Tag: Movies

Black History Month Movies

5 Movies for Black History Month

Published on by SkyeLeave a comment

Hello, one and all! First of all, I love you. I’m sorry I missed you on Valentine’s last week, I promise to buy you something next year, babe. In the meantime, let’s talk about something different. What else is February known for? Black History Month.

I usually make “Top” lists for the posts I make on this site, but I won’t be doing that here. Since I’m as White as an albino moth in a snowstorm, I don’t think it’s my place to judge the “Top” 5 Black History Month Movies. Instead, I made a list of 5 movies about Black experiences that I watched and enjoyed this month. I hope you understand.

Without further delay, let’s discuss some movies about one of America’s most commonly misrepresented, underappreciated, and deeply resilient minority communities.

These films aren’t in any particular order. All are worth a watch, I promise

Marshall

Starring everyone’s favorite Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman (R.I.P., legend), Marshall is a story about America’s first Black Supreme Court Justice: Thurgood Marshall. While not the story of how he became a Supreme Court Justice, it goes into detail about one of the landmark cases he oversaw: The State of Connecticut vs. Joseph Spell.

Featuring fantastic acting while outlining Marshall’s quick wit and ability to navigate a system that’s stacked against him, it really kept me invested. The courtroom drama aspect was compelling. Granted, one of my favorite movies is 12 Angry Men, so take that for what it’s worth. This film will keep you on the edge of your seat, just don’t Google anything. Spoilers!

12 Years a Slave

Y’all knew this was gonna get heavy at some point. While not for the faint of heart, 12 Years a Slave is certainly a gripping story that makes you want to see the main character escape with his life. Detailing the real-life experiences of a man named Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), he was originally free until he was sold back into slavery for, you guessed it, 12 Years.

Going through different masters with varying levels of cruelty on his quest for freedom, Northup can never be safe until he makes it back to his family in the North. If you’re up for the brutality portrayed in the film, I’d say this is a great one to watch detailing both Black struggles and Black triumphs. Also, be prepared for an incredibly racist song to be stuck in your head until you die. I said that and now it’s back in my head. Frick.

13th

I wanted to put one documentary on this list. I was torn between this film and I Am Not Your Negro for the longest time, but I went with 13th because it details problems that actively face the Black community today and outlines ways we should approach fixing them. If you have the time, I still recommend I Am Not Your Negro, but for now, let’s talk about 13th.

As the title suggests, this film documents the impact the 13th Amendment to the Constitution has had on our society. The same Amendment that banned slavery in this country is the same that made it okay as punishment for a crime. And we wonder why there are so many Black people incarcerated. This film explains it far better than I could, and the facts it contains are far beyond what any White person is prepared to face. I know I wasn’t, but that’s why I’m recommending it.

Malcolm X

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a big fan of provocative films that challenge the way I see the world. What better way to do that than with one of the most controversial Civil Rights Leaders in history? Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic about the life and times of Malcolm X is an emotional powerhouse. Denzel Washington gives a career-defining performance as the titular historical figure, and it’s just as epic as it sounds.

You’re gonna need a huge chunk of time to watch this one, but I promise it’s worth it. Despite being 3 and a half hours long, Malcolm X never left me bored. This film has everything including the good, the bad, and the ugly of a great orator’s life. My favorite part is how the film portrays him as an imperfect human who managed to make a huge impact on society through his experiences. If you like that kind of stuff, I bet you’ll love Malcolm X.

Shaft

I know I exude a distinguished film historian demeanor. At least I think I do. I’m cool, right? That doesn’t mean I don’t like to have fun. That’s what Shaft is to me. Fun. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of racial themes in this film as well, but it mostly focuses on the star power of everyone’s favorite NYC Private Investigator from the early 70’s, John Shaft. I’m tellin’ y’all, this cat, Shaft, is a bad mother–

What? I’m just talking about Shaft.

This month, revisit the awesomeness of Gordon Parks’ cinematic adaptation of Shaft. Bumpy Jonas’ daughter has been kidnapped and it’s up to John Shaft to find her. Will he be able to do it? Is it possible Ben Buford was behind it? And how many women will John have sex with? All these questions and more in Shaft. You’re with Shaft every step of the way, and it’s an unforgettable ride. I love this movie, and if you haven’t seen it, I hope you’ll dig it, too.

With that said, those are my 5 movies for Black History Month. Are there any I missed? Absolutely. If I were to list each of my favorite Black films here, this post would be essay-length. If there are any y’all would like to discuss, let us know your favorites in the comments. We’d love to hear from you! Or if you’d just like to discuss movies, I’d be more than happy to oblige. Have a great rest of your Black History Month and always keep an open mind. 😉

Geekly News Fantastic Four First Steps

Geekly News: February 9, 2025, Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

We didn’t release a news post last week. We’re still figuring out how we’re going to cover Geekly News. This week, we’ll try a headliner story with other stories. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here, and we’re back with some Geekly News. Hopefully, I make some sense; I’ve been under the weather this past week.

MCU 2025 Preview Fantastic Four Art

Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Dropped

The official teaser trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps was released on February 5th. The trailer left me equally excited and nervous about the upcoming film. The new movie appears to be the most faithful adaptation of Marvel’s first family. The Thing looks comic book accurate; I watched the trailer multiple times to hear the click of his lips and clack of his fingers. And H.E.R.B.I.E.’s inclusion made me smile. Sure, the special effects look on-point, especially when we get our first glimpse of Galactus, but the teaser’s best feature is how the Fantastic Four interacted. This team has been doing the superhero shtick for a while. They behave like a family and not just because Sue uses the word family. The scene between H.E.R.B.I.E. and The Thing shows us the team’s family dynamic.

Just in case you missed the Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser trailer, here’s the official teaser:

Let’s cover some details from the trailer.

Prior to the trailer’s release, if you happened to log into the live feed, you would’ve seen a countdown sponsored by the Future Foundation. In the comics, the Future Foundation was created by Reed to better serve humanity’s future, and the Fantastic Four’s space suits resemble their Future Foundation super suits. Most likely, the group works for the Future Foundation.

The movie is set in the 1960s and showcases a retro-futuristic look. The Fantastic Four are headquartered in the Baxter Building, just like in the comics. The Baxter Building may or may not replace Avengers/Stark Tower in this alternate reality. Director Matt Shakman manipulates the aspect ratio (when the scene shifts to our first view of the Baxter Building) much like he did in WandaVision.

While The Thing does cook in the comics every once and a while, it’s fun to see the connection between Ebon Moss-Bachrach and his role in The Bear.

If you pause the scene where Reed works on an equation, you may notice a bridge to observe parallel worlds. This could explain how the Fantastic Four cross over into MCU’s reality.

The rocket the Fantastic Four takes in the trailer is known as Marvel-1. The Fantastic Four are indeed Marvel’s First Family. The company wasn’t even known as Marvel until after the group took to the skies in the Marvel-1. Fantastic Four: First Steps recreates the look of the original rocket.

The Thing Halloween masks the three kids wear resemble a rare Thing face mask available in 1967.

The blue car that flies through the streets is most likely the Fantasticar. One can almost make out the name at the front of the car. The flying Fantasticar is the primary mode of transportation for the Fantastic Four.

John Malkovich’s character makes a brief appearance and while the movie hasn’t announced who he’s playing, he’s most likely portraying Ivan Kragoff/Red Ghost. I was relieved. I just finished the Fantastic Four Color Palette Quiz for July and debated if I should include Red Ghost. I thought, nah, no one will know who he is and there’s no way he’ll make an appearance in Fantastic Four: First Steps. Looks like I may have been wrong.

We have a Galactus sighting. Yay! He looks comic book accurate, unlike the cloud in Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Finally, we come to the stage the Fantastic Four stand on during what appears to be a television appearance. I say television appearance because the stage looks like the famous stage that The Beatles performed on during their first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

Like I said, the trailer has me hyped and a little worried. Please. Let this movie be good. It must be good.

PlayStation Network Outage

This is a developing issue and the latest addition to this geekly news break. Sony confirmed a Playstation Network (PSN) outage started on Friday, February 7th at 1900 EST. I’m writing this update on Saturday, February 8th, and the network is still down. Even if the outage returns before this post goes live, PSN would be down for over 24 hours.

The PlayStation Network outage impacts game sales, subscription sign-ups, and microtransactions across the PlayStation Store. Players can’t play live service games. This doesn’t just affect Sony. All third-party partners can’t sell games or content or run their live service games until the PlayStation Network returns.

Sony gave a clipped and terse response on February 7th at 2043 EST. “We are aware some users might be currently experiencing issues with PSN.” The company didn’t give any updates or an estimate to when the servers will be restored. The company didn’t even announce that the outage was global. “Some users?” Try all users. If you’re still experiencing issues with PSN while reading this, be sure to check the PlayStation Network status page with this link.

This PSN outage of at least 24 hours marks the longest PSN outage since the infamous 2011 PlayStation Network outage. Back then, the PSN had been out for 24 consecutive days because the system got hacked. Hopefully, this outage doesn’t last as long as the 2011 outage or have as many repercussions.

Azur Promilia Misses Its Release Date

This news is a bit late, but Azur Promilia, one of my most anticipated video games of 2025 (and my most anticipated Gacha video game of 2025) missed its release date of January 25th. You may be asking, “Azur Promilia. What’s that?” Let’s discuss what the game is and what this delay could mean.

What is Azur Promilia?

Azur Promilia is an upcoming Gacha game by Chinese publisher Manjuu. Players recruit characters and form teams like Genshin Impact, sprinkle in some light farm simulation like Harvest Moon, and each character receives boosts from pets you can raise like Pokémon. You can breed these creatures that help you in combat. We don’t know if these critters inherit stats from their parents. If that’s the case, it could reduce the amount of grinding needed in a Gacha. Fingers crossed.

What we do know is there will be mounts, even flying mounts, to traverse a vast open world. The translation (into multiple languages to include English) is complete. The game will have a simultaneous launch (every region will get the game on the same day). It uses a free-to-play Gacha model. And pre-registration is open. You can pre-register for Azur Promilia on the game’s home page. Follow this link.

What does Azur Promilia’s Missed Release Date Mean?

In short, we don’t know. Chinese video game companies apply for a release date a year in advance. Manjuu applied for Azur Promilia’s license on January 25th, 2024, which means the company needed to release the game on or before January 25th, 2025. The cost to apply for a video game release is hefty. There is a chance that Manjuu applied for an extension for their current license, or they may have to reapply. Either way, there has been little word from Manjuu since Azur Promilia missed its release date.

Here comes some speculation. You’ve been warned. Since Manjuu has gone radio silent and China is in the middle of a holiday season, Azur Promilia will be released in April 2025 at the earliest. There is a chance that the game could be released next month (March 2025), but Manjuu will need to ramp up its promotion for Azur Promilia in advance of the game’s release. I wouldn’t mind streaming the game if Manjuu would like to send Geekly a key. Just saying.

If we hear something from Manjuu about a new release date in the next week, great. There’s a chance for a March release. If we don’t, I’d expect an April 2025 release date or later. I’ve been waiting for Azur Promilia for months. It looks fantastic. I can’t wait to get lost in another stunning world. Plus, dragons. I want my dragon mount already.

Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual Releases

The 2024 version of Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual will be officially released on February 18th, 2025, but many local gaming stores have had hard copies since February 5th, 2025. I know that the previous sentence doesn’t make sense. The 2024 version of D&D’s Monster Manual releases in 2025. All I can do is shrug. Publisher Wizards of the Coast has an odd release schedule for the 2024, 50th Anniversary Dungeon & Dragons core set.

The 50th Anniversary Dungeons & Dragons edition makes some changes to D&D 5th Edition. Think of it as 5.5 Edition. It caters to new players and streamlines certain aspects of 5th Edition. If you pre-ordered the book, you can pick up your copy. If you didn’t pre-order your copy of the Monster Manual, most local gaming stores will have additional copies. And if you haven’t picked up the rest of the core set (Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide), you should be able to pick up the 50th Anniversary Dungeons & Dragons core set in its entirety. Happy gaming!

And that’s all I have for you this week for Geekly News. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

MCU 2025 Preview

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) 2025 Preview

Published on by Kyra1 Comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We covered the DCU earlier this month because we didn’t know when Harley Quinn Season 5 would be released. Who knows? Perhaps I finally broke down and purchased Max and I’m binge-watching DC Comics movies and television shows right now. But we know that the MCU’s 2025 will kick off in a couple of days. We’re getting our preview of the upcoming year’s MCU movies and television shows in the nick of time.

Marvel didn’t release too many projects in 2024, but the ones it did release were well received. Echo, the X-Men ’97 cartoon series, Deadpool and Wolverine, Agatha All Along, and What If? Season 3 were at least fun. You can let us know which one of these 2024 MCU projects was your favorite. 2024 was a good year for Marvel, a recovery year of sorts. 2025 has a much larger slate of projects. Almost double last year’s projects. Looks like I’ll be busy. Real busy.

This will be a big year for Marvel and not only because the MCU has nine projects that will be released in 2025. The fate of the MCU’s future rests in the hands of two specific projects: Daredevil: Born Again and Fantastic Four. Like Superman: Legacy for the DCU, these two projects must succeed. We’ll get to both projects soon enough, but let’s discuss each project in release date order.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (On Disney+ Starting January 29, 2025)

I’ll be honest. I don’t care for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s animation, but I’m glad the showrunners are going in a different artistic direction. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man doesn’t copy the Spider-Verse’s homework. It also doesn’t mimic the art style of the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon, even though X-Men ’97 was a triumph; that would’ve been an easy path to take. Nope. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man forges its own path, and that deserves respect.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will focus on Spidey’s origin story and early days as a crimefighter. I’m not a huge fan of retelling Spider-Man’s origin story—most people know Spidey’s origin by this point—but this should only take up an episode. I’m more forgiving of this with a series. Charlie Cox voicing Daredevil is my big highlight in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. We don’t know if the new Marvel Animated Multiverse will tie into the greater MCU, but anything to link these two properties together is fantastic. Cox’s appearance as Daredevil could also raise interest in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again.

Captain America: Brave New World (In Theaters February 14, 2025)

Some may say that Captain America: Brave New World is the third Marvel project that must succeed this year. I can see their perspective; Captain America films grounded the first few phases of the MCU. Respectfully, I disagree.

The MCU is pivoting to other characters—too many characters, in my opinion—and the new Captain America is one of several potential “anchor characters,” if you will. There are plenty of other Marvel projects this year. Captain America: Brave New World is the first of three films and the second of nine—that’s NINE—Marvel projects for 2025.

Plenty of issues have plagued Captain America: Brave New World. Test audiences have seen the film and disliked it. Reportedly, these audiences believed Brave New World was too boring. That’s not good. After the test screenings, reshoot after reshoot occurred. That doesn’t mean that the final movie will stink. Not all reshot movies end up like the original Suicide Squad. I’m still trying to block out that one.

Captain America movies don’t have the same cache they did with the first three Marvel phases. The big threat of the Multiverse Saga may be Doctor Doom, and he’s a Fantastic Four villain. And this Captain America film isn’t a huge crossover film—that we know of yet—or a glorified Avengers film like Civil War. I’ll let them cook with the new Cap.

General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross as President of the United States is an interesting choice. Thunderbolt Ross would fit better with the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie. Ross is a member of the Thunderbolts in the comics. Harrison Ford’s Ross may make an appearance in that film, too. Tim Blake Nelson reprises his role as The Leader over a decade and a half after The Incredible Hulk (2008). Liv Tyler returns as Bruce Banner’s love interest Betty Ross after the same hiatus. It might be best Hulk doesn’t show up in the one; he may have some explaining to do after his romance with Natasha Romanov. Is that canon?

The Leader and Ross are usually Hulk villains, so there’s another connection with Hulk. Throw in Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder (the leader of the Serpent Society) and Shira Haas as a former Black Widow and high-ranking US government official Ruth Bat-Seraph (who is also the mutant Sabra in the comics), and there are plenty of directions Captain America: Brave New World could go. And that’s where the movie may have lost test audiences; there may be too much going on at once. But I trust the team trimmed down the final project to a point where Captain America: Brave New World will be good. It could even be a sleeper hit. Let ‘em cook.

Daredevil: Born Again (On Disney+ Starting March 4, 2025)

In my opinion, Daredevil: Born Again must succeed. The Netflix Daredevil series has a built-in audience. Several fans claim it to be the best Marvel television show, and Daredevil: Born Again brings back most of the original cast. They brought in the showrunner Dario Scardapane from the original Daredevil spin-off series The Punisher to head the Born Again project. And the series title “Born Again” references a classic Daredevil comic book story arc of the 1980s that the third season of the Daredevil Netflix MCU television series loosely adapted. Daredevil: Born Again is also the first Disney+ Marvel television show that uses their new method of producing shows (a leaner and more focused production plan). Yeah. Daredevil: Born Again has a lot to live up to and sets the tone for future Marvel shows. It must be good.

But many of those elements I mentioned above are also reasons why Daredevil: Born Again has an advantage. Returning more than 75% of the original Daredevil cast is a boon. Bringing in a showrunner with Marvel Netflix experience is another feather in Daredevil: Born Again’s cap. And I’ve heard that we’ll see more of the courtroom in this series. That makes sense as Matt Murdock (Daredevil) and Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) barrel toward an inevitable showdown both legally and on the street. I can’t wait.

Thunderbolts* (In Theaters May 2, 2025)

Thunderbolts* doesn’t have the same colorful cast as the comic book team of the same name. Even Winter Soldier’s variant of the team had its Moonstone and MACH-X and Kobik, who is a Cosmic Cube (the MCU renamed the Cosmic Cube to the Tesseract) shard in human form. What? The asterisk may make sense. This may not be the first iteration of the Thunderbolts. There have been numerous variants in the comics. Interestingly, Bucky’s Thunderbolts take place between Thunderbolt Ross’s and Mayor Wilson (Kingpin) Fisk’s iterations. Given the previous two projects on this list, is that a coincidence?

Wild speculation aside, the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts* are a combination of super soldiers and assassins. These characters are mostly cast-offs.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each of them:

Yelena Belova (from Black Widow and Natasha’s sister and a Black Widow herself) needed another vehicle; Florence Pugh is too electric as the character.

David Harbour’s Red Guardian (Black Widow) is funny.

Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster (Black Widow) will no longer be under her father Dreykov’s control, so she’s a blank slate. I wonder what the writers/director will do with her.

Sebastian Stan is good as Bucky/Winter Soldier.

Wyatt Russell’s John Walker/U.S. Agent (from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) lives a disgraced life as the man who tarnished Captain America’s name; that has some depth.

And Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost was the best thing from Ant-Man and the Wasp; I’m glad she’s getting more to do in Thunderbolts*.

Phew! That’s a large cast. And it still ends up as a list of B-list heroes.

Still, Thunderbolts* could deliver more than just a superhero movie. Pugh’s Yelena (through a voice-over) in the second trailer shares that there’s something wrong with her, an emptiness. She’s just drifting. She doesn’t have purpose, so she throws herself into her work. This may be the most human and relatable a superhero has sounded in years.

And then I saw that the director was Jake Schreier and one of the writers was Lee Sung Jin; both worked on the Netflix series Beef, and that makes sense. Thunderbolts* may have the least pressure of any of the three Marvel movies. It can also be a surprise hit.

The premise: The Thunderbolts run into Bob at a secret facility. Turns out this “Bob” is Sentry. I won’t spoil it here, but Sentry can be a lot of fun, especially with the prospect of him entering the MCU. And he should be more than what a team of super soldiers and assassins can handle. Me thinks someone will die.

Ironheart (On Disney+ Starting June 4, 2025)

Dominique Thorne reprises her role as Riri Williams/Ironheart from the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Ironheart has been on the schedule and then off the schedule and for a time, folks thought the idea had been scrapped. Nope. Marvel returned to Ironheart after the writers’ strike. From what I’ve heard, the series got reworked.

I don’t know much about Ironheart as I was writing this post. Many of the actors assigned to the project have undisclosed roles and given the premise, I can see why. Following the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Williams returns home to Chicago where she becomes entangled with the enigmatic Parker Robbins/The Hood, discovering secrets that pit technology against magic. The Hood, which is short for neighborhood (he doesn’t wear a hood, but I think he should), has often been linked to one of two mystical beings: Loki and Dormammu. He also controls a massive Crime Syndicate. Confirmed actors with unconfirmed roles (like Shakira Berrera, Paul Calderon, Cree Summer, and Sacha Baron Cohen to name a few) could play any number of colorful characters. I’d love to see Cohen portray Armadillo. Armadillo is a guy dressed in a massive Armadillo costume. Think of the LOLs.

The special effects for Ironheart intrigue me, too. For those of you who think the MCU’s painted-on CGI armor was getting stale, Ironheart’s armor may be what the doctor ordered. Riri doesn’t have the resources Tony Stark has. Most of her armor looks more lived-in and low-tech. Ironheart’s use of more practical effects, its premise, and its varied cast pique my interest.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (In Theaters July 25, 2025)

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is another big one. This film must succeed. You don’t have to take my word for it. Look at what Marvel has done with this movie. Most—if not all—of the main cast have won Academy Awards or Emmys or Golden Globes or have been nominated for one. The main antagonist for the upcoming Avengers movie, Doctor Doom, is the archenemy of the Fantastic Four; there should be a Robert Downey Jr. post-credit scene as Doom, so that’s another Academy Award-nominated actor in the cast. Marvel brought in Matt Shakman, the showrunner of WandaVision, one of the MCU’s better projects of the last phase, to direct. And The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the first film and the beginning of the MCU’s Phase Six. Marvel knows a lot is riding on this movie.

All that said, I don’t know too much about the film at the time of writing this post. Marvel’s playing this one close to the vest, and I don’t blame them. What I do know is that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic Earth, and the Fantastic Four will go up against Galactus and the Silver Surfer. I also sense a little montage as we may get vignettes of the Fantastic Four’s previous exploits. This will be a Fantastic Four that has had many adventures. I prefer that to the Fantastic Four’s origin story. Again.

I don’t know what more there is to say except I hope this Fantastic Four movie lives up to the name. We haven’t had a “fantastic” Fantastic Four movie. When the idea of Marvel making a Fantastic Four movie was still theoretical, folks kept saying to wait until Marvel made its own Fantastic Four movie. Well. That time is now.

Eyes of Wakanda (On Disney+ Starting August 6, 2025)

Eyes of Wakanda is another Marvel project that I didn’t know too much about at the time of writing this post. Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler will direct this animated television miniseries. That’s a great start. Many cast members from the Black Panther film franchise will reprise their roles as voice actors. This show sounds phenomenal.

Initially, the series was supposed to have eight episodes, but it got pared down to four. This could be another sign of the MCU tightening its releases. And Eyes of Wakanda will explore the various people who have donned the Black Panther mantle. There’s even an Iron Fist sighting. Hopefully, we’ll get a better interpretation of the character.

I’ve seen Eyes of Wakanda’s sizzle reel several times. It looks fabulous. I imagine we won’t get much more than this reel for some months. There’s a chance Marvel intends to see how well-received Eyes of Wakanda will be. That’s part of why I watched the sizzle reel several times. If you like what Eyes of Wakanda offers, watch it several times. Perhaps we’ll get the other four episodes.

Marvel Zombies (On Disney+ Starting October 3, 2025)

Marvel Zombies functions as a sequel to the What If? animated series of sorts. I didn’t know there was enough story for Marvel Zombies to have its own series, so I always thought a couple of episodes of What If? made sense for that story. Marvel Zombies will release in October 2025, just in time for Spooky Season.

Disney/Marvel has been good about releasing a horror-adjacent project in October most years. Werewolf by Night was released in October 2022 and Agatha All Along hit Disney+ in October 2024. I’ll probably give Marvel Zombies a watch.

Wonder Man (On Disney+ Starting December 2025)

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II portrays Simon Williams in Wonder Man. Like so much of Marvel’s later slate of 2025 releases, I don’t know much about Wonder Man. Williams auditions for the lead role in a superhero television series—most likely named Wonder Man—but I don’t know if Simon Williams already has powers or if he’s faking that he has superpowers. Either way, Wonder Man should be hilarious.

Andrew Guest show runs Wonder Man, and he’s written some of the greatest Community episodes (“Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” and “A Fistful of Paintballs,” to name a couple). Wonder Man is in great hands. And the character Simon Williams has done a lot of things in the Marvel Universe. He’s even been an actor for more than one stint in the comics, so this premise works for the character. Wonder Man is also Vision’s brain brother. Wasn’t VisionQuest releasing soon, too? There might be a reason Marvel wants to introduce Simon Williams.

Wonder Man’s supporting cast includes Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, the man who pretended he was the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Slattery will serve as Williams’ acting coach. That should be good. Demetrius Grosse will portray Simon’s brother Eric, who becomes Grim Reaper, Wonder Man’s archnemesis and persistent thorn in the side of the Avengers. So, there may be more going on in Wonder Man than a goofy comedy. But I wouldn’t mind a goofy comedy.

That’s all I have for now. Let us know which Marvel Cinematic Universe has you the most excited this year. See you soon. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

DCU 2025 Preview

DC Universe (DCU) 2025 Preview

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Geekly hasn’t covered any movies or television series recently and it’s the new year, so let’s talk about the properties being released by DC Comics Studios in 2025. Full disclosure: I haven’t purchased a Max account yet; I’m woefully behind on most DC Comics-related television series. But I plan on signing up for Max soon, and there’s plenty of a back catalog to watch. Yay!

Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be as much for the DCU on Max in 2025 as in 2024. Our first property on this list was supposed to be released in late 2024 but was pushed back to January 2025. Let’s see what I’ll be binging as soon as I sign up for Max.

Harley Quinn (Season 5) (On Max Starting January, 16 2025)

Harley Quinn has lasted five seasons? My goodness!

Harley Quinn looks like a show I’d enjoy. It follows Harley’s exploits after she breaks up with The Joker. She discovers who she is without Mr. J and meets a lot of Arkham’s colorful characters along the way. The cast elevates this premise even more. Kaley Cuoco (of The Big Bang Theory) portrays Harley, while long-time voice actor Lake Bell takes on the role of Poison Ivy. Throw in Alan Tudyk as the Joker, Ron (Bunches of) Funches as King Shark, Tony Hale as Doctor Psycho, and Jason Alexander as Sy Borgman, and you’ve got yourself a party.

As I said, Harley Quinn’s Season 5 was supposed to be released in December 2024. The DCU must’ve thought that would make Max’s end-of-year schedule too tight. Creature Commandos began airing on December 5, 2024. I’ll have to add Creature Commandos to my laundry list of shows to binge.

Unlike the MCU, which shows its roadmap of titles for the following five or six years (mild exaggeration), the DCU keeps its schedule a mystery. Max didn’t even announce that Harley Quinn Season 5 was pushed back. It just vanished from Max’s December lineup with no warning. Mid-way through December 2024, it popped back up with a January, 16 2025 release. This will be a recurring issue with the DCU.

Superman: Legacy (In Theaters July 11, 2025)

As of December 14, 2024, Superman: Legacy was the only 2025 DCU release with an official release date of July 11, 2025. I’ve got a second one that I know the exact release date for. XD

The new DC Universe rides on the success of its first entry, Superman: Legacy. No pressure.

Fortunately, Superman: Legacy has a lot going for it. I trust James Gunn as a writer and director of comic book movies. Gunn used All-Star Superman as inspiration for the film. That’s another vote of confidence. (Note: Jim Plath made a Superman Starter Stories post several years ago, and All-Star Superman made his list; see what other stories made his list.) DC Studios cast a relative no-name to portray Superman/Clark Kent; I’m glad they resisted the urge to cast a big name. And the rest of the cast holds plenty of accomplished actors. My favorite may have to be Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner. This ought to be fun.

Superman: Legacy also precedes any other major DCU release. Man of Steel followed in the footsteps of The Dark Knight (not even the first movie of the Dark Knight Trilogy) and felt as if it had to mimic the Nolanverse’s vibe. The rest of the DCEU kept that same energy for too long. I know that The Dark Knight didn’t officially take part in the DCEU, but the DCEU maintained the Nolanverse grit, whether the characters warranted it or not. Superman: Legacy is a much better choice to anchor the DCU.

I’m excited for Superman: Legacy. I hope it goes well and that the DCU can become more than an afterthought to the MCU. DC Comics has way too many great characters to be overshadowed for long. But I’m also nervous about Superman: Legacy. It needs to be a hit.

Peacemaker (Season 2) (On Max Starting August 2025)

Peacemaker Season was a huge success. Like many other titles on this list, I have yet to watch it. More binging! John Cena returns as the titular Peacemaker. Season one’s premise sounds interesting. Peacemaker joins a black ops squad, “Project Butterfly,” as it identifies and eliminates parasitic butterfly-like creatures who have taken over human bodies around the world.

Peacemaker served as a “soft reboot” for the 2021 DCEU movie Suicide Squad. Showrunner James Gunn postponed the second season because of his involvement in the Superman movie. This time, we have a month for Peacemaker Season 2’s release, and we know that Peacemaker’s second season can’t be released until after Superman in July 2025 because the events in Peacemaker Season 2 directly follow Superman. Think of this season as the bridge between the old DCEU and the new DCU. Fingers are crossed for a great DCU one-two punch.

Sandman (Season 2) (On Netflix Sometime in 2025)

We have no idea when Sandman Season 2 will be released, but it will most likely be released sometime in 2025. And there may be a good reason for this delay: Sandman writer Neil Gaiman’s allegations of sexual assault. Gaiman denies any wrongdoing. He’s innocent until he is proven guilty. I don’t want to get into detail about his legal issues here.

I don’t know exactly why Netflix has delayed Sandman Season 2’s release or given it a month for its release, but I wager it’s because Netflix wants to wait and see how Gaiman’s legal battle goes. Netflix canceled Dead Boy Detectives, another show based on a Gaiman-penned DC comic book, shortly after the allegations in July 2024, but that was because Dead Boy Detectives didn’t get enough viewers. Sandman Season 1 received plenty of viewers.

I was looking forward to Sandman Season 2, but that was before these allegations came to light. It’s difficult to separate art from the artist. It’s even more difficult to ignore allegations when (as of this writing) five women have accused Neil Gaiman of sexual assault.

Deep breath.

Let’s get back to Sandman. Despite what some viewers claimed, Sandman’s first season stayed true to the source material. Kirby made an excellent Death, likewise for Mason Alexander Park as Desire. The rest of the cast was fantastic. I didn’t think anyone could effectively pull off Morpheus. Tom Sturridge gives a solid performance. Did the first season take some liberties? Yes. But the heart of the story remained the same. Sandman Season 2 was my most anticipated DC Comics project for this year, and that includes a year with a Superman movie.

Okay. I was stoked about Superman: Legacy, too.

That’s all I have for now. Let me know your thoughts on the upcoming DCU movies and television shows. See you soon. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Top 10 Classic Christmas Films

Top 10 Classic Christmas Films

Published on by Skye2 Comments

Hello, and Merry Christmas to you. This is Skye once again and thank you for inviting me back to the platform for another holiday update. This time, it’s Christmas, so what better way to celebrate than with movies?  

Trust me, I went through a lot of movies to pick out my favorites. With that being said, this list will also include animated Christmas specials. I know this post is called “Top 10 Classic Christmas Films,” but I wanted to make sure all my bases were covered. Some of those specials deserve praise, too. Now, let’s get on with the list. 

10. The Polar Express

This may be a controversial choice, but bear in mind, it’s number 10 for a reason. I don’t deny this movie has problems. It absolutely does. From the wonky mo-cap animation to the overused action sequences, this movie isn’t perfect. At the same time, it can be beautiful.  

When the girl’s ticket is flying across the winter landscape, it’s genuinely impressive to watch. Also, some of the environments can be grand when shot properly. However, the most enduring part of the film is its message. It’s not the most original message, but they tackle it in such a complex way that it still sticks with me.  

So, while flawed, The Polar Express has earned a spot on this list.

9. Home Alone

Much like The Polar Express, this movie is difficult for me to defend. It often doesn’t know what tone it wants to convey, is awkward at times, and can be overly childish. To that same end, there are some genuinely heartfelt moments.  

There isn’t a single bad performance in the film from any actor (even Macaulay Culkin), plus the chemistry Kevin has with his mother helps ground the film to its holiday roots. Overall, it’s uneven, goofy, and mean, but it also has a John Williams score. That’s the main reason this film beat out The Polar Express. You just can’t beat John Williams. 

I reviewed Home Alone on my blog last Friday, so click here if you’d like to see my more detailed thoughts.

8. The Rankin/Bass Specials

Our first Christmas specials. Yes: specials plural. I’m including both Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town! in this slot, because they’re both of equal value. Why are they so low on the list? They’re still corny and random, y’all.

Both specials are weird and only created to give us the origin behind the songs. Also, both make little sense in hindsight. Some things are thrown in for the sake of padding the runtime, but I can’t help feeling Christmas-y whenever I see them. Despite their flaws, you can’t say they don’t remind you of Christmas. We all watched the Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials as kids, and we’re gonna show them to our kids too. 

Because of that, this list would feel naked without them.

7. A Christmas Carol

I know what you’re thinking: “Which one?” Honestly, all of them. Don’t get me wrong, none of them are perfect, but what I love is the concept. It’s so powerful that everyone wants to give their take on it from the Muppets to Mickey Mouse to Robert Zemeckis. That last one might need some therapy. 

Richard Donner threw his hat in the ring with Scrooged, The Looney Tunes did their own rendition, George C. Scott gave us a subtle Scrooge in 1984, there’s even a Christmas Carol stage show. Basically, what I’m saying is we all have our favorite version. Whichever one you prefer, there’s no doubt it’ll give you that Christmas feeling with a crotchety man changing his ways due to a certain jolly holiday.  

There’s several adaptations and there’ll likely be several more in the years to come which is why A Christmas Carol is on the list.

6. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

With few exceptions, the originals are always better than the remakes. This one, however, is no exception. My favorite aspect of Miracle on 34th Street is how it treats the concept of Santa Claus in such a realistic way. Also, Edmund Gwenn’s performance as Kris Kringle is my favorite cinematic Santa Claus.  

While Christmas is a magical time, here we’re viewing Christmas through the lens of the adult world. Miracle on 34th Street proves that the power of the holiday can transcend even the most uptight/rigid adult institutions, and it does so in spectacular fashion. Miracle on 34th Street left me hooked from beginning to end and represents the season in a way that resonates with both children and adults. 

This is certainly a film I’d call a holiday classic.

5. The Snowman

While not explicitly about Christmas (there is Christmas imagery here and there), The Snowman mostly revels in the wonders of winter. You could probably guess that with the special being called The Snowman. Even though it’s not about Christmas, whenever I see The Snowman, I can’t help but feel Christmas-y.  

The same way “Winter Wonderland” is a Christmas song, The Snowman is a Christmas special. The Snowman is a very dream-like experience. It includes stellar hand-drawn animation, a great musical score, and no dialogue. In a way, watching it feels like an elaborate dream a child could’ve had on the night of Christmas Eve, and that’s what makes it feel Christmas-y. Some parts are drawn out or odd, but The Snowman is definitely worth a look. 

Check out The Snowman. You’ll return to this Christmas classic year after year. 

I put Joyeux Noël above The Snowman, because it’s more outwardly related to Christmas. Much like Miracle on 34th Street, Joyeux Noël focuses on the power of the holiday. In this case, it’s the power of the holiday in the darkest of times. 

Joyeux Noël tackles the Christmas spirit in ways I haven’t seen any other film accomplish. Soldiers in WWI call a truce during the holiday and become friends with their enemy. Each of them goes through complex emotions when the truce ends. They must resume fighting with the friends they just made the day before. Despite the misery and death surrounding them, these people still knew that the Christmas spirit was too great to kill. 

If you’re looking for a great Christmas cry, Joyeux Noël is exactly what you need.

Hear me out. I know Die Hard isn’t really Christmas-y. It doesn’t represent Christmas in the ways that any of the previous films and specials I’ve talked about do. That’s the reason I like it so much. There’s no other Christmas film like Die Hard. 

Die Hard diverges from what you would typically expect in a Christmas movie, but both the film and the holiday are inseparable. It makes sense that John would try to make up with his wife during the season of perpetual love and hope. Also, Hans’ plans likely wouldn’t have worked during any other time of the year with everyone distracted by the holidays. With all of this, Die Hard is still one of the greatest action flicks.  

There’s no other Christmas film like Die Hard, and there likely won’t ever be again. 

2. A Christmas Story

Some people probably see A Christmas Story as annoying at this point. If that’s the case with you, I understand. Although, in my experience, that’s mostly due to the over commercialization of the film with sequels, merchandise, and a live TV musical despite A Christmas Story lampooning those very things. 

Remember when A Christmas Story used to be the small film only you, and a few people you knew watched? That’s when the movie works best. The reason it’s become so heinous is due to people trying to make it bigger. A Christmas Story works the best when it’s just a small family in a small town dealing with small stuff. Oddly enough, when A Christmas Story focuses on the small moments, that’s when it feels the biggest and most personal. 

A Christmas Story takes place 80 years ago, but it still feels like a family Christmas that could happen today which is why it’s my number two.

1. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Yes, my absolute favorite Christmas special takes the top spot: the original Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. You can’t go wrong with the classics, and there’s a lot to appreciate with this Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  

Everyone knows the story: a mean green man hates seeing people happy around the holidays so he does what he can to put a stop to it. From the brilliant animation heralded by the legendary Chuck Jones to the outstanding vocal talents of Boris Karloff and Thurl Ravenscroft, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas is, without a doubt, synonymous with Christmas. That and the ever-enduring message for kids that Christmas cannot be stolen is one that will live on forever. 

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas is short, sweet, and undoubtedly the best Christmas classic. 

With all that said, I hope you enjoyed my Top 10 Classic Christmas Films. Before I leave you, I’d like to add some honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the list including National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause, and the animated Frosty the Snowman special. Each of them, while not great enough to make the list, are still worth a look if you’re interested. 

Also, what are your top 10 Christmas classics? Let us know in the comments and have yourselves a Merry little Christmas now. We’ll see you next year! 

-Skye

X-Men Marvel Cinematic Universe Theories

MCU X-Men Theories

Published on by Kyra27 Comments

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. I have some thoughts and theories on what the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) should do with the X-Men. I already shared a few thoughts in a previous post for Deadpool & Wolverine, but let’s dive deeper into what the MCU’s first X-Men movie should look like. There may be some spoilers. Consider yourself warned.

I’ll break this down into two parts: heroes and villains. The stories the first movie could pursue will depend on the characters. I’ll mention some of these potential stories. Hopefully, I don’t ramble too much.


Heroes

The easiest road the MCU could take is using the original X-Men: Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, and Angel. Some comic book fans will rejoice. But I don’t know if casual X-Men fans or fans of the 90s cartoon will get as much out of the original X-Men. And Disney/Marvel promised that the MCU’s X-Men will resemble the X-Men 97 cartoon.

Just because the MCU uses the original X-Men doesn’t mean that they must tell a team origin story. They could, but the story structure that helps most non-comic book X-Men projects revolves around an established X-Men team with a new member joining the group. And that’s what I propose.

And that premise leads me to lump certain members into specific groups: senior members, established members, and the potential conduit character. Senior members are the leaders. Established members have seniority but don’t lead the team. And the conduit character is the new member (not necessarily young) who also functions as the audience’s point of view. The X-Men have a huge roster to pull from. I kept the movie’s cast to nine with one possible inclusion/honorable mention.

So, there are a lot of big names that didn’t make the cut, let’s look at some notable exclusions.

Notable Excluded X-Men

Wolverine

Rip off the Band-Aid. Wolverine sucks the oxygen from every room. The Fox movies depended on Wolverine’s box office draw. Wolverine’s importance to the Fox X-Men movie franchise was even the inciting incident for Deadpool & Wolverine. Wolverine can’t show up in the first X-Men; no one will care about any of the other characters. Wolverine should get a brief, and I mean super brief, cameo or even a teaser. Perhaps in the mid or post credits scene.


Beast

This one hurts. I like Beast a lot, but in the context of the team I’d like to see first, he’s best suited with staying in the lab and getting a cameo.


Colossus

Another fave. Colossus, like Beast and Wolverine, could receive a cameo, but shouldn’t appear in the film for very long.

Senior Members

Professor X

Charles Xavier began the X-Men. The only way he doesn’t make the MCU film is if the writers explain his absence. Too much work. Just include him.

Cyclops

Scott Summers got a raw deal in Fox’s X-Men film franchise. He unceremoniously died at the beginning of X-Men: The Last Stand and had a limited role in the previous two films. James Marsden could’ve made a great Cyclops; he looked the part. He just didn’t have enough to do. Omitting Wolverine and some other fan favorites could give Cyclops some much needed attention. And the new X-Men film should have plenty of romance.

Jean Grey

Speaking of romance, Jean and Scott’s relationship can have the space to take off with a reduced cast (or at least a focused cast). Complications to this relationship can and should occur, but the 90s cartoon leaned too heavily on the Scott-Jean-Wolverine love triangle. Jean!!! Let’s see some different bumps in the road.

Storm

Ororo Monroe is badass. She also has a link to Marvel’s Black Panther. Canonically, she’s married to T’Challa. Shuri taking her brother’s place could put a wrinkle in that, but Storm has had lesbian lovers in the past (specifically Yukio—yes, the same Yukio Deadpool says hi to in the movies). But the romantic options don’t stop there. Storm has been linked with Doctor Doom, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Forge. There are plenty of options for Storm’s love life to reach soap opera levels.

Established Members

Gambit

I liked Channing Tatum as Gambit; he gave a fun, memetastic performance. But if Gambit intends to romance Rogue, Rogue shouldn’t be in her early to mid-twenties. And if you don’t have Gambit putting the moves on Rogue, why include him? Fans have waited for a proper Gambit to make the big screen, and Tatum didn’t disappoint. If he’s our Gambit, who’s our Rogue.

Rogue

Fans have also wanted a more comically accurate Rogue. Anna Paquin gave a good performance in the Fox films, but Rogue as the conduit character was both good and bad. It was good because Rogue’s power can seem like a curse. But Fox aged her down to the point where she could only have high school love interests.

Oddly enough, Anna Paquin could reprise her role as Rogue. Paquin is more appropriate age for the character now than when she was originally cast. While Tatum’s age could be an issue (for a younger Rogue), Magneto would be an even greater one. A Gambit-Rogue-Magneto love triangle often occurs. We gotta see an ill-fated Rogue-Magneto romance on the big screen at least once.

Possible Conduit Characters

Kitty Pryde

Kitty is the classic X-Men conduit character. Readers saw the futuristic world through her eyes in “Days of Future Past.” She was also the point-of-view character during the 80s cartoon pilot, Pryde of the X-Men. Even if Kitty isn’t the conduit character, she should be included. The same will be true of the other characters in this group.

Elliot Page, like James Marsden, gave a good performance in the Fox movies but had little to do. This version of Kitty should explore her infatuation with Colossus, and Kitty should show her disgust when first meeting Nightcrawler. It takes time, but Kitty discovers that she has more in common with Nightcrawler than Colossus, and the two of them form a deep connection.

Nightcrawler

Kurt Wagner makes this list, too. Nightcrawler is one of the few mainstream X-Men who can’t hide his mutation. As such, humans’ hatred of mutants could play a huge role in any story where Nightcrawler is the conduit character. Non-comic book X-Men project have never done this before (to the best of my knowledge). Nightcrawler also tends to skew toward the religious and that opens the door for so many interesting storylines.

Iceman

If the MCU wanted to make the original X-Men their first X-Men team, Bobby Drake would serve as the conduit character. Iceman represents something else that no other non-comic book X-Men project has done to date: make a member of the LGBT community the conduit character. Iceman is bisexual.

Bobby has had plenty of love interests. Emma Frost could be interesting, likewise with Mystique but in a very different way. But the two that make the most sense are Romeo and Pyro. Romeo is an inhuman. The Inhumans had a short-lived TV series and if the MCU wanted to reintroduce the Inhumans, Romeo could be a good choice. Pyro’s fire abilities could pair well visually and narratively with Bobby’s ice, and it’d be a great way to introduce the Brotherhood.

Honorable Mention

Changeling/Morph

Morph could replace one of the other X-Men or perhaps squeeze in as a tenth member. Professor X may need to be in the movie, but he can have a smaller presence. Morph is another potential conduit character and another member of the LGBT community (nonbinary). Morph can shapeshift, so they give X-Men plenty of chances for cameos.

Villains

Just like the heroes, I have a few notable X-Villains who should probably not show up in the first MCU X-Men Film.

Notable Excluded X-Villains

Magneto

Magneto may be best served as a mention or cameo. Like Wolverine, Magneto can steal focus.

Apocalypse

It’s too soon to include him. Apocalypse makes for a poor first X-villain; he’s someone the MCU should build toward.

Mister Sinister

Likewise for Mister Sinister. Fox teased Mr. Sinister for years. The group running the facility in the New Mutants was named Essex, as in Nathan Essex (Mr. Sinister’s given name). But I’d like Mr. Sinister to get a real build before we see him on the big screen. I do like the idea of Mr. Sinister working behind the scenes. We could, and probably should, catch glimpses of him. Better yet, an Easter egg like the New Mutants.

X-Villains

Humans/Sentinels

So many of these stories and the villains within these stories hinge on who is the movie’s conduit character, but humans can be present with any conduit character. Nightcrawler has the strongest case for humans, but bigotry is something that always plays a role in X-Men stories. But which specific humans should make the list? Let’s talk about a few.

Boliver Trask invented the sentinels. If you include the sentinels, include Trask. Friends of Humanity founder Graydon Creed makes another good starting point. Creed also has a connection with Sabretooth and Wolverine. Religious zealot William Stryker works as a good sounding board for Nightcrawler’s beliefs; it could lead to some great philosophical discourse. And Henry Peter Gyrich has served several government agencies. Gyrich has had connections with SHIELD and could introduce something like a Mutant Registry.

Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

If Bobby Drake dates Pyro, include the Brotherhood. But any other conduit character could work with the Brotherhood as the main villain. The Brotherhood serves as an ethical alternative to the X-Men. Don’t agree with Professor X’s mission statement? Join the Brotherhood. Many characters have been a part of the Brotherhood. Even Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver got their start here.

I’d keep the group small with characters who haven’t been used much in recent years: Pyro, Blob, Avalanche, and Toad. The team must have a leader. Mystique could work; she has connections with Nightcrawler and Rogue, but Mystique has also shown up a ton. If Morph does make the X-Men’s first movie, don’t include Mystique at first. Emma Frost hasn’t seen the screen as much and would be my preference. As a telepath, she can give Professor X and Jean a run for their money. And Frost also has ties with the Hellfire Club.

The Hellfire Club

Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost made a great one-two punch in X-Men: First Class. That’s a positive and a negative. The MCU could recapture the magic with the next X-Men film. Or it might be too soon, and they should wait to introduce the Hellfire Club. That said, the MCU can’t introduce the full group. We’re talking an entire chess set of characters. White and black kings and queens and bishops and the like.

Still, the MCU could introduce one or two key members of the Hellfire Club in the first movie and wait to introduce the full roster in a future movie. If the MCU does that and waits to introduce Wolverine, Wolverine could be available in that future movie, and fans could see a big screen adaptation of one of the X-Men’s greatest fight sequences.

This early battle cemented Wolverine’s reputation as “The Best There Is At What I Do.”

Full disclosure: Jean Grey premieres as Dark Phoenix in the story arc that includes this combat sequence, and I don’t think the MCU should touch the Dark Phoenix Saga yet. But the MCU also doesn’t follow the comics beat for beat, so we could see the fight sequence accompany a different story.

If Kitty Pryde is the first movie’s conduit character, the Hellfire Club could make a lot of sense, too. An alternate Kitty (from Astonishing X-Men) strikes Wolverine’s pose before she takes on Emma Frost.

Juggernaut

Keep it simple. If the goal of the first movie is to introduce the X-Men, Juggernaut ties into Professor X’s past and he’s a classic villain. He also has more going on than most casual viewers know. But the reason why I say to keep it simple is that casual viewers know Juggernaut and the story doesn’t have to venture too far beyond the X-Mansion. Juggernaut has a knack of seeking out the X-Men.

Marvel Background Image

Closing Thoughts

The next leg of the MCU is titled The Mutant Saga. A lot rides on the MCU’s first X-Men movie succeeding. And Marvel could do with a little going back to basics. That could mean the Original X-Men team or using the formula that’s worked in several previous X-Men projects. But those are my thoughts on the X-Men. Feel free to share yours in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News: Spider-Man Marvel Cinematic Universe and Spider-Man Cinematic Universe

Geekly News: Sony Pictures and Marvel Pictures Closing On New Spider-Man Film Deal

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

After years of speculation and arguments, we may have some resolution to the Spider-Man movie drama.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. And today we have a big development between Sony Pictures (the owners of Spider-Man’s movie license) and Marvel Pictures. Ever since 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, Sony couldn’t include Peter Parker in any of their live-action Spider-Man universe movies, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe couldn’t use a secondary Spider-Man character (like some of Spidey’s rogues) if Sony included that Spider-Man character in a Sony-backed Spider-Man movie. This arrangement led to Venom getting a trilogy of movies without Spider-Man (those weren’t so bad) and other Spidey characters like Morbius and Madame Web also got greenlit (both of which tanked). This kept Marvel from using Venom, Morbius, and any of the gagillion characters in Madame Web. All of that may change soon.

Multiple sources have stated that Sony plans to reboot their Spider-Man Cinematic Universe. This will most likely occur after the third and final Venom film. We still don’t know what this will mean for the upcoming Kraven the Hunter film. If the agreement takes effect, Kraven the Hunter could be included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon.

The details of this agreement are not finalized. Things can change. But the gist is that Sony will be able to include Peter Parker in any of their future live-action Spider-Man Universe movies, and any Spider-Man Cinematic Universe movie will be included within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I don’t believe this means that Marvel will oversee every Spider-Man Cinematic Universe movie that doesn’t involve Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, but it does mean that the characters within Spider-Man’s mythos will be available for both movie universes. And new Spider-Man Cinematic Universe movies could have an impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward.

This potential deal could help both sides as several Spider-Man villains become unfrozen by the current deal, and we could finally see that Tom Holland Spider-Man and Tom Hardy Venom mash-up fans have been waiting for. This deal couldn’t come at a better moment. As I mentioned, Sony Pictures will finish their Venom trilogy (their most successful live-action Spider-Man franchise to date), while the Marvel Cinematic Universe wraps up the Multiverse Saga, which could go a long way to merge these two Spider-Man universes. And Secret Wars isn’t too far away. Peter Parker first met the Symbiote Suit (the black Spider-Man suit that would become Venom) during Secret Wars.

I can’t wait to see what a new agreement between Sony and Marvel Pictures brings. Let us know in the comments which movies you’d like to see. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Deadpool Wallpaper

Deadpool and the Future of the MCU

Published on by Kyra2 Comments

Hey, hey! Kyra here. I’m still figuring out what kind of content a rebooted JK Geekly should include. If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments. I’m also working my through older content, but we’ll run out of that soon enough. Lastly, I’m late with a reaction to Deadpool and Wolverine. Instead of writing a review (I’d rather not get back into traditional reviews), I’m doing more of a reaction and what I think of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future.

Deadpool 3 and Its Place in the MCU

I enjoyed Deadpool and Wolverine. Was it perfect? No. It dragged in parts and that’s something with which the MCU during the Multiverse Saga has struggled, but Deadpool and Wolverine did what a Deadpool movie was meant to do. It made fun of the MCU, particularly the maligned Multiverse Saga. Deadpool and Wolverine served as a good penultimate film for the Multiverse. The Multiverse isn’t yet finished but there aren’t that many movies/TV shows remaining before it wraps. So, I’m calling it a penultimate movie. Deadpool 3 also acted like a Monty Python’s “this is getting too silly” and signaled an abrupt turn that the MCU intends to make: the Mutant Saga.

Right. Before we get too much further, I’m going to try and avoid spoilers. But the nature of posts like this makes that impossible. Consider this a spoiler warning.

Wow! I took this long to say spoiler alert. I am rusty.

Not only was Deadpool and Wolverine the penultimate Multiverse Saga film, it also said farewell to the 20th Century Fox Era X-Men and the Fantastic Four (to a lesser extent). I’ll echo other critics and express concern about Disney/Marvel relying on nostalgia to make a quick buck. I dislike the idea of the MCU using nostalgia as much as it has lately. Disney has worn out their nostalgia button. Did anyone ask for live-action versions of every Disney animated classic?

It’s true that Spider-Man: No Way Home tapped into nostalgia big time, but not necessarily in a bad way. With its proximity to the latest Spider-Man film, one could view Deadpool and Wolverine as nostalgia porn. But Deadpool and Wolverine hits different.

Legally, Disney/Marvel cannot cast their own X-Men actors until 2025. Most of the X-Men, including Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) are under contract to play these characters until the end of 2024. It makes sense for Disney/Marvel to say “Bye, Bye, Bye” to these actors before the end of their contracts.

That said, I hope Disney/Marvel does something new with these characters. They had best cast their own actors for these roles after these contracts expire. I’d also like to see the MCU cover different X-Men stories. The world doesn’t need three Dark Phoenix Sagas in two decades. I’d love it if Disney/Marvel puts that storyline to rest for a good decade or more and concentrate on other great X-Men stories. It’s not like the X-Men have decades of great stories.

We’ll get into some of these potential storylines with the Wolverine montage. Oops! We’re heading into definite spoilers for Deadpool and Wolverine. Anyone who hasn’t yet watched the movie should turn away for the next section. You can pick back up in the MCU’s future section.

Wolverine Montage

The Wolverine montage at the beginning of Deadpool and Wolverine was not only fun but showcased the various worlds in which Wolverine/Logan existed. Most of the scenes depicted during this montage could make for a good movie or movie series. Let’s cover each one as quickly as possible and in the order in which they first appeared.

Short Wolvie
This is the 5′ 3″ Hugh Jackman Wolverine. There isn’t much to say except this Wolverine is the most accurate to the comics, and he was the most eager of the bunch to join Deadpool. Too bad Deadpool went in a different direction.

Brown And Tan Wolvie
Deadpool references John Byrne (X-Men artist during the late 70s and early 80s) and Wolverine’s classic brown and tan outfit that Byrne designed. The scene they chose for this one comes from Incredible Hulk #340 (drawn by Seth MacFarlane) where Wolverine and the Hulk throw down. There have been plenty of instances of this happening. In fact, Wolverine was first introduced in an Incredible Hulk comic (#180 in a cameo and #181 in full), where the two fought each other. This may not be the only time the MCU will depict this fight.

One-Handed Wolvie
The one-handed Wolverine in the dilapidated city comes from Age of Apocalypse. I don’t think the MCU will dive headfirst into this storyline but if they did choose to cover it, I’d like to see Marvel characters not mentioned in this world. The original Age of Apocalypse run mostly affected the X-Men. Other characters were mentioned and a few made appearances, but it could be fun watching alternate versions of The Avengers. But we’ve had enough of the Multiverse and this could be more of the same.

In case you’re wondering, this reality’s Cyclops severed Wolverine’s missing hand.

Old Man Logan
The Wolverine who looks like he’s cosplaying as Joe from the Dollars Trilogy comes from the Old Man Logan storyline. This is another post-apocalyptic story, and I doubt the MCU will go in this direction.

Oddly enough, Deadpool and Wolverine borrows a major set piece from Old Man Logan.  Giant Man’s skeletal remains–the ones in which Cassandra Nova has established a lair–makes an appearance in this comic book story. And technically, we’ve already seen a variation of the Old Man Logan story in the movie Logan.

Crucified Wolvie
The Uncanny X-Men #251’s famous comic book cover features Wolverine on an X-shaped crucifix. I don’t think the MCU will go in this direction, because the Siege Perilous (a crystal that opens doors to other dimensions) features heavily. The MCU won’t want to go back into the Multiverse too soon. However, this Siege Perilous could be one of the many ways the MCU could “fix” the Multiverse and catapult the MCU into the Mutant Saga.

I won’t go into too much detail because there’s a lot going on, but the people who placed Wolverine on the crucifix were the Reavers. The Reavers were the main antagonists in the movie Logan. Reavers have cybernetic implants but in this universe, most Reavers have them because Wolverine cut off their biological limbs. The Reavers hate all mutants, but especially Wolverine, which is why they placed Wolvie on a crucifix.

Patch
This one could easily happen, and there are two prominent storylines with Patch Wolverine. The above with Hulk’s alternate identity Joe Fixit pits Patch Wolverine as a casino bouncer. This could happen, but it might be a bit silly and would most likely be a cameo like we saw during Deadpool and Wolverine. If Patch Wolverine made an extended appearance in the MCU, the story they’d most likely use would come from the 2022 Patch Wolverine mini series.

This Patch is an alternate Wolverine who hides his mutant identity. He has a knack for gambling and espionage. He even teams up with Nick Fury; two patches for the price of one. This could be another way the MCU could bridge the current timeline with a mutant heavy one. They’d have to change a lot of the story, but that wouldn’t be the first time the MCU did so. Age of Ultron didn’t resemble its comic book counterpart.

The Cavillrine
One might think, this is just Henry Cavill as Wolverine, and one would be correct. It is just Henry Cavill as Wolverine, but let’s add a little context. Cavill portrayed Superman in the DC Extended Universe and Geralt in the Witcher Netflix series. Many comic fans love him. Cavill is the leading fan-casting for the next Wolverine, and many ardent fans of this casting insist that Cavill IS the Wolverine of Earth-199999, also known as Earth-616, which is the world in which the MCU takes place. Who knows? These fans could be right. Deadpool and Wolverine could’ve introduced the next actor to portray Wolverine.

The MCU’s Future

We’ve discussed some of the directions in which the X-Men could go or more specifically Wolverine. The above Wolverine Montage by no means covers all stories for Marvel’s mutants, but it’s a good start.

I’ll reiterate, wherever Disney/Marvel goes with these characters, I hope they go in a direction not yet explored. And they should cast their own actors in these roles. Channing Tatum as Gambit is fine; he never had the chance to portray Gambit in a full-length feature before his cameo, and he’s meme gold. Wesley Snipes as Blade might be fun, but he can’t play the character until he’s 90. Can he?

The next thing the MCU should do is contract the number of shows and movies they release; they’re already doing this to some extent, so that’s good. Additionally, they should reduce the number of characters in their active slate of characters. What do I mean? The Infinity Saga focused on the core six Avengers: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. It added a few here and there over time like Falcon, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, and Vision, but the core six were in most–if not all– the team-up films, and prominent members Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor received a trilogy of films in a short timeframe. Go back to that.

It’s difficult to grow attached to a character when you haven’t seen said character in half a decade. I’m looking at you, Shang-Chi (his first movie released in 2021 and 2026 may be the soonest he’ll get a follow-up–the soonest is 2026, yikes!). There have been issues outside the MCU’s control. The pandemic didn’t help. I still get choked up over Chadwick Bosman’s passing. Jonathan (Kang) Majors’ domestic assault and harassment case derailed the Multiverse’s story. And navigating the Spider-Man license and other licenses haven’t been easy.

A lot has happened outside Disney/Marvel’s control, but the MCU hasn’t helped itself by making some questionable choices. It concerns me that the two highest grossing films during the Multiverse Saga are the two (Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool and Wolverine) that lean heavily on nostalgia. It’s too easy to learn the wrong lesson.

Those two movies succeeded because one didn’t need to do as much homework (watching a gagillion hours of content before watching the movies) and both films were the third part of movie trilogies that took five years (for Spider-Man) and eight years (for Deadpool) to complete. These two factors may have done more for these movies’ success than nostalgia alone. But hey, hit the nostalgia button.

Okay. I’m done ranting about Disney’s overuse of nostalgia. For now. Let’s discuss some other developments, beginning with everyone’s favorite Marvel character trapped in license hell.

Spider-Man and His Villains

There’s a tentative agreement between Sony and Disney/Marvel for Peter Parker Spider-Man . The Spider-Verse films may prevent Disney/Marvel from using Miles Morales. I haven’t read the terms of the contract as it pertains to Sony animation, but another series of talks may need to be had for Miles entering the MCU. I’d imagine that will come to fruition. Eventually. It’s going to take a fleet of Brink’s truck cash.

Spider-Man Noir will not appear in the MCU because Nicholas Cage will portray him in a live-action TV series. I’m okay with that. I’ll be watching the show after it drops on Amazon Prime. Any Spider-Man character who receives a Sony-led live-action movie or TV series is ineligible to be included in the MCU. That’s why we’ve seen a Venom trilogy (that includes characters like Carnage and Rhino), Morbius, Madame Web (with at least a half dozen other Spider-Man characters), and the upcoming Kraven films. Sony is playing keep away from Disney/Marvel.

I don’t blame Sony too much. Disney/Marvel has countless intellectual properties and makes several movies annually. Sony produces far fewer movies and their largest IP is Spider-Man. Spidey and Spidey related films account for over half of Sony’s major film releases each year. They’re forced to make Spider-Man content, even if that content isn’t the best. And with the exception of the Spider-Verse franchise, Sony Spidey content hasn’t been good.

The Incredible Hulk

But Spidey isn’t the only character who’s had licensing issues. Universal’s deal with the Hulk concluded this year (2024 if you happen to be reading this after the new year; happy new year btw). According to the previous deal, the Hulk could be in MCU films but only as a supporting character. Thor: Ragnarok touched on Planet Hulk themes (namely Gladiator Hulk), and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law laid the ground work for a potential full-fledged Planet Hulk movie (Hulk traveled the cosmos and found his son Skaar). I don’t know if we’ll ever see another movie with Hulk as the title character, but it’s a possibility. I wouldn’t mind at least one with Mark Ruffalo.

Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom

Is this casting odd? Yes. But Downey Jr. as Doom could’ve been the plan from the beginning, but only as a cameo. The MCU could easily combine Earth-11029’s Doom (who mind swapped with Tony Stark) and the Doctor Doom from Secret Wars. The MCU was always headed toward Secret Wars, and toward the end of that story, Doom assumed the Beyonder’s powers and ruled Battleworld. The MCU probably intended an homage to the source material with a quick look at an alternate Doom (perhaps Downey), much like the alternate Reed Richards (John Krasinski) in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Kang was the original big bad for the MCU’s Secret Wars, but Majors’ legal troubles thrusted Doom to the forefront. Will it work? I’m unsure. We’ll have to wait and see. A Downey Doom would’ve worked better as a cameo or teaser for the next leg of the Fantastic Four’s story. But the MCU is trying to salvage what’s left of the Multiverse Saga. I guess it’s worth a shot, but this reeks of desperation and hitting the nostalgia button. Remember when RDJ was in Avengers movies? Here he is again. Wait. We haven’t had an Avengers movie without RDJ yet. He’s got to maintain his Avengers streak.

Fantastic Four and X-Men

The MCU is barreling toward the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. These two teams will feature heavily in the upcoming MCU. That’s a great thing and a bad thing. The MCU already has a bloated roster and now it’s adding two massive teams. These two teams could delay the third film of major MCU characters.

Going back to my point that the MCU should return to a tighter character roster, the three main Avengers during the Infinity Saga had a small window for their film trilogies. Cap’s original trilogy took five years in total. Iron Man’s also took five years. And Thor’s original trilogy took six years. Six years passed between Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Strange continues to wait for the third movie in his trilogy. That’s way too long. There’s also the aforementioned Shang-Chi and his five year wait for a second film. And is Captain Marvel getting a third movie? Rewatching older films in a film series becomes part of an MCU movie’s homework.

What were talking about? Deadpool. Right.

Deadpool needed eight years to conclude its trilogy. That’s impressive considering that Fox was bought out between the second and third films. A tighter release window for movies in a series and a smaller cast of recurring characters are the lessons Disney/Marvel should take from Deadpool and Wolverine’s success. That and R rated films can rake in money. We’ll have to see which lessons the MCU takes to heart.

That’s all I have for now. Let me know your thoughts on what the MCU should do going forward. See you soon. Bye, bye, bye.

~ Kyra

 

3 Lists of 3 Faithful and Unfaithful Comic Book and Manga Movies

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Cause it takes a strong man, baby, but I’m showing you the door. Cause I gotta have faith. I gotta have faith. Or do you?

Your uncle Geekly is back with more comic book movie magic and a three list of three. This week we’ll concentrate on comic book movies that are the most and least faithful adaptations to their source material and throw in a third, fun list for kicks.

Usually, a faithful adaptation is better than one that isn’t, but that’s not always the case. 2011’s Green Lantern made the short list for faithful adaptations, and it stunk. Regardless, the following lists will let you know which ones have geek cred, and which ones don’t.

Most Faithful Comic Book or Manga Movies (so far)

IronManMovie

Iron Man (2008)

All the main points for Tony’s character are present in 2008’s Iron Man, except that he’s more of a social drinker than an alcoholic. That may be the one part that I’ve never liked about the movie version, but I get it. Marvel/Disney wants to make Iron Man more accessible for a greater audience. But alcoholism is a common problem and that’s one of the things that makes Tony accessible for people.

Oh well, like I said, the main character points are there: billionaire playboy, womanizer, purveyor of the best weapons, regrets the creation of such weapons, and needs a suit to stay alive. One must take the omission of alcoholism with stride. The cinematic Iron Man deals with his alcoholism as much as cinematic versions of Batman deal with the loss of his parents. It’s a peripheral thing.

CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Yes. This is the second Marvel movie in a row, but it’s a good one that’s very faithful to its source material. The only things the movie Winter Soldier changes are plot points that wouldn’t fit within the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Sharon Carter wasn’t introduced until this movie, so Black Widow is part of Cap’s team) and some of the more fantastic or mystical elements (sorry, no Cosmic Cube, this version is more grounded).

Again, the main points are there. Cap’s team investigate the mysterious Winter Soldier, who turns out to be Cap’s former sidekick Bucky. At the end, Bucky sneaks away to find himself. The few deviations make sense and don’t detract from the movie capturing the characters and the feel of the comics.

ScottPilgrimVsTheWorldMovie.jpg

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

Some source material was cut or condensed to fit a two-hour runtime, but Scott Pilgrim vs. The World captures the original story perfectly. Over-the-top video game battles? Check. A frenetic pace? Check. Extremely expressive characters? Have you seen Michael Cera’s face? He may have eyes as large as the title character in the manga. The supporting characters are equally over-the-top and animated—but in the best possible way.

Edgar Wright did a fantastic job translating the Canadian manga into a cult classic. Unfortunately, cult classic means that it didn’t do as well as it should have in theaters.

Least Faithful Comic Book or Manga Movies (so far)

CatwomanMovie

Catwoman (2004)

Catwoman. Ugh, Catwoman! It’s so different from the source material that I wouldn’t be surprised if a film distributor other than Warner Brothers released this one. The anti-hero’s moniker and character appearance (sort of) are the only commonalities between the two entities.

Patience Philips is Catwoman’s real name instead of Selina Kyle. Patience drowns and comes back to life with the help of a magical cat instead of being a world-class cat burglar. There’s an Egyptian goddess Bastet angle that’s just awful. Who wrote this? How could the actors read the script and think this would be a good movie? Who allowed this to exist?

TheSpiritMovie

The Spirit (2008)

The Spirit comic may have had some issues with Ebony White (it’s a product of its age), but the story is a great blend of crime and humor with strong characterization. I like how Will Eisner portrayed The Spirit as an everyman. It made him relatable and accessible.

The movie strips the characters of their personality and clothes. Comic book fans have known for years that Frank Miller (the movie’s director) doesn’t have the most enlightened opinion of women, and it shows here. I would say that 2008’s The Spirit should only be aired on Skinamax, but soft-core porn has more story and does more with their characters. Also, The Spirit can heal like Wolverine, so that everyman quality is lost.

DeathNoteNetflix.jpg

Death Note (2017)

Fans didn’t like the announcement that Netflix would release a live action Death Note and set it in the United States. While I agree that changing the setting and other cosmetic alterations damaged the movie, Death Note’s biggest sin is that the characters are dumb. It’s not that they’re dumb as in they make little sense or have limited characterization, which they do make little sense and have limited characterization, but the main characters have a collected IQ of 30. That’s not ideal for a series that’s main draw is that it plays out like a high-stakes Chess match.

Instead of schemes becoming more complex throughout the movie, they get dumb and dumber and dumberer and dumberest. This movie is so stupid that I’m making up words.

Awesome Animated Comic Book Movies

AllStarSupermanMovie

All-Star Superman (2011)

It helps when the source material is excellent, but 2011’s All-Star Superman is amazing. It captures the essence of the character in a way other Superman films haven’t been able to. It shows what Superman would do if he knew he didn’t have much time left on this planet. He continues to protect the Earth and his loved ones because that’s who he is. There’s even a great Lex Luthor character moment when he sees the world as Superman does, ever the optimist. All-Star Superman is a must watch.

BatmanUnderTheRedHood

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

Batman: Under the Red Hood was released early in DC’s animated line, but it may be the best animated Batman film ever. Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) is Jason Todd and he may own the role for some time to come. Bruce Greenwood’s Dark Knight and John DiMaggio’s Joker are almost as good as Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, and that’s saying a lot.

This film explores the complex relationship Batman has with killing and with the Robins who have joined him in his crusade. Yes. Under the Red Hood has the prerequisite action and crime fighting, but it’s a surprisingly deep movie.

BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

I could’ve gone with a lot of other DC animated films with this final move—DC Animated movies are far better than most Marvel ones, they’re the inverse of the live action films—but I had to go with one of the first Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. To me, Kevin Conroy is Batman. Mark Hamill has given one of the most memorable performances as The Joker. There’s a reason the pair have been playing these characters for over two decades.

The original characters in this film are well done too, and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm holds the distinction of being the first Batman: The Animated Series film. Any Batman newbie should watch at least the first season of Batman: The Animated Series, followed by Mask of the Phantasm.

I can only list 9 movies in this 3 lists of 3, so I’m sure some readers will differ in their opinions. Turn on the Geek Signal and I may come running if you leave within a fifty-mile radius or leave a comment.