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March 3,2015

Hugh Jackman: Wolverine \I

Fox/Marvel Days of Future Past

by Stephen R. Acevedo


   Huge celebrity man, Hugh Jackman, has recently been on the hot seat for X-Men related news while promoting his new film Chappie, hitting theaters this Friday. In a recent interview with MTV, Jackman had to keep in his claws from revealing too many spoilers. When asked about evolving talk surrounding Patrick Stewart’s involvement in the next Wolverine installment, Jackman playfully had this to say…

… I’m not gonna deny that he’s not – wait [jokingly nodding], now I’m confused. It’s not that he’s not, not, not – not in it [laughing]. Let's just say, I'd be thrilled if he was a part of it because I think that relationship is key, it's one of the keys. It was a key at the beginning and I think there's a long way to go.

      When asked specifically more about the film’s storyline, Jackman responded saying…

It does draw on some comic book stuff. There are some things, but in typical fashion sort of one main one with a few bits here and there and then opening it up. Jim [referring to James Mangold] and I, we've been talking about it, he has a treatment. But I mean, we're a way out from it so we're really in good shape with it. I'm really, really excited about it.
Get out of my head Charles!!

   So, it seems safe to say that Stewart isn’t quite ready to retire the chair just yet – which is great news for X-Men movie lovers, especially since it’s been confirmed that Ian McKellen’s, Magneto, will be present in the new X-Men: Apocalypse film (May 2016). Although X-Men: Days of Future Past would have been a fitting conclusion for the original mutant team, it’s good to see that their journey still has a length to travel.

   However, even with confirmed film dates for Deadpool (February), Gambit (2016), and the untitled Wolverine production (2017), there is really no bigger news than the confidence Hugh Jackman sees on a potential X-men/Marvel crossover. In an interview with Yahoo, Jackman expressed his hope of having such an outcome, by having this to say…

I’m surprised by what’s happened with Spider-Man joining. You’re in a very complex world where big, big sums of money are being spent for different franchises, and so getting them together is difficult. Two years ago I’d have said you’d be a real optimist to think it’d ever happen, but weirdly now I just think it maybe could. I think there is the possibility that it will happen.

    Jackman further elaborated his enthusiasm by telling MTV…

I like to think there’s that possibility for all of it, and I would even like to think more that it doesn’t happen out of necessity, y’know, when someone’s run it into the ground or something. I optimistically love the idea of, ‘What the hell, Batman versus Iron Man versus Wolverine!’ Let’s just chuck ‘em in.

We’ll see what happens, but maybe as these things go on more and more they’ll want to and need to do all that stuff. I’m optimistic, I’d think it’d be great, but hey, it’s not my billions of dollars behind this promise. It’s easy for us to speculate.
My Spidey Sense is tingling

   Now, just having Marvel and Sony work out a deal was rubbing on a rabbit’s foot, but having Fox share their rights to big Marvel characters such as the X-Men and The Fantastic Four… we may need to pull a Days of Future Past in order to see that crossover happen – but hey, with Wolverine at the center, we know that altering the outcome of particular events is more than probable.

Hey Bub... It's Clobbering Time!

   In the meantime, can we have Fox start crossing over their own franchise players? With the new Fantastic Four series in reboot, I’d encourage Fox to start aligning the universes of their own world heroes – X-Men vs The Fantastic Four? Maybe have the two teams work together against Magneto and Dr. Doom? Who knows, maybe if those two pieces are established, it’ll make collaboration with Marvel even easier.

Sources provided by
CinemaBlend.com, Comicbook.com, & Gamesradar.com


****


February 24,2015

New DBZ Web-Series Dark Power Rangers Fan-Made Short? 

by Stephen R. Acevedo 



     Alright... so I have definitely been slacking on some new media news, and with so many fresh and exciting productions of all sorts coming out, I have been bursting inside to share and express my thoughts on all of these upcoming developments. 

     First, let's start with this new Dragon Ball Z web-series trailer called "Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope," produced by Robot Underdog, and whose pilot has already been released. The first episode of this series airs today.  




     Now, I have not yet watched the pilot of this web-series, but in simply watching this snippet, I have to admit that for a web-series, the graphics and effects displayed within this trailer alone are very impressive. Maybe even better than that of the massive failure of a movie, "Dragon Ball: Evolution" (And to think I almost forgot it existed).

     To say that I'm excited for the debut of this series is an understatement. As a Dragon Ball Z fan growing up, as with so many from my generation, it's great to see such a legendary story and anime come to life on any screen. And it's great to see fans willing to produce such a series just for DBZ lovers. Reality is however, that this web-series will come across some heavy criticism from die hard DBZ fans, but, if you haven't yet caught on to the new wave of web-series' - YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO.

     There have been some pretty good web-series' developed within the past few years that have not only produced interesting storylines, but also very genuine ones. The latest Street Fighter web-series, "Street Fighter: Assassins Fist," developed by Machinima, stood very true to the history of best bros Ken and Ryu. The series did well enough to even pursue a second season, which I believe is currently in production. In any case, I guess what I'm trying to say is, that with such a small budget, these web-series' not only are finding ways to develop impressive graphics, but also more generally canon scripts.

     Whether this new DBZ web-series will stay truthful to the anime is still in question, but, even if not, web-series' such as "Mortal Kombat Legacy" and "Nightwing: The Series" have done some pretty interesting things without remaining canon.

   Also, expect to see some cringe worthy acting and script writing, as is common in almost every web-series online, but hey, all in all, you have to give kudos and respect to the people contributing their time and effort towards free fan based productions. I'll definitely be tuning in later on today for the premiere of the series' first episode. Let's just hope producers didn't remain too canon, I'm not trying to see Goku power up for three episodes. *You can watch the pilot down below. If you have any comments or opinions, please feel free to share.


  

 And now... "It's Morphin Time!"


   Man... how I miss me some of that 90's cheese. 

     It's hard to believe that about 22 years ago "The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," came to U.S. television history, and still running strong today - so strong, that a reboot of the franchise is set to be released in theaters on July 22, 2016. That, however, is not the current news stirring up craze for PR fans everywhere.

     With every superhero film growing darker by the production, it's no surprise that Lionsgate admitted to establishing a darker tone within the franchise. The "How dark part?" is anyone's guess, but I'll tell you one thing, it certainly won't be as dark as the recently released fan-made short directed by Joseph Khan, produced by Adi Shankar ("The Grey," "Lone Survivor," and "Dredd"), and starring a surprise role by "Dawson's Creek" James Van Der Beek.
     This new short has been brewing up so much controversy that a legal battle has been rumored to have developed between Shankar and SCG Power Rangers LLC (owners of PR) with the intentions of having the short removed from the internet. 

     Being all for fan-made productions and creative freedom within the legal guidelines, I'm in support for keeping the short alive throughout the web, but even I have to admit, that as great as the visuals and production quality were, and the storyline truly delivering an eerie modern feel, part of me found it uncomfortably strange watching our bright intergalactic butt whipping heroes turned into "Sin City" like characters.

     Whatever the future holds for this recent short, it's definitely worth the watch if you dig the dark and gory. I actually really enjoyed the film and thought it had a nice futuristic twist. You can watch the short down below, hopefully before the possibility of it getting taken down arises.




I can't help but wonder what Jason David Frank (former Green & White Ranger) has to say about this.


*****


From Bodyguard to Galaxy Protector? 

by Stephen R. Acevedo

David Ramsey                                          John Stewart

                “Dammit Diggle!” is a phrase that has become one of habit for me when watching one of DC’s newly beloved hit shows, and one of my favorites, Arrow. John Diggle (David Ramsey), known as Oliver Queen’s (Stephen Amell’s) bodyguard on the show, has definitely become a quick fan favorite, so much so that DC comics has even included him within the canon of their New 52 comic re-launch. Now, I must admit, at first introduction to his character, I was a bit tooth and nail, and to be quite frank, I expected DC to launch him off the bow by the second season – however, good’ol  Diggle slowly grew on me and he’s now actually one of my favorite characters in the series.

                 With Diggle not going anywhere any time soon, and with basically every other character on team Arrow developing growing stories, how does The Arrow’s bodyguard keep up? Dum Dum Dum…. Cue spotlight… drum roll please… open curtain to a small light slowly birthing within blackness, growing brighter, greener – then you hear…  “In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, Beware my power… Green Lantern’s light!”

                That’s right! Though at first it all seemed like just another long shot hopeful rumor, Ramsey has spoken, and confirmed that Diggle, is or has been, indeed considered to take the mantle of the second galaxy detective from Earth, John Stewart (and no, not the comedian from the Daily Show). When asked by ComicBook.com about the popular rumor, Ramsey had this to say:

Is John Diggle John Stewart? I cannot say “yes,” and I cannot say, “no.” I’m serious! I do know that there is serious discussion about whether or not this guy becomes John Stewart. But, I mean, I’ll say this: it is top secret. I’ve asked them and they’re like, “we’re working on some stuff.” If that’s the case, it’s gonna be huge. This is the stuff they want to avoid. I think they don’t want anybody to know yet and they haven’t even told me. But they have told me that they are thinking about it and that they are considering it. But they’re not going to release anything yet. That’s exactly what they told me. Greg Berlanti told me that. Andrew [Kreisberg] and Marc [Guggenheim] have told me that. I haven’t spoken to Geoff Johns about it. But that’s the word from people directly involved in Arrow- that they’re working on something.
Here’s the truth of it: if I knew, I would tell you I know the answer to that, but I’m not at liberty to tell you that. I would answer like that. I probably wouldn’t tell you anyway, but I would at least tell you that I know. I honestly do not know.
               
               “Whoa… there cowboy, you ain’t making any sense. Obviously Diggle and Stewart are two different people... right?”

                Well… the wonderful thing about DC’s new hero based shows are that they aren’t’ restricted by either comic or film continuity. You have to give DC a brief lip biting applause for not following in their competitor’s footsteps. Marvel integrating Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D into their film continuity was certainly a fresh and unique move, however, having the two worlds separate allows for more room of play, which is really what’s making DC the larger powerhouse on T.V. right now.

                It’s also important to remember that the writers of both Arrow and The Flash covered themselves well through their writing, leaving Easter Eggs all around, and being vague when needed. Taking a closer look into what we know about Diggle, it may very well be that the writers have already placed mask over his character without us even knowing it.

                Hmm….. Detective Mode on! Diggle’s first name is John – middle name unknown (very well could be made to be Stewart). Um… the obvious, Stewart and Diggle are both African Americans.  Oh, and both Stewart and Diggle have extensive military backgrounds. Also, not to mention, in Arrow, Diggle is constantly driven by the murder of his brother, while in the comics, Stewart is haunted by the tragic death of his sister Rose.

                To add wood to this growing hot rumor, Stephen Amell has expressed in the past, his belief in that The CW was in fact looking to develop a Justice League TV Series. And when asked about what character he would most like to see adapted next, Amell had this to say:

Now, boy we’ve referenced Ferris Air a lot. It would be really cool to have Green Lantern. Hopefully, that happens. I have no inside information, unless I do.
GL John Stewart & Oliver Queen 

                And just for the extra reach, comic readers are aware of the close relationship between Hal Jordan (original Green Lantern *excluding Alan Scott*) and Oliver Queen (Green Arrow). Though John Stewart isn’t exactly Hal Jordan, he can surely be the GL buddy substitute for The CW’s Arrow. Hopefully, like the source of all Green Lanterns, fans can WILL to life all of this talk.

                What do you guys think about Diggle getting an upgrade? Maybe he won’t get beat down as much with a mask on.  


Sources provided by
Screenrant.com & ComicBook.com  



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