First Look at Netflix’s Next Marvel Series: IRON FIST

Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for IRON FIST, the next installment in its series showcasing Marvel Comics’ “street level” superheroes. GAME OF THRONES’ Finn Jones stars as Danny Rand, scion of a wealthy industrial family and a man presumed dead in a plane crash 15 years ago, who returns wielding the incredible martial arts ability known as the Iron First. 

In the comics, this ability is usually described as “He summons his chi — the essence of his spirit and strength —  channeling its raw power down into his arm, into his hand, until that hand becomes like unto a thing of iron!

Take a look at the terrific way the Iron Fist is being visualized for the series in the clip below…

IRON FIST also stars David Wenham as Harold Meachum, the former business partner of Danny’s late parents; Jessica Stroup and Tom Pelphrey as Harold’s children, Joy and Ward Meachum, who have known Danny since childhood; and Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, an ally of Danny’s who runs a martial arts dojo.

IRON FIST premieres March 17, 2017, on Netflix.

First Peek at 2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special

We have New York Comic Con to thank for our first look at this year’s DOCTOR WHO Christmas special, to be called “The Return of Doctor Mysterio.” This clip features a look at some of the key characters, including the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and his new companion Nardole (Matt Lucas), as well as behind-the-scenes snippets.

The soundtrack underlying the clip includes the return of Murray Gold‘s “I Am the Doctor” theme music composed for Matt Smith‘s 11th Doctor!

One of the questions I can’t wait to see answered: Why is Nardole dressed like the Celestial Toymaker?

The Christmas special airs… you guessed it, on Christmas Day on BBC America.

Third Wolverine Flick Named Simply ‘Logan’

The third Wolverine solo movie got a name and a teaser poster today. As revealed by star Hugh Jackman on Twitter, director James Mangold‘s second Wolvie film — and Jackman’s last — will be called simply Logan.

To go along with the spare name, Jackman also unveiled a minimalist poster, which appears to depict Wolverine Logan holding the hand of a child. The vibe of the poster is very Schindler’s List, evocative of the supposed darker direction of this installment.

I like the name a lot — especially considering the horrible alternatives. We could have ended up with The X-Men: Logan or Wolverine 3: Logan or Wolverine: Episode III — An X-Men Story or, worse, X-Men Origins: Wolverine 3, or some other monstrosity. But 20th Century Fox is trusting the audience to recognize this is an X-Men-related movie, so it isn’t spoonfeeding fans a saga title like The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials or (the worst) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2.

As for the poster, it hints at the story line, which is supposedly loosely based on the “Old Man Logan” story from the comics, which saw an aged Logan back in action in a dystopian far future. Notice that Logan’s hand is heavily scarred and cut.

Introducing “Doctor Strange” Characters via Posters

Doctor Strange, the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, opens in just over one month, and these character posters are intended to get folks familiar with the main characters — and the topsy-turvy mystical world they inhabit.

Magic has not yet been seen in a Marvel movie, but Doctor Strange will introduce the concept in a big way. Ant-Man showed vans that other realities, such as the microverse, are possible, so viewers shouldn’t be too shocked that magic can exist in the largely science-fiction-based MCU.

The reality-bending images include Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Rachel McAdams as Christine “Night Nurse” Palmer, Benedict Wong  as Wong, Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius and Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One.

Directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister), Doctor Strange also stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt and Scott Adkins. Jon Spaihts (Prometheus), Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill wrote the screenplay.

Doctor Strange will appear in theaters Nov. 4.

“Pirates of the Caribbean” Franchise is Not Dead Yet

Disney began cranking up the publicity machine for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales by releasing the first advance poster and a teaser trailer for the fifth installment of the adventures of Capt. Jack Sparrow.

Interestingly, franchise star Johnny Depp is nowhere to be seen in either. Perhaps the studio’s marketing people (wisely) assume that everyone has a very clear image of Jack Sparrow already, and what they need to do is start introducing the new elements.

The clip focuses on this installment’s new villain, Captain Salazar, played by the wonderful Javier Bardem (SkyFall), who always place a brilliant baddie — and even won an Oscar for playing one in No Country for Old Men. Check it out:

Miss Peregrine’s Movie for Peculiar Children

Tim Burton‘s “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” is the movie I most want to see this weekend. It feels like a perfect match of material and director!

Based on the novel of the same name by Ransom Riggs, this movie looks like a gentler, younger take on the idea of mutants. In some ways it might be what a cinematic take on what Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Students could have been, had the “X-Men” movies gone in a different (better) direction.

But the proof will be in the viewing…