Aquaman Villian Rumored For Stand Alone Movie

Warner Bros. and DC have me scratching my head with this choice...if it's true.

The website JoBlo is reporting that the villain of the upcoming Aquaman movie will be none other than Orm, or Ocean Master, who is Aquaman's half-brother.  JoBlo is reporting this as a "surprise" move by DC and Warner Bros., but considering that he's been Aquaman's main antagonist in the New 52 storyline, as well as appearing in the animated film Aquaman: Throne of Atlantis, it really shouldn't surprise anyone.  If this is true, do they really think that this is the best course of action to set them apart from the Marvel movies?  Let me explain...

Stop me if you've hear this one.  The son of a king to a realm is being groomed to take it over, while his half-brother plots to take it from him due to his jealous nature and his desire for power.  Where have I heard this plot line before?  Hmmm...Oh, wait!  That's the same plot from the Thor movie!  Wow!  I knew that this sounded familiar!

Come on guys!  If you're trying to set yourself apart from the Marvel franchises, at least come up with an original idea!  There are so many other villains that you could have chosen, like, I don't know, Black Manta?  Black Manta is also a much cooler villain, as well.  Just a thought, guys.

The script is still being written by screenwriter Charles Roven, and if this is the case, maybe someone should shoot this post over to him and let him see if this is truly the best course of action for this movie.  Then again, maybe it's just me.  What do you think?  Am I over reacting, or does this new Aquaman movie just sound like Thor under water?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

James Webb Space Telescope Is Now Under Construction

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), NASA's next generation telescope that will replace the Hubble Telescope, finally had it's first mirror segment installed, the first of 18 different segments.  The JWST will be able to see out into space further and more clearly than the Hubble Telescope can currently do right now.  It will also be able to determine what the atmospheres of exoplanets are, and determine their potential for harboring life.  It should be completed sometime next year.

The JWST's eighteen segments will be combined to create a mirrored surface that will be able to give the telescope a twenty-five square mile viewing area.  Compare that to the Hubble, which can only gather a five-mile viewing area.  Here's a picture giving you a better idea of the size difference between the two, as well as their designs:

^{Comparison between Hubble and JWST. NASA.}

See?  Completely different designs.  The eighteen segments are made up of a reflective surface that is made of beryllium, and then it's coated in gold.  The telescope will unfold these eighteen segments and align them precisely when it reaches it's orbiting altitude of one million miles above the Earth.  The telescope is a joint effort between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency.  The JWST will launch into space October 18, 2018 from French Guiana on an ESA Ariane V rocket.

Mars Could Soon Be Saturn-Like Planet

Millions of years from now, this could be Mars.  Well, you know, minus all of the gas that engulfs this planet and it's size, of course.  Reported by The Verge, astronomers have determined that Mars' gravitational pull is ripping apart one of it's two moons, Phobos.  In close to 20 million years, the celestial body will be no more than a ring of debris that will circle the Red Planet, not unlike the rings of Saturn.  So how did the astronomers come to this conclusion?

For a while now, research has been done to examine the make-up of the moon Phobos, to help them determine what was creating "shallow grooves" on it's exterior.  Originally thought to be leftover remnants from collisions with the tiny moon, they now believe that the grooves are being formed by Mars' gravitational pull.  The article I read said, basically, "Think of them as stretch marks."  Lovely metaphor, I know, but it definitely gets the point across.

So using their computer models, they've determined that the future inhabitants of Earth will see a Mars that's completely different than the one we witness today.  By that time there may even be colonies on Mars, and when they look up in their night sky they'll be able to see the rings of Mars with their very own naked eyes.

Disney And Google Go Interactive With The Force

Lucasfilm and Google have teamed up to launch an impressive marketing campaign to help promote the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, because, you know, it's hardly being talked about!

The first thing that they are doing is setting up "Awaken The Force Within" which you can reach by going to www.google.com/starwars, and you will be asked to choose between the Light Side of the Force, or the Dark Side of the Force.  After you choose, all of your app features on your phone will change to reflect the decision that you made on their sight, as long as it's a google based app.  Pretty cool, right?  wait, it gets better...

On December 2, 2015, Google and Verizon will bring you a "new virtual reality experience."  This is how the article from comicbook.com describes it:

"The experience will feature a first-of-its-kind serialized Google Cardboard Virtual Reality (VR) experience, featuring never-seen-before content that ties into the opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  The experience was created by ILMxLAB - Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound's immersive experience lab."

If you don't own a Google Cardboard viewer, four specially designed versions featuring images from the Star Wars universe will be available for purchase at Verizon stores starting December 2, 2015.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out December 18 of this year.

Riddick Is Coming Back!

Back in 2000 movie goers introduced to Richard B. Riddick in the movie Pitch Black.  Vin Diesel's portrayal of this character helped make him one of the baddest bad asses in the entire universe.  The movie was followed up by The Chronicles of Riddick, which, even though it performed poorly in the theaters, was one of my favorite films to date.  Even with it's lack-luster showing, Diesel convinced Universal to release a third movie in the Riddick story.  With a pretty good box-office haul and strong DVD sales, Riddick helped make Diesel's character marketable again.

Now, get ready for more Riddick, and I mean in a big way!  Vin Diesel announced the other day that not only will fans be treated to a fourth movie in the continuing saga of Riddick, but a television series is on it's way, too!  The series, called Merc City, won't focus on Riddick, but will take place in the Riddick universe.  It will follow the bounty hunters and mercs in the universe that make Riddick's life so interesting to watch.  The movie looks like it will feature Riddick's home world of Furya, something that they've been working to for a long time.  Here's what writer/director David Twohy had to say on the matter:

“That’s where we end up. I know what that movie looks like, I’ve talked it out. It has all the right notes, it’s a great movie. The real question is: what do you do before you get there? Is it a voyage through the Necromonger universe? Do you have to earn the right to return home by some trial of fire? That’s what we’re talking about doing. Perhaps.”

There's been no release date set for the movie or the television show. but with Universal backing the film, we may see it before the television show debuts.  I'll keep you up to date as more news comes out.

Captain America: Civil War Trailer Just Dropped!

Sorry, but this picture was just too good to pass up on posting!

Yep, the first official trailer for Captain America: Civil War has been released, and here it is:

After watching it, it looks like all of the problems that are taking place between the Avengers stem from Captain America's desire to save The Winter Soldier (a.k.a. Bucky Barnes) from being arrested, or more to the point, killed.  Over the last several decades, Barnes has been controlled and used as an assassin, and now, the governments of the world want him gone.  For good.  Cap can't let that happen to his best friends, and while he's out trying to save him, he alienates a few of his current friends.  Also, we get our first look at Black Panther in action, even if it was just for a moment.  There are plenty of good action sequences in this trailer, as well as some really good lines!

I'm keeping this short, because I'd already posted for today, but this was too good to pass up on showing everybody.  Captain America: Civil War hits theaters May 6, 2016.

Black Canary To Appear In Justice League?

The other day, Warner Bros. announced that filming has begun on the upcoming Wonder Woman stand alone film.  To keep up the momentum that is surrounding the first comic book adapted female heroine movie, there are rumors swirling around that Black Canary will be appearing in the upcoming Justice League movie.  The two actresses that are being mentioned for the role are Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Alona Tal (Burn Notice, Supernatural.)

Something else that's making it's way around the interweb is that there might be a Birds of Prey movie that is being considered.  Black Canary, of course, is one of the Birds of Prey, along with Barabra Gordan, who is also rumored to be appearing in the Justice League movie, and will possibly be portrayed by Jena Malone. It's not known if Barabra Gordan will be appearing as Oracle (pre-New 52) or Oracle/Batgirl (post-New 52).  Other members of the team haven't been mentioned, but considering the rotating members that they've enjoyed, there could be any number of possibilities.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters March 25, 2016.  

Gal Gadot Is Wonder Woman!

Even with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice still a little more than a half a year before it's release, Warner Bros. has already begun filming on the Wonder Woman stand alone film, and the above picture was the official release of Gal Gadot from the film.  When Gadot tweeted the picture, she added the accompanying statement: "Almost 75 years in the making...Wonder Woman is underway."

Besides the release of the picture, a whole lot of new actors were announced to be making appearances in the film, as well.  Here's the films official press release:

"Principal photography is underway on Warner Bros. Pictures’ Wonder Woman feature film, the highly anticipated action adventure from director Patty Jenkins (“Monster,” AMC’s “The Killing”), starring Gal Gadot (the “Fast & Furious” movies) in the role of Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. The character will make her big screen debut this spring in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but the new film will mark her first time headlining a feature.

The film also stars Chris Pine (the “Star Trek” films) as Captain Steve Trevor, Robin Wright (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” Netflix’s “House of Cards”), Danny Huston (“Clash of the Titans,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”), David Thewlis (the “Harry Potter” films, “The Theory of Everything”), Ewen Bremner (“Exodus: Gods and Kings,” “Snowpiercer”), Saïd Taghmaoui (“American Hustle”), Elena Anaya (“The Skin I Live In”) and Lucy Davis (“Shaun of the Dead”).
The film is being produced by Charles Roven, Zack Snyder and Deborah Snyder, with Richard Suckle, Stephen Jones, Wesley Coller, Geoff Johns and Rebecca Roven serving as executive producers.

Joining Jenkins behind the camera are director of photography Matthew Jensen (“Chronicle,” “Fantastic Four,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), Oscar-nominated production designer Aline Bonetto (“Amélie,” “A Very Long Engagement,” “Pan”), and Oscar-winning editor Martin Walsh (“Chicago,” “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” “V for Vendetta”), and Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (“The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Topsy-Turvy”).
Principal photography will take place on location in the UK, France and Italy."

Wonder Woman is scheduled for release in 2017.

C3P0's Red Arm To Be Explained In One-Shot Comic

It's the most discussed question about the upcoming film...well, okay, maybe not the most discussed question, but it does have a lot of people scratching their heads.   Why does C3P0 have a red arm in this film?

As far as "burning questions" go, this one is pretty far down on that list, and may have just been done to get people talking about the film (as if people needed another reason to discuss the upcoming movie!).  Whatever the original reason was behind the cosmetic change for the old protocol droid, the "official" reason will be given to us next month in the form of one-shot comic book that features C3P0 in a solo adventure.

Marvel announced on it's official website that this December they will be releasing a special comic book that explains how C3P0 acquired his new limb.  Part of their "Journey to The Force Awakens" Marvel and Lucasfilm are putting together stories that tie together the events that took place after Return of the Jedi  and before The Force Awakens.  These stories are in the forms of novels, comic books and, to a lesser point, video games.  The C3P0 comic book is being written by James Robinson and Tony Harris, two people that have a lot of experience in working with one another.

As curious as I am about C3P0's new arm, I'm not getting my hopes up too high.  I read Star Wars: Aftermath, the first novel that was released for their "Journey to The Force Awakens" roll out, and it was terrible.  It seemed to jump all over the place, had so many new and uninteresting characters that it was hard to follow what was going on at times and who was involved.  The silver lining with this comic has to be Robinson and Harris.  I have a feeling that they will do a great job with this story, and it will tie up one of the questions that people have been curious about.

Next on my list of questions, what's the deal with Luke Skywalker, and where has he been?

NetFlix Releases Jessica Jones Today

While still riding high off of the incredible success of their original series Daredevil, the second of Marvel's television series, Jessica Jones, premiers on NetFlix today.  Check out the latest trailer for the show down below:

The show stars Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones.  She had a short-lived superhero career, and after tragedy struck, dropped out of the hero games and became a private detective.  Even though Jones is a Marvel "superhero," don't expect this to be a costumed vigilante series like it's predecessor Daredevil was.  While there will still be fight scenes to enjoy, Jessica Jones won't be donning any masks.  It's more of a gritty detective series, dark and emotionally biting.  This is unlike anything that Marvel has put together before, and it promises to be their best television series to date. 

I think DenofGeek.com describes her character best out of all of the sites talking about this show.  They said:

"Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones is the proprietor and sole employee of Alias Investigations, and like all the best PIs, she drinks to excess, screws the occasional client, and has an almost poetic grasp of profanity. She just so happens to be strong enough to lift a car, able to leap a tall fire escape in a single bound, and can take more punishment than you and five of your friends are likely to dish out on your best day. Jones is tormented by events from her past which are far more terrifying than anything that fascist crybaby in Gotham City ever had to endure."

What's not to love after reading that?  I'll be giving my opinion on the series next week after I have a chance to watch it over the weekend.  If you watch it as well, make sure you let me know what your thoughts are on the show.  You can leave them in the comments section below, or you can reach me at comconocave@gmail.com.  Enjoy!

Frank Miller Going Solo for The Dark Knight IV

 

The third, and as it was originally billed as "the final" chapter of the Dark Knight series, seems to be getting a fourth installment.  The announcement by Frank Miller comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering the third chapter hasn't even hit shelves yet.  It's due to be released next week, November 25.  So why is he making this announcement now?  From the sound of it, he may not be very happy with how the third The Dark Knight turned out.

 

Frank Miller is being billed as a co-writer on DK: The Master Race, while Brian Azzarello was it's lead writer.  In an interview, Miller had this to say on the upcoming comic book:

 

"I thoroughly applaud what [Brian's] doing.  But now that he's doing his, it's now a four-part series.  I'm doing the fourth."

 

Even though he's being credited with helping write the upcoming comic book, it doesn't really sound like he had much input on the miniseries, or if he did, his suggestions weren't being used.

 

Frank Miller shook the Batman world with his release of The Dark Knight Returns back in 1986, in a four-issue miniseries that many Batman fans now consider gospel.  In it, a 55 year old Bruce Wayne/Batman comes out of retirement to take on Two-Face, the Joker, and even Superman himself.  It's one of the greatest Batman stories of all time.

 

One of the characters that we were introduced to in the comic was Carrie Kelly.  She became his new Robin sidekick, and later became Catgirl in DK II.  I'm wondering if one of the reasons that Miller wants to do his own fourth installment is because Kelly didn't get her just dues in the upcoming DK: The Master Race.  This is just speculation, of course, but the reason I say this is that while being interviewed by ComicBook.com, Miller had this to say about Kelly:

 

"Well, to me, [Carrie Kelly] always has had the potential for longevity.  I would love to do a series - in fact, I intend to do a series of her and her alone that would be very much like a comic book Nancy Drew series.  It would be her detective stories.  They would be smaller-sized, they would be designed to that they could be, even though they would be comic books, they would be comic books for children.  That's something I intend to do.  Just picture a small figure of Robin on a cover holding a magnifying glass."

 

DC hasn't confirmed that a fourth chapter is going to be done, but if I hear anything else on this matter, I'll make sure I keep you updated.

The Ice Man Cometh!

There have been rumors for years that there was a Top Gun sequel that was being worked on by both Tom Cruise and Tony Scott.  Then Tony Scott died, and a lot of people guessed that the sequel would die with him.  It seems those people may have jumped the gun with that conclusion.  Even though there hasn't been an official announcement on the matter, Val Kilmer posted this on his Facebook page:



Holy crap!  If this is true, then that's one heck of a line up!  Like I said before, there's been no official announcement yet, so we don't know if the old story idea that was pitched is still going to be used, or if they are going to create an entirely different script altogether...(an entirely different script.) 

Sorry, Airplane joke there!

If they are using the same plot, it will deal with Maverick arguing that human fighter pilots are better in an engagement than drones, and they have some sort of competition that pits man against machine to see which one's better.  Cruise has said that he'd be up for a sequel, as long as one thing would happen:

"If I can figure it out, if all of us could figure it out, it'd be fun to do.  I'd like to fly those jets again, but we got to do all the jets practical, no CGI on the jets...I'm saying right now no CGI on the jets.  If we can figure all that out, and the Department of Defense will allow us to do it, that would be fun."

So there you have it.  A possible Top Gun 2 could be heading our way in the near future!  How do you feel about that?  Let me know in the comments section below, and I'll keep you up to date with any more news that trickles out!

Captain America: Civil War Trailer Supposedly Leaked

Now before I begin, let me just say that I haven't seen it yet, and this is all being reported at Australianetworknews.com, and since I haven't seen it yet, this is just a rumor to me right now.  However, since there was a trailer and some footage that was shown at Disney's D23 Expo this year, it's quite possible that this trailer really did leak since we know that it's out there. So, without further hesitation, here's what they are reporting Movie Pilot has seen in the trailer.  Oh yeah, and possible **SPOILERS** in case you weren't aware!

"On the first scene, Steve Rogers/ Captain America can be seen “standing at the window” in what seems to be a hotel room, as he talks to Falcon/ Sam Wilson through a walkie -talkie who is wearing a Falcon gear with Redwing, standing over the top of a building while observing an African market.

Meanwhile, Black Widow was also shown discreetly keeping an eye on the surroundings. It appears so that they are looking in a suspicious vehicle loaded with explosives.

Suddenly, Crossbones/ Brock Rumlow appears with a group of bad guys, wearing his armored suit and a skull mask.

The two forces got engaged in a battle, but Captain America and his group prevailed.
Aside from the fierce opening scene, the trailer also showcased and introduced Black Panther, Iron Man’s new suit, the return of Winter Soldier, Black Widow and Hawkeye’s showdown and The Cap’s newest ally, Scarlet Witch."

This all kind of sounds familiar...

"Captain America, the Falcon, and Black Widow kick off the footage, surveying a marketplace. Falcon voice activates a drone version of his comic book sidekick, after which it surveys a nearby truck which has a battering ram built within it. The trio springs into action! Falcon leaps off a building and spreads his wings. Widow runs and flips through the market with grace and precision. Cap finds Crossbones standing in the center of the market, and they engage in combat. Crossbones blames Cap for his face, after which his masked is knocked off. He says something about Bucky that catches Cap's attention."

That last one was what JoBlo reported they saw at the D23 Expo back in August.  Sounds a lot like the trailer that's being said to have leaked.  The Russo brothers have said that they are still putting the final touches on the trailer, so my guess is that this isn't the actual trailer that's leaked, but footage from the D23 event.  The actual trailer will make it's debut before Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Captain America: Civil War will hit theaters May 6, 2016.

So What's Going On With Luke Skywalker?

First off, the beard really needs to go.

Second...nobody outside of the movie really knows.

Back in 2005, JJ Abrams and Mark Hamill appeared on an IFC show called Dinner For Five.  During the show, Hamill discussed how he approached George Lucas about how he thought that Luke Skywalker should turn to the Dark Side of the Force in Return of the Jedi.  Funny how that worked, because who would've thunk it that ten years later, the two would be involved with one of the most anticipated sequels of all time.  Hamill's involvement with the film is also one of the most closely guarded secrets of all of entertainment history.  It ranks right up there with "Luke, I am your Father," and "Who shot J.R.?"

EW released a double-sized issue featuring photos and interviews with the people from the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens and I was hoping for a little nugget of information as to what type of role Luke would be playing in the film.  Did Hamill and Abrams use his idea that he floated  by Lucas for this movie and have Luke turn to the Dark Side, or are they going another route?  Neither of them talked about Luke's role in the film, leaving the mystery in place until it's release.

However, John Boyega had some interesting things to say about how his character views the Jedi Master.  Here's what he had to say:

"For Finn, he’s been raised from the ashes of the Empire.  He’s been taught about Luke Skywalker, he knows about his history. For him it’s like joining the army and then learning about one of the great enemies of your country. It has that effect on him. But in terms of the Force, and the magical stuff that happens, that is the point where Finn kind of questions what is what. What is the Force, what part does Luke Skywalker play in all of this?"

Some people out there think that Finn isn't setting out to return Luke's lightsaber to him, but is really out to try and kill him.  Of course, if this theory were true, why would the First Order be trying to kill Finn so hard?  Wouldn't they want him to succeed?  Unless Kylo Ren's fascination with Darth Vader spills over to an obsession with Luke as well, but that's just pure speculation.

Just 32 days until the premier of Star Wars: The Force Awakens December 18, 2015.

Captain America: Civil War...The Teams Have Been Revealed!

So the two teams that will be going against each other in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War have been given to us, and now everyone can start arguing how each hero came to be on each team.  As you see from the above picture, Team Iron Man consists of War Machine (or is it "The Iron Patriot" now?  I'm not sure.) Black Widow, Black Panther, Vision, and, of course, Iron Man.  It's not really surprising that Rhodes (a.k.a. War Machine) is on Team Iron Man, considering that he's Tony Stark's best friend.  Black Widow had/has been employed by Stark in previous movies, and considering that Stark has contributed technology to S.H.I.E.L.D. she may feel a certain loyalty to him.  Of course, it could be something as simple as she wants to keep her past in the past, and Team Iron Man would allow this to happen.  Black Panther most likely joined to help keep his country of Wakanda secluded and out of the eyes of the world.  Vision?  Well, considering that Stark helped create him, this seems pretty obvious why he's on Stark's team.  So who's on Team Captain America?



Okay.  We've got Hawkeye, Agent Sharon Carter (who we met back in Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Falcon, Bucky Barnes (a.k.a. The Winter Soldier) and Captain America.  Also, even though you can't see him on Cap's shoulder, Ant-Man.  I'm not really sure how or why Hawkeye is on this team, it'd make more sense for him to be on Team Iron Man, considering he's got a family life.  You'd think that he'd want to keep that part of his life a secret, right?  As far as Agent Carter, Falcon, and Barnes go, it seems pretty obvious as to why they're on Team Captain America.  Even Ant-Man.  Previous films explain why they have loyalty to Captain America.

The two characters that haven't been assigned a team are The Scarlett Witch and Spider-Man.  These two are the "wild cards" of the film.  We know that they both are in the film, but which team they are on is still a mystery.  And where does General Ross fit into things?  Even though we don't know the answers to these questions yet, we don't have to wait very long to find out.  Captain America: Civil War hits theaters May 6, 2016.

Let's Talk Some Han Solo News!

The first bit of news that I have for you makes me kind of sad.  The upcoming Han Solo Anthology film that's going to be coming out in the newest few years will be Lawrence Kasdan's last go round with the Star Wars universe.  The 66 year old legendary screenwriter is finishing up the script for Phil Lord and Chris Miller's Han Solo film.  So why is he deciding to leave the franchise?

"I have now made four Star Wars movies.  That's more than enough."

That's as good as any reason I've ever heard.  In case you were wondering which Star Wars films he either wrote or helped write, they are The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, and now the yet to be named Han Solo Anthology.  While being interviewed by Bild, which is a German tabloid, he said that he was a little apprehensive about writing the film, but his family convinced him to do it because they were excited about the project.  His son, Jon Kasdan, is helping to co-write the film, as well.

Now for some other Han Solo news!  Harrison Ford recently sat down with EW to give an interview, and it sounded like it was an interesting sit down.  When he was asked about how Han Solo has changed over the last 30 years, this is what he had to say:

"No, there's not an abandoning of the character.  He does not aspire to the position of Obi-'Ben' Kenobi, nor do I aspire to be some New Age Alec Guinness.  His development is consistent with the character, and there are emotional elements which have occasioned his growth."

He continued:

"We spend a lot more time [in the movie] on his failure to master basic skills, like accounting.  And accounting for his own behavior.  There's a lot of the rogue still left in Solo.  Some things don't change."

He was also asked about the upcoming Han Solo movie, and if he had any input with the film.  He said that he hasn't discussed anything about the film with Lucasfilm or Disney.  As far as advice that he would give the new actor that will be playing Han Solo, Ford had this to say:

"I would say, 'Talk to your director.  Watch the movies.  And welcome aboard.  Make it your own.'"

When he was asked how he felt about somebody else stepping into the role of Han Solo, he said he had never thought about it before.  And now?

"I got other things to worry about.  I got shoes at the cobbler that need to get picked up.  I got to go get a bike fixed.  You know, I got a lot of things to think about."

The Han Solo film is set for release on May 25, 2018.

This Is A Crazy Star Wars Theory, But It May Be True!

Do you remember this picture that I posted?

Last night I was talking to my friend Ken, one half of the John/Ken Show on YouTube.  If you haven't checked them out yet, go watch the BYBI Show over there, and enjoy!  Well worth the time! But I digress...

I have a long habit of calling Ken so I can bounce ideas off of him.  In this case, however, he gave me a theory that I believe to be true that he reached after reading a couple of my old posts, so in this case, I'll share credit for the idea, but I really didn't have anything to do with it.  To be honest, I'm a little disappointed I didn't think of this myself!

Back in June of this year I wrote a post that talked about how Marvel was in the process of filling in the gaps that took place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.  In one of their comics, it was revealed that Han Solo had been (or still was) married to Sana Solo, pictured above.  Because of this revelation, my friend Ken came up with the idea that the character Finn, played by John Boyega, is actually Han Solo's son!

If you think about it, it's not that far fetched, I mean, look at who the director is.  JJ Abrams is known for misleading people with his movies and trailers.  M. Night Shyamalan is one of the few directors that can pull this off better than Abrams (remember The Sixth Sense?)  Look at what he did with Star Trek Into Darkness, and I'm not talking about his dismal attempt at hiding the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch was Khan, but with his commercial for the movie.  In it, he showed a "shadowed" spaceship crashing into the California bay, and everyone assumed that it was the U.S.S. Enterprise.  Turned out that it was the U.S.S. Vengeance that crashed.  Abrams loves to mislead people with his trailers.

In every trailer that we've seen, and with every article that has been written, everyone has been assuming that Rey is being tagged as the daughter of Han and Leia, but what if it's Finn that is the son of Han Solo?  Why else would you introduce Sana unless you were planning on explaining how Finn could be Han's son?  Heck, in an interview that was done over the last couple of weeks Boyega said that when he won the job as Finn, Abrams sent him a note saying something along the lines of "Congratulations!  You're the new star of the series!"  It might have just been a congratulations, but after talking to Ken, I'm beginning to think that there's a little bit more to that statement than I originally thought.

I know that I wrote recently that Finn is supposed to be Lando's son, but if you think about it, this makes more sense.  This is the "Luke, I am your father" moment.  This could be huge!

It should be said that this is the only place that you will hear about this theory, I haven't read it anywhere else, so if it happens to pop up later, remember that you read it here first.  What do you think?  Are we off our rockers, or does this sound like something that could be plausible?  Let me know your thoughts on this idea in the comments section below!  And check out BYBI on YouTube, and check them out on Twitter @BYBI73.  And check out my Twitter channel @comconoclast!

The Force Awakens' First Television Spot And Japanese Trailer (Part 2)

So yesterday I posted the Japanese trailer Star Wars: The Force Awakens, so today I'll show you the new television trailer that was released.

 

 

One of the more interesting things that you could take away from the commercial has to do with the voice over.  As you just saw, in the commercial a voice is heard saying, "I see your eyes.  I know your eyes."  Now, this could just be a general statement, like she knows the type of eyes that she's looking at, but since they show Rey and then Han, it could be a subtle hint that Rey has her father's eyes, and that she's Han's daughter.  It could also mean that they are the same type of person, and it has nothing to do with her being Han's daughter, if that's even the case.  A lot of people think that the person who is doing the talking is actress Lupita Nyong'o's character Maz Kanata.  She's supposed to be playing a CGI created space pirate who is helping Rey, Finn, and Han Solo on their mission.

 

Something else that stands out is that the First Order Stormtroopers are attacking Rey's planet of Jakku.  Why?  Is it that they are trying to capture Finn for going AWOL, or is it for some other reason?  We know that Finn is a Stormtrooper and at some point in the film he takes off from the First Order.  If he is the reason that they are attacking Jakku, then that means that Finn must be very important to the First Order if they're willing to invade an entire planet just to get him back.  Of course, this is just speculation on my part and may be reading too much into this.

 

What were your thoughts after watching the trailer?  Did you get the same impressions from it that I did?  Did you see something in it that I may have missed?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. 

The Force Awakens' First Television Spot And Japanese Trailer (Part 1)

Honestly, once Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets released, I don't know what I'm going to write about for a while!  I guess I'll have to move onto Rogue One after that. Anyway...some interesting news has popped up about the new Star Wars flick, as well as a new international trailer that was released in Japan.  And the trailer?  Pretty freakin' sweet!

The first thing I noticed was this was the first time that we got to hear BB-8 "speak."  It was cute, and fits with another article I read stating that BB-8 was suppose to be a "female" droid.  My first thought was, "Huh?"  I didn't know that droids were one way or the other, but the article went on to say that it might be because Rey is the one BB-8 travels with.  In the original Star Wars, Luke refers to both C3P0 and R2D2 as "he" and "him" which gave them genders.  In this new movie, Rey refers to BB-8 as her.  I never really thought about this until I read it, and am still confused why this bit of news garnered an article to be written about it, but here I am doing the same thing.

One other bit of SPOILER news (see what I did there?  If you keep reading now, this may ruin a surprise!) that was being reported was that one specific main character's last name may have been revealed.  The character Finn, which is played by John Boyega, may actually have the last name "Calrissian."  This may be the tie in for Billy Dee Williams' appearance in Star Wars: Episode VIII (unofficial title, of course.)  Back in May of this year The Sun, a British tabloid, announced that Williams will be making a cameo appearance in the second movie of the new trilogy.  This may be the slide that brings him back into the films.  You know, it amazes me that in a galaxy far, far away that has billions, if not trillions of people in it, the siblings of the original trilogy happen to run into one another.  Must be the workings of the Force.

So get your lightsabers polished up, fanboys!  There's just a little over a month to go before we get to see the nest installment in the story!  Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters December 18 of this year!

DC's Movie Strategy Looks To Shake Things Up

It's starting to sound like Warner Brothers and DC are taking a completely different style of storytelling than their counterparts over at Marvel.  Over at Marvel, they give us an origin story about the characters first, then they give us a "team-up" movie.  Warner Brothers and DC are doing the exact opposite.  Let me explain...

In the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we are going to be introduced to Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Flash (maybe more, we don't really know).  They all already exist in this universe, but where did they come from?  From what I've been reading, each of the movies that will feature one of these characters will be an origin story, but each of these movies will take place after we've been introduced to them from a previous film.  Confused?  Here, let me let Charles Roven explain what I'm trying to say.  This is from his interview with Collider:

"So if, for example, The Flash movie or the Aquaman film is gonna come out after Justice League 1, it’s not gonna be a completely different character; that character will have evolved from Justice League 1. Wonder Woman, when we see her in Justice League 1, will have evolved from Batman v Superman. Unless we decide that in one of these stories we’re gonna do something that happened in the past and have it be more of an origination story, in which case you’ll realize how that character became what they were in the movie that they were first introduced."

I guess you're wondering why I have a picture of Wonder Woman up top, right?  Well, I'm going to use her as an example to show you what Roven's talking about.  In the Wonder Woman film, it seems that one of the main villains of the story will be Ares, the God of War.  As it goes, Ares has stolen a sword from the Amazons that will make him the most powerful god in existence, and will let him take over Olympus.  The problem is, the sword is locked, and in order to unlock it, he needs to start World War III.  The reason for this is it'll let him feed off of the "malevolent psychic energy" that gives him his strength and power, and starting World War III will give him enough of this to unlock the sword.  Enter Diana of Themyscira to try and stop him.  According to Heroic Hollywood, by the end of the film, the sword will disappear, and Diana is sent out to find it and recover it.  When we are introduced to her in Dawn of Justice, it seems that she's still on her quest of looking for the sword.  See how this is working?  We meet her in Dawn of Justice while she's on her quest, then we get the Wonder Woman movie that explains why she's looking for it in the first place.

I have to give credit to Warner Brothers and DC for taking a different approach to their storytelling, it definitely sets them apart from Marvel.  But hey, that's me.  What do you think about their approach?  You think it'll work, or will it get too confusing having to keep going backwards to fill in the story from the previous film?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Who Will Be Appearing In Captain America: Civil War?

Yesterday I was talking to one of my friends, and we were running down the list of characters that will be appearing in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War movie, and I have to admit, it was harder to do than I thought.  Not because of the lack of news or anything like that, but because there are going to be so many different characters that will be in it!  So who will all be in it?

So far, we've come up with the following characters.  First off, Captain America (obviously!), then there's Iron Man, Spider-Man (this will mark Spider-Man's first appearance in a MCU movie), Black Widow, Hawkeye, Vision, the Scarlett Witch, Falcon, War Machine (or Iron Patriot, whichever name they decide on using in this movie) Ant-Man, and Black Panther.  From the sound of it, Captain America: Civil War will kind of act as an "origin story" for Black Panther.  They've already mentioned his fictional home country of Wakanda in their films, and from what I've heard about his Marvel debut, we'll first see him as the son of Wakanda's ruler, T'Chaka, before he takes up the identity of the Black Panther.  Wakanda has been an important part of the Marvel universe, because it is the only place on the planet that vibranium is found.  Vibranium is the fictional material that was used to make Captain America's shield.

One of the more interesting revelations about the film that we heard about back in June was that William Hurt will be returning to the role of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.  Hurt first played the General back in 2008's The Incredible Hulk.  Even though this was made before Marvel began making movies, it is an important movie because it marked the first appearance of Tony Stark in the after-the-credits scene of the film.  For the most part, Marvel doesn't do much to acknowledge this film in it's universe, especially since Edward Norton no long plays the Hulk.  That role has been handed over to Mark Ruffalo who has been killing it since first appearing in The Avengers. 

Hurt said that he'll be playing a different version of the General this time around, as is looking forward to playing him again.  How this version will differ from his first go-round with the guy remains to be seen, but there are rumors that General Ross may be turning into the Red Hulk in this flick.  We'll have to wait for the movie to come out before we know for sure.

Both Thor and the Hulk will be absent from this film, but both will be appearing in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok. 

So...Wow!  This has a huge cast!  I hope having so many characters in it doesn't hurt the storyline, but with Anthony and Joe Russo directing the movie, I'm not really that worried about it turning into an Amazing Spider-Man 2 or Spider-Man 3 fiasco.

Captain America: Civil War opens in theaters May 6, 2016.

Deadpool And The X-Men Universe

One of the questions that has been brought up regarding the upcoming Deadpool film is whether or not it actually takes place in the X-Men universe that 20th Century Fox has given us with movies like X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past.  The simple answer is yes, yes it does.

In a recent interview with Collider, Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick gave the most direct answer to this question.  Here's what Reese had to say on the matter:

"We are part of the X universe, and that is important.  Simon Kinberg is our producer and he kind of minds the store in regards to the X universe, so we are fitting into the larger timeline, we need to recognize that.  I mean, we have things like the Blackbirds in the movie, we reference Professor X in the movie.  So Deadpool is very much of that world and I think sooner or later we'll cross over into that world.  I mean, we're not sure when that would be.  Probably, if I had to guess, we would do a standalone sequel before he entered the actual ensemble movies, but I think at some point it will cross over and it needs to fit.

A couple of the reasons why fans haven't been sure where Deadpool would fit into things that have already been made, or are in the process of being made, is for one, it's R rating.  This is nearly unheard of for a comic book movie, but considering who it's main character is, it was pretty much a must.  To water down Deadpool just to get a larger audience would have been a mistake, and I'm sure there would have been comparisons to Reynold's earlier take on the guy from X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  That would have killed the franchise from the get go.  The second reason why fans were confused on where it stood was the appearance of Colossus.  In previous X-Men films, Colossus was what appeared to be American.  As I've discussed in previous posts, Piotr (Peter) Rasputin is Russian in the comic books, and is huge! With no disrespect to Daniel Cudmore, who played Colossus in the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past, bringing in Andre Tricoteux to play Colossus was brilliant.  He has the size and the background to play Colossus true to his original comic book character.  Old character, new actor?  It's not unheard of in the movies.  Heck, even Marvel did this with their Iron Man movies.  In the first Iron Man, Terrence Howard played Stark's best buddy Rhodey, then in Iron Man 2 he was replaced with Don Cheadle.

Another little bit that was interesting was something that Wernick brought up.  Here's what he said:

"There is a post credit thing that if hopefully comes together, it's gonna be phenomenal.  We're planning it.  It's one of those ones that's gonna require some doing, so it may not come together, and if so, I don't know, we'll either do a Plan B or none at all.  I think we should have one, I mean, we really feel like we should have one."

Deadpool hits theaters February 12, 2016.

New Star Trek Television Series Coming From CBS

Notice that I didn't saying "coming to CBS?"  Well, there's a reason for that.

CBS has officially announced that a new Star Trek television series is going to begin production.  Details as to who will be in it and what it will be about have not been released, though.  The reason for this is that it won't air until January 2017, so they still have a lot of work to do in order to get their final product out.

When  January 2017 finally does roll around, we will be able to watch it's world premier on the CBS television channel, but after that, it's going to only be able to be viewed through their new CBS All-Access, CBS' new streaming service.  So even though this will be billed as a "television series," it's more in the way that Netflix's Daredevil is a television show.

Hoping to capitalize off of next years 50th anniversary of the show, both CBS and Paramount are planning big releases.  CBS with the above mentioned series, and Paramount with the release of the third installment of their Star Trek movie franchise, Star Trek Beyond.  It should be mentioned that the series and the movie will have no connections to one another, so it's not known if the television series will follow a new ship in the Federation, or if it will exist in a different time line.

So, all of you Star Trek fans, how do you feel about this announcement?  Are you excited?  Has enough time passed since Enterprise that you feel like it's time to bring it back to television, or are you enjoying the new cast of the movies so much that you feel that a television show being made now would cheapen the movie's story lines and characters?  Let me know how you feel in the comments section below!

A Marvel Superhero Buddy Flick?

That's the way actor Mark Ruffalo is billing the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok movie.  It was announced a few weeks ago that The Hulk would be appearing in the film, but it wasn't until recently that we learned that he'll be co-starring in the flick.  Here's what he told the Daily Mail:

“I don’t really know that much about it, but I think it’s going to be a buddy picture with Thor and Bruce Banner,” Ruffalo said. “I think they’ll probably fight. There’s no doubt, everyone wants us to fight at one point.”

So who else will be making an appearance?  It's hard to say right now since the movie's script is still being worked on, but it's hard to believe that we won't be seeing The Warriors Three at some point.  Jaimie Alexander's Lady Sif might be getting a smaller role, unless she's able to work around her shooting schedule for NBC's Blindspot.  One actor that hopes that the trio gets to make an appearance is Zachary Levi.  Here's what he had to say about the upcoming film and whether or not he knows if he'll get a chance to play Fandral again:

“No, not at all. As far as I know, they are still writing the script. Once that’s all buttoned down, I’m sure they will be making the phone call to whatever actors are involved. I hope I’m involved. I’d love to reprise Fandral. That was a fun experience, getting to be blonde, Asgardian and sounding British. I think shooting in Australia would be a hoot. The weather is certainly more conducive to happiness than when we were shooting in London, which is a great city, but pretty dreary.”

Even with the script still getting the final touches that it needs before production begins, one of the rumors is that Thanos will be making an appearance in the film.  It's being said that he's going to make a run on Asgard in his attempt to grab the Infinity Stones that are being held there.  If this is the case, Thor: Ragnarok may be one of the most spectacular Marvel films of the year.  You know, after Captain America: Civil War, of course.