Panel Vision - 8 Films to Expect From Marvel Phase 4

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Edited by Robert Beach

About 13 months ago, I made a prediction on ten possible films Marvel might have scheduled for the year 2020. While some of those names still stand, and we’ll get to them, I feel the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as the entire film landscape has changed SO much over this past year. It’s time to revisit that issue.  

For one, Marvel has announced several new projects coming to TV like New Warriors, Ghost Rider on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Punisher show that confirm those characters aren’t open for cinematic adaptation. All of that pushes Marvel closer and closer to being out of viable heroes for cinematic adaptation unless you think folks like Stingray or Darkhawk are ripe for film. 

Meanwhile, several of Marvel’s key heroes are close to finishing their runs in key roles while others have been secured following Marvel Studio’s split with Marvel Comics CEO Ike Perlmutter. It’s a different time is my point. And different times call for different solutions, so here are 8 Marvel movies we might see in 2020. 

4 DC Films That Could Join Aquaman & Flash in 2018

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Edited by Robert Beach

We’re three movies deep into what’s being called the DC Entertainment Universe. So far none of those entries have managed above “passable,” but they’ve all scored profit, so we’re going to be getting more of these films regardless. However, there might be some hope left for the DCEU as we blaze forward to the end of the decade. Most of the problems with the entries so far come from the meddling of the studio and directors who hold the material in general contempt. And yet, upcoming movies like Flash, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman seem to be helmed by people with real energy for the material. 

There’s still some ambiguity awaiting us, and that’s where I’m going to focus today, specifically on what’s happening with one of DC’s unclaimed movie slots. We know that DC will be releasing a film on October 5, 2018, after Aquaman but before Shazam, but we have no idea what that movie is. Thankfully, DC has a ton of projects in the works that could fit that slot. With that in mind, here are four DC movies we might see in 2018. 

Film Land - The Collector (2009)

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Edited by Robert Beach

One of the big trends of 2016 is that horror, as a popular genre, is back with a vengeance. This particular shift has been building for a while now with a lot of recent horror output being new films or modern series. The Purge franchise has roared through three installments to wave the banner of political horror; The Conjuring and Insidious have become a dynamite double feature complete with spin-offs. What’s more, art house horror has been a major force lately with popular hits like Babadook, It Follows, The Invitation, and VVitch making a major splash. 

Home invasion horror reared its head as a major genre force this year, not having been present since the 2013 horror boom with You’re Next. 2016 gave us the Netflix original Hush, the tense indie thriller Green Room, and this week’s studio hit Don’t Breathe.  Now, I can’t stand the genre most of the time, and I didn’t like any of the three films I just mentioned. Instead, I’m focusing on my favorite home invasion horror flick of all time and one of the best horror films of the 2000s: The Collector. 

Is Deathstroke coming to Justice League & Batman?

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Earlier today Ben Affleck posted a cryptic video on his twitter that seems more or less like a major DCEU confirmation.  The video was a brief clip of the DC Comics super villain and deadly mercenary Deathstroke slowly walking inside some kind of carrier jet and eyeing the camera menacingly.  Many, myself unfortunately included, have taken this to mean that Deathstroke will be included as a villain in 2017’s Justice League movie, the project Affleck is currently involved with. 

What’s more, given that Affleck will also be directing DC’s upcoming Batman solo feature there’s the strong chance Deathstroke will be going head-to-head with the dark knight in his next stand alone film.  While all of this is still steeped in speculation and rumor it’s certainly gotten people talking and raised a number of major questions about what this could mean for the still uncertain DCEU. 

Panel Vision - 5 Things to Expect from Suicide Squad 2

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Edited by Robert Beach

After three weeks in the #1 spot on the box-office charts and a comfortable spot as the 8^th highest grossing film of the year, Suicide Squad is a bona fide hit. Granted, it’s one of those hits like Godzilla (2014) or Cinderella where it makes a ton of money, but the cultural impact is a lot more questionable. Given DC’s track record, monetary success coupled with anything less than audience loathing seems to be enough to register success. With that, DC still has two open slots in their cinematic schedule; it’s probably that time where we all start speculating about what the sequel might bring. 

However, that’s going to be a little different for DC as their films don’t boast much interconnectivity, and Suicide Squad, in particular, wasn’t founded on a franchise mentality. Regardless of quality, the structure of the film was such that any sequel would be more or less free to be another “villains on a mission” movie, swapping out the villains and the mission. And yet, I believe it could do more. I’ve put together a list of 5 things to improve on the first movie in Suicide Squad 2.

Panel Vision - is Tony Revolori Playing Nova?

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Edited by Robert Beach

As the various Spider-Man: Homecoming casting news continues to trickle in, one particular bit of casting has been niggling at me: Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson, Spider-Man’s best frenemy. It’ a relatively minor supporting role in the great scheme of Marvel casting. It's why you’ve most likely never registered Flash’s presence in the previous Spider-Man films even though he was on hand. He’s just not a dynamic character in the initial Spider-Man mythos as his primary role was wish fulfillment, acting as the bully jock to pick on Peter, but he worships Spider-Man. 

However, I don’t think that Tony Revolori fits anyone’s idea of a jock given he’s the same size and build as Tom Holland. At the same time, Flash Thompson isn’t that important to the Spider-Man mythos proper. Flash went on to be integral on a cosmic scale. All of which has led me to the following wild speculation: Tony Revolori is set-up to play Nova.

Static Thoughts - Is Metamorpho, The Element Man, Coming to The Flash Season 3?

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Edited by Robert Beach

In case you didn’t know, this fall’s new season of The Flash will take place in an alternate timeline from the show’s normal status quo. That probably sounds daunting and complicated if you’re not already a fan of the series, but it is pretty novel and streamlined for a large-scale superhero show that’s become the fulcrum of an expanding superhero universe on TV. The basic idea is that this new present was created when the hero, The Flash, went back in time and saved his mother from getting killed by a super villain. 

That change altered history. Now Flash must deal with the consequences. It’s a neat concept that affords the creators free will to imagine an altered reality similar to the show’s status quo with some key tweaks to play around with. For instance, this new reality will feature the premiere of series regular Wally West as Kid Flash. I speculate that the change will bring another major superhero revelation: the premiere of Metamorpho. 

10 Characters We Might See in Dark Universe (Justice League Dark)

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Edited by Robert Beach 

Well, I don’t think anyone saw this one coming. If you asked me or anyone else last week what was happening with the Justice League Dark movie, they would’ve told you it was probably dead, especially when WB premiered that animated adaptation at SDCC.  The fact that the project is alive at all is pretty shocking, but that it’s poached Gambit director Doug Liman and is getting ready to enter casting comes completely out of nowhere. 

Also, the film is now being titled Dark Universe. No doubt this name change will set it apart from the light, cheerful, wholesome universe of the previous DC films. I don’t mind the name shift given the JLD has always included pretty much every magic user in the DCU, but it’s not like DC was bereft of names to apply to that group. As you’re about to see, DC has a long history of magic teams like this one. 

Film Adaptation of The Monolith Announced

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Edited by Robert Beach

Oh, good, a superhero film announcement colored by questions about copyright ownership. This is going to be a fun one. So, Lionsgate Pictures has announced they’re adapting the 12-issue maxiseries The Monolith, written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Phil Winslade, Tomm Coker, and Peter Snejberg. Fans of the comic (they are out there even if The Monolith was never the same monster success as Palmiotti’s Jonah Hex or Harley Quinn work) rejoiced that the story of a super Golem on the streets of New York would be adapted to the big screen. 

However, the studio announcement also brought questions as DC Comics, who are owned by Warner Brothers, published The Monolith.  but Lionsgate, a competitor, is making the film. Well, strap right in, and we’ll dive down the bizarre hole of ownership, modern creator rights, and why Monolith is something you should actually care about. 

Cover Story - Top 12 Tomb of Dracula Covers

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It is currently the dregs of August, and there’s really nothing going on in pop culture.  The dizzying high of summer blockbuster season has given away to the drippy sludge that is the late August offerings while the fall awards season has yet to begin.  If there is one small bit of comfort in the pre-labor day dark, it’s that we’re entering the season of fall TV premieres, which is perfect for someone like me that clings to media topicality as a guiding light in these troubled and rudderless times.  

This week will be bringing us the premiere of the latest season of The Strain, FX’s prestige vampire apocalypse show from the mind of Guillermo Del Toro (he wrote the books it’s based on.)  Even though I don’t like The Strain all that much it is pretty much the only name in vampire fiction these days, thank Twilight, which means I get to talk about the biggest name in comic book vampires- Count Dracula.  I’ll get more into this as we go along but for a time in the ‘70s Count Dracula was one of Marvel comics biggest success stories and today- we honor that legacy. 

New Thor: Ragnarok Set Photos May Reveal Where Asgard's Royalty Ends Up

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Edited by Robert Beach

As we continue our slow rumble towards Thor: Ragnarok, the film has begun to take shape as one of the most eclectic and ambitious Marvel projects to date. That’s unquestionably a good thing given one of Marvel’s biggest problems is that they’re so producer driven and tightly controlled their films can end up a little formulaic and distant; it's a problem that befell Thor: Dark World. Thankfully, Ragnarok sounds like a bizarre mix of science fantasy, high-flying adventure, and sci-fi hooliganism that has the same broad scope of Dark World without the compromised story structure. 

So far, we know the film will revolve around the mythical Norse apocalypse and feature Cate Blanchett as the villainous Hela, Goddess of Death. We also know that the Machiavellian schemer and Elder of the Universe, the Grandmaster, will be at hand. Played by Jeff Goldblum, Grandmaster, assumedly, is behind turning the Hulk into a sword-and-planet style gladiator. Now, thanks to a new slew of set photos, we see the Thunder God will also be stopping over in Midgard in this new adaptation and is bringing some old friends and possible cameos with him.

Rogue One 2nd Trailer Analysis

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It’s amazing how quickly the cultural landscape can be almost completely redefined.  Go back just 2 years and the idea of Star Wars, as a continual geek media presence, would’ve seemed far-fetched at best.  Oh to be sure, Star Wars has always been AROUND but for the most part that’s been in the form of a handful of cartoons and a rampant expanded universe brand mainly propped up by the paperback genre fiction machine and the brand’s universal appeal in the world of video and board games. 

Now, however, Star Wars is set to have a new film come out every year like clockwork till at least the end of the decade, basically making the question of “what’s going on with Star Wars?” a perpetual one.  There’s always going to be the next episode or the next spin-off or the next TV series at least till the end of the new trilogy and probably beyond.  In just a year it’s become the equal of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; a constant force of culture that must always be addressed at any time.  With that in mind, let’s take a look at the latest Rogue One trailer.

Joe Dinicol Cast as Ragman in Arrow S5

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As we move into the 4^th year of CW’s superhero dominance a bizarre question has begun to emerge: how do you solve a problem like Arrow?  The Green Arrow show was the first of CW’s new crop of comic book adaptations, premiering in 2012 and setting the tone for 3 years of superhero television and impacting sister shows like Gotham and even Agents of SHIELD.  However, the 2012 was a long time ago and the superhero television landscape has definitely shifted under Arrow’s feet, with the drab and stripped down aesthetic of the first 3 seasons left in the dust by the likes of The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. 

Arrow has just become a lot less relevant to CW’s expansive universe of shows and season 4’s increased focus on magic didn’t really help things.  As such, season 5 has opted to double down on the one thing that worked for season 4: introducing new heroes, with a crop of new characters coming to the upcoming premiere.  I’ve already covered Wild Dog, Vigilante, and Human Target, now meet Ragman, the Tatterdemalion of Justice, played by Joe Dinicol. 

5 O'Clock Shuffle - August 22

This week on the 5 O'Clock Shuffle I look at the major Spider-Man, Flash, and Arrow casting news, Amazon's new Tick TV show, what won at the box office, the major TV coming your way, and of course the comic book forecast 

Luke Cage Trailer Analysis

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Edited by Robert Beach

At the time of writing, we’re a little over one month out from the premiere of Marvel’s 3^rd Netflix series Luke Cage. The series promises to be a major debut as its the first ever Marvel Studios production to star a black man as well as the first comic book adaptation since Blade Trinity to revolve around a black superhero. It’s also pretty clear that Marvel is leaning heavily into the overt blackness of the hero based on how hip-hop heavy the scoring of his trailers are and the presence of Cheo Hodari Coker as showrunner. 

After a couple of great teasers and very interesting set photos, we have our first full trailer. And boy is it awesome. The trailer gives us some great insight into both the super-powered action of the new show and its very interesting themes and atmosphere. Lastly, it blends a gritty, urban crime story of glossy hip-hop opulence with a politically minded superhero story about whether or not the world is ready for a bulletproof black man. 

Lego Batman Trailer Round-Up

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Edited by Robert Beach

One of the peculiar twists of fate in the modern era of superhero media is that despite DC Comics many, many terrible adaptations in the 2010s, their animated adaptations are incredible.  Seriously, Teen Titans Go is the sharpest superhero satire ever; Young Justice was a milestone hit; Batman: The Brave and the Bold was incredible, and the Green Lantern CGI show almost redeemed the franchise. Now, they’re making a new Adam West animated adventure. 

The real gem in DC’s animated crown, however, has to be Lego Batman, voiced by Will Arnett and ushered into our collective hearts through 2014’s breakout hit The Lego Movie. Arnett is honestly the best Batman of the 2010s, a brutal scathing takedown of the overly macho psycho-thug Batman that dominated the character’s identity from 2008 to about 2013. Now, Lego Batman is getting his movie, and it looks amazing.  

Cover Story - Top 12 Tick Covers

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While The Tick may not be on everyone’s mind this week he’s certainly on my mind.  His new live action show premiered Friday on Amazon mostly to widespread apathy but it’s reignited my curiosity for the character.  Like him or not, the wild blue yonder is one of the most successful indie superheroes there is, emerging out of the bubbling stew of creativity that was 1980s underground comics to be a major media force in the 1990s. 

In his over 20 year career the Tick has been adapted to live action, animation, video games, and a whole avalanche of comics, to the point that I’d say he deserves to be counted alongside the likes of Hellboy, Spawn, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as one of the truly iconic superheroes not to come from DC or Marvel.  Given all that, and the fact I’ve now got an excuse to re-examine some of his stuff, let’s dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on the top 12 covers featuring The Tick. 

Static Thoughts - The Tick (2001)

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Edited by Robert Beach

As the superhero genre continues to extend its icy tendrils into all forms of media, streaming superhero content seems to be the next big frontier for the genre. After such major hits as Daredevil and Jessica Jones, we’re now starting to see more obscure heroes get their shot at the big time such as last year’s Powers and 2016’s The Tick reboot on Amazon. As evidenced by the name of this article, The Tick reboot is what brought me here today, though I don’t have any plans to review it yet. I’ll give my thoughts eventually. For now, it’s just a pilot, and I’d like to wait till we see a full series before making a definitive call. 

No, I’m here today to look backward rather than forward, back to the strange days of 2001. Those were the days before Nolan’s Batman, before the Marvel cinematic universe, even before Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. Back then, Batman and Robin had just recently killed the superhero genre while Blade and X-Men had only recently revived while the boom of indie comics led to dozens of off-beat hero adaptations. 

This was the era of Spawn, Savage Dragon, the Maxx, Wild C.A.T.s, Witchblade, Freakazoid, and more. This was also the time superheroes came to live-action TV like never before with shows like Mutant X and Smallville. In the midst of these two major trends, an obscure Boston indie superhero found his way into a live-action adaptation that, while brief, I’d argue as one of the best installments of the genre. His name? The Tick. 

Static Thoughts - Is CW Planning the Death of Superman?

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Edited By Robert Beach

There’s no denying that Supergirl season 1 is the biggest success story for the Superman brand since Smallville. It’s a knockout show that captivated audiences and embodied the spirit of the Superman mythos in a way we haven’t seen in live action since 1978’s Superman. The show embraces pure heroism and the fantasy of being able to make the world a better place, a pair of ideals both in tragically short supply these days (and lacking from the DC movie adaptation of Superman). I need to preface all of that because I’m about to suggest a very un-Supergirl thing about what we might expect from the upcoming season 2. It’s my suspicion that Supergirl is planning to kill off newly introduced Superman Tyler Hoechlin in the season 2 mid-season finale. 

Tinkerer, Shocker, & Mary Jane Cast in Spider-Man: Homecoming

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Edited by Robert Beach

After weeks of actor announcements, we finally have a new casting announcement for 2017’s hotly anticipated Spider-Man: Homecoming. So far the film has assembled a murder’s row of talented actors, and that’s on top of the goodwill it’s built up from Spider-Man’s extended cameo in this year’s Captain America: Civil War. What’s more, Homecoming has consistently made headlines with their emphasis on color-blind casting and trying to make-up for Marvel’s stifling lack of diversity so far. 

For the first time, we’ve got a Marvel movie set in New York that tries to reflect the diverse make-up of that city rather than just a bunch of white people and their one black friend. Given that this casting news involves race bending a popular character, there’s been no small amount of Internet ire over it. Given this column is about speculation and analysis rather than character’s hair or skin color, I’ll just say everyone should just relax. Now let’s dive in. 

Ashley Rickards cast as The Top in The Flash Season 3

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Edited by Robert Beach 

Another day, another casting announcement from CW.  Seriously, at this rate, I should really have a whole dedicated column just for reporting on new DC Comics characters coming to the cavalcade of CW superhero shows. This latest news ties to The Flash, which means it has an extra strange bit of significance to it. In case you didn’t know, The Flash’s upcoming 3^rd season is being split into very distinct halves, in a manner greater than usual. While every CW season is split in two, season 3 of The Flash will have two different story arcs; the first one is known as Flashpoint followed by a mysterious second story in the latter half. 

The Flashpoint story, in which the Flash alters time to save his mother and father and creates a bizarre alternate present, is interesting, but I suspect this major casting announcement is tied more to the mystery story of season 3B. I’ll get into how as we go on, but for now, let’s start with what the big casting news is: Ashley Rickards will be playing a woman version of the classic Flash foe The Top.