‘Gotham’ TV Series Exploring Commissioner Gordon’s Origin Coming to Fox

Over the years DC have been pretty successful with TV shows based on its flagship characters. Superman has enjoyed numerous incarnations such as Lois and Clark as well as CW’s Smallville. CW also has Arrow, based on the adventures of the titular Green Arrow. Batman has had a few himself, mainly animated, including the bloody amazing Batman: The Animated Series. Now Fox are planning to revisit Gotham City with a series, currently titled Gotham, following the early years of Gotham Central’s finest, James Gordon. Gotham will be headed up by The Mentalist creator Bruno Heller who has signed on for a series commitment.

Ender’s Game: New Posters and Official Images – Are You Ready to Join the International Fleet?

Gavin Hood’s (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) has not been without its media attention, and not always for the best reasons, but following on from the promotion we saw at SDCC, there has been a new set of poster released ahead of the November 1st opening. These new promotional posters use the tried and tested propaganda style that the likes of X-MEN: Days of Future Past have also adopted.

There have also been some new stills released from the movie detailing what looks to be some great visual effects. The posters and the stills do not reveal much that we don’t already know about the movie, which has been adapted from the award winning novel by Orson Scott Card.

Ender’s Game, starring Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, with Abigail Breslin and Harrison Ford, is set in the near future when a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth.  If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer.

With the central characters of the movie being young heroes, distributors Lionsgate will be hoping to build another successful tween franchise to rival the likes of Twilight and Harry Potter, much like they did with the  successful Hunger Games. Hopefully Hood will keep some of the tone and focus of the novel to keep adults on board and get them buying tickets too. The novel has also become suggested reading for many military organizations, including the United States Marine Corps.

[box_dark]Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite.  Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School.  Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.[/box_dark]

Enders Game opens nationwide on November 1, 2013.

AMC Announces The Walking Dead Spin-off Series

Like buses, announcements in Hollywood tend to come in at least twos. Only last week, it was confirmed that AMC are prepping a prequel spin-off series of Breaking Bad focusing on Saul Goodman. Now AMC have announced what they are calling a ‘companion’ show to their ever popular and critically acclaimed series The Walking Dead.

Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman will serve as executive producer on the new series alongside Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert. Kirkman is clearly still in love with the project and stated, “After 10 years of writing the comic book series and being so close to the debut of our fourth, I couldn’t be more thrilled about getting the chance to create a new corner of The Walking Dead universe.”

Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman

AMC President and General Manager Charlie Collier added, “Building on the success of the most popular show on television is literally a no-brainer. We look forward to working with Robert [Kirkman], Gale [Anne Hurd] and Dave [Alpert] again as we develop an entirely new story and cast of characters. It’s a big world and we can’t wait to give fans another unforgettable view of the zombie apocalypse.”

There have been no further plot details as of yet, but it looks likely that the series will focus on new characters not yet in the original show. Kirkman has already stated that, “The opportunity to make a show that isn’t tethered by the events of the comic book, and is truly a blank page, has set my creativity racing.”

While it is exciting to see that AMC are looking to expand the Walking Dead universe (set in in the UK perhaps? …Anyone?), is there any need? Do Kirkman and company have plans for the likes of Rick, Darryl, Michonne and the rest of the survivors, that leads to them to need look ahead to another story? At any rate, it looks as if we won’t be finding out anytime soon as the series is currently aiming for a 2015 release date.

In case you don’t remember, The Walking Dead returns with season 4 in the United States on the 13th of October and will be followed in the UK on the 18th of October but for now, you can check out this The Walking Dead season four teaser.

Ben Affleck Responds to his Batman Casting Internet Backlash

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will be aware that Phantoms star Ben Affleck has been cast as Batman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel follow-up, currently titled Batman Vs. Superman. The internet has been up in arms about the casting, and so far the man himself has remained relatively tight-lipped. However, Ben Affleck appeared last night on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to promote his upcoming movie Runner Runner, co-starring Justin Timberlake, and the subject of Affleck playing Batman inevitably came up:

Affleck talks about how he was warned about the internet backlash following previous casting choices. “They said, ‘Just don’t use the Internet for a couple of days,'” the actor told Fallon. “And I said … ‘I handle shit!'” Ben fAffleck’s curiosity couldn’t prevent him from having a little peek when the news was made official. “I saw the announcement, I look down the thing. The first comment? … ‘Nooooooooooooo. And I was done! We’re going to be Luddites for a while.'”

Affleck still seems very pleased with his casting and told Fallon:

[quote]It’s so awesome, man. I’m so excited. They called me up and asked me if I wanted to do this. And I said, ‘I’m not 25, man, are you sure about this?’ And they said, ‘Come down, we wanna show you what we’re doing.’ Zack Snyder’s directing it and he has this amazing take on it. Obviously you can’t do what Christian [Bale] did, those movies were amazing. But Zack wants to something different but still in keeping with that.[/quote]

There is mixed feeling over here at Grizzly Bomb over Affleck’s casting, I for one am on team Affleck. He is a solid actor and in recent years has proved his salt both in front of and behind the camera. At least the rumor that pop star Justin Bieber being in the running to play Robin in the movie has now been quashed. The Wrap reported on Sunday that the whole thing was potentially set up for an upcoming Funny or Die sketch.

Affleck will next be seen on the big screen alongside of Justin Timberlake in gambling thriller Runner Runner on September 27. Batman Vs. Superman is aiming for a July 15, 2015 release.

Star Wars: Rumors Swirl Around Stand-Alone Movies for Han, Yoda, & Boba Fett…

We have known for a while that starting in 2015 Disney plans to release a new Star Wars movie each year, alternating between the new series and stand alone character based movies. We now have confirmation that these movies will be origin stories. Disney’s chief financial officer Jay Rasulo announced during a presentation to financial investors that the intermittent installments would play host to the origins of some of the best-loved characters from the franchise.

Variety broke the story yesterday afternoon stating that Rasulo sees it as “the sky’s the limit”  for the for the sci-fi franchise, including expanding its presence in the company’s theme parks. “There’s incredible flexibility. It’s an unbelievable palette to create from.”

Rasulo also confirmed that from 2015 one Star Wars trilogy film or origin story film would also appear on the release schedule, starting with the seventh installment in the Star Wars saga directed by J.J. Abrams. Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg were previously rumored to have been hired to write the second and third installments, with Michael Arndt already scripting Star Wars Episode VII, however it is now confirmed the Kasdan and Kinberg will be writing the stand-alone origin movies.

Any Star Wars fan that knows his salt is aware that Kasdan is no new-comer to the saga, having written, in my opinion the best installment, Empire Strikes Back and having an eye in on Return of The Jedi. Aint It Cool News  reported a little while back that one of the stand alone films would focus on Yoda, and Bleeding Cool recently reported that there was also talks of Han Solo and Boba Fett movies with a casting call already out for a young Han. It remains to be seen if Han Solo and Boba Fett would get separate movies or have share the screen. We already know that Harrison Ford and the rest of the central Star Wars cast will be reprising their roles, but this would be the first sign that Disney is looking to recast characters from the original trilogy for the new movies. Granted Harrison Ford is too old to play a young, agile Solo, but this is certainly a piece of casting Disney will need to get right.

It would be great to see two of the best characters from the saga face off against each other. I fear for fanboys the world over whose heads would explode in excitement!

Dredd Sequel: Official Comic Book and Campaign for a Movie Follow Up!

Judge Dredd Magazine Prog 340 will feature a story that’s set directly after Dredd 3D. The story which is being billed as a sequel to the hugely entertaining movie (which starred Karl Urban as a pitch perfect Judge Dredd) will match with film’s visual design, continuity and characters.

What’s happening with that movie sequel we talked about though? Well, over on Facebook there has been a petition started to get one off of the ground. The petition is being supported by Judge Dredd licensees, 2000AD, and Rebellion who all fully back the project. An email was sent out to all 80,000 supporters of the project this week calling for a day of action next Wednesday. In order to show that there is a demand for more Dredd, the campaign is asking that you either buy a copy of the DVD or Blu-ray, if you already own one buy it for a friend, or watch the movie through an on demand service such as Netflix, which it is currently in the top 10 on!

The email that was sent to supporters contained the following information:

[box_light] Thank you – you’re one of more than 80,000 people have now signed the petition calling for a sequel to DREDD! The response to the petition has been just incredible and the endorsement of the owners of Judge Dredd, 2000 AD and Rebellion, has seen the numbers surpass everyone’s expectations.

But we still need your help!

On 18th September, we’re encouraging everyone to take part in a massive DREDD SEQUEL DAY OF ACTION – we’ve already made the money men who could get behind a sequel sit up and take notice by consistently keeping the DVD and Blu-Ray in the charts on Amazon and now on Netflix.

We’re asking everyone who’s signed the petition to come together next Wednesday and drive DREDD back up the charts – if everyone who’s signed the petition bought an extra DVD or Blu-Ray (either for themselves or as a present for a friend) or rented/bought it on iTunes and Netflix it will send the loudest signal yet that WE WANT MORE DREDD!

So spread the word that on Wednesday 18th September, you’re going to bring DREDD back into the public eye! Plus, it’s the day that the new comic book sequel comes out, with lots of media attention planned for this and the campaign.

Thanks to Rebellion for helping put this newsletter together – we’re also really pleased to reveal that the official T-shirt for the campaign is now available, so you can wear your support with pride!

So, you ready?

DON’T FORGET – if you unsubscribe from the petition your name will no longer appear in the list of those calling for a sequel!

Stay subscribed and you’ll get occasional updates about how the campaign is doing as well as any major news about a potential sequel – we promise we won’t spam you or pass your details on to any other company.

And don’t forget to encourage all your friends and family to sign up to at Dredd Sequel Campaign

Available to buy NOW – this is the only OFFICIAL ‘Make a DREDD sequel’ campaign T-shirt!

Available in multiple sizes, wear it and let everyone know you support the campaign!  [/box_light]

We’re huge fans of Dredd here at G-Bomb. It captured the essence of the character and had a basic, but effective storyline that really embedded us in the world Dredd inhabits. The changes made to the costume and designs were all solid, overall it was loyal the source material without being a carbon copy. Afterall, how the Hell can a man be so dexterous and athletic with a bloody eagle strapped to his shoulder?

Screen writer Alex Garland has spoken before at how he would like to expand and widen his take on Judge Dredd and Mega City One. Also, the thought of having Judge Death in a movie to me is exciting as Batman taking on Superman.

To sign up to the petition head over to the 200oAD site, and don’t forget to follow the campaign on Facebook too. Next Wednesday I will be watching Dredd on Netflix to show my support, make sure you do the same! I may even get a t-shirt.