#i saw your vision rian johnson justice for the last jedi

[caput-medusae]

One thing I genuinely appreciate about the TROP showrunners is that, unlike Star Wars post-TLJ (the best movie of the sequel trilogy), they didn’t back off of their vision, but instead doubled down.

You don’t like diverse characters, even background characters? Fuck you, there’s more and we’re making the camera linger on them extra long.

You don’t like the Harfoots? Fuck you, now we have desert Hobbits. Also we retconned Poppy back into the show because we wanted to.

You don’t like Hot Sauron? Fuck you, he’s the main character now. Also we gave him a wig and a sparkly outfit.

You don’t like non-canon ship teases? Fuck you, Elrond and Galadriel kiss.

You don’t like Celebrimbor? Too bad, we’re giving him Shakespearean monologues now.

Fuck you, we’re giving Adar gay subtext.

Fuck you, we’re stopping the action to sing a song.

Fuck you, Tom Bombadil is here now.

[bearpillowmonster]

Star Wars SPOILERS Review

Ever since TLJ, the question lingers in my mind with every Star Wars related thing to come out “will they take it seriously?” It’s probably my biggest fear for Star Wars to date. Do they overwrite everything and try to reverse TLJ? And do they purposely try to subvert expectations so much that it seems like nothing matters?

I want to decrypt some of the things I said in my nonspoiler review but for the most part I will mention new things that I didn’t say. Forgive me if I state the obvious but some people haven’t realized the literal meaning behind some things.

My favorite thing about this movie is Ben and Rey. If you’re a Reylo shipper, you’ll like it but also be hurt. I wasn’t one way or the other with that. But instead of the constant fighting between Palpatines and Skywalkers, we’re given the end, the “marriage” if you will, though they didn’t get married, just kissed, between the grandson and granddaughter. It's a game of opposites, Kylo is in a way the opposite of Vader with Vader “wanting the girl until he met the dark side” vs Kylo's “wanting the dark side until he met the girl” and Rey is in a way the opposite of Palps. You see how Rey looks at him and heals him when she realizes his mom just died, she felt sorry, they were both sad and shared in that moment. Episode 3, Skywalker saves Palpatine(though they say that was just to get Anakin on his side, he could’ve beat Windu) but in Episode 9 Skywalker saves Palpatine again. Before he dies, we are given the best version of Ben. Though I did hear that Ben didn’t have any lines after he turned good...I mean...you’re not wrong? They really didn’t make him say anything though? Also I thought maybe Ben gave back the life force that Rey gave him on the Death Star, returning the gift, so to speak. Now...with that said, did we need to see Ben die? This is something a lot of people seem to be sad about, mainly the shippers. I mean I feel like people would say there weren’t any consequences if he didn’t but I also want to call back (I know it’s been shown over and over but the new trilogy doesn’t listen) to when George Lucas said during the original trilogy that nobody needed to die because we go to see a movie to be uplifted. 

So really it’s kind of a mixed bag, you could say he finished his arc but then again so did Rey, so did everybody, maybe it’s punishment for what he’s done, but I feel like he could have more chances to atone for himself, is he redeemed by having that moment? Did he even need to be there? Could Rey have handled it on her own? I really don’t know what to say here.

I will say though that I felt like Ben went down the road of never coming back in TLJ, but it didn’t make it surprising that he came back, in fact it almost seemed obvious because Palpatine came back, Ben wasn’t going to follow orders again, he just took out Snoke, why would he do that? He would try and do things his own way, he would try and follow what Darth Vader always had in mind about overthrowing and we know there weren’t going to be 2 villains. Also during that end scene it looks like he’s just wearing an Under Armor shirt, you could’ve complained saying “he took all that time to get changed or else he could’ve saved Rey sooner” but still, he should’ve had a light side outfit. But I don’t like the idea that he’s the reason the original 3 died. He killed Han in the first one, had a fight that pushed Luke past his limit in the second, and had Leia try to bring him back one last time in the third. Also we get the message that you can choose your family, Rey chose everybody as her “family” then took on the Skywalker name, blood isn’t everything. The title is about her but also Ben, Ben rises as a Skywalker once again and Rey rises as a jedi.

I thought the ending would be a force ghost fight but it didn’t end up happening which I’m kind of glad but we still got the “I’m all the sith” “I’m all the Jedi” and she says it like the “And I...am Iron Man” well this all started with Korra “I’m all the Avatars” I know this would’ve been fan service and you can see some cameo ships in that one scene but you don’t see any recognizable characters, it would be more effective if we actually saw these characters. Speaking of, they have cameo voices in Rey’s head, you can barely make them out and it’s cool to hear them but still, force ghosts would’ve been cool too, not to fight but to see like maybe on Tatooine.

People complain about how Rey and Palp are too OP in the end. I heard a rant from a former Lucas prodigy that the force balances itself out so the light will take its hosts and the dark will take its. In the prequels we see tons of Jedi and sith that they have to share the force in a way but with the new sequel trilogy...those were the only ones of each side so of course the force would infuse everything it had into them, that’s why they had “all the Jedi and sith”

Also Palp died by his own hand because Rey was just reflecting his attack and he knew they could both heal/bring back the dead so which he says something like “I haven’t saw that in a long time” a callback to his master Darth Plagueis. Speaking of, what I’ve seen a lot of people complain about is that “Jedi can use healing so it breaks the universe” but that’s not the impression I got. Palp says that quote so I got the impression that only certain people can use it, it’s not a force power everybody can use and I imagine either he couldn’t use it or you can’t use it on yourself (which would make sense since you use your own life force) which then made him change his mind about Rey killing him and drain both their power. So no, I don’t think anybody could have used it before, for some reason it just so happens that these two can. So if you’re going to complain, complain about convenience. He might have been talking about the force facetime relationship the two have but still, I think he saw that they both had the power, Ben can do what Rey can and Rey can do what Ben can.

We see a tank of Snokes which leads me to believe Palp was trying to create a new body? I mean he says he “made him” either through training or literally, not much beyond that.

I knew as soon as they found D-O that he would have some sort of connection or map to Exogal and yep, he did in a way but what was the point if Rey was just going to lead them anyway? I know it connected to that Jedi Hunter but still. Turns out the writer also helped with Justice League and Batman V Superman which makes sense because Bats V Supes has similar fundamental problems as this one.

Also, how is Rey Palp’s granddaughter? Like did one of the opera members get with him? And he’s still...capable? I liked the clone theory better and even that seemed off. Then it’s “No, I am your grandfather” now. Let me put it this way, I doubt there was a meeting back when TFA or even TLJ came out where they were like “Rey’s a Palpatine” it feels like an afterthought but maybe it isn’t because I see more evidence such as how she used a lightsaber for the first time and why that vision was in the Death Star, maybe RJ just ignored it and was like “Yeah no”. It was like they were teasing it throughout TFA just to be shut down and then focused around as the main plot of the final movie, I don’t like that setup, maybe they didn’t want to make it too much like Empire by revealing heritage but still...I mean the idea that “nobodies can be made somebody (force sensitive)” is a cool idea, they did that with Blade Runner 2049, but he wasn’t any “chosen one” but he did great things but this set it up to be hype in TFA and just kept cancelling out after that. Also Luke knew and Leia knew but for how long? Couldn't they have protected Palp's son and wife and Rey? And if they knew from some kind of force power then how did Han seem to know in TFA? I'm guessing that the whole thing with Ben turning bad didn't happen until after because Rey was pretty young when she was left. I like that they had Luke on the trail of going to find him but it feels like Force Awakens "we only have a piece of the map and there's no way to tell from just that." I would think it would be obviosu one of the wayfinders would be on Endor, but I might be thinking too much into it.

I’ve since watched some interviews and some rumors since watching it, I’ll focus on the more relative and close to confirmed stuff but Episode 9 is a big thing, you had George’s version, Trevorrow’s version, JJ's version, Rian's version, Disney (Iger and Kathleen)’s version (end version) and it’s just a lot that I’d like to see explored and explained, I hate how big corporations are like “nope, to the vault.” Like let the respective people be open about it if they want to, it’s after the fact so it’s not like it’s gonna change anything. Apparently there was a version JJ wrote up with the dagger of Mordis and Son of Mordis with Matt Smith but Disney didn’t like it and this that and the other thing, which explains why there was a dagger but in a way, the characters “were” the dagger of Mordis. I think where all these versions diverged is having Luke die, he was going to die, it’s just a matter of when, Disney and Rian pushed for 8 (for whatever reason). And everybody else was for 9. George said he wanted another 10 years to develop the sequels if he were on board and Disney wanted it out as soon as they could as well as avoiding having a repeat of the Prequels but with this sequel trilogy, people love the prequels now and the sequels have become the very thing they sought to destroy, ironic. I think the 10 years (which would be soon by now) would have done these sequels good, that way we have a clear vision and there might not have been so much crap behind the scenes. George also said that they wouldn’t let him have creative freedom but had no problem giving it to Rian Johnson. So yeah, apparently people agree with me on this because there's a movement called "Release the JJ cut" just like the Snyder cut of Justice League, I don't see why they can't just put it in the deleted scenes of the dvd or take a note from LOTR and make an extended edition, it's not like they're going to recycle it or anything, even if they do refilm the same basic scene then that's just something fans can make contrast to, it's not everyone's cake but it is definitely a good amount so there is demand, release the George Lucas Scripts, release the JJ cut.

I wanted Finn to lead a sort of revolution of Stormtroopers, have them rebel like he did. We saw that one deleted scene where they questioned Phasma in TLJ, that could have led to it but they just brushed past it with this one and gave “Jannah” the same backstory! I joked with my dad and said “the helmet had blood on it and everything.” “Really?! The same thing happened to me!” "No way!" Then at the end they make it out as Jannah is Lando’s daughter, apparently he says “my daughter was taken from me” at one point and I missed it and then they say they are from the same sector. It went right over my head, people say it’s a fun payoff, others say it has no impact. The way I took it was that Lando asked her what sector she was from and she said “I don’t know” and he said “Why don’t we find out?” I could’ve sworn that’s how I heard it, so I assumed to build off of that scene where everybody is hugging somebody but Finn meant that him, Lando and Jannah were going to find the homes of the defective stormtroopers, which once again would’ve just brushed right past the idea.

Even more so, Finn’s force sensitive? Pretty much like how he used a lightsaber in TFA so it lines up but they don’t go anywhere with it other than “Rey will be ok” “Kylo is on that ship” “The Nav is on that ship” it’s just used for convenience, there was no moment where Finn came in and really saved the day, I didn’t really care for that part where he drops the bombs with Jannah. Sure you could say that Leia was like that in the original trilogy but first of all, they were siblings so it made sense, and second, she had other development so she had stuff to still do, she was a princess after all, they wanted Luke to be the last Jedi to train new Jedi and she would’ve been among those as we can tell from this movie. Also we never figured out what happened to Luke’s green lightsaber, I thought that’s what he was going to give Rey but it ended up being Leia’s lightsaber, one we didn’t even knew existed until then.

Why does Finn have to have so many love interests? Honestly such a ladies man? There’s one every movie now yet he didn’t end up with any of them 😂 poor boy, almost confessed to Rey then Ben beats him to it, like some kind of Hunger Games drama. Unless he was going to say “I have a feeling which means I’m force sensitive right?”

I played with the idea of Ben seeing Han again and I’m content with it because it played out the same scene from his death but the way it should have gone...but we hear that remark from Luke that he’ll “haunt” him but he never does. They use the force touch ability pretty well in the movie, I kind of liked it, with the battle on the Death Star, I thought he was a hologram, I was surprised to see he was actually there. However Holdo is already forgettable because Poe does the same basic light speed jump over and over at the beginning of the movie, they call it a “Holdo” at the end but it just doesn’t seem special anymore.

My dad brought this up and I don’t really know what to think about it. So when Ben saves Rey at the end, he disappears, then Leia’s body does too, does that mean Leia was acting through Ben to save her? Or did they just poof together? Oh yeah! The Knights of Ren! So I thought maybe they would act like the Black Order then take them out one by one before Kylo was the supposed final boss and then Palp would end up being the big baddie instead but they don’t do that, they are called “Knights of Ren” not too sure about that considering they attack him in the end, more like Knights of Palpatine. The trope I was talking about is that they make a big deal of getting through it together but Rey just goes off and does her own thing, she stares into the distance a lot and gets sidetracked easily.

They made it seem like Anakin would return with Hayden in press events, he doesn’t other than a voice, a bit disappointed, then "that boy is our last hope." "no, there is another." well that "another" is...well...a “Palpatine”, Anakin wasn’t the foil anymore or “the other hope” it was Rey, she gave the final blow, she can take the name Skywalker, sure but I don't think Lucas would have let it play out that way, I mean Anakin saved Luke then Luke trained Rey but still. Luke was one of my main gripes for TLJ, not the acting, Mark Hamill is always great, but just the way they wrote and handled him. I remember after seeing it, someone at work told me “I loved Luke, he did an excellent job and had a great fight” and I thought “Yeah, coming from the guy who likes Alien Covenant” Idk what movie he was watching but I wasn’t a fan of that Luke and neither was Luke himself, Mark Hamill so that tells you something. This version seems to go back on that and does a 180, we don’t see too much of him but I started thinking how we didn’t see much of Ben Kenobi in 5 and 6 so I guess it’s alright, they at least treated him better with what we saw and that’s what matters.

I said this before but I imagined Luke taking down a Star Destroyer with the force in my ideal version of post ROTJ, just like Starkiller, we have a moment sorta like that with Rey and this cruiser, I got really happy seeing that, then Kylo fighting for it and drawing out Rey to use the dark side that she didn’t even know she could use. Speaking of, the reflection scene in this movie is what the one in the last one should have been, same scene but placed on Acht-To as training, you can have the whole snap thing and this and that but give it meaning, I feel like they were just avoiding being like Empire but then you did it anyway so it defeated that purpose.

The ending should have ended on Tatooine, I’m glad it did, right where it started. It’s funny how I had a very similar wallpaper before seeing the movie.

Then her YELLOW lightsaber made out of her staff is *😙👌🏻* great. I do think they partially did that out of fan service though, why Rey would want to go to a sand planet again is beyond me. However George has once said that "having a boy and a girl walking into the sunset adds 10 mill to the box office." and uh...I mean Disney again kind of just went against his wishes there.

Gotta admit, the whole star destroyer fleet were just Death Stars for the most part, Palp doesn’t know how to make anything else I guess. “Maybe we could make it bigger” “maybe we make it 3x more powerful” “maybe we could make tons of them!”

I also wanted to mention this because my dad liked TLJ and didn’t see why it was so divisive but seeing this movie he immediately understood so maybe it just makes things more clear and others hazy, idk.

So I thought of a way they could introduce Mara Jade and atone for Luke’s behavior in TLJ which was having Ben kill her and that’s why Luke went and banished himself and why the Jedi "forbade" any relationships like that, but then it would turn out she actually lived, that’s who I thought Zori Bliss was until she started flirting with Poe. Then I got the idea that they were going to do that with Rey, Luke knew that Palpatine was back and wanted to protect her so he left her on Jakku and banished himself on Ach-To, again wasn’t the case but I could see some big plot holes and opportunities in that theory too so maybe it’s better it didn’t go that way.

Another thing I thought was a theory I found online about C-3PO and how he would be hooked up to the Death Star and reactivate the droids as well as have some golden sentenials as an army (with him leading) to fight the First and Final Order, a callback to how the Ewoks made such a big deal out of him like he was their leader and how it was Anakin who made him so it would make sense to have some big surprise planned, that didn’t end up happening, the red eyes were just for reading sith language which makes sense, it’s cool.

Oh and that message that the emperor sent out, I couldn't find in the movie, but you know where it is? Fortnite. Yep and it’s kind of vague and dumb so rather than going to go find it, I will write it here for you “At last the work of generations is complete. The great error is corrected. The day of victory is at hand. The day of revenge. The day of the sith.” So...what is this “great error”? Vader?

One thing I know, but expected, is that these trailers are super misleading and I get that it’s supposed to be mysterious and get you to go but really? It made it look like they were destroying Vader’s shrine together, just an accident while facetiming. They made Rey look like she goes to the dark side, TWICE! Once in TLJ and once in TROS, at least with TLJ, I must say, Rian Johnson warned us about it like “hey, some stuff may not be what it seems in this trailer” so Disney is doing this on purpose, take what they have in trailers with a grain of salt. Turns out it was just a force vision like everyone was saying, called it, almost feels like they did that specifically for that reason, to put it in a trailer. But I there is at least an argument that Rey was struggling with the dark side and now we know why, I still think about the “Empress Palpatine” “Empress Rey” it’s got a ring to it, ngl. So them at least exploring that even just a bit was fun for me.

I’ve seen people say the complete opposite as me, that they liked the parts I didn’t and didn’t like the parts I did so it really is to each their own. It did some cool things with what it was given because it had to keep up with the other two, not disappoint people who hate and end the Skywalker saga, all in one bite while he wasn’t even set to direct it until late into it so he thought he was done which means there wasn’t a final script or any plan ready. I think it might have been more cohesive had it not had to deal with everything at once. There was a lot going on at one time to try and stuff in there. I think that if you had a path and then stuck with it then it would be more respectable, whether it was TFA or even TLJ, honestly I do believe that, pick one or the other but we shouldn't have to, just be committed to what you're trying to say, if Rey is related to someone, let her, if not, that's fine too but choose gosh dang it, don't throw the audience for a loop like we're some of the Mii's in Wii Sports, I'm not blaming anybody or any movie but this one.

Those are my thoughts on it at the moment, I'm reading the Thrawn trilogy so I should have a review for the first book eventually and I'll make reference back to this through that, you'll see why. As much as it's been said on the internet, I feel like it's true, like we're in a love-hate abusive relationship with Star Wars, so I think I need a break from it other than that. Disney has seemed to have based their movies around "avoiding" "avoid the Prequels" "avoid the Ladt Jedi" well, in the process I think they're avoiding Star Wars.

[renegade-skywalker]

Okay, it’s time for me to rant about The Last Jedi:

Let me start off by saying that I am all for pushing boundaries, exploring the limits and really delving into the philosophy of Star Wars. I loved The Force Awakens, but I was very much ready for The Last Jedi to take the new trilogy in a new direction and catapult us beyond the horizon of everything we thought we knew about the world of Star Wars and its mythos. I was fine with the idea of Luke defying expectations and being disappointed by him, I was ready for grumpy Luke, and hell, I was even anticipating that the Big Twist™  would be that Luke was the antagonist. I was all for Luke going Paul Atreides/Muad’Dib on the galaxy and becoming an antagonist in the sense that Batman does at the end of The Dark Knight. I was ready for the plot twists, I was ready for the Rey and Kylo arc, but I was not ready for this mess.

What’s sad is that this has been done before. I may be biased, but Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords explores Star Wars in ways no other SW-related media ever has, yet it manages to do so within the realms of Star Wars’ “rules”. It feels believable, it draws from the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy, it discusses the problems with the Force as well as the Jedi and Sith who both feel as if they are entitled to act on behalf of the Force. It deals with redemption, but it also has a message that “ultimately nothing matters” and Kreia’s ploy to destroy both the Jedi and the Sith, but more importantly, The Force Itself and it makes sense. You see her point, you understand her desires and motivations. Not only do you see the Jedi and the Sith fail and bring violence and turmoil to the galaxy within the game regardless of their motives and intentions, even turning Revan into a bit of a villain whether you were Light or Dark in your playthrough, but also makes you think of how you can say the same of the movies, how the Council utterly fails Anakin in the Prequels just as the Council fails the Exile and how redemption is always possible for all of your party members and even Kreia, just as it was for Vader. 

The Last Jedi has elements of this story, but has absolutely no depth. Luke is not only out of character, in fact in many parts I feel like he was in character but he was most of all inconsistent. His comments about the Force and the Jedi are interesting, how the Force is not a “right”, and for the Jedi to think they have a claim on controlling it is pure vanity. I LOVE THAT. But beyond that line... that’s it. We do not see this point explored. In fact, Luke goes back on this idea almost as soon as he says it. For someone who has cut themselves off from the Force (think: The Jedi Exile, which has a lot of potential) he still cares about the Light and the Dark and is biased against the Darkness. After giving a rather nihilistic speech about the Force, Luke still sounds like the Jedi Masters from the Prequel Trilogy, who he also just criticized for being righteous hypocrites. He berates Rey for being drawn to the Darkness, yet decides she’s the Last Jedi? Nowhere do we see Luke come to this conclusion. 

There is no reason for Rey to be a Jedi. She can certainly be an arbiter of justice, or at least someone with the power to confront Kylo in the next act, but there is no argument for her to uphold the Jedi name. Yoda even destroys the old texts, which also feels like a slap in the face because the events of the Prequels are all kind of Yoda’s fault? Not to mention that scene was cheestastic as all hell. Yoda stuck to the code, did not give Anakin the training/guidance he needed, and did not heed the Classic Star Wars Bad Feelings™ of people like Obi Wan (at least in Phantom Menace, by Attack of the Clones he cares for Anakin and has hope in him) and Mace Windu, who never seems to trust Anakin or his future. Again, it is not Anakin’s fault that Darkness surrounds him. He was born into slavery, his mother is still a slave (which, for peacekeepers and do-gooders, shouldn’t Qui Gon and Obi Wan have done something about that??? Isn’t that what Jedi do???) and yet they still blame Anakin for his life’s circumstances, for things completely outside of his control, and for feeling things. The boy needed therapy, he would have been fine. This problem is brought back up in Ben Solo’s origins as Kylo Ren. For Luke to call out the Old Jedi Order (with receipts) and then do THE VERY SAME THING to his nephew makes no sense, especially since Luke was able to reach Vader by believing in him, by seeing the Light in him, and trusting him. What made Luke so cool in Return of the Jedi was the fact that he told Yoda and Obi Wan “No, I will not kill my father” when they kept telling him that Vader must be destroyed. And Luke was ultimately right. Where did that compassion go? Ben was just like Anakin, kind of thrown around like a bomb to go off, and I’m sure that will give any kid anxiety, so when Snoke comes along and tells him he’s powerful and worthy, it makes sense that he would be swayed. This is just like Anakin. Anakin was openly distrusted by the Council, but was welcomed and “understood” by Palpatine. I don’t see why Luke would overlook this.

Speaking of Snoke, the Big Twist that he dies makes no sense. Who was he is a big question, sure, but ultimately why did it matter? It doesn’t. It also makes me realize that the First Order is completely motivationless, and Snoke’s desire to train Ben/Kylo is made completely pointless. And if he was so strong in the Force, enough to reach out and influence Ben across the galaxy without seemingly ever met him and create a Force bond between Rey and Kylo, how the hell did he not even simply hear the lightsaber next to him rattling on the armrest? In Return of the Jedi, the Emperor is taken by surprise by Vader in a seemingly silly way, considering they’re both Force users and Vader just throws him over the railing and into the battery of the Death Star, but it’s more believable. Palpatine is so busy revelling in torturing Luke and the physical act of electrocuting him, in showing him that he’s right, that he does not see Vader turn. He is so vain that he does not see Vader change right beside him. But there’s motivation there. Snoke isn’t doing much when Kylo kills him, he’s too busy giving his Villain Takes the Time to Explain How The Hero Is About to Die speech to notice that his vision is right but ultimately a misinterpreted prophecy. It’s not believable.

Also, Palpatine keeps Vader on a tight leash but he gives him power, he gives him the illusion of agency. Snoke literally calls Kylo a snivelling bitch every three seconds. He’s like the abusive dad who puts down his spouse/kid all day every day and goes on and on and on about how weak they are and how they’ll never fight back or amount to anything only to get decked in the face during the climax. It was the behavior of an abuser, yes, which we know Snoke was from The Force Awakens, but this makes him an unintelligent abuser. Palpatine was a master manipulator. After seeing The Last Jedi, I have no idea why Ben would follow Snoke, nor do understand why Hux would for that matter. He’s not a villain, he’s a bully. How boring...

There is so much more I could talk about, but when concerning the mythos and philosophy behind Star Wars, what makes Vader so interesting and the rest of the movies so good, and everything else that felt wrong with The Last Jedi. I’m convinced Rian Johnson didn’t even see The Force Awakens and maybe watched the other movies a couple times and was somehow convinced he could make a Star Wars movie. Gareth Edwards’ movie felt like a Star Wars movie. It felt like a story that had always been there, from the beginning, we just hadn’t heard it yet. It was new, yet it kept the feel of the Original Trilogy. The sets and designs looked like they came out of the late 70′s production of A New Hope, but the characters were completely different than any other Star Wars characters we’d seen, they showed how even the Rebellion could be bad and how grey morality could work in a Star Wars movie where there is so much emphasis on black and white Good and Evil, and they killed off every single character by the end which was a bold move. The Last Jedi didn’t just introduce new ideas and explore the philosophies of Star Wars, it completely disregarded them and failed to feel like it belonged in the series. Even though the Prequels have a different tone to them than the Original Trilogy, they still have a feel to them that makes it consistent. The story and the mythos are there, even if the sets and the technology did not add up with what we saw in A New Hope. But The Last Jedi has neither, so I’m failing to see how this is a Star Wars movie at all.

There were so many plot holes, the Resistance plot line was essentially just a ship running out of gas, the First Order is magically able to track them through hyperspace, Hux turned from Space Nazi to Gargamel, Phasma is brought back for three whole seconds only for her to get her ass kicked again, Luke decided to give his ass-tral projection a Rogaine makeover and a different lightsaber, Yoda somehow looks worse than both his puppet and CGI counterparts in the Prequels, the guards on Canto Bight look like they just walked off the set of Spaceballs, and why did the movie end with a Star Wars Duracell commercial, y’know the ones we get this time of year about kids imagining they’re in Star Wars and how it makes Christmas special? That Resistance ring looks like it came out of a Cracker Jack box.

Honestly... what the fuck.

[furederiko]

Lots and lots of news to catch up folks! Unfortunately, despite my desire to post more (I kept getting distracted by this and that since the start of the month), this is inevitably the first and also last Random-News-Digest for October...

(Images courtesy of Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, Marvel TV/Hulu, LEVEL-5, The Pokemon Company/GameFreak, and CAPCOM. Taken from Official Trailers, Official Sites, and Entertainment Weekly.)

Pacific Rim

The much anticipated sequel "Pacific Rim: Uprising" released its first full-length trailer earlier this month (October 6th, to be precise), and well it... felt similar but also different? Unlike many people in the North American region, I'm among the few who thought the first movie was okay... but not as mindblowing as those people claimed. I guess, robot fighting giant beast... can be considered a norm for Japan afficianado like yours truly. We get that on a weekly basis through Super Sentai and Ultraman. That's probably why I didn't feel as big of an excitement when I saw this one too. In fact, somehow I'm inclined to agree with both Birth.Movies.Death and Collider, that likened this to two other big franchises: "Power Rangers" and "Transformers".

But still, if this movie IS your thing, then don't let some subjective comparisons bring you down. John Boyega is leading as Jake Pentecost, with the charming (but can't seem to find his groove, relegating him to be bland supporting character in like... every movie) Scott Eastwood shadowing as his Jaeger partner Nate Lambert. Other new actors include Cailee Spaeny as young hacker Amara, Tian Jing, Adria Arjona, and Burn Gorman. Charlie Day nerdily returns as Dr. Newt Geiszler, and Rinko Kikuchi is back as Mako Mori, who seems to be taking over his adopted-father commanding role this time around. By the way, please don't expect Charlie Hunnam character to be in this movie. LOL. From the hands of Stephen S. DeKnight, "Pacific Rim: Uprising" arrives on March 23rd, 2018.

Star Wars

Aaaah, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi". Winning the battle of trailers (against Warner Bros, who previously released one for their upcoming team-up movie) earlier this month (October 9th. Yeah, I kept track), Lucasfilm stole every attention through a cool looking poster, and a neat official trailer that pretty much riled up everyone in the world, fans and non-fans alike. Hey, the brilliant editing of this trailer got me highly interested, so indeed it was the winner of the not-really-a competition.

Part of it was due to the Porgs, to be honest. A creature specially created by director Rian Johnson for the movie. Seriously, that shot of Chewbacca and the little planet Ahch-To native screaming together, instantly numbed down plenty of weak hearts. The reason why they are headlining this post. LOL. That's not all. This movie will be the last appearance of the late Carrie Fischer as well, a swan-song to her General Leia. So it's clear that Lucasfilm consciously honored her with this trailer. If anything, I believe that would be a great reason to see this movie. "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" arrives on December 15th, 2017.

Somewhere else, Ron Howard has completed his work on that Han Solo spin-off. And he has personally (via instagram and/or Twitter) revealed its official title: "Solo: A Star Wars Story". I actually prefer 'Han Solo', but I'm not complaining. It's still short, easy to remember, and follows the pattern of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" nicely. Beside, it might also meant to describe Han's solo adventure (get it?), before he met his lifelong partner Chewbacca. Before Chewbacca ends up with Porgs, that is. LOL. You can expect this movie to arrive ontime on May 25th, 2018.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Gear up for a speedy adventure in ultimate velocity. Tim Miller's big screen adaptation of SEGA's initial mascot has moved from SONY Pictures to Paramount. Miller is still attached as executive producer, and his buddy Jeff Fowler as the director. This time around, Neal Moritz has joined the party as the other producer, alongside Toby Ascher, Dmitri Johnson, and Dan Jevons. The movie remains to be a hybrid of live action and CG animation.

As far as I know, SONY hasn't had good success with their animated projects lately, while Paramount has fared better. So this move might be a good thing. Of course, there's still that video-game adaptations curse to put into our concern. It's looming not just Hollywood, but even other countries like Japan. But you know what? If the team can at least produce something along the line of "The Angry Birds Movie" (which was highly enjoyable, albeit not doing so well with critics), and are able to keep the characters faithful to the source material, I'm totally down with it.

Dark Universe

Oh NO. Bill Condon's "Bride of the Frankenstein" has been officially delayed!

This news was a bit of a bummer, especially for several few (like me) who somehow curious to see what Universal would do next with their Dark Universe. Sure, "The Mummy" was a seriously flawed movie, and that it should and could have been WAAAAAY better. But is that hard for me to see more of Russel Crowe's Dr. Jekyll? Anyway, "Bride of Frankenstein" was already in pre-production, set for a February 1st start, but the crew has been dismissed. Good thing is, the movie has NOT been cancelled so far, but only postponed temporarily. Meaning, it might still be released somewhere late 2019. Just not in February as it was intended to be. It also doesn't mean that it's a sure thing though. Oh well... we'll see.

Akira

New Zealand director Taika Waititi confirmed to IGN (October 10th) that WB has indeed approached him to work on a Hollywood "Akira" adaptation. As it turns out though, the deal is not yet set in stones, at least for now. Waititi still has an array of projects on his sleeves, not including the potential of a 4th "Thor" movie that has been making the rounds through the internet lately. One which I'm sure is totally happening some time after 2019.

The director however, didn't hesitate to offer his thoughts on the movie. He said that IF he does take the job, then it will be based on the original 6-volume manga, and not the popular classic 1988 animated movie. More importantly, he would definitely be looking for Asian leads. "Yeah. actually Asian teenagers would be the way to do it for me and probably no, not, like no name, I mean sort of unfound, untapped talent. Yeah, I'd probably want to take it a bit back more towards the books.", he confirmed. That's reassuring, isn't it? After seeing the latest "Thor" movie under his guidance, I have complete confidence that Waititi would be able to bring an anime to life in a grand but personal way. Let's just hope his vision is inline with WB...

DC Films

Aaaaah yes, WB. The one studio that never ceases to amaze me.

Remember that time when I used to be soooo confused to why many people are calling their recent DC movie adaptations as DCEU and not DC Films? You don't? Don't worry, I forgive you. It was posted in January 2016 anyway, and I'm too lazy to look for it to provide a link. Anyway, as I've long suspected, DCEU was NEVER the name of this movie universe that began with the dull and boring "Man of Steel". It's nothing more than a fan-made term! LOL. To be more specific, it was courtesy of Keith Staskiewicz of Entertainment Weekly back in July 2015. Beside, surely I wasn't the only one who remembered that CW Special thingy with an over-excited Kevin Smith and bashful Geoff Johns, right? The branding "DC Films" was used heavily in that TV special, so it's clear that's what the bigwigs have always wanted to call it.

What's baffling to me, is that WB also NEVER tried to openly correct this, to the point that even I have started using the term despite my initial reluctance. Ouch. As for how this truth was finally revealed? Through a thorough article released on September 29th by Abraham Riesman of Vulture. Go ahead and make a detour to read that fine article, because it's truly an eye-opener. Ironically, reading this article gave me a clear mind of what went wrong with DC Films, and why its movies just didn't work for me. As I've suspected, WB has indeed been the culprit, by being bullish and ignoring the advice from DC Entertainment. And I'm not even kidding here. The studio greedily wanted to copy Marvel Studios, a studio developed by people behind the comics, yet ridiculously refused to accept feedbacks from DC Comics. Well, DUH?!! No wonder "Man of Steel", "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", and "Suicide Squad" could never reached the heights of their respective source materials. They were given to people who did NOT understand the comics from the start. DC Comics was sidelined, to the point that they turned head towards developing TV shows instead. It wasn't until "Wonder Woman" that Johns and the folks from DC Entertainments were given the reign to provide input and assessment. Look what happened to that movie!

Could we be seeing the same result with next month's "Justice League" then? There's no certainty about that, but one thing for sure, Zack Snyder is no longer directly involved since Joss Whedon came in to tackle the movie's reshoot and post production. Apparently Whedon even cut the movie from a rumored 3 hours duration to mere 121 minutes! Yep, that running time has indeed been confirmed, officially making this title as the shortest DC Films movie to date. Naturally, the response to this was easily mixed (some segment of the 'DC fans' just can NOT change, huh?), which was relatively understandable considering this movie has not one nor two, but FIVE major characters to put in the spotlight. SIX if Henry Cavill's Superman is included. Can they all be given a proper screentime, alongside Ciarán Hinds' CG antagonist Steppenwolf, and those hordes of supporting cast (assuming they haven't been cut off) in such a limited duration? Let's just wait and see. I can only hope this does NOT mean WB is planning to release another 3-hours 'Ultimate Edition' later on. They HAVE done that before, haven't they? TWICE. That's like giving audience a major reason NOT to watch this movie right away.

For now, here's a new and possibly final trailer (actual one, not quick TV spots... expect loads of that fairly soon) to help you decide whether you want to see this or not. I know I won't, but don't let that stop you from going. "Justice League" arrives in less than 3 weeks on November 17th.

"Shazam!" has found one half of its leading actor! Zachary Levi, the actor formerly known as "Chuck", and has appeared as Fandral the Dashing in the "Thor" series, as well as the mischievous Flynn 'Eugene Fitzherbert' Rider in Disney Animation's "Tangled" and its TV series, is set to portray the hero form of young Billy Batson. This news hit the internet not long after director David F. Sandberg confirmed on a Reddit thread, that the movie will be released in April 2019. I think Levi has the right personality, but probably the body to portray Shazam. Naaah, that can be tweaked.

It remains to be seen if this movie will be in the same continuity to "Justice League", considering New Line Cinema is in charge on this. Not to mention, that article above HAVE mentioned and confirmed that there WILL be movies outside of the unified universe. I have a inkling feeling that "Shazam!" will be a stand-alone series, but as always, we'll see.

One last thing! Remember how Joe Manganiello was cast to play the super-villain Deathstroke, and was meant to show up in both "Justice League" and "The Batman"? It seems both ideas have been scrapped, leaving his poor Deathstroke without a home. But that's where Gareth Evans swoop in. Yes, according to The Wrap, the acclaimed director known for his gritty and bloddy "The Raid" series, has entered talks to develop a stand-alone Deathstroke movie. Well, how cool is that? Of course, in talks does NOT mean that it's a done deal. But it's a fitting marriage, if you ask me. Manganiello gets to play his version of Slade Wilson, the movie can be a gruesome R-rated assassination flick, and it can even exist outside of the continuity. So no need for unnecessary call-backs to the "Justice League" characters, am I right?

X-Men Universe

F**K continuity! That might be the message that FOX was sending through the first official trailer of Josh Boone's "The New Mutants". In particular, to a certain segment of audience who can't seem to stop complaining about that massive lingering issue that's been plaguing the studio for a loooong time. You know, folks like... yours truly *grins*.

So there you have it, a very HORROR-styled X-Men movie, inline with the director's promise. Ooookaay, I get that FOX badly wants to 'differentiate' itself to Marvel Studios, but is this really a good way to work with this particular material? I can't really answer that. It didn't come close to what I've expected, and I'd be a huge hypocrite if I say I can finally ignore its whole continuity angle. THAT part is still bugging me, because I'm literally confused to where and when this takes place in the X-Men universe. So much of wanting something akin to "X-Men: First Class", huh? I'm not even sure if I like this or not, because it tried to be creepy and spooky but... it did not. Sure, I'm a fan of that supernatural Netflix show that has a bunch of kids encountering creature from a dark realm and all. But an X-Men movie that feels like a copy paste of it? Hmmm... hold on, now that I think of it, this DOES feel inspired by that "LEGION" TV show. That could be the reason why it feels strangely... repetitive. "The New Mutants" arrives on April 13th, 2018. Here's hoping the 2nd trailer would do... better.

"Gambit" is moving forward! That's a surprise, huh? I actually thought the studio would eventually shelve this title after numerous delays. Nope, because Gore Verbinski has been hired to work on it, and Channing Tatum is still very much attached as titular character Remy LeBeau. From the looks of things, "Gambit" might also exist in its own separate continuity, inspired by the success of "Deadpool" and "Logan". FOX has even given an official release date! Yes, this movie will be released on February 14th, 2019. That day was initially booked by Universal's "Bride of the Frankenstein", but now it's an empty slot for superhero movie. "Deadpool" did wonders in the same week last year, can "Gambit" fare the same or even better?

Speaking of the Merc with the Mouth, "Deadpool 2" has completed principal photography. Ryan Reynolds hit his personal social media to thank everyone involved. In the spirit of Wade Wilson's character, obviously. Josh Brolin was mentioned in the post, as it should be, because the actor had almost turned down the role, if it wasn't due to a certain personal persuassion. Not surprising, because an actor of Brolin's calliber has the tendency to go with indie drama, and was already involved with Marvel Studios at the time. Director David Leitch got a mention, but sadly Tim Miller didn't get one. That's a shame really, because if Miller didn't go all out to make the first movie, this sequel and potential more wouldn't even existed. Miller doesn't have any hard feelings, and has since moved on to other grand projects instead. I guess all's well ends well, right? I hope so. "Deadpool 2" will arrive on June 1st, 2018.

I'm not done. There's one more project on the horizon, and it's a spin-off for "Logan". Dafne Keen's X-23 was a standout in that movie, and it's safe to say she has inherited the legacy of Wolverine from Hugh Jackman. So it's natural that she's being eyed for her own solo movie. Director James Mangold shared this news to The Hollywood Reporter, confirming he's currently writing a sequel for Laura. Mangold referenced director Patty Jenkins and her success with "Wonder Woman" that led to this step. Indeed, my sole hope for that DC movie, was that it paved way for more female-led comic book adaptations, so I'm glad that ended up to be the case.

IF, and it's a big if, this X-23 spin-off gets made, producer Hutch Parker admitted that it will have its own tone or genre not similar to "Logan". But you know what? FOX is being ambitious lately, always trying to be one-upping WB in terms of doing things 'different'. That's why I'm positive this spin-off WILL be made. Just look at "Gambit" as the best example. Beside, unless FOX eventually decides to re-cast Wolverine (since Hugh Jackman has approved of that), they can only rely on Keen as the successor, right?

SONY Marvel Universe

Eventhough many people are still doubting this project, the Spider-Man-less Spider-Man spin-off "Venom" has actually begun production. The movie even had its own official Twitter account, created to boldly announce this news just last week. We can see Tom Hardy among other guys there, presumably the director Ruben Fleischer. No sign of Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, or Jenny Slate who were said to be in talks for the movie, nor Reid Scott and Scott Haze. But I guess it's enough to prove the doubters that this movie is definitely in the works.

Additional detail has been revealed as well. This time, courtesy of Andy Serkis, whose The Imaginarium studio might be involved as motion-capture consultant. Apparently, Hardy would be portraying Eddie Brock, but his Venom form will be achieved through motion capture CG. Serkis' work is phenomenal though, as proven through how realistic Mark Ruffalo's Hulk has become, so it looks like we can expect more of the same for this movie. "Venom" is expected to be released on October 5th, 2018, which is less than a year from now. Do you think it will be a success? Hmmmm...

Marvel Studios

Let's start with "Thor: Ragnarok" first. The movie opens in North American this very weekend, but has already landed in international markets since Wednesday last week. Go ahead and read my Non-Spoiler Review if you somehow don't believe me.

Reviews from various critics have also been published in pretty much every entertainment sites you could encounter in the internet. Had this Random-News-Digest was released much earlier (prior to last week), I would've gladly detailed some of the responses. Whether it's the early social media responses, or the actual full-length reviews (two weeks ago). However, doing so now while every site has already published their own digest, would be too redundant. So I'll stop right here and give that a pass. For the record, the movie started at 98% on RottenTomatoes (October 21st, 2017 01:20AM local time) when the first 47 critics submitted their scores. It has fluctuated since then, but just like the other Marvel Studios releases, I'm predicting it will end at above 80%. It's really fun and Hela Good, so it would make sense...

Second trailer (but actually the first full-length one) for Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" has been released on October 16th. It was dropped without any warning, startling pretty much every Marvel fans on the planet. A new fancy poster was also released online on that same date. If you haven't seen both, then what are you waiting for?! All signs are indicating that this is going to be a special movie, and well... I think every scenes in this trailer only amplified said notion. Those entertainment journalists weren't kidding when they compared this to a 007 movie, because it DOES feel like one. Direct comparison to DC's Batman was also inevitable.

Quite surprisingly, the Prelude Comic for the movie revealed something more interesting. Remember how "Iron Man 2" somehow hinted at the location of Wakanda? Many seems to think that it was a continuity error, but as it turns out... it's NOT. Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa had already received his rights to use the Black Panther suit... the same time Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark came out as Iron Man in his first solo movie. Black Panther's appearance in last year's "Captain America: Civil War" was NOT his debut outing. That's T'Challa's 8TH year already! It might also be the same reason why Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger somehow has his own gold-colored suit. Daang it, this movie is going to be grand. "Black Panther" arrives really soon on February 16th, 2018, so you better mark that date!

Possible new details for "Ant-Man and the Wasp" MIGHT have been revealed. Specifically, its time setting among other Marvel Studios releases. If this report is to be believed (grain of salt please, because this kind of report usually does NOT pan out), the movie will take place over a very short period of time following Paul Rudd's Scott Lang's breakout from The Raft. Remember that ending of "Civil War"? Yep. Stuck in house-arrest, Scott will spend most of the first arc with his daughter Cassie, played by Abby Ryder Fortson. Michael Douglas' Hank Pym and Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne on the other hand, will be busy finding a way to rescue Michelle Pfeiffer's Janet van Dyne from the Quantum Realm. It looks like they might be on the run as well, presumably from Randall Park's Jimmy Woo. If I'm getting this right (again, assuming the source is credible), the theme of the movie will no longer be about heist. Of course, things might play out very differently, being just a rumor and all. So let's just wait for the first trailer to get the answer. Hopefully soon, because turns out the movie had just wrapped production!

Actor Ben Mendelsohn, is said to be in negotiations to join Brie Larson's Carol Danvers in "Captain Marvel". According to Variety, Mendelsohn is being approached to play the main villain. Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck apparently had him in mind for the role, which led them to arrange a meet up. If the movie is indeed about the war between Kree and Skrull, that means highly likely he will be playing a Skrull Leader. But I digress. Again, this type of obvious speculation can sometimes be... red herring at best. He could always play a Kree gone bad, right? Mar-Vell himself, or, even Yon-Rogg, the Marvel supervillain who's responsible for Danvers' Kree powers. Until we have official announcement from the studio, all we can do now is speculate. "Captain Marvel" arrives on March 8th, 2019.

Untitled "Avengers 4", a movie that writer Jim Starlin has called out to be "delightfully different", continues filming. That means, more and more details as well as actors are confirmed on set. As usual, this could be spoilery, so if you're avoiding one, stop right here and skip to the next category. Still here? Okay then, let's go.

Remember how Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton has been rumored to be taking a new moniker in the movie? Well, there's a photo of him sporting this new look, partially confirming this report. Apparently, Scarlett Johansson will also have her own new hairstyle. Letitia Wright's Shuri has also been spotted on set, alongside Boseman's T'Challa, confirming that she will be in the movie as well.

Meanwhile, during a promotional tour for "Ragnarok", Mark Ruffalo shared to Cinema Blend that his Hulk will have his own three-part character arc. The character re-inventing, which is a collaborative effort with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, has already begun in "Ragnarok". It will then continue in next May's "Avengers: Infinity War", and seemingly concludes in "Avengers 4". Does this mean Ruffalo will be ending his appearance as Bruce Banner by then? It's hinted that way, though I badly sure hope NOT. I would love to see him and Chris Hemsworth's Thor teaming up for more galactic adventure. Trust me, I'm sure you'd totally want that after watching "Ragnarok".

Speaking of future movies, "Avengers 4" will mark the end of Phase 3, and also a long-running arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It will serve as a conclusion, but not exactly the end of MCU. Feige confirmed this to Uproxx, by saying that the studio "will go places beyond that. And, of course, we have ideas of where we go beyond that. But, really, it is all good stories.". Even director James Gunn affirmed that the report of "Avengers 4" being the 'grand finale' of MCU was highly overblown. "It’s the end of one long story & the beginning of another", he stressed. He might be stepping back from doing a potential 4th Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but that doesn't mean his working relationship with Marvel Studios will end after "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3". After all, his "Vol. 3" (its first draft might have been completed, by the way) will be wrapping the current "Guardians" franchise, while also serving as one of the important movies to kickstart the next story arc. Kind of like, "Ragnarok" then...

Last but not least, Marvel Studios held a not-so-secret (it's public secret really) massive photo shoot earlier this month. It featured most if not all major actors, directors, and also producers who have been involved with the studio, quite possibly to commemorate the Studios' 10 Years Anniversary. Several big names like Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L. Jackson, and even the Russo Brothers have even shared some quick scenes from the event through their social media. Will us, the fans be able to see the result of this event, alongside the official timeline of the movies, as promised by Feige himself? I'm sure, but who knows when. Perhaps, sometime around next year, in Marvel Studios' very own Comic Con? *grins*. Hey, it doesn't hurt to dream BIG, right?

Marvel TV

Marvel's "The Inhumans" is close to ending its first (and possibly ENTIRE, due to the huge loss it's causing IMAX?) season run. Just two or three more episodes, I think. I can't say that for sure because I'm not even bothered to follow the show. LOL. That means, the 5th season of Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." is just weeks away from starting.

Indeed, during their panel at the recent New York Comic Con, Marvel TV announced that the new season will start on December 1st, 2017, with a 2-hour premiere. Actress Natalia Cordova-Buckley has also been promoted to series regular before hand. Her Yo-Yo has always been a fun addition to the show, both in character and as person of color, so it's a great thing to know she will mostly be around now. Too bad we couldn't say nor haven't heard anything about Juan Paulo Raba's Joey though. Such a wasted potential right there.

The NYCC panel included several details that teased some fun changes in the new season. First, the team has been abducted by aliens, and are placed in a space station filled with all kinds of aliens. Ian de Castecker's Fitz will be the only member on Earth, which could lead him to work together with Nick Blood's Lance Hunter somehow. The two Brits had fun chemistry back then, so it would nice to capitalize on that. There's time travel twist in place, a horror/sci-fi vibe, and the return of the Inhuman Monolith in form of Obelisk too. Those who expected S.W.O.R.D. however, would be disappointed, because the space organization won't be featured. I doubt Marvel TV has the rights, anyway. The Kree on the other hand, will definitely show up. Does this mean, the season will be tied to "Captain Marvel"? Hmmm.

For the time being, I'm still on the fence of following this new season. Unless it's a final season, in which I will literally force myself to watch, I'm not sure I have extra patience and time to spare for a long 22 episodes that leads to... nowhere, not Knowhere. It still depends on the trailer though, because if it manages to capture my attention, then... the rest is history.

Take for example, Marvel's "Runaways". Its first teaser that was officially released during NYCC week was just okay, but the air of mystery it exuded was enough to grab my attention. Its follow up trailer was even better, by showcasing the lead character's various abilities. And then there's that positive reaction from its initial screening. These are the kind of buzzes that snatch everyone's attention... in a good way (looking at you, "Inhumans"). Anyways, the first three episode of "Runaways" will premiere on November 21st. Don't be surprised if Hulu doesn't drop every episodes at the same time like Netflix. This is just the way they roll...

Meanwhile, Marvel's "Cloak and Dagger" will air weekly on Thursday night, as part of Freeform's Winter lineup. The show doesn't have a premiere date for now, but I'm guessing Marvel TV is pending the announcement until after "Runaways" hits the road.

Netflix

Joining the array of new Marvel TV shows, Marvel's "The Punisher" will also arrive in November. As it turns out, the Jon Bernthal's leading series was supposed to come out early October, but it has been delayed in the wake of the terrifying Las Vegas shooting tragedy. Not just the series, the NYCC panel was also pulled from schedule, to respect the victims. This new series will now debut on November 17th, 2017. Do check out the new trailer to wet your early Thanksgiving appetite. You are free to choose your allegiance (Marvel TV or DC... who is releasing a movie in the same date) when the day comes.

Meanwhile, Finn Jones' Danny Rand (with better hair-cut) will at long last show up in the 3rd season of Marvel's "Luke Cage". EW even has the official image to back up this news. Looks like we might be getting a discount "Heroes for Hire" show we've always wanted after all. Which is nice I guess, because the chemistry between Jones and Cage's Mike Colter was undoubtedly strong in Marvel's "The Defenders". It was one of the highlights of that disappointing mini-series.

Things are looking good with the 3rd season of Marvel's "Daredevil" as well. Vincent D'Onofrio has been confirmed to reprise his iconic role as Wilson 'Kingpin' Fisk. Considering Marvel TV actually went all out to announce this, that means we can expect him to be more than a mere cameo (Season 2, anyone?). Hmmm... is it just me or Marvel TV is desperately trying to attract audience to COME BACK to their shows? Hmmm... can Loeb, the man of many excuses, be trusted this time around? That remains to be seen. One thing for sure, "Daredevil" will join "Luke Cage", and definitely the 2nd season of Marvel's "Jessica Jones" in 2018.

Have you seen the much-anticipated 2nd season of "Stranger Things"? I was actually going to talk about this series in preparation of its release, but I guess I'm a little late for that am I? LOL. I have only seen the first episode so far, and though it was mostly set-ups, it's definitely as good as the 1st season. If you're a fan of this supernatural thriller, then you might want to visit Netflix' official Youtube channel and check out some of its weird promotional materials as well. There's one to celebrate Friday the 13th, and also one featuring... Nose Bleeds. Yikes!

If you haven't had the chance to watch the new season though, you might want to refrain from seeing its Final Official Trailer. That's NOT a good trailer IMHO, because it literally spoiled soooo many things happening in the later episodes. Even the mystery of Eleven's whereabout was easily revealed, just like that! Unless you're among those folks who's okay with spoilers of course. But even so, just watch the season instead. All 9 episodes have already been made available since October 27th anyway.

DC Television

"Titans" have found its Beast Boy! And it's a Disney alumn. Well, technically that is, considering Ryan Potter voiced lead protagonist Hiro Hamada in Disney Animation's "Big Hero 6". Potter actually publicly campaigned to play Batman's third Robin Tim Drake (after Dick Grayson, and Jason Todd) in the movies, something more inline with his role in Nickelodeon's "Supah Ninjas". But looks like DC saw him fit as Garfield 'Gar' Logan instead. Hmmmm... I would actually prefer to see the Japanese-American young actor portrays, I don't know, someone like Amadeus Cho in Marvel Studios movies... but sometimes we can't expect too much with casting. I wish the best for Potter nonetheless.

Super Sentai

We got more rumors surrounding the 2018 Super Sentai series, "Keisatsu Sentai Patoranger" and "Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger". Courtesy of the ever-informative Dukemon, of course. Since we haven't gotten its official look, reports surrounding both titles have been changing and shifting by and by. One rumor claimed there will be 7 members between two teams, with the usual colors of Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Green, Black, and White. Latest one said that Lupinranger will consist of LupinRuby, LupinSapphire, and LupinEmerald, while Patoranger will Include PatoFire, PatoWater, and PatoThunder. That's Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Blue, and Yellow. Whoops? That can't be right. LOL. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" has Kyutama, so the collectibles for both titles will be in form of COINS. A nod to "Kamen Rider OOO" then? Hmmm....

Professor Layton

International version of "Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy" has been released for the Nintendo 3DS. Layton fans who have been waiting for one since the Japanese version was released on July 20th, and somehow couldn't purchase it on Smartphone (either due to preference, or space limitation), can now begin their puzzle-solving spree right away. LEVEL-5 celebrated this by releasing a special launch trailer, depicting the characters, main cases, and also main features from the game.

But if you think this spin-off is the extent of the franchise, then you're mistaken! In an interview with License Global magazine, senior Vice President of Marketing and Licensing Simon Waldron shared that there are two major releases arriving in 2018. The first was none other than another Professor Layton game, set to be released in Summer 2018. Since Nintendo 3DS is reaching its final years, it's most probably being developed for Nintendo Switch. As for the story, I suspect it will be a direct sequel to Katrielle's adventure, especially if we put into account the overwhelming response to that Global Puzzle Hunt marketing. I totally would LOVE to be involved in another one of that.

The second project, was what completely stole my attention. A 26-episodes TV anime series is being developed to start broadcasting next year! How cool is that? *grins*. Of course, there's a common concern that video game adaptations are plagued with bad reputation, and this news doesn't escape such concern. Even the anime adaptation of "BlazBlue" and "Gyakuten Saiban" were generally... sloppy and disappointing. I sincerely hope Layton will not be affected by this curse. On the other hand, the "Inazuma Eleven" and "Youkai Watch" series rangeg from above average to actually really good. Those are the other big titles produced by LEVEL-5, as extensions and/or alternatives to the video games. That gives me hope that Layton will be as good, if not better. Can't wait to hear more details about this one!

Dynasty Warriors

As has been promised by producer Akihiro Suzuki, the release date for "Dynasty Warriors 9" was announced on October 26th. The new open-world styled iteration for the franchise, will arrive for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on February 8th, 2018. Several special editions have also been announced, like the "Treasure Box", "Ikkitousen Box", and also "Digital Deluxe". Visit Gematsu to read more details about them.

Pocket Monsters

Several new trailers have been released by The Pokemon Company, to raise awareness and hype for their upcoming "Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon". The two titles that have been confirmed to be the last core Pokemon games released on Nintendo 3DS, once again marking the handheld console's imminent retirement. My oh my, how quick time flies by, huh?

The first trailer came with a startling tagline, "This is Not the Alola You Know Anymore". It indicated that the region have gone through significant changes during the gap of years following "Pokemon Sun & Moon". In fact, producer Shigeru Oumori and director Kazumasa Iwao shared to Famitsu, that the new scenario for this new titles is said to be twice the volume of "Sun & Moon"! An English-language version were also released several days after, to provide ease of understanding for international players.

Three new Ultra Beasts; Adhesive, Assembly, and Burst; were revealed through a follow-up second trailer. The more important reveals however, was the 'Ultra Wormholes', as well as 'Ultra Megalopolis'. These new games will allow players to use Legendary Solgaleo and Lunala to travel to another realm! The Megalopolis also heralds the arrival of several new characters. Dulse, Zossie, Soliera, and Phyco who are part of the 'Ultra Recon Squad', will appear early on in the game, altering the core of the story. They are pretty much people from alternate reality! These are first in the Pokemon franchise, that I'm not even sure how to feel about their addition.

Another trailer unveiled special new additions to the game. There are Z-Crystals called Solganium Z and Lunalium Z, that led to new Z-Moves called "Searing Sunraze Smash" and "Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom" (get it? SSS, and MMM... Sun and Moon?). They are exclusive for the new Necrozma Forms, the Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings Necrozma. Rotom will also received its own Z-Move called Z-Power, that will allow a second Z-Move to be used in battle.

I think we can expect more trailers coming very soon, ahead of the games' November 17th release. There are rumors of new Alolan forms, and also possibly new Pokemon to be added in these game. Let's just see if they do pan out, okay?!

Marvel vs. Capcom

"Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" has been released. And the response to the game was... mixed at best. Having seen the Story Modes and Ending online (hey, that's what Youtube is for, right?), I can personally attest this. Those complaints are totally not exaggerated, because the game feels and mostly looks... unappealing.

CAPCOM can still count on the arrays of DLC characters, to boost the reception for this title. Following Black Panther, Sigma, and Monster Hunter (all of them released on October 17th), three other characters of the "2017 Character Pass" have been confirmed. Complete with their designs, as datamined from the game's data.

Quite surprisingly, all three are coming from the Marvel side: Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Venom. Exciting characters, but even I would argue that Winter Soldier is nothing more than a clone of Captain America and/or Chris Redfield, Black Widow could very well be a clone of Gamora and/or Jill Valentine, and Venom... is well Venom, a brutal version of Spider-Man. I can't help but wonder why CAPCOM doesn't use more colorful characters like Ant-Man (NetherRealm has already gone one step ahead by debuting DC's shrinking hero Atom), Vision, or Scarlet Witch, among others. Oh well, perhaps they are being saved for the "2018 Character Pass", inline with the release of "Infinity War"? Here's hoping...

Street Fighter

Sixth and final Season 2 DLC character for "Street Fighter V", has been released. As has been rumored, and speculated over and over again, it's indeed Guy's Bushinryu master Zeku who debuted in "Street Fighter Alpha 2" many years ago. Nope, let me correct that... FORMER master. Apparently he resurfaced after starting his own ninja group, with his own fighting style as well. The character has already been released on October 24th, but here's his reveal trailer anyway, in case you've somehow missed it (like yours truly)...

Zeku's arrival felt like an after-thought now, because there's an even bigger news from the franchise. CAPCOM will be releasing "Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition" early next year! Yes, the rumor and report based on fan's datamining discovery as well as listing on online stores have been confirmed, by none other than executive producer Yoshinori Ono himself. To be released on January 16th, 2018 for PlayStation 4 and PC, this updated version will add various new contents like Arcade Mode (with numerous endings, if the latest report is to be believed), Extra Battle, Gallery, new V-Triggers for every characters, and more. The 12 DLC characters from Season 1 and 2, will also be included as unlockables in game. Best of all, true to their initial promise for this series, players who own the original "Street Fighter V", can obtain their upgrades free of charge. This is a great opportunity to those who have been interested in the game, but decided to postpone their purchase due to various reasons (bad launch reviews, to name one?). They can get everything, all in one package now.

In a way, CAPCOM might also be using this release to prepare for Season 3 of DLC characters. You know, the one rumored to contain fan favorites like Sakura Kasugano, Sagat (there's an icon reserved for him in the datamining result), and some others. It's not confirmed for now, but that's certainly the general assumption among fans. Let's just wait and find out if that's the case when the "Arcade Edition" hits the market next year. For now, you can watch the official announcement trailer and start preparing for more "Street Fighter V" in the future...