Batman v Superman DOESN'T Blow It at San Diego Comic-Con.
My take: DC/WB had one job last weekend: get Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot on stage together, plus show footage from the movie. Mission accomplished. As much of a train wreck as this new DC Cinematic Universe is going to be, it will still be amazing to see these characters in live action next year. With all the plotlines, characters and setup they plan on, I'll allow this movie to be 3 hours long.
Ant-Man Loses Cast Members.
My take: Though due to scheduling, this movie just won't stop changing. They've added Evangeline Lilly (drool) as Jan Van Dyne, potentially introducing The Wasp to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This production is going to have to step things up and show some absolutely mind-blowing footage to turn the negative press around. Let's remember that there was a time the mere thought of a Guardians of the Galaxy movie made people's eyebrows raise in doubt. Despite Edgar Wright's departure, the movie, story and characters may yet help expand the MCU in a positive way.
Joaquin Phoenix to Play Doctor Strange?
My take: I've said it before and I'll say it again, Marvel has an amazing eye for matching talent to a character. Phoenix had never crossed my mind but as soon as I heard this, it made total sense. I would personally prefer him over Johnny Depp or even Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Death of Superman Lives Documentary in the Works.
My take: Back in the years when James Cameron was no longer in talks to make a Spider-Man movie come to life, a new Superman film almost became reality, too. Thank goodness it didn't. Even at an ignorant age when I would have loved to see a live-action Superman film, everything I heard about it made me hope it didn't come to light. To the mainstream audience, these films are all they know of these characters. Imagine a kid today thinking Superman was a black-suit-wearing jerk who couldn't even fly. This documentary is currently on Kickstarter and very likely to get funded and made in the next few months.
Lucy Outpaces Hercules Opening Weekend.
My take: Scarlett Johansson is no dummy. Lucy may have well have been called "Black Widow Movie Test Reel". Expect an announcement soon and you can bet Chris Evans will have a guest appearance. Hopefully, this is a new dawn where Hollywood features more female-driven films that aren't marketed as a "twist" or commodity.
Mad Max: Fury Road Gets Fans Excited.
My take: Enjoy. If there is one thing that other fans seem to be absolutely pumped for that I just don't care about, it's this one. I didn't enjoy the originals. I'm sorry.
Godzilla 2 Announced at Comic-Con.
My take: I wasn't totally blown away by the first movie, too many human soldiers confident they were going to punch Godzilla in the face when they caught up to him. However, the battle sequences were better than what Pacific Rim had to offer and the big green was actually kind of a hero. Bring on a series!
TELEVISION
Peter Jackson to Direct Episode of Dr Who.
My take: It will be 6 hours long.
Agent Carter Joins TV Land with Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
My take: With directors on board like Joe and Anthony Russo from (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and Joe Johnston of Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel is clearly giving the show the respect it deserves while truly blending TV and cinema in a never done before. It will be nice to watch a series set in the olden days where technology will be somewhat limited. Too many lasers and blasters, nowadays. I also suspect that Agent Carter will be a creative, clever and awesome place for Easter Eggs. Plus, it's going to have a real, live "Jarvis". Come on. That's awesome. Marvel really knows how to quietly "nod" but instead receives high fives all around.
Arrow Teases New Arch Nemesis.
My take: With the DC Cinematic Universe and DC TV Universe now confirmed to not be connected, they are free to see what they can do. With Ra's al Ghul as Oliver Queen's new enemy, it's becoming clear that Green Arrow (as he'll soon be called) is DCTVU's "Batman". I'm still behind on this series but am starting to look forward more and more to catching up
CW's The Flash Shown at Comic-Con.
My take: The first episode is getting positive feedback all around. It looks like it will be a fun and humorous series, possibly to counter the grittier tone of Arrow. It will be interesting to see if DC keeps the TV characters solely on TV or if we'll see a big screen version of Green Arrow, Flash and the rest. If so, it's going to get awfully confusing to the mainstream audiences who aren't more experienced keeping these things separated.
Guardians of the Galaxy Animated Series Announced at Comic-Con.
My take: Many franchises exist solely to sell products like action figures. Marvel has this in the bag with the live action toys as well as the figures for Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble and (to a lesser extent) Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.. With such recognition of these properties and the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Marvel has created a print-out-own-money machine. A huge reason that DC's popular Young Justice series was cancelled was poor merchandise sales. However, Marvel's animated history is a little checkered and is often overshadowed by DC's quality. It's possible the animated shows will be much more suited for kids, allowing the live action movies to grow up a little bit more.
COMIC BOOKS
New Star Wars Books to Create New Canon.
My take: I'm not completely sure I have a need to know what happened between the movies but I'm more excited now than I was decades ago. We seem to have more of an awareness and I think a bit more care will go into weaving some new threads. As long as the books don't each have "I have a bad feeling about this" and visits to Tattooine every other issue, I think I'm going to enjoy the ride.
Grant Morrison Maps Out the DCU.
My take: Why would DC allow someone who's writing style alienates half their audience to re-write and literally map out their entire universe? Although it's nice finally have an idea of what's going on and what DC's intentions are. However, I wouldn't understand Grant Morrison explaining how to peel an orange, let alone how 52 universes are woven together. Ever since he tried splicing "Zur-En-Arrh" into the current DCU, I've given up completely on him. Final Crisis was the absolute last straw and DC lost me after 20 years of dedication.
Female Series Galore at Marvel.
My take: San Diego Comic-Con had announcements or focus on female-lead series including Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman and Angela (Thor's newly revealed sister). More smart moves on Marvel's part as readership and "nerd culture" comes more into focus as gender neutral.
Avengers: Rage of Ultron Series.
My take: Originally, I boasted heartily that I was positive by the time Avengers: Age of Ultron came out Steve Rogers would be Captain America again, Superior Iron Man will have wrapped up and Thor will be swinging his man-junk around (by which I mean Mjolnir, of course). However, this series intended to coincide with the movie release (so new fans see something familiar at the comic shop) will play on two timelines: a past Avengers team and the current "Marvel NOW" version. This way, the readers get Ultron, familiar characters to the movie-going audience, as well as the versions in the ongoing comics. Well played, Marvel. Well played.
VIDEO GAMES
Batman: Arkham Knight Keeps Sounding Better.
My take: If this game series goes out on this title, it's planning on going out with a bang. With graphics that look more true-to-life than any of the previous games, additional missions, costumes and add-ons, I can't wait to spend the rest of my life playing over and over again. With a playable Batmobile and game-within-the-game stories with Red Hood, Nightwing and who knows who else, they look to really want to make up for the disappointment we had in Batman: Arkham Origins.
Guardians of the Galaxy Video Game Penned by Dan Abnett.
My take: As co-writer of the greatest era of any of Marvel's cosmic lines, Dan Abnett should be writing way more than just the video game tie-in. Hopefully, Abnett and sometimes-writing-partner Andy Lanning will get some more play in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (announced at San Diego Comic-Con, with a release date of July 28th, 2017).
Lego Batman 3 Basically Lego Justice League.
My take: It's all marketing but it works for me! Lego Batman 3 takes Batman out of Gotham City and explores the DC Universe. An outer space, Green Lantern-centric story means aliens, rocket ships, different planets and piles of different costumes. These games do start to feel repetitive to me after a while so multiple locations and characters to explore make this latest venture extremely appealing.
Watch out for this segment each and every Wednesday. We'll see you next week!
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