In the past few weeks, Marvel has been actively marketing Captain America: Brave New World—understandably, as the movie opens next week. (Already!) I thought these two featurettes below were worth linking to. (Note that a spoiler warning is in effect!)
We get a few more glimpses of President Ross’s Red Hulk, more walk talk—in fact, SO much war talk—and perhaps a few second’s worth more of Sam Wilson.
More tantalizingly, however, a fleeting hint that appears at the very end of the older of these clips (the one saying Get Tickets Now—cue to the 1:20 mark) seems to be saying that Joaquin Torres from the MCU series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (played by Danny Ramirez) will get his own wingsuit. And, indeed, the IMDB cast listing confirms it: he’ll become the next Falcon. That should be interesting, since we’ve only ever seen Sam’s take on how to make use of the wings.
BNW releases on February 14, 2025 in the U.S.
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Now there are news of a Christopher Nolan adaptation. Nolan is to write, produce, and direct a “mythic action epic”, with backing from Universal Pictures.
Unlike the ill-fated Lionsgate project, this time more than one actor were reportedly already attached by the time the adaptation was announced. (At this writing: Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, and Lupita N’yongo—gosh!) On the basis of the big-name initial cast, it sounds likely that this time there will actually be a movie.
Also, judging by the current publicity poster, there will be some ship action (maybe even ship-vs-monster action!) and in IMAX, no less. Writing in Nolan’s movies is either a hit or miss for me, but at least there’s usually been something interesting to see, so the sailing scenes might look truly magnificent. On the other hand, action sequence special effects in recent block busters have sometimes been—shall we kindly say—too implausible (and sometimes just badly made) for my enjoyment. I’m hoping that the effects teams, Nolan, other producers, and the studio can strike a sensible balance.
At this writing, the release day is set to July 17, 2026.
Sounds like the plot will be grimmer than the teaser intimated. There are a few funny moments, too, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe prefers, for instance when Sam lands with a *whump* in the middle of a handful of soldiers guarding a mansion, quips “Wait for it”, and just pauses while the concussive blast from his landing knocks the soldiers back.
Liv Tyler makes a comeback as Betty Ross according to IMBD, even if we haven’t seen her yet—yay! In the cast listing there is also a whole bunch of new-to-me characters with superhero names, like Sidewinder (played by Giancarlo Esposito), Rachel Leighton / Diamondback (Rosa Salazar), Samuel Sterns / The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), and Ruth Bat-Seraph / Sabra (Shira Haas). Looking forward to finding out more about them.
On one hand, topic-wise this would not be my nr. 1 pick for entertainment while two wars are being fought in Europe: the teaser mentioned shifting global power, and now this official trailer straight-up talks about coordinated terrorist attacks and President Ross being a wartime president. Brr.
They are also clearly trying to imply something by the repetitive division of the screen into two halves during the trailer. It could be just a way to stuff more material in, of course, but I suspect something more nefarious is intended, especially with the line about the President’s inner circle being compromised, the scratching “Reset Ross Reset America” on the wall, hints of brainwashing or other kinds of manipulation, etc.
On the other hand, the MCU movies really aren’t that deep or complex even when they pretend to be. I’m sure they’ll serve a nicely enough wrapped-up solution, if not in this movie, then in a future installment. A simple, black-and-white action romp may be just the thing to while away a couple of hours.
Just one little snarky hint to President Ross, though: if you don’t want a variable out there that you can’t control, do not be a president. A soldier should know that.
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Based on director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies, the spin-off series Dune: Prophecy premieres in a few days on HBO (also to stream on Max). Here is the official trailer:
Dune: Prophecy | Official Teaser – Influence | Max by Max on YouTube
Dune: Prophecy | Official Teaser 2 – Control | Max by Max on YouTube
Ok, wow. Not sure how to unpack it all.
I read the original Dune trilogy at an impressionable age, so I have fond memories of the world, even if I wasn’t then able to grasp all the bleaker implications. I’m also in general of the opinion that published stories including—if not especially—the SFFnal ones need more women who are active in their own right.
On one hand, D:P is specifically a creation story for Bene Gesserit, i.e., it should be full of active women. As Bene Gesserit can use their training for impressive physical feats as well as truthsaying, it should also have potential for women being awesome, which is always, well, awesome. 🙂
On the other hand, while I find their training conceptually intriguing, the major goal of Bene Gesserit is a breeding program. Women used as broodmares turns me off (as does considering men little else than sperm donors or cannon fodder), and the fact that the perps here are women makes it only very slightly better.
Furthermore, these clips have numerous unsavory-to-me details: e.g. the imperative “Sisterhood above all” sounds incredibly obnoxious, dancing around a fire pseudo-mystic claptrap, screaming with messy hair and scribbling edgy art projects in black borders on unhinged. (Then again, trailers always lie, so who knows.) Nor do I care for brutalist concrete architecture, nor an arid planet after a desolate one—there just doesn’t seem to be enough variety in this supposedly interstellar empire’s culture or environments.
The main foil seems to be this scruffy dude. He generates no interest at all in me, just a fleeting bafflement of how can someone apparently lacking merit of any kind have the gall to appear before the emperor looking so scruffy. (Harrison Ford’s Han Solo at least had the charisma and skills, even if he supposedly was scruffy-looking. He was well cast; the young Solo wasn’t. On the basis of these clips, this dude isn’t either.) What is this great power he’s supposedly gifted with, anyway? Being able to bore others to death?
Olivia Williams and Emily Watson (playing the founding sisters of Bene Gesserit, Tula and Valya Harkonnen, respectively) plus Mark Strong (as the emperor) are the only actors I remember seeing elsewhere. In addition, I have previously seen the work of only one of the named series writers.
Also, while in general I want my entertainment to involve brainy plots, at the moment I’m not too keen on stories about power acquisition, political intrigues, or backstabbing.
All of the above put together (plus my lukewarmness towards Villeneuve’s adaptation) means I will nope out of D:P. I really would’ve wanted to like the movies more, and consequently this series, especially since it tells us more about Bene Gesserit.
Anyone here planning to see D:P?
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Looks at least borderline interesting; even if 18th-century England or outlaws aren’t really my cup of tea, stories of women with unusual lives can be intriguing. Here there is also a hint of magic in the shape of a spirit called Billy (Billy? really, though?!?) that seems to grant Nell her extraordinary powers.
Other than the trailer, so far I’ve only the Frock Flicks post on the series to judge by. Have you seen Renegade Nell? What did you think—is it worth seeing?
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(I guess the asterisk is a thing? At least it is appended to the name not just on YouTube but also in IMDB.)
First thought: huh? I had thought a version of the Fantastic Four was coming next. I must’ve gotten my notes mixed up, or missed an update somewhere. Second thought: Thunderbolts? Huh? This says absolutely nothing to me. At least I can recognize most of the MCU characters in the trailer: from Black Widow, there’s Yelena Belova (faux-sister to Natasha Romanoff), the Red Guardian, and the Taskmaster (Dreykov’s daughter Antonia), then Ava / Ghost (from Ant-Man and the Wasp) plus Bucky Barnes.
I kinda love how at the 1:05 mark when the building explodes, Yelena just matter-of-factly turns and starts walking calmly away, almost a bored look on her face. Or maybe it’s a here-we-go-again face? Anyway. Also, that Bucky had his metal arm in the dishwasher.
It’s hard to grasp what’s supposed to go on other than these bad guys who are not necessarily bad guys entirely through faults of their own perhaps now trying to be good-ish guys are being hunted by even more bad guys? Maybe?
I don’t care for the character Valentina Allegra de Fontaine—the corporate suit lady towards the end (earlier seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)—so I’m miffed we’ll see more of her. Meh.
Otherwise, this trailer has a little of the same feel I get from the early MCU ensemble stories. If we’re really lucky, the movie might capture some of the same magic.
At this writing, Thunderbolts* is set to release on May 02, 2025.
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(Note: There’s no captioning, and it’s only in Finnish, but mostly the trailer is non-verbal. In the beginning, the text reads Experience the world’s best-known adventure. At the end, while raising his staff Gandal says You cannot pass!)
Tampere Theatre, Tampere Hall, and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, have worked for four years to create the adaptation. I haven’t heard the reason why the play runs only about two months (Aug 22 to Sept 21, 2024 and Dec 18, 2024 to Jan 11, 2025); you’d think a slightly longer run might be warranted for such a large production. I do know it’s staged at Tampere Hall instead of Tampere Theatre’s own, beautiful historical building because the latter is under renovations. I also know that the production team had to make their own Finnish translation from scratch and that no songs were allowed due to limitations posed by The Tolkien Estate.
The sets and props look fantastic, as does the lighting and video projections. I’m not sure I agree with the Elven costuming, though; their profiles look a little too much like the female Hobbit / villager Hobbit profiles. Otherwise the wardrobe looks fabulous. You can’t tell about the soundscape on the basis of the trailer alone, but I have high hopes. I hope the Hall also works for the adaptation as a performance space.
We can’t wait to see it!
Out There highlights intriguing art, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.
I have to say that I’m not wowed. It’s very pretty to look at, beautifully cinematic, even breathtaking at times. However, it really doesn’t seem to be a movie for me.
We’re not in the 80s or 90s anymore, when just about any SFFnal movie was sure to get my eyeballs simply by existing. Then, for a while during and after the aughts, handsome effects and CGI often got me to see a movie I wouldn’t necessarily have seen at the theater otherwise. Now we have reached a saturation point. For a good long while I have just not been able to be bothered about seeing a new release at the theater unless there’s something special about it, or a movie hits a very particular interest of mine.
(I will certainly not take the trouble, if trailers merely make a movie look like a whole bunch of men doing man-things and relegates women to the sidelines. It’s one thing to place your story in a society where minorities aren’t formally given recognition by the society, but there’s a huge difference between writing or filming those minorities in a dismissive way and a respectful way. I found Oppenheimer, for example, a wonderful example of the latter.)
Even reading that Megalopolis is loosely based on Roman history (the Catilinarian Conspiracy in 63 BCE involving an aristocrat attempting to overthrow the Republic) didn’t make it more interesting to me. Granted, the time stop gimmick is slightly interesting, but I confess that it, too, lost its appeal by the end of the trailer.
It is a shame I won’t see more of Nathalie Emmanuel, whose work in the Fast & Furious franchise and in Game of Thrones I’ve liked. Perhaps I’ll find Megalopolis in the library, if it’s ever imported to Finland. At this writing it doesn’t look like it, but we’ll see.
Megalopolis opens on September 27, 2024.
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Last month we saw an exhibit of fantasy art by John Howe in Tampere-talo, Tampere, Finland. Titled The Art of John Howe: Journeys through the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, the exhibit is the first time that Howe’s work has been comprehensively displayed in Finland.
Over 250 original works were presented, from pencil drafts to finished color paintings and sculpture, along with sketchbooks and even some metal armor belonging to Howe. Some images were also enlarged into murals or banners, and a number of video screens scattered around the exhibit looped captioned interviews.
Apart from various illustrations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, on display were for example works on mythical topics or sagas, like Beowulf and Arthurian legends. Also various architectural or creature studies were included.
The exhibit space was partitioned into irregular areas. Walls framed your route in interesting ways, and the murals created striking views. In one corner there was even a video with flying dragons projected up on the wall high above the framed artworks so that the dragons were visible from a distance. The art pieces had enough room, and no area was too small—clearly accessibility was planned in.
There was no predetermined loop, merely a path suggested by the layout, which made it easy to pick your preferred viewing order and to avoid the occasional crowd. It was also easy to double back without first having to finish the whole route.
Color and lighting were used in a fascinating way. Most spot lights were warm orangey-brown or in the blue-purple range. Otherwise the hall was surprisingly dark, but not unsafely so. It was very interesting from a mood point of view.
Visitors were encouraged to take photos. Unfortunately, the ceiling lights reflected on the glass, which made photographing individual framed artworks difficult.
It was great seeing the complexity, detail, and vividness of Howe’s art in person, not to mention the variety of his work. We were absolutely delighted to be able to visit!
Images by Eppu Jensen
In Making Stuff we share fun arts and crafts done by us and our fellow geeks and nerds.
Obviously the story somehow weaves in shifts in global power—there are a lot of Asian faces, but not many specifics at this stage—and the Red Hulk. The latter is completely unfamiliar to me, so it should be interesting to see how Marvel is able to introduce us non-comic readers to the character. (As far as I can tell, their track record so far is hit or miss.)
I am looking forward to learning what (beside wings!) Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson brings to Captain America the character and the franchise. It’s been quite a while since we properly saw him in action. Looks very cool so far!
At this writing, BNW is expected to release on February 14, 2025.
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Co-Geeking 
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