Emma Stefansky
Watch George R. R. Martin Read the Fan Letter That Started His Writing Career
Even though he should have been hard at work on The Winds of Winter, George R. R. Martin took some time out of his week to appear on History Channel’s new documentary series Superheroes Decoded, all about how today’s culture became so dominated by the creations of Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and the like. Martin shared a fan letter he wrote to Marvel Comics, praising one of the issues of Fantastic Four, and the entire magazine.
Luke Skywalker’s Rumored Bling in ‘The Last Jedi’ Could Be Very Important
When we last saw Luke Skywalker, he had just flipped the gray hood of his grayer robes off of his head with a flourish to reveal his extremely gray wise man beard and to fix Rey with his piercing gray eyes. Word on the street is he’ll definitely have more lines in The Last Jedi, and probably at least one more outfit. A new rumor also suggests he has some new jewelry that might have something to do with his past and Darth Vader. [Be advised: this gets into some kindaaa spoilery territory, so if you want to go into The Last Jedi blind, run away!]
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ TV Spots: Quill Introduces the Team and Baby Groot is Belligerent
If there’s one thing Peter Quill is really good at (besides making people want to kill him), it’s listing. Namely, listing all of his friends, which he has done in maybe three Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 trailers so far. We get it, Pete, you’ve got little epithets for all your buddies. The newest TV spot looks just as fun and bizarre as the previous ones, with the misfit family of Guardians going up against more legions of spaceships, a tall gold woman, and a giant tentacle beast. So, the usual.
‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Rumors Surface About Benicio Del Toro’s Character
Star Wars Episode VIII, much like The Force Awakens, has been shrouded in the utmost secrecy throughout its production so far. We’ve had some teeny glimpses behind the scenes and rumors have fluttered around, but so far we don’t know a whole lot about the film in terms of plot. Earlier this year, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, and Kelly Marie Tran joined the cast in unspecified roles, and the studio has kept quiet about that so far. Now, a new rumor might give us some answers to one very important question: who, exactly, is Benicio del Toro playing? Be wary of SPOILERS for Episode VIII in the following paragraphs.
Darth Vader Is All Over the New ‘Rogue One’ International Trailer
As the Rogue One trailers keep rolling out, they get increasingly more Darth Vader-y. In the first few, we had that shot of the back of his helmet. Then, in the next couple, a new shot of him talking to Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Krennic. Now, the most recent international trailer actually starts off with his “Imperial March” theme and includes a short soundbite of that chilling breathing noise.
Rumor: We May See Executioner Stormtrooper in ‘Star Wars Episode VIII’
Throughout the years, the Stormtrooper design has had subtle changes from movie to movie — even in the original trilogy you can see how the helmets and armor were updated with every installment in the series. For The Force Awakens, which takes place decades after the events of Return of the Jedi, we saw some more changes in the design, plus a few markedly different upgrades. Now, there’s a rumor going around that we could see a very special Stormtrooper design in the upcoming Episode VIII: the Executioner.
The ‘Friday the 13th’ Reboot Has Found Its Setting and Script
It’s been a long time coming, but after almost a decade, producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are ready to start working on the Friday the 13th reboot. The original 1980 Friday the 13th is a horror classic that introduced hockey-masked lunatic Jason Vorhees to the world, but its sequels over the years have left a lot to be desired. Even the 2009 remake was just not that good. Now, it sounds like Fuller and Form, who also produced The Purge series, are ready for another go at it.
‘Deadpool 2’ Creative Differences Were Over Two Completely Different Ideas for the Sequel
When we heard this weekend that Tim Miller had quit the Deadpool sequel due to the all-too-common “creative differences,” we knew something had gone very, very wrong. Miller had clashed with the film’s star Ryan Reynolds, who had been lobbying to get his version of the merc with a mouth into theaters since even before his ill-fated attempt at the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Reynolds loves the character, and Miller managed to make fifteen times the budget of the first movie on its release. So what went wrong? Apparently, the clash that caused Miller to bow out of the sequel came about because two separate groups were campaigning for two entirely different movies.
Petition Launched for Quentin Tarantino to Direct ‘Deadpool 2’ After Tim Miller’s Exit
When Tim Miller exited Deadpool 2 over creative differences (with Ryan Reynolds, of all people!) we were pretty shocked. The first Deadpool was great, an R-rated, funny, and blood-soaked respite from the formula we’ve come to expect from Marvel, and the prospect of a sequel was equally as exciting. But with Miller’s exit, Deadpool’s future has become a little more uncertain — so uncertain, that fans have set up their own petition to get Quentin Tarantino for the sequel instead.
Vin Diesel Is at It Again With the ‘Fast 8’ Oscar Thing
Back when he was doing press rounds for 2015’s Furious 7, Vin Diesel made some pretty bold statements about the movie deserving to be nominated for an Academy Award (and let’s be real, the only thing more emotional last year than the final minutes of Furious 7 was, maybe, Carol). It, of course, wasn’t, which should come as no surprise, even though it was a critical and box office success, but that hasn’t stopped our buddy Vin, who is now saying that the next film in the franchise, Fast 8, should be Oscar-worthy.
‘Suicide Squad’ Pulls a ‘Pottermore,’ Launches Viral Marketing Website
Viral marketing is a pretty hit or miss business. Hollywood’s current king of viral campaigns, Ridley Scott, has lured audiences to his films by putting out video campaigns before his movies — before Prometheus, he released a few “ads” for Michael Fassbender’s David android, and ahead of The Martian’s premiere last year Scott’s team created a YouTube channel full of video diaries from the crew of the Ares III. Viral campaigns are designed to tease out interest in their films by providing the future audience with little bits and pieces of what they’ll see when they make it to the theater. The latest campaign, strangely enough, comes from Suicide Squad, which launched an odd little website today designed to let fans of the film click around “classified” documents and hunt for clues about the DC cinematic universe.
Angelina Jolie in Talks for ‘Shoot Like a Girl,’ Based on a Soldier’s Memoir
After Brangelina’s split, the world watched with eyes wide and breaths held to see how the two would move on, and what projects they would or would not be pursuing. Sometimes breakups greatly affect actors’ careers, but with the star power that both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have, we knew neither of them would be in much trouble. Pitt has Allied coming up with Marion Cotillard, Jolie will next be seen onscreen in the Maleficent sequel, and today it was announced that the actress is in early talks for an adaptation of Shoot Like a Girl, based on the memoir of Air Force Major Mary Jennings Hegar.