Author: Joseph Aberl

  • ‘THE BATMAN’ Spin-Off Focused on Penguin In Development for HBO MAX

    ‘THE BATMAN’ Spin-Off Focused on Penguin In Development for HBO MAX

    It looks like The Batman might continue to expand, as Deadline has unveiled an HBO Max series is in early development to explore the story of one of his iconic villains, the Penguin. Dylan Clark and Matt Reeves are acting as executive producers with their 6th and Idaho Dylan Clark Productions alongside Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment. The plan seems to give Oswald Cobblepot a Scarface storyline that explores his rise to the iconic mob boss. Colin Farrell will play him in the upcoming film, but there’s no word he’ll also play it in the series.

    It’s the second series that takes place in this universe. It was originally going to explore the corrupted Gotham PD during Batman’s first year. Reports in august hinted at the spin-off getting a new direction and will explore Arkham Asylum in some way. It’s mostly hinted at due to the new working title rumored to be Arkham as it finally enters production.

    It’ll be interesting to see if other characters get spin-offs moving forward, as The Batman will build up an extensive universe around the character’s rogue’s gallery. Exploring the life of a Falcone or Maroni family member with the mysterious Bat luring over their heads would make for a compelling drama. They could even introduce more complex stories of villains before they face the bat in a future film. Reeves remains heavily involved with these projects and it’ll be interesting to see how it continues to grow in the future.

    Source: Deadline

  • Exploring When the Next Young Avengers Members May Appear in the MCU

    Exploring When the Next Young Avengers Members May Appear in the MCU

    The trailer has finally arrived for Hawkeye. It introduces the world to Hailee Steinfeld‘s Kate Bishop. Not only an important character in the role of Clint Barton and the Avengers but a very prominent member of the Young Avengers. We’ve noticed a variety of young heroes popping out throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s fourth phase and it seems like we might get a Young Avengers adaptation at some point. Yet, there are still three prominent members that haven’t made their debut yet. So, it’s time to explore when we can expect the missing members of the team.

    Miss America

    Who Is Marvel's America Chavez?

    Now, this is a rather easy one to pinpoint, as we got the confirmation that Xochitl Gomez will play America Chavez in next year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. We still have no idea what direction they are taking with the character, but her presence in a multiversal story stays true to her comic origins. She was raised by her mothers in a dimension known as the Utopian Parallel. After a great tragedy, she ends up traveling from one reality to another before embracing her heroic nature.

    It’s still unsure how she fits into the story. There might be a connection between how she ends up working alongside Strange and the rumored appearance of Shuma-Gorath. We also have Wanda’s unknown role on top of it all. Perhaps her home dimension is the key to ending the madness that rages across the multiverse. At the end of the story, she may end up in the mainline dimension and meets up with some of the already introduced members, as they potentially face a new challenge ahead.

    Hulkling

    Who Are the Young Avengers: HULKLING

    So, here’ the first of the three Young Avengers that wasn’t hinted at in any capacity. Theodore Altman is half-Kree and half-Skrull. He was born as the love child of Mar-Vell and the Skrull princess Anelle, who had a brief affair. As a result, he was raised on Earth due to the fear of what her kind would do to him knowing he is a half-breed. Growing up, he learns fast of his shapeshifting abilities and ended up drafted by Vision in the Avengers Fail-Safe Program a.k.a. the Young Avengers.

    His Skrull and Kree background makes him eligible for two specific projects. Either we’ll get introduced to the character in the Disney+ Secret Invasions series or the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels. We got introduced to a gender-flipped version of Mar-Vell that was protecting refugees from the Skrull race. There wasn’t any hint of her having potentially brought a child to the world, but there’s a curious gap in history that has yet to get explored before her death at the hands of Yon-Rogg.

    Iron Lad

    Could LOKI's Kang Reveal Hint at a Future Young Avenger? - Nerdist

    Unlike the previous characters, there’s a strange absence of Iron Lad. We did get introduced to his multiversal parallels, The One Who Remains and Kang the Conqueror. In the comics, a young Nathaniel Richards is abducted by an older version of himself. Terrified of the vision that shows the monster he would become, he swears to avoid his fate and arms his body with a bio-metal suit. As his name implies, the teenage hero is inspired by Iron Man’s iconic design. So, it would make sense that he’d potentially appear in Armor Wars. Yet, the Marvel Cinematic Universe might curiously twist his origin story.

    There’s a chance we might not even see Iron Lad in the MCU but rather have another character take his place. Marvel Studios is working on an Ironheart series eyeing a production start next year. The only thing she and Iron Lad have in common lies in their inspiration. They both end up building high-tech armors inspired by Tony Stark that could even surpass his work. As we learn that Kang is strongly connected to time and the multiverse, she may take his role in the original story as she faces the fact of what her existence would create. Of course, they could also still introduce Richards as a fellow MIT student. Still, her prominent role in the MCU’s future might create an interesting twist on the original.

  • ‘MOON KNIGHT’s Ethan Hawke Voicing Batman in ‘BATWHEELS’ Animated Series

    ‘MOON KNIGHT’s Ethan Hawke Voicing Batman in ‘BATWHEELS’ Animated Series

    It’s been almost a year since we’ve first heard of Cartoon Network and HBO Max’s Batmobile cartoon Batwheels. The series is aimed at preschoolers and marks DC’s first foray into the market. Even with its younger demographic, the series has nabbed quite the name as Moon Knight and Before Sunset‘s Ethan Hawke joined the project to voice Batman. He’ll be one of three human characters, which also includes Duke Thomas and Cassandra Cain. It will explore the world from the perspective of five anthropomorphic vehicles from the bat family and the sentient Bat-computer. Here’s also a first look at the three human characters:

    He’s joining the voice cast, as Cobra Kai‘s Jacob Bertrand will voice the series’ main protagonist, as the name suggests, Batmobile named Bam. Here’s the official description:

    Having just been created by the Batcomputer, our heroes are essentially kids with little to no life experience. Led by Bam (The Batmobile), the Batwheels – Bibi (The Batgirl Cycle), Redbird (Robin’s Sports Car), The Batwing and Buff (The Bat Truck) – must navigate the growing pains of being a newly formed super team as well as the growing pains that come with just being a kid. This relatable and aspirational series will follow the journey of this dynamic team as they thrill and entertain with their heroic adventures as well as demonstrate to kids the value of self-confidence, friendship and teamwork.

    It sounds like a great series for young DC fans getting into the franchise. It’s uncertain what role the human characters will have and how much one can expect of Ethan Hawke. His inclusion is a great way to show that actors of any caliber can also do some work for a younger audience to enjoy. It may introduce a young mind to the world of Batman and set them on a journey to uncover their new favorite superhero.

    Source: Comic Book

  • Amazon Developing Live-Action ‘SHE-RA’ Series

    Amazon Developing Live-Action ‘SHE-RA’ Series

    It looks like the world isn’t quite done with She-Ra, Amazon is in the early stage of development to bring She-Ra into live-action. Variety shares that there is no writer currently attached, but DreamWorks animation will serve as executive producer. They’ve also been behind the latest adaptation on Netflix titled She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. It’s the first time the character has been brought to live-action since the 1985 film He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword.

    Princess Adora was the long-lost twin of Prince Adam, who grew up on the planet of Etheria. While working for the Evil Horde, her brother was able to free her as He-Man and she gained the powers of She-Ra through the Sword of Protection. The original series ran from 1985 until 1986 and amassed almost 100 episodes throughout its two-season run.

    There’s a chance they take the direction of the DreamWorks animated series, which removed any reference to He-Man and her extended family. It follows a similar story but she breaks free from the Horde of her own free will to uncover the darker secrets of those she works for. It even explored her character’s relationship with Catra that became a popular aspect of the 52-episode series.

    Source: Variety

  • Netflix’s ‘TOMB RAIDER’ Anime Adds Hayley Atwell as Lara Croft

    Netflix’s ‘TOMB RAIDER’ Anime Adds Hayley Atwell as Lara Croft

    Here’s some amazing casting by Netflix. They took to Twitter to announce that Peggy Carter herself, Hayley Atwell, will take on the role of Lara Croft. The story takes place after the events of Crystal Dynamic’s reboot trilogy. She’ll take over from Camilla Luddington, who voiced the character in the games. It’s interesting they decided to recast Lara, but there’s a chance the anime will feature her at a very different time in her life.

    It’s the only casting we received from the anime series, and it’ll be interesting to see what other characters might make their return. The last entry in the series was Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which explored her adventure in tropical America to find Paititi while continuing her ongoing war against Trinity. She’s certainly gone through enough in the original games and we might ee a very different Lara once the series release on Netflix.

    Source: Twitter

  • PS5’s ‘WOLVERINE’ Creative Director Confirms Mature Rating

    PS5’s ‘WOLVERINE’ Creative Director Confirms Mature Rating

    We’ve been left with many questions after the surprise reveal that Insomniac is working on a Wolverine game for PlayStation 5. The brief teaser trailer was filled to the brim with Easter eggs from the character’s long comic history but was mainly to announce it is currently in production. It did give us some small glimpses into the design of their version of Wolverine and that he’ll certainly rough up some people in his new journey.

    Shortly after, we got the confirmation that they are also going to release a sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man in 2023, which also made some concern it might just be a smaller project like the Miles Morales midquel. Well, luckily the game’s Creative Director Brian Horton took to Twitter to not only confirm it’s a full-size game but will also keep a mature tone.

    https://twitter.com/BrianHortonArt/status/1437066535839809544

    It’s great news for fans of the character. While his time in the 20th Century Fox franchise had him mainly in PG-13 projects, the character is known for his bloodier interactions. So, it’s great they aren’t dialing it back and PlayStation isn’t shy to include some mature projects in their line-up that still perform incredibly well. It’s also what made the X-Men Origins: Wolverine game stand out when it got released back in 2009. To this day, it might be one of the best tie-in games to a film and there’s a lot of inspiration Insomniac might take from it.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘SHANG-CHI’ Dominates Second Weekend, On Par With Pre-Pandemic Performance

    ‘SHANG-CHI’ Dominates Second Weekend, On Par With Pre-Pandemic Performance

    The numbers are finally in and Shang-Chi continues to impress. In its second weekend, the Simu Liu-led film dropped around 53% from its first weekend and is on par with pre-pandemic performances by Marvel Studios. It currently stands at $35.8M in its second weekend after setting a new Labor Day weekend record. That is quite a difference from Black Widow‘s harsher 70% drop. To be fair, the latter also had a digital release simultaneously that managed to garner $125M on top since its premiere.

    Its performance put it at the top spot for a second week in a row and gave Disney the confirmation to keep the rest of their 2021 slate as theater-only releases, which includes the ambitious Eternals. The only real competition the latest Marvel film had to face was the horror film Malignant that released to a very lukewarm $5.57M. With a C-grading on CinemaScore, it’s difficult to say how it’ll perform long-term. It’s also the first horror film to have a weaker performance in the pandemic.

    The film’s performance definitely feels like the jolt of energy the Box Office needed. Even Black Widow‘s success was followed by some concern regarding the future of theater experiences. It’s also currently on par to surpass the first Phase 4 film’s overall Box Office to become the raining champ until the next major release. Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s trailer viewership may pin it as the champion to take the top spot for 2021, but Eternals could still become quite a contender once it releases in November. We’ll have to wait until predictions are in Marvel Studios kicks of their marketing plan.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘GOD OF WAR: RAGNAROK’ To End The Franchise’s Norse Storyline

    ‘GOD OF WAR: RAGNAROK’ To End The Franchise’s Norse Storyline

    The latest PlayStation Showcase finally gave us our first look at the sequel to God of War. After the events of the original trilogy, the Spartan Kratos found his way to the north where he would father a son, Atreus. This Norse tale would see them both face off against familiar faces from northern mythology. At the end of the last game, the death of Baldur started Fimbulwinter, which is the first step towards Ragnarök.

    First look at 'God of War Ragnarök' shows a war with Asgard | Engadget

    The title for the next entry confirms that we’ll enter the final days of the Norse Gods. Alongside the first trailer, we did get a full look at this game’s version of Thor who might be the main threat throughout the story. We assumed it would lead into a final entry, but it looks like the Norse storyline was only ever planned for two entries, as the game’s director Eric Williams confirmed in an interview.

    Yeah, I mean, you can’t call the game God of War Ragnarok and not have Ragnarok happen in the game. So it’s [going to] happen. We’re going to cap off the Norse series with it.

    Eric Williams

    The interesting reveal is that Ragnarok ending the “Norse series” implies that there are more plans for the franchise’s future. In the 2018 entry, we briefly saw teases from other pantheons. It seems likely with the introduction of Tyr we might get a chance to visit other realms one way or another. Artwork teased that the sequel was going to visit Egypt at one point, which might still be in the cards.

    If the upcoming game is the ending of the Norse storyline, it does open up the question of how they’ll introduce the elements of Ragnarök in the story. We know that the World Serpent is from the future, but there’s no sighting of the Fenris Wolf. He’s an integral part of the story that might get explored in the sequel. We’ll see what Santa Monica Studios has in store for players.

    Source: ComicBook, Metro

  • Benedict Cumberbatch Teases ‘SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME’s Ambition and Impact

    Benedict Cumberbatch Teases ‘SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME’s Ambition and Impact

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding at an exponential rate. We finally jumped into the multiverse with Disney+’s new What If…? series and will soon dive even deeper with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Yet, we’ll have a brief interlude into the Spider-Verse with Spider-Man: No Way Home. The first trailer broke many records as we witness Spidey and Doctor Strange face a familiar threat when Spider-Man 2‘s Doctor Octopus, played by Alfred Molina, makes his first on-screen appearance since 2004.

    With all the rumors circling this project, it’s hard to grasp just how large it may end up being once it premieres this December. In an interview with Variety, Benedict Cumberbatch teases just how crazy this project may end up being.

    There’ll be a lot of debate about it [Spidey 3] I’m sure. It’s a daring, brilliant concept. Seriously, it has got great ambition. I haven’t seen it, but by all accounts, it has achieved it. Even on paper, the audacity of it is like.. how the hell is that gonna.. [expletive].

    He does also praises director Jon Watts for his work on the project and teases that the Doctor Strange sequel will also challenge the ambition of this project. Countless rumors are surrounding this project with the first trailer already teasing a multiversal team of six sinister villains. It even adds more to the potential of other Spider-Men returning to the roles in the threequel.

    Who knows what other concepts and ideas will get introduced in the film that Marvel Studios managed to keep behind closed doors, as we still don’t know what it means for the future of Tom Holland‘s version of the character as Sony expands their own franchise. A lot is riding on this and with Shang-Chi‘s recent success adding hope to pandemic numbers, the film may become the highest-grossing 2021 release.

    Source: Variety

  • New ‘WHAT IF…?’ Zombie Funkos Revealed

    New ‘WHAT IF…?’ Zombie Funkos Revealed

    As is per Disney+ tradition, we get brand new Funko Pops as the series continues to expand. The latest episode of What If…? gave us the darkest storyline yet, as Bruce Banner returned to a world invested with zombies. Even the title didn’t waste any time to get to the point of the latest entry. Now that the episode is out there, Funko has unveiled the brand new Funkos that include the zombified Captain America, Sam Wilson, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, and Wanda Maximoff. Zombie Hunter Spider-Man also gets his own Funko.

    Marvel Studios found a creative way to balance the designs for Zombies that can work within a PG-13 setting. Yet, the series still includes some pretty brutal fatalities, as we see heads explore, zombies get cut in half, and so much more. We don’t see anyone getting eaten, with one planned exception by the Wasp, which might be the one aspect they couldn’t get past Disney+.

    In Europe and specific countries, Disney+ includes the STAR branding that adds some adult-themed projects to the service. So, while it is strange to see the Avengers fight zombies on the family-focused streaming service, some markets are also enjoying shows like The Walking Dead. Who knows if the popularity of this episode opens up for the service to explore darker avenues moving forward. Deadpool 3 will be our first R-rated Marvel Cinematic Universe project that might not find its way on the service. It’ll be interesting how it continues to grow as they explore new concepts.

    Source: Twitter