Marvel Studios and Netflix have assembled as a super-team to create four Marvel shows. The first is ‘Daredevil,’ set to premiere all ten episodes on April 10th.
Ben Affleck in 2003’s ‘Daredevil’ film.
(Side-note: Marvel & Netflix also plan on spinning the four heroes from their four respective shows into a fifth show featuring Marvel’s lesser knon, Earth-bound superhero team: ‘The Defenders.’)
As anyone who saw the original 2003 ‘Daredevil’ film starring Ben Affleck knows, that movie was terrible (listen to Andrew and I rant about it on this podcast). So I assumed the character was equally terrible. Worst than terrible possibly; he’s a blind man whose superpower is sight!
Similarly, over a decade ago I initially assumed Batman was an awful character after witnessing the horror that was ‘Batman & Robin.’ But Nolan’s movies completely altered my perception of the Dark Knight and now I consider myself a sort of “Batman Scholar.”
Daredevil oversees his Hell’s Kitchen; his own personal Gotham.
Now I can see that Daredevil’s true power is that he can see in the dark as he sees everything through sonar (more-or-less). The superhuman hearing that allows said sonar sight also gives him an advantage when sneaking around criminals or listening in from afar.
Daredevil can hear through walls!
If you boil Daredevil down again (especially after viewing the trailer) he is basically Batman with the “Bat-Sonar” seen in the finale of ‘The Dark Knight.’ Minus the wealth and nickname, “World’s Greatest Detective.”
This ‘Daredevil’ trailer does seem to have a lot in common with Nolan’s Batman films… which is actually a great choice for the character. In a world where lighter heroes like Superman (‘Man of Steel’) and the Fantastic Four (‘FANT4STIC’) are getting overly dark movies in a reaction to ‘The Dark Knight’s success, Daredevil is a character who deserves that grittiness.
Doesn’t this all look familiar? Hunting bad guys around shipping containers. Disappearing in the shadows. Only, NOW WITH PARKOUR!
It’s no surprise that this MCU version of ‘Daredevil’ is drawing from the source material ‘The Man Without Fear’ graphic novel by Frank Miller. Frank Miller, who also wrote the graphic novel ‘Batman: Year One’ which served as the basis for ‘Batman Begins;’ both in scenes and tone.
Further proof is in the Costume. Rather than the “Devil red” suit Ben Affleck had to wear, the MCU’s Daredevil wears a black ninja-looking-getup with his eyes covered (because he doesn’t need to see! See?). This look was established by Frank Miller in ‘The Man Without Fear.’
Daredevil does indeed have a lot in common with Batman, lamenting about his corrupt city and jumping around rooftops, taking out bad-guys from the shadows.
I’m already on-board for anything MCU (except for ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D which lost my attention in season one), but this trailer finally makes me believe that ‘Daredevil’ can (and hopefully will) be awesome…
…Because he is Marvel’s equivalent of my favorite hero of all, The Batman (let’s not get into Tony Stark territory here).
While Matt Murdock (Daredevil’s secret identity) is just a poor lawyer in Hell’s Kitchen, Bruce Wayne is Gotham’s “drunk” playboy billionaire. But you know, other than that they’re the same.
Watch the trailer now and see if you agree!
You got Charlie Cox playing Matt Murdock/Daredevil and, most importantly, Vincent D’Onofrio playing Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin. A role played by Michael Clarke Duncan previously in the film.
Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk. The Kingpin.
There’s a lot to take in here, so we’ll cover that later. We do have 3 months until the show bows on April 10th.
Nick has to make his first edit. After an event that shall remain anonymous, Nick has to cut out part of the show… For the first time… Ever.
Nick and Andrew discuss recent ‘Daredevil’ and ‘Jurassic World’ trailers, slipping into ‘Mission: Impossible” talk and even Bradley Cooper conversation. And then there’s that edit… you’ll know when it happens, but never why.
Nick and Andrew discuss the trailer for the ‘Fantastic Four’ or… ‘FANT4STIC’ as Fox is calling it. Talk shifts to Disney’s plans for the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise, whether or not they include Chris Pratt. And how can they not visit topics relating to other superhero films like ‘Justice League Dark’ and the future of Matt Ryan as John Constantine?
Get your favorite trailer condensed into 30 seconds!
Not really any new footage or dialog here, though the frightening instrumental version of ‘I’ve Got No Strings’ continues to be a theme. At this point, it sounds like it may even be incorporated in the final score!
I assume this is the Superbowl spot. If this is the case, this is very disappointing because, as I said, there’s nothing new here. Just a change in pacing to fit 30 seconds.
Hopefully there IS something new airing this Sunday during the NFL Championship. If not, at least this TV-Spot will ensure everyone in America will know the film is coming; even those who have been living under sport-rocks.
Of all the Blockbusters this year, the ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot has long been deemed a disaster, from other geeky blog sites not liking the casting choices, to an apparent temper-tantrum by director Josh Trank, and finally a complete lack of photos or footage…
Until today.
Why in the world is Fox’s calling it ‘FANT4STIC?’ Did they learn nothing from ‘TAK3N?’Our best look at The Thing.
Now we have a teaser-trailer and a poster; our first look at the film what-so-ever. And, though we have yet to see anything fantastic, the trailer’s images and tone are very interesting; very akin to the tone of Fox’s recent X-Men adventures ‘First Class’ and ‘Days of Future Past.’
Maybe a little creepier.
Ok, Definitely creepier!
It may not be ‘The Dark Knight,’ but this version of ‘Fantastic Four’ looks far darker than the overally-kid-friendly originals directed by Tim Story.
I’m now cautiously optimistic the film may be good; I do like the almost terrifying images of the crew’s transformation including Miles Teller painfully stretching for the first time as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic to The Thing (Jamie Bell) breaking out of a mass of rocks.
This apparent similarity in tone between Fox’s ‘Fantastic Four’ and their ‘X-Men’ franchise is no mistake, Fox plans on crossing their two Marvel properties into a mini-Fox Cinematic Universe. There’s also a sequel in the works already…
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Ok. So now the logo is a square? Because there are four sides? To distance new franchise from old?
‘The Fantastic Four’ (or ‘The FANT4STIC’) gets a much needed reboot on August 8th!
Chris Evans as The Human Torch
P.S. Let us not forget the original ‘Fantastic Four’s legacy: Chris Evans, who graduated from Johnny Storm/The Human Torch to Steve Rogers/Captain America.
Nick and Andrew recount the horror’s of ‘Daredevil’ before jumping into Ben Affleck’s new reality as the Dark Knight. They cover the DCCU (DC Cinematic Universe) including ‘Aquaman’ casting and the troubles of ‘The Suicide Squad.’
Nick and Andrew begin their discussion, dissecting the latest, 2nd ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ trailer (what a surprise!) before moving onto the “Oscars Game.” Basically, Nick tries to guess the Academy Award nominees with little help from Andrew. The best episode yet! For real. Would I lie to you?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… 2015 is going to be fucking ridiculous… when it comes to the year’s movie slate.
He told you he’d be back.
There’s a lot to gush about; new movies in classic franchises like ‘Jurassic World,’ ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ ‘Mad Max: Fury Road, ‘ ‘007: SPECTRE’ and ‘Terminator Genisys.’ Following Marvel’s most successful year, when it came to quality of movies, we have a sequel to 2012’s ‘The Avengers’ as well as the origin story of a new Avenger in ‘Ant-Man.’ Even 20th Century Fox is shilling a non-X-Men Marvel property in the form of their ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot.
But what looks the best? What are the 7 movies I really can’t wait to see (couldn’t narrow it down to 5…)? Can I put them in order?
Yes I can, other Nick. Yes I can.
7. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
While several of the titles I used in my intro don’t make the list at all, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (formally ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’) gets the bottom spot.
Why?
We haven’t seen much footage at all, I work at the movie theater and have seen the trailer a dozen times in 3D and the final scene still makes me nauseous, and it’s so damn far away in comparison to most the titles on my list.
Plus… we’ve all played this ‘Star Wars’ anticipation game before and it backfired, horribly.
I’m actually a fan of the new lightsaber! And I know the trailer is supposed to showcase new characters in classic vehicles and uniforms (the stormtrooper armor), which were fun to see, but I want to see Han Solo, dammit!
6. ANT-MAN
Great trailer, but still a hard sell. The trailer jumps back and forth from a darker tone akin to that of ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’ to the comedy stylings of Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man (but still not ‘Guardians’ funny).
The trailer does look awesome; only those flying ant scenes seem questionable, even though it’s an image straight from the comics. I like the mostly serious tone of the trailer, anchored by a pretty great speech by Michael Douglas as Hank Pym.
What’s the most unique thing about ‘Ant-Man’ when compared to the other Avengers in the MCU? He’s the only every-man in the group of billionaire science genius, another scientist who turned himself green, an every-man who leaves that life behind when he gets a super-soldier serum, and a God.
Scott Lang hangs his superhero suit in the shower.
Sure, Capt. did start an every-man, but even with the suit and powers of Ant-Man, Scott Lang seems grounded, even leaving his super-suit hanging in the shower.
Oh, and he has a daughter; a first for nearly any superhero franchise. The only exception I can think of is Sandman in ‘Spider-Man 3.’ A similar situation is going on here (and will hopefully go better) with criminal Lang stealing for his family and becoming the hero his daughter thinks he is. Ant-Man is not saving his world, he’s saving ours.
5. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 5
Tom Cruise’s latest crazy stunt.
We haven’t seen any footage yet, but Tom Cruise’s new stunt is ko-ko-bananas, even in comparison to his scaling the tallest building in the world in the last installment, ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.’
3 out of the 4 films in this franchise have been better than good; theeeeeey’re GREAT!
While the first is the best, ‘Ghost Protocol’ was a very strong entry that revitalized the franchise and introduced us to team members Benji (Simon Pegg) and Brandt (Jeremy Renner). Joining them this time is Luthor (Ving Rhames) who has been on Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) task force every film except ‘Ghost Protocol.’
Same Team, minus Paula Patton’s Jane and plus a Luthor.
Only reservation is the director: Christopher McQuarrie. Though he wrote ‘Usual Suspects’ and last year’s ‘Edge of Tomorrow,’ he also directed ‘Jack Reacher’ which was a terrible Tom Cruise thriller.
4. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Tom Hardy is Mad Max! The trailer is glorious! There’s more stunt-work than you can shake a stick at, something very rare in Hollywood. Boom!
Sure, there’s plenty of CGI as well, but most that exploding carnage is done the old fashioned way with stuntmen and actual pyrotechnics!
3. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
You would think this would be at the top of my list (I thought so! Especially after the first trailer…), but my excitement has waned and worry has found a foothold in my brain.
Let’s be honest here, ‘The Avengers’ is in my top 3 MCU movies (with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Winter Soldier’) mainly because it was literally a game-changer. It was the first cross-pollination of superheroes, part of a shared universe, coming together after each carried their own franchises. Everyone else is still trying to pull this off, including DC Entertainment. The plot wasn’t that great, action scenes were few and far between, but the movie will always be remembered for bringing Earth’s Mightiest Heroes together.
‘Age of Ultron’ will need to step up its game to reach the quality of movies Marvel Studios put out in 2014. Likewise, it better be bigger and better, which it appears to be, but I hope that a great storyteller like Joss Whedon can avoid the movie from becoming a jumbled mess; cause there is A LOT going on between the two official trailers.
I also hope it’s good enough to avoid the fate of ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ (which I personally love) where most people were disappointed by the film, mainly because it had to follow the incredibly beloved ‘Dark Knight.’
In James Spader I trust.
2. 007: SPECTRE
This may be blasphemy, but ‘Skyfall’ is my favorite Bond movie… ever. It was so fucking good, bringing in the best 007 baddie of all time (Javier Bardem), and shaking up the 007 universe a bit.
The writers and director, Sam Mendes, from ‘Skyfall’ return and the title promises the revival of the terrorist organization SPECTRE (formally ‘Quantum’ in the D. Craig movies), as classic to the franchise as Vesper Martinis, shaken, not stirred.
Andrew Scott from ‘Sherlock’ would make a great Blofeld…
Better yet? The villain cast is unbelievable with Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’) as a henchman, the incomparable Christoph Waltz (whose villainy can only be matched by Javier Bardem), and my personal favorite, Andrew Scott whose portrayal of Moriarty on BBC’s ‘Sherlock’ is perhaps the greatest TV villain of all time.
1. JURASSIC WORLD
It’s just too damn nostalgic. While I’ve watched the ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ trailer a million times and have had enough, I can still watch the ‘Jurassic World’ trailer anywhere, anytime.
We’re back on Isla Nublar! The movie is sticking close to the original and ignoring the sequels! Chris Pratt gets to hunt a new hybrid-dinosaur! There are child siblings in peril! Velociraptors!
And those notes from John Williams’ classic score… magic. Lightning in a bottle, at least as far as we can tell from the trailer!
We all know the great nemeses of all the great comic-book-movies.
Batman has the Joker. Spider-Man has the Green Goblin. Even the Guardians of the Galaxy have Ronan the Accuser and/or Thanos.
But who does Ant-Man fight?
Darren Cross in full swing as new owner of Pym Industries.
The main villain in Marvel’s upcoming ‘Ant-Man’ is Yellowjacket, played by Corey Stoll.
In the comics, Yellowjacket is another alias for Hank Pym’s Ant-Man/Giant-Man/anything-that-shrinks-or-grows-man (get your mind out of the gutter).
In the movie, Yellowjacket’s human alias is Darren Cross (played by Corey Stoll), a business man who has purchased Pym Industries to acquire the “Ant-Man technology.” Technology he uses to become Yellowjacket, basically Ant-Man fused with Doc Ock’s arms. See the photo below.
See? He can get all small and shit like Ant-Man, only he has four mechanical arms… which makes little sense, as a wasp has only six arms. He’s not a spider… or Doc Ock.
Darren Cross is Pissed!Ant-Man beats up Darren Cross
Still, he looks serious as shit and Darren Cross/Yellowjacket will do all he can to stop Hank Pym and Scott Lang/Ant-Man from completing their heist that will save the world.
Now… we have a brand-spankin’-new trailer for Marvel’s other little 2015 movie, ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ with almost entirely new footage.
Here we go…
I won’t go too deep into it yet, but Ultron’s statement, “Everyone creates the thing they dread” ties right into Stark’s ‘Iron Man 3’ problem of creating his own demons.
The real theme of the trailer, which is most likely a much bigger part of the movie than initially realized, comes from Ultron’s ultimatum, “I’m going to tear you apart… from the inside.”
The trailer shows a lot of characters out-of-whack…
From Black Widow’s surgery/origin…
Young Natasha Romanoff
… to Thor torment and power removal?…
Something’s wrong with Thor. Is that Enchantress behind him? Either real or a Scarlet Witch mind-fuck?Is this the same woman from the Thor shot? She is entering a pool of water… and Thor did pop out of water shirtless and in pain in the 1st trailer…
…To a raging Hulk that must be taken down by the Hulkbuster, which, like the 1st trailer, is here in true form!
It definitely seems like Ultron is using Scarlet Witch’s powers to get inside the Avenger members’ heads to bring out their most painful memories and cause them to squabble more hardcore than they did in the first film.
Lots of great money shots here too!
Great Iron Man in action at Baron Von Strucker’s castle…
An epic one-on-one fight between Captain America and a Ultron drone…And amazing Hulk footage… including another great look at the epic battle between Hulk and Stark’s Hulkbuster (which contrary to my earlier theory, does look like Tony is piloting himself).
I was wrong! It’s totally Tony Stark in that suit. Look at his HUD, there’s even a image of the Hulkbuster, not a traditional suit.
Very little footage of Quicksilver and only a sliver more for Scarlet Witch..
Really, the only shot of Quicksilver.
And finally… behold the power of Ultron! He can shoot lasers from his fingers!
Ulton Fires!And Iron Man takes the hit!
Like all good trailers (especially the Marvel ones) there is a lot to find and analyze in the coming days and weeks… until we get another trailer!
Or a new ‘Ant-Man’ trailer…
Or a ‘Daredevil’ one.
I love you, Marvel Studios. I really do. Marry me?
We can all agree that ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ was (nearly) a ‘Spider-Man 3’ disappointment, making money, sure (though the film did under-preform), but leaving Spider-Man fans with a bad taste in their mouth.
So what went wrong? And how is it possible that the film is considered a failure yet has 4 of the greatest scenes from any ‘Spider-Man’ or ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ film, if not the single best scene of all?
Best:The suit.
The most inaccurate Spidey suit from the first ‘Amazing Spider-Man’
Though Sam Raimi’s suit from his ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy was fairly accurate and incredibly consistent, the first ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ had a radically different look (in terms of Spidey, not heroes like Wolverine who ditched their colors and mask all together) with strange yellow eyes and a red and blue pattern just different enough to look out of place. Plus, he wore sneakers, his webshooters were unnecessarily bright, and his head looked like a basketball.
But ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ finally got the look 100% right with those big white eyes that even Sam Raimi avoided.
Worst:Oscorp
Why is the Oscorp of ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ world so Umbrella Company-ish? It seems like their only job is having accidents that create super-villains or suits and serums… that lead to super-villains.
NY’s Landmark Oscorp Tower
Now, it wasn’t a terrible idea to tie in Oscorp in the first film as it defeats the old movie troupe, ‘Double Mumbo Jumbo’ that Blake Snyder shares in his excellent screenwriting book ‘Save the Cat!’ In his book, Snyder cites Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man as an exact example of ‘Double Mumbor Jumbo.’
The gist of it? Audiences will suspend-belief to buy an isolated incident where a man is bitten by a spider and gains superpowers. But it’s a stretch that to further suspend-belief that at the same time, in a completely different location, an acquaintance of Peter Parker gains super-villain powers and personality in a different experiment unrelated what-so-ever to Parker’s spider bite. That’s ‘Double Mumbo Jumbo.’
Max Dillon’s Unfortunate, Non-Nonsensical accident.
‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ tied our newer Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) directly into the Lizard’s transformation, finishing Dr. Curt Conners equation causing the experiment gone wrong.
Max Dillon’s accident in ‘Amazing 2’ is also Oscorp related, but more of a comic-book freak accident that makes little sense, even in the Spider-Man world; much like Sandman stumbling upon an atom-splicing experiment in the middle of a field while running from police.
Why is Oscorp developing suits based on different animals?
Why is Oscorp so evil? And so intent on destroying New York, as it would seem? The franchise should keep Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn/Green Goblin and drop Oscorp and all their weird ‘Sinister Six’ related exoskeletons and experiments.
I mean, didn’t Doc Ock develop his own arms? Or is now he like Rhino, a stupid criminal given metal arms, not a genius who invented them himself?
Either way: epic fail.
Best: Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx)
Max Dillon is a great character… until after the NY Times Square scene where his motives make no sense and he becomes a tool for Harry Osborn, not a fully-fleshed out villain like ‘Spider-Man 2’s Doc Ock or even Curt Conners from the first ‘Amazing Spider-Man.’
Dillon’s obsession with Spider-Man, best executed in the scene in which he speaks to himself as Spider-Man on his birthday, is a thing of beauty in a very ‘King of Comedy’ Robert De Nero way. This obsession bleeds into his fantasized confrontation with Mr. Smythe (B.J. Novak) and his barely noticable (blink and you’ll miss it… or hear it, rather) radio-call montage in which he says he and Spider-Man are best friends.
Worst:Electro (blue Jamie Foxx)
Sure, Max Dillon is an interesting character, but his actions become nonsensical after his Spidey confrontation/misunderstanding in Times Square, as formally mentioned. Worse, he is simply a plot device meant to keep us interested until the film can build to it’s true villain, the Green Goblin.
Best:4 Scenes that nail the tone of ‘Spider-Man;’ among the best in all 5 films.
1st, the aforementioned Max Dillon scene is among the best. I really enjoy his crazy, also expressed through Hans Zimmer’s score which included paranoid mutterings, making Dillon the more interesting character to undergo a terrible transformation.
2nd, Dillon’s awakening in the morgue recalls the terrors of Sam Raimi’s Doc Ock surgery scene, and was apparently cut to be less graphic and terrifying. Still works though.
3rd, Spider-Man’s chase with Alex O’Hirn (Paul Giamatti) who later gets a robot Rhino suit from Oscorp…. because… you know… they’re evil. It nails the light-hearted tone of a typical Spider-Man encounter with fantastic humor and action magic that can’t be duplicated in any other scene in the film.
4th… and you had to see this coming… MEGA SPOILERS… the Death of Gwen Stacy. Possibly the best scene in any Spider-Man movie (though I am also a real fan of the finale to the 2002’s ‘Spider-Man’ where the Green Goblin kicks Peter Parker’s ass).
Though the first ‘Spider-Man’ film used up the bridge-Goblin-drop, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ killed Gwen Stacy in the 2nd best way possible… and damn was it a powerful scene. The hand shape of the web just reaching her… only to allow her neck to snap and thud against the ground. Beautifully done scene that paid homage to perhaps the most major event in the Spider-Man comics.
My parents thought it was another ‘Superhero movie death’ i.e. very temporary; she’ll snap out of it. Unfortunately, the only thing snapping was her neck and my parents realized they had seen something new when the blood dripped from Gwen’s nose; a very finite and permanent death for a comic book movie (hopefully).
Really, I spent the Electro finale checking my watch, but when I heard that cackle and saw the glider fly in, I knew we were in for one of the most epic Superhero finales ever… it’s a shame most people just wanted the film to freakin’ end before we even got to Goblin.
Worst: 3 Scenes
Richard Parker, Peter’s father.
1st, Anything With Peter’s Parents.
THEY DON’T MATTER! Spider-Man was never about Pete’s relationship to his parents, which are also too closely tied to Oscorp.. Sure, Richard Parker fighting the Oscorp agent in a spinning Airplane was cool in a nearly ‘Inception’ way, but we shouldn’t even care about these characters. Spider-Man has always been about Peter’s relationship with Aunt May in the aftermath of Uncle Ben’s death. His angst is tied to letting Uncle Ben die, not feeling abandoned by his parents.
I know this franchise was trying something new, but it doesn’t work.
Richard Parker fights for his life against an agent of Oscorp.
2nd, Peter and Gwen angst. The appearance of Captain Stacy.
Captain Stacy Haunts Peter at Graduation.
I get it. Peter wants to be with Gwen. Peter doesn’t want to endanger Gwen. I hate this will-they/won’t-they nonsense. We’ve seen this before with Mary Jane.
And way to telegraph Gwen Stacy’s death. Peter worries all movie and is then attacked by her killer from the comics: the Green Goblin? What did any comic fan think was going to happen?
3rd, Max Dillon’s accident. And any scene with Electro post Times Square.
Jamie Foxx’s talents showcased in recent films ‘Django Unchained’ and ‘Horrible Bosses 1 &2,’ and his talents were completely wasted as Electro. As previously stated, the Max Dillon scenes were great… but the rest of Jamie Foxx’s scenes were terrible.
And his accident was so comic-booky in a franchise that shoots for some realism.
Sure, Electro was only used as a place-holder while the film covers Harry Osborn’s decent into the Goblin, but he didn’t have to feel like that! In a way, I would argue the Joker is a placeholder in ‘The Dark Knight’ for the decent of Harvey Dent into madness (the final confrontation is the one with Dent, Gordon, and Batman, not the earlier Joker wrap-up), but he was obviously a fully fleshed out villain – one of the best – that allowed for the 2nd villain to develop.
This scene wasn’t terrible.
Electro could have been so much more, even while serving the transformation of Harry into Goblin.
I did enjoy the scene where he was experimented on, but that’s just another exception to the rule of terrible Electro scenes.
So, there you have it, without droning on and on and on. (I only droned on and on… twice… not thrice!)
Sure, there is more terribleness to discuss as well as a few more highlights. But I think it’s time to put ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ to rest… forever.
Nick and Andrew honeypot/honeydick you into the world of Breaking Geek. They discuss the excellent film, ‘Blue Ruin,’ and come back around to ‘The Interview’ before launching into comic book movies and TV shows including Marvel’s teasers for Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’ and ‘Ant-Man.’ Also, an update on the DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU) and ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ franchises.
Come back every Friday @ 1pm Mountain Time for new episodes of ‘Breaking Geek: The Podcast!
No, I don’t mean the 2003 film ‘Daredevil’ starring Ben Batfleck as the title hero. 2015’s ‘Daredevil’ is a brand new show, officially part of the the Marvel Cinematic Universe, by Marvel Studios. Fox made the original film but let the rights slip back to Disney/Marvel, allowing the pros that brought us ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ to create and execute the first of five planned Netflix shows.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) hasn’t had much luck on TV, especially when you compare it to DC’s successful ‘Arrow,’ ‘Flash,’ and ‘Gotham;’ all shows that look like they will be around for a few seasons. My personal favorite, ‘Constantine’ is the most enjoyable, as though it can get dark as hell, the tone is closer to that of a Marvel movie than the aforementioned darker DC shows or the new DC Cinematic Universe (the DCCU) kicked off by Zack Synder’s overly dark ‘Man of Steel.’
Meanwhile, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ clings to life and is a complete disappointment when compared to the rest of the MCU, or even Fox and Sony Marvel films like ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘X-Men.’
‘Agent Carter’ may be great (the premise sure is), but I have yet to watch it (I think I’ll hop on Hulu+ following this post) and haven’t seen any TV ratings yet.
Though we have yet to see any real footage from Netflix’s’Daredevil,’ one would expect the gutsy “online network” that brought us ‘House of Cards’ to deliver a more cinematic product with a much higher budget than ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ The former should also feel less constrained by network television standards than the latter.
And ‘Daredevil’ is just the beginning of a run of MCU Netflix programming that could eclipse DC’s thus far successful television efforts.
Here’s the poster.
Following the 13 episode ‘Daredevil’ series starring Charlie Cox as Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpen, Marvel and Netflix will release ‘AKA Jessica Jones’ starring ‘Breaking Bad’s Krysten Ritter as the title character and Mike Colter as Luke Cage. Seeing as how the two are an item in the comics, Mike Colter will play Luke Cage in ‘Aka Jessica Jones’ before he gets his own show, ‘Luke Cage,’ next. Following that we get ‘Iron Fist’ which has yet to be cast, followed by an ‘Avengers’-esque series called ‘The Defenders’ that brings all four characters together for an ensemble superhero team.
Basically, Marvel has focused their TV efforts on an MCU of Netflix’s own; one that could lead to appearances of the characters on ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ which desperately needs more superheroes and even a possible team-up in ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’ Part 1 or 2.
Thus far, we have only seen this Frank Miller look of the costume, not the red horned costume used in 2003’s ‘Darvedevil’ film.
This does raise the question, where and if these shows exist within ‘Phase 2’ or ‘Phase 3.’ Being a part of the MCU means they have to fall somewhere. I would guess that somewhere is ‘Phase 3’ as we won’t see Daredevil on the big screen helping with the sadistic Ultron. But IT DOES come out before ‘Age of Ultron’ and ‘Ant-Man,’ the latter ending ‘Phase 2.’ Maybe some plot points do feed into either film and are a part of Phase 2?
We’ll know more on April 10th when Netflix drops all 13 episodes of Marvel Studios’ ‘Daredevil;’ the next frontier of superhero shows.
I knew Marvel could work miracles, but ‘Ant-Man’ looks pretty great. The cast was always solid, Marvel has a great track record, but initially I still doubted the material.
Ant-Man was a founding Avenger, but even in a world where Marvel made a character inspired by a Norse God part of a superhero team and a talking Raccoon/Tree combo superstars, it has taken until the tail end of Phase 2 for the character to get a film.
But here he is and he’s only a lil’ silly when he rides a flying ant.
Our first look at Marvel Studios’ ‘Ant-Man’ came in the form of an ant-sized trailer. Literally.
Did you catch any of that? Well here is the “Human-Size” version.
Okay, so it’s a teaser for a teaser trailer. The full trailer comes out tonight during Marvel’s new show ‘Agent Carter’, with another ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ trailer following later this week on Disney owned ESPN.
While we wait, we have our first look at Paul Rudd in his Ant-Man getup, courtesy of ‘Entertainment Weekly.’ Though we saw his feet running in his fancy new boots in the teaser for a teaser, this is our first real look at the entire suit.
Paul Rudd IS Ant-Man
It looks MARVELous (I will not apologize for the pun). Another perfect translation from lesser-known comic suit to fully realized big-screen-ready costume. Can Marvel Studios turn ‘Ant-Man’ into the next ‘Guardians of the Galaxy?’
Probably not, but their Ant-sized marketing thus far has been clever and buzz worthy.
Speaking of which, check out the first poster below. Again, look for something very tiny.
The First Poster for ‘Ant-Man’
The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings a founding member of The Avengers to the big screen for the first time with Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man.” Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.
‘Ant-Man’ follows May’s release of ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ with some Paul Rudd action on July 17th. The most interesting fact about the movie thus far, is that it ends ‘Phase 2’ of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. ‘Phase 1’ was ended by the first ‘Avengers’ in 2012 and it was assumed ‘Age of Ultron’ would bring a conclusion to Marvel Studios’ ‘Phase 2.’ Apparently ‘Ant-Man’ has something to add before we enter ‘Phase 3’ in 2016, starting with ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ending in 2019 with ‘Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2.’
Also fantastic… like the other great Marvel films before it, ‘Ant-Man’ has a unique genre not yet explored by the MCU. ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’ was a thriller, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ was a space opera, and now ‘Ant-Man’ is a heist film. And 2016’s ‘Dr. Strange’ starring Benedict Cumberbatch promises something completely different.
Even with only a teaser for a teaser trailer and a nearly blank poster,’Ant-Man’ joins the list of most anticipated films in this year of our Lord, Stan Lee, 2015.
Nick and Andrew watched ‘Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer’ so you don’t have to! They also watched ‘The Interview’ so that you can avoid attention from North Korea and/or Sony. Unregulated Superhero discussion commences as usual.
Come back every Friday for a new episode of The Breaking Geek Podcast!
Nick and Andrew watched 2004’s ‘Catwoman’ starring the right place, wrong time actress Halle Berry. They discuss. On a more accurate Batman related note, they also discuss TV’s ‘Gotham.’ Somehow the Avengers also come into play… somehow.
Let me start by saying, “I was wrong.” I didn’t think Marvel could or would do it, but Avengers 3 has become ‘Avengers: Infinity War Part I’ in May 4th, 2018 with ‘Part II’ following on May 3, 2019.
I (we as the internet) was also right… Steve Rogers’ next adventure, shared with Tony Stark, will be titled ‘Captain America: Civil War.’
That’s just the tip of the iceberg as we now have titles for all those dates Marvel blocked off at Comic Con this year, including ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Dr. Strange,’ ‘Captain Marvel,’ and ‘The Inhumans,’ as well as ‘Thor 3’s telling subtitle. Official logos too!
Without further ado, here’s Marvel’s ‘Phase 3’ slate; all the titles we will see before ‘The Avengers: Infinity War Part II’ in 2019.
Though slated after ‘Age of Ultron,’ Marvel Studios is calling ‘Ant-Man’ the last film in their ‘Phase 2.’
Perhaps this is because it all ties back to ‘Age of Ultron’ and the planned TV show ‘Agent Carter;’ the latter about the adventures of Steve Rogers’ 40’s fling, Agent Peggy Carter. You know, his lady to whom he promised that dance before nosediving into the arctic.
Ant-Man has John Slattery back as as older Howard Stark, reprising his role as Tony’s father from the archive footage in ‘Iron Man 2.’
So, ‘Ant-Man’ does seem to have ties to the past involving a still living Howard Stark with a younger Hank Pym, creator of Ant-Man (and Ultron in the comics…)
‘Ant-Man’ stars Michael Douglas as inventor Hank Pym with Paul Rudd playing his protege Scott Lang. Evangeline Lilly plays eventual ‘Wasp’ Hop Van Dyne, while Corey Stoll plays the antagonist, Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket.
Official synopsis from IMDB:
Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.
‘Civil War’ means mano a mano for Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr.
With Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark joining Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers for ‘Civil War’ has the makings of the biggest non-‘Avengers’ titles, seeing as how it features Marvel’s two most popular characters this side of the galaxy.
We don’t know all the other players, but the film will be used to introduce…
This title, along with the titles of other franchises and new solo-movies does lead me to believe ‘Civil War’ will play out in just ‘Captain America 3,’ not bleeding into other non-Capt. franchises.
Since I’ve covered ‘Civil War’ in length previously, let’s move onto Marvel’s next 2016 release…
Though I doubt the final name will keep the ‘2,’ the scribbling on the logo fits the tone of the movies and the characters.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’ – May 5th, 2017
Like ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’ is a given for Marvel Studios, not a newbie with risks like ‘Ant-Man,’ Dr. Strange,’ and ‘Black Panther.’ If Marvel has it’s way, they will somehow spin these lesser-known characters into the cinematic gold they mined out of the completely unheard of Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Gamora.
No way this film continues ‘Civil War.’ No way the Guardians defeat Thanos (though he may make his first major appearance in ‘Guardians 2’ or ‘Captain Marvel;’ the 2nd film we will discuss in a bit). The Guardians have other shit to deal with, like who is Peter Quill’s father? (Darth Vader?)
‘Infinity War’ will finally have Thanos and his Infinity Gauntlet at the center of the Avengers 3rd adventure.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ – July 28th, 2017
Loki returns! After all, eventually Thor needs to pull Loki off the throne of Asgard to set things right on his home-world.
Though there is a character in the Marvel Universe named ‘Ragnarok,’ the title likely refers to Norse Mythology
Ragnarökis a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures including Odin, Thor, and Loki. ‘Thor 3’ will likely be a giant battle between the two brothers resulting in near-apocalypse at Asgard and perhaps around the nine-realms.
Black Panther – November 3rd 2017
Though he will be introduced in ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ Marvel is giving the Prince of Wakanda his own solo feature. Chadwick Boseman, who played Jackie Robinson in ’42’ and James Brown in ‘Get On Up,’ stars as the title character, who rules a fictional African nation rich in Vibranium, the invincible metal that makes up Captain America’s shield.
The final battle begins! Thanos will have his Infinity Gauntlet, made up of the four Infinity Gems we’ve seen thus far (Loki’s mind gem, the aether, the tesseract, and “The Orb” from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’) and the two that Mavel Studios needs to introduce in Phase 3.
How it all plays out is a mystery, but once the Mad Titan Thanos gets his hands on all 6 Infinity Gems, it’s going to take more than the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy to defeat him.
Finally, that mid-credit sequence introducing Thanos at the end of ‘The Avengers’will be paid off! In full!
‘Captain Marvel’ – July 6th 2018
Carol Danvers is set to be our version of Captain Marvel (there have been male versions as well, but Danvers is the most recent Captain Marvel in the comics), the only female Marvel character to lead her own movie.
DC will beat Marvel to the punch by a year with their ‘Wonder Woman’ movie in 2017.
Captain Marvel is space-bound; a closer part of the larger Galaxy-spanning Marvel Universe to The Guardians and Thanos, than the Avengers. Between ‘Captain Marvel’ and ‘The Inhumans’ who are next up, it looks like Marvel Studios is building a bigger team than just the Guardians of the Galaxy from across the universe that will help the Avengers in their fight after their assumed failure in Part 1 of ‘Infinity Wars.’
Inhumans – November 2nd, 2018
Like the Guardians, Avengers, and The Defenders (who are getting their solo-series on Netflix followed by a ‘Defenders’ show, also on Netflix), the Inhumans are another fascinating group of heroes. They have ties to alien mythology and the part of the universe that is home to the Guardians and Captain Marvel.
It looks like Marvel is building a team of non-Earthlings between their ‘Infinity War’ movies to provide back-up to the Avengers who know little of Thanos compared to the Guardians, Captain Marvel, and the Inhumans.
These two films following ‘Infinity Wars, Part I’ set a new precedent for Marvel, three movies in one year (2018) as opposed to the usual two!
Finally…
‘Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2’ – May 3rd, 2019
Everything comes to a head. Technically, you can trace this storyline back to the discovery of the Tesseract, but really, we’ve all been waiting for the arrivial of Thanos since we saw his smirking face at the end of ‘Avengers.’
It’s the payoff of 2o movies and 10 years. A final, climatic film with all players fighting the most powerful enemy introduced in the MCU (the comics have greater threats than Thanos; threats he has had to step in and help stop himself).
Rest assured, Disney & Marvel won’t let the MCU die there, but this round of Avengers movies will be over, with newer characters like Dr. Strange and Black Panther carrying the weight once actors like RDJ, Chris Hemsworth, and Chris Evans are done with the super-franchise.
What About Hulk, Black Widow, and Loki?
All three characters have become fan favorites as a result of ‘The Avengers,’ yet none will see their own film in Phase 3.
Though Hulk really shined in ‘Avengers,’ he’s had two flop solo-pictures between Ang Lee’s ‘Hulk’ and the MCU’s ‘Incredible Hulk.’ But we’ll still see him, not only in ‘Avengers’ movies but also some solo movies as well. ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ perhaps?
Said Marvel Movie Mastermind Paul Feige:
“I wouldn’t say Hulk is absent from the timeline. I would say that Hulk is going to appear in many of those movies – particularly all of those Avengersmovies leading up to 2019. And Infinity War, Mark Ruffalo is on board for all those films, and we’re excited to bring him to all those films.”
As for Loki, it sounds like he’ll have his biggest role yet in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ which should please fans to end.
And for Black Widow… apparently Marvel Studios is more concerned with introducing new characters played by new actors who will work for cheap. It’s a lot cheaper to hire an actor to play ‘Captain Marvel’ than to pay Scarlett Johansson to continue her popular established Avenger into a solo move.
So, that’s Marvel’s plan for the next five years. I will be in my thirties by the time I see the end of Phase 3.
Deadline reports that Marvel Studios has finally found their Dr. Strange! Worldwide superstar Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast as the Sorcerer Supreme, set to get his own MCU solo-picture in 2016.
Last week Marvel Studios was down to three candidates to play the good Doctor; Ewan McGregor, Keenu Reeves, and Cumberbatch.
Joaquin Phoenix was originally in talks around the time of San Diego Comic Con, but those quickly fell through, focusing Marvel on the three aforementioned actors.
I think Cumberbatch is a perfect choice; he has a certain darkness with a unique strangeness all his own.
Though Cumberbatch recently told the media that he wanted to play a dummy as not to be typecast after playing the world’s greatest detective Sherlock Holmes on ‘Sherlock,’ a villain with super intelligence Khan on ‘Star Trek Into Darkness,’ and the genius Alan Turing in November’s ‘The Imitation Game.’
Dr. Strange is no dummy. He’s a former neurosurgeon who serves as the protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats.
2016’s ‘Dr. Strange’ will not be an origin story, but will introduce the hero who is likely to share the screen with other Avengers in ‘Avengers 3.’
Cumberbatch has the acting chops to bring a hero to life that shares some similarities with Sherlock and Khan’s personalities/intellect. Along with his having the look of Dr. Strange, I think Cumberbatch as Strange will make for the most accurate superhero casting since Robert Downey Jr became Tony Stark (again, RDJ had the look and the attitude to nail the character).
I may be a bit biased. Cumberbatch has been a favorite of mine since ‘Sherlock,’ only becoming more endearing after playing one of the decades best villains in ‘Star Trek.’ He even nails smaller parts like his role in ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ and more difficult motion-capture performances like Smaug the dragon in ‘The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’ and ‘The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.’
Dr. Strange fits Marvel’s MO; turning a lesser to not-at-all known character into box office gold. Marvel Studios started down this road in 2008, turning B-lister Iron Man into the biggest Marvel franchise at any movie studio without ‘Avengers’ in the title. After doing the same with ‘Thor’ and ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’, Marvel Studios turned the completely unheard of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ into a franchise bigger than Marvel’s classic A-list hero, Spider-Man.
Marvel hopes to continue the pattern with ‘Ant-Man’ in August 2015 and ‘Dr. Strange’ in 2016 (the year Marvel will also release ‘Captain America 3’ featuring RDJ).
While ‘Guardians’ pulled off the biggest domestic gross of the year without a star, the worldwide recognition of Benedict Cumberbatch gives ‘Dr. Strange’ a head-start.
For those unfamiliar with the character, Dr. Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme dealing the more magical realms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I’ve been hoping for Cumberbatch to join the MCU since the original ‘Dr. Strange’ rumors at Comic Con. I always wanted him to play a 007 Baddie, but I can’t complain when he is in franchises like ‘Star Trek’ and the chapters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Plus, ‘Sherlock’ is still the best show on television. Let’s hope ‘Dr. Strange’ doesn’t prevent future seasons of that fantastic BBC show.
Cumberbitches rejoice! (Not a derogatory remark, as I consider myself one.)
If Benedict Cumberbatch wasn’t a household name before, he and the character Dr. Strange will be in 2016!
Further proof is in the Costume. Rather than the “Devil red” suit Ben Affleck had to wear, the MCU’s Daredevil wears a black ninja-looking-getup with his eyes covered (because he doesn’t need to see! See?). This look was established by Frank Miller in ‘The Man Without Fear.’
or those unfamiliar with the character, Dr. Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme dealing the more magical realms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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