This is my blog, I guess, where I'll tell you about the things I think are cool and interesting. I love comic book superheroes, comic art, sci-fi, fantasy, movies, and TV shows. You know, all the cool shit we waste our time on.
I thought this might be a place for information about all those things, but now I think it's just a place to get it all out of my head so I don't go crazy.
If that interests you, stick around. If not, there's a whole big internet out there to get lost in. Bye!
I'm thinking it may be Julia Louis-Dreyfus who plays Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Val). She is always doing some underhanded thing involving superhero tech. She was maybe involved in this version of Vision from the start and wants him back, or is trying to acquire him for the tech. Just a guess—we shall see.
Magic: The Gathering is finally coming to Netflix, and I'm kind of looking forward to it.
Full disclosure: I've never been a huge Magic guy. I played it briefly, collected a few cards, and never really got into it. But I love fantasy and fantastical worlds, so for me this is just one more world to get lost in.
Here's what we know. Hasbro's CEO just told CNBC the animated series should debut at the end of next year, so late 2027. Netflix first announced it back in 2019 with the Russo brothers producing. It got written, recorded, and then scrapped. In 2024 Netflix brought it back with Terry Matalas as showrunner (the guy who gave us Picard Season 3) and Oscar winner Patrick Osborne as supervising director. The story centers on Chandra, the fire mage, with Ajani and Jace as main characters too.
So do fans care about the lore? Some really do. There's a passionate group of true lore lovers. But most players seem to want the vibe and the feel of Magic done right. As one Redditor put it: "I don't care about the lore at all, but the general tone or thematic identity is very important." Another said they'd love for it "to be the next Arcane." Matalas building it around one character and bringing in others "one by one" sounds like the right way in.
I'll be honest, I have my doubts with Netflix. They've leaned into message over story more than once. But they're in a rough patch right now. They just laid off about 1,000 people, around 6% of the company. Their chief content officer, Bela Bajaria, is out after nearly 10 years, and former Disney TV chief Peter Rice is taking over. Their stock just hit a two-year low after earnings, and co-CEO Ted Sarandos admitted "we could do better." A shake-up at the top could change things, for better or worse. We don't know yet. Maybe this is where they right the ship.
Could Magic compete with Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones? CBR thinks it could. The fan base is huge, and the multiverse gives it endless places to go. But a lot of those fans are jaded and tired of being treated like what they want doesn't matter. Win them over and this could be massive.
I'm hoping for the best. Give us great characters, wild worlds, and a story that respects the people who've loved this thing for 30 years.
Would you watch it? Which Planeswalker do you want to see first?
https://t.co/VhcqZuOvM7
@DCUAlert You know, umm, I like Glen Powell. I recently enjoyed his Chad Powers on Hulu. But I don't think he has enough gravitas and grittiness to pull off the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Wasn't trying to stick it to anyone—just thought he was missing some context that would help fill out his opinion on the show. I always try to come from a place of honesty and stay away from tribalistic thinking. If I think something is well done, regardless of who made it, I'll say so (same when something sucks), but always with a respectful take and not in a mean, confrontational way. We need more bridge builders in these times.
Ellison handed Paramount+ to HBO, and I'm not sure that adds up.
When David Ellison took over Paramount, he said "I don't want to politicize this company. We're an entertainment company first." He told the FCC there'd be no DEI programs, he put an ombudsman at CBS, and he made Bari Weiss editor-in-chief of CBS News. TheWrap even reported that under Ellison, Trek's "unabashedly progressive stance" is out and Yellowstone-style shows are in.
Then the WBD merger closed, and who's running all the streaming content? HBO's Casey Bloys. Paramount+'s head of originals is gone, and every top exec under Bloys is from HBO, including the head of HBO Max originals, who now runs Paramount+ originals too. Ellison has said publicly that "HBO should stay HBO" and should operate "with independence."
So is Ellison actually anti-woke? Honestly, the record is mixed. His dad Larry is the big Trump backer: WSJ reports he gave about $45M to a pro-Trump group in 2024. David himself gave nearly $1M to Biden's reelection fund that same year. To me, Ellison reads more like a businessman than a culture warrior. He makes the moves that get deals approved and hires the people who win awards.
To be fair, HBO's shows do pull viewers. Lanterns drew 9.3M viewers in its first 3 days, and critics loved it. But I'd bet most of those viewers never read the comics, because the fans who did mostly walked away disappointed. Metacritic users gave it a 5.2. The actors gave it everything they had. The problem was the story. It traded the cosmic wonder of Green Lantern for a gritty True Detective mood, and by the end Hal and John looked more like criminals than heroes. That's not Green Lantern.
My issue isn't politics in stories. Themes are fine when they serve the story. My issue is when the message comes first and the entertainment comes second. Most of us watch to escape for a while, not to get lectured.
Ellison's line is "If you're breathing, you're our audience." The next Trek show will be the real test of that. Give us episodic exploration, a great crew and real dilemmas, and I'm in.
People roll their eyes when you bring up "woke," like you're just being negative or nitpicking. But woke used to mean something good. It meant being awake to the problems in the world and wanting to do something about them. That's not what it is anymore. Now it feels like an ideology being pushed on us, one that's trying to change who we are instead of telling a good story. It leans toward collectivist politics and a constant focus on sexuality and identity, and it shows up on screen far more than it does in real life. You can be concerned about that without being a hater. Caring about what our culture puts in front of us isn't nitpicking. It matters.
A lot of people are saying woke is dead. I don't think it's dead. I think it's changing its form: new owners, new titles, the same people deciding what stories get told.
So what's the future of entertainment? Will we ever get back to stuff that just entertains, or is it more of the same cultural manipulation and propaganda?
If you need something to get the bad taste of HBO's Lanterns out of your mouth and your mind, And for those of you who liked the show, these books will show you what you missed and what was left out. Maybe then you'll see why people like me were extremely disappointed with it.
Add these two to your list of things to buy. They're a great reminder of what makes Green Lantern good.
Green Lantern Rebirth: DC Compact Comics Edition. It's 352 pages for just $9.99, with an Alex Ross cover. Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver brought Hal Jordan back the right way: a cocky, fearless test pilot taking on Sinestro and the Manhunters. It's cheap, affordable and the perfect starting point. Coming out in 2027, but other versions can be found on amazon now.
Green Lantern: Blackest Night Compendium. It's 1,480 pages of Johns' epic for $59.99, out March 16 2027, with art by Ivan Reis, Doug Mahnke and Patrick Gleason. It covers the whole emotional spectrum, the Black Lanterns and the entire saga in one book. Not a bad deal for 1,480 pages if you ask me.
I'll be picking these up for myself.
This is Green Lantern with heart, huge cosmic scale and real respect for the lore. It's everything the show completely lacked.
In brightest day, in blackest night…
@TheVsk_ I love what they have done with Ultron in the MCU, and James Spader voicing him has made Ultron one of the best villains we've had. He's absolutely one of the best things about VisionQuest. I've missed looking forward to a show like this—it feels like forever.
Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling.
I'm a big Star Wars fan and a Ryan Gosling fan, so on paper this should be an easy win for me.
But honestly, I'm not sure Disney knows how to make a Star Wars movie these days.
I wasn't a big fan of the sequels.
The last movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu, It wasn't that bad, but I would have preferred another season instead. It made about $346 million worldwide, the lowest for any live-action Star Wars film ever.
Now Starfighter is shaping up to be an expensive bet. Reports put the budget at $226.5 million before marketing, a little more than The Force Awakens cost at the same stage.
It also feels like I've been hearing about this movie forever. Shawn Levy's Star Wars film was first reported back in November 2022, and it doesn't hit theaters until May 28, 2027.
That's about four and a half years, that's a long time to stay pumped about something.
There are reasons for hope, though. It's a standalone story with all-new characters, set about five years after The Rise of Skywalker, with a strong cast that includes Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre and Amy Adams. The fans who saw the D23 teaser said it had a quality feel that's been missing from live-action Star Wars lately.
So I want to be optimistic. I really do. But I've got my worries and doubts. Here's hoping this one reminds Disney what made us fall in love with that galaxy far, far away.
@GeeksGamersCom So the woke employees who ran the company into the ground should be given the company so they can what? Make more games no one wants to play all over again?