Featured News January 2017

Hello, and welcome to this first edition of Featured News for this New Year. I’m excited for this, as always, so let’s get to it.

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First off, Rob Liefeld’s Extreme Universe is getting a movie deal? What? You don’t know what the hell I just said? Don’t worry, I had no idea either, because, until I did my patented 5 minutes of research. Apparently, Rob Liefeld, the guy that sort of copied, sort of improved upon the idea of DC’s Deathstroke to create Marvel’s Deadpool, formed two comic companies, Extreme Studios and Awesome COmics, which are by far the most generic names for any company, basically copied all these Marvel and DC characters, and wrote some truly bullshit stories on them, which outside of “creating” Deadpool is the thing he’s most famous for, and they still go into the same category. Anyways, when Liefeld was asked for comment, he said “The 90s have been largely underserved.” in terms of movies based on comics from the 90s. Well, in the 90s, we had the awful, but fun to think about DC/Marvel Amalgam Universe, and those awful costumes. And not just one character’s costume, because quite literally every character in the 90s had just awful, awful costumes.

Secondly, we have the second Logan trailer coming out back on the 19th of January. It was fantastic, it was also better and just as good as the first trailer, and worse in the fact that it didn’t have Johnny Cash for the soundtrack, but it was still utterly fantastic. It hinted heavily at the death of Wolverine, which on a note of closure to his story, I hope he does die, just so he can find peace, I guess. It also confirmed that the X-Men comics actually exist in the X-Men movies. But how, do you ask? Let me teach you something, motherfucker. X-23 brings a X-Men comic to the compound where Wolverine and Professor X are living, Wolverine takes the comic out of her bag, and says, and I don’t care enough to look it up, so I’m paraphrasing here. “Looks like we’ve got a X-Men fan here.[Wolverine looks at the comic] Only about a quarter of this stuff happened, and not like this.” So, if X-Men comics are out there, that means they must have sold well for at least a little bit, so the X-Men must have well liked for at least a while.

And finally, we have gotten more news on the 2020 movie Green Lantern Corps this last month than we have at all. Firstly, David Goyer and Justin Rhodes were announced to be writing the script for the movie, and when Goyer is attached to a project, that automatically make it 1000% more anticipated. Secondly, Warner Bros. openly compared the movie to “Lethal Weapon in space”, which caused a minor uproar on Twitter to the racial connotations that means to both projects, considering they both have a rule-abiding African-American men, and a loose cannon white guy. And finally, The Wrap magazine released the shortlist of actors that Warner Bros. were looking into to play Hal Jordan, and they are; Tom Cruise (The Mummy), Joel McHale (The Great Indoors), Bradley Cooper (Guardians of the Galaxy), Armie Hammer (Nocturnal Animals), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nocturnal Animals, as well), and suprisingly, Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool). Now, Cruise, Cooper, and Reynolds have just signed up for the long haul in a major franchise each, the franchises being The Mummy, Guardians Of The Galaxy, and Deadpool, respectively. McHale just started working on the CBS disaster The Great Indoors, so while it is a shitshow, it’s CBS, so it’s not being cancelled for about 5 seasons. So, it looks like Hammer and Gyllenhaal are both desirable and fairly available, but Hammer’s being connected, but not confirmed, for the longest time, so my bet’s on Armie Hammer being cast as Hal Jordan.

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And that’s all for now. Join my this Friday for my Character Of The Month on Doc Samson, and if you don’t know who that is, you should read this Friday Night at 6:05 PM PST. Anyways, thanks for reading, see you Friday, and remember, have a nerdy day.

State Of The X-Men Films 2017

Hey, and welcome to Week Four of the State of The CBM Union articles. This week, I’m writing about the X-Men Films. This article’s mainly going to be about what little we know about Logan and a couple things on the pre-production on Deadpool 2. Yeah, it’s kind of a down year for FOX. They really need to get their shit together.

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So, Logan is coming out in the beginning of March. Obviously, it’s Hugh Jackman’s last appearance as Wolverine, as well is it Patrick Stewart’s last time around as Professor X. Personally, I’m think at least Professor X is going to die, that’s just my prediction, and I’ll elaborate on that in my Logan theories, and it’s not exactly a discussion for now. I’m excited for Boyd Holbrook’s depiction of Donald Pierce, leader of The Reavers. I think he’s really going to be a great final villain for both Stewart and Jackman to face off against, and I really think the whole enterprise may just become my favorite X-Men film. And that’s saying something, because I love X1, X2, First Class, The Wolverine, Days Of Future Past, and Apocalypse with all of me, I am a huge X-Men fan.

Anyways, the movie is obviously going to be based off of the Old Man Logan comics. While FOX can’t do a lot that the story has, such as things with The Hulk, Kingpin, Hawkeye, Spider-Girl, Red Skull, Ant-Man, Ultron, et cetera, et cetera. The ones I listed are just some of the more pivotal characters that aren’t owned by them. I’m thinking Professor X is going to be the sidekick to Wolverine/ Hawkeye in this equation, Caliban will be the kind of doting friend/ Peter Parker’s half-black daughter, Tonya. I think Laura (the little girl Logan is with in the trailer, also X-23) is the Dwight of this story. Dwight is a kid in the Old Man Logan comic that (after Hank Pym died) took one of Pym’s helmets, and communicates with ants. His purpose in communing with the ants in that he actually collects toll on a bridge in Des Moines, Iowa (promptly named Dwight’s Toll), and if someone doesn’t pay the toll, he calls up his ant friends to eat the trespasser’s flesh off the fucking bone. That’s hardcore, man. Now, I don’t mean Laura’s gonna be summoning a sea of Paraponera clavata on someone, I just mean that she’ll probably be a threat at first, but soon is shown as a friendly. I feel like Donald Pierce is going to represent the tyrannical Red Skull more than Hulk, but who knows, that tyrannical role could be represented by Richard E. Grant’s character, Zander Rice, which is probably just going to end up being Mister Sinister.

And for Deadpool 2, which has not a  release date as of yet, though it’ll probably end up being the March 2018 date FOX set aside so long ago. It could be the  July 13, 2018 date they set long before Ant-Man and The Wasp was set for July 6. David Leitch looks like he’s doing some good with the project. Hopefully, he’ll pick someone to play Cable that Ryan Reynolds agrees with so he doesn’t get kicked off the project. Oh, and supposedly, director Josh Boone has said New Mutants is supposed to start filming this spring. So maybe they finish up, and they take the March 2018 date. So then, Deadpool 2 could film in the summer, and it could take the July 2018 date. But they would probably push the July date to the end of August, as to not compete with Ant-Man and The Wasp and Aquaman (which releases on July 27, 2018).

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Okay, thanks for reading, guys. Next week, we take a short break from the State Of The CBM Union next week for my Character Of The Month on Doc Samson, and then we get right back to it. Anyways, see you Monday for Featured News, and remember, have a nerdy day.

State Of The MCU 2017

Hey, and welcome to Week Three of the State of The CBM Union articles. Today, obviously, we’re going to be going over the MCU, and what it’s deal is over the next year. So, without further ado, let’s get to it.

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Okay, first up on our list, we have Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 coming out in May, just in time for Free Comic Book Day. James Gunn has described it as bigger and even better than the last, which I’m sure is possible, but it’s definitely attainable to do, especially considering it’s James Gunn and the cast and crew he has behind him.

Kurt Russell is the villain of Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2. Now, back in July of last year, you probably would have assumed he was some Thanos-type guy, but no, he’s playing Ego The Living Planet. If you don’t know who our friend Ego is, he, yes, is an actual living planet. Now, I have no idea if Kurt Russell’s face is actually going to be CGI’d onto Mars or something. He probably will appear at least once as the planet. He’s mostly going to show up as a human avatar, that looks like Kurt Russell. The human avatar is how *spoilers* he impregnated Peter Quill’s mom, and made the gift that is Star-Lord. And to add onto the subject of Star-Lord, he’s back, along with the rest of the Guardians, and they’re joined by Nebula AND Mantis, a Vietnamese-German martial artist that likes dressing like a bug.

Next, we have Spider-Man: Homecoming in July. Vulture will make his first cinematic appearance, as played by legendary actor Michael Keaton. Tom Holland is going to be great, just as he was in Captain America: Civil War. We really don’t have a lot of plot details on the movie yet, as it is still six months out. We know it’s going to be big into high school. Oh, and we have two more villains in Bokeem Woodbine and Michael Chernus as Shocker (please go look up ‘Shocker’ on Urban Dictionary, you will be laughing in July) and The Tinkerer, respectively.

For Thor: Ragnarok, coming in November, we actually know slightly more than we do about Spider-Man: Homecoming. We know the movie’s actually going to be based heavily on the Ragnarok comic. We know Thor and Loki *major confirmed spoilers* will go to Doctor Strange to look for Odin in New York, because after Loki cast him out of Asgard, his memory was erased, and he apparently became a NY bum. Skurge will supposedly be a henchman for Hela. In the comics, Skurge actually sacrificed himself after a change of heart to help the heroes, and he fought off Hela’s warriors as Thor and Company escaped Hel. He actually ends up getting a warrior’s funeral by the heroes at the end of the story. Hulk will appear, and he will most definitely kick some serious ass, World War Hulk style. Taika Watiti looks like he’s doing a fine job on this film, it really looks like it will be the best Thor movie, at the very least.

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Okay, I think that’s it. Next week is the highly anticipated State Of The X-Men Films. I’m excited for that, it’s going to be good. I’m glad you stuck to the end and read this article. Again, thanks for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

State Of The DCEU 2017

Hello, and welcome to my State Of The Comic Book Movie Union 2017 Series: Part 2 Of 7. I think I’m really most excited for this edition. I almost did an extra article on Justice League because I have so much content and excitement for that movie, which would have posted November 18th, but I decided not to spare everyone of an incredible 7th State of The CBM Union article. Anyways, without further ado, let’s get to it.

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Alright, Wonder Woman is first up on our list. We really do not have much on the movie in terms of official casting, considering we’re really not sure who the main villains are. I mean, we know about fifteen A and high-B-list actors in even semi-important roles, but for about half of those guys, we have no clue who the hell they’re playing. We obviously know grade-A megastar Chris Pine somehow agreed to this movie/ and or franchise, even after committing to the Star Trek films. That is all I have for that thought.

Wonder Woman is actually supposedly almost completely finished already, and has been since early as the beginning of November, as evidenced by one Warner Bros executive having said he’s seen it already. I believe it was Geoff Johns or Jon Berg. It would make sense that Geoff Johns, because he was a co-writer on Wonder Woman. He’d probably be one of the first people to be afforded the opportunity of seeing the finished product. That would be, outside of his bosses, and maybe Patty Jenkins, the director. Whoever it was, they definitely said they enjoyed it. I think think it’s going to be excellent, especially in such a groundbreaking area as being the first female-led superhero film.

Justice League looks like it may be the fourth film to ever cross the $2 billion mark. It just looks amazing, and I feel like it may just be the return to form that DC and Zack Snyder needed to stay afloat in the uphill battle that is Marvel Studios. It looks amazing, I hope there is even more of The White Stripes in the soundtrack, because using “Icky Thump” in that trailer made me want to watch it about eight more times than the average person. I hope the highly controversial casting choices of Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, and Ezra Miller pay off big, just to piss off the haters.

Aquaman and The Flash is actually supposed to start production the next couple months. James Wan, director of Aquaman, has actually described the film as a swashbuckling adventure, which, if he’s going for that approach, then the choice of Jason Momoa makes all the more sense. Because in all honesty, if Warner Brothers wanted a pirate Aquaman, the only person I could possibly think of for the role of Pirate Aquaman, it would be motherfucking Khal Drogo. On the other hand, The Flash is still kind of screwed. Maybe it’ll switch dates with Aquaman, and we’ll see Pirate Aquaman in March instead of July.

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Well, that’s all I really have for now. A lot of things are still speculative, because the next movie isn’t until June. Anyways, I’m glad you stuck with me into the second week of 2017, and whether you’re an old reader, or brand new, I’m glad you’re here. I hope I see you next week for my State Of The MCU article. Okay, bye, thanks for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Top 5: Possibilities Who The New DC/CW Show Is Based On

Hello, and welcome. Well, if you don’t know, Geoff Johns, the co-Chief Operating Officer of DC’s Films division, has stated that sometime in January, a special program will debut on The CW detailing, well, details, of epic proportions pertaining to both DC Films and the DC-based shows that air on CW (which DC did last year where they released trailers on Batman v. Superman, , and one of those announcements are on a new DC/CW show, that will most likely being airing at the beginning of the Fall 2017 TV season, where it would last 23 episodes in a season, or it would start in the beginning of the Late Winter (or Midseason) 2018 season, consisting of 16 episodes. However many episodes it will be doesn’t matter right now, but the potential subject is very important, so let’s get to who I think the new show will be based around, and why.

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5. SUPERMAN

Probability: 5%

Yes, I know there already is a Superman in the DC Films Universe, and the CW shows already has a Kryptonian headlining a show, but Superman’s appearance on Supergirl has stunned fans and critics alike, and it is very possible that, like Barry Allen appearing in Arrow, his appearance could feature as a backdoor pilot for his show. While it is highly unlikely, it is certainly possible.

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4. TITANS

Probability: 15%

Titans has been a massive talking point for DCTV fans over the last two years, ever since it was confirmed that Oscar-winning wirter Akiva Goldsman (Best Adapted Screenplay, A Beautiful Mind), back in 2014, wrote a treatment and pilot for a show based on The Teen Titans, and it rose to controversy again when Geoff Johns confirmed the show had not been greenlit by TNT. But, a CW version of the show, a mix of the dark and thrilling over tones of the first two seasons of Arrow and the only season of Constantine, crossed with the group dynamics of Legends Of Tomorrow may work out in the favor of The CW, and maybe stubborn fans would finally comae back after disliking the overly campy and cringey moments of The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends Of Tomorrow. But, with Young Justice being renewed for a third season, it’s unlikely this would be greenlit, and that’s why Titans is lower on the list.

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3. STARMAN

Probability: 20%

Starman would be a fantastic character to use in a TV show, considering the character’s rich 75-year history, and the vast amount of characters that have taken up the role of Starman (or Stargirl). Starman was actually considered for a television show back in 2003, based on the adventures of the definitive Starman, Jack Knight (pictured). A Starman-based TV show would be a fantastic concept based around the age-old, yet still entertaining idea of a non-powered human coming into an object of power, and having to balance their new-found power with everyday life. Jack Knight is a very realistic-seeming character in the comics, wearing his heart on his sleeve, and I think that could work similar to the first season of The Flash, mixed with the sarcastic overtones and dark humor of Constantine.

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2. CONSTANTINE SEASON 2

Probability: 25%

Woah-ho-ho, you had no idea this was coming. Constantine was a brilliant, brilliant show, and it should have never been cancelled. It was put on a Friday slot for absolutely no reason (Friday is the worst weeknight to have a show air on). Some of my fondest TV memories are of watching Constantine at my grandma’s house, and her wanting me to turn it off because of literal exploding heads, it was amazing. Plus, Matt Ryan, the star, is still heavily comitted to the role, as he reprised the role for Arrow and the upcoming animated Justice League Dark movie. If Constantine were moved to Sunday night (the best Primetime night) on CW, it would be a record-breaking show for them, as it still has a massive fan following.

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1. MARTIAN MANHUNTER

Probability: 35%

HA. HA. YOU THOUGHT I WAS DONE WITH SUPERGIRL CHARACTERS, BUT NO. Martian Manhunter realistically has the best potential of getting a show, being as his story on Supergirl is very easily closed at this point, and he would easily be able to seamlessly transfer to possibly Denver to become Detective John Smith, as he is in the comics. An occasional pop-in by Supergirl, Alex Danvers, or even Red Tornado would be fantastic. The show would take the police procedural aspects from The Flash, combined with the super-powered asskickery of Supergirl, to create the best possible show for the DC/CW Universe.

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And thanks for reading. I’ve had a lot of fun, the first time using all caps for a sentence, making history, I am. Maybe it’s because all the Parks and Rec I’ve been watching lately. Anyways, again, thanks for reading, see you Friday for The State Of The DCEU 2017, and remember, have a nerdy day.

State Of The Star Wars Films 2017

Well, today marks my First Annual State Of The Comic Book Unions, where I go over 7 subjects: Star Wars, DCEU, MCU, X-Men Cinematic Universe, The DC Shows, The AMC Comic Shows, and The Marvel Shows. The Marvel Shows also include shows outside the Marvel Studios projects, such as Legion, and the DC Shows’ll include Gotham. Anyways, let’s get to it.

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We do need to talk about one thing first: Carrie Fisher. Firstly, she was a brilliant actress and writer, truly a gift to the world, and the Star Wars franchise. She did finish filming her parts in Episode VIII, which evidently is a much larger part than she had in Episode VII, which was fairly substantial for someone of her age to do. The really problem comes when the writers are forced to write her out of Episode IX. Odds are Princess Leia doesn’t die in the next installment, due to Fisher’s commitment to the franchise. So, we have two options; either the SFX team CGI’s her face onto another actor like they did for Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One, which looked horrible, cartoon like, or the writers just write her out, and hopefully, the latter happens, because the CGI for Tarkin was just strange, not disrespectful, but unnecessary.

Okay, so there is only one Star Wars film coming out this year, and that is Star Wars: Episode VIII. That’s going to release all the way in December, on the Fifteenth. Considering how far off that is, there’s not as much as one could hope to broadcast. I do also have a couple things on the Han Solo movie, but it’s even less than I have on Episode VIII. This is actually the smallest State Of The Universe article I have to do. But aside from that, I want to knock it out of the park. So let’s get to it.

So, Rian Johnson and Company actually finished principal photography all the way back in July 2016. Obviously, a Star Wars film takes a lot long to edit and put in all the different special effects than most movies, so the seventeen month gap between principal photography ending and the release date is completely understandable. We know that the entire main cast of Episode VII will be returning, except for Harrison Ford, obviously. They will also be joined by formidable A-list actors Benicio del Toro and Laura Dern. Jimmy Vee will actually be replacing Kenny Baker, who passed away last August, as the man in the R2-D2 suit.

Benicio del Toro will actually be playing the main villain of the film, which make no sense, due to the fact that Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren was supposed to be the main villain of all three movies of the sequel trilogy. I actually have the strangest feeling that Benicio will be one of the Knights of Ren, and I have the even stranger feeling that his character, whomever he is, might just be Rey’s father. Hands down, I’m predicting it now; Benicio del Toro is playing Rey’s father, and he is playing one of the Knights Of Ren. I’m probably wrong, but I don’t know, I could be right. I’d love to see that final fight between father and daughter.

The only data I really have on the Han Solo movie is that is would have to start filming in the next month or so to make the seventeen-month mark as Episode VIII set between the end of principal photography and the films release, considering it’s supposed to release on May 25th, 2018. Obviously, the movie’ll star Alden Enrenreich and Donald Glover will be playing the lead roles of Young Han Solo and Young Lando Calrissian, respectively. The film will be directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who are writing the upcoming The Flash movie. Denis Villenueve, the acclaimed director of Sicario, and to the sequel to another 80’s classic sci-fi film, Blade Runner (the sequel being called Blade Runner 2049), among other projects, will be the lead cinematographer as well.

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Well, that’s pretty much it on the Star Wars front for the year. We’ll probably get a lot more in the coming months. Anyways, I’ll see you next week for my State Of The DCEU article, which is the one out of all seven State Of The Universe articles I’m most excited about to write. Okay, guys, thanks for reading, and remember to have a nerdy day.

Well, 2016 was… a year

(DISCLAIMER: While I do plan on posting more topical articles and posting film and TV expectations on Wednesdays and saving editorials, which includes theories, and reviews for Friday, and then obviously news for  the last Monday of each month, I don’t plan on posting every Wednesday, just once a month, and for expectations, unless something happens.)

Hey, I know most of the next three months will be on the future, I want to look back just a little before that, even though you may think it was a shit year. I’m just going get into it, so get ready.

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This next part is my main text, which ‘ll be elaborating on a bit. I wrote it on my personal, private Facebook, so if you go Google searching for it to find me, my name’s not going to show up, so good luck. Anyways, read on, it’s about a whole Character Of The Month article’s worth of reading, about 300 words, so read on;

“Well, the end of the year is two days away, and while icons such as Bowie, Prince, Rickman, Reynolds, and Fisher have died, and depending on who you voted for, the U.S. will crumble like a sad excuse for a peanut butter cookie, and of course, The Cincinnati Zoo is one gorilla short, we have to enjoy the things that took our minds off that stuff. For example, even though almost no one’s read it, I feel my blog’s been great this year, and I’m proud of the compliments I’ve gotten, and personally, i think I did a good job with it since May. I just got a new jacket, I finally had a Nutty Bar (delicious, by the way), had an interview with Buffalo Wild Wings, and not to mention finally seeing things in media like Batman and Superman fight in live-action, even if it was oddly one-sided and ridiculously centered around a couple smoke grenades, the name “Martha”, and a space rock spear, all equally strange concept to center a fight around. But, who cares, movies, shows, books, games, phones, writing, hobbies, anything really, are just to make us feel better about what’s going on. So even though I might be the worst person to do this, considering I’m fairly negative and I review most major sci-fi movies, I just want to ask why we complain about a movie’s quality? Given, most of us spend eight or ten dollars on a ticket, and we get pissed if the movie’s trashy, but does it truly matter anymore, we’re not always truly going to see a great movie, most of us go to deaden our senses and relax for a while. So, realistically, if it’s there, and it’s not assaulting your eyeballs, what does anyone truly care if a movie’s bad or not, or for that matter, music, or a book, who cares if you like it or not?”

Now, i know this is a bit out of my normal “Foul mouthed” form, because it’s only foul if it’s more than one F-bomb, but that might just be an R-rated movie. Anyways, after reading that you might be inclined to think I’ve been fairly committed, to say the least, to the blog. No, not really, in fact I thought about giving up on it multiple times, based on the average of a whopping 2 views an article. But, realistically, does it matter? Who cares? I”ve realized that no amount of views, while appreciated, matter. I am writing into a digital void, and it makes me feel like I’m finally figuring out my thoughts, because while I’m screaming about a blind guy with sonar, I’m still researching and, ya know, figuring out my thoughts on “paper”. A void. Sonar. Are you shitting me? Three hundred years ago, while no one would have understood anything I said, I would have probably been burned at the stake. What I’m trying to say, I guess, is while, yeah, 2 people see each post, I couldn’t possibly care any less, because this last seven months has been for me to figure some stuff out. But what I do want to do over the next year, at least, is make it for everyone to be able to relate to a little more. Given, I’ll still be using my type of humor all the same, I’m just going to make it less odd-seeming, and more accessible to new readers, as well as the 2 homies out there.

Now, about the “movies not mattering in quality” part, I really did not mean to say “Oh, yeah, all movies are shit, go die.” To be honest, I meant it from more of a stance “Hey, if you’re a 6-foot-8 bodybuilder, go watch Wonder Woman or something, even if your friends are dicks about it because it stars a woman” The point is even if it’s well liked by the public, or even your closest friends, no one should be able to you what to watch. Because seriously, what’s with all the judgement about what we watch, people, shut the hell up, mid your own business, and watch your own shows. Given, if you’re like me (meaning you have to get reviews out, even if it’s kind of a self-imposed thing with me wanting to do this blog), you do have to watch some things, but generally they are enjoyable, at least so far, in my case. Then, you are on a schedule, but outside of that, it’s still fantastic to see other movies I’m not review, it’s not like overthinking them ruins them. To be honest, it helps me grasp the movie more. And watching a movie again after I finish a review is even more glorious, because then, I can still enjoy the movie, but I can just sit and relax, and that’s where the “not thinking” part comes in.

And another thing, I don’t apologize for the Harambe joke, if you caught that. My dad made a hilarious point after he read the post. He said “The Cincinnati Zoo lost a patron, too.” He’s totally right, because that kid’s probably scarred for life, considering he got his ass got dragged from sea to shining sea by Grape Ape. All things considered, I feel bad for the kid, and he’ll probably end up poaching apes when he grows up, like The Rainmaker from “Looper”.

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Okay, that’s been my time, I hope everyone had a great New Years, I will see you Friday for the first edition of The State Of The Comic Book Union 2017. Friday, it’ll be on the Star Wars Movies, and yes, it will talk about the late Carrie Fisher. Okay, ending on that sad note, thanks for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.