DC Comics and their properties
James Gunn made the following tweet in response to his re-hiring as director for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.
Gunn was famously fired last summer over controversial tweets he made in 2009. The cast of the previous two films petitioned to have him reinstated. Warner Bros. then hired Gunn to helm Suicide Squad 2 for rival DC Comics movie universe. Disney Chairman Alan Horn met with Gunn and officially re-hired him this week.
For 35 years, fans have enjoyed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles adventures in various incarnations. In 2015, the heroes in a half shell crossed paths with The Dark Knight himself, Batman, in a limited series by DC Comics and IDW.
Now that story has been adapted for an animated release entitled Batman vs. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which hits shelves at the end of the month. Check out the trailer below.
While the art in the comic book version seems to pay homage to the original Eastman & Laird artwork, the movie looks more like the Batman: Brave And The Bold format. The cast consists of Troy Baker taking on the roles of both Batman and The Joker (a first for the same release), Tara Strong as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, John DiMaggio (Futurama) as Mr. Freeze, Darren Criss (Glee) as Raphael, Kyle Mooney (Saturday Night Live) as Michelangelo, and Tom Kenny (SpongeBob Squarepants) as The Penguin.
The CW has officially renewed all shows in the fan favorite Arrowverse TV family. Broadcasting Cable reports CW President Mark Pedowitz made the announcements during the TCA (Television Critics Association) Winter 2019 Press Tour. The shows were among the 10 announced renewals for the 2019-2020 season.
“This season, we expanded our primetime schedule to six nights with the addition of Sunday — which has been an unqualified success for the network, our affiliates and our advertisers,” said Pedowitz. “In addition to growing our schedule across the week, we also continue to add more year-round programming. The early renewal of these signature CW series gives us a head start on laying out the 2019-2020 season, and this is just the beginning.”
Usually renewals are not announced until early Spring, so this year’s early announcement does show CW’s approval of all the shows’ ratings.
This will put Arrow at Season 8, The Flash at Season 6, Supergirl and Legends Of Tomorrow both at Season 5, and Black Lightning at Season 3. The pilot for Batwoman, which will center around Ruby Rose’s character introduced during last month’s crossover, will presumably air during that season as well.
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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?
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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
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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!
As always we are on iTunes, Stitcher, and many of your favorite podcasts devices. Let us know what you think. Let us know what you want to hear! Give us a review if you can.
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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:
This episode may be a few years old, but the overall theme is still applicable.
