New DOCTOR WHO Companion Confirmed as Openly Gay

Doctor Who has its first openly gay companion and it's about time.

According to BBC News, incoming Doctor Who co-star Pearl Mackie has confirmed that her character, new companion Bill Potts, is openly gay.  Bill Potts's sexuality will be revealed in her second line of dialogue in the first episode of Series Ten, "The Pilot".

Speaking to the BBC in an interview, Mackie said, "It shouldn't be a big deal in the 21st Century.  It's about time isn't it?  That representation is important, especially on a mainstream show."

She added, "It's important to say people are gay, people are black.  There are also aliens in the world as well, so watch out for them.  I remember watching TV as a young mixed race girl not seeing many people who looked like me, so I think being able to visually recognize yourself on screen is important."

"[Being gay] is not the main thing that defines her character," she continued, "it's something that's part of her and something that she's very happy and very comfortable with."

This will be the first time the series has featured an openly gay companion.  Previous Ninth Doctor companion Captain Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman, was revealed to be omnisexual, and recurring character River Song, played by Alex Kingston, was revealed as bisexual.

This will be Peter Capaldi's last season as the Twelfth Doctor, and Steven Moffat's last season as showrunner before he's replaced by Chris Chibnall, so it remains to be seen if Mackie will return for Series Eleven in 2018.

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 and BBC America in "The Pilot" on Saturday, April 15th.

THE FANDOM ZONE 097: "Fellowship of the Spear" is Up!

"Piece of cake."
"You thought that was easy?"
"No, I want a piece of cake.  And a beer."
– Mick Rory and Jefferson "Jax" Jackson, Legends of Tomorrow: "Fellowship of the Spear"

Celebrating our second anniversary, Karen Lindsay and I are back with another HUGE episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  So huge, in fact, we're splitting it into two parts!

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

The Walking Dead 7x14: "The Other Side"

Supergirl 2x16: "Star-Crossed"

The Flash 3x17: "Duet"

Legends of Tomorrow 2x15: "Fellowship of the Spear"

Arrow 5x17: "Kapiushon"

Legion 1x07: "Chapter 7"

Iron Fist 1x02: "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight"

This time, we talk about things like having Robotman Head, celebrating the Second Anniversary of The Fandom Zone, "Kapiushon" vs. "Kapushon", Sasha and Rosita having their Thelma and Louise moment, speculating on Eugene's plan, Dwight creeping on Rosita, Die Hard and Die Hard with a Vengeance, killing off Gregory, the CW promoting crossovers that aren't crossovers, why Mon-El should've come clean earlier about being a prince of Daxam, the correct pronunciation of Van Gogh, why having Glee cast members shouldn't be the reason to have singing and tap-dancing superheroes, Barry Allen being so uncool he's cool, Barry's cringeworthy second proposal to Iris, wondering why the Music Meister had no motivation as a character, Cisco's perfect execution of the superhero team-up, Tolkien getting way too bogged down in details as a writer, The Fellowship of the Ring as the Star Wars of fantasy movies, not being able to clone Jesus, wondering why Prometheus' torture is more effective than all of Oliver's previous torture, John Barrowman's CW hat trick, all the bad guys being named Simon, less Felicity making for a better Arrow episode, being proven right about the Shadow King, the big "silent movie" sequence with uber-creepy Aubrey Plaza, British David explaining everything to American David, Danny Rand being held for psychiatric evaluation, Harold being indebted to The Hand, Danny convincing Joy of his identity with brown M&Ms, The Last Dragon, some feedback from Justina, an update on Jesse Jackson's cancer battle, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone using...

Google Play Music -- HERE 

iTunes -- HERE

Direct Download MP3s/Libsyn -- HERE

The Fandom Zone on Facebook -- HERE

The Fandom Zone on Twitter -- @FandomZoneCast

And if that isn't enough for you, you can also check us out on YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!  Oh, and if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt that all the cool kids are wearing, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!  Feel free to post a picture on our Facebook page of you or some other cool person you know wearing the shirt!

Be sure to come back next week, as Karen and I review the Season 1 finale of Legion, Episode 3 of Iron Fist, and new episodes of The Walking Dead, Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

Joss Whedon to Write & Direct BATGIRL Solo Movie

Gotham City is about to have another hero on the big screen.

Variety has revealed that filmmaker Joss Whedon is nearing a deal with Warner Bros. to write, direct and produce Batgirl, based on the popular DC Comics superhero.

According to the article, the project, which was formed last month, will also feature other characters from the Batman mythos.  Toby Emmerich, president and chief content officer of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, will oversee the movie with Jon Berg and Geoff Johns.

The movie will be the second DC Extended Universe to feature a female DC superhero in the lead role, after this summer's Wonder Woman.  In addition, the studio is also developing a Suicide Squad sequel and Gotham City Sirens, a spinoff to Suicide Squad with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn character.  Other upcoming projects include The Batman, starring Ben Affleck with Matt Reeves directing, a Shazam film and a Black Adam spinoff starring Dwayne Johnson, and projects based on The Flash and Cyborg.

Whedon, 52, is best known as the creator of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.   His previous films include The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Serenity, and he directed the popular internet miniseries Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.  Whedon's writing credits include Toy Story, The Cabin in the Woods, X-Men, Twister, Speed, The Getaway, Titan A.E. and Waterworld.

Created in 1967 by William Dozier, Julius Schwartz and Carmine Infantino, Batgirl first appeared in Detective Comics (vol.1) #359, and later that same year on the Batman television series episode "Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin", as the daughter of Gotham City's Police Commissioner James Gordon.  In her debut story in the comics, while driving to a costume ball dressed as a female version of Batman, Barbara Gordon intervened in a kidnapping attempt on Bruce Wayne by the super villain Killer Moth, which gained Batman's attention and led to a crime-fighting career.  Although Batman insisted she give up crime-fighting because of her gender, Batgirl disregarded his objections.

In the controversial 1988 graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke, writer Alan Moore had Batman's arch-enemy The Joker shoot and paralyze Barbara in an attempt to drive her father insane, thereby proving to Batman that anyone can be morally compromised.  One year later, writers John Ostrander and Kim Yale gave Barbara Gordon new life in Suicide Squad (vol.1) #23 as Oracle, a mysterious computer expert who assisted and supplied information to various DC Comics heroes in their fight against crime.  The character's popularity led to the creation of the series Birds of Prey in 1996, where writer Chuck Dixon partnered Oracle with Black Canary and a rotating cast of female DC superheroes.

In 2011, DC Comics rebooted their continuity in The New 52, effectively making the character younger in a modern timeline where she became active again as Batgirl.  In the new continuity, the events of The Killing Joke took place three years before current events, but it was established she was paraplegic during that time.  Barbara Gordon regained her mobility after undergoing experimental surgery at a South African clinic.  In recent months, Barbara has a new life as a PhD student in the hip Gotham borough of Burnside, in between adventures as Batgirl and with the Birds of Prey.

New SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING Trailer Showcases Iron Man & The Vulture

Looks like Peter Parker needs to earn his Spider-Man suit.

Sony Pictures has released a new trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming, the upcoming Spider-Man reboot film starring Tom Holland as Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man/Tony Stark and Michael Keaton as The Vulture/Adrian Toomes.

The two minute, thirty second trailer pretty much lays out the movie's plot and opens with Peter changing into his spiffy new Spider-Man costume designed by Tony Stark, which vacuum-conforms to his physique.  

We cut to Peter and Tony sitting in the back of a limousine, where Peter asks Tony, "So, to become an Avenger, are there like, trials or an interview?"

"Do me a favor," Tony replies in exasperation.  "Can't you just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?  Just stay close to the ground."  We see Peter swinging around said friendly neighborhood and sliding across someone's backyard swimming pool.

Peter's best friend, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), discovers Peter's secret identity.  "You're the Spider-Man from YouTube!" he exclaims after dropping a mechanical device onto the floor.

Curious, Ned keeps pestering Peter with questions about being Spider-Man.  "Can you summon an army of spiders?" he asks, with Peter replying no.  

We then see a cameo by Chris Evans, reprising his role of Captain America, in a PSA captioned "Captain America's Fitness Challenge" for gym class.  "Do you know him, too?" asks Ned.

"I stole his shield," whispers Peter proudly.

Ned then asks to try the suit on, which Peter agrees to, and we see Ned wearing Peter's Spider-Man mask.

We cut to The Vulture, who has somehow acquired one of Tony's Iron Man helmets.  "The rich and the powerful, like Stark," he says to his henchmen, "they don't care about us.  The world's changing, boys...Time we changed, too."

Folllowing some footage of The Vulture causing destruction, Peter says to Tony, "His weapons are crazy dangerous."

"Listen, Peter," replies Tony as we see a shot of Avengers Tower, "forget the flying monster guy.  There are people who handle this sort of thing."

Being all about the great power and great responsibility, however, Peter confronts the Vulture's men aboard the Staten Island Ferry.  "The illegal weapons ferry was at 2:30," he quips.  "You missed it."

All at once, however, the Vulture attacks with a powerful energy weapon, which blows out the entire front of the ferry and splits the vessel in half.  Spider-Man frantically webs the two halves of the ferry together and struggles to hold both halves together to save the passengers and crew.  Iron Man arrives at that moment, using his boot jets to push the ship back together.

Tony confronts Peter about the incident.  "What if somebody had died," he scolds.

"I was just trying to be like you," replies Peter.

"I want you to be better.  I'm gonna need the suit back."

Peter pleads, "But I'm nothing without this suit."

"If you're nothing without this suit," Tony counters, "then you shouldn't have it."

Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) tries to reassure Peter, "You need to stop carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders."

We then see Peter, now wearing a homemade Spider-Man costume, facing off against the Vulture in an old warehouse.  

"I want you to understand," says the Vulture, "I'll do anything to protect my family.  I know you know what I'm talking about, so don't mess with me, 'cause I will kill you and everybody you love."

We see an explosion high atop the Washington Monument, with Peter's classmate Michelle (Zendaya) telling Spider-Man "My friends are up there!"

As Spider-Man climbs the Monument, his spider chest emblem detaches itself and flies off before Spider-Man backflips over a police helicopter and rescues a falling elevator.  

"The guy is still out there," Peter tells Ned.  "I just gotta do this on my own."

Next, we see Spider-Man in the homemade costume once again, battling the Vulture atop a passenger airplane in mid-air.

"Just...don't do anything stupid," quips Tony as we return to the limousine scene again.

Lastly, we see Spider-Man struggling to steer the crashing airplane away from a Manhattan skyscraper.  "I got this," he says to himself.

If you'd like to check out the new trailer, you can view it below thanks to Sony Pictures' official YouTube account...



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

The League Comes Together in New JUSTICE LEAGUE Trailer

Heads up, everyone...Zack Snyder has returned with his filter fetish in play once again.

Warner Bros. Pictures has released a new trailer for Justice League, the upcoming DC Extended Universe movie based on the DC Comics superteam directed by Zack Snyder. The two minute, thirty second trailer shows the various league members coming together...only without the recently-deceased Superman (Henry Cavill).

The trailer opens with Batman/Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) heading north on horseback as he speaks in a voiceover.  "We have to be ready," he begins.  "You, me, the others.  There's an attack coming...from far away."

"Not coming, Bruce," replies Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (Gal Gadot).  "It's already here."

We then see Dr. Silas Stone (Joe Morton), Cyborg's father, at home as a strange container hidden beind Silas' son's sports trophies behind to glow and shake with building energy.  A Parademon suddenly looms behind Silas as he watches the container.

Diana asks Bruce, "The others...Where are they?"

As the thumping sound of the White Stripes' "The Hardest Button to Button" begins to play, we see Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) carrying a rescued guy into a bar full of fishermen and dropping him onto a table.  Grabbing a bottle of whiskey, Aquaman quips "It's on him" and turns to leave.

Next, we see Cyborg/Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) in action as Diana remarks in a voiceover "Organic and biomechatronic body parts.  He's a cyborg."  Cyborg rescues a cop from a tank on fire tumbling over and over, remarking, "You should probably move."

Then, we see The Flash/Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) finding Bruce Wayne waiting for him in his secret superhero lair filled with dozens of monitors and books.  "Whoever you're looking for," Barry tells him, "it's not me."  Bruce throws a small Batarang past Barry, who plucks it from mid-air.  "You're the Batman?" asks Barry.

A cover of the Beatles' classic "Come Together" starts playing as we hear Diana say, "They said the Age of Heroes would never come again."  "It has to," replies Bruce.

We see some quick images of the League members in action, including Aquaman fighting some Parademons, before cutting to a scene of Barry sitting in a car with Bruce.  "What are your superpowers again?" he asks.

"I'm rich," Bruce responds in his best Tony Stark impression.

We then see some fleeting glimpses of various supporting characters Lois Lane (Amy Adams), Mera (Amber Heard), Barry's father, Henry Allen (Billy Crudup), and the Amazons, who are shown in a major battle with Steppenwolf's troops.

Next, we see Commissioner Gordon (J.K. Simmons) meeting with Batman and telling him "It's good to see you playing well with others again" as Aquaman emerges from the water.  

"Just like a bat," quips Aquaman as he sees Bruce in costume.  "I dig it."

"May be temporary," Batman tells Gordon.

Lastly, we see Aquaman riding the roof of the Batmobile as he and Batman charge into battle.  Aquaman shouts "Yeah!" in glee just before leaping high into the air after a pair of flying Parademons.

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



Justice League is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 17, 2017.

THE FANDOM ZONE 096: "Snow Gives Way" is Up!

"What's your purpose?"
"To protect K'un-Lun from all oppression.  Honor the sacrifice of Shou-Lao the Undying."
"Well, okay then.  Just remember to have fun along the way."
– Big Al and Danny Rand, Iron Fist: "Snow Gives Way"

That's right, Karen Lindsay and I are finally back with another HUGE episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  So huge, in fact, we're splitting it into two parts!

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

The Walking Dead 7x13: "Bury Me Here"

The Flash 3x16: "Into the Speed Force"

Legends of Tomorrow 2x14: "Moonshot"

Arrow 5x16: "Checkmate"

Legion 1x05: "Chapter 5"

Legion 1x06: "Chapter 6"

Iron Fist 1x01: "Snow Gives Way"  (Series Premiere)

This time, we talk about things like Victor Garber singing "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)", Karen's soundboard blowin' up real good, Carol being indirectly responsible for Benjamin's death, Morgan going back to Crazy Town, the speedsters playing musical chairs, wondering why a speedster has to replace a speedster if they leave the Speed Force, why casting Abra Kadabra doesn't kill my "H.R. Wells is Abra Kadabra" theory, Legends of Tomorrow lifting from Doctor Who again, wondering where the Reverse-Flash was in Ron Howard's Apollo 13 movie, The Atom geeking out on the moon, Talia working with Prometheus, Curtis calling out Felicity for hacking the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of a hacker group she doesn't really know, Ken from Chicago needing to dial back his Fandom Zone live-tweeting, Syd and David finally being able to touch one another in the White Room, David channeling Kermit from The Muppet Movie, Aubrey Plaza deserving all the Emmys, David and Syd trying to enjoy a slice of cherry pie, the Devil with Yellow Eyes as Lenny treating David's memories as a big playground, the critics totally getting it wrong with Iron Fist, the controversy of wanting Iron Fist to be another Asian stereotype, Ward being a total dick to Danny as kids, differences with the comic book origin of Iron Fist, some feedback from Justina, a shoutout to Phil Perich's memes, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone using...

Google Play Music -- HERE 

iTunes -- HERE

Direct Download MP3s/Libsyn -- HERE

The Fandom Zone on Facebook -- HERE

The Fandom Zone on Twitter -- @FandomZoneCast

And if that isn't enough for you, you can also check us out on YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!  Oh, and if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt that all the cool kids are wearing, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!  Feel free to post a picture on our Facebook page of you or some other cool person you know wearing the shirt!

Be sure to come back next week, as Karen and I review Episode 2 of Iron Fist, along with new episodes of The Walking Dead, Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, and Legion, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

First Trailer for Netflix's MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 Gives Us Movie Sign

Worried about the MST3K revival?  You should really just relax.

Netflix has released the first trailer for their revival of Mystery Science Theater 3000, the classic sci-fi comedy series that originally aired on KTMA in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1988 before being picked up by The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central and later The Sci-Fi Channel.  Starring Joel Hodgson and later Michael J. Nelson, the series ran for ten seasons of 197 episodes, and included the feature film Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie before ending in 1997.

The first 40-second trailer brings back the cheesy production value goodness from the original series and introduces us to Jonah Ray as Jonah Heston, Felicia Day as Kinga Forrester (daughter of original mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester) and Patton Oswalt as TV's Son of TV's Frank.

We see Kinga Forrester and TV's Son of TV's Frank luring Jonah Heston's ship to Moonbase 13 under the pretense of needing help.  As Jonah lands and starts wondering what's going on when he sees the text "DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ADJUST THE PICTURE. WE ARE CONTROLLING TRANSMISSION" (a nod to the classic sci-fi TV series The Outer Limits), Kinga's voice chimes in.

"You speak to I, Kinga Forrester," she proclaims, "commander of the Moon 13 Research Station.  I am reopening my family's most legendary experiment, Mystery Science Theater 3000."

Next we see a hazmat suited figure call out "Movie in the hole!" as a vat of something with a movie poster of the 1961 movie Reptilicus is emptied out.  Jonah is dropped into the theater with our old friends Crow T. Robot (voiced by Hampton Yount) and Tom Servo (voiced by Baron Vaughn).

We see fleeting images of Jonah and the 'Bots partying with bubbles, a giant female robot shooting lasers from her breasts, and Tom Servo hovering next to the mouth of a naked woman in dark sunglasses standing behind two conveniently placed screens.  Finally, we hear a bit of Crow's new voice as he tells Jonah, "You are not my real father, mister!"

If you'd like to check out the trailer, you can view it below thanks to Netflix US and Canada's official YouTube account...



Mystery Science Theater 3000 will be released Friday, April 14th on Netflix.

New AMERICAN GODS Trailer Teases Old Gods and New

So, is the kid not Mr. World's son?

STARZ has released a new trailer for American Gods, the upcoming television adaptation of Neil Gaiman's acclaimed fantasy novel.  The 8-episode first season will debut with "The Bone Orchard", written by showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, and directed by David Slade.

When Shadow Moon is released from prison, he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday and a storm begins to brew. Little does Shadow know, this storm will change the course of his entire life. Left adrift by the recent, tragic death of his wife, and suddenly hired as Mr. Wednesday’s bodyguard, Shadow finds himself in the center of a world that he struggles to understand. It’s a world where magic is real, where the Old Gods fear both irrelevance and the growing power of the New Gods, like Technology and Media. Mr. Wednesday seeks to build a coalition of Old Gods to defend their existence in this new America, and reclaim some of the influence that they’ve lost. As Shadow travels across the country with Mr. Wednesday, he struggles to accept this new reality, and his place in it.

The new one minute, five second trailer opens with Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) asking "What's a god?" in a voiceover, before telling Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) "They're real if you believe in them."

"So, who are you?" asks Shadow.

"You wouldn't believe in me if I told you," replies Mr. Wednesday.

The next scene features Mr. Wednesday introducing Shadow as his man to Vulcan (Corbin Bersen), a new character created by Gaiman for the series.

"He does not know our world," remarks Zorya Vechernyaya (Cloris Leachman) as we see a quick glimpse of Shadow standing in an orchard of bones.

"I'm easing him in," replies Mr. Wednesday.

Next, we see Shadow's dead wife Laura Moon telling him "You've gotten yourself mixed up in some really weird shit."

We then see Mr. Wednesday talking to Easter (Kristin Chenoweth).  He remarks, "You're as forgotten and unloved as any of us."

"I'm doing just fine," smiles Easter to someone off-camera, presumably Shadow.

Someone asks Mr. Wednesday if he's trying to start a war and he responds, "We're at war already...and we're losing."

Shadow asks someone off-camera "Who's after you?", just before we see a figure lighting up floor tiles as he walks like Michael Jackson in his "Billie Jean" video, who turns out to be Crispin Glover as Mr. World.

"The times, they are a'changing," quips Technical Boy (Bruce Langley) as he blows smoke rings while sitting in the back of his limousine.

Next, we see Shadow fighting Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber) in a bar as Mr. Wednesday says in a voiceover "We need you to fight them, to show them who we are."

"They are gods, for god's sake!" shouts Easter as we see Czernobog (Peter Stormare) holding his bloody sledgehammer.

Someone asks Mr. Wednesday what the plan is and he replies "War."  We then hear a gospel song with the words "Deliver me" as a bloody battle takes place.  We see glimpses of Mr. Nancy (Orlando Jones) as Shadow says in a voiceover, "None of this feels real.  It feels like a dream."

As we glimpse a minotaur with eyes of flame, Laura Moon bloody and carrying her severed arm as she walks down a suburban street, and an old ship on fire in the middle of the ocean, we hear Technical Boy saying, "And things are never going back to the way that they were."

"It will be glorious, win or lose," replies Mr. Wednesday.

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




American Gods premieres on STARZ on April 30, 2017.

GHOSTWOOD 003: "Fire Walk with Me" is Up!

"Do you think that if you were falling in space...that you would slow down after a while, or go faster and faster?"
"Faster and faster.  And for a long time, you wouldn't feel anything.  And then you'd burst into fire...forever...and the angels wouldn't help you, because they've all gone away."

-- Donna Heyward and Laura Palmer, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

It is happening again...my co-host with the most Xan Sprouse and I are back once again with a new episode of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast!  This time, we review Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, the 1992 cult film directed by David Lynch that served as a prequel to the television series!

LET'S ROCK!

In our third HUGE episode, Xan and I discuss things like remembering Warren Frost as Doc Heyward, Xan and I as the only two people that never watched Seinfeld regularly, Xan's recent trip to Snoqualmie and North Bend in Washington to see the real life Twin Peaks opening credits waterfall and the Double R Diner, why it's important to watch Fire Walk with Me after the original television series, Chris Isaak as Special Agent Chet Desmond, wondering about Carl Rodd being more than he seems, David Bowie as Phillip Jeffries, why the scene of Annie appearing in Laura's bedroom needed to be cut, Mike the One-Armed Man being a warning, BOB affecting Leland and Laura's relationship, Laura Palmer's tragic story being so fascinating, wanting a more satisfying ending to the original series than what we got, wanting to see Laura Palmer's redeemed spirit alongside Anakin and Yoda at the end of Return of the Jedi, the deleted scenes that provide a new ending to the original series, Khan Noonien Singh never meeting Chekov in the original Star Trek series, Xan crying when she sees the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me trailer, Twin Peaks music on vinyl, and more!

If you'd like to check out our latest episode, you can find us on...

iTunes -- RIGHT HERE

Direct MP3 downloads/Libsyn --  RIGHT HERE

YouTube -- RIGHT HERE

Google Play Music -- COMING SOON!

Ghostwood's Facebook page

Ghostwood's Twitter account

Be sure to come back next month as Xan and I review "Northwest Passage", a.k.a. the 1990 pilot episode of the original ABC television series Twin Peaks!  Look for more of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast on iTunes, YouTube, Libsyn, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

THE MATRIX Rebooted...Possibly with Michael B. Jordan

Are you ready to see how deep the rabbit hole goes...again?

The Hollywood Reporter revealed yesterday that Warner Bros. is developing a relaunch of The Matrix, the 1999 science fiction action movie classic written and directed by the Wachowskis starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving.

According to the article, the project is in the early stages, with Zak Penn in talks to write a treatment and interest in Michael B. Jordan as the star.  Penn is a co-writer on the upcoming films Pacific Rim: Uprising and Ready Player One, and has written for the movies The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men: The Last Stand, Elektra, and X2: X-Men United. Jordan is appearing in the upcoming movie Black Panther, and has appeared in the films Creed, Fantastic Four (2015), Fruitvale Station, Chronicle, and Red Tails.

The Matrix explored a dystopian future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called "the Matrix", created by sentient machines to subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source.  A computer programmer named Neo discovers the truth and is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, which involves other people who have been freed from the Matrix.  The movie made over $463 million worldwide from a budget of $63 million.

The article also claims the Wachowskis, who also wrote and directed the two Matrix sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, "are not involved and the nature of their potential engagement with a new version has not been determined."

Joel Silver, who produced the original trilogy, reportedly approached Warner Bros. about the idea of a potential new film based on The Matrix.  However, Silver sold his interest in all his movies to the studio in 2012 for about $30 million, according to THR's sources.  Warner Bros. is "leery of including him in any meaningful role, as he not only has a reputation for budget-control issues, but apparently has a strained relationship with the Wachowskis."

WONDER WOMAN Origin Trailer Showcases Diana's Training

Princess Diana of Themyscira is about to become a legend.

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for Wonder Woman, the upcoming film directed by Patty Jenkins starring Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Chris Pine as Steve Trevor.  The two minute, thirty second traler showcases Diana's training on Themyscira and also hints at the truth behind her creation.

The trailer opens on the paradise island of Themyscira, as we hear Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) speaking to her young daughter Diana.  "The gods gave us many gifts," she begins as we see them and a group of Amazons riding to some form of temple.  "One day you'll know them all.  This is where we keep them."

The large doors swing open and Diana sees an impressive sword for the first time.  "It's beautiful," the girl remarks.  "Who would wield it?"

"Only the fiercest among us even could," replies Hippolyta.  "And that is not you, Diana."

Diana merely smiles, staring longingly at the sword.

As time passes, we see Diana growing up and training in the arts of combat with her fellow Amazons.  We hear Hippolyta in a voiceover, presumably speaking to her sister, General Antiope (Robin Wright).  "You will train her harder than any Amazon before her -- five times harder, ten times harder -- until she is better than even you..."

As Diana is pressured by Antiope to never let her guard down and not expect the battle to be fair, she crosses her armored bracelets in a defensive position, abruptly unleashing a powerful shockwave that surprises her and the other Amazons.

"....but she must never know the truth about what she is," continues Hippolyta ominously.

While looking out from a high cliff, Diana sees Steve Trevor fall into the sea nearby and dives off the cliff to rescue him.  Steve is brought before Hippolyta and the Amazons and asks Diana, "What is this place?  Who are you?"

"It is our sacred duty to defend the world," replies Diana.

"Right," Steve remarks as we cut to glimpses of German General Erich Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya).  "Whoever you are, you're in more danger than you think."

Diana prepares to leave Themyscira with Steve Trevor, telling her mother, "If no one else will defend the world, then I must."  Arriving in London during World War I, Diana finds the city "hideous," while Steve replies, "Yeah, it's not for everybody."

Later confronted by an assassin, Steve attempts to protect Diana, telling her to stay back, until Diana shield's him from a bullet with her bracelet.

We then see various images of Diana on a battlefield and fighting German soldiers, and even upending a small truck at one point.  

"I am Diana of Themyscira," she says to General Ludendorff, "daughter of Hippolyta.  In the name of all that is good, your wrath upon this world is over."  We see a climactic shot of Wonder Woman crossing her armored bracelets once again, glowing with building energy.

In the trailer's last scene, we see Diana attempting to leave a hotel through a revolving door with her large sword.  "Yep, that's not gonna work," remarks Steve.  "Please put the sword down."

"It doesn't go with the outfit," quips Steve's secretary Etta Candy (Lucy Davis).

"At all," adds Steve.

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




Wonder Woman is scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 2, 2017.

DEADPOOL 2 Casts Zazie Beetz as Domino

The Merc with a Mouth is about to experience a Domino effect.

Yesterday on his official Twitter account, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds revealed that Zazie Beetz has been cast as Neena Thurman, better known to Marvel Comics fans as Domino in Deadpool 2, the sequel to the 2016 film Deadpool.  Here's Reynolds' post on Twitter, which (of course) used dominoes to spell out Beetz's name.

Domino Effect. pic.twitter.com/ILEnTcW7fY

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) March 9, 2017

In addition to Reynolds, Beetz joins returning Deadpool actors Brianna Hildebrand, T.J. Miller, Karan Soni, and Stefan Kapicic, each reprising their respective characters.

Beetz, 26, is a German-born actress best known as Vanessa on the FX television series Atlanta.  She's also appeared in the Netflix series Easy and the movie Applesauce.

Created in 1991 by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, Domino first appeared in The New Mutants (vol.1) #98, although that character was revealed to be the impostor Copycat and didn't appear as herself until X-Force (vol.1) #8 in 1992.

Neena Thurman is a mutant with the ability to subconsciously and psionically initiate random telekinetic acts that affect probability in her favor by making improbable (but not impossible) things occur within her line of sight, thus causing her to have "good luck" and her opponents to have "bad luck".  She was the result of a top-secret government breeding program intended to develop the perfect weapon. Domino was the only test subject to survive, but her "luck" power was deemed a failure at meeting the project's goals.  Her biological mother broke her out of the project and left her with Father Rudolpho Boschelli in the Church of the Sacred Heart in Chicago.

Domino eventually left the Church and became a mercenary.  One of her first jobs was to stop "Operation: Jericho," which was a remote-controlled warbot project.  Domino wrecked the robot, but in the process, fried the mind of the soldier controlling it.  She was then assigned to guard the genius Dr. Milo Thurman, whose analytical ability made him too dangerous for the government to let roam free.  Somehow, Domino and Thurman fell in love and were married.  Due to Thurman's love of Dante's Inferno, he called Domino "Beatrice." The two separated after a raid on the facility by AIM members, with Milo believing Domino had been killed during the altercation.

Domino helped found the mercenary band the Six Pack, which introduced her to the mutant time-traveler Cable.  Domino worked with the Six Pack for some time, taking on many missions for cash.  The Six Pack was very brutal in their adventures, often shooting down entire crowds of people who got in their way.  The team, also known as the Wild Pack, went on missions in Iran, and participated in a raid on a HYDRA base, which Domino participated in.  During her time with the Wild Pack, she had her first confrontations with Stryfe (Cable's evil clone) in Afghanistan and Uruguay.

When Cable became the leader of the New Mutants following their break from the X-Men, an imposter Domino (actually Copycat) joined him as his field leader and stayed with the team as they changed from the New Mutants to X-Force.  When it was revealed that the real Domino was actually a prisoner of the supervillain Tolliver for over a year, X-Force rejected the Domino imposter and, with Cable's reassurances, planned to rescue the real Domino and welcome her onto the team.  The real Domino learned of Tolliver's destruction of X-Force's Adirondack base and planned her escape.  Cable found her at Tolliver's Italian home, along with her apparently murdered double.  Domino was accidentally freed by Deadpool, whom she shot.  After Cable sent her to find X-Force, she escaped on Tolliver's helicopter and survived a fall from Tolliver's helicopter into the sea.  She found X-Force and joined the team.

Beetz will be the first actress to portray Domino in live action, although the character has appeared in the animated projects X-Men (voiced by Jennifer Dale) and Wolverine and the X-Men (voiced by Gwendoline Yeo).

Deadpool 2 is currently expected to arrive in theaters on March 2, 2018.