Monthly Archives: December 2016
15 Fantasy Projects That Owe Their Existence to LotR Films
It's been 15 years since The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring first hit theaters and changed how audiences -- and Hollywood -- perceived fantasy on the big screen.
In the decade and a half since, The Lord of the Rings movies' influence has continued to be felt in both TV and film. Peter Jackson's trilogy set a new high bar for high fantasy, and has paved the way for some huge hits (and some disappointing misses) over the years.
Coming off its success bringing The Lord of the Rings to life, New Line turned to another hugely popular fantasy series as its next big adaptation. The Golden Compass adaptation was announced almost three months after Fellowship's debut, and it too brought to life a fantastical (though CG-heavy) world. It didn't connect with audiences as well as the Lord of the Rings films and no sequels were made, but with Game of Thrones (yes, another franchise later down this list) proving that epic fantasy can translate to the small screen, BBC One is adaptating His Dark Materials into a TV show.
Power Rangers Movie Gets a Graphic Novel Sequel
The Power Rangers movie releases on March 24, 2017 in the US, but fans won’t have to wait long to see what happens next thanks to a follow-up graphic novel titled Saban’s Power Rangers: Aftershock from publisher BOOM! Studios.
The story written by Ryan Parrott (Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Batman: Gates of Gotham) and drawn by Lucas Werneck takes place immediately after the events of the movie and continues the adventures of Jason, Kimberly, Trini, Zack, and Billy. Given how details on the actual film are slim, it’s no surprise that the solicitation information for this graphic novel reveals next to nothing about the plot, but at least we get another detailed look at their new suits.
UK Daily Deals: Amazon Echo, PlayStation Plus, PlayStation Network Cards
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If you've been waiting for a price drop on the Amazon Echo, today is the day. Amazon have reduced the asking price for Amazon Echo, and also the Amazon Echo Dot.
We Discuss Westworld’s First Season and The Inhumans Series
Hey guys, this episode was actually recorded a week ago, but I wasn't able to post until now due to a myriad of technical and schedule difficulties! That being the case, apologies for being a bit out of date on a couple of things (namely, there's been even more Star Trek Discovery casting since we recorded!).
In the meantime, jump in as we discuss:
-Strike Back returning
-That aforemtioned Star Trek Discovery casting
-A bit on Walking Dead (but not the midseason finale - it hadn't aired yet!)
-The Inhumans series
-Luke Cage's renewal
-Reader email on Netflix and The Leftovers
-A big spoilery discussion on Westworld's first season
The Marvel Universe Faces ‘Venom Madness’
Marvel's new Venom comic is gearing up for a major new story development in March, and to mark the occasion, Marvel has declared that month 'Venom Madness.' No fewer than 26 series will feature Venom-themed variant covers in March.
Each of these "Venomized Variants" features an iconic Marvel hero possessed by the Venom symbiote. Scroll down for an early look at most of these covers:
“One of the coolest things about Venom is getting to see the symbiote bond with other Marvel characters. Well, we’re taking that idea and dialing it up to eleven this March,” said Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel in the company's press release. “Some of our top heroes are about to get a symbiote makeover, courtesy of the best artists in the business. Each of these mega-talented artists let their imaginations run wild, producing some truly fun (and frightening!) variant covers.”
How Rogue One Sets Up Star Wars: A New Hope
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is more than just a prequel; it's an answer to a question that's been lingering in the Star Wars universe since the opening crawl in A New Hope first ran in 1977.
"It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire," the set-up for the first Star Wars film reads. "During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star."
But Rogue One goes farther than just showing the story behind those pivotal three sentences. Here's a breakdown of all the ways the new Star Wars film sets up events that play out in A New Hope. Full spoilers for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as well as A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, continue below. Also make sure to check out IGN's review of Rogue One, and see if you caught all the Easter eggs, references and trivia!
How Much Rogue One Made in Worldwide Box Office Debut
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story had a strong debut this weekend, earning $290.5 million worldwide and $155 million in North America.
As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, this now makes the release of Rogue One the second-biggest debut ever for the month of December. Meanwhile, Star Wars: The Force Awakens remains number one and currently stands as the third-highest grossing film in history, with over $2 billion in global sales. The J.J. Abrams-directed film earned a whopping $247.9 million at the North American box office when it released last December.
Rebels Adds Rogue One and Clone Wars’ Saw Gerrera
One of Rogue One's most important characters, Saw Gerrera, is reportedly heading to Star Wars Rebels.
The RebelsReactions Twitter account spotted a poster for Rebels at Toys R Us. The poster features Gerrera and some of the lines the character says in the final Rogue One trailer, "Save the Rebellion. Save the dream."
Looks like Saw Gerrera is coming to #StarWarsRebels soon! @CoffeeWthKenobi #RogueOne pic.twitter.com/MMYcwr2TN5
Rogue One: What’s the Deal with *That* Castle?
Spoilers follow for Rogue One.
So Darth Vader’s castle is in the new Star Wars movie… how about that, eh!? My kid, upon seeing it, called out “the Tower of Orthanc!” I get that, only the Tower of Orthanc didn’t sit amid treacherous lava rivers on a planet of death and horror. Darth Vader’s home, apparently, does.
Because yes, the castle is on Mustafar, that awful world where the Sith Lord’s final transformation from Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader took place as he battled Obi-Wan Kenobi and lost several limbs, and his soul, for his trouble. (Oddly, while Rogue One goes out of its way to tag each planet’s name with onscreen titles, Mustafar is not specifically named. But Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo recently all but confirmed that’s where the castle is located.)
Pokemon Go Dev Says Apple Watch App ‘Coming Soon’
Niantic Labs has confirmed that, despite reports claiming that Apple Watch support for Pokemon Go has been canceled, the smartwatch app is still on track for release and "coming soon."
After 9to5Mac reported that Niantic has shelved plans to bring Pokemon Go to Apple Watch, the following message was posted on the game's official Twitter account, presumably in response to the rumor of the app's alleged cancelation: "Pokémon Go for Apple Watch is coming soon. Stay tuned."
A Pokemon Go app for Apple Watch was announced back in September and hasn't been mentioned since. While players won't be able to catch Pokemon on Apple Watch, the app will allow users to hatch eggs, visit Pokestops and perform many of the other functions included in the mobile version.