Avengers: Age of Ultron - First Teaser

This teaser was originally supposed to premiere during next week's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode on ABC, but like just about everything it leaked online. Marvel did quick damage control by blaming Hydra for the leak and then uploaded the trailer on their YouTube page. I guess it's not a leak if it's in 1080p on YouTube.

Personally, I think this trailer looks fantastic. It's menacing, conflicting, and it looks like it's definitely going to be even crazier than The Avengers was. Not to mention Ultron looks and sounds like a fucking badass. I am very excited.

Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters on May 1, 2015. 

Insidious: Chapter 3 poster debuts; Trailer hits tomorrow

We got our first poster for the third chapter in the Insidious trilogy and also learned that the first teaser for the film will hit the internet tomorrow.

Insidious: Chapter 3 follows a new family as Elise (Lin Shaye) tries to help a teenager rid herself of a paranormal entity. This marks the directorial debut of Insidious co-creator, Leigh Whannell, and also stars Dermot Mulroney and Stefanie Scott. The film is set for theaters on May 29, 2015.

Cabin Fever is being remade

Yeah, let that sink in for a second.


It was announced that Eli Roth's 2002 horror film, Cabin Fever, is being remade and will begin shooting in Portland, OR next week. Roth has been brought on as an executive producer alongside Cassian Elwes. The film is apparently using the same script as the 2002 original and has a cast already set, including Teen Wolf star Gage Golightly. Travis Zariwny is directing this reboot.

Cabin Fever was set around a group of college students who rent a cabin and fall victim to a mysterious, flesh eating virus. It starred Ryder Strong, James DeBello, and Jordan Ladd and served as Eli Roth's directorial debut. The film spawned two sequels titled Cabin Fever: Spring Fever and Cabin Fever: Patient Zero. This will mark Eli Roth's return to the story as he had no involvement with either of the sequels.

The Conjuring 2 delayed until 2016

New Line has moved the sequel to James Wan's The Conjuring from October 23, 2015 to 2016 and have replaced the slot with an untitled horror film. Warner Bros. and New Line had announced the sequel for 2015 and said that Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga were expected to return as Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The Conjuring was a surprise smash at the box office as it brought in a total of $320 million and only carried a $20 million budget. Set in 1971, the film followed the acclaimed paranormal investigators as they were called to investigate a home in Rhode Island where a family of seven experienced hauntings and paranormal entities.
Annabelle, the film's spin-off, made somewhat of a dent at the box office with $166 million on just a $6 million budget.

Jena Malone confirmed for Batman v Superman

The question is... who will she be appearing as?


Yesterday there were some rumors that Robin will be appearing in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and that it would be a female version of the sidekick. Naturally, as soon as people see confirmation of an "unspecified character" the masses automatically assume Jena Malone will be playing the female version of Robin. Before the confirmation there was already speculation that Malone had something to do with the film as she's been seen on set and recently shared a picture of herself (via Instagram) with red hair.

The red hair is the giveaway for a lot of people because in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns arc, the character of Carrie Kelley was a young redhead who becomes Robin after saving Batman's life. By young I suppose I should specify that Kelley was 13-years old, so unless Zack Snyder is going for an older version I don't think this soon to be 30-year old actress is ready to become Carrie Kelley.
With that said, another major and more plausible possibility is that Malone could be suiting up to play the Arkham Asylum psychiatrist, Dr. Harleen Quinzel (aka, Harley Quinn). With the announcement of the Suicide Squad movie set for 2016, a long awaited film appearance by Harley Quinn is very possible. She was a member of the Suicide Squad along with the Secret Six and Secret Society of Super Villains.

If you are somehow unfamiliar with Harley Quinn... she begins as Dr. Quinzel, a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. While interning she is assigned to analyze The Joker and she quickly becomes obsessed and falls in love with him. She aids him in escaping from Arkham multiple times, but after he returns badly wounded from a fight with Batman she quits her job and suits up as The Joker's jester-like sidekick. She quickly befriends fellow villain, Poison Ivy, who later injects her with a serum that makes her immune to toxins as well as giving her superhuman strength and agility.

The Joker and Harley Quinn is probably one of the most famous comic villain tag-teams. Given that fact, I would think it's a solid guarantee that if Jena Malone has been brought on to play Harley Quinn we will see a new version of The Joker in Zack Snyder's DC Universe. Most people consider The Joker untouchable after Heath Ledger, but I'm not so sure. I personally had Ezra Miller pegged for a future version of the character, but he was cast as The Flash so that isn't going to happen. I think Jena Malone would be a great candidate for Harley Quinn so I'm hoping that is the case rather than bringing her in as Carrie Kelley. She doesn't really seem like a Batman sidekick type of girl, but I could be wrong.

Elizabeth Pena passes away at 55

Actress Elizabeth Pena died today in Los Angeles after falling victim to an undisclosed, brief illness. Pena was 55 and is survived by a husband and two children.

You might recognize Pena most recently from her recurring role in Modern Family as Sophia Vergara's mother, Pilar. She also appeared in films such as Rush Hour, Jacob's Ladder, The Incredibles, and also had lent her voice to the Justice League animated series. She had recently wrapped filming of Matador, an El Rey Network original series.

Neil Patrick Harris to host 2015 Oscars

The 2015 Academy Awards has found its host!

This year we had a fairly amusing host with Ellen DeGeneres and it seems next year they are goiung the same route. The Academy announced today that the host of the 2015 Oscars will be Neil Patrick Harris.
Harris has performed on the Oscars before but he has never hosted. He has, however, hosted the 2013 Tony Awards and the Emmys in 2013 and 2009. He is a five time Emmy winner and recently took home a Tony Award for his performance on Broadway in Hedwig and the Angry Itch.

The Oscars will air on February 22, 2015 and are being produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

Warner Bros. announces DC release dates

Warner Bros. made some very big announcements today regarding the new DC Universe. Within the announcement includes release dates and exactly which characters are getting solo films.

After Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits in 2016, the next DC film will be Suicide Squad. Suicide Squad is set to be directed by Fury director, David Ayer, and it also received a 2016 release date.
Next up on the schedule for 2017 is Wonder Woman and Justice League - Part One while The Flash and Aquaman received 2018 releases. Jason Momoa was confirmed to be starring as Aquaman and the studio confirmed Ezra Miller will star in The Flash.
2019 will bring us Justice League - Part Two and Shazam, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
2020 has a Cyborg movie scheduled along with a reboot of Green Lantern.

In addition to all of this, Warner Bros. did also announce there will be at lease one more solo Superman movie along with a solo Batman movie. With Green Lantern not coming until 2020 I think it's safe to say that if the character has any involvement in the Justice League movies it will be very minimal. I also think it's a bit interesting that Aquaman isn't coming until 2018 seeing that Jason Momoa is already confirmed to be part of Batman v Superman and Justice League - Part One.

Ezra Miller to lead The Flash in 2018

In a large amount of announcements by Warner Bros. and DC Comics we received more information about a new solo movie centered around The Flash. In the announcement the studios highlighted that the solo film will be released after Justice League - Part One in 2018 and that the actor portraying the hero is 22-year old Ezra Miller.

You might recognize Miller from the film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the television series, Royal Pains. He also gave an extremely unnerving and chilling performance alongside Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin back in 2011. He was praised for his performances thus far and has proven to give believable performances that cross drama and comedy. He is also extremely charismatic on screen. As a 22-year old he is a lot younger than any other actor in the current DC Universe, so that will prove to either be a good or a bad thing.
There is no real confirmation on whether Miller will be appearing in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice or the first Justice League movie, but it is pretty much guaranteed that he will at least appear in Justice League - Part Two which will be released after The Flash. If he is going to have an appearance in BvS they have done a fantastic job keeping his involvement a secret. I don't think he's even been spotted on set.

I think he is a good casting choice for a comic universe, but I don't know if I would have chosen him for The Flash. If at some point they revisit The Joker, honestly my first choice was Ezra Miller. I'm a bit bummed about this. I won't lie about that. 

Iron Man to appear in Captain America 3

Robert Downey Jr. has had a bit of a rollercoaster lately. Rumors are circulating around whether or not there will be an Iron Man 4 and in light of that, it was announced tonight that he is on the verge of signing a contract that will place him in Captain America 3 in 2016.

If this happens it is a pretty good sign that Marvel is introducing the Civil War storyline which pits Captain America against Tony Stark as they feud over the Superhero Registration Act. The act forces all people and creatures with superhuman abilities to register and disclose their gifts with the government and agree to act as a police force for them. Stark, along with Mr. Fantastic and Hank Pym, agrees with the SRA while Capt. Rogers and his team does not. Cap cites it as a violation of civil liberties and believes superhumans need privacy in order to help whenever the law cannot, they are not meant to actually be the law.

Basically, if this is the way they go it would put Stark in a somewhat villainous role that could lead into him being a villain in the third and/or fourth Avengers movie as well as a fourth Iron Man, if that happens.
Marvel is already planning on rebooting the 2006 Civil War storyline in 2015 to re-introduce and bring in new audience members before Captain America 3. The original comic series included crossover characters such as Spider-Man, Mr. Fantastic, Luke Cage, Wolverine, and Cyclops.

This is somewhat intriguing as another rumor going around in the past week or so was that Sony and Marvel were doing some re-negotiating and that it was possible that Spider-Man could possibly make an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There is also the case of a new X-Men film coming out in 2016 as well as the new Fantastic Four. If there is any possibility of a Marvel film crossover it very well could stem off Captain America 3 and extend into the third or fourth Avengers.

American Horror Story renewed for season 5; sets ratings record

After a record breaking debut for American Horror Story: Freak Show, FX announced that they had renewed the show for a fifth season.

This comes after Freak Show set an FX record last week as it became the most watched show in the network's 20-year history. The season four premiere even beat out the premiere of the final season of Sons of Anarchy as well as all previous American Horror Story episodes with over 13 million viewers. After just one episode, the show has an increased viewer percentage of around 53% in total season viewers in comparison to last year's season, American Horror Story: Coven.

The fifth season will have 13 episodes starting in October 2015 and will be written by Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy. There is no word yet on a theme for the fifth season, but internet chatter so far seems to be leaning towards vampires since that is one thing we haven't seen yet. The American Horror Story anthology so far is as follows; Murder House, Asylum, Coven, and Freak Show.

Any themes you would like to see next year?

Is Sony negotiating with Marvel over Spider-Man?

Last week there were rumors flying around that Marvel Studios would be splitting The Avengers 3 into two films and that the heroes involved wouldn't be our current Avengers. Now there are more rumors that Sony is currently negotiating with Marvel to include Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This is potentially all bullshit as Sony has not budged at all on Spider-Man in the past and rumors of a Spidey cameo in the first Avengers movie was quickly proven false over rights issues. Seeing that Spider-Man is now the only Marvel property that Sony owns, I don't see why they would realistically be willing to share, especially with Venom and Sinister Six coming up. If they cross The Amazing Spider-Man film arc into the MCU, that would ensure that every single movie would have to tie together. Personally, I think it's too much. That would mean backtracking and changing existing arcs, etc. It's a big fat no.

Not to mention, the biggest issue here is rights. As you may recall, there were some people calling for an Avengers and X-Men crossover due to the utilization of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in Age of Ultron. The resolution of that was the studios didn't want to pay for the full crossover due to character rights. Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman has made his opinion public on the issue stating the studios need to suck it up because the universes should be together. In a perfect world, Mr. Jackman.

Twin Peaks to return in 2016

If you watched Twin Peaks we can be friends.

Showtime announced that it had ordered a 9-episode season of the cult favorite show, Twin Peaks, to be written by original creators David Lynch and Mark Frost. The final episode of the show aired 23 years ago on ABC and Showtime is bringing the story back and the new season will take place 25-years after the original events took place.

Conveniently, production will begin in 2015 so the show will air on its 25th anniversary. It was also stressed that the return is not a remake or reboot of the show and that it will follow with the style and events that were originally introduced to viewers. Showtime will be airing reruns of the show's original episodes to prepare viewers for the new season. For some it will be a brand new experience while for others it will be great memories.

In case you never watched and have no idea, Twin Peaks follows a small northwestern town left horrified after their homecoming queen, Laura Palmer, was murdered. The local sheriff welcomes an FBI agent onto the case and as he begins to unfold the mystery surrounding Palmer's murder, the secrets of the town all start to come to the surface. As a result, several eerie events begin to take place in the town of Twin Peaks leaving the residents with a dark examination of their own lives.

Just a heads up... the existing seasons are currently available for streaming on Netflix. Highly recommended.

The Purge 3 officially announced

After two very successful movies, Universal announced their intent to make a third film in The Purge franchise likely to be released in 2015. The film will once again be made by Universal, Platinum Dunes, and Blumhouse and James DeMonaco is returning to write and direct.

I personally didn't like The Purge as I felt the movie basically shit on a great concept, so as a result I didn't go see The Purge: Anarchy. However, I did read and hear from friends that it was a lot better than the first one. The announcement of a third film is really no surprise.
People online are already starting to throw concepts around hoping that this third installment will focus on something other than murder. Seeing that all crime is legal during a purge, hopefully with a third film they will start exploring how participants exercise other crimes to seek revenge and vengeance. Potentials could include robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping, stalking, etc..

Joaquin Phoenix will not play Doctor Strange

This casting had pretty much been confirmed, but we now have news that Joaquin Phoenix has left Doctor Strange after negotiations with Marvel fell through.

The Oscar-nominee failed to come to an agreement with the studio after three months of negotiations. Now Marvel Studios is searching for a new lead actor with director Scott Derrickson. New rumors are circulating around Ethan Hawke, but that's just speculated because he worked with Derrickson on Sinister in 2012. Previously rumored actors included Jared Leto and Johnny Depp.
I am personally disappointed because I really like Phoenix and thought he would bring a lot to the MCU, but I guess that was too much to ask.