Rumors have been flying since 2012, when Disney announced the purchase of LucasFilm, that an encompassing release of classic and current Star Wars films will be released.
Today, that rumor has gained some traction.
Digital Fix reports that Disney will be releasing a 4k (Ultra-HD) collection of the Star Wars Skywalker Saga. This collection would be the first time all nine episodes would be available in one package.
According to a UK-based Disney employee who has spoken to us on the condition of anonymity and who claims to have been involved in the collection of material for an upcoming release of the entire Star Wars Saga in a box set, Disney are planning to release a complete 4K Blu-ray edition of the entire Skywalker saga in 2020.
-The Digital Fix
Ardent fans may remember the “Original Unaltered Trilogy” rumors, and how such a release would have needed cooperation with 20th Century Fox due to distribution rights. Now that Disney owns Fox, that barrier is no longer there.
The original trilogy was shot on film, as was the first prequel The Phantom Menace. The other prequels were both shot digitally, meaning that any footage would have to be converted to a 4K format. LucasFilm was in the process of converting all the films into 3D releases at the time of the sale to Disney. No information is yet available about whether any 3D releases are in store.
Of course, Star Wars Celebration kicks off this weekend, and a ton of news will likely break during the convention. Not the least of which is a trailer for the yet-untitled Episode IX. We’ll try our darnedest to keep up with it all
It’s a mega-sized collection of news on this episode of Geekville Radio. Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick return to talk some of the major headlines
Perhaps the biggest news, possibly even bigger than the obvious Star Wars distribution rights, is the Fox owned Marvel properties that can now be incorporated into the MCU.
The most obvious addition would be that of The X-Men. One of fans’ biggest complaints about the MCU is it never incorporated Marvel’s famous mutants. Now, that plethora of of characters can be introduced in Phase Four.
The other Fox owned Marvel property is The Fantastic Four. While the three movies may not have been as successful as most MCU movies, two characters linked to that specific brand could easily become major players as villains in future films. Those are of course Doctor Doom and Galactus.
While many fans are understandably thrilled about this, it is very possible there may be some major changes in store for the franchise.
First off, it is not a given that the existing X-Men actors will carry over into The MCU. And yes, that includes Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Despite already having five films’ worth of Spider-Man films, Marvel still recast Tom Holland in the role.
There is also the possibility that, by using the same actors, continuity just would be less sensical. After all, if the X-Men movies are considered part of the MCU, why didn’t The Avengers assist with any of those world-threatening situations.
Deadpool may stay according to reports, though as Train points out, the studio change may legally be a recasting of the role to Ryan Reynolds, just under a new company.
Disney/Fox Merger and Star Wars (19:20)
Another fan friendly wish that may become a reality is the re-release of the Original Trilogy, aka “Non-Special Editions”, Star Wars films. As discussed before, Fox owned the distribution rights to Star Wars. Thus, any theater or home video release could only be through Fox, unless some deal was worked out with Disney. That of course is no longer an obstacle.
Disney Rehires James Gunn (32:10)
Disney announced the return of director James Gunn to Guardians Of The Galaxy vol. 3. Was the reaction to past controversial tweets overblown? Did Disney cave? Was it just trolls? Or did they have this planned all along? There is evidence for all of these possibilities.
Gunn will still be writing and directing Suicide Squad 2, so Guardians 3 will have to wait for that project to finish before it starts filming.
Oliver Queen himself revealing that Arrow is coming to an end
We already know that Crisis on Infinite Earthswill be next years crossover. We also know they’ve been teasing Crisis since the pilot episode of Flash.
In the comics, Flash and Supergirl die during Crisis. Does this mean their respective TV shows will end as well?
Speaking of deaths, Oliver Queen did die in the DC Universe, but was brought back by Hal Jordan as Spectre. So it is very possible that Ollie may bite the big one, and be brought back in some capacity later on.
Bill And Ted 3 (52:40)
The last segment off the show is devoted to the long-awaited confirmation that a third Bill An Ted movie, now titled Bill And Ted Face The Music, has begun filming. Could a sequel to a 30 year old cult classic work in mainstream 2019?
As always, we welcome your thoughts on all these stories. Let us know in the comments section or on our social media
One of the many great things about living in the 21st Century is the plethora of fanfilms that get made, because the technology to make such a film is more readily available.
Birth Of A Monster is no exception. This short, but very well produced Star Wars fanfilm tells the background story of one of the most infamous creatures in the entire saga. Saying anything more would be a huge spoiler…
This very well may set a new standard in making fanfilms
Actor Topher Grace and editor Jeff Yorkes assembled this five minute trailer utilizing scenes from all 10 existing Star Wars films, including some rough cut scenes from the Blu-Ray releases. The result is a five minute summary that hits all the best parts of the trilogies and spin-offs.
The internet is buzzing about a discovery credited to a Reddit thread which claims Balance Of The Force is on the official Star Wars page. Could this be the title of Episode IX? As of this recording, there has been no official confirmation or denial from Disney or LucasFilm. However, the name “Balance Of The Force” goes back at least a couple decades.
As many fans who remember the mid-90s may attest, the term Balance Of The Force is nothing new to the Star Wars Universe. In fact, it was the heavily rumored title for Episode I going all the way back to when the prequels were announced.
Balance Of The Force was rumored to be the title for Episode I
Mace Windu of course uses the term when discussing Anakin with Qui-Gon Jinn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeAAjRVjPxA
It wouldn’t be the first time that a title may have been considered but discarded. When the initial teaser trailer for Return Of The Jedi was released, it had the title Revenge Of The Jedi. George Lucas changed his mind and renamed the movie Return Of The Jedi due to revenge not being a Jedi trait.
Flash forward 22 years, and Episode III got the name Revenge Of The Sith.
In the prequels, it was hinted that destroying the Sith would bring Balance To The Force. Vader accomplished the task by destroying Emperor Palpatine in Episode VI. But was that really bringing balance? Or could it be a balance on how The Force is interpreted? The Jedi and Sith had their own skewed ways of looking at The Force. As said in an excerpt from Episode 35, RealMarchHare and Leadbase talk about what “balance” might mean, and that it could mean a Neutral stance.
There is reason to believe that the title may not be Balance Of The Force after all, as there was a digital pinball game released with that name. Giving a movie the same name as an unrelated video game would seem a bit counterpoductive.
What do you think about the name Balance Of The Force? What do you think it would mean? Sound off below or on our Facebook and Twitter Page.
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.
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?
Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick return for the first full-fledged Geekville Radio episode for 2019!
Black Panther Nabs Best Picture Nomination
Historical news hit this week with Black Panther getting an Academy Award Nomination for Best Picture. It is very rare for a Geek movie, especially a superhero one, to get any consideration outside of technological achievement. While Seth and Train agree that it will likely not win the coveted prize, it is still a huge achievement for such a movie to even get nominated.
Finally, Seth and Train discuss all these reboots, remakes, and sequels that have been made lately. Why is it some are great while others fall short? And why could some of these movies work then and not work now?
With all this 80s talk, it’s only fitting Train gives a 1980’s One Hit Wonder Spotify playlist.
All this and more in another fun-filled episode of Geekville Radio.
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 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
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.
This episode of Geekville Radio is dedicated to the memory of Gary Kurtz. Who, with the exception of George Lucas himself, may be the man most responsible for Star Wars getting made.
RIP Gary Kurtz
He will obviously best known for Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back, but he did have other titles to his credit. He also produced George’s first big hit, 1973’s American Graffiti, along with 1989’s Slipstream starring Mark Hamill and the late great Bill Paxton.
RIP Scott Wilson
Scott Wilson is probably best known to the current generation as Hershel in The Walking Dead. He was a regular series cast member in the first couple seasons. He also voiced Hershel for video game releases, and Robot Chicken. Hs career dates back to the mid 1960’s, and his first credited role according to IMDB is the original In The Heat Of The Night
Both Iron Fist and Luke Cage have been canceled by Netlfix
While it may not be surprising just for Iron Fist, fans were a little shocked at the cancellation of both Iron Fist and Luke Cage by Netflix. Both shows were well received, with Iron Fist almost universally praised as being a huge improvement over the first season. Especially when it comes to Finn Jones and fight choreography.
The big question is “Why both shows?”. Seth and Train can really only speculate, but there are a few possible reasons. Could this mean a Heroes For Hire show? Or even a Daughters Of The Dragon? And if so would it be for Netflix or Disney? Is it in either Netflix’s or Disney’s best interests to keep shows on Netflix, and not move them to Disney’s streaming service? And if they are Disney bound, than theoretically they could cross over with Agents Of SHIELD, another show that is rumored to move to Disney either next year or the year after.
On a side note, Seth and Train point out how Luke Cage can be considered the ‘White Meat Babyface” of the Netflix Marvel programming.
Kathleen Kennedy’s contract with LucasFilm has been renewed
The only Star Wars movie currently in production is Episode IX. It will be the final “Episode”, and it will be marketed as such. There will be the aforementioned films by Game Of Thrones creators. Plus the Rian Johnson trilogy is still in development. So there will be no shortage of Star Wars on the big screen, despite the reported dialing back on films
One title that is absent from this list is the rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi film. We had reported a few months back that the film was set to begin filming in Ireland after Episode IX had wrapped. Just because that movie wasn’t mentioned, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is dead in the water.
When you look at the past films under her watch, several films did have some bumps along the way.
Rogue One went through a direction change, with Tony Gilroy taking over to adjust what Gareth Edwards had done. However Edwards maintained Director credit.
Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were outright fired from Solo and Ron Howard was hired to almost completely re-shoot the film. When you factor that in, it’s amazing it still made its release deadline.
Colin Trevorrow left Episode IX and got replaced by JJ
It seems the only movies that DIDN’T have troubles were with Abrams and Johnson.
Jon Favreau’s Series
In other Star Wars news, Jon Favreau’s series The Mandalorianhas begun filming. It of course will be one of the flagship shows on Disney’s upcoming streaming service, now called Disney Play.
While no cast or characters have been announced, the premise will be a few years after Return of The Jedi, but well before The Force Awakens. There will be no First Order as of yet.
On the subject of Disney, Hollywood Reporter has also stated Kevin Feige will be overseeing future X-Men movies with the Disney purchase of Fox. Disney’s Bob Iger gave some key answers to questions about Fox-owned properties in the MCU
I think it only makes sense,” Iger said. “I want to be careful here because of what’s been communicated to the Fox folks, but I think they know. It only makes sense for Marvel to be supervised by one entity. There shouldn’t be two Marvels.
When asked about talent
Very good question. We’re going to take the best people from both companies and that’s who’s gonna basically be on the playing field for us. Meaning, talent will prevail. Fox Searchlight is a great example. You look at FX, NatGeo. Yeah, you’re buying libraries and brands, but you’re also buying the people. I’m not gonna talk about specific people right now except to say that I’ve met with virtually the entire senior management team at Fox and I’m not only fully engaged with them on what the possibilities for them might be but I’m excited about the prospects.
It would stand to reason that many of the characters may get re-cast. As much as fans may want it, they probably shouldn’t hold their breath for an onscreen meeting between Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool.
The Next Spider-Man villain will be Mysterio
Jake Gyllenhaall was officially announced in the cast for Spider-Man Far From Home. He will be portraying Quentin Black, aka Mysterio. This will be the live-action film debut for the longtime Spider-Man villain. It’s also confirmed that Michael Keaton will be reprising the role of Adrian Toombs/Vulture. A leaked set photo shows Gyllenhaal in costume. Sadly, no “Fish Bowl Look”. At least not yet.
WB Crossover will be Elseworlds.
The annual CW “Flarrowverse” crossover will be titled Elseworlds. Entertainment Weekly reports that it will be a three part crossover, not the previous four part.
The Flash will kick it off on Sunday, which will be followed up by Arrow on Monday, and wrapped up with Supergirl on Tuesday. This breaks the previous pattern of Supergirl having the first part in the last two years.
While there will be no regular involvement with the Legends Of Tomorrow cast, it has been revealed that Superman will join in, and Lois Lane will make her debut.
In an unexpected turn, an official internet poster showed Stephen Amell in the Flash costume, and Grant Gustin in the Green Arrow threads.
Also notable is the name Nora Fries in the cast of characters. Nora is of course the ill-fated wife of Victor Fries, aka Mr. Freeze. When you factor that this will also serve as the introduction to Batwoman, it may be an indicator to the premise of the Batwoman series.
Supergirl made a regular habit of taking lesser known villains from Superman lore, and adapting classic Superman stories to fit The Girl Of Steel. Could this mean we’ll see some Batman villains on the small screen for Batwoman? Time will tell.
Finally, Train talks the major news surrounding the release of the long anticipated Read Dead Redemption 2. IGN gave the game a perfect 10 score. An act that is incredibly rare.
Are you in the Halloween spirit yet? If you need anything to scratch your Halloween itch, check out the latest episode of Examining The Dead. Train reviews the movie Train To Busan, and talk the outcome of the Friday The 13th lawsuit. And of course, Dan Wilson talks his new horror themed production company One Good Scare.
