How Does Civil War II Set Up Secret Empire?
We've known for a few weeks now that Marvel is prepping a major new event comic called Secret Empire, but with the release of Civil War II: The Oath #1, we finally have a better idea of what this new conflict will involve.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Civil War II: The Oath #1!
Cap is sworn in as Director S.H.I.E.L.D. Art by Phil Noto. (Marvel Comics)
Much as 2007's Civil War: The Oath #1 featured a grieving Tony Stark visiting the corpse of Steve Rogers, this issue was framed around Steve visiting the comatose body of Tony (who was gravely injured in Civil War II #8 last month). Steve revealed one previously unknown bit of fallout from Civil War II - he's been named the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in place of Maria Hill.
Bryan Singer to Direct X-Men TV Pilot for Fox
Filmmaker Bryan Singer will direct the untitled X-Men TV pilot for Fox.
The X-Men: Apocalypse director, who's also helmed three other films in the franchise, has signed on for the pilot, according to Variety. Burn Notice's Matt Nix is writing the script, and both men will serve as executive producers on the series.
Just yesterday, Fox ordered the X-Men TV pilot. The show will focus on the parents of a mutant, who find themselves joining an underground resistance because of a hostile government.
Wrestling Wrap Up: Who Will Win the Royal Rumble?
We're less than a week out from a big, swollen meaty Royal Rumble filled with Goldbergs and Lesnars and Undertakers. And like Triple H mentioned in my interview with him last week (which you can read here), this one's tough to call. One thing's for damn sure though - Roman's not winning it. And that just tastes great on its own. No salt or ketchup required.
Yes, Roman will probably walk out with a big title win over Owens, and I've already got my #NotMyUniversalChampion hashtag ready to fly, but the Rumble itself is a nice, nifty crapshoot. Naturally, and most easily, one of the big names could win it. But the fact that there are two world titles now makes it harder to predict - because will the winner be a SmackDown guy or a RAW guy? Then you also have to consider if, perhaps, there are too many big names in the Rumble and because of that they'll cancel each other out and make way for someone even more unexpected.
Aquaman Cast Gathers for Table Read
The director behind Warner Bros.' and DC's Aquaman standalone film has teased that the film is gearing up for production.
Director James Wan shared a photo on Twitter of some of the film's cast, indicating a table read for the upcoming superhero movie. Featured in the image are Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Jason Momoa, and Wan as well. Wan captioned the photo "After school detention with the new Breakfast Club. With @PrideofGypsies
@patrickwilson73
and Amber
."
Not included in the photo is Willem Dafoe, who plays the science advisor of Atlantis, Nuidis Vilko.
Infinity War: Sean Gunn Reveals Set Photo
Guardians of the Galaxy star Sean Gunn has shared a photo from the set of Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War.
Gunn posted the following image on Instagram, in which he's sporting a hat with the Infinity War logo while jokingly stating that he can't reveal the "secret" project he's currently working on.
Infinity War set photo, via Sean Gunn on Instagram
Production on Infinity War is now underway at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Gunn is possibly on set to play Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) for the upcoming Marvel ensemble movie, as he has previously performed the motion capture for the character. The actor will also star as Kraglin in Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2, so it's possible Yondu Udonta's First Mate will make an appearance in Infinity War as well.
Apocalypse Now Video Game Announced
A Kickstarter campaign has been launched to support development of a video game based on Francis Ford Coppola's seminal war film Apocalypse Now.
The Coppola family's film studio American Zoetrope will join forces with "entertainment and games industry veterans" to develop a psychological horror RPG around the 1979 movie. Said veterans include Rob Auten (Gears of War, Battlefield), Lawrence Liberty ( Fallout: New Vegas, The Witcher) , Montgomery Markland ( Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera) and in an advisory capacity, Obsidian Entertainment’s Design Director Josh Sawyer.
The Kickstarter page for the project is now live, and comes complete with a special message from Coppola himself:
6 Things We Learned About Ghost Recon Wildlands
Ghost Recon Wildlands takes the tactical shooter in a new direction, its open world offering a new level of freedom and opportunity for the series. The Ghosts are dropped deep inside Bolivia, a country ruled by the drug cartel Santa Blanca and its hired private army, Unidad. But by targeting Santa Blanca’s sicarios leading to the Ghosts can restore balance to the country.
Wildlands is a very different type of Ghost Recon game, to the point it doesn’t really feel much like it belongs to the series at times. The fundamentals are present – your squad of four grunts, the ever-satisfying sync shot and a smattering of tactics – but the shift to an open world has had a much bigger impact than just the size of the map.
Rogue One Comic Book Spin-offs We Want to Read
With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story being such a plot-driven movie, there’s plenty of opportunity for comic books to fill in the backstory of its ensemble cast of characters.
Marvel Comics, holder of the Star Wars comic license, has been churning out both ongoing Star Wars comics and mini-series featuring specific characters like Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. The ragtag Rogue One team is practically tailor-made for the mini-series treatment, just enough time to flesh out where they came from and learn about who they really are when they’re not trying to save the galaxy from a planet-killing weapon.
While at first Marvel only set the comics between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, they’ve now taken to exploring different time frames throughout the various Episodes. The mini-series Obi-Wan and Anakin follows the Master/Padawan duo between the events of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, whereas Shattered Empire picks up in the closing moments of Return of the Jedi and introduces us to Poe Dameron’s parents. These Rogue One comics would mostly take place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
Avengers Animated Series Preview: Civil War is Here!
The animated series Marvel's Avengers: Ultron Revolution is about to dive into Civil War in a big way, in a four-part storyline airing as a marathon this Saturday.
Civil War will bring a ton of Marvel heroes into combat, along with at least one big villain return, which we can reveal in an exclusive clip. In this scene, two different Avengers team discover the truth about a malicious mastermind who's been hiding in plain sight, as Truman Marsh undergoes some changes...
Check it out!
The official synopsis for the Civil War storyline reads:
In the “Civil War" story arc, when one Inhuman is overwhelmed by his powers and destroys a small town, the U.S. government steps in and passes the Registration Act – a piece of legislation that requires all Inhumans to publicize their superpower. When the Avengers disagree with this new law and refuse to enforce it, Truman Marsh decides to enlist the Mighty Avengers instead. Unfortunately, with these two teams fighting in a civil war, no one expects Ultron to make his final move. This four-part storyline will introduce the Mighty Avengers, a team consisting of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Black Panther, Red Hulk, Vision, Songbird, and Ant-Man.