Geekville Radio #244: Q&A Clips from Wizard World Chicago
NOTE: The wrong episode was previously uploaded,
Wizard World Chicago took place on the last weekend of August, the same weekend as Disney’s D23 Expo. Several celebrities participated in panels and Q&A sessions for fans.
First up, Jeff Goldbum talks The MCU, Thor: Love and Thunder, tooth decay, and Buckaroo Banzai.
Kevin Conroy quotes about (what else?) voicing Batman, working with Mark Hamill, and getting in front of the camera again for Crisis On Infinite Earths.
Dean Cain answered questions about playing Superman and gives his opinion of Henry Cavill.
Teddy Sears tells about what he knew ahead of time when playing Jay Garrick in The Flash.
Wizard World Chicago held an Arrowverse Panel this past August where actor Teddy Sears talked about his recurring role as Jay Garrick in Season Two of The Flash.
SPOILERS for fans who haven’t seen the second season of The Flash!
As fans of The CW show know, Season Two saw the addition of Jay Garrick to the cast of characters. Jay was, of course, the original Golden Age Flash in the comics dating back to 1941.
Season Two also introduced Zoom as the main villain. However, it wasn’t until the latter half of the season that fans saw that Jay and Zoom were one and the same.
So how much did Sears know ahead of time? Did he know he’d turn bad when he was cast?
“I knew that it was going to happen, yes,” answered Sears. “I was told before we started filming ‘here’s the idea for the season. You’re going to be this, and then you won’t be.’ And so what happened is I began to shoot all my stuff as Jay Garrick and I loved it. And I loved it so much that a lot of time went by, and I convinced myself that the writers had changed their minds because they hadn’t talked to me in a while.”
Sears continued, “I was going to be this character, as Jay, for the whole season. And then a few months went by, and I remember opening a script and seeing… [the reveal] is going to happen like they said. I was disappointed.
“But then when I began to play Zoom, I was very excited,” he added. “One, because it was so different than playing Jay. Jay is so much closer to me as a person, so that was easier for me to sort of do. And Zoom was so different for me, and it was very scary.”
Sears concluded by saying “So, it’s a long answer to say I knew it was coming. I was kind of hoping it wasn’t, but once it did, it was a great thrill. It was awesome.”
That said, like with so many other remakes and rebrandings, the original lore is still there. It won’t get erased from existence if a retelling of Snake-Eyes happens.
Airdates will be Supergirl 12/8, Batwoman 12/9, Flash 12/10. Then Arrow and Legends Of Tomorrow on 1/14. So that’s five episodes in two parts, meaning it will also double as the mid-season cliffhanger.
One of the longest tenured voices in DC animation is at last going to step in front of cameras to reprise the role.
Kevin Conroy, who first began providing the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman in 1992 for Batman: The Animated Series, will be portraying Bruce Wayne in CW’s hotly-anticipated Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover event. This marks the first time Conroy will play the character in a live-action production.
Conroy is no stranger to onscreen acting, having had roles on various TV shows throughout the years including Tour Of Duty and Murphy Brown.
The five-part series includes an already staggering list of actors who will undoubtedly play variations on their characters from different universes (or Earths as they are called in the series). That list includes Tyler Hoechlin (Superman), Burt Ward (Robin in the 1966 Batman TV series), Brandon Routh (The Atom AND Superman), Jon Cryer (Lex Luthor), Elizabeth Tolluch (Lois Lane), as well as the regular casts from the ongoing “Arrowverse” shows.
While it has only been announced that Conroy will be Bruce Wayne, it’s hard to imagine a Bruce Wayne that doesn’t come with a Batman attached. Could we see Bruce from Batman Beyond? Dark Knight Returns? Or could we see even see a Kingdom Come counterpart to Brandon Routh’s Superman?
In our previous episode, we discussed the revelations for Marvel’s Phase Four of The MCU. Here we talk a lot of the other news coming out of The Mecca Of Geekery that is San Diego Comic-Con!
Each trailer is listed below with the appropriate timestamp in the show discussion.
One of the many fun things with San Diego Comic-Con is the plethora of trailers released. While the days of exclusive trailers are mostly gone, it’s still a big marketing day for the entertainment industry.
Here are several of the trailers that premiered over the weekend.
Netflix’s The Witcher starring Henry Cavill
HBO’s Watchmen, inspired by the classic comic book miniseries
A sizzle reel for Arrow gives a glimpse of Season Eight
The Flash Season 6
Flash Season 6 introduces the new villain Bloodwork
Top Gun: Maverick, the long-rumored sequel to the 1986 classic
Terminator: Dark Fate
Terminator: Dark Fate welcomes back Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor
Dark Crystal
Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance still uses puppetry like its predecessor
Jay & Silent Bob Reboot is a sequel to 2003’s Jay & Silen Bob Strike Back
Star Trek: Picard looks to be an absolute treasure to TNG fans
What were your favorite trailers from Sand Diego Comic-Con? Sound off below!
Fans have been speculating how the Arrowverse creators will handle Crisis On Infinite Earths since its announcement almost a year ago. At San Diego Comic-Con fans were finally given some answers.
Perhaps the biggest bombshell revealed at the Arrow panel is that Brandon Routh will play two characters. His regular character, Ray Palmer/The Atom, and Superman.
Routh, of course, portrayed The Man Of Steel in 2006’s feature film Superman Returns. Released as a direct sequel to 1980’sSuperman II, which is widely considered the best of the Christopher Reeve films, Superman Returns established that Routh’s Superman and Reeve’s Superman were one and the same.
As if that wasn’t enough, Routh came on stage during the panel to reveal his costume.
Brandon Routh reveals a Kingdom Come Superman shirt
Routh will indeed be playing Superman as he appeared in the epic 1996 comics story Kingdom Come, which takes place in the future. In it, Superman is older and more of a grizzled veteran than the current day one.
Superman as he appears in Kingdom Come #1. Art by Alex Ross
This would also seem to imply that this aging badass Superman is that same Reeve/Routh movie version. How he will fit into the Crisis story was not revealed, but it sure whets fans’ appetite for the series when it airs this Fall.
As DC Comics fans know, Crisis On Infinite Earths was an epic universe-wide crossover event that rebooted the DC Universe continuity. All of the “other universes”, or Multi-verse as they might be called now, were streamlined into one congruent universe.
Arrow will be ending its eight-year run this season and will be part of the annual crossover event.
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
Amell confirming suspicion that the Arrowverse may change forever
But how will this affect the other shows in the fan-dubbed “Flarrowverse”? If the next crossover is any indication, they will be affected quite heavily.
Ardent DC fans noticed this headline in the series premiere of The Flash. It was the first clue that hinted of a major story arc in the future.
The first hint at Crisis On Infinite Earths
Ever since then, fans wondered if such an epic event would ever see the the light of day in live action. After all, the original Crisis reshaped the entire DC comic line. An event not seen again until recent years in DC. Marvel is another story, but that’s for another time…
For those who may not be familiar with the event, Crisis On Infinite Earths was a massive storyline that involved practically the entire DC Comics line. Much like the current CW shows, DC had a multiverse which had the same or similar characters in different universes. Eventually, DC decided to reboot their entire universe and start with a clean slate. To do this, they started a massive story arc that would streamline all these different realities into one.
And that, in a nutshell, was Crisis On Infinite Earths. Now, onto the SPOILERS for a 35 year old comic story.
The most widely known fact about Crisis, is the event resulted in the deaths of some pretty major names. Namely Supergirl and The Flash.
One of the most iconic images in comics history
The original Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, died approximately halfway through the series. The image of Superman openly weeping while holding her body is considered one of the most iconic images in DC’s history.
Barry Allen literally running himself to death during Crisis On Infinite Earths
The Barry Allen Flash sacrificed himself to save the universe. Shortly thereafter, DC promoted Kid Flash (Wally West) to take his uncle’s place.
Now just because a live action adaption shares the name doesn’t necessarily mean that all details have to be followed. But those two moments are vividly remembered to this day. It’s a pretty safe bet that at least one of them will happen.
OK, but what about Ollie?
Green Arrow did appear in Crisis, but it was the Earth 2 (Golden Age) version that kicks the bucket. Arrowverse fans may recall that Ollie is already dead in the televised version of Earth 2. It’s what spurned the Earth 2 Laurel into becoming Black Siren instead of Black Canary.
One of the major plot points in Season 7 is an adult William in the future trying to find out what happened to his father. It’s pretty well established that Ollie has not been heard from for some time. But if Ollie died during a massive battle, it probably would be something of legend. So what the heck happened?
Could this be what happens to our beloved Stephen Amell onscreen version of Ollie? It’s way too early to speculate fully, as Season 7 hasn’t even finished yet. There is still a long way to go before December 2019. And even if Ollie does bite the big one, it’s not like death has stopped characters before.
What do you think? Should Ollie die in the series finale?
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.
