Marvel’s “What If…” Series To Explore The Infinity Saga

Longtime Marvel fans were delighted when Kevin Feige announced the animated What If…? series for the Disney+ streaming service. Not only will the show be produced by Marvel Studios, but it will also feature many of the existing MCU actors reprising their big-screen roles.

However, if you were hoping for stories about Wolverine, Spider-Man, or The Fantastic Four, you may be disappointed. Feige clarified while speaking with Screen Rant that only stories from The Infinity Saga (Phases 1-3) will be explored.

“Right now, we’re focusing on for the first season, everything you know about the 23 movies in the Infinity Saga and adding one twist to them and seeing how everything turns out different.”

Marvel President Kevin Feige to Screen Rant

While that excludes classic issues where Wolverine kills The Hulk, or The Punisher becomes Captain America, the good news is that still means over twenty movies worth of material can be explored. Add in that the known actors will still be providing the voices, and it’s still a pretty ambitious concept.

What If…? will debut in Summer 2021 on Disney+. The series premiere will answer the question “What If Peggy Carter Became Captain America?”.

San Diego Comic-Con Trailers

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!

Brandon Routh Returns to Superman For Arrowverse Crossover

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’s Superman 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.

Big Finish’s 20th Anniversary Doctor Who Story: The Legacy Of Time

Big Finish celebrates 20 years of Doctor Who Stories

Big Finish is celebrating 20 years of original Doctor Who stories in the most “Doctor Whoish” way. Not only does The Legacy Of Time feature six (count ’em SIX) incarnations of the famous Time Lord, but it also has companions from both the old and new series. It’s a multi-generational mash-up that can only be done by Big Finish.

Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann all reprise their respective Doctors, while Tim Treloar replaces the late great Jon Pertwee. Some of the familar supporting characters include Ace, Leela, Jo Grant, Osgood, Kate Stewart, and of course River Song.

The six CD set (?!?!) is currently available, but is limited to 4,000 copies. An MP3 edition is available for immediate download. Both are available at Big Finish’s site.

Tom Welling as Batman in the Arrowverse?

Robert Pattinson will be playing Batman in future big screen Justice League films, but another fellow teenage heartthrob may be headed to TV for the same role.

Tom Welling recently appeared on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast Inside Of You. In the interview, he stated that he would be open to playing The Caped Crusader in The CW’s family of Arrowverse shows.

Welling, who is best known for portraying a young Clark Kent/Superman in the long-running show Smallville, had communication with Arrow showrunners earlier this year. He is reportedly appearing in Arrow’s final season in some capacity.

It is worth noting there is no official confirmation on what Welling’s role is as of yet. However, the show has an October start date. Whether the Dark Knight talk was a teaser or just a throwaway statement, will be known soon. If it does happen, it would make Welling the first actor to portray both Batman and Superman in live action productions.

Examining The Doctor #69: Shada

Geekville Radio Presents Examining The Doctor: Shada

Examining the Doctor is back after two years, and we wanted to come back with a doozy of a show. This episode is devoted to the infamously incomplete story Shada from 1979. This was meant to be the final story for Season 17, but due to strikes and politics, production halted after a few days.

The BBC finally released a complete reconstructed version using animated sequences to fill the missing scenes. The result is a mashup of live action and animation that would only seem to fit in Doctor Who.

Join Mark and Seth as they bring their signature blend of knowledge and humor to arguably the most popular story to never get broadcast. Written by Douglas Adams, Shada stars Tom Baker as The Fourth Doctor, Lalla Ward as Romana, and Christopher Meade as the villainous Skagra

Information Links

Examining The Dead #21

Examining The Dead #21

Coroner’s Report (2:30)

Gruesome Twosome (37:35)

First up, 2011’s The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins and Colin O’Donoghue. It is inspired by a true story involving exorcism.

Also, the 2018 Halloween reboot, now available on home video.

Into The Crystal Ball (1:10:43)

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is currently in theaters. Train, Greg, and Seth all give their recommended Godzilla movies if you need a prep for the new film. In a previous episode of Geekville Radio, Seth and Greg summarized every Godzilla movie made through Final Wars.

Train’s Picks

  • Gojira (1954)
  • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
  • Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Greg’s Picks

  • King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
  • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1973)
  • Ghidorah The Three Headed Monster (1964)

Seth’s Picks

  • Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
  • GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
  • Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla/Tokyo SOS (2003)

Honorable Mentions

  • Godzilla 1985
  • Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965)
  • Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995)
  • Destroy All Monsters (1968)
  • All Monsters Attack (1969)

Ghost Rider Series Headed to Hulu

One thing Agents Of SHIELD fans liked about the show’s fourth season was the introduction of the Robbie Reyes incarnation of Ghost Rider. Affectionately called “Ghost Driver” by some, this version used a black 1969 Dodge Charger rather than the more common motorcycle.

Gabriel Luna portrayed the character through the 2016-2017 season, which also dropped hints at a previous Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch appearance.

Variety reports that Luna will reprise the role for a spinoff series on Hulu. However, sources say this will be a “new iteration”, without any connection to Agents Of SHIELD. That would seem to imply a different character. Or it could simply mean a reset without a recast, similar to the Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance feature film.

Also recently announced for Hulu have been series for Howard The Duck, Dazzler, and MODOK. With Disney’s recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox, they now own a stake in Hulu. Disney is also of course starting their own Netflix-like streaming service in Fall 2019.

Tom Welling Allegedly Turned Down Being The Arrowverse Superman

Actor Tom Welling recently appeared at New Zealand’s Armageddon Expo, where he confirmed rumors that he will be appearing in Arrow’s upcoming eighth season. He also implied he turned down being Superman in previous seasons of Supergirl.

CBR published the story the other day:

According to worldofmera on Twitter, Welling confirmed the news at Armageddon Expo in New Zealand. During a panel, he reportedly said, “I will be on Arrow next season.” The poster then noted that Welling didn’t indicate the extent of his role or even who he would be playing. However, he did reportedly reveal he turned down the chance to play Superman on CW’s Supergirl.

-via CBR.com

Welling of course played Clark Kent for ten years on Smallville, and only wore the Superman suit in the series finale.

Arrow was given an early renewal for an eighth season, but lead actor Stephen Amell revealed that it will be the final season. The series finale for Arrow will likely be around the time the Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover special airs.

So what role will Welling have come this fall? The actor didn’t say, but we likely won’t have to wait too long to find out.

Geekville Radio #227

Geekville Radio #227

Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick return to the airwaves to discuss some of the news topics of the week

Mark Hamill to be in Guardians Of The Galaxy? (1:15)

Since the return of James Gunn to Guardians Of The Galaxy 3, rumors have resurfaced that Mark Hamill may be playing a character in the film. Could he be a hero? Villain? Mercenary?

Emily Bett Rickards leaving Arrow (9:30)

The actress recently announced her departure from Arrow. Shortly afterwards, it was revealed that Felicity will not be appearing in Season 8. Could this mean a return to the comic-based pairing of Green Arrow and Black Canary?

Disney recasting X-Men except Deadpool (16:00)

It had been speculated for years, but Marvel all but confirmed during C2E2 that The X-Men and Fantastic Four will be recast and rebooted for The MCU. The only exception is Ryan Reynolds will continue as Deadpool.

We did predict on Episode 225 that this would happen, because it’s common sense. Though it will likely be several years before we get the MCU Proper X-Men film.

There is the new rumor that Stan Lee cameos may be replaced by Deadpool cameos. Which may be the best option to go with.

It is also worth noting that X-Men material is already available on Disney’s site.

Here is the list of channels and studios that Disney now owns after the merger with Fox.

  • Twentieth Century Fox
  • Twentieth Century Fox Television
  • Fox Searchlight Pictures
  • Fox 2000 Pictures
  • Fox Family
  • Fox Animation
  • FX Productions
  • FX Networks
  • Fox21
  • National Geographic Partners
  • Fox Networks Group International
  • Star India
  • Fox’s part of Hulu

Batman retrospective 80th Anniversary (29:30)

At C2E2, DC Comics held a Batman 80th Anniversary Panel, in which some fun questions were asked.

The creation of Batman has its roots in the pulp crime magazines of the 30s. Several of the panelists mentioned the characters of The Shadow, The Phantom, and Green Hornet as pre-Batman inspirations.

Well, who are three out of the first four entrants in our Lesser Known Geek Hall Of Fame? The Shadow, The Phantom, and Green Hornet

Is there a favorite incarnation of Batman?

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