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Following the casting of Alan Ritchson as Hawk, Deadline now reports that actress Minka Kelly has joined the project as Dove, officially completing the duo of Hawk and Dove.

Kelly will play Dawn Granger, otherwise known as Dove, who is one half of the vigilante duo Hawk and Dove. The role is a recurring one, with the possibility that the two may become regulars in season two. There’s also potential for a Hawk and Dove spin-off down the road if the duo is received positively.

RELATED: Titans TV Series Casts Its Dick Grayson

The news that Hawk and Dove would be joining Titans was first reported by That Hashtag Show, with the site claiming that Warner Bros. was looking at actress Rebecca Rittenhouse for the role, among other candidates.

While Warner Bros. went with Ritchson as rumored, they appear to have gone in a new direction with the casting of Kelly, who is perhaps best known for her work on Friday Night Lights. The actress joins a cast that already includes Teagan Croft as Raven, Anna Diop as Starfire, and Brenton Thwaites as Nightwing.

RELATED: Will DC’s Live-Action Titans Star Robin or Nightwing?

Titans will be executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Sarah Schechter (Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl). The series will air on Warner Bros.’ new DC Comics-branded digital platform that will launch in 2018. No official release date has been announced.

(via Deadline)

The post Titans: Minka Kelly Cast as Dove in Live-Action Series appeared first on CBR.

When Han Solo encounters the Millennium Falcon in his very own Star Wars spinoff film, the iconic ship will look a little different. According to a new report from MakingStarWars.com, the Falcon — like Han himself — will look younger and “brand new.”

As many Star Wars fans are undoubtedly aware, Han didn’t originally own the Falcon; Lando Calrissian did. The report claims this will be the case in Han Solo, which means we may get to see Han win the ship from Lando in a game of cards, as Han famously told Leia he did in Empire Strikes Back.

RELATED: Young Han Solo Director Teases Dark, New Corner of the Star Wars Galaxy

The Millennium Falcon will reportedly look “brand new” and have “blue detailing all over it with a white base coat of paint.” According to the report, the blue detailing looks similar to an old, unused Return of the Sith design, which you can see in the piece itself.

What’s more, the Falcon will be in use during the film, but not as a smuggler’s ship. In fact, it will serve the purpose it was designed for: hauling cargo. The report describes this as “an attachment that hooks into the front of the ship’s front ‘forks’ and that elongates the front of the ship. It looks seamless but can also detached to drop a shipment of spice if Imperial entanglements get too complicated. The center of the ship allows for access to the cargo.”

Based on a script by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan, the Han Solo spinoff stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, in addition to Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Woody Harrelson. The as-yet-untitled film is scheduled to hit theaters on May 25, 2018.

via ScreenRant

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Lucasfilm has kept a fairly tight lid on details about the story of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, leaving fans to scour merchandise, interviews and leaks for potential clues. However, now a listing of Topps’ new trading-card series may provide an outline of the film’s basic plot.

RELATED: Hasbro’s Star Wars: Force Friday Offerings Revealed

Spotted by StarWarsNews.Net, the breakdown of the “Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi” cards moves chronologically through the different films and eras of the sweeping saga. Under Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the 20 cards seem to touch upon the film’s major beats:

• 91 Rey’s Solitude
• 92 General Leia Organa
• 93 Rey and her Lightsaber
• 94 On Crait
• 95 Rushing to Attack
• 96 Finn’s Recovery
• 97 Poe Responds
• 98 The Fury of Kylo Ren
• 99 Shards of the Past
• 100 Luke’s Grim Perspective
• 101 Ski Speeder Assault
• 102 Walkers Incoming
• 103 The Resistance
• 104 The Resistance X-wing
• 105 The Resistance A-wing
• 106 The Battle Commences
• 107 Frigates Under Fire
• 108 The Resistance Vs. The First Order
• 109 The Millennium Falcon Flees
• 110 Heroes United

It’s important to note the list appears to contradict some of the story details that have surfaced so far — chief among them that Finn should already be recovered from his injuries by the time of the Battle of Crait. If this sequence is out of order, it puts the order of the remainder of the list into question as well.

RELATED: New Millennium Falcon Is the Biggest LEGO Kit Ever

Arriving Dec. 15, director Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi stars Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Domhnall Gleeson as General Armitage Hux, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma and Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke.

The post Star Wars Topps Cards May Hint at Last Jedi’s Plot appeared first on CBR.

The remaining Starks may be safe and sound (for now) at Winterfell, but the final season of Game of Thrones could bring more family drama because of Jon Snow pledging his allegiance to Daenaerys Targaryen.

RELATED: Game of Thrones Showrunners Break Down Jon And Dany’s Boat Scene

In the Season 7 finale, which debuted Sunday, Jon sent a raven to Sansa at Winterfell to inform her he’s pledged the armies of the North to Daenaerys, and the two are mounting a defense of the Seven Kingdoms. But the full text of the message, revealed on HBO’s Making Game of Thrones website, hints at potential points of tension between Sansa and Jon:

“I have pledged our forces.”
Look closer at Jon’s letter to Sansa and the book Gilly read to Sam: https://t.co/JmzjHRVqBC pic.twitter.com/Kz5tazkUup

— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) August 29, 2017

Sansa,

Cersei Lannister has pledged her forces to our cause, as has Daenerys Targaryen. And if we survive this war, I have pledged our forces to Daenerys at the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. We are both coming to organise the defence of the realm.

Jon Snow. Warden of the North.

One key detail is that Jon signed the message “Warden” and not “King in the North,” which solidifies his endorsement of Daenaerys as queen of the Seven Kingdoms. He also stated “I have pledged,” which indicates he made this decision without consulting Sansa or the alliance they recently forged in the North. That could prove divisive, as not only has Jon relinquished the North’s independence, but has also pledged to Daenaerys, the daughter of the Mad King, against whom the banners fought in Robert’s Rebellion.

RELATED: Game of Thrones: Jon Snow’s True Origin Explained

Game of Thrones’ final season doesn’t yet have a release date, but the penultimate season is now available in full on HBO Go and HBO Now. Based on George R.R. Martin’s bestselling fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, the hit drama stars Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister, Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen and Kit Harington as Jon Snow.

The post Game of Thrones: Jon Snow’s Letter to Sansa Reveals Key Details appeared first on CBR.

Ah, Star Wars. The mystical space opera franchise that has been dominating childhoods since the ’70s, and pretty much all of popular culture along with that. Much of its characters, scenes, costumes, musical scores and lines of dialog are considered to be iconic, and it’s hard to picture what geek fandom would look like without the Death Star-sized place the sprawling saga takes up. It’s even harder to imagine those beloved and recognizable elements any other way either. And yet, early concept art, scripts and interviews with production staff reveal that characters like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and R2-D2 could have turned out completely different — and in some cases, a lot worse.

RELATED: 15 Unused Star Wars Costumes (That Disney Doesn’t Want You To See)

It’s very rare that first, second, or even third drafts of a product end up being the fully-realized, finished result. Usually, brainstorming ideas — including bad ones — helps creators whip their creation into shape. In the case of A New Hope, J.W Rinzler’s book, The Making Of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind The Original Film, reveals that Lucas’ script was a work in progress even while the film was being shot. Very early drafts had Luke Skywalker as female, while others named him “Annakin Starkiller,” two names that would, of course, be recycled in later films and video games. Changes like those wouldn’t necessarily have been any better or worse than what we ended up with but other changes — like the ones on this list — would have been much harder to swallow.

EVERYONE GETS A LIGHTSABER

You know those super-awesome, multicolored, laser swords that only Force-sensitive beings like Jedi and Sith can wield? You know, highly-trained, mystical space warriors that fight for the forces of good and evil in a time-old struggle dictated by destiny? Well, now imagine if anyone had that weapon. Literally anybody. That’s exactly what Lucas envisioned early on in his writing process.

Lightsabers were once going to be standard weapons, like blasters, that required none of the intense training that Jedi and Sith undertake to earn them. If Lucas had run with this idea, we could have seen the ultra-cool swords swinging from the hips of low-level Stormtroopers, or being used as a substitute can opener by Watto. Thank goodness Lucas realized this ubiquity would dampen their powerful potential.

YODA THE GARDEN GNOME

As you can see from the concept art, to describe early iterations of Yoda as looking like a “garden gnome” is no exaggeration. With the short stature, white beard and pointed hat, the resemblance to the garden accessory is uncanny. These watercolor sketches from The Empire Strikes Back Sketchbook reveal the design development of the Jedi Master from Joe Johnston as his assistant Nilo Rodis-Jamero.

Of these original ideas, the staff and large ears seem to be the most consistent element that carried through to the finished result. Sculptor Stuart Freeborn — who created the final design — seems to have borrowed elements from both of these potential versions, and while this process of elimination was clearly necessary, we’re lucky we’re ended up with something more alien than Tolkien-esque.

DARTH VADER AND BOBA FETT: BROTHERS?

This idea isn’t entirely ridiculous but it’s unlikely that it would have been any kind of improvement on what made the final cut. In fact, considering what we perceive to be the strengths of Darth Vader and Boba Fett, it’s more likely that it would have really detracted from their impact. Vader and Fett answer to a master and an employer respectively, but the sense of peerless isolation around them is a significant part of their appeal.

Until the prequel series, Boba Fett’s muted mystery (and cool look) was what propelled him into cult favorite status, while a sibling for Anakin would’ve been a needless complication, one that the Emperor probably would have ordered him to snuff out long ago anyway as part of his Dark Side conversion. (And no, Uncle Owen doesn’t really count.)

DARTH MONSTER

With his red and black skin, yellow eyes, and devilish horns, Darth Maul is a fearsome and undeniably cool-looking warrior. Amidst the negative light that the Star Wars prequels are seen in by most fans, the Emperor’s alien apprentice is definitely one of the brighter spots and provides a worthy opponent for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in one of the series’ most incredible lightsaber duels.

Imagine then, that instead of the intimidating badass we got in The Phantom Menace, we got this bone-chilling horror movie monster designed by artist Ian McCraig. It looks like it belongs in The Grudge rather than Star Wars. McCraig explained that he created Nightmare Maul after George Lucas suggested he draw “his worst nightmare.” After seeing the picture, Lucas amended his suggestion to, “your second worst nightmare.”

HAN SOLO WAS AN ALIEN

Considering that Star Wars takes place in a technologically-advanced universe in which the human populace has spread and colonized a vast number of planets, it’s actually more likely that Luke, Leia, Han and other human characters would have been at least part-alien. But, within the original ragtag team of heroes, Chewie serves as the only token non-human.

According to earlier versions of A New Hope though, it seems that at one point Han Solo was going to fill this role instead, or maybe as well as. In the Dark Horse comics’ adaptation of Lucas’ early plans, Han is depicted as a big, green-skinned “Ureallian.” Though his personality may have remained the same, it’s hard to believe that anyone other than Harrison Ford could have elevated the character to the loveable heights that he reached.

PALPATINE: ANAKIN’S FATHER?

Star Wars seems to be filled with as many absent, morally-questionable dads as Padme has wardrobe changes, so it’s pretty crazy to think we could have gotten one more added to the already overly-soapy operatic mix. To really hammer home the religious references, Shmi Skywalker claims in The Phantom Menace that Anakin was the product of an immaculate conception.

Qui-Gon later drops some midi-chlorian truth-bombs onto her (shattering all the fun magic and mysticism of the series so far in the process.) In a deleted scene, Emperor Palpatine then reveals to adult Anakin that he used the Force to “will” the midi-chlorians into creating him. “You might say I’m your father.” Wait, cellular manipulation from planets away? Is there anything the Force can’t be used for at this point?

ADMIRAL ACKBAR NOT AN AMAZING FISH MAN

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Admiral “It’s a trap!” Ackbar is one of the greatest side characters in all of Star Wars. A member of the deliciously named, Mon Calamari — a race of humanoid, aquatic creatures with webbed hands and goggled, fish-like eyes — the peaceful Admiral was galvanized to join the Rebel Alliance after the Empire disrupted the lives of his Ocean-dwelling people.

As well as a distinctive, jowly voice and delivering one the most quotable lines in the series, Ackbar left an indelible impression on audiences thanks to his charmingly unique design. Yet, when the Admiral was initially introduced into the Return of the Jedi script, he was described as a “pale blue, non-human creature,” which sounds a lot less endearing than the orange, shrimpy face we were blessed with.

FEWER WOOKIES, MORE… YUZZUMS?

When it comes to furry aliens in Star Wars, the pecking order is Wookies first, Ewoks last. Though many younger fans are more endeared to the little, bear-like creatures that gave Leia that fabulous, forest make-over, others view them in the same category of irritation as Jar Jar Binks. So, it may frustrate those fans even more to learn that we could have gotten another race of critters running around alongside the Ewoks.

The “Yuzzums,” who resemble Furbies with flamingo legs, were planned to be a secondary race inhabiting Endor but were ultimately cut when it was realized (rightly) that it would be too distracting from the main story. Even more disappointing is that they were created to substitute the inclusion of more Wookies. Yuzzums eventually made their debut as the antagonists in the Star Wars: Ewoks cartoon series.

R2-D2 SPEAKS

R2-D2 and C3-PO are one of cinema’s great comedy duos, which is an amazing feat considering we can only understand what one of them is saying. Part of the diminutive astromech’s charm is his bleeps, bloops and wails, which somehow express so much through so little. Our impressions of his cheeky and adventurous personality are glimpsed through others’ reactions to him, rather than his own voice.

Imagine if we did hear the little droid speak using words, though? Imagine how different our impression of him would be. That’s what we could have gotten according to one of Lucas’ rough drafts, as was later brought to life in the Dark Horse comic adaptation. While this difference wouldn’t have had a huge impact, it’s sad to think we could never have gotten any of his excited cries that are so fun to impersonate.

HAN SOLO, SON OF CHEWIE

As well as a big, green-skinned alien, there was a point decades later at which Han Solo — the stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking “nerf herder” — was envisioned as once being an orphaned boy Chewie adopted and raised, making him Han’s… Dad? Ugh, that dynamic just doesn’t sound right, at all. This backstory for the character would have popped up in Episode III.

There was even a scene written where he helped out Yoda. In The Art of Revenge of the Sith, artist Ian McCraig describes lil’ Solo as, “an absolute slob” to contrast with his “persnickety” habits as an adult. Thankfully, this filthy, street rat origin story was scrapped, maybe because it conflicted with the one in the Extended Universe where he freed Chewie from slavery.

BOBA FETT: STORMTROOPER

Given the cult status of Boba Fett’s character, it’s laughable to learn that he was once planned to be little more than a generic background baddie. In the early stages of Star Wars’ development, he was part of a group of five elite stormtroopers known (not so creatively) as “supertroopers.” He wouldn’t have been named either, so there would have been little for audiences to remember him by.

Through hashing out different options for the supertrooper helmet, the bounty hunter’s distinctive look began to take shape, albeit with a different color scheme. As well as the key role he plays in serving Darth Vader, his enigmatic, shady presence is a big part of the Star Wars mythos. Considering how much of a fan following he’s cultivated, this would have been a great loss to the series.

JAR JAR ALMOST HAD A SIDEKICK

With the exception of those who first saw The Phantom Menace when they were the same age as lil’ Anakin, Jar Jar Binks was as welcome in the Star Wars films as sand in Hayden Christensen’s robes. Though he was clearly created as light comic relief to entice young audiences into buying into a series chronicling the origins of a child-killer, at one point Lucas felt Jar Jar alone wasn’t enough.

Enter Jar Jar’s pet “blarth,” a chubby, canine-like creature that would have come as part of a 2-for-1 special on idiot sidekicks that Qui-Gon regrettably stumbled into. The concept art of the pair illustrates the hideous levels of tomfoolery we could have gotten from them interrupting all the cool Jedi stuff. We’d also probably have gotten twice as many gross tongue gags by the looks of it, too.

VADER SANS HELMET

For proof of the symbolic power of Vader’s helmet, you need only watch its reveal in The Force Awakens. Even as a half-decayed relic, its presence projects a commanding and eerie aura that’s sure to send shivers down any fan’s spine. But, even without the legendary history it’s become imbued with, its existence throughout the original trilogy was vital in building Vader’s shadowy mystique. Just who or what was the man behind the mask?

Amazingly for such a strikingly haunting design, concept artist Ralph McQuarrie explained in the Kevin Burns documentary, Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy, that its inclusion had been merely practical. McQuarrie only decided to add it when he learned Vader would travel through a vacuum to board a Rebel ship. Without this afterthought, we would have been robbed of one of cinema’s great facial reveals.

YODA: THE MONKEY NAMED BUFFY

It sounds far, far too crazy to be true, but everyone’s favorite little, green space sensei very nearly looked like Abu from Aladdin. In 2013, rare, never-before-seen photos emerged of a screen-test for The Empire Strikes Back of an unnamed monkey in a waistcoat and a Yoda mask (an early version of the character’s face.)

The idea had to be thrown out when — after continually pulling the mask off — it became clear that working with a monkey was going to be as hard as, well, working with a monkey. This problem (luckily) forced Jim Henson to create the world’s first fully animatronic puppet for the character instead. Not only were we saved from a Jedi Master picking fleas out of Luke’s hair, but he would have been called Buffy, too. Buffy!

JAR JAR BINKS: NAKED, PLAYED BY MICHAEL JACKSON

Just let that sink in for a second. Jar Jar Binks, cinema’s most hated alien clown-turned-diplomat, is widely accepted to be the worst thing to happen to the franchise since the Holiday Special. In a weird case of unintended Disney foreshadowing, he was inspired by Goofy, and early concept art depicted him as not wearing any clothes. (As if he couldn’t get any grosser.)

To make things even stranger, in an interview on Reddit, Jar Jar actor, Ahmed Best, revealed that George Lucas turned down Michael Jackson for the role as the pop star wanted to perform in costume rather than use CGI, which by that point, Lucas was religiously converted to. So, to recap: we could have gotten a naked alien racist stereotype played by an eccentric singer accused of abusing kids in a kid’s movie. Looks like the prequels really could have been worse.

Are there any of these changes that you think would have actually made Star Wars better? State your case in the comments below!

The post Star Bores: 15 Terrible Star Wars Ideas You’ll Be Glad Never Happened appeared first on CBR.

Netflix’s Stranger Things took the world by storm in the second half of 2016. The first season was wildly successful, quickly becoming a favorite of viewers and garnering critical acclaim. The show found the perfect blend of science-fiction, horror, mystery and adventure, appealing to a wide variety of audiences. All of this was wrapped up in just the right amount of ’80s nostalgia to win the hearts of viewers without feeling like it was too much. People everywhere fell in love with the seemingly supernatural Eleven and the town of Hawkins and its inhabitants. The show’s extreme popularity led to the internet overflowing with theories and discussions, including the classic #JusticeForBarb, for the fallen fan favorite.

RELATED: 8 Facts About Legends of Tomorrow Season 3 (And 7 Rumors We Hope Are True)

It was this level of popularity that brought huge levels of anticipation for season 2, and when Netflix dropped a teaser during the Super Bowl, the internet exploded once again. Barely any details had been revealed about the new season, but that didn’t stop fans from trying to predict everything they could. As production continued, more news was slowly released about season 2, and the recent trailer from San Diego Comic Con added even more fuel to the fire. Excitement levels are high for the October release, but there are still lots of unknowns. Here are 7 things we know for sure about Stranger Things season 2, and 8 rumors we want to come true.

WARNING: Spoilers for Stranger Things seasons 1 and (possibly) 2.

KNOW: ELEVEN IS BACK

Eleven was the powerful child that stole everyone’s hearts in the first season. After escaping a government facility and meeting Will’s friends, she became a key to discovering the mystery surrounding his disappearance due to her telekinetic powers. Played expertly by Millie Bobby Brown, viewers were left devastated when she sacrificed herself to defeat the Demogorgon and save her friends.

Apparently, that is no longer the case as Brown has been cast in the second season to reprise her role as Eleven. It has also been confirmed by showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer that she won’t just be there for flashbacks, but that Eleven will be back from her supposed death. We don’t yet know how she will be back, but Eleven will be there for the ride.

RUMOR: ELEVEN IS THE DEMOGORGON

Perhaps the biggest rumor circling season 2 is Eleven’s true identity. A popular fan theory started during season 1, when Eleven tried to warn the boys that she was the monster. While on the surface it appeared as if she was saying that she was dangerous because of her powers, the theory goes that she was actually trying to say that she is the Demogorgon.

This theory grew in popularity and based on a few statements made by actors and the Duffer Brothers, it has picked up steam and has become a real possibility for the upcoming season. Based off of evidence gathered from season 1 and a few teases at Eleven’s role in the next season, it has become common for fans to assume that El and the Demogorgon are truly one and the same, or at very least share a similar origin.

KNOW: IT TAKES PLACE IN 1984

Stranger Things made full use of its 1980s setting, filling itself with pop culture references of the time and homages to classic ’80s adventure, horror, and science fiction flicks. The first season was set in the fall and early winter of 1983, so the main cast of kids had the early ’80s to play with when they would reference pop culture.

The new season will take place about a year later, around Halloween 1984. We have already seen the kids dressed up for Halloween as the Ghostbusters, so we know that the new season will embrace the setting and incorporate references to pop culture from 1984.This also means that enough time has passed between seasons to show us the repercussions on the town of Hawkins.

RUMOR: ELEVEN IS HOPPER’S DAUGHTER

Police Chief Hopper has a complicated, tragic and mostly unknown backstory, which has sparked up many a fan theory since season 1 was released. Very little is known about his past other than the basics. He fell in love and moved away with his wife; they had a daughter who died of cancer despite cutting-edge treatment, got divorced, and he returned to Hawkins.

After David Harbour stated that he has worked with the Duffer Brothers on exploring the character’s past and revealing that his daughter’s cancer is more important than people think, the rumors swirled. It is commonly believed that his daughter may actually have survived cancer but her mysterious treatments were government testing that left her with powers, meaning that she could very well be Eleven.

KNOW: SEASON 2 WILL BE DARKER

Netflix originally advertised Stranger Things as a nostalgia-induced horror/mystery, which it basically ended up becoming in terms of atmosphere and themes. While it did not turn out to be completely horrific, the show was pretty dark considering its main cast was mostly comprised of children and teens. Of course, elements of horror were present, but overall it as more of a science-fiction mystery/adventure with elements of horror sprinkled in.

Season 2 looks to be much more horror-influenced, as stated by the Duffer Brothers and many cast members, including David Harbour, who has been very active in discussing the new season. The discovery and infiltration of the Upside Down will have consequences on the real world, resulting in a season that will be overall darker and more focused on horror.

RUMOR: THE UPSIDE DOWN IS THE FUTURE

It appears based on posters and clips from the trailer that the Upside Down might be invading the real world in a bigger way this season. In fact, it looks like the world might even be turning into the Upside Down, meaning that reality as we know it will be destroyed and the Upside Down will be the only dimension.

This has led to the idea that in season 1, the Upside Down wasn’t another dimension, but rather a prediction of the future, where the world turns into it completely. Evidence has been brought up such as the Upside Down’s geography, which was exactly the same as the real world, from Will’s fort in the forest all the way to the inside of the Byers’ house.

KNOW: BARB WON’T BE BACK

Fan favorite character Barb was unfairly forgotten by the town of Hawkins after she disappeared just a few days after Will. Viewers were left with no answers as to her fate and she was barely even mentioned after she was taken to the post-apocalyptic Upside Down dimension.

It seems as though the internet and #JusticeForBarb are not going to get what they want, since she will be absent from season 2. It has been explicitly stated that Barb will not be back in the show, leaving fans to assume she is actually dead and will never get her justice. While it is sad to see that Barb won’t return, it has been hinted that her name will at least be mentioned in the season.

RUMOR: BARB WILL IMPACT THE SEASON

While fans may not be getting the justice they wanted for the relatively background character of Barb, it seems like she won’t be completely forgotten this time around. One of the biggest complaints about her treatment was the lack of attention she received after her disappearance, as the town never focused on finding her as much as they did poor ol’ Will.

The Duffer Brothers have responded to these fan complaints, but have remained quite vague on the details, probably not wanting to spoil anything or get fan expectations up unnecessarily. They have stated that her disappearance (and most likely death) will be referenced in season 2 and will have some sort of impact on either Hawkins itself, or at least some of the characters.

KNOW: ICONIC ’80s ACTORS IN NEW ROLES

Stranger Things has added new characters to the cast for the next season, and two actors who will be involved have been announced. Sean Astin will be playing Bob, the local RadioShack owner and high school friend of Joyce and Hopper. Paul Reiser will be playing Dr. Owens, a government agent tasked with covering up the events of the previous season.

Both of these actors were cast specifically for their iconic 1980s fame. Astin hit it big after being part of The Goonies and one of Reiser’s most memorable roles was in Aliens. Both are classic films of the 1980s that have helped inspire Stranger Things in one way or another, and it has been stated that Reiser was cast entirely because of his role in Aliens.

RUMOR: HOPPER IS WORKING WITH THE GOVERNMENT

Here’s an interesting one that’s actually two rumors in one. Hopper cut a deal with the government at the end of season 1 and was seen driving away in a government car. No one knows what went down in his time with the government, but it is known that in some way he had either joined them or is working with them in some kind of advisory capacity.

David Harbour has arguably been the most vocal about the upcoming season, and certain clues have been laid out leading fans to believe he will be secretly working with the government in season 2. One rumor states that he is now on the government’s side, while the other states that he is trying to take them down from the inside.

KNOW: WILL IS HAUNTED BY HIS DISAPPEARANCE

Season 1 ended on a relatively happy note as the Demogorgon was defeated and Will was saved and brought back home from the Upside Down. While the final moments of the season revealed a couple of loose ends to set up season 2, only one of these has been talked about in the lead-up to the season.

We still have very little information about Hopper leaving Eggo waffles in the forest, but we do know that Will regurgitating a slug from the Upside Down will have a huge effect on the character in season 2. It has been said by the Duffer Brothers that Will is not the same and is haunted and tortured by his experience being kidnapped by the Demogorgon. It is not known to what capacity it will affect him, but it is known that his experience has changed him.

RUMOR: WILL HAS POWERS NOW

While we do know that Will is strongly affected by the events of season 1, we still do not know to what capacity. Also, there is a chance that Eleven will not be in the season from the beginning, or even in the real world, meaning that there is a void to fill for a character with powers, or to join Eleven as either a friend or, as a swerve, as a fiendish foil.

This is where the idea that Will now has powers comes in. From the trailers, it looks like he is still very much connected to the Upside Down. Since there could be an empty space for a powered character, the rumor mill has pointed to Will taking that space due to his close ties to the Upside Down.

KNOW: THERE ARE NEW MONSTERS

The main monster seen in season 1 was the Demogorgon, and it had a huge impact on the show. This creature was the main link between the real world and the Upside Down and was also the first real taste of horror and supernatural creatures in the show.

Season 2 promises to introduce more monsters from different worlds, as evidenced by the poster, which showed us something horrific invading Hawkins. In the poster, a large creature with spider-like legs can be seen in the dark clouds descending on Hawkins. It is not known what this monster is, but we do know that we haven’t seen it before and it looks to be a big threat in season 2. Actor Gaten Matrazzo has also said that his character Dustin will bond with a creature from a different dimension.

RUMOR: THERE WILL BE MORE CHILDREN LIKE ELEVEN

Another rumor that provides a theory as to who is filling the void if Eleven is truly absent for a portion of the season is that we will be introduced to more children like her. Presumably, she is named Eleven for the fact that she was the eleventh test subject, meaning that there would be ten children who came before her, and possibly more after.

David Harbour’s comments about exploring more of the past of certain characters and aspects of the show has caused rumors to spread about season 2 revealing more of the truth behind the government experiments that took place in Hawkins, allowing room for more powered children like Eleven to join the show. Such exploration would open the show’s mythos up even more, possibly making it an even more dynamic cross-genre venture.

RUMOR: THE NEW MONSTER IS MAN MADE

Season 1’s Demogorgon was named after a monster from Dungeons & Dragons, which the boys loved to play. In fact, its look was even styled after the creature from the game. This time around, the new monster promises to be even more menacing — and certainly a lot larger — but what it really is remains a mystery.

Based solely on its appearance, many fans have pointed out that it looks eerily similar to another Dungeons & Dragons creature: the Thessalhydra. While the Demogorgon was only based on its in-game appearance, the Thessalhydra is nearly identical, prompting the rumor that this time the monster was actually made by men who deliberately styled it after the game’s monster. Could that possibility open up even more questions as to the nature of Stranger Things‘ reality? Time will tell.

What are you looking forward to most in the upcoming second season of Stranger Things? Let us know in the comments!

The post Stranger Things Season 2: 7 Things We Know (And 8 Rumors We Hope Are True) appeared first on CBR.

Thor: Ragnarok is going to feature a bunch of new characters and a bunch of new locations. However, there are some familiar faces in there as well but we haven’t seen some of them. Jaimie Alexander’s Lady Sif, Ray Stevenson’s Volstagg, Tadanobu Asano’s Hogun and Zachary Levi’s Fandral have all been absent from the marketing and trailers so far. During a set visit Screen Rant asked if we were going to learn the fate of the Warriors Three and Sif.

It sounds like we’re not seeing Sif and the Warriors Three, but do we learn what happened to them?

“Um… That’s not necessarily the case. And yes.”

With Loki on the throne of Asgard pretending to be Odin the Warriors Three and Sif could be a problem. They were a huge reason why his plan failed in the first movie. If they found out about his deception they would have to be taken care of. They could be a casualty during Hela’s (Cate Blanchett) attack on Asgard. At least the movie plans on addressing what happens instead of just leaving their fates unknown.

Summary: Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.

Thor: Ragnarok, directed by Taika Waititi, stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Idris Elba, and Mark Ruffalo. It will be released on November 3rd.

The post Thor: Ragnarok – We Will Find Out The Fate Of The Warriors Three And Sif appeared first on Bleeding Cool News And Rumors.

It’s never fun when the answer to a major question in a movie was right in front of us the entire time. There were a lot of questions that came out of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and even more when the title for the next movie, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, came out. The fans were asking who that was, was Jedi plural, because the plural for Jedi is Jedi, what is going on?

Director Rian Johnson recently did an interview with The New York Times where he revealed that we already know who the last Jedi is — because The Force Awakens told us.

“It’s in the opening crawl of The Force Awakens. Luke Skywalker, right now, is the last Jedi. There’s always wiggle room in these movies — everything is from a certain point of view — but coming into our story, he is the actual last of the Jedi. And he’s removed himself and is alone on this island, for reasons unknown.”

For now Luke is the “last Jedi”, but that could change. Or maybe it won’t, and Rey will be called something completely different. They never explicitly call Kylo Ren a Sith.

In the trailer, Luke says that “it’s time for the Jedi to end,” which is a statement that left fans on the edge of their seats. Johnson also clarified that it was indeed Luke who said that:

“That’s him. It sounds pretty dire. That’s something that we’re definitely going to dig into. The heart of the movie is Luke and Rey. It follows all the other characters, but its real essence is the development of the two of them. And it’s absolutely tied up in that question of, What is Luke’s attitude toward the Jedi?”

As the movies have continued to evolve so has the mythology of the world. While The Last Jedi is sure to answers some questions, it’s nice to see Johnson answering them instead of letting rumors run rampant.

Summary: Having taken her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Rey continues her epic journey with Finn, Poe and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the saga.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson, stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, and Adam Driver. It will be released on December 15th.

The post Star Wars Director Rian Johnson Clarifies Who The Last Jedi Is appeared first on Bleeding Cool News And Rumors.

There are some internet rumors that just seem to be too out-there to be real. Like the one that Tim Curry, the original Pennywise, was originally cast to voice the Joker, but was too scary. As the story goes, Curry was taped to play the Clown Prince of Crime opposite of Kevin Conroy‘s Dark Knight in Batman: The Animated Series. But after recording some episodes, they felt he was too scary and switched to Mark Hamill.

The problem with that rumor is that Batman: the Animated Series was incredibly dark at times. This was on purpose. Not using Curry because he was too scary makes no sense. And as it turns out, it’s not true. But the part where he was cast to play the Joker? That’s true. Curry did indeed record some lines as the Joker. But why did they make the switch?

Martin Lis with screengeek.net asked Curry about the rumor during a panel at Canada’s Fan Expo:

“I did play Joker for a while, but I had bronchitis and they fired me – and hired Mark Hamill. That’s life.”

Why they would fire the guy for being sick, I have no idea. And it’s hard to argue with the amazing job Mark Hamill did with the character, arguably the best Joker of all time. But how can you not wonder what might have been with Curry voicing the character?

The post Tim Curry Was The Original Joker On Batman: The Animated Series appeared first on Bleeding Cool News And Rumors.

In any field that has fans, there tends to be opinions on who is the best in that field. It’s gotten to the point where someone being called a goat no longer means they’re a scapegoat — it means they’re the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). It leads to debates like in football with Tom Brady vs. Joe Montana. In basketball with Lebron James vs. Michael Jordan. It moves into music, art, comedy — you name it, and someone will have an opinion on who is the best. And when it comes to action: what about Harrison Ford?

As I was working on another article this morning involving Indiana Jones 5, I noticed something interesting. From 1980 to 2000, Ford may have had the greatest streak of hit movies of any actor ever. And while Ford seems to be on a farewell tour of his greatest characters — Han Solo, Richard Decker and Indiana Jones — it just might be time to start looking at Ford as the greatest actor of all time.

Here are the films:

1980 Empire Strikes Back
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982 Blade Runner
1983 Return of the Jedi
1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1985 Witness
1986 The Mosquito Coast
1988 Frantic
1988 Working Girl
1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1990 Presumed Innocent
1991 Regarding Henry
1992 Patriot Games
1993 The Fugitive
1994 Clear and Present Danger
1995 Sabrina
1997 The Devil’s Own
1997 Air Force One
1998 Six Days Seven Nights
1999 Random Hearts

That is an amazing list of films and characters. A mix of action, intrigue, drama, romance, science fiction, and comedy. His characters were some of the most memorable in film history and all very diverse. Han Solo shares similar elements with Indiana Jones, but they’re not the same — and they’re very different from Jack Ryan and Richard Decker and Richard Kimble.

But take away the iconic characters and you still have John Book from Witness and Richard Walker from Frantic or Henry Turner from Regarding Henry, all diverse and well-formed characters that any leading man would kill for. The role of James Marshall in Air Force One could’ve made any actors career, yet for Ford it was just another amazing character he brought to life. For a guy who got the Star Wars role because he was George Lucas‘s handyman and the Indy role because Tom Selleck couldn’t get out of playing Magnum PI… Ford has done pretty well for himself.

I’m sure everyone has an opinion on who the greatest actor of all time is. John Wayne? Marlon Brando? Jimmy Stewart? Dustin Hoffman? Al Pacino? Robert De Niro? I’m sure the list of possible candidates would be a mile long. But I’m pretty sure no one would disagree with Harrison Ford being in that conversation.

The post Is Harrison Ford The Greatest Film Actor Of All Time? appeared first on Bleeding Cool News And Rumors.

Since becoming the Three-Eyed Raven, Game of Thrones‘ Bran Stark has done a great job of creeping everyone out with his complete lack of emotion. Actor Isaac Hempstead Wright revealed in a recent interview with bird-themed pop culture website Vulture where he found inspiration for awkward scenes like telling his sister she looked beautiful on the night of her wedding rape:

“It was a really challenging thing to do this season. I had a meeting with David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss], our showrunners, before we started filming. We had a chat about how we wanted to play Bran this season, and they suggested Doctor Manhattan from the Watchmen comic. Bran was slightly based on that, existing in all these different times at once, knowing all these various things, being this emotionless rock connecting these different timelines and the history of the universe. We wanted that, but we didn’t want a boring, monotonous character who would just go, ‘Yeah, I’m the Three-Eyed Raven, blah blah blah.’ It becomes a bit unbelievable, and also it becomes a bit dull. Not that the whole thing isn’t completely unbelievable, but you know what I mean.

We also wanted to make sure that there was a bit of Bran left, a glimmer of a person still in there. It’s like he’s the first cyborg. We just connected a supercomputer to a human being’s brain. He’s a mainframe, but there’s a little bit of his personality. More often than not, though, Bran is a vessel for human knowledge.”

Wright also mostly shot down fan theories that Bran and the Night King are the same person:

“I think it’s less that they’re the same person and more that they’re two of the ancient beings of Westeros. The Three-Eyed Raven has been around for God knows how long, and White Walkers have been reported since the beginning of time. As we’ve seen, they were created by the Children of the Forest, so we can’t get much more ancient than that. Perhaps we can think of it as these are two characters with a huge amount of power, but one is a Frankenstein’s monster who is driven by nothing but hatred and violence. Then there’s Bran, who uses his powers for good. I want to find out why the Night King is so obsessed with destroying mankind. We’ll see whether they have any kind of explanations in the next season. Hopefully we’ll find out cool stuff about both of those characters.”

OK, fine. Maybe Bran isn’t the Night King. But could he be Mr. Oz in Doomsday Clock?! We’ll put our best clickbait journalists onto this story and report back as soon as possible.

Read the full interview at Vulture. Game of Thrones won’t return until at least the second half of 2018, though it’s probably more likely to return in 2019.

Game Of Thrones Actor Based Bran Performance On Watchmen’s Doctor Manhattan

My name is Kaitlyn, and I am a well-endowed woman. I figured we should get that out of the way quickly, since this is an article about breasts — the boob armor phenomenon, to be specific.

In the last year, I’ve been trying to get in better shape, and took up running. While I’ve fallen behind in my training in recent months, I do compete in nerd-themed 5k races. Here is me holding up my metal from a Harry Potter run last year.

Time wasn't great but the fact that I went at all. Pat on the back. Seeing @nerdyalerty and @frostrz was awesome too ♡

A post shared by Kaitlyn Booth (@safaiagem) on Aug 20, 2016 at 9:53am PDT

When I run, I have to wear two sports bras, because running is otherwise extremely painful. It’s like getting punched in the chest every time you try to go anywhere. It’s an unpleasant experience that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone. I know lots of women who have to wear multiple sports bras to get anywhere close to comfortable while running. It’s very hard to get anything physical done when your boobs are defying gravity and trying to give you a black eye.

This week, Evangeline Lilly offered up a first-look picture at her outfit for Ant-Man and the Wasp.

The costume has two little boob-shaped cutouts so we know that there’s a lady in there — because clearly there was no other possible way we could distinguish that.

Here’s Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok.

More of the boob armor. And it’s not just Marvel that is guilty of this. Wonder Woman was a fantastic movie, but watching it was uncomfortable at times because of some of the outfits.

Those are just some recent examples, but look at nearly any fantasy movie with female fighters, and you’ll see women walking around in boob armor. It is utterly ridiculous, and it’s a trope that Hollywood very much needs to retire. And here’s why: there’s no practical value in it.

In practice, boob armor draws attention to the chest area, where you are vulnerable. Back in 2013, TOR.com has a great take down of why the boob armor would likely get our warrior maidens killed:

“Let’s say you even fall onto your boob-conscious armor. The divet separating each breast will dig into your chest, doing you injury. It might even break your breastbone. With a strong enough blow to the chest, it could fracture your sternum entirely, destroying your heart and lungs, instantly killing you. It is literally a death trap—you are wearing armor that acts as a perpetual spear directed at some of your most vulnerable body parts. It’s just not smart.”

“Not smart” might be an understatement.

That being said, as author Emily Asher-Perrin points out, there should be a different between male and female armor, because we are shaped differently:

“That’s not to say that female armor cannot be shaped differently—in fact, it should be to account for differences in shoulder-to-waist ratios and more, as the military recently discovered.”

But that doesn’t mean women need to walk around with two boob cups in their armor. It’s distracting, uncomfortable, and impractical. We want more women warriors on our screens, absolutely, but this trend is one that really needs to stop. If half of your audience is women, then there’s a good chance half of your audience will be wincing whenever these ladies start fighting.

There have been some female characters that have practical armor, though. One doesn’t need to look any further than Games of Thrones to find one in Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth.

While not a very well-received movie, Snow White and the Huntsman put their lead in nice, practical armor.

Even Tim Burton‘s Alice in Wonderland gave Mia Wasikowski as Alice some practical armor.

Before you ask what women were supposed to do in armor if they didn’t have bras — in the real world, bras date back to the 1400s, but in a fantasy world, there’s a really easy way around that: make one up. It’s a fantasy world; if there is magic and dragons, the women there have come up with some way to hold up their breasts.

The genre movie doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. There are going to be superheroes and fantasy for decades now, so let’s move beyond this aesthetic choice. It’s tacky, it doesn’t make sense, and it’s distracting to your audience — but not in the way you think. There are other ways to distinguish your female warriors from their male counterparts that isn’t painting a homing beacon on their boobs.

Enough With The Boob Armor, Hollywood

Today, Wizard World announced the return of Wizard Magazine. Naturally Bleeding Cool scooped them on it a few weeks ago. They have announced that it will be a quarterly magazine and a digital daily video news service, WizPop with Nerdist’s Brian Walton and current Wizard World head of content as its Editor-In-Chief.

Many Wizard alumni are embedded into the comics industry, especially at DC Comics, which will mean a bunch of new names for the magazine and site. Walton is joined by Luke Y. Thompson, formerly of Nerdist, Topless Robot, Deadline, and OC Weekly as Associate Editor.

The magazine will include familiar Wizard features Casting Calls and The Drawing Board, with previous columns revived for the web and video. And they will all be inherently tied into the Wizard World Comic Con – and the official launch will be at Wizard World Comic Con Chicago.

Wizard Magazine: A Guide To Comics launched out of the back of a comic shop in July 1991. With its high-end production values and monthly updating price guide in the back, it was a hit in comic book stores and on the newsstands, soon reaching a monthly circulation of more than 100,000 copies, outselling many of the big name comics it covered. It is most associated with the rise of Image Comics and Valiant Comics, both of which received considerable coverage by Wizard.

The magazine also spawned several ongoing magazines dedicated to similar interests such as ToyFare for toys and action figures, Inquest Gamer for collectible game cards, Anime Insider for anime and manga, and Toy Wishes for mainstream toy enthusiasts. Robot Chicken is based on “Twisted ToyFare Theater”. But after 20 years of publication, it was down to around 17,000 copies a month and the magazine was cancelled, as the publisher switched its focus to the successful Wizard World conventions that continue to span the country.

Wizard alumni are everywhere in and around the comic book industry. Many, including its main editors Mike Cotton, Brian Cunningham, and Pat McCallum, all in senior roles at DC Comics, and many were recruited for DC’s recent Direct Currents and Rebirth magazine. William Christensen and Mark Seifert formed Bleeding Cool’s publisher Avatar Press. Recently, founders Gareb Shamus and Pat Shamus suffered a Shamus-ectomy from Wizard World….

Wizard Returns As A Magazine, With Brian Walton As EIC

Supreme Leader Snoke will emerge from the shadows in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, in fully CG form, and when he does the red-clad Praetorian Guard will be at his side.

RELATED: Boyega Believes Rotating Directors Strengthens the Star Wars Franchise

When Snoke (played by Andy Serkis) debuted in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he appeared via hologram to dress down Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) as the Resistance closed in on the First Order’s Starkiller base. In The Last Jedi, Kylo will make his way to Snoke’s side, and not only will fans finally meet the First Order’s enigmatic leader in the flesh, they’ll also get a look at his personal protection, the Praetorian Guard, who receive an official unveiling courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.

Much like Emperor Palpatine in the original trilogy, Snoke is attended by a retinue of the well-trained protectors. However, unlike Palpatine’s Imperial Guards, whose function appeared largely ceremonial, Snoke’s Praetorian Guard will be a menacing force. According to EW, writer/director Rian Johnson told his costume designer that, “[Praetorian Guards] have to be more like samurai. They have to be built to move, and you have to believe that they could step forward and engage if they have to. They have to seem dangerous.”

Arriving Dec. 15, Star Wars: The Last Jedi stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern and Kelly Marie Tran.

The post Star Wars: The Last Jedi Reveals Snoke’s Praetorian Guard appeared first on CBR.

Batman is such an iconic pop culture figure. It is no wonder that Warner Brothers is trying to refocus its DCEU to include more Batman stories. The character has been reinvented so many times throughout his expansive comic book, live-action (both on television and in film), video game and animated career, yet his character never gets stale or feels old. Each take on the character attempts to bring something new to the table. Although this might not always succeed in the ways we all hope it would, it has kept the character fresh and exciting despite the fact that he’s been around for almost 80 years at this point.

RELATED: 15 MCU Characters That The DCEU’s Batman Would Absolutely Wreck

There aren’t many other characters that have been around for so long and still manage to resonate as powerfully with fans of all ages. The beautiful thing about art is that you can be inspired by others and create your own work based on what has come before. Of course, some fans love to get in on the action and create their own interpretations of their favorite characters. Let’s take a look at some fantastic fan art of Batman that we wish made its way into DC’s many takes on the character.

WINGED BATMAN

Andy Fairhurst is a digital artist from North Wales. He has made a name for himself make alternative posters for films and art prints for big name brands like Lucasfilm, the BBC, 20th Century Fox, Pixar and Disney. A quick look at his website will prove that he has a lot of fantastic work ranging from Sherlock to the Alien series to children’s movies.

His take on Batman is pretty awesome. He is depicted standing over his parents’ graves holding two roses. This looks like a mournful Batman, completely destroyed over the loss of his parents. This gothic Batman sports massive bat wings which are damaged in places. He may be an angel but we don’t think he’s the kind that pardons people of their sins.

TEDESCHI’S DARK KNIGHT

Furio Tedeschi is a CG artist from Johannesburg, South Africa. He has worked for big name companies like Warner Brothers Games, BioWare and Alliance Studio. He is currently working on an undisclosed project for Paramount Pictures. If his resume doesn’t impress you, just take a look at his art. He has rendered some of the most beautiful 3D models we have ever seen, among them is his Dark Knight.

His Batman suit is so detailed and menacing looking that you really wouldn’t want to cross paths with this guy in a dark alley. Batman is all about striking fear in the hearts of criminals and one look at this thing would make any villain run the other way. Be sure to check out the breakdown of the character design here.

HARD KNIGHT

Kailyze A.K.A. Thibault Girard is a digital artist from the United Kingdom who creates breathtaking sci-fi cityscapes, ships and armor designs. We highly recommend checking out his work, because it’s quite a sight to behold and his take on the Dark Knight is a vert inspired piece of art.

His Batman’s suit almost looks like its made out of rocks, much like the Thing from Marvel’s Fantastic Four is. Although we can’t quite make out what it’s made of, it appears that Batman is bleeding straight through the suit, so it can’t be that thick. In any case, it’s a really cool look. We also really like the look of Batman’s motorcycle which is reminiscent of the design in The Dark Knight, with its big, bulky wheels and military-ready aesthetic.

BAT-BATMAN

Rodrigo Sanches de Avila is a Brazilian artist who is only 19 years old. That’s right. It wasn’t a typo. He’s only 19. His work is inspired by the works of Alex Ross, Mario Freire, Adam Hughes and Renato Guedes, and you can tell just by taking a look around the pieces he’s produced.

His Batman features thin, long ears and blue detail throughout the suit. What we like in particular about this suit is the look of the cowl, which resembles the face of a bat. This is a look you don’t see often in Batman designs — a more organic approach to the suit despite the fact that the suit itself is made of cold, lifeless materials like metal plating. It’s an interesting juxtaposition that makes for a really cool design.

FACELESS BATMAN

There’s something very eerie about this Batman design by Anthony Jones. This is most likely due to the fact that he is completely faceless, and his body is entirely hidden under a sleek, awesome cape. The mystery hidden behind all of these layers reminds us of the Dementors in the Harry Potter series. The mysterious nature of this Batman design is one is that certainly intended to strike fear in evildoers, but that cape also makes it one of the more fashionable looks on this list.

If you are at all interested in learning about what it takes to become a concept artist, we highly recommend checking out Jones’ YouTube page which gives viewers countless lessons about character design and tips about breaking into the industry. He updates his page quite frequently, with long, comprehensive videos so make sure to take a look.

BIO-BATMAN

Shannon Lee Guy Brocas also known as Lee99 on DeviantArt, is an artist from New Zealand that specializes in sci-fi and fantasy illustrations as well as character and creature designs, which really come out when browsing through his work.

Bio-Batman is a mashup of two of the artist’s passions: Batman and Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor, an anime show based on the manga series illustrated by Yoshiki Takaya. The artist even has a backstory to the creation of this suit: “Bruce Wayne stumbles across a Guyver unit, an alien biological suit, it transforms Wayne’s bat suit into this super powered suit of destruction.” The piece took 2 weeks to complete, and the attention to detail is astounding, from the texture of the suit to the way the water beads on it.

SONAR BATMAN

Luke Maddox does a lot of creepy imagery. One look at his Tumblr page, and you’ll see that a lot of his art is rather dark and twisted. His Sonar Batman falls perfectly under that umbrella, which is no surprise considering the nature of the Dark Knight.

The helmet of this Batman looks like it’s actually fused with the face of a bat: part metal, part blood-sucking creature of the night. It’s a really freaky look that would surely scare any of his victims. Maddox also provides a neat description of the design:”His helmet uses a sonar function to map 3D space and see through walls. His gauntlets include grapnels, tasers, mace and all Bruce’s favorite MP3s which stream via bluetooth to his cowl.” Pretty handy stuff.

ANIMATED BATMAN

This Batman is really cool because it replicates the iconic shot from the ultra-popular Batman: The Animated Series. The Swedish artist, Ilker Esen, is currently working at Gamesare Studios in California. His Batman kind of resembles a knight, with elongated ears that look like horns and a cowl that is thick and wide like a knight’s helmet. The rugged texture of his suit gives us the impression that he has his fair share of battle.

Interestingly, he produced another version of this illustration much earlier, which is much more faithful to the aforementioned Animated Series shot we spoke about earlier. We really like the new and improved version, because he took much more creative freedom with his take on the suit. This is one Batman we would love to see on our TVs or in our comic books.

GRIM REAPER BATMAN

Russian Sergey Svistunov also known as fear-sAs on DeviantArt does a lot of beautiful, brightly colored landscape images, however he also does some pretty disturbing imagery like the one entitled “Rotten Candidate”. It is very interesting to see such dissimilar work from an artist, proving that he has an incredible amount of talent and versatility. Just don’t show any small children his page, because they might get nightmares!

His Batman falls in the disturbing category, but it is also extremely cool. It looks like a cross between Batman, the grim reaper and Spawn, or it’s what we imagine criminals might see when infected with Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin. Take a look at this video of his drawing process. Did we mention it only took him 6 hours to complete? Pure talent.

BLACK PANTHER BATMAN

This design might be a little more simplistic looking than the other Batman fan art in this article, but that doesn’t make it any less cool. This illustration by Italian artist DomEddi, or Domenico as he’s also known as, is slick and cool. We really like the helmet, which reminds us a lot of Black Panther’s look, due to the short ears and because there is no opening for his mouth.

We also like that this suit features a duster jacket which also acts as the cape that Batman is famous for. We think this is a really neat addition which gives a western flair to the suit. Be sure to check out his DeviantArt page (link provided above) for more illustrations of popular gaming and comic book characters.

BATMAN BEYOND

Mark Vick does a lot of incredible 3D character designs. His work is often very creepy but always extremely detailed and professional. His take on Batman is based on the beloved Terry McGinnis version, created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini in the Batman Beyond series. The suit features the bright red found in the animated series, but adds a lot more red details throughout the suit, which makes it look a lot more high-tech than the minimalistic version of the series.

The show’s cyberpunk and sci-fi themes are ever present in Vick’s design. This suit appears to be completely meshed with McGinnis’ skin, just like in the series. Be sure to check out the sculpt of the character before Vick colored it, which shows off a lot more suit details.

DRAGON SLAYER BATMAN

Jason Kang is a freelance illustrator who has worked on Hearthstone, Magic the Gathering, and Legend of the Cryptids. He specializes in fantasy art, but he has done quite a few superhero paintings in his time and all are very impressive works of art. One of his best digital superhero paintings is his redesign of Batman as a fantasy character, an actual dark knight.

His sword-wielding Batman features a heavily armored suit full of spikes that are both functional and quite fashionable. You wouldn’t want to get tackled by this Batman. Another cool feature of this painting is his giant flying companion in the background which looks like a huge, giant blue bat. On his Deviantart page, Kang reveals that the little bird on his shoulder is actually Robin! So awesome.

RED EMBLEM BATMAN

Ryan Hong is a concept artist that currently lives in Los Angeles. He does a lot of fantastic environment art for video games. His Batman features hits of red, including a holographic red emblem that appears in front of his mouth. We’re not exactly sure what the purpose of it is, but it looks pretty damn cool. Although it is not explicitly stated, this would make for a great Batman Beyond suit.

We really appreciate the attention to detail here, like different textures used for the different metal parts and the fabric of the suit, the minuscule scratches on the suit, and the honeycomb pattern on the breast plate. This Batman looks very much like he’s part-man and part-machine, which makes us think that Bruce Wayne would build something like this in his old age.

H.R. GIGER BATMAN

French artist Paul Chadeisson‘s DeviantArt page is filled with a lot of dystopian cityscapes, and gorgeous sci-fi spectacle. His level of detail is breathtaking, and we can’t even imagine the amount of patience and time it took for him to create some of his pieces.

His Batman has a pretty standard cowl design. In fact, he actually looks remarkably like the one that Michael Keaton wore in the 1989 Batman film. But that’s not what interests us here. What we really like about his illustration is the look of the body of the suit. It has an H.R. Giger vibe, in that it looks very similar to Giger’s conceptual art for the Alien film series, with its dark, bony construction. This is one mash-up that we would love to see anywhere but in our dreams.

METAL BATMAN

Ironconquest86, or Raul as he’s also known by, is a Mexican artist that does a lot of 2D and 3D designs of famous popular culture characters. He does a lot of sci-fi and fantasy characters, but he has also dabbled in comic book territory. He has a truly terrifying illustration of Doomsday in his portfolio that will make you gasp.

His Batman is very unique in that his suits looks like it’s entirely made of metal. Our favorite part is the design of the cowl, which features a red eye (which is reminiscent of Suicide Squad’s Deadshot), and a disfigured, melting jawline which looks incredibly badass. We’re not sure how that happened to him, but we’d love to find out in a comic book someday. Make it happen, DC!

Which look would you like to see the most in a Batman comic? Let us know in the comments section!

The post 15 Insane Batman Fan Art Costumes We Wish Were Real appeared first on CBR.

Hackers who claim to have stolen 1.5 terabytes of data from HBO’s servers have released a video demanding a multimillion-dollar ransom, accompanied by proof of their willingness to follow through on the threats.

RELATED: Hackers Leak Game of Thrones Script Online

The Guardian reports the hackers have released 3.4 GB of proprietary data, including draft scripts of upcoming Game of Thrones episodes and a document containing phone numbers and email addresses for stars Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey and Emilia Clarke. Other documents include a spreadsheet of legal claims and technical data on HBO’s internal network.

The data dump also features a video summary of the Aug. 13 episode, with stills illustrating the plot, as well as a screenshot of a file directory displaying folders for several other HBO shows.

Simultaneously with the release of the leaked data, a representative of the hacking group who identifies as “Mr. Smith” posted a video addressed to HBO chief executive officer Richard Plepler that demands “our six-month salary in bitcoin.” That amounts to several million dollars by the hackers’ reckoning, as they claim to bring in $12 million to $15 million annually from similar blackmailing efforts. The hackers assert that, out of 17 targets, only three have refused to pay. Of course, it’s not possible to verify those claims.

RELATED: Hodor Holds the Hungry Horde in Hilarious KFC TV Spot

Despite their demands, the hackers insist it’s all a game, and that “money isn’t our main purpose.” “We don’t want to endanger HBO’s situation nor cause it to lose its reputation,” Mr. Smith says in the video. “We want to be your partner in a tiny part of HBO’s huge income.”

HBO spokesperson Jeff Cusson told Wired the leak wasn’t entirely unexpected following the system breach, and that the cable network’s “forensic review is ongoing.” He added that, so far, it doesn’t appear their entire email system has been compromised, unlike the situation in the infamous Sony hack of 2014. “We continue to work around the clock with outside cybersecurity firms and law enforcement to resolve the incident,” Cusson said.

The network has had a rough few weeks, as not only did news come to light that hackers had breached HBO’s system but also, in an unrelated leak, Sunday’s episode of Game of Thrones appeared online early. HBO doesn’t believe the hackers represented by “Mr. Smith” possess actual episodes of Thrones, although they have threatened to release episodes of other series with their “HBO is Falling” logo superimposed.

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.

The post Game of Thrones Stars’ Personal Details Leaked As HBO Hack Escalates appeared first on CBR.

Netflix has released a trailer for the new season of The Crown that will be debuting this December. The new season focuses on the humiliating rumors swirling around Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy) as the uneasy social order created after the end of World War II starts to crumble. The season starts with Her Majesty’s Armed Forces engaged in an illegal war in Egypt and ends with the downfall of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, her third prime minister, after a devastating scandal. All of this as things move towards the 1960s. Elizabeth also seems to be feeling abandoned by Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Matt Smith).

The clip also gives us our first look at Michael C. Hall (Dexter) as John F. Kennedy and Jodi Balfour (Bomb Girls) as Jackie O. This is Hall’s first television work, other than voiceovers, since his eight-year run on Dexter ended in 2013. He spent some of that time on stage performing in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

The Crown season 2 premiers December 8th on Netflix.

The Crown Season 2 Trailer Gives First Look At Michael C. Hall As JFK

A new rumor making the rounds on Hollywood dirt sheets claims that Supergirl producers are looking to cast a new Kryptonian for a sexy new role in Supergirl Season 3.

The casting news comes from Matt Webb Mitovich‘s latest column on TVLine, in which he writes:

“I have just learned that the CW series is seeking a fortysomething actress to play a mysterious and “sexually compelling” Kryptonian who is being likened to Game of Thrones‘ Melisandre.”

The show has already started filming, so if this sexy new Kryptonian is cast, she likely won’t appear until somewhere mid-season. Of course, that assumes this rumor is true, but if it turns out to be fake, at least it gave us the opportunity to use the phrase “sexy Kryptonian” repeatedly in an article, which is sure to bring some interesting search traffic from amorous UFO buffs into Bleeding Cool, confounding our editors.

That’s right, people. Bleeding Cool is your number one source for sexy alien news. Remember that.

Supergirl Season 3, possibly featuring a new sexy Kryptonian, premieres on October 9th.

Rumor: Supergirl Seeks A Sexy Kryptonian For Season 3

One of the stories that Arrow writers were thinking of doing but never got to last year looks to be coming up this year. There was talk about Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) starting up her own tech company, but the Helix storyline took over and that got put to the side. According to executive producer Marc Guggenheim, that’s coming back as he told TVLine:

“That was something we wanted to do last year, and then we got sort of seduced by the Helix storyline. I would say that people wanting that storyline will be happy, but for reasons that I think will be very obvious, it can’t be called Smoak Technologies. And all those clever readers who are like, ‘That’s because she’ll be changing her last name to Queen,’ it’s not Queen Technologies, either.”

The Smoak Technologies name came up on Legends of Tomorrow when in the first season the team went to the future Star City, found John Diggle Jr. (Joseph David-Jones) as the Green Arrow and that at some point Felicity had changed the name of Palmer Technologies to Smoak Technologies…which had once been Queen Consolidated. I can’t see any reason at the moment why they couldn’t call her new company Smoak Technologies, but perhaps Guggenheim means that something in the new season will make it obvious.

But she definitely needs to start up some kind of business, because Curtis (Echo Kellum) is going to need a job at some point.

Arrow Season 6 premieres on Thursday, October 12th.

Arrow Season 6 Will See Felicity Smoak Start Her Own Company

Disney is going to pull it’s movies from Netflix and start their own streaming service. This was announced during the latest earnings report today. The plan is to have their own Disney branded direct-to-consumer streaming service up and running in the U.S. by 2019 and then expand globally.

CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that they have had a good relationship with Netflix, but decided to exercise an option to move their content off the platform. According to the report, the movies to be removed are Disney and Pixar titles (Marvel was mentioned in the initial report then removed moments later). This means 2019 films like Toy Story 4, Frozen 2 and the live-action Lion King will find their home on the new streaming service.

The company also has plans to launch an ESPN video streaming service in 2018 that will feature roughly 10,000 sporting events and content from MLB, NHL and MLS.

As part of this move, Disney is purchasing a majority ownership in BAM Tech for a reported $1.58 billion… with a ‘b’. As this news broke, Netflix stock took a 5 percent dip in value. 

The most interesting part of this announcement is how does it affect the Marvel properties. As you can see from the above screen shots, the initial CNBC report referred to Marvel as part of the movies being pulled, but the report was changed shortly after. Does Disney plan to include the Marvel Studios films on their streaming service? And what does that mean for the deal Marvel and Netflix have for Daredevil, Jessica Jones and the rest? The Netflix / Marvel shows are some of the most popular that the streaming service have to offer. Will Disney leave them where they are or play out the contract then move future series over to their own streaming service. Was the a correction on CNBC’s part or a request from Disney? Could the Marvel mention have been removed to give Netflix some time to prepare for the news and protect their stock value? I mean, Disney wouldn’t want to upset things while there is still a contract between Marvel and Netflix… right?

Disney To Pull Movies From Netflix – What Does It Mean For Marvel?

The upcoming Hellboy reboot film which may or may not be titled “Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen” may have just cast its lead actress and villain.

Despite the report earlier this week the Hellboy film was dropping the “Rise Of The Blood Queen” subtitle, it would appear that’s still more than likely the story the film will follow. Deadline just dropped the news that Milla Jovovich is in the end stages of talks that would see her in the title role of the Blood Queen.

No stranger to genre films, the Resident Evil and 5th Element star has some serious abilities when it comes to the action-science fiction-fantasy realm.

It was also previously reported that Ian McShane (American Gods, Deadwood) had joined the cast as Professor Broom, mentor and father figure of Hellboy.

Neil Marshall is on board to direct, and with such credits behind him as Black Sails, Game of Thrones, Constantine, Hannibal, and Westworld, this new Hellboy film could really be something special.  (That’s not to say we don’t love the original, because we do.)

Stranger Things‘ David Harbour has been tapped to play Hellboy, and it turns out Big Read is Harbour’s favorite comic character. In an interview with The Nerdist, he said:

“I really do think those Mike Mignola Hellboy comics are so beautiful and he’s such a hero for America that we live in today. I definitely think Hellboy is an antihero. He was kind of born into it. It wasn’t something like Batman where he chooses to go and fight crime. He was just born this weird half-demon spawned by Nazi occultists and saved by these dudes who tried to raise him right.

For him, it’s a sense of discovery. His actual destiny as a ‘hero’ is to end the world. He is the beast of the apocalypse. So, in a way, his struggle to be a superhero is to just not do the thing that he’s destined to do.”

Lionsgate is finishing up talks to distribute the live-action film, which already is looking at an R rating. This, of course, is subject to change as the production gets moving, which could happen as early as September.

We’ll let you know when any more information about this film is confirmed.

Milla Jovovich May Be The Blood Queen In New Hellboy Movie

So far, Daniel Craig has starred in four films as the iconic servant of crown and country James Bond. But despite suggesting soon after the release of Spectre that the movie could be his last as Bond, the actor has never quite closed the door on returning to the role.

Now, according to British tabloid newspaper The Sun, Craig is on the verge of signing on to star as 007 for two more movies.

RELATED: Bautista Would Like To Return For James Bond 25 – If Daniel Craig Does

This would take the actor’s tally in the role to six films, just one short of the seven (or should that be 007?) racked up by both Sean Connery and Roger Moore.

This news will probably not come as a great surprise to the character’s many fans — franchise producer Barbara Broccoli has long expressed the view that Daniel Craig is her ‘First Choice’ to play Bond, and there have been reports that Craig would remain in the role for a couple of months now.

Still, the actor’s presence should provide a strong sense of stability for the next two films, which will hit the big screen at a time of great upheaval for the country his character serves.

The still-untitled 25th Bond film is currently set to be released in 2019, the very year Britain is due to leave the European Union, although according to the Sun, discussions around the film’s plot are currently centring on a possible remake of 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

The post RUMOR: Daniel Craig Signing On for Two More Bond Films appeared first on CBR.

What was once an iconic symbol of the ’90s that quickly became a casualty of ever-advancing technology, Blockbuster Video stores are no more. We’ll, almost no more…turns out that there’s a few left, and one in particular is saying: “Not dead yet!”

Not only has this store survived the Netflix killing spree, but they’ve take to Twitter and may be one of the funniest accounts on the social media site.

The Last Blockbuster told the Daily Dot:

“This account is actually run by a few of us at the store. We’re a small operation, so we take turns running social media, working the registers, and cleaning out the return drop box. A lot of people seem to think it’s a trash receptacle even though we taped up a sign that says it’s for movies and games only.

It feels special to be the last remaining store of a such a culturally important franchise. But sometimes it feels like we’re the only ones who give a shit about watching films the way they were meant to be watched: on pieces of round plastic, slid into a machine that connects to your home television set.”

The location of this store is vague, which might lead some to believe it doesn’t actually exist…but let’s be honest — even if it was around the corner from your house, you probably wouldn’t go. So relax and enjoy the funny tweets…like some of them below.

Listen, we’d love to bring back the punch cards but you’ve proven time and again you can’t be trusted.

— The Last Blockbuster (@loneblockbuster) August 4, 2017

My manager says we shouldn’t talk about the Tri-State Strangler dumping bodies in our dumpster but I think people like hearing that stuff.

— The Last Blockbuster (@loneblockbuster) August 3, 2017

We’re watching Titanic and the boobs part starts in like 15 minutes if you guys wanna get down here.

— The Last Blockbuster (@loneblockbuster) July 30, 2017

In light of recent news, we’re offering 20% off any movie where an American guy punches a Russian guy.

— The Last Blockbuster (@loneblockbuster) July 27, 2017

Unlike my ex Kathleen we’ll gladly take you back.

— The Last Blockbuster (@loneblockbuster) July 9, 2017

“Films were meant to be watched on DVD, never streamed on the internet. Computers are for looking at naked babes.” -Orson Welles

— The Last Blockbuster (@loneblockbuster) June 30, 2017

Blockbuster Video Is Not Dead…And Its Twitter Is Kind Of Funny

Despite never meanin’ no harm, Tom Wopat’s character on the 1979 TV show Dukes of Hazzard, Luke Duke, had been in trouble with the law since the day he was born.

Wopat, on the other hand, is probably less likely to be seen fleeing local sheriffs in a high speed chase down dirt roads with an implausibly high amount of jump ramps. Or is he?

Wopat was arrested in Massachusse… Massaacchussett… New England last night after allegedly assaulting a woman connected to a play he’s starring in. Can you imagine the excitement of seeing Dukes of Hazzard star Tom Wopat in an off-off-off-Broadway production of 42nd Street? Yeah, us neither.

According to TMZ, the 65-year-old Wopat allegedly put his hands down the woman’s pants as part of the attack, which is being charged by police as a felony assault and battery. Police eventually caught up with Wopat driving his Ford Bronco, The Brigadier General Twiggs, a far less impressive vehicle than the Dukes’ iconic-but-emblazoned-with-a-well-known-symbol-of-racism 1969 Dodge Charger. They reportedly found a baggie of cocaine and charged him with that too, proving Waylon Jennings wrong when he said, “Someday the mountain might get ’em, but the law never will.”

Dukes Of Hazzard Star Tom Wopat Arrested For Cocaine, Felony Assault And Battery

Fans anxious to see the “Fantastic Four” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have to wait a bit longer. On Thursday, Noah Hawley, best known for his work as writer and producer of FX’s Fargo and Legion, announced he is developing a Doctor Doom movie with Fox.

The announcement came during Comic-Con International in San Diego’s Legion panel. “Because I’m at Comic-Con, I wanted to let you know about a movie I’m developing for Fox,” Hawley said. “The first word is ‘Doctor.’ And the second is ‘Doom.’”

The project still appears to be in its early stages, as no announcements have been made about the timeline or casting. But, that the project exists at all raises an intriguing question: could it be Doom who saves Fox’s Fantastic Four franchise?

RELATED: Doctor Doom Fan Film Shines Spotlight on the FF’s Greatest Foe

Of all of Marvel’s major villains, Doom is probably best positioned to headline his own film. In addition to his name recognition, he is deeply complex, simultaneously selfish and trying to make the world better. He has a sense of noblesse oblige that makes him protective—if not exactly caring—of his fellow Latverians. He is, at worst, an anti-villain who sometimes has heroic tendencies, rather than someone bent on destroying or conquering the world for its own sake.

We saw this conflicted Doom most recently in Secret Wars, where he managed to save bits and pieces of the multiverse where everyone else had failed. His iron rule of Battleworld was even justified to some extent by the need to keep the place together: as the last holdout of existence in a sea of nothingness, any threat to its stability was a threat to all of reality. But, Doom being Doom, while he was able to imagine saving reality through the strength of his own will, he did not have the creative mind to take the next step and rebuild the multiverse.

This morally-ambiguous Doom could be a perfect film protagonist, and Hawley could be the perfect person to bring him to life.

With his work on Fargo and Legion, Hawley has proved himself a master at portraying morally-complicated characters. Fargo is filled with characters who think they are doing the wrong thing for the right reason, sociopaths who see themselves as the center of everything, and mostly-good people trying to figure out their place in a world with far more shades of grey than they had realized before. It has made for some of the best television in recent memory, managing to meet the quality of the Coen Brothers’ film.

As amazing as Fargo has been, however, it is Legion that shows Hawley has the chops to make a cinematic Doom work. In Legion, Hawley brought his own approach to a superhero franchise, and he made it work masterfully. Part of that was knowing how to adapt the material without slavishly parroting the original; the David Heller from Legion is at once both familiar and new to comics readers. Heller has been changed just enough to make him the perfect vessel for exploring themes hinted at, but never fully explored, in the comics. This same approach could make a Doom film a major success.

Of all the characters involved, Victor Von Doom has been particularly ill-served by Fox’s Fantastic Four movies, despite having considerable screen time. Part of that is the fact that Fox never quite seemed to understand the character. In the two Tim Story-directed films, Doom — played by Julian McMahon — was more a sleazy businessman in the Lex Luthor mold than the Doom we know from the comics. Toby Kebbell’s Doom in Josh Trank’s reboot was severely muddled, possibly the result of late rewrites. (Early rumors claimed Kebbell’s Doom would be a hacker.) It’s a sad reality that the best cinematic representation of Doom was in the unreleased Roger Corman film from 1994.

Part of the problem is that even when he is given a decent amount of screen time, Doom always has to play fifth fiddle to the Fantastic Four. He is the villain of the piece, and so must appear villainous. And, with film’s limited run time, there just isn’t room to delve deeply into Doom’s backstory without giving short shrift to at least one of the FF. (This dynamic was also seen in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, where Norrin Radd and Galactus were both severely underdeveloped.)

RELATED: Avengers Reveals Doctor Doom’s Biggest Fan & It’s Not Who You’d Expect

In his own movie, though, Doom could shine. He could be his morally-complicated self, free of limitations placed on him by being the fifth wheel on a Fantastic Four vehicle. He could be the anti-hero in his own story.

There are a lot of approaches Hawley and Fox could go with for a standalone Doom film, but one that might work particularly well is a post-college Doom returning to Latveria to discover just how much his country is dominated by oligarchs and a political class that cares nothing for the common people. We could watch Doom’s rise to power as he fights back against the economic elite who have turned his homeland into their personal piggybanks. It’s a story that fits well with the contemporary zeitgeist, while also allowing exploration of whether or not Doom is actually any better for the people of Latveria.

Even better, there’s already a comic series with a very similar plot, Doom 2099, which tracks a time-displaced Doom’s efforts to reclaim Latveria from multinational corporations, before he eventually moves on to trying to fix the United States as well. It was one of the standouts of Marvel’s 2099 line under original writer John Francis Moore, and became a true classic under Warren Ellis. A film that borrowed liberally from Doom 2099, with a dash of Books of Doom and Secret Wars, could finally get Doom right, while also being extremely timely.

RELATED: So, Are Doctor Doom and Kang Related or What?

With Doom firmly established as a major cinematic force to be reckoned with, the stage could be set to reintroduce the Fantastic Four, either on their own or in a Fantastic Four vs. Doctor Doom match-up. With Doom fully fleshed-out, he could finally be a truly worthy adversary for the FF.

Of course, Hawley’s Doctor Doom is not the only project Fox has cooking relating to the Fantastic Four. There have also been rumors of a Thing/Human Torch team-up, as well as a project focused on Franklin Richards. We could be on the verge of seeing a mass reinvention of Fox’s Fantastic Four franchise. Given the weakness of the earlier films, however, audiences are likely to be skeptical. By dramatically shaking up the status quo and heroic dynamic, though, Hawley’s Doom could be precisely what Fox needs to make the Fantastic Four relevant again.

The post How Doctor Doom Could Save Fox’s Fantastic Four Franchise appeared first on CBR.

The Comic-Con International poster for Justice League states “You Can’t Save the World Alone,” but Warner Bros. is learning that gathering the stars for reshoots may be an even tougher proposition.

RELATED: Justice League Goes Fourth World: All We Learned from the Second Trailer

Citing anonymous insiders, Variety reports that extensive reshoots, spread out over two months between London and Los Angeles, cost about “approximately $25 million,” compared to the $6 million to $10 million a typical film spends on additional photography.

That two-month window has complicated the lives of some of Justice League‘s stars, like Ezra Miller and Henry Cavill, who have already moved on to other projects. Miller’s schedule has been relatively easy to accommodate, as the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is also a Warner Bros. film. However, the site contends Cavill’s situation is a bit more tricky, as he’s forced to split time between Justice League and Paramount’s Mission: Impossible 6. Cavill grew a mustache for the latter role, which he’s not permitted to shave, which means the facial hair will have to be digitally removed from reshoots.

There’s also the the matter of the credits for Justice League after director Zack Snyder stepped aside in the wake of a family tragedy and was replaced by Joss Whedon. Variety asserts Whedon won’t be listed as co-director, but may receive a producer or a screenplay credit.

RELATED: DCEU’s Justice League Assembles on Fan-Made Animated-Style Poster

The cast of Justice League used its time at Comic-Con International in San Diego to downplay any fears from fans over the reshoots. “They’re brief if anything,” Cyborg actor Ray Fisher said. “Zack picked a great director to help clean up for us.”

Arriving Nov. 17, Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Willem Dafoe as Vulko, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta and J. K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon.

The post Report: Justice League Reshoots More Complicated Than They Appear appeared first on CBR.

One of the things that quickly turned viewers of the pilot episode of the Flash into fans was a scene at the very end that showed Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) looking at a hologram of a future newspaper with a headline that read: “Flash Missing: Vanishes In Crisis.” This, of course, was both long-term setup for the series and a reference to the first-ever event series in comics, Crisis on Infinite Earths from Marv Wolfman, Jerry Ordway and George Perez. It was also one of the biggest moments in the Flash history, as Barry Allen sacrificed himself to save the worlds. Every Flash fan who saw that headline was hooked.

Actor Grant Gustin, who plays Barry Allen, told comicbook.com at a convention this weekend that the series is still moving towards Crisis in the distant future:

“We don’t really talk about on a yearly basis but it was mentioned early on and that’s a goal. Obviously, we’d have to go I think ten years to reach that. So there’s a possibility for sure. It’ll be fun to get there.”

The paper returned to prominence this last season after Barry saw Irish West (Candice Patton) die in the future. He noticed that the byline listed a different name and he continued to use it to check and see if any of the changes he made to the timeline would save her.

Though the Flash has had a lot of great stories over the years, there have been very few Flash-centric events — Flashpoint and Crisis being the top two. And since the series moves in real time, we won’t be getting to Crisis for another seven years. There’s a good chance we’ll see more references to it over the years, as long as the series continues. Flash season 10…the Antimonitor.

The Flash Is Still Building Towards Crisis On Infinite Earths

Avengers: Infinity War has just wrapped production and we’ve seen some footage but as far as specific details we still don’t know that much. However, some set photos have spoiled something and one of the actors involved commented on it. SPOILERS for Avengers: Infinity War. No specific details but it does touch on something that will happen in the movie. If you want to stay spoiler free then this isn’t the article for you.

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In some set photos that were released a number of months ago we saw Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) embrace lovingly. Their relationship is one that’s quite infamous in the comics and we’ve seen hints of it in the movies thus far. In an interview with We Got This Covered for her new movie Wind River Olsen commented on the relationship and whether it would be explored in the movie.

“In any other world I would say, ‘I don’t know,” she says, “but because there are paparazzi photos that kind of spoil things for fans, I think it’s safe to say that we now get to explore that part of the comic book. We get to introduce and really explore their relationship. It creates a really exciting arc for me and I’m so lucky I get to work with Bettany all the time now.”

So we’re going to see the romance between these two in some form in Avengers: Infinity War. There are a lot of people in this movie already so it’s going to be interesting how natural this progression feels. We’ve seen what happens when a romance is shoehorned into a Marvel movie in Avengers: Age of Ulton and it didn’t work then. The Russo brothers are going to have their work cut out for them if they’re going to make to make it work in a movie that has even more going on than Ultron did.

Avengers: Infinity War, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, stars Robert Downey Jr., Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Olsen, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Bettany, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Benedict Wong, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland, and Anthony Mackie. It will be released on May 4th, 2018.

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Will Explore The Relationship Between [SPOILERS]

Agent Carter is probably the underappreciated gem of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far. A show that not nearly enough people watched that kind of fell apart in its second season that wasn’t given the chance to redeem itself in a third. It’s a shame because it even ended on a cliffhanger and people would have loved to see more of the origin of S.H.I.E.L.D. and maybe even some more links to the MCU. In an interview with IGN Hayley Atwell is more than open to return to the MCU in her own movie.

“I’d love to see [Peggy] more in films,” Atwell said. “I’d love to see her in her own film. And if we can keep evolving it so that she does new things so that I can surprise myself and she can keep surprising me then I’d love to do it. And I feel very privileged to be part of something that people really love and that entertains them. But also, you’re going to these conventions and meeting people who’ve named their son Carter and people who have a tattoo of “I Know My Value,” the tagline. She’s a force of good and there are a lot of social media sites where girls and guys have come together and become good friends on an international scale because of their belief in some of the values that Peggy talks about. And that provides them with a different connection that a family situation or school situation that they don’t really feel they have a place in. That’s really cool to me. So I’m very happy to be a part of that world and keep that going.”

As for the show Atwell says that everyone involved was in love with it but it was canceled mostly due to studio politics.

“You know Marvel and all the creatives behind the making of the show loved it,” Atwell explained. “And we loved it. We all loved making it. It was a network political thing. They wanted to put me in something mainstream [Conviction] to get their ratings up rather than something that was more genre specific. There were a lot of economic decisions behind it and I wasn’t a part of the conversation. So we were all really surprised about that because we kind of got the sense that people were liking it. It had this cult following. So I know there’ve been online campaigns for it and the fact that we know that she lives until the age of 96 means that technically I could be employed for the rest of my life, you know.”

We know that Captain Marvel takes place in the 1990’s and we’re going to see flashbacks in Ant-Man and the Wasp will also see more of the past. We could absolutely see Agent Carter again in some capacity and considering how popular the character still is Marvel would be stupid not to bring her back again.

Hayley Atwell Would Love A Peggy Carter Solo Movie