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Fans of George Miller’s post-apocalyptic action franchise had to wait 30 years between 1985’s “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome” and last year’s acclaimed “Mad Max: Fury Road.” However, if — if! — a new report is to believed, the next installment will take nowhere near as long.

According to the Australian newspaper the Herald Sun, a prequel to “Fury Road” has already begun pre-production, and filming could get under way in Broke Hill, New South Wales, as early as the end of the year. There’s no confirmation from either Warner Bros. or Miller.

RELATED: Witness Stunning Footage From “Mad Max: Fury Road”– Without CGI!

This is reportedly “Mad Max: The Wasteland,” which the newspaper contends will delve into backstory of Charlize Theron’s fan-favorite character Imperator Furiosa. Miller said last year he wasn’t sure what role, if any, Furiosa would play in a “Fury Road” follow-up.

The director confirmed early this year that he plans to make two more “Mad Max” films, but said they won’t be next on his list. Instead, he aims to focus on a small project “without special effects.”

The newspaper contends that Tom Hardy, who has revealed he’s signed on for three more “Mad Max” installments, is attached to star in the prequel. How he might fit into Furiosa’s backstory is a bit of a mystery.

“Mad Max: Fury Road” grossed more than $378 million worldwide, received 10 Oscar nominations and won six.

(via Birth.Movies.Death)

The post RUMOR: Mad Max: Fury Road Prequel in the Works appeared first on CBR.com.

There’s been plenty of speculation going back and forth about the possibility of Mr. Sinister appearing on screen in the next X-Men movie. When audio commentary from the digital release of “X-Men Apocalypse” seemed to confirm that Sinister would be an antagonist for James Mangold’s upcoming “Wolverine 3,” the director took to Twitter to dispel the rumors:

Uh. Who is Mister Sinister? Sounds kinda corny. Please advise.

— Mangold (@mang0ld) September 15, 2016

@Law_of_4 Not really. But kinda funny how a hundred media "news" outlets think a DVD commentary is a source for news headlines.

— Mangold (@mang0ld) September 15, 2016

RELATED: Bryan Cranston Compares New “Power Rangers” Movie to “The Dark Knight” Trilogy

Now, to throw some more fuel on the rumor mill fire, Bryan Cranston has dropped some new hints that he’s been dying to portray the villain on screen. When asked about his dream villain role during a recent interview on AMC’s Geeking Out, Cranston made it clear that Mr. Sinister is a character he’d love to play:

“I’m interested in creating a role. I’d love to do something that hasn’t been done before. Lex Luthor, there’s been a lot of that. I’ve been asked to take a look at Commissioner Gordon. It’s like, I would be one in several…and I would kind of like to carve out a new identity. Mister Sinister has always been someone…that would be very cool.”

RELATED: “Power Rangers’” Bryan Cranston Teases Motion Capture Work as Zordon

This isn’t the first time Cranston has stated his interest in the part of Mr. Sinister. It wasn’t that long ago that he made similar comments at a New York Comic Con Panel.

The producers of “Wolverine 3” have been secretive regarding the film’s story details, so fans might have to wait until the official trailer is released before they can find out who will, or won’t, be in the film for certain.

“Wolverine 3,” which stars Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, among others, is set for a March 3, 2017 release.

Via LRM

RELATED: Bryan Cranston Wants to Torment the X-Men in a Villainous Role

The post Bryan Cranston REALLY Wants To Play X-Men’s Mister Sinister appeared first on CBR.com.

A little known actress and pop singer is heading for some very big things in “Pacific Rim: Maelstrom.”

Cailee Spaeny has nabbed the lead role opposite John Boyega (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Attack the Block”) and Scott Eastwood (“Suicide Squad”) in the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 hit sci-fi actioner, according to Variety. Details on the film are unsurprisingly being kept under a tight lid, including exactly who Spaeny will play, although we do know that Boyega will be playing the son of the amazingly named Stacker Pentecost, Idris Elba’s character from the first entry in the series. The original blockbuster saw humanity literally fighting for its survival by waging war in giant robotic suits against massive interdimensional monsters, and also starred Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Ron Perlman. The film did decently stateside, but was a huge hit overseas, going on to gross $410 million worldwide.

This will be by far the biggest project so far for Spaeny, whose only previous acting credit is in the indie film “Counting to 1,000.” Del Toro is stepping back from the director’s chair to produce “Pacific Rim: Maelstrom,” which will be directed by Steven S. DeKnight (“Daredevil”), making his feature film directing debut. The sequel is set to burst into theaters on February 23, 2018.

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Warner Bros. has cast Joe Manganiello (“True Blood”) as the classic DC Comics villain Deathstroke the Terminator in the upcoming solo Batman film, written by DC Entertainment President & Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, and starring “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’s” Ben Affleck. Affleck also co-wrote the film, and is directing.

RELATED: Don’t Count Out A Deathstroke Return to Arrow, Says Amell

According to The Wall Street Journal, Manganiello was indeed the actor in the Deathstroke armor in the video that Affleck shared a couple weeks back boasting the fan-favorite mercenary. Johns confirmed Manganiello’s casting in a recent interview with the outlet.

Here’s the video Affleck shared from the film that features Deathstroke:

https://t.co/0NsNzCtGip

— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) August 29, 2016

Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez for 1980’s “New Teen Titans” #2, Deathstroke is best known as the ultimate antagonist for the teenage super-team, introduced in the seminal “Judas Contract” story arc. Due to his popularity in the series, Deathstroke has starred in several of his own comic series — most recently, an ongoing series that launched as part of DC Comics’ “Rebirth,” penned by Christopher Priest and drawn by Carlo Pagulayan and Jason Paz.

RELATED: All Eyes On Him: The Rise Of DC’s Deathstroke

In addition to starring on “True Blood,” Manganiello appeared in “Magic Mike” and “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday.” Manganiello is no stranger to comic book adaptations — he made his mark in film almost fifteen years ago as Flash Thompson in the first Sam Raimi “Spider-Man” film. Unfortunately, that version of the character never donned the Venom symbiote…

The “Batman” solo film hasn’t been given a release date — though some speculate it could hit theaters as soon as 2018. You can catch Affleck’s Caped Crusader next in the Zack Snyder-directed “Justice League” when it hits theaters on November 17, 2017.

The post Joe Manganiello Cast as Deathstroke in Ben Affleck’s Batman Film appeared first on CBR.com.

The long-in-development reboot of “The Crow” will begin production in early 2017, according to The Wrap.

“The Crow” reboot, from formerly bankrupt studio Relativity, will be the latest adaptation of James O’Barr’s 1989 cult classic comic book of the same name. The story follows Eric Draven, a murder victim, who is brought back from the dead by a mystical bird so that he can exact revenge on the men who killed him and his fiancé. While many people take on the mantle of the Crow in the comic series, Draven was the protagonist of the original comic book.

The first movie adaptation of the comic book was released in May 1994 and was directed by Alex Proyas and starred the late Brandon Lee as the titular character. This reboot is reported to adhere closer to the original comic book, however.

Jason Momoa (“Game of Thrones”) was announced in August to be in talks to star in the upcoming movie. Momoa is currently filming “Justice League,” a continuation of the DC Cinematic Universe, in his role of Aquaman; and will also be starring in a standalone comic book “Aquaman” film, directed by James Wan and scheduled for release in 2018.

Relativity filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015 and in March 2016 emerged from bankruptcy with a reorganization plan to cut down its debts. “The Crow” will serve as a major project in revamping the studio’s post-bankruptcy image.

The post The Crow Reboot To Begin Production In January 2017 appeared first on CBR.com.

they don’t even understand a simple idiom

In the documentary on the 30th Anniversary Blu-ray release of Transformers: The Movie, story consultant Flint Dille expresses amazement about the films’ longevity because, as he puts it, “This was ephemeral stuff.” Yet, somehow, a film intended to introduce a new line of Transformers toys created a bond which now transcends generations. And with its Blu-ray release, the film has never looked better.

Shout! Factory‘s Transformers: The Movie 30th Anniversary Edition boasts a new 4K transfer of the film that is just remarkable. Thanks to a restoration process, the fine details and colors have been reproduced with staggering clarity. Hot Rod is his proper magenta hue and Unicron’s introduction is just staggering to behold. Of course, the film is not without its flaws and the increased picture quality makes it is harder to hide the occasional off-model character or inelegant edit. But even those mistakes reflect the hand-made nature of the film.

But I’ve waxed philosophical about the film before, so let’s take a look at the special features.

The marquee bonus feature is the forty-five minute documentary, ‘Til All Are One: Looking Back at Transformers: The Movie featuring Dille and voice actors Neil Ross (Springer), Gregg Berger (Grimlock), Susan Blu (Arcee) and Dan Gilvezan (Bumblebee). The group recall voice director Wally Burr and working with key Transformer voice actors like Chris Latta — “a raw force of energy” according to Dille — and guest actors like Orson Welles (Unicron) and Lionel Stander (Kup).

Dille in particular recalls a certain trepidation on Ultra Magnus voice actor Robert Stack‘s part, which he considers ironic considering how Stack’s voice would be key to the success of NBC‘s Unsolved Mysteries a short time later.

A decent chunk of the documentary’s runtime focuses in on the film’s soundtrack with “The Touch” singer/songerwriter Stan Bush and composer Vince DiCola recalling their contributions. DiCola remembers writing and recording the score under a strict deadline, but considers the finished product better for the rush. Both continue to be marveled by the way fans embraced their work in the film.

Overall, the documentary is well made and interesting thanks to the participants who were not involved in the 20th Anniversary DVD documentaries. But I imagine some fans will recognize a lot of the stories told if they go to BotCon or own that previous DVD release.

But for those of us who don’t own the DVD, Shout has included the commentary track by Dille, Blu and director Nelson Shin from the 2006 release. It’s an interesting listen, particularly for Shin’s insights into the filmmaking process.

Other holdovers from the previous release include a trio of vintage featurettes — featuring Dille, Shin, Blu and producers Tom Griffin and Joe Bacal — animated storyboards and a package of trailers and TV spots. The featurettes take a closer look at the reaction to the death of Optimus Prime and voice actors Frank Welker and Peter Cullen than the new documentary. And one of the trailers is notable for its use of early test animation and a different color scheme for Ultra Magnus.

Other new features include a look at the restoration process and the creation of the new release’s cover art.

Sadly, the “Scramble City” material did not make it to the new release, nor the text commentary, fan commentary, the Steven Spielberg/Michael Bay interview or the slightly creepy toy commercial package.

But what the new release does offer is a truly great presentation of the movie itself and some fond recollections for a film that somehow overcame its more cynical beginnings and transformed into a cultural touchstone for Transformers fans.

Transformers: The Movie 30th Anniversary Edition is available now.

Transformers: The Movie Looks Stunning In 30th Anniversary Release — A Blu-ray Review

The rumour is that Tim Drake may meet his maker in Detective Comics #940 this week. The tattletale has been there, and DC Comics certainly hasn’t been shy of playing up to them, removing him from already solicited covers and then not mentioning him at all in upcoming solicitations.

While the comic has seemed to be setting up a “Retirony” trope.

Making plans to go to college… what is it they say about the best laid plans? And as for “leaving Gotham”…. we get a seriously played out last stand against those armed drones…

So what’s going on? Well, the drones are another example, as Bleeding Cool has pointed out, of the DC Rebirth seeing characters being monitored by others. Not just Batman….

…but Superman as well, by the mysterious Mr Oz, who could be Watchmen’s Ozymandias – watching through nine panel grid screens, using the Nostalgia perfume logo that also reads OZ…

…and fitting in with that blood tipped smiley face that Batman found in his Batcave.

So, is Ozymandias also behind the batdrones? If so, is he going to kill Tim Drake? Or will he just capture him like he did Doomsday?

Of course, there’s one theory that it’s not Ozymandias at all but Vyndktvyx, the evil 5th dimensional imp introduced by Grant Morrison.

In that case though, what about the smiley face?

Bleeding Cool, watching out for the Watchmen…

Will It Be Ozymandias Who Takes Tim Drake Out Of The Picture?

At the end of last season of Arrow, just about everyone had left Oliver Queen except Felicity Smoak… and she was just there as a teammate. We know some of that will change as the fifth season begins and executive producer Marc Guggenheim told EW.com that there are some big things in store for Emily Bett Rickards character.

First up is the fallout from the destruction of Havenrock.

In the first five episodes, we face head-on the decision that Felicity made. We are most definitely not ignoring it.

And we know that she has a new love interest coming and the actress has been spending a lot of time training lately.

We’re positioning her to do something in the second half of the year that is really, really key, and that isn’t about her relationship with Oliver or even necessarily her father or her mother. It’s really new territory for her, and we’ve very excited about it. Some big things are going to happen with Felicity.

Arrow Producers Have Big Plans For Felicity Smoak

Despite the hopes of a generation, Murder She Wrote star Angela Lansbury will not be joining Game of Thrones in its upcoming season.

Entertainment Weekly confirmed with Lansbury’s team Wednesday that the rumor, emerging from German tabloid site Bild, is “not accurate.” The original report claimed the actress would appear in two episodes of the show’s seventh season, following a suggestion from occasional cast member Diana Rigg.

Considering Rigg’s presence on the show — and the recent addition of Jim Broadbent in an undisclosed role some believe will be Howland Reed — Lansbury’s inclusion in the series is certainly not the craziest casting idea. But like the Broadbent casting, it’s hard to imagine the show introduction too many new characters as it begins its march to an endgame. One would imagine more characters will be saying goodbye.

Game of Thrones returns next summer on HBO.

Angela Lansbury Will Not Sail To Westeros

The story that Arrow was forced to remove both Deathstroke and the Suicide Squad from their show by Warner Bros. Pictures is now the stuff of legend among those close-watchers of the emerging DC film and TV universes. It is looked upon as the key moment in a struggle between the two divisions, with characters locked into long term deals and questionable availability. Even as recently as Arrow‘s fourth season, fans were repeatedly told the appearance by Matt Ryan‘s John Constantine was a one-time thing.

But in the case of Deathstroke — the likely antagonist of Ben Affleck‘s solo Batman movie — Arrow star Stephen Amell believes it is possible to usher the character back to television in some form.

According to Comic Book Movie, Amell told an audience at Salt Lake City Comic-Con that the reported sharp divide between DC Films and the various television shows is “not how that works.”

“Diane Nelson and Geoff Johns – the people at Warner Bros. on the feature side, the people at Warner Bros. on the television side – are all in the business of making the best products for fans,” he continued. “Just because there may or may not be a Deathstroke in the DC Extended Universe doesn’t mean Manu Bennett can’t exist on our show.”

Certainly, it’s possible the undeclared ban on characters headed for feature films has changed since Arrow‘s production team was reportedly forced to abandon its season four plans for Task Force X. But it’s just as equally possible that the ban did exist until quite recently. Unfortunately, it is unlikely we’ll know the real story for sometime.

Meanwhile, Arrow returns for its fifth season on October 5th.

Stephen Amell Suggests The Deathstrokes Of Two Worlds

Krypton is barrelling forward towards production, with David S. Goyer‘s Superman prequel TV Show slowly getting its ducks in a row.

It just got a big one too, with the female lead of the show now being cast. As reported by Deadline, Georgina Campbell has been cast as Lyta Zod. They explain the role as:

Lyta Zod is a member of Krypton’s military caste and the daughter of a general, Alura Zod. Lyta Zod serves as a cadet — and has also been having a clandestine, forbidden romance with Seg-El. [Superman’s Grandfather and the show’s lead]

It feels like this show has been in preproduction for such a very long time now, so it is at least nice to see it making concrete headway. Here’s hoping this pretty ambitious concept can be pulled off.

Krypton Gets Female Lead As Georgina Campbell Is Cast As A Zod

Cartridges and the NX have been words used in cunjunction several times in the build up to the console’s reveal. With varying degrees of believabillity, it has long been rumoured that the new Nintendo console would use handheld like storage devices rather than a disc.

Well, these rumours just got a big boost. The Wall Street Journal, who doesn’t often get stuff wrong about these kinds of rumours, is reporting that the console will indeed utilise cartridges. There isn’t too much more to the story, but it does make sense. The idea of a hybrid handheld/home console seems all but confirmed at this point, and the 3DS uses the format, meaning there is precident.

However, it does also mean, unless there is a big upgrade, NX games won’t be able to hold anywhere near as much data as PlayStation or Xbox Blu Rays. It does mean the games probably won’t be quite as powerful. Still, an interesting move and I can’t wait to see what Nintendo has done with it.

Nintendo NX Could Use Cartridges Says New Report

In a clip from Building Star Trek, Dr. Rob Afzal discusses his attempts to create a real world version of Star Trek‘s phaser technology. According to Afzal, the key breakthrough will be storing the power in a compact device. Currently, he’s scaled the required storage device down to small trailer.

Building Star Trek airs September 4th on Smithsonian Channel.

Building Star Trek Clip Looks At Creating Real Phaser Technology

Given their impact on pop culture, any action taken by Comic-Con International, the non-profit body behind San Diego Comic-Con  becomes of major interest and font for speculation. Even when it’s buying a few nearby buildings in downtown San Diego.

Recently the San Diego Union Tribune ran an article stating how any approval of the new stadium and more specifically, an annex to the convention centre, for the San Diego Chargers could threaten the future of San Diego Comic-Con in the city.

Comic-Con has been very clear — it does not support an annex several blocks away from the Convention Center — but that is what Mr. Spanos is asking voters to approve this November. He attached the annex to his stadium plan to try and build support for the stadium, but the annex does not give Comic-Con and other large conventions what they want: an on-site expansion of the existing Convention Center.

“We want to set the record straight that we do not support those other, noncontiguous plans even if proponents of those plans try to convince the public otherwise,” Comic-Con said in July. Other major conventions that also bring jobs and revenue to San Diego share this view.

Yesterday the paper also ran a seemingly unconnected story about Comic-Con buying three buildings in Barrio Logan through a subsidiary company.

“It is part of a potential future business operation that is not appropriate for disclosure at this time,” Comic-Con said in a statement. “Also, there are tenants currently occupying the building and we prefer they not be bothered.”

Interestingly, it’s about three blocks or less from the proposed downtown Chargers stadium.

Local observers of a conspiratorial note have suggested that Comic-Con International buying land that the Chargers might need for their stadium development might be a blocking move, or a negotiating strategy…

Honestly, these gossiping San Diegans, what are they like?

Chargers, Comic-Con And Conspiracies In San Diego

Entertainment Weekly reports that NBC is developing a new series based on the myth of Noah’s Ark, but set in the modern day. Oh, and the Ark is a space ship.

The project, from 12 Rounds writer Daniel Kunka and 20th Century Fox Television, concerns an engineer who has a vision following the death of his wife to “construct a ship capable of sustaining life in space.” When construction coincides with the Coming of the End, the engineer suspects there may be bigger forces at play.

God, once again, has a plan.

The new project is not the first time “Noah’s Ark in space” has birthed a science fiction series. Battlestar Galactica began its life as “Adam’s Ark,” but later merged with various other Biblical tales — and the Mormon idea of a lost thirteenth tribe of Israel — to become the story of a rag-tag fugitive fleet looking for Earth.

But the NBC project appears to want to confront Noah’s Ark directly, even as the prompt explains it will be a “grounded” retelling. That suggests the Ark will not launch until the end of the first season. Of course, there are plenty of other interesting ideas surrounding the Ark to spin into episodes. Noah’s great-grandfather Enoch is a surprisingly strange and interesting character to drawn on for story.

As it happens, recent Biblical adaptations on television have not been so successful, with shows like ABC‘s Of Kings and Prophets quickly being cancelled after sinking a lot of resources into recreating period-specific details. Perhaps the modern-day update in the new project is a response to the difficulties in telling these tales on TV.

NBC Looking To Take Noah’s Ark To Space

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Christoph Waltz of Spectre, The Hateful Eight and that persistent Samsung commercial during NBC‘s coverage of the Olympics is in talks to join Robert Rodriguez‘s adaptation of Alita: Battle Angel.

The film stars Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ Rosa Salazar as a female cyborg discovered in a trash yard by a scientist. Lacking memories of her previous life except for deadly martial arts training, she becomes a bounty hunter sometime in the 26th Century. Waltz will play the scientist mentoring the cyborg.

Based on the manga by Yukito Kishiro, the film was a passion project of director James Cameron, who had been developing it alongside Avatar since the turn of the century. Back in October, Cameron handed directing duties to Rodriguez.

Christoph Waltz In Talks To Mentor Alita: Battle Angel

Netflix’s surprise summer hit “Stranger Things” scored a second season earlier this week, and now new details about the upcoming sophomore season have been revealed. Executive Producer Shawn Levy recently confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that there will be a handful of new additions, all of different ages, to the “Stranger Things” cast.

Executive producers Ross and Matt Duffer recently revealed that the show would add new characters, thus creating new dynamics not seen in the first season. Levy added to those comments, saying that the emphasis of the “Stranger Things” creative team would be on “servicing the core [characters] first and foremost.”

The three characters’ names have been announced already as Max, Billy and Roman. In the case of Roman, the details are thinnest. The Duffer Bros. haven’t yet specified the character’s gender, only that they will be 30 to 38 years old, will have had a disturbed upbringing — which included growing up homeless — and suffered some kind of loss early on in life. Roman is looking to avenge whatever loss they suffered as a child.

Max and Billy could be a more interesting pair of new additions, however. Max, a 13 year-old girl, has a complicated relationship with her stepbrother Billy, which has made her tough and cautious beyond her years. Unlike Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will and their beloved bikes, Max rides everywhere on her skateboard.

Billy, on the other hand, is a much more intense character — in as much as he’s muscular, likes drinking games and drives a black Camaro. Billy seems to be the ‘typical Jock’ type. However, in what is rapidly becoming a “Stranger Things” trademark twist, the innocence of ’80s nostalgia is warped into something more dangerous. In the case of Billy, we see that he’s not just an over-confident square-jaw, he’s a violent bully and those closest to him are often the victims of his anger. It looks like Hawkins high school is about to meet somebody infinitely more “troublesome” than Steve Harrington and his pesky group of spray-can wielding miscreants.

Season two of “Stranger Things” is expected to film in Atlanta from October to April, with season two coming sometime during 2017.

The post Stranger Things Teases New Characters for Season Two appeared first on CBR.com.

No sooner did Netflix confirm a second season of “Stranger Things” than executive producers Matt and Ross Duffer began dropping a trail of breadcrumbs leading viewers back to Hawkins, Indiana, and the Upside Down.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the Duffer Brothers revealed that although they’d toyed with the idea of a significant time jump in Season 2, they opted instead to remain in 1984. “There’s still too much story here [in the ’80s],” Ross Duffer said.

That means we can expect the return of Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will in the coming season, along with their family members, presumably. However, the executive producers weren’t quite so forthcoming about the future of fan-favorite Eleven. “We don’t know about Eleven,” Ross Duffer added. “We leave that up in the air.”

The cast will expanded by four in the second season, although virtually nothing has been revealed about them. There could be an interesting hint to one of the characters, however, in the teaser trailer for Season 2. Throughout the trailer, what seem to be titles flash up among the show’s trademark neon letters. There are nine in all, which coincides with the episode order. If those are indeed episode titles, then the one named “The Lost Brother” could hint at a possible new character — perhaps another “family member” from Hawkins Laboratory.

Another interesting update from the Duffer Brothers is that the entirety of the second season won’t take place in fictional Hawkins, Indiana. But even more interesting is that both brothers are eager to return to the Upside Down and explore it more fully. A number of questions were left unanswered at the end of the series, most of which concerned the Upside Down and the Demogorgon itself. The Duffers said there will be a return to the “Vale of Shadows,” and they promise fans answers.

The brothers also expressed a certain amount of trepidation toward making a second series. They treated the first series as if it were a “very long film,” and that would make any second season, by default, a (dreaded) “sequel.”

“I know movie sequels get a lot of shit, but the ones we look up to aspire to pivot and do something different,” Matt Duffer said, singling out the work of James Cameron on “Aliens” and “Terminator 2.”

The post Stranger Things Promises New Characters, Return to Upside Down appeared first on CBR.com.

“Captain America: Civil War” made quite an impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film introduced a few new masks into the Marvel U (like Spider-Man and Black Panther) and, as it turns out, it also marked the last appearance of a Marvel hero — sort of. As “Civil War” co-director Joe Russo confirmed in a conversation with the Huffington Post, Steve Rogers is no longer Captain America.

Remember that moment at the end of “Civil War” when Cap drops his iconic shield and doesn’t pick it back up? Turns out, that decision was the last one Steve made as Cap. “I think him dropping that shield is him letting go of that identity,” said Joe Russo, who will also direct “Avengers: Infinity War” with Anthony Russo. “[It’s] him admitting that certainly the identity of Captain America was in conflict with the very personal choice that he was making.”

But Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans, will be in “Infinity War.” As HuffPo notes, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have said that the Avengers will need all the help they can get — including the formerly star-spangled Super-Soldier — to go up against Thanos.

Could this mean that the films will introduce the Nomad moniker that Steve Rogers used when he left the Captain America behind in the comics? (You can see that look in the image at the top of this article) And if Steve’s no longer Captain America, will another superhero — like Falcon or Winter Soldier — fill that void eventually?

We’ll learn more about the next chapter in Steve Rogers’ life when “Avengers: Infinity War” arrives in theaters on May 4, 2018.

The post Steve Rogers Is No Longer Captain America Says Infinity War Director appeared first on CBR.com.

In a few words, “Youngblood” is back. It’s been back a few times before — the most recent instance being in 2008 for volume four — but all of these past returns have been short-lived (that last run only lasted nine issues). Now though, creator and Image co-founder Rob Liefeld (who also brought the world Deadpool) is back in the driver’s seat, meaning that the resurrection of Image’s flagship publication could be much longer-lived.

As revealed in an interview with Nerdy Pop, Liefeld has teamed up with artist Jim Towe, who has reimagined several team members with a cleaner design and minimalist aesthetic. Most surprising of all is that his and Liefeld’s partnership came about via an unlikely source: Twitter. Towe — a longtime fan of “Youngblood — originally created his own takes on the characters just for fun, then tagged Liefeld when sharing his drawings. It turns out the comics icon liked Towe’s work enough to offer him a job. Watch the whole interview below.

See, fans? Sometimes dreams do come true. Now, Liefeld and Towe, along with co-writer Chad Bowers (“X-Men ’92”), are bringing this all-new Youngblood team back to the page in 2017. You can check out the fresh depictions of Badrock, Suprema, Doc Rocket, Shaft, Vogue, and Sentinel in Towe’s tweet below.

Cat’s out of the bag — I’m drawing an all-new Youngblood book coming out next year! pic.twitter.com/2uExMmkSEZ

— jim towe (@jimtowe) August 24, 2016

The post Rob Liefeld Announces Modernized Youngblood Relaunch appeared first on CBR.com.

If you were thrown off by the heavy emphasis on magic in the CW’s fourth season of “Arrow,” rest assured that the fifth season is slated to return to the show’s gritty, grounded origins. According to a new report, the fifth season will again focus on the eponymous Green Arrow, Oliver Queen, and pit him primarily against a new villain, named Prometheus.

“The show was always meant to be a gritty crime drama at its heart. And then Flash came along, and oh my gosh, we have meta powers. And then Damien was, well, we haven’t done magic on the show, let’s try to do that,” “Arrow” executive producer Wendy Mericle said in an interview with IGN. “I think for Season 5, just because it is an answer to Season 1, and we are sort of closing this chapter out, we did want to go back to our roots and figure out what is specific to this show. What is our universe? Go back to, ‘What is Arrow?'”

As a result, “Arrow’s” new villain, Prometheus, will not be a magic-wielding antagonist, but rather, will sport a personal, sociopathic grudge against Queen.
While “Arrow’s” fifth season steps away from magic, there are nonetheless strange possibilities afoot. The third season of “The Flash” will introduce elements from the comic book series’ Flashpoint arc, an alternate universe storyline in which the hero hierarchy has been completely rewritten and the DC Comics canon turned on its head.
Mericle said Flashpoint offers an “interesting jumping off point” for all of the CW’s DC Comics adaptations, and that the door is open for the alternate universe arc to work its way into “Arrow” in ways both big and small.

“Arrow’s” fifth season premieres October 5, 2016 on the CW.

The post Arrow S5 to Lessen Magic Focus, Feel Flashpoint Impact appeared first on CBR.com.

Consider the following spoilers if you ever intended to read George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire as this concerns several book characters who have never appeared on screen in Game of Thrones.

The Watcher on the Wall (via The Wrap) has obtained a list of character breakdowns intended for casting directors. They detail, in sketchy ways, a number of small parts and seemingly recurring roles for actors in the seventh season of Game of Thrones. But one stands out to readers of the Martin novels as possibly noteworthy:

Young Lord in his late 20’s. He’s a tall, handsome young lord, and the show is looking for a white actor who uses the RP accent. He’s scheduled to shoot in the week commencing September 20th.

Some are already suggesting this “Young Lord” could potentially be Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, the presumed father of Jon Snow.

The theory works like this: in A Song of Ice and Fire, several people — notably Ser Barristan Selmy — recall a tournament in which Rhaegar became enchanted with Lyanna Stark. This tournament is a major pivot point for Westeros as it eventually led to Rhaegar “kidnapping” Lyanna, Robert’s Rebellion and a number of other starting points for characters we’ve met in the series.

Some fans believe that we’ll see the tournament in season seven thanks to Bran’s greenseer abilities. And while it would offer the clearest picture possible of those events, it is unclear how essential they would be to show’s narrative. Everyone is pretty much on board with Rheagar + Lyanna = Jon, so it is unclear what added value flashing back to these events would offer, particularly as the series is down to its final thirteen hours and so many of the people who were there are long dead in the present day of the show.

Of course, one supposes, that the Young Lord could be Rhaegar in a more contained flashback with none of the lavishness the tourney would require. But it could just as easily be Quentyn Martell, propped up by Ellaria Sand, as a suitor for Daenerys’ hand.

Other parts include a priest, a warrior, a merchant, a lovely lady, a general and a few others. And while it’s fun to plug in remaining Ice and Fire characters like Little Aegon and Jon Connington into these descriptions, it is doubtful we’ll see too many more characters from the novels pop up as Game of Thrones enters its last act.

But then again, we thought we’d never see Cold Hands.

Game of Thrones returns in Summer of 2017.

Could [Redacted] Still Appear On Game Of Thrones?

Though season three of The Flash will begin in the alternate timeline known as Flashpoint, executive producer Todd Helbing says the show’s overall focus on Barry’s family will remain in tact.

“The first two seasons are about family. Family that I had, family that I lost. Now this is really the family that I’ve created,” he told IGN last week at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. As the season beings, Barry will confront that notion of family via the changes he observes in the Flashpoint timeline. “I think often times as people you think one version would be better — it’s always grass is greener — but it’s always, in Barry’s world, the consequences. He’s going remember. He’s going to know what he’s lost at the same time.”

Following Flashpoint, the theme of the family Barry has created will continue to resonate as the Earth-3 Jay Garrick, a parallel world version of Barry’s father Henry, will make appearances from time to time. According to Helbing, Barry will “use him for advice every-so-often.”

Helbing also mentioned the continuing presence of the Reverse-Flash as one of Barry’s more psychological antagonists. He will be a big part of Legends of Tomorrow‘s second season, but he will also make appearances on The Flash. Which leads to a little bit of speculation: since actor Matt Letscher is becoming more closely identified with Reverse-Flash — played for the most part by Tom Cavanagh in the first season — is it possible one post-Flashpoint change will be the survival of the Earth-1 Harrison Wells?

Not that the temporal shoe leather is really all that necessary to keep Cavanagh on the show at this point, but it would make things interesting for the actor to play a third version of Wells.

Flash Season Three To Focus On The Family Barry Created

While some were surprised when Natalie Portman was found to be missing from the Thor: Ragnarok cast list, others assumed her character was being held back for another installment. But as she told the Wall Street Journal (via Ain’t It Cool News), she is “done” with her Marvel obligations.

The actress played Jane Foster in the first two Thor movies. And while she and Chris Hemsworth were a likable enough screen duo, there was little for Jane to do but sit around and wait for the action to end. Previously, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige mentioned this waiting around was part of the reason Portman and Jane would not be part of the film. “There are only a couple of scenes on Earth in this movie; eighty to ninety percent takes place in the cosmos,” he said in May. Very little room for an Earth scientist not named Bruce Banner, it would seem.

But Portman’s new comments suggest she is under no obligation to return in the future, even if she seems amiable to return for an Avengers appearance at some point. Perhaps the cinematic story of Jane Foster is not yet at an end.

Meanwhile, Thor: Ragnarok comes to theaters on November 3rd, 2017.

Natalie Portman “Done” With Marvel