The sign of good storytelling for any retelling or prequel is knowing the ending of the story upfront and still wanting to come back for more. From bookending the season with appearances by interesting Wynonna Earp star Melanie Scrofano to creating one the franchises best alien characters with Bruce Horak’s chief engineer Hemmer, Star Trek: Strange New Worldsisn’t just good Star Trek, it’s the best first season of any Star Trek series since… well, the first season of the original series back in 1966. Offering more than one episode that should be a contender for your own Top 10 list of the best of the entire franchise, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds demonstrates if you keep trying, you eventually may stick the landing.
Director Sam Raimi was constrained by the comic books with his three Spider-Man movies, but Kevin Fiege and Marvel Studios let him unleash everything for his latest superhero movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The result is fantastic, the most ambitious crossover mash-up and blend of comic book characters to hit the screen since X-Men: Days of Future Past. Loki writer Michael Waldron was the right choice to create this seamless masterpiece of twisty storytelling, and adding music by Batman 1989’s Danny Elfman is the icing on a (dark, funny, horror-themed) cake.
Finally, the multitudes get to witness the madness of the multiverse for themselves–the film arrived this week on Disney+. Is it the best Marvel Studios ensemble movie yet? (spoilers ahead)
Fans of Captain Pike’s “old is new again” Enterprise from the second season of Star Trek: Discovery got their wish Thursday as Anson Mount’s captain, new Number One actor Rebecca Romijn and new Science Officer Spock actor Ethan Peck stepped into roles long familiar to the Star Trek fan base. The title is apt: Strange New Worlds, taking a line from William Shatner’s original introductory dialogue for Captain James T. Kirk from the very beginning of Gene Roddenberry’s vision, is handed off once again, in a series opener drawn from the pilot for the first episode of Star Trek filmed way back in 1964, and that darned old Prime Directive.
Like the split between fans of the third Star Wars trilogy and The Mandalorian, fans of Star Trek probably see themselves aligned to prefer either Star Trek: Discovery or Star Trek: Picard. Or maybe there’s even a better contrast between Star Trek: Discovery’s first season worldbuilding vs. that series’ second season’s throwback concepts. Was your favorite character the badass Mirror Universe Emperor Philippa Georgiou (formerly Federation Captain), played by the sly and fabulous Michelle Yeoh (the only actor onscreen who could actually immobilize someone in real life with her martial arts skill and the highest paid actress in Asia)? Maybe it was the very Original Series-inspired engineer Jett Reno, who got the best dialogue and had the best style of any character in this decade of Trekdom, played by the brilliantly funny Tig Notaro? Maybe it is the series lead, the very straight-laced Ant-Man and The Wasp-inspired sci-fi-meets-superheroine, Captain Michael Burnham, played by Sonequa Martin-Green? Or maybe it is Anson Mount giving his own superhero performance as an early (and later?) famous Captain Christopher Pike of the familiar good ship Enterprise? Turns out, if any one of the above fits the bill for you, Star Trek has something for you heading your way.
Big news for fans of Star Trek: Discovery at San Diego Comic-Con Friday was the announcement of Librarians and X-Men actor Rebecca Romijn as the new character Number One for season 2 of the series. Number One was the first of three roles taken on by Majel Barrett (and later Barrett-Roddenberry after she married Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry), for the Star Trek original series episode “The Cage” with then Enterprise captain Christopher Pike. CBS All Access released the trailer for the second season showing our first look at the third actor to play Christopher Pike, Inhumans star Anson Mount. He follows Jeffrey Hunter and Bruce Greenwood taking on the role of the captain of the Enterprise before Kirk. In the coming second season we catch up with the crew of USS Discovery, commanded by acting Captain Saru and Commander Michael Burnham as they respond to a “Priority One” distress call from the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, commanded by Captain Christopher Pike. Mount’s Pike seems to borrow mannerisms, voice, and dialogue more from Greenwood’s work in 2009’s Star Trek and the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. The new trailer is filled with more humor and quips than seen in marketing for the first, darker season.
The trailer was unveiled at Star Trek: Discovery’s Hall H appearance today at SDCC, with series’ showrunner Alex Kurtzman also announcing Star Trek: Short Treks, a four-episode spinoff series of fifteen minute short films (like for Star Trek fan film-length features) that will begin monthly in December, to include episodes with Leverage’s Aldis Hodge, Rainn Wilson, Doug Jones, and Mary Wiseman. Kurtzman also revealed that fans can expect Spock to appear next season, as hinted at in the trailer. The panel included actors Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler), Mary Wiseman (Ensign Sylvia Tilly), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Commander Paul Stamets), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Tig Notaro (new Chief Engineer Reno), and executive producer Heather Kadin.
Take a look at a new look at a classic character in this preview for season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery: Continue reading →
It’s that time of year again–San Diego Comic-Con weekend, when the studios and publishers release teasers, trailers, and try-ons to generate buzz for the next big book, movie, or television show. One of the first releases today was this new trailer for ABC’s new series, Marvel’sInhumans.
We previewed Marvel’sInhumans earlier here at borg.com. This new trailer is better, leaving Anson Mount’s Black Bolt in the background this time and giving us a look at more characters, like Serinda Swan’s Medusa, Ken Leung’s Karnak, and Isabelle Cornish as Crystal.
And yes, we get another look at Lockjaw, the big bulldog Inhuman that has already proved to be a big reason for superhero fans to check out the new series.
The Eternals. The Defenders. The Champions. Alpha Flight. The Invaders. The Marauders. Power Pack. The Sinister Six. The Elementals. X-Force. Squadron Supreme. Guardians of the Galaxy. Cloak and Dagger. Power Man and Iron Fist. Marvel has had plenty of team-ups over the years besides The Avengers and The X-Men. But unless you read every issue of every Marvel monthly you may have missed some of the more obscure groups of superheroes. Which may explain how audiences have been in favor of familiar characters as they hit the big or small screen in movies for The Avengers or The X-Men, or even Daredevil. But Marvel has had a tougher time maneuvering the TV waters for its superheroes than DC Entertainment. One of the reasons for DC’s success may very well be the fact that its Justice League of America has for so long been the flagship title for the publisher and it incorporated so many supporting superheroes into its stories over the decades that even the general public can name several. So more of general audiences have heard of and accepted Green Arrow and Black Canary, The Flash, The Atom, and Supergirl when they emerged in our living rooms over the past five years. As for Marvel, unlike Marvel’s Luke Cage–Netflix’s excellent and loyal update to the classic comic book series–Marvel’s Iron Fist hasn’t garnered similar acclaim. Why? Because of the story? The production values? The character? The marketing? Marvel’s Luke Cage demonstrates an obscure superhero can succeed if it brings to audiences a compelling story, talented actors, and high production quality. Which brings us to the next new TV series from Marvel, Marvel’s Inhumans.
Marvel’s Inhumans is coming later this summer to ABC, from showrunner Scott Buck, the same creator that brought Marvel’s Iron Fist to Netflix. Most people haven’t heard of the Inhumans, and even long-time Marvel readers may not be familiar with the characters in the Royal Family of the Inhumans, including Medusa, Maximus, Karnak, Gorgon, Crystal, Triton, and Auran. So it makes sense that audiences witnessing the team for the first time don’t have enough to be excited about–yet. As for its general appearance Marvel’s Inhumans arguably looks like Marvel’s Iron Fist, but it also looks like Marvel’s Legion, a somewhat overlooked yet well-received X-Men series hidden in the 500-channel cable line-up on the FX Network earlier this year. So how will Marvel’s Inhumans fare?
The greatest challenge is one of story and character development. Black Bolt is now the King of the Royal Family of the Inhumans, who were superhumans descended from humans experimented on by the Kree in Marvel lore. Played in the new series by actor Anson Mount, Black Bolt doesn’t speak, or else he might bring forth a powerful shockwave that could level a city. So a difficulty of the first trailer released for the series is conveying that fact, while showing plenty of scenes with the actor who will be the male lead of the series. In the first show trailer we get a bunch of silent expressions by Mount just as his irritated (irritating?) brother Maximus (played by Iwan Rheon) does most of the talking. How long can an eight-episode series run with the lead keeping his mouth shut? It’s also difficult to immediately have any empathy toward royalty of any variety, especially those looking so formal and shown with a certain level of arrogance. Another current series, BBC’s Class, has had trouble gaining traction with viewers, and it also follows a lead male who is an alien royal who is troubled and arrogant.
If you thought audiences may be souring on the onslaught of television series based on superheroes and comic books, you’d be wrong. Hollywood is fully engaged in the realm of continuing to adapt comic books to the small screen. Along with all the current series moving into next seasons this year, like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Gotham, iZombie, Riverdale,Supergirl, and Wynonna Earp, you’ll have at least three more new series featuring superheroes to check out this Fall. Check out previews for all three below after the break.
Black Lightning is the latest character from DC Comics coming to the CW. Cress Williams plays the title character who is Jefferson Pierce by day. On paper Black Lightning sounds a bit like The Incredibles, with a retired hero returning to the superhero business. The superhero debuted in the comic book Black Lightning Issue #1 40 years ago. Tony Isabella and Dennis O’Neil wrote the original stories, with artwork by Trevor Von Eedon. Black Lightning also stars China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, and Christine Adams.
The Gifted hails from a pretty powerful TV combo: Bryan Singer, known for everything from House, M.D., to The X-Men movie series, is co-producing the show with series creator Matt Nix, showrunner on the successful series Burn Notice. The series stars Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker (Angel) as parents who take their family on the run after they discover their children’s mutant abilities. The series producers have said it will not intersect with the X-Men movies, but you’ll see familiar characters like Blink, Polaris, Thunderbird, and Eclipse. The show co-stars Burn Notice’s Coby Bell, Sean Teale, Jamie Chung, Emma Dumont, Blair Redford, Natalie Alyn Lind, and Percy Hynes White. The show will air on Fox.
