The 10 Biggest NEW YORK COMIC CON 2015 Announcements

Big Show, Big NewsNew York Comic Con 

The biggest comic book convention in the U.S. by attendance, making it a perfect stage for companies to offer major announcements about their future plans.

While we can’t compile very single bit of news from NYCC 2015 in one place, we can pull together a list of the show’s biggest announcements, from Marvel’s film shake-up, to Dark Horse’s Avatar license, and everything in between. Without further ado, here are the ten biggest announcements from NYCC 2015!


10. Iron Fist, Gender Twist

Carrie Ann Moss’s role in Marvel’s Jessica Jones Netflix series has been a mystery since Moss was announced as part of the cast. However, Head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb revealed at Marvel’s Netflix panel that Moss would be playing Jeryn Hogarth – a genderswapped version of Iron Fist’s attorney and confidante.

While Hogarth’s presence isn’t the first connection to Iron Fist in Marvel’s Netflix shows, she does represent one more piece of the build up to the last remaining mystery in Netflix’s Defenders series. Iron Fist has not yet been cast, nor appeared directly in any series yet, but Daredevil's first season featured several connections to the hero, including a strain of drugs known as “Steel Serpent” – the name of one of Iron Fist’s arch-foes – which was sold by one Madame Gao, who was suspected by some to be a resident of Iron Fist’s mysterious adopted homeland, K’un Lun.

9. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents & Avatar

NYCC 2015 also saw the return of two disparate franchises – one a comic book coming to the big screen, and the other a movie coming to comic books.

First up, Michael Uslan’s “big announcement” was, as predicted, the launch of a film and television franchise for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents created in partnership with the United Nations. Described as “Jason Bourne meets the Avengers,” the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents franchise will reportedly include movie and TV projects, and will feature a cameo from none other than Stan Lee – curious, as he has no prior connection to T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.

Also announced was Dark Horse’s acquisition of the comic book license for James Cameron’s Avatar, one of the highest grossing films of all time. Some of Cameron’s previous works - Terminator and Aliens - already have a home at Dark Horse. Dark Horse’s Avatar deal will run for ten years, with stories set to explore the history and mythology of Pandora. The announcement comes as Cameron is prepping a series of Avatar film sequels.

Sure Avatar may be considered old news; but remember, when Dark Horse acquired Star Wars' rights back in 1991 it was even more in the rear view than Pandora.


8. New BATMAN/SUPERMAN Team

Tom Taylor is no stranger to Superman, having written an alternate reality version of the iconic hero in Injustice: Gods Among Us, and, as announced at NYCC 2015, he’ll finally get a crack at writing the mainstream Man of Steel when he takes over Batman/Superman for an arc in 2016.

Taylor will team up with artist Robinson Rocha to tell a story set in Batman and Superman’s distant past – one that will reportedly shake their bonds of friendship, and their partnership, to the core. Yanick Paquette will provide covers for the arc.

Sure it's just an arc, but it's timed to coincide with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice so it's an important book. And sometimes arcs turn into full-fledged runs -- just ask Brian Michael Bendis about Daredevil.

7. SPIDER-WOMEN

Capitalizing on the popularity of characters Silk, Spider-Gwen, and Spider Woman (Jessica Drew), Marvel announced a crossover series entitled Spider-Women that follows Silk and Drew as they visit Spider-Gwen’s reality – where they will reportedly meet their doppelgangers.

Spider-Women will be bookended by an “alpha” and “omega” chapter, with the main story playing out in Silk, Spider-Gwen, and Spider-Woman’s solo titles. It will hit shelves in early 2016.

6. Micronauts/ROM Gets Creative

IDW revealed its creative teams for Rom the Space Knight and Micronauts, two cult favorite licensed books published by Marvel Comics in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s.

The Rom relaunch will be written by Christos Gage and Chris Ryall, with art from David Messina and Paolo Villamelli, while Micronauts will be written by Cullen Bunn, with art from David Baldeon. Both books will première on Free Comic Book Day 2016.

5. AVENGERS: STANDOFF!

Announced as part of a celebration of Captain America’s 75th anniversary, Avengers: Standoff is a 2016 mini-event from Marvel Comics that follows the Avengers as they uncover the dark secrets of a small town.

Written by Nick Spencer, Standoff will be bookended by two standalone issues, while the story itself will take place across Marvel’s Avengers line. Editor Nick Lowe compared Standoff’s scope to that of this year’s Black Vortex, the small-scale crossover between the X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy.

4. JESSICA JONES' First Episode

One of NYCC 2015’s biggest surprises was the debut of the entire first episode of Marvel’s second Netflix series, Jessica Jones. The pilot episode was met with near universal critical praise from those in attendance, including us at Newsarama, who reviewed the pilot here.

The episode earned high marks for a stunning performance from star Krysten Ritter, as well as its dark tone and the chemistry between its leads.

3. CAPULLO Off Batman -- And Off to MARK MILLAR Project

Batman penciller Greg Capullo is one of the "New 52"’s biggest bona fide superstars, and a big part of the reason the Dark Knight’s core title remains a fan favorite and critical darling. But Capullo’s creative partner Scott Snyder announced during his spotlight panel that Capullo would be taking a hiatus from the title after Batman #51.

The reason for his absence? Capullo is taking on a creator-owned project with Mark Millar. It’s unknown at this time what that project will be, but Snyder assured the crowd it was a planned break, and that Snyder himself would remain on Batman in that time.

2. ANT-MAN & WASP & the Movie Shuffle

Though the announcement of Marvel’s cinematic shake-up came during New York Comic Con, it didn’t happen at NYCC – which is why this isn’t the top announcement on this list.

First off, Marvel announced a sequel to its surprise hit Ant-Man, titled Ant-Man and the Wasp, scheduled for July 6, 2018. This necessitated moving Black Panther to February 16, 2018, and bumping Captain Marvel to March 8, 2019.

Meanwhile, Marvel also added three new, untitled projects to its roster, for May 1, 2020, July 1, 2020, and November 6, 2020.

1. Before DARK KNIGHT RETURNS

Announced during DC’s “Heroes to the Core” panel, an unnamed prequel series set in Frank Miller’s Dark Knight continuity will hit shelves in February.

While there are few further details, this prequel series will reunite Miller with his Dark Knight III: The Master Race co-writer Brian Azzarello, and John Romita, Jr., with whom Miller worked on Daredevil: The Man Without Fear.

Exactly when this series will take place is unclear – it could be before or after the other prequel All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder, which Miller’s co-creator, Jim Lee, says is also in the process of being revived.

Original Content here.

Jason Bourne Would Kick The Shit Out Of Batman, Says Matt Damon

Batman is one of the most well-known superheroes of this generation. He’s been played by different actors through the years, but one thing is for certain: Batman can kick ass. Not only is he an extremely talented fighter, but he’s also a great tactician that makes use of his environment and the gadgets at his disposal to defeat any enemy that comes his way. He might not have any powers, but he is considered one of the greatest heroes just because he can hold his own against even the strongest villains. But what if he faced someone just as skilled in combat and has a ton of experience beating up bad guys just like Batman? No, we’re not talking about the characters that he has faced in the comics who fit this description. We’re talking about CIA assassin Jason Bourne.

Jason Bourne actor Matt Damon left the Bourne filming location to attend the Toronto Film Festival this weekend for the highly successful premiere of his latest film – Ridley Scott’s The Martian. And when asked by E! on who would win in a fight between Batman and Bourne, here’s what he has to say:

“Jason Bourne would kick the shit out of Batman—absolutely! Batman's gotta take on Superman first. If he could beat him then maybe he could take on Jason Bourne.”

Some fans might think this is a jab at Ben Affleck, who plays Batman in Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, but this is all in good fun since as some might not now, Matt Damon is best friends with Ben Affleck. He also jokingly said that he might ask Affleck to do his Batman voice when he was asked if he’s ever heard it.

Matt Damon also shared his thoughts about portraying a superhero, saying that he is already playing a superhero in Jason Bourne.

“I think they're kind of out of superheroes. Ben's going to be like the sixth or seventh Batman, so I don't think there's really any left. So I'm good. Jason Bourne is my superhero.”

Although the industry is definitely not out of superheroes to adapt from the comics, this does say that Damon isn’t interested in adapting a superhero from the comics. And while a lot of actors are jumping on the superhero train, he’s good enough on playing Jason Bourne.

He does have a point in Jason Bourne being a superhero. The first photo revealed from the filming location on their first day of production shows that Matt Damon as Jason Bourne definitely has the physique of a superhero. He might not have a costume, but all he needs is his skills and his smarts to save the day.

Bourne 5 is currently filming and will also feature Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassel, Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), and Julia Stiles, who is reprising her role as Nicky Parsons. It is set to premiere to U.S. theaters on July 29, 2016.

Scarlet Witch Will Be A “Wild Card” In Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War has just wrapped up from their filming location in Atlanta, and fans are eager to find out anything new about Marvel’s first movie into Phase 3. Last month we got to see a couple of concept art that revealed Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America’s (Chris Evans) team. But two characters were left out from the images; that is Marvel’s version of Spider-Man, and the recently introduced character from Avengers: Age of UItron – Scarlet Witch. For now, it’s anyone’s guess on which team the two will be on, but one of the stars might give us a clue on what her character will become in Civil War.

In an interview with MTV about her latest film “I Saw the Light”, Elizabeth Olsen revealed some details about her character’s state in the next Marvel film and why Scarlet Witch was not featured in the concept art.

 "She’s OK. She’s doing alright.” Olsen said. “She’s confused, she’s conflicted. She’s found some people she thinks she connects with, but she’s doing alright. They released images of Team Cap and Team Iron Man. She wasn’t there. She’s always the wild card. I like being the wild card."

From what it looks like, it seems that her state as a wild card will play a big role in the film considering that her powers are well beyond what other heroes can manage. But this does suggest that she will be switching sides during the movie, and whatever team she picks will have a big advantage with her on their side. As for her powers, Olsen tells MTV that Scarlet Witch will have a huge transformation in the film, which tells us that she will have a much more powerful ability than when we last saw her in Age of Ultron.

"It’s not a new hand technique per say. We’re trying to grow her movement as a whole… Jenny and I have great pride in trying to make this a huge transformation — the next time we see her — of her abilities."

There was a rumor earlier this month that Scarlet Witch will be responsible for the event that results in the passing of the Superhuman Registration Act, leading to Civil War. This was never confirmed however, but photos from the filming location show her and Captain America chasing Crossbones, who was wearing what seems like a vest packed with explosives. Whether this scene will lead to the disaster that split the Avengers apart, we’ll just have to wait and see. Captain America: Civil War will open to theaters on May 6th, 2016.

Chris Evans Weighs In On The Future Of Superhero Movies

The superhero genre is a big hit in Hollywood right now. Every year there are tons of superhero films being released. Just this year we saw the premiere of Marvel's second superhero team-up in Avengers: Age of Ultron and the last film in their Phase Two initiative – Ant-Man. There's also Fox's failed attempt at rebooting their other franchise besides the X-Men – Josh Trank's dark and gritty Fantastic Four. While some of these failed to impress the critics and the movie audiences, it's still another addition into the ever growing list of superhero films produced just this decade. Even more interesting, next year will be the release of a lot of big superhero films from popular properties such as Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, Deadpool, and X-Men Apocalypse to list a few. While some might agree with Steven Spielberg that superhero films will go “the way of the western” (fade off in popularity), other artists are still optimistic about the future of the genre.

Chris Evans is one of these optimists. After all, he was a part of the rise of this genre when he played the Human Torch in 2005's Fantastic Four and its sequel. And right now he's starring in his third  solo film as Captain America, one of the most popular heroes from Marvel. He left the Civil War filming location recently to promote his directorial debut “Before We Go”, and in an interview with Collider he was asked about his thoughts on Spielberg's statement.

According to Evans, the improvement of technology is what drives the genre, as well as other types of films that makes use of this technological advancement:

“I certainly think that given the fact that technology has finally advanced, they’re always going to be looking for other films to match their technological accomplishments. Any film that can incorporate these larger-than-life characters and fantastical locations and plots, the technology wants to prove they can do it so whether it’s superhero film or fantasy in general, that’s going to surge for a while.”

He also stated that for the superhero genre to last longer, it has to be approached with something new to add to the table and keep reinventing the genre:

“In terms of superhero in general, existing properties that we know and love, it’s going to be a matter of the tone they strike. You could look at Jason Bourne as a superhero. You could take any superhero movie and if you ground it enough, if you make it real enough—that’s what I think [Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo] do really well. Certain superhero movies feel like “superhero movies.” Russo movies almost feel like human stories with a little bit of superhero sprinkled in. So you might get exhausted of the larger-than-life powers I suppose, but as long as the filmmakers keep on reinventing the flavor and the approach and the tone, audiences are going to still go.”

From what it seems like, future superhero films are already adding other elements to the mix. Marvel's attempt at a Spider-Man reboot will be akin to a John Hughes film, while David Ayer compared his Suicide Squad to the Dirty Dozen. Whether this will be successful in preventing it from going the way of the western or not, we'll have to wait and see. If Evans is right, then the genre might last longer. Chris Evans will likely be moving to the next filming location for Captain America: Civil War, which premieres to theaters on May 6, 2016.

Fox In Talks With Marvel For Live Action X-Men TV Series

The X-Men franchise has been doing quite well in Fox's hands as of now. With three movies coming out next year, X-Men: Apocalypse, Ryan Reynold's spinoff Deadpool, and the Gambit movie lead by Channing Tatum already starting production soon in their New Orleans filming location. One might ask what's next for the mutants? Well apparently 20th Century Fox is planning to make an X-Men TV series, and is currently in talks with Marvel to finally greenlight the production of the show. Now this rumor has been going on for a while in the internet, but now it seems like they're close in to having the series started. There hasn't been any deal signed with Marvel yet, but the company confirms that they are nearing a deal for a planned long-running series, and not just a one time television run.

            Television Group chairman and CEO Dana Walden recently talked with The Hollywood Reporter during the Television Critics Association press tour that they are hoping to make an announcement soon. Here's what she has to say about the deal:

“[For] X-Men, we’re in negotiations with Marvel. We’re hopeful we’ll be able to announce something soon. We’re not closed on a deal yet but it’s something we’re definitely pursuing.”

            It should be told that a live-action X-Men TV series is a very tricky thing for Fox to do considering that Marvel aren't particularly fond of sharing the rights to what they have on hand without an incentive, now that they're doing pretty good on their own. 20th Century Fox owns the movie rights for the X-Men characters, but Marvel/Disney has the rights for anything outside of the films. That is, Marvel needs to sign off on the deal for Fox to use their characters in the small screen.

            

        Another thing to note is that Disney's ABC has plenty of Marvel shows as it is, with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Carter, and another one in development. There's also Marvel's Netflix shows featuring the Defenders series: Daredevil (who's already on filming location for its second season), Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. TV series featuring Marvel characters seem to be working well enough without help from Fox. That being said, Walden remains optimistic with the deal:

“The characters from the X-Men franchise are with Fox on the feature side so we won’t be including Marvel characters that are at ABC with Disney. This will be exclusively the franchise as it has existed at Fox.”

            While the deal is still underway, Fox has already hired Star Trek 3's Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne to write the series, and sharing a "created by" credit with 24's Evan Katz and Manny Coto.

            It's obvious to think that Fox would want to connect the series with the feature films in some way, perhaps even featuring characters from the movie. But for now, we'll have to wait and see if Marvel agrees with the deal so production can start once and for all.

Sebastian Stan Talks About Ant-Man Post-Credit Scene And Civil War

Spoiler Alert: We're going to talk about the post credit scene in Marvel's Ant-Man, so if you haven't seen it yet, you still have time to look away.

            One of the most anticipated films of 2016 is Marvel's start of their Phase 3 of films, which starts with Captain America: Civil War. Now if you've seen the post-credits scene from Ant-Man, you'll know that there has been some introduction to what we might expect to see in the 2016 movie. The Civil Warstory is based on the comics written by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. In it we see Tony Stark/Iron Man and Steve Rogers/Captain America on opposite side as the U.S. government plans to have a registration for heroes, and those who don't will be captured and taken to prison.

            This isn't just the story that's getting to be touched upon in Civil War, since there's still the fact that Captain America is looking for the brainwashed Bucky. We don't know what Bucky's storyline will lead to in the overall plot of the film, but the post credits scene gives us a peek at what we should expect.

            In the post credits, we see the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), in a warehouse with his arm trapped in some kind of vise. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) discuss their next move, stating that they can't call Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) because of the "Accords" (which we still don't know of). With no other choice, Sam Wilson tells Steve "I know a guy", referring to Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and then we cut to  “Ant-Man will return.”

            There's lots of theories online on what was really going on in the scene. Some think Cap and Falcon has finally found Bucky and trapped him in. Well Sebastian Stan might have a clue as to what happened, as while away from the filming location he told Buzzfeed recently :

“I think [what Bucky was caught in was] more of a vise. But it would never happen at his own hand, by his own doing. In terms of that scene in Ant-Man, I’ve seen some of the ideas people have about it and I would just say that whatever you’re seeing on the surface, it’s not as obvious as that. There might be a whole lot more to the scene. I would say someone would probably want to put him in a vise.”

            Apparently Bucky didn't intentionally trap himself in the vise. But the question is, who would want to trap Bucky in there? Is it by an active Hydra member still alive? Are they trying to reactivate him?

            As for Ant-Man's involvement in the case, it seems like they will make use of his shrinking powers to free Bucky from the huge device. It looks like Ant-Man is yet to be involved in the Civil War going on, so we got that to look forward to.

            Which ever the case may be, it looks like The Winter Soldier will be playing a huge part in the Civil War. The Russo brothers are currently shooting the film, with Atlanta, Georgia serving as the filming location. We'll just have to wait and see what comes out of it when Captain America: Civil War opens to theaters on May 6th, 2016.

A Stoner Turns to Sleeper Agent in the Movie “American Ultra”

What if one day, you thought you’re just a simple guy with a mediocre job as a clerk store in a small town? Then in the blink of an eye you will be a super skilled sleeper agent. This is what happened with Mike Howell, played by Jesse Eisenberg with his live-in girlfriend Phoebe Larson, played by Kristen Stewart in the most awaited action comedy film of the year “American Ultra.”

Mike is just a small town stoner, yet he doesn’t know that he is a highly trained secret agent. It was activated by his former handler because he is now the target of the government for termination. From the trailer, after the code phrase uttered, he was able to kill two operatives with the use of spoon. This became a conflict with Adrian Yates, played by Topher Grace, who seems the head of the sleeper agent program. Now, Mike and his girlfriend need to save their lives from being wasted.

After six years Eisenberg and Stewart starred “Adventure land” they are again team up in action-comedy with love story in their new movie “American Ultra”. In one of the interview with Stewart she said about: the movie, “glorified stoner movie, it is like your best stoner buddy turns to CIA agent or somebody who could do some incredible thing… that stoner buddy, I mean Jesse, can conquer the world.”; about Jesse, “I feel very comfortable with him that I can make a million mistakes… he’s so hilarious and so smart… He is awesome to work with.” and to the Director, “Lima is an incredibly detailed oriented specific director, do a lot of takes, little things matters to him, I love that… He approaches every single scene… I could rely on him no matter what.”

The movie is directed by successful movie behind the “Project X”, Nima Nourizadeh and written by Max Landis. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Topher Grace, Connie Britton, Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo, Bill Pullman and Tony Hale. Filming was located at New Orleans area.

You won’t believe it but ‘Sleeper Agent’ existed. From the second trailer of the “American Ultra” they mentioned that the government has been conducting a top secret mind controlling experiment to create super soldiers. These ‘Sleeper Agent’ can be among us, waiting to be activated. They can be your friend, your family or the person you least expect.

Yes, Sleeper Agent is a real thing, the concept maybe used numerous times through various science fictional-spy film, this isn’t one’s imagination or script writer; it is based on the real events happened in history. Sleeper agent or simply known as ‘sleeper’ a secret operative sent to spy the enemy’s territory and act like one of them. There are famous persons, who are masters of espionage like Otto Kuehn and Kim Philby.

Sleepers are now among us “Smoke Them All”, in the movie American Ultra, scheduled to be released on August 21, 2015, by Lionsgate.

10 Things You Need To Know About Tom Holland: The New Spider-Man

It is already official that we have a new friendly neighborhood in the reboot of the blockbuster and one of the successful franchise of Sony Picture and one of the favourite characters in Marvel, Spider-man, is the young actor Tom Holland.

Sony Picture and Marvel Cinematic Universe announced the new face of Spidey after searching for more than 1,500 actors, they chose Tom Holland. After the successful released of the first installment of ‘Spider-Man’ back 2002, played by Tobey Maguire followed by ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ in 2012, played by Andrew Garfield, now is the new Spider-Man to be released on July 2017 directed by Jon Watts.

Here are some things you need to know about the new Spidey, Tom Holland:

1. He is a Brit. He was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, London to Nicole Elizabeth, a photographer, and Dominic Holland, who is known comedian and author.

2. He is a Singer and Dancer. He dances hip hop and other contemporary in his school Nifty Feet Dance School in Wimbledon. He also attended The BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology.

3. He Backflips like Spider-Man. In his videos in Instagram, he showed his athletic side. He can flip like Spider-Man. He doesn’t need a stuntman or a double in different filming locations.

4. Lead Actor in “Billy Elliot the Musical”. After the performances in his dance school, auditions and training he was able to play the role of Michael, Billy’s best friend in the “Billy Elliot the Musical” on the West End. Before later he was able to play the lead role as Billy.

5. Award Winning Actor. Tom Holland won as Young British Performer of the Year in London Film Critics Circle Award 2012, Best Newcomer in Empire Award, Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film in Young Artist Award in the movie “The Impossible” and other nominations.

6. Starred “The Impossible”. He starred “The Impossible” as Naomi Watt’s son in the story of 2012 tsunami drama.

7. Spider-Man will meet Captain America.  After the collaboration of Sony Pictures and Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is a big possibility that he might show in the movie “Captain America: Civil War” to be released on May 2016.

8. Spider-Man will first meet Thor. Before meeting Chris Evans as Captain America, he will first meet Chris Hemsworth (Thor) in the movie “In The Heart of The Sea.” He is one of the main casts in this movie. This will be released on December 11, 2015 by Ron Howard based on the Novel of Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.”

9. He Loves Social Media. If you are an active netizen, then you’ll love him for sure. He posts pictures and videos in Tweeter and Instagram. He also have a little puppy named Tessa where he posting in Instagram. Follow Tom Holland at @TomHolland1996 in Tweeter and tomholland2013 in Instagram.

10. He is the Youngest Spider-Man/Peter Parker. Many dreamed to be Spider-Man, and this young actor will surely kick the ass of his villain in the age of 19. Tom Holland is the youngest actor to play Spider-Man so far in the movie. Tobey Maguire debuted in the age of 27 while Andrew Garfield was 29.

The return of the movie Spider-Man with its new actor, Tom Holland will be released on July 2017.