An obscure Marvel hero is rumored to be in Spider-Man: Homecoming, largely because of some strange things happening at Sony Studios. According to Bleeding Cool, a lot of employees are going out and buying up Nightwatch comics.

Since Nightwatch was created initially for the Spider-Man universe, his character is up for grabs to appear in those films. 

Nightwatch (who got a lot of flak for looking like Spawn) is Dr. Kevin Trench. One day, Trench is attacked and saved by Nightwatch who dies in the battle. Trench is shocked to discover that Nightwatch is an older version of himself from the future. Trench dons the suit knowing that his fate will one day be to die saving himself. 

His suit is self-regenerating and blocks his ability to feel pain. It also enhances all his abilities to superhuman levels and acts as a weapon at times. It sounds a lot like the venom symbiote, except it doesn't make you crazy.

I guess if this hero is appearing in the new Spider-Man movie, that would be cool, but honestly, I don't know how he will fit into this film from the footage I've seen at Comic-Con. Perhaps there are other plans for the character (like appearing in a future movie after Homecoming), or I'm not seeing the big picture. 

Scooby Doo will be helping out the Justice League's pets in the latest issue of the DC Comic. io9 reports Scooby Doo Team Up #35 will have Krypto The Superdog and Ace enlisting the help of Scooby Doo to help a situation on an alternate dog Earth. Check out some pictures and continue reading below...

Looks like that Hanna Barbera reboot of DC comics is going pretty well! I saw this ultra-realistic Flintstones comic a couple weeks ago and it tripped me out! Maybe I'll have to start picking these up.

Sometimes I like to imagine what the world would be like if Animaniacs were still on the air today. It would probably be the same, but we'd have a lot more Animaniacs episodes to cherish and laugh at. I especially would like to see how they would cover the recent trend of superhero movies. 

We'll never know about any of that, but we can still celebrate our love of Animaniacs as well as Pinky and The Brain with this new Funko Pop line!

Looks like both lineups will be appearing in stores this fall. Check them out in the pictures below.

Continuing the onslaught of Doctor Strange publicity, Marvel Studios has released four more posters for the upcoming superhero film (following the three they dropped yesterday). First up, there's an IMAX poster that literally delves into the mind of the title character:

I'm not quite sure what to think about that design. I like that they're at least trying to do something interesting with it, but I'm not convinced they pulled it off. It might be just a bit too literal.

In any case, here are three more character posters, and these concentrate on supporting players Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Again, the designs here are a little too topsy-turvy for me. I get that they represent the intended tone of the movie and the idea that Strange's world isn't what it appears to be, but these are so disorienting, I wouldn't want to hang them on my wall. I feel like I'd lose my balance or something every time I walked past them. But I loved the new trailer that came out yesterday, so make sure to watch that if you haven't yet.

Doctor Strange arrives in theaters on November 4, 2016.

You'd think I'd be tired of seeing other films parodied to resemble the Star Trek: Beyond trailer...but I'm not. Also this isn't a trailer, this is a full-out compilation of every badass moment in the Harry Potter films accompanied by The Beastie Boys! It seems like "Sabotage" is the perfect song for any movie compilation.

Great work by Alex Perez. 

I haven't seen Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway sensation Hamilton, and even though people love the soundtrack and go on and on about how great it is, I'm purposefully trying to avoid hearing anything from the show until I get to experience the play in person for myself. But I know enough about the man behind the show to be excited that he's playing a character in Mary Poppins Returns, Disney's upcoming sequel to the classic 1964 hit.

Miranda sat down with Variety and talked about his role in the movie:

"It's straight up a sequel. Michael and Jane Banks have grown up, and they find themselves in their own spot, and Mary Poppins comes back to take care of Michael's kids. I play a lamplighter named Jack who sort of grew up apprenticing to Bert. So I know if Mary Poppins shows up, it's gonna get awesome. I perform that function in the movie, of saying: 'Y'all don’t know about Mary Poppins. When Mary’s around, cool sh– happens.'"

That's the first time we've heard that his character knew Dick Van Dyke's Bert directly, so that's a cool little detail. Emily Blunt is playing Mary Poppins, Ben Whishaw will play the grown-up Michael Banks, and Meryl Streep also has a role.

Miranda is working with Disney not only on this film, but he's helping with the music for the upcoming animated movie Moana and he's also teaming with Alan Menken to write songs for their live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. The Disney animated films of the late '80s and early '90s had a profound impact on him when he was growing up:

“My God, those Disney musicals,” he said. “I feel really lucky that I was a kid when they went on that run of animated musicals, starting with ‘The Little Mermaid.’ Not just animated movies, animated musicals. Howard Ashman [the late writer-lyricist of ‘Mermaid,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Aladdin’] figured out, ‘Oh my God, I can make even better musicals under this system than I can Off Broadway.’ I have never been more transported in my life than when ‘Under the Sea’ first started when I was nine years old. I said, ‘I cannot believe what is happening to me,’ and that feeling of vertigo in a movie theater. Something I’ve been chasing ever since. To be part of that legacy, and then ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ ‘Aladdin’ and ‘The Lion King,’ it was just this incredible run that happened when I was ages 9 to 14. It’s very formative to me. I’m thrilled to be a part of that tradition.”

Additionally, NBC announced that Miranda will host Saturday Night Live on October 8th, which will be the new season's second episode. (Margot Robbie is hosting the premiere this coming weekend.) Twenty One Pilots will be the official musical guest for Miranda's episode, but I have to assume Miranda himself will get to sing during at least part of the show (maybe during a pre-taped sketch destined to be a viral hit).

Mary Poppins Returns hits theaters on December 25, 2018.

I think Paramount dropped the ball in a profound way with its Star Trek 50th anniversary video a few weeks ago, but at least they've done right by the long-running sci-fi franchise with this brand new, limited edition 50th anniversary TV and movie collection box set. If you dig Trek and you prefer the original cast, this seems like a must-have set because it includes every major piece of Star Trek entertainment those actors participated in during their careers.

Not only does it include every episode of The Original Series on Blu-ray, but this 30 disc set also comes with remastered Blu-rays of The Animated Series and each of the first six movies in the franchise, ranging from The Motion Picture all the way to The Undiscovered Country. You'll also get a pretty sweet limited edition Starfleet pin/magnet and some cool mini-posters for the films designed by artist Juan Ortiz. Check out an unboxing video from Jordan Hoffman, the host of Engage: The Official Star Trek Podcast:

The only slight disappointment is that it doesn't include Star Trek Generations, so you don't get to see the finale of Kirk's journey. I sort of wish they'd tossed that in there just for completion's sake, but on the other hand, I understand why they didn't: that movie is far more about Picard than it is about Kirk, and not every member of the original cast was included in it, so I can see why they'd want a clean delineation after The Undiscovered Country.

But everything you do get in this set is extraordinary. There's a new, two-and-a-half-hour, multi-part documentary called The Journey To The Silver Screen which covers the history of the franchise from when it was saved from cancellation by a fan campaign all the way through production of the first six films. For someone like me who has seen all of the movies but didn't know the in-depth history behind the making of all of them, it was incredibly valuable to be able to get a crash course in the time it takes to watch a feature length movie, and the interviews (including with people like Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer) are often engaging and enlightening. And if all of that wasn't enough, there are over 20 hours of previously-released bonus content spread across the entire set! It's a truly insane amount of stuff, and would be a crown jewel in the collection of any diehard Trek fan. 

And unlike that ridiculously overpriced Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings set (which also includes 30 discs), you won't have to drop a mind-blowing $800 for this box set. When Mick wrote about this set a little while back, he guessed it'd be around $200, and that's pretty damn accurate: it's listed at $208, but right now, it's on sale at Amazon for only $129.99. Let us know if you plan on snagging one of these sets for yourself! I'm going to spend the next few weeks watching The Original Series all the way through from start to finish for the first time.

Stan Lee is unquestionably a major figure in the history of comics, and because of the way superhero films have become one of the most profitable and mainstream aspects of pop culture over the past twenty years, an argument can be made that Lee is hugely influential in the shaping of our modern culture. (I think most of us are aware of the allegations that Lee might have taken undue credit for creating a lot of the comic characters we know and love, but let's put that aside for now.)

Yesterday, the city of Los Angeles honored Lee by announcing that October 28th would be known as Stan Lee Day in the city. Additionally, Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo — the three-day convention he's hosted yearly at the L.A. Convention Center since 2011 — is changing its name to Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con. This year's convention will kick off on Stan Lee Day. Find out more here.

"I want [people] to feel they've had an experience, because these conventions are a chance for the fans to be up close to the people they are fans of and to see the workings of the television shows — and even music and sports. It's going to encompass everything that people are entertained by," Lee told THR. "People love comics, movies and television more and more every year, so we intend to provide more and more every year."

Lee has been keeping busy with cameos in Marvel Studios movies, so we'll see him on the big screen again when Doctor Strange comes out in early November.

If you have been keeping up with DC Rebirth, then you know Pre-New 52 Superman took the place of New 52 Superman after his death. A welcomed change by most, you can now read about Pre-New 52 Superman and how he fits into our universe in Action Comics, Superman Rebirth, Justice League Rebirth, and Trinity. Francis Manapul provides both the writing and drawing for Trinity, and it focuses on the relationship between Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman and the bond that ties them together. I think he did an amazing job and can see this story really developing in further issues. 

In the first issue, we find our heroes having dinner at Clark and Lois’s farm and Batman clearly has some reservations about Superman’s son, Jonathan, having powers he can’t control. To ease the tension, Superman shares a hilarious memory Dick Grayson told him back on his Earth. Early in Robin’s career, when his identity was on the brink of being exposed, Batman wore a Rainbow Batsuit costume to distract the villains and keep the attention on him! The costume is hilarious and it’s great to see the Dark Knight dressed so comically. It’s a nod to Detective Comics #241, but slightly less cartoony than the couple iterations of it I've seen. Being the New 52 Batman, this Batman doesn’t remember any of it and is not amused.

The New 52 was formed by stealing time and memories from all of our heroes and cramming their history into only five years. They simply did not go through all of the things that this Pre-New 52 Superman has, and instead only retained a fraction of their superhero experiences. I thought this was an awesome inclusion into the issue and it really showed how our heroes are going to have to get to know each other again and grow to be as strong as they once were. They still have their reservations, but I am sure the DC universe will adjust to the new status quo in no time.

Kenneth Branagh is directing and starring in a remake of the famous Agatha Christie murder mystery story Murder on the Orient Express, and although he once had Angelina Jolie in talks to play one of the passengers on board the deadly vehicle, the actress has since dropped out of the project. That's OK, though, because a new piece in THR indicates that Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer, who worked together on the vampire comedy Dark Shadows a few years ago, are "names of interest" for the new movie, though they caution that neither actor has been officially offered a part...yet.

The story follows detective Hercule Poirot as he attempts to solve the murder of an American businessman that occurred on a cross-country train. The 1974 film starred big names like Albert Finney, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Anthony Perkins, and many more, so clearly Fox is trying to attract a similarly star-studded cast for this new effort.

Hilary Strong, CEO of Agatha Christie Limited, explained to THR why they're remaking the movie in the first place (via The Playlist):

“One of the criticisms that I keep getting levied at me is that [the previous film adaptations] were so amazing. ‘How can you remake ‘Murder on the Orient Express'?' They’re iconic films, but they are of their time, and there is a new cinema audience that won’t watch films that were made in 1957 or 1974, and we want them to hear her stories.”

I think she's absolutely right about that, and it's a point that a lot of people either fail to consider or don't talk about enough when the topic of Hollywood remakes comes up. Obviously the old versions still exist, but how many people do you know — and I'm assuming the readers of this site are cinephiles and probably have cinephile friends — who would willingly watch a movie from 1957 over something much newer? There are certainly people out there who would, but I think Strong is onto something: that number seems to be dwindling every year.

Murder on the Orient Express has a release date of November 22, 2017, so expect a cast to be finalized relatively soon.

With the rise in sports and gaming worldwide, gamers are demanding more and more in their accessories. Whether it be gaming long hours, listening to music, or isolating...read more on Gametyrant

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The Warp Zone is back with another acapella rendition of a classic TV show theme song, and this time they've painted themselves yellow in honor of The Simpsons. The show has been on for 28 seasons and aired nearly 600 episodes since its premiere in 1989. Even if its quality has dipped for long stretches, that's still an impressive run, and it's become an American institution in the animation category.

Fun fact that I'm sure most of you already knew: Danny Elfman composed the music for this theme song.

Couch Tomato and Hulk review Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt's new western The Magnificent Seven. Listen on PodTyrant

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Justin Lin, the man who rescued the Fast & Furious franchise from the brink of death and turned it into one of the biggest movie series in the world, is getting in the driver's seat for a different car-themed film.

THR reports that Lin, who most recently directed Star Trek Beyond, has signed a deal to develop, produce, and direct Hot Wheels for Legendary Entertainment, a movie based on the beloved toy line. This film has been in the works since 2003, with directors like Simon Crane and McG pulling in and then peeling out in recent years. Lin seems like an obvious natural fit to direct the four-wheeled action here, though the storyline remains to be seen; a new writer will be hired soon to take a crack at a script.

One quick thing from THR's report that I thought was worth mentioning: a statistic they quote about the prevalence of Hot Wheels toys in the world:

Hot Wheels is one of the world’s biggest toy brands, with Mattel claiming that it is the best-selling toy in the world, with more than 5 billion toy cars produced since 1968. Mattel creates nine million cars every week and sells 10 every second.

Ten every second! That's unfathomable! Wow. Anyway, we'll see if that kind of global brand recognition alone will be enough to get butts in seats for this movie, or if they'll actually take the novel approach of attempting to infuse it with a strong story and give it compelling characters.

Marvel has added a new villain to the mix in director Ryan Coogler's upcoming film Black Panther. Person of Interest actor Winston Duke will be taking on the role of Man-Ape. That means there are three villains in the film so far. The other two are Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger and Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaw. Duke also joins Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, Danai Gurira, and Lupita Nyong’o.

In the comics, Man-Ape, a.k.a. M’Baku, was one of Wakanda’s most powerful warriors and one of T’Challa’s biggest rivals.

M'Baku is a worshipper of the sacred White Gorilla who was exiled from Wakanda because of his actions in leading the cult and betraying The Black Panther. A sacred ritual gives him apelike strength, agility and stamina, earning him the name Man-Ape.

This will definitely be an interesting character to see brought to life on the big screen! I'm sure it will be a mix of live-action and CGI as the character is enormous with a height of seven feet and weighing in at 355 pounds. 

Duke seems to be just getting his start as an established actor and has mostly done TV work. This will be his most high-profile gig yet.  

Black Panther is set for release on February 16th, 2018.

Source: Variety

I've got a fascinating video here for you to watch that offers us a side-by-side comparison of movie scenes that are shot exactly the same. It's pretty awesome to see how today's directors were heavily influenced by the filmmakers that inspired them.

The video was edited together by Candice Drouet, and he says that it "juxtaposes famous movie scenes with similar visual composition." The films that are compared in the video include Pulp Fiction and Moonrise Kingdom; Full Metal Jacket and Moonrise Kingdom; Requiem for a Dream and All That Jazz; Perfect Blue and Dark City; and more.

Brad Anderson (Session 9) has a new film project lined up called Fate, which he will direct from a script by Gary Whitta (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). 

According to Deadline, the story follows a character named Virgil who is described as "a man on the edge, all too familiar with the back alleys of Hong Kong." They go on to reveal that, "His life, or what’s left of it, is turned upside down when he is approached by a mysterious woman seeking his help. "

That's all we have to share about the film so far, and the story could go in any direction from there. I'm a fan of Anderson. He really impressed me with his psychological horror thriller Session 9, and since then he's made films such as The Machinist, Transsiberian, The Call, and Stonehearst Asylum.

I really hope that this next film of his is good. Whitta has been hit and miss with some of the film projects that he's worked on such as The Book of Eli and, unfortunately, After Earth, which was a giant turd of a film. 

I don't know if you've seen Turbo Kid or not, but it's one of the most wickedly fun movies! It's like a hardcore, post-apocalyptic Mad Max style film but with BMX bikes. If you enjoyed the movie, you've gotta check out this short film/music video that is set in the same universe. It's called "No Tomorrow," and it's a prequel story that focuses on the character Apple and leads up to the point before she meets Turbo Kid.  

The short offers us a sweet and slightly demented story in which Apple's new friend dies and she still decides to drag him along in the desolate wasteland to keep her company. 

The music was composed by Le Matos (Jean-Nicolas Leupi and Jean-Philippe Bernier), and the lyrics and vocals come from Pawws (Lucy Taylor).  

As excited as I am for James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, one of the things I'm most looking forward to seeing is Kurt Russell as Peter Quill's dad, Ego the Living Planet. We got our first look at him in the footage screened at Comic-Con, and it looks like he was a fun character for Gunn to play with. That footage has yet to be released, but here's a description of it that I previously posted.

He showed up near the end of the trailer as he emerged from an oval shaped ship and introduced to himself to Star-Lord as Ego, his father. Ego says, “After all these years, I’ve found you," to which Star-Lord responds, “Who the hell are you?” Ego hit him back with, “I figured my rugged good looks would make that obvious. My name’s Ego and I’m your dad, Peter.”

Ego went on to explain to Peter that he's not human and that he created a human body for himself. “I created what I imagined biological life would be like, down to the most minute detail,” he said. He came to Earth to experience what it was like to be human. 

Drax hilariously asked him, "Did you make a penis?" Peter and his team of Guardians react with annoyance, and Star-Lord says that he doesn’t need to hear about how he was conceived. But of course Drax pushes for the answer, and Ego happily obliges with, “Yes, Drax, I’ve got a penis.” Then Drax thanks him.

Russell recently did an interview with comingsoon for his upcoming film Deepwater Horizon, and during that interview, he was asked about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and if there was anything he could say about it, and he talked about his experience working on the film:

"Yes, it's gonna be good! James Gunn is really on top of it. Chris Pratt's cool, the whole crew, the whole cast... they were all real nice. And I was really excited when I read this character, it was the opportunity to play someone that I think is... Ego the Living Planet. It might be the best name of a character that I ever got a shot at. But yeah, that Marvel and Disney bunch, they know what they're doing and James Gunn is leading the way. So, I think it's gonna be terrific. I hope it is. I've seen some of it at Comic-Con it was, it really kind of jumped off the screen. There's some great stuff in it, and I hold high hopes for it, and it was fun!"

I think it's safe to say every fan of the first film has high hopes for it. Personally, my expectations are high, and I believe Gunn has the ability to give us something so incredible that it will blow us away. As far as Russell goes, it looks to me like he is the perfect choice for the role, and I can't wait to see how his character it utilized in the story.

Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.

The movie hits theaters on May 5th, 2017.

2018 will be a sad year for fans of Cartoon Network's animated series Adventure Time because that is the year that it will come to an end. We all knew it couldn't last forever, and it will be sad to see it go. In the meantime, we'll just have to enjoy the new episodes over the next two years. Deadline points out that by the time the series comes to a close, it will have had eight years and 71 hours of programming since it began.

The series was created by Pendleton Ward and centers on the post-apocalyptic adventures of Finn the Human (Jeremy Shada) and Jake the Dog (John DiMaggio). They are best friends who find themselves embarking on crazy and surreal adventures in the magical Land of Ooo.

This has been such an entertaining show to watch! I've enjoyed the strange visual style of it and the unique tone. The show was so good that it's won six Emmys and two BAFTAs over the years and has featured the voice talent of Andy Samberg, Matthew Broderick, Laura Silverman, George Takei, Rainn Wilson, and Neil Patrick Harris. 

Rob Sorcher, chief content officer for Cartoon Network, had this to say in a statement:

“Adventure Time changed the definition of what a kids’ TV series could be, and it’s had a resounding impact upon popular culture around the world. Cartoon Network Studios is proud to have brought together this group of brilliant artists and animators who helped make Adventure Time one of the most critically acclaimed TV series of a generation.”

Ward added:

“Adventure Time was a passion project for the people on the crew who poured their heart into the art and stories. We tried to put into every episode something genuine and telling from our lives, and make a show that was personal to us, and that had jokes too! I’m really happy that it connected with an audience for so long. It’s a special thing, I think.”

Adventure Time will end in its ninth season so it had a pretty good run, and over the years has gained a loyal fanbase.