Welcome again dear readers!

We start this week with utterly amazing life changing world shattering news, the sort of thing that’s accompanied by screams of joy and more pyro than a Kiss gig. Am I exaggerating? Maybe…

First off, Pixar have confirmed they’re working on a sequel to The Incredibles. That’s right, the Parr family is coming back to screens. Now, they’ve also announced a third Cars film, but if that’s the price we have to pay, then I’ll gladly pay it. Now, while The Incredibles doesn’t need a sequel, that doesn’t mean I’m not absurdly excited to get one. Brad Bird has said numerous times he’d love to do another one, but it waiting for the right story. Could this mean they have found that?

The second piece of news? There’s going to be a Bananaman movie. Yes, Britain’s greatest superhero is getting his own movie! It’s still early days with the films website containing an orchestral version of the show theme (Which I’ve had stuck in my head ever since) and a hashtag, #peelthepower. I’m utterly incapable of being in any way objective or critical about this and I nearly screamed with joy when I first saw the news. The only sticking point for me is the cast, which hasn’t been announced yet. If it’s not the Goodies doing the voices,  then it’s not Bananaman.

It’s like I’m 7 years old again…

Now, a quick word to the creative teams of both films, since I’m sure they’re reading this. I ask, nay, I demand, DON’T SCREW THIS UP. Cause if you do, there will be nowhere on this or any other Earth you can hide. I’ll chase you ’round the moons of Nibia and ’round the Antares Maelstrom and ’round Perdition’s flames before I give you up…

*Ahem*

OK, that was a bit over the top. I’m actually only likely to write a snarky blog post or two, but I wanted to properly convey my feelings on this. Yes, it’s a silly cartoon, but it’s a big part of my childhood and I’ve had enough of those stomped on in recent years.

In further movies news, a fifth Pirates film hasn’t been confirmed, Ghostbusters 3 is still set to start next year and the script for the next Tintin film has been finished. George RR Martin has been having discussions about a  Game of Thrones movie, presumably as a wrap up of the series. The trend of turning 80s cartoons into movies has continued with the announcement of a Jem and the Holograms movie,  complete with one of the worst press release lines I’ve ever heard. If you can make it through the line  According to the producers, Jem is being reimagined “for a whole new generation with themes of being true to who you are in a multitasking, hyperlinked social media age” without wanting to smash your head against something, you’re better than I am. What is that even supposed to mean anyway? Role-players of a certain age will recognise Dark Dungeons, the infamous anti Dungeons and Dragons tract by Jack Chick. Well, a movie version is on the way and it has Chick’s approval. Do you think he realises they’ll be taking the piss?

It’ll soon be time to return to a galaxy far, far away, with shooting on Star Wars Episode 7 to begin in May. Little is known about the films, other than it’ll be set 30 years after Return of the Jedi and R2-D2 and C3PO will be returning. It’s expected that Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford are also returning, but how much screen time they’ll get is unknown.

 Yeah, I can’t argue with that.

Meanwhile, Baron Administrator of Cloud City and professional cape wearer Lando Calrissian, or as he’s otherwise known, Billy Dee Williams, has been on the American Dancing with the Stars and while I don’t think much of his dancing, he is 76 years old. There’s also an interesting rumour that casting is underway for a Star Wars live action series and possible a mini-series. I’m waiting till I see something official before I start getting worked up.

Turning to all things Marvel and DC, we have a collection of all the Avengers: Age of Ultron material from the promo special Assembling the Universe, which was mostly concept art, as I assume you can wait a couple of weeks and restrain yourself from watching the first 10 minutes of  Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which also went to air. I couldn’t…) Marvel boss Kevin Feige has said they could start releasing more movies per years, which increases the chance of them finally making a female led movie. Do you really want to lose that title to DC? Speaking of DC, some enterprising snoops have a series of photos from the shooting of Gotham, with good looks at James Gordon and Oswald Cobblepot, AKA the Penguin. A promotional picture of actor Donal Logue as Detective Harvey Bullock has also been released, with the show’s logo and synopsis also revealed recently.

It could be a case of out with the old and in with the old for X:Men: Days of Future Past, with word that Halle Berry might have been cut from the film, but another original mutant is getting a cameo. Berry’s part in the film was said to be small, but it seems the closer we get the longer the Deleted Scenes section on the DVD will be. Release dates have been announced for a collection of genre films, including Wolverine 2 (Which James Mangold will be directing after X:Men: Apocalypse, which we’ve heard will be set in the 1980’s), a mystery Marvel film and a sequel to the Fantastic Four reboot, the first film of which hasn’t started shooting yet. Said film might also be in some trouble if rumours are to be believed, which are that Fox wants a new script, director and cast. They’ve been hotly denied by the studio, but no smoke without fire eh?

The last person not to heat Hugh Jackman’s bath water hasn’t been seen since.

Leaving the big screen we turn out attention to the idiot box, with word that the fourth season of American Horror Story will be set in a carnival, the TV adaption of comic series Powers is moving to the Play Station on demand service and Patton Oswalt will be appearing in Agents of SHIELD, where he’ll be playing a former Howling Commando.

Another classic series monster may be returning to Doctor Who, the push to get the show an official Lego set has continued and Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy will be guest starring in Inspector Chronicles, joining, among others, Robert Picardo, Chase Masterson and Mayim Bialik. The web show is based on Inspector Spacetime, the Doctor Who parody from the show Community. Instead of a second season, the series is asking for donations to fund a feature film, to be titled (Deep breath here) The Inspector Chronicles: Untitled Motion Picture About A Space Traveler Who Can Also Travel Through Time. Bit of a mouthful that…

We have what is apparently the final trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which should mean there’s at least 10 seconds of the film that hasn’t been in a trailer at this point. We also have trailers for The Maze Runner, which if I was to be overly catty would say was a Hunger Games knock off, but with a twist – it stars a boy!, and new trailers for Malificent and the Godzilla reboot.

The world of Warhammer 40,000 is coming to mobile games, with a video game starring Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn and based on the novel Xenos, while Jane Badler (Best known for eating a rat in V) will be co-starring in Night Terrace, the audio series from the people behind the Doctor Who podcast Splendid Chaps.

Nobody expects the Imperial Inquisition!

We end this week with a very strange piece of news: an edited, family friendly version of The Walking Dead will be airing on a Fox Channel in the US. Going by stereotypical US conservatism, that should mean each episode is about 30 seconds long, including commercials. A family friendly Walking Dead, that’s like Danger Mouse without puns, or heavy metal music without Satan – it exists yes, but there’s not really much point to it is there?

Quote of the Week:

Ace: What’s down there?

Warmsly: Don’t ask me. I’ve only been excavating this site for ten years.

Doctor: With any luck, a tunnel.

Ace: A dark mysterious one?

Doctor: Probably.

Ace: Leading to unknown dangers?

Doctor: Indubitably.

Ace: Oh, wicked.

Doctor Who – Battlefield

Cheers,

Gavin