Marvel Just Won At Everything

Even though it's not quite Halloween just yet, DC Entertainment must be absolutely terrified right about now.

In a fan event Tuesday, Marvel Studios unveiled Phase 3 of its Marvel Cinematic Universe, announcing a mind-boggling slate of movies through 2019. The expansive lineup includes Thor: Ragnarok, Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Dr. Strange, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, The Inhumans and a two-part Avengers sequel, Infinity War. 

Hearing about any one of these projects would be reason to celebrate, but Marvel Studios has gone ahead and dropped all of the nerd bombs in its arsenal, all at once. We're not just fortunate, True Believers. We're spoiled.

For all of the latest on The House of Ideas' blockbuster announcements, head over to Marvel.com.

The First 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Trailer is the Best Thing You'll See Today

Man, it's a good thing I took the day off work. After the trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron leaked online, a move Marvel blamed on the villainous Hydra organization, The House of Ideas gave us the official teaser along with an all-new poster for the anticipated sequel. I can't stop watching it.

The teaser gives us our first true glimpse of the titular baddie in action (voiced to perfection by James Spader), and manages to make Pinocchio incredibly creepy.


Here are five things I absolutely love about this clip.

1) The use of "I've Got No Strings" throughout the teaser is corporate synergy at its best.
2) We're finally getting Hulkbuster armor and it looks fantastic.
3) This thing is going to be much darker than the relatively cheery first Avengers film.
4) Ultron looks like he might become my favorite superhero movie villain.
5) Since Tony Stark is the Gepetto to Ultron's Pinocchio, there's no way the story wraps up nicely. This movie is going to change everything for Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Marvel's Avengers 2: Age of Ultron hits theaters May 1, 2015.

'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Gets an Honest Trailer

Well, I never really thought of X-Men: Days of Future past as a "super-powered snuff film," but here we are.

Will Warwick Davis Return to the 'Star Wars' Galaxy for 'Episode VII'?

Was there any doubt? Although it's safe to assume Mr. Davis will be playing an entirely new character (or several new characters), I'm kinda hoping we see him reappear as an older, grizzled Wicket W. Warrick.

I like Ewoks. Deal with it.

DC Unveils Ludicrously Ambitious Movie Schedule

Is DC Entertainment going into panic mode? Possibly. Warner Bros. has just revealed its slate of 10 massive superhero films it will be releasing through 2020, including two Justice League movies, a Suicide Squad adaptation, a Green Lantern reboot and solo outings for Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. The far-reaching cinematic universe for DC kicks off with Man of Steel sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which hits theaters in 2016.

Here's how it will all shake out:

2016 - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (starring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill)
2016 - Suicide Squad
2017 - Wonder Woman (starring Gal Gadot)
2017 - Justice League Part 1 
2018 - The Flash (starring Ezra Miller)
2018 - Aquaman (starring Jason Momoa)
2019 - Shazam (starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson)
2019 - Justice League Part 2
2020 -  Cyborg (starring Ray Fisher)
2020 - Green Lantern (probably not starring Ryan Reynolds)

I'll be shocked if even half of these get made, especially since so much of hinges on the success of Batman v Superman. For more on this story, head over to Deadline.com.

Bad Lip Reading Again Tackles 'The Walking Dead'

You can never have too much of a good thing, no matter what anyone tells you. The folks at Bad Lip Reading have posted their latest The Walking Dead lip dub video, bringing us an argument between Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon about the "glue police," insight into the sheer luxury of getting one's "butt washed in the Jedi fountain" and a cat named Crazy Bennigan.

Check it out below.

From NYCC: French Flipper Tricks

Amidst the countless Jokers and Harley Quinns packed inside New York's Jacob Javits Center for this year's New York Comic Con, it was refreshing to encounter this lone Batman Returns Penguin roaming the show floor on Saturday afternoon, presumably in search of fresh fish and raw sewage. There was a whole lagoon of that crud in the back.

 Kudos to you, Mr. Cobblepot. I'm glad I voted for you.

From NYCC: Check Out This A-Hole!

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On Wars, Both Secret and Civil

We're just days removed from New York Comic Con, and geeks are all abuzz about several developments coming out of Marvel, namely that The House of Ideas is not only bringing us an all-new Secret Wars event next summer, but that 2015 will also see the release of another Civil War series. Whether the two events will occur simultaneously remains to be seen.

I was mere months old when Marvel launched its first Secret Wars crossover in 1984, so the announcement didn't necessarily bring about any pangs of nostalgia (even though I do thumb through my softcover trade paperback of that campy "all the good guys vs. all the bad guys" yarn every now and then), but the Civil War revelation is another story entirely.

Civil War, Marvel's politically-charged tale about a rift in its superhero community, kicked off in July 2006, a time when the idea of an Iron Man film seemed laughable while Spider-Man 3 was poised to be the biggest comic book movie of all time. I started working in Manhattan that fall, and my office was right between Midtown Comics' Lexington Ave. and Times Square locations. I hadn't been a regular consumer at a comic book store since the mid-1990s, when locales like The Dragon's Den in Greenwich, Conn., and The Spider's Web in downtown Port Chester, N.Y., served as nerdy refuges before superheroes were "in." With so many comic book stores in my area shuttering in the wake of the industry's 1990s boom period, I wound up getting my fix from the limited selection of new titles at bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders before my interest in the medium reached a low point in my teens. A chance lunch hour visit to Midtown Comics changed all that. I immediately gravitated toward Civil War and its numerous spin-offs. I was hooked again.

Although the bleak tone of the Civil War miniseries wasn't for everybody, the tight narrative by Mark Millar and the striking artwork by Steve McNiven kept me enthralled during my Metro-North commutes, and I was genuinely heartbroken when Captain America was assassinated after the series' conclusion the following year. My fandom only grew from there, and I went on to amass countless single issues and trades from Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image and just about anything else that I could get my hands on. Now, I'm a weekly regular at my local comic book store (A Timeless Journey in Stamford, Conn.) and my collection of current series and back-issues getting out of hand, to put it lightly. And it's all because of Civil War, for better or for worse.

Eight years later, Marvel is revisiting Civil War, with a teaser image that's evocative of the original. With rumors of a Marvel Comics reboot and recent speculation about how the Civil War storyline might be adapted in a future Captain America or Avengers film, there's lots for geeks to debate and wonder about. I'm proudly standing among them.

New Acquisition: Funko ReAction 'The Goonies' Data Figure

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New Acquisition: Funko ReAction Freddy Krueger Figure

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New 'Ghostbusters' Won't Acknowledge Previous Films in the Series

Well, this is terrible news. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Paul Feig, director of the forthcoming female-focused Ghostbusters film, stated that the new flick is a complete reboot with no connection to the first two installments in the franchise.

"It's not coming into the world that existed before," Feig told EW. "It’s always hard if the world has gone through this big ghost attack, how do you do it again? I wanted to come into our world where there’s talk of ghosts but they’re not really credible, and so what would happen in our world if this happened today?"

Feig added that members of the original Ghostbusters cast are welcome to appear in cameo roles, but they will not play the same characters. This new film is a clean slate, telling a story in which busting ghosts is a brand-new science and New York City hasn't been ravaged by a giant monster made out of marshmallows. Yikes. Why bother?

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, bad ideas. For the full story, visit EW.com.

All-New, All-Girl 'Ghostbusters' Sequel Confirmed

We're finally getting another Ghostbusters movie, and it's not at all what we were expecting. The third film in the franchise will reportedly feature a group of women wielding the neutrino wands this time around, a change that has many longtime fans feeling like they just had a run-in with a Class 5 full-roaming vapor. Is this all a publicity-grabbing stunt? Well, maybe not.

Paul Feig, who helmed female-focused comedies Bridesmaids and The Heat, will direct the anticipated reboot of the beloved series, with The Heat writer Katie Dippold signed on to pen the screenplay. No casting announcements have yet been made, but it's safe to assume Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy are in the mix.

Admittedly, regardless of the genders of its protagonists, I'm disappointed that we're moving forward with a third Ghostbusters without the original cast at the forefront, but I also understand that reuniting the original 'busters isn't exactly possible. Harold Ramis passed away earlier this year, and it's not like Bill Murray is interested in stepping back into Peter Venkman's jumpsuit anytime soon. As long as the new film is funny and retains the spirit of the Ivan Reitman original, I'm on board.

For more on this story, visit The Hollywood Reporter by clicking here.

The Dark and Gritty 'Adventure Time' Reboot I Never Knew I Wanted

The folks at GrittyReboots have gotten their hands on Adventure Time, making an occasionally dark and disturbing kids' show even more unsettling by giving us the live-action demise of Peppermint Butler. Check out the trailer for "Adventure Time: The Movie" below.