Your 2021 Geek Movie & TV Calendar

 
Once again, the new year brings us closer to The Films and TV Shows You've Been Dying to See for, Like, Forever.  If you enjoy sci-fi, fantasy and comic book based entertainment as I do, you already have several must-see flicks and television programs in the pipeline for 2021.  With that in mind, I thought I'd go ahead and give a helpful chronological rundown of which geek movie and TV goodness arrives when.  Some of these TV shows and films will be worth the long wait, others you wouldn't watch even if they were on Disney+ or HBO Max, but each have their audiences and key target demographics.  Start planning your work vacation/sick/personal days accordingly.

Oh, and of course, most of these dates are subject to rescheduling due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.  Fingers crossed that your favorites are released as currently planned...

JANUARY

1 - Doctor Who: "Revolution of the Daleks" (TV)

3 - The Watch (TV)

10 - American Gods (TV)

15 - WandaVision (TV)

FEBRUARY

February 2021? - Last Week Tonight

8 - Black Lightning (TV)

11 - Clarice (TV)

23 - The Flash, Superman & Lois (TV)

28 - The Walking Dead (TV)

MARCH

March 2021? - Zack Snyder's Justice League (TV)

19 - The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TV), Morbius (Movie)

APRIL

April 2021? - Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, What We Do in the Shadows (TV)

2 - No Time to Die (Movie)

16 - Mortal Kombat (Movie)

MAY

May 2021? - Loki (TV)

7 - Black Widow (Movie)

21 - Free Guy, Godzilla vs. Kong (Movie)

JUNE

June 2021? - What If...? (TV)

11 - Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Movie)

25 - Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Movie)

JULY

9 - Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings (Movie)

16 - Space Jam: A New Legacy (Movie)

23 - The Tomorrow War (Movie)

AUGUST

6 - The Suicide Squad (Movie)

SEPTEMBER

September 2021? - Hawkeye, The Simpsons (TV)

OCTOBER

1 - Dune (Movie)

NOVEMBER

November 2021? - Ms. Marvel (TV)

5 - Eternals (Movie)

DECEMBER

December 2021? - The Book of Boba Fett (TV)

17 - Spider-Man: Untitled Home Film 3 (Movie)

22 - The Matrix 4 (Movie)

SOMETIME IN 2021 - Archer, The Boys, Doctor Who, Doom Patrol, Dune: The Sisterhood, Harley Quinn, Invincible, Jupiter's Legacy, Justice League Dark, Locke & Key, Lord of the Rings, Lucifer, The Sandman, Secret Invasion, Stargirl, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Strange Adventures, Stranger Things, Titans, The Umbrella Academy, Westworld, Wynonna Earp (TV)

AMERICAN GODS Season 2 Trailer Teases the War of the Gods

This is America.  The greatest story ever told.

STARZ has released the first trailer for the second season of American Gods, the fantasy drama based on the novel by Neil Gaiman.  The series, which debuted in 2017, has faced a considerable struggle for its second season, with original showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, along with actors Gillian Anderson and Kristin Cheonweth, leaving the show. 

The one-hour drama centers on a war brewing between Old Gods and New Gods, as the traditional gods of mythological roots from around the world steadily lose believers.  Their challengers are an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs.

In Season 2, the battle moves toward a crisis point, as the destinies of gods and men collide.  While Mr. World (Crispin Glover) plots revenge for the attack against him in the first season, Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) throws in his lot with Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane)’s attempt to convince the Old Gods of the case for full-out war, with Laura Moon (Emily Browning) and Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber) in tow.

A council at the House on the Rock explodes into chaos, sending deities both Old and New on quests across America that will converge on Cairo, Illinois, forcing Shadow to carve out a place as a believer in this strange new world of living gods — a dark world where change demands commitment, and faith requires terrible sacrifice.

As the one minute, 50-second trailer begins, Mr. Wednesday tells Shadow, "When people first came to America, they brought us with them.  We are the ancient ones.  And they built churches, cathedrals, or they'd erect a stone circle.  Gradually, they abandoned us old, forgotten gods.  Now, there are new gods growing in America...and they want to destroy us.  Wars are coming, Shadow -- I've a big role for you.  Time...to ride."

Later, in a separate scene, Shadow tells Laura, "There's something special going on here and I feel a part of it."

"He is dangerous," Laura replies, "and I want you to believe that."

"There's always a cost with him," remarks Mad Sweeney.  "You just haven't paid it yet."

"This is America," Mr. Wednesday says late in the trailer.  "The greatest story ever told.  Are we ready?  I am."

If you'd like to check out the trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official STARZ account on YouTube...



American Gods returns to STARZ for Season 2 on March 10, 2019.

WESTWORLD Leads 2017 Emmy Nominations with 22

These violent delights have viable noms.

With Game of Thrones missing in action, HBO's science fiction western thriller Westworld filled the void nicely with a leading total of 22 nominations for the 2017 Emmy Awards, including acting nominations for Sir Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, and Thandie Newton.

Netflix's fan-favorite series Stranger Things was close behind with an impressive 19 for its first season, with acting nominations for David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, and Shannon Purser.  Justice for Barb, indeed.

FX's American Horror Story: Roanoke earned 4 nominations, as did USA's Mr. Robot, Showtime's Penny Dreadful, and BBC's Sherlock, all down from last year.

Other recognized geek-favorite shows include Fox's Gotham and The Simpsons, Starz's American Gods, FX's Archer, Comedy Central's South Park, AMC's The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Netflix's Luke Cage and Sense8. 

Some notable oversights include FX's Legion and Fox's Lucifer, both of which failed to earn a single nomination.

You can read the full list of nominations HERE, but this is the breakdown for the shows listed above...

WESTWORLD (22 Nominations)

Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series -- Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Robert Ford
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series -- Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series -- Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series -- Thandie Newton as Maeve
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series -- Jonathan Nolan -- "The Bicameral Mind"
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series -- Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan -- "The Bicameral Mind"
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series -- "The Bicameral Mind"
Outstanding Main Title Design
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music -- Ramin Djawadi
Outstanding Special Visual Effects -- "The Bicameral Mind"
Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) -- "The Bicameral Mind"
Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) -- "The Original"
Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour) -- "The Original"
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series -- "Contrapasso"
Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) -- "The Original"
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or a Special -- "The Original"
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series -- "The Bicameral Mind"
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) -- "The Bicameral Mind"
Outstanding Period/Fantasy Costumes for a Series, Limited Series, or Movie -- "The Original"
Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media within a Scripted Program -- "DiscoverWestworld.com"

STRANGER THINGS (19 Nominations)

Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series -- David Harbour as Jim Hopper
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series -- Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series -- Shannon Purser as Barb Holland
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series -- The Duffer Brothers -- "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers"
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series -- The Duffer Brothers -- "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers"
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series -- "Chapter Eight: The Upside Down"
Outstanding Main Title Design
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music -- Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon
Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period Program (One Hour or More) -- "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers"
Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour) -- "Chapter Eight: The Upside Down"
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series -- "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street"
Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) -- "Chapter Six: The Monster"
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series -- "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers"
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series -- "Chapter Seven: The Bathtub"
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) -- "Chapter Eight: The Upside Down"
Outstanding Music Supervision -- "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street"
Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media within a Scripted Program -- "Stranger Things VR Experience"

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ROANOKE (4 Nominations)

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie or Special -- "Chapter 1"
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Limited Series or Movie
Outstanding Makeup for a Limited Series or Movie (Non-Prosthetic)
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or Special

MR. ROBOT (4 Nominations)

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series -- BD Wong as Whiterose
Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour) -- "eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc + eps2.0_unm4sk-pt2.tc"
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) -- "eps2.8_h1dden-pr0cess.axx"
Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media within a Scripted Program -- "The Mr. Robot Virtual Reality Experience"

PENNY DREADFUL (4 Nominations)

Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) -- "Perpetual Night, The Blessed Dark"
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series -- "Ebb Tide"
Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) -- "Perpetual Night"
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or Special -- "No Beast So Fierce"

SHERLOCK (4 Nominations)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie - Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes -- "The Lying Detective"
Outstanding Television Movie -- "The Lying Detective"
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie or Special -- "The Lying Detective"
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Movie -- "The Lying Detective"

GOTHAM (3 Nominations)

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series -- "Destiny Calling"
Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role -- "Heavydirtysoul"
Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series or Movie

THE SIMPSONS (3 Nominations)

Outstanding Animated Program -- "The Town"
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance -- Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson -- "Looking for Mr. Goodbart"
Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media within a Scripted Program -- "The Simpsons -- Planet of the Couches"

AMERICAN GODS (2 Nominations)

Outstanding Main Title Design
Outstanding Special Visual Effects -- "The Bone Orchard"

FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (2 Nominations)

Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series -- "Passage"
Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series -- Kelsey Scott -- "Passage"

AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (1 Nomination)

Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series -- "Slingshot"

ARCHER (1 Nomination)

Outstanding Animated Program -- "Archer Dreamland: No Good Deed"

LUKE CAGE (1 Nomination)

Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series or Movie

SENSE8 (1 Nomination)

Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour) -- "Obligate Mutualisms"

SOUTH PARK (1 Nomination)

Outstanding Animated Program -- "Member Berries"

THE WALKING DEAD (1 Nomination)

Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or a Special -- "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be"


The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards is scheduled to air Sunday, September 17th on CBS.

New AMERICAN GODS Trailer Teases Old Gods and New

So, is the kid not Mr. World's son?

STARZ has released a new trailer for American Gods, the upcoming television adaptation of Neil Gaiman's acclaimed fantasy novel.  The 8-episode first season will debut with "The Bone Orchard", written by showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, and directed by David Slade.

When Shadow Moon is released from prison, he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday and a storm begins to brew. Little does Shadow know, this storm will change the course of his entire life. Left adrift by the recent, tragic death of his wife, and suddenly hired as Mr. Wednesday’s bodyguard, Shadow finds himself in the center of a world that he struggles to understand. It’s a world where magic is real, where the Old Gods fear both irrelevance and the growing power of the New Gods, like Technology and Media. Mr. Wednesday seeks to build a coalition of Old Gods to defend their existence in this new America, and reclaim some of the influence that they’ve lost. As Shadow travels across the country with Mr. Wednesday, he struggles to accept this new reality, and his place in it.

The new one minute, five second trailer opens with Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) asking "What's a god?" in a voiceover, before telling Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) "They're real if you believe in them."

"So, who are you?" asks Shadow.

"You wouldn't believe in me if I told you," replies Mr. Wednesday.

The next scene features Mr. Wednesday introducing Shadow as his man to Vulcan (Corbin Bersen), a new character created by Gaiman for the series.

"He does not know our world," remarks Zorya Vechernyaya (Cloris Leachman) as we see a quick glimpse of Shadow standing in an orchard of bones.

"I'm easing him in," replies Mr. Wednesday.

Next, we see Shadow's dead wife Laura Moon telling him "You've gotten yourself mixed up in some really weird shit."

We then see Mr. Wednesday talking to Easter (Kristin Chenoweth).  He remarks, "You're as forgotten and unloved as any of us."

"I'm doing just fine," smiles Easter to someone off-camera, presumably Shadow.

Someone asks Mr. Wednesday if he's trying to start a war and he responds, "We're at war already...and we're losing."

Shadow asks someone off-camera "Who's after you?", just before we see a figure lighting up floor tiles as he walks like Michael Jackson in his "Billie Jean" video, who turns out to be Crispin Glover as Mr. World.

"The times, they are a'changing," quips Technical Boy (Bruce Langley) as he blows smoke rings while sitting in the back of his limousine.

Next, we see Shadow fighting Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber) in a bar as Mr. Wednesday says in a voiceover "We need you to fight them, to show them who we are."

"They are gods, for god's sake!" shouts Easter as we see Czernobog (Peter Stormare) holding his bloody sledgehammer.

Someone asks Mr. Wednesday what the plan is and he replies "War."  We then hear a gospel song with the words "Deliver me" as a bloody battle takes place.  We see glimpses of Mr. Nancy (Orlando Jones) as Shadow says in a voiceover, "None of this feels real.  It feels like a dream."

As we glimpse a minotaur with eyes of flame, Laura Moon bloody and carrying her severed arm as she walks down a suburban street, and an old ship on fire in the middle of the ocean, we hear Technical Boy saying, "And things are never going back to the way that they were."

"It will be glorious, win or lose," replies Mr. Wednesday.

If you'd like to check out the trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official STARZ account on YouTube...




American Gods premieres on STARZ on April 30, 2017.

AMERICAN GODS Casts Ian McShane as Mr. Wednesday

And, of course, this was announced on a Wednesday.

Deadline has word that the upcoming Starz series American Gods, based on the 2001 novel by Neil Gaiman, has cast Ian McShane in the role of Mr. Wednesday.

According to the article, Mr. Wednesday is described as "a crafty and endlessly charismatic con man, full of perverse wisdom, curious magic, and grand plans.  He hires ex-con Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) to be his bodyguard as he journeys across America, using his charms to recruit others like him as he prepares for the ultimate battle for power."

McShane, 73, is best known as Al Swearengen on the HBO series Deadwood, and has appeared in numerous film and television roles, including John Wick and the upcoming sequel John Wick Chapter Two, Hercules (2014), Snow White & the Huntsman, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Coraline, Kung Fu Panda, The Golden Compass, Shrek the Third, Babylon 5: The River of Souls, Game of Thrones, American Horror Story: Asylum, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Twilight Zone (2003), Lovejoy, and Space: 1999.

"When you write a beloved character (beloved with, or despite, or because of all his faults) like Mr. Wednesday," said Gaiman, "you get to watch the internet trying to cast the role.  I’ve seen a hundred names suggested, but few make me grin like Ian McShane does.  I’ve already been lucky enough to have him in one film (he was bright blue in it, animated, and probably Polish).  Now I count myself even luckier: he’s made the journey from Lovejoy to American Gods."

The television adaptation will focus on the mysterious Shadow, a man who is released from prison a few days early after serving a three year sentence for bank robbery when his beloved wife Laura is killed in a car accident.  Flying home for the funeral, Shadow is seated next to a man who introduces himself only as Mr. Wednesday, and this man knows more about Shadow's life, both past and present, than is possible.  Shadow comes to learn that Wednesday is, in fact, the god Odin of Norse mythology and that all of the gods that mankind has ever believed in are alive in human form and live among us.  Shadow is soon thrust into a gathering conflict between the Old Gods and the so-called "New Gods," the gods of money and technology, who believe there is no longer room on Earth for the Old Gods.

"Actor.  Icon.  And now god," said executive producers Bryan Fuller and Michael Green.  "It is a goddamn delight to be collaborating with the incomparable Ian McShane — again and for the first time — on a story about faith and belief, with the utmost faith and belief in Mr. McShane as our Mr. Wednesday.  A wonderful Wednesday indeed."

American Gods is produced by FremantleMedia North America.  Bryan Fuller and Michael Green are writers and showrunners.  David Slade (Hannibal) is directing the pilot and additional episodes.  FMNA’s Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk are executive producers on the series along with Fuller, Green, Slade and Gaiman.  FremantleMedia will distribute the series worldwide.

American Gods is expected to debut on Starz sometime in 2017.

AMERICAN GODS Casts Ricky Whittle as Shadow Moon

American Gods has found its Shadow.

Deadline reports that the upcoming Starz series American Gods, based on the 2001 novel by Neil Gaiman, has cast Ricky Whittle in the lead role of the mysterious Shadow Moon.

According to the article, with Shadow Moon cast, the series will begin shooting in April.  A number of scripts have already been written, and Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said at the Television Critics Association earlier this month that the network brass are happy with what they've read so far.

The television adaptation will focus on the mysterious Shadow, a man who is released from prison a few days early after serving a three year sentence for bank robbery when his beloved wife Laura is killed in a car accident.  Flying home for the funeral, Shadow is seated next to a man who introduces himself only as Mr. Wednesday, and this man knows more about Shadow's life, both past and present, than is possible.  Shadow comes to learn that Wednesday is, in fact, the god Odin of Norse mythology and that all of the gods that mankind has ever believed in are alive in human form and live among us.  Shadow is soon thrust into a gathering conflict between the Old Gods and the so-called "New Gods," the gods of money and technology, who believe there is no longer room on Earth for the Old Gods.

Whittle, 34, is an English actor best known as Lincoln on The 100.  He's also had roles on the series Mistresses, NCIS, Single Ladies, Hollyoaks, and Dream Team.  In addition, Whittle plays running back for the Manchester Titans American Football Club.

The article also reports that Albrecht and American Gods executive producers Bryan Fuller and Michael Green had repeatedly stressed the importance and challenge of finding the right actor to play the lead character in the adaptation because of Shadow’s unique heritage and look in the books, with the prototype being a younger Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Whittle was among the actors who tested for the role last September, but Starz apparently held onto him while exploring other options, with more testings and retestings until Whittle was cast.

American Gods is produced by FremantleMedia North America.  Bryan Fuller and Michael Green are writers and showrunners.  David Slade (Hannibal) is directing the pilot and additional episodes.  FMNA’s Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk are executive producers on the series along with Fuller, Green, Slade and Gaiman.  FremantleMedia will distribute the series worldwide.

American Gods is expected to debut on Starz sometime in 2017.

HBO Plans Six Seasons of Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS (UPDATED)

Looking for another good HBO series to help fill the wait until the fourth season of Game of Thrones?

The television adaptation of Neil Gaiman's 2001 novel American Gods has finally been greenlit by HBO with a planned six-season run.  Empire reports that Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions will produce the series, with a $40 million budget for each season of 10 to 12 episodes.

The HBO series was first announced back in June 2011 with the same six-season structure and at the time, Gaiman commented on Twitter about one novel being stretched across six seasons.  "And for those asking, No, 6 years of AMERICAN GODS on TV doesn't mean just the 1st book. It means I need to write the 2nd now, for a start."

At the moment, there's been no word on when the American Gods sequel will be released but an article on HBOWatch back in April featured details taken from Gaiman at the Cambridge International Student Film Festival.  The first two seasons of the TV series will cover the first American Gods novel, and by that point, Gaiman hopes to have the sequel written and ready for release.  Also, the premiere episode will mirror a lot of the novel's opening chapters but will contain new elements and details.  Gaiman remarked that American Gods will debut later this year if he can get the pilot script finished in time to HBO's satisfaction.  However, the most likely scheduling date for American Gods would be after the fourth season of Boardwalk Empire ends sometime in December.

For those not familiar with the novel, it focuses on a man called Shadow that is about to be released from prison when he receives word reaches him that his wife and best friend have been killed in a car crash.  Shadow soon finds himself reluctantly working as a bodyguard for a mysterious conman called Mr. Wednesday and is soon drawn into a conflict between America's gods, old and new.

** Update as of 6/30/13 ** Neil Gaiman posted on Twitter that American Gods has not been greenlit for production, so forget about seeing the series in 2013 at least.  Fingers crossed for 2014, though.

Seeing news stories about AMERICAN GODS being "officially greenlit" at HBO. These are just people talking on the internet & not true at all.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) June 30, 2013