As strange as it was to think that Darren Aronofsky—director behind indie hits like Requiem For A Dream, The Wrestler, and Black Swan—was going to direct a sequel to X–Men Origins: Wolverine, it was still pretty intriguing to think about. But alas, Aronofsky eventually had to drop out of the project due to personal reasons, leaving the job open for another…but would they be similar to the departing Aronofsky or someone more suited to the comic book/action genre a Wolverine movie would play in?

Enter James Mangold, the new director chosen by 20th Century Fox to direct the sequel, titled The Wolverine. Mangold’s résumé does include an action flick—the recent Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz feature Knight & Day—but the rest of his works are mostly drama–based with titles like Cop Land, Kate & Leopold, Identity, 3:10 to Yuma, and Academy Award winners Girl, Interrupted and Walk the Line under his belt. [...]

Game Of Thrones
Season One, Episode Nine – Baelor
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Written by: David Beinoff and D.B. Weiss
Starring: Mark Addy, Alfie Allen, Sean Bean, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Issac Hempstead-Wright, Harry Lloyd, Richard Madden, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Conleth Hill

Game of Thrones has been a slow burn.

There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I much prefer shows that have a tendency to draw things out and build on previous episodes. All the best television series (The Wire, Mad Men, Breaking Bad) do this and when done properly, the results can be astonishing. The latest episode, “Baelor,” was no exception to this rule. The stakes have slowly been rising over the past couple of weeks and it was time for the dominoes to begin to fall.

And boy do they fall [...]

The mid-series finale for Series 6 of Doctor Who is here, and while Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and her baby are being held captive by Madame Kovarian (Frances Barber) and the Cleric Military, the Doctor (Matt Smith) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) call upon old debts from a variety of unlikely allies to form an “army,” as A Good Man Goes To War.

The Doctor will rise higher than ever before, and fall so much further – and the true identity of the enigmatic River Song (Alex Kingston) will finally be revealed…

During TARDISblend 29, we review the events of A Good Man Goes To War, the conclusion to the first half of the current season. We discuss the final revelation of who River Song truly is, and the band of companions the Doctor unites for his army to find Amy Pond. We look at the consequences of the Doctor being seen and feared as a great warrior, and speculate on what to expect for the second part of Series 6.

We also discuss the recent news about Series 7 – which now looks like it will be split across the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013. We recommend some Classic Doctor Who, and reveal a spoiler for Torchwood: Miracle Day. All this and more on the latest TARDISblend! [...]

The $10 t-shirt deal of the day over at RIPT Apparel is the Superman-inspired “Kent” by artist r0gue.

The sale at RIPT began today, Thursday, June 16, 2011, at midnight CST, and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it will not be sold on the site anymore [...]

Hurry everyone, Batman: Arkham Asylum: Game Of The Year Edition video game for Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 is currently being featured in a Gold Box Lightning Deal at Amazon today, Thursday, June 16, 2011, from 6am – 9am PST while supplies last. The Gold Box discounted price is $16.99 (down from $29.99).

This video game is available at a discounted price today ONLY for those 3 hours while supplies last. And since this is a Lightning Deal, that means that it can (and most likely will) run out in minutes, so if you want it, grab it immediately before it’s gone. You can watch the Today’s Deals page (on the right-hand side) to see how this item is selling [...]

The Gold Box deal of the day over at Amazon today is Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection Blu-ray Edition for $54.99 (that’s 61% off the list price of $139.99).

Note, this sale is only for today, Thursday, June 16, 2011, until midnight PST while supplies last.

This Blu-ray set contains the first six movies of the Star Trek film series, all of which star the cast from the original 1960s television series:

The films included are The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, The Final Frontier, and The Undiscovered Country.

The Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection Blu-ray box sets contain loads of bonus features (see a list here below), as well as an extra bonus disc Captains Summit, which contains an exclusive 70-minute roundtable discussion with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, and Jonathan Frakes [...]

Check out Episode 72 of Comics of Doom, the official comics podcast of Geeks of Doom, for our review of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights.

Click HERE to open the podcast player in a new window.

Listen now!

E-mail us at comicsofdoom [at] gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter – @ComicsOfDoom
Subscribe to the Podcast: RSS | iTunes | Zune [...]

Some new images from the set of Men in Black III have hit the ‘net, and are now here for you to see.

There’s nothing too exciting going on in the images, but they do show off stars Will Smith and Josh Brolin (who is playing a young K—the character played by Tommy Lee Jones in the first two movies) in full costume filming scenes set on the streets of a 1960s New York City.

You can see the images of Smith and Brolin filming Men in Black III by clicking on over to the other side now!

MiB 3 is currently slated to hit theaters on May 25, 2012. [...]

The cast for Warner Brothers’ reboot of the Superman franchise, titled Man of Steel, has been impressive so far, bringing in a collection of interesting names for the many iconic roles available. But they’re not done yet.

According to Variety, the movie—which is being “godfathered” by The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan and directed by Zack Snyder—has chosen Russell Crowe to play the role of Jor-El, the father of Superman once played by the late, great Marlon Brando in the 1978 film starring Christopher Reeve as the superhero.

This time around Superman/Clark Kent is being played by The Tudors and Immortals star Henry Cavill, and he’s surrounded by a cast featuring Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as the villain, General Zod, and Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Kent’s Earthly parents, Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent. [...]

The $10 t-shirt deal of the day over at Teefury today is the Hobbit-inspired “Expert Treasure Hunters,” by artist Wheels.

The sale at Teefury began at midnight EST, Wednesday, June 15, 2011 and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it won’t be sold on the site anymore.

The limited-edition t-shirt is available in Men’s and Women’s sizes in Dark Chocolate [...]

Each week, MK2Fac3 and Henchman21 read a lot of comics. Seriously, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. They look forward to some more than others, I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull list, grab some issues, and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of June 15, 2011. Single issues and trades, they’re all here. This week, expect to see some X-Men, a Batgirl, Alex Ross art, Vikings, Capes, and Fables! So hit the jump and see what’s our most anticipated books of the week are!

MK2FAC3

ISSUES

Batgirl #22 (DC Comics – $2.99): Until writer Bryan Q. Miller’s run on Batgirl winds up in August, I guarantee you will see this comic picked by myself or Mr. Hench below me, so be prepared. This week’s issue of Batgirl includes Stephanie Brown’s first official Batman Incorporated mission in the city of Londinium London, England, where she meets up with England’s Squire! And if you’re not familiar with Squire, first I feel bad for you, and second she’s the sidekick to the British Batman, Knight! Squire is one of my favorite characters, and her costume is phenomenal, and Pere Perez’s art is beautiful, so seeing Pere Perez draw a Bryan Q. Miller-written Squire is a dream come true! Seriously, when I took a nap yesterday, I literally dreamed about Pere Perez drawing Squire. And that cover from Dustin Nguyen?? OHH CHILD! Color me excited! [...]

The digital movie deal of the day over at Amazon today is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which is available for rental for only $.99.

This deal is valid only for today Wednesday, June 15, 2011, until midnight PST. Once you activate the rental through the Amazon Instant Video service, you’ll have access to the movie for 24 hours. If you’re interested in purchasing the digital version, the cost is $14.99.

If you’d like to own a physical copy of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, it’s also available on DVD, 2-Disc DVD, and Blu-ray. All of these editions are part of Amazon’s “Buy This DVD and Watch it Instantly” program — purchase the physical copy and you get the film as a FREE digital rental you can watch immediately while you watch for the DVD or Blu-ray purchase to be delivered [...]

The MP3 album deal of the day over at Amazon today is Into The Wild Motion Picture Soundtrack, from Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, for only $3.99.

Vedder played all of the instruments on the album, which includes nine original and two cover songs.

The album is also available on CD for $9.54.

Note, this deal is valid only for today, Wednesday, June 15, 2011 [...]

By Andrew Sorcini

Nintendo took the wraps off the Wii U, their next generation gaming console, previously dubbed Project Cafe. Ever since the launch of the original Wii in 2006, and despite its groundbreaking and influential Wiimote game controllers, one of the Wii’s major criticisms is that it was graphically weak in comparison to the Xbox 360 and the PS3. With the high definition capabilities of the Wii U, Nintendo finally has the opportunity to even those odds, as well as introduce a new controller. So will the Wii U finally satisfy “true gamer” naysayers? Let’s take a look.

First let’s look at the Wii U controller itself. It’s significantly larger than handhelds like the PSP, but much smaller than an iPad. It boasts a 6.2 inch 16:9 single-touch screen (which is NOT an HD display), accelerometer/gyroscope, and front-facing camera. According to Nintendo, it is not intended to be used away from the console like a mobile handheld, but always an extension of it. Surrounding the screen on either side is the standard dual stick/d-pad/action button/trigger button configuration that adorns the PS3 and XBox controllers [...]

Deadline is reporting that four-time Academy Award nominee Ed Harris and LOST star Matthew Fox are in talks to join the cast of World War Z, the Paramount Pictures movie adaptation of the popular book of the same name by Max Brooks.

The two actors would join Brad Pitt, who’s been attached to the project for a long while now. The movie has faced many setbacks over the course of its journey to the big screen, but is ready to begin production later this month.

World War Z tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, as told told from the first–hand accounts of the people trying to survive.

In addition to LOST, Fox has appeared in movies like Smokin’ Aces, We Are Marshall, and Speed Racer. Harris has of course appeared in a seemingly endless amount of great films, including Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, The Rock, and A History of Violence, among many others. [...]

Few things can match the excitement that Star Wars fans had when they found out that the three prequel movies in a rumored 9–movie franchise were going to be made by George Lucas. But in 1999 the prequel trilogy began, and when it was all said and done in 2005 fans were only left scratching their heads, unsure of what had just happened to them.

Since then all anyone has ever wanted was an answer as to why the three movies—Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (which, to be fair, is pretty decent and by far the best of the three)—didn’t come close to living up to the hype set by the classic original trilogy released in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

Thankfully that answer is now here in the form of a video called George Lucas Strikes Back. Not much else needs to be said—go forth, and discover the answers you’ve sought for so very long now. [...]

Sean Bean scored a lifelong geek following with his role as Boromir in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which excitedly followed him in bringing his fantasy skills to the excellent HBO series, Game of Thrones.

Diehard fans of the book from which the first season was based—part of George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire series—and newcomers alike have praised Bean for his work bringing Lord Eddard Stark to life, and it’s likely that anytime he finds himself in some sort of sword-wielding role (you can also check out Black Death on Netflix) we geeks will watch with happy eyes.

Now Bean is carrying over his battle-tested warrior ways into real life.

While at a bar in London with model April Summers, the two went outside for a cigarette when a passerby made an lewd comment toward Summers, who’s appeared in the Italian edition of Playboy and other magazines. Bean followed the man, supposedly challenging him in an attempt to stand up for his lady-friend, but the man continued on. [...]

Green Lantern hits theaters this weekend, but there’s still time to catch up on Hal Jordan’s adventures and all the numerous characters that inhabit his corner of the DC Universe before you see the film, which stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role.

Since the creation of the second Green Lantern in 1959, he’s gone on numerous adventures, died, been reborn, been replaced by three other characters, and fought Sinestro more than a few times. However, many of you may have never read any stories with him before, as I had until a few years ago. Where’s the best place to catch up, you may be asking. Well, here are four collections of Green Lantern stories that I recommend reading before you see the movie [...]

Eisner award winning, and one of my personal favorite, comic book series Beasts of Burden is making its way to the big screen care of Andrew Adamson, director of The Chronicles of Narnia and Shrek.

The comic, created by writer Evan Dorkin and artist Jill Thompson, is a compelling story based around a group of dogs and one cat protecting their neighborhood from evil forces. The book does an incredible job of exploring each one of the characters and the relationships between them while also showing the importance of bravery and friendship. It can be funny, exciting, heartwarming, and heartbreaking. I’ll be ecstatic if the movie can give me one-fourth of the enjoyment that the book did [...]

The spotlight deal of the day over at Amazon today is the video game L.A. Noire for Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 for $44.99 each (that’s 25% off the list price of $59.99).

Note, this deal is only for today, June 14, 2011, until midnight PST while supplies last.

[On the product page, click "See price in cart" for a pop-up window that shows you the discounted price.]

From the Xbox 360 product page:

L.A. Noire is a gritty, single player detective game set on the infamous streets and in the smoke-filled back rooms of postwar Los Angeles. Designed and developed with a nod to the classic film noire movie genre, L.A. Noire blends crystal clear graphics that bring the iconic look and feel of the era to life, with a combination of innovative technology and unique gameplay that allow you to solve crimes through interrogations and investigation. Additional features include: five LAPD based crime desks to work, the ability to analyze the case as well as suspects for clues, an accurate block-by-block recreation of eight sq miles of 1947 Los Angeles, multiple difficulty settings and more. [...]