Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
There's a story that before the first
Iron Man film, when the executives at Marvel Studios were searching for financing, they would argue Marvel Comics had some of the most valuable intellectual property in the world. And those arguments were met with laughter from some potential investors. After producing nine films that have collectively grossed over $6 billion, no one is laughing.
Marvel's success is indicative of the rise of "geek culture." Even as short as twenty years ago, comic books, science fiction, fantasy, video games, computers and other aspects of technology were largely seen as the domain of uncool nerds. And movies based on comic book genre characters were usually really campy and relegated to being considered children's entertainment. Today, all of that has changed. Those geeky things of the past are part of multibillion dollar industries and very mainstream in the present. Everyone ponders the next moves by Apple and Samsung, and whether they'll have the latest jailbreak apps for their smartphones. TV shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead garner huge audiences and fandoms. And it's not uncommon to hear grown adults argue the finer points of zombie defense and the nature of Middle-Earth, or whether Twilight Sparkle is the best pony, or debating the properties of Adamantium and Vibranium.
Nothing exemplifies the commercialization of geek culture more than San Diego Comic-Con International. The four day convention is attended by hundreds of thousands and is a pop culture event. Below the fold is some of the movie and TV news that came out of this year's Comic-Con over the weekend.
Film
- Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice: Speculation about this film has been running rampant since it was first announced at last year's Comic-Con. On the good side of things, Snyder has heavily implied the story borrows from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, it will introduce a new iteration of Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and many of the Justice League members will make appearances (e.g. Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg). On the more negative side, Warner Bros. could not have picked a dumber title for this film if they had tried, and there's a worry the studio is in such a hurry to catch-up with Marvel they're throwing every character into this movie and it's going to be a muddled mess. The image at the top of the column comes from three posters revealed during the Comic-Con panel which featured Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot. The reaction to Gadot's Wonder Woman has been mostly positive. However, there are some that feel the look deviates too much from the traditional red, white and blue of the Wonder Woman costume, and it looks too much like Xena: Warrior Princess. Snyder's film is still in the process of filming in Detroit, but a teaser trailer trailer for the movie was shown to the audience. It features Affleck's Batman wearing something similar to the power suit from Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Batman turns on the Bat-Signal, only to see Superman hovering in the Bat symbol with eyes red and ready to use his heat-vision.
Ben Affleck as Batman
- Avengers: Age of Ultron: Joss Whedon's follow-up to The Avengers introduces Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff /Scarlet Witch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff /Quicksilver and James Spader as the villain of the movie, Ultron. The movie will change the origin of Ultron, linking him to Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark. What is known about the plot indicates that given the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the rise of HYDRA and other supervillains, Tony will create the Ultron artificial intelligence to combat those threats. However, things get a little out of hand. The teaser trailer shown at Comic-Con begins with the Avengers joking and having a good time. Tony attempts to lift Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, through multiple means with them all being unsuccessful. When Captain America tries, the hammer starts to move. But before anyone can react, the voice of Ultron asks the group why they think they're worthy, since they're all killers. Spader's Ultron then says the only path to peace on Earth is the extinction of the human race. The panel at Comic-Con also featured Josh Brolin, who's set to appear as Thanos in multiple Marvel films. Brolin was wearing a Thanos gloved version of the Infinity Gauntlet. Marvel also displayed a shattered version of Captain America's shield and Ultron Mark I.
If you look in the top left corner, The Vision (Paul Bettany, who voiced J.A.R.V.I.S. in previous films) can be seen hovering over the scene
- Ant-Man: This is probably Marvel's most troubled production ever. The film was co-written by director Edgar Wright, who spent years developing the project and was set to helm the picture before leaving over creative differences. The new director, Peyton Reed, will use a version of Wright's script that's been re-written to some degree by writer-director Adam McKay. Last week, three actors, including Patrick Wilson, left the film. During this weekend's Comic-Con panel, House Of Cards’ Corey Stoll, and Lost’s Evangeline Lilly were introduced as Darren Cross/Yellowjacket, the film's villain, and Hope Pym respectively. Hope Pym is the daughter of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) who's mentoring Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) on the use of Pym particles for the Ant-Man suit.
- Doctor Strange: Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil) is directing and Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) is working on the script, with Joaquin Phoenix rumored to be in talks to portray the Sorcerer Supreme. According to Marvel's Kevin Feige, he wants the look of the film, and the craziness of magic, to share similarities to the visuals from Neil deGrasse Tyson's Cosmos series.
- Mad Max: Fury Road: This film will be a re-imagining of the Mad Max story that starred Mel Gibson, but the creator of the original trilogy, George Miller, is the director, writer and producer of Fury Road. Tom Hardy, best known as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, stars as Max, with Charlize Theron playing Furiosa, a woman who's trekking across the desert back to her home. The look and tone of the film seems consistent with The Road Warrior.
- Godzilla 2: Legendary Pictures decided to tease the possibility of a Gareth Edwards' Godzilla sequel. However, they didn't exactly commit to a plot or any of the characters. Edwards and Legendary Pictures head Thomas Tull only teased the likelihood that new iterations of Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah would be the monsters to battle Godzilla.
- Skull Island: Legendary also announced that they will be bringing back King Kong, his dinosaur friends and whatever else might be on Skull Island in a film to be released in November of next year.
- Tusk: This is not a visual adaption of Fleetwood Mac's follow-up to Rumours. The film is in fact based on an idea conceived by Kevin Smith during his podcast, and Smith basically said "fuck it" and decided to make a movie out of it. Tusk stars Justin Long as podcaster Wallace Bryton, who visits an old seafarer (Michael Parks) in search of a strange tale. What Bryton finds instead is a crazy, wheelchair-bound man who wants to turn him into a walrus. The trailer for the film was released this weekend, and Smith's story plays as basically The Human Centipede with more comedy.
- Interstellar: Director Christopher Nolan appeared for the first time at Comic-Con to promote his new science fiction film Interstellar, which stars Matthew McConaughey as a pilot and engineer asked to undertake a journey to save humanity. Set in a not too distant future, Earth is suffering from food shortages after a global calamity. A wormhole is discovered in our solar system and an expedition is tasked with going through it to see if whatever lies on the other side may be able to correct the problems affecting Earth. But the movie is not exactly about that. Underlying everything is a family story, with McConaughey's character being a father who leaves his daughter – someone he loves more than anything – to try and save both her and the world. The first trailer was released in May. The preview shown to audiences at Comic-Con accentuates the family themes, had some new visual effects sequences, but also included a voiceover of Michael Caine reading Dylan Thomas' “Do not go gentle into that good night.”
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: Stephen Colbert hosted the Comic-Con panel for the movie, and was very method. Colbert wore the costume from his cameo in The Desolation of Smaug. A new teaser trailer for The Battle of the Five Armies was shown to the audience and was just released to the public. This movie is the last Hobbit film, and may possibly be Peter Jackson's last adaption based on J.R.R. Tolkien's work. Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves have reclaimed the Lonely Mountain, but unleashed the great dragon Smaug upon the world. And another far greater threat begins to rise.
From Charlie Jane Anders at
io9:
Asked about her kiss with Gandalf in this new trailer, Cate Blanchett responds:
It's an ancient love story, that was actually born the first time around. I adore Ian, and I hardly got to do anything with him at all... Galdriel's just a footnote in the Hobbit, really, to have such a full story [in the film] is wonderful.
- Warcraft: Director Duncan Jones' movie is based on the World of Warcraft online game, and is rumored to be an origin story for the conflict in Azeroth. Both Jones and the studio are hoping the film can be the next big Lord of the Rings fantasy series. A teaser trailer was shown to the audience at Comic-Con and depicts Alliance Humans and Horde Orcs gearing up for battle. Warcraft stars Ben Foster, Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Toby Kebbell, Rob Kazinsky, Dominic Cooper, Daniel Wu and Clancy Brown.
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I: The rebellion is afoot in Panem. Lionsgate debuted the The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 trailer at Comic-Con and released it to the public early this morning. The story finds Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) leading the rebellion from District 13, but Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is a captive of President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Francis Lawrence directs this one, with Julianne Moore joining the fun.
- Crimson Peak: From director Guillermo del Toro, Crimson Peak is a Gothic romance/horror story set in a three-story Victorian home. The film stars Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain and Charlie Hunnam.
From Angie Han at
/Film:
Del Toro was intrigued by a chance to tell a different kind of story. “What I wanted was the freedom to tackle a great adult story for a female lead. I think that it’s great when a female lead is introduced through a normal romantic story but then you say, now what? Let us see her live past all that, past her getting the guy. Fuck that shit. Let us see her become her own person.”
Television
- Family Guy: The September 28th season 13 premiere will feature a crossover with The Simpsons and a cameo from Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) from Bob's Burgers. The episode will find the Griffins visiting Springfield. Homer and Peter bond over donuts, but their friendship is tested over which is the better beer: Pawtucket Patriot Ale or Duff? The September 28th season 26 premier of The Simpsons will also be notable. It's being hyped by Fox for supposedly killing off a major character.
- Game of Thrones: New actors and characters were announced at Comic-Con. Some of the focus of the series will shift to the Kingdom of Dorne (aka the home of Prince Oberyn Martell). Among the additions to the cast are Jonathan Pryce as the powerful religious leader the High Sparrow and Alexander Siddig (probably best known as Dr. Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Doran Martell, the brother of Oberyn. Keisha Castle-Hughes, Jessica Henwick and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers are Oberyn's bastard daughters Obara Sand, Nymeria Sand and Tyene Sand. Toby Sebastian is Trystane Martell, the son of Prince Doran, who is promised to Myrcella Baratheon (Nell Tiger Free), the daughter of Cersei Lannister and Robert Baratheon (although her real father is Jaime Lannister). Myrcella's position in Dorne has become very tenuous given the recent events in King's Landing.
- The Walking Dead: Season 5, which premiers in October, will give some backstory to what happened at Terminus, but will see the group journeying towards Washington D.C. and leaving Terminus behind eventually. Terminus leader Gareth (Andrew J. West) and Father Gabriel Stokes (Seth Gilliam) will join the group on their journey. The producers and cast also promise this season will be rougher and that a new, grittier version of Rick (Andrew Lincoln) will be killing zombies.
- Orphan Black: The big reveal of the second season was the information that that a military program has created male clones similar to the ones portrayed by Tatiana Maslany. And there are other questions for season 3. Will we see Tony, the newest clone, again? Where are Cosima’s parents? The Comic-Con panel didn't give a lot of answers or even hints to those questions but there were some great moments. Many of the fans of the show in attendance decided to shower Maslany with praise, given that she was snubbed for an Emmy nomination.
From Emily Rome at
Entertainment Weekly:
Co-creator Graeme Manson said that the writers have “talked about meeting Alison’s mother.” On their casting wish list: Catherine O’Hara.
Helena’s chance for a little romance is one of co-creator John Fawcett’s favorite moments from season 2. Suits star Patrick J. Adams played that tow truck guy Helena made out with. He’s a self-professed fan of Orphan Black, and if he has any say in the matter, he’ll make a return appearance. Kristian Bruun (Donnie) said on the panel that he recently ran into Adams at a restaurant, and Adams said he wants to be on the show again.
The showrunners had originally planned to kill off Mark, but they said they’re very glad they decided not to. Maslany raved about working with Ari [Millen]: “He just showed up in that diner scene, and sitting opposite him, I just saw this actor was so present. He just had this well of depth.”
- Archer: Adam Reed's Archer is one of the best comedies on television, and one of my favorite shows. Last season had the series completely retool everything, with the Archer crew deciding to become drug dealers after ISIS was shut down by the government. Reed has decided to re-reboot the show, and go back to Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) once again being part of the spy game. However, he now has a new daughter with Lana (Aisha Tyler) and Barry will be back in a big way in season six.
- The Blacklist: According to James Spader, he doesn't know much more about Red Reddington than the audience does, and the situation is one where “the more you know, the less you know.” The question of whether Elizabeth Keen is Red’s daughter will still be teased and not exactly answered. Mary Louise Parker and Alan Alda will have recurring roles in season two, and Peter Stormare’s Berlin is a significant part of the story in the upcoming season.
- Arrow: The overarching villain of Arrow's third season will be Batman antagonist Ra’s al Ghul. According to the producers, Ra’s al Ghul will be presented as not so different than Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) and the theme of the season will be "allegiance and loyalty." Among the characters that will stop by are Katana (Devon Aoki), The Atom (Brandon Routh) and Ted Grant (aka Wildcat).
- Bones: The now betrothed Booth (David Boreanaz) and Brennan (Emily Deschanel) are separated after Booth was arrested for murder. The season 10 premiere will begin with Booth struggling to survive in prison.
- Hannibal: The third season will pick things up one year after the violence of last season's finale. The first episode will revolve around the new life Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and his psychiatrist Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) are leading in Europe. Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) doesn't appear until the second episode of the new season, and the show will start to move away from the procedural aspect of the previous seasons. This season will also use characters and elements from some of the Thomas Harris novels, including detective Rinaldo Pazzi, who first appeared in the novel Hannibal, Lady Murasaki, Lecter’s Japanese aunt and love interest from Hannibal Rising, and serial killer Francis Dolarhyde will appear in the latter half of season three as the series inches closer to the territory covered in Red Dragon. However, the introduction of Clarice Starling (originally played by Jodie Foster) is still problematic for the show, since the rights to the character are not controlled by the NBC production. And some characters whom you may assume are dead aren't quite in the grave just yet.
- American Horror Story: Freak Show: Michael Chiklis will join Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Emma Roberts in the newest season of the series. Freak Show is promised as taking things up a notch, and having a much different tone than the previous seasons, with executive producer Tim Minear comparing it to David Fincher's Zodiac.
From Elena Butler at
Collider:
Paulson, who is playing conjoined twins Bette and Dot, already has a favorite. She likes Bette best, “It feels organic to me. I love her.” It’s important for her to keep a certain mystery around the show, so when it comes to describing her character she hinted that there are about 22 people working on each shot with her on set. Paulson describes her character as something that’s never been done before. As for Bassett and Chiklis’ characters, Desiree Dupree and Wendell del Tolito. They will be playing a married couple, with Bates playing Chiklis’ ex-wife, Ethel Darling, and Peters playing his son, Jimmy Darling.
Minear teased that the villains of Freak Show will rival those of the previous seasons. He calls the next installment’s monster as “the scariest creation so far.” John Carroll Lynch will bring that character to life and according to Minear, “It’s going to scare the shit out of you.” Lange will be playing the character of Elsa Mars and Roberts will breathe life to Maggie. Roberts points out that she will not be playing a villain this time around.