Marvel’s Feige: The MCU Will Never Take a ‘Dark’ Turn
Marvel Studios president and Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron producer Kevin Feige recently participated in a post-Ultron screening Q&A at the University of Southern California during which time he was asked whether the Marvel Cinematic Universe will ever adopt a darker tone (presumably a la the more grim vibe of the DC movies).
According to the reddit user/student covering the Q&A, Feige informed the crowd that humor will remain a permanent fixture of the MCU: "There is no dark turn in the MCU. He says every year fans come up to him and ask him if this movie is when the MCU goes 'dark' or takes a 'dark' turn. He said while the trailers may seem ominous or have a sense of impending doom, the movies do not have that feel, and will not. He said he 'Hoped people would catch on by now' - there will be no giant dark turns in the MCU where it then continues to head in that direction. The humor is in the DNA of the movies, there are no plans to change that."
Talking to the Man Who Destroyed the Marvel Universe
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Secret Wars #1!
The Marvel Universe came to an end last week in Secret Wars #1 by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Esad Ribic, but of course that's just the beginning of the eight-part story.
Play-by-play of the End of the Marvel Universe
To tide us over until tomorrow's Secret Wars #2, we hopped on the phone with Hickman to talk about building up to the destruction of the Marvel U, bumps in the road along the way, and that amazing Punisher moment.
AMC Airing Mad Men Marathon
In celebration of the upcoming Mad Men series finale, AMC will air a marathon of all seven seasons of the show, in consecutive order, starting Wednesday, May 13 at 6pm ET/PT and leading into the finale on Sunday, May 17 at 10pm ET/PT.
Additionally, all of AMC's sister networks -- BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV and WE tv -- will go dark for one hour, timed to the Mad Men finale, as a tribute to Mad Men, instead airing a special message commemorating the show.
Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men
Verizon Is Now the Proud Owner of AOL
Mobile network provider Verizon has purchased AOL for the sizable sum of $4.4 billion.
Following the acquisition, America Online will become its own separate division within Verizon, with CEO Tim Armstrong retaining his position at AOL. According to CNN, Armstrong believes this new team-up will provide new opportunities for growth, especially within the mobile space.
The deal is expected to close within the next few months, with Verizon planning to fund the acquisition through short-term loans and cash. Fortunately, Armstrong doesn't anticipate any job cuts following the purchase, so it looks like AOL's current staff can breathe a sigh of relief.
Taylor Swift Teases a Sin City-Style Music Video
An upcoming video for pop star Taylor Swift's single Bad Blood reveals it has more than a little influence from the Sin City films.
Several stars will appear in the video, including Ellie Goulding, Hayley Williams, Lena Dunham, and Kendrick Lamar. In the teaser images Swift released on Instagram, each of them are presented in a black, white, and red motif not unlike the Miller/Rodriguez 2005 film Sin City.
Furthermore, each of the people involved have been given pulpy character names, such as Catastrophe, Lucky Fiori, Destructa X, and The Crimson Curse. The video is set to premiere at the Billboard Music Awards on May 17.
Dota 2 Doesn’t Need Its ‘Blue Shell’ Mechanic
Recently, professional Dota 2 shattered the record for its longest game. The match lasted more than 200 minutes. That's over an hour longer than the previous high water mark. The enormous contest length led to a number of other broken records, including the most kills and deaths on a single team.
Professional Dota 2 matches typically lasts between 30 and 45 minutes, but there was a reason for the 3+ hour battle, one that may no longer be as threatening thanks to a recent patch. Dota 2 has its very own equivalent of Mario Kart’s devious Blue Shell -- and it's changing dramatically with every update.
The divisive power-up that has maligned Nintendo's Mario Kart series since the N64 makes first place a precarious position. Doled out to trailing racers as a random weapon drop, the Blue Shell knocks the head racer out of their lead without mercy, and without fail. So it is with Dota 2 – the leading team is always threatened by an ominous, looming force that can shatter assured victory.
SHIELD Producer Teases the Season Finale Battle with the Inhumans
Marvel's Agents of SHIELD is headed into its Season 2 finale, and Coulson's team is on the brink of war with the Inhumans. Jiaying (Dichen Lachman) wants to keep her people safe, and she's proved she's capable and willing to do whatever it takes to ensure their survival – even if it means sacrificing lives in a fight with SHIELD.
We spoke with SHIELD executive producer Jeffrey Bell (who wrote the first part of the two-hour Season 2 finale) about what's ahead, including Skye's conflict, what Jiaying and Cal are up to, what Raina's plans are, and the biggest challenge Coulson and his team will face as they enter the fight.
IGN: Skye is at the heart of the conflict between SHIELD and the Inhumans. Where's her head at going into the finale?
Wrestling Wrap Up: Daniel Bryan Vacates the IC Title
Okay, here's the situation. My kids' parents went away on a weekend vacation.
Yeah, I was gone from the boob tube for about four days so I didn't watch Smackdown or Impact or Lucha Beep Boop or NXT Whatnot or anything. So I almost didn't do a Wrap Up today. In fact, I was considering not doing one this week when I was writing last week's but opted to leave out an official announcement so as to keep the option open. In case RAW has enough stuff to write/piss/moan about. And it did. So here we are together. At the end of all things.
The Flash: “Crazy Things” are Coming in Season 1’s Final Episodes
The Flash is nearing the end of its first season, and with just two episodes left, Carlos Valdes (“Cisco”) tell us to prepare for some big events.
“It’s about to hit the fan. You know what I mean? Crazy things are about to happen,” Valdes told IGN. “Major revelations are going to happen. Unexpected partnerships. I was just talking about the last episode… I don’t think there’s a single weak link in that episode. There are some incredibly heartbreaking scenes."
Just how heartbreaking? Said Vales, "We were doing table read and we were all crying. I never cry at that kind of stuff but we were weeping. There was this one scene I think fans are going to be really flabbergasted about.”
Marvel Reveals the New Thor’s Identity
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Thor #8, due out tomorrow!
Marvel has finally revealed the identity of the mysterious new woman calling herself Thor. While the actual reveal was meant to come with the release of Thor #8 tomorrow, due to an early leak of the story, Marvel went ahead and made their official reveal on The New York Times' Arts Beat blog.
Last warning: don't continue reading if you don't want to be spoiled!
