With just six episodes remaining in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s first season, and to ramp up our excitement, Marvel is introducing a first look art series called “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Art of Level Seven.” Each week they will release a new piece of art that teases the episode’s events. Each poster will be available for purchase in a limited high quality print run of 100. Thanks to EW, we have a look at the first in the series, for the upcoming episode "Turn, Turn, Turn." The piece is by Mike Del Mundo, and it’s pretty great.

I haven’t been super impressed with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I am interested to see how they deal with the fallout from Captain America. (How many of you saw it last night? Pretty great, right?) It seems like the first time the show is interacting with the cinematic universe in a satisfying way. And after a long, slow, sometimes boring build-up, things are starting to pay off. The team realized that the Clarivoyant is a high level S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, which is why there is a rat in the maze on the poster. Hopefully they’ll face off with him or her (or it?) soon. Producer Jeff Bell told EW we can expect a lot more action from here on out.

I think if you saw 16, the stakes really went up a lot, and I think when you come back nexy week for 17, that will only continue to be more true. And we feel like if you look at a 22 episode season as a movie, we’re in the 3rd act of the movie. And from here on, its just full on action and urgency and momentum, and sometimes it takes awhile to set everything up, but we think we’re going to bring all those dominoes together really nicely for here through 22.

Marvel executive editorial director Ryan Panagos recently tweeted that we need to watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier before the next episode, which is a novel way to boost opening weekend box office numbers, but if you can’t make it to the theater by Tuesday, I am sure any of your fellow geeks would be happy to spoil it for you.

I've got a really fun animated short for you to watch today! It's mashup of the video game Street Fighter and the hit AMC series Breaking Bad. In the video, Ryu and Jesse fight each other in epic video game style. The video is all kinds of awesome, but my favorite part is the implementation of all things Breaking Bad, like Jesse saying "yo!" every time he throws money at Ryu and his special move where he conjures Mr. White to inflict some damage. The short was created by Junior Jesman, and you're gonna love it. 

Scene from The Town

Fitness instructor Rehan Jalali tweeted some updates on Ben Affleck's pre-production training for Batman Vs. Superman. Jalali got Affleck in shape for The Town as well, according to Coming Soon. During a Q&A Jalali sent out:

@LeonidasLegend Big muscular yet lean and good body symmetry! Going for the Real-life superhero look! #RJfit

— Rehan Jalali (@SixPackDietPlan) April 1, 2014

Update: Batman is getting Large! He's working very hard! #Dedication #Excited #DarkKnight #BatFleck #TheSixPackDietPlan

— Rehan Jalali (@SixPackDietPlan) April 2, 2014

Zack Snyder used Gym Jones founder Mark Twight to train Henry Cavill into his Superman body. I’m sure there will be some special features on how Affleck’s training differs from Cavill’s.

Batman Vs. Superman will open in theaters May 6, 2016.

Want to feel another rush of excitement for The Amazing Spider-Man 2? Sony Pictures has released an extended TV spot that features even more footage. The villain count in this movie may be high, but we've been told time and time again by director Marc Webb not to worry about it. It's hard not to, though, because even the best filmmakers have had trouble trying to bring more than one villain to the big screen in a movie. Look at Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. Those movie just weren't as good as the previous films, but maybe Webb figured out a way to make it work.

Remember, back in January, when the first draft of Quentin Tarantino's script The Hateful Eight leaked online, and he was PISSED? He vowed that we would never see it on the screen, and for a couple minutes we all felt a little bit bad about reading it on the Internet. He’s sticking to his guns so far, but now, if you can afford the $200 ticket, you can see it performed live. 

Tarantino will be directing a live read of the script for the Film Independent at LACMA on Thursday, April 24. It won’t be broadcast or recorded, so if you’re a major Tarantino fanboy, you better find your way into that theater. (Ticket information is here.) There haven’t been any casting announcements, but I’m sure some of his friends will help him out. Here’s a synopsis:

The Hateful Eight follows the steadily ratcheting tension that develops after a blizzard diverts a stagecoach from its route and traps a pitiless and mistrustful group comprised of a competing pair of bounty hunters, a renegade Confederate soldier, and a female prisoner in a saloon in the middle of nowhere. 

It sounds like a very Tarantino project. If I had to guess, I’d say there will be long, profanity-laden dialogue scenes interspersed with shocking violence. Tarantino will be reading all stage directions, so if you want to hear him describe gunshots and explosions, you should probably check it out. I bet it’ll be a lot of fun.

Check out this G.I. Joe Cobra key art for Sideshow Collectibles by Fabian Schlaga. The pieces feature Baroness, Storm Shadow, Destrow, Major Bludd, and of course, Cobra Commander. Given how disastrously bad the live-action G.I. Joe movies have been, I kind of wish they’d do an animated feature in this style. It would definitely be more interesting to look at. If you like these, you can see more of Schlaga’s work in his Deviant Art gallery or on his tumblr. Thanks to XombieDirge for the heads up.

Yesterday FOX released a couple of posters for X-Men: Days of Future Past showing us the lazy side of movie marketing. Today we have 9 more posters for the film to share with you, Some are better than others, but at least they put effort in some of these to give them a cool, stylish look. Regardless of any bad posters that have been, or will be, released, Bryan Singer's film looks like it will be an amazing experience that we'll enjoy. It hits theaters on May 23rd. 

via: Fashionably Geek

If this elderly couple cosplaying as Popeye and Olve Oyl doesn’t bring a smile to your face, you must be dead inside… or your name is Bluto and there are tears streaming down your face, being soaked up by your now grizzled beard. Sorry Bluto, Olive Oyl is the one that got away, and by “got away” I literally mean got away, you abusive maniac!

The photo was taken by DTJAAAAM at Emerald City Comicon. It’s proof that you’re never too old to cosplay, and that you’re never too young to get beat up by a guy in a Popeye costume. I’m talking to you, Batman (pictured in the back). Mind your own business!

Kadokawa Game Studio’s initial release, Natural Doctrine, is a strategy RPG made for those who don’t shy away from a challenge, which, frankly, we could use more of these days. The game was released in Japan last year, but will be making its way to the states sometime this fall for PS4, PS3, and VITA. It features the love it or hate it permadeath mechanic, but supposedly only for the first half of the game. Natural Doctrine also includes a two-tiered camera system. You can view the entire landscape via an overhead tactical map, or you can zoom in for a third person action perspective. Flipping back and forth will be essential, as only in third person can you view line of sight for your attacks. One example would be if an enemy unit is behind a barricade. When in overview you would assume you have to go around it to attack the enemy, but when in third person you can possibly either blow up the barricade or use some openings to snipe an enemy through the cracks. Options like this abound throughout, depending on the character you are following at the moment. There seem to be a ton of them to choose from, so you’re likely to find a few favorites.

The combat is turn based, and takes place on a 3D plane, as opposed to a hex or grid, as is most often the case in other games of its ilk. You can see some gameplay from the Japanese version of the game above, which shows off the scale of the conflicts you’ll be in. The developers have striven to get as many enemies and ally units on the field as possible, giving the battles a truly epic feel. The Japanese version also included a co-op multiplayer mode, but not sure if that will make its way into the western release. I eat this kind of gameplay up with a spoon, so an official release date can’t come soon enough. 

Yesterday we bashed the X-Men: Days of Future Past posters. Today we've got an art poster by Orlando Arocena that Fox should use in their marketing. The design and colors really mix the movie's '70s era Sentinels with a palette that feels more like the comic version. The strong lines coming into the chest to make the X are a great touch.

We haven't seen too much of the future Sentinels in the trailer or TV spots, so Arocena does his best to evoke their silhouette. Rendered fully in vector, Arocena shows some really amazing talent at work here.

You can buy a Giclee print in 17" x 23" from Arocena's store. There is also an Ultra foil print available that would look pretty amazing.

The first trailer for Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore’s Blended didn’t quite sell me on the upcoming romantic comedy. However, this second full trailer seems to have done the trick. I don’t know if it was Sandler and Barrymore’s appearance on Jimmy Fallon last month, where they performed the hilarious and heartwarming “Every 10 Years” ode to the films they’ve done together that buttered me up, or whether this is just a better cut trailer. Either way, I’m open to seeing this film now. Here's a short synopsis if you're unfamiliar with the premise of the new film:

After a disastrous blind date, single parents Lauren (Barrymore) and Jim (Sandler) agree on only one thing: they never want to see each other again. But when they each sign up separately for a fabulous family vacation with their kids, they are all stuck sharing a suite at a luxurious African safari resort for a week.

I’ve steered clear of obvious Sandler stinkers, but felt quite burned after two Grown Ups films that had similarly promising reunions with Sandler’s former SNL castmates. But Sandler and Barrymore didn’t fail me with The Wedding Singer or 50 First Dates, and this movie was directed by Wedding Singer helmer Frank Coraci. So I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.

Blended hits theaters May 23rd. I’ve also included the video of Sandler and Barrymore’s performance of “Every 10 Years” below the trailer in case you missed it.

With seven films as Wolverine under Hugh Jackman’s belt, talk of passing the torch to a new, younger actor is inevitable. “It would be a little weird [seeing someone else as Wolverine],” Jackman told Yahoo! while promoting X-Men: Days of Future Past. But the actor conceded, “I know it’s going to happen.” Jackman also offered up who he thought would have made a good younger version of the character:

“Originally, when I played it [first], when he was alive God rest his sole [sic], I thought Heath Ledger could be a good young version of [Wolverine].”

Ledger, Jackman’s fellow Aussie, passed away in 2008. Ledger earned a posthumous Academy Award for his portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight. I think most people would agree that Ledger’s ability to transform himself would have made him suitable for almost any role.

Looking back at the late actor’s diverse list of credits, however, I’m not sure if another superhero movie would even have interested him. Chris Nolan originally approached Ledger to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins and Ledger flat out said, “I would never take a part in a superhero film.” The world Nolan created with his Dark Knight trilogy is still far removed from all other superhero films, despite the many imitators that have attempted to go “dark and gritty” after the success and acclaim The Dark Knight received. Still, with how rich and intricately plotted the Marvel films have become, perhaps Ledger would have hopped aboard the MCU.

Sadly, we’ll never get to see Ledger on the hero side of a comic book film. As for Jackman, he’ll be suiting up as Wolverine for at least a couple more films with X-Men: Apocalypse and a third Wolverine standalone film both in the works.

HBO has announced that True Blood season 7 will premiere on Sunday June 22nd! This will be the final season of the series, and it's going to be really interesting to see how they end it. I wasn't the biggest fan of the last couple of seasons of the show, but I'm hoping the show closes out strong. I've included the announcement along with a teaser trailer for you to watch. 

"True Blood" begins its ten-episode, seventh and final season on Sunday, June 22 at 9:00 p.m. Mixing romance, suspense, mystery and humor, the series takes place in a world where vampires and humans co-exist, after vampires have come out of the coffin, thanks to the invention of mass-produced synthetic blood that means they no longer need humans as a nutritional source. The series follows waitress and part-faerie Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), who can hear people's thoughts, vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and vampire Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard). Alan Ball created the show, which is based on the bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.

On top of True Blood, HBO has confirmed premiere dates for The Leftovers, which will launch Sunday, June 15th following the season finale of Game of Thrones. Here is some information on that series:

From Damon Lindelof ("LOST") and acclaimed novelist Tom Perrotta (Little Children), "The Leftovers" begins its ten-episode season on Sunday, June 15 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT), immediately following the season finale of "Game of Thrones." Based on Perrotta's bestselling novel of the same name, the drama series is an original look at The Rapture... because it's not entirely clear The Rapture happened. 

Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler, Charlie Carver, Max Carver, Carrie Coon, Ann Dowd, Michael Gaston, Emily Meade, Annie Q, Margaret Qualley, Amanda Warren and Chris Zylka star. Lindelof serves as the series showrunner.

I am not the biggest fan of math. It's a subject I was never good at. It looks like I never would have made it at Pixar animation, because there is a great deal of math involved. A TED Ed video explains how math is used in the art of developing their classic movies. Even though I'm not into math, I still found all of the stuff they talked about in this video interesting. 

The folks at Pixar are widely known as some of the world's best storytellers and animators. They are perhaps less recognized as some of the most innovative math whizzes around. Pixar Research Lead Tony DeRose delves into the math behind the animations, explaining how arithmetic, trigonometry and geometry help bring Woody and the rest of your favorite characters to life.

Thanks to Cartoon Brew, I've also included a rare demo of Pixar’s proprietary animation system, Presto. It gives animators "a deep level of control within a real-time, interactive environment." It's amazing to see how far technology has gone, and to think about where it is going. 

Commercial and short film director Dan Trachtenberg has had a few feature projects lined up over the last couple of years. One was an adaptation of Y The Last Man, but there's been no real movement on any of those projects. It looks like Trachtenberg's first feature film will end up being a low budget thriller called Valencia that is being produced by Bad Robot and J.J. Abrams. 

According to The Wrap, "the majority of the movie takes place in an underground cellar, home to a teenage girl and a caretaker. The girl woke up in the cellar after a car accident, at which point her eerie companion tells her a nuclear attack has devastated society. The girl still hopes to escape."

The original script for the movie was written by Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken and then rewritten by Dan Casey. The movie is set up with Paramount Pictures' low-budget division, Insurge, and they've given the film a $5 million budget. 

Trachtenberg has made some really cool shorts over the years, and I think it will be great to finally see him make the lead into feature films. You can watch his horror short "More Than You Can" here, and his "Portal" short here.

Earlier this week I went on a little rant about how the closer a movie gets to its release date, the lamer the posters get. They literally take the same images and just lazily jumble them up. There’s a good reason why I’m so irked by that. There are so many talented artists out there that can make compelling posters for movies. You don’t even have to look that hard to find it — just look at the stuff Mondo is doing. I know photoshopped ads have their place and are certainly a cheaper route, but if studios want the next Drew Struzan to emerge, they have to actually start reaching out to artists.

Here’s a collection of movie and television posters by Vincent Rhafael Aseo that proves my point. These are all original, wall worthy designs. Aseo’s use of texture isn’t fully formed yet, but his composition and color work are seriously on point.

To see the rest of the collection, click here.

MGM and Sony Pictures is looking to cast Oscar-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, as the main villain in Bond 24. He was recently nominated for his role in 12 Years A Slave. According to Variety he is the studio's top choice, but as of right now no offer has been made. 

Ejiofor would make an incredible villain in the Bond series! This wouldn't be his first time playing a bad guy either. He was awesome as the villain in Joss Whedon's Serenity, as well as in Children of Men and Four Brothers. He's definitely got what it takes to play such a sinister role. 

The plan is for Sam Mendes to start shooting the film in the summer. The script was written by John Logan.

The report also says that the studio is looking for a Scandinavian woman and a British woman to play the new Bond girls.

Jem fan art by AlexAmezcua

Director John M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Step Up franchise), music consultant Scooter Braun, and producer Jason Blum (Insidious and Paranormal Activity) are reaching out to fans of Jem to get involved in its creative process. They are also doing an Internet powered casting call for people who are a triple threat (sing, dance, act). Because 3 dudes making a movie based on a campy '80s cartoon based on a toy targeted at girls seemed weird, the second video highlights the women making the film, like producer Jessica L. Hall (Sinister and Insidious: Chapter 2).

Even with creator of Jem Christy Marx calling foul on the movie's production (read more on that at io9), most fans are still pretty excited that it’s even being made. They are moving on the production pretty quickly, so if you would like to be involved, go to the official Jem The Movie site.

Here's a fun video that shows us what Game of Thrones might look and sound like as a Disney musical with Daenerys as a Disney princess. The video comes from YouTuber AVbyte, and it turned out really good. Game of Thrones returns to HBO tomorrow, and I can't wait! 

flexathletics

According to director Richard Donner a sequel to The Goonies is going to happen! This is something I've wanted to see happen for as long as I can remember, ever since I watched the first film when I was kid in 1986. I don't know why it took so long to actually get a sequel into development, but after all these years and all the rumors, it sounds like it's finally going to happen. 

When asked by TMZ if he was going to make another comic book movie, the filmmaker replied with, “If you call ‘Goonies’ a comic book. We’re doing a sequel.”

He went on to say that he hopes to get the entire original cast back which includes actors such as Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, Sean Astin, Jeff Cohen and Martha Plimpton. Donner didn't say whether the film will follow the gang 28 years later or feature them in smaller side roles. I hope that it takes the gang on another fun and crazy adventure though. I don't want to see a Goonies movie that focuses on their kids, but of course that is a possibility. 

For those of you who doubt this news, Donner went on to solidify it saying,

“It will happen. I’m 1000 percent certain there will be a sequel. I will bet my children on it.”

So there ya have it, a Goonies sequel is going to happen! That is unless Donner doesn't really like his kids. Below you'll find a photo of the cast and crew of the original film all grown up.