When that image came out of the Guardians of the Galaxy set at the beginning of this month featuring Sakaaran soldiers, many comic book aficionados instantly recalled the Planet Hulk storyline in which the green rage monster is abducted and forced into gladiatorial combat on the planet Sakaar. And seeing as there will definitely be a Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and hopefully a Hulk solo film, some of those fans made another leap, concluding that the inclusion of Sakaaran soldiers suggested the Guardians would encounter an imprisoned Hulk in their sequel.
One of the films I'm most excited to see this fall is The Imitation Game, a dramatic thriller starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, a British cryptographer who helped crack Nazi codes during World War II but was later prosecuted for homosexuality, then a crime. The subject matter is obviously fascinating, and Cumberbatch is a highly talented actor, so all signs indicate that The Imitation Game may arrive as one of the year's best films. Now, a teaser trailer has been revealed by Studiocanal, giving us our first real look at the tense historical thriller.
A TV show set in Gotham City that never features the Caped Crusader himself? More inflexible comic-book fans might scoff at that prospect, but Fox's upcoming series Gotham aims to change their minds, focusing on a pre-Batman Gotham within which the only barriers against all-out anarchy are good cops like Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie). Though Gordon is new to the GCPD as Gotham opens, he quickly gets wise to the rampant corruption and crime in the city, devoting his life to cleaning up both the police department and the streets it patrols.
When a filmmaker toils as diligently and for as long on a project as Edgar Wright did Marvel's Ant-Man, one would hope that something would come of it. Though the director eventually left the superhero blockbuster after disagreeing with script changes the studio implemented, his creative vision for the movie was an exciting one, and Marvel was almost certainly aware of that when Wright exited.
Alas, the days when cinema buffs got amped up for movies by watching full-length trailers are behind us. Now, the studios wheel out trailers for the trailers, call them "teasers" and trick the general public into watching them without actually giving away any footage from the movie. Bigger box office prospects are more prone to this strategy than smaller films, which is why I'm not surprised to see that book adaptation Fifty Shades of Grey is already attempting to hold our attention ahead of the premiere of its first actual trailer.
With Penny Dreadful having premiered to rave reviews, and Masters of Sex having debuted its second season to critical acclaim consistent with the period drama's first, Showtime is having a pretty great year. And the premium cable network's offerings continue to hold nothing but promise for the remainder of the year, with the just-released first trailer for its upcoming drama The Affair serving as a tantalizing introduction to what's sure to be a red-hot series.
The rumor mill keeps churning away on J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII, but if our latest news about the blockbuster turns out to be true, it appears that the notoriously secretive director's tight ship has sprung a bit of a leak. Some new plot details have surfaced online, courtesy of Devin Faraci at Badass Digest, a typically trustworthy site about big scoops like this, teasing the opening of Star Wars: Episode VII.
Sorry to crush your dreams, fanboys - according to Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer at DC, there are no plans to intermingle DC characters on the small screen, such as the Green Arrow and the Flash on The CW's Arrow and The Flash, and the big one, such as the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel, who star in tentpole Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Sadly, Johns, who was in attendance at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour for The CW's The Flash panel, was rather definitive on the matter.
Some professionals can traverse the line between acting and directing with ease. One such individual is Matt Ross, who has excelled acting on TV shows like American Horror Story, Magic City, Silicon Valley and Big Love and sitting behind the camera on shorts (The Language of Love and Human Resources) and feature films (sexy Sundance drama 28 Hotel Rooms). Currently, Ross is taking on his biggest challenge to date, directing the drama Captain Fantastic. And now, we've learned that his cast, previously announced to be led by Viggo Mortensen, has added another huge talent, with word that Frank Langella has signed on.
One of the most side-splitting comedians on the scene today, Amy Schumer has been dominating the small screen since last April thanks to her hilarious Comedy Central sketch series Inside Amy Schumer, and now it may be time for her to make the leap from TV talent to Hollywood star. Schumer previously had a supporting role in the little-seen Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, but Judd Apatow is working with her at the moment on Trainwreck, a comedy conceived as a starring vehicle for Schumer, who also wrote the script.
