Category: Books

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Marvel Announces Phase 3!

marvel-characters

Since DC announced its slate of upcoming movies, Marvel had to return the favor with its Phase 3 list, and they are as follows:

May 6, 2016: Captain America: Civil War

November 4, 2016: Doctor Strange

May 5, 2017: Guardians of the Galaxy 2

July 7, 2017: Thor: Ragnarok

November 3, 2017: Black Panther

May 4, 2018: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1

July 6, 2018: Captain Marvel

November 2, 2018: Inhumans

May ?, 2019: Avengers: Infinity War Part 2

That is a crazy list of flicks, and it doesn’t include Avengers: Age of Ultron or Ant Man.  It looks like Marvel is following DC’s idea of having a two part team (Avengers/Justice League) movie.  Though it is hard to see how that is any different than normal considering all the Marvel movies link together in some way.

They did not announce who was going to be Doctor Strange, but they did announce who will be the Black Panther: Chadwick Boseman.  They also said that he will have small roles in the upcoming Captain America and Avengers flicks, so we will be seeing him soon.

I am also very happy to hear that Captain Marvel will be Carol Danvers, so she will get Marvel’s first female led superhero flick.  We will see if they are going to use someone off my list.  Since I am batting zero, I would guess not.  I wonder if Scarlett Johansson is wondering where her movie is, or at least a Black Widow/Hawkeye team-up movie.  I know I would be.

That is an impressive list, and when combined with DC’s list there are going to be a TON of superhero movies, so I hope you are ready for them because it appears they are ready for you.

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Benedict Cumberbatch Is Doctor Strange?!

benedict-as-dr-strange

Well according to Deadline Benedict Cumberbatch is Doctor Strange, but Marvel seems to be hinting that they are incorrect.  Since Marvel hasn’t outright said Deadline is wrong, I am going to guess Cumberbatch is the Sorcerer Supreme and they are just trying to cause doubt before their big reveal.

Benedict is a fine actor, and I am sure that he will be great in this role, but I am having a hard time picturing him as Strange.  Sure the mock-up by Anne Wu helps, but the thought of Cumberbatch with a Van Dyke is throwing me off, and I hope he doesn’t just play Strange as Sherlock with magic.  We will see how this all turns out, and since Marvel has been on a role, I am going to trust them on this.

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DC TV Double Shot!

arrow

Arrow started its third season a few weeks ago, but due to the fact the App stopped airing the episodes I got behind, so I had to catch up on Netflix and then On Demand.  I am going to steal this part of the review from Jezebel.com from when they reviewed Evil Dead: Nope nope nope nope nope nope!

That is not to say the first few episodes have not been good, they have.  I am just saying the show is making me very angry right now.  They are also trying to take both a lighter and darker tone, so it will be interesting to see which way eventually wins out.  I am hoping lighter, but the CW has The Flash for that.

Still if you have liked the Arrow’s last two seasons, I am sure you will like what this third season is offering, and for all us nerds out there it looks like the show is taking a more superhero-y turn.  I can’t wait to see Brandon Ruth turn into The Atom!

constantine

NBC kicked-off DC’s forth major TV show this year with Constantine, and I have to start off by saying Matt Ryan is probably one of the best cast comic book characters in a long time.  Probably the best since they picked Robert Downey Jr. to be Tony Stark.  Matt Ryan has that jerky swagger down pat, and guess what?  British guys play British guys very well.

As for the episode, I thought it was pretty good.  It wasn’t great, but like a lot of first episodes it had to explain everything and set the rules for this universe.  I think if they can improve on this good start then NBC will have a good companion for Grimm holding down the Friday night time slot.  I know I will be watching.  If you have been thinking Supernatural has taken a turn for the worse and you need something in a similar vain to replace it, Constantine looks like it will be an excellent choice.

It is also evident that NBC is throwing a lot more money at this show than the other DC TV shows, so it doesn’t look like it will be as cheesy.  I am excited about this show’s possibilities, and I hope they give Constantine some other magical DC pals to play with.

So far DC has launched four TV shows on three networks and none of them have been bad.  That has to be some kind of record.  We will see if they can keep this up with iZombie right around the corner.

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The Avengers Age Of Ultron Trailer Is Out!

The is a great trailer, and it sets up the movie perfectly!  The Hulk vs. Iron Man looks like it will be a lot of fun, and it will be good to get a couple new Avengers in to the mix.  It is odd that they are showing so much of the movie so soon, and since everyone is going to go see it anyway, but this is still the first truly must watch trailer of the year.

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Re-Reading The Trawn Trilogy Proves The Expanded Universe Isn’t Dead!

Thrawn Trilogy

I decided that my life needed a little more Star Wars, so I decided to re-read the Thrawn Trilogy.  These books are really old and if you haven’t read them you totally should, but since they have been out there so long I am not going to review them, I am just using them to make a point.  Just because Disney has decided to kill the old expanded universe it doesn’t mean that those works are dead.

Sure this adventure with the original Star Wars cast isn’t canon anymore, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are engaging and fun to read.  The same is true with the Knights of the Old Republic video game.  Sure it may not be in the official Star Wars universe anymore, but the game isn’t worse for it.

Thrawn is still one of the best Star Wars villains of all time regardless of whether he is official or not.  I am happy that I spent time with him again.  If you are still in the dumps about Disney “throwing out” your favorite Star Wars character or piece of fiction, don’t be.  Just reread it or replay it, and I am sure you will have just as much fun as the first time.