Leith Skilling - Critic & Reviewer

August 25, 2019

D23 MCU Concept Art!

If you weren’t previously hyped for Marvel’s multitude of newly announced Disney+ content, prepare to be. We have a lot to discuss.

Over the weekend, Disney Studios sated the appetites of rabid fans at their D23 Expo with some exclusive reveals, including brief footage, concept art, and official posters for some upcoming projects. But now the public can share in the fun, as some of this stuff, specifically the concept art and posters, are being released. And we, being ravenous fans with a desire to nitpick and study every inch of new material, are going through this stuff with a fine-toothed comb, looking for clues.

The first official poster for The Falcon And The Winter Soldier dropped earlier today, sparking a heated discussion about the most trivial of subjects. Yes, Bucky Barnes, whose gloriously long hair has been a trademark of the character’s appearance since 2013, has finally visited a barber, it seems. Either that, or the graphic designer made a huge blunder by choosing to use 1940’s Bucky as a reference for this poster, rather than modern, stylish-Jesus Bucky.

Apart from Bucky’s new haircut, we can see that the Winter Soldier is donning a slightly new, streamlined outfit, as well as his vibranium arm (which still hasn’t seen any real action: here’s hoping we get to see some epic metal-arm fight scenes in the show). Falcon, who was entrusted with Captain America’s shield in Avengers: Endgame, is…not holding the shield, for whatever reason, and is also positioned behind Bucky, looking more like a supporting character than the lead. Perhaps both men are leads, but it does seem a little unusual to place the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new shield-bearer in the background. Then again, he does also show up in the top right-corner of the poster, flying across the sky, looking very much like a patriotic fighter-plane. In fact, the poster does seem to be going for a “war-movie” vibe – the pale watercolor sky, the ever-so-slightly antiquated heroic poses from Bucky and Falcon, the red, white and blue logo: it looks almost 1940’s to me – but again, considering that Falcon isn’t a time-displaced character like Bucky, that choice seems peculiar. Who’s the lead on this show, really?

Speaking of old-fashioned stylistic choices, though, the first official concept art/poster for the WandaVision series is blatantly dated: and both lead actress Elizabeth Olsen and Marvel president Kevin Feige have said as much. The show is said to have a retro, 1950’s sitcom style – at first, this seemed like it might have just been a creative reference for the showrunners to draw on, but this art suggests that the entire series will, in fact, look and feel like I Love Lucy, combined with idealized, bright and sunny ads ripped from the pages of an old Sears catalog.

It’s an even more peculiar stylistic choice than that on the previous poster, because neither Wanda Maximoff nor her (currently deceased) partner Vision have any real connection to the 1950’s. Yet here they are, dressed in period-appropriate fashion and sporting upper-class bemused smiles, surrounded by the accouterments of a typical “nuclear family”.

Wanda, the Scarlet Witch, has some untapped potential in the MCU that could explain this perplexing choice – in the comics, she has the ability to warp reality and create entire “pocket dimensions” that exist alongside our own. In such a faux reality, Wanda could presumably resurrect her dead lover and create a perfect, cheery little family for herself in a quaint little suburb: according to reports from D23, Wanda and Vision will have a nosy next-door neighbor, played by Kathryn Hahn, and a bunch of other comedic castmates – including the Thor franchise’s underdog Darcy, and Agent Jimmy Woo. Another sign that Scarlet Witch will use more comics-accurate powers in the new series is a hint, in this poster, of her more comics-accurate costume: Wanda’s shadow, in the top left-hand corner, sports her traditional crescent-moon tiara, something that hasn’t appeared in the MCU as of yet. Fans have been dying to see it on Elizabeth Olsen’s brow, and this poster gives me hope that we will.

Don’t expect WandaVision to be all canned laughter and sunshine, though – the series is rumored to head into dark, even macabre or paranormal territory, which makes sense, considering that it will always lead directly into the events of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, which is being hyped up as Marvel’s first horror film.

What do you think of the new concept art? Does it look cool, or outdated? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

August 24, 2019

The Mystery Of Dark Rey…

In an otherwise largely uneventful day at the D23 Expo (you know, if you ignore Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt trying to outdo each other with dramatic entrances), Star Wars was the main talking-point: while not even a snippet of the new Rise of Skywalker footage has leaked online, it’s still all that the internet is discussing – specifically, the final shot of this unseen footage, which apparently shows a major protagonist wavering between the Light and the Dark.

I guess I should include a warning for potential spoilers, but all of this footage is expected to officially drop on Monday – so I don’t know if you should be too worried about it. And, yes, that also means that I’m rather premature with this news, but it’s one of the few things we have to talk about that will make for an interesting post today.

So what am I talking about? Well, apparently, the Star Wars presentation at D23 revealed a few things to the audience of several thousand fans: apart from a brand-new poster that looks epic, director J.J. Abrams also showed a brief sizzle reel of footage from the upcoming installment in the franchise, which is expected to be the last in the forty-year long Skywalker Saga. And so it was that those spectators got to witness a shocking reveal: Rey, the unwavering heroine of the franchise’s last two entries, might be reconsidering her values and moral code.

She was apparently seen dressed in a black cloak with a hood, holding a double-bladed red lightsaber that apparently strongly resembles the one carried by Darth Maul, the central antagonist of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. While we can’t yet know for certain what this means, there are already hundreds of theories floating around the internet. Some believe it’s merely a trick: that this scene is probably only part of a vision or nightmare-sequence which will end up having no real impact in the film itself. Others, however, are rather less cynical: Rey could be the daughter of Darth Maul, apparently, or even the daughter of the long-dead Emperor Palpatine, who will be making a comeback in some form for this film. She and her nemesis/possible love interest Kylo Ren might switch sides, with Rey becoming an embittered Sith Lord while Ren joins the Jedi. She could be using this appearance as a disguise, in order to work her way up through the ranks of the First Order. Palpatine could be manipulating her. There’s endless possibilities.

Some of them make sense, some don’t. For instance, the theory that Ren and Rey switch, while very cool, could seem contrived: yes, Rey was obsessed with that weird evil cave on Luke’s island in The Last Jedi, but she hasn’t ever seemed interested in the dark side or the ways of the Sith – she’s been mostly focused on trying to lure Kylo Ren over to the light, in fact. So changing that now could result in an outcry similar to that which followed the decision to randomly turn Game of Thrones‘ heroine, Daenerys, into a psychotic genocidal war criminal for no apparent reason other than that it looked cool and justified her being murdered at the end of the show. And in both cases, it would be a female protagonist who gets retconned to be evil – not a good look for Star Wars, just as it wasn’t a good look for Game of Thrones. As for Kylo: well, he’s stared longingly at the light many times before, and he seems like he might be doubting his lifestyle choices, but making the jump to the Jedi is a big commitment – something that doesn’t seem like it could be adequately covered in a single film.

Me, I’m actually ever so slightly more concerned about another shot from the footage: supposedly, a glimpse of C-3PO with glowing red eyes, implying that the lovable droid is also heading down a dark path. We’ve seen evil droids in Star Wars before, but never one that actively chooses to pursue a career with the Dark Side (correct me if I’m wrong, hardcore Star Wars fans). And if he gets hacked and destroyed by agents of the First Order, I swear to Yoda I will boycott.

So what do you think? What’s Rey doing? Is she Sith or not? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

August 24, 2019

Kit Harington Enters The MCU!

It’s only been a few months since the epic(ly disappointing) finale of the HBO hit series Game of Thrones, and many have been wondering where the Emmy-award winning show’s stars will go next: Emilia Clarke, best known as Daenerys, Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains, etc, etc, is starring in a chipper Christmas rom-com; Maisie Williams, the girl with no name, is starring in a British comedy series; Lena Headey, the notorious villainess Cersei Lannister, will next be seen in Netflix’s Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance; and as for the show’s star, Kit Harington…well, he promptly disappeared into a rehab facility, apparently suffering from stress. How much of said stress was caused by the strenuous and tiresome process of filming Game of Thrones is as yet unknown, but it looks like the actor is back on his feet and making a return to the entertainment industry in appropriately epic fashion: landing a role in a Marvel movie.

Harington is not the first of the show’s cast to end up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: last year, Peter Dinklage had a glorified cameo in Avengers: Infinity War. Sophie Turner, Thrones‘ Queen in the North, appeared in the Fox X-Men movies, and was soon to be joined by Maisie Williams – before things went abruptly downhill for that franchise. And earlier this year, a star from earlier seasons, Richard Madden, joined the ever-expanding cast of Marvel’s upcoming Eternals. And now, Harington has too.

Eternals covers the story of a race of space gods created at the beginning of the universe with the task of protecting and preserving the planet Earth. Madden, who played too-pure-for-this-world war hero Robb Stark on Game of Thrones, is here portraying the leader of the Eternals, Ikaris, who sports a dashing blue outfit and otherwise looks exactly like Richard Madden: thankfully, the horrendous hairdos from the 1970’s comics have been thrown out in favor of a more streamlined, modern approach. Harington, on the other hand, has been cast in the role of an Arthurian-inspired knight with a black outfit, a magical sword, a semi-divine love interest, and…hey, wait, is he just playing Jon Snow again?

Well, kind of. Harington’s new character, Dane Whitman, better known as the Black Knight, is definitely one of the most Game of Thrones-ish heroes Marvel has ever created, being the descendant of an actual member of King Arthur’s Round Table, who received his magical weapon from Merlin the magician: Whitman himself is also the recipient of supernatural gifts from otherworldly beings, as the Lady of the Lake (yes, the very same) gave him a winged horse named Strider – because, if you’re going to rip off fantasy tropes, why not rip off from the best? In a movie that already has an 11-member ensemble cast, I honestly have no clue whether Marvel will have time to fit in a backstory explaining that the Arthurian legends are MCU canon, but maybe that could be explored in future films.

The important thing to note is that Black Knight, while not an Eternal himself, is a love interest of the Eternal enchantress, Sersi – who has also been cast today, with Captain Marvel actress Gemma Chan filling the role. Introducing Black Knight and Sersi to the MCU on the same day certainly suggests that we’ll see them pair up in this movie, but it does raise some intriguing questions: in comics lore, Sersi is more commonly involved with Ikaris, so which one will she choose in the movies? And if she chooses to be with Black Knight, does that leave Ikaris open to be the MCU’s first gay character, as Marvel president Kevin Feige suggested last month?

Something that has bothered Marvel fans today is the fact that Harington’s talent is being “wasted” in such an “insignificant” role, when he could be playing somebody “important” like Wolverine. Regardless of the fact that Harington really doesn’t resemble Wolverine at all, this is a classic case of fans going in with expectations way too high: I’ll admit I was hopeful for a Fantastic Four reveal today, but anything having to do with the X-Men is probably at least a year away, if not further. Besides, we don’t know yet how big a role Black Knight will play in Eternals, or whether he’ll feature in future films; so, until then, let’s hope for the best, right? And let’s not forget that people also felt like Gemma Chan was wasted in Captain Marvel – and look at her now, getting a second chance in the MCU as the star of one of their upcoming films. Anything is possible in Marvel these days.

Even the Lady of the Lake, apparently.

August 24, 2019

“Lady And The Tramp” Trailer!

Am I actually interested in this?

It’s kind of hard to tell from this brief, beautiful teaser trailer, whether I am. The dogs are cute and fluffy, the story is cute and fluffy, the atmosphere and setting are cute and…well, you get the idea. It’s a very romantic movie, obviously, and it looks small-scale, intimate, and devastatingly adorable. But that’s not a combination that automatically appeals to me, so I’ll have to see where I net out on this one.

The music, provided by star Tessa Thompson’s real-life partner Janelle Monae, is quite lovely. The 1950’s setting overall is rather charming, it’s just not quite enough to make me thoroughly invested in a literal puppy-love story.

Tessa Thompson’s Lady, and Justin Theroux’ Tramp, are lovingly rendered in CGI, and look like perfectly natural animals up until the very last scene of the trailer, where Lady’s eyes look way too big, too human, almost. I can even get past that, though, because the dogs are, for the most part, pretty darn cute. Even Sam Elliott. Which is a very weird sentence to write.

So I guess we’ll see. It certainly doesn’t look bad by any means, just not exactly my cup of tea – or, plate of spaghetti. Lady And The Tramp arrives on Disney+ on launch date, November 12th. Do you plan on watching it? Would it convince you to purchase the Disney+ bundle, or does it look like just an added bonus? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Trailer Rating: 6/10