With the success of Marvel properties being turned into movies (such as Iron Man, Captain America and The Avengers) fans have been hungry for more. When ABC dropped the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it opened up new doors when the show became a modest hit. Seeing the increasing popularity of these Marvel-tinged movies and shows, Netflix has ordered four Marvel shows to premiere on their streaming service.
Continue reading Netflix & Marvel Studios Team Up for Four Shows in 2015
From the moment the Man of Steel sequel was announced as Batman vs. Superman, speculation began as to who would be next to don the legendary cowl. It seemed like every actor of a certain age was rumored to be Warner Bros.’ next “favorite.” Then it was rumored that Zack Snyder wanted Batman to be older, so a whole new batch of actors were rumored.
While we here at Grizzly Bomb put Ryan Gosling on our Justice League casting couch, it appears as if Snyder had his eye on another man… Ben Affleck!
While seemingly every other actor in Hollywood was named in the Batman casting rumors, Affleck’s name was not one that was at the forefront by any means. However, the speculation has finally ended and we now know that Affleck with be going head to head with Henry Cavill’s Superman in the Man of Steel sequel.
No doubt there will be plenty of pissing and moaning over this choice, because frankly, we’ve seen Affleck as a superhero before and it wasn’t pleasant. Daredevil anyone? Nothing good came from that film, except maybe some hot Jennifer Garner/Ben Affleck chemistry but even that couldn’t save the sinking ship.
We can take solace in the fact that even Affleck himself didn’t like Daredevil. Plus, Hollywoodland wasn’t awful. Wasn’t great by any means but Affleck as the actor (George Reeves, of course) who played Superman wasn’t near as bad as the Daredevil fiasco.
So how do you like Ben Affleck as Batman? Can he be a convincing Caped Crusader? Do you buy him as the billionaire Bruce Wayne? Thankfully we have plenty of time to speculate on how great or awful the move is as Batman vs. Superman is not due in theaters until Summer of 2015.
Marvel Studios is running full steam ahead with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, planning 5 movies over the next 2 years featuring some already established characters as well as some new properties. We will be seeing Thor: The Dark World on November 8th, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4th, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1st, 2014, and The Avengers 2 on May 1st, 2015. Phase Three will launch with Ant-Man on November 6th, 2015.
Marvel has recently announced 3 more release dates for undisclosed movies, which we can assume all fit into Marvel’s Phase Three. These dates are May 6th, 2016 and May 5th, 2017. The third date released is July 8th, 2016, keeping in line with Marvel Studios goal for two movies a year for the REST OF OUR LIVES. Not that anyone is complaining.
If it’s not obvious from reading this column regularly, I’m a pretty big fan of Jeff Lemire. The man could doodle a Family Circus cartoon on a napkin and I’d still be happy to track it down and read it. Hearing he was stepping in to take on writing duties for Green Arrow was a bit shocking, because of all characters out there, I wouldn’t have expected him to choose this particular one to work on. I guess it’s good for Green Arrow fans and maybe I’ll even become one. Unfortunately, my fantasies of a Lemire run on Superman have yet to be fulfilled, but I guess that’s what dreams are for. Everyone needs something to hope for I suppose. All I know is if he did, I’d officially buy it in every single way possible: singles, trades, hardcovers, Absolute, digital issues, digital trades, over and over again. I’d love it that much. Until now, Green Arrow fans, you’re in for a treat.
You can learn more here.
Notable astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who you may recognize from his appearances on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, or even old episodes of Attack Of The Show, has located Krypton, the home planet of our super powered savior, Superman. At least in the comic book anyway, as of Action Comics #14, which he guest stars in. The cool thing is that they apparently give out real coordinates for a real star that you can actually find and look at if you were so inclined.
via [Newsarama]
You’ll have to read “Star Light, Star Bright” to find out just how Superman and Tyson pinpoint Krypton. For amateur astronomers who want to spot the real star LHS 2520 in the night sky, here are its coordinates:
Right Ascension: 12 hours 10 minutes 5.77 seconds
Declination: -15 degrees 4 minutes 17.9 seconds
Proper Motion: 0.76 arcseconds per year, along 172.94 degrees from due north
I have no idea what any of that means, but it sounds awesome and makes me want a telescope so I could figure it out and find it. Unfortunately if I do spot it, and an alien ship lands in my backyard I’d kill it. Immediately. There would be no way I’d raise that thing.
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It seems every year there’s talk about how CCI is getting too big for San Diego, and how it needs to move to a bigger place to accommodate the thousands and thousands of attendees it attracts each year. Having been to Comic-Con twice, back when it was still possible to buy 4-day passes online without a camp out by the compute on release day, people were saying this in droves. I can only imagine it has gotten worse over the years, and my attempts to go back again have been stifled not only by my lack of funds, but the sheer impossibility of getting passes. However, it seems to be a good thing for San Diego, and who can blame them? The whole city turns into one giant party that weekend, and no matter how you spell it, that’s revenue the city uses and needs. I hold out hope that one day it’ll move somewhere closer to me, so I don’t have to shell out at least grand for airfare/lodging/passes/merch just to go. When 2016 arrives, who know?
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An interesting concept that I always find intriguing to explore is the fact that all superhero stories don’t really have an ending. Despite all great stories needing an ending, the fact that superhero stories need to keep being printed keeps them from having a definitive, final story that wraps up their character once and for all. People have attempted this, most famously Frank Miller with Batman. For a while Marvel printed stories called _____: The End where the blank was the main characters name. They had Hulk, Punisher, and I believe even Wolverine. They were all pretty amazing and seeing this same concept applied to Daredevil is one that piques my interest. The idea behind it is to look into a “possible future” where we’ll see the last few days, and the eventual death of Matt Murdock. Frankly, the concept alone has me, and it’s something I’ll be looking forward to.
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Last but certainly not least, is the very real fact that Hurricane Sandy has devastated thousands on the East Coast, which is of course, home to nearly all of our favorite superheroes. The fact that so many have been so generous and supportive in this time is one of the few things these days that gives me hope for humanity. Along with that, is the average comic fans propensity for good, and Art For Sandy Relief is a great, if slightly silly sounding charity source that’s a win-win for everyone involved. This relief effort is led by Rich Ginter and Jim Viscardi, former and current Marvel employees respectively, who have started art auctions to donate to relief efforts. There’s a bunch of neat pieces you can bid on, and even if you’re not serious about buying, someone is and bidding does nothing but help raise more money for those in need. It’s a pretty great thing and a sign that the comics industry, and comics fans in general, still have lots of great human beings in their community. Be a part of that community why don’t you?
Find out more here.
So remember all of the hullabaloo the other day about Fox giving up Daredevil or possibly some Fantastic Four characters? (If not, then read the article HERE.) Well Fox made their move and it was to simply…. Do nothing with Daredevil. Deadline, Variety and IGN have all reported that Fox fully intends to do nothing with a Daredevil movie by the October 10th deadline. Apparently they don’t feel that Daredevil is necessary when they have the full stable of X-men characters and the Fantastic Four. I have to say it at least seems like Fox is now heading in the right direction since X-men: First Class was released. Now it even seems like they may be having the good ole’ canucklehead set down the right path in the upcoming The Wolverine. Hugh Jackman has been out promoting the film as a standalone story, completely separate from Wolverine: Origins. Hey, if Logan can have amnesia and forget the horrible events of the first movie then we sure as hell can… and will if I have anything to say about it.
I’m definitely glad that Daredevil is heading back to the care of Marvel Studios. They’ve been producing hits left and right with their characters since the first Iron Man movie came out and have a lot of faith that they’ll continue the tradition with the Man Without Fear. There is no word as of yet whether or not Joe Carnahan will still get a shot at directing the movie, but I would imagine that Marvel has it’s own ideas about who they’ll want to use. Personally I think that Carnahan had the right vision for Daredevil, wanting the movie to be in the vein of a 70’s crime thriller and I hope they at least sit down and talk with the guy.
Another interesting tidbit would be that Fox retains the rights to the character Elektra who, let’s face it, plays a pretty big part in the comic world of Daredevil. I’m thinking they can either have a renamed character similar to her in the movie (or future movies) or use another dangerous femme fatale who has spent a lot of time with Matt Murdock in the superhero world and the bedroom; Black Widow. As you may or may not know, in the comic books the pair dated at one point and I think it could be perfect for a movie crossover for the two characters. Hell, Daredevil was more recently on an Avengers team in the comic world so it may not be out of the realm of possibility to have him in the Avengers 2. It probably wouldn’t happen, but unlike Fox, Marvel now has all of the time in the world to make their Daredevil movie. And this true believer has all of the confidence in the world that they can do it right.
According to Variety via Fandango, it looks like Warner Bros. has approached Ben Affleck to direct the Justice League movie. Affleck is a hot property in the directing pool due to his critical and commercial successes with Gone Baby Gone and The Town. Argo is also shaping up to be a film to be reckoned with considering the early buzz, and since he has made Warner Bros. some money with his films, they have sent him the Will Beale (Gangster Squad) script to see if he’d be willing to guide DC’s finest to the promised land achieved by The Avengers, aka, a vault full of cash.
The movie is scheduled to be launched at the earliest around 2015 so that would put it into direct competition with The Avengers 2 movie, which just announced Joss Whedon returning as director and writer. Ben Affleck apparently makes it known that he wants to act in the films that he directs so you might also see him don a costume if this comes true. He has been circling another project called Replay, which is also being developed by Warner as well, but they have been working on that for the last decade so this might be his next project. Only thing that might get in the way would be his long-term commitment because 2015 is a long ways away and he would be tied up until then most likely developing the story and filming. I don’t know how he can get the time off from Fashionable Male during this time.
He’s come a long way from the back of a Volkswagon
I can understand the misgivings of Ben Affleck as the director of this movie. First off, he’s not Christopher Nolan, let’s get that out of the way. Second, it’s Ben freakin’ Affleck. He was the dominatrix Daredevil and that might ruin any street cred with the comic book crowd. The reputation might not be there for him to tackle this movie with that awkward fight scene with Elektra (Jennifer Garner) on people’s minds. Third, this would only be his fourth movie and unlike Joss Whedon, he does not appear to have a deep understanding of fanboys and the comic book universe. Can he handle the massive size of this project when he is considered a neophyte to the directing game? He is basically one of the more random choices out there to grab on to. However, I liked Gone Baby Gone and I loved The Town (partially because the Boston accent is fun to imitate) and I feel that he can definitely handle the characters and the scope of this movie based off of those flicks. Now, I absolutely do NOT want him to act in it but not because I think he is a bad actor (quite the opposite actually), but he should concentrate on delivering on all the characters and not just his own. I think he would be a great choice but I honestly don’t think he’ll do it. 3 years is a long time for someone to dedicate for the movie. Granted, I don’t know who else would at this point but just for discussion purposes, maybe Looper director Rian Johnson? He has about the same experience as Affleck behind the camera and handled Bruce Willis and potential DC staple Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Looper. Granted, as I wrote that, he also did Brick, which I loved and also with JGL so maybe he should revive that detective feel and go with Batman. Boom. Discuss.
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