The original Ant-Man script has Hank Pym meeting some very familiar faces. Could a different character end up with a major Walking Dead storyline? And a contract negotiation could change The Vampire Diaries forever. Plus, a ton of information about the new season of Doctor Who! Spoilers now!
Top image: Doctor Who
Star Wars
First up today is a little bit from Episode VIII director Rian Johnson, who has been on the Episode VII set:
…they're shooting in London, which is why i just was in London, for reals. But yeah, I think I'm definitely going to go back. Visiting a set you're not working on, though, I always feel kind of uncomfortable. Not because anyone makes you feel uncomfortable at all, but if you don't have a job on the set, its a really strange place to be. But if there's any set in the world to be on…
He also talked about seeing the effects, like the ship we saw revealed:
They're doing so much practical building for this one, its awesome. They're doing it all right, yeah. … I think people are coming back around [to practical effects] yeah, it seems like there's a gravity pulling us back towards it. … I think more and more people are hitting a critical mass as far as the CG-driven action scene, lending itself towards a very specific type of action film, where physics go out the window and it becomes so big so quick, and I probably sound like a grumpy old man talking about it. I do wonder, kids are growing up watching those and that's the thing they love now. So I don't know if it's a generational thing.
[ Girls in Hoodies Podcast via Slashfilm]
There's a slew of Han Solo rumors flying around, so let's get to them. The first is an update to the rumor that Han and Chewbacca aren't flying the Millennium Falcon this time around. He has a new ride, though, according to Badass Digest:
Han and Chewie are piloting a Super Star Destroyer….I believe the Falcon is in the hands of Oscar Isaac's character, who is very much the Lando Calrissian of this movie – all the way down to wearing a cape. There are other familiar spaceships in this movie, including three variations on TIE Fighters. There's the classic design, the TIE Interceptor and a new generation TIE Bomber – the pods on these are stacked, not side-by-side.
They also add, like in The Empire Strikes Back, we'll see Han use a lightsaber again. Note "use" not "wield properly." [Badass Digest via Slashfilm]
From the same source as the possible new Stormtrooper helmets, come what purports to be concept art of a few Han Solo outfits. As Indie Revolver points out, they do look like riffs on outfits we saw Han wear to Hoth and Endor. Now, we've heard rumors of both returns to familiar planets as well as refutations of that idea. So who knows where Han will wear these get-ups — or even if he will. [Moviepilot]
Ant-Man
Take this with all the salt, because even if it is true, who knows if this will survive the rewrites: But Latino Review says that Edgar Wright's script had a prologue showing Hank Pym at a SHIELD meeting with Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, Arnim Zola, and a young Alexander Pierce. [Latino Review]
Fantastic Four
Michael B. Jordan talked to The Source about playing the role and what will be in this new movie:
It's been a lot of fun. Johnny Storm is such an iconic character. There's a lot of personality traits and things to him that people are really going to look forward to seeing. Got a lot of original Johnny stuff in there and then you have — not a NEW take but a fresh take. We have a different take on different things as well. I could go on and on about it but I think it's something that people will enjoy.
[ The Source via Coming Soon]
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3 and 4
Yes, these are happening. And The Conjuring writers Chad and Carey Hayes have been hired to write, and Dwayne Johnson is already attached to the two sequels (he starred in the second one) and Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) is expected to return, even though he isn't contractually obligated to. [The Hollywood Reporter]
The Age of Adaline
Lionsgate's announced a release date for this film: January 23, 2015. Here's the official description:
Adaline (Blake Lively) ceases to age following an accident one icy night, but keeps her condition a closely-guarded secret while embarking on a number of incredible adventures throughout the 20th Century.
After years of a solitary life, she finds the love and courage that enable her to fully begin living.
Interstellar
Here's another photo from the movie from Entertainment Weekly. [Coming Soon]
Sin City: A Dame to Kill
Here's a 3d featurette. [via Slashfilm]
And here's a poster featuring Sally. [ SpoilerTV]
Doctor Who
As always, nothing is true until it's official, but The Mirror reports that this season's Christmas special will be the last outing for Jenna Coleman's Clara. An anonymous source told The Mirror:
The conversations about Jenna's exit have started, and a plan is in place which is being ironed out.
By the time she leaves she will be one of the longest-standing companions ever. She has been absolutely brilliant in the role, but everyone agrees it is a part that should change after a period.
[ The Mirror]
The Mirror also has details on Samuel Anderson's character Danny Pink. It sounds like Coal Hill School will be a recurring location throughout the season, as the Mirror claims that Pink is a fellow teacher at Coal Hill and the Doctor acts as the school's caretaker. An insider told The Mirror that the two will start dating in episode 4, and then Jenna will have to juggle her romance with her life with the Doctor. Says the source:
She meets a man called Danny Pink – a teacher – who's charming and lovely. He's that perfect boyfriend really and is very supportive, but he doesn't know anything about this double life she lives.
She tries to hide it from him whilst at the same time falling in love.
She becomes very torn between the two. It's almost as if she's having an affair, without having an affair - it becomes quite a hurtful thing and quite a hard thing for her because she's totally torn between the two.
[ The Mirror]
Coleman told The Independent that Peter Capaldi's the exact opposite of Matt Smith:
I always thought Matt was so young- looking but had this older, wiser quality about him, whereas Peter is almost the opposite. Somehow he has this energy that is younger. Visually, obviously, it is very different.
She also talked about the new dynamic:
We're discovering that it's much more of a turbulent relationship [between the characters]; he brings out the control freak in Clara because she can't quite pin him down. It's always an interesting dynamic with the Doctor, anyway; one moment he's your friend, and in another moment he's this weird alien, and in another moment he's being this annoying kind of toddler and you're the adult, and in the next moment he's playing the wise old grandfather.
Here are some teasers for Sunday's premiere:
- Mind the newspaper
- Skin
- "I've seen fossils"
- The Promised land?
- "You've redecorated"
See five more at the link. [Life, Doctor Who, and Combom]
From The Guardian comes a short description of what sounds like a very weird scene, even for this show:
In a small studio a few corridors away, director Douglas Mackinnon is filming a sequence in which a chintzy sofa gets crushed out of existence. This will be the ninth episode, in which Jenna Coleman's Clara must lug the Doctor and his Tardis around in her handbag after they get shrunken down to miniature size. As proof, two tiny Tardises stand side by side on a nearby table.
We've seen photos from this shoot before. Good to have the shrinking TARDIS confirmed. [The Guardian via Blogtor Who]
Here's the guest cast for the premiere, "Deep Breath":
- Madame Vastra - Neve McIntosh
- Strax - Dan Starkey
- Jenny - Catrin Stewart
- Half-Face Man - Peter Ferdinando
- Inspector Gregson - Paul Hickey
- Alf - Tony Way
- Elsie - Maggie Service
- Cabbie - Mark Kempner
- Barney - Brian Miller
- Waiter - Graham Duff
- Courtney - Ellis George
- Policeman - Peter Hannah
- Footman - Paul Kasey
Remember that Courtney, played by Ellis George, is not just going to be in this one episode. Samuel Anderson (Danny Pink) tweeted as much a few months ago. [ Blogtor Who]
The Walking Dead
The question about what from the comics will be translated to the screen remains. Now, with a set looking familiar to comics fans, a Carl plotline has come up for debate:
It looks like they are building a giant wall around a bunch of houses in Senoia, Georgia to represent the Alexandria Safe-Zone of the books. In the comics, there's a herd attack not too long after Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and company arrive and, in the panic, ASZ leader Douglas Monroe starts shooting wildly and hits Carl in the head. Carl ends up losing his right eye and part of his face. He survives, but with memory loss, forgetting things like the fact that his mom died back at the prison.
While some say that the plotline will probably be remixed into the story of another character, others claim that it's too important to Carl for him to lose. As Wet Paint points out:
They already changed Carl's TV story by taking away the Ben/Billy child killer storyline, so maybe they don't want to take away another major milestone. As Robert Kirkman told TheWalkingDead.com after "The Grove," "There are certain things on the road to Carl's evolution that are important benchmarks that push him along on his journey, and the Ben and Billy situation was definitely one of them, but the show is doing well and is theoretically going to go for a while, and there are a lot of things Carl's going to have to do that can replace that situation and affect him in possibly better ways. There's always room to explore those possibilities, and I don't really feel like I lost anything by taking this situation from Carl and giving it to Carol."
[ Wet Paint]
Gotham
Camren Bicondov, the young woman who will play Selina Kyle, explained in an interview that her character is never lonely, because she has her cats. Asked if there's anyone else in her life, Bicondov answered:
I think she has some acquaintances. I don't think she has friends. Later on, in future episodes you'll see relationships that she already has or what she's going to have, but I don't think she really has friends. I think she has mostly acquaintances.
[ Movie Pilot]
Vampire Dairies
The question of where Bonnie and Damon are will be answered before the end of the second episode. However, even though the location may look familiar, it's somewhere brand new to them. [ TV Guide via International Business Times]
Contract negotiations could determine which direction the show will go in a possible season 7. E! says that of Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, only two of the three have signed on for a seventh season. Whichever of the three is holding out is unsure if she or he wants to keep going.
All three signing on would give the show a good shot at getting renewed for a seventh season, but it's still possible that the network would be content letting other characters fill the gap left by someone leaving. [ E! Online]
Powers
This Playstation show has added three people to its cast.
Eddie Izzard will co-star as Wolfe, "the bogeyman of the POWERS universe — a top-level Power who has spent the last two decades incarcerated in the Shaft, his terrible abilities kept in check through a brutal regimen of surgical procedures. Before that, he was a mentor of then-up-and-coming Powers, Walker."
Noah Taylor will play Johnny Royalle, "a criminal mastermind Power with the ability to pop in and out of locations at will. He owns a cutting edge underground venue, the Here and Gone Club, that may be part of a dark and deadly conspiracy."
And Olesya Rulin will play Calista, "a teenage Power wannabe with street smarts, attitude and vulnerability who is always seeking out her next move." [ Deadline]
Arrow
Here's an interview with John Barrowman:
And Stephen Amell did a Q&A for the 50th episode:
Consider this unconfirmed for now, but this is apparently the casting call for Arrow's take on Ra's al Ghul. [Reddit via SpoilerTV]
Constantine
The show has cast Michael James Shaw in the recurring role of Papa Midnite. [ Comic Book Resources]
Westworld
Miranda Otto has joined the cast as Virginia Pittman, "the head of the quality assurance department whose brutal honesty with her colleagues and ruthless efficiency in dealing with malfunctioning 'property' have made her a formidable and unpredictable power player in Westworld." [ The Hollywood Reporter]
Once Upon a Time
EP Adam Horowitz said that after last season's many long-lost relatives (Peter Pan is Rumpelstiltskin's father, Regina and the Wicked Witch are sisters), he can promise that they "are not going to reveal that, for example, Elsa is somebody's sister." He also explained that, within the show's continuity, Henry hasn't seen Frozen:
As Horowitz explains, Once "occurs in a semblance of real time," starting with Emma Swan's Oct 23, 2011 birthday aka the series premiere. With Season 2 encompassing less than a year, and even factoring in Season 3's midseason time jump, "We calculated that we are now living in the early part of 2013," Horowitz notes. Meaning, Henry not only couldn't have seen Frozen (a late-November release) yet, but its first teaser trailer won't hit the Storybrooke Cinema for months.
[ TV Line]
Here's a new photo of Elsa and Anna. [ Oh My Disney]
Outlander
Star Catriona Balfe says that Claire has realized there's no easy out of the past:
I think it comes at the point when Colum says she's going to stay [at the end of the episode]. She believes she's lost her ticket out of there. The thing about Claire is she doesn't know if she can get back, or if she does get back if she can get back to her own time, or back to another time. She doesn't understand the mechanisms of what happened to her yet. So her goal is to somehow get out of the castle, get back to where she came from and see if she can find answers there. So when Colum tells her she's staying, that's devastating to her because all of a sudden she's become a prisoner in a very fortified place. This is not a place where she can just walk away. There's people watching her at all times.
She also talked about what's next for the character:
What Claire always does is she's very resourceful and very resilient. Again, I think this is a product of her having just experienced a long war. She's going to use the resources she has. We're going to see a lot more of her medical training coming into effect. She bides her time to wait and see what opportunities arise to try and figure out a way of escaping. As much as she's taking in this time, as much as she's got this connection with Jamie, these are all secondary happenings to her. Her primary goal is to get back to her own time. We're going to see more of how she makes best with each situation that arises so she can figure out how to get back to the stones.
Witches of East End
Producer Maggie Friedman had this to say about James Marsters' appearance in the next episode:
James Marsters is a badass. I can tell you that. His character, Tarkoff, has been involved with the Beauchamp family for hundreds of years. He knew Joanna back in Asgard — in fact, he introduced her to her husband Victor. Their history is long and complicated. But he is not all he seems, as we will reveal. I think James is an incredible actor who plays a fabulously scary villain. He has a long arc on the show and we couldn't be happier with his work. He rocks.
More at the link. [ SpoilerTV]
And here are synopses for the next few episodes:
Episode 2.08 - Sex, Lies, and Birthday Cake
Freya and Frederick celebrate a milestone birthday; Tarkoff puts pressure on Frederick; Ingrid and Dash grow closer; Tommy gets a surprise from Wendy; Joanna faces one of her worst fears.
Episode 2.09 - Smells Like King Spirit
Tarkoff seeks revenge against Frederick; Freya confronts Killian; Ingrid gives Dash an ultimatum; Wendy and Tommy's relationship proves dangerous; Joanna tries to protect her family.
Episode 2.10 - The Fall of the House of Beauchamp
Joanna is devastated by Tarkoff's actions; Dash's secrets begin to be revealed; Wendy and Joanna reconnect with their father.
Episode 2.11 - Poe Way Out
Joanna, Freya and Wendy revisit one of their past lives; Dash's one-night stand is revealed; Ingrid tries to bond with her grandfather.
American Horror Story
A tweet from actor Denis O'Hare appears to reveal an episode title:
Haven
Go here for photos from episode 5.01, "See No Evil." [SpoilerTV]
Additional reporting by Charlie Jane Anders and Ryan Plummer