Yes, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot are making a return to the small screen thanks to Steven Spielberg's Amblin TV and Warner Bros. It's a cartoon that debuted in 1993, and while it was aimed towards children, they had enough subtle references that kids wouldn't pick up on (but adults would!) that college students and parents alike also enjoyed it. Now, it's coming back!
IndieWire is reporting that The Animaniacs is in early development over at Amblin TV, along with Warner Bros. and Spielberg producing. It's resurgence in popularity is due to the fact that Netflix picked it up, and the show is getting a lot of traffic. So what do you do when that happens? You give the people what they want...and cash in on it at the same time!
The show was unique in the fact that it didn't just feature the Warner Brothers....and the Warner Sister, too, but it had a whole bunch of characters that shared time in the half-hour show, lending to different stories and different tones for each segment. One of the most popular of the supporting cast was Pinky and The Brain. Now, 22 years after the last episode aired, a whole new generation of kids will be able to enjoy new adventures from the show.
There's no word on when the show plans to air, on what channel, or at what time, but with the show's continued popularity, I'm sure networks will be lining up for the chance to get them on their network. I'll let you know as soon as an air date, channel, and time have been announced.
According to James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, it's third installment will be the "beginning of a whole other element of the Marvel Cosmic universe."
Gunn recently sat down with IGN to talk about the new Guardians theme ride at Disney, and of course, questions soon turned to what the Guardians role in Infinity War will be, as well as where Marvel and Disney want to go to expand their franchises.
"We talk about it all the time. It’s already a part of what I’m doing with Marvel and the conversations that Kevin and I have every day. When we’re talking about Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and that story, that’s a story that will lead to other stories. It’s innate to the DNA that that’s the end of a trilogy but it’s the beginning of a whole other element of the Marvel Cosmic universe. That’s a part of what I’m doing now."
The Marvel Cosmic universe was not always a sure thing, even though Marvel wanted to incorporate it into their story telling. When it was first announced that Guardians of the Galaxy was going to be the first Marvel movie set in outer space, many critics thought that the movie would be Marvel's first box office bomb. I mean, a talking tree and a talking raccoon? Who would go and see that? The movie obviously proved the critics wrong, and due to the characters bond and the trials that they went through together, the movie took on a life of itself and is consider one of the best and most loved films that Marvel has produced so far. It's sequel is still out in theaters, and a third installment has already been confirmed, but we won't have to wait until then to see the Guardians in action again, they'll be appearing in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War...but how will they be incorporated into the film without losing their charm and the feel from their own movies? Enter James Gunn.
"I think my situation with Infinity War is almost exactly the same was what my situation with this is. It’s dealing with the characters, changing what needs to be changed, saying what’s being done well and checking in and making sure everything is going to plan."
Yes, since Guardians is pretty much Gunn's baby, he's on hand to help work the Guardians into the Russo's film. And it doesn't sound like Gunn's work will stop there. It sounds like he's going to be in charge of moving Marvel's Cosmic universe forward and will help coordinate who, where, and when things will take place in it. Rumors have Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 coming out some time in 2020, so after that, the next Marvel movie may not be bound to Earth, but soaring through space.
DC Comics continues to shake things up in their comic book series, but unlike Marvel, people are reading their comics! One of the most interesting developments seems to be taking place in Batman #24, which comes out today. If you want to keep reading, just be aware that there are ***SPOILERS!!!*** coming up for this issue!
So...what direction are they planning on taking the Dark Knight, and why? First, the what. Batman is going to propose to Catwoman! I'm not kidding, he really does! As for the "why" that they're going this route, I'll let writer Tom King explain it:
“Everyone’s done vengeance, everyone’s done ‘The night is so dark.’ Giving Batman more pain doesn’t reveal anything about his character because he’s taken as much pain as he can. But giving him love and joy, that combines with the tragedy of his past into something new and never done before.”
He's not wrong, you know. They have pretty much thrown everything that they could at Bruce Wayne to break him even more than he was after his parents were gunned down. They've killed his side kick, broke his back, and have even killed him...but how will he react to being happy? And why Catwoman?
“Catwoman is someone who’s seen his pain and has been through stuff as bad as he has been through. She says, ‘Look, both of us are broken, but we can be broken together.’ "
While we get to see the proposal today, we'll have to wait quite awhile to find out what happens afterwards. King is currently working on the story arc The War of Jokes and Riddles, and it follows Zero Year chronologically, which will cover the next eight issues of the series. So we'll have to wait until this fall to see what happens next. DC is such a tease!
Last month Vanity Fair did an article on the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi that included a lot of new information on the film, as well as other Star Wars news...like how Carrie Fisher's death will be addresses in Episode IX. Fisher had already finished filming her scenes for The Last Jedi before her untimely death, so we'll be treated to seeing General Leia one more time on the big screen, but how will her death in real life be explained in the Star Wars universe?
When filming had finished for The Last Jedi, the plan was to have Carrie Fisher's character playing a central role in Episode IX, similar to Harrison Ford's role in The Force Awakens. Kathleen Kennedy (head of Lucasfilm) said that when filming concluded for The Last Jedi her and Fisher were talking and Fisher said, "I'd better be at the forefront of Episode IX," and according to Kennedy, she would have. Her death put a cloud over how to move forward with Episode IX, but instead of using CGI to bring her back (which had been discussed at one point) they wanted to give her character the send off that she deserved. Director Colin Trevorrow spoke with the press about it and said:
“[General Leia] was a major character, that’s not a secret. She really was. And it was extremely sad for all of us, mostly just because she was so loved by the Star Wars family and everyone that worked with her. I feel like our options are limited mostly by ourselves, in that there [are] only certain things that we are willing to do. But I can guarantee it will be handled with love and respect, and all of the soul that Carrie Fisher deserves.”
While he can't give away any secrets from the movie, it is nice knowing that they will be treating her passing with the love and respect that she deserves, and that it will impact fans in the best possible way...with heart.
It's been a few years since Disney purchased Lucasfilm from George Lucas, and fans were excited when The Force Awakens was announced. While it did amazing at the box office, a lot of fans complained that the movie was just a recycled version of the very first Star Wars film, A New Hope. When Rogue One came out one year later, it was more of a breath of fresh air for the franchise, giving us a brand new story with an original script. This year's release of The Last Jedi promises us another original script, and it's director, Rian Johnson, has reassured fans that it won't be a rehash of The Empire Strikes Back. While The Force Awakens may have been too similar to A New Hope, but it taught Disney and Lucasfilm that they need to pay closer attention to original stories, which is why I'm optimistic about next year's Han Solo movie.
Right now filming is taking place for the movie and they are currently on location at Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain. The above picture was released by Canarias7 and it shows what looks like a junkyard of some sort. Speculation is that it's supposed to be on the planet of Corellia, Han Solo's home world, but we won't know that until the movie gets released next year. There has also been some video that's been uploaded to Instagram by the user davidpennyesq that was shot in Hampshire, England that shows us a slightly different version of the Scout Troopers that were first seen in Return of the Jedi.
While fans are getting excited for the Han Solo film, so are all of the actors involved. One of them, Thandie Newton recently spoke to The Wrap and while she remained very secretive about the upcoming movie, she did have this to say about the film:
"It’s fantastic, I’m loving [it]. It’s different from anything else I have done or am doing. … I can’t tell you [why]. It’s just different, OK? It’s just really different."
Considering the number of movies that Newton has worked on, saying that this movie is different from any other that she's worked on is a pretty impressive statement. We'll be able to see for ourselves when the movie gets released May 25 of next year.
One of the most anticipated movies that's set to arrive in theaters later this year is Thor: Ragnarok, and people have been pretty excited about it since the first trailer for the movie was released. One of the most shocking scenes from the trailer shows Hela (played by Cate Blanchett) taking Mjolnir (Thor' hammer) and destroying it. I mean, she shatters the thing to pieces! The scene did more than just show Thor's hammer being destroyed, it showed us the awesome power that Hela has, and without her even saying a word, let us see that she is probably the strongest and most powerful enemy that Thor has come across. So is this the last that fans will see of Mjolnir?
Doesn't look like it. In a recent photograph that the Russo brothers have released on their official Instagram page, they shared a picture of them on location at Durham Castle filming a scene for the third Avengers film, Infinity War. The caption at the bottom of the picture just says, "Worthy," and look what's being held in the background...Mjolnir! Looks like you can't keep a good hammer down!
Durham Castle, which many fans know was the place where a lot of the Harry Potter films were shot, seems to suggest that at least some of the film will take place in Asgard. Joe Russo, one half of the directing team, says that it won't actually be Durham Castle in the movie, but the location will stand for something else.
“Durham Cathedral is stunning and one of the great cathedrals of Europe. It’s beautiful. The movie is of an incredible scale and we need locations like Durham Cathedral to satisfy that level of scale. It won’t be represented as what it is, it is standing in for something else in the film but there will be a significant amount in the film.”
Sounds like the Avengers might be going off-world for the first time! While we still don't know the how or the why of Mjolnir's return, it's nice to know that Thor's hammer won't be gone for very long. Now let's all just hope that they don't make Captain America a Hydra agent in this one...
It's hard to believe that this year will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original Star Wars. What's even more amazing is that it's gone on to be one of the most celebrated series in cinematic history, especially considering that many believed that the movie would be a flop. It hit a lot of roadblocks during production, from schedule shoots, to coming up with new technology for filming certain scenes. That's how Industrial Light And Magic was born. Even though the movie went on to be a global success, there were a few mistakes that made their way into the final cut. The most famous one is of a Stormtrooper hitting his head on a door as he's walking into a room on the Death Star. The Stormtrooper in the scene was played by Laurie Goode, and wsa recently asked by THR about what happened that day on the set. Here's what Goods had to say:
“On the second day of filming, I developed an upset stomach. By midmorning, I had paid three to four visits to the loo/bathroom. Having re-dressed myself and returned to the set, I felt the need to rush back to the gents’ toilets, but I was placed in [the] shot. On about the fourth take, as I shuffled along, I felt my stomach rumbling, and “bang,” I hit my head! As I wasn’t moving too fast, it was more of a scuffed bash, so it didn’t hurt, but as no one shouted “cut,” I thought the shot wasn’t wide enough for me to be in frame.”
Goode didn't know that he made the final cut until he saw the movie in the theater.
“But when I did see it in the cinema, I thought: ‘OMG, that’s me!’ I’ve been telling people the story ever since it occurred.”
Hey, if you're going to be a part of cinematic history, it's nice to know that you've stood out!
