There have been quite a few rumors about upcoming games making the rounds. While the only confirmed projects we know of are the Spider-Man sequel from Insomniac and even a new game from them based on Wolverine, it seems a few images may have hinted at the next major project. Edwin Gaffey has taken to his Instagram to share that he’s finished mo-cap work on a game. In it, you can clearly see that one of the clapperboards has “Marvel” on it.
Some sleuths have already made the connection that this is very likely a game based around Blade. The character is set to arrive in an upcoming game titled Midnight Sun, but this developer seems to be Ubisoft and not Firaxis. So, we might be getting a new game based around the vampire hunter at some point and with the upcoming Marvel/Disney gaming live-stream during D23 we could see this get an announcement.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgfAcjoofAH/
It looks like Marvel has quite a few plans to expand in the gaming market. We’ve recently learned of a canceled Iron Man game from 2012 but they’ve recently been trying out more ideas. While some may not have enjoyed Marvel’s Avengers as much, there’s still something unique to the project, and offers something that we haven’t seen them do. For years, we had cheaply made tie-in games to movies with only a few exceptions actually standing out. Now, we have some strong story-based projects that offer unique and memorable experiences.
With the delay of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘s releases, we’ve gotten quite a few hits or rather leaks through the various merchandise from the project. Not only did we get a first look at a Cyborg Spider-Woman but even Ben Reilly showed up in the upcoming animated sequel. Now, the tradition continues as the latest merchandise has offered a first look at Spider-Punk’s design. As shared by Twitter user @_Ben_Reilly, it looks like they’ll continue the tradition of each new Spidey member getting a unique design from their universe.
— 🕸️🕷️Plz Add Ben Reilly to Fortnite!🕷️🕸️ (@_Ben_Reilly) August 20, 2022
It does seem how these characters are lined-up that they’re also the new “team” for this film. It’s sad we might not see any of the others like Spiider-Man Noir or Spider-Pig potentially making a return, but there’s quite the chance we will. They also likely don’t want to reveal every character that has a role, as we’ve also not seen any sign of Peter B. Parker, who was a major player in the original release.
It is fun to see that they are continuing to play around with the animation medium, and Miles Morales’ Spider-Man venturing beyond his own reality gives them that perfect opportunity. Here’s hoping we get some very creative Spider-Verse surprises that make the experience stand out from the previous one, which already has quite the emotional story.
The weekend has gone quite different for Universal, as their latest release, Beast starring Idris Elba was overtaken by the Japanese anime film, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The film ends its weekend with around $20.1M+ at the US box office, which could even go higher once Sunday wraps up. According to Crunchyroll, the sequel is the best global opening ever for an anime film.
Tetsuro Kodama is in the director’s chair based on a story by the series creator Akira Toriyama, it is the 21st entry in the Dragon Ball cinematic franchise. The last time we saw a film from it was back in 2018 focused on a new adaptation of Broly. This time around, they went with a CG-animated style with Toei Animation producing it.
To put into comparison, Broly opened to $9.8M domestically, which the latest release managed to double. Baltasar Kormakur’s Beast, on the other end, opened to $11.6M which is still part of its tracking and joins the ever-increasing B CinemaScore club of 2022.
It’s quite interesting that it was overtaken with barely any new competition in the market. Top Gun: Maverick is still performing incredibly well and Thor: Love and Thunder has picked up the pace even with a harsher drop like its predecessors. Bullet Train has still been holding on and A24’s Bodies Bodies Bodies remained in the top ten. August is quite empty but it seems the projects are still holding on quite well.
Netflix’s Echoes has all the ingredients for a compelling drama, but none of them ever come together to make for anything satisfying.
Echoes tells the story of identical twins, Leni and Gina, both played by Michelle Monaghan. The twins have secretly spent their lives switching places since they were children, sharing everything – resulting in double lives as adults. However, after one of the sisters goes missing, the sisters soon find their lives both uprooted as secrets begin to surface that’ll change their lives forever.
It’s hard to properly explain just how terrible Echoes is because there are elements that are great. Monaghan is one of them. She’s electric on screen and her scenes with Matt Bomer are fantastic. Unfortunately, though, neither Bomer nor Monaghan could carry this mess of a series. It’s as if the writers didn’t know where they wanted to take the story, so they continued to add drama for the sake of it. Both Leni and Gina are terrible characters, and while it might be a bit harsh, neither character is worthy of redemption. By the end, it’s unlikely viewers will like either Leni or Gina.
The entire concept of switching lives every year without those closest to them knowing is a touchy-subject, especially as these characters shared everything – including their partners who hadn’t a clue. Even worse, the women somehow managed to get away with numerous crimes because their choice to switch made it difficult for law enforcement to determine who was responsible for what. It’s incredibly frustrating. They ruined so many lives and were never truly held accountable for their actions. Yes, the finale suggests that might finally change in a second season, but it’s frustrating just how easily some of these folks forgive the sisters.
And then there’s the Dylan storyline – a plotline that quickly appears and then nearly forgotten soon after. Given what happens to Dylan and the sisters, this should’ve been something handled across multiple episodes and with more care. Especially when it comes to the lives lost. It is one of the many instances that felt as though it was written in just for dramatic effect, but with no proper plan on how to properly handle it.
The most frustrating part of Echoes, though, is that it does a pretty bad job at fleshing out its characters. While Monaghan gives both roles everything she has, the writing doesn’t do enough to really showcase a difference between Leni and Gina. That’s something that is pretty important given that the two are supposed to be very, very different. One is supposed to be more dominant, while the other is supposed to blindly follow along. Outside of some slight mannerism changes by Monaghan, it just doesn’t feel as though enough effort was made in developing their characterizations. It’s something that ruins the ending.
After everything these two have done – the fire, what happened to Claudia, switching lives – it’s frustrating that we never truly get to know Leni and Gina individually. Yes, the series is about them becoming one another and switching places every year, but there should still be some indicators of individuality. Something.
For a series that only consists of seven episodes, Echoes feels so much longer. It drags, constantly being pulled down by useless plotlines that make little sense.
Get ready for a wild ride. Obvious spoilers for both Game of Thrones and mild spoilers for House of the Dragon could pop up, but the idea is to help fans figure out where the series will be starting off and how it connects to GoT, beginning with the main cast.
King Viserys Targeryen I
Viserys I is the head and King of the Targaryen dynasty at this present stage, which is 130 AC (Aegon’s Conquest), so this is both 130 years after Aegon began his conquest of Westeros, and 169 years before the events of Game of Thrones, so unfortunately if you were looking for a cameo from any of the old cast, that is extremely unlikely.
King Viserys I, being played by Paddy Considine. He’s a lazy, incompetent king who would love nothing more than to waste days away drinking and partying than ruling, which is why he delegates a lot of his work to the small council. He hates his children and family fighting, so they all put on a façade around him to make it seem like things are going smoothly.
Rhaenyra Targeryen, The Realm’s Delight
Rhaenyra, who will be the series lead, is being played by Emma D’Arcy, as well as young Rhaenyra being played by Milly Alcock. We’re getting flashbacks, people! Wouldn’t have minded a couple more of those in the last show! Rhaenyra is the first and oldest child of King Viserys, and has been named his heir since she was a small child. This went directly against how Viserys himself was crowned, but during the moment of naming Rhaenyra, there were no male claimants to oppose her, and the common folk loved her, so it went without issue. This lasted only a short time, however.
Daemon Targaryen, The Rogue Prince
Daemon is the younger brother to Viserys, and is everything that Viserys is not. He is a master swordsman who grew the King’s Landing City Watch into what it is today. He’s waged many wars in the eastern islands known as the Step Stones, wields the ancient Targaryen sword Dark Sister and is the all-around perfect anti-hero for this story. He’s been pissed off at Viserys about Rhaenyra jumping him in the line of succession since it happened, but keep watching the series to see how this unfolds.
Alicent Hightower
Rhaenyra was Viserys’ first and only child by his first marriage; however, Viserys did remarry a young woman named Alicent Hightower (who you haven’t been introduced to yet if you haven’t read the books, they rule Oldtown, where Sam went to study for 10 minutes and there was a giant lighthouse). Curiously enough, her father is the King’s Hand, Otto Hightower. This marriage resulted in 3 children, sons Aegon, Aemond, and a daughter, Helaena. Per IMDb, the children aren’t in many episodes, so we’ll omit summaries on them. Just keep in mind that Rhaenyra is what is standing in the way of Alicent’s children from the Iron Throne.
Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake
Corlys Velaryon is the Lord of the Tides, the name for the patriarch of the Velaryon dynasty, a Valyrian (very creative in naming these guys George) house that has been in Westeros longer than the Targaryens. While the Targaryens rule the sky, the Velaryons rule the seas. These two families have been allies ever since the Targaryens first came to Dragonstone, and it is staying that way in this part of the story.
Corlys married Viserys’ sister, Rhaenys, and had a son and daughter, Laena and Laenor. Rhaenyra married Laenor and produced 3 sons, so the Velaryons will finally have their blood sitting on the Iron Throne. Or so Corlys and company thought. Laena also married Daemon, Viserys’ brother and had children as well.
This brings us up to speed on the main players for House of the Dragon. Now let’s examine the different sides for the Dance of the Dragons, and where the series will likely begin.
SPOILERS BELOW – SUCCESSION AS WELL AS THE GREENS AND THE BLACKS
A Question of Succession
If you remember the ending for Game of Thrones, you will remember that with Jon Snow being a Targaryen, the question of Daenerys’s claim to the throne came into play, with Jon being the last remaining son of the Heir to the Iron Throne, Rhaegar Targaryen, making his claim stronger than Dany’s. Dany is the younger sister to Rhaegar, and in Westerosi culture, the male will always be the better claimant to the throne or the House than a female. Does that make it right? Certainly not, but it seems that George RR Martin took a leaf out of another George’s pamphlet, this George being Lucas. The more you compare the Dance of the Dragons to A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, the more similarities you find. “It’s like poetry. It rhymes.”
As established, Dany and Jon are both claimants to the Iron Throne (In the books Aegon, Rhaegar’s firstborn, has “resurfaced” but we’ll ignore that) which causes a biiiiiit of a conflict. Now let’s paint the picture with the Dance of Dragons.
King Viserys I, who himself was chosen to sit on the Iron Throne over a number of other claimants in a great council, in large part due to being male, had one daughter by his first marriage, Rhaenyra. Viserys did, however, remarry, a young woman named Alicent Hightower. This marriage resulted in 3 children, sons Aegon, Aemond, and a daughter Helaena. Confused yet? Just wait.
Rhaenyra at a young age was named the Heir to the Iron Throne by her father and was received with cheers. Rhaenyra was nicknamed The Realm’s Delight and all the peasants loved her. One person, who did not love this, was Viserys’s brother, Prince Daemon, The Rogue Prince, played by Matt Smith. He was extraordinarily pissed off and actually left King’s Landing for a time. This question of inheritance came up a lot, especially with Viserys having other sons by way of Alicent.
Rhaenyra’s children also raise some questions. She is married to Laenor Velaryon, with whom she has 3 sons. In the show, the Velaryons are Black, which in my opinion is a great way to show that the Rhaenyra’s children aren’t actually Laenor’s, but they are bastard boys who were fathered by Harwin Strong. In the book Fire and Blood, this is shown by the boys all having brown hair and facial features similar to Strong’s, which is in direct dispute to both Rhaenyra and Laenor having typical Valyrian blonde/silver hair. In the show it will be a lot more distinctive, being that the boys will have an completely different skin tone than Laenor.
This question of legitimacy for the heirs of the Iron Throne will be great ammo for Alicent and her oldest son, Aegon’s claim to the throne. Alicent’s view is that the male always comes before the female, and true-born sons should be the ones to inherit the kingship. So, it will eventually come down to Rhaenyra vs Aegon.
Alicent and Aegon’s faction were called the Greens, due to Alicent wearing a green dress at a great tournament celebrating her and Viserys’s 5th wedding anniversary. Rhaenyra wore the traditional Targaryen colors, black and red, coining her faction the Blacks. Let’s sort out the factions.
The Blacks
Queen Rhaenyra and her sons, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Valeryon
Prince Daemon Targaryen
Corlys Valeryon and his wife, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
The Greens
Alicent Hightower and her father, Otto Hightower
Aegon Targaryen, the claimant, and his brother, Aemond
Criston Cole, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard
What to expect in Season 1 of House of the Dragon
So we’ve got the background, the sides, and some other key pieces of information. Now what should we expect in season 1, especially with a finished story already set?
With Viserys appearing in all 10 episodes of Season 1, I wouldn’t expect Dragon fights just yet. Seaon 1 seems primed to sow a lot of seeds of resentment between the Greens and the Blacks, with Viserys trying to make both sides happy. There will be “Strong” hints towards Rhaenyra’s children’s legitimacy, and Daemon will be causing all sorts of ruckus either with the City Watch or with his brother. Rhaenyra and Daemon eventually do marry during the Dance, but I don’t think they’re together yet at the start of the show. Keep an eye out for them starting to fall for each other.
With flashbacks set to play a role, expect to see the scene of Rhaenyra first being declared heir. The Great Council choosing Viserys as the king is incredibly likely, with his grandfather, King Jaehaerys being rumored to appear for one episode. This show should be taking its time unfurling all of these plots, especially with the backlash of rushing the last 2 seasons of Game of Thrones.
All in all, it is VERY exciting to get back into Westeros with a finished product to go off of. Happy Dancing!
After nearly three months in release, the Tom Cruise-led Top Gun: Maverick has achieved yet another milestone. As of this weekend, Maverick has overtaken Avengers: Infinity War to become the sixth-highest grossing movie of all time.
Top Gun: Maverick has officially hit $679 million at the North American box office. That’s enough to surpass Infinity War‘s $678 million domestic haul. The sequel to Top Gun, which released in 1986, once seemed like a risk. After all, while Cruise is a household name, the actor was never a huge box office draw. However, the positive word of mouth has continued to push Maverick to new heights. It remains to be seen whether the film can surpass Black Panther, which earned $700.4 million during its theatrical run, to become the fifth-highest grossing film of all time.
Internationally, Maverick has surpassed $700 million, which is all the more impressive because it has not been released in China or Russia. The film has earned $95 million from the United Kingdom alone and another $82 million from Japan. The film opened over Memorial Day weekend with a record setting $160.5 million opening, giving Cruise his first $100 million+ opening in a single weekend.
There’s the Multiverse of Madness that was. There’s also the Multiverse of Madness that never was. After initially returning to helm the sequel, Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson left the project early in 2020. Michael Waldron came on to rewrite the script and Sam Raimi took over as director and the film that premiered in May of 2022 was vastly different than the one Derrickson originally set out to make.
Dating back to his original pitch for the first Doctor Strange film, Derrickson had been trying to find a way to include one of the Sorcerer Supreme’s classic comic book villains, Nightmare, into a story. Now, thanks to newly released concept art from Ryan De Silva, fans can get a look at some early designs of Nightmare, who Derrickson had intended to use as the villain of the sequel.
The designs indicate that Nightmare was set to be the villain, rather than the Scarlet Witch, though the film was still set throughout the multiverse. Now that there’s proof that Nightmare was the intended villain, it would be incredibly interesting to find out exactly how Derrickson hoped to use the Lord of Dreams while exploring the multiverse. As it stands, fans of the character, including Derrickson, will have to hold out hope that the villain will find another way into the MCU.
Jessica Gao has officially joined the Marvel fold as the head writer on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, but it seems it’s not the first time she’s tried getting in the door. During a recent interview with The Wrap, the former Rick & Morty creative revealed her first pitch to Marvel Studios was actually for the Black Widow movie. Of course, Gao didn’t end up getting the job, but if she had, it seems the film would have played out dramatically different than what audiences actually saw. According to Gao, her pitch revolves around Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff having to attend a high-stakes high school reunion with people who knew her as someone else. She elaborated:
It was basically a ‘Grosse Pointe Blank’ story for Black Widow… basically you find out that in high school, as a teenage spy/Russian agent, she was planted at an American high school, because she had to assassinate someone’s dad and then 20 years later, she goes back to the high school reunion and has to deal with the fallout of this fake identity where she betrayed all these people in high school.
Jessica Gao
The pitch feels more like a She-Hulk story than it does a Black Widow one, and Gao believes that’s exactly why she eventually got the gig she did. The writer says she also pitched concepts for Shang-Chi and Captain Marvel, and while none of those worked out, they did allow her to spend some quality time with Marvel big wigs like Kevin Feige. She explained:
I’m a big believer that every opportunity you miss is actually setting you up for something else… I truly believe that I didn’t get any of those three Marvel movie jobs because it was building to this point. Because what it really did for me is every single time that I pitched to Kevin [Feige], and Lou [D’Esposito] and Victoria [Alonso], and Brad [Winterbaum], I get to spend an hour with him, and I get to shoot the shit and hang out and chat…
Jessica Gao
Hanging out with important people can sometimes have good side effects, as Gao continued:
Each time, they got to know me more, I got to know them more. By the time I came into pitch ‘She-Hulk,’ I think they had a very good sense of what my sense of humor was. They had a good sense of what type of writer I was, what kind of story I built. They just had a very good indication of what I’m about. I think that that really helped sell it, because they weren’t coming into me cold. They already talked to me so many times, they understood the quirks and nuances and the little things that I really infuse into everything.
Jessica Gao
While that Black Widow film would never be, it’s good to see that Marvel kept giving a talent like Gao the opportunity to pitch and collaborate. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is now streaming on Disney+, and while it has yet to feature a high school reunion, it does have a lot of Gao’s signature sense of humor.
Welcome to the Morning After Huddle. This morning’s Huddle is recapping the Deshaun Watson suspension with accompanying thoughts.
Here’s what you need to know:
The NFL is suspending Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson11 games and fining him $5 million for multiple violations to the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. His fine, with $1M contributions from the NFL and the Browns, is going to organizations that support education, prevention, and healthy relationships related to sexual misconduct and assault.
Let me be clear, this is nasty work. The NFL’s policy on personal conduct should be reevaluated. Watson’s initial suspension of 6 games happens because that policy has a standard baseline, but is extremely inconsistent with suspensions. Additionally, it is evident by the behavior of the Haslams and Watson’s camp that his talent is always going to prevail over the livelihoods of the women impacted and every female fan in the NFL. (For example, Watson’s lawyer tweeted and then deleted a post yesterday. In it, he claims that Judge Sue L Robinson was biased before Watson’s case ever hit her docket.)
In my eyes, this gets worse when you look at the financial impact. Watson is losing just $632,500 – $57,500 per game because this impacts only his base salary in 2022. The Browns claim his contract is like any other contract, with the first year being a very small base salary. Any other day this would be acceptable, but only Deshaun Watson has a fully guaranteed contract of $230 million, which includes $46 million in year 2.
It looks like She-Hulk, Attorney at Law has revived a classic genre, as the legal dramedy Ally McBeal might be making its return after two decades. The five-season series will act as a follow-up and focus on a new lead, a young black woman who joins the law firm from the original series after law school. She’ll be the daughter of Ally McBeal. Calista Flockheart has been approached to potentially set to reprise her role.
Karin Gist of Mike fame is set to executive produce and write the series. It does seem like Flockhart’s potential return hinges on the script but there’s hope that the series will start moving forward. The original series was created by David E. Kelley and was an Emmy-winning series at the time. The creator has also seemingly given his blessing to the new project and stepped out to let a new generation handle it.
It seems that 20th TV has actively been looking into reviving the franchise for years, especially after Disney acquired the studio. ABC’s focus on female-driven character dramas made it the perfect home but nothing is definite in the streaming era. It’s ironically not the first revival of a series like this, as NBC’s Night Court did something similar.
The timing is also perfect as She-Hulk is currently using a lot of inspirations from that era of law dramedy to offer something with a heroic twist. It may also be a showcase that Disney was quite happy with the format and saw the potential in once again pushing this revival a bit stronger internally. We’ll see how it develops once more news arrives on the project.
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