Cover Art Revealed For THE ATOMIC VICTORY SQUAD #5

The Atomic Victory Squad #5

One of our absolute favourite comic book titles of the past several years is The Atomic Victory Squad.

From WolfCop creator Lowell Dean, AVS has proven to be a phenomenal read for its four-issue run so far – and now there’s the cover reveal for the fifth and final issue of this run for Dean’s ragtag team.

The Atomic Victory Squad #5

A thing of beauty from artist Javier Martin Caba, right?

The official press release on The Atomic Victory Squad #5 reads:

The Atomic Victory Squad returns for a fifth supersized issue! The origin story concludes with big reveals, friends becoming foes, an epic battle… and DEATH. With their archenemy finally revealed, can these oddball superheroes finally pull it together, put aside their differences and work as a team? Or will evil tear them apart? And what about Triangle Master, will he finally serve some kind of purpose? ANY purpose? 

Those answers – and much, much more – in chapter five of The Atomic Victory Squad, from the same creative team behind the first four issues.

To pre-order AVS#5, head to IndieGogo. And for those looking to catch up on the previous four-issue antics of this tale, be sure to take a trip to ComiXology.

All four issues of The Atomic Victory Squad have been great so far, but given how AVS#4 was the best of the bunch, anticipation is certainly high as to what Dean, Caba and Co. can bring to the table to give this fascinating team a fitting send-off.

Well, at least for now, for here’s hoping Invincibull, She-Girl, Bubble Myers, Zoozanna, Gary the Mine, and Triangle Master get to partake in further adventures once this five-issue run draws to a close.

New Details Drop on DEADPOOL 3!

In perhaps a surprisingly timed bit of news, Marvel main man, Kevin Feige, has confirmed what all Merc With a Mouth fans dared not believe; Deadpool 3 is coming to the MCU and will be the first R rated (or rated 15 in the UK) Marvel movie to be considered canon.

“It will be rated R and we are working on a script right now, and Ryan’s overseeing a script right now,” Feige said recently in an interview with Collider. “It will not be filming this year. Ryan is a very busy, very successful actor. We’ve got a number of things we’ve already announced that we now have to make, but it’s exciting for it to have begun. Again, a very different type of character in the MCU, and Ryan is a force of nature, which is just awesome to see him bring that character to life.”

Now, beyond these basic facts, any further information is purely up for rumour and conjecture.

Will Ryan Reynolds’ portrayal of Wade Wilson make his debut in a Phase 4 film? After all, both the Spider-Man threequel and Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness have potential opportunities for Deadpool to pop his head around the door.

Will previous characters from the first two films created under the FOX banner be joining the further adventures of the paid psychopath with no inner monologue? No one knows just yet.

It can probably be assumed that when the film comes to Disney’s streaming platform, it will enter under the Star section, which releases in February 2021 as a way for Disney to showcase the FOX properties that can’t be seen next to the Princesses and mice.

All we do know is that Reynolds will be donning the red and black suit again and that the film won’t begin production until 2022 at the earliest due to the fact that everyone’s favourite Canuck is kinda busy at the moment.

Captain America will be turning in his old people’s home bed when he hears the language coming out of his mouth.

We can also confirm that the Deadpool fandom will all be touching themselves tonight.

Andy Samberg Sci-Fi from BOJACK HORSEMAN Creator Picked up by Apple TV+

andy samberg

Andy Samberg, Andy Siara, Noah Hawley, and Ben Stiller are teaming up for a new, Apple TV+ sci-fi comedy-drama. Details of the untitled project remain under wraps, but we do know that it is based on an original idea from BoJack Horseman creator and author Raphael Bob-Waksberg.

Samberg and Siara have previously collaborated on time-travel romantic comedy Palm Springs, which is receiving significant awards buzz and recently topped the Critics Choice Super Awards. The movie’s success undoubtedly cemented Apple Studios’ interest in this new project, having finalised the deal this weekend. Stiller will produce alongside Nicky Weinstock, Dan Seligmann, and Noah Hawley – the latter of which has written and produced critically-acclaimed projects including Fargo and Legion. We may not know much yet but, with the talent attached, consider our curiosity spiked.

MCU Welcomes DEADPOOL 3 In All Its R-Rated Glory

deadpool 3 mcu

2021 may be off to a rocky start, but Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige comes bearing good news with a promising update on everyone’s favourite anti-superhero, Deadpool. More specifically Deadpool 3, which will see Ryan Reynolds reprise his role as the wisecracking, near-indestructible mutant mercenary.

Feige confirmed that Deadpool will finally be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as part of Phase Five and keeping his R-rating! This decision makes Deadpool 3 the first R-rated title of the MCU, which undoubtedly comes as a relief to fans were concerned that the foul-mouthed killer would be neutered by Disney’s acquisition of Fox.

Feige also said that sisters Lizzie Molyneux-Leoglin and Wendy Molyneux, best known for their work on Bob’s Burgers, were currently hard at work on the script. Though filming won’t begin until 2022 at the earliest, all signs point to another gory, curse-laden, and hilarious outing for Reynolds’ suited protagonist.

Beyond the Deadpool sequel, this decision to introduce an R-rated film into the MCU also sets an interesting precedent for upcoming MCU properties, including the possibility of an R-rated Blade starring Mahershala Ali.

 

Candlekeep Mysteries Announced for Dungeons and Dragons 5e

candlekeep-mysteries

Wizards of the Coast have officially announced the latest addition to their range of books for Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons, the world’s most popular roleplaying game. The new book with be called Candlekeep Mysteries.

The book will be bring together seventeen mystery themed adventures. The vast city-library of Candlekeep will form the background for the anthology,  with each mystery centered around one of the many weird books that can found in the famous fortress.

In addition to a whole load of new stories and adventures, we’ll also get some more information on Candlekeep itself. After all, a library is a great place to start an adventure and the bigger the library, the greater the opportunity.

The book will be out March 16 with a cover by Clint Cearley. There will be an alternate cover by Simen Meyer, which looks appropiately stunning and wll only be available in games stores.

Short adventures are great, especially as short pick-up games are becoming increasingly more popular as more and more gamers use services like Zoom and DNDBeyond. They’re also great to pop into established games, especially on those days when you’re missing a player or two.  These short adventures are also being used as a way to showcase both new and established talent in the industry. The list of contributors includes: Graeme Barber, Kelly Lynne D’Angelo, Alison Huang , Mark Hulmes, Jennifer Kretchmer, Daniel Kwan, Adam Lee, Ari Levitch, Chris Lindsay, Sarah Madsen, Christopher Perkins, Michael Polkinghorn , Taymoor Rehman, Hannah Rose, Derek Ruiz,Kienna Shaw,Brandes Stoddard,Amy Vorpahl,Toni Winslow-Brill.

It all looks like brilliant fun, keep your eyes on this website for a review when we can get our hands on the book.

 

UMBRELLA ACADEMY Casts Season 3’s Sparrows, Including a Telekinetic Cube

umbrella academy sparrows

Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy will begin production on season 3 next month, with cast members including Elliot Page, Tom Hooper, Robert Sheehan, and Aidan Gallagher all returning. The last moments of season 2 saw the Hargreeves siblings returned to the present day after preventing (yet another) apocalypse in the 1960s. However, it soon becomes clear that their adventures in the past – creating a sex cult, participating in the civil rights movement, and attempting to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, to name but a few – have once again disrupted their timeline.

And so, the Hargreeves siblings return to their present only to find that the Umbrella Academy never was. In its stead, they discover the Sparrow Academy, complete with its own set of gifted students; the only familiar face is their formerly dead sibling Ben’s (Justin H. Min), now sporting a facial scar, scene kid hair, and a mean attitude. Since the second season’s release in July of last year, fans have been left to speculate about the identities of the Sparrow Academy members.

But rejoice, for Netflix has now announced that the Sparrows have officially been cast! Joining Min and the original cast in The Umbrella Academy season 3 will be Justin Cornwell, Britne Oldford, Jake Epstein, Genesis Rodriguez, Cazzie David, as well as… a cube called Christopher. Here’s everything we know:

sparrow academy cast umbrella academy netflix

Justin Cornwell will play Marcus, a.k.a. Sparrow #1. A “charming, chiselled, colossus… as smart as he is strong. Marcus is disciplined, rational and in control.”

Britne Oldford, who you may recognise from The Flash, will play Fei a.k.a. Sparrow #3, “the smartest person in the room and willing to work things out”, despite also coming across “as a misanthrope”.

Jake Epstein is Alphonso, a.k.a. Sparrow #4. The announcement teases that “years of crime fighting have left his face and body with countless visual reminders of his battles. To compensate, Alphonso is armed with a caustic and biting sense of humour.”

Genesis Rodriguez is Sparrow #5, named Sloane, “a dreamer who feels a higher cosmic calling leaving her eager to see the world and experience a life beyond her upbringing.”

Cazzie David will play Jayme, Sparrow #6, “a loner hidden under a hoodie” with a “fear-inducing snarl”.

And lastly, season 3 will introduce newcomer Existential Dread Inducing Psykronium Cube as Sparrow #7, a.k.a. Christopher, a.k.a. that floating Tesseract-looking cube glimpsed briefly in the previous season finale. A “telekinetic cube of unknown origin” which serves as the Academy’s oracle, “can turn the room freezing cold and induce paralysing fear”, and “who hands out incredible advice and serves as the family mediator”.

No word yet on when to expect The Umbrella Academy season 3, so stay tuned.

First Images Released for Indie Film SENSELESS

images senseless

The lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has inspired independent filmmakers to think outside the box and carry on their work. Director Sam Mason Bell (Toxic Schlock, Home Videos) has done just that with his upcoming film Senseless, co-produced with The Trash Arts, HB Films, and Guerilla Girl Productions. We have the first images from the film below.

From the press release:

With a specially chosen cast and crew, using individuals from the same households where possible, the plan is to start to shoot Senseless was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film tells the story of when Jason (Ryan Carter) storms out on his wife, Diane (Ella Palmer), one summer’s night, he seeks refuge in a nearby forest. Little does he know the forest is plagued with lost souls manifesting in his darkest desires and innermost fears. Lost and tormented in the forest, will Jason find his way home?

Sam Mason Bell and Jackson Batchelor are the creators of this very different, very arthouse, horror film and will be supporting cast as well Director and Cinematographer respectively. Assisted by Abbie Hills, Jack White, and Katie Johnson, the film will involve plenty of CGI visual effects as well as abundant gore and practical effects make-up.

Director Sam Mason Bell had the following to say about the film – “I feel very lucky to have been able to make Senseless, not only during a lockdown but with the support of everyone who helped our Indiegogo. It was a tough as hell challenge, shooting during nights mostly in the summer of 2020, with a crew of 4. But I am very proud of this surreal nightmare of a horror, which we are now in post-production on!”

Check out the first images below. Senseless will be released soon.

STAR WARS Movie From Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige Moving Forward…

On December 10th, Disney unveiled their grand plans for the future of Star Wars, providing details on four new live-action shows, three new animated projects, and two new theatrical releases. Just a week later and the finale of their mega-hit The Mandalorian also went on to audaciously add a third live-action show to that roster – The Book of Boba Fett. While this line-up was undoubtedly most impressive, conspicuous by their absence were two Star Wars projects that had been heavily teased over the last couple of years – namely the Rian Johnson trilogy and the movie being shepherded by Marvel Cinematic Universe head honcho and baseball cap connoisseur Kevin Feige. While the silence on the former will come as no real surprise to those who’ve been following the nuclear fallout caused by Johnson’s The Last Jedi, with half of Star Wars fandom idolising the entry and the other half wanting it struck from canon, the lack of Feige mention led most to believe that too had been put on the backburner. Happily, recent news suggests that this is not the case…

As per Hollywood trade Variety, Emmy-winning Rick and Morty veteran Michael Waldron has been revealed as the chosen screenwriter who will be penning the secret film for Feige, having worked with the Marvel Studios bossman on several upcoming MCU projects. First up from Waldron will be Loki, the eagerly-awaited Disney+ series due in May that will see Tom Hiddleston return as the God of Mischief as he’s recruited by a mysterious group and sent on a series of adventures through time. Following that will be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for director Sam Raimi, which is scheduled to arrive in cinemas sometime in 2022.

Michael Waldron

When it comes to details on Waldron’s Star Wars story, we’re bang out of luck outside of Feige’s original promise that it would “explore new people and new places in the universe”. But at least we now know that it’s still very much on the way, just in case The Mandalorian Season 3, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, The Bad Batch, Visions, Rogue Squadron, A Droid Story, Lando, Rangers of the New Republic, and Untitled Taika Waititi Film wasn’t quite enough to satiate your Star Wars fix!

Now if we could just get an update on the Johnson trilogy, we can rest easy. (Read that how you will.)

More as it develops…

For full details on those future STAR WARS projects, head HERE. For everything we know about the AHSOKA TV show, click HERE.

First Look at Zack Snyder’s Zombie Film for Netflix

The first images from Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead have been released. The film, described as a zombie heist movie is a Netflix original and will be heading to the streaming service later this year.

Synopsis: Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.

Army of the Dead is written by Zack Snyder, Shay Hatten, and Joby Harold from a story by director Snyder. The cast includes Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, and Ana De La Reguera.

ARMY OF THE DEAD (L to R) DAVE BAUTISTA as SCOTT WARD, ELLA PURNELL as KATE WARD in ARMY OF THE DEAD. Cr. CLAY ENOS/NETFLIX © 2021

ARMY OF THE DEAD (L to R) DAVE BAUTISTA as SCOTT WARD, OMARI HARDWICK as VANDEROHE, TIG NOTARO as PETERS, SAMANTHA WIN as CHAMBERS, COLIN JONES as DAMON, MATTHIAS SCHWEIGH…FER as DIETER, RAôL CASTILLO as MICKEY GUZMAN, ANA DE LA REGUERA as CRUZ in ARMY OF THE DEAD. Cr. CLAY ENOS/NETFLIX © 2021

ARMY OF THE DEAD (L to R) ZACK SNYDER (DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, WRITER) in ARMY OF THE DEAD. Cr. CLAY ENOS/NETFLIX © 2021

DOCTOR WHO – All We Know About Series 13

Doctor Who John Bishop

With the latest special episode, Revolution of the Daleks, having aired on New Year’s Day, Doctor Who fans now look forward to the next full series, the thirteenth run of episodes since the show returned in 2005. Here’s what we know so far…

Returning cast and showrunner

Series 13 will be the third series with Chris Chibnall in charge of the writing team, which means we’ll likely see a continuation of his ‘Timeless Child’ arc, about the Doctor’s previously unknown early lives. And, though Revolution of the Daleks saw Graham and Ryan leave the TARDIS fam, Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor and Mandip Gill’s Yaz will both be returning. But they won’t be alone…

John Bishop joins the cast

As we saw in a post-credits teaser after the New Year’s special, comedian John Bishop is joining the Doctor Who cast. His character is a modern-day Liverpudlian chap called Dan, and was, according to Chibnall, created with Bishop in mind. Bishop has been filming with the Who crew since production began on Series 13, so it’s fair to assume that he’ll be present throughout the series.

Is Jodie Whittaker leaving?

We don’t know. Sorry, that doesn’t fit with this article’s main headline, but… we don’t. The rumour has been doing the rounds, since a UK tabloid reported the scoop a couple of days ago, that Series 13 will be Jodie Whittaker’s last. Despite this triggering rampant fan speculation about who’ll be next in line to pilot the TARDIS, the BBC have refused to comment on the news.

How many episodes?

Series 13 will consist of eight episodes. This is fewer than the previous two series, which each filmed in blocks of eleven episodes (a main series of ten plus a festive special), but you can’t argue with the reasoning – the production has put increased safety protocols in place to protect cast and crew from COVID-19, which has slowed down filming. Frankly, it’s impressive they’re able to film at all. We don’t know whether or not this eight includes another festive special.

When will it air?

Filming began in November 2020 and is expected to take ten months, so don’t get your hopes up to be seeing Doctor Who anytime in the spring. However, the BBC have assured us that we will see Series 13 in 2021, so an autumn broadcast seems most likely.