TERMINATOR: GENESIS Casts DOCTOR WHO's Matt Smith

If you've ever wanted to see an episode of Doctor Who with Terminators, this is probably as close as you're going to get.

Deadline is reporting that former Doctor Who star Matt Smith has been cast in the upcoming Terminator reboot Terminator: Genesis.  The article claims this will be "a major role that will grow in the second and third films."

Directed by Alan Taylor, Terminator: Genesis also includes Arnold Schwarzenegger as some form of aging Terminator/T-800, Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, Zero Dark Thirty's Jason Clarke as John Connor, A Good Day to Die Hard's Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, and Day Okeniyi as Danny Dyson, the son of Miles Dyson, the inventor of the neural-net processor that leads to the development of Skynet.

Skydance Productions confirmed the news on Twitter today with the following post...

We don't have a TARDIS, but we do have a Time Lord: we're pleased to welcome Matt Smith to the cast of #Terminator.
— Skydance Productions (@Skydance) May 2, 2014

Terminator: Genesis is scheduled for release in theaters on July 1, 2015.

The War Doctor Returns in DOCTOR WHO: ENGINES OF WAR

Granddad's back!

When last we saw John Hurt's The War Doctor in Doctor Who's 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor," his old body was wearing a bit thin after saying goodbye to the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors and Clara Oswald.  Inside his TARDIS, The War Doctor began regenerating into Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor, completing the continuity gap since Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor, and was presumed never to be developed further as a character.

No more.  The War Doctor stands.

Doctor Who TV has revealed that the forgotten eighth and a halfth Doctor is returning in a new BBC Books hardcover novel by George Mann titled Doctor Who: Engines of War.

The news was taken from the pages of Doctor Who Magazine #473, just hitting stores in the U.K., with quotes from Mann about what Whovians can expect.  "A new companion!  Calculating Time Lords!  New Dalek paradigms!  It’s a war story, at its heart, set against the backdrop of great turmoil and chaos.

"But it’s also about the Doctor’s personal journey, how he ends up where he is at the beginning of 'The Day of the Doctor.'  He’s been through the wringer; and in Engines of War, he’s not given any reprieve."

Doctor Who: Engines of War will be released in the U.K. on July 31, 2014, with a United States release sometime afterward.

Syfy Adapting Frank Miller's RONIN as Miniseries

If you intend to adapt Frank Miller, you can do anything.

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Syfy is developing Frank Miller's six-issue DC Comics series Ronin as a potential miniseries.  A search has begun for a writer, with the exact number of episodes yet to be determined.

Released from 1983-84 and written and drawn by Miller, Ronin told the story of a dystopic 21st century New York where a nameless ronin (a masterless samurai) is reincarnated from 13th century feudal Japan and given a second chance to avenge his master, who was assassinated by a demon called Agat.

According to the article, Syfy's miniseries "takes place eight centuries after a Japanese Ronin samurai failed to protect his master from a demon.  He awakens in a futuristic, nihilistic New York in the body of Billy, a medical experiment.  Now Billy/Ronin is chasing the demon, which has reawakened.  Both parties want control of a sword with magical properties and will stop at nothing to get it back."

This news follows on failed attempts to bring Ronin to the big screen since 1998.  Noted director Darren Aronfsky signed a deal with New Line Cinema for a film adaptation, but the project stalled.  In 2007, Gianni Nunnari, the producer of 300 which was also based on a Frank Miller work, announced that he would produce the film with Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) as director and Joby Harold and Chad St. John writing the script.

The cyberpunk samurai drama will be produced by Syfy from Warner Horizon Television and DC Entertainment.  Ronin is the latest in a line of various movie and television projects adapted from Miller's comic book stories, including 300, 300: Rise of an Empire, Sin City, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Wolverine, Elektra, Batman: Year One and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

STAR WARS EPISODE VII Cast Announced

Gollum and Ming the Merciless are in the same movie as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo! 

Well...sort of.

Less than a week before Star Wars Day on May the Fourth, the official Star Wars site has announced the principal cast to J.J. Abrams' Star Wars Episode VII.  And yes, the rumors were true -- Luke, Han, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 are returning.

In addition to the cast photo shown above, here's the official announcement...

The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.

Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Director J.J. Abrams says, "We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud."

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18, 2015.

So what news will May the Fourth bring?  The movie's full title, perhaps?

JUSTICE LEAGUE Confirmed with Zack Snyder Directing

If you had any doubts that the Justice League movie was going to happen, feel free to put them away now.

Last night, The Wall Street Journal officially confirmed speculation that DC Comics' superteam Justice League will follow 2016's still-untitled Man of Steel sequel with Zack Snyder directing.  Warner Bros.' president of worldwide production Greg Silverman commented on the project, saying, "It will be a further expansion of this universe.  Superman vs. Batman will lead into Justice League."

This confirmation follows on the recent addition of Ray Fisher as Cyborg to the cast of Superman vs. Batman, which also includes Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.  Presumably, the two will also appear in Justice League, along with Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck reprising their roles as Superman and Batman.

It remains to be seen whether Aquaman, The Flash and Green Lantern will appear as well, although The Wrap suggests that Affleck's friend and collaborator Matt Damon is being sought for Aquaman.  Game of Thrones' Jason Momoa has been rumored for Aquaman as well, and is expected to appear in Superman vs. Batman...somehow.

The Justice League script is still being developed and there's no release date yet, but The Hollywood Reporter claims their sources say it will arrive in 2017.  Superman vs. Batman and Justice League will reportedly be shot back-to-back.

There are no current plans for a solo Wonder Woman movie, but Warner Bros. executives are supposed open to the idea.  "That is our hope,” said Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing.  "With the right script, that could be viable.  The world is ready for her."

Created by writer Gardner Fox and editor Julius Schwartz, the fictional superhero team made its debut in Brave and the Bold (vol.1) #28 in 1960, over three years before Marvel's The Avengers.  A previous attempt to bring Justice League to the big screen, directed by George Miller, was supposed to film in 2008, but was officially canceled by Warner Bros. executives in 2010.

The Wall Street Journal also mentions that Warner Bros. has several other DC Comics and VERTIGO properties in development.  According to Silverman and Toby Emmerich, president of Warner's New Line Cinema, those films include Shazam!, The Metal Men, 100 Bullets and Fables.

Superman vs. Batman is currently set to arrive in theaters on May 6, 2016.

Marvel's Netflix Series Connected to Cinematic Universe

Daredevil meeting Phil Coulson?  It could happen.

Speaking with Kevin Smith on the Fat Man on Batman podcast, Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada provided more details on the four Marvel series coming to Netflix starting in 2015.  It seems Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage will indeed be connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe featured in Marvel films and on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series on ABC.

"There will be some interconnectivity, much like the movies," said Quesada. "They will exist within the cinematic universe again, so this is all the same world as S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers."

However, the tone of these four series won't be what we've seen so far in films and on television.  "Although these are superhero stories, this is different now," Quesada remarked.  "This is the street level…This is the street level noir side of the Marvel Universe.  Something that you haven’t really, really seen in any of our Marvel movies, and probably more ground level, than I think you’ve seen.  This is not like us doing Batman, Dark Knight or any of that stuff.  This is very Marvel doing street level superheroes."

He added, "The scripts are coming in.  They are pretty fantastic.  They’re really emotional. They’re very, very original.  But at the same time, it's Daredevil.  It's Matt Murdock.  We will eventually, hopefully start casting really, really soon, but I’m very, very excited about it."

And for those of us who are hoping to binge-watch each series right away as you do a new season of Netflix's House of Cards, Quesada confirmed that yes, the entire season will be posted at the same time.  "You’re going to get all these episodes, and you can binge watch them however you want, and then binge watch them again."

On the subject of filming, Quesada remarked how glad he is about using areas of Brooklyn and Long Island City as the locations.  "We’re shooting in New York," he said.  "That’s the fantastic thing about it is that we’re shooting at home.  We’re shooting where these characters belong.  These stories take place in Hell’s Kitchen."

"It thrills me to no end to have these things happening in New York," he added.  "That alone is going to give it an incredible vibe.  It’s just once again…It’s like Marvel taking ownership of New York, saying this is where we’re from, this is our universe, this is where it started."  Describing the setting for Daredevil, Quesada said, "It smells of dark alley, vomit, and piss."

And lastly, which villain will Daredevil be facing off against in his series?  The Kingpin?  Bullseye?  The Owl?  "I’m not going to say who the villain is in our story," said Quesada.

Lucasfilm Reboots STAR WARS' Expanded Universe

It's as if a million Star Wars EU fans suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.  I fear something terrible has happened.

Well, it's officially official.  Lucasfilm has announced that from this point forward, the Star Wars Expanded Universe, commonly known as the EU to fans, is being rebooted.  Any Star Wars comics, novels, videogames, etc. that you enjoyed outside of the six Star Wars films and Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series are no longer considered canon.

"Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU," states the press release on StarWars.com.  "He set the films he created as the canon.  This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align."

The reason, of course, is to free Star Wars Episodes VII, VIII and IX or any other upcoming projects from being tied down to any previously established EU characters or continuity.  However, since there's still demand for certain beloved Expanded Universe stories, and therefore money to be made, the previous Expanded Universe canon is being rebranded under a banner called "Legends."  This means classics such as Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy will be kept in print or available to download electronically, but they just don't count as canon anymore.

Here's the full press release with the details...

The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page

For over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded Universe, or EU, of comics, novels, videogames, and more.

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.

Now, with an exciting future filled with new cinematic installments of Star Wars, all aspects of Star Wars storytelling moving forward will be connected. Under Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's direction, the company for the first time ever has formed a story group to oversee and coordinate all Star Wars creative development.

"We have an unprecedented slate of new Star Wars entertainment on the horizon," said Kennedy. "We're set to bring Star Wars back to the big screen, and continue the adventure through games, books, comics, and new formats that are just emerging. This future of interconnected storytelling will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before."

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.

Demand for past tales of the Expanded Universe will keep them in print, presented under the new Legends banner.

On the screen, the first new canon to appear will be Star Wars Rebels. In print, the first new books to come from this creative collaboration include novels from Del Rey Books. First to be announced, John Jackson Miller is writing a novel that precedes the events of Star Wars Rebels and offers insight into a key character's backstory, with input directly from executive producers Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, and Greg Weisman.

And this is just the beginning of a creatively aligned program of Star Wars storytelling created by the collaboration of incredibly talented people united by their love of that galaxy far, far away....

StarWars.com. All Star Wars, all the time.

And here's a rather bittersweet video of Lucasfilm staff talking about what they loved about the original Expanded Universe...