Following the exciting Wonder Woman 2 portion of Warner Bros.' massive Hall H panel at Comic-Con 2018, moderator Aisha Tyler invited Zachary Levi onstage to finally debut the upcoming Shazam. Naturally, they showed the movie's eagerly awaited first trailer.
The trailer showed a young boy who will become Shazam struggling in the foster system. He goes home with a new family and meets his foster brother. The tone is funny, as expected.
After a confrontation with some bullies, he flees to the subway, but winds up in a cave, where he meets a mysterious, bearded, lightning bolt-adorned Shazam. He utters his name, and stands up as Zachary Levi. Naturally, the first thing he does is show off for his foster brother. The two proceed to test out his new powers, testing whether he can fly. He also walks around at a mall zapping people's phones to charge them, but accidentally blows one up. In a convenience store robbery, he gets shot and learns that--thankfully--he's immune to bullets.
Just before the trailer debuted, Levi took the stage to introduce it, holding a beer. "Jason Momoa gave me this Guiness. I'm having a great day," Levi joked. He said playing Shazam is "complete wish fulfillment" for him. "And the whole movie's about wish fulfillment," he said.
This story is developing--check back for further updates.
During Warner Bros.' massive Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, the studio brought Wonder Woman 1984, showing off some never before seen footage of the eagerly anticipated sequel.
In the exclusive footage, which was called "a rough cut of what we're working on" (the movie has only just begun filming recently), Wonder Woman fought a pair of gunmen in a 1980s mall. She tossed a little girl to safety, crushed the men's guns with her bare hands, then lassoed them with her iconic, glowing rope. In a later scene, she ran so quickly through a crowded street that she appeared to almost float, gracefully, above the pavement.
Wonder Woman 2 director Patty Jenkins took the stage with actors Gal Gadot and Chris Pine for some discussion, too. Naturally, moderator Aisha Tyler asked how Chris Pine can be in this Wonder Woman sequel, given the events of the first film.
"I'm actually not really here right now," Pine joked. "No, I can't...I can't tell you that."
"What is he back here for?" Jenkins continued. "Well, it's something I'm super excited for everybody to see--the movie--to find out. It's a very important part of our movie."
As far as Wonder Woman 1984's story, "it's not a sequel," Gadot said--it's a brand new movie and "its own story."
Jenkins went on to say that she believes Wonder Woman is more human than most heroes--that people of all types, regardless of gender, age, or any other factor, can see themselves in her. She said they want to capture that same feeling in Wonder Woman 2.
This story is developing--check back for further updates.
The popular cartoon Steven Universe is getting its very own movie, simply called Steven Universe: The Movie. The announcement concluded the Saturday morning Steven Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con.
EW reported that the panel was hosted by Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar and stars Zach Callison, Estelle, Michaela Dietz, Shelby Rabara, and Deedee Magno Hall. The announcement was followed by a short teaser trailer for the upcoming movie and a message that the film is coming soon to Cartoon Network. The teaser is a short 20-second clip of a heart-shaped gemstone spinning closer to the camera, with main characters from the series reflected upon its surface.
Steven Universe is the first animated show to debut on Cartoon Network that is solely created by a woman. It first premiered in November 2013 and went on to form a following of devoted fans. A coming-of-age story, Steven Universe follows the adventures of Steven, who lives with magical aliens called Crystal Gems, in his quest to protect his fictional hometown of Beach City and the world at large. Being half-Gem, Steven possessing a range of superpowers that he slowly comes to terms with over the course of the show.
Steven Universe's success has led to books and comics based on the show, as well as a video game spin-off. The show continues to air on Cartoon Network on Saturdays at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET.
The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part portion of Warner Bros.' massive Hall H panel at Comic-Con 2018 opened with a LEGO version of Aisha Tyler moderating a pre-recorded panel with LEGO Batman, LEGO Aquaman (both versions--the classic orange-suited one and the Jason Momoa Justice League version), plus Lego Movie stars Emmet (Chris Pratt) and Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks).
The unfinished, exclusive LEGO Movie 2 footage shown gave attendees a new glimpse at the now-apocalyptic LEGO world--basically, it's Mad Max with LEGOs. "Everything was awesome. Now, everything is bleak," Wyldstyle says. Of course, Emmet quickly breaks the mood by cheerily showing up with coffee. In the footage, the movie's new villain, General Mayhem, kidnaps Wyldstyle. LEGO Harley Quinn points out that rescuing her is a "suicide mission," a tongue-in-cheek reference to Suicide Squad.
Most importantly, the clip introduced us to Rex Dangervest, a new character also voiced by Chris Pratt, who among his many jobs is a "raptor trainer," a cute little Jurassic World joke. The two characters show the dual sides of Pratt, who, as the actor pointed out during the panel, started his career as the hapless Andy on Parks and Rec and is now a superhero and action movie star.
Unlike the first LEGO Movie, which was directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the follow-up will be helmed by Mike Mitchell. It's set five years after the first film and, along with those mentioned above, the cast consists of Jonah Hill (Green Lantern), Will Arnett (Batman), Channing Tatum (Superman), and Stephanie Beatriz (Sweet Mayhem). It releases on February 8, 2019.
Prior to San Diego Comic-Con 2018, all we knew about Netflix and Matt Groening's new show, Disenchantment, was what we saw in a brief teaser trailer: It's a fantasy show, made by Groening (the creator of The Simpsons and Futurama), and it stars an irreverent, relatable princess played by Broad City's Abbi Jacobson. During group interviews at the convention, we learned a whole lot more.
Groening, who's been embroiled in controversy lately, was totally focused on promoting Disenchantment during Comic-Con. Alongside longtime collaborator Josh Weinstein--who also worked on both The Simpsons and Futurama--he described his influences for the show, which go back to his childhood dreams of an "enchanted forest."
He didn't want to make a straight fantasy show, though, and he and Weinstein hope to subvert the genre's many tropes--both old and new. "The princess is a perfect example," said Weinstein. "It used to be like the Disney princess, but also, I think a lot of writers make the mistake too of going the other way--it's like, 'She's totally kick-ass and she's perfect.' So we wanted to bust that trope and actually make, what if the princess were just like, a realistic 19-year-old young woman?"
"The tendency in a lot of epic fantasies and science fiction is 'good vs. evil,' and we tried to shade it a little bit," Groening added. "[King Zog, played by Bender and Jake the Dog actor John DiMaggio] here starts out pretty villainous, but then you find out he has his reasons, and he's not all bad. And same thing with [Princess] Bean, who's the star of the show, and who it's all about. She's not perfect by any means--she makes some bad mistakes and she has a lot of flaws, but you like her anyway."
Monty Python and the Holy Grail proved to be a big influence, unsurprisingly, given the setting. But Disenchantment's home on Netflix allowed Groening and Weinstein more freedom than they're used to. Netflix has become known as a place where creators can fulfill their visions without studio meddling--for better or worse. One way they're experimenting is with length and pacing--the show's first episode is around 35 minutes long, and later episodes vary in length, which isn't possible on network television.
Disenchantment also has more adult content than The Simpsons and Futurama, but they didn't want to be gratuitous.
"If there's nudity, it's going to be King Zog"--i.e. a character most people wouldn't want to see naked, Weinstein said. "If there's violence, it has to be funny or clever so it's not gratuitous."
"We do have a lot of severed limbs and decapitations in this show," Groening added.
Dropping all the episodes at once has advantages, too. "This was a different kind of storytelling than we've ever done, in that you don't have to wrap things up at the end of the episode," Groening said. "And so we have a lot of fun with cliffhangers--a literal cliffhanger at the end of Episode 1."
"Some of the best jokes come from when you don't have to push the story forward so much," he continued. "On The Simpsons and Futurama and other cartoon shows like that, you're so pushing the story forward that you don't have time for some of the best jokes, which are free-standing."
Groening and Weinstein said they designed the show first as if it was a drama, getting the story beats in place before subverting things to add the humor. Weinstein brought up a "rule" that he said Groening has had "from the very beginning of The Simpsons": that characters have to react emotionally to the story in realistic ways.
"We especially thought that in a fantasy, and in an epic tale, and with a character like Bean, if those emotions, and her relationship with her dad, if those aren't real, you'll just disconnect, and it would just be like, a stupid parody show," Weinstein said.
In addition to Jacobson and DiMaggio, Disenchantment's voice actors include Eric Andre, Noel Fielding, and many other talented comedians and actors. The music is atypical for a fantasy show, created by Mark Mothersbaugh, an accomplished film composer and frontman of the band Devo. And the show will be chock full of secrets, according to Groening, from the very first scene.
"The very first thing you see is a giant clue," he teased. "The first animation you see reveals a giant clue, and it's staring you right in the face. And I'm being very legalese here, and my wording is very precise, so it will pay off later."
Most of all, he said, they want to create a show that elicits a wide range of emotions--not unlike The Simpsons and Futurama before it. "We hope we choke people up and break some hearts and maybe cause a tear here and there," Groening said. "But that's after we make you laugh."
Nightflyers is a novella by George RR Martin, writer of the Song of Ice and Fire series which was adapted into HBO's Game of Thrones. Now, Nightflyers is being adapted into a TV show, and Syfy released the first trailer for it at Comic-Con.
The novella was very well received, winning several awards and accolades including the Hugo award for best novella. It follows a group of scientists as they embark on a mission to find a race of alien nomads. The group gets on the Nightflyer spaceship, ready to explore, unaware that the man who captains their ship is murderously insane.
The trailer as well as the plot summary that Syfy has released offers a similar premise but with a bit of a twist. The earth is dying and the scientists are on a mission to find aliens who they believe can help. It doesn't mention anything about a crazy captain, but instead suggests that whatever they're looking for in space isn't nearly as frightening as whatever--or whoever-- is already on the ship with them.
The show is described as a psychological thriller, and there are some clips of what looks like hallucinations driving people insane, so I'd say we're in for a bit of a scare. Starring Eoin Macken (Resident Evil: The Final Chapter), Nightflyers will premiere this fall on Syfy.
DC movies weren't the only thing Warner Bros. showed off during its massive Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018. The studio also brought the latest Harry Potter universe film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and showed off some brand new footage with the cast in attendance to answer fans' burning questions.
The new Fantastic Beasts 2 trailer began with a welcome look at Jude Law's young Dumbledore walking the halls of Hogwarts, and teaching a young Newt Scamander in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Newt reveals that his biggest fear is "having to work in an office."
Johnny Depp's Grindelwald was a big focus, advocating in the trailer for wizards coming out of the shadows. On a foggy bridge, Dumbledore tells Newt that he can't go after Grindelwald himself--it has to be Newt. The special effects look amazing, from Newt's furry, dangerous creatures to a glimpse at a showdown between Newt and Grindelwald. "Mr. Scamander, do you think Dumbledore will mourn for you?" Grindelwald asks.
The trailer ended with a surprising meeting with Nicolas Flamel, a famous alchemist central to the backstory of the Harry Potter books. Thankfully, Warner Bros. released the trailer online shortly after it debuted at the panel, so you can see it for yourself above.
As a final surprise, Johnny Depp appeared onstage in full Grindelwald costume and character, delivering a speech about the inferior "No-maj" people.
At the panel's start, a larger-than-life video of Newt Scamander welcomed attendees to Paris, the movie's setting, from the inside of his carrying case. As his giant face uttered the spell "Lumos," the bracelets given to attendees as they entered lit up with the Deathly Hallows logo. Eddie Redmayne took the stage shortly afterward to thunderous applause. The rest of the cast joined him onstage shortly afterward.
"There's an awful lot at stake. It's very much a 'Whose side are you on?' story," Jude Law said during the panel. He said the wizarding world and the human world will be pitched against each other, but wizards will fight wizards as well--and that Fantastic Beasts 2 will go to darker places than we've seen in the Harry Potter universe before.
Later in the panel, asked what she would do with her own magic powers, actress Zoë Kravitz quickly answered she'd "impeach Trump," eliciting laughter and cheers from Hall H's enormous crowd. Prompted by moderator Aisha Tyler, actor Dan Fogler even created the spell on the spot: "Impeachious Maximus," he invented, after ruminating on it for a moment.
This story is developing--check back for further updates.
After offering a teaser for The Walking Dead, AMC recently released a full length trailer for Season 9 at Comic-Con. The trailer is as lengthy as it is revealing; clocking in at just about six minutes, it has a lot to offer in terms of what we can expect from Season 9.
This season will take place ahead of where Season 8 left off with Negan captured and the Saviours beaten. It opens with Rick looking a little older with his grey beard, and the whole crew living happily inside a large network of communities. There are a ton of members, new and old, and for a while, everyone looks safe and happy building a home for the group, but it's not without some tension.
Rick has kept Negan in a cell this whole time, and apparently periodically checks in with him to let him know how the community is doing and how successful things can be without being run on fear and violence. Despite his status as Rick's prisoner, Negan is as cocky as ever, letting on that he believes this whole thing is going to go up in flames.
What appears to be some sort of post-apocalyptic paradise begins to tear at the seams as tensions between certain members of the group begin to flare up. Maggie is frustrated with Rick, Carol is frustrated with the new members, and Daryl is frustrated with the whole situation. By the end of the trailer, things don't look so copacetic, especially as the show's original corpsified villains show up to remind everyone what the true danger is.
Season 9 of The Walking Dead will premiere on October 7, and we're all wondering how they plan on getting Rick out of the picture as actor Andrew Lincoln confirmed that he will be leaving the show after this season.
The Walking Dead's longtime protagonist Rick Grimes may not be long for the world of the walkers. During a panel at SDCC 2018, Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) confirmed that he will be leaving the show after Season 9 airs.
In light of the new Season 9 trailer, which you can watch above, there's been some speculation that Lincoln would be headed out shortly. Robert Kirkman, the author of the original Walking Dead comics, when asked about Lincoln's departure, didn't confirm anything, but did say "It's looking that way."
"Lincoln has been leading the show since the very first episode, and despite what you may think given Rick's southern drawl, Lincoln is actually based in England, and has to leave his family every year to film in Georgia," Kirkman said. "This is a human being. This is someone I've known for almost a decade, somebody that I love. He's been sweating in Georgia away from his family for so long."
Lincoln bid an emotional farewell to fans at SDCC 2018, thanking the showrunners and fans for the experience he had on the show. TV reporter for Variety, Joe Otterson, caught the moment and shared it on Twitter, which you can watch below.
"This will be my last season," Lincoln says. "I love this show, it means everything to me. I love the people who make this show--I promise not to cry, I've done enough crying on screen--I am also deeply fond of the people who watch this show, you people. This has been the most extraordinary, amazing, and beautiful experience of my career made largely because of you guys."
We got our first look at Titans, a reimagined and darker version of Teen Titans from the DC universe, at SDCC 2018 and there's one line that jumped out at as all. Without significant context, Robin proclaims "F*** Batman." So what's with the angsty boy wonder turning against his once comrade?
Titans follows Dick Grayson as an adult; he's grown up and become a police officer, and eventually the leader of the Titans. From the first trailer, we can tell that the majority of the series will center around Raven, who is trying to manage the darkness within her. What caught us off guard in the trailer was this moment: as Robin is fighting a mob of criminals, one says "Where's Batman?" to which he replies "F*** Batman."
In a discussion with Polygon, Geoff Johns, DC's former president and CCO who is now a writer and executive producer on Titans, explains. "The trailer shows a piece of the tone of the show--the show's not all that," Johns said. "But it does make you go, 'Why is he saying ['F*** Batman']?'
Titans will air this fall on DC's streaming service DC Universe. We don't have an exact date yet, but we know the 10-episode series will air with the launch of the service. For everything else we know about the series so far, make sure to check out the trailer reveal story.
The highly anticipated multiplayer update for Stardew Valley has been in beta for some time now, but it's about to make its debut on PC sooner than you might think. Rebuild your grandfather's farm with a little help from your friends starting August 1.
Stardew's multiplayer is all about working together. You and up to three other players can create the farm of your dreams, or duke it out with some monsters. Just make sure that when your friends come to visit, they have a cabin to call home.
Aside from taking on the chores of the valley with an extra set of hands, multiplayer has quite a lot to offer. There will be a new chatbox and emojis to keep everyone on the same page, as well as marriage and divorce. Of course, you can still choose to woo one of the strapping young lads or ladies from Pelican Town, but you can also craft a ring for that special someone online. But if things go sour, there's a way out--all you have to do to divorce or ban a player from your farm is destroy their cabin, just like they destroyed your heart.
Got a friend who's a little wetter behind the ears? Not to worry, another feature is scalable difficulty. You can do this by adjusting scale profit margin or produce sold. This will scale the difficulty of your farm to be a little easier or difficult based on the experience of you and your friends.
With the PC update comes a load of deals you might not want to miss out on, especially if your friends don't have a copy of their own. Starting today, for 24 hours on Chrono.gg, you can grab one copy of the game for 27 percent off. Grab two for 33 percent off, and four for 37 percent off.
Keep in mind, this update will only be available on PC through Steam, GOG, and WeGame on August 1. Eric Barone, aka ConcernedApe, has not announced when the update will come to Switch, Xbox One, or PS4, but we do know from today's reveal trailer that those platforms will see the update soon. Barone previously announced that Switch would see the update shortly after the PC update, but no further word has confirmed this yet.
Last night it was reported that director James Gunn has been fired from the Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 by Disney, following the resurfacing of tweets he made made several years ago. Now his Guardians star Dave Bautista has weighed in on the subject.
Bautista, who plays Drax in the Guardians movies, took to Twitter to comment that he was not happy with the decision to remove Gunn as writer and director of Vol.3. The actor stated that he would have more to say on the subject at a later date, but defended Gunn as "one of the most loving, caring, good natured people I have ever met." Read his full tweet below:
I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this..@JamesGunn is one of the most loving,caring,good natured people I have ever met. He's gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. He's made mistakes. We all have. Im NOT ok with what's happening to him
The tweets that led to Gunn's dismissal date back almost a decade, and saw the director joking about topics like pedophilia and rape. They resurfaced online via conservative website The Daily Caller, and Disney were quick to sever ties with him. In a statement, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said, "The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him."
Gunn offered a subsequent statement in which he took responsibility for the tweets and accepted Disney's decision. "My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative," his statement read. "I have regretted them for many years since--not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don't reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.
"Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now, beyond offering my sincere and heartfelt regret, is to be the best human being I can be: accepting, understanding, committed to equality, and far more thoughtful about my public statements and my obligations to our public discourse."
The news emerged in the midst of San Diego Comic-Con 2018, where Marvel was not expected to have any major announcements. Gunn himself was set to appear at SDCC on Friday during the Sony Pictures panel to promote a new project, but Sony subsequently pulled this announcement from its schedule.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 had been set for release in 2020, though Gunn's removal could affect that. The events of Avengers: Infinity War stand to have a potential impact on the film, though Avengers 4--due out next year--could always make further changes. Without saying how, Gunn had previously teased that Guardians 3 would be "very different."
The 1978 horror classic Halloween was a hit with audiences, so much so that sequels and reboots followed it for the next two decades. Michael's killer mask may have gotten a little shabby by now, but it looks like he's no less ready to terrorize Haddonfield, Illinois.
We've hit the midway point of July, which means that San Diego Comic-Con 2018 is upon us. Things get underway on Thursday, July 19, so we'll soon have a ton of movie and TV show news among other things. To get ready for what we might see from Halloween, we're reviewing everything we know about the movie so far and breaking down what we hope to get a look at during SDCC. [SDCC update: a clip from the new Halloween movie was shown at Comic-Con, here about it and what Jamie Lee Curtis had to say about the movie here.]
What It's About
Halloween will focus on Laurie Strode and her family, a few decades after the events of the original Halloween movie where she and a few of her friends were terrorized by a serial killer in a mask named Michael Myers. The movie will reportedly be ignoring the events of the other sequels in the franchise, and is instead acting as a direct sequel to the original movie.
Myers has been locked up in prison for all of these years, but he finally escapes after a convenient bus crash, and now, he's coming back for Strode and potentially her whole family. This time, though, Laurie will be ready for him because she knows he's coming and has been getting ready for it since the events of the first movie.
Who's Who
Crew
The film will be directed by David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express).
Green, Jeff Fradley, and Danny McBride penned the script together.
John Carpenter, writer and director of the original film, returns to the franchise as executive producer, consultant, and composer of the movie's score.
Cast
Jamie Lee Curtis is reprising her role as scream queen-turned-badass grandma Laurie Strode.
Nick Castle is returning to the role of Michael Myers for the first time since the original film--at which point he was credited as "The Shape."
Judy Greer (Jurassic World) will play Karen Strode, Laurie's daughter.
Andi Matichak (Orange is the New Black) plays Allison, Laurie's granddaughter.
What's Been Released So Far
Universal released a trailer for the upcoming slasher film in June. It starts with a look at what life has been like for Strode since the initial event; she has become something of a mythical figure in her city's lore. There are several shots of her training with weapons, seemingly preparing for Michael's eventual return. The question that remains is whether anyone else is ready. There are several shots of panic as Michael makes his long awaited return, and a good jump scare at the end.
Universal has a whole lot of titles coming out soon that would fit into the Comic-Con niche, but they will be focusing onHalloween and M. Night Shyamalan's Glass; two of its most highly-anticipated films.
We know that some of the cast and crew will attend, including Jamie Lee Curtis. We want to know more about Michael's killer intentions, if they are more complex than just blood, that is. And we'd like to know more about how Laurie and her family have been doing since that infamous Halloween night years ago. Apparently, there will be some sort of surprise at the presentation, but whether it has to do with Glass or Halloween, or both, we can't say at this point.
Regardless of whether the surprise is about Halloween, we should get some new information before ithits theaters October 19, 2018.
If Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire aren't enough for you, yet another Spider-Man is coming onto the scene. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is an animated film coming out in December that follows a young and upcoming Spider-Man, as he meets a few other iterations of the iconic character.
With San Diego Comic-Con 2018 right around the corner--it kicks off on Thursday, July 19--we're taking a look at everything we already know about Into the Spider-Verse, as well as what we're hoping to see during SDCC. [SDCC update: we've gotten some new footage of the film from Comic-Con]
What It's About
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse follows the story of Miles Morales, a teenage boy from Brooklyn who realizes he has the same powers as Spider-Man and ends up getting mentored by the hero. It's an animated feature with a lighter tone which promises some good laughs and a crime fighting adventure.
Who's Who
Crew
The film has three directors, Peter Ramsey and Robert Persichetti Jr., who have both directed a few animated films, and Rodney Rothman who directed 22 Jump Street.
The screenplay was written by Phil Lord, who also wrote The Lego Movie and both Jump Street movies. Interestingly, he and Christopher Miller were initially hired as the directors of Solo: A Star Wars Story before being replaced.
Cast
Miles Morales will be played by Shameik Moore who you may know from Dope or Netflix's The Get Down.
Peter Parker AKA the original Spider-Man will be voiced by Jake Johnson from New Girl.
Nicholas Cage will reportedly be voicing a character named Spider-Man Noir.
Hailee Steinfeld will play Gwen Stacy and her alter-ego, Spider-Gwen.
Mahershala Ali will voice Ultimate Prowler.
Liev Schreiber will play the villanous Morlun.
What's Been Released So Far
The trailer for Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was released by Sony Entertainment early in June. It features a lot of sequences of Morales discovering his powers alongside funny and gratuitous embarrassment from his cop father. The trailer also shows clips of his interactions with Spider-Man who appears to be a somewhat less impressive role model than Morales was expecting.
Some Hasbro toys which feature Miles Morales, Gwen Stacey, The Green Goblin, and more, are soon to be released as well.
What We Want At Comic-Con
Along with Venom,Sony's Hall H presentation at Comic-Con will likely include Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. We would love to see the entire cast and crew at the Comic-Con panel. We're also hoping that Sony will confirm Nicholas Cage's casting and tell us a bit more about his role in the film.
Since there is already a trailer out for the movie, we're not looking for much in the way of plot details, but we would love to see more footage from the film; particularly an action sequence since the trailer didn't show much of that.
Even if we don't get any new information at San Diego Comic-Con, the trailer Spider-Man: Into The Spider Verse should hold us over until the film comes out December 14.
Pokemon Go players will soon have another chance to capture Zapdos. As a reward for meeting the Global Challenges goal during Pokemon Go Fest last weekend, the Legendary bird will return to the game this Saturday, July 21, but it won't be available for long.
For a three-hour window of time, players will be able to encounter Zapdos again as a Raid Battle at Gyms. As with other Raid Bosses, you will first need to team up with other players in-person to battle the Legendary Pokemon; if you manage to defeat it, you'll then earn an opportunity to capture it.
As an Electric- and Flying-type, Zapdos is vulnerable to Rock-type Pokemon such as Golem and Tyranitar. Each Zapdos that is captured during the special event this weekend will know the Thunder Shock attack. Players will also be able to receive up to five free Raid Passes by spinning Photo Discs at Gyms. These passes are required to participate in Raid Battles.
Zapdos will be available at different times depending upon which part of the world you live in. You can find the hours the Legendary Pokemon will appear in each region below. Niantic teases that players may also have a chance of encountering a rare Shiny Zapdos during the event hours.
North America, South America, and Greenland
11 AM - 2 PM PT
2 PM - 5 PM ET
Europe, Africa, Middle East, and India
10 AM - 1 PM BST
Asia-Pacific
12 PM - 3 PM JST
The final stop of the Pokemon Go Summer Tour is the Safari Zone event in Yokosuka, Japan, which takes place from August 29 to September 2. Even if you can't attend the event in person, players around the world will be able to participate in Global Challenges and help unlock in-game bonuses and rewards.
Venom is kind of like Spider-Man's evil twin. The character is a symbiote, an alien lifeform that attaches itself to a sentient host. He gives the host many abilities, some of which are similar to Spider-Man's except, instead of shooting elastic webs, the host's body essentially becomes them at will. The two together become a formidable force.
With some versions of the character, Venom is an anti-hero, while in other interpretations, he's a straight-up villain. What's unique about this movie is that it's a Venom standalone film which means the focus will not be on Venom vs. Spider-Man; it's all about Venom and his host. We are expecting to get a pretty good look into Venom's abilities and the power dynamic between symbiote and host. Below, we've rounded up all of the information we know about the upcoming movie from Sony (it's outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and what we're hoping to see from its showing at San Diego Comic-Con. [SDCC update: some footage of Venom has been released at Comic-Con]
What It's About
The Venom standalone movie will follow provocative journalist Eddie Brock as he gets as he's infected by the Venom symbiote. The degree of power that it has over its human host is in a state of constant flux, so there's always some question as to who is in the drivers seat. It looks like this symbiote has some plans beyond kickin' it inside Eddie though.
Venom attaches itself to Brock when he investigates a shady corporation called the Life Foundation which is rumored to be taking "volunteers" and testing something on them that inevitably ends in their death. Conflict ensues as Brock is unsure how much control he has over Venom.
Who's Who
Crew
Venom will be directed by Ruben Fleischer who also directed Zombieland and Gangster Squad.
There are several writers credited with penning the screenplay, including Kelly Marcel, Will Beall, Scott Rosenberg, and Jeff Pinker.
Cast
Eddie Brock and Venom will be played by hollywood's favorite Australian bad boy, Tom Hardy who has featured in titles like Inception, Mad Max, and The Dark Knight Rises.
Riz Ahmed who you may know from HBO's The Night Of, plays Carlton Drake, the corporate hotshot who has some morally questionable ideas about what the symbiotes mean for humanity.
Michelle Williams from Manchester By The Sea will play Ann Weying, an employee for Drake and Brock's love interest.
Jenny Slate, the comedian who voices Marcel The Shell and has appeared Parks and Recreation, will play Dora Skirth, a young scientist who helps Brock figure out what's going on with the symbiotes.
A full length trailer has been released for Venom that opens with a look into Eddie Brock's day-to-day life. He's a reporter who has made a living by asking powerful people questions that they don't want to answer; this is how he meets Carlton Drake. While trying to learn more about Drake's nefarious activities, he encounters a human who has a symbiote inside them and unwittingly transfers it to Brock. When Brock starts hearing voices in his head and watches his limbs turn into black, dextrous matter, he's pretty sure something is up.
We get a good look at Venom, and in the trailer and he is pretty freaky looking, with an incredibly long tongue and multiple rows of teeth. His amorphous black musculature is probably the coolest part though; it erupts from Tom Hardy when he needs to fight some guys off, re-attach himself to a motorcycle in mid-air. You know, normal stuff.
What We Want At Comic-Con
Sony will have a Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con that, in all likelihood, will include Venom. We are unsure who will attend, but we hope the cast and crew will be there.
One of the biggest remaining mysteries about the movie is how Woody Harrelson will feature in the plot. Hopefully someone on the panel, preferably Harrelson himself, will officially confirm the casting and offer some insight into his character.
A really big question that still needs answering about Venom in general, is whether he will crossover with Spider-Man or any other MCU characters. The answer is probably no for this movie. The issue is that while Disney owns the film rights to all the Avenger characters, Sony owns the film rights to the Spider-Man characters (including Venom), and only loaned them to Disney so that they could make a Spider-Man franchise that would be a part of the Avengers. For now, it looks like Sony is creating their own MCU which means a crossover is unlikely.
Luckily, we won't have to wait too long after San Diego Comic-Con to see the movie. Venom hits theaters October 5.
The highly anticipated My Hero Academia film, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, is set to screen in theaters in North America this September, as announced at SDCC 2018. It will be shown with dubs and subs on five separate days in over 400 theaters.
Two Heroes marks the first film of the hit anime and manga series My Hero Academia. It will drop just a few weeks before the series' first video game, My Hero: One's Justice, does on October 26. The film will follow the story of Deku and All Might as they receive an invitation to I-Expo, the world's leading expo for quirk demos and hero items. There they meet Melissa, a young girl who is quirkless like Deku was once. But in the midst of the excitement, the expo's security system is hacked by villains, and All Might will have to save the day.
You can catch the film in English on September 25, 27, and 29. It will be aired in the original Japanese dub with English subtitles on September 26 and October 2. To figure out where it's screening near you, head on over to Funimation.
— Funimation 🔜 SDCC 2018✨ (@FUNimation) July 20, 2018
"Based on the incredible response from the three thousand fans at our sold-out world premiere during Anime Expo, I have no doubt that audiences everywhere will enjoy My Hero Academia: Two Heroes as well," said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and President of Funimation in the Funimation blog. "The stories and characters of 'My Hero Academia' have connected in such an incredible way with its viewers that it now has created a fan base that normally would take a decade to establish. This first feature film for the franchise does not disappoint."
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has a huge amount of buzz thanks to its unique art style and starring role for the beloved Miles Morales. At San Diego Comic-Con 2018, Sony showed off some exclusive footage that went beyond the trailers we've already seen.
In the footage, Miles has apparently just gotten his powers, and seems mostly confused by them. At school, he gets his hand tangled in Gwen Stacy's hair, and wonders whether his strange new abilities are the result of finally hitting puberty. Later, the clip revealed that in Miles' universe, Peter Parker is dead. Miles is visiting Parker's grave in a makeshift Spider-Man outfit when he's approached from behind by an older Peter Parker, voiced by Jake Johnson. Miles quickly figures out that the other Peter is from an alternate dimension, and requests that he teach him how to be Spider-Man.
Finally, the footage showed Spider-Gwen, who introduces herself to the other two as "from another, another dimension." And three more Spider-Mans debuted: Spider-Man Noir, voiced by Nic Cage; Penny Parker, with her mech-like robot SPDR, voiced by Kimiko Glenn; and Spider-Ham, a cartoonish, costumed pig voiced by comedian John Mulaney.
Sony showed the footage during the studio's panel in Hall H, SDCC's largest venue. Moderated by Jessica Chobot, the panel included actors Shameik Moore (Miles Morales), Jake Johnson (Peter Parker), and Hailee Steinfeld (Gwen Stacy), directors Rodney Rothman, Peter Ramsey, and Bob Persichetti, and producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
"He's a black Spider-Man, black and Mexican, I think that that's very powerful and iconic," Moore said of his character Miles Morales.
In the movie, Morales intersects with Spider-Men from alternate universes, including an older, jaded Peter Parker.
"It's Peter Parker at 40, it's Peter Parker with a bad back..and who's not sure if he still wants to be Spider-Man, and what it means to be Spider-Man after the excitement of being Spider-Man," Johnson said during the panel. "That just got really heavy, folks. But that's Peter Parker. It's chubby Peter Parker."
Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Gwen Stacy, said she's excited to play a female superhero.
"I get to play a female superhero, which was pretty cool--and not just any female superhero, but the first Spider-Woman," she said. "That was so exciting to me, and the fact that she really is the toughest and the coolest and the smartest and the most capable one in the room, and she knows it."
Lord and Miller said they insisted on a Miles story when Sony approached them to make an animated Spider-Man movie. "This story's been told a lot of times. We love Miles Morales," Lord said. "We thought this was an amazing way to tell the Spider-Man story."
"The thought of this movie was, 'What if these different stories intersected? What would it do, how would it shake them up, and what would happen if these people met?'" Lord said.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hits theaters December 14.
A Venom movie without Spider-Man seems like a dicy gamble, but the footage Sony debuted exclusively during Comic-Con 2018 had fans excited nonetheless. It didn't hurt that they teased an eventual crossover with Tom Holland's Spider-Man, although it didn't sound like something that will happen any time soon.
In the clip, Tom Hardy's character Eddie Brock struggles to get the Symbiote under his control. He tries meditating, but there's footage of more violent scenes interspersed as he attempts to clear his mind. "You cannot change the past. But in the present moment, you are in total control," a voiceover says, but clearly that's not the case.
The footage showed Riz Ahmed's character, Dr. Carlton Drake, demonstrating the Symbiote's effect on an unwilling patient/victim. He's intent on forcing humanity to evolve. In another scene, Eddie races down the street on a motorcycle while the Symbiote erupts from his body, attacking nearby cars. Eddie speaks to the Symbiote, which can project words directly into Eddie's mind, or appear as a CG Venom head protruding from Eddie's body. In another scene, the two appear to have melded and reached some sort of balance; the Symbiote face peels partially away from Eddie's, and the two proclaim together, "We are Venom."
During the Sony movies panel in San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H, Tom Hardy said Venom will stick closely to the storyline in the Lethal Protector comics. "[Eddie] is an anti-hero, so he'll figure on a goal, and he'll do whatever he has to do to get to that goal," he said. Earlier at SDCC, Hardy revealed why he took the role.
Ahmed said during the panel that Carlton Drake is a "genius billionaire inventor" who is trying to answer the question of "what does the future of humanity look like" with the Earth on the brink of ecological collapse.
Another Symbiote appeared in the footage as well, and director Ruben Fleischer explained afterward that as fans suspected, it was Riot--an adversary of Venom's who is a "stronger and more powerful" Symbiote. He also has the ability to jump between hosts. "In our movie, you never know quite where Riot's going to turn up," Fleischer said.
Fans were expecting a little bit more, but Fleischer only teased that "there may or may not be other villains in the movie," saying he didn't want to give too much away.
However, moderator Jessica Chobot got one more small tease for fans, asking Fleischer and Hardy whether this cinematic incarnation will ever face off with Spider-Man, knowing that's what fans really want.
"I have to think that the studio's thinking the same way and that at some point down the road they're going to run into each other's paths," Fleischer said.
"What, me? Go toe-to-toe with Tom Holland? I'll have a go, yeah," Hardy added. "He's an awesome actor and I'd love to work with him, and I love Spider-Man. Who knows?"
Buckle up, fans of Joss Whedon and badass teenage vampire killers, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is getting a reboot. THR reports that 20th Century Fox television has had a reboot in mind for a while now, but talks about actually putting one in motion began in the fall of 2017. Now that the studio has hired a writer for the show, things are really starting up.
Whedon has expressed apprehension about making a Buffy reboot in the past, saying, "Luckily most of my actors still look wonderful, but I'm not worried about them being creaky. I'm more worried about me being creaky as a storyteller. You don't want that feeling that you should have left before the encore." But with a new writer hired and the show on the way, he appears to have gotten over his earlier qualms.
Whedon will be executive producing this time around, and Monica Owusu-Breen, who worked with Whedon on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, has been hired to write and produce the series, as well as serve as its showrunner. She is credited as the writer and showrunner for a slew of other titles including Midnight, Texas. No official script has been ordered, and the show has yet to find a director or an actor to play Buffy, so things are still in early stages.
The tone of the show was vaguely described by producers who said, "like our world, it will be richly diverse, and like the original, some aspects of the series could be seen as metaphors for issues facing us all today." The producers reportedly intend on hiring an African American actor to play Buffy.
The show will be pitched to cable and streaming networks alike, as it has yet to find a network, but it should have no trouble finding interested parties since Buffy The Vampire Slayer was one of the most beloved and popular shows of its day.
Are superheroes real or just a delusion? That's the question posed in the first trailer for Glass, the follow-up to M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable and Split. The film bridges the two movies, bringing their casts together for what looks to be perhaps the most unique superhero--or villain--tale ever seen on the big screen.
The cast and Shyamalan brought the clip to San Diego Comic-Con and were careful not to share too much about the movie, which releases in 2019. "There are a lot of secrets in this movie that have not been exposed," Bruce Willis said.
Still, the trailer gave quite a bit away. Based on the clip, which you can see above, Glass is largely set in a psychiatric hospital, where Kenneth Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), and David Dunn (Bruce Willis) are all being treated by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson). She's a specialist that deals with people who think they are superheroes.
What she is going to have to come to terms with, though, is that perhaps these three men do have some abilities. "This is not a cartoon," Price says in the trailer. "This is the real world. And yet some of us still don't die with bullets. Some of us can still bend steel. I've been waiting for the world to see that we exist."
Given the seemingly evil nature of Crumb's alter ego the Beast, the world may finally find out what happens when a couple of real-life superheroes are forced to spring into action to stop him.
Sony is running a surprise Flash Sale on the PlayStation Store this weekend, meaning you can get big savings on PS4, PS3, PS Vita games, and even PSP games on the off chance you're still in the market for those. Some high-quality games are in the mix, so take a look at our hand-picked highlights below. The sale ends July 23 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, so don't hold off too long if something catches your eye.
Survival game fans can take advantage of the sale to add Metal Gear Survive to their collection for $20, or The Long Dark for $12. Anyone who enjoys watching the nightly block of game shows might be interested in Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune for $8 apiece. That's a good deal for trivia and word puzzle fans, seeing as they normally sell for $20. Alternately, you can save a couple bucks more by purchasing the two as a bundle for $14.
You can find more of our picks below, or dive into the full set of items on sale here. Just remember, it ends July 23.
San Diego Comic-Con 2018 brings fans from around the world together to celebrate their favorite movies, TV shows, comic books, video games, and more--and brings the casts and creators of those properties along for the ride. From July 18-22, San Diego will become the hub for all things nerdy, as screenings, panels, and special events take place. While the packed schedule can be a bit intimidating, GameSpot is here to help you sort through it all and find the very best experiences you won't want to miss. We're now into the third day, and there's already been a ton of news from the event, with much more still to come.
While there are four days full of gatherings and panels, Saturday--as usual--is the biggest day of Comic-Con. This is when superheroes come out to play and the biggest movies will be on display. It all starts Saturday morning with the Warner Bros. films panel, which will likely bring fans their first looks at Aquaman, Wonder Woman 1984, and maybe even the upcoming Shazam. If TV superheroes are what you prefer, Warner Bros. TV also has a series of panels in the afternoon that bring together the casts of Supergirl, Black Lightning, Arrow, The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and Krypton. There's even a Batman: The Animated Series panel to celebrate the show's upcoming Blu-ray release.
There's more to Saturday than DC Entertainment, though. Other comic book-inspired panels include The Gifted and Syfy's upcoming Deadly Class. The day also offers the first look at USA's new TV spin-off of The Purge, as well as a Twin Peaks panel that combines the casts of the original series and Twin Peaks: The Return.
Capping off the day are Kevin Smith's annual Hall H Q&A and a screening of the director's cut of Deadpool 2, both of which should send those attending the con to bed laughing.
There's plenty more to see on Friday, which you can check out in our full list of daily highlights below. Also make sure to take a look at our schedule of must-see panels for the entire convention, or else you might miss out on something amazing.
Saturday
Warner Brothers (10:30 am - 12:30 pm; Hall H)
Black Lightning (11:00 am - 11:45 am; Ballroom 20)
My Hero Academia (11:15 am - 12:15 am; Room 6A)
The Simpsons (12:00 pm - 12:45 pm; Ballroom 20)
Krypton (12:00 pm - 12:50 pm; Indigo Ballroom)
The Gifted (2:30 pm - 3:15 pm; Ballroom 20)
Supergirl (3:30 pm - 4:15 pm; Ballroom 20)
Arrow (4:15 pm - 5:00 pm; Ballroom 20)
Batman: The Animated Series on Blu-ray (4:15 pm - 5:15 pm; Room 6DE)
We're in the midst of San Diego Comic-Con 2018, and there's a ton of new trailers for some of the most highly-anticipated movies and TV shows. Some of the biggest standouts have been new films and shows, like Glass and DC's Titans, as well as the surprise return of classic shows, like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Young Justice: Outsiders.
There were also new trailers for other big shows, like The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, and Star Trek: Discovery. Check out all of the new trailers below, and be sure to check back often as we update this feature with more. For all of the top updates from the event, be sure to check out our extensive SDCC 2018 coverage throughout the weekend.
Better Call Saul Season 4
Better Call Saul's next season deals with some heavier themes that previous seasons. Both Saul and Mike must struggle through even bigger challenges as this Breaking Bad spin-off series moves even further into the timeline.
Doctor Who Series 11
The latest Doctor Who stars the first female Doctor in the series three-decade long history. Actress Jodie Whittaker is playing the 13th incarnation of the Doctor, and takes over from previous Doctor actor, Peter Capaldi. She will be accompanied by three companions this time--Ryan (Tosin Cole), Yasmin (Mandip Gill), and Graham (Bradley Walsh).
Dragon Ball Super: Broly
The new Dragon Ball Super film pits Goku and Vegeta against the infamous series villain, Broly. And this time around he has a completely new appearance.
Fear the Walking Dead
The new Fear the Walking Dead trailer showcases new plotlines, but also offers a look at a familiar face that fans will recognize from the main series.
Glass
Glass bridges the Unbreakable and Split, bringing their casts together for what looks to be perhaps the most unique superhero--or villain--tale ever seen on the big screen.
Impulse Season 2
The critically acclaimed series returns for its second season, available only on YouTube Premium.
Marvel's Iron Fist Season 2
Marvel's Iron Fist is getting a follow-up season that promises to expand upon the character, while upping the game on the quality of storytelling and fight choreography.
Mayans M.C.
Mayans M.C. is the highly-anticipated spin-off of the popular biker drama, Sons of Anarchy.
Nightflyers
The TV series adaptation of George R.R. Martin's novella Nightflyers finally got a debut trailer. It follows a group of scientists as they embark on a mission to find a race of alien nomads. The group gets on the Nightflyer spaceship, ready to explore, unaware that the man who captains their ship is murderously insane.
Star Trek: Discovery
The latest Star Trek: Discovery trailer features new character Captain Christopher Pike, who has taken command of the ship under orders from Starfleet.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
In a surprise announcement, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Animated Series was confirmed to be returning. The trailer below offers a look at an older Anakin making contact with the fan-favorite Ashoka.
Titans
The first trailer for the DC Universe original series Titans--a live-action take on Teen Titans--takes on a darker tone most fans weren't expecting.
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Rise of the Teeange Mutant Ninja Turtles is the latest series in the long-running franchise. It takes on a far more stylized and cartoonish art style than its predecessors.
Voltron Season 7
The latest Voltron season sees the Paladins on a course for Earth. Unfortunately, after a long and perilous journey, they discover that their home planet is not how they left it.
The Walking Dead Season 9
The latest season continues Rick and the gang's fight for survival with them forging a truth among the communities of survivors. However, it's an uneasy one that's liable to break before they know it.
Young Justice: Outsiders
After three years away, Young Justice is returning for a third season. It picks up from the tragedy at the end of the previous season, showcasing the traumatic effects it has on the team as they face yet another villainous threat.
For all of our coverage on San Diego Comic-Con 2018, be sure to click from the links below. Check back often to keep up to date on all the latest announcements and trailers from the show.
Fortnite is the biggest game around right now, and with its first anniversary approaching, what better way to immortalize its success than with a set of collectible figurines? Epic Games and Funko are partnering up to release ten different product lines this holiday, including Pop figures, Pint Size Heroes, Vynl, keychains, 5 Star Figures, and Pop apparel. All of it will be rolling out this holiday season. [Update: The Pops were originally announced without any images of the figures, but we've now gotten a look at the first one. It features the Rex skin, which has one of the game's characters dressing up like a dinosaur. Check it out below.]
Which characters would be immortalized in plastic and vinyl have yet to be seen. Fortnite is known for a constantly shifting story with large-scale events that dramatically change the world roughly every two months. By the time the holiday season rolls around, it will switch over at least a couple more times. So either Funko is getting a very advanced look at Epic's long-term plans, or it's relying on iconic figures like the Fortnite llama.
"We are thrilled to collaborate and partner with Epic Games to create the inaugural Fortnite product collection and to bring these characters to life for the first time," said Funko CEO Brian Mariotti, in a statement. "This collection will be a true celebration of Fortnite's incredible popularity and cultural significance, and we believe our Funko Fortnite collectibles will strongly resonate with fans of the game."
What would a Final Fantasy and Disney crossover be without the main mouse himself? In a new Kingdom Hearts III trailer revealed at SDCC 2018, we got to see all the wonderful contributions Mickey Mouse has made to the story in celebration of his 90th anniversary.
For Kingdom Hearts, Mickey plays a key role as king and travels to other worlds to defeat the darkness. But his royalty and leadership aren't exactly where his actual story begins in the series.
Mickey's debut was in the short Plane Crazy as part of the short film Steamboat Willie in 1928. He was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a character created by Charles Mintz and owned by Universal. A deal went sour with Mintz and Disney lost many of his artists in the process, but Disney then made sure to own the rights to every character created from that point forward.
Mickey's start in the Kingdom Hearts series plays off his appearance in Steamboat Willie--Mickey began as a ship's hand to Pete in the Timeless River, and then went on to become a student under Yen Sid. He eventually becomes the chosen keyblade master under the Realm of Darkness, but chooses to follow the light.
King Mickey's role is also key in the story with Master Xehanort. He was the first to discover the threat of the heartless and create the Gummi Ship to travel between worlds. Since the beginning of the series in 2002, Mickey has been seen and played a major role in every single Kingdom Hearts title.
DC's streaming service DC Universe launches in the fall, and will offer a mix of new shows and classic DC movies, series, and comic books. One show that is set to return is the animated series Young Justice. The third season is titled Young Justice: Outsiders, and the first trailer has been revealed at San Diego Comic-Con. Check it out above.
Young Justice follows the lives of teen superheroes who form a group known as The Team. It doesn't take place in the same universe as other animated DC shows, so although many of the characters are familiar--Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Nightwing--they are different versions to those we are used to. In Young Justice: Outsiders they are joined by the DC team known as the Outsiders, whose members include Katana, Metamorpho, and Geo-Force, and the story will focus on metahuman trafficking.
Young Justice originally ran for two season from 2011-2012. However, the show was cancelled in 2013, and was replaced with Teen Titans Go!, which was aimed at a far younger audience. But while a fan attempt to crowdsource a revival was quashed by Warner, in 2016 the studio confirmed that a third season was on the way.
As well as Young Justice: Outsiders, DC Universe will launch with the live-action Titans, the surprisingly brutal first trailer of which was revealed at SDCC. Other shows set to appear on the service include an animated Harley Quinn and live-action Swamp Thing show. We also know how much the service will cost--it's priced at $74.99 for the year, or $7.99 per month.
Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee has made quite a second career for himself as an actor. After appearing as a hot dog vendor in 2000's X-Men film, he's become a regular fixture of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and X-Men franchise of movies. He never sticks around very long, but his cameo roles always get a big reaction from audiences.
His latest, though, might surprise you. Lee has switched sides, albeit temporarily. In Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, Stan Lee is a character. If you haven't seen Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, which screened at San Diego Comic-Con, the following could contain spoilers.
Lee pops up, letting everyone know he's there to make his standard superhero movie cameo. And while, at first glance, you may be wondering which voice actor is approximating the iconic figure, that's the Spider-Man co-creator himself poking fun at his constant appearances in a variety of comic book films.
While this is only the second time he's made a cameo in an animated film--shout out to Big Hero 6--it's his first time appearing in a DC Comics property. If ever there was a film to do it in, though, this is the one. Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is loaded with meta jokes about a variety of other superhero films, poking fun at the MCU, the X-Men and Deadpool, and it takes a lot of shots at DC Entertainment's own big screen properties.
This is a movie that dreams up a trailer for Batman's utility belt getting its own standalone film. If ever Lee were going to poke fun at his own penchant for appearing in so many movies, this is where it was meant to happen. That is managed to be in a DC Entertainment film is just one more meta layer on top of the movie.
After all, by this point, Stan Lee is bigger than one cinematic universe. He's not associated with any one hero or company. Stan Lee is comic books, and it's exciting to see both Marvel and DC embrace that.
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is in theaters on July 27.
The tale of the misfits that comprise the Guardians of the Galaxy will see their trilogy concluded with someone other than James Gunn in the director's chair. Gunn, who served as the writer and director for the first two Guardians movies, has been fired by Disney. The news confirmed the news in the midst of San Diego Comic-Con 2018, where Marvel was not expected to have any major news.
This move comes after old tweets of Gunn's surfaced online. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the controversial messages--which date back almost a decade--see the director joking about topics like pedophilia and rape.
Disney issues a statement confirming that it was parting ways with Gunn. Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said, "The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him."
Gunn's tweets were resurfaced online by conservative website The Daily Caller. Gunn has since published a series of tweets on his Twitter account in which he does not deny authoring the messages. Instead, he attempts to apologize and explain the messages.
"Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo. As I have discussed publicly many times, as I've developed as a person, so has my work and my humor. It's not to say I'm better, but I am very, very different than I was a few years ago; today I try to root my work in love and connection and less in anger. My days saying something just because it's shocking and trying to get a reaction are over.
"In the past, I have apologized for humor of mine that hurt people. I truly felt sorry and meant every word of my apologies. For the record, when I made these shocking jokes, I wasn't living them out. I know this is a weird statement to make, and seems obvious, but, still, here I am, saying it. Anyway, that's the completely honest truth: I used to make a lot of offensive jokes. I don't anymore. I don't blame my past self for this, but I like myself more and feel like a more full human being and creator today. Love you to you all."
1. Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo. As I have discussed publicly many times, as I've developed as a person, so has my work and my humor.
Gunn had teased that a new, non-Guardians project of his would be revealed at SDCC on Friday during the Sony Pictures panel. According to Variety, he's no longer expected to make an appearance at the panel, which is no shock--it would be a real surprise for him to show up with this news having only just broken. Whether he moves ahead with whatever that project is (possibly the horror movie we heard about previously) remains to be seen. We'll report back if Sony acknowledges the news or Gunn's project during its panel.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 had been set for release in 2020, though Gunn's removal could affect that. The events of Avengers: Infinity War stand to have a potential impact on the film, though Avengers 4--due out next year--could always make further changes. Without saying how, Gunn had previously teased that Guardians 3 would be "very different."
Aside from his contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gunn is also known for writing and directing the movie Super.
San Diego Comic-Con is upon us, and that means tons of reveal trailers, comic announcements, cosplay, and of course, exclusive Funko Pops. The collectible doodads have become a staple of the annual show, and this year it's offering a whopping 58 in all. Among them are some Disney homages that mix characters from big new and upcoming movies with some more obscure parts of Disney history.
Funko celebrated the mix of characters with a quick video showing them in 360 degrees. They include King Mickey from Kingdom Hearts, Ralph and Fix-It Felix from Wreck-It Ralph and the upcoming Wreck-It Ralph Breaks the Internet, and even Pain and Panic from Disney's Hercules. (Muse: Honey, you mean Hunk-ules).
If you happen to be attending SDCC you can get your hands on these tchotchkes, but it's not as simple as just walking up to the Funko booth and walking away with an armful of nostalgia. Oh no. You have to follow some guidelines, like using an Exclusives Portal to book a time to visit the booth and purchase your wares. Then you can place them in your vault as your retirement savings and never ever open them because you're not a monster.
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