DOCTOR WHO Reveals Final Capaldi Episode Details & Trailer at SDCC 2017

The two Doctors.  Say, that's catchy...

During the Doctor Who panel inside Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, outgoing Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi was joined by Pearl Mackie (Bill Potts), Matt Lucas (Nardole), Missy (Michelle Gomez), Mark Gatiss, and outgoing showrunner Steven Moffat to engage Whovians and reveal the title and first trailer for the 2017 Christmas Special, Capaldi and Moffat's final episode.

Titled "Twice Upon a Time", the 2017 Christmas Special sees the Twelfth Doctor encounter his first incarnation (played by David Bradley), with co-star Mark Gatiss as a World War One soldier known only as The Captain.  In addition, the trailer revealed that Pearl Mackie will return as companion Bill Potts.

The one-minute trailer begins with William Hartnell's speech from his final story "The Tenth Planet" blended seamlessly into David Bradley reprising the scene.  "Love, pride, hate, fear..." remarks the First Doctor, "...Have you no emotions, sir?"

We see a fleeting glimpse of the First Doctor with his companion Polly Wright (played by a new actress in the role originated by Anneke Wills), whose right hand is glowing with regenerative energy.  We quickly cut to the Twelfth Doctor, whose hands are also glowing with regenerative energy.

"Something has gone very wrong with time," remarks the Twelfth Doctor as we see him and the First Doctor simultaneously step out of their respective TARDISes.  "We're trapped inside a single moment."

The Doctors encounter The Captain, who asks "So sorry...I don't suppose either of you is a doctor?"

The Doctors look at one another for a moment, then the Twelfth Doctor replies, "Are you trying to be funny?"

The Captain is taken inside the First Doctor's TARDIS, which impresses him.  "These police boxes...They're ever so good, aren't they?"

As the Doctors face some exploding things, Twelve remarks "We do have one little advantage."

"What advantage?" asks One.

"There's two of us."

Lastly, we hear the voice of Bill Potts, who steps from the shadows and asks, "Is he here? Is the Doctor here?"  This is followed by a glimpse of the Doctor and Bill hugging in a reunion.

Here's the trailer that was revealed during the SDCC panel, thanks to the official Doctor Who account on YouTube...



"Twice Upon a Time" will air December 25th on BBC America.

THE FLASH Casts Neil Sandilands as The Thinker

Cogito ergo sum.

Deadline has word from The CW TV panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 that The Flash has cast Neil Sandilands as Clifford DeVoe, better known to DC Comics fans as the supervillain known as The Thinker.

According to the article, The Thinker, who will be the Big Bad for Season 4, is described as "a metahuman with a mega mind who embarks on a seasonlong battle with The Flash that pits the 'fastest man alive' against the 'fastest mind alive.'  A true genius, he’s devised an intricate plan to fix all that he deems wrong with humanity."

Sandilands, 42, is a South African actor probably best known as Titus on The CW series The 100 and has appeared on episodes of The Americans, NCIS, Hap and Leonard, and House.

Created in 1943 by Gardner Fox and E.E. Hibbard, the Thinker first appeared in All-Flash Comics #12 as Clifford DeVoe, a failed lawyer who bitterly ended his career in 1933.  Realizing that many of the criminals he had encountered had the skills but not the brains to rule Gotham City's underworld, he started a new career as the brain behind small-time villains.  As the Thinker, he was defeated by Jay Garrick, the original Flash.  He always sought out new scientific devices to use and his most important was the "Thinking Cap", a metal hat that could project mental force.  The Thinker would use this device repeatedly over the years.

The Thinker was a member of the Injustice Society, who often faced off against the Justice Society of America.  At one point, The Thinker appeared as a judge in a trial of the Justice Society, but was revealed as the Green Lantern in disguise, having captured the real Thinker after escaping Brain Wave.  This led to the Injustice Society's defeat.  Together with the Fiddler and the Shade, the Thinker was the man behind the decades-long "abduction" of Keystone City and the original Flash, after which he was defeated by the Flashes of two eras.  His "suspended animation-time" in Keystone kept the Thinker young over the years, and he continued his criminal career in modern times.

In recent years, DeVoe accepted a mission with the Task Force X (A.K.A the Suicide Squad) in exchange for a full pardon.  Although he was seemingly killed by the Weasel during this mission, he turned up alive soon after only to be dying from cancer due to the cap. His former foe, the original Flash, attempted to save him with the Thinking Cap but DeVoe refused, preferring to rest in peace.

This will be the first time the character has appeared in live action, although he has appeared in episodes of the animated series Justice League Unlimited and Batman: Brave and the Bold.

The Flash returns to The CW for Season 4 on October 10, 2017.

Warner Bros. Reveals THE FLASH: FLASHPOINT & DC Films at SDCC 2017

It looks like Flashpoint is hitting the big screen.

During the Warner Bros. panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, a new title for the upcoming movie based on The Flash was announced -- The Flash: Flashpoint.  The title seems rather important, considering the DC Comics mini-series event was used to lead into DC's big The New 52 relaunch.

According to Comic Book Resources, the panel began with a sizzle reel of footage, accompanied by the words, "Where wonder awaits, where justice prevails, where good battles evil, from Gotham to Atlantis, Metropolis to Apokolips, Krypton to Themyscira and beyond, welcome to the worlds of DC."

This followed with the reveal of multiple logos for upcoming DC Comics films including Shazam, Suicide Squad 2, The Batman, Justice League Dark, Batgirl, Green Lantern Corps (showing comic book art of Hal Jordan and John Stewart), The Flash (followed by a Flashpoint logo), and Wonder Woman II.

The five-issue limited series Flashpoint was released in 2011, written by DC Films Co-Chairman Geoff Johns and drawn by Andy Kubert.  In the series, Barry Allen wakes up to discover everything and everyone around him has changed.  He's not the Flash, nor does he have powers, his mother Nora Allen (deceased in his own timeline) is alive, while his father, Henry Allen, died of a heart attack three years ago.  Captain Cold is Central City's greatest hero, the Justice League is never established, and even Superman is seemingly nonexistent.

Barry Allen drives to the Batcave, where Batman attacks him.  Batman is revealed to be Thomas Wayne, who in this timeline, lost his son, Bruce, along with his wife.  At Wayne Manor, Barry tries to explain to Thomas about his secret identity as the Flash and his relationship to Bruce Wayne.  Barry's memory begins to spontaneously realign itself to the altered timeline and Barry realizes that the world of Flashpoint is not a parallel dimension, but an alternate reality.  Barry's ring ejects Eobard Thawne's Reverse-Flash costume and causes Barry to believe that his enemy is responsible for changing history.  Barry decides to recreate the accident that gave him his powers in a bid to undo the damage caused by Thawne, but his initial attempt fails and leaves him badly burned.

A second attempt at recreating Allen's accident restores his powers and health.  He concludes that the Reverse-Flash changed history to prevent the formation of the Justice League.  He also learns that Kal-El was taken by Project: Superman.  Flash, Batman and Cyborg join the cause to stop Wonder Woman and Aquaman, who are on opposite sides of the Atlantean-Amazon war.  The Marvel Family transform into Captain Thunder, also transforming Tawky Tawny. Captain Thunder attacks Wonder Woman and appears to be winning until Enchantress reveals herself as the Amazon spy in the Resistance and uses her magic to restore the Marvel Family to their mortal forms. Penthesilea (who was secretly one of the conspirators of the Atlanteans-Amazons war, along with Orm) kills Billy Batson, causing a massive explosion that cripples the opposing forces.

In the wake of the devastation, Thawne appears in front of the Flash.  The Reverse-Flash reveals that Flash himself created the Flashpoint timeline by traveling back in time to stop him from killing Barry's mother.  Barry pulled the entire Speed Force into himself to stop Thawne, transforming the timeline by shattering the history of his allies.  Thawne resets Barry's internal vibrations, enabling him to remember this.  According to Thawne, these actions transformed him into a living paradox, no longer requiring Barry to exist and allowing him to kill the Flash without erasing his own existence.  Thawne continues to taunt Barry with this knowledge until Batman kills him with an Amazonian sword.  Thomas insists that Barry puts history back to normal to undo the millions of deaths.  Now knowing the point of divergence, the Flash restores the timeline.  As he enters the timestream, a dying Thomas thanks him for giving his son a second chance and gives Barry a letter addressed to Bruce. Barry then meets with his mother and bids a tearful farewell to her.

Traveling back in time, Barry merges with his earlier self during the attempt to stop Thawne. While traveling through time, Barry realizes he can see three different timelines — DC (New Earth), Vertigo (Earth-13), and WildStorm (Earth-50).  A mysterious hooded figure (later revealed to be a cursed immortal Pandora) tells him that the world was split into three to weaken them for an impending threat, and must now be reunited to combat it.  The DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm universes are then merged, creating a brand new DC Universe. Barry then wakes up in a similar manner to the beginning of Flashpoint, also retaining all his memories from the alternate timeline.  Believing that everything is over, Barry remembers Thomas' letter and gives it to Bruce, who is still the Batman in this timeline.  Bruce, deeply touched by his father's sacrifice to ensure his son's life, cries and expresses his gratitude to Barry for informing him of the events that transpired before the timeline was reset.

This will be the third time Flashpoint has been adapted, after the 2013 animated film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and the Season 2 finale and Season 3 of The CW series The Flash.  

The Flash: Flashpoint is now expected to arrive in theaters sometime in 2020.

GHOSTWOOD 013: "The Return, Part 10" is Up!

"Hawk, electricity is humming.  You hear it in the mountains and rivers.  You see it dance among the seas and stars and glowing around the moon. But in these days, the glow is dying. What will be in the darkness that remains?  The Truman brothers are both ‘true men.’ They are your brothers, and the others, the good ones who have been with you, now the circle is almost complete.  Watch and listen to the dream of time and space.  It all comes out now, flowing like a river.  That which is and is not.  Hawk, Laura is the one."

-- Margaret "The Log Lady" Lanterman to Deputy Chief Tommy "Hawk" Hill, Twin Peaks: "The Return, Part 10"

It is happening again...My co-host with the most Xan Sprouse and I are back once again with a new episode of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast!  This time, we review "The Return, Part 10" from the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks!

LET'S ROCK!

In our latest episode, Xan and I discuss things like Xan having Elvis Costello Concert Sexy Voice, Fire Walk with Me being released by Criterion in 4K Ultra HD, my contact lens bifocals, the Twin Peaks panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, the classic Twin Peaks sketch on Saturday Night Live hosted by Kyle MacLachlan, Miriam being way too trusting and naive, Richard Horne being a horrible person, Deputy Chad pretending to care about Lucy and Andy, the heavy implication that Doppelganger Cooper impregnated Audrey Horne while she was in a coma, Richard dropping the C-bomb and being more of a horrible person, Ben & Sylvia being divorced, Carl Rodd singing "Red River Valley", Steven Burnett going full Leo Johnson, Candie whacking Rodney Mitchum with a TV remote control, wondering if Candie is openly rebelling against the Mitchums, Janey-E getting all hot and bothered over Kyle MacLachlan's abs, wondering if Janey-E is "the one" for Cooper, Nadine fixating on Dr. Jacoby, Jerry still being high in Ghostwood Forest, Albert finally finding someone he actually likes, Gordon drawing a freaky lizard dog thing with a tree growing out of its head, Gordon's vision of Laura Palmer, more wondering about what's going on with Diane, another phone call from the Log Lady, wondering if Laura will be a spirit of vengeance for all the women being treated like crap by horrible men, Rebekah Del Rio's chevron patterned dress, Ben & Jerry mellowing out in their old age, some feedback from Ivan Ivanov and Vesuvi Timeaux, our thoughts if spirits like BOB actually exist, YouTube troll Tachyon Timelord targeting our show, and more!

If you'd like to check out our latest episode, you can find us on...

iTunes -- RIGHT HERE

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Be sure to come back next week as Xan and I review "The Return, Part 11", the next episode of the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks!  Look for more of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast on iTunes, YouTube, Libsyn, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

Noah Hawley Developing DOCTOR DOOM Movie for Fox

Show me the puny mortal who does not tremble at the name of Doctor Doom!

According to the Hollywood Reporter, at the end of yesterday's San Diego Comic-Con 2017 panel for the FX series Legion, showrunner Noah Hawley teased that he's developing a movie based on Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Doom for Fox, which holds the rights to the character and his archenemies, the Fantastic Four.  

"Two words," said Hawley. "Doctor.  Doom."

The article claims "Hawley is developing a feature project centering around one of Marvel Comics' most recognizable villains with an eye to direct."

The project would presumably be part of another attempt to create a Fantastic Four film franchise for Fox, which had mediocre success with 2005's Fantastic Four and 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, followed by the outright failure of Fox's 2015 Fantastic Four reboot, a box-office bomb that reportedly cost $120 million to make and only brought in $56 million in domestic ticket sales.

Doctor Doom was featured in all three films, played by Julian McMahon in the first two, and Toby Kebbell in the reboot.

Created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Doctor Doom first appeared in Fantastic Four (vol.1) #5 as Victor Von Doom, who was part of a tribe of Latverian Romani people under the rule of an unnamed nobleman called the Baron. Victor's mother was a witch named Cynthia Von Doom who died by Mephisto's hand while Victor was young.  His father, Werner, was the leader of the tribe and a renowned medicine man who kept his wife's sorcery quiet in order to protect Victor from a similar fate.  Soon after Cynthia's death, the Baron's wife grew incurably ill from cancer and Werner was called to the capitol to heal her. When she succumbed to illness, the Baron labeled Werner a murderer and called for his death. Werner escaped with young Victor, having realized the night before the woman would die. He died of exposure on the mountainside, cradling the boy in a final embrace and giving him his garments to keep him warm. Victor survived and, on return to the Romani camp, discovered his mother's occult instruments and swore revenge on the Baron.  Victor grew into a headstrong and brilliant man, combining sorcery and technology to create fantastic devices which would keep the Baron's men at bay and protect the Roma people.  His exploits attracted the attention of the dean of Empire State University, who sent someone to the camp.  Offered the chance to study in the United States, Victor chose to leave his homeland and his love, Valeria, behind.

Once in the United States, Victor met fellow student and future nemesis Reed Richards, who was intended to be his roommate, but Victor immediately disliked him and asked for another roommate.  After a time, Victor constructed a machine intended to communicate with the dead. Though Richards tried to warn him about a flaw in the machine, seeing his calculations were a few decimals off, Victor continued on with disastrous results.  The machine violently failed and the resulting explosion seemingly severely damaged his face. Expelled after the accident, Victor traveled the world until he collapsed on a Tibetan mountainside.  Rescued by a clan of monks, Victor quickly mastered the monks' disciplines as well as the monks themselves.  Victor then forged himself a suit of armor, complete with a scowling mask, and took the name Doctor Doom.  As Doctor Doom, he would go on to menace those he felt responsible for his accident—primarily, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four.  He succeeded in taking over Latveria, taking an interest in the welfare of the Roma.

In his first appearance, Doctor Doom captured the Invisible Girl, using her as a hostage so the Fantastic Four will travel back in time to steal the enchanted treasure of Blackbeard which would help him conquer the world, but he was fooled by Reed Richards, who swapped the treasure with worthless chains.  Over the years, Doctor Doom became the central foe of the Fantastic Four and eventually menaced Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, Doctor Strange, and other Marvel superheroes.  

In the recent Secret Wars storyline, Doom usurped the power of the Beyonders with the aid of Doctor Strange and the Molecule Man,  collecting what he could of the destroyed multiverse and forming a new Battleworld consisting of different alternate realities.  He also assumed the role of God and claimed complete dominion of this new world and its inhabitants, controlling them into thinking he was always the almighty force of creation. Richards and a ragtag collection of heroes and villains that survived the destruction of all universes challenged him and, with the help of Molecule Man, were able to take his power and restore the multiverse.  Opting to heal rather than harm, Richards finally uses the Beyonder's power to heal Doom's face and turn him into a good man.  Following the defeat of Tony Stark at the hands of Captain Marvel at the conclusion of Civil War II, Doom remembered his unsatisfaction as a God and decided that it was his role to help heal the world.  Inspired by Stark, Doom currently fights for his unique brand of justice as the Infamous Iron Man.

GHOSTWOOD 012: "The Return, Part 9" is Up!

"I can't believe this day has come."

-- Betty Briggs, Twin Peaks: "The Return, Part 9"

It is happening again...My co-host with the most Xan Sprouse and I are back once again with a new episode of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast!  This time, we review "The Return, Part 9" from the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks!

LET'S ROCK!

In our latest episode, Xan and I discuss things like Xan's wisdom being shared throughout the Twitterverse, our love of silent movies, David Lynch's Mullholland Dr., Diane's interest being raised when a Blue Rose case is referenced, the introduction of Tim Roth as Gary "Hutch" Hutchens, wondering why Doppelganger Cooper likes Cheetos, finally getting an explanation of why no one bats an eye at Dougie's odd behavior, coffee moving the Cooper Installation progress bar forward, Lucy and Andy as a poor man's Burns and Allen, wondering if Laura Palmer's spirit will enter Johnny Horne, the Twin Peaks panel at San Diego Comic Con, Stranger Things, Major Briggs and Bobby Briggs being on two totally different wavelengths, Lucy and Deputy Chad being on their lunch break, the mysterious contents of the cylinder hidden in Major Briggs' chair, Jerry tackling his own foot, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, wondering what happened to Doppelganger Laura, Diane being a mole for Doppelganger Cooper, William Hastings' blog in the real world, the coordinates of Lookout Mountain in west South Dakota, the importance of what you wear when you die, Albert finally liking a small-town medical examiner, wanting to become a curmudgeon like Dr. McCoy from Star Trek, my ringtone on Xan's phone, our first movies with our significant others, Showgirls, some Facebook page feedback from Ivan Ivanov, and more!

If you'd like to check out our latest episode, you can find us on...

iTunes -- RIGHT HERE

Direct MP3 downloads/Libsyn --  RIGHT HERE

YouTube -- RIGHT HERE

Ghostwood's Facebook page

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Be sure to come back in two weeks as Xan and I review "The Return, Part 10", the next episode of the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks!  Look for more of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast on iTunes, YouTube, Libsyn, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

THE FANDOM ZONE 110: "Children of Wrath" is Up!

"The world is dead."

"The world will not end until you die."

– Victor Strand and Cosmonaut Vaschenko, Fear the Walking Dead: "Children of Wrath"

That's right, Karen and I are back with a new episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Fear the Walking Dead 3x07: "The Unveiling" 

Fear the Walking Dead 3x08: "Children of Wrath"  (Midseason Finale)

Preacher 2x04: "Viktor"

Wynonna Earp 2x05: "Let's Pretend We're Strangers"

In this episode, Karen and I talk about things like the Wonder Woman soundtrack, the announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor on Doctor Who, why those announcements are like the movie They Live, the Clark family realizing they're on the wrong side, that awkward moment when Alicia realizes she's with the guy who killed Travis, land agreements not mattering in the zombie apocalypse, Nick finally cutting his scraggly receding hair, that awkward moment when Ofelia poisons Nick with anthrax, wanting to see Daniel Salazar's hallucination torture Ofelia with oranges and lemonade while she's dying in the desert, Walker getting mad respect for Madison, that really awkward moment when Madison reveals to her children that she killed her dad when she was a kid, Strand talking to a Russian cosmonaut, Tulip's plan to get herself a gun, Cassidy being annoyed that Jesse's isn't worried about Tulip being missing, Cassidy and Jesse posing as Game of Thrones casting people, not being able to enhance a VHS videotape, Eugene succumbing to peer pressure in Hell, the new Fraternal Order of Firefighting Demon Hunters, Wynonna giving Dolls the finger, both of us thinking that Officer Haught was being killed off, some new Wynonna Earp feedback from Justina, and more!

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And if that isn't enough for you, you can also check us out on YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!  Oh, and if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt that all the cool kids are wearing, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!  Feel free to post a picture on our Facebook page of you or some other cool person you know wearing the shirt!

Be sure to come back next week as Karen and I review new episodes of Preacher and Wynonna Earp, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

NEXT STOP EVERYWHERE 090: "Planet of the Spiders" is Up!

"A tear, Sarah Jane?  No, don't cry.  While there's life, there's..."
-- The Third Doctor to Sarah Jane Smith, Doctor Who: "Planet of the Spiders"

It was another battle to record, but my partner in time Jesse Jackson and I are back with a new episode of Next Stop Everywhere: The Doctor Who Podcast!  In this episode, Jesse and I review "Planet of the Spiders", the fifth serial of Season 11 from the original series of Doctor Who in 1974, starring Jon Pertwee in his final story as the Third Doctor, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, and John Levene as Sergeant Benton!

This time, Jesse and I discuss things like the big announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, me revealing the news to Jesse, our thoughts and hopes for Jodie Whittaker as the first woman to portray the Doctor in the series, Doctor Who fandom already being split on the announcement, owning up to getting our Thirteenth Doctor picks wrong, why it's okay if we have to wait until fall of 2018 for Series Eleven, the Third Doctor's Venusian Aikido, Eastern philosophy being introduced to the series, shipping Sarah Jane and Mike Yates, Jo Grant returning her Metebelis 3 crystal, seeing the inside of the Third Doctor's TARDIS, wondering what specific fear the Third Doctor was trying to face, Cho-Je as the future incarnation of the K'anpo Rimpoche, Superman as the Last Son of Krypton, Sarah Jane befriending Tommy, the Brigadier finally getting to see a regeneration, the new K'anpo teasing the Fourth Doctor's persona, why the Metebelis 3 spiders need to return in the modern era, TV fighting in the '60s and '70s, the Doctor hanging out with the Brigadier socially, my plan to lead up to Peter Capaldi's regeneration into Jodie Whittaker, Jesse's Reverse the Reverse the Polarity, feedback from David K. Proctor and Paul from Australia, my Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast kicking butt, teasing the Master Trilogy, and more!

If you'd like to check out our latest episode, you can find us on...

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And hey, if you'd like to pick up the officially official Next Stop Everywhere t-shirt, you can find it on TeePublic right HERE!  Help support the show and feel free to post pictures on our Facebook page of you or some other cool person you know wearing the shirt!

Be sure to come back in two weeks as Jesse and I review the 1981 classic "The Keeper of Traken", starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Matthew Waterhouse as Adric, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, and Geoffrey Beevers as The Second Master!  Look for more of Next Stop Everywhere on iTunes, Google Play Music, YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

DOCTOR WHO: Jodie Whittaker Announced as the Thirteenth Doctor!

"That's the problem with regeneration.  You never quite know what you're going to get."
-- The Fifth Doctor, Doctor Who: "Castrovalva"

The BBC has officially announced that Jodie Whittaker will be the new Thirteenth Doctor for Series Eleven of Doctor Who, replacing the outgoing Peter Capaldi.  Whittaker will be the first female actor to portray the Doctor in the series and will make her debut at the end of the 2017 Christmas Special.

The casting announcement was made after the Wimbledon men’s final which Roger Federer won in less than two hours, and with Tenth Doctor David Tennant in attendance.

Whittaker, 35, is best known as Beth Latimer on the ITV series Broadchurch, which was overseen by incoming Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall.  Her other television appearances include episodes of Black Mirror, The Smoke and The Assets.  She also appeared in the films Attack the Block, The Night Watch, and Venus.

Jodie Whittaker remarked, "I’m beyond excited to begin this epic journey -- with Chris and with every Whovian on this planet.  It’s more than an honor to play the Doctor.  It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can’t wait."

Incoming Head Writer and Executive Producer Chris Chibnall said, "After months of lists, conversations, auditions, recalls, and a lot of secret-keeping, we’re excited to welcome Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor.  I always knew I wanted the Thirteenth Doctor to be a woman and we're thrilled to have secured our number one choice.  Her audition for The Doctor simply blew us all away.  Jodie is an in-demand, funny, inspiring, super-smart force of nature and will bring loads of wit, strength and warmth to the role.  The Thirteenth Doctor is on her way."

Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi commented, "Anyone who has seen Jodie Whittaker’s work will know that she is a wonderful actress of great individuality and charm.  She has above all the huge heart to play this most special part.  She’s going to be a fantastic Doctor."

Piers Wenger, Controller BBC Drama stated, "Jodie is not just a talented actor but she has a bold and brilliant vision for her Doctor.  She aced it in her audition both technically and with the powerful female life force she brings to the role.  She is destined to be an utterly iconic Doctor."

Here's the official announcement video from the BBC...

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.

THE FANDOM ZONE 109: "Dragon Plays with Fire" is Up!

"I think that if you kill Harold out of your own vengeance, it'll corrupt your chi.  You'll never be the Iron Fist you're meant to be, which is why I have to kill Harold for you."

"Jesus!  Is there a version of this where we don't kill someone?"

– Colleen Wing (to Danny Rand) and Claire Temple, Iron Fist: "Dragon Plays with Fire"

You guessed it, Karen and I are back with a new episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast! This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Preacher 2x03: "Damsels"

Wynonna Earp 2x04: "She Ain't Right"

Iron Fist 1x13: "Dragon Plays with Fire"  (Season Finale)

In this episode, Karen and I talk about things like who is actually watching Fear the Walking Dead, the rabbit hole that will never end of Reddit, what Denis actually said while speaking French without subtitles, Cassidy's rather girly shirt, seeing the origin of Arseface, a helpful tip when trying to kill yourself with a shotgun, the buddy movie potential of Hitler and Arseface, the Dean from Community, Jesse's fight that was one hallway away from being a Daredevil fight, the long-awaited debut of Herr Starr, Waverly's terrible sleepwalking excuse, Karen getting a Time Lord title in World of Warcraft, Tucker's deal with demons to get laid, the return of Jeri Hogarth, Danny's Iron Fist shockwave, wondering if Harold Meachum was actually cremated, Sigourney Weaver on The Defenders, some Wynonna Earp feedback from Justina, Waverly's cheerleading routine for Officer Haught, Stephen Amell staring at himself in the mirror way too long, Ghostwood kicking unholy ass for the Southgate Media Group, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone using...

Google Play Music -- HERE 

iTunes -- HERE

Direct Download MP3s/Libsyn -- HERE

The Fandom Zone on Facebook -- HERE

The Fandom Zone on Twitter -- @FandomZoneCast

And if that isn't enough for you, you can also check us out on YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!  Oh, and if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt that all the cool kids are wearing, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!  Feel free to post a picture on our Facebook page of you or some other cool person you know wearing the shirt!

Be sure to come back next week as Karen and I review the two-part midseason finale of Fear the Walking Dead, and new episodes of Preacher and Wynonna Earp, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

DAMN Good Movies -- SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

Hey, everyone!  It's time once again for another of my movie takes, this time on the film Spider-Man: Homecoming, the first Spider-Man solo film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  As always, if you haven't seen the movie yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now.  If, however, you're wise enough to know that movie reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...let's do some web-slinging!

In the brighter days of November 2014, Sony Pictures' emails were hacked and dumped onto the interwebz, revealing that Sony wanted Marvel Studios to produce a new trilogy of Spider-Man films after the debacle of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, a creative mess that was the franchise's lowest domestic performance to date.  Discussions between Sony and Marvel broke down, leaving Sony to plan a number of Spider-Man related films until somehow, Sony and Marvel managed to strike a deal in February 2015.  A new Spider-Man, Sony's third in less than fifteen years, would debut in Marvel's Captain America: Civil War before (web) spinning off into his own solo movie where Sony would have final creative control.  All that mattered to Marvel fans, however, was that Spider-Man was finally going to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As expected, casting the replacement for Andrew Garfield proved tricky, especially with Sony wanting an actor younger than Garfield to distinguish his take on the role.  Logan Lerman and Dylan O'Brien were considered early front-runners, until other names like Nat Wolff, Asa Butterfield, Tom Holland, Timothée Chalamet, and Liam James were reported as well.  Butterfield, Holland, Judah Lewis, Matthew Lintz, Charlie Plummer, and Charlie Rowe reportedly screen-tested with Robert Downey, Jr. for "chemistry", and Tom Holland (then all of 19 years old) was finally announced in June 2015.  With Jon Watts brought in as director, working from a screenplay by himself along with five other screenwriters, Homecoming was off and running.

The movie opens with a wonderful musical nod to the 1967 Spider-Man animated series theme, as we go back in time shortly after the Battle of New York from the first Avengers movie.  Adrian Toomes, the future Vulture, and his salvage company are contracted to clean up the city after the Chitauri invasion, which has left all kinds of alien artifacts behind.  All well and good, until Tony Stark's United States Department of Damage Control steps in and takes over, kicking Toomes and his crew to the curb. Needless to say, Toomes isn't a fan of the move (They terk our jerbz!), so he encourages his guys to keep the Chitauri technology they haven't turned over and use it to create advance weapons and maybe a big ol' flying Vulture suit for scavenging operations.

We jump ahead eight years later and get a quick recap of Spider-Man's involvement in Captain America: Civil War, but using shakycam footage taken by Peter using his cameraphone.  Tom Holland's Peter Parker is young, enthusiastic and horribly awkward, so after Tony is finished using Peter's Spider-Man abilities for Team Iron Man, Tony quickly benches him and tasks "Happy" Hogan to essentially babysit Peter via long distance.  Peter leaves Happy dozens of unreturned phone calls, eager to prove himself to Tony as Spider-Man, before finally turning his attention on fighting crime in his friendly neighborhood of Queens.

Peter confronts a gang wearing Avengers masks attempting an ATM heist using the Vulture's weapons, then returns home to have a serious secret identity fail by not realizing that his best friend Ned Leeds was hanging out in his bedroom.  Peter struggles to answer Ned's inane, non-stop questions, but Ned soon provides superhero support as Peter comes across Fake Shocker and Real Shocker selling weapons to Troy Barnes from Community.  At this point, Homecoming goes into full John Hughes movie mode, staging a suburban backyard chase reminiscent of Ferris Bueller's Day Off that even features the original Ferris Bueller sequence playing in the background.  We see what you did there, Watts.

More John Hughes allusions follow when Peter rejoins the Midtown High academic decathlon team on a trip to Washington, D.C. mainly so he can track down the Real Shocker in Maryland.  Peter gets dry, snarky sass from "Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club" wannabe Michelle Jones, crushes on senior Liz (who turns out to have a very important connection to the Vulture), and misses the academic decathlon tournament .  Just to remind people this is a Spider-Man movie, Peter gets a solid win saving his classmates from a Chitauri grenade explosion at the Washington Monument, only to get a solid loss when the Staten Island Ferry is sliced in half during an attempt to capture the Vulture.  Fortunately for Peter, Tony actually shows up this time as Iron Man to save the passengers, but takes away Peter's spiffy Spider-Suit because Tony has never screwed up anything ever (Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Civil War...).  

We head into the Third Act with Peter trying to get his groove back by asking Liz out to the homecoming dance, which she accepts.  Everything seems adorkably high school, until Peter goes to Liz's home and discovers that her father is -- you guessed it -- Adrian Toomes, the Vulture. Peter starts sweating even more profusely, especially after Liz makes some throwaway remarks that help Adrian figure out that Peter is -- you guessed it again -- Spider-Man.  Michael Keaton lays on the bad guy menace nice and thick, threatening to kill Peter's Aunt May and his friends if Peter interferes with his plans.  You wanna get nuts? C'mon, let's get nuts!

Peter mulls over his predicament for about a second and promptly bails on Liz.  Donning his cheesy homemade Spider-Man suit, he races to the Vulture's hideout and takes out the Shocker with Ned's help.  However, the Vulture gets the better of Spidey by taking out a support column that buries our hero in rubble and heavy machinery.  In a great homage to The Amazing Spider-Man (vol.1) #33, Peter summons enough willpower to lift the rubble and frees himself.  From there, there's a dizzying climactic sequence aboard a Damage Control plane transporting weapons from Avengers Tower that the Vulture attempts to hijack, forcing Peter to steer the aircraft to crash on Coney Island Beach.  This leads to an important moment where Peter could easily let the Vulture die using his damaged equipment, solving his secret identity problem rather neatly, but chooses instead to save the villain's life and leave him for the police along with the important cargo.  The moment is not lost on the Vulture, who repays Spider-Man back in the mid-credits scene by not telling his real identity to Mac Gargan.

In the aftermath, Tony decides to give Peter his spiffy Spider-Suit back and even invites to a press conference where Spider-Man will be announced as an Avenger, but Peter declines the Avengers offer.  He keeps the suit though, and just as he tries it on once again, Aunt May walks in and is this close to dropping an F-bomb before the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" and the closing credits kick in.

This was a fun, '80s style superhero romp, with some good character moments. Here are some of the things that stood out:

SPIDER-MAN/PETER PARKER -- In his second outing as Spidey, Tom Holland has a better handle on his character but doesn't seem up to owning the role just yet.  Holland rattles off Spidey's one-liners well enough and seems a decent choice for a younger Peter Parker full of energy and recklessness.  The problem here, in my opinion, is the lack of distance from Maguire and Garfield to win over fans of those eras.  And it certainly doesn't help to have Peter being under Tony Stark's controlling nature, to the point where Peter can't even have a decent Spider-Man costume without him.

THE VULTURE/ADRIAN TOOMES -- Michael Keaton is Batman.  You know it, I know it, but it's really nice to be reminded that Keaton can be more than that.  Thankfully, his Vulture isn't the lame septuagenerian Adrian Toomes from the comics, he's one of Marvel's better movie villains and one that was sorely needed.  The Vulture is a villain that doesn't see himself as a villain, just someone trying to provide for his family until that pesky Spider-Man comes along to mess things up.  Even better, he isn't simply killed off after figuring out Peter's alter ego, setting up a potential return...with the Sinister Six perhaps?

IRON MAN/TONY STARK -- Despite not being on screen all that much, Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark is all over this film.  So much so, this movie probably should've been called Marvel Team-Up instead of Spider-Man: Homecoming.  As a result, Tony and all the baggage that comes with him eats up time I would've rather seen spent on Peter, and ends up making Peter a sidekick -- in his own movie!  Tony does, however, seem to want to groom Peter as a potential successor, and it would've been nice to see him taking genuine pride in Peter's accomplishments.

NED LEEDS -- Speaking of sidekicks, Jacob Batalon is pretty much that as Ned Leeds. He's the goofy comic relief, trying on Peter's Spider-Man mask or wanting Peter to build a Lego Death Star with him, until things get serious and Peter needs somebody at a computer.  He's an interesting change from two takes on Harry Osborn, but unfortunately, not as strong of a supporting character as Harry was.

LIZ ALLAN -- Laura Harrier is Peter's love interest, although she's more of a crush interest for most of the film.  Liz seems to respect Peter's intellect, helping to bridge that huge divide between seniors and sophomores that would normally put her way out of Peter's league. Obviously, it's her connection to the Vulture that's the most interesting, and it feels like a wasted opportunity that we're probably not going to see how Liz copes with knowing that her father is a supervillain.

MICHELLE "MJ" JONES -- The character most designed to rile up haters of diversity casting is Zendaya's Michelle, who was first teased as a Mary Jane Watson of color until Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had to publicly state that Michelle isn't MJ...even though she glosses herself "MJ" at the end of the movie.  (Everybody got that?)  Michelle comes off fairly well as the sulky yet brilliant prodigy who steps up and covers for Peter at the Decathlon tournament, but did the film really need her?  I'm not so sure.

EUGENE "FLASH" THOMPSON -- Tony Revolori is the latest big-screen Flash, taking over from Joe Manganiello and Chris Zylka, but instead of being the physical bully we know and loathe, Revolori's Flash is just a rich douche who mocks Peter while trying to be a DJ on the side.  Yeah, not exactly an improvement.

MAY PARKER -- After debuting with Tom Holland in Captain America: Civil War, Marisa Tomei received a bit of flack from fans who dismissed her Aunt May as "Aunt Milf".  So, it was no surprise to see May suddenly sporting granny glasses in Homecoming, which did manage to add some mileage.  May is only there to provide the occasional words of wisdom to Peter, but she does get arguably the movie's biggest laugh at the very end.

THE SHOCKER/MONTANA/JACKSON BRICE -- Logan Marshall-Green is the Shocker for all of five minutes before the Vulture accidentally kills him off for jeopardizing the group's plan and hands his vibro-blast gauntlets over to...

THE SHOCKER/HERMAN SCHULTZ -- As the Shocker we know and remember from the comics, Bokeem Woodbine is on screen for all of ten minutes.  He does, however, get to threaten Peter and Ned at Midtown High and has some moments during the Staten Island Ferry fiasco.

THE TINKERER/PHINEAS MASON -- Michael Chernus is obscure Spider-Man bad guy the Tinkerer, who serves here as the Chitauri tech whiz in Vulture's gang that builds Vulture's suit and the Shocker's vibro-blast gauntlets.

THE SCORPION/MAC GARGAN -- The Scorpion gets a major tease as the possible next Spider-Man movie villain, with Michael Mando sporting a scorpion tattoo (Get it?) on his neck and shows up on the Staten Island Ferry to receive stolen Chitauri technology.  He turns up later during the aforementioned mid-credits sequence, trying to get the Vulture to tell him who Spider-Man really is.  Another member of the Sinister Six, perhaps?

HAROLD "HAPPY" HOGAN -- Jon Favreau finally makes another appearance as Tony's bodyguard and chauffeur Happy, after getting blowed up real good in Iron Man 3 and rendered comatose.  As always, Happy finds himself stuck with the mundane tasks Tony doesn't want to deal with, which in this case, means Peter.  He does, however, get a nice moment toward the end where he reveals he's been carrying a ring for Tony to propose with for the past fifteen years.

PEPPER POTTS CAMEO -- And who does Tony propose to?  Why, Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts, of course.  This was something of a surprise, since Pepper didn't appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron or Captain America: Civil War, where we were told that she and Tony were "taking a break".  The break must've worked, because Pepper's back to potentially set up a wedding scene in Avengers: Infinity War.

CAPTAIN AMERICA CAMEOS -- Chris Evans also gets some laughs in a couple of funny high school PSA videos, wearing his costume from the first Avengers movie.  One is a "Captain America Fitness Challenge" that Peter and Ned watch during gym class, and the other is a clever post-credits scene where Cap instructs the audience in the importance of patience.  Well played, Watts.

OBLIGATORY STAN LEE CAMEO -- In his latest cameo, Stan "The Man" turns up as Gary, a New York City apartment resident named Gary who interjects himself into Spider-Man's argument with another apartment resident.

All in all, Spider-Man: Homecoming is a decent reboot for the Spider-Man film franchise.  It doesn't quite reach the level of the first two Tobey Maguire films, but it has a lot of heart and manages to surpass the third, not to mention the two Andrew Garfield films.  Tom Holland may not be everyone's favorite wall-crawler, but with this reboot firmly grounded in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, at least it feels like it actually matters.  The decision to partner with Marvel was a wise move for Sony, especially since they already have a sequel in the works for July 2019.

And for those who may be wondering, here's the updated list of my Top 20 Comic Book Films:

1. Superman (1978)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
3. The Avengers (2012)

4. Batman Begins (2005)

5. Logan (2017)

6. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

7. Man of Steel (2013)

8. Doctor Strange (2016)

9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

10. Wonder Woman (2017)

11. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

12. Spider-Man (2002)

13. Iron Man (2008)

14. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
15. Watchmen (2009)
16. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

17. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

18. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
19. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

20. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)