I never really recognized character actor David Harbour before watching Stranger Things, but his role as Chief Hopper has made him a household name in the geek community and beyond. Going back over his filmography, I realize that I've seen him everywhere; it's one of those cool things that happens when an actor finally gets a big breakout part.

Harbour seems to have a pretty good sense of humor out of character, as you'll see in this Funny or Die video in which he claims to have auditioned for the role of Eleven.

Via: LaughingSquid

Legendary comic book artist Jim Lee recently showed off his mad skills in a time-lapse video. In it, we get to see him draw Wonder Woman for her 75th anniversary. He created the exclusive piece for Variety and it's so cool to see him work his artistic magic. When talking about what he hopes to accomplish when creating a piece like this, he said:

"I think there's a lot of things that kind of go through my mind when I sit down to draw something like this. Obviously, you want to get the costume and the details correct, but the most important thing about drawing a character, especially one like Wonder Woman, who is so iconic, so well known, is really capturing the emotional state of the character. Trying to represent this visually the things that she stands for. Power, Equality, Strength, Wisdom."

I love that there is talent in the world like this. 

There's another Wizard of Oz prequel film in development that is coming from RAMstar Studios. The movie will be based on the 1991 book, How the Wizard Came To Oz, written by Donald Abbot.

The story is very similar to the 2013 Sam Raimi-directed film Oz the Great and Powerful, as it explores how circus stuntman Oscar Diggs was whisked away to the land of Oz and how he became the "wizard" encountered by Dorothy in the famous story. 

I'm not sure why they would want to make a film that has basically been made already, but the most exciting aspect of it is that it could possibly star Nathan Fillion as the Wizard. There's no confirmation of his casting, but they are reportedly trying to get him on board. 

The author of the book is writing the script and  the film will be directed by Cole S. McKay, who has worked on films such as Cloverfield and Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. Here's the synopsis for the upcoming film:

Discover how everyone's favorite humbug first found his way to Oz! When circus stuntman Oscar Diggs goes aloft in a balloon and is blown over the rainbow to the land of Oz at the time when both wicked witches are still alive and kicking, he's in for the biggest challenge of his life! Through a delicious set of misunderstandings, the people of Oz mistake Oscar for a mighty wizard and Oscar, ever the showman, plays right along. Staying one jump ahead of the two wicked witches is no easy feat, but Oscar's wit and bag of tricks help him carry the day!

Would you be up for watching another Wizard of Oz prequel with Nathan Fillion?

Via: CBM

Here's a fun series of Pokemon balloon art created by artist Brian Getz of Pretty Funny Balloons. He's a big fan of Pokemon Go and this is his way of paying tribute to the game and the characters.

"Christina and I have enjoyed playing Pokemon Go, so at a recent conference, I decided to see how many pokemon I could make. I’d say this is a good start."

I've got another awesome short film for you to watch from the talented individuals at Corridor Digital. The story follows a young man who gets his hands on the world's most advanced Virtual Reality headset. When he starts using it, he finds himself being transported to the world of Grand Theft Auto and he experiences "a city full of chaos and bedlam where he meets the world's most advanced A.I. trainer." This is a wickedly wild short and it's one of the most entertaining videos I've seen from Corridor Digital in awhile. Enjoy!

It's happening, it has to be this time. After a year of leaks and rumors, it appears that Rockstar Games is finally going to make an announcement about...read more on Gametyrant

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I've got a great collection of rare art for you to check out of never-before-seen sketches created for some of Disney's classic animated films. They include art for film such as The Jungle Book, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Fantasia, and more. There's also a few photos of the Disney Animation Studio back in the day. 

The sketches are part of a book coming out called The Walt Disney Film Archives: The Animated Movies, 1921-1968, and the art comes from the Disney Animation Library which contains a 6.5 million-item collection that is closed to the public. This will be the first of a five-volume book series that I need to own because I love this kind of stuff!

You may have heard of "The Silk Road," the online illegal-drug marketplace created by Ross William Ulbricht (who was known online as Dread Pirate Roberts). Wired ran a two-part piece on him back in 2015, and Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island) was originally brought on to write the script for a film telling Ulbricht's story. Now THR reports that the Coen Brothers are taking over the writing duties, though they have no plans to direct the eventual feature film.

This isn't the first time the Coens have written a movie they didn't direct. Recently they took a crack at the script for Micheal Hoffman's Gambit remake, Angelina Jolie's Unbroken, Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, and George Clooney's upcoming Suburbicon.

Dark Web is described as a thriller, and in a weird twist, the real-life story that inspired it was actually compared to the films of the Coens themselves because of how twisty and bizarre it was. I suppose taking on the script is the natural end of this weird ouroboros.

Pop culture properties from the 1980s up through today get the poster treatment all the time, but it's rare to see a film from 1939 getting memorialized these days in a new screenprint. But Mondo is flying in like a monkey to change that with these two new posters from artist JC Richard devoted to one of the greatest films of all time, The Wizard of Oz.

We couldn’t be more excited about JC’s amazing take on this iconic film. Peering into her crystal ball alongside one of her winged monkeys, the Wicked Witch of the West watches over as Dorothy and her companions make their way to visit The Great and Powerful Oz.

The Wizard of Oz by JC Richard. 36"x24" screen print. Hand numbered. Edition of 275. Printed by D&L Screenprinting. $45

The Wizard of Oz (Variant) by JC Richard. 36"x24" screen print. Hand numbered. Edition of 150. Printed by D&L Screenprinting. $65

In keeping with The Wizard of Oz theme, artist Tom Whalen designed some enamel pins centered on a few of the film's iconic characters:

The Wizard of Oz (3-Pin Set). Includes Wicked Witch of the West, The Tin Man & Winged Monkey™. Designed by Tom Whalen. Shiny Silver Nickel Soft Enamel Pin. $25

Can you believe it's been ten years since the first Planet Earth miniseries came out? That's crazy to me. A lot has changed in the technological world in ten years, so the BBC is coming back with Planet Earth II, a sequel/continuation that will bring us closer to the action of the world's amazing animals than ever before. Check out this epic, jaw-droppingly rad trailer below. Man, animals are awesome.

When he died, I saw a plethora of people who knew Satoru Iwata but had no idea the impact that he had on the gaming industry. Hell, there's still some people...read more on Gametyrant

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Considering how long Star Wars has been a certified phenomenon and the sheer, mind-boggling amount of merchandise produced over the past forty years, it's always kind of shocking to me when people come up with something that hasn't been done before. Case in point: today I found out about a Stormtrooper shot glass from The Fowndry that uses the authentic helmet molds created by industrial designer Andrew Ainsworth in 1976 as the interior of the glass.

Please drink responsibly. That's not the hangover you're looking for.

Update: Upon further review there is no new footage. If you haven't watched the trailer in Russian, today is your day.

If you're excited about seeing the new Wonder Woman movie that's coming out, you'll definitely want to check out this latest international trailer released by Warner Bros. It mostly features footage we've already seen, but there are a few new shots in there of Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman in action. At one point we get to see her deflecting a mortar shell off her her shield. It's kinda badass. 

Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.

Wonder Woman was directed by Patty Jenkins and also stars Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Ewen Bremner, Saïd Taghmaoui, and Lucy Davis. It’s set to be released on June 2nd, 2017. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando is a badass movie that follows a retired black ops commando as he takes on a barrage of South American criminals. It's hilarious to see what it would look like as a 1980s Japanese TV series. 

The spoof comes from Eyes On Cinema, and there's just something strange and funny about seeing Schwarzenegger obliterate a bunch of bad guys to the sweet sounds of a Japanese pop song. It may be absolutely ridiculous, but it sure is entertaining. 

When the official logo for Thor: Ragnarok was released, I loved the retro '80s feel that it had. I wasn't really sure if that meant the film will have the same tone, but I hoped that it would. Now director Taika Waititi has confirmed that it will. 

During a recent Reddit AMA, the director was asked about the '80s style logo and if we could expect to see that vibe in the film he said, "You can, and more." He also went on to explain that the film was inspired by the sci-fi art of that time period.

"The style is inspired by 70s / 80s sci-fi fantasy art. Because our film feels like that."

Waititi seems to be very confident in the film that he has made because he believes that it will be "one of the most adventurous and most 'out there' of all the Marvel movies." He adds that "It's a crazy movie" and that Bruce Banner will steal the show, which is awesome to hear! 

All this talk basically confirms that Waititi is making an adventurous retro spectacle that Marvel fans are going to love. It's been previously mentioned that the film will be an intergalactic road trip with Thor and Hulk. If you're a fan of Waititi's previous quirky and funny films, you'll be happy to know that you'll see his style in the movie. When asked about that the director said:

“You can expect a Taika-esque tone. They’ve [Marvel] been very accepting of my style."

For some of the most recent details on the story and how it will tie into Planet Hulk, make sure to click here. Thor: Ragnarok arrives in theaters November 3rd, 2017, and I have no doubt it's going to be a wickedly awesome wild ride! 

In their spare time, Pixar animators Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj created this incredible, must watch animated short called "Borrowed Time." It's a western that tells a beautiful and dark story of forgiveness. It follows a weathered Sheriff who "returns to the remains of an accident he has spent a lifetime trying to forget. With each step forward, the memories come flooding back. Faced with his mistake once again, he must find the strength to carry on." This is an emotional and powerful short that really punches you in the gut, and it's a film that you have to see! Below the short, I included a featurette for that explains why the two animators made the film. This is easily one of the best shorts I've seen in 2016.

Lucasfilm has released a new set of Star Wars Topps Trading Cards that features new photos from the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story including some never-before-seen characters. I was deep into the Star Wars Card Trader app awhile ago but stopped because I could never get any of the cards I wanted. 

EW highlighted some of the photos and offered up details on some of these characters. The photos consist of the Rogue One team members, Rebel generals, soldiers and pilots, several Imperial troops, along with some aliens. 

If you want to watch the latest trailer for Rogue One again, do yourself a favor and click here.

We begin with a badass female X-wing pilot. Her name: unknown for now, although fans may be hoping this is Evaan Verlaine, a fellow Aldaraanian and confidante of Princess Leia's from the Star Wars Marvel Comics. The V symbols inside the array of yellow dots on her helmet stand for kill counts, each one tallying 20 enemy fighters. Whoever she is, she's flown around the block a few times. 

General Merrick is a character we haven't met before in Star Wars lore, although fans spotted actor Ben Daniels in the Rogue One behind-the-scenes footage from Celebration, cackling with glee as he settled into the cockpit to shoot a scene. One thing you can say for the Rebellion — their generals get right into the thick of battle.

Fans have only gotten a few glimpses of this Gigoran creature, an abominable snowman-looking being. (To me, he looks like an upright version of Falkor from 1984's The NeverEnding Story.) Moroff breathes with the help of a respirator (the atmosphere back home must be different in some way) while hauling heavy munitions on his broad frame. In the behind-the-scenes clip, we saw his wispy fur wafting as he ran, and in the new trailer he can be spotted scurrying for cover in the midst of a firefight on the Force-sacred world of Jedha. Moroff likes trouble. He's a mercenary, and trouble is where the money is.

In Star Wars, planets come with only one environment (snow, water, desert, forest) but now it seems creatures of the same species can come in different varieties. We've seen the Mon Calamari before in the form of lobster-red Admiral Akbar — first introduced inReturn of the Jedi and still fighting the good fight 30-some years later in The Force Awakens. These are the same type of being, except in a hue of pale blue. Hey, color is only shell-deep.

Here we see Edrio Two Tubes and his brother (also known as an "egg-mate") Benthic. Which is which ... ? Edrio has the Darth Vader-looking chest plate. They're mercenary pilots from the Empire-occupied world of Yar Togna, and they get their nickname (obviously) from the breathing apparatus that helps them breath human-friendly atmosphere.

This card doesn't reveal the type of being we're looking at, but they are pilgrims on the Force-sacred world of Jedha, where those with special sensitivity to this supernatural power, and those who simply have faith in it, venture to connect with each other and the beyond. The Empire also has designs on this world, hoping to rip from it elements necessary for their continued conquest of the galaxy. The masks of this trio call to mind the unusual helmets of the Guavian Death Gang, the red-armored figures pursuing Han Solo and Chewbacca in The Force Awakens. The cloaks they've shrouded themselves in suggest something commonplace from our world – the cocoons of a moth or butterfly. Maybe their journey to Jedha is part of a metamorphosis.

Below you'll find several other cards that are in the series:

A week before The Walking Dead season seven is set to premiere, AMC has announced that they have greenlit season eight! This is kind of non-news news because we all knew it was going to happen, but it's nice for the fans to get an official announcement. Next year we'll get an announcement for season nine, and after that, season ten, and so on and so on. AMC has already said they would like to keep the series going for as long as possible. As long as people keep watching, they'll get to do that.

I'm curious to see how season seven does after that major cliffhanger that left a lot of fans pissed off. According to Variety, the show saw a decline in viewers in season six, so the cliffhanger may have been a gimmick to try to reinvigorate the series and get people to tune in for season seven. Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios, had this to say in a statement:

“Eeny, meeny, miny, more. What a joy to partner with Robert Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple and some of the hardest-working people in television to bring The Walking Dead to the fans. And, most important, thanks to those fans for breathing life into this remarkable series right along with us.”

Season eight will consist of 16 episodes, and it's set to premiere in late 2017. It will also kick off with the 100th episode of the series. The Walking Dead returns Sunday, October 23rd.

Keanu Reeves comes across like a complete badass in John Wick, and he's going to do it again in John Wick: Chapter 2. To be able to reach that level of badassery, he had to train for it. He spent three weeks in pre-production tactical firearms prep with Aaron Cohen to get to that level of greatness. We have a video for you to watch today that shows you the kind of training Reeves went through.

The training consisted of gear and tactics and "included concealed draw training with Cohen's newly released Cherries Below-The-Waistband Deep Concealment Holster, and over 40 hours of carbine combined with limited penetration room clearing."

The video was posted by Cherries Covert Ops Apparel By Aaron Cohen, who was part of "a tactical training team selected to train Reeves which included Judo, Ju-Jitsu, Krav Maga, boxing, 3-gun and more."

It's alway fun to watch Reeves kick some ass, and it's great to know that he's got an insanely talented team to make him look good doing it. To watch the first trailer for John Wick: Chapter 2, click here! The movie opens up in theaters on February 10th, 2017.

I'm a big fan of Nebula, and she's a character who is perfectly portrayed by Karen Gillan. I was happy to hear that she would be coming back for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but it now seems like director James Gunn might have bigger plans for her.

Gunn recently responded to a fan on Twitter who said, "I think they should do a Nebula movie. Karen's Nebula was/is the best character in GotG." This was Gunn's response:

"I have a few favorites myself, but I agree that Nebula should lead her own film - it's something I've thought about from the beginning."

Now, just because he's thought about it and would want to do it doesn't mean it will happen. It would be so cool if it did, though! I guess if it's truly something Gunn would like to explore, he'd have to talk Marvel into letting him do it. 

I'm really interested to see how her story arc plays out in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Gillan previously talked about her relationship with Gamora in the film and how it would be expanded saying:

"I think what I'm really excited about it delving into the sisterly relationship between Gamora and Nebula. I think that we're going to see a little bit more of that, and it's going to be a bit more fleshed out."

The fact that the two sisters tried to kill each other in the first movie cements that fact that their relationship is going to be incredibly dysfunctional. Gunn later expanded on this and their relationship:

"I really feel like we give the female characters a chance to shine in this movie because Zoe Saldana comes in and she is so wonderfully beautiful as her character. It's touching, andKaren Gillan as Nebula comes in, and she's her sister, and she's completely a much deeper character than we got in the first movie, so we get to know her.

"The first movie was really about becoming a family. This movie is about being a family. And what's harder, becoming a family or being a family? I think it's being a family. That's where you really have to deal with each other. And that's what this movie is about. And their sisters. They are family, whether they like it or not. And they also want to kill each other, so it adds a new twist to being a sister."

Nebula is one of the coolest and most badass characters in the MCU, and if she eventually did get her own solo film, there's no doubt that it would be awesome. In the meantime, we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out for her in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which hits theaters on May 5th, 2017.