"Gotham City Sirens" Gets Green Light

While many fans are torn between whether or not Suicide Squad was a good movie (just for the record, I liked it.  Didn't love it, but I thought it was a fun movie) Warner Brothers and DC have decided to go ahead and green light a follow-up movie that will primarily focus on one Harley Quinn.  The title of the movie is, if you haven't already figured it out from the headline of this post, is going to be Gotham City Sirens and it will pair up Margot Robbie with the director of Suicide Squad David Ayer, both seen in the above picture.  Margot Robbie will also be the EP for the film.


The film is said to follow in the footsteps of the comic book of the same name and will feature some of the more popular female villains.  How do we know this?  Well, we don't know this for certain, but Ayer tweeted an illustration of Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn with the hashtag #Sirens4ever, so it looks like he's already got a few characters for the movie in mind.  The last time we saw Poison Ivy on the big screen, she was played by Uma Thurman in the movie Batman and Robin, by far the worst Batman movie ever made.  Not because of Thurman, she was actually quite good in a movie that was difficult to watch.  Don't believe me?  I've just got one thing to say about that..."Bat-Nipples."  End of argument.


As for Catwoman, she's gone through a few different incarnations over the years when it comes to movies.  She was first played by Michelle Pfeiffer in 1992's Batman Returns, was then recast for the movie Catwoman in 2004 by Halle Berry, and then the final incarnation of the character came in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises and was played by Anne Hathaway.  If we do get to see Catwoman appear in this film, it will be done by a new actress and will tie her to the bigger DCEU that Warner Brothers has been working on building.


I guess the bigger question is whether or not Batman or the Joker will be making cameo appearances in the film, like they both did in Suicide Squad.  We'll just have to wait and see if more news about the film leaks out before we know.  No news on when it's planning on being released, but I'll keep you informed as news trickles out. 


So that's it for this year!  The next week or so is going to be hectic, so unless something ground-breaking is announced, I'll be back on January 3, 2017.  I hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

The "Dune" Remake Now Has It's Director

The Dune novels have long been fan favorites for those who love science-fiction, but when the book was made into a movie back in 1984, it was a huge disappointment to audiences.  Even though it bombed at the box-office, it has since garnered "cult" status with viewers.  Because of this, a remake of the film was all but inevitable.  Last month Legendary Entertainment acquired the rights to the property, and started moving forward on a remake.  To show their intent, they recently revealed that they have hired a director for the upcoming film, and it's none other than Denis Villeneuve, even though it hasn't been made "official".  Not familiar with his name?  Well, let me introduce you to some of his work...


It's safe to say that the past couple of years have been very good for Villeneuve.  Back in October 2015 he released Sicario,  which received critical acclaim with movie critics.  In fact, the studio was so pleased with his work on the film, a sequel has been given the green light which is to be called Soldado.  This past year he released the movie Arrival, a movie that has been nominated for two Golden globes, one for Best Actress, and another for Best Original Score.  He's also the director for next year's Blade Runner 2049, that will star Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford and will be released October 6, 2017.  Now, we can expect his cinematic touch on Dune, which while in development, has not received a release date.


Having seen the original '84 film when it was released, I can tell you that I was lost during most of the film.  Not necessarily because a was just a kid when it came out, but the film left out crucial information from the novel that would have helped explain scenes in the movie.  I'm excited to see this new take on the book, and having Villeneuve directing the film, I'm sure that it will be a much better version of this literary classic.  Those are my thoughts on the remake, but what are yours?  Let me know what you think in the comments section down below.

Rogue One/Rebels Easter Eggs

If you haven't seen the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story yet, there are a few things that you should keep an eye out for when you finally do.  Rogue One has tied the animated television show Rebels to it's storyline, and even expands on it.  Here are a few things to watch for when you go see it...


The first one I've already talked about, but at the time it was just speculation.  I used the image up above for that post, and after watching the movie last Thursday, it turned out to be true.  The spaceship from Rebels does make an appearance in the movie while the Rebels are battling the Empire while Rogue One is planet-side trying to steal the plans for the Empire's Death Star. It doesn't last very long, but it is a nice nod to the show.  But who's flying the Ghost?


That could possibly be one General Hera.  Yes, I said "General."  During the film, there's a call out over the intercom for a General Syndulla.  Many were under the impression that this was referring to Hera's father Cham, who is a known Rebel general, but when talking to Dave Filoni (executive producer for Rebels), he acknowledges that it is in fact Hera.  Here's what he had to say:


"I can clarify that’s absolutely Hera being paged, not her dad. The movie gives that away, but I would rather have all the [references] be right. Hera will eventually become a general in the Rebel Alliance."


So I guess that there's going to be a promotion for her at some point during the series.  It would be fun to see how that happens.  Filoni also said that there may be an episode of Rebels that features the movie's space battle over Scarif, but shown from the Ghost's point of view.  Something else to look forward to...


The last thing that you should look for in the movie that ties it to Rebels is the big screen debut of Chopper.  It's a "blink and you'll miss it" moment, but when Mon Mothma is being told of about Rogue One heading out on their own to steal the plans, you can see Chopper on the left side of the screen. Filoni confirmed this as well:


"Everybody working on set knew Chopper, and referred to him the way you would about a dog. They all liked him, they think he’s funny, but they know he’s grumpy."


So when you go and see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, be sure to enjoy it, but also keep an eye out for these and other Easter Eggs hidden throughout the film.

Blade Runner 2049

Warner Brothers gave everyone an early Christmas present by releasing a teaser trailer for next year's highly anticipated Blade Runner 2049.  While the movie won't be released until October of next year, it's never too early to start advertising for it.


The trailer starts off with a street sweeper moving towards the camera, followed by K, played by Ryan Gosling.  It moves to showing him crossing a desert, while one of the most famous lines from the original film plays over the scene.  It's Harrison Ford's Deckard saying, "Replicants are like any other machine, they're either a benefit or a hazard.  If they're a benefit, that's not my problem."  While K makes his way through the desert, we're given the impression that it was once an inhabited land, now littered with debris and signs that life used to take place there.  K passes by a giant head from a sculpture, mouth open and the concrete around it crumbled, showing the steel mesh that was used to mold it.  He finally reaches a building, and upon entering it, it looks immaculate.  It has a feeling like an old train station.  With the world around it a mess, the inside of the building is the exact opposite.  K makes his way to a piano and after touching one of the keys, Deckard walks out holding a gun pointed at K and says, "I did your job once.  I was good at it," to which K replies, "Things were simpler then."  It finishes up showing K walking around L.A.


While the teaser trailer was short, it showed some important things.  Here's something that Alex Leadbeater writes about in his article from Screenrant.com:


"In the hideaway, K finds a piano covered in dust from lack of use. This is an essential callback to one of the most hotly debated moments in Blade Runner, and with it the film’s defining mystery.


For the Director’s Cut, Ridley Scott reinserted a dream sequence Deckard has when sat at his piano, of a unicorn running through a forest. Mysterious and befitting of the film’s lucid flow, it subtly reframed the ending; when Deckard finds a origami unicorn from retired blade runner and all-round cynic Gaff, it suggests that – in having his dreams seen by others – he is actually a replicant.


Moreso than anything we’ll see, this reference being so prominent in such a short trailer is a pretty blatant clue that, while the producers have said the film may not provide an answer, Deckard’s true nature will still be a prevalent question in the film."


That's pretty deep stuff, and impressive to pull out of a teaser trailer that only lasted a little over a minute and a half.  This guy has to be a true fan of the original!  But what about all of you?  What are your thoughts on the teaser trailer?  Does it get you excited for the film to come out?  Have you seen the original?  If you have, do you think that there really needs to be a sequel?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below.


Blade Runner 2049 comes out October 6, 2017.

I Went And Saw Rogue One Last Night...

So last night, my buddies Ken, Shane and I went and watched Rogue One: A Star Wars story , and it was everything that I hoped that it would be.  The characters were absolutely incredible, and even though it was only two hours and fifteen minutes (roughly) long, they develop all of the characters very well and it was well worth the money that was spent not only on the movie, but the candy and freezes that I ended up paying for.  This movie by far surpassed the expectations that Star Wars: The Force Awakens had for me because I thought that anything that Disney would do would be better than the prequels...this was the first "stand-alone" movie that was done that deals with the Star Wars universe, so there was a lot more to lose if this movie bombed.  The good news?  There is no way that this movie will bomb...in fact, it made over $30 million on it's Thursday night release alone!  That is an incredible feat! I'm not going to give anything away because technically tonight is the opening night for the film, and I don't want to ruin the movie for anybody.  All I can say is that it is really good, the acting is incredible, the movie is better than Star Wars: The Force Awakens,  and you REALLY HAVE TO WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!  Here's What Ken and I thought of the movie as soon as we got out of the theater:

If you only go and see one more movie this year, make sure that it is this movie!  It's the Science Fiction "Dirty Dozen" that fans have been clamoring for!  Go see this movie, then come back here, message me and tell me what you think about the movie...but don't do so until you watch the video up above!  I know that I said that I wouldn't be back until next Tuesday, but this was too great and too important to pass up on!

Aquaman Signs Actor To Play Villian Orm

The Aquaman movie is slowly moving forward, and will hit theaters after the first Justice League movie makes it's debut.  The movie has already hired actors already.  Including Jason Momoa as the title character, Amber Heard and William Dafoe have also signed on.  Now, we can include Patrick Wilson to that list of actors.  Wilson will be playing Orm, Arthur Curry's (a.k.a. Aquaman) evil half-brother.  He'll be joining Black Manta as one of the villains in the film.


Williams is best known for his roles in Insidious, The Conjuring, and Watchmen.  Williams has joined an ever growing list of actors from the Watchmen movie to jump over to the DCEU (DC Expanded Universe).  He joins Jeffery Dean Morgan, who played the older Thomas Wayne in the movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Billy Crudup, who will play Henry Allen in the upcoming movie The Flash. 


Orm was first introduced into DC comics in 1966 in Aquaman #29, and shares the same mother as Arthur.  Since The New 52, Orm is full Atlantean, and while Arthur was growing up on the surface living with his dad, Orm ended up inheriting the thrown of Atlantis...until Arthur finally learned of his true nature and made his way down to Atlantis.  Since Arthur was his mother's first born son, he ends up having the title of Ruler of Atlantis passed over to him.  As you can probably guess, this pisses Orm off to no end.  Hence, the bad blood.


Off subject for a moment, but I'll be away from the computer until Tuesday of next week.  I need to use up my remaining vacation days before the end of the year, and am taking advantage of them.  Don't forget about when while I'm away, I'll be back before you know it.


So what do you think about Patrick Williams joining the movie?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below.


Aquaman will be released into theaters October 5, 2018.

NBC's New DC Based Television Series "Powerless"

While Marvel may rule the roost when it comes to movies, DC hails as king on television.  With Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Gotham, it's hard to find a night during the week that doesn't have a DC based television series on it.  Now, NBC is getting into the game with a new comic book-based comedy called Powerless.


After viewing the pilot for the show, NBC ordered the series so it can debut this coming February, and it follows a group of employees that work at a firm called Retcon Insurance that deals with the aftermath of superhero related incidents in the fictional metropolis of Charm City.  However, after ordering it to series, some changes have been made by NBC, and now, instead of it taking place in Charm City,  it will take place in Gotham, and instead of having the employees work at Retcon, they will now work for Wayne Security, a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises.  Here's the synopsis that NBC released explaining the show:


 "In a world where humanity must cope with the collateral damage of Super Heroes and Super-Villains, Emily Locke (Vanessa Hudgens) begins her first day as Director of Research & Development for Wayne Security, a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises that specializes in products that make defenseless bystanders feel a little safer. Full of confidence and big ideas, Emily quickly learns that her expectations far exceed those of her new boss (Alan Tudyk) and officemates, so it will be up to her to lead the team toward their full potential and the realization that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero."


Even though the show will take place in Gotham and the group work at Wayne Security, it's unclear if we will be seeing any of the popular characters from the DC comic book universe making an appearance, or if they will be generic, never-heard-of-them types.  What is clear is that it takes place in a world that is filled with superheroes, and there is a definite need for this cleanup crew.


So what do you think about this idea?  Do you think that we need another superhero series on television, let alone one that is going to be a comedy?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below.


Powerless is set to premier on NBC Thursday, February 2, 2017 @8:30 PM.

Spider-Man: Homecoming Trailer To Be Released Tonight

The other day Marvel released a very short "teaser trailer" for the upcoming movie Spider-Man: Homecoming. 

                                   

As you can see in the teaser, it looks like it takes place before the events of Captain America: Civil War.  For one thing, his costume that he's wearing before opening the suitcase looks like it's homemade.  Also, when he reaches for the case, look how big his web-shooters are.  Nothing like the smaller ones that he uses in the fight during Civil War that Tony gave him.  We know that the suit and the web-shooters aren't the only toys that Tony made for Peter Parker.  At the end of Civil War, Peter receives a "Spider-Signal" and his costume got some "Web Wings" that help him glide, a nice nod to the early incarnation of Spider-Man from the comics.

The first full trailer for the film will debut tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and I'm more than certain that it will be available on the web immediately afterwards.  I won't be able to upload it for you to see until some time Monday or Tuesday, I'll be away from technology all weekend, starting tomorrow, and Monday and Tuesday will be the only days next week that I'll be posting, going out of town for a rest.

Spider-Man: Homecoming will open in theaters July 7, 2017.

Could "Rebels" Make An Appearance In "Rogue One"?

A few of you think that I'm spending too much time talking about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so in response to this I decided to write another post that deals with the movie.  Don't worry, though, as soon as I see the movie and give you my opinion on it, I'll stop talking about it.


Any of you out there watch Star Wars: Rebels?  If you do, then you are probably familiar with a VCX-100.  That is the model of the ship that the crew uses (the Ghost) in the show, and some eagle-eyed viewers of the Rogue One trailer think that they've seen the same model ship in the trailer (see picture above).  This may just be a small Eater Egg telling us that the show is, albeit in just a small way, is apart of this timeline.  After all, Rebels takes place a few years before the events that take place in Rogue One, so if this is in fact the "Ghost," it could still be possible that there's a different crew aboard.  Could we get a glimpse of the crew from Rebels in the movie?  After all, Forest Whitaker's character Saw Gerrera made his first appearance on the show. Here's what Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy had to say on the matter:


"That isn't really the approach we have. We don't sit down and start isolating a list of characters and build stories around them.  We really are starting with the stories themselves, and then if some of those characters might come in to what we want to do or say, we might consider it then.  But that's not part of the strategy."


So if that is the "Ghost," and it is just an Easter Egg, cool.  It's still a nice nod to the television series.  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens in theaters December 16.

Could This Character Be Appearing In Rogue One?

A new rumor is going around surrounding Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and in about ten days we'll find out if it's true.


Just to be sure, this could be a ***POTENTIAL SPOILER!!!*** for the upcoming film, so be warned if you do not want to know.  Still with me?  Okay, let's get started...


We all know that there are going to be characters from the previous movies appearing in Rogue One.  Darth Vader is appearing, as well as Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Grand Moff Tarkin.  Now, according to Reddit user "tphilb", we can add Princess Leia to that list.  He claims that he was able to get the end credit list at his job, and that it listed Princess Leia being played by Ingvild Deila.  If you aren't familiar with her, don't feel bad.  While she's done a lot of acting in short films, her largest role was listed as "World Hub Tech" in Avengers: Age of Ultron, according to IMDB.  Since this is just a list of names, the size of her role isn't known.  It could be a large part, or it could just be a cameo.  This makes sense, to be honest, since we see Princess Leia smuggling the plans to the Death Star to the Rebels at the beginning to A New Hope.  Until it comes out ten days from now, we won't know the size of her role for certain.


Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16.

Edwards Teases Reporters With 28 Minutes Of Rogue One Footage

Director Gareth Edwards recently released 28 minutes of the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to a select group of reporters.  Not only that, but it was viewed at none other than Skywalker Ranch.  The 28 minutes only covered the origins of each of the Rogue One crew and the spread of the Empire across the galaxy, but did not cover the operation to steal the Death Star plans itself.  The screening tool place this past Saturday, and to explain why they only viewed 28 minutes, Edwards joked that they thought about showing them 30 minutes, but decided that they needed to save something.


While the reporters were allowed to see the 28 minute of footage, so far only a few people have seen the entire finished film.  This includes the crew, who were given a private screening, and George Lucas himself.  It seemed that after Star Wars: The Force Awakens George Lucas was a little bitter, and may have even regretted selling off his Star Wars franchise and Lucasfilm studio and properties.  He was quoted as saying that the movie was "unoriginal," and didn't seem very pleased with it.  While he said that he gave some ideas for the movie, none of his suggestions were used.  Now, however, he seems to have had a change of heart after viewing the movie Rogue One.  At the screening for the reporters, Edwards said the following:


“Two days ago we got to show George the movie, and we all had a phone call and I got to speak with him yesterday, and I don’t want to put words into his mouth, but I can honestly say that I can die happy now. He really liked the movie. It meant a lot. To be honest, and no offense to anyone here, it was the most important review to me. You know, you guys are important too, but he’s kind of god… I will take that conversation to my grave. His opinion means the world to me.”


It sounds like Lucas liked it.  It should be noted that the idea of stand-alone Star Wars movies was something that Lucas himself wanted to do, and discussed it with Kathleen Kennedy after the first movie, A New Hope, had been released.  It's unclear, however, if the idea behind Rogue One was one of the projects he'd considered.


Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will have a special screening on December 10 in Los Angeles, before opening worldwide on December 16.

The Mummy Teaser Trailer

                    

A very short teaser trailer for next year's movie The Mummy has been released online.

        

             

As you can see, it's quite short, but after all it is a teaser trailer.  The first official trailer will be released this Sunday, December 4.  The Mummy is Universal's attempt at creating their own movie universe to go up against DC and Marvel, but instead of superheroes, it will contain all of the classic monsters like the Mummy, Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and so forth.  In fact, Russell Crowe will be appearing in the movie as Dr. Henry Jekyll, so I'm sure that Mr. Hyde will be making an appearance at some point in the series.

The Mummy will be released next June, so in order to build up interest in this movie, Universal will be using the holiday season to introduce us to the film.  It will probably be shown before movies like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Passengers so it can reach the largest audiences possible.  Let me know what you think about the trailer in the comments section down below, and let me know if you think that this reboot is a good idea or not.

Indiana Jones 5 Is Slow Going...

There was a collected sigh when it was learned that Disney and Lucasfilm were planning on releasing a fifth movie in the Indiana Jones storyline, but there was also a bit of worry about the announcement as well.  Considering how poorly Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull faired in theaters and with fans, people began wondering if a fifth movie would even be a good idea.  Still, the idea of a new Indiana Jones movie was pretty exciting.


While the announcement of the movie, and even it's release date, made it sound like the script for the film had for the most part been completed, that doesn't seem to be the case.  In an interview with Fandango, Frank Marshall, who was the executive producer for the previous four Indiana Jones films, said in regards to the fifth film,, "That's still in the thinking stages."  That's not necessarily a bad thing, though.  With the collective despise of The Crystal Skull,  it would make sense that they would want to get the best script and story possible, and with it still being in the "thinking stages," it's not known whether or not Karen Allen will be returning as Indy's wife or not.  It's a pretty safe bet that Shia LaBeouf won't be appearing in the film.  While he was a rising star when The Crystal Skull was released, his career has had it's ups and downs.  He's a tremendous actor (don't believe me? Go watch Tank) but his personal life and some of the things he's said and done have made him toxic for some production companies.  Case in point, he was at one point considered for a role in Suicide Squad, but WB and DC decided against him, worrying about controversies.  It's unlikely that Disney and Lucasfilm will want to take a gamble on him, as well.


The release date for the fifth film is set for July 19, 2019, which means that they have roughly until the fall of next year to get the script finished, and will probably start filming at the end of 2017 and into early 2018, which will give them a year for post-production.  That should be plenty of time for them to get this one right.  Besides, it's well known that the odd numbered movies in this franchise have been the best, so let's hope that number five lives up to what we expect from our favorite archeologist.