‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’ Success May Expand the Universe

Pacific Rim was successful enough to spawn a sequel. If Pacific Rim: Uprising is successful, it could spawn an entire universe.

Not only would fans get a third installment of the movie and more comic books, fans might get to see the Jaegers take on some iconic monsters from different universes (Think: “King of the Monsters”)

When Uprising director Steven S. DeKnight visited New York Comic Con in October, he said that not only will the new action film set up a potential third installment, he hinted that the next PR movie could be the key to expanding into other worlds.

Meet the 13th Doctor, Jodie Whittaker

Jodie Whittaker, the newly crowned 13th Doctor, gave her first interview to Blogtor Who! Here are the highlights from her comments.

On being the first female Doctor:

“It feels completely overwhelming, as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you’re told you can and can’t be. It feels incredible.

“I want to tell the fans not to be scared by my gender. Because this is a really exciting time, and Doctor Who represents everything that’s exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one.”

Jodie Whittaker IS the 13th Doctor!

The 13th Doctor on DOCTOR WHO will be portrayed by Jodie Whittaker, best known to American audiences from BROADCHURCH.

Whittaker, the first woman to ever play the role, takes over from Peter Capaldi, who played the 12th Doctor for three seasons, culminating in the just-concluded 10th series.

While DOCTOR WHO fans have known since January that Capaldi would not be returning for the 11th season, word that the identity of the next Doctor would be revealed today only came on Friday, via a wordless video from the BBC.

DOCTOR WHO returns to BBC America with its traditional Christmas special on Dec. 25.

Winter Arrives in Season 7 of ‘Game of Thrones’

It’s going to be an unseasonably chilly July if HBO and GAME OF THRONES has anything to say about it.

The second trailer for GoT kicks off with a serious-looking Sansa Stark in the snow with a voice-over from Lord Baelish counseling her to beware of enemies not just in the North or the South, but on all sides. And then lots of cool stuff. Check it out:

Among the coolest touches: seeing the Hound; Dothraki hordes vs. Lannister legions; dragons; crows; dragons; the Night’s King; more dragons; Tyrion; Arya with a sword; and Beric with a flaming sword!

In case you need a reminder of what was in the first trailer, watch it here.

Winter arrives July 16 on HBO.

Don’t Worry About the New Doctor – Yet…

Everybody can just relax. Chibnall’s got this.

New DOCTOR WHO showrunner Chris Chibnall – whose work won’t be seen until after Steven Moffat‘s upcoming 10th series has run its course – has his own ideas about how to cast the next Doctor, and it has nothing whatsoerver to do with what former stars, fans or bookmakers want.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Chibnall said:

“We’ll cast the role in the traditional way: Write the script, then go and find the best person for that part in that script. You couldn’t go out and cast an abstract idea. The creative possibilities are endless, but I have a very clear sense of what we’re going to do, without even knowing who’s going to play the part.”

Translation: Chibnall isn’t going to cast someone and write to fit the actor; he’s going to create a character and then hire the right person to play that role.

I totally agree that he’s doing it the right way. The actor must suit the role, not vice-versa.

Peter Capaldi‘s third and final season as the 12th Doctor will end with this year’s Christmas Special, in which he will regenerate into the 13th Doctor.

DOCTOR WHO returns to BBC America on April 15.

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.

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.

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…

Why Bill Murray Finally Agreed to a ‘Ghostbusters’ Redux

Just about everyone was floored by the news that Bill Murray had agreed to appear in the so-called “all-female” Ghostbusters reboot after so many decades of refusing to associate himself with any of the long-mooted attempts at making a third film in the franchise.

Well, newsflash folks: Murray has not only agreed to make a cameo in the new flick — he has already shot his role (as a ghost debunker). So there’s no turning back now.

Vulture asked Murray why he did it, and he replied:

“I thought about it for a very long time. Like, many, many months. No, that’s not right. I was seriously thinking about this for years, really… It kept eating at me, and I really respect those girls. And then I started to feel like if I didn’t do this movie, maybe somebody would write a bad review or something, thinking there was some sort of disapproval [on my part].”

“He slimed me.”

All the Lightsabers!

This is a fun info graphic put together by the good folks at HalloweenCostumes that breaks down every lightsaber that has appeared onscreen in the films, STAR WARS: CLONE WARS and STAR WARS REBELS, whether used by Jedi or Sith.

Click for larger views.