2019: The Year In Geek Movies

2019 certainly has no shortage of geek films. From sequels to reboots, to live action remakes. Even the horror genre looks promising.

Join Seth and Train as they preview many of the upcoming moves in 2019, especially the Marvel and DC entries. Links below are all courtesy IMDB, with trailers attached if available.

FEBRUARY 5th

Lego Movie 2: The Second Part – The long awaited sequel has most of the primary cast returning to deal with the imminent threat of the giant Duplo Block Invasion. In our review of the first film, we were amazed that a $100 million dollar commercial could be so much fun. Everything still looks awesome.

FEBRUARY 14th

Alita: Battle Angel – Manga fans are familiar with this title, based on the series of books from the 1990s. The story is set in a cyberpunk future where a cyborg is awakened and repaired. Once functioning, she sets out to learn her past and how everything came to be. If you’re not familiar with the title, there are some bonafide A-Listers at work. Robert Rodriguez is directing , with the screenplay co-written by James Cameron himself.

Happy Death Day 2U – The first film was a surprise hit with a very original premise. It was almost like a horror version of Groundhog Day. Writer/Director Christopher Landon returns to helm the sequel that will pick up immediately after the original movie ended.

FEBRUARY 22

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – Seemingly everybody has enjoyed the Dreamworks animation releases. They are arguably the #2 animation studio next to Disney itself. The third and final installment in the movie is set one year after How To Train your Dragon 2 and finds Hiccup searching for a lost dragon world.

MARCH 8th

Captain Marvel – The first Marvel MCU movie of 2019 will introduce Carol Danvers and Skrulls to the MCU. Samuel L Jackson returns as a younger, two-eyed Nick Fury. The film takes place entirely in the 1990s and will presumably show how Fury got his trademark eyepatch.

APRIL 5th

SHAZAM – In a hilarious twist of fate, DC’s Captain Marvel (aka SHAZAM) is brought into the DCEU the month following Marvel’s entry. Teenage Billy Batson is transformed into a fully adult superhero by uttering the word “Shazam”. So Marvel Comics has a Captain Marvel, DC has a Captain Marvel. Everybody got that?  Zachary Levi portrays the title role, while Mark Strong plays the villainous Dr. Sivana. This puts Strong on the interesting list of actors with multiple comic book roles from the same publisher (he portrayed Sinestro in the 2011 Green Lantern film). No other DC Characters listed as appearing according to IMDB. Sorry fans, we have to wait a little longer to get The Rock’s Black Adam.

APRIL 12th

Hellboy – While this is a reboot, this isn’t just an ordinary reboot. Creator Mike Mignola will have a larger creative role in this version. David Harbour (Stranger Things) takes over the title role, while Milla Jovovich portrays the evil Nimue.

APRIL 26th

Avengers: Endgame – Not much can be said that hasn’t already been speculated on already. We had a thorough dissection of the trailer last month. Arguably the most anticipated movie of the year (which is saying something) will finish the story from last year’s Avengers: Infinity War, and usher in Phase Four of the MCU.

MAY 24th

Alladin – 2019 is the year for Disney live action remakes. Alladin was a huge hit in the 1990s, due in no small part to Robin Williams’ epic take on The Genie. Sadly, Robin is no longer with us, or he surely would have reprised the role. Will Smith certainly has some big shoes to fill.

MAY 31st

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters – Millie Bobby Brown (also from the Stranger Things cast) makes her big screen debut. This sequel to the 2014 smash hit introduces Mothra, Rodan, and King Gidorah to the American Godzilla franchise. Plus, we know King Kong is also part of this Kaiju Cinematic Universe.

JUNE 7th

X-Men: Dark Phoenix – One of the most popular storylines from the X-Men comic books finally is adapted for the big screen. Some elements were used in X3, but this version looks to be a more in depth take. With this being the likely conclusion to Fox’s X-Men franchise, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a lot of characters bite the big one.

JUNE 14th

Men In Black International – Thor Ragnarok co-stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson reunite in this spin-off that also introduces Liam Neeson to the franchise. The trailer looks to carry on the sci-fi comedy that made the first three films so successful.

Shaft – Jessie T Usher stars as JJ Shaft, the third generation of the Shaft family. Richard Roundtree and Samuel L Jackson reprise their respective roles as John Shaft and John Shaft II. In a world of so many reboots, it’s refreshing to see an installment that still recognizes previous movies as part of the story.

JUNE 21st

Child’s Play – Speaking of reboots, MGM has this take on the horror/comedy franchise that rebrands Chucky for a 21st Century audience. It is important not confuse this with the upcoming TV series of the same name. This film will be a new continuity and will not involve creator Don Mancini or actor Brad Dourif, who will be part of the TV series.

Toy Story 4 – Ironic that a horror franchise dealing with an evil doll drops on the same day as the beloved family franchise about dolls and toys. Toy Story 3 had a very emotional ending, so it will be interesting to see what is in store for the cast in this new installment.

JULY 5th

Spider-Man: Far From Home – We speculated on when the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming would take place in this post Infinity War world. We now know that it’s set right after Endgame. The second solo outing has Peter Parker on a school trip to Europe where he battles Mysterio (Jake Gyllennhal).

JULY 19th

Lion King – Another live action adaption (if you want to call it that) of a Disney franchise. This trailer looks almost shot by shot like the 1994 smash hit. James Earl Jones is the lone cast returning. He will reprise the role of Muphasa, while Donald Glover steps in as Simba.

AUGUST 2nd

The New Mutants – With the exit of one mutant franchise from Fox, another one debuts. As the name implies, the film is inspired by the 1980s Marvel title which brought a new generation into the fold. Though the trailer seems to heavily hint a much more horror focus than simply sci-fi action. In this post-Deadpool and Logan world, could an R-Rating be in store?

SEPTEMBER 9th

It Chapter 2 – We knew when the first film hit that this would be a two part story. Thankfully, that gamble paid off as It became a worldwide smash and became the highest grossing horror film of all time.

OCTOBER 4th

Joker – The much examined Joaquin Phoenix standalone film will be also star the legendary Robert De Niro. Not much is truly known about the film, and there is the underlying rumor that Phoenix may not even be the title character after all.

OCTOBER 11th

Addams Family – The classic comedic family is returning to the big screen, this time in animated form. Oscar Isaac voices Gomez, Charlize Theron voices Morticia, and Finn Wolfhard (another cast from Stranger Things) takes on Pugsley. An animated take may seem a bit odd to some, but it may actually be more faithful to the original comic strip that existed before the TV show.

NOVEMBER 1st

Untitled Terminator Film – Creator James Cameron is returning to the franchise that made him a household name. Linda Hamilton is returning to the role of Sarah Connor and Arnold Schwarzenegger is once again portraying a Terminator. Like Halloween before it, this film will ignore most of the previous films, and will be a direct sequel to 1991’s Terminator 2.

DECEMBER 20th

Star Wars Episode IX – Much like Avengers Endgame, there isn’t much to talk about that hasn’t already been said. Disney has confirmed that this will be the final episode of “The Skywalker Saga”. This implies that any future films will be unrelated, and may not have the classic scrolling text introduction. That said, what on Earth could possibly be the final shot of the nine episode saga?

Avengers Endgame Trailer, Elseworlds Review

It’s a double whammy return to the airwave for Geekville Radio. Join Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick as they talk about the two giant stories in the comic superhero world.

Whammy #1 – The world is still buzzing over the first Avengers Endgame Trailer. What can we expect from some of the nuggets dropped in that teaser? How can Tony get saved? Could we see Rescue? Adam Warlock perhaps? And what about that reveal of Hawkeye as Ronin?

Whammy #2 – The CW did their annual “Arrowverse” crossover Elseworlds. While it was only three parts instead of the usual four, it did finally bring Lois Lane into the show, as well as introduced the CW viewers to Gotham City and Batwoman. With all the hints dropped at famous Batman villains, could we finally be seeing The Caped Crusader on CW Programming?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APl1IX34X50

All this and more in another fun-filled Geekville Radio

Marvel and Star Wars Content for Disney, Red Dead Redemption 2

Geekville Radio #216: Marvel and Star Wars Content for Disney

Thanksgiving may be coming to a close, but that doesn’t stop Geekville Radio from talking some fun news about the news.

Several shows have been announced for the Disney streaming service. In the Star Wars corner, Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell in Game Of Thrones) has been cast as one of the main characters in Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian. Former MMA star Gina Carano (Deadpool and Deadpool 2) has also been cast, presumably as another Mandalorian.

Diego Luna will reprise the role of Cassian Andor in a yet untitled Rogue One prequel series. It is unclear how long before the Rogue One movie the series will take place in, or whether any of the other members of the film’s cast will be part of the show.

This is in addition to a seventh season of the fan favorite Clone Wars series, which will presumably depict the fates of several characters. Disney has already teased a reunion between Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker. Fans of the series may recall Ahsoka leaving the Jedi order in the final episode of Season Five.

On the Marvel front, a series starring Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier and Anthony Mackie as Falcon has been greenlit according to Slashfilm. This is in addition to a Scarlet Witch show with Elizabeth Olsen, and (perhaps the most anticipated) a Loki series with non other than Tom Hiddleston.

It is worth mentioning that all of these series look to be limited series, and not full seasons. So expect something more along the lines of a 4-8 episode season you might see on Netflix than the usual 22-26 episodes you might see on TV.

Marvel head Kevin Fiege will be directly involved in the series, which is not the case for Agents Of SHIELD on ABC. Coincidentally, Agents Of SHIELD has been renewed for a 7th season. Yes, you read that correctly. a SEVENTH season when the sixth hasn’t even aired yet.

Over in the DC side of things, James Gunn has officially been hired by Warner Bros. in a move that shouldn’t surprise many who have been following the story. Gunn will likely write and possibly direct Suicide Squad 2. Coincidentally, Disney will still be using Gunn’s script for Guardians Of The Galaxy 3.

The title of the long rumored Harley Quinn/Birds Of Prey film has been announced. The current official title is Birds Of Prey: And The Totally Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn.

Ewan McGregor has been cast as Black Mask, who will likely be the film’s central villain. Birds Of Prey has been a title over the years for a street-level female team. The team usually consists of some mixture of Huntress, Black Canary, Batgirl, an Catwoman. Poison Ivy and Harley have been in the series at different times.

In other Harley Quinn news, Alan Tudyk will be voicing The Joker in the animated Harley Quinn series for the DC streaming service. Kaley Cuoco will be Harley, and Diedrich Bader will reprise the role of Batman. He previously voiced Batman in Cartoon Network’s Brave And The Bold series.

In the final segment, Crazy Train reviews Red Dead Redemption 2. The long anticipated title has set a record for its opening weekend. With $725 million, the Western title beats out Avengers: Infinity War in opening weekend grossing.

This review may contain opinions that might not be the norm when talking about this massively popular game. In fact, the amount of realism of the game can be a deterrent at times. Take this headline

https://www.unilad.co.uk/gaming/red-dead-redemption-2-will-have-realistic-horse-testicle-physics/

Realistic? Yes. Fun? Maybe not so much…

All this and more in another fun-filled Geekville Radio!

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Episode 2: Warriors Of Estrogen

One of our most popular episodes! Seth is joined by special guests Lead Base and Stormcrowe to talk Strong Female Characters.

Some of the questions asked throughout the show:

  • What makes a Strong Female Character?
  • Strong? Or Macho?
  • Examples of Strong Female Characters

This episode may be a few years old, but the overall theme is still applicable.