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Many of the fans packed into Hall H on Thursday waited overnight on the street outside of the San Diego Convention Center for their chance to catch Peter Capaldi’s first appearance at SDCC since becoming the Twelfth Doctor on Doctor Who. Capaldi himself had visited the line for Hall H earlier in the day, embodying the goodwill actors portraying the Doctor have shown fans going all the way back to the classic series era.

Headoverfeels.com creators and editors Sage Young and Kim Rogers held their spots in line for 21 hours, with only one break to rest at a nearby friend’s house. “We had an amazing time,” Rogers said of the nearly day-long experience, “we thought it would be miserable but it was a gorgeous day. We had food, we had friends, and we knew we would have an amazing seat.” The pair ended up being some of the first 100 people let into the massive 6,500 seat hall.

If the fans were tired from their line-waiting experience, their enthusiasm was undimmed as Capaldi took the stage with co-stars Jenna Coleman and Michelle Gomez, who portray the Doctor’s companion Clara and long-time nemesis The Master respectively. The stars were joined on the panel by showrunner and long-time Whovian Steven Moffat. Chris Hardwick of The Nerdist and Talking Dead moderated the hour-long discussion.

Hardwick kicked things off by commenting on Capaldi’s take on the Doctor’s newest regeneration, saying:  “I love that you’re kind of cranky and intense.”

Capaldi replied: “I think he [Steven Moffat] just saw those qualities in me, and just cast me.”

For his part, Moffat explained that writing for the different Doctors wasn’t what made them unique, saying: “On paper the Doctors are actually quite similar, it’s what the actors bring to it.”

Putting on the mantle of a character that’s over 50 years old is no simple task. “Did you feel the weight of Who immediately?” asked Hardwick of Capaldi, who is still in the midst of filming the show’s ninth season.

“It’s in my bones, it’s the only show I’ve followed since I was six years old,” said Capaldi, who then referenced his first appearance on the BBC series in the rebooted fourth season. “I thought that would be the only time of being in Doctor Who.” He then related how excited he was to be on set while David Tennant was playing the part of the Doctor’s Tenth incarnation, asking: “‘David! David! where’s the TARDIS?’ I got quite teary.”

Coleman revealed that her character, Clara Oswald, companion to both the Eleventh and and Twelfth Doctors, “has a rule that that she gets dropped off 30 seconds before she left. I think she’s a bit of a control freak.” Coleman then added that “This series she’s more head first into the TARDIS,” and would be spending more time on-board the Time Lord’s time-traveling spaceship.

Following “Death in Heaven,” the finale episode of season 8 which saw Gomez’s character seemingly de-materialized in the final moments of the show, there was much in the way of fan-speculation that we hadn’t seen the last of The Master’s game-changing female regeneration known as Missy. Her appearance on the panel confirmed the theories correct.

When Hardwick asked Gomez’s approach to playing Missy, she replied: “Luckily I never know why I’m saying what I’m saying…the writing is all there for me. It’s just a thrill to turn up and get this opportunity to be The Master, it’s still ‘pinch me?’” Gomez further explained her take on the long-running character, saying: “I think he or she or it is the best friend you love to hate…the rules don’t apply to her and that makes her really fun to play.”

Moffat agreed with Gomez’s assessment of the Doctor/Master relationship: “They are friends, which is terrifying. It’s like a friendship between a vegetarian and a hunter.”

Gomez added: “It’s this great friendship that just went wrong. And we’ve all had those…and you’re trying to get in the way of me destroying the universe,” she said, looking to Capaldi, “which I have to do! We both kill a lot of people, he feels bad about it, I don’t.”

Capaldi expounded on his feelings regarding the character of the Doctor: “ I think he doesn’t know who he is, he’s always scrambling around trying to figure out who he is…he’s a constantly growing character.” Echoing a debate his Doctor has with Clara’s love interest Danny over his military past, Capaldi continued: “He’s not a soldier. He’d rather sit at night in a car park looking at the stars than be blowing up Daleks,” before adding: “I like blowing up Dalek’s.”

Though Capaldi felt his Doctor was still mostly a “bohemian/philosopher/rebel time lord,” Coleman was asked about her character’s trouble with the transition of the Eleventh into the Twelfth Doctor.

“She was familiar with how it was working,” said Coleman, “then suddenly your best friend changes his face and who knows what to trust anymore? It’s changing all the rules basically.”

Hardwick inquired after the health of Twelve and Clara’s relationship, asking: “Are they okay now?”

Coleman felt they were, saying: “They’ve found their groove, eating up all of time and space with reckless abandon.”

A never-before seen trailer for Doctor Who’s upcoming ninth season was then shown, which announced the return date of the series as September 19th and ended with a shot of highly publicized guest star Maisie Williams squaring off with Capaldi’s Doctor. The Doctor clearly recognizes Williams’ mysterious character, saying, “You?”

To which Williams replies: “What took you so long, old man?”

When the lights came back up, Moffat explained he could say no more about the episodes featuring the actress, best known for her work on Game of Thrones as fan-favorite character Arya Stark.

Capaldi told the crowd about the first moment he felt he was really the Doctor: “I think it’s when they threw a rubber spider in my face and said: ‘fight it!’ I said, it doesn’t work, where’s the operator? And they said:  ‘there is no operator, it’s just a big rubber spider. Fight it!’”

Coleman was asked about her character’s difficulty in returning to a normal life after adventures on the TARDIS, to which she answered: “I think it becomes addictive and I think that’s the problem.”

Pondering the fact of the TARDIS’ “bigger on the inside” feature, Moffat said “I used to wonder why the Doctor didn’t use that more? ‘Don’t believe I’m an alien? Look at that!’” When the crowd didn’t react, he continued: “I guess that was just me, then. My Mom was right I should have got a girlfriend instead. Applause for my imaginary girlfriend!” The crowd offered some, and over the sound of the clapping Moffat teased: “Virginity kept me pure.”

The Doctor, for all his humanity, often fails to understand human nature. This seems particularly true of Capaldi’s incarnation, with Coleman commenting: “Clara teaches him how to interact with humans more this season…helps him with his social skills, makes him more of a welcome party guest.”

Speaking again of the Doctor/Master relationship, Moffat said: “This is not new, the Doctor and the master being friends.” He explained he recently went back and viewed  “the Delgado and Pertwee episodes.” Said Moffat: “One of them wants to blow up the world the other one wants to stop it, but they don’t let a little thing like that get in the way.”

When the panel opened up to questions from the audience, one came from a young boy who thanked the panel for helping him with his “Make-a-wish.” Moffat seemed visibly moved in recognizing the child, who asked what Capaldi felt was iconic about this Doctor.

Capaldi answered: “Eyebrows.”

Hardwick extended the question to the other actors on the panel, and when Coleman balked at answering, Moffat chimed in with: “Eyes, huge eyes!”

Gomez added “Lips. Obviously.” She then talked of her kiss with the Doctor in episode 11 of last season, asking fans to decide who was kissing who, saying that if they watched it back again: “Peter is —  there’s some suction there…what you couldn’t see was I was also holding Clara’s hand.”

“That’s hot!” a fan cried loudly from the audience.

Another fan asked of Moffat what literature he drew most from for inspiration. Moffat answered: “Doctor Who is what made me wanted to be a writer…. I was so inspired by Doctor Who.“He added: “Every screenplay William Goldman has written is great, and if you want to know about comedy writing read Neil Simon.” He later added: “For the record, I do anything for a laugh, I’m a tart.”

When the panel was asked to describe their character’s perfect day, Gomez replied she thought Missy would start her day with a croissant and some tea before saying: “And then slapping Wonder Woman in the face.”

One of the final questions asked if the panel had any advice for aspiring actors. Gomez said: “My agent calls me the roach because I keep getting squashed like a bug and coming back,” before encouraging the audience: “just never give up. This world is abundant, there’s enough for everyone.”

As the panel drew to a close, Capaldi reflected on his first SDCC experience: “To come here and find this warmth and affection for something I’ve been following since childhood is extraordinary….I feel the warmth of the full 50 years pointed right at me.”

Hardwick closed the proceedings by showing a trailer for the recently announced Lego: Dimensions video game featuring a Lego version of Capaldi’s Doctor interacting with Lego Batman and character’s from the Oscar nominated The Lego Movie. Hardwick also announced that his Nerdist network would be broadcasting a TV special titled Doctor’s Finest on August 15th, showcasing the Nerdist’s top 8 favorite episodes of Doctor Who hosted by Youtuber Hannah Hart.

By Victor Van Scoit

We may know Marvel’s movie slate well into 2018, but there’s still some unknowns when it comes to their directors. While fans are waiting for confirmation on exactly who those directors will be, any information to minimize rumors can help quell the frenzy. Sometimes it’s just as significant to know exactly who that director won’t be.

Ava DuVernay (Selma) confirmed in an interview with Essence today that she will not be directing Marvel’s Black Panther. Apparently Ava did meet with Marvel executives to discuss the opportunity, so there was merit to the earlier rumors of her directing the property to feature actor Chadwick Boseman (Get On Up).

“I’m not signing on to direct Black Panther,” she added. “I think I’ll just say we had different ideas about what the story would be. Marvel has a certain way of doing things and I think they’re fantastic and a lot of people love what they do. I loved that they reached out to me.”

“I loved meeting Chadwick and writers and all the Marvel execs,” said DuVernay. “In the end, it comes down to story and perspective. And we just didn’t see eye to eye. Better for me to realize that now than cite creative differences later.”

Seems like positive feelings on the part of Ava DuVernay regarding the experience. Kudos to her for peering far down the road and avoiding  a situation where Marvel needs to push their continuity agenda vs the director’s vision. That difference of ideas isn’t a new thing, what with Joss Whedon’s recent comments regarding Avengers: Age of Ultron, and directors exiting previous projects (Patty Jenkins on Thor 2, Edgar Wright on Ant-Man).  The MCU’s ever expanding continuity may end up creating more of these differences in vision, and influencing other directing prospects when it comes to not only Black Panther, but other MCU opportunities.

Abraham Riesman’s article over at Vulture, The Secret History of Ultimate Marvel, the Experiment That Changed Superheros Forever, provides a little morsel that’s food for thought. Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics influenced the MCU we know today, but it had its own continuity issues as it grew in popularity.

If a new reader tried to digest an issue of an Ultimate comic in 2011, she’d run into the exact problem Ultimate Marvel was designed to combat: confusing continuity. Wait, why was Mr. Fantastic evil? What had happened four years ago in Ultimatum? Remind me how Dr. Doom died? As [Jonathan] Hickman put it: “I think maybe the lesson might be that continuity eventually swallows everything.” (Incidentally, now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is 11 movies deep, this is becoming a concern for Marvel Studios. It remains to be seen how Marvel’s movie producers might learn from the pitfalls of the Ultimate world.)

As for Ava DuVernay she still wishes Marvel all the best. Let’s hope that Marvel is also able to get the best (director).

“I love the character of Black Panther, the nation of Wakanda and all that that could be visually. I wish them well and will be first in line to see it.”

Titan has announced their full line-up of SDCC activities, and there’s lots to choose from with ten signing sessions and two panels, as well as a bunch of exclusive covers, merchandise and sneak-peaks of their upcoming titles.

Their Doctor Who line gets it’s own panel this year, where details of a brand new Doctor Who miniseries will be announced, including which of the Time Lord’s many regenerations will star in it. From Titan:

Titan Comics gives you a sneak peek at the next chapters for the Doctor in all his incarnations – including sneak peeks at the direction of Year Two featuring the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors! Writer Cavan Scott and artist Blair Shedd discuss the smash-hit Ninth Doctor mini series! Writer Paul Cornell gives you a sneak peek at August’s comics cross-over event! Writers George Mann and Cavan Scott and cover artist Alice X. Zhang take you behind-the-scenes of the Twelfth Doctor SDCC exclusive short story edition. Plus, we reveal the next brand-new mini series – which Doctor is it going to be? Come along to find out! All attendees receive a FREE Doctor Who comic + prizes to win!

The Titan Doctor Who Comic panel is on Saturday July 11th from 3:30PM-4:30PM in room 5AB.

Fans of Assassin’s Creed can look forward to Titan’s global premiere of  artwork from the upcoming comic series based on the hugely popular video game franchise at Titan’s other comics panel on Thursday July 9th from 2:30-3:30PM in Room 4. In addition, the panel features TV producers and writers from Heroes Reborn and The Blacklist who will discuss their work on series tie-in comics. Roman Dirge, creator/writer and artist of the cult-smash series Lenore will also be on hand to talk about his planned new work. From Titan:

Titan Comics takes you behind-the-scenes of major new projects including Assassin’s Creed, Heroes and The Blacklist! See the global premiere of artwork from the new Assassin’s Creed comics, plus be the first to find out about the launch storylines and the all-new Assassins! Heroes Reborn Supervising Producer Seamus Fahey gives you a sneak peek at the new Heroes comic and special SDCC ashcan. The Blacklist TV show writer Nicole Phillips talks about writing the new The Blacklist comic series, which debuts at SDCC! PLUS! The artists of the creator-owned hits of tomorrow will be in attendance! Cult writer Roman Dirge gives you a ghostly glimpse at Lenore and his upcoming new projects! Artist Des Taylor takes you undercover of hit series Scarlett Couture! Harvey award nominated writer Mark Wheatley discusses his new remastered edition of Breathtaker! Plus, more comics talent and prizes to win!

Want to grab an author-signed copy of that gorgeous, SDCC exclusive Heroes ashcan with art from Paul Pope? How about one of only 200 FREE Doctor Who: Four Doctors art cards signed by four Doctor crossover series writer Paul Cornell? Here’s the complete signing schedule, all signings taking place at the Titan booth #5537:

THURSDAY, JULY 9th

Writer/Artist DES TAYLOR signs copies of Scarlett Couture from 12:30PM – 1:30PM

Writer/Artist ROMAN DIRGE  will be signing copies of Something at the Window is Scratching, The Cat Really with a Really Big Head and Lenore Pink Bellies: 4:00PM — 5:00PM

FRIDAY, JULY 10th

Heroes Reborn Supervising Producer Seamus Kevin Fahey will be signing copies of the Heroes comic SDCC ashcan with exclusive art from Paul Pope from 12:00PM — 1:00PM

The Blacklist TV show writer Nicole Phillips and cover artist Alice X. Zhang will be signing copies of The Blacklist #1 from Time:  2:00PM – 3:00PM

Writers George Mann and Cavan Scott and cover artist Alice X. Zhang will be signing copies of Doctor Who: Twelfth Doctor SDCC exclusive short story edition from 4:00PM — 5:00PM

Did you miss Roman Dirge’s 7/9 signing? No problem. he’s back at the Titan booth on 7/10 signing copies of Something at the Window is Scratching, The Cat Really with a Really Big Head and Lenore Pink Bellies: 5:30PM – 6:30PM

SATURDAY, JULY 11th

Writer Cavan Scott and artist Blair Shedd will be signing copies of Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor series from 11:30AM – 12:30PM.

Writer Paul Cornell will be signing a FREE Doctor Who: Four Doctors art card. Only 200 available! From  1:30PM – 2:30PM.

Did you miss Writers George Mann, Cavan Scott and cover artist Alice X. Zhang on 7/10? Fear not, they’re back at the Titan booth signing more copies of Doctor Who: Twelfth Doctor SDCC exclusive short story edition from 5:00PM – 6:00PM.

SUNDAY, JULY 12th

Writer Max Davison, artist Matt Hebb, colourist Tracy Bailey and inker Jason Worthington will be signing copies of DreamWork’s Home #1 comic from 12:00PM – 1:00PM.

AMC’s released it’s latest teaser trailer for Fear the Walking Dead, an upcoming spin-off of the network’s hit The Walking Dead. The trailer features Frank Dillane (known for his role as Tom Riddle in Harry Potter) running for his life while half-undressed.

What we don’t see is what Dillane’s character, Nick, is running from. I mean… probably a  spider zombie? Throw in some upbeat background music and it’s more likely that he’s running from some dude who was angry to find him in his house (or bed). He’s running so fast and the zombies in The Walking Dead are so slow, it’s enough to make you wonder.

Maybe he’s just really, really late for work.

Fear the Walking Dead is scheduled to premiere in August of this year and stars Kim Dickens, Cliff Curtis, Frank Dillane, and Alycia Debnam-Carey.

There are moments in life, for everyone, when sorrow creeps into our happiest memories. Time passes. We change. We lose things. We lose people. Our past experiences take on a new shape. Occasionally the shift is sharp and profound; an earthquake. Other times it’s gradual and unnoticed; erosion.

But sorrow isn’t always a burden. Sometimes it’s a salve.

Coming from a culture of children’s stories that focus on happy endings for the good guys, it’s a message that’s at once simple and unexpected. Inside Out isn’t concerned with saving the world or ridding it of evil. There are no villains and there is no hero. There’s simply a girl trying to learn the value of sadness and it’s ability to co-exist with joy; the undeniable collusion of the two.

Inside Out  follows 11-year-old Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), a happy child whose life is uprooted when her parents decide to move from the Midwest to California. While Riley is our protagonist, we spend most of the movie with Riley’s feelings, exemplified by colorful characters living in Riley’s head and controlling her reactions to the world around her. The leader of that crew is Joy, voiced appropriately by Amy Poehler. Joy is the cartoon embodiment of Poehler’s character from Parks and Recreation, the eternal optimist known as Leslie Knope. She wrangles a crew of Riley’s other emotions, including Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Anger (Lewis Black),  Fear (Bill Hader), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). Kaling and Smith channel their characters from The Office, each with an edge towards their specific emotion. Black is, well… Lewis Black, and so on.

That’s honestly the whole external plot: Riley is shaken by the move and the loss of her friends, and suddenly Sadness begins to drive her reactions. But it’s what’s inside that counts here. When Joy attempts to take control of Riley’s reactions, Joy and Sadness butt heads and both end up accidentally being cast out of mission control entirely. The two feelings spend the movie trying to understand each other and make it back to mission control in one piece, but with Disgust, Anger and Fear too afraid to step up and take the wheel, Riley stops feeling anything. The word “depression” is never used, but it’s a clearly intelligent attempt to demonstrate what depression looks like to those who’ve never experienced it. Rather than an exaggerated or temporary dose of Sadness, depression is nothing.

Inside Out feels like a movie written by a parent who watched his or her child suddenly learn to deal with more complex emotions; a child learning how one thing can make you feel more than one way, rather than bouncing from one extreme to the next, and how confusing that can be. But it isn’t specifically a movie for children, either. In addition to a crew of fairly adult comedians and a mature message, the world-building is especially impressive, kids movie or not. We have the emotions “driving” Riley, core memories that shape her personality (they look like glowing bowling balls), and other colorful, physical representations of very abstract concepts.

As heavy as all of this sounds, it’s really the opposite – Inside Out manages to do all of this while being bright, fun, and a surprisingly hilarious movie. It’s fresh, clean air. The voice talent is a huge part of that, as well as the small moments we spend watching the emotional control centers of other characters (just imagine what the Emotional HQ of a hormone-driven teenage boy looks like and you’ll get the picture). But at the end of the day the credit is most likely down to Pete Docter, the film’s writer and director. Docter was the driving force behind Pixar’s 2009 feature, Up, which took home an Oscar for best animated feature.

It’ll be a huge shock if Inside Out doesn’t end up with similar accolades, and in my mind it’s a contender for best picture awards, animated or not. It’s not easy to pull off a movie that says something intelligent without being heavy-handed; that remains rooted in reality while living in imagination. But every now and then the planets align, the Movie Gods smile upon us, and we get a widely-popular, successful film that deserves every bit of it.

Here’s hoping (and knowing) that’ll be the case here.

We’re halfway through both the actual calendar, and the Summer blockbuster season (which started in May).  Even though it feels like a Friday night at the video store circa 1990, there have been some amazing movies released so far. Dinosaurs are battling robots for box office supremacy, and Pixar is once again at the front of Best Animated Feature Oscar speculation with “Inside Out”.

Here’s the latest movie schedule, culled from various sources… Not much to update, except for the Smurfs getting an actual title.  There will probably be more after San Diego and D23.

NOTE:  My colleagues have noted the confusion over Warner Brothers’ superhero schedule.

To be clear: past Suicide Squad, Warners Brothers/DC Entertainment has not matched announced movies with opening dates.

So, you will see a listing like:

Unknown 2018

Flash

and

3/23/2018

Untitled DC

That does not mean that there are two movies scheduled, only that DCE is planning movies, and has claimed dates. Other news sites have linked titles to dates. This has not been officially announced or confirmed by Warner Brothers, and until I see official confirmation, will continue to list the names and dates separately. When do I expect to see that confirmation? Either at a shareholder’s meeting, or sometime in July or August, just like last year. Like last year, I expect Marvel, via D23, to make a bigger splash than DC, although DC could try to win Comic-Con this year, given Marvel Studio’s suspected absence.

Updates are in bold.  I have included links back to Box Office Mojo, which is the source of this data.

Fans of the Sandman scribe rejoice: Starz announced today that they have officially green lit an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s New York Times bestselling novel American Gods. Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Heroes) is officially attached, as is Michael Green (Heroes). Both will serve as writers and showrunners. Gaiman will serve as executive producer. FreemantleMedia North America, who has been developing the series for some time, is also attached to produce. Starz has noted that the start of production on the television series, which Gaiman has been talking about for the past few years, hinges on the casting of Shadow Moon. Shadow, a sympathetic ex-con with a penchant for coin tricks, is the central character in Gaiman’s strange tale of old Gods brought to America in the hearts of those who immigrated and their battle with the Gods of modern America like Media and the Internet.

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said, “STARZ is committed to bring American Gods to its legions of fans. With our partners at FremantleMedia and with Bryan, Michael and Neil guiding the project, we hope to create a series that honors the book and does right by the fans, who have been casting it in their minds for years.  The search for Shadow begins today!”

Gaiman said: “I am thrilled, ‎scared, delighted, nervous and a ball of glorious anticipation. The team that is going to bring the world of American Gods to the screen has been assembled like the master criminals in a caper movie: I’m relieved and confident that my baby is in good hands. Now we finally move to the exciting business that fans have been doing for the last dozen years: casting our Shadow, our Wednesday, our Laura…”

“Almost 15 years ago, Neil Gaiman filled a toy box with gods and magic and we are thrilled to finally crack it open and play,” said Fuller and Green, “we’re grateful to have STARZ above us and FremantleMedia at our backs as we appease the gods, American or otherwise.”

Starz has encouraged fans of the novel to tweet @AmericanGodsSTZ and @STARZ_Channel using the hashtag #CastingShadow to share who they think should play the role of Shadow.

The buildup to Fox-Marvel’s Fantastic Four has been incredibly quiet compared to the way that the Disney-Marvel typically advertises their superhero beat-em-ups.  The film releases on August 7th, and so far we’ve gotten two trailers and now this TV Spot, which demonstrates how far CGI has come since 2005.  We still know very little about the plot, although it seems like the film is going to spend a sizable chunk of time building up to the accident that causes Marvel’s first family to gain their powers.

I understand why Fox is choosing to be cautious with this film given how strongly they were lambasted by filmgoers after 2007’s Rise of the Silver Surfer.  That said, the understated ad campaign isn’t doing the film any favors as it displays a lack of confidence in the content.  From the limited amount of content we’ve seen so far, the film looks fine.  It might even have the potential to be great.  It’d be nice if Fox’s attitude reflected their faith in that possibility.

I didn’t have high hopes for Jurassic World. Each attempt to reinvigorate the franchise has failed worse than the last, and despite the glimmer of hope provided by Chris Pratt, I wasn’t buying the raptor-taming, motorcycle-riding persona from the trailers. And while it wasn’t as bad as I had feared, it also wasn’t anywhere near as good it could have been. Basically, there’s not much I can add to the conversation about the quality of Jurassic World that you don’t already suspect. It straddles a line of mediocrity, with some moments of fun and others of absurdity.  Stupid/Fun.

To be honest, I spent at least half of the most suspenseful scenes wondering how Bryce Dallas Howard was still running in around high heels, constantly scanning to see if she’d chucked them in favor of going barefoot. It sounds stupid, but if you’ve tried wearing stiletto-style high heels on grass, the practicality of it will eat away at you (apparently the secret is staying on your toes, according to Howard). Spoiler: she never chucks the heels. Ever.

But what struck me most about Jurassic World was how much of a hybrid it is of things I’ve seen before, which makes the entire film’s premise sort of meta. Jurassic World focuses on the business of running a successful dinosaur theme park, and the need to create bigger, better, and scarier dinosaurs to satisfy the demands of the public (read: you, the viewer, are the public). So they make a hybrid dinosaur – actually, several – and splice together components of each that they know work, hoping to create something even more spectacular than the original versions, but missing the mark.

So what elements were cobbled together to make this beast?

Something old

Remnants of the original Jurassic Park are littered throughout the film, with one character literally sporting a t-shirt with the original logo. We see the old jeeps, the old facilities, and constant references to Dr. Hammond. But the formula of the first film is the most recycled item. Two scared kids who are going to get chased by dinosaurs a LOT? Check. Romantically linked man and woman, neither of them parents, charged with saving them? Check. Ridiculously evil dude stealing stuff, e.g. Newman? Check. CEO with a huge vision and complete lack of common sense? Check. The list goes on, and on. And on. Fortunately, in that “something old,” Jurassic World only seems to acknowledge the existence of the first movie, essentially setting itself up as a sequel instead of the fourth in a series.

Something new

Well, attempting to train raptors to do tricks definitely counts as new territory for the film. And there is, of course, a new big bad: Indominus Rex. Genetically engineered to be part T-Rex, part it’s-a-secret, it’s larger and scarier than anything in the original, in theory. While almost every character in Jurassic World maps directly onto a character archetype in the original, Howard’s portrayal of an uptight, by-the-numbers, and cold business woman is fairly unique for the series (and unfortunately probably one of the worst new elements).

Something borrowed

I don’t want to spoil anything outright, but I’ll say this: watch the newest film rendition of Godzilla and watch Jurassic World and you’ll see some clear parallels.

Dr. Wu

Technically, there’s only one single character in the film who actually comes back from the original – Dr. Wu (B.D. Wong), the mad scientist who spearheads the genetic recreations in the first film and continues his work here. He’s back to his old tricks, plugging away at his attempt to play god, and looks like he’s barely aged in the process. It’s kind of incredible. He lands some good lines about the dinosaurs – that since the beginning of the park, they’ve always been hybrids; human idealizations and engineering of what dinosaurs should look like. Wu’s appearance, however, felt like it should have been another “remember Jurassic Park?” type of cameo, but extends further, and eventually goes off the rails into an odd side-plot that feels like it’s there mostly to create fodder for a sequel.

…And Wu rhymes with new? So there you go.

Some of those winks and nods mentioned above do help to increase the fun factor; indeed, they borrow heavily on the huge amount of nostalgic good will built in the first film, reminding you of how good dinosaur movies can be, how incredible it was seeing a dinosaur tear apart a jeep, or how intelligent and menacing raptors can are in this world. And in spite of the wooden acting and bad dialogue, the film doesn’t look half bad. But the formula for Jurassic World relies so heavily on its predecessor, it also succeeds in reminding you that it’s nowhere near as good.

If you see the Jurassic World, watch how the final scenes play out (again with the meta), and you’ll realize the filmmakers know it too.

NBC is bringing back their Heroes tie-in comic franchise along with their television series this fall. Though you won’t see Hayden Panettiere’s as the Claire the cheerleader or Zachary Quinto as Sylar anywhere near the TV proceedings, it’s possible those characters could show up in comic form with Titan announcing today it’s gained the rights to publish a new line of comics based on the upcoming series reboot.

Titan Comics announced today that the company has been granted rights to publish comics based on NBC’s upcoming event series Heroes Reborn premiering this fall.

The licensing agreement awarded by Universal Partnerships & Licensing begins with a five-story arc featuring the origins of one of the series’ new main characters. The comic series will be written by Heroes Reborn Supervising Producer Seamus Fahey and Zach Craley and illustrated by Rubine.

“Our new Heroes series is being created in close collaboration with the team behind the NBC show.” said Chris Teather, Publishing Director, Titan Comics. “These aren’t just comics; they’re bonus episodes!”

Heroes comic issue #1 will hit comic stores in October 2015.

So the first five issues are spoken for in terms of content, but should the broadcast series prove successful it’s possible we’ll see some of the original cast in comic stores if not on TV screens.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 76th Hunger Games.”

And welcome to the last Hunger Games movie.  In the first trailer for the series finale, Mockingjay Part Two reveals itself to be noticeably more bombastic than the film that preceded it.  The conflict finally moves out of the secret District 13 and into The Capital, which I’ve always found to be the most intriguing part of the dystopian society created by author Suzanne Collins.  The absurd aesthetic of the Capital, which mixes Baroque and Victorian fashion, forms a distinct visual counterpoint to the plain earth tones of the clothes worn by the outer districts.  We get our first good look at Capital architecture in this trailer, and interestingly it not only draws from Beaux-Arts, but the aesthetic of industrial factories.

Anyone else wish we could get a spin-off based around culture in the Capital?

Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two comes out on November 20th.

Falling somewhere between fairy tale and ghost story, When Marnie was There potentially represents the final brick in the wall of Studio Ghibli films, coming on the heels of the retirement of famed director Hayao Miyazaki. Following Miyazaki’s departure, the studio announced it would temporarily suspend operations while a new direction was carved out for the team; a direction that may focus solely on existing properties and trademarks. And the director of Ghibli’s potential swan song, Hiromasa Yonebayash, has already departed the studio. When Marnie was There fared poorly in Japan on opening weekend, falling behind Maleficent and Pokémon: The Movie.

It’s all a fairly quiet, sad ending for a creative giant, but in a way, When Marnie was There feel as appropriate a note as any to end on. Trending away from talking animals and fantasy creatures, When Marnie was There focuses on a more delicate story of abandonment and closure. Adapted from the novel by Joan G. Robinson, this is the account of 12-year-old Anna Sasaki. Anna lives in Sapporo with her foster parents; she also lives with crippling self-doubt, which releases itself in the form of anxiety-driven asthma attacks. Though it’s not officially stated, it’s also strongly implied that Anna is depressed. “I hate myself,” the protagonist says of herself, after insulting her peers and driving herself into further isolation.

After a particularly bad asthma attack, Anna’s foster parents decide she needs to get away from the city air and spend the summer at the seaside with some of their relatives. Anna begins to spend her evenings at an abandoned mansion, which she’s told has been vacant for some time. After dreaming about a young blonde girl her own age living there, Anna finds the mansion lit up and fully occupied. She forms a friendship with the girl from her dreams, Marnie, who appears to be real – but no one else ever sees her. The two bond over the feeling of being outsiders and those left behind, but Anna struggles to understand the truth behind Marnie’s appearance, and whether she actually exists at all.

It’s easy to read into the character of Anna in a lot of different ways. She’s sketched out enough to feel like a full character, but there are empty areas to fill in the blanks – so much so that I wondered through most of the movie if this was a tale about coming out more than anything else (it wasn’t, though I kind of wish it had been). What it is that makes her an outsider is a placeholder that many children could fill with their own doubts or insecurities; it’s about more than being an orphaned child.

Some of Ghibli’s more realistic stories haven’t fared as well for me. I struggled with the most recent, The Wind Rises. And while not my number one Ghibli pick, When Marnie was There stands among the best, somewhere behind Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Grave of the Fireflies, my notable favorites. The animation is gorgeous. I can’t speak for the English dub, which features Hailee Steinfeld (known for her role in True Grit) and Kiernan Shipka (Sally from Mad Men), as I saw the subtitled version.

It’s refreshing and surprising to see children’s stories embracing more complex topics like depression. It’s hard not to feel like the endless litany of boy-saves-girl fairy tales are emotionally damaging for everyone, setting up young women for lives of waiting to be saved. Between this release and Pixar’s Inside Out, there are suddenly multiple movies in theaters today, aimed at children, that feature female protagonists grappling to understand emotional processes that most adults don’t have a handle on. And so, if nothing else, what may be Ghilbi’s final step also feels like an important step in the right direction.

Deadline announced today that Universal Television has optioned the rights to Image’s Eisner-nominated The Wicked + The Divine. The comic, by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson, will be adapted via Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick’s production company, Milkfed Criminal Masterminds.  This is the same deal that will bring about the TV adaptation of Sex Criminals – the two-year deal with Universal included adapting not only their own material into television shows, but also allows Fraction and DeConnick to spotlight other creators’ IP.

McKelvie took to Twitter with the announcement:

Been sitting on that one for a while. Hey! Cool! And so happy to be working with Matt and @kellysue.

— Jamie McKelvie (@McKelvie) May 30, 2015

And then Chip Zdarsky, Illustrator for Sex Criminals, took it to another level:

With Both WicDiv and Sex Criminals TV shows being produced by Milkfed, that means a Milkfed Shared Universe, fyi. Suck on THAT, Marvel.

— Chip Zdarsky, ok. (@zdarsky) May 30, 2015

The Wicked + The Divine focuses on members of the Pantheon, people with superhuman powers, a result of merging with the reincarnated spirit of a mythological deity. The first issue was released in June of 2014.

It’s often said that the writers on Lost were just making it up as they went along; weaving the most impossible scenarios into the yarns of the story, hoping an explanation or ending might surface after-the-fact.

If that is, in fact, how Lost was written, it’s easy to argue that Damon Lindelof‘s latest writing venture takes the opposite approach. With a script credited to Lindelof, Jeff Jensen, and director Brad Bird, Tomorrowland feels like a concept or idea (or a philosophy, even) that was fleshed out into 15 minutes of story in the writers’ room. That 15 minutes of story was nestled into the movie’s ending, and 90 minutes of “robots-are-chasing-you-run!” were tacked on ahead of it. A movie that knew where it wanted to go, but had no idea how to get there.

Given the movie’s title and inspiration, it’s awfully hard not to compare it to one of Disney’s rides – waiting more than an hour for an experience that lasts minutes.

The premise of Tomorrowland centers around Casey (Britt Robertson), a rebellious, intelligent teenager who has a knack for understanding how things work. When Casey is gifted a mysterious pin by a child named Athena (Raffey Cassidy), she realizes she has a key to another world where ambitious minds can meet. She enlists the help of a grumpy man named Frank (George Clooney) to help her escape a gang of robots that have started chasing her for the pin (…it’s genuinely as abrupt as it sounds), and they work together to get back to Tomorrowland.

It’s also worth mentioning that several people (primarily bystanders) die on-screen in Tomorrowland, but the violence is glossed over so quickly that it’s simultaneously jarring and forgettable. I’m not opposed to violence showing up in movies, but I prefer if it has a purpose in the story. Here it’s to show that bad robots are bad. Got it? Bad robots. Bad.

It’s not all bad stuff, mind you – the movie’s peak features a Home Alone style house that’s been booby-trapped by Clooney’s character – but after several successful directorial efforts from Bird, including The Incredibles, it’s hard not to consider this one a misfire.

The break-out success of this film, if anything is to be remembered from it, will likely be Robertson’s performance. For a hollow character in a hollow film, Robertson manages to lend enough personal ticks and mannerisms to Casey to make her likable. It may not be a particularly challenging part, but Robertson’s Jennifer-Lawrence-like persona shines through.

Lindelof has already taken to the press to say that this is a movie fanboys will be too cynical to like. While it’s true that Tomorrowland offers a more optimistic look at our future, rather than pining over a world of zombies and destruction, I don’t think it’s the premise that will kill the film’s good will. In fact, I think that’s one of the few and only reasons I’ve seen cited for people enjoying it.

Instead, Tomorrowland spends the majority of it’s running time on bad action (pro-tip: don’t see this movie right after Mad Max: Fury Road) and then decides to clumsily tell, rather than show, its message in a few final moments. Regardless of Lindelof’s claim that this movie isn’t for cynics, the problem isn’t with the viewers. The problem is that a fortune cookie philosophy served at the end of a bad meal doesn’t make the food taste good.

According to a report from Variety,  San Diego-based Luth Research has been analyzing Netflix’s original content and concluded that Marvel’s Daredevil was the most popular of the streaming service’s original series in recent months, with 10.7% of domestic Netflix subscribers tuning in for at least one episode in the show’s first 11 days of airtime. With nearly 41 million domestic subscribers, that’s a viewership of roughly 4.4 million.

Behind that were The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, with 7.3% of viewers tuning in, and House of Cards‘ third season, with 6.5%. Lagging behind was the new drama Bloodline, which received a cold reception from critics an garnered a view from only 2.4% of the subscriber base.

This marks the first major glimpse into Netflix’s viewership numbers, which are typically kept confidential. The data was pulled from a sample of 2,500 subscribers, though none of the sample pool used Netflix on a television – all subscribers in the sample were using computers, tablets or phones, according to Variety.  It’s unknown whether that skews the results of the research.

Daredevil has already been picked up for a second season and is the first in a line-up of Netflix’s Marvel shows. Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones is releasing later this year, and Marvel’s Luke Cage premieres on the streaming service in 2016. Daredevil season 2 is also slated for a 2016 release.

Man of Steel is endlessly fascinating to me. While I appreciated the central thesis: “How would Earth react to finding out there’s life on other planets?”, some of the choices made have been the source of discussion for years now. The one that I found always stuck out most was the desaturated color palette that director Zack Snyder used to reflect the more dour themes of the movie.

While it makes sense in concept, a more realistic Superman should probably be reflected tonally in the visuals, it ended up lessening some of the splendor of the film for me personally. Man of Steel had some of the best visual effects and action cinematography (the two areas in which Snyder really excels) of any superhero film, but the overwhelming sense of grey made everything look rather sludgey.

Now, thanks to the folks at VideoLab, we get a chance to see a somewhat brighter take on the material. Their team turns the color up a bit and show us what Man of Steel would look like if it were just a bit more red and blue. Check it out and gaze at what might have been:

For what it’s worth, we’re all still debating the film to this day, so clearly somebody did something right. That’s more than we can say for some of the lesser Marvel offerings or the latest Spider-Man picture.

It’s time to hop in the “Way Way Back Machine”, all the way to 2007 when Mad Max mastermind George Miller had lined up his cast for Warner Bros’ first attempt at a big screen interpretation of the Justice League. Entitled Justice League: Mortal, Miller’s film would have seen new versions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, and Green Lantern team up to take on Max Lord. The important part of the tale: in the role of Green Lantern was Hip Hop Artist Common, who at the time only had one film and a few television appearances to his credit.

Justice League: Mortal died on the vine after entering pre-production, being tabled due to shooting location tax issues and poor buzz surrounding the script. Once The Dark Knight happened, it was all basically forgotten anyway.

Common went on to become an Oscar winning songwriter and appear in a number of films since, as well as having a starring role in the AMC drama Hell on Wheels. But, as Henry Cavill learned when he was cast as Superman after losing out on the role the first time to Brandon Routh, if a studio is hot on you, there’s always a chance they’ll find another spot.

Thusly, THR is reporting that Common has been cast in Suicide Squad in an undisclosed role. Production has already begun on the picture in Toronto, and the cast had their initial table read of the script already, so it’s possible that his role is not a particularly large one (for this film anyway) or the script is being rewritten to accommodate him. Who really knows? Bronze Tiger has been the popular guess among the superhero movie beat, but that seems like too easy a guess.

Perhaps John Stewart is making a pre-Justice League appearance? Wouldn’t that be funny?

Suicide Squad opens on August 5, 2016. Common is repped by CAA and Myman Greenspan.

After yesterday’s Valiant and Daredevil news items and today’s Eisner nominations, you’d think we could shut the door down on news for a while. But, surprise surprise, there’s still a few other items of note, here’s the rundown:

– Joss Whedon, while on the press circuit for next week’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, held court with Buzzfeed, and in a pretty revealing interview about his time at Marvel that is well worth reading, he happened to elaborate on his feelings regarding Edgar Wright‘s departure from Ant-Man:

I thought the script was not only the best script that Marvel had ever had, but the most Marvel script I’d read. I had no interest in Ant-Man. [Then] I read the script, and was like, Of course! This is so good! It reminded me of the books when I read them. Irreverent and funny and could make what was small large, and vice versa. I don’t know where things went wrong. But I was very sad. Because I thought, This is a no-brainer. This is Marvel getting it exactly right. Whatever dissonance that came, whatever it was, I don’t understand why it was bigger than a marriage that seemed so right. But I’m not going to say it was definitely all Marvel, or Edgar’s gone mad! I felt like they would complement each other by the ways that they were different. And, uh, somethin’ happened.

One you hear Whedon make a statement like that, it’s hard not to wonder what could have been (not that many weren’t already). I’ve long held that parting ways with Edgar Wright was one of the biggest missteps Marvel has made thus far and the loss of his idiosyncratic take on Scott Lang would be felt pretty heavily come this July. But, movies have to be seen before you can judge them, and we’ll find out soon enough.

On that note, Avengers: Age of Ultron is currently sitting at 84% on Rotten Tomatoes with 49 reviews in. If that score holds, it’ll put the film just below Iron Man (93%), The Avengers (92%), Guardians of the Galaxy (91%), and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (89%) in the Marvel canon, if you care about that kind of thing.

– One more Ultron related note, those of you who are aspiring to be professionals in the field of journalism may not want to follow the example set by Krishnan Guru-Murthy from Britain’s Channel 4 news, whose junket press questions caused Robert Downey Jr. to walk out of the interview:

Seriously, save the hard hitting stuff for when it’s warranted and expected, not in promotional interviews for a superhero film.

– The third Star Trek film in the rebooted franchise now has a rumored title: Star Trek Beyond. The rumor comes via TrekMovie who discovered Paramount’s recent MPAA registration of the title. To be honest, I don’t love it, but it’s also a good sight better than Star Trek Into Darkness, which was an awful pun. At the very least, perhaps this ensures that exploration will be the key factor for the new Star Trek entry.

– With True Detective Season 2 just a couple of months away, HBO has released some ominous looking motion posters via the show’s official twitter feed:

We get the world we deserve. #TrueDetective pic.twitter.com/iTkuP2t04n

— True Detective (@TrueDetective) April 22, 2015

We get the world we deserve. #TrueDetective pic.twitter.com/CFJuv00Nws — True Detective (@TrueDetective) April 22, 2015

Creepy stuff!

– And finally, in a fun little piece, here’s what this Summer’s big blockbuster releases would look like in 90’s VHS form. Oh, do I ever miss Blockbuster, until I think about the late fees and scrambling to get the latest video tapes.

A second season of Daredevil appears to be in the cards, though its original showrunner won’t be returning.

Replacing season 1 showrunner Steven DeKnight are Doug Petrie (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, American Horror Story) and Marco Ramirez (Sons of Anarchy), who had a hand in the first season.

“While previous commitments unfortunately prevent me from continuing on with Daredevil into its second season,” DeKnight said in a written statement, “I could not be happier that Doug Petrie and Marco Ramirez are carrying the torch. They were invaluable collaborators during our first season, and I for one can’t wait to see what they do with the show moving forward.”

DeKnight was actually the second showrunner, taking over for Drew Goddard, who left the series during season 1 pre-production, at the time to write and direct a Sinister Six film for Sony. Goddard penned the season’s first two episodes and is rumored to have contributed to an outline for the second season of the show prior to his exit.

Though Netflix already has a fairly full slate of Marvel shows in the works – “Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones” is releasing later this year, and “Marvel’s Luke Cage” premieres on the streaming service in 2016 – Daredevil season 2 is slated for a 2016 release as well.

As a huge fan of season 1, I’m looking forward to a second series. Let’s just hope the show finds a way to change costumes as quickly as it changes showrunners.

Per a report tonight by Deadline, the recently announced Agents of SHIELD spin-off may have its stars in place, as Adrianne Palicki (who plays Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird) and Nick Blood (her ex-husband on the series, Lance Hunter) are nearing deals to star in the not yet greenlit series.

It has been said that the new spin-off will be set up in the final set of episodes of this season of Agents of SHIELD, so fans will have a pretty good idea of what the status quo of the spin-off should be in just a few weeks.

Deadline posits that due to their existing relationship, the series is likely to have a very “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” vibe, with a former husband and wife duo that are highly trained spies, but obviously with an added Marvel Cinematic Universe edge.

The pilot script is being written by Agents of SHIELD executive producers Jeffrey Bell and Paul Zbyszewski, with the latter acting as showrunner if the series is picked up.

While Agents of SHIELD hasn’t exactly performed like gangbusters in the ratings, it has at least begun to steadily improve after hitting a series low 1.4 in the 18-49 demo just a few weeks ago. The spin-off may end up filling the gap between a presumptive third season of SHIELD‘s 1st and 2nd halves, as Agent Carter‘s renewal chances continue to hang in the air.

You’ve all heard the story, in the late 90’s, Tim Burton was scheduled to direct a Superman film entitled Superman Lives, which was to be written by Kevin Smith and star Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel.

It was to be a radically different take on Superman that makes Man of Steel look traditional by comparison. It also never came to be for a number of different reasons. With The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?, a new documentary by AMC Movie Talk’s Jon Schnepp, this fascinating chapter in this history of DC’s biggest icon is explored in depth.

Check out the trailer below for the film, which opens in select theaters on May 1st and expands on July 9th.

The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? delves into one of Hollywood’s most enthralling ‘what could have been’ stories. In 1996, Warner Brothers engaged Kevin Smith to write the screenplay (‘Superman Lives’). Director Tim Burton assembled an elite group of artists to work on Superman Lives, including Nicolas Cage as Superman. Warner Brothers scrapped the project shortly before principal photography began.

This documentary, directed by Jon Schnepp, features interviews with director Tim Burton; producers Jon Peters and Lorenzo diBonaventura; screenwriters Kevin Smith, Wesley Strick, and Dan Gilroy; production designer Rick Heinrichs; special effects artist Steve Johnson; storyboard artist Tim Burgard; costume designer Colleen Atwood, and many more. This film delivers an inside look into what would have been the most original, unexpected and cosmic Superman movie ever made.

Sounds like something I need to see. On a related note, Superman vs. Hollywood is a great book that digs into this subject and all of the projects that came before and after (stopping short of Man of Steel).

And as predicted, the official teaser for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has dropped via Zack Snyder‘s twitter feed:

#BatmanvSuperman#NotBlurry#NotPiratedhttps://t.co/6twr1oFBvr

— ZackSnyder (@ZackSnyder) April 17, 2015

What do you think? Sound off below, and have a great weekend!

We’ve reported in the past week or so about Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett‘s upcoming original animated feature, Justice League: Gods and Monsters, which posits an Elseworlds-esque take on the classic DC trinity.

Today, it’s been announced this newest DC animated film will hit stores on July 28th, and will feature a cast that includes Michael C. Hall (Dexter) as Batman, Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order, 24) as Superman, Tamara Taylor (Bones) as Wonder Woman, Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) as Lois Lane, Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter films, Dig) as Lex Luthor and C. Thomas Howell (E.T., Southland) as Dr. Will Magnus.

That’s a pretty enticing cast, and I for one will be fascinated to see Hall’s take on the Caped Crusader.

Here’s the official summary of the Timm and Burnett-written story:

Witness a divergent reality where the Justice League protects the planet – but answers to no one but themselves. Employing methods of intimidation and fear, this Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman deal brute force in the name of justice. From the creative genius of executive producer Bruce Timm and co-producer Alan Burnett comes an original story where the world’s greatest triumvirate of super heroes has distinctly different origins. Superman was not raised by the Kents in Smallville, the Caped Crusader is not Bruce Wayne, and Wonder Woman is not an Amazon warrior of Themyscira. They are as likely the world’s saviors as Earth’s despotic rulers. When a group of famed scientists experience untimely “accidents,” a government task force follows the trail of clues to the Justice League – but is there a more powerful player operating from the shadows?  It’s a high stakes game of intrigue, mystery and action that asks the question: How do you serve justice to those above the law?

Sam Liu (Batman: Year One) will return to direct, and Timm and Sam Register the Co-Executive Producers.

While the deluxe edition of the Blu-ray will come with the Wonder Woman figurine seen above, the standard blu-ray set will include the following special features:

• ALTERNATE REALITIES: Infinite Possibilities – Justice League: Gods & Monsters falls into a category of storytelling where our well-known characters and the worlds they inhabit are re-imagined. This documentary explores the various attempts by writers to have a little fun and tinker with the characters, resulting in exceptional storytelling that posed thought-provoking questions to audiences.
• CALCULATED RISKS: The Making of Gods and Monsters – Justice League: Gods & Monsters was an idea that pushed the boundaries. It began with that challenging question writers face: “What haven’t we seen before?”  Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett audaciously answered that challenge, resulting in a fresh and exciting film that forces us to think differently about the DC Universe.
• The New Gods – Encore presentation of 2010 documentary about Jack Kirby’s New Gods.
• A Sneak Peak at DC Universe’s Next Animated Movie – An advance look at the next DC Universe Original Movie.
• Bonus cartoons from the DC Comics Vault

And, just if you need the reminder of how enticing this feature is looking, here’s the latest trailer:

The latest Star Wars teaser is out, and All of The Internet is caving to the perfect sense of nostalgia it invokes.

Have a look:

The teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim and features new characters and the return of old favorites, like Han Solo. The film is slated for a U.S. release on Dec. 18 of this year.

As one female-fronted superhero film begins to get its building blocks into place, another one hits a big snag.

In the first of two reports from THR, Marvel Studios is negotiating with screenwriters Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) to pair up for their 2018 release Captain Marvel.

Perlman became a hot name in Hollywood after the massive success of Guardians, and holds the distinction of being Marvel’s first female screenwriter. LeFauve’s Inside Out is also being held as the next great hope in reviving the somewhat sagging critical response that Pixar films have received in the past few years.

Apparently, they had two different takes on Carol Danvers big debut, but Kevin Feige was so taken with them both that he thought they should team up on the final script. No director has been attached as of yet, but Marvel has been making a concerted effort to find a female filmmaker.

Perlman is repped by CAA and Management 360, LeFauve by Verve. Captain Marvel is scheduled to be released on July 6, 2018.

Sadly, it isn’t all good news this evening, as it was just announced that Michelle MacLaren (Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones) has left Wonder Woman over “creative differences”.

MacLaren’s involvement was easily one of the more exciting developments of the Warner Bros/DC film slate. The film is still scheduled to be released in 2017, so there’s still time to get another filmmaker in place, but it’s hard to not be reminded of the Patti Jenkins situation with Thor: The Dark World and the poor results that eventually produced with Alan Taylor at the helm.

Hopefully Warner Bros will be able to course correct. Some have suggested that perhaps MacLaren should jump ship and helm Captain Marvel, but the truth of the matter is, a filmmaker looking for creative freedom probably should avoid big tentpole superhero films altogether.