Disney: Bringing The Franchises We Love To Heel

Star Wars canon had become unbearably bloated. We need look no further than Jaxxon for a prime example of said bloat (even if he was a very early one!). 

I loved the Expanded Universe. But the Galaxy had become too full and too busy. There was little space left for a fresh perspective. At least in Star Wars you could go out of the original timeframe to create new epics like the Star Wars: Legacy comics. Still, Disney's decision to cut the fat and do away with anything outside the movies and Clone Wars will do for Star Wars what a reboot has done for Star Trek: create exciting new possibilities for stories (and money making opportunities for Disney too, I'm not forgetting that... everyone wins!). 

And now it would seem the same "refresher" is coming to the Marvel Universe. With Secret Wars Disney is "ending the Marvel Universe". Again, like with Star Wars, it doesn't appear to be a "reboot". Instead it looks like a re-jigging of overly complicated canon (in this case Marvel's thousands of different realities) into a shape that better pleases the investors (and hopefully new fans too). 

With today's major announcement that Marvel will get more oversight of Sony's Spider-Man franchise (and have it form a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) I think it likely the same clear-cut vision is focussing policy there too. Given Marvel's complex fictional universe and its almost as complex licensing agreements in real life, Disney is taking it slow but I think it is getting on with the job of cleaning house in order to allow fresh ideas to thrive. You have to prune the weeds after all before something new can grow. 

I've got two predictions: 

1) Fox will be under pressure to follow Sony's lead and bring the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That'd need to happen after X-Men: Apocalypse and the new Fantastic Four movie but as long as Fantastic Four's movie doesn't contradict anything in the MCU and once X-Men: Apocalypse closes off the second X-Men trilogy it could be easily achieved. 

2) The Marvel Universe will be brought ever closer in line with the MCU and I think there will be a new "Ultimate" like line of comics that exist within that universe. 

All this tidying up suits me fine. I look forward to the next set of adventures... 

So January 2015, What Goodies Have You Got For Me?

Project Almanac

This looks like it might be interesting. I HATE "found footage" movies generally (the last movie I saw in 2014 was unfortunately Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, you can never get that time back) but this one is about time travel (and the butterfly effect) which is something that generally gets me excited. The first review doesn't seem all that bad (for a found footage movie!). I'll definitely check this out as soon as possible.

12 Monkeys

Mmm... more time travel. Based on fact it is a Syfy series I'm unsure about whether it'll be any good or not but its at least a welcome addition to genre TV. I'm looking forward to trying this out.

Star Wars 

A new comics era begins as the now Disney owned Star Wars returns to the now Disney owned Marvel. Yes I was sad to see Dark Horse stop publishing Star Wars but I'm pleased to see a new, canon approved, comic with all-new adventures for our favourite rebels. Who knows where it might take us and what parts of the Galaxy we might get to see. Excited!! Out January 14th. 

Uncanny Avengers

Rick Remender is up there with Scott Snyder as one of my current favourite comic writers. Uncanny Avengers is getting relaunched in January and I can't wait to see what fun (for which see terribly traumatic moments) he has in store for us with this new team. Plus.. .Rogue. :) 

Exciting Geeky Stuff Ahead In 2015

2015 is shaping up to be an exciting year for my inner-geek (Jae Fact: I'm 75% inner-geek). Thought I'd take a look at what is upcoming.

Movies

Jupiter Ascending

The Matrix was THE sci-fi event of my teens. The Wachowskis are returning to original movie sci-fi and regardless of whether it turns out to be any good I have to applaud any attempt at a non-sequel, non-novel adaption, non-superhero take on the genre. The trailer makes it look rather epic.

Jurassic World 

How long have we waited for this? FOREVER. I cannot begin to express how eager I am to see this. I was an absolutely Jurassic Park FREAK when I was 10 and I will attempt to out FREAK 10 year old Jae this time too. Plus... Chris Pratt is HOT.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens 

I own the Star Wars Encyclopaedia. I own vehicle guides, novels, comics and I even give the prequel trilogy a get out of jail free card. I'm that sort of Star Wars fan. I am sooooooo excited to get a new Star Wars movie. :)

So Many Marvel Movies 

10 years ago could you imagine Marvel releasing so many movies of such high quality in such a short space of time? Now we are just spoilt for choice! From the Marvel Cinematic Universe we have Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man upcoming with Age of Ultron looking absolutely fantastic.

Fox is also treating us to a reboot of Fantastic Four, something it very much needed (Jae Fact: Jae once disrupted filming on Rise of the Silver Surfer when he insisted on sticking to his normal walk to work filming or no filming. They weren't amused). I hope it won't be disappointing.

Terminator Genisys

Terminator canon is becoming very tricky, and the number of actors playing certain roles is starting to get a bit silly BUT Arnold Schwarzenegger is back and Terminator remains a foundational franchise in my rise to geekhood. I'm interested to see if some of the coolness of the first two movies can be salvaged and restored.

London Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen (along with White House Down) was my "I shouldn't really like it but I do" breakout movie of 2013. So its sequel set in London is something I'll be keen to keep a close eye on. 

Television 

Westworld 

I'm just intrigued as to how they are going to evolve this story into a TV series. Second Michael Crichton property to pique my interest in 2015, his legacy lives on at least!

More Marvel TV 

Marvel is taking over the world. In 2015 Agent Carter and Daredevil join Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D in representing the MCU on the small screen. Daredevil is the first of the Netflix series which will hopefully expand the MCU in interesting ways. 

Parks and Recreation 

Parks and Recreation is coming to an end. Sad times. It is an acquired taste but it is one that I actually did acquire. Wonderful show, great performances and Chris Pratt. Mmm... 

Comics 

Marvel

A new era in Star Wars awaits us as Lucasfilm's new sister company, Marvel, takes over Star Wars comics from Dark Horse. 

With the Expanded Universe now a thing of the past, we'll have to see where Disney's more canon-friendly approach takes us. But my pull-list is going to be heaving!

In other news... Spider-Man 2099 returns to the 2099 universe... yet another look back to young Jae's favourite things.

DC

Hmm... DC's New 52 (something that re-ignited a long dormant love of comics in me) has turned sour and seems to lack direction (with the honourary exception of some comics like Snyder's Batman). I will keep an eye on DC's April 2015 "Convergence" event to see if the outcome of that brings some spirit back to the DC Universe. 

"My" Star Wars Is As Good As Dead... Perhaps Not The End Of The World

I've been a lifelong Star Wars fan. Whereas I came to Star Trek and Doctor Who in the early 90s, Star Wars was always a part of my life thanks to my fantastic, geeky Uncle. Now I'll admit I wasn't some super-knowledgeable fan. For much of my early life I was under the impression the movies were based on books and that the first three books hadn't been filmed hence why the odd numbering.

But I really got into Star Wars in a way many proper Star Wars fans would consider sacrilegious... At the age of 13/14 and thanks to the lead up to the Special Editions. Then again my favourite Star Wars movie is Return of the Jedi so I suppose there truly is no hope for me! I loved the Special Editions, I loved the Shadows of the Empire "event" (as a Nintendo boy the fact it was one of the first games released on N64 put it right on my radar) and then I fell in love with the Expanded Universe books.

The Truce At Bakura remains one of my favourite books of all time, not just in the Star Wars line. I loved the characters of the EU and dabbled with some of the Star Wars: Legacy comics too. I fell out of contact with the latest happenings somewhat, only picking up a book here or there, totally missing the Yuuzhan Vong (something I'm pretty glad of having picked up a few of those books since) but I did listen to the Force Cast loyally and loved the rich tapestry of the many, many stories told post-RotJ.

But, given the fact I was not overly enamoured with the Prequels (though not angry like some raging fanboys), the EU became "My" Star Wars. Yes the canon was sketchy (though they had a points based system to help you out!), but I loved Thrawn, Jade, the entire history of the New Republic and its battles with the Imperial Remnant.

Now, as we prepare for the next trilogy of movies, Disney has decided to clear things up. A committee is deciding the fate of entire worlds and civilisations (imaginary ones, I admit). Beloved characters and plots will be discarded. Entire empires will cease to exist. And the Expanded Universe will implode.

It is perhaps not a bad idea. The stories won't disappear. The Heir to the Empire trilogy won't be burnt in the streets. Chewbacca will still get crushed by a moon and reduce me into a blubbering wreak. And by finally clearing house a more stable canon can be formed encompassing all the movies plus any new books and comics that come out over the coming years. It'll help make it all more accessible to new fans and to returning fans.

In fact I can't help but agree with this piece that suggests they just do away with everything but the movies.

Yes "My" Star Wars must die in order that a new Star Wars may rise... I can't wait to see what next year brings and not just because of Episode VII. Marvel will begin publishing Star Wars comics and I'm excited! A whole new Expanded Universe to explore :)

Given What Disney Is Doing For Live-Action Marvel, Imagine The Possibilities With Star Wars...

When Disney purchased LucasFilm, I spoke of my lack of concern and expressed my long repressed love for Disney. My confidence in Disney's stewardship of much beloved fictional universes 

                                                  Reason For Loving Disney #2

This week Marvel, another recent Disney acquisition, announced that on top of several upcoming movies and the brand new Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D TV show they would be releasing, via Netflix, 4 more TV shows which would ultimately lead in to a mini-series named The Defenders. 

With some rather strong storylines playing out in the comic book world too (as Marvel reinvents its universe in the latest round of "Marvel NOW!" releases), Marvel is going from strength to strength.  

A lot of Star Wars fans are fearful of what may be coming and how carefully Disney will look after the franchise that means so much to them, I just need to point out the care and planning Marvel has been putting in to the creation of its "cinematic universe". Unlike Fox's handling of the X-Men franchise, Disney/Marvel has forged a consistent and high quality product that appeals to mass audiences whilst not causing the sort of fanboy tantrums (and I say that as someone who almost became homicidal when there was a brief consideration of rebooting Buffy) caused by things like... the Phantom Menace! 

Disney didn't buy Marvel or LucasFilm out of a love of Iron Man or Han Solo. They didn't do it because they felt some deep artistic need to tell stories in those various fictional universes owned by those companies. They did it to make money. But they have shown that in making very large sums of money they haven't forgotten to make a story that appeals to all the right people. 

Yes there are plenty of Disney flops and there are plenty of political reasons not to like Disney. But Marvel fans are now getting the sort of output that couldn't have been dreamed of before and I have a feeling that Star Wars fans are only a few years away from a similar tsunami (in a good way) of quality live-action stories that they have been praying for for years. 

Until they buy out the rights to Star Trek and replace Captain Picard with Mickey Mouse, Make Mine Disney!

Make Mine Marvel (Again)

DC got me back into comics. I was always a Marvel boy and had probably spent less than £50 on DC comics in 16 years of comic book buying up until 2011. And I'd drifted away from buying any comics in the few years before that. Then the New 52 happened. With the advent of Comixology and some great new continuity free jumping on points, I started buying DC comics at an unhealthy rate, which upsets me as it means I'd given the DC management exactly what they were after... a new reader who was free with his cash. I'm a sucker for every comic ploy there is (events, new #1s, reboots etc.)

Now I did also start to buy X-Men comics again but I kept my spending limited. After Marvel Now though (and with the soon to begin All-New Marvel Now, yes I'm a total sucker) Marvel is on its way back again.

DC's stuff grabbed me initially just because of the novelty factor. I'd never really read a Batman comic or a Superman comic. I mean, I had to give it a go. But gradually I've lost interest in a lot of titles I was enjoying. Whereas if an X-Men comic went through a bad stage, I'd stick with it because I simply love the characters and always want to give the writer another chance, I had no such loyalty to any of the DC lot. With the exception of Scott Snyder's Batman run (undoubtedly one of the best comics out there at the moment) many DC comics have suffered from poor writing and, recently, too many crossovers. The current Forever Evil stuff has completely passed me by, I'm just not that into it.

Meanwhile after Marvel Now, Marvel's stuff has just gone from strength to strength. I thought the X-Men were doing pretty excellently after the Schism storyline with both Wolverine and the X-Men and Uncanny X-Men Vol. 2 being great but after the start of All-New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men Vol. 3, they've just gotten even better! Sure I think the X-Men books could do with a cull (I'm pretty glad X-Men Legacy is coming to an end), but the quality of writing is just going getting better and better. And I've expanded outwards.... not just Uncanny X-Force (Vol. 1 was a tour-de-force that was very difficult to follow, but Vol. 2 is proving to be worthy of a place on anyone's pull list) and Cable and X-Force but also Young Avengers (up there with Batman in my opinion), Avengers Arena and Uncanny Avengers (I really dislike the Avengers, but all three of these titles are keeping me interested).

I'm still buying a couple more DC titles than I am Marvel but as I become ever more unforgiving with culling my pull list, I fear DC may slip back to the also ran category.

Marvel doesn't just feel like home to me, given the characters there have been ones I've grown up with, but it also feels fresh and powerful. So until DC cancel all their titles and relaunch their range in some transparent attempt to get fools like me to buy more comics, Make Mine Marvel!

Will X-Men: Days of Future Past Manage To Confuse The X-Men Movie Canon Even More?

So...

When X-Men: First Class came out, it seemed to be a complete reboot of the franchise. Surely it couldn't be anything else given the many conflicts it had with the original X-Men movie trilogy. At the time IGN made a fantastic Youtube video pointing out the problems...



Well now we've got the first footage from Days of Future Past, and I'm starting to wonder just how much more confusing things are going to get.



Of course this movie includes (well at least I hope it does!) time travelling mayhem which almost certainly means that on top of any "canon" confusion we have, we'll have a whole bunch of new confusion too.

But where does Storm fit in to all this? An adult in the first trilogy and a child in First Class, we have Halle Berry returning as grown up Storm. Is she from the future? Does it matter? It is obvious the writers are just going to write what ever works best, canon be damned. But for fanboys like me, and I'm not suggesting writers write for us fanboys alone!, if can be a little annoying.

Wolverine appears too... which furthers the already existing continuity problems.

We'll know more on Tuesday when the first full trailer will appear! Am I excited? HELL YES!!

I Don't Have A Bad Feeling About This: Disney Star Wars FTW

I suppose it is time for full disclosure. Before I became obsessed with science fiction in all its many forms, I was a Disney fan.

It all started when I was about 5 and my Auntie's boyfriend was collecting Ducktales characters from Kinder eggs (he was about 15, so don't judge him too harshly!). I absolutely adored looking at them as I passed them on the stairs. Around that time I also became profoundly jealous when I found my cousin, who had taken over my room in my Nan's house after my Mum and I moved out, had got the room decorated with a large wall painting of Dumbo! I perused my Jungle Book merchandise and began a collection of Disney paraphernalia which would last until we abandoned our home, yes literally abandoned in the middle of the night, when I was 10 and it (along with my beloved Ghostbuster's toys and Monster in my Pockets) was lost to me forever.

I loved the movies; the Rescuers, the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and I pined to visist Euro Disney. I never did get the chance.

So needless to say, I still have a soft spot for Disney even today. Even so when Disney purchased Marvel (which had almost seemlessly replaced Disney in my affections during our escape from Snodland to Folkestone) I was concerned. Was Disney going to totally mess up Marvel? I needn't have worried. Marvel goes from strength to strength, its new Marvel NOW! initiative is looking good and its Marvel movie universe is taking over the cinema.

So this week, when we got the surprise news that Disney was acquiring LucasFilm, I was happy rather than sad. The Star Wars universe has become sleeping giant, its full potential laying dormant. It need a new direction, a new leash of life. And I think Disney purchasing LucasFilm will provide it with the necessary kick up the bum to get it whirring back into action. Disney are going to want to see a return on their investment, and thus I think the next few years will be a new dawn for Star Wars even beyond the announcement of Episode VII.

Disney, Marvel and Star Wars. Together. Did all my Christmases just arrive at once? I think they did!!