won’t come for another year. It begs the question, why didn’t Netflix just do a whole arc instead of barely half of one?
Fans of Castlevania will appreciate the in-jokes referring to the third game in the series, Dracula’sCurse, on which this series is heavily based. Anyone unfamiliar with Castlevania won’t feel like they’re missing anything, but they also won’t feel like they got much. It’s an action cartoon with little intrigue that ultimately tells no real story. In the end, Castlevania is a fraction of a narrative that doesn’t do much more than any of the video games.
After much teasing DC Comics have announced that the unimpeachable Sean Gordon Murphy of Tokyo Ghost and Punk Rock Jesus fame is to write and illustrate Batman: White Knight. The seven-part series will see The Joker’s rise to political stardom having been cured of his psychopathic impulses. Using his inherent charm and wit, the re-newly christened “Jack” strives to make Gotham great again the only way he knows how: getting rid of Batman. The ex-lunatics are about to run the asylum in a series that dares to ask if vigilantism has a place in society. Does the world need Batman or will the former clown prince of crime have the last laugh?
“We know Joker’s a genius, we know he’s relentless, and we know he can play the crowd, so why not make him a politician?” said Murphy. “Why not strip away the psychosis (the thing that’s holding him back) and let him challenge
Batman unimpeded? And to make it even scarier, what if he did it legally and without breaking any rules, so that Batman couldn’t stop him?”
Set in a world where the Joker is cured of his insanity and homicidal tendencies, The Joker, now known as “Jack,” sets about trying to right his wrongs. First by reconciling with Harley Quinn and then by trying to save Gotham city from the one person who he thinks is truly Gotham’s greatest villain—the Batman.
“Seeing Gotham for the first time with clear eyes, his psychosis now cured, he starts to understand the absurdity of vigilantism and how Batman’s actions are only contributing to Gotham’s endless crime cycle,” said Murphy. “Joker sets out to beat Batman by becoming the White Knight that Gotham really needs.”
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT #1, written and illustrated by Sean Murphy, arrives on October 4. Cover artwork by Murphy with color by Matt Hollingsworth.
