Caddickisms

Warner will follow Marvel model to develop new superhero films : Slice of SciFi

Superman Returns darker

Ever since Superman Returns was released, rumors were flying about the sequel. Would it happen? Would Bryan Singer return to helm it? Would anybody watch it?

Not long ago (May 7th, in fact), we were hearing that Bryan Singer would be getting Superman: The Man of Steel to theaters in 2009 with wall-to-wall action in a sequel to Returns. Personally, I was pretty happy with that news. I really think Singer knows how to pull off a movie that’s both intelligent and action-packed, and respects the source material.

But now we hear that in the wake of the success of The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. will be putting a darker focus on all its superhero properties.

For fans, this means that the sequel to “Superman Returns” won’t be happening. Instead, the studio will look to take a page from this year’s “Incredible Hulk” and reboot the franchise. Part of this is a need to freshen the franchise, but part of this can also be attributed to the fact that “Returns” struggled to make back the investment Warner Brothers put into the movie.

[...]

Mr. Robinov wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as “The Dark Knight.” Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.’ DC properties. “We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,” he says. That goes for the company’s Superman franchise as well.

That’s disappointing. While I get treating superhero movies as real world and serious is important in creating believability, forcing a dark tone on everything is, I think, a mistake. It’s completely appropriate for Batman, but Superman’s main character traits are hope and optimism, and a bit of naiveté (at least on the surface). It is possible to go darker with him temporarily - and I think it could be done really well - but I really think it has to be in a sequel to be good. The character has to be developed as an incorruptible, “thank God he’s here” kind of character.

Plus, I gotta imagine this new direction means a significant delay before the Boy Scout graces the screen again. So that annoys me, too.

On a side note, the linked article also mentions the other properties under development: Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman. I’m excited about each of them. All could translate very well to the big screen.

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The networks released their schedules for next year this week. No surprise: Smallville and 24 are both reappearing in the schedules. However, there has been surprising news/rumors about both shows…

24

Jack is back, and as an appeasement from the long wait since last season, we get a 2-hour movie on November 23rd:

24 is also scheduled to return full time in January of 2009. (A spoiler is below.) However, to reward fans who have not seen a new episode since May of 2007, there will be a 2-hour special on 11/23. According to Kiefer Sutherland, they are scheduled to start filming in the next few weeks in south Africa.

“Set and shot on location in Africa, Jack Bauer battles an international crisis, while here at home the nation prepares for a new president on inauguration day. Taking place just a few months before the new day dawns, this story will set the stage and raise the stakes for Season Seven.”

Day/Season 7 spoiler: Tony’s back. Wait a minute… is this a sci-fi show now?

Smallville

We already knew that Kristen Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum were leaving the show as regulars. Apparently, that fact gave Allison Mack, who plays Chloe Sullivan, the guts to try renegotiating, since that would leave her as the only regular (other than Tom Welling) to have been on since the beginning. However, it looks like those negotiations may be going poorly, and Chloe may be on her way out.

So that would leave just Clark, Lois, and Jimmy as the only regulars. Hmm…. seems like we’re really leaving Smallville behind and just going straight to Superman. I don’t know - I really like the show, but I’m really worried that it’s going to suffer greatly without Lex. I’ve heard Lana will become recurring…. and I don’t care. She’s over, as far as I’m concerned. They ran out of good stuff to do with her character a few years ago. She only really had a couple good episodes in the last few seasons. Lex is the one that’s got to come back from time to time, if you ask me. Besides….

SPOILERS FOR SMALLVILLE SEASON 7 FINALE

… what are they going to do, leave him dead under the ice, buried in his attempt to kill Clark? Obviously Clark will be back somehow, and I really hope the season premiere resolves the whole Clark/Lex fight adequately. I kind of feel like the rug was pulled out from under me for this finale, and not in a good way. This show has had some great finales, but this one just seemed a bit anti-climactic to me. We saw almost the entire end of the show in the previews! Where was the big fight? Where was the surprise? Where was the “holy cow! Who’s gonna survive this?” moment? We know Clark’s going to survive so no drama there. Lex is going to survive somehow too (to do otherwise would really be a kick in the face to the fans). Lana healed (whoopie.) and left (Yeah!), though she’s open to come back (eh.). Jimmy and Lois were never in danger. Chloe was the candidate for cliffhanger-ness, but they gave her a totally happy ending. I guess Kara is still floating out there…

…but that leaves me with another question: what was the deal where Kara/Brainiac collapsed at the end of the previous episode after Kara’s “return”. It would have worked if Brainiac were controlling her, but if it’s really Brainiac, what’s with the weak collapse, and then all powerful for the opening of this episode?

Next season’s premiere better pull out all the stops, as I assumed this finale would.

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Doctor Who — Theories, Facts, Speculations - Slice of SciFi

Over at Slice Of Scifi, they’ve got a post (linked above) that lays out a lot of evidence gathered throughout the last 3+ seasons of the show, and comes up with this hypothesis:

Overall for the Season we will witness the return, in some form or other, of Gallifrey and learn of how the Time War really ended.

I gotta admit, that’s a real possibility, and the author lays out a decent argument. He even goes so far as to make a guess that we will see pieces of the Time War, and that the current, 10th incarnation of the Doctor has a role to play in it. Not sure I buy that, but I’m also not going to dismiss the idea out of hand. He makes a decent case for his position.

It would be a pretty cool thing to see, and it would make sense for Russell Davies to end his involvement in the show on that kind of a note (Davies is rumored to be leaving at the end of next year’s three specials, and Tennant’s tenure as the Doctor beyond that time is in question as well).

If you go through to read the article, which I recommend, be aware that there are spoilers for just about every episode from the first episode of the first season (of the reborn series) thru the fourth episode of the current season.

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Lots of news and some rumors hitting the net lately… here are the best of the bunch for Sci-Fi and comics lovers:

The next Stargate SG-1 film titled Stargate: Continuum now has a July 29 DVD release date.

Marvel has announced that Iron Man 2 has been confirmed for release in 2010, in addition to a movie about Thor. Also reported: the Avengers and Captain America (with Matthew McConaughey as the lead?) in 2011.

Also announced by Marvel: an Ant Man movie, though the timeline for the film is unknown. (This is where they start to lose me… Ant Man? Seriously? I think they’re stretching to reach a mainstream audience with that one. My guess is his popularity in the Avengers movie will determine if this one really gets made.)

Iron Man, Tony Stark, will make a cameo in The Incredible Hulk.

Superman: Man of Steel will now not be delayed due to the “Justice League of America” film but is geared up for a 2009 release with Brandon Routh back as Superman.

Both Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Dark Knight will run over 140 minutes. In fact, The Dark Knight may run close to three hours.

Speaking of The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan has signed on for a third Batman feature, and Christian Bale has expressed interest as well. Details of plot are even starting to circulate - apparently the film will focus on Two-Face and may introduce Robin, following the plot of the graphic novels “The Long Halloween” and “Dark Victory” for a rough outline.

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“24″ Casulty of Writer’s Strike - Slice of SciFi

Due to the Writer’s strike, many shows are considering their options. Apparently “24″ decided to throw in the towel on this year.

The seventh season of the hit real-time series was scheduled to begin in January, but producers had completed only about one-third of its 24-episode order as of last week.

I actually think that’s a good move, given the way this show works. If you can’t do a full season on this one, you just gotta pull it.

I guess it really sucks for Keifer. He accepted an overall longer jail time than he would have received otherwise for his drunk driving conviction, with the condition that the time be split so he could do the show, and thus not cost the cast and crew their jobs for his stupidity. Now there is no show to save. Don’t get me wrong… he’s getting no pity from me. I actually kind of like the irony.

Technorati Tags: wga strike, 24, Keifer Sutherland, Fox TV

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Kilmer plans Genius return - Movie news - Movies - Virgin.net

Okay, Real Genius was a pretty funny Val Kilmer movie. For the 80’s. Making a sequel 20 years later… not so bright.

This does, however, give me the chance to post everyone’s favorite quote from the original:

Mitch: You know, um, something strange happened to me this morning…
Chris Knight: Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?
Mitch: No…
Chris Knight: Why am I the only one who has that dream?

Technorati Tags: movie sequels, movie rumors, Val Kilmer

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Bungie.net : Games : Halo 3

Oh, man. Go check out the trailer. Seriously.

I want to play this thing, and I haven’t even played Halo 2 yet. It makes me think the movie might actually be good. That’s assuming it ever comes out. There’ve been a few delays. Latest release date is 2008.

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Narnia Sequel In the Works - Slice of SciFi
Looks like the next movie in the series will be Prince Caspian (which, interestingly, is not the second book in the series).

Andrew Adamson will return to direct and all four “Pevensie” actors are scheduled to appear.

[UPDATE: Okay, apparently I mis-heard my wife. Prince Caspian is, in fact, the second book of the series in publishing order. It is not, however, chronologically. Get the scoop on that here]

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