I've done every Midnight Madness since The Phantom Menance (things were a lot cheaper when I could just ask mum to buy me a Darth Maul!) but nothing could have prepared me for Thursday night. My plan was to do Midnight Madness at Toys R Us in Warrington, pick up the first wave of the Black Series, then head to Disney Store the next morning to get Sphero's BB-8 then go home and relax. Yeah, that didn't happen!
I got to Toys R Us around 19:30 on Thursday. I figured I'd just be sat at home clock watching so I may as well be waiting there. With hindsight it's a good job I did! I was 5th in line when I arrived and it was a great group of guys. We passed the hours chatting about Star Wars and collecting and just generally having a laugh. They had Ray managing the line who I know and is a huge Star Wars fan so that was nice. Thinking back he did tell us that everything they had was going out, that probably should have set off some alarm bells but I was near the front and I'd never walked away from any of the previous midnight openings without being able to get everything I wanted so it didn't worry me.
The 501st arrived with a Stormtrooper and two Sandtroopers and we all posed from photos (sorry, my old iPhone doesn't have the best camera);
Guess I shouldn't have said I was here for the Black Series!
The lightsabers were a lot of fun!
A bit later a local news crew arrived to cover the opening and interviewed a few of us (I told a Sandtrooper to move along when he said he'd bought all the Kylo Rens, hopefully it sounded as funny out loud as it did in my head!)
By the time midnight arrived the line had grown to over 200 people! We'd even seen people drive into the car park, take one look at the line and turn around!
You can see how much the line grew in the last hour between these two pictures!
The veil of secrecy was still going strong right up till midnight. At previous events the manager has come out with a list of everything they had, shown us samples of some of the products and talked about any exclusives they had. This time there was none of that. We were even given raffle tickets for a raffle that they couldn't tell us the prizes to (it ended up being some awesome Lego sets with the top prize being the new Force Awakens Millennium Falcon).
At midnight they led us into the store and gave us our free posters and t-shirts, along with a Lego keyring (we didn't get the exclusive brick that was given out in America). Then we were led to the front of store display. Ray had told me they weren't expecting this in until the weekend so they were really glad it arrived in time for the event. The display looked amazing;
This is when the alarm bells started ringing. As they let in the first four people I scanned the shelves from where I was and couldn't even see the Black Series. One of the guys turned to me and said they only had 2 of each of Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren and Chewbacca and no Stormtroopers at all! Luckily for me not everyone in the first four was after the Black Series so I was able to grab the last Finn and a Chewie. I imagine the final Chewie went to someone in my group. No way anyone after the 6th or 7th person was getting anything from the Black Series.
I'll be honest, I was disappointed. Everyone in my group was, even the guys who were are the front of the line due to the lack of any Black Series Stormtroopers. Given previous events where everything had been plentiful we'd all expected to be able to get everything we wanted and with reports online countries that some people had found wave 2 we were all hoping that we might get lucky and score a Poe and Phasma. Not of us expected we wouldn't even be able to complete wave 1!
I can see now why they were only letting 4-5 people up at a time, previous events generally let 10-15 up at once but given the limited quantities of some products it would have been chaos. This way people had a chance to actually look at what they were getting and meant there was no pushing or shoving. It meant the line moved slowly but it was a better experience when you were at the display. I didn't spend much time looking at the rest of the range. I had what I came for so I moved on to help keep the line moving. But I did get a photo with their special Force Friday display;
At the checkout we were given one last gift - a mini Lego TIE Fighter. We all hung around until the raffle. Whilst waiting I decided to go back outside and see Ray and ended up spending a bit of time chatting with him and another great guy from Toys R Us.
We probably ended up leaving around 12:45. Whilst it was a little disappointing to not complete the first wave at Midnight Madness it was a great night. I got to spend a few hours talking Star Wars with a great bunch of fans who were as excited (and spoiler free) as me for the new film. I knew these figures would be everywhere in the next few days/weeks so I certainly wasn't going to let it ruin my night. After all, looking back on previous events, I remember some of what I bought but it's the social build up and camaraderie that I remember most and I'm sure this time won't be any different.
Toys R Us Midnight Madness Giveaways
This has to be my cheapest ever Midnight Madness!
Force Friday itself we was up an out by 6:30 (I think I had about 4 hours sleep). On the way to the Trafford Centre we called in at a 24 hour Asda just to check. The shelves had been completely raided. There was an Armour Series Poe and a few OT repacks and that was it. We got to Trafford about 7am and were first in line. We could even see them setting up behind the shutters!
Whilst we were waiting I got to talk to one of the staff who came out (I'm guessing on his break or finishing a night shift) and he confirmed that they did have the Sphero BB-8 and told me to go straight to the tills when they opened as they were behind the counter. By the time the store opened at 9am there was only about 5 of us waiting. A much calmer experience than the night before! When they opened we all went straight to the tills for BB-8, I guess everyone loves that little droid!!
We bought BB-8 along with Disney Store's Star Wars bag and my wife and I both received a free pin badge. BB-8 secured we decided to check out the rest of the store;
Sadly there was no Black Series to be had. In fact, apart from the basic line and Sphero's BB-8 everything they offered looked to be Disney Store exclusive. The Elite Series looked great but I can't afford to start a new line (though I may be tempted to pick up a Jedi Master Luke if they do one). Jane picked up a plush BB-8 and a BB-8 cup. It was all about the droid for us at Disney Store.
Disney Store's Force Friday Pin
Went a bit BB-8 crazy at the Disney Store
Since it was half nine I decided to wait for the rest of the Trafford Centre to open at ten rather than head straight into Manchester. I figured all the big stores there would have been hit at opening so another half hour wouldn't make any real difference.
Hamleys had plenty of Lego and some of the basic line but surprisingly no Black Series (they also had an awesome guy in a Jedi cloak getting kids to use the Force to raise the shutters when the store opened!) and John Lewis was even worse. Trafford Centre done we headed into Manchester.
The Entertainer had even less than Hamleys and no space on their shelves for anything else. Jane loved the Bop-It R2-D2 but didn't pick it up as we'd just bought BB-8 between us. The Disney Store was the same as the one in Trafford (they'd already sold out of Sphero's BB-8!) but Jane did manage to grab a Chewie hoodie in her size so it was worth the visit. I really wish they'd do that Resistance jacket in adult size!
We headed to Forbidden Planet and they had nothing but the Funko Pop figures! I knew the smaller independent comic/specialty stores could only order from Friday but I'll admit I thought Forbidden Planet would have been big enough to get some stock direct from Hasbro for Force Friday! Manchester's Toys R Us hadn't had a midnight opening so they still had a reasonable selection of the basic line (including the Mission Series 3-Pack with BB-8 that really tempted me) but any Black Series figures were long gone.
On the way home we called at Salford's Sainsburys (no Black Series) and then Argos. I never thought that Argos would be my Star Wars saviour! Kind of fitting since I got my first ever Star Wars figure from them way back in 1997 (a Jedi Luke that I still have!). We walked in and on the shelves sat Kylo Ren, Rey and 2 Finns. I left the Rey as she had a bad paint job (her eyebrow touched her eye) and grabbed Kylo Ren and even got a free poster with my purchase!
Free poster from Argos
I can't believe I got the Force Friday giveaways from 3 different stores!
We did a store check and saw that Argos had stock in both Birchwood and Warrington. We called at Birchwood first but they were out of stock when we arrived. We checked Asda whilst we were there but they were sold out to (but they at least had space for the Black Series on their shelves). Off to Argos Warrington they had the same figures as Salford. I grabbed Rey and headed for the checkout then got told I couldn't buy her as someone had reserved all four figures online. It was like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Since we were in Warrington we called at Tesco (nothing, they said they were expecting a new end display on Monday) before heading up to Toys R Us again (wow those shelves were bare!) and the nearby Asda which had been cleared out at midnight, no doubt by the people who drove away from Toys R Us after seeing the queue.
We decided to do one final stop at Argos in Leigh. The website said in stock but reservations were for collection the next day. In store was the same so they must have been getting their figures from another store. We called at another super market on the way home but by this point my heart wasn't in it anymore. We were both tired, our feet ached and it was gone four at this point. My wife did one last check of Argos stock and said a few local stores had one or two but I said no, they were probably just Finn anyway. Then should found that the Ashton-Under-Lyne store had five. It was an hour round trip but I was willing to gamble that they'd at least have a Rey so we reserved all five and set off one last time. I was so glad that we did! Not only did they have Rey but they had a Stormtrooper as well! After Midnight Madness I never thought I'd see one of those on Friday!
Argos saves the day!
We finally got home around 17:30, eleven hours after we'd set off that morning! But I'd managed to complete wave 1 of the Black Series and we'd got BB-8 (who's amazing!). Force Friday definitely didn't go the way I planned but I'm happy we the end result. It also proved that I have the best, most patient, wife in the world! To quote Darth Vader "This will be a day long remembered!"
The Black Series figures look fantastic together (even if I did have to "borrow" Luke's lightsaber to complete Finn);
And BB-8 is quite simply the best Star Wars toy EVER!!
I'll post my full Midnight Madness/Force Friday write up tomorrow but hunting down the Black Series figures today I came across this image that I hadn't seen anywhere before;
It's a 2-Pack of Poe Dameron and a Riot Control Stormtrooper that's due to be released in November exclusively at Argos in the UK. I'm guessing this will be a Target exclusive in the US as Argos have Target's remote controlled BB-8 as a UK exclusive.
Now I'm going to relax! It's been a long but enjoyable day!
In case my post last week didn't make it obvious - I'm ridiculously excited for Mondo's upcoming 1/6 scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line! I've never bought anything from Mondo before but I've been a Turtles fan nearly as long as I can remember. I was TMNT crazy as a kid but it was discovering the original Eastman and Laird comics in my teens that hooked me for life and I'm so glad it's that version of the Turtles that's serving as the primary inspiration for Mondo's line. I literally can't stop thinking about these awesome figures and the massive potential this line has!
If you're a TMNT fan like me there's so many reasons to be excited for this line;
1) They look like they stepped right off the comic book page. Seriously they look absolutely perfect. And as an added bonus they're based on Eastman and Laird's later work together. NECA's brilliant but short lived 6" line was based on their first appearance but it was around issue 4 before they really refined the look of the characters, so even if you have the NECA figures there'll be more than just a scale difference as both looks are unique.
2) The selection of accessories is fantastic. Whilst most companies would likely have been content to give the Turtles their signature weapons and call it a day but Mondo went back to the source material and added plenty of extras from Triceraton blasters to Mikey's Orphan Alien. And like Turtles themselves the extras look like they just stepped right from the comics. Just check out the pre-mutated Splinter that comes with Leo - posed perfectly like his comic book counterpart!
3) Mondo's planning for success. TMNT fans are used to their collector's lines not taking off. Both NECA's comic based line and Playmates' own Classics line never made it past the Turtles and 2 other characters. Neither of them even released Shredder despite plans for him to be in both lines before they were cancelled. At SDCC Mondo revealed they hope to include Shredder, a Foot Soldier and fan favourite Casey Jones in the second wave if the first wave sold well. Judging by how things went last week I'd say we've a good chance of Mondo going ahead with their plans! But before that though, Mondo will be releasing a 2-Pack of Mousers sometime after Raphael (maybe as a wave 1.5 to tide us over between the main waves?)
4) They're drawing influence from all sources. Whilst the main influence for the Turtles is the comics Mondo are also taking inspiration from the cartoons (the alternate heads with the colour masks) and Playmates original toylike (the varied skin tones) to create the ultimate versions of these characters. Which is good, at these prices you don't want a lot of variants!
5) The sky's the limit. Whilst the first figures are comic influence Mondo aren't limited to just Mirage comic characters and they're confirmed that characters like Bebop and Rocksteady are available to them even if they aren't planned at the moment, so this really could be the ultimate Ninja Turtles line!
I can't believe it's almost here! We still know so little about The Force Awakens but tomorrow night will see the merchandise officially released in stores.
The road to "Force Friday" has been a bit of a rocky one for Disney/Lucasfilm. I don't know who came up with the idea of trying to keep everything secret until today (the official unboxing begins on YouTube today) but I do feel it was the wrong call as they completely lost control of the reveal and fans were left unable to budget until the last minute - I sure know my buying plans changed when it was revealed that Sphero's BB-8 would be out this week!
Personally, my midnight madness plans are pretty limited. I'll be at Toys R Us, like I have been for every Midnight Madness since The Phantom Menace, but judging by the leaks I'll only be picking up the 5 Black Series figures. After that I'll be heading to Currys/PC World first thing on Friday to try and score a Sphero BB-8! Before the BB-8 reveal I was planning on picking up the new Ultimate Star Wars book (finally out in the UK this week) and some of the young reader "Journey to The Force Awakens" novels (for whatever hints and teases they could give towards the film) but with BB-8 coming I needed to re-consider how much I was spending!
Doesn't he look awesome?!
But what I'm really looking forward to is the camaraderie. What I remember most from previous midnight launches isn't what I bought, its spending time just hanging out with other Star Wars fans for a few hours, talking with excitement about what the future had in store. And now, here at the start of the final push towards Episode VII, that future has never been brighter.
Well that title is actually a little misleading as, whilst the regular edition is still on sale, the exclusive edition and the exclusive subscription are already sold out! In fact the subscription sold out in less than five minutes!
I've been looking forward to these since they were revealed at this year's SDCC so I literally spent an hour when I got in from work today hitting refresh on Mondo's site until they went on sale (and that's on top of the phone battery I completely drained checking throughout the day). I was fortunate enough to be one of the lucky 200 to snag the exclusive subscription so I don't have to work about the random sale times for Don, Mikey and Raph over the next 3 months.
This is my first purchase from Mondo and I couldn't be happier with the way they look. The sculpts look like they literally walked off the pages of the original Eastman and Laird comics. Ok, Raph could be a little less bright, but I get that they were going for the Playmates colour scheme from the original toys and that's kinda cool. The attention to detail on these looks amazing with accessories, like the pre-mutated Splinter and the exclusive Shredder's gauntlet, taken right out of those early comics.
I'll be honest, given the current state of 1/6 scale pricing, and Mondo's pricing of their limited edition posters/screen prints, I was worried I'd be priced out of this line but happily these came in at a relatively reasonable (for 1/6 scale) $149.99. The exclusive edition runs $10 more but one of the perks of the subscription is $10 off per figure making the exclusive the same price as the standard edition. The biggest shocker for me was the price of international postage - $63.60 to the UK. Given my recent Sideshow orders have all been around the $40 mark this seems a bit high. I'll definitely be interested to see what Sideshow sells the regular editions of these figures for in the future as cheaper postage and their Flexpay option (instead of Mondo's pay in full at time of order) may tempt me to go with Sideshow if the line continues past the four Turtles. That said, the $40 saving on the exclusive editions offsets half of the extra postage cost and the additional bonus of an exclusive Mondo print is likely worth well more than the other half and that's before any potential mark up Sideshow may add to the figure so it's not really as bad as it first appears. I just need to take it a figure at a time and try not to think about the total :o)
I really hope this line does continue past the four Turtles. I have never gone "all in" on a 1/6 scale line due to cost and space but if the final figures look as good as the images released so far and Mondo can keep up this level of quality and detail going forward then I may just be tempted to do it for this line. I'd love to see them tackle Shredder, Splinter, April and Casey next, maybe even a Triceraton! I'd even be up for Mondo's take on non-comic characters further down the line (Bebop and Rocksteady spring to mind but there's plenty more).
Right now I just happy that I was lucky enough to snag one of the subscriptions! Leo's scheduled to ship Q2 next year and I'm looking forward to it already!!
Ok, I'll be honest. I'm a massive comic geek but when it comes down to it, my heart belongs to Disney. Always has, always will. And, if I had to choose, I'd go to D23 over SDCC and I'm already costing up how much it would be to go in 2017 (plus, let's be honest, it's so much easier to get tickets for D23!)
For a Disney guy like me, D23 is like heaven. Plus they have Marvel and Star Wars now! What's not to love?! Whilst there have been some horror stories about the length of the lines it's definitely not put me off! I'm pretty sure all conventions this size have horror stories about the lines and all the incredible news that's come out of D23 is more than enough to outweigh a few hours in a queue!
Whilst the convention is still going on, most of the major panels have been done so here's some of my personal highlights so far!
The Disney Legends! Disney Animator Andreas Deja, Star Wars creator George Lucas, a surprise appearance by Captain Jack Sparrow himself, Johnny Depp, what a why to kick off the convention! And the music! Ashley Brown singing Disneyland's 60th anniversary song "Kiss Goodnight", Josh Stickland paying tribute to Legends who are no longer with us with "You'll Be in My Heart", Tony Award Winner James Monroe Iglehart celebrating new Disney Legend Danny Elfman with the "Oogie Boogie Song" and Ne-Yo paying tribute to Disney Legend Robin Williams with a new rendition of "Friend Like Me";
And yes, now we know that George Lucas based Jar Jar Binks on Disney's lovable Goofy! Makes this figure seem even more appropriate now, doesn't it? :)
Ok, this is a Disney convention so there's only one place to start - ANIMATION! Walt Disney Animation Studios has been on fire since Tangled, with a chain of hits in the form of Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen and Big Hero Six, and that looks set to continue over the next few years with their next set of films.
First up, Zootopia, from Directors Byron Howard (Tangled) and Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph), the buddy cop story of bunny cop Judy Hopps (Once Upon a Time's Ginnifer Goodwin) and con fox Nick Wolfe (Jason Bateman) who are thrown together to solve a missing mammals case. I tend to prefer Disney's fairy tale/musical films (I grew up during their 90s renaissance era) but I can't wait for this! I loved the first trailer and everything coming out of D23 just sounds incredible and the amount of research and care being put into this film is simply mind blowing with each animal acting uniquely, their physiology affecting how they interact with the world around them. That, and the clips sound hilarious and bunny burrows just sounds like the cutest place in the world! It doesn't sound like the film is a musical, but it will definitely have music in it as it was announced that Shakira will have a role in the film as Gazelle, who's song, "Try Anything", inspires Judy Hopps to follow her dreams to the big city.
Next up was a new film on the WDAS slate, Gigantic. Directed by Tangled's Nathan Greno, Gigantic will reunited Frozen's Oscar winning song writers Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez for their second Disney fairy tale. Set in Spain during the Age of Discovery, Disney's take on the classic Jack and the Beanstalk tale will see Jack teaming up with the 11 year old (and sixty foot tall) Inma to save the giants land from the Storm Giants. Whilst no release date was announced, guests were treated to an exclusive first look at Jack and Inma's first meeting, accompanied by an early preview of one of the film's sure to be classic songs.
And finally came my favourite - Moana!
From Ron Clements and John Musker, two of my favourite Disney writer/directors who brought us The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules and The Princess and the Frog, comes a new fairy tale set in the Pacific Ocean. The story of a young princess, Moana, and the Ocean demigod Maui (and Moana's piglet Pua and rooster Hei Hei - it wouldn't be a Disney movie without the cute sidekicks!). Of course, to play a God you need someone powerful, charismatic, handsome and, this being a Disney movie, someone who can sing. So who else could they turn to except Dwayne Johnson! Taking to the stage Johnson said he had one goal when he started acting - to be in a WDAS movie - he thanked the "brilliant filmmakers and storytellers" before leading the audience in a traditional Samoan call. Clips from the film showed Moana meeting the ocean for the first time and the film makers confirmed that the ocean would be a character in its own right in the movie. The whole thing sounds beautiful and very classically Disney. A song for the film was also performed at the panel and it was announced that Lin-Manuel Miranda would be doing the songs for the film;
Anyone who name drops Alan Menken as inspiration is good by me!!
So, yeah, Moana is definitely the one I'm looking forward to the most!
The Pixar slate, by comparison, wasn't as exciting. The new Inside Out short, Riley's First Date, was shown and sounds brilliant (something to look forward to on the Blu-Ray) but the upcoming theatrical line up doesn't inspire me the way Disney's does. I know I'm in the minority but I wasn't that bothered by Finding Nemo so Finding Dory doesn't really excite me. The Good Dinosaur and especially the newly announced Coco sound like they have lots of potential but don't grab me (yet) in the way Disney's films do. The big announcement was undoubtedly Toy Story 4 (along with posters at the expo for Cars 3 and The Incredibles 2 but it sounds like these weren't mentioned in the panel). I love the Toy Story films but I thought 3 gave the trilogy a pretty perfect ending. I'm not convinced (yet) that a fourth film is needed. I know that's totally hypocritical of me because at the same time I'm totally over the moon about Incredibles 2! Seriously, that was the best Pixar reveal for me even though it wasn't mentioned at the panel. Is it needed? No, the first film had a brilliant ending, but I can't wait to go on another adventure with the Parr family!
Honestly, I know I'll go and see them all, and I'll probably love most of them. They just don't grab me right now (with the exception of Incredibles 2, did I mention I'm really hyped about that one?!)
Of course, animation isn't all that Disney do. From all reports the queue for yesterday's Live Action panel was probably the biggest of the weekend (maybe even in D23's history) as fans lined up throughout the night to get a glimpse at the latest offerings from Disney, Marvel and Lucasfilm.
Marvel went first and wasted no time getting down to business with a preview of Doctor Strange including a video message from star Benedict Cumberbatch, who called Strange "an extraordinary character" who "brings in a whole new dimension -- multiple dimensions -- to the Marvel Universe". This was reportedly followed by a reel of concept art narrated by the film's director, Scott Derrickson, explaining the premise of the movie. From all reports Doctor Strange's costume was revealed in the concept art and is very faithful to his comic appearance
I love that Marvel are now at a stage where they feel comfortable giving characters like Strange a chance on the big screen. I remember thinking that Guardians of the Galaxy could be their first flop. After the massive, and deserved, success of that movie a friend asked me what I thought of the then upcoming Ant-Man and I said I had no idea but after Guardians I wouldn't be against it. The same is true here. I have no real knowledge of Doctor Strange and no expectations for the film, I just trust Marvel to deliver a good movie when it hits theatres next year.
Next up came the main event of the Marvel section. Captain America: Civil War.
Captain America himself, Chris Evans took to the stage along with Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Falcon) to share what sounds like an amazing preview for the film as lines are drawn between the heroes. "If we have no limitations, we're no better than the bad guys" says the man who's last attempt to keep the world safe resulted in Ultron and nearly doomed the world in Age of Ultron. Yeah, after the whole Hydra thing and the events of The Winter Soldier I think I'm with Cap on this one. The idea of super hero registration reminds me of Cap's line in that film; "This isn't freedom. This is fear." Whatever side you're on it seems like everything has been building to this and Phase 3 of the MCU is going to kick off with a bang next year!
After all the internet speculation there wasn't a Spider-Man reveal in the D23 footage but Marvel made up for it by giving fans their first look at Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther in action! If Spidey's appearance really is only a cameo I wonder if they'll try and keep it secret until the film hits? Unlikely, but with his own film not due for year after Civil War it's definitely a possibility.
Following Marvel Studios came Disney's own live action offerings. Disney promoted a wide variety of films during their part of the panel but for me these were the highlights;
The Jungle Book - Director Jon Favreau and the cast of Disney's latest live action remake took to the stage and shared some very early footage from the film, including Bill Murray (Baloo) singing of few bars of the classic "Bare Necessities". You know what? I think the queue for the panel would have been worth it to hear just those few bars. Just hearing that Jon Favreau worked with Disney's Alan Horn and Disney Legend Richard Sherman (who, along with his brother, wrote the music for the animated classic) to help find the right balance for the movie between Kipling's book and the iconic original movie, to make sure that they added to the legacy of The Jungle Book, tells you how important it was to them to get this movie right. Disney's live action retellings have been hit or miss but everything said about this movie just feels right. I can't wait to see more! The footage sounds incredible, a living jungle fully created in CGI. As Favreau said "He (Disney) loved technology. We tried to extend that legacy."Jungle Book is going to be one of the most technologically advanced movies ever made, but hopefully you won't notice that because, as Favreau noted, the best CG technology is the kind that you don't notice, that disappears into the film. I think this could be something very special.
Beauty and the Beast - Whilst it sounds like The Jungle Book stole the show at the panel, this is the one I'm most excited about. Like The Jungle Book, everything the cast and creative team are saying feels right. They're expanding and building on the original animated classic rather than completely re-writing it into something it was never meant to be (like Maleficent). They've assembled a fantastic cast (even if some choices will continue to make me a little nervous until I hear them sing) and Alan Menken and Tim Rice are writing new songs for the film. Like I said, the 90s Disney Renaissance is my ear, I grew up with these films and with this music. The first film is still arguably the best animated classic Disney have ever produced and I want nothing more than for this film to be as goods as the animated original. The clip of Luke Evans and Josh Gad singing "Gaston" is the footage I most want to leak from this panel. I know they can both sing and I can't wait to hear them together on this.
Of course it wouldn't be a D23 live action panel if Johnny Depp didn't take to the stage as Captain Jack Sparrow;
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - The first film remains the best in this franchise but, whilst they've never quite managed to re-capture that lightening in a bottle, it's always fun to go on an adventure with Captain Jack Sparrow. It sounds like plot details were thin on the ground but it was confirmed that Geoffrey Rush would be returning as fan favourite Captain Barbossa and so would Orlando Bloom as Will Turner. So now let the speculation begin - is this set during his 10 years as Captain of the Flying Dutchman (before his reunion with Elizabeth and their son in the post-credits scene of At World's End) or is it set after he's returned to the realm of the living, and, if so, where is the rest of his family?
And finally, we come to the section of the panel dedicated to that galaxy far, far away.
Cards on the table, I was expecting this to be my favourite part of the panel. I knew we weren't getting any new footage but after J.J. Abrams promised something "compelling" before proceeding to debut a dozen new photos and tantalising story/character details with Entertainment Weekly, I had lower expectations but I was still expecting something special. What we got struggled to meet my lowered expectations.
First up came confirmation that Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow will be directing 2019's Star Wars: Episode IX. I enjoyed Jurassic World so I'm happy with this choice (I'm more curious who will be writing the script. I know it was rumoured that Episode VIII's Rian Johnson would be doing a treatment for it), but I can't get excited for Episode IX when I've not even seen Episode VII yet!
The biggest Star Wars news of the day came from the first spin-off movie, Rogue One. After a brief introduction from director Gareth Edwards, the entire cast was revealed in the first cast photo;
Just from the photo you can tell the film will have a slightly darker tone than the Skywalker Saga movies. Taking place before the events of A New Hope the film will go "into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintain that essential Star Wars feel that fans have come to know."
As much as I love that first table read photo from The Force Awakens, this is a much cooler way to debut the cast! They look great, though I must admit I'm surprised at least one of them isn't an alien character. Overall an excellent way to start the ball rolling on the first non-Saga Star Wars movie!
Also interesting is the branding switch from Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Personally I preferred the Anthology branding but as long as the movie is awesome the branding doesn't really matter!
The actual Force Awakens part of the panel was sadly disappointing. J.J. Abrams took to the stage along with cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'O and Harrison Ford to reveal the exclusive D23 poster by Star Wars poster legend Drew Struzan;
Now, the poster looks amazing but, that's it? That was the "compelling" reveal? It's already been confirmed that it's not even the theatrical poster, it's a poster that was created to be given away at this panel. Maybe it uses elements from the theatrical poster (since I can't see them bringing Struzan out of retirement just to do a D23 give away) or maybe not. Essentially the reveal boils down to an event poster that shows Finn, at some point, has Luke's old lightsaber. Compared to everything else shown in the presentation it was a let down. The film closest to release showed the least. With Lupita Nyong'O on stage why not reveal Maz Kanata's finished look? With the Luke leak the other day why not get ahead of it and do an official reveal? (I actually felt really bad for Disney on that one and I'm trying my hardest to avoid it). I wasn't there, I can't speak for the atmosphere in the room or the energy levels of those on the panel, but based on the reveals it feels more like they showed up because they had to as part of the Disney family rather than because they wanted to promote the movie.
It's almost as if Disney felt the same because, rather than wait for the theme parks panel later in the day, they ended the live action panel with the incredible news that a Star Wars themed land would be coming to both Disneyland in California and Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida in the largest themed expansion ever done in any Disney park!
If you've never been before or if you simply want to go back, there's your reason!
And the theme park news didn't end there! In the theme park panel it was revealed that in the new Star Wars land you'll travel to an all new planet where one attraction will thrust you into the middle of an epic battle between the Resistance and the First Order, whilst another will see you take control of Han Solo's iconic Millennium Falcon as you take on your very own, customised, secret mission.
Whilst these new lands are likely a few years away, the interactive Star Wars Launch Bay will be debuting in both parks later this year to take guests into the world of The Force Awakens and next year will see the debut of the new seasonal event, Season on the Force, where Disneyland's Space Mountain will be transformed into an X-Wing battle as Hyperspace Mountain and Hollywood Studios will debut a new weekend fireworks spectacular to the classic Star Wars score. And if that's not enough, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues will be adding new destinations based on the worlds of The Force Awakens!
Star Wars Land isn't the only thing that's coming to Florida's Hollywood Studios either! Not only is Toy Story Midway Mania getting an expansion (which is good, if you don't manage to get a fast pass the queue can be well over an hour even in the "slower" months), Toy Story is getting an entire land where you can enter Andy's back yard and join Woody and the gang with new attractions like a Slinky roller coaster!
Hollywood Studios isn't the only Florida park getting new attractions. Animal Kingdom's popular Kilimanjaro Safaris will be adding a Sunset Safari as the park beings offering new night time adventures next spring! Next spring will also see the opening of Rivers if Light, a new night time spectacular. I saw construction going on for this when I was in the park earlier this year and can't wait to see what the finished performance is like!! Also coming to Animal Kingdom, work is still ongoing on Pandora - The World of Avatar due to open in 2017 (you can see some great photos of the models that were on display all over social media).
But that's still not enough! Both Disneyland and Epcot will also see the popular Soarin' attraction upgraded to the new Soarin' Around the World. Soarin' is probably my favourite attraction at Epcot so I really can't wait to take this new flight!
Ok, I know that's a lot of theme park news but I love Disney and I'm (hopefully!) going again next year so I'm just incredibly excited about all these amazing new attractions! Disney World is getting a whole lot bigger!
Ok, that's the "Big 3" panels done but there were plenty of other highlights!
The Muppets had a panel promoting their new ABC show and it continues to look absolutely brilliant! I think it'll be between this and Supergirl for my favourite new show this Fall. It's the Muppets we all know and love but it feels fresh and contemporary. I'm really looking forward to seeing where they go with it (but I'm totally calling it now - Piggy and Kermit will be back together, maybe not this season but they will definitely get back together in the future).
Once Upon a Time had a panel promoting the upcoming 5th season (I'm so happy UK Netflix has picked this series up, it's easily in my top 5 shows) and a special tease of the opening of next season;
And there were also two panels looking back on childhood favourites (and reminding me how old I am!) as A Goofy Movie celebrated it's 20th Anniversary and, my personal favourite Disney movie, Aladdin had a special panel looking at the making of the animated classic and celebrating it's upcoming Diamond Edition Blu-Ray release.
Finally, what's one of the best things about Disney? The music of course!! And especially for D23 Disney Theatrical put together a special concert event featuring some of their original Broadway stars singing songs from all of their hit Broadway productions from Beauty and the Beast to Aladdin. Here's James Monroe Iglehart, who won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Genie, performing Aladdin's "Friend Like Me";
Ok, I know that's twice I've put a video of "Friend Like Me" in this post but James owns this song! He totally needs to be the Genie in the upcoming live action prequel!
But what would a D23 event be without some teases at the future? At the end of the concert Josh Strickland (Tarzan) and Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins) performed a song from Disney's next Broadway production;
Yes, it was inevitable, Frozenis going to Broadway.
I have to say, out of everything I've seen, Disney on Broadway's The Originals concert is my favourite thing from D23 and I would quite happily have missed the Live Action panel just to see both performances of this! There's several more videos on YouTube but sadly not the full concert (yet!).
Just from those few panels it looks like D23 is an amazing experience for any Disney fan and that's without even considering the show floor (which looks totally amazing!). I definitely have to stat saving up to go in 2017!!
What a roller coaster it's been! First Entertainment Weekly confirmed that not only would J.J. Abrams not be debuting a new trailer at Disney's D23 Expo this weekend but there'd be no new clips or behind the scenes footage either. The no trailer thing matches his Comic Con promise of the new trailer coming in the fall, but I can't deny that I (like many other fans) was hoping to see something a little early at Disney's biannual event. The real surprise is that there won't be any behind the scenes footage either, but he did promise something "compelling" for those who are attending Saturday's panel. The poster maybe? First looks at some of the new supporting characters? Maybe our first look at Luke Skywalker? Ok, that last one seems unlikely, as much as I want to see the elusive Jedi I've pretty much accepted that the first time we'll see him will be in the film itself. And if Disney can truly pull that off without any images leaking it'll be an achievement worthy of a Jedi Master and they'll deserve a lot of respect for it.
Thankfully, Entertainment Weekly didn't stop there. Yesterday they posted a dozen new images (like the one at the top of this post) and followed up with interviews with J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and Lawrence Kasdan that revealed a whole host of tantalising details about Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Mild spoiler warnings apply to most of the articles, especially the Kylo Ren piece. The photos are pretty much safe and the Han Solo piece definitely is. To give fair warning I'll be talking about most of the details revealed below so if you want to go into the film completely blind then stop reading now. That said, there will be no spoilers beyond anything that's been officially revealed, only speculation.
After reading those articles there's certainly lots to think about. So let's start where J.J. Abrams started. With Luke Skywalker.
Luke Skywalker (?) and R2-D2, Photo by Lucasfilm
Whilst Han Solo has been front on centre since the second teaser was released at Celebration and we got our first real look at Leia in Comic Con's behind the scenes video, Luke Skywalker remains shrouded in mystery. All that we've seen of him is a brief glimpse of a hooded figure in that second teaser. And that's assuming everyone's guess is right and that figure is Luke! It's interesting then that the question "Who is Luke Skywalker?" is the one ultimately convinced J.J. Abrams he needed to make this movie.
There's an interesting line in the article - "what if there was more to that Tatooine farmboy? Or... what if there was less?" - that made me think. It's, roughly, 30 years after Return of the Jedi, what would you have expected Luke to do in that time? Maybe it's because I've read a lot of the old Expanded Universe (now Legends) but I would have thought that in that time Luke would have followed Yoda's instruction to pass on what he had learned and found a New Jedi Order. Based on what we know so far that didn't happen. Luke hasn't yet restored the Jedi Order. Thirty years after the Battle of Endor the Rebellion isn't a New Republic, it's a Resistance. And Luke? Our only image of him is alone with only his faithful droid by his side. In those circumstances, has Luke become less than what we expected him to after Return of the Jedi? Is then Luke's story in this trilogy a different form of redemption story? Redemption not from his own dark side but from his inaction allowing darkness to rise and spread in the galaxy? An arc that will see him leave his apparent isolation to finally fulfil Yoda's instruction, passing on what he has learned and bringing back the Jedi. It would certainly be a compelling story arc and one worthy of Luke Skywalker.
The article seems to support at least some of these assumptions as Kathleen Kennedy is quoted as saying "we can't explore in quite as much detail issues of compassion, the way [Lucas] did in terms of the values of the Jedi. But we're going to get there, let's put it that way. In the arc of all three movies, that will increase." There's a few ways you can read this but it does hint that the Jedi aren't a big part of The Force Awakens, but that will change over the course of the trilogy.
Whilst the articles don't go into any real detail about the political landscape of the galaxy (I'd expect the details for that to be laid in next month's Shattered Empire comics and Aftermath novel) they do give us more insight into the masked face of the First Order - Kylo Ren.
Kylo Ren and First Order Stormtroopers, Photo by Lucasfilm/Entertainment Weekly
His unique lightsaber, as many have speculated, is something he constructed himself and is, according to Abrams "as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character." The choice of the word ragged seems to imply a lack of knowledge. After all, all Jedi made their own lightsabers and none had the distinctive blaze of Ren's blade. Even Luke successfully constructed a stable blade after what amounted to probably only a few months of intensive training.
Whilst his lightsaber may be home made, there's history behind his Vader inspired look and mask. According to J.J. Abrams the origins of his already iconic mask will be explained in the film but Ren "is well aware of what's come before, and that's very much a part of the story."
The real revelation however, is that Kylo Ren is not his birth name. Like Darth Vader, it is a title bestowed upon him when he joined the Knights of Ren.
I'll admit, at first I felt that was a revelation that should probably have been left for the film, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised what a tease it was. It tells us very little but opens up so many more questions. Who are the Knights of Ren? Where do the fit into the galactic landscape? Are they a part of the First Order or a sect with their own agenda? Is Kylo Ren doing their bidding working with the First Order or is he something of a renegade? Where does Andy Serkis' Supreme Leader Snoke fit in? I had assumed he was the ruler of the First Order but is he actually the leader of the Knights of Ren? Or both? And most teasingly of all, if Kylo Ren isn't his birth name, does that mean that his real name may reveal a relation to one or more characters we knew before?
Also interesting is that Abrams revealed the character isn't as fully formed as Vader when we first meet him in the film and goes on to say that "there are two sides to the Force. Both sides, arguably, would see themselves as the hero of their story, and I think that applies here." This actually links very nicely with Kathleen Kennedy's comments in the Luke article that "We're looking, obviously, for aspiration, for characters who are conflicted between good and evil, dark and light ... George spoke often about that tension in everybody between what's good and bad. He always felt that it was easier to be bad than good, I'm not sure all people would agree, but I think that that's always an interesting conflict to explore."
It certainly sounds like Kylo Ren will have a depth and emotional complexity to his character. If he sees himself as a hero could he be convinced he's fighting for the wrong side? Star Wars has always been a story of redemption so it's certainly possible, even if unlikely.
In addition to Kylo Ren, Abrams let EW into some of the secrets behind the names of our new heroes and villains. Perhaps most telling was the confirmation that it's "completely intentional" that both Rey and Finn's last names are a secret. It certainly adds more fuel to the speculation that at least one of them is related to one or more of the legacy heroes. That makes 3 characters who could, potentially, be related to legacy characters from the Original Trilogy. Let the speculation begin I guess!
And finally, J.J. Abrams has confirmed he won't be back to direct Episode IX. I guess it was to be expected but with The Force Awakens looking so good I was hoping he could be tempted back to conclude the journey. What is interesting (but also expected) is that J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan did map out the broad strokes of the entire Sequel Trilogy whilst planning The Force Awakens but it was only the very broad strokes so Rian Johnson still had pretty much total freedom when writing Episode VII.
With the D23 Expo this weekend expect more Star Wars news very soon! If this much information has been released ahead of the panel I can't wait to see what "compelling" surprises they have in store!
Wow, was comic con really the last time I posted anything on this blog? That weekend was a blur and I wasn't even there!
Today I want to write a bit about a film very near to my heart; Disney's Aladdin. Or, more specifically, the recently announced Genies movie.
Aladdin was, literally, my favourite movie growing up. I had the action figures, the plastic sword, I watched the TV series religiously every weekend. I still remember pretty vividly seeing the movie for the first time just before Christmas. Which is why I've got decidedly mixed feelings about Genies.
In the article it says that "long-term plan is to have the project lead into an Aladdin live-action movie." That just feels backwards to me. I get that Genie is the most popular character and if Robin Williams was still with us then this project would be a no-brainer. But right now it feels like a star vehicle without a star. Surely it would make more sense to do Aladdin first then, if the Genie is popular in that, do the prequel?
I'm nervous because the last time they did a live action adaptation as a star vehicle we got Maleficent, which was an ok fantasy movie but a terrible Sleeping Beauty movie and the title character was an insult to her animated original. I mean, I get that they wanted to make her more relatable as the protagonist but to actually make her the hero? Terrible idea! It's like they wanted to do Wicked but weren't clever enough to work with the original story so had to re-write it completely instead. That said, Cinderella stayed truer to the original and was much stronger for it and Beauty and the Beast looks to be doing the same so maybe I shouldn't let this be a concern. Plus, this is a prequel, it's not they're going to re-write Aladdin with this movie. But if Genies flops then Aladdin, which I would love to see, might not happen. And if it hits big then there's always the risk that they might make Aladdin into Genies 2 in all but name, to the detriment of the other characters.
But those concerns aside I'm over the moon because, done right, this means that Aladdin will ultimately be getting 2 live action movies! And, I'll be honest, that outweighs any concerns I have!
As for who should play the Genie... I have only one name in mind. He's a man who's brought the Genie to life on stage every night for over a year and won a Tony Award for doing it. A man who manages to both honour what Robin Williams created but not imitate, instead he has made the role his own and that's essential for this to work. James Monroe Iglehart.
Isn't he just awesome! As for Aladdin I think Disney is waiting to see how Beauty and the Beast does just as much, if not more, than Genies. Aladdin is Disney's latest Broadway smash that they're currently exporting all around the world. It will be the first Disney Theatrical show to transfer to London from Broadway since The Lion King. If Beauty and the Beast does well then you can almost guarantee that Aladdin will be a musical. Will it be the Broadway show? Probably not, Beauty and the Beast is getting new songs instead of the Broadway numbers, but it would almost certainly include some of the Howard Ashman material that the show restored. I really hope they go the musical route, but Aladdin could work just as well as an action/adventure comedy (and I'd love them to work Babkak, Omar and Kassim into it, even without the songs). Done right I honestly feel that Aladdin could be the best of Disney's live action adaptations. It has action and adventure, it has romance and comedy, fantastic villains, and plenty of heart. So here's wishing that Genies does well enough to get us there!
Superman: Lois and Clark #1 by Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks
Yes, yes, YES!! Thank you DC!!!
The best Superman announcement from DC Comics today came not from the Man of Steel's own panel but from IGN who revealed that in October DC will be publishing three spin offs from Convergence. On October 14th Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks, the team behind Convergence: Superman, will launch Superman: Lois and Clark #1!
"Following the epic events of CONVERGENCE, here are the adventures of the last son and daughter of Krypton and Earth as they try to survive in a world not their own. But can they keep this world from suffering the same fate as their own? Can this Superman stop the villains he once fought before they are created on this world? What is Intergang, and why does Lois's discovery of it place everyone she loves in jeopardy? And what will happen when their nine-year-old son learns the true identity of his parents?"
At the end of Convergence pre-Flashpoint Superman (along with Lois and their new born son, Jonathan) teamed up with Zero Hour Hal Jordan and Pre-Crisis Flash and Supergirl on a mission to save stop the multiverse from being destroyed in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. We never see what happens, we are only told they succeed. Personally I assumed they just returned to their rightful time/world and picked up where they left off but that clearly wasn't what happens. Instead it seems they found a new, younger, world to call home.
I am so over the moon to hear about this series! As much as I enjoy the New 52/DC You Superman, the post-Crisis/pre-Flashpoint version of Superman is my Superman. He's the one I grew up on and whose adventures I followed for year. His death and return, his marriage, his time as a being of pure energy, Superman Red/Superman Blue, Superman Forever. This is my Superman.
Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks did an incredible job on the Convergence: Superman series (personally I preferred it to the main series) and Dan is a Superman legend so I couldn't be happier to see them continue Superman's adventures in this new series.
There weren't many panels that caught my eye on yesterday's schedule but today is a totally different story! There's about 20 panels I can't wait to hear all about later today ranging from comics to TV to film. Here's my top 5;
Rey, Finn and BB-8 in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Lucasfilm
There's no doubt this is number 1! Even if there isn't a trailer there's still plenty they could reveal at this panel. Personally I'm praying for a first look at Luke and Leia in The Force Awakens! Plus you just know there's going to be some teases about the upcoming Anthology films Rogue One and Han Solo. Whatever they do show is going to have to be big to beat the Han Solo announcement they made on Wednesday so I'm confident Lucasfilm must have something pretty special up their sleeve for this one!
Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I love this show! This panel should give a look at what's coming up in the rest of season 3 and some teases at what to expect in season 4. With the Kraang already defeated and talk of Shredder maybe being defeated this season as well, I intrigued as to where they plan to take the show next season so this panel is definitely one to look forward to!
Superman by John Romita Jr.
DC Comics Superman Panel The Superman comics are probably the best they've been since the New 52 re-launch right now. We know from the solicitations that the current Truth arc ends in September so I'm looking forward to hearing what's coming next direct from the creative teams. I'm actually hoping that the secret stays revealed, at least for a while, as it offers so much story potential. Yang's first issue had a strong Daily Planet focus so I'm hoping that will continue when (if) the status quo is restored and I'd love Pak to really explore Kentville and the Superman living openly amongst the people.
Disney Animators Something a bit different for SDCC. I'm a huge Disney fan so I'm really hoping I can find some reports from this panel online. Their current 3D films look great but I still feel there's just something magical about some of their classic 2D movies and this is a chance to hear from the people behind the magic.
DC Entertainment from Page to Screen With Arkham Knight less than a month currently keeping gamers glued to their screens around the world, new seasons and new series coming to TV later this year and the DC Extended Universe set to take over cinemas next year there will definitely be plenty to talk about at this panel! I'm not expecting to hear much about the movies (that'll come tomorrow) but there's plenty of TV shows to talk about and maybe I'm really hoping for a Superman/Justice League video game announcement after those screen shots appeared online recently!
Charlie Cox as Daredevil in Daredevil
Honourable Mentions - Marvel TV Presents From the description this sounds like it will be focused on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter. I enjoyed both but I'm really hoping for some Netflix news. Daredevil was a breath of fresh air earlier this year, taking the MCU to a much darker place with a rich and powerful narrative. I'm more of a DC comic reader so I don't know much about the other Defenders but I'm eager to find out based on the excellence of Daredevil. With Elektra and Punisher both cast and filming underway I'm hoping for more news on Daredevil season 2 as well!
