Well, it’s been two weeks since our last show thanks to our hiatus last week, and if you thought we were loaded with news before, this week is a doozy. The world of entertainment moves fast, so let’s get right to it, shall we?
We’ll be getting into to all kinds of topics, including the (hopefully) last dreary box-office weekend before we move into the holiday movie season, which will finally get some big titles back into theaters. Today’s show will begin with a look at the Justice League sizzler, hot off the presses from the wrapped shoot in England. The sizzle reel is chock full of behind the scenes footage of the film, which is set to premiere in November of next year, and we have to say, at first glance, Zach Snyder’s latest film looks pretty fun. Jason Momoa (Aquaman) in particular seems to be having a blast on set, and maybe his bombastic monster man behavior has added some much needed levity to the series. Of course, that’s not going to help what we’d call a major problem with dialog from the Snyder catalog, but hopefully the film will be a worthy assembly of top DC superheroes, including Flash, Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Superman (we think), and more.
Next, we’ll discuss a little Logan news, though most of us probably know it better under its working title, Wolverine 3. Named after Wolverine’s given moniker, Logan is an interesting film for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the film will be the last of Hugh Jackman’s in the role. Yes, it is a little depressing, and it appears the film itself will carry a lot of that thematic tone with it.
From what we know so far, Logan will be set in a dreary, not-too-distant future (2024 to be exact), in which our loner hero — who has grown to appreciate his X-Men family more and more over the last few films — is losing his regenerative powers, as the world of mutants around him is also thinning due to a shadowy operation called “Transgien.” That accounts for the hand Wolverine is clutching of a young mutant girl, seemingly symbolizing his stand to try and help the younger mutant generation in their time of need. What’s more, we’ve learned that Professor X (Patrick Stewart) will also be in the film, and that his powers will also be degenerating. That compiled with the rumors that Logan may be rated R (thank you, Deadpool) all makes for a very different kind of X-Men movie coming our way.
But that’s all miles from here at this point, so let’s not wallow in our Jackman/Wolverine lament just yet. Instead, this week will provide us plenty of time to talk about other Marvel properties, this time the TV kind. This week we’ll be talking about the big new show on the docket, Iron Fist, which got its first teaser trailer recently, and a premiere date of March 17, 2017, this week. Don’t remember Iron Fist? He’s the dude with the power of the Iron Fist. But more seriously, it’s the story of Daniel Rand (played by Game of Thrones‘ Finn Jones in full beard), who grew up in a mystical land founded by aliens a million years ago, and eventually trained enough to take on the mystical power known as the Iron Fist, which endows him with super strength in hand-to-hand battle.
Fist follows the brilliant run of Marvel shows in the studio’s partnership with Netflix, including Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and the most recent hit, Luke Cage. Look, we try to be objective, but we are absolute fanboys for this stuff, there’s no question. Not all of it is page-one, Emmy winning execution, but most of it is damned good in our opinion, and we’re looking forward to the run up to the team-up series, The Defenders.
Oh, and did we mention The Punisher? Not only did Jon Bernthal’s run as the vigilante in the second season of Daredevil endear fans to the cult favorite, but it now appears the series will pop up sooner than we expected, speculated to be coming in 2017. That could mean Punisher will show up before the Defenders series, though Screen Rant has reported the Defenders will begin filming in November. All of these dates are speculative at this point, and could get pushed back, but we also got some news about The Punisher cast this week, as well, and we’ll be digging deeper into all of that in the show.
Phew, that’s a lot of stuff, and we’re just getting started. How about some Young Han Solo news? It’s been reported that there are now three actors on the list to play the female lead in the film, including Selma and Creed actress Tessa Thompson (our personal favorite), Power Rangers and Terra Nova actress Naomi Scott, and X-Men: First Class and Mad Max: Fury Road actress Zoe Kravitz (Lenny’s daughter). Alden Ehrenreich is, of course, the lead as Han Solo, and it’s also believed that Donald Glover (Community, Atlanta, The Martian) is the favorite to play a young Lando Calrissian — and if it isn’t Glover, as far as we’re concerned, it should be no one.
Other discussions this week will include highlights from NYC Comic Con, the bizarre/intriguing horror film from the mind of Jordan Peele, Get Out; a first take on HBO’s Westworld; Blade Runner 2049 (the recently revealed title) news; and so much more. So tune into our live broadcast today at 2 p.m. PT, or take our podcast along by following the links above. And be sure to subscribe!