Now For Some More Nerd Tech!

Do you want to know why 2015 is a special year for geeks?  This is the year that Marty McFly traveled to in Back To The Future II, and saw all of this cool stuff that had been invented!  There were hover boards, self-lacing shoes, and yes, 3-dimensional advertising billboards.  So where is all of this stuff?  A lot closer than you probably thought!

Now, since I mentioned them, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't tell you where we stood on these products, right?  Right.  Nike is planning on unveiling their self-lacing shoes later this year, in order to capitalize on the movie's popularity, and a hover board has actually been developed, but it only works on one particular type of surface.  Still, pretty cool.  So what about those 3D billboards?

While it may not be the 3D billboards that we saw in Back to the Future II, developers have found a way to create 3D images without the need for those annoying 3D glasses!  This, in itself, is HUGE!  The Austrian start up company TriLite Technologies have perfected a technique that allows them to film things that they can later project into a 3D image without the need for any type of eye ware.  This is the explanation that was given on Blastr.com:

"The system uses a complex system of lasers that projects beams in different directions, with a very fine angular resolution that allows viewers to see a different image in each eye, creating the impression of three dimensions. If the technology is scaled up to the size of something like an ad in New York's Times Square, for example, passersby would see a different image from different sides of the projector, creating the illusion that you're walking past a real object that changes based on where you're standing."

Pretty cool, huh?  Even though today's use of 3D technologies are pretty antiquated, they feel that they can improve upon, and, again, eliminate the need for glasses by creating a new projector that would require the use of more cameras while filming a shot, to give us a fuller 3D effect.  Here's what they had to say:

"Today's 3D cinema movies can be converted into our 3D format, but we expect that new footage will be created especially for our displays - perhaps with a much larger number of cameras," Franz Fiedler, CTO of TriLite Technologies, said.

They are hoping to bring this tech to the public by 2016.  Finally!  No more 3D headaches from lousy eye ware!

So Who Is DC Going To Get To Play The New Green Lantern?

Look, I love to bust Ryan Reynold's balls for the horrible movies that he's wound up in (i.e. Green Lantern, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, R.I.P.D.) but let's be honest, it's not his fault.  This falls entirely on the writing and the directing of these movies.  Was it his fault that he had his mouth taken away as Deadpool in Wolverine?  No.  It was the idiot that wrote that piece of garbage!  And just for the record?  I can not WAIT to see him in the upcoming Deadpool movie!  He's going to really do the character justice!  But that's not what I'm here to talk about.

DC is getting ready to launch a huge movie franchise that is going to start off next year with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and they have already announced a two-part Justice League film.  We already have the actors playing Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman, and The Flash, but we have no idea who is to fill the green tights of the Lantern.  Oh, by the way, if you don't know who's playing all of the characters that I just named, they are (in the same order) Henry Cavill, Ben Afleck, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, and Ezra Miller.

I was reading a couple of articles on two different websites, and they gave me two way different accounts on the direction that DC is going with this character.  I will discuss both of them here, and since both of these are purely speculation, I won't go into much detail on either.  Let's start with a new Hal Jordan! 

Forbes.com is suggesting that Bradley Cooper would be the prime candidate for the role.  I don't see this happening.  Why?  The reason is simple...he lent his voice to Marvel in The Guardians of the Galaxy.  I honestly don't see Bradley Cooper jumping ship from one franchise over to another one.  He seems to have a loyalty to companies that take a chance on him, so I don't see him trying out for this role.  Of course, if the money's right...right?

Next, let's talk John Stewart!  Tyrese Gibson, best known for his role in the Fast and Furious films, seems to be pushing himself towards the front of the pack if they decide to go for an alternate Green Lantern.  He would make a great Green Lantern, too, but as he warns on his Instagram account, Idris Elba might also be in the running for this one!  I don't know who I'd rather see, but either of these two would be phenomenal!

What do you think?  Should they be limiting themselves to just Hall Jordan and John Stewart?  What about Guy?  What about Kyle?  Do you think they should be considering them?  Let me know what you think, and leave them in the comments section below!

OOOHHHH!!! This Looks Like It Might Be Fun!

Okay, this movie's trailer looks scary good!  And this one goes out to all of my horror film loving followers out there!  Let me introduce you to the trailer for...It Follows:

I can't wait for this movie to arrive.  It stars Maika Monroe who discovers that she's developed a follower after a freak encounter, and the only way to get rid of it is to give it to someone else.  Here's the official synopsis of the film:

"After a date and seemingly innocent sexual encounter, 19-year-old Jay is left with an inescapable sense that someone, or something is following her. Jay and her friends team up to try and find ways escape the traumatising horrors that are always right behind them. It Follows is a suspenseful, beautifully shot, horror film that takes old, tired horror clichés and puts a smart, culturally relevant spin on them whilst maintaining a timeless class that the horror genre hasn’t seen for a long time. Teen sex, suburbia, murder, and nightmarish demons all take on a new layer of substance and style. Writer/Director David Robert Mitchell reminds us why these horror fundamentals are used so often and shows his peers how it’s done"

This looks to be crazy good, and I cant wait for it to arrive!  It arrives in the US on March 27th of this year.  What do you think of the trailer?  Is this something that you are looking forward to?  Or is this just one more attempt at getting us worked up over something that's going to let us down?  Let me know what you think!

Speaking of Arrow, How About Another Spin-Off?

How about another spin-off from the popular Arrow television show on the CW?  Well, there are talks taking place that would give Brandon Routh his own series that would feature none other than The A.T.O.M.!  

The CW is riding high on the success of both Arrow and Flash, so why not?  They have a couple of television series that are winding down to the end of their run (i.e. The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural) and they are going to need shows that will be able to fill the void that they are going to create.  These are going to be big shoes to fill, so what's the most obvious choice to replace these shows with?  A show that already has a built in audience, duh!

Brandon Routh seems to be on board, and why not?  It's pretty much a guaranteed job for the guy over the next four or five years!  But that's not to say he was all set to re-join the DC Universe from the get-go.  Let's not forget the drubbing he received after starring in the movie Superman Returns.  Not a great script, I'll admit, but he did an amazing job channeling Christopher Reeves for the movie.  It was uncanny watching him both as Clark Kent and Superman. It was like I was watching a younger version of Reeves in a brand new movie.  This movie's fail was the writing and the directing.  Yes, I said the director screwed that film up!  Anybody that refuses to use the motto of Superman, "Truth, Justice, and the American Way," should never be allowed to helm the movie!  But again, I digress...

When they first brought Routh in, he wasn't brought in to be the character for their next spin-off show.  He was to play the character that could play off of Felicity, you  know, to give her someone to spar against.  But his character has taken on a main focal point of the show, whether or not that was their intended purpose.  So where could they take this character in his own show?  They've already shown us that!

What is the one thing that has obsessed Ray Palmer? O.M.E.G.A.!  This would be a perfect launching point for the new show.  This would give the program a focal point, and it would also tie the new show in with the Arrow universe, and allow for cross-over events like this past Fall's Arrow/Flash crossover.  

Everything that I've mentioned here is still all speculation, but they are talking about it.  What do you think about an A.T.O.M. spin-off television show? Do you think it would work, or are they over-saturating the market with just another superhero show?  Let me know what you think!

Let's Talk Arrow!

First of all, let me say "Bonjour, mes amis!" to all of my friends that are reading this over in France.  Thank you so much for reading, it means the world to me that you follow this blog!

Okay!  Let's talk Arrow!  It's been nearly a week since they released the most recent new episode, so hopefully I won't be giving away too much here, but just in case you haven't figured it out yet, there will be some spoilers coming up!

Still with me? Good!  So the CW has released the official synopsis for the thirteenth episode in the series, and as we all saw last Wednesday, Oliver did not die from the wounds that he received from Ra's al Ghul, and there was no supernatural reincarnation that was involved.  Ra's just didn't follow through.  Which makes me wonder...did he know that he didn't kill Oliver?  Was it just a show for the people that were witnessing the fight in order to have Oliver in his debt at a later time?  Probably not.  If Oliver showed back up and Ra's was aware of it, others might see this as weakness on Ra's part.  I think he actually thinks that he killed Oliver.  But I digress...

Here's what the CW has to say about the upcoming episode:

"Oliver (Stephen Amell) is thrown by the changes within Team Arrow. He’s used to calling the shots but sees that the team has evolved in his absence and tensions quickly escalate in the lair. Oliver is furious that Laurel (Katie Cassidy) has been going out as the Black Canary and tells her to stop risking her life, but when Vertigo (guest star Peter Stormare) hits the streets again, Laurel goes against Oliver’s wishes and tracks down Vertigo who hits her with a full dose of the drug. Laurel’s biggest fears revolve around her sister Sara (guest star Caity Lotz) so the Vertigo causes her to hallucinate an epic fight between Canary and Black Canary. Meanwhile, Chase (guest star Austin Butler) surprises Thea (Willa Holland), and Roy (Colton Haynes) warns Thea to stay away from Malcolm (John Barrowman). Michael Schultz directed the episode written by Jake Coburn & Emilia Ortega Aldrich (#313). Original airdate 2/11/2015."

I think that this is a good start to bring Oliver back into the fold of things, because as I said, this is episode thirteen.  A lot of things will have taken place since he has been gone.  Laurel is the new "Black Canary," and Diggle has become the new Arrow.  Let's not forget that Roy has started to come into his own!  Speaking of Roy, or more to the point Colton Haynes, he had this to say on the back nine (sorry, a golf reference, not the actual number of episodes left!) of this season's episodes:

"You can thank Brick’s plan to take over the Glades for her return. “We have to go back to the Glades to check things out and check on some people and survey the area,” Colton Haynes tells me. “I finally get to see Sin again and might recruit her to come help us along the way.” Speaking of returning faces, when Ra’s al Ghul pops back up in Starling City, the team may find an ally in Nyssa… until she finds out who really killed Sara. “Thea really has to watch her back,” Haynes says. “I feel back because it’s not her fault. It’s Malcolm’s fault.”

If this doesn't get you excited about the things to come, I don't know what will!  Arrow airs Wednesday night on the CW at 8pm.

Simon Pegg Is Helping Co-Write Next Star Trek Film

The third film in the updated Star Trek franchise has been a carousel of people coming and going.  Robert Orci was hired on to write and direct the third act of the new series, but was released from the director's chair soon after being hired.  They brought in Justin Lin, who is credited with re-energizing the Fast and Furious franchise, to take over those duties.  Smart choice, on their part.  He'll give an new perspective to the film, and it's sure to be visually stunning.

Then Orci was released from his writing duties on the film, and Doug Jung (writer for Confidence) was brought on board. 

Now it's being reported that Simon Pegg, who's played Scotty in the last two films, is going to co-write the new film along with Jung.  This should make for an interesting storyline!

Star Trek 3 is slated to be released on July 8th, 2016 to coincide with the franchise's 50th anniversary of it's television debut. 

Stephen King's IT Is Finally Getting An Update

What's your greatest fear?  For a lot of people, it's clowns.  I'm sure we can thank Tim Curry's interpretation of Pennywise from the IT mini-series for that one!

The miniseries gave us a some-what close version of the Stephen King novel.  It was scary at times, and it was cheesey at times, but it also gave us Pennywise in the flesh, and for that it will always be a favorite.  However, people didn't get the scare that they were hoping for because the show was being broadcast on network television, and their restrictions on what they could and couldn't do watered it down for many.

Now, we finally have the big screen version coming to theaters!  Seth Grahame-Smith is producing the films (yes, I said films) and it is going to be directed by Cary Fukunaga, who is also going to be one of the co-writers, as well.  The plan is to turn IT into two movies, one taking place in the past, and the other taking place in the present.  Writing for the script is currently under way, and Grahame-Smith expects to get the competed version in the next few months, allowing them to start filming later this summer.

On the updated version of the Stephen King favorite, Grahame-Smith had this to say:

"I think that if anything. [the new film] will bring back the viciousness of the book that they couldn't do with the miniseries because it was for broadcast.  I think it's going to be scary, but I also feel like you've got Cary who is going to direct these kids - and he's incredible at casting, incredible at shooting.  He's incredible with tone and atmosphere.  One of the things I wanted to do is be a part of one of the really good King adaptations.  As we know, there is an echelon of King adaptations that are classics.  There are some that are okay.  There are some that we'd rather forget."

It sounds like Grahame-Smith has a pretty good idea of what he's wanting from this movie.  Let's just hope they can deliver.  New Line will be releasing the movies.  If they do start filming this summer, expect IT to hit theaters late next year.

Marvel Is Going To Re-Shape Their Universe

 

The third (or it could be argued fourth) Secret Wars is about to hit Marvel.  The first took place back in '84 and '85, with Secret Wars 2 taking place one year later.  A re-imaged version of the comic appeared in 2010 with the new title Spiderman and the Secret Wars, but to be honest, it was not done very well.

 

Jump ahead to 2015.  Yesterday, Marvel made an "announcement to end all announcements," to use their own words, explaining that the "incursion" that has been taking place for months in the pages of Avengers and New Avengers will take the Main Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Marvel Universe, and slap them together.  They explain that this will cancel both of these universes out, and "Battleworld" will be the place where the new Marvel Universe will be born and where they'll move forward from.

 

Here's what Marvel's Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso had to say about this:

 

"The Ultimate Universe, the Marvel Universe, they're going to slap together.  Imagine two pizzas:  They're going to combine toppings, some toppings are going to drop off.  And that is the Marvel Universe moving forward.  It's more than the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe, it's all of the universes you can imagine.  That is the Marvel Universe going forward."

 

Back in November Marvel released a teaser for the event that gave us a map of the upcoming Battleworld.  Only half of the "countries" had been labeled at that time, though.  They showed us that Civil War, Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies, and Planet Hulk are all going to be a factor on Battleworld, but there are still a lot of blank spaces on the map.  Over the next few months, these will be filed in and we'll get a better picture of how things are going to look.  If you want to follow the progress they'll be making in doing this, they have a Secret Wars site that you can visit that features an interactive Battleworld map.  The site will also be the place they'll be making any new announcements regarding the upcoming series.

 

Marvel Executive Editor Tom Breevort had this to say:

 

"Various characters will live their lives, and contend with this new situation, and set up all the building blocks and the bedrock of what the new Marvel Universe will be going forward."

 

Axel Alonso chimed in:

 

"This is putting an endcap to decades of stories, and starting a new era.  When you see the scope of the stories, you'll see what we're willing to do.  If we wanted o resurrect Gwen Stacy, this would be the place to do it, wouldn't it?  If you ever wondered what would happen if you take the 'Age of Ultron' universe and perch it next to the 'Marvel Zombies' universe, this would be the place to do it."

 

Marvel is going to kick off this event with a special zero issue of Secret Wars for Free Comic Book Day on May 2.  If you're new to the world of Marvel, or even comic books in general, this would be the ideal place to start reading!

 

...and if you are new to the world of Marvel, how's that rock you've been living under? 

Possible Plot Details Revealed For Upcoming Suicide Squad Film

Before I go into the details that were revealed on Latino Review's website, let me state the obvious...potential spoilers are about to be revealed.

Oh, and one other thing.  Last week it was announced that Tom Hardy has left the project, and a possible replacement for him that WB is considering is Jake Gyllenhaal.  It's being reported that Hardy left the film because he wasn't happy that a majority of the film was going to focus on the characters Deadshot and the Joker, being played by Will Smith and Jared Leto, respectively.

Okay, let's get started!  According to Lationo Review's sources, the film is going to open with Harley Quinn and Deadshot meeting up while at Arkham.  Quinn is there to try and break out the Joker, and Deadshot is trying to kill another inmate.  After they both get captured, they are taken to Belle Reve Penitentiary, a "prison" that is run by Amanda Waller.  They also transfer the Joker over to Belle Reve as  well.  The source said that this is where the Joker will spend most of the movie, kind of in a Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs type role.  Boomerang is already there, and when Deadshot arrives, there is immediate tensions that pop up, because Boomerang's father was killed by Deadshot.

After putting together her new team, Waller informs them that Lex Luthor is in the process of trying to acquire a "biological weapon."  This weapon, it turns out, is the Enchantress.  Luthor wants her for her magical abilities, Waller wants to keep her out of Luthor's hands.  The source also stated that the Enchantress suffers from a split personality.  One of these personalities is the Enchantress, the other is June Moone.  The group is able to retrieve the Enchantress, and are sent back to Belle Reve.  A riot breaks out and everyone escapes, including the Joker.  Roll credits!

Batman is mentioned in the film, but won't actually be appearing in it.  It's implied in the film that Waller put together former Suicide Squads in the past to specifically hunt down Batman, but to no avail.

So what do you think?  Does this plot reveal make you more interested/excited in seeing this movie?  Tell me your thoughts and let me know what you think!

Okay, Here's One Remake I'm Looking Forward To...

First of all, welcome to all of my friends from other countries (especially Germany) who are reading this.  You all have been a great help to making this site what it's become! 

When I was growing up, one of my favorite films was Disney's The Black Hole.  I remember watching it and being truly terrified of what it was.  Visually, it was spectacular.  In reality, it was terrifying!  What sort of thing could cause so much power and destruction?  The ending, of course, was a bit anti-climatic.  After all of that fear, they just ended up in another universe?  It didn't matter.  It was still stunning to watch.  I even had the old 45 follow-along record that I listened to endlessly.  And Maximilian?  He scared the crap out of me!

So when I heard that Disney was going to do a remake of the film, I was very excited!  In the original, the USS Palomino is returning to earth after a search for extra-terrestrial life turns up bunk.  On their return voyage, however, they come across the USS Cygnus, a ship that we had thought lost or destroyed, hovering on the outskirts of a black hole.  Upon further investigation, the crew of the Palomino discover that the crew of the Cygnus had been killed and turned into cyborgs, and it's captain was planning to take the ship into the center of the black hole.

You know, reading this description of the movie makes it sound a lot scarier than it actually was.  Remember, it was a Disney film...

Considering that this movie was released back in '79, and Disney wasn't nearly as daring as it is today, a remake of this film is getting me truly excited!  Set to be released next year, the film is being helmed by Joseph Kosinski and Sean Bailey, the the director an producer, respectively, both of which worked on the Tron remake.  I know a lot of people didn't like this film, but I thought they did a great job with it.

Details on the movie are being closely guarded, but with all of the improvements in special effects, this should be an absolutely stunning feature...and I will be one of the first to be in line to go see it!

This Is Why I Dread Remakes Of My Favorite Movies...

Growing up when I did, I was able to enjoy a lot of different movies at a time when special effects were really just coming into their own.  One of the great benefits of these special effects were horror films.  I remember getting terrified watching the classics like A Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday The 13th, Halloween, and of course...Poltergeist.

I read late last year that Poltergeist was getting an updated version, and I thought, "Wow!"  With all of the great horror films that have been produced lately (i.e. The Conjuring, Insidious, Ouija) imagine how good this could be!  Then I read this title of an article on Comicbook.com:

"Poltergeist Remake To Be A Kids' Movie"

I have to admit, my heart sank.  The level of disappointment that I was feeling can't be described.  I was crushed, but I read on:

"...Collider reports, star Sam Rockwell called it a 'kids' movie.'" 

"The ten year old boy is really the protagonist this time," Rockwell said.  "JoBeth Williams was the protagonist for the most part in the first one and now the kid, it's really through his point-of-view.  So it's more of a kids' movie so I don't know if it's gonna be rated-R scary."

"It's not like Conjuring type scary," he clarified.  "You know, it's a different kind of movie.  It's more of an adventure.  It's essentially a child abduction film when you come down to it.  I mean, the original Poltergeist is too."

I think Rockwell pretty much killed this movie with the comments he gave in this interview.  Save your twelve bucks, and if you really want to see this thing, just wait a few months.  It'll probably show up on TNT before you know it. 

So Come On Guys...Is He Or Isn't He?

Yesterday the Latino Review reported that Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures had finally come to an agreement involving their Spiderman property, and the web-slinger was finally going to make his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Infinity War.  It sounded like Marvel got the upper hand after "a wave of criticism aimed at Sony's handling of the franchise following the recent Sony hack."  So Spiderman is coming to the MCU!

Not so fast.  Almost immediately Sony came out to debunk the story, and said that Spiderman wasn't going anywhere.  They claimed that these were just the same old rumors that had been circulating around since last October.  So Spiderman is staying at Sony.

Or is he?  Let's look at a couple of things:

 First of all, when has a movie studio ever been truely honest with us about the inner workings of their company?  The hacks that took place at Sony late last year show this to be true.  It even revealed that Sony wand Marvel were indeed in talks to bring our friendly neighborhood Spiderman over to the MCU.  We don't really know how far these talks got, though. 

Second, Latino Review has a pretty stellar track record of getting the scoop on movies and television shows that are still in production.  I'd give them about a 90% rate of accuracy in this regard. 

Finally, Amy Pascal, who serves as Chairwoman for Motion Picture Group of Sony Pictures Entertainment, is in deep, in regards to her job.  With the significant flop of The Amazing Spiderman 2 (it was critically panned by critics and movie goers alike) and with everything that happened regarding the Sony hack, she's skating on thin ice with her company.  If she could produce a good Spiderman movie, even if it meant with the help Marvel Studios as a co-producer and the property reverting back to Marvel afterwards, it might help her save her job.  This would also be a huge win for us, as well.

So take what you want from all of these rumors.  Until the movie actually gets released, everything is still just pure speculation.

This Looks To Be Scary Good...

I have to admit, I love watching shows about the paranormal, so when I saw the trailer for Demonic, I felt that I needed to share it!  You can watch it below.

Here's the premise: A group of amateur paranormal investigators go on a search for ghosts in an abandoned house, and come across some evil spirits.  Sounds pretty simple, right?  Except that for the group, only one survives and the police think that he killed off his friends.  At least, that's what I got from watching the trailer.  The use of their ghost hunting equipment to give us a view of the other side works really well, and the shock value of the faces that just appear will give you the heebie jeebies.  It's a mixture of "found footage" and the ongoing investigation by the police who are looking into the deaths of five college students after their ghost hunting goes horribly wrong.

Demonic is the brain child of James Wan, who helped bring us Saw, The Conjuring, and Insidious.  It's being directed by a relative newcomer to the screen, Will Canon, which makes sense because of it's meager budget, but if it's as good as the trailer makes it out to be, expect to see Canon's name again a lot in the future!

No release date has been announced, but is expected to be released later this year.

Possible X-Men Television Coming From FOX

Not wanting to miss out on the surge of comic book television shows that have been hitting the airwaves, FOX is in talks to bring the X-Men to the small screen.  This would allow FOX to get into the game of crossing over from their movie properties over to their television ones, like Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  Early reports were suggesting that they would be using lesser known mutants for the show, while keeping their primary stars for their movies, but both would exist in the same universe.  Mutants from teams like the New Mutants and Generation X would be the most likely candidate to comprise he new show.  According to Film Divider FOX is considering three different possibilities for the show.

The first one would be to bring Evan Peters over as Quicksilver, and the shows main star.  FOX feels confident enough in Peters to be a draw for audiences, especially after he stole the spotlight in the most recent movie X-Men: Days of Future Past. 

Another path they could head down is one that would star Jamie Madrox, also known as Multiple Man.  According to Comicbook.com this would presumably "be based on his tenure as head of X-Factor investigation, setting the show up to be a mutant version of Angel."

The third route they could take would be to cast an all female-led ensemble to try and pull in a larger audience, as well as allowing it to break away  from the all-too-common male-led superhero shows that are already flooding the market.  This would give it it's own identity and allow it to stand out from the rest.

FOX hasn't commented on the project officially, and it may never even happen...especially after their first attempt with Generation X back in '96.  Remember that one? No?  Well, you're lucky.  I do.

First Wolverine, Now Deadpool...

 

Last year Marvel killed off Wolverine with a glorious (?) final battle that left our favorite Canadian mutant encased in an adamantium shell for the rest of eternity.  How could they possibly out-do this storyline???  I mean, they couldn't pull off this same storyline again, could they?.  Well. in April's Deadpool #250, they'll do just that.

First off, I know that the issue number might be a little misleading, but Marvel explains it by telling us that if you "add together all the Deadpool series (creatively) issue #45 is the big 250th issue of Deadpool!"  Okay, that makes more sense...

...what doesn't is, why kill him off?  Okay, we all know that when you die in the comic book universe, you're not really dead (i.e. Batman, Superman, everybody else that's ever died...), so why even play this game?  Could it be because Marvel doesn't own the movie rights to either of them any more and they're trying to cut the exposure of these characters down to hurt their movie sales?  Unlikely, since the buzz around the upcoming Deadpool movie has reached fever-pitch, and as we saw from X-Men: Days of Future Past, they're still a huge draw at the box office.  So why do it?

Here's what Gerry Duggan had to say on the matter:

"In all honesty, the story that you're going to get in Deadpool #250, is a story that we really have been building to since the first issue of Deadpool NOW.  And it will absolutely feel - it will feel, I hope, readers will think that this is an appropriate end for this Deadpool."

It sounds like this has been something that's been in the works for a long time.  And what's the best way to go out with a bang?  You bring in every all-star artist and writer you can to make this the best possible finale you can!  They're bringing in writers Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn, Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, Nick Giovanetti, Paul Sheer, Jason Mantzoukas, and Mike Drucker.  They've hired on Scott Koblish and Mike Hawthorne as it's artists.

What do you think?  Is it a smart move to kill off two of your best selling characters to boost comic book sales in the short run, and possibly pissing those same readers off down the road when you bring them back?  Let me know what you think!

Could This Technology Lead Us To The Warp Drive?

This post is is going to be a little different, and deals more on the scientific side of things, as opposed to the science fiction.  Well...maybe a little science fiction.

This idea came to me while I was reading an article on Blastr.com that was reporting on China's claim that it was developing a supersonic submarine.  They claim they are going to achieve this capability by creating a launchpad that would catapult their submarine at speeds in excess of 62 mph, which would create an air bubble around the sub.  The air bubble would cut down on the drag that the submarine has while moving through the water, and they say the sub could potentially reach speeds of 3,600 mph.

This technology isn't really new.  It's called supercavitation. Russia experimented with it during the Cold War by implementing this technique with their torpedoes.  The experiment allowed their torpedoes to travel around 230 mph, however it made maneuvering them extremely difficult.  China thinks it's figured this problem out by creating a liquid membrane that could possibly help steer the sub.

Okay, enough of the science lesson.  This is when I started thinking (most people stop me at this point, but just work with me here)...if we can develop this sort of "bubble of air" to allow a sub to go supersonic under water, why couldn't we apply this theory to space?  Look, I know that an air bubble won't work in space since it's a vacuum, but why couldn't we find some other property that could achieve the same thing in a vacuum?  Let me give you an example: Is everyone familiar with the story of the Philadelphia Experiment?  It's alleged that the US Navy tried to cloak a ship, the USS Eldridge, by generating some sort of electrical bubble around the ship.  While most people believe this story to be a hoax, let's just consider the principle.  Could an electrical bubble be created around a shuttle or spacecraft that would allow it to zip through space under the same rules of supercavitation?  What about some sort of magnetic bubble that could be used to push off other planets' gravity?

Look, this is all just speculation, but it did make me wonder if we could use the same principles from one experiment and try to find a way to apply it to the other.  Does this really seem that far-fetched?  I don't know.  Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. 

Thanks for indulging me with this post.  If you'd like to hear more about the sub, check out the link below:

Ghost In The Shell Movie Signs Scarlett Johannson

Scarlett Johansson is signed on to play the lead role in the upcoming Ghost in the Shell movie, and man...there is going to be some backlash.

It won't be because she's Scarlett Johansson, but rather because she's American.  I can hear the rumblings happening across the web even as you read this and have read quite a few complaints already.  Let me say this, first: I am a huge fan of Johansson's work, and I think that she is an incredible actress...but is she the right person for this role?

If you are not familiar with Ghost in the Shell, here's a quick recap of what it's about, courtesy of Jamie Lovett from Comicbook.com:

"Ghost in the Shell follows Section 9, a branch of the Japanese National Public Safety Comission that combat cybercrime and cyberterrorism.  The team's field leader is Commander Motoko Kusanagi.  While almost all of the members of Section 9 have cybernetic implants, Kusanagi has replaced her entire original body with one that is fully artificial."

Now I'm guessing you can understand the title, eh?

So now, the questions begin.  The story is set in New Port City, Japan and follows the Japanese National Public Safety Comissions Section 9, right?  So why cast an American it's lead? Is Dreamworks going to change the whole story up so that it takes place in the United States, or are they going to leave it in Japan?  Another good question that was raised by Yahoo contributor Donna Dickens was whether this was another case of World War Z, where the movie title from the original source is the only similarities between it and the movie?

Like I said previously, I love Scarlett Johansson's movies, but I also love Ghost in the Shell.  I'd prefer that they would cast appropriately for the roles as to not insult the original material.  Do you think I'm over reacting?  What are your feelings on this subject? Let me know, and leave a comment in the section below.

Is This CBS' New Supergirl?

Meet Gemma Atkinson.  Unless you live across the pond, you probably don't know who she is, but if the rumors are to be believed, she'll soon join the American airwaves as Supergirl.

This may be a bit premature to report on, seeing as she's also in the running for a role in the British soap opera Emmerdale, but things seem to be pointing to her as the new Kara Zor-El.  If you don't know who Kara is, she's the kryptonian cousin of the Man Of Steel, who escaped their home planet's destruction only to have her spaceship get lost in space.  Arriving to earth years after Kal-El, she appears to be his younger cousin, even though she's technically his older cousin.

Atkinson only recently auditioned for the role, but seems to be the front runner.  The fact that she is also a huge comic book fan doesn't hurt her chances, either!

Other characters that they are casting for are Cat Grant, Jimmy Olsen, Winslow Schott, and Hank Henshaw.  The CBS shows executive producer is Greg Berlanti, who also is also the executive producer for The Flash and Arrow. He'll also be writing the show alongside Ali Adler, who writes for No Ordinary Family. 

So what do you think?  Do you think Gemma Atkinson has what it takes to be the next Supergirl?  She certainly looks the part!

Don't Believe The Hype

There have been a lot of rumors floating around about future movie projects, but when you look at them a little closer, they really don't seem to hold much water.

Let's look at the first one...The Amazing Spiderman 3.  A new casting call for this movie popped up in Atlanta, Georgia through Bill Beckman Casting and it lists Andrew Garfield and Dane DeHaan as being tied to the picture.  It's also listed the movie as being slated for release in 2018.  So why don't I believe this is happening?

First off, why Atlanta?  Spiderman has always been set in New York City, and to change that would be sacrilege.  I could see them maybe wanting to film some of it in Atlanta, just because it would be cheaper to do, but this still seems to be a stretch.  Second, I find it hard to believe that after all of the stories we've read about Sony wanting to get rid of Garfield that they've decided to do a 180, and now have enough faith in him to carry one more film.  I think this one is bunk.

Next rumor...Ty Simpkins is set to take over the Iron Man role in 2019.  This one I have trouble with for a number of reasons, the first being this kid's age.  Simpkins was born August 6, 2001, which makes him 13 right now.  They would have to start production for Iron Man 4 at least two years in advance, which would put him anywhere between 15 and 16 years old when they begin filming.  Do they really think that the world would be ready to accept a new Iron Man, let alone one that isn't even old enough to vote?  Secondly, I'm not so sure that Marvel is ready to give up on Robert Downey Jr. yet.   Even though he hasn't signed on for any more movies after Captain America: Civil War, don't rule him out just yet.  He's a very shrewed negotiator when it comes to contracts, Marvel can't afford to lose their biggest star (not to mention their most recognizable one), and Robert Downey Jr. keeps teasing that he'd be open for another appearance as Iron Man.  Chalk this rumor up to "crap."

This last one may or may not be true.  Heck, I even reported on it as being real.  It involves Aaron Paul.  A couple weeks ago I told you that he was going to be appearing in the upcoming stand-alone Star Wars film, and it was going to feature Han Solo.  The other day, the actor posted on Twitter the follow:

"Who's starting these rumors? This one is actually making me believe I have a job in 2015.  Very exciting."

I'm not ready to give up on this one quite yet.  I'm thinking that this is just misdirection, them trying to keep things under wraps.  But I could be wrong...

...it does happen occasionally!

Marvel Nearly Bought DC?!?

This isn't a recent news story, but it's one that I never heard before.  I'd like the thank Comicbook.com, Variant Comics YouTube channel, and Sean Howe for reporting on it.  Check out Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story for more on this story.

Back in 1984, Warner Brothers had considered dropping their comic book division.  They felt that their print division was costing them too much money because every year they were continually getting beat by Marvel.  Warner Brothers felt that Marvel had a better group of characters and were able to manage them better.  This was due to the constant shellacking they gave DC when it came to comic books.  They offered Marvel the opportunity to buy the rights and properties to all of their comic book characters.  Luckily for us, Marvel declined the sale.  

Why did they decide to not to buy DC?  This would have made them the only true power house in the comic book business!  Seems like a no-brainer, right?

Well, no.  Marvel felt that it was the characters that were bringing DC down, not the mismanagement of the company, and didn't think that there would be any money in bringing the DC characters over to their company.

Hindsight's 20/20, right?

It's kind of funny, though.  A little over a decade later Marvel had to file bankruptcy and almost lost all of their properties.  This is the reason why so many different movie production companies own the rights to different Marvel comic book characters, and why we won't see the X-Men or Spiderman in an Avengers movie.  At least, not for now!

What would've happened if Marvel did buy DC?  According to Variant Comics One Shot on the topic, Marvel would have only kept their seven highest selling titles.  They would have started their stories over, and would have had them part of a separate universe from their own characters.  The seven titles would have been Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Justice League, New Teen Titans, and Legion of Superheroes.

If this had happened, we may never have been given Tim Burton or Christopher Nolan's Batman movies, or even the new Man of Steel.  If you really are curious to see how this may have turned out, check out the Marvel and DC comic books from Amalgam where they combined some of their most popular characters into one.  For example, there was the Batman/Wolverine mash up that was called Dark Claw, and another was Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.  

You can check out the Variant Comics One Shot here:

In Case You've Had Trouble Finding It...

Hope everyone has a great first weekend of the New Year!!!

The Comconocave: Upcoming Movies For 2015

Is Vin Diesel "Inhuman?"

Do you like what I did there with the title?

So this photo popped up on Vin Diesel's Facbook page last week.  He likes to take news of future projects to the fans, and teases other roles when he's not supposed to.  Because he does this, it makes him very popular with the fans...but does this really mean that he's been cast in the upcoming Inhumans movie?

Robert Downey Jr. recently went to Facebook and posted some pictures of the arc reactor from his Iron Man suits,with a caption that read something along the lines of, "What should the next one look like?" This caused a flurry of rumors speculating that he is indeed making an Iron Man 4, even though it could have just been referring to is suit in the upcoming Captain America 3: Civil War movie.  It could have also just been some fan art that he decided to repost.

I got to tell you, 2014 was a lot of things, but I think it should be remembered as the "Year of the Fan Art."  I saw some amazing fan-made art work, most of them in the form of "promotional posters."  Heck, I even posted one of them here on my blog!  Did you get to see it?  Go back to last month's posting for Arrow.  Another someone even made a series of posters for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens before anything had even been filmed for the movie, and those were awesome, too.  So is this what we've got here with Diesel's Facebook page?

It's been said that Marvel doesn't like hiring on actors to play multiple roles for movies in their shared universe, but in Vin Diesel's case, this could work without being distracting.  Even though he does the voice for Groot in The Gaurdians of the Galaxy, you never get to see his face, and Diesel wasn't the guy that did the motion caption work for the character, either.  So you've already got him, why not use him?  He is a huge draw to the box office, and he's already familiar with the company.

This is all just speculation, but it's still fun to think that we haven't see the last of Vin Diesel on screen in another Marvel movie.  Happy 2015 everybody!  I'm calling it a day.  Was up way too late watching football yesterday....(yawn!)