Actor Tom Welling recently appeared at New Zealand’s Armageddon Expo, where he confirmed rumors that he will be appearing in Arrow’supcoming eighth season. He also implied he turned down being Superman in previous seasons of Supergirl.
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.
At long last, LucasFilm has released the first trailer for Star WarsEpisode IX, which is said to be the final episode of The Skywalker Saga. The title was also revealed to be The Rise Of Skywalker.
Some time ago, there was a heavily circulated rumor that Episode IX would be called Balance of The Force. We commented on that in a previous podcast, and what that might mean. We even used information published in 1997 as proof. And we’re here to do it again with the real title.
So what did we do upon seeing the new trailer? Why we did what every other Star Wars geek would do and over-analyze practically every frame so we can speculate on what we think is to come.
For more in-depth commentary, you can follow along with the accompanying podcast. All the images below are of course copyright LucasFilm/Disney and are presented for informational purposes.
Without further ado, on with the analysis so we can yell at everybody else how wrong they are (just kidding…)
You can watch the trailer, or go by the screencaps belowThe familiar LucasFilm logo appears, with only the sound of heavy breathing accompanying it.We see Rey, the source of the heavy breathing on a desert planet. Tatooine? Jakku?Rey grabs the Skywalker lightsaber. Is danger afoot?Rey stands alone in the desert. Looking at a sky, it does not appear to be TatooineLike something out of the Old West, Rey holds the saber at her sideRey stands her groundAgain, judging by what appears to be a single sun, this does not look to be TatooineGASP! It’s Kylo Ren’s TIE Interceptor! Or is it?Rey ignites the Skywalker saberRey, looking defiant, readies for the attackThose gloves look like Kylo Ren’s, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s him wearing them. More on that laterRey begins to run, but in the same direction as the TIEThe TIE is almost caught upRey leaps into the air, probably with a Force JumpThis is obviously another planet, but which one?Kylo Ren gutting an enemy with his trademark crossguard saber. Stormtroopers are also seenSomeone is repairing Kylo Ren’s maskIs that Rey’s staff? Or did Finn and Poe just stumble onto the set of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?BB-8 and his new friend D-0, who presumably does not sing “Holy Diver”Billy Dee looking as only he can look. Great to see Lando is finally backFlying stormtroopers in hot pursuit of a speederPoe, Finn, and 3PO on board the speederOne of the medals given at The Battle Of YavinRey and Leia embraceThe band is back together! It’s not often we get to see Rey and Poe in the same shotArguably the most interesting shot of the whole trailer. Why are those waves moving so slowly?
Over Celebration weekend, we saw several images that may give further hints as to what is going on.
Lando Calrissian, sporting a yellow outfit similar to his younger self in SoloPoe possibly gathering local citizensThe Poe/Finn shippers will have a field day with this imageRey reunited with her staff. But what planet is this?Here we definitely see Kylo piloting his TIE Interceptor
Klad! Undoubtedly the breakout star of Episode IX
Is it possible that Poe Dameron is piloting that TIE Silencer?
So let’s review
Rey spends some time on a desert planet that does not appear to be Tatooine
The other heroes either arrive with her, or follow her there
She may or may not have an encounter with Kylo Ren in his sip. It still could be somebody else piloting. Poe?
Lando reunites with Chewie and The Millennium Falcon
Kylo and stormtroopers attack people in a forest that looks like it could be Yavin or Takodana
At some point, Kylo rebuilds his mask from The Force Awakens
Death Star wreckage plays an important part in the film
Not only do we hear his laugh, but Palpatine has been confirmed by JJ himself to be in the film in some capacity.
If “no one is every truly gone” could we see old friends? Old enemies?
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
Independent film group Radical Talent produced this impressive fanfilm pitting slasher icons Michael Myers from Halloween and Jason Voorhees from Friday The 13th against each other in a Dream Battle. Or is it Nightmare Battle?
Michael vs. Jason square off in this Nightmare Battle
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.
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!
Every few years, Marvel does something to refresh the X-Men franchise. This summer brings two new X-Men titles, House Of X, and Powers Of X. Both set to be written by Jonathan Hickman.
As usual, Marvel was tight lipped over what will happen, but the presentation did have an interesting piece of art showing many characters from, as they put it “Past, Present, and Future”.
Official artwork for House Of X and Powers Of X hint characters from the Past, Present, and Future
This time around, Carnage is hunting down everybody who has EVER used a symbiote suit. This means not just Peter Parker, Eddie Brock, or the other usual suspects. Even The Guardians Of The Galaxy, Deadpool, and dinosaurs are potential targets.
Admittedly, I could only think of about 20 off the bat, but there were others who fit the bill of using a symbiote
Peter Parker (obviously)
Eddie Brock
John Jameson (He brought symbiotes to Earth in the first place)
Ben Reilly (Spider-Carnage)
Scorpion
Scream
Flash Thompson (dead, but dead characters always come back in comics)
Norman Osborn
Dr. Octopus
Maniac
Toxin
Scream
Punisher
Deadpool
Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel
Hybrid
Silver Surfer
Knull
I’m curious how Carnage would last against those last two, wince their cosmic level characters
The others that I forgot were (and this is by no means a complete list)
Wolverine
Rocket Raccoon
Groot
Drax
Gwen Stacy
Thunderbolt Ross
Tony Stark (if artificial symbiotes count)
Not only that, the special variant covers seem to imply other Marvel heroes may bond with symbiotes. Including Captain America, Black Panther, and Thor.
Star Wars icon Mark Hamill has added another high profile voice role to his resume. The actor made the announcement via a prerecorded appearance for WonderCon that he will be voicing Chucky in the theatrical Child’s Play reboot.
The announcement appeared on Hamill’s official Twitter shortly afterward.
The reboot opens June 21st in theaters, and will be directed by Lars Klevberg from a story by Kung Fury‘s Tyler Burton Smith. The series will bow this fall on Syfy.
Initial trailer for the Child’s Play theatrical reboot
Science Fiction icon Mark Hamill is allegedly back in negotiations to appear in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3. It was widely reported last year that Hamill had talks with director James Gunn, but what role they had discussed remained under wraps.
Of course, Gunn was famously fired by Disney last year over controversial tweets made a decade previously. Gunn was re-hired earlier this month, but no major casting news came about in the interim.
Now the site We Got This Covered is reporting that Hamill may in fact be in talks to play Rocket Raccoon’s creator. This could easily be an original character, or a take on secondary or tertiary characters from the Marvel Universe.
To be clear, these are all speculative possibilities based on Rocket’s history. The true role Hamill will play, if hired, has not been publicly discussed.
Over the years, Marvel had revamped the X-Men franchise several times. At C2E2, the next X-Men revamp was announced, and it will be hitting shelves this summer.
House Of X, and Powers Of X will launch in June, and will both be written by Jonathan Hickman. The rest of the creative team will be Pepe Larraz, R.S. Silva, and Marte Garcia. It is important to note that the X in Powers Of X is the Roman Numeral 10, so its proper pronunciation is “Powers Of Ten”.
While the entire premise of these new titles was still under wraps, artwork teased at the panel showed several characters from X-Men past, present and future.
Just looking at that image, you can see Mr. Sinister, Wolverine as Weapon X, Wolverine in his 80s brown suit, Apocalypse, Emma Frost as Black Queen, Dazzler in her disco tights, and a ton of others.
At Friday’s C2E2 panel, Marvel announced the next epic story to span across the Marvel Universe will be called War Of The Realms. The proper series drops in April, and will consist of six issues. Like with most Marvel Universe tie-ins, multiple heroes will be affected in their own ongoing titles.
As the name implies, this involves Asgard and all the other realms in Marvel lore. Malekith The Accursed, the Dark Elf Lord, will be the main force behind these wars. All but one realm has felt the effects of these wars. The last one left untouched is, of course, Midgard aka Earth.
This means Asgardians, Frost Giants, Dark Elves, Light Elves, etc… will all be wreaking havoc on Earth, in it will be up to the Marvel heroes to deal with it. It also seems to be an attempt to make Malekith an “A-Lister” on the level of Loki, Dr. Doom, or Kang.
Marvel has pulled out all the stops with this tale, including releasing an official theme song for this comic event. It is linked below for listening
Squadron Supreme will be re-introduced and will be based out of Washington DC, making them “DC’s Finest Heroes” (ba-dump CHING!). Not to be outdone, fan favorite Phil Coulson will be a part of the war as well in the Avengers title.
War Of The Realms will be written by veteran Thor writer Jason Aaron. art will be by Russell Dauterman and Natthew Wilson. The first issue hits April 3rd and the series will run through the summer. Aaron did state that this will end his seven year run on Thor, and he will be part of a new (presumably ongoing) Valkyrie stand-alone title.
Overall, this is looking like another solid epic story from Marvel. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this becomes the basis for a future Thor film, should Chris Hemsworth stick around for Phase Four or Five.
