In a nerd conversation of epic proportions the other day with Dr. Kronner, I disclosed that it was my dream to see the three studios controlling the biggest Marvel superhero franchises to come to an agreement and make a trilogy of awesome movies on par with the Avengers, but involving everyone. This would mean Spiderman, the Avengers, the X-men and the Fantastic Four all sharing the same universe and then Marvel Studios, Fox, and Sony all split the revenue from the trilogy. Clearly this is a fevered dream that will never happen, but there has been news that Sony may be looking to offload the film rights to Spiderman in the future according to a report at Geek Rest:
A new report has surfaced that suggests Sony may be exploring their options as to how they can raise capital for their fledgling hardware divisions by selling off several of their numerous music and film properties. According to CEO Kazua Hirai, Sony is currently considering a proposal from investor Daniel Loeb and his hedge fund company Third Point that would see Sony selling off several of their movie properties including Resident Evil and – wait for it – Spider-Man.
“Third Point’s proposal involves the way we manage a core business of the Sony group and the direction of our management. So the Sony board will give it thorough consideration before replying to Mr Loeb,” explained Hirai.
So although it’s not as grand as my plan that the studios would never buy into, at least that’s one of the big heroes that could possibly be joining the fray of Marvel Studio’s/Disney’s shared movie universe.
I know it’s not a guarantee that Sony would sell to Marvel Studios/Disney, but really who else could make the highest bid for the rights? This is a company that not only has Marvel in it’s pocket, but it’s now showing off the recently bought Star Wars franchise by announcing a new trilogy and a crap load of new standalone movies to boot. In the coming decade, Disney will have made more movie money than all of the other studios combined, unless DC can get some steam behind their own sought after shared movie universe in which the Man of Steel may or may not kick start. Only time will tell.
In the meantime, what does everyone think of this news? After all of the recent reacquiring of characters such as Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher, Ghost Rider and Blade, would it be a big game changer if Marvel Studios had Spider-Man in its holster? Sound off below!
UPDATE via Comic Book Therapy:
[box_light]After the initial post from The Register hit, more details regarding what is in the proposal have hit. Unfortunately it doesn’t look good for those wanting Spidey in the MCU either. The proposal that Loeb has brought to Sony wouldn’t be to sell of the franchises, but rather spin their entertainment branch into a separate entity that people can buy into. So the long and short of it is, don’t expect Peter Parker to be helping Tony Stark or any of The Avengers anytime soon.[/box_light]
There was definitely some vocal outcry after Marvel cancelled a couple of it’s best animated series to date in order to bring the series under the Disney banner. These cancelled series, The Spectacular Spider-Man and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, each lasted two seasons before getting the axe, and their absence is still felt in the cartoon world. While DisneyXD wasted no time in releasing the Spidey replacement, Ultimate Spider-Man, it was lacking any real heart and was clearly aimed at a younger audience. It’s currently in its second season, with no real improvement.
I come to you today a conflicted woman. Those pilots I so looked forward to and thought would find legs? Well it turns out there’s a reason I’m not a network executive. That reason being I don’t think like a network executive as evidenced by the fact that so few of those pilots I predicted would make it to air actually will. On one hand, I’m disappointed because there were some great ideas that are no longer and on the other hand there are some trailers for these new shoes that look very promising. See? Conflict. But enough chit chat – let’s watch some trailers for all the new TV shows…
**note: I did not include all mid-season shows. There will be plenty of time to look at those, these are mainly the fall premieres.**
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NBC cleaned house. Especially when it comes to their sitcoms. The only ones that were renewed were Parks and Recreation and (somewhat amazing) Community. The rest of them, including every new show they premiered this year? Gone. Sadly there have been murmurings that NBC is purposefully abandoning the style of shows they used to air, like 30 Rock and the freshman now canceled sitcom Go On, and are instead looking for things more broad reaching, family oriented, even going so far as to say they want shows more like those on CBS. That’s right folks… NBC is courting the lowest common denominator. Oh joy.
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Former government agent, current FBI Most Wanted, Raymond “Red” Reddington has been on the run for years but now is coming to the FBI with a proposition; he wants to help them hunt down another of their Most Wanted, terrorist Ranko Zamani. Of course, as the name implies, Zamani is not the only person on Red’s list.
Meh, I suppose it has potential but it seems a little like a combination between Law and Order and Fox’s The Following.
Johnathan Rhys Meyers is discarding period garb to have sex with beautiful women. It seems as if we’ve seen this before. Oh, yea. At least this time he’s doing it as a vampire instead of as King. I’ll admit, this looks promising especially with the people involved behind the camera, and Meyers isn’t really a schlub, so things are in Dracula‘s favor.
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I do believe I said I’d eat my hat if this show made it to series so if someone really wants to see me do that I shall. This is exactly the type of show one might expect to see on CBS so congrats NBC!, you did exactly what you set out to.
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Before seeing this trailer I thought it was going to be crappy. I have since changed my tune. Out of all of NBC’s new shows, this looks to be the most intriguing. I’m hoping that the trailer isn’t hiding the triteness that so many family sitcoms fall victims to because it looks pretty decent based off this small glimpse.
I’ll admit, I liked Yes, Dear for a mindless afternoon of sitcom viewing. There is on way on earth I’m going to make sure I watch this drivel. I mean really NBC? This? I’m insulted. You are better than this. Come on.
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So yea, NBC? Not really hitting it out of the park this year. Of course in addition to these gems is the Chicago Fire spin-off Chicago PD. Are there more depressing words than “Chicago Fire spin-off”? I don’t think so. I’d love to come back to this in a year and be completely wrong about these shows but I think we all know, I won’t be.
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If you haven’t been to our site before you might not have heard, but we are really excited for ABC’s new show, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. We aren’t overly thrilled with having to type that out each time, but for the show itself there is definite excitement. You can catch up on all S.H.I.E.L.D. news here, here, here, here, and here but for right now let’s look at what else ABC has in store for this coming TV year.
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While this does look promising, how long can the premise last? It takes place in one night. 11 hours of one night in a bar? I don’t even want to be in a real bar in my real life for 11 hours in one night, much less in a TV bar for an entire television season. This just seems like it would get really old, really quick.
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Now we’re talking. I can actually see myself watching this and enjoying it. Granted much like Mixology, I do wonder how long they can keep the show going before telling us how exactly the kid is back from the dead, but that’s part of the fun with shows like this so I’m thinking it will be good.
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So, ummmm, I like it? I am a huge fan of Once Upon a Time and even though the Wonderland version doesn’t look quite as good, mainly because it’s just the one character, I’ll probably still watch it. I mean it’s got the same people behind it (Adam Horowitz especially) as OUAT and I imagine they won’t deviate too far from what makes that show successful so I’m guessing Wonderland will be around awhile.
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I’m can’t tell you how happy I am that this made it to series! Finally a show that I was looking forward to before series orders were announced that has help up to my expectations. You know how I feel about sibling relationships! And if you don’t… I like them!
Extremely underwhelmed. Do we really want to relive to 80’s so soon? Nope.
However, I will have to resist the urge to burst into song each time REO Speedwagon comes on. It’s an impulse I just can’t control.
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This is a good example of a promising (if formulaic) premise that seemingly gets lost when making the jump from paper to screen. One can hope that it’s just one of those shows that has a crappy trailer but ends up being a good show.
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I imagine if you watch and like Revenge, you will watch and like Betrayal. I won’t but I guess there are people out there that will.
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I’m going to hold out judgement on this one until it airs because it could go either way. My gut feeling is it’s going to go bad but my gut has been wrong before so who knows.
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An interesting group of pilots. ABC seems to be a fan of large ensemble cast shows this year. Combined with the “we are a dysfunctional family” sitcoms, well we’ll just have to wait and see who ends up still breathing come next May.
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It is no secret, I hate CBS. There have been very few shows on CBS in recent memory that I’ve watched and enjoyed but each year I think to myself, “this is it, this is the year I will be a CBS fan!” and not surprisingly that lasts only about a week. This year doesn’t seem like that will change, with the exception of maybe one show.
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Will Arnett, Margo Martindale, and Beau Bridges – what’s not to like? Well so far it looks like The Millers. I really expected more from those three fabulous actors signing on to something together but sadly this just does not look that good.
In what seems like a common theme this year, I just can’t see this show having any longevity. Unless they are only giving us a glimpse of the first two episodes, I can’t imagine there is much of a story that can be told while the President is waiting for surgery. It’s a shame because Toni Collette and Dylan McDermott would be nice to watch together.
I loved this show back when it was called Chuck. Yea, yea it’s a drama and it’s nothing like Chuck because that was a comedy and this is serious business but I think we can all agree, it’s Chuck. I’ll probably give it a shot because it’s Sawyer but that’s about it.
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Allison Janney does not need a laugh track. It is a crime that Allison Janney has a laugh track. Have I mentioned that Allison Janney is on a show with a laugh track? This saddens me. Add in Anna Faris and make this a Chuck Lorre show which means it will be very predictable and pedantic and this is probably one of the most depressing series orders of the year. So much wasted talent in yet another Chuck Lorre show on crappy CBS.
This is the only CBS show that I’m actually looking forward to and it has everything to do with Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar. I mean it’s Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar! The ad agency aspect seems a bit overplayed these days but I’ll still give it a shot.
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Outside of The Crazy Ones, I imagine my streak of hating CBS will not be threatened. It’s nice to know that there are some thing in life that remain constant. Thank you CBS.
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Fox has the distinction of having both the worst new show and, in my opinion, two of the best new shows of the year in their ranks. Way to go Fox, covering all the bases. I’m impressed.
This show should never have made it this far, plain and simple. Sgt. Bilko was a great movie with a similar premise but Enlisted? Well it looks like that puppy that Bilko wanted to make him feel better just took a dump on the TV screen and called it a sitcom.
I am the one person in the world that loved Kate & Leopold. The idea of a person from one time long ago somehow finding his way to modern day is one that I enjoy watching. I also really like treasure hunt/mystery types of things like National Treasure. It appears as if Sleepy Hollow has both of these elements so it’s not hard to imagine that I’ll be making sure I catch this show.
I’m almost afraid to say this too loud in fear that an executive will hear it and retaliate with cancellation but, I like it. A lot. Very interested in seeing how this one plays out.
I really expected more out of Christopher Meloni. Not only that but is there really a market for shows based in the 90’s? I feel like the first time I heard Prince on an “oldies” station. At least The Goldbergs is the 80’s which you can recognize by the clothes and decor right away.
This is pretty much my middle of the road show of the year. If it makes it, that’s great; if it doesn’t, meh no big deal. Although I did really enjoy the moment where he tells the room full of people eating lunch that people really do taste like chicken. An entire show of moments like that? Yea, I’ll watch.
How on earth does an actor like Giovanni Ribisi end up in crap like this? Seth Green I can see because he’s an odd duck that we all love and adore the more for it but Ribisi? Just doesn’t seem right.
Very intriguing. I’ve watched every episode of Gangland so I consider myself somewhat of an expert on gang relations and this show looks like it captures them quite well. Must remember to set the dvr for this one.
These next words are not ones you will see very often: This looks like someone has done a good job at remaking a British show. If you haven’t seen Gavin & Stacey, find a way to remedy that because it is a great show. When I first saw that they were remaking it I cringed because let’s be honest with ourselves here, as a rule Hollywood sucks at remakes. Yes, I know there are obvious exceptions to that rule but it doesn’t change the rule. We suck. With any luck, it appears as if Us and Them does not. Finger crossed!
It should come as no surprise that just from trailers, my favorite new show is Andy Samberg’s really talented ensemble comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Andre Braugher in a comedy? Can not wait. Terry Crews, Joe Lo Truglio, and Chelsea Perretti? Seriously, I can’t wait for this show. Seems almost cruel to throw out a trailer and then be like, oh yea but you won’t see any more of this for another five months, hahahaha sucks to be you!
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Out of all the networks, I think Fox actually has the strongest prospects out of Us and Them and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Now it’s just the awful waiting game to see if the powers that be let the shows find their audience or if they act like whiny brats and cancel at the first sign of trouble. Here’s hoping for the former.
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Outside of a few exceptions, obviously one of those being Arrow, there isn’t much on The CW that I watch mainly because I’m almost 35 years old and don’t spend a lot of time writing fanfic on my favorite OTP ship of Dean and Castiel. That being said, some of these shows don’t look all that bad if you don’t expect them to be more than the angst filled pretty people vehicles that they are.
This was actually one of the pilots I was hoping would get picked up because the whole idea of aliens being integrated into a “suburban high school” was so odd that I just had to see it. Of course as soon as I say I don’t watch CW shows because I’m ancient compared to their intended audience… well Star Crossed star Matt Lanter (also the voice of Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars) just turned 30 so perhaps the CW is aging? Or not – he plays a high schooler. One way to prolong your Hollywood career I suppose.
Mark Pelligrino – that’s all the reason you need to watch. Oh and Oliver Queen/Stephen Amell’s cousin, Robbie Amell, is the lead but really, Mark Pelligrino.
I imagine this is not at all what the people behind The 100 were going for but with this clip all I could think of was the YouTube video that made the internet rounds awhile back of the chimps who were used for testing purposes and then released outdoors for the first time after they were “retired”. I’d rather watch that video (through the tears because that shit is sad) on repeat than watch this show.
You know? It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be that bad and like I said when looking at the pilot orders, it’s got Anthony Head and anything with Anthony Head is something I’m going to watch.
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Nothing really that surprising or out of the ordinary for The CW but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing as they have rabid fans and whenever you can successfully create fandoms, you just keep doing what you’re doing.
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So there you have it! A look at the new shows coming up this year. Some, like Brooklyn Nine-Nine have definite promise while others, Back in the Game, really should have just sat this one out, but overall, not a bad… nope, that’s a lie. For the most part, these are some crappy shows. A few bright spots but as a whole this is a bad year for new shows. Back to the drawing board network execs! There’s always next year.
Apparently the formula for trailers nowadays is to keep releasing them until you find the perfect one. As if Man of Steel didn’t look fabulous enough in the last epic trailer that showed glimpses of Krypton and the other Kryptonians such as Jor-El and General Zod, the latest trailer shows a whole lot more of Kal-El-Clark-Superman in action! It was a little bit of a combo trailer with a quick TV spot that was shown at the MTV movie awards involving Zod calling out Kal-El to give himself up or Earth will pay the price and outing Superman as an alien. Pretty crappy of you Zod. Anyways, check out the trailer below:
Tons of goodness to come out of this one! Heat vision, Kryptonians pummeling one another, destruction in Metropolis and a weird looking robot that I can only hope is an early incarnation of Brainiac. My favorite part of the trailer was Faora’s line to Kal-El threatening to kill millions if he continues to fight. Very chilling. I’m hoping this movie shows the true extent and danger that more than one Kryptonian can present to the human populace. I know they sort of already did that with Superman II but let’s face it, it was a little bit on the lame side. The lameness is definitively evidenced here in another trailer below:
So I don’t know if it’s bothering anyone else besides me, but I’m really, really, really, really, really, really wondering who the remaining assassins in Batman: Arkham Origins are! We’ve already had it confirmed in the recent trailer that two of them are Deathstroke and Deadshot, so that leaves six more foes for Batman that Black Mask has hired. So I guess it’s time to make a list of who I think should be included in this plethora of killers. Now it’s unclear as to whether or not some of the villains not typically specializing in assassin work have been hired by Black Mask because there are definitely villains appearing who don’t necessarily go for that type of thing, for example Penguin and the Joker. My list will be a mix of villains who are primarily assassins but also some villains we have already seen in the other two Arkham games:
1.) Firefly
So there isn’t much to Garfield Lynns, AKA Firefly. But what else do you need from an assassin than the ability to fly, a fireproof gun and a torch gun? Sounds like a match made in heaven to me… err hell maybe? Lynns was hinted at in Arkham Asylum and it would be great to see him HEATING up the city in Origins. That was a terrible play on words by the way.
2.) Caine
David Caine is one of the world’s premiere assassins, being hired to kill an abundance of rich and powerful people. Not to mention he actually trained young Bruce Wayne in the ways of the assassin, though Bats never utilizes the knowledge to kill. It would be a pretty juicy tidbit to see someone who Bruce trained with trying to kill him, whether Caine knows that it is Bruce or not.
3.) Lady Shiva
Shiva is the top assassin in Ra’s Al’Ghul’s League of Assassins which didn’t figure prominently into the series until the second installment. Ra’s may have let the Black Mask hire Shiva in an effort to test the “detective” until such a time when Ra’s chooses to confront him. Not to mention Shiva is the mother of Cassandra Cain who was Batgirl for a time, and in the comics Cassandra was also the daughter of none other than David Caine. Perhaps this could figure into the next Arkham game that is a sequel to Arkham City?
4.) Calendar Man
If Julian Day wasn’t born to figure prominently into this game, then I don’t know who is. The game takes place on Christmas Eve of all nights and that is perfect for this calendar obsessed sicko to take a shot at the Batman. We’ve seen hints of him in Arkham Asylum and in the flesh in Arkham City. Maybe we can see what landed him in his much deserved cell during this installment of the Arkham series.
5.) Bane
It was stated recently that Origins would have a toned down version of Bane in it. I could definitely see him as someone hired to come in and take down Batman, ala the Animated Series episode titled after the Venom induced breaker of the Batman. I could see him as being juiced to the point of having the frame of The Dark Knight Rises Bane, because if they want him toned down then they can’t have his overgrown, Titan fueled appearance from the other two games.
6.) Killer Croc
Waylon Jones is shown most times in the comics these days as a simple muscle for hire type of guy. His predatory instincts make him a very good choice for an assassin and based on all of the animosity he shows Batman in the other two Arkham games it would be interesting to see them interacting before Croc was imprisoned. It would also be fun to have an actual boss fight with Croc given that his appearance in the first game just had you running away from him and the second game only had a short cameo.
I have also listed a couple runner ups that I don’t expect to see, but wouldn’t mind if they filled the spots…
Clayface
I really can’t get enough Clayface. The boss fight in Arkham City against him was probably the best part of the game for me. I think Clayface having the ability to shapeshift into almost any weapon would definitely make him a very potent killer to take down Bats. The guy is basically a living weapon, just made of clay. And since this is dealing with Batman in his younger years, he could be having a showdown with a Clayface just beginning to utilize his new powers.
Maxie Zeus
Ok this guy is pretty ridiculous any way that you look at it, but I really liked his portrayal in the 1990’s Batman the Animated Series. While that is still a bit too cheesy, I think that in the Arkham Batman universe that he could really be turned into a legitimate threat. Maybe he could cool down the Greek mythology a tad bit and be an assassin who’s main weapon is that awesome lightning bolt scepter he uses. Like I said, it sounds terrible, but I think Maxie is scheduled for an appearance sometime, given that his night club Olympus was spotted in Arkham City.
So there you have my list! What are some of your picks for Arkham Origins? I know there are more out there! Doodlebug? KGBeast? Cheshire? Sound off below in the comments section!
Although I’m still reeling from the sudden loss of the Clone Wars due to Disney’s mad chopping spree throughout the Star Wars world, I’ve been consoled slightly. Apparently the next animated series will not only be handled by none other than Clone Wars veteran Dave Filoni and a lot of his technical crew, but it will deal with a time era that doesn’t get a whole lot of exposure; The Dark Times era between episode 3 and 4. It was pretty obvious that Filoni would be working on something past the Clone Wars when he was using a TIE Fighter picture as “research”, but it was pretty hard to pinpoint whether it was directly after the Clone Wars era or in between the old trilogy or after the old trilogy. After the old trilogy would have made sense since episode’s 7, 8 and 9 are currently in development, because it’s not like the Empire just went away after Return of the Jedi. However, I’m equally pleased to hear that the series will take place between episode 3 and 4. It’s also called ‘Rebels’ which is totally bad ass. I envision rogue Jedi and freedom fighters like Bail Organa and Mon Mothma leading the charge against the Empire. (Bail and Mothma of course not so openly.) Check out the video below of Dave Filoni talking about Rebels a little bit and when it will be hitting a small screen near you:
2014 is not so far away! There are plenty of possibilities that could occur in a series like this. Depending on how much creative control they give to Filoni we could see the return of Ahsoka sometime. Fans loved her and she was Filoni’s biggest contribution to the saga. She would be significantly older if it takes place closer to episode 4 and it sets a perfect stage for an Ahsoka v.s. Vader confrontation. Clearly Sidious didn’t kill Maul because he had “other uses” for him. I don’t think that means Maul was going to be his secretary, I think that means he’s going to use him as a weapon again. So there’s some potential of Vader and Maul running into one another too? Count me in. It may add some extra tension with Anakin knowing that his old Master’s killer is still walking around and serving his new master as well. Then again, Disney may have Filoni shy away from those characters completely and concentrate on the non-Jedi heroes and soldiers that will one day make up the Rebel Alliance.
Expect to see plenty of Ralph McQuarrie inspired designs in the show.
Either way I’m good to go and curious to see if the animation style from the show will mirror that of the Clone Wars or be completely different. I have complete faith in Filoni and his crew after watching five seasons of a show that became better and better visually and story wise each season that it went through. Bring me the rebel scum ASAP!
Grizzly Bomb 