Is Warner Brothers About To Screw Up The DCEU Before It Takes Off?

Reading stories like the one I just did infuriates me.  It's when a production company and their higher-ups tell the writer and/or director that they want to change things about their movie because it "polls" better with their audience.  In this case, that "audience" was a bunch of Warner Brothers execs that got to see the first rough draft screening of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.  A bunch of out-of-touch execs seem to know what works and what doesn't.  Go ask FOX about that and Firefly, and let me know what you find out!

So what are they wanting to have changed?  After they all watched the movie, they decided that there needs to be more Batman than Superman in the film.  They're having the editing department go back and make changes to the final cut to allow this.  Problems?  One, they're watching this movie with rose-colored glasses!  Do you honestly think any one of them wants this movie to suck?  Do you think that this attitude might be clouding their judgement?  Two, audiences haven't really got a taste of how well Ben Affleck will do as the Dark Knight.  He might be having great success as an actor and a director right now, but let's not forget Daredevil!  You don't think he screwed that movie up?  Then why is the Netflix series doing so well?  Three, Warner Brothers has to have Batman be successful.  Not only is he one of the headliners in the movie, he'll be taking the lead in the upcoming Justice League movies, be making an appearance in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, and reports are that he's signed on to help write, direct, and star in three stand-alone Batman movies, where as Henry Cavill and Superman's Man of Steel 2 has recently been shelved.  This is how they say thanks to the guy after kick-starting the DCEU with the Man of Steel movie.  Thanks Henry, go sit in the corner and wait for us to call you.

One of the reasons that they're hesitant to go forward with the Superman follow-up was due to the lack luster showing of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which even though didn't perform well at the box office, was a pretty damn good movie.  But dollars will win out over everything else with these guys every single time.

What are your thoughts on the whole thing?  Should Warner Brothers get involved, or let the director give us his original vision?  Leave me your thought in the comments down below.

JJ Abrams Is Trying To Keep This A Secret Until Opening Night

JJ Abrams said that this was the one thing that fans will not find out about until the movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, begins to roll on December 18th for the very first time.  Trying to guess what it is?  I mean, what crucial element to the film could be so important as to maintain it's secrecy until opening night?

Give up?  It happens to be the John WIlliams score that was composed for the next chapter to the Star Wars saga.  Think about it.  We've only really seen two trailers and both of them use narration as it's focal point of blending each of the scenes together, not the music.

This is a pretty big departure from the way things are usually done.  Back in 1977, the iconic score that has come to symbolize Star Wars was attached to every commercial for the film and for all of their toys that were released.  Even before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was released, the soundtrack came out and gave us a large amount of spoilers from the song titles alone.  There were the Duel of the Fates which they were promoting like crazy before the film came out, telling us of...well, an epic duel.  That alone in it's self might not seem like a big spoiler, but then you go down the list of tracks and you come to Qui-Gon's Noble End.  So even before we've seen the movie, we now know that there is a new character named Qui-Gon who's going to eat it in the third act of the film.  Just one more reasons why I hated the way the prequels were handled and made.

This past mistake by the handlers of the film may be the driving force (no pun intended) behind Abrams' decision to keep the movie soundtrack under wraps until opening night.  My guess, though, is that he wants your first look at his vision of the Star Wars Universe to be a special one, and the soundtrack will absolutely set the mood for each of the scenes in the film.  Why spoil that?

Did Kylo Ren Jack Darth Vader's Helmet For Himself?

             

Last Friday was Force Friday, and with the release of the toys for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens there were a few spoilers that were revealed with their debut.  Take a look at the picture above!  Does it look familiar?

We already saw in the trailer for the upcoming movie that the melted helmet of Darth Vader was recovered, but we didn't know by who or why.  Now it looks like the helmet was recovered by Kylo Ren, and he incorporated it into his own armor.  It's been reported in interviews with the cast and the director that Kylo Ren has an obsession with Darth Vader and the Empire's past, so this shouldn't come as a shock or surprise.  It is pretty cool, though!

Another of the big sellers this past weekend was the new remote controlled BB-8.  It is absolutely incredible, and a lot of fun to play with,  It's a little pricey, though.  It runs around $150.  The "black series" figures are also a great buy, and the attention to detail that they put into them is spot on.  There were a lot of other toys and figues that were released, but way too many for me to comment about.

Did you get to head out to the stores last Friday?  If you did, what did you end up getting?  Let me know in the comments below and make sure you share your pictures!

What Happened At The Battle Of Jakku?

Lucasfilm and Disney are beginning to release the stories that took place in the Star Wars universe slowly but surely.  One of these reveals will come in the form of a new book that was released today called Aftermath.

                          

This story takes place after the Battle of Endor, where we as viewers, thought that the war was over.  We saw the people of Coruscant tearing down the statue of Emperor Palpatine and cheering.  What we don't see is that immediately after that, Imperial Police swoop in and unload laser canons on the crowd.  The Empire is determined to keep hold of their power.

Chuck Wendig is a popular sci-fi/fantasy author that will be bringing us a trilogy of books, Aftermath being the first, that takes a look at the galaxy far, far away over the last thirty years and will help connect The Return of the Jedi to The Force Awakens.

But back to the title of this entry...what happened at the Battle of Jakku, and that downed X-Wing and Star Destroyer in the background of the movie trailer?  To find out what happened here, you're going to need to be a gamer!

On November 17th, EA and DICE will be releasing Star Wars: Battlefront for the XBox One and PS4.  However, starting in December, they will be releasing a DLC pack for the game that is described as:

[...] the pivotal moment when the New Republic confronted key Imperial holdouts on a remote desert planet on the Outer Rim. Taking place in the aftermath of the Rebel victory in the Battle of Endor, players will experience the events that created the massive, battle-scarred landscape of Jakku.

People can pre-order the DLC pack for an early release of December 1st, but will be made available for free to everyone on December 8th.

So are you getting excited for the upcoming movie yet?  If you haven't been, then maybe all of these new stories will start to put you in that mood!  The Force Awakens comes out in theaters December 18, 2015.

Which One Will Play Art3mis In Ready Player One?

Unless you've been living under a rock, then you are familiar with the amazingly popular novel Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  You also know that the movie rights have been picked up, it's going to be a major motion picture that will release in December 2017, and that Steven Spielberg is going to direct.  Outside of that, details on the movie have been scarce...

...That is until the other day when The Wrap reported that there is a short list of three actresses up for the role of Art3mis.  They are Ellie Fanning, Olivia Cooke, and Lola Kirke.  Each one would make a powerful Art3mis, and each one has things that fall in their favor for the role.  Let's take a look at each of them.

Ellie Fanning has a little bit of an in with Spielberg.  She starred in the movie Super 8, which Spielberg produced, and he also has experience working with her older sister who starred in his adaptation of War of the Worlds.  In my personal opinion, this would be my third choice out of the group.

A lot of fans of the book may be pulling for Olivia Cooke.  Cooke is mostly known for her work on Bates Motel, and more recently starred in this summer's movie Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, which won her huge praise for her role as a cancer-stricken patient.  Her name recognition alone could be a big help for the film.  Give her an Art3mis haircut, and she could pull this role of with no problem whatsoever.  One thing that may work against her?  She's been reported to be on the short list for Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII which would be released at the same time as Ready Player One, December of 2017.

Lola Kirke is an up-and-comer that wowed audiences with her appearance in last year's Gone Girl.  This helped her land a role opposite Greta Gerwig in the Noah Baumbach-directed Mistress America.

Ellen Lewis, Ready Player One's casting director definitely has her work cut out for her.  It should be noted that there are also two other unnamed actresses that are being considered for the role, as well.

So who do you think should get the role as Art3mis?  Leave your comments in the section below!

CW's New Vixen Is Pretty Amazing!

If you haven't watched it already, then you need to download the CW Seed app and check out the latest hero(?) in the Arrow-verse.  The pilot is up and streaming, and new episodes will be uploaded every Tuesday.  Unlike the other spin-offs from CW that take place in the Arrow-verse, this one is an animated series.  Okay, I use the term "series" kind of loosely.  Each "episode" is only going to be five or six minutes long, but they pack a lot of action into that short amount of time!

The first episode begins with the title character, Vixen, being chased by two familiar faces...Arrow and the Flash, but we have no idea what leads to this chase.  Vixen does a pretty good job of out maneuvering them and is all set to get away when whoops!  She slips off the edge of a building and starts to fall towards the ground.  Before she goes splat, though, it jumps back three days in a flashback with her in jail.  Her foster dad posts her bail, and they go out for coffee and talk.  She tells him that she's going to go look for her real parents, and he seems to understand.  as they are leaving, they get mugged, and they try to take Vixen's necklace.

It sounds like her necklace is a sort of talisman, and it gives her her powers. She can summon the abilities and strength of any animal that has walked the Earth.  Now you know why this is an animated series!  Could you imagine the production value for a live-action version of this show?  Even though she's just a cartoon character right now, it sounds like the producers for Arrow are planning for her to show up in real life on their show, maybe even shows (i.e. Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow.)

So if you like Arrow and The Flash, make sure you give this new series a shot.  You won't be disappointed!

Star Trek Beyond

The coolest thing about this cast photo for the upcoming Star Trek Beyond film?  Idris Elba!  This guy has got to be born under a lucky star!  I mean, he's a big part of the Marvel Universe, and now he's taking on the Final Frontier!  Okay, it's definitely not luck, this guy has talent.  Have you seen Luther?

He's not the only newcomer to the Star Trek family, though.  Lydia Wilson, Joe Taslim and Sofia Boutella have also joined the film.  Wilson (About Time, Ripper Street) Taslim (Fast And Furious 6) and Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) will be joining the returning cast members of the USS Enterprise.

There was a time that it seemed that this film wasn't going to get made.  After JJ Abrams jumped ship to film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there was serious doubt on who would take over the threequel.  There also seemed to be a rush by Paramount Pictures to get it made so it would be released for the 50th anniversary of the franchise, which made a lot of fans nervous that all we would get would be another Star Trek Into Darkness.  We now know that Justin Lin is going to be it's director, and that the script is being written by Simon Pegg and Doug Jones. 

With the passing of Leonard Nimoy, expect to see some sort of tribute to him in the film.  Considering that he was the only one of the original USS Enterprise crew to appear in the reboot, it's safe to say that the actors that worked with him will be experiencing a huge void on the set due to his absence. 

As far as the villian of the film goes, Simon Pegg promised that Idis Elba's character will be completely different from Benedict Cumberbatch's Khan.  He said thar making the new villian too similar to Khan would be a retread, and be a disservice to the fans.

Star Trek Beyond hits theaters July 8, 2016.