What a time it is to be a nerd right now. Movies and new comic books are popping up left and right, and it’s all getting really hard to keep track of. With the new year came a flood of marketing and campaigning for movies that are set to release in 2016; Deadpool, Suicide Squad, BVS Dawn of Justice, etc. What I’m saying is, I don’t blame you if some of the 2017 features aren’t at the forefront of your mind right now. Director James Gunn however, would like to change that. That’s why when he went on social media and gave us some behind the scenes snapshots of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy sequel.
For those of you out there demanding more Kurt Russell in your life, you just might get it, and in a big way! James Gunn has mentioned that Star Lord’s father would be playing a role in the sequel to last year’s supernova success Guardians of the Galaxy, and Kurt Russell is reportedly in talks for the part.
Let’s be honest here. Guardians of the Galaxy was a monster of a sleeper hit. The so-called “Space Avengers” surprised everyone, taking third place among the highest grossing films in 2014 with nearly $775 million worldwide. So interest in a sequel by fans and the press is nearly as high as that other space opera set in a galaxy far, far away.
We all rememberIron Skyright? The very tongue in cheek cinematic experience from 2012 about Nazis on the Moon? In the movie, Timo Vuorensola (director) and Tero Kaukomaa (producer) gave us an alternative version of America, one where the decision to use the moon as an advertising base alerts a bunch of moon Nazis and from there chaos ensues. Well Timo and Tero want to revisit this universe and they need our help to make it happen.
Timo and Tero have teamed up with fundraising website Indiegogo to raise funds for their sequel titled Iron Sky: The Coming Race. Wondering how the team can out do the retro campiness of the original? Well have a read at what they have planned as a synopsis below;
Twenty years after the events of Iron Sky, the former Nazi Moon base has become the last refuge of mankind. Earth was devastated by a nuclear war, but buried deep under the wasteland lies a power that could save the last of humanity – or destroy it once and for all. The truth behind the creation of mankind will be revealed when an old enemy leads our heroes on an adventure into the Hollow Earth. To save humanity they must fight the Vril, an ancient shape shifting reptilian race and their army of dinosaurs.
Much like Iron Sky before it, the film has some great artwork to back it up. The promo poster looks especially enticing, while drawing similarities to the artwork for Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds movie.
As enticing as this all is, the cast list looks even better. Returning for duty are Iron Sky stars Julia Dietze and the legendary Udo Kier, with Stephanie Paul as the President of the United States and a shape shifting alien to boot (looks like David Icke may have been right all along!). Joining the team is oddball comedian Tom Green (Road Trip) as a cult leader, and trash fiends around the world can rejoice with the inclusion of Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman, who was seen most recently in this summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Finally we have a few video shorts to give anyone unfamiliar with the exciting visual style of the Iron Sky universe a brief taster of that world.
Suffice to say, if a Dinosaur riding Hitler and an enraged gun touting Jesus don’t rev your engines, then this movie isn’t for you. However, for the fans of the original, and new comers who like a bit of humor and silliness to their sci-fi, this could be promising. Now all we need to do is make it happen. With only a couple weeks to go before the deadline, you’ll need to put your hands in your pockets to get this under-way. On the website (as per usual for these fundraising sites) there is a selection of incentives available for people who help out the project. For more videos on the projects progress you can view their YouTube channel and help make this film a reality.
They say knowledge is power and in the case of collectors that is certainly the case. With the foresight that comes from pre-order release dates, no fan need ever worry again about missing the release of a treasured piece of memorabilia. DC is by far the best at this particular market tactic and they’ve already given us a look at some of the releases that will be winging their way to specialist stores in 2015. Below is a list of a few that have taken Grizzly Bomb’s fancy.
DC Entertainments Black and White series continues to impress, with a huge range and variety of choice in sculpt designs available to the consumer. Included in the collection this time around is a superb sculpting of Barbara Gordon Batgirl statue (in her Batgirl issue 35 gear). More commonly known as the Batgirl of Burnside, it presents a more modern take on the Batgirl costume. The figure sculpt is by artist Irene Matar (Batman: The Animated Series action figures) who has done a great job of keeping the Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr original design style. It is due to ship in September 2015 (price to be announced).
Joining her we have a Dave Johnson inspired piece with a limited run of 5,200. It is due for release on March 2015. Then we have Ivan Reis take on the Dark Knight coming out in June 2015 and the incredible looking Mike Mignola Batman design, which comes in August 2015, all priced at $79.95.
There are many more DC releases that may be of interest to collectors, like the WonderWoman: ArtofWar statues by Tony Daniel and Cliff Chiang, showing two different Wonder Woman designs, both ready for battle. They are both priced at $79.99 and arrive on May and February 2015 respectively. More entries into the Jim Lee comic book busts collection are coming are way to with Deathstroke and Nightwing each making an appearance (both $49.99 and coming in February and June).
Finally there is the dynamic duo of crime; The Joker and Harley Quinn, each coming in July of next year. What makes Harley’s figure that extra bit special is the fact she is decked out in her roller derby gear from her new 52 series. The design work (based on the Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Chad Hardin series) is spot on and will complement nicely the dark, knife wielding Joker figure.
If you cannot wait to get your DC freak on, then you can always pick up a life-sized batman utility belt from $299.95.
Marvel never seems to be as on the ball as DC are with regards to advanced orders. This may be due to the wide array of figure creators working under the Marvel umbrella, making it slightly more difficult to track their new products down. Still there are a few pieces of interest coming in 2015. One of the more interesting sets is the oversized return of an old Marvel figure line; Secret Wars. These 12 inch figures are based on the old sculpts from the ’80s and are just quirky enough for collectors to take interest. I myself owned the Hobgoblin figure in my youth, so it’s a nice surprise to see it reappear. Joining him will be the black suited Spider-Man and two other figures in the near future (one of which looks to be Wolverine). These will be coming via Gentle Giant Limited around for summer 2015, and will roughly retail for about $89.99. The backing itself certainly harkens back to the figures that were released originally and it’s a nice retro touch by Gentle Giant.
Also appearing in 2015 (February) will be the anticipated dancing Groot bobble head figure which Marvel fans have been salivating for ever since he appeared in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. From Pop! Vinyl it has the same trademark cuteness you would expect from that brand and will retail for about $12.99. Entertainment Earth has an exclusive variant version of this as well as a variant version of the dancing Groot mug (also coming in 2015 at $14.99).
But if you cannot wait until 2015, then Marvel has a ton of collectible content out there already. Here is a sneak peek at a few of them. My personal favorite is the Egg Attack War Machine ($79.99) figure just for the fact it looks so darn cute and it lights up too! But for great sculpt likeness it has to be a tie between the extremely menacing Green Goblin life-sized bust ($599.50 and limited to 300) or the positively revolting Zombie Magneto mini bust ($99.95 and limited to 5000).
As this year draws to an end and comic fans far and wide look forward to what delights 2015 will have to offer us, it is comforting to know that if nothing else, we will have these new collectibles to look forward to.
Images: DC Collectibles, Pop! Vinyl, Gentle Giant LTD, Entertainment Earth, Sideshow Collectibles, Egg Attack.
There have been some major Marvel news coming out in the past few days that will greatly impact Phase 2 movie slate so let us get to it. First off, according to The Hollywood Reporter and several other news outlets, The Avengers sequel has found its main baddie. James Spader has been tapped to take on the all-star cast as the supervillain Ultron for the major Marvel movie of 2015.
James Spader has been seen recently in Lincoln, the Spielberg movie for which he got a ton of critical praise for. He’s also most known for his work on television, with the most recent gig being Blacklist on NBC. Granted, he was also on that one forgettable season of The Office as Robert California but we won’t let that get in the way of the excitement. I think he definitely has the gravitas and the acting chops to keep up with Robert Downey Jr. and his superhero squad so it’ll be interesting to see the chemistry between the heroes and villain and their back and forth.Ultron does hate the Avengers with the passion of a thousand burning suns so there should be some great back and forths on screen.
In the other big news, Marvel.com has officially named the voice actor for Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy. That happens to be recent Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper. Yep, that same dude from the Hangover movies and Silver Linings Playbook. He joins the ensemble cast that already boasts Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista to name a few.
It’s an interesting choice because Cooper has not done any voice acting before and there has been mixed reactions in the fanboy community as to whether he can pull it off. I like the choice because I do like Bradley Cooper and I think he should be able to pull off playing a military leader behind Star Lord and dish out some damage with his affinity for weapons. Again, it’s all contingent on how the movie looks, as well as his character, but I have faith in Marvel. Phase 2 should make for some interesting fun and their recent casting, for the most part, seems inspired. Recent actor choices have ranges from Ben Kingsley in Iron Man 3, to Captain America: Winter Soldier getting Robert Redford to now Spader and Cooper joining the Marvel cinematic universe. Time will tell but I think it’s safe to say they know what they are doing at this point.
What do you guys think? Make sure you leave comments either down below or on the Facebook page and if you want, offer up some suggestions who you think it should be for these movies if you don’t agree with the choices. For those that don’t know yet, Guardians of the Galaxy will hit theaters August 1st, 2014 while Avengers: Age of Ultron hits on May 1st, 2015.
Grizzly Bomb 