San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Recap

Hello, and welcome once again to the 2nd Annual San Diego Comic-Con Recap for the Blog Of Hell’s Kitchen. The plan is, just like last year, to show four things I wanted to be announced at SDCC 2018 and talked about in my Wish List article, and whether they were announced at SDCC 2018. With that, let’s get into it.

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1. Aquaman Trailer

Odds I gave of appearing at SDCC 2018: 10/9

Odds I gave of debuting before the end of summer (e.i. before August 31st): 10/1

Did it debut at SDCC 2018? Yes.

The trailer from Aquaman did in fact debut at SDCC 2018, and it was kind of okay. We got some pretty good shots of Aquaman, Mera, Orm, and Black Manta, but not much else. It’s possible that DC is taking out the cool parts of the movie because they’re integral to the plot, or at least, that’s what I hope the deal is.

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2. Shazam Trailer

Odds I gave of appearing at SDCC 2018: 4/1

Odds I gave of debuting alongside Aquaman in December: 4/3

Did it debut at SDCC 2018? Yes.

Fortunately, DC also released a trailer for Shazam as well, and contrary to Aquaman‘s trailer. The trailer showed a lot of really cool scenes like Captain Marvel throwing thieves through a window, learning how to fly, and doing the “Backpack Kid” dance, all backed up by a remix of Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.” This trailer was exactly what I’ve been looking for from DC, a light-hearted romp through the world of Detective Comics.

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3. Hellboy Trailer

Odds I gave of appearing at SDCC 2018: 5/4

Odds I gave of debuting before the end of summer (e.i. before August 31st): 5/1

Did it debut at SDCC 2018? No.

Your Hellboy trailer is in another castle.

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4. DCEU Date Announcements

Chance of no new DCEU release dates: 5/3

Chances of at least one DCEU movie getting a new release date: 5/1

Chances of between two and four new DCEU release dates: 20/3

Chance of five or more new DCEU release dates: 20/1

How many dates did they announce at SDCC 2018? One.

The one date that DC did announce was kind of surprising, and that was the date for the standalone Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, which has been set to debut on October 4th, 2019. Which is kind of crazy, because they have yet to start shooting the movie and the release date is a little more than 14 months away.

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Alright, guys, that has been my time, thank you so much for reading. Remember to come back next Friday for my Ant-Man And The Wasp review. Also, don’t forget, I am substituting this article for my Featured News for July 2018, so don’t expect a Featured News article on the first Monday of August. Alright, thanks again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Luke Cage Season 2 Review

Hello, and welcome once again to another edition of my Reviews series. If you read the title, you should already know this article is on Luke Cage Season Two, which released on Netflix Friday, June 22nd. The 13 episode-long season is set to star Mike Colter as Luke Cage, Simone Missick as Misty Knight, Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple, Alfre Woodward as Mariah Dillard, Theo Rossi as Shades Alvarez, Mustafa Shakir as John “Bushmaster” McIver, and Gabrielle Dennis as Tilda Johnson. Before I start, I just want to say there are MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ALL MARVEL NETFLIX SHOWS, so proceed with caution. Anyways, let’s get into it.

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Let’s talk about the theories I put for in my Theories article for this season. In my article, I predicted that:

1. Luke Cage would spend the duration of Season Two on the run from the law.
2. Bushmaster would die and then be resurrected and turned into some sort of cyborg
3. Misty Knight would finally get her bionic arm, just like she does in the comics

First, Luke actually works with the cops a lot in Season 2, albeit always off the books and mostly just with Misty, so that 0-for-1. Second, Bushmaster got pretty close to death, but was always saved by the nightshade plant, and definitely wasn’t turned into a snake cyborg, so that’s 0-for-2. Third and finally, Misty got her special bionic arm and kicked ass with it, so that makes me 1-for-3.

By far, my favorite character of the new season was John McIver, also known as Bushmaster. I really loved how Marvel showed him as this rage-filled character that was intent on reclaiming his birthright as the kingpin of Harlem. I appreciated how they were able to intertwine his and Tilda Johnson’s story and make them seem realistic in the world of the show. Also, I really like how the writers brought a lot of Bushmaster’s Jamaican heritage to the table. I liked hearing from his family and actually learning a little bit about Jamaican culture.

For my last point, I want to talk a little bit about the finale. The entire season, with the exception of the Bushmaster scenes, was just average, while Bushmaster shined all season long until he escaped to Delaware after Mariah Dillard kicked his uncle in the “Rum Punch Massacre”. The finale, however, was beginning to end fantastically. Shades tried to turn on Mariah, which resulted in her ending up in prison. She talks with Tilda while in there, and at the end of their conversation, Tilda kisses Mariah on the lips, which was weird, but I didn’t really pay it any mind until Mariah’s conversation with Luke when he came to Riker’s to talk to her. Halfway through the conversation, Mariah starts coughing up blood, and the audience realized that Tilda gave her a kiss with poisoned lipstick. It was a pretty poetic ending to the season, but it wasn’t over quite yet. Ben Donavan hosts Tilda and Luke for the reading of Mariah’s will, and it turns out Mariah left Harlem’s Paradise to Luke Cage, which was easily the best part of the show.

Overall, I’d said Season Two of Marvel’s Luke Cage has earned a score of 4 out of 5 stars.

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Alright, thank you so much for reading. Please, remember to tune in on Friday for my 2018 San Diego Comic-Con Recap. Thank you again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Wishlist

Hello, and welcome once again to the 2nd Annual San Diego Comic-Con Wish List for the Blog Of Hell’s Kitchen. The plan is, just like last year, to show four things I want to be announced at SDCC 2018, and what I think the odds will be that the item has of actually being announced at SDCC 2018, as well as the odds on if it could be announced another time later on. With that, let’s get into it.

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1. Aquaman Trailer

Chances of appearing at SDCC 2018: 10/9

Chances of debuting before the end of summer (e.i. before August 31st): 10/1

The trailer for Aquaman has all but been confirmed by everyone from DC Entertainment to drop during San Diego Comic-Con 2018. It’s by far the biggest event for comic-related content in the entire world, why not debut the first trailer for your movie that only comes out in 5 months there? It’s going to be the biggest movie of the last quarter of the year, so why not have the very first finished footage for you film debut at the biggest event for your movie’s specific genre of the entire year? It’s the perfect opportunity. However, it is DC, so they could very well screw it all up, but I can’t possibly see them releasing the trailer after August 31st if they want to have a successful marketing plan for the movie.

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2. Shazam Trailer

Chances of appearing at SDCC 2018: 4/1

Chances of debuting alongside Aquaman in December: 4/3

In all honesty, I’m a lot more excited for Shazam than for Aquaman. Aquaman seems just like the typical dreary, “Dark Knight copy” that we’ve unfortunately come to expect from the DCEU. However, Shazam seems to almost be like “Big with superpowers”. They’ve hired an actor with a largely comedic background, Zachary Levi, in the main role. They’ve hired some actually talented child actors for the roles of the kids. They’ve hired Mark Strong, an extremely talented actor to play the main villain. Also, they’ve got a really great team working behind the scenes, including Lights Out director David F. Sandberg and Darren Lemke, who wrote this greatest movie of all time,  Shrek Forever After.

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3. Hellboy Trailer

Chances of appearing at SDCC 2018: 5/4

Chances of debuting before the end of summer (e.i. before August 31st): 5/1

Hellboy and the people behind the reboot of the Guillermo del Toro duology have been extremely quiet about their adaptation of the Dark Horse Comics character. The only real news that we’ve seen from the project is a release date and a picture of star David Harbour ripped and decked out in his Hellboy makeup. Just like Aquaman, I think SDCC 2018 is perfect timing to release the first finished footage for your comic book movie.

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4. DCEU Date Announcements

Chance of no new DCEU release dates: 5/3

Chances of at least one DCEU movie getting a new release date: 5/1

Chances of between two and four new DCEU release dates: 20/3

Chance of five or more new DCEU release dates: 20/1

The DCEU is clearly on a decline, with all of their movies except Wonder Woman being critical failures. They need to reinvigorate their brand and shake up their release schedule a bit. We’ve heard a lot recently about Matt Reeves’ The Batman movie and the Todd Phillips-Joaquin Phoenix Joker Elseworlds origin story, so maybe those two will get release dates. Once again, it would be perfect timing to release the dates now rather than later.

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Alright, guys, that has been my time, thank you so much for reading. Remember to come back next Friday for my Luke Cage Season Two review, and then the week after for my SDCC 2018 recap. Alright, thanks again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Ant-Man And The Wasp Theories

Hello, and welcome once again to another edition of my Theories series. If you read the title, you should already know this article is on Ant-Man And The Wasp, which releases in the United States this Friday, July 6th. The reportedly 1-hour-and-58-minute film is set to star Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne, Laurence Fishburne as Bill Foster, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch, Michael Peña as Luis, Abby Ryder Fortson as Cassie, Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, Bobby Cannavale as Paxton, Judy Greer as Maggie, and Michelle Pfieffer as Janet Van Dyne. Before I start, I just want to say there are MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ALL MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE MOVIES, so proceed with caution. Anyways, let’s get into it.

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First, I think that Bill Foster will end up being the father of the Ghost character. I understand that sounds kind of bad considering they are two of the only three main characters of African descent in the movie (the other being T.I.’s character). However, I feel that they’ve appeared in too many of the same locations in trailers and TV spots to not have any sort of relationship. Perhaps Foster could be an ally to Team Ant-Man at the beginning of the movie, and as the movie goes on, it’s revealed he’s actually been working with Ghost the entire time.

Second, I think that Ghost is some sort of secret operative. Specifically, I think that she might be in the realm of corporate espionage, and is actively trying to take down Hank Pym’s company. The reason I believe this is that Ghost from the comics is a major anti-capitalist spy and has worked for major companies such as the Roxxon Oil Corporation. The comics version of Ghost is also described as a former IT researcher, so perhaps that tidbit of information could be used as part of a possible backstory for the movie version of Ghost.

Third, I think that neither Ghost nor Sonny Burch will end up being the main villains of the film. In fact, I believe that the main villain of the movie will end up being Elihas Starr, or Egghead as he’s better known in the comics. Recently, a cast list for the movie came out and showed that Michael Cerveris will be playing the classic Ant-Man villain. Perhaps he is the one giving orders to Ghost, and possibly Sonny Burch and Bill Foster. I believe if Marvel were to do that, it would be a fantastic way to try and top all of the twists and turns given to us in Avengers: Infinity War earlier this year.

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Alright, thank you so much for reading. Please, remember to tune in next Friday for my San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Wishlist. Thank you again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Featured News: June 2018

Welcome once again to another edition of Featured News. First, we’re going to talk about the ramping up of production of HBO’s Watchmen series. Secondly, we’re going to talk about a possible title leak for the much-anticipated Avengers 4. Finally, we’re talking about some major developments on a potential movie based around Morbius, The Living Vampire, the Marvel “sometimes hero, sometimes villain, depending on who you ask”. So without any further ado, let’s get into it.

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First, let’s talk a little about HBO’s Watchmen show. Damon Lindelof, the head writer of the show, posted a letter to Instagram a few months saying that his interpretation of Watchmen would not be a direct adaptation of the comic, but more of a companion series to the original 12 issues. At the time, it was met with a lot of backlash from fans, but I really like the idea because of how hard the original 12 issues have been proven to adapt. A lot of the outcry has been quieted in recent days, however, because the show has started adding some major stars to the cast, such as Regina King in the lead role, Tom Mison, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., and most importantly, Jeremy Irons. No release date has been given as of yet for Watchmen.

Second, let’s talk about a possible title leak for the much-anticipated Avengers 4. Cinematographer Trent Opaloch has revealed on his website that he will be credited for Avengers 4 as the lead cinematographer, but he didn’t spell out Avengers 4. In fact, instead of Avengers 4, he wrote Avengers: End Game in the credits line. If you remember the name Avengers: End Game, you might also remember that directors Joe and Anthony Russo have dispelled the rumors around the End Game name themselves, but really, who knows anymore? Avengers 4 will release on May 3rd, 2019.

Finally, let’s talk about some major developments on a potential movie based around Morbius, The Living Vampire. Jared Leto has confirmed that he will be playing the titular character in a Sony-led spin-off of the doctor-turned-vampire. Leto also posted a picture of the cover of Joe Keatinge’s Morbius: The Living Vampire; The Man Called Morbius, which has led some fans, including myself, to believe that were the movie to come to fruition, Leto would heavily base his look and mannerisms of his interpretation of Morbius heavily off this book. Morbius, The Living Vampire has no release date as of yet.

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Alright, thank you so much for reading. Please, remember to tune in on Friday for my theories for Ant-Man and The Wasp. Thank you again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.