Oof – what a week! Aside from recuperating from NYCC 2016 (a.k.a. – catching up on some much needed sleep), this week has been full of some exciting (and cringe-worthy) news. Need to know the scoop before you head into the weekend? Here’s my weekly recap to get you up to speed.
THE BEST
Fantastic Beasts: In one of the week’s biggest pieces of news, J.K. Rowling revealed that the new Fantastic Beasts film franchise will be not three – but FIVE films! That sound you hear is the screams of Potterheads across the globe rejoicing, especially since the two additional films don’t sound like a Warner Brothers studio mandate. Rowling told the press she was the one to decide upon five films after plotting out the story in painstaking detail. Thanks for the hard work, Jo! We can’t wait to see the films.
Dirk Gently: One of the big winners of NYCC, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency got rave reviews from comic-con fans. The pilot episode was the surprise standout at the BBC America NYCC screening, and the interactive booth inside the Javits Center had an hour-long wait for most of the day. Talk about some good publicity!
THE WORST
Rogue One: We got a new Rogue One trailer this week and it’s good – but not great. The reason this is in our “Bad” list, however, is because it dropped a major piece of knowledge that could have been a cool surprise for the film. Mads Mikkelsen is playing Galen Erso, father of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), who is also the architect of the Death Star. Hopefully there are some surprises left in the film – it has a lot to live up to.
Doctor Strange: Rachel McAdams’ character in the film, Christine Palmer, will officially not become Night Nurse on screen. We can’t say that we’re surprised that a talented actress such as McAdams has become relegated to just a love interest, but we are bummed. Marvel Studios had a great opportunity and they completely squandered it.
Planet of the Apes: It turns out that three reboot films just isn’t enough for Fox – the director and producer of the upcoming War of the Planet of the Apes evidentially have more future plans for the franchise. Sure, the films are good, but isn’t it time for some more original stories?
STAR POWER
James Gunn: In his near-constant promotion of GotG Vol. 2., Gunn let us know that the sequel “exceeds” the Bechdel Test and is full of strong female characters. Can’t we just focus on Doctor Strange for, like, another month?
Jeffrey Dean Morgan: When promoting The Walking Dead, Jeffrey Dean Morgan expressed interest in playing “Flashpoint” Batman (since he has already played Thomas Wayne in Batman v. Superman). Are you listening, DC?? This is a thing we want!!
THE KEEP-AN-EYE OUT FOR
War of the Worlds: MTV has recently called it quits for Teen Wolf, and it looks like they’re venturing back into sci-fi/fantasy with an upcoming War of the Worlds TV show. The show will have the same creative team behind Teen Wolf, so maybe we’ll see some familiar faces when the show makes it to the screen.
Did we miss your favorite piece of news? Tweet me @AlexKnowsWords to send me a scoop, and to tell me what you want from this weekly column!
