Ooh, Shiny!

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Captain America: Brave New World Teaser Trailer

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To drum up interest for Captain America: Brave New World, Marvel came out with a short teaser trailer:

Captain America: Brave New World Official Teaser by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube

Sam’s comment to President Ross (“I have to admit, I’m still getting used to the new look.”) reads to me as a suitably lighthearted way to acknowledge the change in actors from William Hurt to Harrison Ford. RIP, Mr. Hurt.

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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Second Trailer for Star Wars: The Acolyte

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The second trailer for Star Wars: The Acolyte is out, and the premier is only a week away. Let’s have a look at the trailer:

The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+ by Star Wars on YouTube

“I sense this is only a small part of a larger plan. Some sort of shift to tip the scales.” Now, that sounds interesting—is it a nod to some sort of a loooong-time change in the force whose end we see acted out in the three movie trilogies? I have no idea.

Perhaps more interesting to me is the whodunnit portion of the story, however. I wish a little more about that was included in the trailers.

There’s also a behind-the-scenes clip:

The Acolyte | Creating the Acolyte | Streaming June 4 on Disney+ by Star Wars on YouTube

Sadly, it’s quite short. I’d be happy to have a much longer piece to whet my appetite.

Joonas Suotamo is still listed at IMDB for SW:TA, but unfortunately only for two episodes. Maybe that’s why I haven’t spotted him in either trailer. Looking forward to seeing more of him.

The two-episode opener for SW:TA premiers on June 4, 2024.

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Deadpool & Wolverine Official Teaser Trailer

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Deadpool isn’t one of my favorite superheroes; the stories tend to be too explicitly violent, and the humor is about half and half hit or miss for me. I’m therefore not really following any DP news, so the fact that the third DP movie is called Deadpool & Wolverine was, well, news to me. It also made me perk up my ears, so to speak—Hugh Jackman’s performance as the mutant superhero that goes snikt was fabulous and got me to care about the character more than I otherwise would have.

The first trailer for DP&W was released last month:

Deadpool & Wolverine | Official Teaser | In Theaters July 26 by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube

Looks like the violence isn’t going to be any less gory this time either (even if the trailer itself was relatively clean as DP movies go). The bratty humor is also still there, as you’d expect—gotta keep the fans happy and the character consistent, right? But what I can’t yet figure out is how they’ll interweave the X-Men and DP.

It’s always a joy to see Morena Baccarin and Hugh Jackman. According to IMDB, however, Patrick Stewart will make an appearance, presumably as Professor Xavier, as will Jennifer Garner as Elektra. Whoa. I’ve mixed feeling about Matthew Macfadyen on the basis of past productions of his, so we’ll see what he makes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It should also be interesting to see how, exactly, is Marvel going to untangle (if at all?) their multiverse mess, which certainly hasn’t gotten easier with Jonathan Majors being dropped from the role of Kang. DP&W might actually hold my interest longer than the previous DPs. Here’s hoping!

At this writing, the movie is set to release on July 26, 2024.

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First Trailer for Star Wars: The Acolyte

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The first trailer for a new Star Wars series, The Acolyte, has been out for some weeks now:

The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+ by Star Wars on YouTube

“This isn’t about good or bad. It’s about power… and who is allowed to use it.”

Sounds intriguing. Apparently, however, SW:TA takes place towards the end of the High Republic era, well before The Phantom Menace. That’s completely new to me. Not all new-to-me settings in the Star Wars tv series have been winners, IMO, so whether SW:TA will work for me or not is still very much in the air.

Also, I’ve never been interested in the Sith, and it sounds like the Sith will feature heavily in the series. (Not that I’ve watched much outside the movie trilogies anyway.) However, it looks SW:TA just might provide a more refreshing backstory than a vague ‘they want power and that makes them evil’ handwave. (And I’m sure I’m grossly misrepresenting some SW writers’ thoughts here, but that’s what the Sith appear to this non-superfan.)

What worries me to some extent is they seem to have cast another woman of color as the main antagonist. (Compare to Inquisitor Reva in Obi-Wan Kenobi.) The last thing we need is more typecasting.

(Speaking of negatives: I’ve looked very little into the series and have already seen quite a bit of waah-waahing about too many wimmen starring or whatnot. Look, m’dudes: my money is green, too. If the production is good and shows people like me as active characters and people in their own right, I will pay to see it, and so will many others. Di$ney will love our money just as much as yours.)

One source of joy is that we get to see Carrie-Anne Moss and my countryman Joonas Suotamo in the series, too. 🙂

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When a Walrus Shows up at Your Door

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There’s been a thing going on in the past month on the Internet about fairies and walruses. If you’re not in the loop, it all started with a poll posted on tumblr by user baddywronglegs that asked respondents to consider which one they would be more surprised to find at their front door, a fairy or a walrus?

The fun of this poll is that it pits two very surprising (in most parts of the world) things against one another, but those things are surprising in two different ways. Fairies don’t exist, but if they did, it would be perfectly plausible for one to knock on your door. Walruses do exist, but the idea that one would survive the trip out of the Arctic, make it to your front door, and knock is beyond belief. What’s more surprising: the most unsurprising surprising thing or the most surprising unsurprising thing?

But, then, surprising things do happen sometimes. Like walruses showing up where they have no business being. A lost walrus found itself on the shores of southeastern Finland in the summer of 2022. It didn’t knock on any doors, but it did take a nap between some beached rowing boats, literally rolled around on someone’s yard in the grass, and posed in front of an emergency vehicle.

Yes, Finland is an Arctic country in the sense that we straddle the Arctic Circle, even though most of our land area is south of it. We do not, however, currently have any coastline in the north; all of our salt water access is to the south and west, i.e., to the Baltic Sea. Visits like this are, therefore, extremely rare. The walrus had to travel all the way around Scandinavia, through the Danish Straits (Kattegat and Skagerrak), and east along the Gulf of Finland to reach Hamina and Kotka.

(Alas, the poor thing turned out to be famished, and died in the middle of an attempted rescue en route to the Wildlife Hospital of Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki. It’s since been preserved and it’s on display at the Finnish Museum of Natural History.)

Wikimedia Antti Leppanen Haminan mursu

It’s quite staggering that we live in a place where, theoretically—very much in theory, but nevertheless—a walrus could turn up on the yard! (No sign of fairies, though.)

Images: Screenshot of tumblr post by baddywronglegs. Stuffed walrus in the Natural History Museum of Helsinki by Antti Leppänen via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0).

Out There highlights intriguing art, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.

Three Trailers for Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two

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At some point in 2023 when I wasn’t looking, three trailers for Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two were published.

Part Two, trailer one:

Dune: Part Two | Official Trailer by Warner Bros. Pictures on YouTube

Here’s trailer two:

Dune: Part Two | Official Trailer 2 by Warner Bros. Pictures on YouTube

And trailer three reasonably recently (from mid-December):

Dune: Part Two | Official Trailer 3 by Warner Bros. Pictures on YouTube

Wow, trailer three’s music deviates quite strongly from the other two. (Too much ululation in the others?) Other than that, it’s clear we have a war coming—as those who’ve read the books know—and the Bene Gesserit looks to have a larger role. The emperor (Christopher Walken) also makes an appearance, but it isn’t clear how much we’ll be seeing him.

I did also notice how strongly the Fremen-eye blue stands out in the otherwise very sepia-toned environment. And is it just me, or have the Harkonnen gone even more monochrome than in Part One?

At this writing, the release date is set to March 1, 2024.

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Acoustic Cha Cha Cha in Klingon

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Jen Usellis, who goes by the name The Klingon Pop Warrior jenbom, worked with Michael Lubetsky to translate Finland’s 2023 Eurovision song by Käärijä into Klingon. The results are pretty marvellous. Here’s the video:

Cha Cha Cha (Klingon Version, Acoustic) – Klingon Pop Warrior Eurovision 2023 Cover by The Klingon Pop Warrior jenbom on YouTube

Usellis writes:

“At the beginning of May of 2023, I was completely burned out. Then I watched Eurovision and this awesome Finnish dude with a bowl cut, a lime green bolero, and a name that’s a multi-level pun (Käärijä = wrapper) reminded me why I love performing and gave me some desperately needed inspiration with a song called ‘Cha Cha Cha.’ […]

“We had a fun day in the recording studio and I hope that fans of Käärijä, of which I am one, will catch the small details musically, in the translation effort, and in the accompanying lyric video.

“It’s my sincere hope that Käärijä fans who know nothing about Star Trek or Klingon enjoy this acoustic cover as much as my nerdy Trekkie fans.”

Wow—they got the spirit down pat! I mean, Klingons aren’t my cup of tea, but as far as I can tell, bang on. And how amazing is it that cha means ‘torpedoes’ in Klingon?

Cha cha cha! 🙂

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Official Trailer for The Marvels Has Even More Space Kittens!

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An official trailer for The Marvels is out:

Marvel Studios’ The Marvels | Official Trailer by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube

Aaah – it’s looking strongly like a learning to work together story! Aaah! 🙂

Otherwise, from this trailer, it’s difficult to tell whether there’s much more than your usual ‘find problem, hit to solve’ solutions all too prevalent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Dar-Benn both looks and sounds corny, but that could be a case of trailers always lying.

It’s already certain there will be from some excellent dialogue between Kamala Khan, Monica Rambeau, and Carol Danvers; I’m so ready for that. And even more space kittens….?!?

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A Compelling Mashup of Columbo and Star Trek: TOS

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Someone ingenious—who only goes by the moniker cursedtrekedits on Tumblr—photoshopped Lieutenant Columbo (played by the inimitable Peter Falk) into screencaps from Star Trek: The Original Series. Take a look:

Tumblr cursedtrekedits ST-TOS Mashup5
Tumblr cursedtrekedits ST-TOS Mashup4

Very nice, isn’t it! Make sure to visit cursedtrekedits’s Tumblr for more; I’ve only shown two of the photos.

Although I haven’t seen either series in full, this combo seems plausible—with a wink and a little handwaving—and I’d definitely watch it. 🙂

Images by cursedtrekedits Tumblr.

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MCU Secret Invasion Trailers

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In two weeks, the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries Secret Invasion becomes available.

Here’s the first trailer:

Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion | Official Trailer | Disney+ by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube

And the second trailer:

Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion | Official Trailer | Disney+ by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube

Wow, ok. Yes, more of Fury, Hill, Rhodes, and Ross! I’ll also enjoy seeing Ben Mendelsohn, I’ve never seen him do a role poorly. The new characters played by Olivia Colman and Emilia Clarke look interesting, if the tiny glimpses can be trusted.

Not sure how entertained I can be by a series that focuses on high-stakes power struggles and war—it may well be a little too close for comfort right now. (I.e., when Finland’s neighboring country is waging war against their sovereign neighbor, with behind-the-scenes high-stakes power struggles that very well might affect European if not world history.)

If nothing else, I will probably try at least the first episode to see how well it’s written. The acting should be fine.

Secret Invasion releases for streaming on June 21, 2023.

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