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Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 8, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Warner Bros. saw that massive list of Marvel films and said, “Hey! We can totally do that too! Yeah!” and released a bunch of dates for their upcoming slate of DC Comics films. Yes, they have announced nine new films and dates, but no titles. It’s kind of close to Nikki Finke’s supposed leaked list from a few months earlier, but with a few more items. Also of note, Warner moved up Batman v Superman from May 6 to… March 25, 2016! Yes, they moved it up to an unusual March date to avoid directly competing with Captain America 3. Crazy! Check out all the unknown film dates below! Read more…
Tags: Batman v. Superman, DC Comics, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 7, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
In the original plan for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Ronan the Accuser was assisted by the Badoon race. Obviously, that’s not the version of the film we got. Since Fox somehow got the rights to the Badoon when they licensed the X-Men and Fantastic Four properties, Marvel couldn’t use them in their official films. (Never mind the fact that Fox hasn’t used the Badoon and in all likelihood won’t ever use them.) Instead, Marvel used the Sakaarans. But apparently the Badoon were on the table at some point, as concept artist Goran Bukvic created this piece above that shows what the Badoon might have looked like using a Badoon Bazooka. There’s also some additional concept art here, including an unused environment piece for Spartoi, a planet — to avoid anything too spoiler-y — tied to Star-Lord’s past. I’m with most fans that wish Fox and Sony would stop putting out their middling, uneven films and sell back all their Marvel rights to Marvel. But until then, here’s glimpses of things that almost were. Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 5, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Birdman is the story of a washed up actor once known for his comic book role who tries to make a comeback. While real-life Michael Keaton is doing okay, I’d like to imagine that Birdman is the true story of where his life went after playing Batman in Tim Burton’s films. Keaton’s character looks slightly psychotic, hearing the gravely voice (a la Batman) of his character telling him to do things. Seriously, can this movie be real-life? If not, I guess I’ll settle for the movie’s release on October 17, 2014. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Birdman
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 2, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Thanos plays only a small part in Guardians of the Galaxy, but the parts are slowly falling into place for the third phase of the Marvel movie universe. At San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel showed a video featurette that recapped the last two phases of the universe that will culminate in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It’s an impressive feat to see everything side by side, as one cohesive world. They’ve also released an official image of Thanos, so you can start to imagine what Avengers 3 might be like. Check it out! Read more…
Tags: Marvel, San Diego Comic-Con 2014
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 30, 2014 in Animation, Cinema, Comic Books 
Pretty much no one liked the version of Deadpool that appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Since having their hopes dashed with that film, fans have wished for a Deadpool movie that is accurate to the fourth-wall breaking comic book. Fox was experimenting with the idea, but with not much happening recently, the project seems to be dead. But wait: director Tim Miller’s fabled test footage (animated in CG by Blur Studio) has surfaced, and it’s surprisingly great. Ryan Reynolds returns as Deadpool, but he’s much more fun to watch, cracking jokes and illustrating his enemy’s upcoming death. Can we please have a movie like this? I don’t care if it’s tied into X-Men, I just think it would be fun to watch. Maybe the renewed interest in this test footage will give the project a boost? Read more…
Tags: Deadpool, Fox, X-Men
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 29, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
I’m honestly surprised that Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller finally got around to making Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. It took so long for them to make it I was certain the momentum had died. But it’s finally coming out on August 22, and from looking around LA, the marketing is building up too. Shown off last weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, this red band trailer has got it all: cars, swords, guns, naked women, and one-liners. Oh, and all that sexy black-and-white violence they couldn’t show in a regular trailer. Read more…
Tags: Sin City
Posted by Ben Huber on Jul 28, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Things are still looking rosy over in Mavel-land! At their panel at Comic-Con, they teased the next few film they have lined up, namely Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man. They showed footage for both as well, but Ant-Man’s footage was concept footage as opposed to Ultron’s mostly-finished clips. Also released was some cool concept art for both films, one a piecemeal poster featuring the Avengers fighting a crowd of Ultron bots, the other featuring… ants! Check them out below. Lastly, James Gunn came out and announced that he’ll be directing Guardians of the Galaxy 2, scheduled for July 28th, 2017. The whole cast will be returning, too. Nice! Read more…
Tags: ant-man, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel, San Diego Comic-Con 2014
Posted by Ben Huber on Jul 27, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
After all this time, it looks like Marvel may have finally found their Doctor Strange. But I don’t think anyone was expecting an actor like Joaquin Phoenix to be the name that would eventually rise to the top. In fact, he wasn’t mentioned at all during the entire rumor phase. Someone of Phoenix’s caliber would be a welcome addition to the Marvel stable, and I imagine they’re hoping his skill and star-power would help open up the magical universe of Marvel. While he hasn’t accepted the offer, he is in talks, and there have been several sightings of Phoenix picking up Doctor Strange comic books. I think it could be a surprising but great fit! Read more…
Tags: Doctor Strange, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jul 25, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Are you ready for a grungy, stubbly Batman? With SDCC in full swing, it’s time to promote everything! A new photograph was tweeted out by set photographer Clay Enos of Ben Affleck in the new Batman outfit, looking as gruff and grim as ever — complete with pronounced, dimpled chin! The costume’s cowl and cape is also on display at SDCC, so check below the break for some images of that too! Overall it seems like people seem to like that costume, but the jury is still out on the person wearing it. We’ll see, eh? Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is coming May 6th, 2016… that’s a long ways away! Read more…
Tags: Batman v. Superman, San Diego Comic-Con 2014
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 24, 2014 in Comic Books, Videogames 
When Sunsoft released Batman on NES — perhaps the only truly good Batman game until Batman: Arkham Asylum — they obviously had to work within the limits of the hardware. Though Batman normally wore varying shades of blue, gray, and black, he was rendered in a bright purple. As they’ve done with previous licensed NES games, collectible company NECA is releasing an action figure of this Batman, complete with mock videogame box. The figure will only receive one production run, so I’d pay attention to NECA for your first chance to preorder this purple Batman. Something about this makes me really happy that someone is reviving these weird color palette versions of popular characters. Read more…
Tags: Batman, NES, Toys
Posted by Ben Huber on Jul 18, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Stare upon blurry set photos no longer! The first official image of Ultron is out, thanks to Entertainment Weekly. The villain in Avengers: Age of Ultron looks pretty close to his comic book incarnations, so I’m sure die-hard fans will be pleased. Most importantly he has the distinctive mouth shape that really makes him stand out. Oh, and Cap and Iron Man are on the cover too, but who cares about them anyway? There are some other photos at EW too, mostly showing off costumes we’ve already seen, but we also get confirmation that Don Cheadle is in the film. I’m satisfied with how Ultron looks, now it’s time to hope that the movie itself is good. Read more…
Tags: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 17, 2014 in Animation, Comic Books 
Batman: The Animated Series had a sharp, yet moody art style, ripe for exploration. Mondo, known mainly for their limited edition posters of classic movies, has done that with a new series of record sleeves. The 7-inch record sleeves will come in five varieties, featuring Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Man-Bat, and naturally the Joker. And of course, there will be a small 7-inch vinyl record inside with the show’s theme music pressed onto it. The records are colored as well, to match the sleeves. You can buy them at Mondo’s booth (#835) starting on San Diego Comic Con’s Preview Night, to celebrate Batman’s 75th anniversary. Check out more below! Read more…
Tags: Art, Batman
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 16, 2014 in Comic Books 
Due to story events, Thor is no longer worthy to wield Mjolnir, so a new character is taking over the mantle and wielding the mighty hammer in the comics. But for the first time, that character will be female. It’s easy for sexists to complain about this, but I think there are other reasons this is a poor decision. Let me try to unpack why Marvel’s good intentions aren’t necessarily right. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, thor
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 16, 2014 in Comic Books, Television 
Gotham is set before Batman emerges, so the upcoming TV series has a chance to show supervillains before they actually become supervillains. We’ve seen various characters confirmed for the show, but so far, no Joker. You could assume it’s because they might want to leave him out, since Batman is often credited with accidentally creating his most persistent nemesis. But the Joker didn’t always originate from Batman in every origin story, so in this show’s continuity, he could spring from anywhere. Apparently that’s what Gotham will be playing up. Read more…
Tags: Batman, DC Comics, Gotham
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 8, 2014 in Comic Books, Television 
Looks like DC is hiring back Brandon Routh after kind of ruining his career with Superman Returns. The actor will appear in the third season of Arrow as the new owner of Queen Consolidated. However, he won’t be donning a red and blue outfit again. This time, he’ll be playing Ray Palmer, a scientist and inventor better known to fans as The Atom, DC’s shrinking superhero. It’s nice to see Routh get any roles these days, because he’s still a good actor. The last thing I saw him in was Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which he was great in. Maybe this role could get expanded in the future beyond this season? Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Green Arrow
Posted by Ben Huber on Jul 5, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
If you’ve ever wanted to take a trip to outer space locations like Knowhere or Xandar, the Galaxy Getaways website is here to help. This new promotional website for the Guardians of the Galaxy acts as a travel website for all of the various locations in the film, tongue planted firmly in cheek. Their travel agency boasts 937 1/2 television channels on all flights and warns if you encounter an Orolini, “let us know how it goes. We get this question a lot.” There’s also a short intro video that I’ve included below, if you don’ want to visit the site. Otherwise, click through, and check it out. Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 1, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
It’s not just Star Wars Episode VII that motion-capture performer Andy Serkis is appearing in. Just as his company The Imaginarium is helping out that film, it’s also working on The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Serkis is specifically working with Mark Ruffalo, who needs mocap to actually become the Hulk. Supposedly, newer techniques will offer Ruffalo “ownership” of the character, though I was certainly satisfied with his performance in The Avengers. But Serkis isn’t just a consultant: he’ll also be appearing in the film in some capacity. Though he does not specify whether he is performing a mocap character or acting with his own appearance, Serkis doesn’t draw a distinction. It’s still interesting to speculate who he could be! Read more…
Tags: Andy Serkis, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 25, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Okay, so there’s a lot of horrible things about the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Michael Bay is producing it, the CGI turtles’s faces look creepy, and the whole thing looks very overblown. But you know what? The turtles themselves still look like a fun crew of outcasts, and ideally, they’ll be the heart of the film. I’m skeptical that they will be with the way Bay tended to make the Transformers guest stars in their own film series, but at least it doesn’t seem like you can keep the turtles down. And at least it seems like they’ve got a sense of humor about the original concept for the film, where the turtles were aliens instead of, you know, mutants, because they mock that idea at the end of the trailer. Read more…
Tags: Michael Bay, Teenage Ninja Turtles
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 20, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
It looks like Quentin Tarantino will be dabbling in the comic pages soon. Django, from Tarantino’s last film, Django Unchained, will leap into a comic book series in which he meets up with Zorro. Dynamite Entertainment will release the comic book series, which (along with Tarantino) will be written by Matt Wagner, and yes, Zorro and Django is the oddest crossover ever. I think it’s weird enough to work though, as they’re both very “pulpy” characters that could play well off of each other. Django previously was adapted as a 7-issue series by Dynamite, so it’s no surprise to see them bringing it back in a new way. I wonder how it’ll turn out! Read more…
Tags: Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 18, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
What more is there to say about Guardians of the Galaxy at this point? Until the film releases on August 1, we’re stuck rewatching trailers and gleaning any additional bit of information from interviews. Thankfully, those trailers are awesome, including this latest UK trailer. I think the reason why I’m running out of things to say is that “This movie looks really fun” pretty much sums it up. This later trailer features lots of Rocket Raccoon, and thankfully it looks like the actors are fairly comfortable holding a conversation with CG characters inserted after the fact. I’m trying not to hype myself up too much, because there are so many blockbusters these days that build up hype to critical levels and then fail to deliver. But despite being the riskiest film Marvel has released so far, I’d say they’ve got a real chance to knock it out of the park and open up that crazy cosmic side of their comic universe. Until then, let’s hit play on this trailer again! Read more…
Tags: Disney, Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 15, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
It’s official, folks, after months of rumors and frequent denials by Jason Momoa, HitFix has confirmed that he’ll be playing Aquaman in the upcoming Batman v. Superman film. Momoa even recently complained about everyone bothering him as to whether he’d play the watery hero, but it seems he’s just sworn to secrecy by Warner Bros. and DC. It looks like all that destruction by Superman in Man of Steel will be a springboard for the story, as HitFix claims that both Batman and Aquaman will be pissed about the damage done. Aquaman still won’t have a huge part, but they’re definitely setting him up for the eventual Justice League film. Plus, at the very least, this is going to be the most badass incarnation of Aquaman yet! I think a Khal Drogo-style Aquaman would be very entertaining. Read more…
Tags: Aquaman, Batman v. Superman
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 14, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
DC and Warner Bros. have been working on a Justice League movie for a long time. A very long time. But a recent report from Nikki Finke says that the company may be closer to realizing its vision — or a the very least, they have a map laid out. According to Finke, the current plan is to lead up into a Justice League movie with the Batman v. Superman film (something we all expected), and not have standalone Wonder Woman or Green Lantern/Flash films until after it releases. An interesting idea. Below is a full list of the upcoming films. Obviously, everything is in flux and things can change, but this looks like DC’s roadmap for their future superhero films. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Justice League, Warner Brothers
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 9, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Doctor Strange has been a film that Marvel has been plugging away on slowly, but it seems like the ball is finally rolling. A few days ago, Scott Derrickson announced that he would be directing the film, working off of a script by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (although there were some rumors of rewrites). Now the question is: who will play Doctor Strange himself? Well, Deadline caught wind of Marvel’s most recent wishlist for the film, which is basically just their dream choices without any realistic vetting. They are: Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy. Those two join the previous rumored choices of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Johnny Depp (but chances are those two have passed the role up by now). Sorry Marvel, but these are some boring choices! Try picking someone more unique! Read more…
Tags: Doctor Strange, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 8, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Ok, ok, maybe that’s a bit cynical of me. But Peyton Reed did direct the movie Yes Man, so it’s an easy joke to make, especially given that Marvel seems to want one of those right now. Adam McKay, who was in the running to direct Ant-Man previously, will be contributing to the script, but the directing is all Reed. Now it’s up to them to steer this project back to safety. I’m just not sure if you can save this movie in the eyes of the hardcore fans now — they are the ones most upset by Edgar Wright’s departure. But as long as the mass audiences like it, that’s all the matters now. Read more…
Tags: ant-man, Marvel
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