Sci-Fi Storm

DC finally appears to be gearing up to go head to head with Marvel. According to the returning Nikke Finke, DC has set a release plan that explains the delay of Batman vs. Superman – to better launch the upcoming Justice League, DC’s answer to The Avengers. It also includes a few new items, such as Shazam (a.k.a. Captain Marvel), the long-gestating Wonder Woman, and a Flash/Green Lantern crossover that reportedly will NOT feature Ryan Reynolds (honestly, I think it gets a bad rap…I enjoyed it) and not sure how it will deal with the upcoming WB series.

The reported schedule is:

May 2016 – Batman vs. Superman
July 2016 – Shazam
Xmas 2016 – Sandman
May 2017 – Justice League
July 2017 – Wonder Woman
Xmas 2017 – Flash and Green Lantern team-up
May 2018 – Man Of Steel 2

In addition, Justice League will feature cameos that will launch further standalone movies, but those are still being negotiated with potential stars.

Marvel announced today that The Fifth Beatle and Yes Man director Peyton Reed will take over the vacant director’s chair for Ant-Man, after Edgar Wright and Marvel choose to go their separate ways over creative differences.

In addition, Adam McKay, a former Saturday Night Live writer who has written several Wil Ferrell movies including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and it’s sequel and was previously in talks to take over but dropped out, will in fact write the script.

Mark Hamill made his first ever appearance at Star Wars Weekends today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park at Walt Disney World, and he had a session talking with fellow Star Wars alum and voice actor James Arnold Taylor, where he talks a bit about Episode VII, the original movies, and shows off his incredible voice acting skills…including a chat between the Joker and Luke! Check out this full video courtesy of Inside the Magic:

Not long after Lucasfilm announced the director of the first of at least two standalone Star Wars. films, they’ve already announced another: Josh Trank, who debuted to acclaim with Chronicle and is currently helming Fox’s reboot of The Fantastic Four.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Josh into the family,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “He is such an incredible talent and has a great imagination and sense of innovation. That makes him perfectly suited to Star Wars, and for this new slate of movies that reach beyond the core characters and storylines of Episodes I through IX.”

“The magic of the Star Wars Universe defined my entire childhood,” Trank stated. “The opportunity to expand on that experience for future generations is the most incredible dream of all time.”

Of course, like last time no details on a plot (the rumored ones center around Han Solo and Boba Fett), but in addition no potential release date was mentioned. From earlier announcements, I’d expect 2018 though, with 2017 slotted for Episode VIII.

While Marvel Studios is still scrambling to find a new director for Ant-Man, they are pushing ahead with another Phase 2 project – Doctor Strange. Long thought to be one of the Marvel Comics properties ripe for a feature adaptation but so far untouched other than in animation (Correction: There was a 1978 TV movie), it was down to when and who – and the who, at least as far as director, seems to be known now. Scott Derrickson, who directed Sinister as well as The Exorcism Of Emily Rose and the 2008 remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still, tweeted this:

My next movie will be STRANGE: pic.twitter.com/5pdbO6Op6j

— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) June 3, 2014

Seems pretty certain, dunnit? 🙂

The character, created in 1964 by Stan Lee an Steve Ditko, is a former egotistical neurosurgeon who after becoming severely injured in a car crash to the point he could no longer conduct surgery and falls into bankruptcy trying to repair his hands, finds his way tho a hermit known only as the Ancient One – who after a selfless act by Strange teaches him the mystic arts. Strange then becomes the Sorcerer Supreme — the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats.

Two more actresses have been added to the announced cast of Star Wars Episode Vii: Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (Twelve Years a Slave) and Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2). Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, “It’s thrilling to see this extraordinarily talented ensemble taking shape.”

As expected, no details of the roles were given.

It’s been a long time in the works, but Stargate will finally get a reboot, with original creators Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich returning to take the reins.

Devlin and Emmerich have always wanted to finish the story they started in the original Stargate movie, with ideas for two more movies. But MGM, who owned the rights, eventually decided on a different direction, instead opting for a TV series that didn’t involve either Devlin or Emmerich, which bloomed into a successful franchise.

Most recently Emmerich spoke of the idea of rebooting it altogether, with the plan to do all three movies with new actors given how much time has passed since the original. Now that appears to be the plan, with the announcement that MGM and Warner Bros. will team up to create whole new re-imagined trilogy, with Devlin and Emmerich back in charge.

It appears that Marvel has decided to part ways with director Edgar Wright and get Ant-Man back on track. In a joint statement they say the split is “amicable”, but word on the street is that the studio and Shaun Of The Dead director Wright have been at odds for a while and it deteriorated recently over creative differences. A replacement has yet to be named, but Marvel says the release date of July 17th, 2015 will be unaffected.

We’ve known for a while that aside from a new “epic” trilogy (with Episode VII now in production), that at least two side films were planned (what do we call them? Interstitial? Spin-off? I think I like the former better, especially as they are filling in the time between the epic episodes) if not more. Well, now we know when the first one will be released, who is writing it and who will be in charge.

Gareth Edwards will direct the first stand-alone film, with a screenplay by Gary Whitta. The film is due out December 16, 2016.

Gareth Edwards blazed into the filmmaking forefront with his acclaimed work on Monsters, a film he wrote, directed and served on as cinematographer and visual effects artist. The skill and vision readily apparent in Monsters earned him the high-profile spot directing this year’s smash hit Godzilla.

“Ever since I saw Star Wars I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life — join the Rebel Alliance! I could not be more excited and honored to go on this mission with Lucasfilm,” said Edwards.

Gary Whittas screenwriting credits include 2010’s The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington. He is also well known as a journalist and editor in the video game industry, as well as part of the BAFTA award-winning team on Telltale Games adaptation of The Walking Dead.

Whitta states, “From the moment I first saw the original movie as a wide-eyed kid, Star Wars has been the single most profound inspiration to my imagination and to my career as a writer. It is deeply special to me,so to be given the opportunity to contribute to its ongoing legacy, especially in collaboration with a film-maker as talented as Gareth, is literally a dream come true. I’m still pinching myself.”

Little is known at this point what the plot of the interstitial films will entail, but most internet rumors revolve about stories involving Boba Fett and Han Solo – perhaps origin stories.

Today in a special video message from the set of Star Wars: Episode VII, director J.J. Abrams announced the creation of Star Wars: Force for Change, a brand new Star Wars initiative from Disney and Lucasfilm in collaboration with Bad Robot dedicated to finding creative solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems. The first Star Wars: Force for Change campaign will raise funds and awareness for the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) Innovation Labs and its innovative programs that are benefiting the world’s most vulnerable children.

Disney has committed US $1 million to support the launch of Star Wars: Force for Change. Fans can now contribute directly at Omaze.com/StarWars for a chance to appear in Star Wars: Episode VII. For each $10 contribution made through the Omaze fundraising platform, eligible participants will be automatically entered for a chance to win this once-in-a-lifetime experience. The campaign runs from 12:01am PST on May 21st until 11:59pm PST July 18th.

The Star Wars: Force for Change Grand Prize includes:

• Airfare and accommodations to London for one winner and a guest
• Behind-the-scenes access on the closed set of Star Wars: Episode VII as VIP guests of J.J. Abrams
• Winner will have the opportunity to meet members of the cast
• Winner and their guest will then be transformed by makeup and costume teams into a Star Wars character and filmed for a scene in Star Wars: Episode VII