As the summer begins its slow descent toward hibernation, this weekend’s box office looks like it took to the cave early. Seriously, this week’s premieres are so bad we’re not even going to talk about them on today’s show. In fact, this whole year has been a bit of a disappointment when it comes to revenue, anyway, which is down 13 percent over last year according to Variety.
It’s probably futile to ask why the year’s movie schedule has been such a dour one, but we’re going to do so on today’s show anyway. Is it superhero saturation? Eclipse competition fear? Or just bad luck? Maybe it’s the return of what has become all but our national pastime: Watching Game of Thrones. Speaking of which, some viewers/listeners may notice we’ve been remarkably quiet on that front as the show made its bloody, and altogether epic return this summer, but it’s not because we haven’t been soaking up every second of it with the rest of the world. No, we’re just afraid of being the spoilers who ruin your weekend, a la Leslie Jones’ Twitter account (warning, do not click during Game of Thrones).
But no more! Leading up to season 7’s final gasp, as we prepare to wait a long and dark two years (!!) before the final season, it’s time to chat about last week’s episode. We have a lot of questions to ask, not the least of which is (massive spoiler alert) will Jon Snow ride an ice dragon? We’ll be discussing that and much more on today’s show, finally breaking our silence on GoT season 7 ahead of the big, bad, final episode before winter truly does come (twice).
But there’s much more to discuss on today’s show, including a crazy new plan that seems wholly disruptive to Warner Bros.’ profitable, if flawed, DC Extended Universe. If you haven’t yet heard, it appears the WB has plans for two DC Comics films that will not (repeat not) be a part of the 20-plus film franchise that includes Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, Justice League, and so many others. The new films reportedly include a stand-alone Batman movie from director Matt Reeves — which will still feature the DCEU-certified Ben Affleck as Batman — and another film featuring the Joker’s origin story.
It’s the latter of the two films that’s really making waves, however, as it will reportedly have a serious Goodfellas vibe thanks to none other than Martin Scorsese himself, who is signed on to produce. Featuring a young Joker on his way up (or down?), the film will reportedly break off from the DCEU and star an actor other than Jared Leto, who memorably played Joker in Suicide Squad and is also signed on for a new film with fellow Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie. Confused yet? You should be, but we’ll try to parse through some of the confusion on today’s show and figure out just what the hell is going on. All that being said, gangster Joker does sound pretty awesome.
Also on today’s show, we’ll talk about the clowns-only It screening in Texas, Black Mirror‘s new season 4 trailer, yet another Knight Rider reboot, James Gunn’s Starsky and Hutch TV show reboot, Will Ferrell at 100, and much more.
So tune in and hit us up live at 2 p.m. PT today, or take us along for the ride with our podcast version by following the links at the top.