THE FLASH Movie Loses Director, AQUAMAN Director Next?

And the Batman v Superman fallout continues.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed late yesterday that Seth Grahame-Smith has left The Flash movie adaptation from Warner Bros., citing the classic "creative differences" excuse.

Grahame-Smith, author and screenwriter of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, was going to make his directorial debut on the film set in the DC Extended Universe.  The project will keep Grahame-Smith’s script, which he wrote working from a treatment by The Lego Movie's Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

Controversial choice Ezra Miller is still slated to star as Barry Allen, following his brief appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the upcoming Justice League Part One, to be released on November 17, 2017.

According to Birth. Movies. Death, Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder and DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns were "taken aback at critical and audience reaction to Batman v Superman" and "WB execs have found themselves at odds with Snyder over his vision for Justice League and the DC movieverse going forward."

The site also claims "Justice League was scheduled to start shooting mere days after BvS was released, which meant WB couldn't take any definitive action -- like removing Snyder or delaying the movie to make changes -- without poisoning the box office for BvS.  The result? Lots of fights between Snyder and the WB execs, and lots of pressure from Burbank on Snyder, who is shooting in London."

In addition, the site states "According to multiple, reliable sources James Wan is feeling a tremendous amount of trepidation about Aquaman," with Wan "trying to decide if he needs that hassle."

In the meantime, Warner Bros. still has time to find a replacement director for The Flash, which isn't scheduled to arrive in theaters until March 16, 2018.

DAREDEVIL Spinoff Series THE PUNISHER Ordered by Netflix

Good news for you, bad news for criminals.

Entertainment Weekly and Marvel have confirmed that Netflix has ordered a spinoff series of The Punisher, based on the Marvel Comics character played by Jon Bernthal in Daredevil Season 2.  This will be the sixth Marvel series for Netflix, after Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders.

According to the articles, writer and executive producer Steve Lightfoot (Hannibal, Casualty) will serve as the series' showrunner.  The project was first reported by TVLine last summer.

"For me, the complexity and unpredictability of Frank Castle make him an incredibly compelling character and I couldn’t be more excited to dive into his world," said Lightfoot. "After watching Jon’s performance in Marvel’s Daredevil, I could not be more excited to be working with him to further develop and progress the story of this anti-hero in a show of his own."

"We want to thank the fans who are clamoring for more of Jon’s stunning and powerful performance as Frank Castle from Marvel’s Daredevil," said Executive Producer/Head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb.  "Now combined with showrunner Steve Lightfoot’s compelling writing, we’re thrilled to bring Marvel’s The Punisher to Netflix."

"Jon hooked our global audience with his performance as Frank Castle from the moment he stepped on screen in Marvel’s Daredevil, and we are looking forward to seeing more of him in this role under the vision of Steve Lightfoot," said Cindy Holland, Netflix Vice President of Original Content.

Created in 1974 by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru and John Romita, Sr., The Punisher first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man (vol.1) #129 as Frank Castlle, a vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence, and torture in his war on crime.  He was determined to kill Spider-Man, who was wanted for the apparent murder of Norman Osborn.  He later encountered other heroes, such as Captain America and Nightcrawler, then faced off against Daredevil, whose more liberal views of crime often put them on opposite sides.

Driven by the deaths of his wife and two children, who were killed by the mob during a shootout in New York City's Central Park, the Punisher wages a one-man war on the mob and all criminals in general by using all manner of conventional war weaponry.  His family's killers were the first to be slain.  A war veteran of the U.S. military, Frank Castle is a master of martial arts, stealth tactics, guerrilla warfare, and a wide variety of weapons.

THE FANDOM ZONE 057: "Better Angels" is Up!

"I was exactly where you are, Kara.  And when I was, you told me to never give up." 
"I'm not giving up, but my mother didn't send me to fall in love with a human, have children, and live in a house with a white picket fence.  She sent me here to protect Kal-El.  And now I will use my powers to protect the Earth.  And if I die achieving that, I'm at peace with it.  I'll join my mother.  We'll be together in Rao's light."

– The Martian Manhunter and Supergirl, Supergirl: "Better Angels"

Back on track at last, Karen Lindsay and I are here once again with another HUGE episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Fear the Walking Dead 2x02 -- "We All Fall Down" 

Supergirl 1x20 -- "Better Angels" (Season 1 Finale)

Gotham 2x18 -- "Pinewood"

Lucifer 1x12 -- "#TeamLucifer"

The Flash 2x18 -- "Versus Zoom"

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 3x17 -- "The Team"

Legends of Tomorrow 1x12 -- "Last Refuge"

Daredevil 2x07 -- "Semper Fidelus"

This time, we talk about things like shamelessly begging for San Diego Comic Con tickets, A Christmas Story, Nick's skill sets of sniffing out drugs and babysitting, how long we would stay alive in an actual zombie apocalypse, Daniel's trust of Strand, great boats having great responsibility, Harrison Ford in Working Girl, turning it up to eleven in Spinal Tap, driving Fort Rozz through Supergirl plotholes, hoping for Krypto the Superdog, Gordon & Alfred shooting bulletproof Mr. Freeze in his armored chest instead of a headshot, the return of Doctor Who's Michelle Gomez as The Lady, all glory to the Hypnotoad, Mazikeen being taken advantage of by everyone, Earth-2 vs. Earth-3, Cisco's fear of turning into Reverb, speculating that we'll see a bunch of speedsters in The Flash Season 2 finale, Fitzsimmons shippers being happy, more Doctor Who connections on Legends of Tomorrow, The Atom making geeky Terminator resets, some Booster Gold speculation, that awkward moment when your girlfriend shows up when your ex-girlfriend assassin is around, setting up The Defenders, reading a new Justina review, welcoming our new Google Play Music listeners, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone on Google Play Music right HERE, or for those of you who use iTunes, we're already available HERE, so please subscribe and rate us!  If direct download MP3s are more your thing, you can find those HERE as well.  In addition, you can Like us on The Fandom Zone Facebook show page, which you can check out HERE.  And yes, we're also on Twitter with our account @FandomZoneCast!

And hey, if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!

Be sure to come back next week, as we review the Season 1 finale of Lucifer, Episode 8 of Daredevil Season 2, and new episodes of Fear the Walking Dead, The Flash, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

Showtime Reveals Official Cast List for TWIN PEAKS Revival

Let's rock!

Showtime has revealed the full cast list for its upcoming revival of Twin Peaks, which totals 217 names that include returning veterans and a lot of new additions to the saga.  And yes, a few disappointments, barring any surprise appearances.

The show's official Facebook account also revealed that principal photography has been completed, mysteriously saying:

The cameras have stopped rolling. 
A key piece of the mystery is revealed.
Welcome back* to Twin Peaks.

The full list of 217 can be seen at TVLine HERE, but here are the big names...

Returning to Twin Peaks

Mädchen Amick as Shelly Johnson
Dana Ashbrook as Bobby Briggs
Phoebe Augustine as Ronette Pulaski
Richard Beymer as Ben Horne
Catherine E. Coulson as Margaret "The Log Lady" Lanterman
Julee Cruise as Roadhouse Singer
Jan D'Arcy as Sylvia Horne
David Duchovny as Denise Bryson
Sherilyn Fenn as Audrey Horne
Miguel Ferrer as Albert Rosenfeld
Warren Frost as Will Hayward
Harry Goaz as Andy Brennan
Andrea Hays as Heidi
Gary Hershberger as Mike Nelson
Michael Horse as Tommy "Hawk" Hill
David Patrick Kelly as Jerry Horne
Sheryl Lee as Laura Palmer (or Madeline Ferguson)
Peggy Lipton as Norma Jennings
Bellina Martin Logan as Great Northern Clerk
David Lynch as Gordon Cole
Kyle MacLachlan as Dale Cooper
James Marshall as James Hurley
Everett McGill as "Big Ed" Hurley
Walter Olkewicz as Jacques Renault
Kimmy Robertson as Lucy Moran
Wendy Robie as Nadine Hurley
Carlton Lee Russell as Jumping Man
Harry Dean Stanton as Carl Rodd
Charlotte Stewart as Betty Briggs
Al Strobel as Phillip Michael Gerard (The One-Armed Man)
Carel Struycken as The Giant
Russ Tamblyn as Dr. Lawrence Jacoby
Ray Wise as Leland Palmer
Alicia Witt as Gersten Hayward
Grace Zabriskie as Sarah Palmer

Notable New Residents of Twin Peaks

Monica Bellucci
Jim Belushi
John Billingsley
Michael Cera
Richard Chamberlain
Jeremy Davies
Laura Dern
Robert Forster
Balthazar Getty
Grant Goodeve
Ernie Hudson
Caleb Landry Jones
Ashley Judd
Robert Knepper
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Matthew Lillard
Josh McDermitt
Trent Reznor
Tim Roth
Amanda Seyfried
Tom Sizemore
Eddie Vedder
Naomi Watts

Twin Peaks is expected to debut on Showtime sometime in 2017.

Pearl Mackie IS the New DOCTOR WHO Companion!

It's official...The Twelfth Doctor is about to meet his newest companion, to be played by actress Pearl Mackie.  The news was released this afternoon on the BBC One Match of the Day Live (MOTD Live), during halftime of the FA Cup semi-final between Everton and Manchester United.   

A special two-minute trailer titled "Friend from the Future" revealed the announcement, with Mackie's character Bill getting a necessary recap on the Daleks.  

The BBC's official website confirmed the news, saying filming for the next series of the long-running science fiction show will start this year but air in 2017.

The little-known Mackie has appeared in the film Svengali as Foh girl and on the television series Doctors as Anne-Marie Frasier.  She graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2010, and is currently performing in the National Theatre's West End production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.

Mackie commented on the casting, saying "I'm incredibly excited to be joining the Doctor Who family.  It's such an extraordinary British institution, I couldn't be prouder to call the TARDIS my home!  Peter Capaldi is such a brilliant actor, and his Doctor is such a wacky and wonderful character, I can't wait to see what adventures are in store for him and Bill throughout time and space.  Reading the script at the audition I thought Bill was wicked. Fantastically written, cool, strong, sharp, a little bit vulnerable with a bit of geekiness thrown in.  I can't wait to bring her to life, and to see how she develops through the series.  

"I always loved stage combat at drama school so I can't wait to get on set and kick some evil monsters into the next dimension!  Shooting the trailer was absolutely mental.  There were pyrotechnics and smoke and I met my first Dalek!  I'm not sure it will ever become 'the norm' seeing crazy monsters on set, but I cannot wait to meet some more!  The weirder, the better, bring it on!"

Star Peter Capaldi also remarked, "It is a genuine delight to welcome Pearl Mackie to Doctor Who.  A fine, fine actress with a wonderful zest and charm, she’s a refreshing addition to the TARDIS and will bring a universe of exciting new possibilities to The Doctor’s adventures."

If you'd like to check out the two-minute trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official BBC America account on YouTube...

NEXT STOP EVERYWHERE 057: "The Heart of the Battle" is Up!

"Yes, Prime Dalek...Where does this leave the peace negotiations?  How does shattering Gallifrey and dispersing it into the maelstrom of temporal chaos fit in with the cease-fire plan?  Just wondering."

-- The War Doctor to the Prime Dalek, Doctor Who: "The Heart of the Battle"

Returning from the farthest reaches of time and space, my good friend and co-host Jesse Jackson and I are finally back with a new episode of Next Stop Everywhere: The Doctor Who Podcast!  We're reviewing the third and final audio adventure from Big Finish Productions' first War Doctor set Only the Monstrous, "The Heart of the Battle" starring John Hurt!

This time, Jesse and I discuss things like the iZombie Season 2 finale, wanting the War Doctor to return on television, David Tennant dressed as Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor, Seratrix's moral hypocrisy, the War Doctor's moral dilemma, the Doctor's moral outrage in the classic Doctor Who era, Cardinal Ollistra's manipulations, my Reverse the Polarity segment, Jesse trying to get Set Lusting Bruce recognized for a best music podcast award, and more!

If you'd like to check out this episode, we're now available on Google Play Music RIGHT HERE, or you can find us on iTunes RIGHT HERE, or Stitcher RIGHT HERE, so please subscribe and rate us!  If you're looking for direct MP3 downloads, you can find them RIGHT HERE as well. Oh, and don't forget we have an officially official Next Stop Everywhere Facebook page and Twitter account, so be sure to Like and/or Follow us, okay?

And hey, if you'd like to pick up the officially official Next Stop Everywhere t-shirt, you can find it on TeePublic right HERE!  Help support the show!

Be sure to come back soon for our review of the classic Seventh Doctor story "The Curse of Fenric" starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, and look for more of Next Stop Everywhere on iTunes, Google Play Music, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Sticher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

THE FANDOM ZONE 056: "Salivation Army" is Up!

"A massive zombie outbreak means never having to say you're sorry."

– Liv Moore, iZombie: "Salivation Army"

After a slight delay due to Karen's internet provider Comcrap, Karen Lindsay and I are back with another HUGE episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Fear the Walking Dead 2x01 -- "Monster" (Season 2 Premiere)

Supergirl 1x19 -- "Myriad"

Gotham 2x17 -- "Into the Woods"

Lucifer 1x11 -- "St. Lucifer"

iZombie 2x18 -- "Dead Beat"

iZombie 2x19 -- "Salivation Army" (Season 2 Finale)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 3x16 -- "Paradise Lost"

Legends of Tomorrow 1x11 -- "The Magnificent Eight"

Daredevil 2x06 -- "Regrets Only"

This time, we talk about things like my PVC Flash figurines, The Dead Boat, Karen meeting The Love Boat cast, Alicia looking to hook up in the zombie apocalypse, women who dig the skeevy look on guys, Alicia discovering the nautical version of sexting, Nick covering up his big balding fivehead, our grammar fight over the word "myriad," Non's Myriad being a swipe of the Sycorax's blood control from Doctor Who, The Riddler enjoying when someone figures out his riddles even if it gets him caught, The Penguin going all Eric Cartman from the Scott Tenorman episode of South Park, Karen doing the happy dance about having her Lucifer theory being proven right, Amenadiel and Mazikeen having freaky car sex, more meta with Rob Thomas, iZombie needing a black and white crossover with The Walking Dead, wondering why Daisy rushes into a situation instead of sending the Avengers, Jonah Hex checking out our tweets, The Atom being a big cowboy geek, western heroes Nighthawk and Cinnamon being past lives of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Elektra playing mind games with Daredevil, wondering what the Daredevil Season 3 big fight scene will be like, and more!

You can now check out episodes on Google Play Music right HERE, or for those of you who use iTunes, we're already available HERE, so please subscribe and rate us!  If direct download MP3s are more your thing, you can find those HERE as well.  In addition, you can Like us on The Fandom Zone Facebook show page, which you can check out HERE.  And yes, we're also on Twitter with our account @FandomZoneCast.

And hey, if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!

Be sure to come back next week, as we review the Season 1 finale of Supergirl, Episode 7 of Daredevil Season 2, and new episodes of Fear the Walking Dead, Gotham, Lucifer, The Flash, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Legends of Tomorrow, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING Adds Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man

Are we one step closer to seeing the Iron Spider armor on the big screen?

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that the upcoming Sony Pictures movie Spider-Man: Homecoming will feature Robert Downey, Jr. reprising his Marvel Cinematic Universe role of Iron Man/Tony Stark.

According to the article, Captain America: Civil War "establishes a key relationship between Tony Stark/Iron Man and (Peter) Parker and Homecoming will continue that thread."

Spider-Man: Homecoming will be directed by Jon Watts and currently stars Tom Holland as the amazing Spider-Man, Marisa Tomei as Peter's Aunt May, Zendaya as a character named Michelle that plays a big part in future installments, and Tony Revolori as a character named Manuel that will be a high school enemy of Peter's.

After appearing in this film, Spider-Man and Iron Man will be seen in the upcoming two Avengers: Infinity War films directed by Anthony & Joe Russo that are currently scheduled for May 4, 2018 and May 3, 2019.

In February 2015, Sony and Marvel announced a deal to share live-action rights to the character, which were previously solely under Sony's control.  

The article also points out that with the addition of Downey, "it appears that Marvel will continue to keep Spider-Man close not just creatively but also literally; Tony Stark/Iron Man appearing together in Homecoming keeps the Sony’s movies strongly tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its films released by Disney."

Spider-Man: Homecoming is slated to arrive in theaters on July 7, 2017.

IRON FIST Casts Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum

Meachums...Meachums EVERYWHERE...

Variety revealed yesterday that the upcoming Netflix series Iron Fist, based on the classic Marvel Comics martial arts superhero, has cast Jessica Stroup in the role of Joy Meachum, while Tom Pelphrey will play her on-screen brother, Ward Meachum.  

The article describes the character as "The children of Harold Meachum (David Wenham), Joy and Ward have spent their lives building Rand Enterprises to its current standing in the world, only to have all their work put in jeopardy when Danny returns to claim his birthright. They are childhood acquaintances of Danny Rand’s who now play an important role in Rand Enterprises."

Stroup, 29, is best known as Erin Silver on 90210 and Max Hardy on The Following.  She has a a considerable horror movie background, including the films Prom Night, Vampire Bats, Left in Darkness, and The Hills Have Eyes 2.  She also appeared as Tracy in the movie Ted, and has appeared on episodes of True Blood, Reaper, Grey's Anatomy, and Zoey 101.

Created in 1974 by Doug Moench and Larry Hama, Joy Meachum first appeared in Marvel Premiere #18 as the daughter of Harold Meachum, the man responsible for the deaths of Iron Fist's parents.  She was a brilliant businesswoman and was groomed to eventually take over Rand Meachum, Inc. from her father.  After her father had been murdered by the Ninja, she found Iron Fist next to his corpse, naturally blaming him for her father's death.

Partnering with her uncle Ward Meachum, she tried for years to avenge her father and kill Iron Fist.  They teamed up with Davos the Steel Serpent, who would work for them as long as he could get revenge on Iron Fist.  Asked by Joy to investigate her uncle Ward, Davos complied as he agreed to work for them until he killed Danny Rand.  During a meeting with Joy, Daniel Rand and Rand's lawyer to discuss the return of his father's shares of the Meachum company, they were attacked by local crime boss Chaka Kahn.  When Rand changed into his identity of Iron Fist, she was brought to safety by Steel Serpent, who defied her orders to attack Iron Fist.  Davos confronted Ward threatening him to quit and disappear and leave the running of the company to Joy.  He told her that his debt was paid in full and it was now time for his revenge.

Boss Morgan and his goons took Joy hostage, as Rand Meachum, Inc. was apparently cutting into his turf.  Iron Fist saved an ungrateful Joy from Morgan and his goons, and afterward, Joy offered Morgan millions of dollars to shoot Iron Fist.  Morgan, not wanting to be around when the ambulances arrive left Joy to deal with her own revenge.  Iron Fist, maintaining his innocence in the murder of Joy's father, told her to go ahead and kill him. Joy couldn't and the two decided to end their rivalry.  Later on, Danny relinquished control of his shares of Rand Meachum to her, until a time when he believed he's earned the wealth from the company.

Iron Fist is expected to debut on Netflix sometime in 2017.

THE FANDOM ZONE 055: "Last Day on Earth" is Up!

"You don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished, now did you?  I don't want to kill you people.  Just want to make that clear from the get-go.  I want you to work for me.  You can't do that if you're dead, now can you?  I'm not growing a garden.  But you killed my people, a whole damn lot of them.  More than I'm comfortable with.  And for that, for that, you're gonna pay.  So, now...I'm gonna beat the holy hell outta one of you."

– Negan, The Walking Dead: "Last Day on Earth"

With the NCAA Basketball Championship giving us a little bit of a breather, Karen Lindsay and I are back with a new episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

The Walking Dead 6x16 -- "Last Day on Earth"

iZombie 2x17 -- "Reflections of the Way Liv Used to Be"

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 3x15 -- "Spacetime"
Arrow 4x18 -- "Eleven-Fifty-Nine"

Legends of Tomorrow 1x10 -- "Progeny"

Daredevil 2x05 -- "Kinbaku"

This time, we talk about things like Sammy Hagar ruining Van Halen, Karen and I being Fandom Zone t-shirt buddies, The Walking Dead Season 6 finale being more divisive than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Karen's Comcast picture quality fail, the scraggly-beardy guy from Grand Theft Auto 4, wondering why the Walking Dead RV wasn't fortified against attacks like any episode of The A-Team, Negan being married to Maggie in another comic movie continuity, how The Walking Dead's Scott Gimple totally blew the Season 6 finale by not showing Negan's victim, why it's not justified to interrupt TV shows for primary election coverage in 2016, Fitz's annoying insistence that events in time are predetermined, the real-life Charles Hinton, Gilda/Rita looking great as a zombie, Don E.'s and Chief's basement banjo and washboard jamming, Oliver actually being right about something, bros before bros, Black Canary faking her death with Oliver's help (No, she's not dead), the correct way to pronounce "Per Degaton," my response to the "go back in time to kill Hitler" moral dilemma, Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, Elektra feeding off Matt being a danger junkie, a new Justina review, speculation about Melissa Benoist playing Power Girl instead of Supergirl on The Flash, and more!

You can check out the episode HERE and for those of you who use iTunes, we're already available HERE, so please subscribe and rate us! If direct download MP3s are more your thing, you can find those HERE as well. In addition, you can Like us on The Fandom Zone Facebook show page, which you can check out HERE. And we're also on Twitter using the account @FandomZoneCast.

And hey, if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!

Be sure to come back next week, as we review the Fear the Walking Dead Season 2 premiere, the Season 2 finale of iZombie, Episode 6 of Daredevil Season 2, and new episodes of Supergirl, Gotham, Lucifer, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

First DOCTOR STRANGE Trailer Teases the Sorcerer Supreme

Forget everything that you think you know.

Late last night on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, actor Benedict Cumberbatch stopped by to debut the first teaser trailer to Scott Derrickson's Doctor Strange, giving us our firs good look at Marvel Comics' Sorcerer Supreme.

The two-minute trailer opens with footage of Dr. Stephen Strange's car accident that causes severe nerve damage to his surgeon hands, as we hear the voice of Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor). "Stephen Strange," begins Mordo.  "Might I offer you some advice?  Forget everything that you think you know."

Next, we see Strange traveling the world in search of a treatment for his condition, as we hear the voice of the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) talking to him.  "You’re a man looking at the world through a keyhole," remarks the Ancient One as we glimpse Rachel McAdams as an unidentified ER nurse when Strange is wheeled in for an emergency operation.  "You’ve spent your life trying to widen it.  Your work saved the lives of thousands.  What if I told you that reality is one of many?"

"I don't believe in fairy tales about chakras or energy or the power of belief," Strange tells her.

"You wonder what I see in your future?  Possibility."  All at once, the Ancient One shoves her palm into Strange's chest, knocking his Astral Self right out of his body as Strange stares at his noncorporeal form in amazement.

We see Mads Mikkelsen's unnamed character bending reality by waving his hands around in a clockwise gesture as we hear Strange ask the Ancient One "Why are you doing this?"

"There are other ways to save lives," replies the Ancient One as she shows Strange several New York Cities folded upon themselves, Inception-style.  "So much you don’t know."

After Strange is brought back to standard reality, he begs her, "Teach me."

Lastly, we see the shadowy outline of Doctor Strange, now garbed in his traditional costume, walking up a staircase inside the Sanctum Sanctorum.

If you'd like to check out the two-minute teaser, you can view it below thanks to the official Marvel Entertainment account on YouTube...




Doctor Strange is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 4, 2016.

IRON FIST Casts David Wenham as Harold Meachum

And here comes the man responsible for the deaths of Iron Fist's parents.

Marvel has revealed that the upcoming Netflix series Iron Fist, based on their classic martial arts superhero, has cast David Wenham in the role of Harold Meachum.

According to the announcement, Meachum is described as "A ruthless corporate leader, Harold Meachum was partners with Danny Rand’s parents at the time of their deaths.  What role he plays in Danny’s past and future will be revealed over the course of the series."

Wenham, 50, is best known as Faramir in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson.  In addition to playing Scarfield in the upcoming movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Wenham has appeared as Dilios in 300 and 300: Rise of an Empire, Carl in Van Helsing, and in the films Moulin Rouge, Dark City, Public Enemies, and The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course.

"I’m very excited to have David as our Harold Meachum," said Executive Producer and Showrunner Scott Buck.  "David is capable of displaying raw, visceral strength as well as extremely keen intelligence.  This will add up to a character of complex depth who will keep us off balance all season."

"David brings both a vulnerability and a danger to his many diverse roles," added Executive Producer/Head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb.  "This key quality creates a gravitas our series requires as Danny unravels the secrets behind Rand Enterprises."

Created in 1974 by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, Harold Meachum first appeared in Marvel Premiere #15 as the business partner of Wendell Rand, who discovered the mystical city of K'un-L'un as a young boy.  During his time in K'un L'un, Wendell saved the life of the city's ruler, Lord Tuan, and was adopted as Tuan's son.  However, Wendell eventually left K'un L'un and became a wealthy entrepreneur in the United States.  He married socialite Heather Duncan and together, they had a son named Daniel.

Wendell later organized an expedition to again seek out K'un L'un, taking his wife Heather, Meachum, and nine-year-old Danny.  During the journey up the mountain, Danny slipped off the path, causing his tie-rope to take his mother and father with him.  Meachum, who also loved Heather, forced Wendell to plunge to his death but offered to rescue Heather and Danny, although Heather refused his help.  Heather was soon devoured by wolves as she attempted to shield and protect Danny.  Danny survived, was rescued, and spent his formative years in K'un-Lun, eventually becoming the martial arts master known as Iron Fist.

Returning from the expedition, Meachum became lost and almost froze to death.  He was saved by residents of a small village on the bottom of the mountains.  However, his legs had to be amputated because they had been damaged too badly.  Lying in the village, Meachum learned that Danny had survived and was living in K'un-Lun.  Harold Meachum returned to the United States, leading the company he had co-owned with Wendell, preparing for the day that Danny would return to take his revenge.

When K'un L'un reappeared on Earth after 10 years, Danny left to find his father's killer. Returning to New York, Daniel Rand, dressed in the ceremonial garb of the Iron Fist, sought out Meachum, now the head of Meachum Industries.  After overcoming a number of attempts on his life, he confronted Meachum in his office, only to find the man legless. Meachum, by now, had accepted his fate and told Iron Fist to kill him.  Overcome with pity, Iron Fist walked away, but Meachum was murdered by a mysterious ninja, while his daughter Joy blamed Iron Fist for the death.  Eventually, Iron Fist cleared his name and began a career as a superhero, aided by his friends Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, falling in love with the latter.

Iron Fist is expected to premiere on Netflix sometime in 2017.

SUICIDE SQUAD Blitz Trailer Gives Mad Love to Harley Quinn

It's time for your drink orders.

The third trailer for the upcoming Warner Bros. film Suicide Squad debuted last night during the 2016 MTV Movie Awards, giving us a ton of new footage.  Directed by David Ayer, Suicide Squad focuses on a group of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains, sent off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity.  U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do.  However, once the Suicide Squad realizes they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, it's up to them to die trying, or decide it’s everyone for themself.

This latest two-minute, 25-second trailer opens inside the White House Situation Room, with Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) and a bunch of military press discussing the potential threat of superpowered metahumans.  "Gentlemen...Ladies..." begins the White House Chief of Staff as we see glimpses of various Squad members in Belle Reve Prison, "...What if Superman had decided to fly down, rip off the roof of the White House, and grab the President right out of the Oval Office?  Who would've stopped him?"

As Grace's cover version of the classic Lesley Gore song "You Don't Own Me" begins to play, we see the Squad brought together for a very specific mission.  "I wanna build a team of some very bad people who I think can do some good," explains Waller during the Situation Room meeting.  

We see the Squad suiting up and receiving their weapons, as Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) takes command.  "This is the deal.  You disobey me, you die.  Try to escape, and you die.  You irritate or vex me..."

Raising her hand, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) abruptly interrupts Flag and says, "I'm known to be quite vexing, I'm just forewarning you."

"...You die," finishes Flag.

"They get caught, we throw 'em under the bus," Waller remarks as the Squad is airlifted into a major city (apparently Gotham) and quickly shot down, resulting in a crash landing.  "What a ride!" quips Harley Quinn.

Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" starts playing as the tone shifts to action movie mode.  Lots of gunshots and fighting follow, until we hear the laugh of Jared Leto as The Joker, which gives everyone pause.

The Joker menacingly tells someone, "How you're sweet-talkin' me, all of that chit-chat's gonna get ya hurt."

We see some glimpses of Batman, first on the roof of an expensive sportscar that The Joker is fleeing in, followed by Batman swan-diving into a nearby river.

Next, we get a brief exchange between El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) and Deadshot (Will Smith), who is pushing El Diablo to show him something.  After El Diablo responds with rage and fire, Deadshot quickly backs off, remarking "I was just tryin' to get you there.  No hard feelings, all right?  We good."

Finally, there's a quick scene in a bar somewhere, with Harley Quinn asking what she can get the others to drink.  "Beer," replies Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).  "Whiskey," replies Katana (Karen Fukuhara).  "What am I, twelve?" replies Deadshot, pointing to his shot glass.  

Harley asks El Diablo, "How about you, Hot Stuff?"

"Water," replies El Diablo.

"That's a good idea, honey."

If you'd like to check out the trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official Warner Bros. UK account on YouTube...



Suicide Squad is scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 5, 2016.

NEXT STOP EVERYWHERE 056: "The Thousand Worlds" is Up!

"Orders!  Orders!  Orders!  It’s all about orders, isn’t it?  What a pretty little regiment of Daleks we’ve all become."
-- The War Doctor to Cardinal Ollistra, Doctor Who: "The Thousand Worlds"

Returning from the farthest reaches of time and space, my good friend and co-host Jesse Jackson and I are finally back with a new episode of Next Stop Everywhere: The Doctor Who Podcast!  We're reviewing the second audio adventure from Big Finish Productions' first War Doctor set Only the Monstrous, "The Thousand Worlds" starring John Hurt!

This time, Jesse and I discuss things like Jesse feeling tricked by the cliffhanger, the War Doctor being snarky, the Doctor's antagonistic relationship with the Time Lords, John Hurt taking the role of the War Doctor, Carolyn Seymour as the older Rejoice and her previous work on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, gender-specific names with Time Lords, Seratrix and the Daleks, Jesse eggs-stir-minating some eggs in his kitchen while we record (I'm not kidding about this), Jesse dropping out of a Daredevil podcast, The Fandom Zone Podcast gaining on Next Stop Everywhere, Jesse's road trip with his son Chris to see Bruce Springsteen, my Reverse the Polarity segment, the recent casting announcement for the Doctor Who spinoff Class, and more!

And for those who still aren't aware of this yet, we're available on iTunes RIGHT HERE as well as Stitcher RIGHT HERE, so please subscribe and tell your friends about us. If you're looking for direct MP3 downloads, you can find them RIGHT HERE as well. Oh, and don't forget we have an officially official Next Stop Everywhere Facebook page and Twitter account, so be sure to Like and/or Follow us, okay?

And hey, if you'd like to pick up the officially official Next Stop Everywhere t-shirt, you can find it on TeePublic right HERE!  Help support the show!

Be sure to come back soon for our review of the third War Doctor audio adventure from Big Finish Productions, "The Heart of the Battle" starring John Hurt, and look for more of Next Stop Everywhere on iTunes, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Sticher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!