Watchmen Archive

Not even China's immense Box Office could save the Terminator franchise, as it seems the sequel to last years Terminator: Genisys has officially been taken down from Paramounts 2017 release calendar. While this doesn't necessarily mean that the film is officially cancelled, it simply shows that there is a lack of trust in the project, especially considering that the once strong franchise only managed to pull in around $90 million domestically with most of its $440.6 million Box Office coming from internatoinal markets.

The May 19, 2017 release date has now been replaced with Dwayne Johnson's upcoming remake of Baywatch, which has been garnering a lot of traction over the last few months. Naturally, the already third planned Terminator film, which was slated for June 2018, has also been pulled so it isn't looking good for everyone's favorite 90s franchise.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!

Cf. Cassidy (2016): http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/markcassidycbm/news/?a=130210, Dated: 21.01.2016.

It seems that Marvel has been quite busy not only further developing their Netflix side of televisoin, but even their ABC Productions have been quite busy. It seems that while they have been busy working on a Agents of SHIELD spin-off Marvel's Most Wanted and the first Marvel comedy focusing on the clean-up crew Marvel's Damage Control that isn't all ABC and Marvel have been cooking up.

While NBC is working on a DC Comics sitcom titled "Powerless", which will be a look at the DC universe from the side of regular people, ABC's president Paul Lee accidently revelaed at the Television Critics Association 2016 that a second half-hour comedy show is currently under development over at ABC. While no exact details were given what the show is focusing on or if we will see this show starting next TV season, but we will have to wait until May for official announcements.

Currently, there is a rumor that the show might focus on a variation of The Pulse comic, which followed news reporters and a news agency on how they deal with the everyday life in a world full of superheroes, but we could even see a new variation looking at the Daily Bugle, but so far these are just rumors.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!

Cf. Freeman (2016): http://screenrant.com/marvel-abc-second-comedy-series-damage-control/, Dated: 18.01.2016.

I am certainly a bit late on this news, but it is still quite some great news. Marvel has been searching for a director for their ambitions Black Panther film for a while with candidates like Ava DuVernay leaving the project. They went seperate directions due to creative differences, but it certainly opened the opportunity for a completely new relationship, which seems to have finally come to fruition.

One of the outstanding films of the year, Creed, a succesor to the Rocky films focusing on Apollo Creed's son, has put director Ryan Coogler on the map and Marvle certainly didn't waste any time. He is now officially set to direct the Black Panther film, which has a February 16, 2018 release date.

Kevin Feige stated that "We are fortunate to have such an esteemed filmmaker join the Marvel family. The talents Ryan showcased in his first two films easily made him our top choice to direct Black Panther. Many fans have waited a long time to see Black Panther in his own film, and with Ryan we know we've found the perfect director to bring T'Challa's story to life."

What do you think of him in the director's chair? Leave a comment below!

Cf. Sobon (2016): http://mcuexchange.com/ryan-coogler-confirmed-to-direct-black-panther/, Dated: 18.01.2016.

It seems that while Netflix is sticking to its five Marvel TV-Series plan consisting of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and The Defenders, but there have been rumors spreading that the Marvel-Netflix side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe might see itself expanding in the coming future. A while back there was a rumor about a show focusing on the rather obscure character Moon Knight, but now it seems that the Phase 2 of Netflix shows might expand beyond that.

The second season of Daredevil will see the introduction of The Punisher, who might actually have a much larger role in the future of the series, as now it seems he might receive his very own series. This makes a lot of sense considering the character's darker roots and the many stories that could be told with a more vigilante character like Frank Castle. Behind-the-Scenes information have stated that Jon Bernthal is doing a fantastic job and seeing him have his own series would make sense.

This rumor might actually have some feet, as even the showrunners behind the second season of Daredevil have teased a potential series. "We got the pleasure of introducing Frank Castle into Hell's Kitchen and our world. Where we start off is, this is 'Daredevil' and 'Dareevil' Season 2, and the questoin was put before us. Jeph Loeb at Marvel has been extremely helpful at positioning this season as 'What is it to be a hero?' Season 1 is the guy becomes a hero and now, what is he going to do? Frank Castle comes and really stirs the pot, like 'oh, you're going to do this? I'm going to do this too. We're not that different, you're not that superior.'" Doug Petrie voiced in a recent interview.

Even Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb gave a few comments in regard to the potential of a Punisher show. "Looks I'm never going to discourage a network from looking at one of our characters and encouraging us to do more. That's my job, but it's certainly not how we enter the arena. We go into the arena to tell a story. If we are lucky enough that through the writing, through the direction, through the actor that people want to see more of that person, terrific. That's certainly not the beginning and the end goal. The beginning goal is always: What is the best 13 episodes of Daredevil season 2?" One thing is for sure, he didn't deny the potential of seeing a show, but it probably is a question of time before we have an official announcement which probably won't happen before Daredevil Season 2 is released worldwide.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!

Cf. Sobon (2016): http://mcuexchange.com/the-punisher-looks-to-be-getting-his-own-series-as-netflix-develops-a-spin-off/, Dated: 18.01.2016.
Cf. Sobon (2016): http://mcuexchange.com/the-daredevil-producers-tease-the-potential-punisher-spin-off/, Dated: 18.01.2016.

Finally we have some confirmation regarding Jessica Jones future and at the Television Critics Association press tour Netflix has officially announced that Jessica Jones is officially renewed for a second season. While no exactly details were given regarding the future of the show up until this point and even after its officially confirmation being given no exact release date, which is a classic Netflix move at this point, it is still great news to see the show returning.

Officially, Melissa Rosenberg is back on board for the second season, which will also consist of 13 episodes, but that is all the information that was given to us so far. Krysten Stewart is most likely to return but besides that no other informationw as given regarding the upcoming season, which may focus on some elements that were left open at the end of the first season.

What do you think? What do you think will be the villain in the second season? Leave a comment below!

Cf. Hibberd (2016): http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/17/jessica-jones-renewed-season-2, Dated: 17.01.2016.

Wonder Woman has already been filming for some time now and with a World War 1 set confirmed, many were interested to find out what role the Amazons will play and who might be playing the Queen of the Amazons in the upcoming film. Rumors were floating around for Nicole Kidman and Robin Wright being considered for the role we now have our offical confirmation.

Danish actress Connie Nielsen, famous for playing a Queen in Ridley Scott's Gladiator, has been cast as Queen Hippolyta in Warner Bros. long-anticipated Wonder Woman film. So far the cast consists of Gadot, Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis and Ewen Brenner and the film is aimed for a June 23, 2017 release.

What do you think of this casting? Leave a comment below!

Cf. Julian (2016): http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/GraphicCity/news/?a=130022, Dated: 17.01.2016.

The X-Men franchise is slowly expanding beyond the silver scree and with many excited to see a show focusing on the Hellfire club and Legion, some expectations might not be quite met and another show sadly might have lost an important element pushing it back for another year.

First off, Hellfire seemed to have lost its showrunner, as co-creators and writers Evan Katz and Manny Coto left the project to work on the reboot of 24: Legacy, which will not feature the famous Jack Bauer character. They both worked as executive producers on the original 24 and it's sequel 24: Live Another Day. Furthermore, Patrick McKay and John D. Payne, who help develop the story, have also left the project. Fox is still comitted to the project and it might still see the light of day in 2017.

2016 might still see the release of Legion, a show that was previously believed to be a part of the X-Men universe we have seen in the films, but now has been revealed to take place in a completely different world. "It's not in the continuity of those films in the sense the current X-Men films take place in a universe in which everybody on planet Earth is aware of the existence of mutants." according to FX President John Landgrag. The show still has a 2016 release date with it being a short ten episode season.

What do you think? Will Hellfire still be developed? Could Legion feature a multiverse aspect? Leave your thoughts below!

Cf. Patel (2016): http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/KingPatel/news/?a=130035, Dated: 17.01.2016.
Cf. Wilding (2016): http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=130051, Dated: 17.01.2016.

There were rumors a while back that the male-dominated Justice League might be receiving an additional female member to add some much-needed diversity to the team. There were a few rumors surrounding Aquaman's wife Mera becoming a part of the team and considering the way she was handled in the New 52 relaunch of Aquaman would make sense that she could hold her own.

The animated show Vixen that aims to add to the expanding CW-DC Universe has recently been renewed for a second season that will once again stream on CW Seed. That isn’t all though, as it seems that there are some more plans in store for Vixen and the actress portraying her Megalyn Echikunwoke.

It seems that NBC has already planned out Heroes Reborn, a continuation of the controversial Heroes series, only to be one single additional season according to Bob Greenplat, the NBC network chairman.

With a new year comes changes and even Archive Media isn’t truly safe from it. With over 10.000 views and more than 300 articles written just within the last few months I was forced to take a short break in November up until now. As much as I love writing for my article I was swamped with a lot of work as I am nearing the end of my Master’s and trying to find a topic for my thesis took some time. As a result I am quite behind on reviews, news articles and especially on editorials.

Starting this year in January I will actually not only be studying, but also will spend some of my time working part-time. That doesn’t mean that Archive Media will end with 2015, but in reality will go through a make-over. I need to structure my life a bit more when it comes to writing, as I will be studying, working, writing my Master thesis, trying to finish a massive project and in addition write for my blog, so I need to get a bit more structure in my life.

I won’t just yet give away how Archive Media will change, but keep your eyes peeled for whatever changes are heading your way and I hope to keep up a much steadier pace to offer more and better content. With that I hope to bring you guys some more updates over the course of January and also catch up on some reviews I am missing as well as news articles. Doctor Strange has gotten some massive updates and I really need to get back on that as soon as I am back home!

With that, keep your eyes peeled for updates and changes heading your way for 2016.

It seems that Marvel Studios has expanded its writers for the upcoming Doctor Strange project, as former Sinister writer C. Robert Cargill, who some might remember as Carlyle from Spill.com has been helping out on the screenplay for the upcoming Marvel project.[1]

“It’s not a secret anymore. For those of you who don’t know what I’ve been doing for the past year, I’ve been writing DOCTOR STRANGE for Marvel Studios. And I couldn’t be happier or prouder. Our cast and crew are amazing and I’m having the best time” he said on Facebook and is now working on the initially penned script by Thomas Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer and even Jon Spaihts.

What do you think of this news? Leave a comment below!

[1] Cf. Wilding (2015): http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=127986, Dated: 15.12.2015.

Too many if you ask me personally, but let us get into that later on. Still, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (that title gets longer every time) released its third trailer, which gives us a deeper look into the film and may potentially showcase the fight between the titular characters. Sadly, it seems that this trailer has given out too much than it can chew as while the film will be published in April, we already have our third trailer so far with the last one being around four minutes. What reveals were in this trailer?

Be careful, while I have no deeper insight into the film, this article may contain spoilers of the upcoming film due to theories I am creating in this article. If you enjoy theories and outlandish ideas than continue reading, otherwise keep that spoiler warning in mind as you continue.

The beginning of the trailer is actually quite a clever one, as you have Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent facing each other without their masks. Two men on opposite sides of an opinion just having a heated discussion about what exactly one can consider the right choice when it comes to actions of a vigilante. Bruce had the upper hand considering that while Clark trying to point out the evil of Batman, but at the same time Superman gets a lot of fluff pieces on the paper. My only real issue was that it made no sense for Clark Kent not to know who Bruce Wayne was. Still, I do like how this conversation plays with the fact that to some degree they probably know about each other’s alter egos. If Louis Lane can figure it out, you can be sure Batman knows!

Oh, Jesse Eisenberg is playing Jesse Eisenberg. While I think it is an interesting twist on his original character and the red hair looks fine, I am not a fan of the idea that he seems to want these two people to fight. It almost seems as if he knew that Bruce Wayne was Batman and I do not like that fact, especially the obvious “You do not want to start a fight with this guy!”. Also, how come Kent knows Lex Luthor, but has no idea who Bruce Wayne is? Doesn’t that seem odd?

Anyone else find it funny that Batman is literally branding people in this new interpretation of the franchise? Personally I can actually kind of understand this concept, as it would make sense for him to try to leave his brand behind and make sure that the bad guys understand what they are doing. I mean, I think they would rather have him burn a little mark into them rather than his typical breaking every single bone in their body. Also, maybe the Joker has a lot of tattoos trying to cover the brand she had sustained over the many fights?

The trailer mostly expands on things we have already seen about the battle between Batman and Superman, while overlaying some interesting monologues of Lex Luther that does point out that he is simply in this whole film because he wants to see something happen. It seems that he believes he is so smart that he is stronger than everyone else and wants to see these “caped crusaders” take each other out.

My biggest, or really only gripe with this trailer is the fact that they already showcase the fact that an incarnation of Doomsday is going to appear in this film. While I am still excited to see this entire fight happen, as Doomsday is an interesting character, I do believe that he won’t kill Superman due to the Justice League film heading our way and the fact that the trailer already showcases Wonder Woman joining the fight in the third act. What bothers me about this last part is not that it gives away the film structure, as besides the strange nightmare portion we have seen glimpses of, it seems to have a very clear three act structure. My personal issue is the fact that the title “Batman v Superman” is completely pointless at this point. We know they will make up, join Wonder Woman and start fighting Doomsday. While this isn’t the first time we saw this type of storyline, I just wanted to be surprised on how they get together or how their fights come to an end. It just now seems to clear to me and if anyone ever saw J. J. Abrams fantastic “mystery box” principle for film might know why this trailer bothers me. It is similar to how Terminator: Geneysis took away its biggest twist in the trailer making it lose in worth and surprise.

I still enjoy this trailer and really am looking forward to the film, I just fear that it took away the big “stuff is about to go down” moment for me personally. Same happened with the new Terminator film and I just don’t want this to happen to one of my personal favorite superheroes of all time, Batman. For now, all we can do is wait for the last four months.

What did you think? Leave a comment below!