Check out some totally badass Star Wars: Episode VII promo art. The writers of Game of Thrones talk about the show's ending. Age of Ultron shows off yet another clip. Marc Guggenheim teases what's in store for Arrow after this we know whatek's big reveal. Plus, teases for Orphan Black and more. Spoilers now!
Top image: Doctor Who.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Thought there couldn't possibly more Star Wars news from Celebration? Well, there's a little more: Here's a few new pieces of promo art, featuring Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma and the new First Order Stormtroopers. [via CBR]
I wonder where these are coming from 1/3 pic.twitter.com/ZWKAwd0LsQ
— Tim Veekhoven (@Sompeetalay) April 16, 2015
Captain America: Civil War
Robert Downey Jr. sat down with IGN to discuss Tony Stark's reasoning for going up against Steve Rogers:
As we've seen in the promotional materials for Ultron, Tony is looking for one sweeping solution to keep the world safe - and he believes he is the man to find it. When asked if this was the crux of the wedge that is driven between he and Cap, Downey said to some degree, yes. However, as with most things, there is also a more primal element in play for Tony - jealousy.
"On the surface it's that," the actor reflected. "But also [Tony] Stark grew up under the shadow of this very close father son/relationship that Howard [Stark] had with Steve [Rogers, Captain America] so I'm sure that it's driven by some unconscious motives. At the same time, they're two vastly different generations of moral psychology. And arguably, Cap's is more righteous. But I think Tony is a realist. So that's always a fun dynamic to play."
Spider-Man
Both Kevin Feige and Robert Downey Jr. have been discussing Marvel's plans for the webslinger. Here's Feige talking to IGN:
There are so many things that are integral to his character in the comics that haven't been explored yet. That's what's most exciting. Batman was the same way, there were four Batman movies over however many years and then Batman Begins was able to do something unique, tap into a side that hadn't been seen before in the movies. It is a similar thing. Of course the tone is completely different than Batman.
When he puts that mask on, in the comics, he has a non-stop wit that's almost as troubling to the bad guys he fights as his webs and agility. We feel we haven't really seen that yet.
And here's Downey Jr. talking to IGN again:
"However we spin it, we're going to try and defy the expectation of what it would mean," Downey said. "That's been the directive from jump. But I think that a great job has been done with Spider-Man so far. And I think that the direction that Spider-Man is going to take is exactly what the fans would be delighted to see."
Skybound Entertainment/The Walking Dead
Robert Kirkman's production company has signed a first look film deal with Universal Studios. The deal has sparked rumors of a possible film based on The Walking Dead, but THR's sources say that there are no plans yet.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron
The cast and crew talk about the team's dynamic in this new featurette. [ CBR]
Here's an extended version of the party sequence we saw in the trailers, as the team try to lift Mjolnir. [ Cinemablend]
Deadpool
Here are a few set videos, featuring some stunt work. [ Coming Soon]
Doctor Who
British tabloid The Mirror (so take this with a major pinch of salt) claims that the first two episodes of the next season will deal with The Doctor facing a moral quandary: whether or not to murder a young child who will grow up to become a ruthless dictator responsible for the deaths of millions. That child? A young version of the scientist Davros, the villain who created the Daleks.
The storyline is an alleged callback to the classic Tom Baker story Genesis of the Daleks, in which the Doctor actually asks his companions if it would be morally right to kill a small child who would grow up to become a mass-murderer. In this new version, the Doctor is allegedly captured by the young Davros and forced to help the scientist save the unborn Daleks from destruction.
Meanwhile, there are some set photos from the latest round of Doctor Who filming — the show is returning to St. Fagan's National History Museum in Wales, for an episode that apparently takes place during the Middle Ages. This is apparently the two-parter guest starring Maisie Williams, called "The Girl Who Died"/"The Woman Who Lived." See a ton of photos at Streetwise Lee's Flickr page. [Blogtor Who]
Game Of Thrones
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss talk about how much they're taking from the books at this point, and how close their ending will be to George R.R. Martin's planned book ending:
Benioff: Season five is still very much within the books for the most part. The very first scene of the season and the very last scene of the season are book scenes. It's more season six that's going to be diverging a bit.
We've had a lot of conversations with George, and he makes a lot of stuff up as he's writing it. Even while we talk to him about the ending, it doesn't mean that that ending that he has currently conceived is going to be the ending when he eventually writes it.
Weiss: It's like looking at a landscape and saying, "OK, there's a mountain over there, and I know that I'm getting to that mountain." There's an event that's going to happen, and I know that I'm moving in the general direction of that event, but what's between where I'm standing now and that thing off on the horizon, I'm not totally sure. I'll know when I get there, and then I'll see what the terrain looks like around me and I'll choose my path once I get closer to it. He figures a lot of this stuff as he goes. He always says he's a gardener, not an architect.
And they talk about having to cut some of the storylines from the books:
Benioff: And at a certain point maybe the show can carry 13 separate story threads but it can't carry 24. I don't want to shortchange Arya because there are 15 other characters in a whole another country that we need to spend time with.
And finally, they address how close they feel the show is to the end of the story:
Benioff: We’ve got a very definitive idea of how much longer it is, and we’re getting there. We’ve just started writing episodes for season six. I think we’re heading into the home stretch. Hopefully, we’ll have a clear answer soon.
We could go another four years — and we could come up with good stories — but the one thing that really got us excited when we pitched this to HBO was that this isn’t just a regular series. It’s a real story with a beginning, a middle and an end.
We know what the end is, and we’re barreling toward it. So the idea that we’re going to try and stretch it out by an extra couple years just because we’re all having a good time doing it and people are making money off it just feels like it would be a betrayal.
Tons more at the link. [Variety]
Orphan Black
TV Guide has a bunch of brief teasers for the main clones going into season 3. Here's a few select ones:
Sarah Manning
Where we left off: Our hero escaped her oophorectomy intact by shooting her captor in the eye with a pencil, reunited with her sisters for the ultimate clone dance party and learned of a young girl named Charlotte, the only successful clone created 20 years after Project Leda.
What's next: Sarah will speak to Castor clone Rudy, who is a real piece of work (see below) and then do what she (reluctantly) does best: clone swap! But which of her sisters will be she masquerading as this time? Hint: While she's playacting, she'll try to find help for Helena.
Alison Hendrix
Where we left off: Alison had a tough year after getting out of rehab, but she reconnected with her husband Donnie (Kristian Bruun) and the two bonded over his accidental killing of Dr. Leekie (Matt Frewer).
What's next: Team Hendrix and their marriage are still going strong this year, which is handy when Alison decides she wants to try her hand at something a little more serious than last year's musical. "Alison is very determined this year to carve out a little normalcy in her suburban community," Manson says.
Cosima Niehaus
Where we left off: After designing Sarah's pencil-gun, Cosima had a near-death experience but came to just in time to realize that the copy of The Island of Dr. Moreau that Project Leda's lead scientist gave to Kira (Skyler Wexler) may hold the key to deciphering a cure for Cosima.
What's next: "Cosima's had a stem-cell treatment from Kira's blood, and experimental treatments like the one she's going through will have ebbs and flows," Manson says. "Cosima is fighting on a spiritual front as well as on a scientific front this season." She will also enlist some help in trying to crack Duncan's code.
John Fawcett offers a brief teaser for Felix's interactions with Cosima:
We've always got new things for Felix, and we're always very interested in seeing Felix expanding relationships with other clones. Like in season 1, we put Felix with Alison and that was amazing. This year, we really get to see Felix with all of the girls a lot and one of the characters we haven't seen him with a lot is Cosima, and so they get to deepen their relationship quite a bit, and that's awesome.
[ Buddy TV]
ET also has an exclusive trailer.
Arrow
Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim discuss Roy's "Death" and exit from the show:
DEADLINE: Did you consider killing off Roy?
BERLANTI: We wanted to do something different. These characters are so young, they represent the next generation of superheroes, and we love the idea of having them just out there. And as a person we like Colton so much, we all would love to see him back. Such a talented, great guy.
GUGGENHEIM: The hope is that he’ll continue to be part of the universe we are building. We love working with his so much. We’ve talked to him about returning to one of the three shows, and if available, he has expressed interest. He is gone but definitely not forever.
Berlanti also details how Roy's departure affects the show:
It's always affecting the show when one character is moving on to the great beyond. That allows the show to grow and change, with the state of loss providing high stakes. The end of this season is very much a punctuation mark on the first three seasons. Third season will feel like the end of a trilogy, with elements and pieces coming together. We are heading into a big, epic, climactic battle, and I’m not not going to give away who is going to make it. Everything will be changed after this season.
[ Deadline]
Guggenheim also teased a "mystery set" — which appears to be a plane — from the finale on Twitter:
Agents Of SHIELD
Another week, another poster reveal and teaser for the next episode on Entertainment Weekly. Here's Jeff Bell on "The Frenemy of My Enemy":
In the past few weeks, we’ve been splitting everyone up and focusing on smaller character moments, like the episodes with May and Bobbi. Based on the art, is this episode going to see a lot of those storylines come together?
I think the way this ends…18 really sets up nicely the final four, which I think kind of move like a train. If you had gone to see a 22 hour movie, this sort of launches us into act three, where everything starts coming together. So we’ve got S.H.I.E.L.D. 2.0, and we’ve got Hydra, and we’ve got Inhumans, and we’ve got Ward, and we’ve got all those different threads. And we’re starting to put those together in new combinations in new ways, and that will propel us into the last four episodes.
The Vampire Diaries
Michael Malarkey discusses what's in store for Enzo in the final part of the season:
Enzo is still an outsider. He doesn't turn up for births, marriages, or deaths. ... But the thing with Lily is what's infiltrating him to the group. It'll be an interesting dynamic now with this strange triangle between him, the Salvatore brothers, and Lily, and the different pulls that are happening to him because of it.
[THR]
Heroes Reborn
Rya Kihlstedt has joined as a series regular. [Entertainment Weekly]
Into The Badlands
Three pieces of casting news have been announced: Aramis Knight has been cast as the lead, while Madeleine Mantock and Ally Ioannides have also joined the show. [Deadline]
Salem
Finally, here's a few promo pictures for "From Within". [Spoiler TV]
Additional reporting by Diana Biller and Charlie Jane Anders.