TV

Marvel's upcoming expansion of their movieverse into the realm of TV with organization, S.H.I.E.L.D. has just been given an official title and logo. Previously referred to simply as "S.H.I.E.L.D.," network, ABC just made official on its media website that the show will be titled: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. -- On top of that, there is news of the addition of another cast member who may be familiar to longtime fans of The Avengers mastermind and director of the pilot episode, Joss Whedon.

The amended title is clearly an attempt to differentiate itself from the 2002-2008 police drama, The Shield starring Michael Chiklis. While the kind of viewers who would actually be confused by such a thing would probably not be tuning in, it does serve to put the distinguished Marvel stamp on the series. However, the move is hardly unprecedented and even the show's setup film in last year's superhero dream team extravaganza, The Avengers actually carries the official (though rarely acknowledged) title of Marvel's The Avengers, so as to avoid confusing people who might mistake a blockbuster film about superheroes fighting off a rogue Norse God and armies of aliens with a British spy show from the 1960's and its 1998 remake movie. Thus, in all likelihood, you, me, and everyone else will probably just end up referring to the show as "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." sans the Marvel marking.

While it doesn't look like we'll be getting substantive details anytime soon, ABC did release a new synopsis for the show. Check it out below, as well as news about another addition to the cast!

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The upcoming live action reboot revival of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has a new cast member. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the half-shelled heroes' big screen return has cast comedic star, Will Arnett.

While the identity of Arnett's character is momentarily being kept a secret, the report shoots down the obvious choice for prominent male characters by indicating that he will NOT play the sporting-goods-swinging vigilante of the TMNT mythos, Casey Jones. Regardless, Arnett joins a cast of motion-captured Turtles who will accompany Megan Fox, who presumably takes the lead role as signature damsel, April O'Neil.

At this point, Arnett's role is anyone's guess. With all four Turtles already cast in Leonardo (Pete Ploszek), Raphael (Alan Ritchson), Michelangelo (Noel Fisher), and Donatello (Jeremy Howard), the other notable vacancies for known male characters (human or mutant) are for the foursome's sensei and mentor in the human rat, Splinter, the villain who fancies razor-sharp fashion, The Shredder, and sinister scientist, Baxter Stockman. None of those seem to be a realistic fit for the Up All Night and Arrested Development star, Arnett, which might indicate that the role is completely original to this film's storyline. (Which will apparently depict the Turtles as aliens of some kind.)

The role will nevertheless put Arnett in the midst of what may possibly be his biggest film, yet with this major $125 million project produced by the auteur of explosions, Michael Bay and directed by Jonathan Liebesman.

Ninja Turtles (as the reboot project is currently known) attempts grandiose sleight-of-hand tricks while playing Europe's "The Final Countdown" when it hits theaters on June 6, 2014.

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Next year's return of the Transformers film franchise may be the next film to make content adjustments to court production partnerships in China. It is being reported that Transformers 4 (title not yet confirmed) will work with China-based movie channel, Jiaflix Enterprises in an agreement that will open access to the quickly-expanding film market in the population-brimming nation. -- Not only that, but the robot rampage romp will consequently also do some filming in the red nation, as well.

The news comes just days after the announcement that Iron Man 3, in partnering with Chinese company DMG Entertainment, will actually go so far as to release a different cut of the film for Chinese audiences approved by the notoriously political-censorship-happy State containing new scenes and actors exclusive to their release. While no details have been revealed on what, if anything, will be altered for Transformers 4, it does seem that similar concessions would be made for the Chinese release, considering that Jiaflix Enterprises is an arm of the Administration of Radio Film and Television, controlled by the Chinese government.

At the moment, all that is known is that director, Michael Bay will be aided by the company towards pursuits like:

"Selection of filming sites within China, theatrical promotion, and possible post-production activities in China as well as casting of Chinese actors and actresses in the film."

With Mark Wahlberg stepping in as the main protagonist, along with a set of younger supporting cast members in Jack Reynor and Nicola Peltz, it will not only be interesting to see how the the film adjusts to the post-Shia LaBeouf era, but how the franchise known just as much for its unadulterated product placement as it is for giant robots will manifest with its new Chinese mandate.

Transformers 4 introduces a giant robot Chairman Mao that transforms into...a chair when it hits theaters (here in 'Murica, dammit!) on June 27, 2014.

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It is being reported that after the successful weekend of its sophomore effort that the G.I. Joe film franchise will continue soldiering on with a third film.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation certainly did make the most of this past Easter weekend earning $132 million worldwide, outdoing the global opening of the 2009 first film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra by 35%. In the U.S., it would also deliver the second-best performance of that holiday weekend with $41.2 million (only behind the $61.2 million in 2010's Clash of the Titans). Overall, Retaliation looks to be well on track to outdo the $303 million global take of its predecessor.

Whether it was the continually-growing box-office clout of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the presence of Bruce Willis, Adrianne Palicki's Lady Jaye looking ravishing in that red dress, or just the strength of the franchise itself, the movie managed to find an audience. It's especially impressive considering how fans and insiders had already written the film off as a disaster just waiting to happen. It not only managed to overcome the stigma of a year-long delay for a questionable 3D conversion, but it did so while going into the fray with a director completely new to the action/comic-book/fanboy-centric genre of films in Jon Chu. Indeed, there were many gambles on this film that ultimately paid off in a huge way.

No details have been given about the "whens" or the "whats" (other than the fact it will be in 3D), but there is certainly a wealth of material in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero classic comic book, cartoon, and toy canon from which to draw for a third film. While this film series does not exactly adhere closely to the classics, it could potentially use classic concepts such as: A vengeance-seeking Destro forming his own faction in the Iron Grenadiers. The unruly and destructive biker gang, The Dreadnoks. The eccentrically-evil Crimson Twins, Tomax and Xamot, who like to finish each others' sentences. Or, maybe even Cobra Emperor, Serpentor; a tyrant cloned from a milkshake of DNA taken from the worst despots in the world's history. -- The possibilities are endless.

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We've known for quite some time that this summer's Superman reboot, Man of Steel would focus on star, Henry Cavill's antagonistic tanglings with Michael Shannon's escaped Kryptonian war criminal, General Zod. However, after a choice revelation from actor, Mackenzie Gray, a rumor has now been ignited concerning the character considered Superman's most iconic rival, Lex Luthor.

Fans of the long-running Superman TV series, Smallville may recall that Gray played a cloned version of Supes' follicularly-challenged foe in a 2010 episode of the show. (Whose real version was played by fan fave, Michael Rosenbaum.) It was a brief, but memorable appearance, which seemed especially relevant to a recent interview in which Gray confirms that he has a role in the upcoming Man of Steel movie; a fact that he would also reiterate that he had permission to reveal as long as he omitted any details.

However, a small tidbit of those details may have emerged from the sleuths over at Aint It Cool News, whose anonymous insider close to the film disclosed that the still-unnamed role by Gray will be "substantial." Thus, Gray, who already possess a passing connection to Lex Luthor, has become the center of the latest round of rumors speculating that the avaricious, evil industrialist will, in fact, be in the film. If true, then Gray would be joining Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey in the prestigious club of actors who have played Luthor on the big screen.

Check out the interview in which Gray confirms his Man of Steel role just below!

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It looks as if the new big screen version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have their titular team assembled. Duel katana-cutter and all-around good Samaritan, Leonardo will be played Pete Ploszek, nunchucking Jeff Spicoli-speaking "party dude," Michelangelo will be played by Noel Fisher, and the tech-savvy bo-staff-swinger, Donatello will be played by Jeremy Howard. 

This rounding out of primary protagonists for the live-action reboot comes just a few days after the announcement that Blue Mountain State and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire star, Alan Ritchson would be playing the sai-sporting wiseguy of the group, Raphael. Now, "the world's most fearsome fighting team" are ready to tackle whatever villainous forces that creative minds like producer, Michael Bay and director, Jonathan Liebesman have on deck. -- Even if they're planning to make the foursome into aliens for this movie.

Pete Ploszek, who plays team leader, Leonardo, will, ironically enough, be coming in with the slimmest resume of the bunch, with one-time appearances on Parks and Recreation and Shameless being his only major roles. On the other hand, Noel Fisher, who plays the capricious and sometimes naive Michelangelo is a face that will likely be recognized by most people for something from his vast resume of TV appearances (he also had a run on Shameless), as well as his recent film roles on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2 and in director, Liebesman's Battle Los Angeles. Jeremy Howard playing the geeky reptilian, Donatello may also trigger some recognition from his various "nerdy" roles like in college romp, Accepted, on TV with Breaking Bad, and as one of Justin Long's quasi-Trekkie buddies in the cult classic, Galaxy Quest.

Now, this trio, along with Alan Ritchson, join the newly-reconciled princess of the Michael Bay universe, Megan Fox for this ambitious and highly-touted tent-pole project, which has apparently nabbed a $125 million budget commitment.

Ninja Turtles (title not yet confirmed) picks out the tightest banana-yellow jumpsuits for Megan Fox to wear as April O'Neil when it hits theaters on June 6, 2014.

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The upcoming Michael Bay-produced live-action reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has cast the first of its famous foursome. According to Deadline, actor, Alan Ritchson will jump on board this proverbial Party Wagon of a production as the sai-stabbing, wise-cracking red-bandana-rocking Ninja Turtle, Raphael.

Seen in sporadic episodes of Smallville, Ritchson is probably best known for his starring role in Spike TV's college football romp comedy series, Blue Mountain State. However, another claim to fame may soon come when he stars as lethal reaping alum, Gloss in this fall's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Yet, as far as the importance of characters go, this role in the TMNT reboot could actually be the one that becomes career-altering.

While this opportunity to play Raphael, the Turtle who's "cool, but rude" (gimme a break!) will likely confine Ritchson to a studio for motion-capture work in front of a blue screen, it nevertheless yields plenty of room to bust out some acting chops. This is especially important, considering that Thad Castle, the over-the-top, hazing-obsessed, dim-witted college football star he played in Blue Mountain State remains his most prominent role. With Raphael, he gets to work with arguably the deepest, most emotionally-complex of the reptilian foursome (who, according to Bay, may be aliens this time around) and there's plenty of room for a memorable performance. (Which, I assume Bay and director, Jonathan Liebesman must believe he can provide.)

As of now, Ritchson joins the first confirmed cast member, Megan Fox, who presumably plays signature damsel, April O'Neil for this $125 million tent-pole that will be supported by the current Nickelodeon animated series and a vast rebooted line of toys and nicknacks.

Ninja Turtles (title not yet confirmed) will do its best to revive "cowabunga" as a cool catch phrase when it hits theaters on its newly-assigned release date of June 6, 2014.

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Remember those plot details that popped up about the upcoming fourth Transformers movie? Well, it turns out that Paramount went into damage control mode quickly afterwards, essentially shooting down the whole thing by labeling it "inaccurate."

The vague plot synopsis in question reported by The Michigan Film Office depicted a story in which mankind's tinkering with remnants of Transformer technology unleashes a new uncontrollable power:

"As humanity picks up the pieces, following the conclusion of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Autobots and Decepticons have all but vanished from the face of the planet. However, a group of powerful, ingenious businessman and scientists attempt to learn from past Transformer incursions and push the boundaries of technology beyond what they can control – all while an ancient, powerful Transformer menace sets Earth in his crosshairs. The epic adventure and battle between good and evil, freedom and enslavement ensues."

While not carrying any official seals, the story certainly seemed plausible, given the fact that the source would seemingly have contact with the producers. Also, it has been known for some time that director, Michael Bay has been looking for a game-changing reinvention of the franchise. That plot would have provided one; especially since it falls in line with known Transformers storylines such as the existence of Primus and Unicron, robot deities who exist as the living centers of planets, in this case, Primus within Transformers home planet, Cybertron and Unicron within our own Earth.

Nevertheless, Paramount sent out its army of lawyers (giant robot lawyers who transform into briefcases) to the far reaches of the blogosphere to make sure this story effectively went away. In fact, even the original article itself is now conspicuously missing the paragraph containing the apparently-ersatz explication.

So, what could this mean? Well, it could be the case that this was such an egregious breach of top secret material that "The Big P" has resorted to posturing. Or...well, that it's just not true. And that's fine, I suppose. Hey, some may argue that when it comes to Transformers movies, plots are like green garnishes laying on the side of the plate next to the main course of a marbled, tender, juicy piece of "giant robots blowing s**t up."

We'll still get that main course when Transformers 4 (title not yet revealed) hits theaters on June 27, 2014.

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Star Trek Into Darkness has released its latest trailer in the form of multiple international versions that give us a much closer look at the film...and, as a gift to pic hoarders across the Internet, Alice Eve's Carol Marcus modeling her space lingerie.

The differences between the six trailer variants are subtle, at best, with only milliseconds of scenes distinguishing each one. With that said, this new spot manages to give us a more solid contextual grasp of the film's events, all while still practicing the signature sleight-of-hand approach of navigating around the essential questions that fans still carry; a practice that the hype machine for this film has been doing to the point of an art form.

First and foremost, we get a look at Peter Weller (known as RoboCop to most and also as Buckaroo Banzai to film geeks) in his role as Admiral Marcus, the father of Carol, our space lingerie-sporting doctor-type lady who, if destiny holds, will be the baby mama to Chris Pine's James Kirk and develop Project Genesis. (Not to be confused with the one that launched with Altered Beast.) Unfortunately, this awkward moment between a father and his daughter's would-be suitor gets interrupted by Benedict Cumberbatch's John Harrison, a terrorist with a mysterious cause who the elder Marcus describes as formerly being one of Starfleet's "top agents." Yet, as the trailer's dialogue with Harrison indicates, the belligerent bomber's reasons might be rooted in a righteous cause (at least to him) when he says that "your commanders have committed a crime I cannot forgive." (Hey, man, Firefly was cancelled 10 years ago. Get over it, already.)

Enough talk. The action is awesome, the visuals are...visual, and speaking of shows cancelled by the Fox network, director, J.J. Abrams gets to finally close the book on his project in the ill-fated Alcatraz...by having a San Francisco-bound crashing Starfleet ship wreck The Rock! Check out the trailer, as well as a new Easter Egg-accessible poster below. -- NOW!

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Some light has been shed on the plot of the mysterious fourth entry in the Transformers film franchise. A press release from The Michigan Film Office lauds the economic benefits of the production's impending arrival in metro Detroit to shoot backdrop scenes. (Enticed by juicy tax incentives.) However, it also manages to include some details on the movie's plot. It's quite a coup, considering that up to this point, virtually nothing was known.

While director and auteur of explosions, Michael Bay will again settle into the ass-groove indentation of his director's chair, the franchise's previous star, Shia LaBeouf will be stepping away, making room for perennial leading man, Mark Wahlberg, who just recently stepped in front of the camera for the director in the upcoming film, Pain & Gain. Now, it seems that Wahlberg's protagonist character may be dealing with a new breed of malevolent metamorphic mechs in this franchise refresh. According the description:

"As humanity picks up the pieces, following the conclusion of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Autobots and Decepticons have all but vanished from the face of the planet. However, a group of powerful, ingenious businessman and scientists attempt to learn from past Transformer incursions and push the boundaries of technology beyond what they can control – all while an ancient, powerful Transformer menace sets Earth in his crosshairs. The epic adventure and battle between good and evil, freedom and enslavement ensues."

Interestingly enough, as the Jurassic Park franchise readies its own long-awaited return and reinvention, it seems that this series will get a similar injection of man-made folly. It could possibly see the debut of new human-hatched hybrid Transformers that would represent a real game-changer. At this point, the details are anyone's guess, but personally, I see this movie delving deeper into the 80's toy series mythos with things like Dinobots and Insecticons.

While Bay's Transformers franchise may have its share of "haters," the undeniable fact is that the first three films were an amazing cash-cow for Paramount, giving them a whopping $2.67 billion dollar worldwide take. They certainly seem to bring something to the table that has moviegoers of all the right demographics flocking to theaters to see them.

Transformers 4 (title not yet revealed) helps the Autobots fight a new evil with a Boston accent and "good vibrations" at theaters on June 27, 2014.

UPDATE: Paramount quickly deemed the report "inaccurate."

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A new trailer has hit for the upcoming seventh season/series of the BBC's Doctor Who.

When we last left the good Doctor in the Christmas special, "The Snowmen," he learned that his previous chance encounter with a helpful, sexy-voiced Dalek in denial, would only be the first time his path would cross with the person he now refers to as "The Impossible Girl." Indeed, it seems that throughout time and space, this bold beauty manages to show up in some form or another in The Doctor's destinations and it's absolutely vexing him as to how or why?

The preview shows some of the adventures in store for Matt Smith's return as Gallifrey's galactic-globetrotter and Clara Oswin (Jenna-Louise Coleman), his new comely companion with a propensity for dying and mysteriously resurfacing. The action, as expected, appears intense and chock full of goodies like mace-wielding Cybermen, demonic top-hatted hellions, fiery explosions, and a creepy forest that even has The Doctor himself spooked like Shaggy. (Has this new adventure exposed an innate fear of trees?)

The moment is close at hand, Whovians! It's finally time to change your Amy Pond desktop wallpaper and pour a cold one on the ground for Rory Williams. Their fates have been sealed and we're moving on to a new set of adventures with another fate-driven companion with a ton of bizarre baggage that could carry universe-imploding implications. -- Although, she is kind of hot so...whatever.

Doctor Who re-materializes his TARDIS on BBC and BBC America on March 30. Check out the trailer below!

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Defiance, SyFy’s upcoming science fiction TV series that’s intertwined with an MMO video game of the same name, premieres Monday April 15th at 9/8c. We’ve talked almost exclusively about the game but today we snuck a look at the making of the TV show.

In the clip below, series leads Grant Bowler and Stephanie Leonidas discuss the relationship between their characters, Nolan and Irisa, which is central to the show. On a war ravaged future Earth, rough around the edges human outsider Nolan takes knife wielding alien Irisa under his wing. Nolan serves as a de facto father for Irisa and the unlikely pair tries to survive in the town of Defiance.

Check out Making of Defiance Chapter 6: Nolan and Irisa:

What’d you think? I’m definitely ready to check out this show (and the game). Are you?

Robot Combat League, SyFy’s killer new Tuesday night (10/9c) competition show where human controlled robots battle for dominance, features a special guest on tonight's episode who’s very familiar with robots: George Lucas! George’s daughter Amanda is part of the crew that controls a devastating robot called Robo Hammer and George drops by to offer some coaching tips.

Check out the clip below:

To learn more about SyFy’s Robot Combat League check out their official website. Have you seen this show yet? What do you think?

It appears that the long-running animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has seen its last space skirmish...at least on Cartoon Network. After 5 seasons, it has been announced that the show's recent season finale episode would ultimately prove to be its final one as a series. However, there is hope for fans wishing for a proper wrap.

The fate of the highly-touted series was in question after Disney's takeover of the Lucasfilm property last fall, however, speculation seemed to point to the series living on by way of a move to Disney's more genre-oriented kid's channel, Disney XD. Nevertheless, it appears that the franchise's complete refurbishment, gearing-up for the sequel films means that the venerable series, which launched with a theatrically-released movie in 2008, going on to produce over 100 episodes, would come to an end. Additionally, a Star Wars-based comedy series by Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, and Todd Grimes called Star Wars: Detours, which previewed last year at Celebration VI, has been indefinitely postponed, due to consideration for the launch of the sequel films.

The official announcement would come by way of a video featuring the show's supervising director, Dave Filoni delivering the fateful dictation for the show's demise as a serial on Cartoon Network. However, it was promised that more was still more to come. Check out the video below, as well as a look at some cool new footage from what appears to be the Clone Wars swan song.

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In a movie weekend dominated by a year-high performance from Oz: The Great and Powerful, a new teaser trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness made its way to theaters and hit online.

While only clocking in at about 1:10, the teaser is probably the most intensity-driven one we've seen thus far. Yet, the dominant recurring theme that we've been seeing remains in regards to the cockiness of Chris Pine's James Kirk and his caution-deficient attitude, which may have bitten off more than he can chew. Indeed, the scene of Bruce Greenwood's Captain Pike chewing out Kirk over his latest haphazard happening seemingly resembles a cigar-smoking, black-coffee-chugging Precinct Captain frantically screaming at the protagonist's reckless ways in some 80's buddy cop movie. However, for Kirk, a much-needed lesson in humility may soon come in the form of the film's (still mysterious) grand villain in Benedict Cumberbatch's John Harrison; an ex-Starfleet officer who, in the wake of some horrific tragedy has gone off the deep end with an agenda of destruction on Earth, beginning with a 23rd century London.

This new teaser has packed in just about everything: Close shave escapes, space base-jumping, hot inter-species romance, demonstrations in flame-retardant fashion, and the Enterprise possibly doing its best maritime tribute to SeaQuest DSV. Check it out below...even if you've already seen it.

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