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Disney Animation’s D23 panel got started with a bang. Or maybe a blizzard. While we didn’t learn much about Frozen 2, a little bit of light was cast on the mysterious sequel to the beloved 2013 hit, with stars Kristen Bell and Josh Gad taking the stage to chat…and to sing.

After joking that it would be titled Frozen Toe in its native language and that it won’t be called Thawed, Bell noted that, for now, the sequel will just be titled Frozen 2. This could always change, of course.

Bell proceeded to talk about the film’s development and how the filmmakers were inspired by some of the most beautiful locations on the planet. They embarked on trips to Norway, Iceland, and Finland for inspiration and the D23 crowd was treated to a video shot by the filmmakers showcasing their many adventures. Beautiful panoramas, glaciers, and waterfalls were among the images shared.

Before Frozen 2 even hits theaters, you’ll be able to see more from the Frozen world. A new 21-minute short titled Olaf’s Frozen Adventure will arrive in theaters alongside Pixar’s Coco later this year. The film will feature four new songs from Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson and the entire original cast will return. The story follows Olaf as he attempts to bring some holiday cheer to Anna and Elsa after learning they don’t have any holiday traditions.

Our own Peter Sciretta saw a clip from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure at D23, where voice actor Josh Gad took the stage to perform live alongside footage from the film. The song finds Olaf going door-to-door, learning about (and making fun of) some fairly common Christmas traditions, like decorating trees and Santa Claus (“Hang up all your socks above an open fire…That sounds safe”). During the song, the animation changes style, transforming into a cross-stitch resembling a Christmas sweater. While Peter didn’t love the song as much as anything in the Frozen feature film, he did note that the crowd of Disney fanatics was really into it.

You don’t have to have kids or even be a fan of Disney’s animated output to be familiar with Frozen, which opened to critical acclaim and $1.2 billion at the box office back in 2013. A sequel was inevitable and Disney has not made it a secret that they intend to keep Anna, Elsa, and the rest of their family and friends in the spotlight for the foreseeable future. A theme park ride set in the world of the film has opened at the Epcot theme park in Florida. An entire theme park land based on Frozen is coming to Tokyo Disneyland. A short film sequel premiered in 2015 and another will arrive later this year. Yeah, when it comes to Frozen, Disney isn’t prepared to…let it go.

Plot details for Frozen 2 have been mostly kept under wraps, but Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee will return to direct alongside voice actors Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad. Disney regular Alan Tudyk, who played a supporting role in the first Frozen, says he will also be return. The film is set to be released on November 27, 2019.

The post New ‘Frozen 2’ Details and an Early ‘Olaf’s Frozen Adventure’ Reaction [D23 Expo 2017] appeared first on /Film.

As John Jaqobis on Syfy’s kick-butt summer series Killjoys, Aaron Ashmore gets to blast into outer space. Jaqobis, older brother D’avin (Luke Macfarlane), and fellow bounty hunter Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen) make a formidable trio, serving warrants for various individuals they’re tasked with recovering for the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition (RAC) — while also trying to navigate what could be an impending civil war.

Killjoys isn’t the first genre show Ashmore has been a part of. He also photographed Superman as Jimmy Olsen on The WB’s Smallville, betrayed Veronica Mars, and retrieved objects for Warehouse 13.

“I’ve always been a big fan of science fiction and fantasy,” says Ashmore, who was a big Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien fan when he was younger. “I was a huge Star Trek fan. I watched Next Generation every day whenever it was on, and then I got into Deep Space Nine which I really, really liked. I also loved The X-Files, which was a huge show I didn’t miss. My parents, my brother, and I would watch it every week it was on.”

As as result, Ashmore says he “obviously responds” to similar material, but he also credits the direction of his career to the rising popularity of genre storytelling: “As an actor, you’re going out for a ton of different things, but if half of it is genre stuff, the likelihood that you’re going to get into some of that is pretty high.”

As season 3 of Killjoys ramps up, EW spoke to Ashmore about what fans can expect from Johnny — who’s gone through some recent changes — as well as what he loved about his previous parts.

‘Killjoys’

“There’s maybe a little bit of darkness that’s crept into John this season,” Ashmore says. And no wonder — last season, John’s girlfriend, Pawter Simms (Sarah Power) was killed, leading him to not only shoot her killer (Mayko Nguyen’s Delle Sayah Kendry) in revenge but also leave his partners (and their ship) and set off on his own.

“It doesn’t mean that he’s a completely different character,” says Ashmore, “but some of the things that have happened to him over the past two seasons are showing. It’s interesting because D’avin is playing some of the lighter stuff and keeps feeling like he’s joined this family, so he’s opening up, while John’s closing up a little bit.”

It’s these additional dimensions to his character that keep Ashmore so excited about playing John: “There’s obviously this real heart to him, but at the same time he also surprises me as an actor by shooting someone in the head, or blowing somebody away. Getting a chance to play a three-dimensional character has been pretty fun and exciting.”

SOUVENIR FROM THE SET: “When Killjoys ends, hopefully not for a couple more years, I would definitely take my jacket,” says Ashmore. “They custom make these jackets, and they have all this really cool armor and patches, and all that stuff on them. We also have these futuristic guns that look like regular guns, but they’ve been modified so they’re really cool, so I’d take that, and definitely a few little science-y things.”

‘Warehouse 13’

“That show had a really big fan base, but also the character I played was gay, and that really resonated with a lot of people,” says Ashmore about his role as Steve Jinks, a new warehouse agent introduced in the third season of the Syfy drama. Jinks was hired to replace Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) before being partnered with Claudia Donovan (Stitchers’ Allison Scagliotti). It was revealed that not only was Jinks gay and a Buddhist, but that he also had the ability to tell when anyone is lying.

“I thought he was an interesting character because he wasn’t your stereotypically calm or centered Buddhist,” Ashmore recalls. “He could be a little uptight or negative at times. So it was funny that he was , because you wouldn’t assume that. It was just something he adopted to help center himself.”

The series also gave Ashmore a chance to play two different versions of the character when a magically imbued object in the mystical Warehouse split Jinks into two. “It was interesting to shoot because you’re literally playing one very stern grumpy version of the character, and the other half is this flamboyantly gay version of him,” remembers Ashmore. “The idea is if you mix them together you get who Steve is. But when they’re separated, they’re just polar opposites. Getting to play both of them and interact with myself through a green screen was really fun.”

SOUVENIR FROM THE SET: “There’s a metronome that saved my character’s life at one point, and I got to keep that, which was really, really cool.”

‘Lost Girl’

A regular human, Ashmore’s Nate was a struggling musician who was childhood best friends with Kenzi (Ksenia Solo), human best friend to Succubus Bo (Anna Silk). Nate’s return to Kenzi’s life sparked a romance, but to keep him safe from magical threats, she wound up breaking up with him a few episodes later. “I don’t think that he ever found out anything about all the magic and the dangerous things that were going on, and it was kind of sad because he was falling in love with her,” says Ashmore.

The role may have been in his sci-fi wheelhouse, but it did challenge him in another area: As Nate, Ashmore had to play guitar on camera. “It turned out fine, but it was a little nerve wracking pushing your boundaries around stuff like that, where you’re like, ‘There’s going to be a lot of people watching me sing, and I’m not a singer.’ But that’s a great thing about playing these roles. Sometimes you end up pushing yourself a little out of your comfort zone.”

‘Smallville’

“I couldn’t believe that I booked the part,” laughs Ashmore of his role as Jimmy Olsen, who worked alongside Clark Kent (Tom Wellington) and Lois Lane (Erica Durance) as a photojournalist at the Daily Planet, where he the first person to get a photo of ‘The Blur’ (Clark’s superhero moniker at the time). Jimy also married and divorced Clark’s best friend Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack). He would later die on the series, but not before learning Clark’s secret and telling his ex-wife he would always love her.

A few seasons before Aaron Ashmore picked up Jimmy’s iconic camera on The WB show, his twin brother Shawn had actually starred on the show as Eric Summers, a villainous metahuman student whom Clark went up against in two different episodes.

“Shawn’s character interacted with Clark so much,” Ashmore says. “I almost didn’t audition for it because I thought ‘There’s no way that they’re going to hire the twin brother of a guy who was heavily featured on the show.’” Luckily, he went to the audition.

“There was this huge aspect of personality that was very insecure and and constantly worried about Chloe loving Clark that felt a bit soap-ish in a way that I wasn’t crazy about,” Ashmore admits. “But I really liked the interactions with Clark and how interested Jimmy was in Superman and tracking him down. They definitely had a lot of great moments where he was putting the pieces together that Clark is Superman, which felt very iconic to me.”

Unfortunately, Jimmy’s time on the show ended when Doomsday killed his character in season 8. “I think it worked,” says the actor. “Of course I was bummed because I really liked playing that character, but the death was awesome. He got to be a hero at the end of the day, and he never really got to be a hero on the show, so saving Chloe from Doomsday was a good way to go out.”

SOUVENIR FROM THE SET: “Jimmy wore these bowling shirts. There was red one and a brown one, and I have those tucked away somewhere.”

‘Veronica Mars’

Ashmore originally auditioned for the role of Duncan Kane, Veronica’s ex-boyfriend, on Rob Thomas’ teen-noir drama. That role eventually went to Teddy Dunn, but Ashmore was called back in season 1 to play Troy Vandegraff, who briefly dated Veronica before it was revealed that he was just using her to help him smuggle steroids into the country from Mexico.

The actor didn’t know about his character’s true intentions until the got the script for that episode, which he says helped his performance. “I think it’s interesting because then you’re not playing into anything or foreshadowing that he’s going to be a bad guy,” says Ashmore. “You actually think that he’s going to be this really cool guy and that he and Veronica are going to get along very well.”

“ was so nice to Veronica and she’d had such a crappy time of things that people were like, ‘This guy’s great.’ It lulled them into a false sense of security, so when he turned out to be a jerk, people were so angry at him,” says Ashmore, who enjoyed playing Troy’s sense of humor and wit. “He could have been such a nice guy and great for Veronica, but like most people, he turned out to be an ass.”

As for Troy’s later return, Ashmore thinks it allowed Veronica to be the bigger person as she worked to prove that Troy was indeed innocent: “It was interesting to have her stand up for somebody who’d totally screwed her over.”

‘Are You Afraid of the Dark’

Ashmore starred in two different episodes of this horror anthology series: In 1993, he played Billy, a young boy who visits the 13th floor of his apartment building with his sister, and in 2000, Ashmore took on the role of Jake, a jock who had to team up with a popular girl to save the world from a threat against the planet.

“When I did the first one, I was definitely a fan of the show. I was the perfect age range for that,” Ashmore recalls. “By the time I did the second episode, I still watched it, but I was a little older, so I was into slightly older things. But most of my friends watched the show, too, so it was something that you did that all of your friends were going to watch, and you knew that so that was exciting.”

‘Animorphs’

Aaron’s twin brother Shawn played Jake, the leader of the Animorphs, on this short-lived Nickelodeon series about a group of kids who transform into animals to save the world from parasitic aliens that are possessing humans. “They were going to pull a green screen scenario,” Aaron says, “but it was going to end up being very expensive. But they knew Shawn had a twin.”

As for the popular book series itself, Ashmore says while he never read all of it because he and his brother were in their late teens when Shawn was starring on the show, he did pick up a few books when his brother got cast. “I thought they were really fun, and that it was a good little series… But we may have missed it. If we were five or six years younger, we probably would have been the perfect age range for them.”

Killjoys airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Syfy.

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There’s less than a week left until season 7 of Game of Thrones premieres on HBO, but the network might already be readying its next great fantasy adaptation. Author Nnedi Okorafor announced on Twitter Monday that HBO has optioned her award-winning novel Who Fears Death for a TV adaptation. Most interestingly of all, Okorafor added that Game of Thrones mastermind George R.R. Martin is also involved.

“My novel Who Fears Death has been optioned by HBO and is now in early development as a TV series with George RR Martin as executive producer,” Okorafor tweeted. As proof, she included in the tweet a selfie where she’s standing in front of the HBO logo — presumably at the cable net’s offices.

 

My novel WHO FEARS DEATH has been optioned by @HBO & is now in early development as a TV series with George RR Martin as executive producer. pic.twitter.com/POF7Dj2hWP

— Nnedi Okorafor, PhD (@Nnedi) July 10, 2017

pic.twitter.com/v0nMlulVaq

— Nnedi Okorafor, PhD (@Nnedi) July 10, 2017

The 2010 novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic future Africa riven by genocidal tribal conflict between the light-skinned Nuru and dark-skinned Okeke. The protagonist Onyesonwu (whose name is Igbo for the book’s title, “who fears death”) was born of an interracial rape. As she grows older she realizes she has magical powers — and even more importantly, that someone else with powerful magic is trying to kill her. Who Fears Death won the 2011 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

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HBO had no comment.

Michael C. Hall is coming back to a TV near you.

Four years after the conclusion of Dexter, Hall is taking on a new starring role in the Netflix drama Safe, produced by himself and author Harlan Coben. Though Coben is a prolific and well-known author of mystery and thriller novels, the series is written by award-winning screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst (Shameless). Amanda Abbington (Sherlock) and Audrey Fluerot are also set to star.

Safe is set in a beautiful gated community where Hall plays a widowed father of two named Tom. Just when it seems like he and his two daughters have begun to move forward following the death of his wife, one of them sneaks off to a party. Lo and behold, a murder and disappearance take place that night, and buried secrets start re-emerging.

Safe started shooting in the U.K. this week and is set to debut on Netflix in 2018.

Big Bang Theory star Melissa Rauch announced her pregnancy in a powerful essay for Glamour, where Rauch also shared details of her previous miscarriage and its accompanying emotional impact.

Rauch, who is expecting her first child with husband, Winston, opened the piece with “the only statement regarding my pregnancy that doesn’t make me feel like a complete fraud,” which is, “Melissa is expecting her first child. She is extremely overjoyed, but if she’s being honest, due to the fact that she had a miscarriage the last time she was pregnant, she’s pretty much terrified at the moment that it will happen again. She feels weird even announcing this at all, and would rather wait until her child heads off to college to tell anyone, but she figures she should probably share this news before someone sees her waddling around with her mid-section protruding and announces it first.”

She goes on to point out the blame the term “miscarriage” places on women — “F that so hard, right in its patriarchal nut-sack,” she says — and explains the loss of her baby “was one of the most profound sorrows I have ever felt in my life.”

“What I realized, though, is that because this kind of loss is not openly talked about nearly as much as it should be, there really is no template for how to process these emotions,” she writes. “You’re not necessarily going to a funeral or taking time off from work to mourn, but that doesn’t change the fact that something precious has been unexpectedly taken from your life.”

After detailing the guilt and depression she’s felt and expressing how grateful she is for her current pregnancy, Rauch specifically addresses other women in similar situations. “So, to all the women out there who are dealing with fertility issues, have gone through a miscarriage or are going through the pain of it currently, allow me to leave you with this message: You are not alone. And, it is perfectly OK to not be OK right now.”

Read her full essay here.

Harlem’s Hero, meet… a Charlie’s Angel. Or O-Ren Ishii. (Or Ling Woo, to throw it way back.)

Lucy Liu is directing the season 2 premiere of Luke Cage, EW has confirmed. “What a thrill to collaborate with Marvel and Netflix, two industry titans, who paint our world with inspiring stories and beguiling characters,” Liu said in a statement to BuzzFeed, which first reported the news. “It is such an honor to work with such a passionate and fearless team.”

Though Marvel is keeping mum on details around the second season of their superhero drama about the Defender with unbreakable skin, executive producer Jeph Loeb shared some insight into Liu’s vision. “When you’re dealing with a bulletproof man, it helps if you have a bulletproof director,” he said in a statement to BuzzFeed. “Lucy brings a keen eye, a superb sense of story, and an obvious love of actors. She is rocking Luke Cage 2.”

Liu, who currently stars as Dr. Joan Watson on CBS’ Elementary, had previously been spotted on set with star Mike Colter and has been stepping behind the camera since 2011, when she made her directing debut with the short film Meena. As for the small screen, she has directed an episode of USA’s Graceland as well as four installments of Elementary.

Luke Cage season 2 will debut on Netflix in 2018.

Earlier this year, the Bad Robot Twitter account posted a teaser for Castle Rock, a new Hulu original series that reteams J.J. Abrams and Stephen King after their collaboration on 11.22.63.

IGN can reveal that Bill Skarsgard, soon to be seen in another highly-anticipated King adaptation, It, has been cast as a series regular on Castle Rock. Details are very scarce on the secretive project, beyond Skarsgard playing "a young man with an unusual legal problem."

Bill Skarsgard in Hemlock Grove.

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The Flash might be adapting another famous comic book arc in season 4.

Over the holiday weekend, a tweet from The Flash production office that’s since been deleted — actually, the entire account seems to now be missing in action — appeared to reveal the season premiere title: “The Flash Reborn.” Though it’s not the exact title, “Reborn” seems to be a nod to the 2009 six-issue limited series The Flash: Rebirth, which was written by Geoff Johns, an executive producer on the show and the Chief Creative Officer over at DC Comics, who also wrote Flashpoint, which the show adapted last season.

The last we saw of Barry (Grant Gustin) on the series, he had defeated Savitar, taking the God of Speed’s place in the Speed Force lest a Speed Force storm destroy Central City. In the comics, Barry Allen’s version of The Flash had been missing from comic book pages for 23 years(!) after the Scarlet Speedster sacrificed himself during Crisis on Infinite Earths — a storyline that’s been strongly hinted at since the show’s pilot. With Barry gone in the comics, it was up to Wally West to be the new Flash, much like Barry recently left Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale) in charge of protecting Central City in the season 3 finale.

SPOILER ALERT FOR THE COMICS AND THE SHOW: When Barry Allen returned in Rebirth, he transformed into speedster grim reaper Black Flash. On the show, Hunter Zolomon (Teddy Sears) became the Black Flash in the season 2 finale but was subsequently killed on Savitar’s orders by Killer Frost (Danielle Panabaker) in the season 3 finale. Therefore, it would make sense that the Speed Force would need a new Black Flash to do its bidding if the show decided to go this route. However, Barry only became Black Flash because of Eobard Thawne, a.k.a Reverse-Flash/Professor Zoom, who used a negative Speed Force to essentially turn Barry into a weapon against his family so he would once again die, but this time as a villain, not a martyr.

So here’s why it may be unlikely that the show will take this exact route: The Flash bosses previously revealed that the fourth season would not feature a speedster big bad. Instead, the show has dropped two different hints that Clifford DeVoe, a.k.a. The Thinker, will be the villain in season 4. Also, it’s unlikely the show would retread on Reverse-Flash this soon — he plagued Barry in season 1 of The Flash, then teamed up with the Legion of Doom to take on the Legends last season on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

However, there’s an entirely different Rebirth story the title could be referring to: The current DC: Rebirth arc, which kicked off in 2016 following the end of The New 52 run. In these comics, Barry becomes mentor to a whole new set of speedsters after a Speed Force storm — like the one in the season 3 finale! — causes an influx of lightning fast heroes and foes.

Sure, there’s another speedster villain in the first run of DC: Rebirth, known as Godspeed, but The Flash has a knack for putting a twist on the comics, so basically either of these Rebirth storylines could be viable. Or, you know, “Reborn” could be taken literally and the Scarlet Speedster will be somehow reborn and freed from the Speed Force next season and the story isn’t inspired by either comic book run. We should know more when The Flash cast and executive producers head to Comic-Con in a few weeks.

The Flash returns Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

New York’s four super-friends are about to save the city.

If they can get along, that is. Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) are super, but they’re certainly not friends when they unite in Netflix’s The Defenders. And without delving into spoilers, EW’s guide below to everything you need to know about the show will prepare you for the eight episodes to come. Consider it your superhero training montage — only it’s for superhero-watching.

Meet the freewheeling four.

From the beginning, The Defenders was planned as the endgame for the Marvel-Netflix small-screen heroes. Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb told EW that he conceived of the show while watching The Avengers for the fifth time on DVD back in 2013, and from there, came up with a plan to roll out individual series for four different street-level heroes, who would ultimately unite over a major (yet still street-level) crisis in New York City.

Netflix stepped in to help as Marvel sought an outlet for the projects — one that, since its start, would produce at least 60 episodes of binge-able content. From there, the universe chose showrunners, cast its stars, and rolled out each of the stand-alone series with Daredevil arriving first, Jessica Jones second, Luke Cage third, and Iron Fist last. Daredevil also released a second season, has a third in the works, and a spin-off focused on season 2 antihero The Punisher, while Jessica Jones and Luke Cage have been renewed for second seasons.

So who are these reluctant superheroes? Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, is a blind lawyer who takes justice into his own hands at night as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. He’s guided by his faith, yet also tormented by it, always questioning whether what he does to criminals is morally right. Jessica Jones, meanwhile, had been a wannabe crimefighter after discovering her superpowers (mostly super-strength, and “flying” by leaping really high), only to be taken advantage of by the mind-controller Kilgrave. The ordeal left her scarred and reclusive, but she continues to try to help others as a private investigator running Alias Investigations. Luke Cage also struggles with his past: Born Carl Lucas, he was wrongfully incarcerated in prison and imbued with unbreakable skin and super-strength, before eventually becoming embroiled in a crime boss’ plot in Harlem. Lastly, Danny Rand, a.k.a. Iron Fist, is a martial arts master with mystical powers who trained in the faraway city of K’un-Lun — but in his first season, he abandons his post as the protector of K’un-Lun and returns home to New York, where he’s followed by members of the Hand, the sworn enemy of the Iron Fist and ongoing foe to Daredevil.

To sum it all up, however, all four are orphans who are finding their paths as heroes, and at the start of The Defenders, each of them is at a different point in their vigilante careers — and definitely not into joining a so-called superhero team. Charlie Cox told EW that the Man Without Fear has become reluctant to don his suit and fight for Hell’s Kitchen since losing Elektra to the Hand. Krysten Ritter teased that Jessica Jones has become more well-known than ever around the city after taking down Kilgrave, but she’s not one to bask in the spotlight. Mike Colter explained that Luke Cage will quickly be let out of Seagate Prison and prove to be the most mature of the Defenders. And as for Iron Fist, Finn Jones says his character will play an integral part in building the team, despite their reluctance to become one.

Worlds — make that neighborhoods — will collide.

But enough about the individual shows. The foursome has all been introduced, and each series has planted seeds for what might bring them onto the same side. Showrunner Marco Ramirez (who worked alongside EP Doug Petrie on Daredevil season 2) says The Defenders will “feel like a continuation of all the shows… the next step for all four shows” and will also be “one satisfying, self-contained piece.” And as far as juggling all the meetings, Ramirez says to remember that characters have already “cross-pollinated from one world to the other” — Jessica and Luke know each other, for example — so it’s not much of a stretch to have them cross paths in their journeys.

As for how they cross paths, well, their first meeting is in — surprise, surprise — a hallway. Hallway fight scenes are a Marvel-Netflix staple at this point, so of course the heroes have to meet in one. (And then ride an elevator together in one.) But it won’t be easy for them to get along: Ritter says Jessica and Matt will have a “cat-and-mouse” dynamic, for example, while Colter says Luke will have to act as the “conciliator” for the group.

A “street-level crisis” arrives in New York.

No, Sigourney Weaver isn’t the “street-level crisis,” as Ramirez put it, but she does play a big part in threatening the city in which all four Defenders live. For EW’s first look cover story, Ramirez teased Weaver’s mysterious character, Alexandra, as an “utter badass.” And judging by the official trailer — go here for the screenshots-fueled deep dive — she’s also ready to take the Defenders down.

But what exactly is Alexandra up to, and who is she? The previous series shed some clues. Instead of watching them all again (that’s a long weekend of bingeing you’re up for it), catch up on the biggest takeaways and unanswered questions from the final standalone series, Iron Fist. Highlights include the fact that there’s more than one type of Hand, the shady organization with that annoying ninja army; Danny Rand ran away from K’un-Lun instead of embracing his responsibility to protect K’un-Lun; and oh right, Elektra’s coming back to presumably wreak havoc as the weapon Black Sky.

On top of all that, the preceding series have also tossed out key words and phrases like IGH (seen at the end of Jessica Jones) and Midland Circle (seen in Daredevil season 2 and Iron Fist) that very likely have something to do with whatever Alexandra’s cooking up. And for even more clues, take a closer look at EW’s exclusive photos or look out for Marvel and Netflix’s Comic-Con panel with the cast. (The last con the cast attended, which happened to be the first time they met, was “insane,” as they put it.)

The team’s bigger than these four.

There are only four Defenders, but there are more than four heroes to save the day. Joining the core four from the one-off series are supporting characters Colleen Wing (played by Jessica Henwick, who teased that the series begins with Colleen not in New York), Misty Knight, Trish Walker, Foggy Nelson, Jeri Hogarth, Karen Page, Stick, and of course, Claire Temple, a.k.a. Rosario Dawson, who’s appeared in every series leading up to The Defenders and plays an important role in guiding the Defenders to each other. Oh, and speaking of connections… here’s what Loeb has to say about whether the Marvel-Netflix shows will ever cross over into the films.

And even if all of the Marvel characters never meet each other, at least we can understand how all the pieces fit together. Here, Entertainment Weekly: The Show has created a handy guide to understanding everything going on in Marvel, both on the big and the small screen.

Look out for color palettes.

To seamlessly merge the four standalone series’ distinct tones, the crew color-coded the characters. In some scenes, like the dinner shown above, lighting that matched the characters’ associated palettes — red for Daredevil, purple and blue for Jessica Jones, yellow for Luke Cage, and green for Iron Fist — helped echo their newly united front. (It was also the thinking behind EW’s cover shoot, which emulated the series’ work.)

And The Defenders isn’t meant to be the end of the four heroes’ stories. Loeb says he hopes the series continues to expand Marvel’s small-screen universe, and with future seasons of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage in the works, it’s likely the Defenders will have to call on each other for help again, even if the miniseries is meant to stay a miniseries for now. Still, if a second season of The Defenders happens, at least we know Ritter’s all in.

The Defenders hits Netflix August 18.

Nelsan Ellis’ True Blood family is particularly shaken by news of the actor’s death. Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Deborah Ann Woll, Joe Manganiello, Kristin Bauer van Straten, and more shared their reactions on social media after Ellis died from heart failure, which his manager Emily Gerson Saines confirmed to EW Saturday. He was 39.

Paquin led the cast of True Blood as Sookie Stackhouse and shared numerous scenes with Ellis’ Lafayette. “It was an utter privilege to work with the phenomenally talented and deeply kind soul .@OfficialNelsan,” she tweeted. “I’m devastated by his untimely death.”

GALLERY: Nelsan Ellis’ Life in Photos

“Nelsan Ellis was truly remarkable,” Moyer wrote. “A brilliant, charismatic, intelligent, soulful, wonderful dude. This is just completely tragic.”

It was an utter privilege to work with the phenomenally talented and deeply kind soul .@OfficialNelsan I'm devastated by his untimely death. pic.twitter.com/If17csduHz

— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) July 8, 2017

Nelsan Ellis was truly remarkable. A brilliant, charismatic, intelligent, soulful, wonderful dude. this is just completely tragic.

— Stephen Moyer (@smoyer) July 8, 2017

Woll, who played Jessica on the HBO vampire drama, called the news “heartbreaking.”

“Stunned, devastated by the terrible news of @OfficialNelsan’s passing,” Michael McMillian, the actor behind Steve Newlin, tweeted. “Nelsan was a genius and a beautiful soul. Sending love to his family.”

Manganiello and Bauer, another two longtime members of the cast, penned more heartfelt statements about Ellis on Instagram. “Crushed today by the loss of my friend and castmate Nelsan Ellis. He was a wonderful person, a pioneer, and a one of a kind artist. Watching him work was like watching someone channel a spirit. It was mesmerizing. RIP,” the man behind werewolf Alcide wrote.

Heartbreaking. https://t.co/LuDtfxBUJB

— Deborah Ann Woll (@DeborahAnnWoll) July 8, 2017

Stunned, devastated by the terrible news of @OfficialNelsan's passing. Nelsan was a genius and a beautiful soul. Sending love to his family.

— Michael McMillian (@McMillzz) July 8, 2017

Sam Trammell, Anna Camp, Lauren Bowles, Todd Lowe, Aisha Hinds, and Michael Raymond-James were among the other True Blood cast members sharing memories about their fallen friend.

Kevin Alejandro played Jesus, Lafayette’s supernaturally charged brujo boyfriend, on True Blood. He shared a still of one of their sweet on-screen moments, writing, “I am speechless… I am heartbroken… Rest In Peace my friend.”

I am speechless… I am heartbroken… Rest In Peace my friend @OfficialNelsan pic.twitter.com/nvyzM8QoI7

— Kevin Alejandro (@kevinmalejandro) July 8, 2017

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the level of humility and kindness that came with the Magnificent Talent that Nelsan Ellis had,” tweeted Trammell, who played Sam Merlotte, boss of Lafayette.

“This DEVASTATING news about @OfficialNelsan just EMPTIED me,” Hinds wrote. “His passing is hard to process right now… So. Gifted.”

I don't know if I've ever seen the level of humility and kindness that came with the Magnificent Talent that Nelsan Ellis had. Miss u friend

— Sam Trammell (@SamTrammell) July 8, 2017

My heart is broken today over the loss of @OfficialNelsan I was in complete awe of your talent and so honored to have known your kindness.

— Anna Camp (@TheRealAnnaCamp) July 8, 2017

I. Am. So. Sad. https://t.co/qk0SWqzwCq

— Lauren Bowles (@LaurenEBowles) July 8, 2017

No one could raise a brow like @OfficialNelsan An army of us r left wanting more. Wherever you are sir,wish u peace. pic.twitter.com/4NBRSSRKwF

— Lauren Bowles (@LaurenEBowles) July 8, 2017

So blessed to share the screen with you you beautiful man. pic.twitter.com/DCD6WLAdJn

— Todd Lowe (@Todd__Lowe) July 8, 2017

Tragedy. Love and support to @OfficialNelsan's closest friends family. https://t.co/fJBG6ZOmDE

— janina gavankar (@Janina) July 8, 2017

Very disturbed and sad that Nelsan Ellis has died. Such a huge talent. Such a wonderful man. The world is a poorer place today…

— Denis O'Hare (@denisohare) July 8, 2017

This DEVASTATING news about @OfficialNelsan just EMPTIED me….His passing is hard to process right now… So.Gifted.

— Aisha Hinds (@AishaHinds) July 8, 2017

Unbelievably sad news. Nelsan was such a sweet, gentle soul with an enormous talent. He will be missed greatly RIP https://t.co/NDdoaeM6Pj

— MichaelRaymond-James (@MRaymondJames) July 8, 2017

I am stunned and heartbroken. Our #TrueBlood family and the world has lost an amazing talent and human being. https://t.co/Ot0l1pjlmL

— Mariana Klaveno (@MarianaKlaveno) July 8, 2017

Heart is shattered hearing of tragic news of #NelsanEllis passing. Devastated.He possessed such humility & fearless talent. U r deeply loved

— Michelle Forbes (@MishkaForbes) July 8, 2017

Anthony Hemingway, who directed episodes of True Blood, called Ellis a “dear friend, brother, amazing talent, loving father & family man.” Writer Elisabeth Finch, who penned episodes of seasons 2 and 3, recalls him being a “pure f—ing genius.”

.@OfficialNelsan you were pure fucking genius. and all heart. it was an honor to work with you, friend. #truebloodforever pic.twitter.com/0WYmzcVsMT

— Elisabeth R. Finch (@erfinchie) July 8, 2017

True Blood author Charlaine Harris tweeted briefly about her “shock.” She added on Instagram, “Such a great talent gone far too soon.”

I am so sad about the death of Nelsan Ellis, a great talent gone too soon. Such a shock.

— Charlaine Harris (@RealCharlaine) July 8, 2017

HBO and series creator Alan Ball released statements shortly after the news became public. “Nelsan was a singular talent whose creativity never ceased to amaze me. Working with him was a privilege,” Ball said.

“We were extremely saddened to hear of the passing of Nelsan Ellis,” HBO’s statement read. “Nelsan was a long-time member of the HBO family whose groundbreaking portrayal of Lafayette will be remembered fondly within the overall legacy of True Blood. Nelsan will be dearly missed by his fans and all of us at HBO.”

One of Ellis’ final performances was an extended arc on the fifth season of CBS’ Elementary. The show released an official statement and executive producers Rob Doherty and Carl Beverly said Ellis “will always be a treasured member of the Elementary family” in a Twitter post.

Nelsan Ellis was a gifted artist. We join his fans in remembering his accomplishments & extend our sympathies to his family and friends.

— Elementary (@Elementary_CBS) July 9, 2017

Nelsan Ellis will always be a treasured member of the Elementary family. Our hearts & prayers are w/his loved ones on this saddest of days.

— Elementary Writers (@ELEMENTARYStaff) July 8, 2017

Chadwick Boseman, who costarred with Ellis in the 2014 James Brown biopic Get on Up opted to “celebrate” Ellis with photos from their film together.

See more reactions from celebrities below.

We didnt even scratch the surface of seeing what this artist was capable of. My love to the family of this spectacular man. #NelsanEllis pic.twitter.com/3DoPQZYS7p

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) July 8, 2017

Rise in Peace, King. And thank you for sharing your gifts with us. You made a difference. #nelsanellis pic.twitter.com/blav8fr3Qc

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) July 8, 2017

So so sad to hear about the passing of such an an inspiring artist. Nelsan Ellis, your talent will be remembered for a long time. pic.twitter.com/oJSz8RNiRe

— Yahya Abdul-Mateen 2 (@yahya) July 8, 2017

Nelsan Ellis was a kind soul and a tremendous talent. What a terrible loss. Heartbreaking. https://t.co/HNhq1DMYs9

— Robert Hewitt Wolfe (@writergeekrhw) July 8, 2017

Heartbroken about @OfficialNelsan . Such a beautiful human being. Man….

— Tika Sumpter (@iamtikasumpter) July 8, 2017

You will be greatly missed Nelsan Ellis. Honored to have known you. #jyardkids

— Danielle Brooks (@thedanieb) July 8, 2017

RIP Nelsan Ellis pic.twitter.com/BYDLeCsoRM

— Q. Allan Brocka (@allanbrocka) July 8, 2017

I can't believe this. He was such a talented force of nature. #NelsanEllis ' character on #TrueBlood was one of my favorite TV characters. https://t.co/SKvHJoPwjO

— Matt McGorry (@MattMcGorry) July 8, 2017

wow rest in peace nelsan ellis. a great and underrated actor.

— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) July 8, 2017

May your transition be full of love, light and peace, @OfficialNelsan. Thank you for sharing your magical gifts with us. ❤️

— Chrissy Metz (@ChrissyMetz) July 8, 2017

Heartbroken over the passing of Nelsan Ellis. He was always so sweet to me and so entertaining to watch in screen.

— Gabby Sidibe (@GabbySidibe) July 8, 2017

This brother was one of the baddest! RIP #NelsanEllis https://t.co/O9l2nLmbWl

— Sterling K Brown (@sterlingkb1) July 8, 2017

Shocked & saddened to hear of Nelsan Ellis' passing. Major fan of this talented actor. Way too young #Rip #TrueBlood https://t.co/msT8mGmoiX

— Dulé Hill (@DuleHill) July 8, 2017

My God, such a beautiful soul and talented artist. Blown. Away. #RIP https://t.co/wElQq6mw84

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) July 8, 2017

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"Is it unethical for me to not tell my employer I've automated my job?" This is the dilemma of a StackExchange member who ended up writing a program to do all his work (SQL scripts) for him, going as far as inserting fake bugs to make everything look like it was generated by a human. He notes that he receives a full wage for doing only one or two hours of work but doesn't feel that he is cheating the company, as they are satisfied with his performance and getting "exactly" what they want. "I've basically figured out all the traps to the point where I've actually written a program which for the past 6 months has been just doing the whole thing for me," they wrote in the post. "So what used to take the last guy like a month, now takes maybe 10 minutes to clean the spreadsheet and run it through the program." The user went on to say they spend an hour or two on their job each week, even though they're getting paid for full-time work. On one hand, they wrote, "it's not like I'm cheating the company." On the other, "it doesn't feel like I'm doing the right thing." Discussion

Gotham star Donal Logue is asking the public to help find his 16-year-old daughter, Jade Logue, who went missing last week.

“I love her and who she is and her tribe is strong (I’ve met many wonderful people through Jade), but there are some predators who swim among their ranks knowing they’re dealing with sweet, trusting souls,” Donal wrote Sunday on Facebook. “We want you home Jade. Whoever knows where she is, whoever may be with her — clearly this thing has become big and crazy. The net has been flung far and wide and luckily, I have dogged teams from the NYPD, FBI, and others involved. The point is, you may have had good intentions to help her, but I’m sure you realize that this situation is bigger than you could’ve anticipated. It’s okay. Just drop her off. Let her get back in touch with her mother, Kasey, or me — we’ll take her back, with hugs and no questions asked.”

Donal added the contact information of a New York City detective and noted “there is an ‘out’ for this situation that works for all involved. We promise.”

Jade, who is transgender, left her home in Brooklyn on June 29 and never returned.

In a video posted to her Twitter account, Donal’s ex-wife, Kasey Smith, asked anyone who might have information about Jade to come forward — while also making a plea directly to her daughter.

“If you’re watching, if you’re able to be on social media, however, wherever you’re at, please know that we’re looking for you. We want you home. If anyone has any information about Jade, where she is, maybe has had any contact with her, or might have any important, relevant information about Jade, please contact us. All of our information has been widely posted on social media—you know where to reach us,” Smith said. “Jade’s gender and her sexual orientation does not matter here; what matters is that there’s a child out there — my baby, Donal’s baby — out there missing. Jade’s story is for Jade to tell, when and if she’s ever ready to tell it, and let that be hers. It’s not yours, it’s not anyone else’s and it’s not mine. I respect her, but all I want right now is for her to be at home. Jade, if you’re watching this, or can see this, or have any access to this, please come home. We love you and miss you terrible. Please come home, Jade.”

Jade Logue come home pic.twitter.com/BshyCFmPcb

— Kasey Smith (@kaseykaseysmith) July 2, 2017

Donal plays Harvey Bullock on the Fox series Gotham.

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains plot details from Tuesday night’s season 3 finale of iZombie, titled “Looking for Mr. Goodbrain, Part 2.”

“Don’t be a dick.”

Seeing as that was the last line of the season 3 finale of iZombie, we were prepared to use it back to showrunner Rob Thomas when he evaded our questions about what happens to our favorite members of the undead in the aftermath of Discovery Day and Liv (Rose McIver) scratching Ravi (Rahul Kohli), possibly turning him into a zombie. But we didn’t have to use it. Much like the episode itself, Thomas did not disappoint; instead, he loaded us up with all kinds of season 4 details to help us through the long wait until Liv and co. are back on the air.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Even though we’ve been building to it all season, I was a bit surprised to see Discovery Day, the day when humans learned zombies are real, come so early in the series. Can you talk about the decision to go there at this juncture?
ROB THOMAS: I really like thinking of each season as an enclosed story, like each one is a book in a series, and I’m so excited about what we can tell in season 4. I’m excited to get to those stories…. I don’t believe there’s any show in which zombies and humans live together in a city, and I think it’s going to be interesting. There’s so many comparisons we’ve been using in the writers’ room. It’s like zombies and humans living together in West Berlin in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Because, in the three months between the end of season 3 and season 4 begins, the U.S. government is going to wall off Seattle so it’s going to have that Berlin feeling. It sort of turns Seattle into this independent quasi-nuclear power: If zombies go flooding out of Seattle, they have the power to end the world, essentially.

That sounds really timely and intense. Is the government going to be rounding up zombies that leave Seattle?
Both Fillmore-Graves and the U.S. government would be working in conjunction to keep all zombies in Seattle. It’s in everyone’s best interest. There’s a mutually assured destruction there. And there’s going to be a No Man’s Land. So, essentially no sides want zombies to escape. And, if you’re a zombie, brains are available in Seattle; brains are not available outside of Seattle unless you kill humans or grave-rob.

What will be the brain source in Seattle?
In Seattle, Chase Graves (Jason Dohring) has told America, “Give us your brains.” And we’re going to start season 4 with a celebrity commercial reminding Americans to sign their brain donor cards. I think Chase Graves says if just one in 10 Americans donate their brains, everything is fine and dandy.

That still seems like a pretty low percentage.
I did the math on this. I actually sat down and I don’t know how good my math is, but I did rough it out with death rates and tried to actually figure out how many brains they would need. So if one in 10 Americans donates their brains, Seattle should be able to operate just fine. In fact, episode 401, the first one back, because I want to illustrate it for the TV audience, we’re going to open on a montage of how the whole brain system works, starting with a guy dying, showing the brain harvesting, showing it going on a shipping container, showing it getting to Seattle, going to a brain processing plant, getting put into to a tube, going to a dispensary, going to a Zombie With a Brain card, and being consumed. I think it’s important that the audience knows how it’s supposed to work.

Have you cast a fun cameo for that celebrity PSA?
I’ll tell you who we want to get: We want Laura Linney. She is the perfect person to help ask America for brains.

RELATED VIDEO: How to Master the Art of the Television Twist

Getting back to this episode, I so enjoyed the platonic “I love you” exchange between Liv and Ravi, but I worry there are shippers out there who will cling to that.
They are wrong.

Ha! Good. Now, are there going to be any side effects to Ravi making himself a guinea pig for his own zombie virus vaccination?
Yes, there are going to be side effects. You will see those in episode 401. We will not make you wait. You will see them right away.

With Major (Robert Buckley) in such a different headspace in this finale, it seems like we’re a long way from he and Liv getting back together, even though they’re both zombies now. Is there hope for them in season 4?
I never want to say that there’s no hope for them because I think that they would do anything for each other at any time. But they are on opposite sides of a political divide as this season moves forward, and there are going to be some political wedge issues that are forcing them apart over the course of the season. Major has found a home in Fillmore-Graves and Liv becomes in increasingly disenchanted with how Fillmore-Graves is run and what they are decreeing and how they manage the city. That is going to put them at increasing odds. It’s going to be the topic that they can’t discuss without fighting. I don’t want to imply that season 4 is going to be one long fight between Liv and Major because that won’t be the case. There’s still a lot of affection between the two and they’ll still be jokey and fun until they get on that one topic, and occasionally they will battle that out.

Can you talk about that cheeky scene showing Baracus (Kurt Evans) in a very George W. Bush-like situation, reading to schoolchildren as he receives news of Discovery Day reaching a violent head?
I don’t know what you’re talking about. Cheeky was exactly what we were going for…. Yeah, the nod to a certain government official — we thought we were being cute, and now, I find myself longing for George Bush, wishing we could have George Bush back in the White House and remembering him fondly. So I sort of regret making fun of that moment. It did make us all laugh in the writers’ room at the time, allowing Peyton (Aly Michalka) to be the person who whispered in his ear, recreating that moment.

iZombie will return for a fourth season on The CW.

Warning: Full spoilers for the iZombie: Season 3 finale below.

You have to hand it to iZombie for not playing it safe, with Season 3 functioning as a huge game-changer in a way that truly earned that oft-used descriptor.

It really feels as though the series is now moving into a much more fantastical, “alternate universe” place going forward. Look, obviously any series that is about zombies is fantasy from the start, of course, but with so many of Seattle’s citizens now transformed – and the truth about their existence now revealed – we’re now much more in “What if?” terrain and a look at how society would function under these incredible circumstances.

The glimpses we got at the end of those brain distribution stations, scared/angry humans attacking said stations, and Fillmore Graves essentially running the show, all set in place a very exciting Season 4 that upends all of the “will Liv and the other zombies’ identities be revealed?” aspects iZombie was fueled by for much of its run until now.

Continue reading…

Silicon Valley has given fans plenty of insight into Pied Piper and Hooli, but a new breakdown of the HBO comedy’s title sequence is going inside the rest of the tech world.

In the video, the folks at Shots Fired touch on the different companies present in the Emmy-nominated show’s animated opening, including Amazon, Slack, Twitter, Tesla, Uber, and Apple. Somehow, Bachmanity missed the cut.

Silicon Valley wrapped up its fourth season on Sunday, and EW talked to creator Mike Judge and departing star T.J. Miller about the episode. The series has already been renewed for a fifth season.

Watch the video above.

With Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak and the rest getting their own TV series, it’s time to get tangled up in some Inhuman history.

While Sense8 won't continue for another season, a two-hour finale for the Netflix Original series will release sometime next year.

Series co-creator Lana Wachowski shared the news in a letter posted on the show's official Facebook page. In it, Wachowski shared how difficult it was for her when Netflix canceled Sense8, saying, "I had never worked so hard, or put so much of myself into a project as I had with Sense8 and its cancellation hollowed me out."

Continue reading…

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It is looking that Petya might have been a wolf in wolf's clothing which brings an interesting new wrinkle to the surface in all of this ransomware nonsense that we are dealing with. Petya, NotPetya, NewPetya, whatever you may want to call it, looks as though its primary goal may have not to been to actually be ransomware at all, but rather a tool that was being directed at specific entities in order to destroy data residing on those systems. Ransomware may have just been a cover for something more nefarious as is being looked into by security experts currently. It looks as though the worst is behind us at this time. If you have patched with Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-010 - Critical and have Windows Defender up to date with current definitions, you should be "safe" from Petya and its variants. Point of entry for Petya appears to be a corrupted Ukrainian accounting software and a Ukrainian government website hacked to be a watering hole. Petya was likely updated WannaCry code using EternalBlue and some other nasty forms of lateral movement. Petya is representative of the ongoing evolution of malware. As more effective methods of intrusion are developed, malware creators begin incorporating these all into their works. The result is a Frankenstein's monster attacking networks with a Santa Clause sized bag of tricks. The killswitch that referred to earlier has been tested extensively and does in fact work. It seems that WannaCry greatly hampered Petya's ability to infect systems globally, due to the extensive attention that WannaCry did get. And this again brings into question the exact motive behind Petya. Discussion

Windows Fall Creators Update will come with a hefty serving of security upgrades, made timely by the increasingly rampant cyberattacks targeting the platform these days. In a blog post, Microsoft has revealed how the upcoming major update will level...