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03/08/15 @ 7:05 pm EST
Cullen Bunn, writer of Army of Darkness #4, talks with Troy Brownfield about Blood Queen vs. Dracula #1, both on sale now! Covers by Fabiano Neves and Jay Anacleto  CULLEN BUNN: Tell me, how did this project come about for you?TROY BROWNFIELD: Blood Queen vs. Draculahappened as sort of a logical extension of two other projects that I did: last year’s Blood Queen series, and the Prince Dracula novel I wrote for Dynamite. As the first Blood Queen series was closing out, Nick [Barrucci] and I talked about different things that we could do for another mini or one-shot. The first thing that occurred to me, having had Dracula on the brain for so long for the novel, was a meeting between the two. Dynamite has done some different versions of Dracula before, so it seemed like a pretty natural fit. CB: What do you think sets your version of Dracula apart from others we’ve seen?TB: The two things that I really wanted to emphasize with my take on Dracula in this time period were his roles as both patriot and leader. In the original novel, there’s a segment where Dracula talks proudly of having the blood of Attila in his veins and how his people fought to keep the Turks out of their lands. I chose to make the ongoing Ottoman conflict a focus, since that would have been a historical concern for both Vlad and Elizabeth Bathory. To that end, it also gave me the ability to depict Dracula in a kind of war-leader setting. To his own people, Vlad was a hero, a staunch defender of Transylvania. Granted, he was a real bastard (one does not accidentally acquire the nickname “The Impaler”), but there’s evidence that his subjects loved him for fighting the Ottoman Empire. I thought that incorporating these notions of beloved leader and patriot would change things up from some of the typical depictions. CB: A centerpiece of the story is Dracula’s encounter with Leandra. Have we seen the last of her?TB: We’ve seen the last of Leandra, unfortunately, but she’s not the last of Elizabeth’s students to appear in the story. The first issues also carries a reference to some of the young women joining Helena’s Rebellion. Helena was a character from the first Blood Queen series, and I wanted those regular readers to know that she survived Elizabeth’s rise to power and that she’s still out there fighting. If we’re fortunate enough to do more Blood Queen in the future, that’s something I’d definitely get back to.  CB: How much research into folklore and legends did you do for this story?TB: I’ve done A LOT of reading about Dracula and Elizabeth in the past couple of years. I started on both Blood Queen and Prince Dracula in 2013, so I’ve amassed a lot of notes. I already had quite a few books in my own library that I could use (books on vampires, horror history, Stoker’s books and the annotated Dracula, and so on). For Blood Queen vs. Dracula, artist Kewber Baal and I did some specific research on weapons and arms of the time. The cannon is right out of museum photos. The Ottoman outfits are taken from a combination of then-contemporary paintings, museum sites, and other locations. If I’m setting a story in a particular year, I want to be as accurate as possible. Kewber’s done a terrific job. He ran basically every design and sketch for everything by me so that we could double-check each other. He deserves a lot of praise for his commitment to this book. CB: Will the ratio of horse explosions to beheadings remain constant throughout the series?TB: Who knew that so many people would mention the exploding horse? In the script I simply wrote “The Mounted Ottoman and his horse take the full brunt of the blast”, and Kewber ran with it. When I saw the panel for the first time, I actually laughed because it’s really just . . . damn. However, I believe that’s the only animal explosion, so the beheading ratio will be uneven. If you were to ask about the ratio of beheading to neck-biting . . . I’d have to go back and count. Dracula’s not nearly done on that score.
09/10/24 @ 12:02 pm EST
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will keep swinging in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” director Destin Daniel Cretton in early talks to helm the film. In addition to the Simu Liu-led “Shang-Chi,” Cretton’s other credits 2013’s “Short Term 12,” 2017’s “The Glass Castle” and 2019’s “Just Mercy.” He was previously set to direct the now-scrapped “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” but departed the project in November 2023. Cretton has stayed in the Marvel family and co-created the upcoming “Wonder Man” miniseries, starring Yahya Abdul Matteen II. Cretton has also been developing a sequel to “Shang-Chi,” but a source close to the production says that “Spider-Man 4” is currently the priority for the studio. No further details about the fourth film in the franchise have been revealed yet. (via Variety) 09/09/24 @ 2:08 pm EST
Brainstorm Media has picked up the action-thriller 72 Hours, directed by Christian Sesma and starring Sam Trammell and Twilight actor Cam Gigandet. A Nov. 1 theatrical and on-demand release is planned for 72 Hours, which centers on two brothers — a dedicated FBI agent and a crypto international money launderer — putting aside their differences and joining forces to save their family. But a dangerous mission deep into kingpin territory has them facing life-threatening challenges in a race against time. The ensemble cast includes Nicky Whelan and Jana Kramer (One Tree Hill). (via THR) 09/09/24 @ 1:58 pm EST
Starting today, September 9, all five episodes of Marvel Studios’ I Am Groot Season 2 are coming to Marvel HQ! Full-length episodes will be released each day this week on the Marvel HQ YouTube channel, Marvel’s official family-friendly destination for kids. Released previously on Disney+ last year, the troublemaking twig returns to mischief in the second season of “I Am Groot.” This time, Baby Groot finds himself exploring the universe and beyond aboard the Guardians’ spaceships, coming face-to-face—or nose-to-nose—with new and colorful creatures and environments. Throughout September and October, Groot will take the spotlight on Marvel HQ as part of the Marvel’s Super Heroes Assemble program. Join over 8.8 million other YouTube subscribers around the world to celebrate with action-packed animated series, motion comics, short form content, activations, and unique product collaborations all year long. Families and fans can also get a look at more original content featuring Groot, the Avengers, Spidey and His Amazing Friends, and more throughout the year, as well as full length episodes from Marvel’s animation library such as Marvel’s Avengers Assemble and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Maximum Venom (coming just in time for October’s Halloween season)! Don’t forget to subscribe to Marvel HQ so you never miss an episode and look out for more family friendly fun on the Marvel HQ YouTube Channel! 
09/09/24 @ 1:57 pm EST
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice came in better than expected at $111M after a solid Sunday of $27.4M, -34%. Warner Bros owns four out of the five top openings for September. The movie cost $100M before Prints & Advertising. Also, the Tim Burton directed sequel’s opening is the third largest opening weekend of 2024 after Deadpool & Wolverine‘s $211.4M and Inside Out‘s $154.2M; Warner Bros. fourth No. 1 opening this year and the best start for a PG-13 rated pic in September. The top 10 locations overall were 1. AMC Burbank Los Angeles, 2. AMC Universal Citywalk Los Angeles, 3. Santikos Casa Blanca San Antonio, 4. Regal Riverpark Fresno, 5. AMC Disney Springs Orlando, 6. AMC Grove Los Angeles, 7. AMC Lincoln Square New York, 8. Cinemark Rialto Los Angeles, 9. Harkins Estrella Falls Phoenix, and 10. Harkins Mountain Grove Los Angeles. (via Deadline) 09/08/24 @ 10:11 am EST
Do you remember all the title changes for the Agatha Harkness lead spinoff series? We know it’s going to be Agatha All Along now, but it was introduced as Agatha: House of Harkness, then changed to Agatha: Coven of Chaos and finally Agatha: Darkhold Diaries… I might even have missed a name or two. So where did the idea for the changing title come from? Series executive producer Mary Livanos told the Hollywood Reporter: “Hats off to Jac Shaeffer on that one, and our incredible writers’ room, with the best day of brainstorming I think we’ve ever had, figuring out all those titles. It was a real blast to release crazier and crazier ones as the production went on, and our cast was so game, too. The nature of the stunt felt very Agatha, very liar. So, it felt very on theme, and it was fun to do.” Livanos worked with Jac Shaeffer on WandaVision and now Agatha All Along and while she was willing to reveal that part, any information on the fate of Wanda herself she’s keeping a secret. “ Well, I can tell you that Agatha has been trapped in Wanda’s distorted spell, and of course, after the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda was taken off the table. So I think fans will have to tune in to find out more. That’s all I can say.“  09/08/24 @ 9:53 am EST
The switch from network television to streaming has been hitting a rough patch with audiences complaining about series being cancelled uncompleted and expensive series going years between seasons. Some folks are turning back to the longer, more stable network shows for their entertainment and this move was part of why actor Zachary Quinto decided to sign on for the upcoming NBC medical procedural series, Brilliant Minds. The former Heroes and Star Trek star told Entertainment Weekly: “The conversation around network versus streaming has shifted, and the industry has experienced a return to [a type of] television it had departed pretty significantly from. There’s something about the reliability of [network procedurals]. Audiences are more interested in appointment television than they were for a little while.” We can see the evidence of the shift in thinking with the fact that network television still takes up more than 50% of TV consumption annually and you look at the streaming charts and they are filled with Network show being rewatched like Suits, The Office and How I Met Your Mother. Audiences are straying away from new, quirky, eight to ten episode shows and spending time with longer, multi-season shows that they know exactly how many episodes they’ll get.  09/08/24 @ 9:35 am EST
The upcoming film, The Killer’s Game, includes a reunion of two of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff both appear in the new film and the former wrestler turned actor talked with ComicBook.com about the possibility of working with other Guardians actors, possibly over with James Gunn at DC Studios. “I hope so, yeah. That’s kind of my goal. I really want, because I’ve done another project outside of Guardians with Karen Gillan, and I’ve done work with Pom now. I would like to work with Chris [Pratt] and Zoe [Saldana] outside of the Marvel Universe, as well.” Bautista has made it clear that he is open to working with DC as well. “I guess it has to be the right part. But I’m very open to it, and I love James and I would do anything to work with him.” Bautista and Gillan appeared together in the 2019 film, Stuber along with another MCU alum, Kumail Nanjiani.  09/07/24 @ 12:18 pm EST
Marvel Studios is getting a bit stylish with their newest trailer for Agatha All Along. The quick clip is done in the style of a 60s/70s horror film reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead. They give the same film look and even work in the title pun that were standard for the trailers of that era. And in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actor Joe Locke who will be playing “Teen” in the series, addressed having to keep the secret of his character… and perhaps why rumors and spoilers are bad. Locke said, “One of the things I love about Marvel is you keep all these secrets that are really frustrating at first, especially when you’re doing things like this [press day]. But the reason you keep them is because if you were to tell them, then it wouldn’t have the same effect when it all comes out. The secrets are secrets for a reason, and Teen’s backstory is an interesting one. If I was able to talk about it now, it would ruin the whole point of the show, and that is what keeps me being able to keep a secret. Otherwise, I’d just tell you everything.”  09/07/24 @ 11:46 am EST
With The Penguin debuting on September 19th, more and more information about the series has been coming out. Just last week we learned about the titles and episode lengths for the first four episodes and now we get the final four as well. Keep in mind that one of the big complaints about MCU series have been the short episode run times, I don’t think that will be a problem with this show. Episode 1 which picks up right after the events of The Batman will be called After Hours and runs 1 hour 7 minutes. Episode 2, Inside Man runs 56 minutes, episode 3, Bliss, runs 59 minutes and episode 4, Cent’anni runs 58 minutes. For those curious, Cent’anni is an Italian toast that wishes health and happiness for 100 years. Now the new episodes we’ve learned about are Episode 5, Homecoming, which runs 54 minutes, episode 6, Gold Summit, running 52 minutes, episode 7, Top Hat, the shortest episode at 46 minutes and the season finale, Great or Little Thing which clocks in at 1 hour and 8 minutes. And while I could try and read things into each title, the one that jumps out to me is Top Hat, perhaps a nod to the characters comic book design that originally included a tuxedo, top hat and umbrella. A new image of The Penguin appears on Total Film magazine this week.  09/07/24 @ 11:02 am EST
The Vision series seems to be heating up as The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Picard actor Todd Stashwick is joining the cast. Stashwick recently played Captain Liam Shaw in the third season of Picard, where he worked with writer Terry Matalas, who will be the showrunner for Vision. It’s all about who you know, right? The series has been rumored since the end of WandaVision and is expected to finally tell viewers what happened to the rebuilt, all-white version of the Vision that we last saw in the season finale after having a philosophical discussion about the Ship of Theseus. Word is that Stashwick will play an assassin who is hunting the Vision for his technology. Paul Bettany will be returning as the titular android while it’s also been reported that James Spader will return as Ultron who we last saw in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Both in the comics and the MCU, Ultron is credited for building the Vision, but in the comics he’s imprinted with the brainwaves of Simon Williams aka Wonder Man while in the films, Tony Stark’s AI Jarvis was uploaded into the Vibranium body. This series has not been officially announced as of yet.  |
