#MARVEL TO RELEASE THE LONGER TRAILER

[ex0rin]

Seems like a good guy. You met him?

Sam Wilson & Joaquín Torres TFATWS S01E02 | The Star-Spangled Man

[prying-pandora666]

On Outrage Marketing and How To Stop It (ATLA Live Action)

I’m sure we have all noticed an uptick of aggression and frustration against fellow fans on this and other social media sites.

Depending on your perspective, you may think that other fans are being overly critical and hysterical or complaining just to complain.

Alternatively, you may believe that other fans have descended into toxic positivity and are dead set on silencing all discussion and dissent, even if it’s the slightest bit critical or questioning.

The reality is: both are true and false.

This is outrage marketing.

As much as we can dunk on Netflix for their past decisions, they’re not idiots. This isn’t a case of the actors and director not knowing when to shut their mouths. These media outlets are not doing hard journalism and bringing us the facts: this is sponsored content. The studio is PAYING to put these stories out there.

Why? And why so close to release?

Exactly for the reasons you’re seeing: to make us fight publicly on social media.

Look at it this way. How long did it take for the trailer hype to die down and for it to stop trending everywhere? A week?

Meanwhile, how much longer can outrage carry hype and word of mouth? For months or even YEARS. All the outrage clickbait we have seen in the past with Disney products especially (Star Wars, Marvel) is intentional outrage marketing. It keeps people talking, which keeps the content trending, which keeps spreading the word and building hype in a time where content is myriad and every IP needs to compete to keep your attention.

Basically it works like this:

Group of fans #1 are fed these interviews by the algorithm and make criticisms or express concerns.

Group of fans #2 are fed the most exaggerated or hyperventilating takes from the first group to create the illusion of irrationality.

Group #2 decries the “hysterical” fans and lump every bit of criticism into this, silencing dissent.

Group #1 feels censored and attacked which makes them even more aggressive in their criticisms.

Rinse and repeat. Bots can also be used to help foster this hostile environment. Reddit and Twitter are known to be infested with fake bot accounted for this reason.

Meanwhile, the much larger group of audience members just sees ATLA is trending and there’s a lot of buzz and tons of pictures that are aesthetically interesting so they are interested in the show.

So how do we stop it?

By no longer making the repeated posts complaining about other fan reactions, and ignoring them when you do see them.

Instead, engage civilly with your fellow fans. Be curious. Try to understand their actual perspective before you attack. You can disagree without making a caricature of the opposition and interpreting them in the most uncharitable way possible.

This will produce more nuanced discussions and allow people to vent their concerns as well as share their excitement in a way less hostile or censored environment.

Thank you to all who took the time to read this. I love ATLA and I love this fandom.

[charcubed]

Disneyland's Rogers: The Musical, propaganda that turns Steve Rogers into more myth than man, and revisionist history (possibly) to a purpose

Any of my thoughts in this post could just be me reading too far into things. I'm very aware of that, and please know that this post exists just because this sort of thing is fun for me! This is a thought exercise where we propose "What if we live in a world where the MCU is actually doing a cool and interesting thing as a longcon?" If you have anger at Marvel, that's valid and relatable, but please don't get angry at me or imply I'm an MCU stan who doesn't think critically about the mouse. Thanks!

Breaking news: I'm back on my bullshit!

A quick personal recap: I infamously hated Avengers: Endgame for a long list of reasons (and I even rewrote the movie). One of those reasons is that I've always taken issue with Steve's ending. But in the years since then, and as the MCU's phase 4 has evolved, my frustration at Steve's "ending" has turned into an ongoing and legitimate theory that the MCU could be slowly leading into a loosely adapted Secret Empire plot line. I know we've all been joking about Steve being trapped or about an imposter Steve since 2019, but uhhh, it's kind of not a joke to me anymore? It feels weirdly plausible at this point and so I enjoy discussing the potential.

You can find a full elaboration on that here, where I wrote out my "Steve was snatched by HYDRA" theory in 2021.

In that post, one of the things I mentioned at the time was Rogers: The Musical being in the Hawkeye trailer.

[The musical's] very existence is an example of how in-universe the stories of the lives of the heroes are being commodified, especially (in terms of how they’re framing it) for Steve’s. The heroes are no longer seen as people, if they ever were. They are, as Kate Bishop says to Clint in a recently released clip, more about “branding.” Sam Wilson will be redefining the shield moving forward in a Cap context, but simultaneously, the world is still enamored by Steve Rogers as a symbol in his own right. And that is ripe for manipulation as a Trojan horse to control public opinion… whether in the context of things like this by themselves (is the musical portraying Steve accurately, or is it painting an inaccurate picture of him the world accepts as fact?) or in future (is this propaganda that makes the public see Steve a certain way and continue to love him, to set up a fake or brainwashed Steve coming on the scene later?).

Now a form of the musical exists in full, at Disneyland and all over Youtube. Considering some of its baffling content – which I will break down below – this perspective seems even more strongly worth considering.

I have two main reasons for why I'm defending examining this musical so closely:

1. It is (arguably) an in-universe piece of media that has bearing on the MCU canon. It isn't like any other typical Disneyland attraction; its very existence is meta and it was in canon first. Obviously it's seen in Hawkeye, but there are also posters for it in several different phase 4 properties. It's lurking in the background indefinitely. So what can this musical tell us about what the wider public within the MCU is being told about the life story of Steve Rogers?

2. This Secret Empire graphic – which is animated in the center of the stage of a prolonged period of time – feels like a literal sign to pay attention.

Granted, this is obviously still ancillary material. 99% of the MCU audience will never see this musical, whether in person or on YouTube. But just because it isn't a vital piece doesn't mean it's automatically an entirely irrelevant piece.

They've given me an inch with that sign and I'm taking a mile.

So if you're interested, please join me on this journey :)

For the record, let me just say that I salute the creative team behind this show. It's pretty fun and the songs are catchy, the sets and costuming are cool, and the cast is overall very talented.

It's also fucking maddening. LMAO.

Why? Firstly, because of the seemingly deliberate ahistorical inaccuracies. We all know Ant-Man is wrongly shown in the Battle of New York, which originally "came from [the Hawkeye showrunner] and Marvel, as something to further aggravate Hawkeye as he watched the show, and also as a comment on how movies and articles and people always get something wrong." It seems like they expanded those meta nods, but most inaccuracies are now in service of glorifying Steve and Peggy's "love story." Yes, romance objectively makes for good theater; but again, I feel that this is worth examining considering the full context.

And secondly, Steve's ending is framed as an offer presented to him, convincing him it's the happy ending he deserves because he's tired. In my mind, these two big elements go together, and I'll walk you through the details of what happens in the musical before I tie the thought threads back around into some theorizing.

For your reference, here's a list of the main songs and story beats:

• "U-S-Opening Night" - the Starkettes (who are basically a Greek chorus) frame the show's story, and then it turns into an ensemble that loosely takes place at the Stark Expo. • "I Want You" – Steve's "I want" song about trying to enlist in the army. • "Star-Spangled Man With A Plan" – Steve performing on the USO tour obviously, and then there's a reprise with an added voiceover that (very briefly) covers the Howling Commandos' rescue + the war via comic book imagery. • "What You Missed" – Fury and the Starkettes tell Steve some pop culture things he missed while he was frozen, + they tell him about the Avengers. Then Fury goes down a list of other hero characters, including the Guardians? Doctor Strange? Wanda?? It plays loose and fast with time, because many non-2012 characters are bafflingly mentioned in this nonlinear Avengers list – including the Winter Soldier (???). • "Save the City" – this is the song seen in Hawkeye, with the civilians + the Avengers all involved, but it's slightly different here and expanded to also reference other battles. • "End of the Line" – Old Steve presents main Steve with the time stone as an opportunity for his happy ending, and they reflect on things together. (Yes, this is insane.) • "Just One Dance" – Steve and Peggy reunite and sing about their love. • And then there's basically a reprise of "Save the City," with the Starkettes and the whole cast closing the finale out.

Right out of the gate, let's address this: the main reason you're going to see some fans pissed about this musical is not only that Steve and Peggy's ~epic romance~ is made a pillar of the story... but also that Bucky's importance/involvement in Steve's life is minimized as much as possible.

And they took Bucky-related elements from canon and made them center more around Peggy instead.

• For some weird reason, Peggy is in the Stark Expo scene. When a soldier is hitting on the Starkettes ("hey sweetheart, I wanna dance!"), Steve tells the soldier to show the ladies some respect. The soldier grabs Steve and throws him down, and then Peggy swoops in to yell "Pick on someone your own size!" and punches the guy before walking away. So she's given Bucky's TFA line verbatim, and she is given the role he had of saving Steve from bullies. There is blatantly no reason they couldn't have had Bucky still serve that function and be truer to "history," because he briefly enters this scene in uniform less than a minute later to announce he's shipping out to the 107th – and then he spins off with a date on his arm. (We don't see Bucky on stage again until the full cast comes out for the finale!)

• After the Star-Spangled Man show, Peggy rushes in to talk to Steve. Steve is excited about his USO performance (???) but she urgently tells him to listen as she says that the 107th has been captured. Peggy apparently knows it's Bucky's division, and she knows Steve is going to go, so she tells him that she's already arranged transport for him. This is a subtle twist from the truth of how it went down in TFA, in which Steve recognized 107 as the number of Bucky's division, and his dogged determination inspired Peggy to relent and help his rescue mission. Here, Peggy is given a stronger role in the Cap origin story. And before Steve rushes off, Peggy sings a short untitled ballad hoping for their dance, so Steve pauses before he leaves to ask her to go on a date with her when he returns. • The most egregious Bucky-to-Peggy change of all is the song "End of the Line," in which the infamous Steve and Bucky line/promise (that broke Bucky's brainwashing...) is re-contextualized to be about ???? Peggy waiting for Steve in the past??? Old Man Steve and regular Steve sing it together. But we'll go back to that in a minute.

Again, I get it, yeah? It's for theater. Whatever. But in reality, the obvious logical truth is that Peggy is centered (to the point of taking elements from Bucky's story, and in turn Bucky is downplayed) because they needed to convince the audience that Steve going back in time to be with her makes sense. Steve's time travel ending had to be justified, so the Peggy and Steve "love story" had to be a pillar in this with everything else being given lesser weight.

And the inherent selfishness of him doing something as big as going back in time also had to be justified... which is why they do their best to convince you Steve fought so much he deserved it.

Let me elaborate on that by describing the lead-up to the "End of the Line" song.

So, right before "End of the Line" is "Save the City" – which includes Steve belting "I can do this all day!" repeatedly, of course. It's the 2012 Battle of New York as the Avengers come together to win.

As they begin to disperse, the song then transitions to a voiceover alert mentioning Sokovia being under attack by artificial intelligence (a.k.a. Age of Ultron). The Avengers group rushes back to center stage to say "Save the city! Help us win!" together for battle again.

And then things get fucking weird.

Because the next voiceover threat is "Washington DC. Attack: the Winter Soldier." This is not accurate to the order of events! The Winter Soldier events were before Age of Ultron; the public of the MCU would also know this.

And suddenly on stage Steve is now in the center while everyone else gestures to him. Instead of singing with him, they're telling him "Save the city! Help us win!"

Then, another voiceover: "Wakanda, under attack" (Infinity War) and again, Steve is centered while everyone else points to him. The ensemble says, "Save the city, help us win! Save us all from the state we're in! Got to hear you, got to hear you, got to hear you say..." as Steve is buckling to his knees under their pointing. And as the lights go down to one spotlight on him and everyone else leaves, he says "I can do this all day" one last time, but now it's subdued.

The implication is that Steve has been fighting and fighting, people leave him or he loses them, and he's tired.

And then fucking Old Man Steve arrives.

He says "On your left," because yes, they gave him Sam Wilson's line. BATSHIT.

So now there's two Steves on stage! There has been no mention of Thanos or infinity stones or anything up to this point! (I can only assume that's because in the MCU universe no one would want to be reminded of the trauma of "the Blip" – though it's pretty wild that they're allowed to know about magical time travel?)

Steve is baffled by Old Man Steve's arrival. I, too, was baffled by Old Man Steve's arrival.

As Steve questions how this is possible, Old Man Steve shows him the time stone from his pocket – and only the time stone – which Steve recognizes.

OLD MAN: "You've got to remember where you've been to know where you're going." STEVE: "Where am I going?" OLD MAN: "A date with destiny." STEVE: “Destiny. So we’re the hero till the end?” OLD MAN: “That’s the thing about endings, Steven. They can be rewritten.”

Lmao???????

Steve starts singing about how he hopes this means they "win" and calls himself a "tired hero."

STEVE: "But sometimes I wonder, who will save the savior? Can we really do this all day? So here I am, now and also then. Just a man, looking back at where he's been." OLD MAN: "The road is rough but wounds are healed by a thing called time. You can't forget what's waiting at the end of the line."

Me, watching this: the fact that he says this out of the blue makes absolutely no sense.

There's a bit more singing, including "end of the line" repetition, and then Old Man Steve pulls out the time stone to essentially show visions of... I don't fucking know. Past, present, and future?

That's pre-serum Steve, Steve with Mjolnir, and Sam Wilson as the new Cap. This is the only reference to Sam in the whole thing.

More singing, and then: Peggy's silhouette.

OLD MAN: "Can't forget who's waiting..." STEVE: "I can't forget who's waiting..." BOTH: "Don't forget who's waiting..." STEVE: "At the end of the line."

At this point I'm like, what in the hell?

Did Old Man Steve just brainwash normal Steve into thinking "end of the line" is now about Peggy? Because uhhhh, sorry, that's what it feels like!

Then Steve uses the stone to go back in time, reunites with Peggy, etc. etc. finale.

It's truly some crazy shit.

[drags hands down face]

Look... there's a lot to unpack here, and there's a lot that gets me about it. I know this is dramatized for the stage! I KNOW! But the fact that Old Man Steve shows up to convince Steve he should go back in time makes me want to gnaw on furniture.

Another person essentially uses the lure of a life with Peggy to tempt Steve into doing this, dramatized or not. That is how it's framed.

It's a hell of a way to frame it, and it makes Steve's ending stand in even starker contrast to so many other things in phase 4. Desperately trying to go backwards when you shouldn't or to bring back a lost lover is an evil temptation, and it results in a trap or negative cosmic consequences for basically all of the other characters in the MCU.

• In Shang-Chi, Wenwu is tempted by the Soul Eaters beyond the Dark Gate. They use the voice of his deceased wife to convince him to set them free. • In "What If" episode 4, Doctor Strange becomes evil in a desperate bid to save Christine and he destroys his universe. Along the way, he tries to tempt/trap the good Strange who's fighting him by using visions of Christine, but good Strange knows she isn't real. • Wanda's grief and desire to bring back Vision leads to – well, you know. • In No Way Home, Peter trying to undo things is what causes the multiverse problems.

And the fact that they frame it as Steve being tired, so basically the argument is he deserves that time travel ending (just like MCU fans who defend Endgame say in real life)... Well.

There's no way to make it hold up, especially because in "What If" they explicitly subverted that and had Captain Carter not go back in time despite how she felt she'd "earned" it.

Lastly, in this musical as Steve decides to pursue time travel as his course of action, he basically has the meaning or memory of "end of the line" rewritten for him. I refuse to not think that is some nefarious shit. Yes, it's not out of the realm of possibility that it's just some general Disney erasing Steve and Bucky nonsense.

But... this is on another level to me. I do think that it's a blatant choice that they had to be aware even general MCU fans would call bullshit on. Everyone knows it's inaccurate. "End of the line" is embedded in pop culture consciousness as being connected to Bucky. It just is! Surely that means it's not a stretch to theorize it could be deliberate meta commentary.

How, in the MCU world, would the in-universe playwrights even know the phrase "end of the line"? How the fuck would it be accidentally applied to Steve and Peggy? Not to sound like a crazy person, but who the fuck was rooting around in Steve and/or Bucky's personal business or their brains in order to obtain that knowledge and then remix it, and why? Neither of them would flippantly mention it in the public eye or interviews ever. So where did its inclusion come from?

And in the finale ensemble, this is Bucky's line when he comes out on stage and salutes + points to Steve: "Don't forget who's waiting..." And Old Man Steve completes it with "...at the end of the line."

What on God's green earth am I meant to do with THAT?

Smh.

The vibes are fucked, folks.

The MCU public wouldn't know enough to say the vibes are fucked. The MCU public wouldn't know the origin of "end of the line" as a phrase. But us? The ones who know the "true story" via the movies? We can call bullshit.

Whether the creative team behind this musical did every aspect of this consciously or not, in my opinion the fact that they had to tweak canon "history" to A) make Peggy's involvement in Steve's life more central and B) emphasize Steve as a tired hero all works as commentary on and almost a condemnation of Endgame's frustrating ending. In a way, it's also what Endgame did with the compass and 1973 moment with Peggy as well.

Steve's ending had to be convincing.

It's theater.

And so, maybe the same is true for the in-narrative perspective of this musical in the context of the MCU world. What purpose would it serve to tell the MCU public a feel-good narrative about how all Steve Rogers wanted was to no longer be a tragic man out of time and get to make a life with his best girl? To frame it as being about how he fought so hard for years and so he earned a happy ending? To minimize and nearly erase Bucky's importance in his life?

Who would want to do that sort of propaganda, and why?

The MCU civilians are given this happy explanation and maybe don't widely question it. Who cares about the details or logistics if it makes a good story, I guess. It's a stretch, but maybe they mostly applaud it. Maybe they're happy for "America's favorite son" (not unlike people who uncritically liked Endgame). In a way, it's even a rehabilitation of his image (after the Accords) like putting the shield on the Statue of Liberty. And maybe they'd even be ready and waiting to applaud if Steve ever made a dramatically selfless and de-aged return to the spotlight or a position of authority.

But mostly, the public is being conditioned to not know or to forget that anyone else like Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson would possibly know Steve Rogers the person well enough in the modern day to call bullshit on any of this – or on his hypothetical miraculous future return.

So. Sure, it's probably nothing.

But what if it's not?

-------

UPDATE: @faeriecap added to this post with some incredible information and further behind-the-scenes context about the MCU/Marvel stuff at Disney parks! Check it out here :)

[steelbluehome]

Warning!

Extremely negative take on The Thunderbolts* footage below.

Dead Dove. Do not eat!

Hi sweeties! Just in case you thought you would just peek down here and maybe bring some optimism to the gremlins in cellar, thank you, sweet summer child, but you really should go back up to the rest of the internet where you have lots of beautiful people to play with. Thanks anyway! Bye!

Okay.

First things first, this had to happen on Sebastian's fucking birthday?!?!?!?

I have seen the Thunderbolts* footage. 5 times. Pausing at specific moments.

And, Bucky is not the in the scene where they "all" get trapped in the room, nor in the scene where they are "all" in a vehicle and Red Guardian is driving.

I don't blame the people who described the footage previously. They cannot be expected to look for Bucky like a dying person searches for a drop of water in the vast desert. That is my job.

Nevertheless, this is our first glimpse of Thunderbolts (sick of the fucking asterisk) and there is barely any Bucky in it. So what the fuck am I even waiting for?

I'm sorry if I inferred incorrectly that Thunderbolts would be Bucky's movie, since he is the character that has been in the MCU the longest and most consistently of all the characters in the movie, but what the fuck was I supposed to think?

I'm sorry if I incorrectly assumed from reports that Bucky would be the "leader" of the Thunderbolts, that this would be his time to shine.

And ex-fucking-cuse me if I extrapolated incorrectly that the reason Marvel split up the amazing team of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes was to give them each their own movie, therefore since Sam is absolutely the lead character in Cap4, Bucky would be the lead character in Thunderbolts!

But fuck me, Marvel, what the fuck are you doing?

Yes, looking back, I see that most MCU movies have the superhero name of the lead in the title. Again, I thought they did not do that because Bucky is no longer the Winter Soldier, as emphasized in TFATWS, and has no other code name, and that Bucky Barnes and the Thunderbolts would sounds like a bad name for a band. I thought it would at least be like the Avengers where he would have an equal part.

As far as Sebastian Stan, I think this is fucking disrespectful! He had to clear his schedule for this movie anyway, they could at least give him something to do!

Now, yes, maybe there is more of Bucky in the movie. Maybe these scenes are mostly from the beginning, and Bucky comes into it more in the middle and the end. Well he'd fucking better!

I will watch the next teasers and trailers, and if I see more of Bucky, I will be thrilled and very pleased.

But what is obvious to me is that they have actually made a movie about Yelena Belova, and for some reason stuck Bucky in there as a supporting character. (Or less?)

If I turn out to be wrong I will happily stand corrected.

But whenever this footage is officially released I intend to flood the internet with #Where'sBucky? And I hope anyone who feels the same, will do the same.

Thanks for listening to me rant. If you have a rant that agrees with mine, please add it. If you have read this far and disagree with me as far as how large a part Bucky will have in the movie, please put that in the tags.

Thunderbolts footage more centered

Bit bigger, maybe?

[mewmewpercy]

Hello there! Recently I saw your reblog regarding the hoyoverse boycott about whether we should play continuing playing Genshin or not. That same twt user made a thread about how will it no longer participate make any twts about the boycott and how disappointed they are with the boycott is failing.

https://x.com/KinichCEO/status/1823430343157780740?t=uus6sG-A30Vw44EET-rlqQ&s=19

While I can understand their reasoning I feel like they are still missing out some key details.

For example with the upcoming Captain American movie coming out the BDS wants everyone to boycott everything thats related to Marvel/Disney in order to remove Captain Israel or Sabra from the movie. As of right now I haven't watch a single Marvel or Disney media since the release of Sabra but that doesn't mean I can still like and enjoy Spiderverse and the only merch that I have bought that is Marvel related are usually from artists who are selling their own merchandise. Not something from official Marvel/Disney

Like you said it's hard to boycott a gacha game and the only way you can do that is by attacking their main income. Which is why many encourage to be f2p. What many fail to realize is that idea that hotoverse game has a BIG community of whalers. When in reality that only a small community many do not have that privilege on having a c6 5 star. I have been a f2p since the 2nd Lantern rite and I only spent money on the game on 2 characters out of 13 chatacter that I won by saving

Aiya you bring up a very good point I've forgotten. You can very much like a product and hate the creator.

The idea that every hoyo gamer is a whale has to be the product of youtubers. They have the privilege to spend money the average player can't. A lot of players are young and jobless. A lot of players don't think spending on games is necessary. I play star rail f2p and the only reason I have very few limiteds is because of the lack of interesting male characters or the unfortunate timing of reruns. I feel like it's an unfair assessment to assume an entire playerbase spends thousands because a loud minority does.

Back on the like the product hate the maker idea though. I like music from genshin and star rail. I won't deny that. I also enjoy many character trailers. Am I inherently a terrible racist because I enjoy products made by a shitty company? No. No I am not. Maybe I'll use less than ideal routes of enjoying them to avoid profiting the company instead. Maybe I'd rather commend the work of entire other teams of people separate from the higher ups that are most likely the issue. I've stopped liking content. I don't look at all the art posted. I download whatever I deem useful off the tiktok pages and share with people who play to avoid them getting even a cent extra.

The 5.0 program is supposed to be Friday. Normally I watch them or scrub through vods. I'm not even bothering because I'd rather engage with fans reposting the info than looking at the source. Most of my enjoyment stems from fans anyways and I'm always subject to spoilers about 20 times day of so why bother?

All in all people generalise these games players way too damn much because they assume what they hear loud youtubers say is true for everyone. They assume everyone is dropping hundreds or thousands of dollars. They assume people even spend a dime on refreshes or welkin or small amounts of currency.

People also act like you should be burned at the stake for daring to enjoy things. I can enjoy game lore and music without enjoying the rare time I could be represented being full of races not even close to mine and all white in game. I can say yea I do enjoy someone's trailer and still think they deserve melanin. I don't support the company I support the workers trying their damndest to do what they can to represent cultures.

Just because people play doesn't mean they aren't boycotting and it's a dick move to try and push people to quit or be hella negative just because some loud people say they'll spend. People who whale have decided to skip entirely. People who barely spend went f2p. Even f2p players are debating skipping banners or only pulling on a few. The community dividing over shitty assumptions will be the reason we fail not because people play without paying.

[e-adlirez]

So the GS movie right

Hello fandom newbies, yes there's a GS film that was announced in 2023

Just thinking about it again because uh, we got ding dang nothing about it besides the teaser poster that was put up when the news came out in the middle of April 2023. No release year, no cast, not even a screenwriter-- we just know from this article on Atlantyca's official website and this English article that Radar references on their website that it's gonna be made by Radar Pictures (the company behind the Jumanji movies), David Soren (the man behind the Captain Underpants movie) is gonna be directing, and we have producers Anthony Tringali, Michael Napoliello and Maria Frisk from Radar. (If ImdB is not screwing with me rn, then I guess they're also working on the Bendy and the Ink Machine film, but take that with a massive grain of salt.)

We don't even know about what artstyle the film is gonna be in :D all we got is this, and while it is very nice and cute, I am lowkey terrified for what G's gonna look like for realsies beneath that extremely conveniently positioned camera :D lord forbid another Sonic trailer situation winds up happening here :D

Atlantyca (GS's copyright holder) is apparently gonna be working with Radar to make this movie happen, so uh no Percy Jackson situation is gonna be happening (thank god), and uh that's it :D

We're gonna have to hold on a little longer, Stilton fandom, but we will be fed 😔✊

Soren is the director so the bar's already pretty high considering the Captain Underpants movie and its success, so I wager that we will be fed well

I just hope the film doesn't come out super-early like, 2025 or something. What is this, Disney and Marvel churning out movies with only two years of development? No thank you to that, please, Wish was disappointing and I don't want lackluster mainstream food that tastes on par with Wish. We have standards, people even though we've barely been fed in the English side of the fandom besides the GS graphic novels with the cute lil' rat man artstyle IT'S GOOD YOU GUYS TRU--

Anyway uh, GS ramble over, time for me to hunker down and wait at least until 2029 or something for the film /pos

(and write SPN)

[satoshi-mochida]

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana coming west in early 2025 - Gematsu

Publishers XSEED Games and Marvelous Europe will release Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch in early 2025 in North America and Europe, the companies announced.

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana first launched for Switch on April 27, 2023 in Japan, followed by PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on May 23, 2024.

A limited physical “Refined Edition” will be available for PlayStation 5 and Switch for $59.99, and will soon be available for pre-order at participating retailers and XSEED Games Store. It includes a copy of the game, 14-song soundtrack CD, an acrylic diorama / keychain set, a set of four postcards with art from the game, and a graphic cleaner cloth.

Details for digital editions will be announced at a later date.

Here is an overview of the game, via XSEED Games:

About

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana brings the RPG classic, originally released under the title Ys III: Wanderers From Ys, then later re-released as Ys: The Oath in Felghana, to modern platforms with improved visuals while retaining the action RPG’s core gameplay and charm. Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana follows thrill-seeking protagonist Adol and his blue-haired companion Dogi as they return to Dogi’s homeland of Felghana. The eight years they’ve been away have not been kind to the lands which are now filled with roaming monsters, a newly active volcano, and a greedy new overlord extorting the suffering residents. While Dogi seeks help from his former master, Adol remains to help the locals, only to find himself embroiled in a world of conspiracies and ancient legacies. With remastered high-definition visuals and music, the epic adventure has never looked or sounded better. Additional features include multiple versions of the sweeping soundtrack, accessibility options, and brand-new character illustrations, making Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana the definitive edition of the acclaimed masterpiece.

Key Features

Classic RPG Excitement Remastered – Experience the old-school action RPG combat the Ys series is known for, with added difficulty options and quality-of-life enhancements like “Turbo” mode, as you fight your way through a memorable fantasy world.

Refined Visual Variety – Ys Memoire features all-new “Refined” character illustrations throughout the game, but players who want the original experience can switch to the “Classic” versions at a whim.

A Silent Protagonist No Longer – Newly recorded voice acting for Adol Christin, including an opening narration that sets the stage for adventure, gives new depth and gravitas to the famous hero.

A Sweeping Soundtrack Reborn – Well-regarded for its outstanding soundtrack, this version features three different iterations of the epic score (Original, PC-8801, and X68000) for players to choose from, all remastered in high-quality audio.

Watch a new trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery. Visit the official website here.

Western Announce Trailer

[rosietrace]

〈 アイドル! 〉Track 00 — Ditto

〈 天才的なアイドル様!! 〉

「↺ 概要 ↻」— 「 ↺ Overview/Synopsis! ↻ 」

❐ With the idol scene on the rise, Night Raven Entertainment found it opportunistic to promote their new and improved idol group; (Co)-Connect! Though the group has a lot to go about, the members are still in need of dire improvement before they can truly shine alongside their peers.

Fortunately, NRE found the perfect mentor for the job; The ex-member of Poisoner — and long-time solo sensation — Shōri.

[ Apologies for any out of character moments ]

[ Reblogs > Likes ]

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

“Elle! Get off your phone, it's almost time for shooting!”

Ellis flinched, her train of thought coming to a stop at the sound of Yuuta's voice. Turning to him, she saw the condescending look he gave her while leaning against the doorway of her trailer.

She narrowed her eyes. “Ever heard of knocking?”

“I tried that,” Yuuta snorted. “You, Pinkie Pie, were too busy scrolling through Twitter to hear.”

“It's X now,” Ellis corrected, but the grimace on her face was evident.

Walking up to her, Yuuta ruffled her hair — nearly destroying all the effort her hair stylists had put in.

“Wha- Yuuta-!”

“We can't waste any more time than we already are, Sweet Cheeks. C'mon, I'll treat you to that one pastry shop after.”

Ellis was certainly tempted by that offer. After assessing that Yuuta was telling the truth, she nodded slowly.

“Alright,” she gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Let's head to it, then.”

Yuuta snickered, guiding Ellis out of her trailer to meet up with the rest of the members.

Juvia was sitting on one of the larger props of the set, playing some sort of offline game. Miren was beside her, quietly watching her go from one level to the next.

Carol and Chizuko were having idle chitchat about whatever new ‘literary marvel’ had caught their interest.

Juvia was the one to first notice Yuuta and Ellis approaching, throwing her phone into Miren's arms to run up to them.

“There you are!” Like the rest of the members, Juvia was all dolled up for the music video. As was everyone else, bedecked in white — with Yuuta being the only one in black, as he was meant to be the center focus on their latest music video.

Chizuko looked their way, humming. “Ah,” was all she uttered, sending a nod of acknowledgment their way right before turning her attention back to Carol.

“Sorry I took so long,” Ellis laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head…. Or neck. Who knows. “I got distracted.”

“No worries,” Juvia assured, chuckling softly. “We're about to start, might as well get ready, no?”

Yuuta had an arm around both of their shoulders, a lazy smile on his face with a drawl, “Naturally. Ladies first.”

•↻°─────────°↺•

After several takes, hours of hair and makeup sessions, and an editing process that took longer than Chizuko writing the song lyrics — (Co)-Connect’s latest single, “Ditto”, had been released.

It wasn't an automatic success, but there was certainly a lot of praise left for the members’ efforts, as well as the editing style of the music video; which diverted away from the usual editing structures of Night Raven Entertainment’s idol groups.

Carol went to Ellis, who was a bit occupied. Phone in hand, hair a little messy from celebrating the music video release, and — as Yuuta promised — a slice of cake from the pastry shop Ellis liked.

“You okay?” Carol asked, a worried tone in her voice as she took a seat beside her pink-wearing groupmate.

Ellis nodded a tight-lipped smile on her face. “Yeah,” her voice didn't do much to assure Carol. “Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine. Yup.”

Carol narrowed her eyes, looking over the contents of Ellis' phone.

“.... Ah.”

Hate comments.

“Of course, they used the fanservice to promote the MV 💀💀”

“Is it just me or is the line distribution just all over the place?? It's like they're focusing on one member over the other.”

“Not Verde and Yuuta taking up half of the music video 😭 give more attention to the more interesting members”

“NOT VELVET BEING SO PICK ME CODED😭😭😭”

“Juvia's not a good dancer and hasn't improved since debuting 🥰 Stay mad”

“Thank God Miren got almost no lines.”

“It's the way Ellis is a walking eyesore for me 😍”

Carol shook her head at the comments. Soon enough, Ellis had Carol's hand on her shoulder.

“Don't let it get to your head,” Carol told her, “They're just comments trying to be negative. Besides, they're just being nonsensical.”

“I appreciate the support,” Ellis removed Carol's hand from her shoulder, her smile awkward and painfully crooked. “But… I'm fine, Carol. Promise.”

You aren't, she could practically hear Carol think. But ‘Verde’ saw no need to push her further, nodding her head and changing the topic.

Ellis knew idol life wouldn't be success after success….

…. But she just wished things would be a little easier.

•↻°─────────°↺•

“Stop.”

Noriko turned off the TV, standing behind the couch where she sat from. Beside her was her secretary, who was more than ready to document everything her boss said if she so asked them.

“Well?” They asked her. “What do you think of… (Co)-Connect so far?”

Victoria let out a breath, tilting her head a bit. “They could use some work,” she turned her head, facing Noriko. “But they have potential.”

She looked at her secretary. “This is their fourth single after their debut album?”

They nodded. “I’m under the belief that NRE’s CEO doesn't particularly care for Ramshackle's latest group,” they commented, eyes locking with Victoria. “But to answer your question: Yes. They debuted with their album ‘Linked Bonds’. After that, the group had released several successful singles, but didn't reach the charts.”

Noriko hummed. “The Idol industry would consider that a ‘flop’,” they mumbled, putting the word flop in quotations’.

Victoria nodded her head in understanding. “I see…”

Noriko leaned over the couch, their hand reaching to Victoria's chin to turn her head to them. (This action sent her secretary — H.T — through an internal frenzy)

“Are you going to accept Crowley's request?”

Victoria smiled softly, an assuring look in her eyes — leaning her forehead against Noriko's.

“We'll see.”

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

〈 Taglist 〉

(Co)-Connect

@starry-night-rose • @jasdiary • @authoruio • @nem0-nee • @fumikomiyasaki • @sakuramidnight15

Others

@geminiiviolets • @terrovaniadorm • @absolutelyobsessedkiya/@twistedsongstressofstarz • @twsted-princess

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

[ghostoffuturespast]

🐦🦅 please!

Thank you for the ask! 🧡

[questions here]

All pulled from the godzilla baby.

🐦 a romantic quote

Hanging out at the trailer park:

“Wanted you to see this side of me too, I guess."  He hesitated.  "For better or worse.” “It’s certainly a different side of you.”  V thrust her hands in her back pockets  “I know family dinners can get… complicated.  Wild.  So, thanks for inviting me over... I guess.” Despite the encouragement, her eyes kept wandering away from him, her thoughts distracting her.  The pads of her thumbs ran weary circles over the fabric of her pockets.  River had a couple of leads as to why, one of which he’d clear up shortly.  As to the rest, there was only so much he could do. “Thanks for coming over, V.”     Brown met amber and their feet stilled in their tracks.  Stopping in the middle of nowhere.  In the middle of everything.  River's eyes roved over the days old cuts and bruises, the stories etched on her skin.  She briefly shut her eyes and released a shaky breath.  Even though she was pissed off at him, River marveled at her in the dying light, humbled by the fact that she was here and wondered if there was a way to piece the fragments out so they lasted longer.  Somehow, stretch out the inevitable. But time carried on. 

🦅 an angsty quote

From the Ch. 40 angst fest:

The words blurred as her lungs hitched, a flood of warmth stinging her eyes. No hesitation, River’s hand reached for hers, flesh and bone knuckles brushing against her fingertips, attempting to soothe the tremors that racked her palms. V forgot that she wasn’t supposed to look, lest he disappear for good. Amber met brown for the first time that day. The gaze she’d been avoiding since she got here so full of questions and worry and all the things unsaid. She wasn't ready for it, couldn’t hold it together any longer, and she'd drown all the more for it. “Shit.” V cursed herself and the aching heaviness in her heart as it sank down and spilled over the pain that tormented her head. The tears she’d been holding back all day, free. Her sobs wracked her chest, wrecked her heart, and robbed her soul. She curled in on herself, a desperate last attempt to hide and hold it all in. River wouldn’t let her though. Not alone at least. He pulled her in and held her, cradled her in his arms. All the unspoken things between them translated in touch.

[desdealgunlugardelsur]

Harrison Ford: 2022 review

2022 has been a very busy year for Harrison! From finishing the next instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise, to star in his first TV shows in decades: the sitcom Shrinking and the western 1923. Let's have a look at the summary of this glorious year for Harrison's career.

JANUARY: no news. but Harrison is probably still working on the set of Indiana Jones 5.

FEBRUARY:

Frank Marshall announces Indiana Jones 5 had wrapped principal photography.

Harrison visits Barcelona

MARCH:

Harrison invites the whole cast and crew of Indy 5 to a wrap party in London

APRIL:

Harrison Ford To Star In ‘Shrinking’ Apple TV+ Series

Indiana Jones 5 Has Same Feel As The Original, Says Mads Mikkelsen

Cryptic picture of Harrison celebrating Easter:

Disney Exec Teases Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Indiana Jones, The Marvels, and More Footage Coming Soon

MAY:

Harrison For attends the play "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?", played by his wife Calista Flockhart

New promo picture of Indy 5:

Harrison spotted in Fort Worth, Texas

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Istanbul Grill (@istanbulgrill.bar)

Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren to Star in ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel ‘1932’

Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford are joining the “Yellowstone” universe in the upcoming series “1932” for Paramount+.

“1932,” which is the show’s working title, is an origin story introducing a new generation of the Dutton family. It’s set to explore the early 20th century when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression all plague the mountain West and the Duttons who call it home,” the streamer said in a release.

(Note that the actual title of the show is 1923)

‘Indiana Jones 5’ First Look: Harrison Ford Returns as Swaggering Adventurer

Star Wars Celebration: Harrison Ford Makes Surprise Appearance for John Williams Birthday Tribute, Gives ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Update

JUNE:

Brett Goldstein Takes His ‘Ted Lasso’ Skills To ‘Shrinking’ Comedy With Harrison Ford At Apple TV+

JULY:

Directing this fellow this week. One of the highlights of my career.

(I’m not sure but this could be on the set of Shrinking, the new show for Apple TV)

Surprise party on the set if Shrinking to celebrate Harry's birthday

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kristin Heitkotter (@kikihaircutter)

AUGUST:

Warner Bros. Wanted Harrison Ford to Play Kevin Smith's Perry White

Kevin Smith reveals Warner Bros. wanted Harrison Ford to play Perry White in his episode of Strange Adventures, the cancelled HBO Max anthology show.

SEPTEMBER:

Exclusive: Harrison Ford In Talks For Fantastic Four Role

According to our trusted and proven sources, Marvel Studios wants Harrison Ford for the upcoming, mysterious Fantastic Four movie.

(I must say this hasn't been confirmed yet)

Harrison on the set of 1923:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Harrison Ford (@harrisonfordaily)

Harrison Ford and Ke Huy Quan reunite 38 years after ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’.

The trailer of Indiana Jones 5 is released to the Press, together with an exhibition of the costumes used in the movie

James Mangold and Harrison Ford debuted the first footage from the film at D23 Expo.

Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and director James Mangold surprised fans at D23Expo.

OCTOBER:

Harrison Ford Set As General Thaddeus ��Thunderbolt” Ross For ‘Captain America: New World Order’, Will Star Opposite Anthony Mackie

 It’s official. Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones franchise) will be taking over the Marvel role of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, beginning with Phase 5 title Captain America: New World Order. He’ll star opposite Anthony Mackie, with Shira Haas, Tim Blake Nelson and Carl Lumbly also among the ensemble.

1923: Harrison Ford & Helen Mirren Series Expanded to Two Seasons, Paramount+ Sets Premiere Date

1923 is coming soon to Paramount+, and the series will stick around a bit longer than expected. What was expected to be a one-season limited series, has now been expanded to two eight-episode seasons. The Yellowstone prequel series will star Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Sebastian Roché, Darren Mann, Michelle Randolph, James Badge Dale, Marley Shelton, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves, Julia Schlaepfer, Brandon Sklenar, Robert Patrick, and Jerome Flynn.

The series will arrive on Paramount+ on December 19th with a special two-hour premiere.

NOVEMBER:

1923 First Look: Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren Come to Yellowstone

The pair unveil their new series set at the Dutton ranch a century ago. “These are extraordinary people in an extraordinary time,” Ford says.

'1923' Teaser Offers First Exciting Look at Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren in 'Yellowstone' Spinoff

Empire’s World-Exclusive Indiana Jones 5 Covers Revealed

1923 Official Trailer:

'Shrinking' teaser trailer released

DECEMBER:

Indiana Jones 5 Official Trailer and Title released: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

See Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford in '1923' Premiere Photos — Taken with a Camera from the 1920s!

Helen Mirren Praises Her ‘1923’ Co-Star Harrison Ford at Premiere: ‘He Taught Me a Great Deal About Film Acting’

“1923” LA Premiere Screening & After Party

Harrison Ford Loves His Craft. ‘1923’ Tested His Limits.

[thekaijudude]

Addressing questions about announced projects from Tsubucon

So I've understandably been asked by many about the lack of UGF4 (mainly) announcements from Tsubucon since its 2-day run has ended

Which ngl, while even I was expecting it personally (blinded by hype and because I totally did not expect TsuPro to come up with so many tangential projects), I did some more digging to estimate when should we be hearing about at least the first news about UGF4

Comparing with last year and assuming the timeline of releases would be the same, since the Blazar Movie is stated to be released in 23rd Feb 2024, exactly the same date as the Decker Movie in 2023, recall that the first actual trailer we got for the Regulus series was on 27th April 2023 (I don't think we should count the Aug 2022 one cause that was coming fresh out of UGF3 then)

So realistically speaking, we should probably more reasonably expect to actually hear something about UGF4 in April 2024 rather than now since the main lineup has alr been announced for Tsubucon

And there's no doubt that there'll be a UGF4 for those that were asking as well, since they literally had a "To be continued" in the post credits scene of Regulus First Mission lol

As for the 2nd most asked installment, specifically the Shinverse continuation with either ShinU 2 or ShinSeven, the leaked timeline did point out that it's either gonna be released in 2024/25 so tbh it looks like it's slated for a release in 2025 (which im personally fine with since Anno has really been working very hard that its concerning, he deserves a longer break tbh), which means that we would most likely first hear about it somewhere mid-late 2024, Anno's involvement in Tsubucon this year could be interpreted as a foreshadowing

Which puts it in a similar situation to the leaked planned China Ultraman Movie that's also slated to be released in 2025 if yall recall the recent document leak as well, we also didn't hear anything about it at Tsubucon

As for everything else such as Marvel Comics continuation, Netflix Suitverse Novel adaptation etc, ngl I alr classified those possibilities as less likely than the above major ones so we can only assume that they don't plan on making those happen yet at least

But hell, I did predict a DH Anime on this blog prior lol, that one was truly out of left field as expected

Update: A continuation of the Marvel Comics series has been confirmed for 2024 during Tsubucon, details TBC tho

[piastrinorris]

Hello, my dearest RJ! Congratulations on 2k! You deserve it 🤍 I’d like to request hall of mirrors, please! Hmm, how to describe myself? Well, I’m a writer, completely awkward, ginger, proud cat mom, and a total nerd. Marvel, Star Wars, HP? Yep. All the geeky things. Also a horror movie junkie. I like to think I’m kind and relatively smart as well lol 💕

Xoxo @corroded-hellfire

hiiii red <333 thank you my love!!! sorry this took forever lol

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 2k follower celebration event ongoing! ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

i'm excited about writing this one! okay so i imagine you would write for the hawkins post, in a column that the hawk theater pays for where you can talk about movies that are on show at the time. but even though you're being paid to promote films, you'll still be honest. if they're bad, they're bad. sure, you'd get more commission if you were filling every seat in every screen, but you didn't get into the industry for the money, you did it for the love of the job.

and the majority of people seem to agree with your reviews, too; except those that peaked in high school, they'll tell you to your face that you're clearly biased over certain genres, but you don't care. you also get a letter sent to your work pretty much weekly, at least every time there's a new release, that basically just raves about how accurate they found your review, adding their own commentary, too. they never leave a name, or a return address, so the people who vet mail responses assume it's someone trying to get a job, too. between those two kinds of responses, the post ends up deciding that your review column no longer accepts reader mail.

but that's okay, because you have another job at the post that the public doesn't necessarily know is yours. with your writing accolades, you also pose as the agony aunt. it's some extra money in your pocket, and it's a good laugh, especially when those who went from bullying you in high school to berating you for enjoying movies in a not-so-casual way are writing in begging you to help them with their marital issues. (it takes you So Much Effort not to answer every one of those with 'leave your partner, they deserve better')

anyway, one day, a couple of weeks after you've stopped accepting mail to your critic column, you recognise the scrawled writing on the envelope and get to reading: dear agony aunt, i think i fucked up. and now that i know you can't publish this, it involves someone you work with. i'd been trying to build something with your movie critic, sending my own two cents to see if anything resonated and if I could get any kind of response back, but obviously i've overstepped a mark. feel free to not do this, but could you apologise to her on my behalf? i didn't mean to creep her out, and i feel awful that i can't tell her i'm sorry. - eddie

thankfully, he's finally learned to put a return address onto this one, and you recognise the full name as that one cute metalhead who always stuck to his own herd. he's a little confused when you, someone he barely recognises, show up at his trailer, but the agony aunt letter in one hand and tickets to the night's advance screening in the other tell him everything. and the huge grin on his face as he invites you in while he gets ready tells you that he's very, very excited at how things worked out for him, even if you do end up teasing him relentlessly for thinking you could write him back without giving you anything to work with for all those months.

[jjorbles]

(Repost) Why we want Batman to beat Superman

Note: This article was originally posted April 24th, 2015 on the Agony Booth, which I used to write for. Since that site is sadly no longer with us, I’m reposting my old articles here. 

Superman: The Movie was released nearly 37 years ago with the tagline “You will believe a man can fly”. Oft repeated, this phrase has since become more than a simple marketing gimmick. It now verbalizes everything Superman represents: Hope, belief in the impossible, and the potential greatness of humankind.

37 years later, we no longer believe a man can fly.

Warner Bros. has just released the first trailer for their upcoming Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. And if you’ve been following my articles at all, you know I’ve been dreading this movie, mostly due to my displeasure with Man of Steel and DC Comics’ projects in general lately. This new trailer has done nothing to make me more optimistic. In fact, I’m more convinced than ever that Batman v. Superman is going to be the culmination of everything I dislike about superhero movies.

Batman v. Superman, whatever else it ends up being, is the end result of decades of heated fan debate: Who Would Win in a Fight? It’s a question comic readers have fought about time and time again, despite the comics being uninterested in answering it until relatively recently. The Caped Crusader and the Last Son of Krypton have butted heads once or twice over the years, but traditionally, DC Comics is much more about heroes teaming up than fighting. Pitting characters against each other for shits and giggles is much more Marvel’s thing. The notion that Batman and Superman should ever be enemies instead of friends didn’t really catch on until Frank Miller’s radical re-envisioning of the duo in The Dark Knight Returns.

But it all strikes me as a silly debate, even by comic book standards. By any reasonable argument, Batman vs. Superman would be about as much of a “fight” as Bambi Meets Godzilla. The only way to even pretend Batman stands a snowball’s chance in hell is to stack the odds in his favor with ridiculous deus ex machinas. “Oh, Batman would win because he’d have a bat-kryptonite ring or something!” Arguments like these are meaningless, because by that logic, anyone could beat Superman, especially if they happen to have kryptonite handy. It’s like saying Howard the Duck would win in a fight with Galactus because he’d just happen to have the Ultimate Nullifier on him.

And the reason why Batman is the frequent favorite in this fight has absolutely nothing to do with the actual capabilities of either hero. It stems entirely from popularity. Batman is generally the more beloved of the two, so when they do battle, writers use any excuse they can think of to have Batman emerge the victor. The insane popularity of Batman in the last few decades is a cultural phenomenon that I’ve devoted a lot of thought to, and to be honest, it kind of disturbs me. I don’t like what it says about the mindset of our culture and what we value.

Before I explain, let me say that while I may often give off the opposite impression, I actually really like Batman a lot. Even the Christopher Nolan version. I just get sick of the fandom’s laser focus on this one particular iteration of the character. I liked The Dark Knight as a film, but frankly, it’s among my least favorite versions of the Batman mythos. He’s one of the most adaptive and versatile characters in all of fiction, and with so many interesting and diverse visions of Batman out there, to be obsessed with just this one seems incredibly dull to me.

And the fact that Nolan’s take on Batman has become such a dominating cultural force worries me, because Nolan’s Batman has some really troubling themes going on when you really look at those films. Batman, at his core, has always had a somewhat fascist undercurrent to him. Certainly, that can be said of most superheroes, since the very concept of being a vigilante crimefighter implies an individual deciding his judgment is superior and forcing it upon others. But with Batman, these qualities have always seemed a little more pronounced. He’s an absurdly wealthy private citizen devoting his resources to assaulting and imprisoning people usually far less powerful and well-off than he is. At the very least, Batman can’t help but feel a tad elitist, regardless of how much his enemies are deserving of his wrath.

But in the Nolan movies, these troubling fascist themes are no longer just an interesting curio in the background. They’re magnified and put front and center. Christian Bale’s Batman is an explicit fascist. Brutal, manipulative, and largely uncaring about the collateral damage of his mission, he violates the civil rights and privacy of those citizens he professes to be protecting, and by The Dark Knight Rises, he and his allies have turned Gotham into a virtual police state.

It’d be interesting if Nolan’s trilogy was meant to be satirical, deconstructing the inherently fascist aspects of superheroes by exaggerating them, a favorite trick of Alan Moore’s. But the tone of Nolan’s Batman films is weirdly unironic, as though we’re meant to see Batman as completely justified in all his actions, and that Gotham City is actually better off sacrificing their freedoms for his protection.

I’m not saying that’s necessarily the wrong way to look at those films; I’m saying they don’t exactly leave much open for debate when it comes to some pretty complicated questions, and instead offer up the moral certainty that Batman is in the right. Bale’s Batman is one of the least heroic versions of the character I’ve seen, and may be even borderline sociopathic. So the fact that this is the version people have most latched onto is deeply troubling to me.

And really, why do people like Batman so much? I mean, I know why I like him. I dig the ninja/gothic/film-noir mystery mash-up aesthetic, and I like the sort of dark Peter Pan-esque story of a broken man who’s still a little boy trying to reclaim his lost childhood inside, and of course he has one of the greatest rogues galleries ever. But why do the people who don’t really like comics, who hate the Adam West show, who like to pretend Robin never existed, who shun all the colorful or weird parts of character, why do they like Batman? Why is Batman the one superhero who seems to particularly appeal to those who don’t even seem to really like superheroes?

Part of it may be that Batman, more than any other A-list superhero, most easily adapts to the “real world”, or at least as close as movies get. At the very bare bones of the Batman concept, there are no sci-fi or fantasy elements. He’s not an alien or a mutant, he didn’t fall into a vat of chemicals, and he’s not a mythological god. He’s just a guy in a costume who fights gangsters. So if you’re looking to make a toned down, “realistic” superhero movie for people turned off by more outlandish fare, Batman is probably your best bet. He’s the only hero with both the name recognition to draw a crowd and the flexibility to go the ever popular grim-and-gritty route.

But I think a bigger part of it is that Batman offers people a certain kind of wish fulfillment that other heroes don’t. Fans will tell you they prefer Batman because he’s “more relatable”, due to his lack of superpowers, but that has nothing to do with it. Surely, the socially-awkward middle class Clark Kent would be far more relatable to the average Joe than billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne.

Batman’s appeal is in his empowerment fantasy. Yes, Superman also offers the fantasy of being powerful, and we can identify with the shy, unnoticed Clark pining over the pretty girl in the office, and we can fantasize about secretly being the all-powerful he-man that can save the day and sweep her off her feet. But the fantasy of being Superman comes with restrictions. Superman is a role model, and therefore bound by a pretty strict moral code. Having all the power can seem a less appealing fantasy when you're not allowed to let your aggression out, or to unleash your id and go nuts. No one wants to be a smiling boy scout all the time.

But Batman is a little more flexible. Of course, he’s also bound by certain rules: He must never kill, and he must never use a gun. But Batman can get angry. Batman is allowed to intimidate and sometimes even torture people. And since Batman isn’t an alien Hercules who might decapitate someone if he gets rough, he gets to play hard. He can beat his enemies bloody. Batman offers the fantasy of being obscenely wealthy, sexually unattached, desired by women and feared by men, and able to take out your anger every night on anyone who looks suspicious.

Let’s face it, Batman appeals a lot to angry, antisocial misanthrope types. They don’t want to be a happy, monogamous goody two-shoes like Superman. They want to be rich enough to have anything they want. They want to plow model-attractive super-villainesses without the responsibility of a relationship. They want to sneak around and blow off steam by beating up anyone they think deserves it. They want to be feared and respected.

So truthfully, the reason why a lot of people like Batman is obvious. But why the fascination with seeing him fight Superman? Many of Batman’s fans don’t just seem to prefer him to Superman, they seem actively hostile to Superman. There’s something almost fetishistic about the way people would love to see the Dark Knight take the Man of Steel down a peg or two.

At first, it may seem like a simple case of people rooting for the underdog. Batman, a mere mortal, is obviously at a disadvantage going up against the godlike Superman, and people love to see the little guy triumph over impossible odds.

But that’s not really what this feels like. For one thing, it’s impossible for me to look at a conflict between a poor, well-meaning farm boy who fights for truth and transparency as a journalist and a manipulative, secretive billionaire on a violent, vengeful rampage and see the latter as the underdog, regardless of who has superpowers.

Whenever I ask people why they hate Superman, the response I get is always along the lines of “he’s stuck-up” or “he’s a wimp”. There’s this perception of Superman as being out of touch, a stuffed shirt, a coward. But any fair reading of almost any of his movies or comics doesn’t really support this, regardless of what you may have gathered from Superdickery. Superman has always been compassionate, brave, and heroic. So what exactly makes people see him as otherwise?

It feels like people want to see Superman punished. Punished for what, exactly? Well, what’s the principal difference between Superman and Batman? Yes, I know it’s hard to narrow down, since the two are night and day, but the one I’m focusing on here is optimism. Batman and Superman have views on the world that could only be more different if one of them was an outright villain.

Superman assumes the best in people. Batman assumes the worst. Superman is more about protecting the innocent, while Batman’s focus is on punishing the guilty. Superman lives in bright, clean Metropolis, and Batman lives in dark, crime-ridden Gotham. Superman lives in a world of hope, Batman lives in a world of fear.

People say they relate to Batman because of his lack of superpowers, but what they truly relate to is his anger. Unlike Superman, Batman lives in our world, or at least our world as we too often choose to see it. We’re pessimistic by nature, because it’s easy. It’s easy to see the bad in things. It’s easy to let all the horror in the world get us down. We dwell on it until it’s all we can see anymore. Mostly, it’s easy because it requires no effort. The world has always been shit and will always be shit, so why waste time trying to make it a better place? Gotham is the real world as viewed through the lens of a bitter person who’s given up.

But Superman is different. He may be a flamboyant fantasy, but the world he lives in is every bit as much the real world as Gotham. It’s just seen through the lens of an optimist. Superman is about hope, and Metropolis is the world as seen by a hopeful person. Superman challenges us to see the good in life, and dares us to actually make an effort to improve things. He tries to show us that life is worth living and that the world is worth saving.

But it’s hard to hope, and easy to despair. People turn away from Superman and towards Batman because he offers the easier path. Superman says, “Yes, life can be hard. Tragedies happen. Your home may blow up. Your father may die. The woman you love won’t even notice you. But you can overcome it. You can save the world. Because inside you’re strong. Inside you’re a Superman.” Batman says, “The world is misery and pain so don’t bother trying to fix it. You’re living in a madhouse. People are maniacs, and the only way to deal with it is to either lock yourself up in your house and shun everyone, or beat the maniacs bloody and lock them away where you never have to think about them.*”

[*Granted, that’s not a very accurate summation of the real message of Batman, but it’s what I think a lot of people take away from him.]

A big part of the plot of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice seems to be the world becoming mistrustful of Superman. The trailer shows protesters yelling at him to “go home”. A statue of Superman bears graffiti reading “false god”. Voiceover narration talks about him as though he’s some aloof deity who everyone fears and mistrusts simply for being so powerful. As sad as this makes me, it may be the most accurate reflection of the current public perception of Superman.

The fantasy of Superman has always been that a man with that much power but also the strength of character to use it only for good could actually exist. That basic human decency could prevail over the corrupting influence of power. But maybe in a post-9/11 world, we’re just too mistrusting to believe in that anymore. The world just seems too confusing and violent for us to indulge in a happy fantasy like Superman.

So those who root for Batman to beat up Superman aren’t doing it because he’s the underdog, but because they hate Superman. They hate him for wanting to save the world and make a better tomorrow. Because they’ve given up on tomorrow. They want nothing more than to wallow in misery, and lash out at anyone who asks them to do otherwise. The strange thing is, I bet when a lot of these people were kids, they looked up to Superman as a hero. Now they only see him as a coward.

37 years ago, we believed a man could fly. Now all we want is to see that man dragged down into the dirt with us.

[popculturebrain]

‘Wakanda Forever’ Trailer Shows New Black Panther, Flying Namor and Ironheart Armor

Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” got another exciting trailer Monday morning ahead of its Nov. 11 release date. The longer trailer shows a better look at the mysterious new Black Panther, who appears to be a woman in a brand new suit.

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[saltnsugarbear]

Cas' Alien Romulus thought dump

hello, hello! asked by no one yet still you receive!

first and foremost, there will be spoilers! I'm unaware of when this will be going up in terms of time from release but nevertheless! you have been warned!

second, so many content warnings, here we go! this is also just about everything you can expect from the movie too:

violence and blood, body horror, incest baby (i might not actually mention this but like), acts of violence against a man with autism and a black man, death and discussions of killing other survivors, violence against men and women alike.

alright let's go!

I want to start with my initial thoughts!

seeing the trailer for the first time, i was so excited! first because its an Alien movie and second this one was to be directed by the guy who made the most recent Evil Dead movie! those are scary movies!

Archie R was set to be in this and he was! he stared in Netflix's Shadow and Bone (which has been cancelled) and played a character i simply disliked in the books. so I was intrigued by his role in this movie.

I think I saw the trailer in April as my family and I were seeing Civil War? and I knew immediately my dad and I were seeing this, no doubts no questions we will be watching that movie in the theatres nothing will stop us.

I've developed a love for horror movies in recent years and this has created a bridge for my dad and I to bond over his favorite movie franchise, Alien. We've seen Covenant, we've seen Prometheus, we saw The Predator, we watched Prey when it released, we have seen every iteration to come out since I've developed this love for horror. My family and I have watched him fight for his life playing Alien: Isolation every New Years and watch as he makes no progress from where we left off!

I enjoyed Prometheus, Covenant, and Alien 1979! so I was pretty excited to go and see it :3

my thoughts on the sound and music!

in space no one can hear you scream because there's no sound in space!

one of my dads biggest pet peeves in sci-fi movies is all the noise in space so he loves these movies for their accuracy!

the music was so perfect and delightful.

at a certain point towards the end, Rain is sucked into space through a hole in the cargo hull and there is suddenly no sound. everytime there is a scene out in space it is silent except for rocket rumblings and its breathtaking.

I don't remember much of the music but creating music that helps elevate an already tense scene is magical.

Benjamin Wallfisch was the composer for this movie. He's done music for several films I've enjoyed. This includes It Chapter One and Two, Twisters, The Invisible Man, The Darkest Minds, and several other movies.

I listened to the soundtrack by itself, and it's amazing. Even out of the theater and without having the movie in front of me, it manages to create such an atmosphere.

Ben slayed it! Good job, Ben <3

after seeing it a second time I cannot exclaim enough how well the music elevates the scenes.

my thoughts on effects and prop usage and sets!

oh my God! the use of practical effects and robots or puppets or whatever they used for models was magnificent i cannot praise it enough.

prior to seeing it and even before day of, i had discussed with a friend and my dad how we no longer use practical effects and everything is cgi.

I brought this up to my friend over the Beasts most recent design in Marvel, because I still think the make up originally used in the X-Men movies is magical and magnificent i cannot sing the make up departments praises enough. it is hard work and it pays off!

I told my dad this conversation and we discussed how it creates a much more powerful performance from your actors if they have something to act against.

Blackbox acting is such a great skill for an actor to have.

for those who are unfamiliar, Blackbox acting is green screen acting where your actor is building a scene using only black boxes to mimic their set.

this isn't to say i hate green screen acting!! I think movies such as Avatar and the most recent Planet of the Apes movies are masterpieces! I think they force your actor to be uncomfortable and use their own skills to create a believable performance, scene, and their own character. it forces to use every tool they have! they create this beautiful performances which will only be caught in a computer generated playback that will then be animated over. your emotions have to transfer and work as your entirely brand new model! you have to ensure the performance you're giving will move your audience!

however, the reactions to what you have right in front of you is just much more thrilling than any performance an actor can pull off by themselves.

Using suits and models to help create a real, physical monster is an art in itself, and I have such admiration for make-up artists and prop designers.

The sets were all physical as opposed to a blue screen backdrop or foam furniture. They talked about how they wanted as little blue or green in this movie as possible and wanted everything practical and physical.

Alien movies are delightful, I love physical props and sets and make-up. I think it's so beautiful and amazing.

They made suits for the alien, as well as animatronics for it and the face huggers.

For The Offspring, it looks like they cover the boy in prosthetic makeup, which is an art of its own that I love.

They put so much effort and it 1000% shows I love it.

my thoughts on the characters! this will also go over how I felt about performances if I have any!

so my first thought and the one im most delighted over is my darling Andy! Andy the Android/synthetic/artifical person! when he was first introduced i was ecstatic because that is an autistic man! an autistic black man is one of our main characters and I love him!

and then it turned out he is a robot which i suppose is fine because they're inherently autistic.

Andy creates this very interesting dynamic because not only is he autistic, but he's also black! this absolutely changes how other characters treat him and the context behind it.

most characters are consistently mean to Andy. to the point where people are physically violent against him. in one of his first few scenes, he is attacked by three punk kids who can not be older than 10 or 12, which is crazy! but characters consistently treat Andy poorly, Bjorn being one of the most prominent and consistent ones. Bjorns' reasoning of a synthetic making the call to kill his partners in the mines is a very loose and faulty one.

David Jonsson gave an excellent performance as Andy, down to the voice, reactions, and movement! There are times you can almost see where the computers brain is thinking and processing, and that was amazing to watch.

David did amazing, I will get you that Oscar, and I think Andy is the character all time he is so me I want to give him a kiss

The second character I'm delighted to get into and talk performances is Raine! played by one Cailee Spaeny <3

Cailee is such an amazing actress. She was amazing in Civil War, I didn't watch Priscella, but Cailee is amazing, she also did Pacific Rim Uprising which I remember liking when it came out!

Raine and Andy have this sibling dynamic that's interesting because Andy's coded primary goal is to do what is good for Raine, everything else is secondary. She holds him very close, to the point she is willing to make sacrifices to take an android to a planet that doesn't allow androids. (which is really interesting, I want to know everything about this world).

I don't have much thoughts on the others,

Kay and Bjorn create a cousins baby whether Bjorn knew or not I'm not sure. Tyler was played by the guy who played Mal I think he did great, good job getting to the big screen.

I just have the highest praise for David and Cailee

my thoughts on the story and plot! this is where spoilers will be the heaviest.

I was actually kind of intrigued when I first saw the trailer simply because you can do so much with an Alien movie and I was curious on how it would tie-in, how it connects to Ripley and such.

We begin in space with a craft flying towards the wreckage of the Nostromo, which is the space station from the first movie. anyways they've got this thing they're cutting into and they walk away in hazmat suits and it pans up to this indentation of the alien head and holy shit I love these movies.

Raine takes Andy with her to an appointment which, to sum it up is she wanted to leave her planet and there was a change in policy and it wouldn't happen!

blah blah blah there's a lot of stuff and dynamic showings here. Raines ex is like hey we can get these cryostatsis pods to go to this other planet off this space station in our orbit let's do it. also we need your robot brother because he can get us access to things.

I don't want to delve into all of it cause it's a lot but I love that it started as a simple task to go and get these cryo pods and then it ruined Raine's life. absolutely changed everything about it.

they said it would be 30 minutes, in and out. they had 36 hours until the romulus space station crashed into the Jackson ring.

it felt like such a natural story progression, nothing felt rushed. everything felt well paced.

the alien in this one shows signs of electricity having been adapted into it which is such a great concept, because Bjorn had inserted a cattle prod into the cocoon it was in, thus giving the idea it adapts to anything put into the environment of the cocoon.

my thoughts on the movie as a whole after walking out of the theatre!

I was so delighted and felt different leaving that theater I am not joking

I think this movie is my favorite Alien next to the original one!

I think this by itself has the potential to be one of my favorite movies, ever.

I don't think I had any grievances walking out of there, I really hope they make another following Raine and Andy!

I hope they let fede do a few more of these :)

if you read all of this I am so in love with you!! I just wanted to put all of my brainrot into one place!

slightly rushed post, doesn't have all of my thoughts but I want this out of my drafts <3

[winedark]

For the movie asks - 10, 16, 30? 💕

10. most recent movie you saw in theaters?

la chimera! i went to go see it with my brother. it's a film that has grown on me more and more the longer i have had time to sit with it (although i did actively enjoy it in the cinema too!).

16. favorite book to film adaptation?

so there is a lot of films that i have seen in which i have not read the original book series... for example trainspotting is one of my favourite films of all time, however, i never read the books so i'm not sure it counts. or the hunger games, which i enjoyed the book (albeit i only read the first one), but i have never seen the films.

to be honest, the only thing i can think of in which i have both read the book and watched the film is the book thief! i did actually really like that film, it always gets me super emotional. although i watched it a couple of times in my mid teens during a hard time and i think that's why i like it, rather than its actual credentials as a book adaptation. but it does star a baby sophie nélisse of yellowjackets fame as liesel, which is very fun!

30. are you looking forward to any upcoming releases?

i'm gonna be honest .... no 😭 however, i am usually only excited for films the more i go to the cinema and see trailers beyond marvel 3 and fast and furious 28 — SO if you could allow me to cheat as its already released, i was last excited to see kinds of kindness and hopefully will get to see it at some point ❤️