Author: Shawn Madden

Comic enthusiast. Lover of Mexican food. Movie watcher. Destroyer of worlds. Or...something like that.

Trailer For Nickelodeon’s ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’

by Shawn Madden

Nickelodeon has a new ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ series coming soon and it’s like you would expect. It definitely has a very “kid-friendly” vibe to it and that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be bad but I still await the day when I get a gritty TMNT series. Check out the trailer below.

 

Edward James Olmos In Talks To Join Cast Of ‘Two Guns’

by Shawn Madden

After roles on ‘Dexter’, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and in ‘The Green Hornet’ Variety is reporting that Olmos is in talks to play Papi Greco. Greco is a mexican druglord who will go up against the protagonists in the film.

2 Guns is a graphic novel from Boom! Studios by Steven Grant and Mat Santolouco.

“A pulp story about cops and thieves and the men that are something in between. Trench has targeted a local bank to rob, and asked Steadman in on the job. Trench figures it’s a great way to score — considering it’s a cover for mob money. They’ll be thieves ripping off thieves. But what Steadman doesn’t know is that Trench is a DEA agent. And what Trench doesn’t know is that Steadman’s a Naval Intelligence officer. They’re both cops! And neither one knows that they’re not robbing the mob, they’ve been set up to steal $50 million from the CIA! A light-hearted crime romp in the vein of Ocean’s Thirteen and The Italian Job from comics legend, Steven Grant!”

Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington will star as the protagonists of the film with Baltasar Kormakur (‘Inhale’, ‘Contraband’) directing.

No release date has been set yet.

‘Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Screenwriters Hired For ‘JURASSIC PARK 4’

by Shawn Madden

Well, it looks like we will be getting that fourth ‘Jurassic Park’ that has been talked about for years. Deadline is reporting that Universal is setting Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver to write the script for the fourth film. Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy will be producing the film but Spielberg will not be directing this one.

Will we get robotic dinosaurs or cgi? Will it be yet another island they forgot about? Will we get any of the original cast? Just sayin’…Jeff Goldblum please.

I don’t have those answers. What I do know is that Universal is re-releasing the original film in 3D on July 19, 2013. Anybody hear that? It’s a, um… It’s an impact tremor, that’s what it is… I’m fairly alarmed here.

Emma Stone’s Thoughts On The Death Of Gwen Stacy

by Shawn Madden

If you’ve never read it or know much about it…’The Night Gwen Stacy Died’ is one of the most important stories in Spider-man history. The death of Gwen Stacy shocked the American comic book community. Previously, it had been unthinkable to kill off such an important character – the girlfriend of the main character and a character with a large fanbase. This story arc is considered one of the markers of the end of the Silver Age of Comic Books, and the beginning of the darker, grittier Bronze Age. There has been numerous debates over the years on what really killed Gwen. Many thinking it was the shock of the fall due to The Green Goblin stating “Romantic idiot! She was dead before your webbing reached her! A fall from that height would kill anyone — before they struck the ground!”

But Marvel comics editor Roy Thomas has confirmed it was not that and actually being grabbed by Spider-mans webs. “It saddens us to have to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey’s webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her. In short, it was impossible for Peter to save her. He couldn’t have swung down in time; the action he did take resulted in her death; if he had done nothing, she still would certainly have perished. There was no way out.”

Marc Webb has already expressed interest in doing this story and “doing it right”.

IGN recently sat down with Emma Stone and asked how she would feel about Gwen being allowed to live in this planned series of films.

“I hope not. I think that’s a hugely important part of her story and of this incarnation of Spider-Man. I think that was very important to everybody. I think there’s a certain expectation and then there’s a certain awareness of mortality that Gwen has already, so I think that it was important to…just because her father was in the face of death everyday and so is Peter, so I think death always surrounds her. I think it’s a really important element to her character. I mean, she, as fans know, is kind of most famous for how she departs. So that’s a weird thing to play, knowing about such an iconic part of her existence.”

I really think if done right this could be a really great comic book movie. I have faith in Webb and the reviews that are coming in for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ so far have been thumbs up almost across the board. Seeing this story brought to the big screen would be awesome.

Share your thoughts in the box below.

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ swings into theaters July 3rd.

‘Barbarella’ Being Brought To The Small Screen

by Shawn Madden

There has been talks about a new Barbarella movie coming to the big screen. Now Deadline is reporting that Gaumont International Television and producer Martha De Laurentiis are bringing Barbarella to a television screen near you.

And they have some serious talent set up already behind the camera.

Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Bronson, Valhalla Rising) will direct and executive produce, and calls the character, “one of the ultimate counter-cultural characters.”

Cue fan-casting the lead role!

‘Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ NOT Cancelled After All?!

by Shawn Madden

About two weeks ago the news hit the net that they were cancelling ‘Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes’ letting down numbers of fans. Well, it looks like some people take trolling and their hatred of the ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ cartoon way too far. It’s been revealed that this “news” was totally made up.

Bleeding Cool posted an interesting article earlier today.

“Ultimate Spider-Man is a successful show on Disney XD, with decent ratings, audience reaction and the kind of thing a broadcaster likes to hear. It was recently renewed for a second season.

For some, however, it’s not enough. Specifically, it’s not the Spectacular Spider-Man animation show that preceded it, which had a very different style, and an older demographic.

And there is one internet user called Nabil Elmjati who seems to have started a one man covert war against the show and Marvel Animation.

Since Ultimate Spider-Man began running, every Sunday he’s tweeted to Joe Quesada about how so many fans hate the show and wanted Spectacular back.

It was enough for Joe to take the bait. He told Nabil that if the show wasn’t to his liking, then he should just stop watching and that the production team were already working on season 2. Nabil agreed.

Ish.

Because, despite denials, Nabil appears to have created the site ——– which runs stories about Marvel animation and games, but mostly about how awful the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon is, and how everyone hates it. It is registered to a “Nabil Mjati” in Morocco. So, you know. That’s him.

And then he posted the news that the Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes would be cancelled and replaces with the cartoon Avengers Assemble. He also quoted from a press release, purported to be “print only”, saying “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes won’t be renewed for the 3rd Season. Marvel Animation will present their newly developed series Marvel’s Avengers Assemble in 2013.”

Which was picked up verbatim by sites all across the internet, some like Comic Book Movie, Oh No They Didn’t, CBR, Critiques For Geeks, giving credit to Marvel TV News, others like iFanboy, ScreenRant, Geek Tyrant, Super Hero Hype, Comic Vine

Only problem was that the quote was made up. There was no official press release. It was a lie that few chose to question.

There is certainly the rumour that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes has been cancelled. It may well be replaced by the new Avengers Assemble. But no official word. Marvel TV News made up an official quote and all the websites followed suit without checking.

It gets better. Nabil also directed people on Twitter to Jeph Loeb’s Facebook page, where Loeb was being bombarded by negative comments about Ultimate Spider-Man. So much so that Jeph had to take his Facebook page down.

Except Jeph doesn’t have a Facebook page, there’s just an Author page which doesn’t take comments. It looks like Nabil may have created that too, and recruited people to write such comments. Facebook were informed of the situation and took it down.”

Yay. Our name wasn’t on the list of sites that reported this. But really…that’s a little over the top for a hatred of a cartoon.

On the bright side…Earths Mightiest Heroes fans rejoice! They may return for a third season after all!

Is This The First Poster For ‘Transformers 4’?

by Shawn Madden

Cine1 has just posted an image that they are claiming to be a provisional poster for ‘Transformers 4’.

Could this be fake and fan-made? Sure. It totally could be.

Wait…has this movie even started production? No? Then why the hell am I posting this? Because this site actually has been reliable in the past and with San Diego Comic-Con less than a month away. Why wouldn’t Paramount start advertising now? Especially when their movies come out a year after the dates they originally set. I kid I kid. Kind of.

Well anyway…here it is!

Honestly as great as some of those fan posters are…this kind of looks real. And even though its not that great i’m a huge Transformers fan in general so I love everything TF related….except ‘Revenge Of The Fallen’. One of the only movies I refuse to ever see a second time. But ‘Dark Of The Moon’ was great and fun. I’m definitely looking forward to a fourth film. More Sideswipe please?

New Action Packed Trailer For ‘The Dark Knight Rises’!

by Shawn Madden

With about about a month to go…we have a new full length trailer for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ courtesy of Nokia. I can definitely say that this is the most exciting trailer I’ve seen yet.

The fire rises in theaters on July 20th.

The Netflix Instant You Might Have Missed: ‘Boy Wonder’

by Shawn Madden

So I chose this week to do a recommendation for the fellow Netflix junkies. I had seen this film awhile back myself but it recently just popped up on Netflix and I figured I would share it with the rest of you.

About Boy Wonder:

A young Brooklyn boy witnesses the brutal murder of his mother and grows up obsessed with finding her killer. Thus begins his life as a quiet, straight-A student by day and a self-appointed hero at night. As the boundaries blur, Sean’s dual life wears on his psyche and his two worlds careen dangerously close to colliding. Boy Wonder challenges morality, distorting perceptions of what is right and what is justified, as it races to its shocking conclusion.

Like I said above I am not going to give much about this movie away because I really want you to check it out. This is no visual blockbuster but a movie really driven by the plot and the acting. It does suffer from some weak points but I believe the strong points outweight them.

I recently recommended it to Scott Alminiana and we both gave the film a solid 3.5/5.

Geekscape Comics: First Look At Winter Soldier #7

by Shawn Madden

Since Jon gave Winter Soldier a shout out in today’s podcast I decided to give everyone a first look at the second arc for Winter Soldier.

• Winter Soldier finds himself on a twisted trail from coast to coast and past to present…
• …chasing the insane man who will become his worst enemy.
• And an inciting incident you won’t forget!

Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils by MICHAEL LARK
Cover by STEVE EPTING

Excelsior! Stan Lee In ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ Video Game Feature

by Shawn Madden

Everyone loves Stan Lee and now you have the chance to play as Stan ‘The Man’ Lee in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ game from Beenox. The only downside is to get the Stan Lee Adventure Pack you have to pre-order the game from Amazon. However it does look like tons of fun!

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ hits stores June 26th.

 

Does David Slade Want Josh Hartnett As His Matt Murdock?

by Shawn Madden

It seems like just yesterday I was talking about this movie. Oh wait…I was. An interesting little thing that was noticed by Empire is a Twitter exchange between David Slade and a fan. While there is tons of speculation here…we all should know by now that sometime speculation leads to truth.

Now while he could be just replying to the first part of the tweet (getting back to the Daredevil stuff soon) I don’t think its entirely out of the question. David Slade and Hartnett have worked together in the past (’30 Days Of Night’) and many times directors do like to bring back actors they’ve worked with before. Could you see Hartnett as The Man Without Fear?

Side note: Slade has since deleted the tweet. Sneaky sneaky. Maybe he said something he wasn’t supposed to…yet?

Timur Berkmambetov Says ‘Wanted 2’ Will Be “Shocking”

by Shawn Madden

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard anything new on ‘Wanted 2’ and to be honest I think alot of people had kind of forgot about the project even. But recently during the press round for ‘Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter’ The Playlist spoke with Berkmambetov and he told them about the film being very much back on track.

“An unbelievable thing happened three weeks ago,” Bekmambetov said “Because we stopped, we didn’t know what to do for three or four years. Three weeks ago I came up with a great idea and I pitched this idea and everybody fell in love with it. And now I think we’re on track. Right now the writer is working on the script, and it will be shocking.”

“It’s a continuation of the story, with Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy). Other people are dead, you know, we can’t bring them back. The story is the same character, same mythology, but it’s got a great twist.”

Now while ‘Wanted’ was quite dramatically different than the comics I thought it was a really good and well done movie. Here is hoping to a sequel that lives up to it.

Wanted is a 2008 German-American action film, very loosely based on the comic book miniseries of the same name by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. The film is written by Chris Morgan, Michael Brandt, and Derek Haas, directed by Timur Bekmambetov, and stars James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Thomas Kretschmann, Common, Terence Stamp, and Konstantin Khabensky. The storyline follows Wesley Gibson (McAvoy), a frustrated Account Manager who discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin and decides to join The Fraternity, the secret guild in which his father worked. Production began in April 2007, with filming in the Czech Republic later to superimpose the sets on images of Chicago. Wanted was released on June 25, 2008 in the United Kingdom and two days later in the United States, to both critical and commercial success. It was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.

Five Comic Book Movies That Desperately Need Remakes

by Shawn Madden

So, with us getting reboots to a number of franchises I decided to look at five properties that could really use a reboot (as well as the status of each property). Alright, lets start it off!

5. Fantastic Four (2005)

That trailer started off so good looking. And then we hit the 30 second mark and it is all downhill from there. This movie could have been great but turned into a giant joke. I don’t blame the actors because they tried their best and weren’t horrible (with Chris Evans being the best of the bunch playing a great Johnny Storm) It was just the cheesiness of this movie and the constant bad humor that really ruined it. Well…that and just not being interesting at all. A pretty “meh” movie that led up and impressive fight against a far from intimidating Dr. Doom led fans to toss this on their “worst” lists. But worry not true believers…a reboot is already in the works (after Fox apparently learned how to do a comic movie right from ‘X:Men First Class’ ) with ‘Chronicle’ director Josh Tranks name (yes please) linked to it.

4. Spawn (1997)

Let me start off by saying by no means do I consider ‘Spawn’ one of the worst comic movies. Quite the contrary! For its time it was pretty damn good. It had a cast that pulled off their roles well and a sweet soundtrack. People criticized it for being “overwhelmingly brutal, dark and cynical.” Aka what we love to see these days. So, if it wasn’t a bad movie then why is it on the list? Because of the advancements in movie making technology in the past 15 years since its release. Just imagine how much cooler a ‘Spawn’ movie would be coming out nowadays? And they could definitely go darker like the comics versus the “lightened dark” that the ’97 movie did. Now while McFarlane has been talking about making a new movie for awhile…McFarlane has been talking about making a new movie for AWHILE. We will see if it ever actually gets into production.

Side note: you could bring Michael Jai White back to reprise the role and i’d be okay with that.

3. Witchblade (2000)

Man…was this bad. I watched this and walked out of the room half way through. So, i’m thinking some of you may not be familiar with the Image title that this is based on so let me give you some info on it.

The series follows Sara Pezzini, a tough-as-nails NYPD homicide detective who comes into possession of the Witchblade, a supernatural, sentient artifact with immense destructive and protective powers. The weapon has bonded with various other women throughout history, the most recent being the series’ former co-lead, Danielle Baptiste. Others who have come into contact with the Witchblade include Cleopatra and Joan of Arc. Sara struggles to hone the awesome powers of the Witchblade and fend off those with a nefarious interest in it, especially entrepreneur Kenneth Irons. She also struggles to maintain a personal life.

Thanks Wikipedia. But for real…this TV movie/series sucked in comparison to the comics. I’m just going to leave it simple like that. And it looked nothing like the comics or even really attempted to. A remake has been in development ever since 2009 when a teaser poster popped up on the internet. However there hasn’t been much development since then minus IMDB having a Witchblade movie listed as coming out in 2013. We’ll see on that one.

However this teaser poster does look to be more true to the comics and Michael Rymer (Queen Of The Damned, Battlestar Galactica) has had his name attached to direct.

2. Swamp Thing (1982)

This fan-favorite film is one of DC’s titles that is rumored to be getting a reboot that desperately needs it. I saw the movie as a kid and thought it was cool. Then I saw it years later and wanted to slap younger me for ever thinking that. No disrespect to Mr. Craven because he did the best he could at the time but just like ‘Spawn’ this movie truly needed the current technology and can be a great film if done right. Aka follow current Snyder Swamp Thing…thanks. This film is currently on the backburner with Joel Silver (way too man films) producing, Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code) writing and Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice) set to direct. The film got put on hold as of May so Natali can pursue other projects.

1. Daredevil (2003)

Well…here is another one where i’m definitely not blaming the actors at all. Affleck was pretty good. Farrel played a great head case. Garner was useless. The real problems here were the piss-poor costumes, romantic sub-plot that wasn’t really needed in a first film and the god-awful need to include some alt-rock soundtrack versus a score. Daredevil is definitely a movie that needs a score being that he’s a blind man using sound/sonar. Sorry but I would be pissed if I was Matt Murdock and you threw on Nickleback. Facepalm one.

The movie did capture some of his conflict with his Catholicism and I thought that was great and the action wasn’t horrible. But this movie (and especially with current series success) really needs a remake. While the Directors Cut was better than the one we got in theaters, by no means was it a great enough improvement to make me ignore the bad parts of this flick. Currently David Slade (30 Days Of Night) is attached to direct but we’ve really heard no news on it in awhile and it could end up in film limbo like many other projects. Hopefully we will get some news on this one soon.

Runner up: Generation X (1996 – Made for TV movie)

Until today I never knew this was made. I wish I still didn’t. Scratch that. Let’s forget this thing exists and just wait for the sequel to ‘First Class’ and the rumored ‘New Mutants’ movie instead. Face palm two.

Will ‘Kick-Ass 2’ Be Rated R? “Oh, yeah!”

by Shawn Madden

Collider recently sat down with Aaron Johnson to discuss ‘Kick-Ass 2’ the sequel one of the best comic films of 2010.

The film tells the story of an ordinary teenager, Dave Lizewski, who sets out to become a real-life superhero, calling himself “Kick-Ass”. Dave gets caught up in a bigger fight when he meets Big Daddy, a former cop who, in his quest to bring down the drug lord Frank D’Amico, has trained his eleven-year-old daughter to be the ruthless vigilante Hit-Girl.

When asked about the sequel Johnson went on to say “It’s pretty much set to go, this Fall.  I think now Chloe [Grace Moretz] and Chris [Mintz-Plasse] are on board.  I’m certainly set up to do it.  Jeff Wadlow is to direct.  Yeah, I think it’s going to happen.”

Johnson went on to say that he has read the script and on the R-rating of the film “Oh, yeah!  It keeps the standard, from the first film.”

He didn’t seem surprised that they were making a sequel to this film and seemed quite confident that it would live up to the expectations we may have after seeing the first. “Yeah, and I think that’s why Matthew Vaughn has got his name all over this one, as well.  The only way he was ever going to make a sequel was if it could be anywhere close to the first one, and keep that class and that quality, and just maintain something original and new and refreshing.  And this script delivers all of that, right now.  I’m excited to get back in the suit.”

I’m really hoping this one goes into production soon. This was one of the truly fun comic-book movies to see come to life and even though we have a new director and i’d have loved for Matthew Vaughn to return…i’m still excited to see how this turns out.

So, Want To See The Carjacker Scene From ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’?

by Shawn Madden

I knew I should not have watched this. Because it has led to me watching it again and again…and again. Be warned that I warned you! If you do not want to see more of this movie click back now. This is not just a small clip but a scene from the movie. And its an awesome one.

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ swings into theaters July 3rd.

Geekscape Comics: Shawn Maddens “Five Titles You Should Be Reading”

by Shawn Madden

So, not too long ago Scott Alminiana did a list of books you should be reading. With it being such a slow news day I thought i’d take it upon myself to do my own list of five titles I think you should be reading.

UNCANNY X-FORCE

This book is a no-brainer. With a team consisting of Deadpool, Psylocke, Wolverine, Fantomex and Archangel (currently replaced by AoA Nightcrawler) and the creative team of Rick Remender and Jerome Opena this is one of the best X-books out there right now.

‘The Dark Angel Saga’ was critically acclaimed and even won IGN’s Best Story Arc Of 2011.

Currently we see the team going head to head with The Omega Clan and the new Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants in ‘The Final Execution’. While everyone was praising this weeks Batman…i’m sorry but this weeks Uncanny X-Force excelled. The art and writing were flawless and back on track for this book after the somewhat weak last story arc. This book has improved over time unlike a number of titles.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of this book is the conflicting personalities amongst the team. The particular highlights of characters in this book are Fantomex (especially his relationship with Psylocke) and Deadpool who can seem to make light of any situation and make you crack a smile in the darkest of books even. I’m not ranking these five but this title is definitely at the top of my list.

SUPER CROOKS

It’s Millar. It’s Yu. It’s like ‘Oceans Eleven’ with a bunch of supervillains if Steven Soderbergh made that movie a bloody violent mess. At first I was quite skeptical of this book but chose to pick it up just to check out Lenil Yus artwork. But man…am I glad I started reading this. This book is fun while violent and *&^%$’ed up at the same time.

Now…i’ll say this right off the bat. If you do NOT like Mark Millar…this book may not be for you. But if you like, love or just kinda-sorta like his work here and there. Check this title out. For $2.99 it’s well worth it.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS

DC somehow managed to take a character that no one liked and turned him into one of the coolest characters in their universe. If you haven’t been reading comics for awhile…Red Hood equals Jason Todd. Remember Jason Todd? The Robin that fans voted to die at the hands of The Joker with a crowbar? Yeah. Its him. Throw in the sexually promiscuous Starfire, ex-addict Roy Harper aka Arsenal and toss in some mystic elements with the beautiful artwork of Kenneth Rocafort and writing by Scott Lobdell and you have one great DC title.

There really is nothing I dislike about this title. I’m not the biggest DC fan but I make sure and read this book the day it’s released. Even though i’m not sure if Kenneth Rocafort and Scott Lobdell will be staying on after they take over Superman but i’m really hoping so because i’ve loved this book so far and gotten quite a few people hooked.

ULTIMATE COMICS: X-MEN

“What? An Ultimate title?! Why would I read that?” says die-hard Marvel fan. And i’m going to tell you why. It is good. No, it’s not just good. It is fantastic. “But there is no Wolverine or Cyclops in this book!” Good point. Too bad the writers of this book make you not even care that the house hold X-names are not present. I actually came into this title late out of curiosity around issue six. Lets just say the comic shop saw me return the next day to pick up issues one through five.

I think what I like most about this book is its a 180 of the current status of mutants in the Marvel U. In the Ultimate U they’re on the run. They’re labeled as terrorists. They’re put into containment camps. And in recent issues they’ve been pushed and now they’re pushing back. All of the Ultimate books are about engage in something big with ‘Divided We Fall’ which is starting soon and a big part of that can be seen in Ultimate Comics: X-Men. The team of writer and Nick Spencer and artist Paco Medina  really delivered with this title. With the most recent issue Brian Wood has taken over writing duties and not dropped the ball one bit. This book is a “top of the stack” title for sure.

X-Factor

Yup…it’s another X-book! Holy $#!+ Peter David is writing a GREAT book here. You have Neil Edwards pencilling. And you have a book with Havok, Polaris, Siryn, Longshot, Shatterstar, Madrox, M, Strong Guy, Rictor and Rahne. Those should be selling points alone.

I’m not going to get too deep into why you should be reading this book but if you haven’t reaqd this title in awhile…come back. If you’ve never read this title…check it out. This is another one i’ve told people to check out and it has ended up on their pull lists.

Feel free to comment in the box below!

Disney Bringing Marvel Attractions To Disneyland?

by Shawn Madden

“Walt Disney Co’s design team has increased its efforts to bring the Marvel superhero team “The Avengers” to the company’s theme parks after the film’s smashing success, the head of Disney’s parks unit said on Thursday.”

Well this rumor has been floating around for quite some time now. These rumors have included changing rides to have Marvel characters and even turn Innoventions into a Stark Expo (yes…please). Well it looks like it just may be coming true and coming to a theme park near you. Well…that is if you live in California.

“We were hard at work on attractions using Marvel characters previously, and that work has only intensified given (the film’s) great success,” Staggs, chairman of Disney’s parks and resorts division, told Reuters in an interview at the park’s Golden Vine Winery.

Now while Disney cannot bring the characters to their Orlando park where they are contractually restricted due to them being licensed to Comcast Corp’s Universal Studios.

The big reason behind this seems to due to the massive drop in California Adventure’s attendance since its 2001 opening. Disney is probably seeing the huge success in ‘The Avengers’ as a chance to revitalize the park and expand the franchise.

Will you assemble at the happiest place on earth if so?

UPDATE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Reboot Pushed Back to 2014

by Shawn Madden

For those who were looking forward to seeing the pizza loving turtles return to the big screen in 2013…I have bad news for you. THR is reporting that Paramount has decided to move the film back to 2014. This makes the third Paramount movie to get a massive delay.

Sources are claiming that the reason for the delay is due to the script which is being written by Kevin Eastman and Andre Nemec. Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans) is set to direct and the movie is being produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes. Could this be like GI Joe: Retaliation where there is more to the story than is being told? I mean…what could be wrong with a TMNT script written by well…the creator?

UPDATE: Deadline is reporting now that Paramount pushed production back 10 weeks in order to cut the budget down $10-20M to $125 million. Also, the new release date is going to be May 16th, 2014.

Check Out Prototypes For Masterpiece Soundwave And Red Alert!

by Shawn Madden

TFormers.com has posted up some images showing a first look at Masterpiece Soundwave with Lazerbeak as well as Red Alert. The figures are due to be available December 2012 with Soundwave reported to cost $199 and Red Alert to cost $73. Amazon will exclusively offer two Energon cubes with MP-13 Soundwave.

Geekscape Comics: WildCATS Coming To The New 52?

by Shawn Madden

Bleeding Cool is reporting that Jim Lee is going to be leaving Justice League. And his leaving may just be for a good reason.

And it could be to bring back WildCATS. Yes…you read that right.

“I have been told by some sources that the book Jim Lee is leaving Justice League for, and possibly the only book he’d leave that title for, is a revival of his first, original title for Wildstorm, WildCATS.

A number of the cast have had their own books in the New 522- Voodoo and Grifter – while others such as Zealot have appeared in other titles.”

And upon thinking about it…this WOULD make total sense. They’re cancelling Voodoo and with rumors that some other titles maybe be cancelled later in another wave that means that Grifter could be among them as to incorporate the characters into this book. They definitely have established some WildCATS history with the daemonites (Lord Helspont) appearing and taking on Superman as well as the recent announcement that we’d be getting a Team 7 title. Now while this is all currently rumor its something i’d like to see being that I loved WildCATS in the 90’s and as long as they don’t treat it like the rape that is Stormwatch…it could turn out to be a really cool part of the DCU.

SDCC 2012: Marvel Legends Uncanny X-Force

by Shawn Madden

Well, if you’re not an Uncanny X-Force fan…I don’t know whats wrong with you. One of the most exciting exclusives for SDCC is this right here.

“This year, collectors have a chance to hook their adamantium claws into the new Marvel Legends Special Edition Uncanny X-Force Collectors Pack. Featuring six-inch scale figures of Archangel, Wolverine and Psylocke, the characters are seen in their costumes from the Fall of Archangel story line. The set even comes in a collectable display box with exclusive art by comic artist Clayton Crain!”

The Marvel Legends Special Edition Uncanny X-Force Collectors Pack is available for an approximate retail price of $49.99 at HasbroToyShop.com and Hasbro Booth #3329 at San Diego Comic-Con.

Now with an already released Fantomex figure you’re probably thinking “Well, shucks. This would be perfect if only I had an Uncanny X-Force Deadpool!”

Fear not X-fans! It is on its way. In September we will see a third variant of the Marvel Legends Deadpool…this time in his X-Force suit.

 

Check Out Three Clips From ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

by Shawn Madden

Courtesy of Fox Films we have three new clips from Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetovs ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ which hits theaters next Friday.

“Train Escape”

“Waltz Of Death”

“The Pharmacist”

 

Full-length Trailer For ‘Resident Evil: Retribution’ Hits The Net

by Shawn Madden

Alice (Milla Jovovich) is back with some quite familiar faces. Love it or hate it…check out the trailer for the next chapter in the series. Because let’s me honest…these aren’t some kind of award winning films but they’re definitely fun to watch.

The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, Alice (Milla Jovovich), awakens in the heart of Umbrella’s most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex. Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by newfound allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun.

‘Resident Evil: Retribution’ is in theaters September 14, 2012.

Geekscape Comics: Check Out Jerome Opena’s Variant For ‘AvX Round 12’

by Shawn Madden

‘Avengers vs X-Men’ comes to a conclusion with round twelve and check out this fantastic variant for the finale from Jerome Opena (Uncanny X-Force) featuring a battered Avengers and Nova!

Source: Comics Alliance

Geekscape Comics: ‘Spider-Men #1’ Review

by Shawn Madden

Did Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli deliver in this first crossover between the 616 Marvel U and the Ultimate universe? Yes. Yes they did.

I’m going to do my best to keep this one spoiler free here because I want you to buy and read this issue. I’m loving ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ right now. I’m loving ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ right now. So when I heard they were doing this…I was in. The first book I grabbed on my stack today was this issue and I sadly had to make it through my entire work shift until I could read it.

I mean right from the start the book is beautiful. Pichelli is in top form here and her pencils mixed with Justin Ponsors colors make the images just leap off the page.

And not only is the art top notch. Bendis from the get go gets right into it with the Peter Parker we all love. You can’t help but have a smirk on your face during this book. And if this issue is any indication of the rest of the series…i’m not going to like this mini-series. I’m going to love this mini-series.

Now we’ve come to the point where I have to bite my tongue. We all basically know WHAT happens. I’m just not going to say HOW it happens. But WHEN it happens…it’s great. We know what’s going on the second half of this issue while Peter doesn’t and Bendis did a real good job of showing a confused and lost Parker.

I’m going to keep this review short and end it here. It’s a great start and while it’s not action packed it really does fantastic job establishing the base of the story.

I’m not going to score this book but instead give it my personal pick of the week. It should be on the top of any Spider-fans stack.

Comic-Con 2012: Sneak Peek At Sideshow Collectibles Marvel Products

by Shawn Madden

Marvel has posted three teaser images for some of Sideshow Collectibles items for San Diego Comic-Con 2012. Including a Doctor Doom Legendary 1:2 Scale Figure, a 1:4 scale Hawkeye Premium Format Figure, and a 33″ tall Galactus Maquette. You read that right…33″ tall. Collectors get your wallets ready!

Geekscape Comics: Marvel Shaking Up Their Creative Teams Post-AvX

by Shawn Madden

For months we’ve been hearing about all the changes in creative teams post-AvX. The main one that Bendis would be leaving all ‘Avengers’ titles.

Well, Bleeding Cool is posting some interesting rumors floating around the ol’ water cooler.

-Rick Remender and Jeremy Opena on an Avengers book? New Avengers maybe?

-Mark Waid takes over Avengers Assemble?

-Jonathan Hickman and Essad Ribic on either Uncanny X-Men or the Avengers books that’s not the one Remender and Opena are on?

– Kieron Gillen and Greg Land on Iron Man.

– Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca are sticking together… wherever they end up.

– Only the very best artists for a Brian Bendis cosmic relaunch…(Guardians Of The Galaxy…duh)

It also appears that Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca may just be taking over Fantastic Four and Hickman and Esad Ribic will replace Bendis on Avengers post-AvX.

This ‘Django Unchained’ International Trailer Will Give You Some Sugar

by Shawn Madden

Well, they had my curiosity. Now they have my attention. This trailer is definitely more Tarantino style than the last one and come Christmas day I am sure many of us will be in theaters with smiles on our faces.

Source: PromotingMovies