Stephen Amell Wants DC Television Shows To Cross Over

Fan favorite actor Stephen Amell was recently at the Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con where he sat in on a panel and answered questions from the crowd.  One of the questions that came up dealt with his feelings about whether or not he and Grant Gustin should or might show up in the upcoming Justice League movies.  Here's what he had to say:

"As of right now, the movie universe and the television universe are very, very separate.  I mean we've seen Ezra Miller, who's going to play The Flash in one of the upcoming films, and even on the Suicide Squad, we have a whole slew of characters that are now representing the Suicide Squad.  And the Suicide Squad is at least for the foreseeable future is not going to be featured on Arrow.  So we're keeping those universes separate."

This answer really shouldn't have surprised anyone that has read anything about the upcoming films, but he kept going:

"On the B side, there is an opportunity for interconnectivity with any DC television show that exists.  Like, as an example, yesterday Constantine was cancelled.  And there is...yeah, I know, it's brutal...it's a good show, and it should come back.  And it may come back, like there are various platforms where it could come back."

"Now, Constantine was an NBC show.  I'm on the CW.  I had had discussions with DC...so not NBC, not CW...but with DC Entertainment about guest starring on Constantine when it was still on the air.  And that was and is still on the table.  So we have Flash, we have Legends of Tomorrow, a new show which is directly connected to the Arrow universe, we have Supergirl...she got picked up, directed by my good friend Glen Winter, that pilot, I can't wait to see it, I'm sure it's going to be amazing...there's Gotham obviously, and I'm missing something...Titans, there you go.  SO again I wouldn't worry too much about the movie universe, because we have no shortage of options for me and the other characters to populate."

So what would have led to an Arrow/Constantine crossover?  He went on to explain:

"The reason that I was going to guest star on Constantine, at least the idea that we were throwing around was he's an expert when it comes to the Lazarus Pit, which is now something that is a part of and will continue to be a part of Arrow."

So could this still happen, even though NBC cancelled Constantine?  Could another network still pick it up for a second season?  Here were his thoughts on that:

"I think that all of the support that it got, Geoff Johns at DC was supporting it, Jim Lee was supporting it, I think Grant [Gustin] was throwing a little weight behind it, as he should, because that dude is a heavy weight in the DC television universe.  I don't know how it would play.  I just think that it deserves an opportunity.  I really do."

So what do you think of the idea that every DC television is/should be apart of the same universe, no matter what network is airing them?  Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

A Taste Of "Legends Of Tomorrow" A Little Sooner Than You'd Expect

                              

The Arrow only has one episode left, and we're getting down to the last two for Flash, and it looks like they are pulling out all of the stops!  Ciara Rence, who will be playing Hawkgirl in the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow series which will be a spin off of both Arrow and Flash, recently tweeted that she and some of her cast mates will be appearing in the Flash's season one finale.  So how do they fit into the Arrow-verse?  A couple of weeks ago, we got a little peek at what their future holds.

When Barry, Cisco, and Caitline discovered "Dr. Well's" secret chamber, they also discovered a newspaper headline from the future.  One of the obvious reveals (since they actually made a point of mentioning it) was that it was written by "Iris West-Allen."  I'm sure Barry's heart was all a-flutter, but what else did this article from the future tell us?  The first thing we see mentioned is the name of the people who were with the Flash when he disappears, one of them being Hawkgirl.  Seems to me that Ciara's character will be playing a big part in the upcoming show.

                               

The second thing that stood out was the mention of Green Arrow.  While the future of Oliver Queen seems a little up in the air right now, it also seems that he'll finally be getting the name "Green"Arrow.  How this transformation comes to be still isn't known, but I'm sure Berlanti, Guggenheim, and Kreisberg already have a plan for his reveal.

Something else that was mentioned was the promotion of Joe West to Chief of Police.  In the article it reads:

Central City Police Chief, Joe West, held a press conference in the wee hours of the morning, stating, "we don't have very many details right now.  What we do know is tonight Central City's greatest protector vanished in a flash.  We can only hope he returns just as quickly."  A sentiment shared by all who call this great city home.

Other details from the article tell of eye witness accounts of the battle between the Flash and the Reverse-Flash.  Here's what they said:

According to reports, as The Flash and Reverse-Flash battled with each other between two overturned tanker trucks, the lightning emanating from the speedsters threatened to ignite spilled oil leaking from one of the trucks.

The smoke from the truck's engine made it difficult to see, but it appeared at one point they were having a very heated conversation before continuing the fight.  Then, suddenly, The Flash sped after Reverse-Flash, and the two vanished, leaving The Atom, Green Arrow and Hawkgirl behind.

An eyewitness who watched the battle from her apartment building before being evacuated said, "It was hard to see, but The Flash and Reverse-Flash were zipping up and down M(___?) Avenue and then there was a whole bunch of lightning, and then nothing.  It was weird."

Other witnesses described a similar phenomenon: a blinding light followed by darkness.  Then the sky returned to black.  And as the streets quieted, it took only a moment to realize The Flash and Reverse-Flash were gone without a trace.

The "Red Sky" and the repeated use of the word "Crisis" in the article are making many believe that the comic book story Crisis on Infinite Earths is being heavily drawn off of. One sad note, though, in the comic book, Barry Allen dies.\

One last note.  Even though it seems that Eobard Thawne's plans have moved ahead faster than he was expecting, the article hasn't changed any, so whatever the outcome at this season's finale, expect to see a lot more of Reverse-Flash!

SpaceX's Dragon Spacecraft Takes Big Step Forward

The United States has always been a leader in technology for the exploration of space.  Ironically, though, we don't have the means to send our astronauts into space, ever since we retired our space shuttle program.  After Discovery's final launch on February 24, 2011, the government turned towards private industries to become the new leaders in the field of manned space exploration.

One of the more promising companies to emerge has been SpaceX, who have developed spacecraft called Dragon.  They've already made successful unmanned launches to the International Space Station (ISS) that delivered much needed cargo to the crew floating above us in an orbit that ranges between 205 miles to 250 miles from the ground.  Now, SpaceX has moved one step closer to being able to launch an astronaut into space, and up to the ISS.

Yesterday at Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Dragon capsule was launched with a test dummy inside to test it's escape system which would be used if anything unexpected were to happen after launch.  We know that things don't always go as planned.  You may recall the Challenger disaster that took place on January 28, 1986.

After the launch, the Dragon's engines, dubbed SuperDraco engines, fired off a six-second burn that generated 120,000 pounds of thrust that would move the capsule, in theory, out of harm's way in the event of a catastrophic failure during the launch process.  After the burn, the capsule that will be carrying up the astronauts separated and three large parachutes deployed, bring the Dragon down safely into the ocean, just offshore. 

After it's launch, the Dragon was recovered and will be sent to the SpaceX Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas where it will be evaluated and cleaned to be used in another test.  The California-based company, which is led by Elon Musk, plans to launch a manned Dragon into space around 2017.

New Indiana Jones Movie Confirmed To Be Made

 

There have been a lot of rumors going around saying that Disney is ready to reboot the Indiana Jones franchise with Chris Pratt playing the title character.  It's even been reported that Steven Speilberg has shown interest in directing the Chris Pratt-starring Indiana Jones movie, and that a script was already being written for the film.

 

Not so fast, says Kathleen Kennedy.

 

In the most recent Vanity Fair issue that focuses on the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie, not only do we get to see some really cool behind-the-scenes pictures and character photos taken by Annie Leibovitz, but we also get some great interviews with people associated to the franchise.  One of these articles was written by Bruce Handy who interviewed Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm.  During the interview, the question had to be asked, "Will we be seeing a new Indiana Jones movie anytime soon?"  Here's what Handy wrote about her response:

 

"In buying the company, Disney also got rights, for better or worse, to less-storied Lucasfilm properties, among them Willow and RadiolandMurders.  A bigger prize is the Indiana Jones franchise.  Kennedy confirmed rumors that another Indy movie 'will one day be made inside this company.  When it will happen, I'm not quite sure.  We haven't started working on a script yet, but we are talking about it.'"

 

Although the talk about Chris Pratt and Speilberg were not addressed, it does shoot down the rumors that a script was already in the works.  Kennedy is a very savvy person, and knows the Lucasfilm franchises better than anyone else, maybe except for George Lucas.  She's also been the executive producer on all of Speilberg's projects from 1982 to 2012, and considering the lackluster performance of the 2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I'm sure that she's taking her time to make sure that they get it right this time.

 

If the movie is that far down the line, maybe Chris Pratt isn't going to be the next whip-cracking archaeologist after all, but if not him, then who?  Who would you like to see as the next Indiana Jones?  Let me know your suggestions in the comment section below!

The DC Universe? Things They Are A-Changing...

In case you weren't aware of this yet, DC's animated department is releasing a new straight-to-DVD movie that's titled Justice League: Gods and Monsters.  This is a whole new Justice league than people are used to.  Here's the official synopsis that was released with the trailer:

"Journey to a divergent reality where the Justice League protects the planet - but answers to no one but themselves.  Employing methods of intimidation and fear, this Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman deal brute force in the name of justice.  In this alternate universe, Superman is not raised by the Kents in Smallville, the Caped Crusader is not Bruce Wayne, and Wonder Woman is not an Amazon warrior of Themyscira.  When a group of famed scientists experience untimely "accidents," a government task force follows the trail of clues to the Justice League -- but i there a more powerful player operating from the shadows?  It's a high stakes game of intrigue, mystery and action that asks the question:  How do you serve justice to those above the law?"

I'm not really sure about the origins of Wonder Woman and Batman in this one, but I've heard that this version of Superman is actually the son of Zod!  To be honest, I don't think that they'll be able to give us everything they're wanting to give us in a single animated movie.  I'm not just saying this because of all of the alternate origins stories that they'll have to give us (which may take up a huge chunk of the movie, I don't know,) but because it was announced that Machinima and Warner Brothers Animation and DC Comics have teamed up to give us a new online animated series of the Justice League, which will follow the conclusion of Justice League: Gods and Monsters.  It's being called Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles, and they've already agreed to it running for two seasons.  So maybe all of those origins stories won't take place in the movie after all, but in this continuing series that will follow?  The series is set to debut next month.

Now over to the comic book side of DC, and like I said in the title above, things they are a-changing!  A couple of posts ago, I revealed that by the end of Batman #40, both Batman and the Joker are dead. So what's happening in the pages of Batman #41? Who's in that giant robotic Bat-suit?  It looks like Commissioner Gordon is intending to replace the Batman in the continuing series.  Or at least until they bring Bruce Wayne back from the dead...again...

...But his isn't the only story that's getting a major shake-up!  Over on the Superman side of things, Clark Kent has had his secret identity outed to the entire world!  Who could be so cunning, so evil to do this?  Was it Lex, or one of the many other foes of the Man of Steel, that leaked this to everyone?  Nope.  It was his fellow reporter Lois Lane!  Don't know what causes this to happen or why, but I can't wait to find out!

So what do you think of all of the changes DC is making to it's most iconic characters?  Do you like this new direction that they are headed, or would you rather them stay true to the character's staying "as is?"  Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Star Wars Day!

Today is the day that Star Wars fans have claimed as their own for a number of years now.  Why today?  Really? You don't see it in the graphic above?  The pun is just to rich to pass up!  What a year it's been already for Star Wars fans, as well!  We've been given a great movie trailer for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which releases at the end of this year, Star Wars: Battlefronts is set to be released later this year, Star Wars: Rebels will be returning for a second season, Marvel Comics has been releasing some amazing Star Wars comic books, and more graphic novels and books are getting ready to be released that will bridge the gap between the end of Return of the Jedi and the beginning of The Force Awakens.  What isn't there to get excited about?  And that's just everything that's happening this year!

Next year will bring us the first Star Wars movie from the new Anthology series with Star Wars: Rogue One.  This one is especially exciting because it will be the first "Jedi free" movie that's ever been done that takes place in the Star Wars universe.  If you were one of the few lucky ones that were able to watch the teaser trailer before Disney had it yanked off of the web, then you know how impressive it already looks to be, and it's still filming!  Rogue One takes place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, and it follows the Rogue Squadron from the newly formed Rebel Alliance in their attempt to steal the plans for the Empire's Death Star.  Some people are complaining that this was a poor choice for the first spin-off film, since we already know that they succeed in stealing the plans, so why make a movie that we already know the ending to?  Maybe they're right, I mean nobody went to go see Titanic!  Why go see a movie where you know how it ends?  I hope the sarcasm was bleeding through pretty heavy right here.

So what are you going to do to celebrate Star Wars Day?  Dsincey XD is running Star Wars: Rebels all day until 4:30 this afternoon, followed by a Phineas and Ferb Star Wars special, as well as other Star Wars related programming.  Maybe you'll throw in the original trilogy and watch them all from beginning to end?
Whatever you decide to do to celebrate, May the Fourth be with you!

NASA's MESSENGER Spacecraft Is No More

On April 30, 2015, at 3:26 pm (EDT) the MESSENGER spacecraft crashed into the surface of Mercury.  Even though the spacecraft is now no more, there are still archives upon archives of data that the tiny spacecraft had sent since 2011 when it first entered into Mercury's orbit, and scientists are anxious to start pouring over it all.

MESSENGER crashed into the surface of the planet traveling at around 8,750 miles per hour, making a new crater on the already scared face of Mercury.  The new crater is estimated to be around 52 feet wide.  Before final impact, MESSENGER made 4,105 orbits around one of the most curious planets in our solar system.

Jim Raines, a scientist at the University of Michigan who works on the MESSENGER team, had this to say about the crash:

1. Meteors with the same mass as MESSENGER(513 kg) slam into Mercury about every month or two, and typically with 10 times the speed and 100 times the energy.  The planet doesn't have a thick atmosphere that would slow down objects headed for the surface.

2. The 1,131-pound spacecraft will hit with the energy of about a ton of TNT, or the force of a car traveling at about 2,000 mph.

3. At almost 9,000 mph, the craft will be traveling three times faster than a speeding bullet and nearly twelve times the speed of sound.

4. On MESSENGER's last orbit, it will pass just 900 to 1,800 feet over the planet's surface.  We have buildings that tall on Earth.

5. The crater the craft will leave near Mercury's north pole is predicted to be about 50 feet wide.  That's the width of an NBA basketball court.

6. Nearly 55 percent of MESSENGER' weight at launch was fuel - which is about to run out.

MESSENGER stands for "MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging.  It has had an amazing life, as short as it was.  It was launch on August 2, 2004, and crashed yesterday, April 30, 2015.

Information and Statistics here were gathered from EarthSky.org