Wonder Woman was one of the DC Cinematic Universe's biggest hits when it released in 2017, and of course, with big hits comes big sequels. It was no surprise when Gadot was confirmed to return for the sequel, titled Wonder Woman 1984, but Patty Jenkin's confirmation of another character's return in a tweet took many by surprise:

Yes, indeed, that is Chris Pine as the pilot Steve Trevor, who supposedly died in a fiery plane explosion in the first film (ergo, the shock). The posting of this tweet predictably led to a flurry of theories about how Steve Trevor could possibly be alive in the next film (not to mention at the same age as he was in the first movie). Today, I'm going to evaluate some of the internet's best guesses at how Steve Trevor survived. Let's get to it. 

July has been a pretty busy month! Last week, I covered all the important stuff from Disney's D23 conference, from Star Wars to The Incredibles. This week, I'll be showing you all the most important and exciting trailers from Comic-Con 2017. Let's get started:

Marvel's panel at Comic-Con was apparently pretty good--with some exciting new Black Panther footage and all--but of course, us non-attendees of Comic-Con won't be able to see it. At any rate, we did get a few new trailers from Marvel, including for the upcoming film Thor: Ragnarok. Take a look:

There's definitely a Guardians of the Galaxy vibe to the film, and despite the serious plot, it manages to remain upbeat. We see Loki seems to be fighting alongside Thor (again), but of course his mischief is never done. More scenes of Hela's (Cate Blanchett) devastating power are revealed, but I can't neglect to mention that awesome end clip where Thor's eyes are glowing blue as he summons thunder from the sky. You can catch Thor: Ragnarok in theaters on November 3, 2017.

Disney owns essentially every franchise on the face of the planet--like it or not--and as such, there's always news from their annual D23 conference that stirs fandoms of every stripe. Whether you're excited about this December's release of The Last Jedi or some of Disney's farther-out releases, D23 brought plenty to get excited about.

I'll start with the film I'm personally most excited about, and that is Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. And boy, did D23 get me even more pumped than I already was. First off, you can't miss the behind-the-scenes video that was released. Take a look:

You might have picked out a couple things that dropped some hints about the upcoming movie (such as that short clip where Rey is fighting several people at once...Knights of Ren, perhaps?), however, there aren't any major spoilers, so far as I can tell, in this video. We still have no mention of Snoke, which is clearly intentional. What is becoming obvious, though, is that this is shaping up to be one of the most riveting Star Wars tales yet. Will it be just a clone of The Empire Strikes Back? I'm starting to think no. In fact, I'm getting kind of a bad feeling about what's going to happen in The Last Jedi.

Regardless, I must commend Lucasfilm on the promotional materials so far for this movie. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the teaser poster released a few months ago, but I'm tempted to say that the new posters released at D23 are just as good. You can flip through the slideshow below to see them all:

   Two major trailers dropped this weekend that caused a stir on the Internet: Star Wars: Battlefront II and Black Panther. As well-done as the Battlefront trailer was (and as much of a Star Wars fan as I am), in this blog post, I'll be focusing on the latter. 
   To provide a little bit of background, the Black Panther movie will pick up shortly after the events of Captain America: Civil War, in which Black Panther, whose real name is T'Challa, was first introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you recall, T'Challa and his father T'Chaka come from the fictional, isolated African nation of Wakanda, of which T'Chaka is king. In a terrible turn of events, T'Challa's father is killed in a deadly bombing of a UN assembly in Austria, leaving the throne of Wakanda to his son. 
   T'Challa must now return to Wakanda to claim the kingship, but he's going to face some opposition from some rogue tribes. Check out the trailer below:

   Blesses and splashes! Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis face to face again! The first thing you notice in this trailer is that Wakanda is clearly not what it seems to be at first glance. In this African nation, barely known to outsiders, there seems to be a beautiful medley of traditional African culture and high-tech metropolises. It's also the home of rich deposits of the metal vibranium--a highly coveted metal, especially by Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), for its extreme durability. It's the same stuff that Captain America's shield and Black Panther's suit are made out of.
   Despite Wakanda's utopian appearance, it clearly has some stability issues. T'Challa's claim to the throne is clearly not universally accepted, as we see the Black Panther struggling with numerous foes in the trailer. The main villain here is Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), an exile who clearly has problems with T'Challa and his father. 
   Even though Black Panther is quite the warrior himself, he does seek help to quell these challenges to his authority. Among them are the Dora Milaje, the entirely female royal bodyguards and special forces of Wakanda. As you saw in the trailer, they're bad to the bone. I personally can't wait to see some of their butt-kicking moves when the movie comes out.

(photo cred: The Verge)
   Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) will presumably play some role in his position as a CIA agent, but what his exact role will be remains unclear. In spite of his position in the CIA, he doesn't seem to know much about T'Challa's homeland. In the comics, Ross is more of a defender of Wakandan sovereignty, so we'll see if he takes that role on in the movie.
   What is your opinion on the trailer? Are you going to see the Black Panther movie when it releases on February 16th, 2018? Let me hear you in the comments below!

   When Batman vs. Superman released, Wonder Woman sort of came out of nowhere. Of course, we have the comics to provide an origin story, but from a cinematic standpoint, we had no idea where she came from. DC is seeking to remedy that with its upcoming Wonder Woman film. In this film, we see that Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) gets involved with mortal humans when an Air Service pilot (Chris Pine) washes up on her native island during World War I. He pleads with her to join the Allied cause, to which she agrees, leaving behind her immortal homeland. 
   A new Wonder Woman trailer was released just yesterday, and I have to say, it's pretty epic. A couple of trailers have been released before this one, but this one is the final trailer before the film comes out. In case you missed it, you can watch it below.

   What did I tell ya? There's lots of great, death-defying action going on here, from some pillar-smashing to some bad-guy-flinging to some golden-lasso-swinging (!). While there are definitely some dark moments, the trailer does provide some glimpses of a lighter tone for a DC movie, such as some beautiful shots of Themyscira, Wonder Woman's home island, as well as some lighthearted remarks from Chris Pine's character Steve Trevor. 

(Warner Bros./DC Entertainment)
   I think the special effects seem to be very well done--the best yet for a DC movie. The only thing I missed was the Invisible Jet (maybe it was in the trailer and I just couldn't see it?). Anyway, joking aside, this film is shaping up to be one of the best yet in the DC cinematic universe. I personally can't wait to see it. What about you? Do you agree with my assessment of the trailer? Tell me in the comments below!

A couple of big things happened in sci-fi this week, including the announcement that Carrie Fisher would return for Star Wars: Episode IX and the release of a the first trailer for Thor: Ragnarok.

Carrie Fisher Will Be in Star Wars: Episode IX
When Carrie Fisher tragically passed away last year, Star Wars fans everywhere braced for the worst--Princess/General Leia was going to have to die, too. But, fear not! Carrie's brother, Todd Fisher, announced earlier this week that the beloved Leia Organa would, in fact, be in the as-yet-unfilmed Episode IX. He said, "[Carrie's son, Billie Lourd, and I] were like, ‘Yes, how do you take her out of it?’ And the answer is you don’t. She’s as much a part of it as anything, and I think her presence now is even more powerful than it was, like Obi-Wan – when the saber cuts him down, he becomes more powerful. I feel like that’s what’s happened with Carrie. I think the legacy should continue.”
I can already hear the screams of those of you who hated the CGI Tarkin in Rogue One. However, interestingly, it has been confirmed that Leia will not be digitally resurrected: Disney will be using real footage of Fisher from Episode VIII: The Last Jedi for Episode IX. I'm honestly unsure of how they plan to pull this off, but, using old footage, I would imagine Leia's role in the ninth episode will be greatly reduced. I guess we'll just have to wait until May 2019 to find out.

New Thor: Ragnarok Trailer

   There's a lot going on in this trailer, but there a few main things to pull out. (1) Lots of destruction. Hela (Cate Blanchett), the girl with the huge, spidery helmet and mask, seems to blow through the heavily defended Asgard like a tornado in an RV park. As the ruler of Hel (it's just about what it sounds like), she is likely seeking to populate her kingdom with the souls of Asgardian warriors. And, ahem! She totally crushed Mjolnir! It definitely seems like Asgard is in a real pickle this time.
   (2) Much lighter tone. Despite the overwhelming destruction featured in the trailer, the music throughout and lighthearted joke at the end ("He's a friend from work!") give the impression that this movie might not be as serious as the previous Thor movies were; in fact, the director of the film said that he wished to display the funnier side of Thor (Chris Hemsworth). However, I do not expect that this movie won't have its fair share of action and suspense.
   (3) Return of some old characters. Of course, what we all noticed was the return of Loki and the Hulk. Some questions obviously remain from these appearances--what is Loki doing? And how did the Hulk end up on Sakaar (the planet on which the coliseum-like building is located)? We know that Dr. Banner disappeared after Age of Ultron, but his final destination was left a mystery. 
   (4) Thor's haircut. Sorry, had to mention it! Just saying, it looks pretty cool.
   What do you guys think? What kind of role do you think Leia will play in Episode IX? And will you be seeing Thor: Ragnarok, and what are your thoughts on the trailer? Tell me in the comments below!

   Just this weekend, the trailer for the highly anticipated Justice League ​movie dropped. Missed it? You can watch it below:

   After seeing this movie (and this trailer), the question moviegoers and comic book fans will undoubtedly be asking themselves is, "How does this compare to the Avengers movies?" I know many of you will cast that vote based on your loyalty to Marvel or DC, which I get. I tend to gravitate towards Marvel movies; however, I've also liked the DC movies I've seen, so I like to think I'm pretty objective on this topic. 
   One observation that Wired magazine made with this trailer was that it's very dark. Indeed, they are correct--nary a bright color is seen in this gloomy-skies, dimly lit, drab-colored-costume trailer. (Don't get me wrong, I think the costumes look cool...but they are rather dull.) I realize that many of you may not find a problem with that. I think it's fine, but I do agree with Wired: "Honestly [Director] Zack: Would it kill you to turn a light on sometimes?" While it cannot be argued that the Avengers movies have grown darker in tone (and, in the case of Thor: The Dark World, dark in visuals as well), you can still watch them with the lights on. I will give DC credit for lightening the tone with a few jokes scattered in the trailer.
   That all being said, the special effects are quite nice. The battle scenes appear to be very well done, as has come to be expected of DC and Marvel movies. It is difficult to make a final judgment on the special effects compared to Marvel movies as there is a lot of fast-moving action and lens flaring in this particular trailer; however, they appear to be about on par with Marvel's Avengers. Take that how you want. 
   My final thought is that the scale of this movie seems to be much smaller than the Avengers. There are a lot of moving parts in the Avengers, with a broken S.H.I.E.L.D., a lingering division from Captain America: Civil War, hostile world governments, and not to mention more characters. I realize that there has been limited interaction between superheroes in the DC movies until now, but the Justice League seems small and incomplete in this movie. The lack of Superman appearances (due to his supposed death) are noticeable. I also know that there has been some governmental hostility and division between DC heroes (yes, I've seen Batman v. Superman), but, in stark contrast to Age of Ultron, there is no obvious opposition or disdain towards the Justice League in this trailer. I realize that these are not necessary pieces for a good superhero movie, but we are comparing this to the Avengers.
   I want to hear your thoughts. I'm sure many of you will be going to see this movie in November. What are your first impressions based on the trailer above? Do you agree or disagree with my analysis of the trailer? Let me hear you in the comments below! 

   Before I begin, I guess I should inform you that I loved Power Rangers when I was younger. Like a lot. So, for you hardcore fans out there (and I know you're out there), please realize that I have no personal bias against the franchise. Any comments I make pertain only to the movie. Are we good?
    If you haven't seen the trailer for the new live-action Power Rangers film, I've included it here for your convenience. You're welcome.

   Now that the disclaimer and the trailer is out of the way, let's talk about the movie itself. With the advent of movies like Max Steel, we can see that studios are clearly starting the trend of live-action-ifying (if you know what I mean) children superhero series. ​I wrote a blog post about Max Steel before I saw it. In it, I discussed how it actually could be an entertaining movie; for the curious, you can check the whole post out yourself. However, I never followed up on that blog post after I actually saw the movie.
   Okay, so...it wasn't horrible. But it wasn't a Marvel or DC movie either. I would say that the most exciting thing about it was the special effects, which I have to say were very well done. To be honest, that was what got me excited about it in the first place. The storyline was mediocre and the action was short-lived. In some places, it felt more like a lackluster Spiderman clone. I felt a hint of dissatisfaction when I left the theater. I daresay the Power Rangers movie will be the same.
   If you've watched the trailer above, or any other trailer for the movie, you're instantly dazzled with colorful and robust special effects, right? Yeah, they are pretty good. However, my fear, and, indeed, my prediction, is that once we eat up all the meat of the franchise and the special effects, we'll be left with the bones of an unsatisfying story. For the sake of all you Power Rangers diehards, I hope I'm wrong, but we'll find out for sure on March 24th when the movie officially releases.
   Will you be going to see Power Rangers in theaters? Are you excited about it or not so much? Let me know in the comments below!

   We've all got our favorite superheroes: Superman, Batman, Iron Man, Hulk, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, etc. And for every superhero, there's a bad guy. For some, there are some really bad (as in, pitiful) bad guys. I'll be talking about some of those today--you decide which one is the worst.

 (photo credit: batman.wikia.com)

   Just as The Living Eraser was not the brainchild of a failing film major, "Condiment King" is not the name of a condiment superstore chain. Condiment King is also a real villain, hailing from the universe of DC Entertainment. He basically shoots various condiments at his enemies--the only real threat here is if you're allergic to ketchup or mustard. I will give him credit, though, he does have some pretty good lines. In his first appearance in Batman: The Animated Series, according to Batman Wiki, he says, "The big bad Bat-guy. I knew you'd ketchup to me sooner or later. How I relished this meeting. You, the dynamic Dark Knight , versus me, the conceptual Condiment King! Come, Batman. Let's see if you can cut the mustard."
   Unfortunately, soon after, he slips on some ketchup and falls off a building...to his death.

(photo credit: screenrant.com)

   Clifford Michaels was your typical, sheltered kid: raised by his father as if it were the early 1900s (in a post World War I society), he adopted the values of that era, only to find out in his adulthood that the world had neglected the morals of the decade he thought he was raised in. Ironically, out of his disdain for the immoral people of his age, he became a villain and terrorized people. Eventually, he developed the Horn of Time, which, theoretically, would kill everyone under the age of 65 when it was blown. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work. 

   Who do you think is the worst super villain? Is there another villain that I left out? Let me hear you in the comments below!

   If you read the title and are surprised, you are on the same boat I was about a month ago. When I found the Max Steel trailer last month, I thought it was a joke at first. But no sir, it is 100% real. You can watch the trailer below.

   In case you watched that and are totally confused, let me enlighten you. Max Steel is a popular line of action figures from Mattel that has been adapted into two separate TV series. The first one ran from 2000-2002 on Kids WB and Cartoon Network. The second one ran in 2013 on Disney XD and continues to run on Netflix. It chronicles the adventures of Max McGrath and Steel, who is of an alien species known as the Ultra-Links. Max essentially has inherent super-abilities, and Steel helps him regulate them; thus the name Max Steel when they are united. So now that you have the basic idea, let's talk about the film.
   In the film, Max's father, a scientist of some sort, has mysteriously died, and Max, a normal high school teenager, wants to know more about his father's research. Sound familiar? Probably because it is very similar to the plot of The Amazing Spider Man. At first glance, it may seem rather cliché, and granted, it kind of is. However, I think that there are some aspects of this movie that may make seeing it worthwhile.
   First, I think it combines the stories of some of our favorite superheroes. Honestly, many superheroes have similar origin stories. But I think that Max Steel is unique in that it feels like if Peter Parker decided to make Iron Man armor instead of a spider suit. Plus, Max's dependence on Steel to regulate his abilities is similar to Spidey's dependence on his web shooters, Tony Stark's dependence on the Iron Man suit, or Batman's dependence on his utility belt. This, I think, creates an almost immediate sympathy for Max. 

   ​Second, I think it's a good way to introduce a character that kids have loved for a long time to adults. With top-of-the-line special effects and a PG-13 rating (for some sci-fi action violence), it will probably make more of the older crowd feel more comfortable seeing a movie about what is perceived as a childish character. I personally look forward to seeing it myself when it comes out later this month on October 14. 
   So what do you think? Leave me your thoughts on it in the comments below or on one of my social media accounts! I'd love to hear your opinions!