Fox has released this first promo banner for their amazing looking new series Gotham, which tells the origin story of Batman, Jim Gordon, and all of Gotham's nightmarish villains. The banner features some of those villains, such as Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Penguin, and The Riddler. If for some reason you haven't seen the extended trailer for this show yet, please click here. I'm ridiculously excited about this series!

Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world’s greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon’s story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world’s most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker. GOTHAM is an origin story of the great DC Comics super villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist,” “Rome”), GOTHAM follows one cop’s rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.

Check out this great t-shirt that mashes together Battlestar Galactica and Disney's animated classic The Brave Little Toaster. It was created by Nik Holmes, and it's called The Brave Frakkin' Toaster. If you want to buy yourself one, click here. 

Let's start Monday off with bang! The Akira Project has released a full five minute trailer for their amazing-looking Akira fan film, and there's a good chance that it's going to blow your mind. I've been following this project since I first heard about it, and it's come a hell of long way. This thing looks absolutely incredible and is most likely better than anything Hollywood plans on doing with the property. I couldn't be more thrilled for the filmmakers. A lot of time and hard work went into developing this, and it's going to pay off for them. This is exactly what most hardcore fans would want to see from a live-action Akira movie. 

Here's a note from the creators of the film about how it all came together.

The Akira Project is a crowd-sourced, non-profit project meant to create a live action fan trailer of AKIRA, the renowned manga-turned-anime film from the late 1980′s; a stunning example of both mediums as art forms. While Hollywood has been working on a live-action Akira movie for a few years now, we, as fans, wanted to take a shot at making our own adaptation. A chance to stick as close to the source material as possible. A chance to do Akira Justice.

We launched an Indiegogo campaign in July 2012 as part of a crowd sourcing effort to make this project come to life. Many people contributed not just financially but offered their time and talent to help the production that was shot in Montreal, Quebec from November 2-5th 2012. What started out as a simple idea between two guys having a beer (Hey! It'd be cool to see Kaneda ride his bike around Neo-Tokyo!), became a global endeavour, filled with adventures and hurdles, involving more than 40 artists in 12 different countries. 

After a year and a half in post-production, we are proud to present the project to Akira fans the world over. We hope to have done justice to the timeless work of Katsuhiro Otomo and look forward to, someday, seeing the full scope of the Akira story translated to the big screen as a live-action. 

I can't wait to watch this movie in its entirety! 

NBC has released the first trailer and clip for their new comic book based series Constantine, and it looks like it's going to be a badass series! The network recently ordered a full season for the show, and when you watch the trailer you'll understand why. I freakin' love what I've seen here, and fans of the comic should be happy with what this series will offer. 

John Constantine was created by Alan Moore and introduced in Swamp Thing before getting his own series Hellblazer comic series. The story follows the character, who is thrown into a position where he must defend humanity from gathering forces of darkness. At the same time, he's haunted by the sins of his past. 

Based on the wildly popular DC Comics series “Hellblazer,” seasoned demon hunter and master of the occult John Constantine (Matt Ryan, “Criminal Minds”) specializes in giving hell… hell. Armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts and his wickedly naughty wit, he fights the good fight — or at least he did. With his soul already damned to hell, he’s decided to leave his do-gooder life behind, but when demons target Liv (Lucy Griffiths, “Robin Hood”), the daughter of one of Constantine’s oldest friends, he’s reluctantly thrust back into the fray – and he’ll do whatever it takes to save her. Before long, it’s revealed that Liv’s “second sight” — an ability to see the worlds behind our world and predict supernatural occurrences — is a threat to a mysterious new evil that’s rising in the shadows. Now it’s not just Liv who needs protection; the angels are starting to get worried too. So, together, Constantine and Liv must use her power and his skills to travel the country, find the demons that threaten our world and send them back where they belong. After that, who knows… maybe there’s hope for him and his soul after all. The cast also includes Harold Perrineau and Charles Halford.

I'm really excited about this series. It will be a much closer adaptation of the DC/Vertigo comic and character than the 2005 film that starred Keanu Reeves.

IGN

In this interesting little gem that was recently unearthed, we learn that not only was Mel Gibson offered the role of Wolverine, but they also made some preliminary drawings of him in the role. 

We found this over at Yahoo, and it appears that before Hugh Jackman stepped into the role that made him the star he is now, Gibson was the filmmakers' first option when it came to playing one of the coolest superheroes ever. At the time of the original X-Men, Gibson was at the apex of his career. Dude had won an Oscar for Braveheart, and it looked like nothing could stop him. What a difference a few years makes. 

Here is what the Yahoo article said about the drawing:

It's purported to be by Miles Teves, the Hollywood artist who provided visionary work for films like 'Total Recall', 'RoboCop', 'The Chronicles of Riddick' and 'Legend'.

Mel certainly joins an illustrious group of former potential Logans.

At various points from the 90s onward rocker Glenn Danzig, Russell Crowe, Ed Norton, Keanu Reeves and even the late, great Bob Hoskins were all considered.

Dougray Scott was actually cast in the role for Bryan Singer's 'X-Men' movies, but when 'Mission: Impossible II' overran, he had to walk away with Jackman taking up the role instead.

There are some interesting people in this group. Ultimately, I think that they made the right choice. It is going to be hard for anyone to fill Jackman’s shoes.

Although, with all of this being said, I can see Gibson playing Wolverine now. You know, if someone was brave enough to bring Old Man Logan to the big screen. 

Old Man Logan is one of my favorite comic book series of all time. To me, it sits right up there with the Infinity Gauntlet series. It is an awesomely messed up story written by Mark Millar, and I would love to see it brought to the big screen. Of course it would have to be toned down a little bit, but I think Mel would be a perfect fit. 

Fox has released a series of new character photos for their amazing-looking new series, Gotham. They feature characters such as Catwoman, Bruce Wayne, Sarah Essen, Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Barbara Kean, Fish Mooney, The Penguin, and Alfred the Butler. EW also released an image of Gordon roughing Cobblepot up a bit. Then there's a new synopsis that confirms the appearance of not only Joker, but Two-Face as well! Check it out below.

Before there was Batman, there was GOTHAM. Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world’s greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon’s story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world’s most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker? GOTHAM is an origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist,” “Rome”), GOTHAM follows one cop’s rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil, and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time. Growing up in Gotham City’s surrounding suburbs, JAMES GORDON (Ben McKenzie, “Southland,” “The O.C.”) romanticized the city as a glamorous and exciting metropolis where his late father once served as a successful district attorney. Now, two weeks into his new job as a Gotham City detective and engaged to his beloved fiancée, BARBARA KEAN (Erin Richards, “Open Grave,” “Breaking In”), Gordon is living his dream – even as he hopes to restore the city back to the pure version he remembers it was as a kid. Brave, honest and ready to prove himself, the newly-minted detective is partnered with the brash, but shrewd police legend HARVEY BULLOCK (Donal Logue, “Sons of Anarchy,” “Terriers,” “Vikings,” “Copper”), as the two stumble upon the city’s highest-profile case ever: the murder of local billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne. At the scene of the crime, Gordon meets the sole survivor: the Waynes’ hauntingly intense 12-year-old son, BRUCE (David Mazouz, “Touch”), toward whom the young detective feels an inexplicable kinship. Moved by the boy’s profound loss, Gordon vows to catch the killer. As he navigates the often-underhanded politics of Gotham’s criminal justice system, Gordon will confront imposing gang boss FISH MOONEY (Jada Pinkett Smith, “The Matrix” franchise, “HawthoRNe”), and many of the characters who will become some of fiction’s most renowned, enduring villains, including a teenaged SELINA KYLE/the future CATWOMAN (acting newcomer Camren Bicondova) and OSWALD COBBLEPOT/THE PENGUIN (Robin Lord Taylor, “The Walking Dead”). While the crime drama will follow Gordon’s turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, led by Police Captain SARAH ESSEN (Zabryna Guevara, “Burn Notice”), it also will focus on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, ALFRED (Sean Pertwee, “Camelot,” “Elementary”). It is a friendship that will last them all of their lives, playing a crucial role in helping the young boy eventually become the crusader he’s destined to be.GOTHAM is based upon characters published by DC Entertainment and is produced by Warner Bros. Television. Executive producer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist”) wrote the pilot, which was directed and executive-produced by Emmy Award nominee Danny Cannon (the “CSI” franchise, “Nikita”). John Stephens will serve as an executive producer on the series.

The series will be released in the Fall, and it's set to air Mondays at 8pm.

To be honest with you, the concept of a coffee table book seems kind of silly to me. However, I think that I found one that I must own.

io9 released some images from Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy. It shows what the original storyboards looked like. It is amazing to see how they thought the scenes would look as compared to what the movies turned out to be. Also, there are great little tidbits about how they were made. Here is one that the report included:

With artists working frantically to produce tons of images under deadline. The little notes in the margins reveal that Joe Johnston once created 40 storyboards in a single day, as Lucas kept changing his mind about how the Death Star trench run sequence would go — and all the VFX artists were waiting for Johnson to sketch the new version.

Like I said, I am convinced that I need this book. Check out several pieces of concept art below, along with a video promoting the book.

C3pO and R2D2 escape. "Imperial gunners let the drifting life pod sail by." Art by Joe Johnston.

An early iteration of the rebel fighters' departure from Yavin 4 as the attack on the Death Star begins – Gary Myers

Two walkers remain and the rebels have to retreat. - Joe Johnston

A giant log bars Luke and Leia's path – Joe Johnston

Art by Joe Johnston

A lone rebel ship pursued by four Star Destroyers (not all were depicted) - Alex Tavoularis

A close up of Vader in his TIE fighter – Joe Johnston

Chicken walkers (AT-Sts) mop up the corpse-strewn snowfields – Ivor Beddoes

An unidentified storyboard artist, probably working with director Richard Marquand in the UK, drew an early set of storyboards for the barge and Sarlacc sequences.

Aboard the rebel "headquarters frigate", Mon Mothma, General Nadine, and Admiral Ackbar explain their strategy for destroying the second Death Star. - Joe Johnston

What do you get the for the fan who wants something completely unique but still related to the game or movie they love? A custom shadowbox that's what, and if he or she happens to be a Wind Waker fan, you can order your own version of the commission featured above. They are made with card stock, are assembled to create a 3D effect, and above all, are a pretty cool addition to any gamer's abode. These little squares of awesome are made and assembled by The Paper Pony Place (tongue twisters are fun), an Etsy store run by Brian Mitchell, and each one will run you about $75. You can head there to put your order in now. 

I also promise this is the last Wind Waker related post I'll do for a minute.

Except for this other really cool thing I found just the other day....aw crap.

Maybe just one more.

Ursa Major – Merida & Elinor

I am always amazed at what some artists can think of. This is one of my new favorite art series. It is called Disney Jaegers, and it's by Tumblr artist Lou-Jiinsy. 

It is not just the art, which is amazing, but the stories behind every picture are outstanding. I love the fact that she meticulously chooses the characters and who they would drift with the best. The most disturbing are the pilots of the Frozen Heart, Hans and Ana. However, when I read her explanation, I totally understand. 

What other Disney pairs do you think would be great pilots together? I've included the story for the above picture, but to see the rest, you'll have to check out her Tumblr.

The last person Merida ever expected to be drift compatible with was her mother. Growing up they had a lot of disputes about… well about pretty much everything. Elinor had a very strict idea of what her daughter should be doing and should not be doing and absolutely about where she should be going during the days while she and her husband went off on missions.

But when her father lost his leg and decided to go into early retirement she stepped up to the plate and found just what an amazing team she and her mother could make. Fergus coaches from the sidelines, but honestly the ladies know what they are doing and use their expertise in range weapons to protect the coasts in their Jaeger (Ursa Major) 

Enjoy the rest!

Victor Delta - Dash and Violet 

Frozen Heart - Hans and Anna 

Arabian Knight – Jasmine & Aladdin

Evening Star – Tiana & Naveen

Ohana King - Lilo and Nani 

Dream Giver – Nakoma & Pocahontas

Shepherd’s Crystal – Kida & Milo

Golden Trident – Ariel & Eric

Gilded Emperor - Kuzco and Pacha

Via: Nerd Approved

Thanks to Empire we have three new images from Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction to share with you. They include the Autobot characters Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. It looks like Bumblebee's weaponry has been upgraded a bit. 

The story takes place a few years after the events of the last Transformers film, Dark Of The Moon. The world turned against the Transformers, "shunning them after their destructive battles raged across the world. But when human tinkering with Transformer technology draws a dangerous new threat to our planet, Optimus and the Autobot patrol must reunite to work alongside some new friends – Mark Wahlberg’s inventor Cade, his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), her boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) – and others to fight new enemies."

The movie will be released in theaters on June 27th!

In another attempt to keep the success ball rolling, Marvel has announced that they are going to make a spin-off of Captain America called Marvel’s Agent Carter. They've already released a teaser poster for the show that you can check out above. Here's the synopsis:

"Marvel’s Agent Carter,” starring Captain America’s Hayley Atwell follows the story of Peggy Carter. It’s 1946, and peace has dealt Peggy Carter a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life–Steve Rogers. Inspired by the feature films “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” along with the short “Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter.” Starring Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter, “Marvel’s Agent Carter” is executive produced by Christopher Markus, Steve McFeely, Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Jeph Loeb.

I did enjoy the character Peggy Carter, and I thought it was sad that she wasn’t going to be in the upcoming phases Marvel is coming out with. Let’s see how this new show plays out.

Via: Comic Book Movie

When is was first announced that Girls actor Adam Driver had been cast in Star Wars: Episode VII, word on the street was he would be playing the main villainous Sith in the J.J. Abrams-directed film. It looks like there's a little bit more to it than that, though. According to a source for Jedi News, Driver will also be playing the son of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). Here are the details they offer in their report.

Possible SPOILERS ahead:

"Sounds like Adam Driver is NOT going to play a villain...sort of. He will be playing the son of Han and Leia, and it seems he will be seduced to the Dark Side, and a main plot point for the movie will be their attempt to rescue him."

This is just a rumor at the moment, but a rumor that could turn out to be true. I think that Driver has the perfect look for a dark, Sith villain, but now that this rumor has been thrown out there, I can kind of see him playing the son of Han and Leia as well. 

It would only make sense for at least one of the kids of the main characters to be seduced by the Dark Side. It was recently reported that Han Solo would have a large co-starring role in the film, and this bit of information would make sense if he was to go on a journey to help prevent his son from the joining the Dark Side. 

Director Zack Snyder offered fans a little tease of the Batmobile that Ben Affleck will be driving in Batman Vs. Superman. The photo above came with the following caption:

"Could be time to pull the tarp…Tomorrow?"

Awesome! I know it doesn't show much, but it's enough to get me excited. From what I can see here, it looks like it could be a freakin' cool, classic kind of design.

When the full reveal comes tomorrow we'll make sure to get it up on the site for you, so stay tuned! 

It's been a long time since I've stepped foot in a video store. I used to spend so much time browsing video stores and renting movies. It's kind of sad that not many of them exist anymore. These days I either buy my movies, watch them on VOD, or browse Netflix to see what they have to offer. Sometimes I'll come across something I like on Netflix, but it's always hard to find what I'm looking for because, when it comes to movies, they never seem to have what I want. Here's a funny short from BuzzFeed called "Netflix In Real Life." It shows us what Netflix would be like if it were an actual video store you could go to. Enjoy the show!

There is plenty of art out there portraying the X-Men's resident weather goddess Storm, but at least for me, Hanie Mohd's For All Seaons series is among my favorites. The series depicts Ororo in four of her more recognizable forms, each one echoing the season of choice. While all are fantastic, Autumn Wind and Summer Storm are two that truly embrace the fierceness and beauty that the character represents to me. You can grab some prints of the set on Hanie's Etsy page, and if you like them, let her know. 

This amusing piece of Star Wars art comes from artist Michael Phillips. I came across his stuff while roaming artist ally at WonderCon last month, and I thought this would be a really fun piece to share. I love that Darth Vader is charging into battle on an AT-AT like a buckin' bronco.  

Thanks to 20th Century Fox we've got a new promo clip from X-Men: Days of Future Past that focuses on the character Mystique. There's also an extended TV spot that gives us a little rundown of the mutant characters that will be featured in the movie. There's some cool new footage in these clips to check out. The movie is set to be released on May 23rd. 

I love fire. I've enjoyed playing with fire and I've especially had some fun blowing things up. There's a reason why I'm kind of a pyromaniac though! I blame my dad and his attempt to make his own fireworks.

When I was three years old, the same year as my Hulk Halloween costume incident, my dad got a hold of some flash powder from a stage production of Dracula that he was starring in. He got it in his head that it would be a great idea to use it to make his own firework.

He took a long lemonade cardboard container and filled it to the top with an explosive powder that he concocted. It consisted of flash powder mixed together with ground up sparklers and a bunch of other powder from the inside of various fireworks. He used a long rolled up strand of toilet paper as a fuse.

As it started to get dark outside, he took me across the street to a school playground to light this thing off. As a little kid I couldn't be more excited. I loved fireworks!

We put the homemade firework down on the ground, and my dad lit the toilet paper fuse. We backed away from it and watched as the toilet paper slowly burned. When it finally reached the top of the box it lit up and sparks started shooting out of the top like crazy. As I was staring in awe at the beautiful light display… all of a sudden... from out of nowhere… KA-BOOM!!!!!!! It exploded right in our faces blasting out the brightest flash of light I've ever seen. It lit up the whole neighborhood and blinded me. I can still remember the heat and pulse of that explosion blowing across my face.

Needless to say it scared the shit out of us! After our ears stopped ringing and we could see again, we noticed that the box was gone. As we looked for its remains, my dad spotted it on the top of a neighbor's roof across the street and it was on fire. We just stood there staring at it hoping that their roof wouldn't catch on fire. Luckily the fire fizzled out. My dad somberly took me back in the house. My mom wasn't too happy with what went down that night.

Ever since then I've just had a fascination with fireworks, fire, and explosions. Over the years, I've attempted to make my own fireworks, turning fireworks into little bombs, and blowing up my G.I. Joe action figures. I wish I wouldn't have blown up my G.I. Joes, but it was so cool at the time to strap firecrackers on to them. I'm a little bit more responsible these days, so you won't see me blowing things up.

I gotta love the crazy things that my young parents did with me back in the day. There are more stories to come!

Will Shields has been named as the new writer for the fifth installment of Mission: Impossible. Tom Cruise is going to reprise his role at Ethan Hunt.

Originally, Iron Man 3 writer Drew Pearce was attached to the project but has since dropped out. Shields was a video game writer before he stepped over to screenplays.  Apparently he is a hot commodity in Hollywood right now. He's currently working with Warner Bros. and Ben Affleck on the movie Blood and Treasure — Affleck is set to star in and direct that movie. He also wrote the big screen adaptation of Myst for Fox. So, it sounds like he has a busy couple of years ahead of him.

THR

Right before the weekend, we learned that NBC has cancelled Community after five seasons. What's completely insane is that the fifth season was their best yet! I enjoyed the hell out of it, and I'm so pissed off that the network let it go. I understand the ratings weren't the greatest, but the show does have a passionate fanbase. I am one the show's rabid fans that wanted to see the show fulfill its goal of six seasons and a movie. I don't think that dream is dead, though. There's still a chance that it could happen!

This is the moment where Netflix needs to step in and save the day! The opportunity is there for them to capitalize on NBC's poor decision, and all they need to do seize it! It has not been confirmed, but Reports indicate that Sony Pictures TV will likely shop the sitcom around to other outlets. The studio would be stupid if they didn't.

I feel like the perfect home for Community would be Netflix. They are doing amazing things with their own series these days, and they did great things when they brought back Arrested Development. 

Even though Netflix is my top choice of where I would like the series to land, there are other outlets that it could easily end up. Hulu currently owns the digital rerun rights to Community, so there's a chance that it could end up there. The fact that they do own the rights might cause some issues if the studio did want to take it somewhere like Netflix.  

Then there's the internet video site Crackle, which is owned by Sony. It would kind of make sense for them to take it to Crackle if they wanted to keep it in-house. Then, of course, there's Amazon. The problem with these two outlets is that I never watch anything on them. If Community landed on either of those, it would be out of sight, out of mind for me. I don't really know anyone that watches anything on those outlets either.

I know if Netflix wanted to take the series under their wing they would treat it with the love and respect that it deserves. In the end, all that matters is that creator Dan Harmon is given the creative freedom he needs to make this show the best possible thing it could be. He did an amazing job with season 5, and he offered fans lots of awesome laughs. All we need now is that sixth season and a movie, and they are not out of reach.

The dream isn't dead yet, Community fans! There is still hope. I just want Netflix to jump at the chance to claim it! All the legal mumbo-jumbo can be figured out with lawyers.