Disney's live-action adaptation of Madeline L'Engle's Newberry Medal-winning book A Wrinkle in Time today began production last week under the direction of Selma and The 13th director Ava DuVernay, and now there's some good news for those who have been waiting for a long time to see this book get a proper big screen treatment: the film's release date has been moved up.

Originally scheduled for December 25, 2018, the movie will now arrive in spring of that year. DuVernay announced the news with a video from the set of the crew doing the #mannequinchallenge, which I'm sure you've heard of since it's been all the rage online for the past week. If you have no idea what it is, you'll pick up on it pretty quickly when you watch the video:

A Wrinkle in Time follows a young girl named Meg (Storm Reid), her little brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), and their friend Calvin (Levi Miller) as they go on a search for her missing father (Chris Pine), a government scientist who was working on a top secret project involving an inter-dimensional tesseract. Joining the trio on their journey are three supernatural beings: Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling), and Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon). Zach Galifianakis plays The Happy Medium, André Holland (Moonlight, Selma) plays Principal Jenkins, and Bellamy Young, Rowan Blanchard, and Will McCormack round out the cast.

The film now arrives on April 6, 2018.

See that screenshot above? Go ahead, click it. It's full 4K resolution and it's from the 4-year-old game, Dishonored. The game is a smooth, polished, stunning adventure...read more on Gametyrant

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The creator of Laser Tag, George Carter, says that Star Wars inspired him to make the game. After seeing the film in Las Vegas, Carter wanted to recreate the scenes he saw on the screen in real life. The final design, however, was not what Carter initially intended his idea to be!

"I found out early on that there was a rule against shooting lasers at people. There's a federal agency that didn't allow that."

Interesting side note on Carter: he also invented the modern form of "bumper boats." So basically this guy was responsible for a bulk of fun you had in the late '80s to mid '90s. Looks like those ideas served him well as he has a pretty sizable house he's getting interviewed in! Hear the rest of his story below. 

Samuel Goldwyn Films has unveiled the first trailer for 100 Streets, an ensemble drama that takes place in one square mile of London. Though the film features multiple interconnecting storylines, this first trailer concentrates on the most prominent: the crumbling relationship between a former rugby player (Idris Elba) and his wife (Gemma Arterton).

I actually had the chance to see this movie at this year's L.A. Film Festival, and you can read my full review right here. It's a passable drama, but one of the standout elements for me was Arterton's performance. Here's a quick excerpt from the review:

Arterton, who Americans might recognize from her mostly expendable roles in big budget action movies like Prince of Persia, Clash of the Titans, and Quantum of Solace, may surprise people with her complicated, sensitive Emily; seeing her here makes me wonder what else she’s capable of, whereas she was instantly forgotten in those aforementioned blockbusters.

100 Streets arrives in U.K. theaters this week and hits U.S. theaters on January 13, 2017. Here's the official synopsis:

100 STREETS, a powerful ensemble drama, follows three contrasting and interwoven stories as they play out in one square mile of modern day London. A former rugby player, Max (Idris Elba), struggles to find a life off the field while fighting to save his marriage to former actress Emily (Gemma Arterton). Kingsley (Franz Drameh of CW’s LEGENDS OF TOMORROW) is a small time drug dealer desperately seeking a way off the street. While completing his community service for a misdemeanor, Kingsley meets Terence (Ken Stott), a local thespian, who gives him the push he needs out of his dead end life and into a very different, creative world. George (Charlie Creed-Miles), a cab driver, and his wife Kathy (Kierston Wareing) dream of having kids, but a devastating road accident puts their hopes on hold even testing their otherwise strong marriage. Anybody can make a wrong turn, but it's the journey that allows us to find the right path.

With news that famed director Hayao Miyazaki is coming out of retirement to direct another feature film, The Film Stage points us to this cool video from editor Candice Drouet that juxtaposes scenes from Miyazaki's filmography with the movies that were an inspiration for him. There are some obvious ones in here — the Mary Poppins and Grave of the Fireflies shots, for example — but there are also a handful on display that I never made the connection between. It's cool to see how his influences range from Disney films to Hitchcock movies and beyond. Check it out:

ILMxLAB has teamed up with Verizon for Rogue One: Recon, a new 360 video experience that's connected to the events of next month's new film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The short video "[lets] viewers experience Star Wars from the perspective of an everyday Rebel X-wing pilot in space, culminating with a fight in an unexpected battle against the evil Empire." You may have been able to guess this before you pressed play, but spoiler alert — things don't go very well for the good guys.

Granted, it's not as cool as playing a video game and actually being able to steer the spacecraft, but hey — it's pretty cool for a YouTube video. Crank this sucker up to 8k and let her rip below:

Last week, we got our first look at the Megazord in the new Power Rangers movie that's coming out next year. The fans absolutely freaked out about it...and not in a good way. It looked absolutely ridiculous, and now we have our first look at the crazy new Zords that the Power Rangers will be piloting.

The images of the toys come from a review show on YouTube called MMPRToys, who got a review copy of each of the toys to show off. The host shows off the individual Zords he has, which so far only includes those for the Pink, Blue, Black, and Yellow Rangers.

Some of them look like the prehistoric animals that each ranger is supposed to represent, but some are just freakin' weird. Below you'll find the review video and screenshots of the Pink Ranger's Pterodactyl Zord, the Yellow Ranger’s Sabertooth Tiger Zord, the Blue Ranger’s Triceratops Zord (which has an interesting number of legs), and then finally the Black Ranger’s...Mastodon? I honestly couldn't tell you what it is. 

I have no idea how these things will combine to form the Megazord. Check them out below and let us know what you think.

The Power Rangers cast includes Dacre Montgomery as Jason the Red Ranger, RJ Cyler as Billy the Blue Ranger, Naomi Scott as Kimberly the Pink Ranger, Becky G as Trini the Yellow Ranger, Ludi Lin as Zack the Black Ranger, Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, Bryan Cranston as Zordon, and Bill Hader as the voice of Alpha 5.

Saban’s Power Rangers follows five ordinary high school kids who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove – and the world – is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover that they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so they will have to overcome their real-life issues and band together as the Power Rangers before it is too late.

The movie is being directed by Dean Israelite (Project Almanac), and it comes out on March 24, 2017.

I remember kind of liking Michel Gondry's The Green Hornet when it came out back in 2011, but even just a few years later, the film has largely been forgotten. It's one of the few superhero franchises of the past decade that didn't launch a franchise, but Paramount isn't content with letting the property sit on a shelf and collect dust when there's the possibility of money to be made.

Deadline reports that the studio has acquired the rights to Green Hornet after they lapsed following Sony's 2011 film, and they've now hired Gavin O'Connor (The Accountant, Warrior) to direct "a film that will overhaul the image of Britt Reid into an edgy protagonist capable of being the catalyst for a new franchise." Sean O’Keefe will write the screenplay. O'Connor certainly loves the characters, as evidenced by his quotes to the site:

“I’ve been wanting to make this movie— and create this franchise— since I’ve wanted to make movies,” O’Connor said. “As a kid, when most of my friends were into Superman and Batman, there was only one superhero who held my interest — The Green Hornet. I always thought he was the baddest badass because he had no superpowers. The Green Hornet was a human superhero. And he didn’t wear a clown costume. And he was a criminal — in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of the criminal world. So all this felt real to me. Imagine climbing to the top of the Himalayas, or Mount Everest, or K2 over and over again and no one ever knew? You can never tell anybody. That’s the life of Britt and Kato. What they do, they can never say. They don’t take credit for anything.”

“For almost twenty years now I’ve been tracking the rights, watching from the sidelines as they were optioned by one studio or another. When I discovered the rights were available again, I tracked them down, partnered with Peter Chernin and we set the movie up at Paramount. With the rights now in our loving hands, I’m beyond excited to bring The Green Hornet into the 21st century in a meaningful and relevant way; modernizing it and making it accessible to a whole new generation. My intention is to bring a gravitas to The Green Hornet that wipes away the camp and kitsch of the previous iteration. I want to re-mythologize The Green Hornet in a contemporary context, with an emphasis on story and character, while at the same time, incorporating themes that speak to my heart. The comic book movie is the genre of our time. How do we look at it differently? How do we create a distinctive film experience that tells itself differently than other comic book movies? How do we land comfortably at the divide between art and industry? How do we go deeper, prompt more emotion? How do we put a beating heart into the character that was never done before? These are my concerns…these are my desires, my intentions, my fears, my goals.”

Well, he definitely has a lot of ambition, and I'll be interested to see if he can pull this off.

What do you think? Are you ready for another Green Hornet movie?

So we all remember how Final Fantasy XV has been in development for like, forever, right? When the game was announced I was just getting my driver's license and now...read more on Gametyrant

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Three months ago, we got our first look at some footage from Warner Bros. Animation and DC's upcoming R-rated take on Justice League Dark, and thanks to IGN, today we have a full official trailer. This film finds the regular Justice League tracking down characters like John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Deadman, and more because they need help defeating an enemy adept at using magic, and from the opening seconds of the trailer, it's clear that they aren't shying away from imagery that could be considered disturbing for younger viewers.

The studio is still developing a live-action take on Justice League Dark with Doug Liman at the helm, but in the meantime, this should be a good opportunity for fans to get a taste of the otherworldly aspects of the DC Comics universe.

The film will be released on digital HD, Blu-ray, and DVD sometime in early 2017.

Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners) takes on the sci-fi genre in his latest film. Starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, Arrival might just be the answer to your big-budget sci-fi woes. Listen on PodTyrant

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Since Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them comes out this week, the people at How It Should Have Ended teamed up with the Brotherhood Workshop and put together this cool 90-second recap of the Harry Potter films thus far using stop-motion LEGO work to tell the story. The thing is, it's so quick and specific that it doesn't actually work as a real recap of the franchise for people who haven't seen the movies yet — it only works as a reminder for those who have seen them. But let's face it, pretty much everyone has seen all of these movies by now, especially if you're reading this site.

I enjoyed the Prisoner of Azkaban section, and you've gotta love the Wilhelm scream making a quick cameo during the Voldemort battle.

Via: LaughingSquid

Spirited Away is celebrating its 15 year anniversary with a limited release in the United States. You can watch the movie Sunday, December 4th at 12pm local time and Monday, December 5th at 7pm in one of 400 participating theaters. In addition to the film, "Ghiblies: Episode 2" will also be screened and has never previously been screened in the USA.

I love Spirited Away, and it's my go-to film to introduce people to the world of anime films. If you have some friends who haven't seen before, this would be the perfect way for them to watch it.

H/T: Anime News Network

Lin-Manuel Miranda has been on fire since he created the Broadway hit Hamilton. Before Hamilton even became a hit, Disney opened the doors to him and hired him to work on Moana. Since then Disney has formed a solid relationship with him, and he's set to work on Mary Poppins Returns and The Little Mermaid. 

According to Vulture, he is also currently working on a secret project for the studio with Zootopia co-director Byron Howard. It's a new animated feature that they are building together from the ground up. The entertainer told the site how the project came about: 

"That's the fun thing about working with someone and having it go well — you go, 'Okay, what else can we do?' [John] Lasseter took me aside and said, 'I have an idea: Here's Byron, and you guys should start talking.'"

He wouldn't really say anything about what the project is, but he made it clear that it's going to be a few years before we see anything from it. He said, "We literally haven't gotten in the room yet, but we're plotting." He went on to talk a little bit about The Little Mermaid project he's developing, saying:

"I'm intimidated. This came out of a conversation with Disney, and basically they were like, 'There's no bigger fan of this movie than you, and no bigger public supporter.'" 

He revealed that he is still in talks with Disney about the kind of role he'll play in the live-action adaptation, but he's excited about the prospects. He's up for doing anything they need him to do.

"We're in super-early talks — I literally don't have a title for what my job on The Little Mermaid is yet. Right now, it's the guy who wears the 'don't mess it up' hat. If I could sign a contract with that job title on it, that would be great! But that's sort of where we are.

"If this requires new music, I'm here for that, and if this requires me weighing in on who makes this thing, I'm here for that. If this requires me just saying, 'That doesn't look like it's underwater,' I'm even here for that! It's going to be a huge challenge to not make it feel uncanny valley–ish." And if it requires Miranda to take a role himself, then what? "I'm such a fan that I can't picture where I'd fit into that universe," he said. "But no matter what, I'm here for the ride."

Miranda is one hell of a crazy talented guy. I was completely blown away by Hamilton, and I'm very excited to see what he ends up creating next. 

Hot Toys has officially revealed two of their Death Trooper action figures from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. There's the regular Death Trooper and then there's the "Specialist Deluxe" version. I've included photos and details for both of these figures below. As you'd expect from Hot Toys, these figures are awesome! No one makes figures like this as detailed and accurate as Hot Toys does. 

The debut of the highly anticipated film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is imminent. Fans will soon witness the all new adventure featuring a group of Rebel heroes who must band together on a mission to steal the plans of the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction – the Death Star. Today Hot Toys is pleased to introduce a new 1/6th scale collectible figure representing the deadly elite troopers seen in the film – the Imperial Death Trooper! The highly accurate collectible figure is specially crafted based on the appearance of the Imperial Death Troopers in the film. Standing approximately 32.5cm tall, the figure features a skillfully crafted black colored armor, new helmet with scope and LED light-up functions, detailed weapons including a long range blaster rifle (Special Forces DLT-19), a blaster rifle, pistol, and a specially designed figure stand! Don't pass up on the chance to expand your Rogue One: A Star Wars Story collection with the new Death Trooper 1/6th scale collectible figure!   

The official release of the widely anticipated new film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is almost upon us. Star Wars fans around the globe will finally behold the epic new journey featuring a group of Rebel heroes on a dangerous mission to steal the plans of the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction – the Death Star. Now Hot Toys is delighted to present a special Deluxe Version of the 1/6th scale Death Trooper Specialist collectible figure to get fans ready for the exciting new adventure! The highly accurate collectible figure is specially crafted based on the appearance of the Imperial Death Trooper Specialist in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The figure stands approximately 32.5cm tall with the finely crafted sleek black colored armor, new helmet with scope and LED light-up functions, a black pauldron and chest rig, detailed weapons including a long range blaster rifle (Special Forces DLT-19) and pistol. The Deluxe version also includes a special Stormtrooper doll accessory and a specially sculpted diorama figure base! Build up your Rogue One: A Star Wars Story collection by completing your own Death Trooper squad!

The first teaser trailer for the upcoming live-action feature film adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa’s manga and anime Full Metal Alchemist has been released. The trailer shows off a series of brief but great looking and exciting clips, and we get to see Ryōsuke Yamada in full costume as the alchemist Edward Elric, as well as his little brother Al, who is a CG animated character.

In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his arm and his leg, and his brother Alphonse became nothing but a soul in a suit of armor. Equipped with mechanical “auto-mail” limbs, Edward becomes a state alchemist, seeking the one thing that can restore his and his brother's bodies...the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

When talking about this film adaptation and its faithfulness to the original source material, director Fumihiko Sori (Ping Pong) said:

"I want to create a style that follows the original manga as much as possible. The cast is entirely Japanese, but the cultural background is Europe. However, it's a style that doesn't represent a specific race or country. There will never be a scene in which a character says something that would identify him/her as Japanese."

The movie will be released in Japan in winter of 2017. There's no word when it will hit the U.S. but I'm sure it will happen in some form. Watch the trailer below and let us know if you like what you see!

Here's a translation of the text in the trailer that was provided by Anime News Network:

Text: The time has come.
Text: Original work: Hiromu Arakawa
Text: Director: Fumihiko Sori (Ping Pong)
Text: Two brothers' great journey.
Text: The legend...
Text: Finally begins.
Title Logo: Fullmetal Alchemist
Edward: I promise I'll get our bodies back.
Text: 2017, winter.

The only star any geek needs on the top of their Christmas tree is the Death Star! Thanks to ThinkGeek, you can get yourself one for $100. It lights up blue and red, and the laser dish lights up green. It's definitely a great way to update your holiday decorations. 

Picture if you will, a nice family holiday season, only with the Skywalkers. Luke running around the tree clumping, like, five ornaments on the same branch, and Darth just in background letting out his deep sighs. But then there is that heartwarming moment at the end when Vader picks up his little princess so she can top the tree. What does she top the tree with? Not a moon, that's for sure.

The Star Wars Death Star Tree Topper features the iconic Imperial battle station as a tree topper. With the included remote you can have the Death Star itself light up blue or red with a green laser dish. Spice up your traditional holiday classic carols with the Imperial March or the classic Star Wars theme. Connect to the included universal adapter for continuous lighting effects. For safety, keep at a safe distance from Alderaan.

The SyFy Channel has picked up the rights to the Robert Heinlein’s 1961 sci-fi classic novel Stranger in a Strange Land, and they are adapting it as a TV series. 

For those of you who are not familiar with the story, it centers on a character named Valentine Michael Smith. He is a human who comes to Earth as a young adult after having been born on Mars and raised by Martians. 

While on Earth, among his people for the first time, "he struggles to understand the social mores and prejudices of human nature that are so alien to him, while teaching them his own fundamental beliefs in grokking, watersharing, and love."

It's said that the book predicted many of the movements and messages that happened later on in the '60s, such as free love, hippie communes, and organized attempts at world peace.

NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment chairman Bonnie Hammer said in a statement:

"From my point of view, Stranger in a Strange Land isn’t just a science-fiction masterpiece … it also happens to be one of my favorite books ever. The story is timeless and resonates more than ever in today’s world. As a fan, I can’t wait to see it come to life as a world-class television event.”

Paramount TV president Amy Powell added:

"Paramount TV is excited to have the opportunity to adapt Robert Heinlein's seminal work of science fiction. This novel has resonated with me since college and there's a reason it has continued to find new fans for over 40 years. Syfy’s understanding of imaginative and futuristic programming is unmatched, making them an ideal partner for this series."

There are no details on who will be involved with writing, directing, or starring in the series, but we'll let you know those details when they become available. Stranger in a Strange Land could be a great series. Hopefully the SyFy Channel will give the adaptation the best that they've got. 

According to the Mirror, BBC bosses want to have a “clean slate” for Doctor Who and to go back to a formula they they feel works. In 2018 Chris Chibnall will take over as showrunner, replacing Steven Moffat. With waning merchandize sales, ratings, and difficulty capturing younger viewers, I can see why BBC wants to make this move.

Peter Capaldi has been brilliant as the Doctor but having three increasingly younger Doctors over eight years seems to have set audience expectations for the character. With that “clean slate” also comes a new female companion, which means Pearl Mackie's time as Bill will be short lived.

One thing I was excited to hear is that BBC wants full seasons each year, unlike 2016 when we only get a Christmas special. I'm excited to see what Chibnall will do, and while Whovians don't like change, we know it's an important part of the show. 

I've got a couple videos here for you to watch for the upcoming live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell with Scarlett Johansson. I was pretty impressed with the first trailer that was released. It looked a lot better than I was expecting. 

The fans of the franchise have now created a couple cool videos that I think you might enjoy. The first comes from ScreenCrush, and it recreates the trailer using footage from the anime Ghost in the Shell films. It's a pretty cool edit that was done really well. The other video comes from Thomas Guinebault, and it gives us a great comparison of the live-action footage with footage from the anime films.

As you will see, director Rupert Sanders really put in the effort to honor the original anime franchise. It seems like he created something that longtime fans of the franchise will connect with and something that new audiences can enjoy. No matter what side of the fence people fall on, it looks like it could be an awesome adaptation. As a longtime fan of the franchise, I'm hoping for the best.