So, here we are again. Friday. That glorious day at the end of the week. That means it's also time to wrap up the bits and pieces that came out over the last 7 days or so. Here's my take on the bits of news I was too lazy to write about earlier...
Could Tom Cruise Wrestle The Box Office Title Away From Shailene Woodley?
The answer is a resounding no! The Fault In Our Stars was the number one movie at the box office last weekend, crushing the competition with a $48M domestically in it's opening weekend. Maleficent was in the number two spot, bringing in $34.3M in it's second week, followed by Edge of Tomorrow with $28.8M in it's first weekend out. While I'm glad that the female led, and driven FIOS did so well (I still have yet to check it out), I am disappointed that EoT didn't have a better opening. It is a spectacular sci-fi movie, driven by a horrendous marketing campaign, that deserved way better than it got. It's interesting to note that the Angelina Jolie led Maleficent came in strong in the number two spot. Never count out the ability of a family friendly flick to wreak havoc with the box office predictions. I'm betting that How To Train Your Dragon 2 takes the number one spot this weekend.
Ant-Man, FINALLY, Has A Director...
After the whole debacle with Edgar Wright, and the oh, we've hired Adam McKay... oh wait, sorry, not going to work out thing, Marvel has finally hired a new director to helm it's Ant-Man project, still set for release July 17, 2015. Peyton Reed, the director of Yes Man and The Break Up will now helm the project. Given that filming was supposed to begin this week I believe, it took them long enough. While, overall I have no issue with Reed, as he's a competent director, this hiring still concerns me. While I trust Marvel, as they have yet to lead me astray with their properties, the fact that their focus has been on very comedic directors is alarming. The beauty of Wright was the fact that while he was comedic, he was also kind of quirky, giving the hope of an interesting take on the character. The idea that Marvel was hell-bent on replacing him with a director who's main focus was comedy sent up a couple of red flags in regards to this Ant-Man project. Of course, the same thing could be said about Joe and Anthony Russo, who before Captain America: The Winter Soldier, were best know for directing the television shows Community and Arrested Development. And we all know how that turned out. The Winter Soldier is arguably the best Marvel movie to date. So, I'll trust in Feige and wait to see how this goes.
Has Marvel Found It's Steven Strange?
Technically, no, but that hasn't stopped the rumour mill from churning. When it was announced last week that Scott Derrickson would be helming the film of the Sorcerer Supreme, this was the first real confirmation that Dr. Strange would actually be a part of Marvel's Phase 3 plans. So, of course, speculation began as to who would be cast as Steven Strange. The first rumour out of the gate was Jared Leto. While he wouldn't have been my first choice, I would have been okay with it. Now, it appears the Marvel's short list is down to two: Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch. While I am okay with either of these guys, my preference would be towards Hardy. Having just finished watching Locke, I've got to say, the guy is amazing. While Cumberbatch is also good, with serious geek cred, for some reason, I just don't see it. Not that I would be disappointed, if tomorrow, Marvel said Cumberbatch is our guy, I would just prefer they went with Hardy. Now, the question that remains to be seen is, are either of these guys willing to sign on long term with Marvel? I guess we'll wait and see.
Del Toro Calls It Quits On The Beast...
Citing scheduling conflicts, Guillermo Del Toro has dropped out of directing his live action telling of the classic tale Beauty And The Beast. In development since 2012, Emma Watson is slated to star in the film as Belle. Del Toro will, however, remain on as a producer of the film, alongside Denise DiNovi. Although disappointing, it's not all that surprising, given the fact that he always has a huge number of projects on the go at any one time. This has led to speculation that he may have dropped this project to focus on a Pacific Rim sequel, as he did state earlier in the week that he was working very hard on a script with Zack Penn. While Legendary has yet to actually green-light a sequel, according to Del Toro, he and Penn are proceeding like the film is actually happening. Now, if he would only put this much effort into a Hellboy 3, I'd be one happy camper.
Gamers United In Los Angeles This Week...
The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo happened in LA this week, and lots of exciting news and trailers for some awesome games have been released. While I'm not a hard-core gamer by any means, there were a few titles that caught my eye. The trailer for Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor looks amazing, and you have my attention anytime you mention Middle Earth. I enjoy War in The North, so am looking forward to this one. The other one that intrigues me is the Batman: Arkham Knight trailer. I am also in anytime you say superhero, and have tested my prowess as Batman, with Arkham Asylum. For all the other E3 news and trailers, check out the the gaming page from the guys at schmoesknow.com who have got you covered.
New Trailer For Laika's The Boxtrolls Drops...
Holy cow, animation is sure kicking ass these days! The first trailer for Laika's upcoming stop-motion flick The Boxtrolls dropped this week, and boy, does it look charming. The masters behind ParaNorman and Coraline will be bringing The Boxtrolls to life on September 26, 2014, and I honestly can't wait. While I get that stop-motion animation isn't for everyone, I personally love the medium and don't think that it gets nearly enough love and support. This film looks charming and fun and I think that 2014 is going to be a banner year for animation, with the likes of The Lego Movie, How To Train Your Dragon 2, The Boxtrolls, Big Hero 6 and The Book of Life all being released.
A Dame To Kill For Kills It...
A new trailer for Sin City: A Dame To Kill For dropped this week, and boy is it a doozy. Now, I will admit, I have never seen the first Sin City film, but if this trailer is anything to go by, I will be checking it out soon, so that I can catch this flick in theatres. Opening August 22, 2014, the movie is a sequel to the 2005 film Sin City and is primarily based on the second graphic novel in the series by Frank Miller. This trailer looks fantastic and I am intrigued about this world. I'll let you know what I think after I've checked it out.
And The Most Watched Shows In The World Are...
Earlier this week, at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, NCIS took the International Television Audience Award for Drama, meaning it is the highest rated drama series worldwide. The show won with a global audience of 57.6 million viewers in 66 different countries. The winners for Comedy were Modern Family and in the Soap Opera category, The Bold and The Beautiful took the crown. While I don't watch either NCIS, which is also the most watched show in North America, or The Bold and The Beautiful, I do enjoy Modern Family. It's interesting to see how closely the worldwide audience is tied to the North American one.
Daredevil Has Found It's Kingpin...
On the heels that Charlie Cox would be portraying Matt Murdoch in the upcoming Marvel Netflix series Daredevil, word came down that Hell's Kitchen had also found it's Kingpin. In keeping with their interesting casting choices of late, Marvel announced that Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin, would be played by Vincent D'Onofrio. I will admit, this casting is amazing. D'Onofrio is an excellent actor, who does dark and fearsome like no other. This Netflix project is looking more and more interesting, and I for one, can't wait to see it.
Showing posts with label Netflix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Netflix. Show all posts
Friday, 13 June 2014
Friday, 16 May 2014
Random Bits From The Week That Was...
So, here's my take on the random bits of news that I ran across this week, and was either too lazy to post about, or didn't require a full blog post to discuss....
Zack Snyder unveils the Batmobile...
Earlier this week, Zack Snyder hinted, via twitter, that it might be time for the tarp to be lifted. His tweet, accompanied by a photo of a tarp covered Batmobile, sent the internet into a tizzy. Not quite the tizzy, of course, that was caused the next day, when the picture he released was not only of the Batmobile, but a very buff and intense looking Ben Affleck as Batman. Now, I have not been a huge fan of this project from the outset, as I think that Superman deserves his own sequel... one that doesn't involve other Justice League characters and plots. As much as I didn't like the first Man of Steel, (it's not like I hated it or anything... I just think it had a lot of issues and they made it hard for me to love it). I still think that Supes is getting a bad wrap. That being said, Ben Affleck looks amazing! The black and white photo that was released is absolutely stunning! (I would frame and hang that guy on my wall!) The image invokes a tone and a feeling that I don't think all of us were expecting. While I wasn't a huge fan of the casting of Affleck at the time, upon further contemplation, I have come around to the idea. It's definitely going to be interesting, to say the least.
Channing Tatum is the new Gambit...
This news makes me less excited. While I like Channing Tatum and think that he's really grown as an actor over the last few year, I honestly don't see this as a good fit. I agree with Kristian Harloff over at The Schmoes Know, who thinks that the character is not well enough known by the general public to be played by such a popular actor. The audience is not going to see Remi LeBeau on the big screen, they are going to see Channing Tatum. And, if I'm being perfectly frank, I can't see him mastering Gambit's Cajun drawl, either. I personally believe that, while the movie wasn't well received (although I really liked it!), that the powers that be should have stuck with Taylor Kitsch, who played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The issue with that incarnation of Gambit were not Kitsch's fault and I do think that he's a better actor than Tatum, overall. I think that the recast will be kind of confusing and I think it was completely unnecessary.
Neighbours kicks the crap out of TASM2 at the box office...
Okay, so it didn't exactly kick the crap out of it, but it did do some damage. In it's second week, TASM2 fell behind the Seth Rogan/Zac Efron comedy Neighbours, which debuted last weekend. Neighbours opened with a strong $49M domestically, surprising both the studio and forecasters alike. Dropping a whopping 61%, The Amazing Spiderman 2 brought in only $35.5M domestically in it's second weekend out. (Although, honestly, Sony can't be happy with the $92M it made in it's opening weekend, as that didn't even top the opening weekend numbers put up by the far superior Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Although it is being pulled along by the foreign markets, with stiff competition being released in the next few weeks, this movie might be hard pressed to top the box office results of the first Amazing Spiderman. Sony has got to be disappointed in these results. As of now, it is still trailing behind The Lego Movie and The Winter Soldier in regards to overall box office totals. It'll be interesting to see if it will surpass them or not, and what happens to Spiderman's numbers once both Godzilla and Days of Future Past are released in the next couple of weeks.
TV Trailers galore are dropped...
So, with the up-fronts done by all the major networks over the last few days, all kinds of juicy tidbits about the upcoming TV season have been dropped. The trailer for Gotham, debuting on Fox in the fall, looks amazing. The story of a young Detective Jim Gordon as he starts on the Gotham City police force, it's looks to be an origin story of sorts, of not only Batman, but all of his arch villains, as well. I was a little less enthused about the trailer for Constantine, debuting on NBC in the fall. Although the trailer looks interesting, this one I will have to watch a few episodes of first to fully get the tone and a feel for the series. The CW released a teaser and a full 5 minute trailer for their upcoming Flash series. The story of Barry Allen and his transformation into The Flash, this one is a spin-off of the CW's Arrow. The trailer looks fantastic, and I am optimistic, since the showrunners are virtually the same, that this will have the same kind of tone and feel as the aforementioned Arrow, which if you're not watching already, you really should be! Of course, there are many more bits and pieces out there on all the new shows that are coming, but these ones were the ones that caught my attention the most. I guess we'll see how everything looks in the fall. Usually, the ones you're looking forward to the most are disappointing and the shows that really catch your attention weren't even on your radar. Only time will tell on these ones.
Marvel's looking for a heart-throb...
So, apparently, Marvel is looking to shore up it's superhero properties, in the looks department, anyway, and has Zac Efron in mind to fill that position. I am actually a huge fan of Efron and think that he's a really solid actor. While I'm not adverse to this idea, I do think that it is almost the same issue as with Channing Tatum playing Gambit. I'm not sure if Zac Efron is too big to play a superhero or not. Rumour has it that Marvel is courting him to play one of it's heroes on their new Netflix Defenders adventure, so it will be interesting to see if there is any truth to it. I'm not sure that, at this point in his career and with the huge success of Neighbours, that Efron would be willing to take a part on TV, even if it is on Netflix. I guess we'll know soon enough, as the plan is for the first 13 episode run, rumoured to be Daredevil, to be released next summer.
Roberto Orci confirmed as director of Star Trek 3...
So, looks like Paramount is willing to gamble with the future of their Star Trek franchise. It was finally confirmed that writer/producer extraordinaire, Roberto Orci, will be helming the next Star Trek movie. With JJ Abrams off to direct a little flick entitled Star Wars Episode VII, Orci lobbied hard to be given this project. Paramount finally made it's decision and decided to give the $200M project to a guy who has never directed anything before, in his whole entire life. Seriously, not even a commercial or a sitcom episode. Nothing. While I actually really like Orci's work (I have been a fan since he and Alex Kurtzman began writing for Hercules and Xena in the 90's), I'm not sure that this is the right move for either him or the studio. While he knows this world inside and out, having written the screenplays for the first two movies, it is a lot of pressure for a first time director. I really hope that it all works out, as I love the new Trek franchise. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
And finally, the first trailer of Interstellar drops...
So, today, the first official trailer for Christopher Nolan's hugely anticipated film, Interstellar, dropped. And boy is it amazing. There has been a lot of secrecy surrounding this project, building the anticipation to astronomical levels. And, given the fact that it's Nolan's follow-up to the spectacular Inception (the Dark Knight trilogy was not my favourite!), a lot is riding on it. From the looks of this trailer, I think it is going to live up to the hype. While it is easy to get excited for a trailer, only to be disappointed by the final product (Michael Bay, anyone?), I have a feeling that there is no reason to worry in this case. My goal now is to try and avoid any further promotional information in regards to this one, as I want to go in with no pre-conceived notions or preconceptions. We'll see how that works out! :)
So, these were the news items that caught my fancy this week... although there were many, many more exciting tid-bits that were dropped about all kinds of projects going on out there. Check out the sources that I use for my movie and television news... I promise, you won't regret it!
www.schmoesknow.com
www.youtube.com/AMCtheatres
Zack Snyder unveils the Batmobile...
Earlier this week, Zack Snyder hinted, via twitter, that it might be time for the tarp to be lifted. His tweet, accompanied by a photo of a tarp covered Batmobile, sent the internet into a tizzy. Not quite the tizzy, of course, that was caused the next day, when the picture he released was not only of the Batmobile, but a very buff and intense looking Ben Affleck as Batman. Now, I have not been a huge fan of this project from the outset, as I think that Superman deserves his own sequel... one that doesn't involve other Justice League characters and plots. As much as I didn't like the first Man of Steel, (it's not like I hated it or anything... I just think it had a lot of issues and they made it hard for me to love it). I still think that Supes is getting a bad wrap. That being said, Ben Affleck looks amazing! The black and white photo that was released is absolutely stunning! (I would frame and hang that guy on my wall!) The image invokes a tone and a feeling that I don't think all of us were expecting. While I wasn't a huge fan of the casting of Affleck at the time, upon further contemplation, I have come around to the idea. It's definitely going to be interesting, to say the least.
Channing Tatum is the new Gambit...
This news makes me less excited. While I like Channing Tatum and think that he's really grown as an actor over the last few year, I honestly don't see this as a good fit. I agree with Kristian Harloff over at The Schmoes Know, who thinks that the character is not well enough known by the general public to be played by such a popular actor. The audience is not going to see Remi LeBeau on the big screen, they are going to see Channing Tatum. And, if I'm being perfectly frank, I can't see him mastering Gambit's Cajun drawl, either. I personally believe that, while the movie wasn't well received (although I really liked it!), that the powers that be should have stuck with Taylor Kitsch, who played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The issue with that incarnation of Gambit were not Kitsch's fault and I do think that he's a better actor than Tatum, overall. I think that the recast will be kind of confusing and I think it was completely unnecessary.
Neighbours kicks the crap out of TASM2 at the box office...
Okay, so it didn't exactly kick the crap out of it, but it did do some damage. In it's second week, TASM2 fell behind the Seth Rogan/Zac Efron comedy Neighbours, which debuted last weekend. Neighbours opened with a strong $49M domestically, surprising both the studio and forecasters alike. Dropping a whopping 61%, The Amazing Spiderman 2 brought in only $35.5M domestically in it's second weekend out. (Although, honestly, Sony can't be happy with the $92M it made in it's opening weekend, as that didn't even top the opening weekend numbers put up by the far superior Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Although it is being pulled along by the foreign markets, with stiff competition being released in the next few weeks, this movie might be hard pressed to top the box office results of the first Amazing Spiderman. Sony has got to be disappointed in these results. As of now, it is still trailing behind The Lego Movie and The Winter Soldier in regards to overall box office totals. It'll be interesting to see if it will surpass them or not, and what happens to Spiderman's numbers once both Godzilla and Days of Future Past are released in the next couple of weeks.
TV Trailers galore are dropped...
So, with the up-fronts done by all the major networks over the last few days, all kinds of juicy tidbits about the upcoming TV season have been dropped. The trailer for Gotham, debuting on Fox in the fall, looks amazing. The story of a young Detective Jim Gordon as he starts on the Gotham City police force, it's looks to be an origin story of sorts, of not only Batman, but all of his arch villains, as well. I was a little less enthused about the trailer for Constantine, debuting on NBC in the fall. Although the trailer looks interesting, this one I will have to watch a few episodes of first to fully get the tone and a feel for the series. The CW released a teaser and a full 5 minute trailer for their upcoming Flash series. The story of Barry Allen and his transformation into The Flash, this one is a spin-off of the CW's Arrow. The trailer looks fantastic, and I am optimistic, since the showrunners are virtually the same, that this will have the same kind of tone and feel as the aforementioned Arrow, which if you're not watching already, you really should be! Of course, there are many more bits and pieces out there on all the new shows that are coming, but these ones were the ones that caught my attention the most. I guess we'll see how everything looks in the fall. Usually, the ones you're looking forward to the most are disappointing and the shows that really catch your attention weren't even on your radar. Only time will tell on these ones.
Marvel's looking for a heart-throb...
So, apparently, Marvel is looking to shore up it's superhero properties, in the looks department, anyway, and has Zac Efron in mind to fill that position. I am actually a huge fan of Efron and think that he's a really solid actor. While I'm not adverse to this idea, I do think that it is almost the same issue as with Channing Tatum playing Gambit. I'm not sure if Zac Efron is too big to play a superhero or not. Rumour has it that Marvel is courting him to play one of it's heroes on their new Netflix Defenders adventure, so it will be interesting to see if there is any truth to it. I'm not sure that, at this point in his career and with the huge success of Neighbours, that Efron would be willing to take a part on TV, even if it is on Netflix. I guess we'll know soon enough, as the plan is for the first 13 episode run, rumoured to be Daredevil, to be released next summer.
Roberto Orci confirmed as director of Star Trek 3...
So, looks like Paramount is willing to gamble with the future of their Star Trek franchise. It was finally confirmed that writer/producer extraordinaire, Roberto Orci, will be helming the next Star Trek movie. With JJ Abrams off to direct a little flick entitled Star Wars Episode VII, Orci lobbied hard to be given this project. Paramount finally made it's decision and decided to give the $200M project to a guy who has never directed anything before, in his whole entire life. Seriously, not even a commercial or a sitcom episode. Nothing. While I actually really like Orci's work (I have been a fan since he and Alex Kurtzman began writing for Hercules and Xena in the 90's), I'm not sure that this is the right move for either him or the studio. While he knows this world inside and out, having written the screenplays for the first two movies, it is a lot of pressure for a first time director. I really hope that it all works out, as I love the new Trek franchise. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
And finally, the first trailer of Interstellar drops...
So, today, the first official trailer for Christopher Nolan's hugely anticipated film, Interstellar, dropped. And boy is it amazing. There has been a lot of secrecy surrounding this project, building the anticipation to astronomical levels. And, given the fact that it's Nolan's follow-up to the spectacular Inception (the Dark Knight trilogy was not my favourite!), a lot is riding on it. From the looks of this trailer, I think it is going to live up to the hype. While it is easy to get excited for a trailer, only to be disappointed by the final product (Michael Bay, anyone?), I have a feeling that there is no reason to worry in this case. My goal now is to try and avoid any further promotional information in regards to this one, as I want to go in with no pre-conceived notions or preconceptions. We'll see how that works out! :)
So, these were the news items that caught my fancy this week... although there were many, many more exciting tid-bits that were dropped about all kinds of projects going on out there. Check out the sources that I use for my movie and television news... I promise, you won't regret it!
www.schmoesknow.com
www.youtube.com/AMCtheatres
Friday, 9 May 2014
And Marvel Comes Out Swinging...
So, word broke last night that, not only has ABC renewed Agents of SHIELD for a second season, but that they have also ordered to series, Marvel's Agent Carter. Apparently, the House of Mouse is taking their foray into TV seriously.
Marvel's Agent Carter will tell the story of Captain America's love, Peggy Carter, and her struggles to fit into a post-World War II world, where women who had stepped up, were expected to step back, now that the men were home. A founding member of the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve... Which goes on to become SHIELD) she must balance her administrative duties with the covert operations that she and Howard Stark continue on the side. An interesting premise, to be sure, and a bit of an unexpected one. There have been rumblings of this since sometime last year, and I am glad that Disney has followed through. I like the fact that the focus of this series is going to be on a female character, and that it is going to be a period piece. It will be very interesting to see how tightly it's tied to the MCU and Agents of SHIELD. As we follow SHIELD from it's humble origins, might we see the start of the infiltration of Hydra that has thrown the current MCU into a tailspin?
And speaking of Agents of SHIELD, I must admit that I am glad that it has been given a second season. Unlike a lot of viewers, I have stuck with it this entire season, and will admit that I have been rewarded with some great TV recently. I do, however, understand why some people jumped ship. It took SHIELD a while to find it's footing and get the audience invested. Disney, in my opinion, did two things wrong with this property. Firstly, they marketed it as a Joss Whedon show, which, it was not. Yes, Joss wrote and directed the pilot and it is a Mutant Enemy production, but the day to day show-running was actually done by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tanchareon, Joss' brother and sister-in-law. People were expecting something along the lines of Buffy or Firefly, and were disappointed when it turned out a little differently. Their second mistake was thinking that the general public was going to be interested in the behind the scenes, day to day stuff of the non-superhero characters of their franchise. While I enjoy the in and outs and knew what I was getting in to, I think a lot of people were disappointed when the focus wasn't on the Iron Man's and the Thor's of the MCU. What exactly people were expecting, I don't know, but it definitely wasn't what they got. Although the ratings have dropped throughout the season, the show still puts up decent numbers, and a second season is justified. Especially now that it's core is directly tied to the MCU. I think it ups the stakes a little bit.
Of course, we can't talk Marvel and television, without bringing up The Defenders. Announced back in November, this joint venture with Netflix will see the characters of Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage brought to the small screen. Set to air sometime in 2015, each character will get a set number of episodes to tell their story and then will come together for a mini-series event, The Defenders. The bonus of this format is that, with Netflix, all episodes are released simultaneously, so you can binge watch to your heart's content. According to Marvel, these will also tie in to the MCU, making the whole thing one big happy family.
I wrote earlier this week about how, even though DC's Cinematic Universe is a mess, they are still head and shoulders above Marvel when it comes to TV. I still believe that. While Marvel is trying, putting things out there, I worry that they are placing too much of the emphasis in their Cintematic Universe. By linking all of these properties, it is creating something huge... filling the canon and making things difficult to understand, if not lined up exactly right. It also forces viewers to at least keep up with all of the goings on in the various branches, whether they are avid watchers or not. This may alienate viewers, who don't have the time or inclination to catch everything that is produced. Warner Brothers, on the other hand, is spreading their properties around, leaving each incarnation as a seperate entity. What happens in one world, has no affect on anybody else's. With the trailer drop for "Gotham" and the news that both The Flash and Contstantine, at The CW and NBC respectively, have been ordered to series, DC/The WB are in good shape when it comes to TV. Now, if they could just get their crap together and get their movie properties in order...
I guess we'll see who actually wins this war once the ratings are in. With the arrival of the "comic book series" to television, the true winner is us, the fans. We no longer have to wait to see our old, or new, favourite characters on the big screen. Soon, they will be in living rooms everywhere.
Marvel's Agent Carter will tell the story of Captain America's love, Peggy Carter, and her struggles to fit into a post-World War II world, where women who had stepped up, were expected to step back, now that the men were home. A founding member of the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve... Which goes on to become SHIELD) she must balance her administrative duties with the covert operations that she and Howard Stark continue on the side. An interesting premise, to be sure, and a bit of an unexpected one. There have been rumblings of this since sometime last year, and I am glad that Disney has followed through. I like the fact that the focus of this series is going to be on a female character, and that it is going to be a period piece. It will be very interesting to see how tightly it's tied to the MCU and Agents of SHIELD. As we follow SHIELD from it's humble origins, might we see the start of the infiltration of Hydra that has thrown the current MCU into a tailspin?
And speaking of Agents of SHIELD, I must admit that I am glad that it has been given a second season. Unlike a lot of viewers, I have stuck with it this entire season, and will admit that I have been rewarded with some great TV recently. I do, however, understand why some people jumped ship. It took SHIELD a while to find it's footing and get the audience invested. Disney, in my opinion, did two things wrong with this property. Firstly, they marketed it as a Joss Whedon show, which, it was not. Yes, Joss wrote and directed the pilot and it is a Mutant Enemy production, but the day to day show-running was actually done by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tanchareon, Joss' brother and sister-in-law. People were expecting something along the lines of Buffy or Firefly, and were disappointed when it turned out a little differently. Their second mistake was thinking that the general public was going to be interested in the behind the scenes, day to day stuff of the non-superhero characters of their franchise. While I enjoy the in and outs and knew what I was getting in to, I think a lot of people were disappointed when the focus wasn't on the Iron Man's and the Thor's of the MCU. What exactly people were expecting, I don't know, but it definitely wasn't what they got. Although the ratings have dropped throughout the season, the show still puts up decent numbers, and a second season is justified. Especially now that it's core is directly tied to the MCU. I think it ups the stakes a little bit.
Of course, we can't talk Marvel and television, without bringing up The Defenders. Announced back in November, this joint venture with Netflix will see the characters of Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage brought to the small screen. Set to air sometime in 2015, each character will get a set number of episodes to tell their story and then will come together for a mini-series event, The Defenders. The bonus of this format is that, with Netflix, all episodes are released simultaneously, so you can binge watch to your heart's content. According to Marvel, these will also tie in to the MCU, making the whole thing one big happy family.
I wrote earlier this week about how, even though DC's Cinematic Universe is a mess, they are still head and shoulders above Marvel when it comes to TV. I still believe that. While Marvel is trying, putting things out there, I worry that they are placing too much of the emphasis in their Cintematic Universe. By linking all of these properties, it is creating something huge... filling the canon and making things difficult to understand, if not lined up exactly right. It also forces viewers to at least keep up with all of the goings on in the various branches, whether they are avid watchers or not. This may alienate viewers, who don't have the time or inclination to catch everything that is produced. Warner Brothers, on the other hand, is spreading their properties around, leaving each incarnation as a seperate entity. What happens in one world, has no affect on anybody else's. With the trailer drop for "Gotham" and the news that both The Flash and Contstantine, at The CW and NBC respectively, have been ordered to series, DC/The WB are in good shape when it comes to TV. Now, if they could just get their crap together and get their movie properties in order...
I guess we'll see who actually wins this war once the ratings are in. With the arrival of the "comic book series" to television, the true winner is us, the fans. We no longer have to wait to see our old, or new, favourite characters on the big screen. Soon, they will be in living rooms everywhere.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)