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This review pertains to all 10 episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

Tom Holland is currently flying (or swinging) high as the MCU’s live-action Spider-Man/Peter Parker. Popping up in movies like Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Endgame while also leading three standalone features — with more on the way — makes Holland the longest running actor to play the wall-crawler, surpassing Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield who’d previously portrayed the popular Marvel character. But he’s not the only one currently bringing hero to life, these days.

Hudson Thames reprises his role — previously portrayed in What If…? — as the wise-cracking, web-slinging teen in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Spider-Man is no stranger to animation. I grew up watching Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994 – 1998) on Fox Kids Network and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003) on MTV. For me and many others, it was these iterations that launched my fandom of the character,...

Quick Links Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Had a Crossover With Daredevil 20th Century Fox Wanted Daredevil to Join a Cinematic Universe Raimi's Spider-Man Sequels Ignored The New Animated Series

In the modern media landscape, crossovers and shared universes are all the rage, especially in superhero films, but this was not always the case. Before the unprecedented success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most comic book movies were content to tell self-contained stories. This was true of the biggest superhero films from the early 2000s, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Aside from a few Easter Eggs, such as J. Jonah Jameson lamenting that the name Doctor Strange was already taken in Spider-Man 2, the Spider-Man films had no connection to the wider Marvel mythos; Tobey Maguire's version of Peter Parker was the only superhero in his universe. However, a lesser-known television series tried to change that.

(Superhero Bits is a collection of stories, updates, and videos about anything and everything inspired by the comics of Marvel, DC, and more. For comic book movies, TV shows, merchandise, events, and whatever catches our eye, this is the place to find anything that falls through the cracks.)

In this edition of Superhero Bits:

Our first good look at Kang the Conqueror.

That "Wolverine" video game might be coming next year.

"Joker: Folie à Deux" will begin filming very soon.

A couple of classic "Spider-Man" shows are now on Disney+.

All that and more!

Need A Primer On Adam Warlock? You're In Luck!

Adam Warlock is set to make his live-action debut in the MCU next year in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," as portrayed by Will Poulter. As such, the folks at Marvel have put together the above video that offers a quick primer on the character's rather...

We’re officially entering the spooky season and while Disney+ already dropped a few scary things in September, they’re doubling down in October. One of their most Halloween-centric offerings on display is “Werewolf By Night,” which audiences first learned about just a few weeks ago during Disney’s splashy Marvel and LucasFilm panel at the D23 Expo.

Directed by longtime Pixar collaborator, and acclaimed composer, Michael Giacchino, “Werewolf By Night” is the first Marvel Halloween special. The trailer was shown during D23 Expo and looked like a beautiful tribute to old school horror films, but also heavy on the (possibly implied) gore and scares. Filmed in black and white, the special feels a complete throwback to the old-school Universal frights of the past; think “Bride of Frankenstein” or “The Invisible Man.” The special follows Gael García Bernal as a man with the ability to become a werewolf, and explores...

Will Avengers 4 signal the advent of Ronin?

That’s just one of the major Marvel-related theories currently gaining traction online, and Jeremy Renner has only gone ahead and fanned the flames of speculation with a cryptic new Instagram post. First spotted by ComicBook.com, the image below was presumably taken on set in Atlanta, where the sun (or a yellow-tinged studio light) allowed Renner to cast a shadow on a nearby wall.

It’s a cute tease of what’s to come, as we only see the outline of Jeremy Renner himself, along with Hawkeye’s trusty quiver. You’ll also notice that the actor is sporting that cropped haircut (mohawk? Mohawkeye?!), which only lends credence to the alleged transformation into Ronin. For the record, the following social media post came bearing the caption, “costume on point today…what do you think?” along with a winking emoji. Oh, Renner, you devil you.

Sneak Peek new footage from Columbia Pictures CG-animated feature "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse", showcasing 'Miles Morales'/'Spider-Man', (Shameik Moore ), directed by Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey from a script by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, opening December 14, 2018:

'Miles Morales' was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and illustrator Sara Pichelli, debuting in Marvel Comics' "Ultimate Fallout" #4 (August 2011), following the death of 'Peter Parker'.

Morales possesses powers similar to those of the original 'Spider-Man'...

"...from the bite of a spider genetically engineered by Spider-Man's nemesis 'Norman Osborn', in an attempt to duplicate those abilities.

Cast also includes Liev Schreiber...

...Mahershala Ali and Brian Tyree Henry.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse"...

"Spider-man" Comic Books...

The first trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has arrived, following its premiere at the Comic-Con Experience in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The movie features Shameik Moore of Netflix's The Get Down as the voice of Miles Morales, the young African-American man who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man in Brian Michael Bendis' run of comics. Mahershala Ali and Brian Tyree Henry will voice Aaron and Jefferson Davis, the thieving brothers who become crucial figures in Morales' rise to become the beloved web-slinger. Liev Schreiber will voice the main villain of the movie, which …...

Part and parcel of Taika Waititi’s M.O. is a sneaky, self-effacing cameo – think of the director’s surprise appearance in Hunt For the Wilderpeople, or his direct involvement in quirky horror title What We Do in the Shadows.

Turns out Thor: Ragnarok is no different, as Waititi called upon motion-capture technology to bring Korg to life, along with an additional two characters. Speaking to Empire (via Cbm) as part of Ragnarok‘s ongoing press tour, Taika Waititi confirmed that he played the part of Surtur, the fearsome fire dragon, and a third surprise character:

I am one of the heads on the three-headed alien, this character called Haju. I’m the head on the right. And I’m also the motion-capture for Surtur.

Latest Thor: Ragnarok TV Spot Sparks A Revolution As Marvel Unveils A Host Of High-Res Stills 1 of 17

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In a surprising announcement, long time Marvel Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis is leaving Marvel Comics behind him as he exclusively signs up with DC Comics.

This is crazy! I honestly never thought Bendis would leave Marvel because he's done so much great stuff for Marvel over the years and he's pretty much defined Marvel Comics over the past 15 years.

DC made the announcesment with the following statement:

We’re so excited to start working with @Brianmbendis! pic.twitter.com/v1tgsMaNTr

— DC (@DCComics) November 7, 2017

Bendis went on to comment on the big change saying:

This is real. I love you all. Change is good. Change is healthy. I am bursting with ideas and inspirations. Details to come! Stay tuned! https://t.co/S1x5JDmGTt

— Brian Michael Bendis (@Brianmbendis) November 7, 2017

Marvel then offered the following statement to ComicBook.com:

“Brian is a great partner and has contributed incredible stories...

Sneak Peek Marvel Comics' character 'Miles Morales' (Donald Glover) aka the 'Ultmate Spider-Man' from a deleted scene in "Spider-Man: Homecoming":

Miles Morales is a character, other than 'Peter Parker', who goes by the identity of 'Spider-Man', created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and illustrator Sara Pichelli, debuting in Marvel's "Ultimate Fallout" #4 (August 2011), following the death of Parker.

The character possesses powers similar to those of the original Spider-Man, which were derived from the bite of a spider...

...genetically engineered by Spider-Man's nemesis 'Norman Osborn' in an attempt to duplicate those abilities.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Spider-Man: Homecoming"...

Buy "Spider-man" Comic Books Here...

Marvel Comics' "Spider-Men II" #3, available September 20, 2017, is written by Brian Michael Bendis amd illustrated by y: Sara Pichelli, with covers by Pichelli and Jesus Saiz:

"...meeting the 'Miles Morales' who was already in the 'Marvel Universe' sets Miles off! 

"As if he weren't struggling with interior conflicts that were tougher than the external conflicts, this revelation hits Miles hard.

"Luckily, 'Peter Parker', an expert on personal tragedy and dark spots, is by his side..."

Marvel Comics "Spider-Men II" #1, is written by Bendis, with illustrations by Pichelli and Justin Ponsor, with covers by Daniel Acuna, Kadir Nelson, Julian Totino Tedesco and Jesus Saiz.

'Miles Morales' was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli, with Bendis and Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso.

The character possesses powers similar to those of the original 'Spider-Man', which were derived from the bite of a spider genetically...

Man, when The Amazing Spider-Man was first released I had so much faith for director Marc Webb. His name has "Webb" in it. How can that not go wrong? I mean... besides what we know now of how the film could go wrong. It honestly feels like Webb's relationship with the Spider-Man series is the same as the relationship in 500 Days of Summer, coincidentally directed by Marc Webb. It was nice while it lasted, but ultimately they weren't meant to be together, and it became increasingly obvious as time went on.

But that doesn't stop people from thinking what could have been if it would have kept going. Including Webb himself, who had ideas on what the next Spider-Man was going to be about. At least Who it was going to be about. He had thoughts on the villains, already aware a Sinister Six movie would be coming out first,...

Hello again, and welcome to the recently resurrected Panel Discussion. I’m Kieran, and every week I’m going to go through some of the best comics of the week to give you an idea what you should pick up that you might have missed. This is another stacked week with some fantastic first issues and great jumping on points for books you might be behind on, so let’s take a look at what’s on offer.

The big, big release this week is DC’s Dark Days: The Casting #1 which is the second part of the prelude to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s upcoming Dark Knights: Metal summer event which promises to blow the doors off the DC Universe in the best way possible. The previous issue of Dark Days had Plastic Man, Mister Terrific and even the Multiversal Tuning Fork from Crisis on Infinite Earths,...

Denver Comic Con was in its sixth year this weekend at the Colorado Convention Center, and Lrm was in attendance! Guests included Nathan Fillion, Catherine Tate, Finn Jones, Mike Colter, Caleb McLaughlin & Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown, James Marsters, Jon Heder, Kevin Conroy, Lou Ferrigno, and "Weird Al" Yankovic, but everyone knows the real stars are the heroes in cosplay! 

We tried to catch as many of the best costumes as we could, but some characters such as Rorschach just seemed to disappear into the crowd.  There was no shortage of Star-Lord, Deadpool, Spider-Man, Batman, or Rick and Morty wandering around this year, but here are all the best costumed characters we could track down!

What's your favorite costume from Denver Comic Con 2017? Any plans on going next year? Let us know in the comment section below! 

Don't forget to share this post on your Facebook wall and with your Twitter followers!

The video game worlds of The Evil Within 2, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Dishonored 2 will be coming to life on the printed page at Titan Comics! In today's Horror Highlights, we also have character posters for The Little Hours and release details and a poster for Inconceivable.

Titan Comics Teams Up with Bethesda Softworks: Press Release: "Announced at E3, visionary game developer, Bethesda Softworks are working on three exhilarating new video games for multiple platforms: The Evil Within® 2, Wolfenstein II®: The New Colossus™, and a Dlc for the smash-hit Dishonored® 2!

Titan Comics are thrilled to announce that they are teaming up with the legendary developer to create in-canon stories based on these hotly anticipated properties, due to hit comic stores and digital devices this Fall.

Following Titan Comics’ smash-hit prequel comic series to The Evil Within in 2015, Titan Comics will publish a direct lead-in to the upcoming survival horror videogame sequel, inviting readers back into the blood-curdling world as imagined by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami!

Coming to comic stores and digital devices on September 6, Titan Comics’ new The Evil Within comic book series finds Detective Sebastian Castellanos still shell-shocked by the horrific events that took place at the Beacon Mental Hospital, and reluctantly pulled back into Mobius’ macabre world when a gruesome serial killer unleashes a new kind of hell onto Krimson City.

The Evil Within Issue #1 is written by Ryan O’Sullivan (Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III, Turncoat) with art by Damien Worm (The October Faction) and Szymon Kudranski (Spider-Man).

On September 13, 2017, get ready to sock it to the Nazis with an all-new comics prequel to the hotly anticipated first-person action blockbuster, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, which continues the adventures of B.J. Blaskowicz as he leads the resistance against the Nazis in occupied America.

In Titan’s new comic series, written by Dan Watters (Limbo, Assassin’s Creed: Uprising) with art by Piotr Kowalski (Sex, Dark Souls) and Ronilson Freire (The Mummy), dive headfirst into the alternate universe of Wolfenstein as B.J. Blaskowicz returns to take on the Nazis. Can he stop the march of goose-stepping boots? Or will the sinister Hans Hartmann be victorious?

Titan Comics will also publish brand-new Dishonored comics, to tie-in with the upcoming Dlc (downloadable content) of the smash-hit first person stealth-‘em-up Dishonored 2 videogame!

Written by by Michael Moreci (Roche Limit) and illustrated by Andrea Olimpieri (Dishonored) and Mattia Iacono (Demone Dentro), Dishonored: The Peeress and the Price, Titan Comics’ new series, sees Emily Kaldwin return to Dunwall for an adventure with Corvo Attano. Emily comes into conflict with a politician named Archibald Dufrane, and there is a mysterious killer on the loose – but when Emily’s powers start to falter in the middle of their investigation, things start to get deadly…

The Evil Within #1 (on-sale September 6, 2017), Wolfenstein #1 (on-sale September 13, 2017) and Dishonored: The Peeress And The Price #1 (on-sale September 27, 2017) are available to order from the upcoming July edition of Previews.

For more announcements and news on this exciting new line of comics, join Titan Comics on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr."

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The Little Hours Character Posters: "Medieval nuns Alessandra (Alison Brie), Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza), and Ginevra (Kate Micucci) lead a simple life in their convent. Their days are spent chafing at monastic routine, spying on one another, and berating the estate’s day laborer. After a particularly vicious insult session drives the peasant away, Father Tommasso (John C. Reilly) brings on new hired hand Massetto (Dave Franco), a virile young servant forced into hiding by his angry lord. Introduced to the sisters as a deaf-mute to discourage temptation, Massetto struggles to maintain his cover as the repressed nunnery erupts in a whirlwind of pansexual horniness, substance abuse, and wicked revelry."

Written and directed by Jeff Baena, The Little Hours stars Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Mucucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke, Nick Offerman, Adam Pally, Jon Gabrus, and Lauren Weedman.

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Inconceivable Release Details: Press Release: "Los Angeles, June 22, 2017 -- As its June 30 theatrical and digital release approaches, actor/director/producer Jonathan Baker reflects on the theme of his film, which, safe to say, is an entertaining thriller with a cautionary message: if you’re thinking about IVF, surrogate motherhood or even just hiring a child minder, be careful. Rather like Jaws’ tagline, “You’ll never go in the water again,” after seeing Inconceivable, you just might want to think twice before leaving your child alone with a stranger, even as attractive and seductive one as Inconceivable star Nicky Whelan.

Baker cites nanny, surrogacy and IVF programs gone wrong when he talks about why he chose to do the film. “The movie is about a couple and their journey though In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), surrogate motherhood and a vindictive nanny. IVF is a topic that can be taboo, even in the USA. In addition to entertaining the audience, I wanted to shed light on this subject—which affects so many couples—in an open forum to help dispel the secrecy and even shame surrounding this topic. The film provides the space for a real problem to play out (in an admittedly extreme way) in a fictional world. There are many people who want children that need the help, and this film strings viewers along for their struggle, but in a very different, arguably darker, way.”

“While the film at first focuses on IVF, the focus naturally dips into surrogate motherhood as it becomes the route used to solve the couple [played by Nicolas Cage and Gina Gershon]’s infertility,” Baker continues. “But is the surrogate mother potentially signing her unborn child’s life away? For the average couple, surrogacy does not connect with losing a child; however this thriller is all about exploring that fear. Allowing a stranger into your world can be frightening in itself, but such vulnerability is amplified with surrogacy. The film proves that IVF and surrogacy can create a dangerous cocktail of tension, paranoia, and fear that can destroy a family.”

Deception doesn’t always come from where you expect it to; sometimes it comes from your most trusted nanny as seen with Inconceivable. When a stranger is in the home, it is natural to fear something might go wrong. Such incidents have been widely broadcast in cases such as with Gwen Stefani, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Balthazar Getty, among others. Isn’t it weird that we trust strangers with our most prized possessions: children? I wanted to combine these topics to bring these fears to the screen, because fear is what gets people talking. Through discussion, society can better address such topics.

Overall, my goal for this film was to make something that matters and really hits home with people. Infertility is a harsh reality for many prospective parents, and I wanted to help contribute to such an important dialogue as this. I want my movie to bring the topics out of hiding and into open discussion. That’s why ‘deception hits home’ is such a fraught tag line for the movie.”

Starring Nic Cage, Gina Gershon, Faye Dunaway and Nicky Whelan and co-starring Eva Marie and Jonathan Baker, Lionsgate Premiere is releasing Inconceivable June 30."

The post Horror Highlights: Titan Comics Teams Up with Bethesda, The Little Hours, Inconceivable, appeared first on Daily Dead.

Marvel Comics "Spider-Men II" #1, available July 12, 2017, is written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor, woth covers by Daniel Acuna, Kadir Nelson, Julian Totino Tedesco and Jesus Saiz:

'Miles Morales' was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli, with Bendis and Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso, The character possesses powers similar to those of the original 'Spider-Man', which were derived from the bite of a spider genetically engineered by Spider-Man's nemesis 'Norman Osborn' in an attempt to duplicate those abilities.

January 2017, Sony Animation announced it was developing an animated 'Spider-Man'' feature film that will star the 'Miles Morales' version of the character. 

It will be executive produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, with Lord writing the screenplay and Peter Ramsey and Bob Persichetti co-directing.

Click the images to enlarge...

If you’ve been keeping up with the recent happenings at Marvel, then you’re well aware of Generations, an upcoming endeavor consisting of ten one-shots uniting heroes who have adopted various mantles, both past and present. In other words, expect to see team-ups featuring the likes of Wolverines Laura Kinney and Logan, and even Thors Odinson and Jane Foster.

What’s more is that we recently discovered this seemingly standalone tale will, in fact, have some sort of intertwining with Secret Empire, the House of Ideas’ currently in progress major crossover event. Sure, we probably won’t know all of the specifics until the actual periodicals ship, but it remains clear that something called “the Vanishing Point” is the reasoning for these otherwise anachronistic team-ups.

One thing’s for certain: this isn’t the Vanishing Point we’ve come to know from DC Comics, but it does sound similar...

In just a few months, Tom Holland returns to the big screen as Spider-Man in his first stand alone adventure, Spider-Man: Homecoming, but next year, fans will also get a new Spider-Man animated movie, which will feature The Get Down and Dope star Shameik Moore lending his voice to the iconic Miles Morales. While we wait for additional voice cast members to come aboard, Sony Pictures unveiled the first two posters for this untitled animated adventure during the annual Licensing Expo, which is currently happening in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, these posters don't give us our first look at the animated Spidey, but it does feature the movie's new logo.

Collider spotted these photos on the convention floor earlier today, which showcases a graffiti-style logo that is being used for this animated Spider-Man movie. Unfortunately, the Licensing Expo didn't reveal any story details for this untitled animated adventure, but this project...

Awards shows are usually boring affairs. It doesn't matter who's putting them on, it is guaranteed to be a three to four hour snoozefest that only people in the industry will love. Like anything though, there may be moments during the show that may end up being noteworthy and worth discussion and the MTV Movie Awards have given us just that.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is expected in theaters this July and what better time to start getting the masses excited for the movie than during an award show? The scene in question is a simple one. Peter Parker as Spider-Man arrives home and is caught by his friend Ned Leeds. The scene speaks for itself but for my money, is a great harbinger of things to come from this movie.

Sony Pictures was in quite the pickle after The Amazing Spider-Man 2 failed to wow audiences. The movie, despite the effort of everyone involved,...

Once upon a time, a kid from New York City picked up a shield and charged into battle…A prodigal son lifted a sacred hammer and proved himself worthy…And an arrogant genius forged an armor that would harness his true potential. Together, they became some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and ushered in the age of marvels – and now, this August, Marvel are set to unite their iconic heroes with their modern-day torchbearers for a fun and fast-paced adventure fans have been waiting for in Generations.

Generations brings together Miles Morales and Peter Parker, Laura Kinney and Logan, Amadeus Cho and Bruce Banner, plus more, and illuminates the path that all these heroes will take into the future for a thrilling quest unlike anything seen in the Marvel Universe before. A colossal collaboration of today’s greatest creators, Marvel’s Generations continues the evolution of the Marvel Universe as...

Generations Promo Art Gallery 1 of 4

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Although Marvel’s upcoming Generations limited series had much mystery surrounding it for some time – and it still does, for the most part – more details are slowly but surely coming to light. What we do know is that different versions of your favorite heroes will be fighting side by side, namely duos such as Wolverines Logan and X-23, and Thors Odinson and Jane Foster. But what we don’t know is how these characters are able to join forces or what the overall threat will be.

And despite it being quite vague and spoiler free, perhaps you’ll appreciate this synopsis by way of Marvel themselves:

Once upon a time, a kid from New York City picked up a shield and charged into battle…A prodigal son lifted a sacred hammer and proved himself worthy…...

The animated Spider-Man movie just cast its two main leads! Shameik Moore will be taking on the role of Miles Morales. You might know him from the fantastic indie film Dope and Netflix's hip-hop drama The Get Down. He will be joined by Liev Schreiber (Ray Donavan, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), who will be providing the voice of the villain of the story. We have yet to learn who exactly that villain will be. 

This is the first Spider-Man film project to be made that doesn't feature the Peter Parker version of Spider-Man and I'm excited to see how Miles Morales is handled in this adaptation. I'm sure it will be great because Phil Lord wrote the script. Lord has co-developed projects such as The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street, and he's currently shooting Lucasfilm's Han Solo movie.

All we know about the movie at this point is that the story will...

While he's stoked and flattered to see one of his characters appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ultimate Spider-Man writer Brian Michael Bendis has a bit of confusion over the role of Peter Parker's best friend, Ned Leeds. For those unfamiliar with the situation, many Spider-man fans have pointed out that Ned Leeds bears a striking resemblance to a comic book character created by Bendis, Ganke. In the comics, Ganke is the chubby Asian best friend to Miles Morales, who is not the Spider-Man we're seeing on screen. Bendis shares his thoughts on the Ultimate Spiderman podcast (via io9) below:

I’ll be very honest right now. I have not talked about this publicly, but it feels very bizarre. Most of the time the characters that I’ve had a hand in creating that have made it to the screen, from Jessica [Jones] all the way to Maria Hill and Quake, the level...

Not long ago, Marvel dropped a simple, enigmatic teaser for something called Generations. At the time, no specifics were given, but it got everybody talking due to it depicting multiple versions of superheroes hanging out and also because it was painted by the incomparable Alex Ross. Who doesn’t love his work, am I right?

Anyway, the House of Ideas have finally pulled back the curtain on the project that will – get this – unite those who have taken up the guise of various heroes both past and present, just as the artwork hinted. I know, it all seems a bit confusing and will likely remain that way until this 10-issue series hits stands this July.

As of now, we know which heroes will join forces, along with the writers who will craft these stories. Artists have still yet to be named, but here’s the list made available:

Iron Man...

Although we still have a couple more issues to go before Monsters Unleashed officially wraps, Marvel is doing their part to get the word out by circulating yet another promo video. Whereas the previous one reminded me more of 1950’s era footage, this one come across more like a modern news report.

Once again making use of motion comics, the latest offering does its best to make you feel like you’re living in the Marvel Universe and these kaiju-like creatures are tearing up your hometown. But luckily, you happen to exist within a universe that also has superheroes, so characters who are mentioned such as the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor and Captain Marvel are probably much appreciated.

Similarly, Marvel has entertained fans in recent memory with a variety of music videos, and it seems like they tried to continue that trend here by featuring the track “Back from...

Sony Pictures Animation, which has fallen on hard times in recent years, highlighted diversity and female empowerment as part of its comeback at Wednesday’s slate preview in Culver City. The biggest news was confirmation that Miles Morales, the mixed race web-slinging teen (African-American and Hispanic), will star in the untitled “Spider-Man” feature coming December 21, 2018.

Morales, created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli to succeed the late Peter Parker in the comics, has already become a TV animation staple on Disney Xd’s “Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors” (initially voiced by Donald Glover).

The animated “Spider-Man” marks a return to Spa for Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”), who directed “The Lego Movie” and are currently making the “Han Solo” standalone “Star Wars” feature.

In a pre-recorded video message from London, Lord said, “What inspired us the most is that anyone can wear the mask.

Spider-Man remains a white guy named Peter Parker in Sony’s upcoming live-action movie, but that won’t be the case in the animated film due out in 2018. Miles Morales—the half-black, half-Latino hero introduced back in 2011—will be the star of the still-untitled project being executive produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Sony Animation announced yesterday.

The idea of getting a non-white Spidey on the big screen has been building momentum among fans for some time now. Miles was created for the Ultimate Marvel universe after writer Brian Michael Bendis was inspired by Donald Glover’s campaign to take on the role in The Amazing Spider-Man. In 2015, the character officially adopted the Spider-Man moniker. But even as the world of the comics diversified, the big-screen Spider-Man remained the same as always when Tom Holland joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the webslinger. Now Morales is ...

Mike Cecchini Jan 19, 2017

The upcoming animated Spider-Man movie has its directors confirmed - and it'll centre on Miles Morales as Spider-Man...

It's official! Miles Morales will be the webslinger in Sony's upcoming Spider-Man animated movie. Phil Lord and Chris Miller are writing the treatment and producing the film. Bob Persichetti, an animator whose head of story credits include Puss In Boots and The Little Prince will co-direct the film with Peter Ramsey (Rise Of The Guardians).

See related  Split review M Night Shyamalan interview: Split, non-conformity, creative freedom

Miles Morales is the second Spider-Man of Marvel's Ultimate universe, who picked up the legacy from Peter Parker. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli, he first came on the scene in 2011, and has recently been integrated into the Marvel Universe proper. While some of his powers are similar to the classic Spidey's, he's also got a powerful 'sting' and camoflauge abilities in his arsenal,...

Sony Pictures Animation has officially announced that their upcoming animated Spider-Man movie will focus on fan-favorite Miles Morales and not on Peter Parker. There's been speculation that this would be the case since the animated Spider-Man movie was first announced. It's now 100% solidified, and it makes complete sense that they would center the story around this character because Peter Parker has been done to death. Now all Sony needs to do is cast Donald Glover to voice the character!

There's actually a good chance of getting Glover on board because the writers and producers of the film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, will already be working with the actor on the Han Solo film. The animated Spider-Man movie will be directed by Bob Persichetti (The Little Prince) and Peter Ramsey (Rise of the Guardians).

Miles Morales is a great character who was created by Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara...

Comic Book Reviews: Marvel Comic Book Round Up New Comic Series!

With 2016 starting off strong for Marvel, the company soon seemed to lose its way as it headed into the summer season with company wide crossover, Civil War II. Suddenly books which had previously been doing well, started to dip as they were roped into the major event that was not getting the best of reviews. Characters were suddenly being written completely different from how they were previously acting with little to no explanation; story content was dropped or pushed to the side to make way for the Civil War II connections. All of this, and DC had just launched its Rebirth line up. While DC was learning from their New 52 mistakes, and attempting to bring their characters back to a more recognizable state, Marvel was putting all their eggs into Brian Michael Bendis Civil War II basket. The result?...

Marvel Comics is bringing back The Defenders as a comic, but this time it’s coming with the Netflix state of mind.

Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist, heroes who are headlining their own shows on Netflix and are to team up for a show called Defenders, will now partner up on the publishing side.

Brian Michael Bendis, one of Marvel’s most popular writers, and artist David Marquez, who worked with Bendis on books featuring Spider-Man and Iron Man, are behind the new ongoing series, which will launch in June, after receiving a preview in the publisher’s...

With 2016 on its way out, we’re counting down the Top 10 Best Video Game Trailers from the departing year! Come inside to find out if your favorite made the list!

The year 2016 had many highs and lows, but some of the high points have been the stellar amount of game trailers we’ve witnessed. Every year, game studios put a lot of time, effort, and money into wowing players, in order to get them excited for their upcoming games. The trailers we witnessed throughout 2016 did not disappoint and as the year draws to a close, we’re giving them the credit they’re due.

Forming this Top 10 list was a double-edged sword. On one hand, I got to experience all these incredible trailers once again. On the other hand, I had to sort through hundreds of trailers and narrow it down to the 10 best. You may find a few selections controversial,...

Anyone who loves superheroes these days seems to have that one cartoon that resonated with them, leading to an undying love for it. Children of the 1990’s will likely wax nostalgia over Batman: The Animated Series or X-Men: The Animated Series, while others who prefer the decade that followed remember Justice League Unlimited and Spectacular Spider-Man quite fondly.

This particular decade’s biggest breakout was arguably Young Justice, a series that placed the focus on sidekicks such as Robin/Nightwing, Superboy, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Artemis and others who were coming of age and ready to take their place in the limelight. But it was unfortunately cut short after only two seasons due to a lack of merchandise sales – even though not much was manufactured to being with. It was a ridiculous Catch 22, to say the least.

Continue Reading Below VideosGeek Out: The Walking Dead Gets An Extended Episode,...

There is justice after all: The cult-favorite superhero series Young Justice will get a third season, three years after being cancelled by Cartoon Network.

Production on Season 3 of the animated series, about a Justice League-like squad of teenaged DC Comics superheroes like Robin, Superboy and Kid Flash, is already underway from Warner Bros. Animation, our sister site Deadline reports. No network has signed on to air the revival yet — Cartoon Network axed the original run in 2013 — but Netflix has been rumored as a possible destination, since the first two seasons of Young Justice are already available on the streaming service.

Taking place in the world of George A. Romero's classic 1968 film, Double Take's Night of the Living Dead: Revival comic book universe now features fifty issues across ten interconnected series. With each five-issue story being released as revamped graphic novels and as part of special "binge box" collections today, Daily Dead recently spoke with Double Take's Bill Jemas and Michael Coast about their team's ambitious approach to storytelling, what new treats await readers within the pages of the graphic novels, and much more.

Now that you've reached this milestone of releasing the first fifty issues in this universe, when you look back at where this journey started to where you are now, what are you the most proud of accomplishing so far?

Bill Jemas: I'm really proud of the team. I think pound for pound, Mike has become the best package in the industry of editorial skills and writing chops.

Sneak Peek complete episodes of the outer space TV series "Métal Hurlant Chronicles" aka "Heavy Metal Chronicles" based on the erotic comics anthology by illustrator Jean 'Moebius' Giraud.

Directed by Guillaume Lubrano, the France/UK co-production series debuted in France.

The 26-minute episodes focus on 'sexy stories in a sci-fi setting'.

Cast includes Scott Adkins, Joe Flanigan, James Marsters, Michael Jai white, Rutger Hauer, Darren Shahlavi, Kelly Brook and Matt Mullins.

"...in the lineage of fantastic series such as 'Twilight Zone' or 'The Outer Limits', 'Metal Hurlant Chronicles' is the adaptation of the world renowned magazine of the same name.

"Discover the live versions of these exceptional comics by the writers of 'X Men' , 'Batman' , 'Spider-man' , 'Iron Man' and 'GI Joe' .

  

"Fitted for the international market, each episode is 26 minutes long, composed of one story involving Action, Heroic Fantasy, Science Fiction..."

Click...

The Watcher is an enigmatic character in the Marvel Universe. As his name implies, he watches the events of the world without interfering. Occasionally, he’s offered assistance to some characters but mostly, he watches. But what would happen if The Watcher were murdered?

That’s the premise of Original Sin, a Marvel event from 2014. Overall, the story was pretty good. It won’t go down as a classic but for what they were trying to accomplish, they did as well as they were going to.

The problem I have is how Nick Fury, the original Nick Fury, was portrayed. The story establishes that Nick is growing old by the day due to his body running out of the Infinity Formula that had been keeping him young over the years. They discussed how Nick had a side job separate from Shield that had him traveling the universe killing various threats...

Guy Buckland Sep 15, 2016

A few thoughts on where Avengers: Infinity War can go - and how X-Men can help...

You have to feel both simultaneous envy and sympathy when it comes to Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Current darlings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after their feted screenwriting duties on the Captain America trilogy, they’ve now been given the herculean task of nailing a story and screenplay for the forthcoming Avengers: Infinity War, a two-part culmination of three phases worth of McU build-up.

On the one hand: what a treat to be given license to play around in that sandbox; to have access to all those incredible characters; to conceive the greatest battle the Avengers will face thus far as Thanos finally makes his play.

On the other hand: how the hell are they going to pull this off?

Because it’s not just about tying up all those...

No More Mutants!

This week I wanted to read an event series Marvel made in 2005, The House of M. I’d referenced the story a couple weeks back when I spoke of the anniversary of the Fantastic Four but wanted to give the story itself some time in the spotlight.

While you’re getting a good story here, it has its flaws. One theme I find common in Brian Bendis’s work is during event stories like this, he has an antagonist that is barely in the story. In Age of Ultron for example, the title implies you have a villain who the protagonists will do their best to fight off when in fact the story itself deals with an alternate timeline where the heroes react to actions the villain has already committed.

In this story, The X-Men and The Avengers decide they have to do something about the insanity of Scarlet Witch.

Last month, Marvel Comics dropped quite the bombshell, revealing that an African-American teenage girl named Riri Williams will take over as the new Iron Man. Of course, this major change also meant that this iconic superhero name will have to change as well, when she fully takes over as the hero in Invincible Iron Man #1, debuting in November. Today we have new artwork from this comic, which reveals that Riri will now be known as Ironheart.

Riri Williams and Tony Stark recently met in the current run of Invincible Iron Man, after Tony discovered that she made her own Iron Man suit in her MIT dorm room, at the age of 15. After the events of the Civil War II comic book run, Riri will take over as this iconic character, although it isn't exactly known what will happen to Tony Stark. Wired caught up with Brian Michael Bendis, who revealed...

Disclaimer: This editorial contains spoilers for Issues 1 & 2 of the Marvel crossover event, Civil War II.

In the words of singer Edwin Star, “War! What is it good for? Aboslutely noth’n”. This is exactly how I feel about the “Civil War” going within the Marvel Universe right now. Why would I feel that way? What can make me believe that a follow up companywide crossover to one of the biggest storylines for Marvel is “good for noth’n”? Well there quite a few reasons for such a conclusion, but first a little background on how Marvel works for those unaware.

Each year the great editors and writers of Marvel go off to a “retreat” where tons of ideas, plots, and concepts and just about anything for the company are discussed. This not so secret retreat has been going on for quite a few years with much of the focus apparently...

By the time this column posts, I will have seen the new Ghostbusters flick from the Freaks and Geeks guru Paul Feig. I have chosen to see the film based not on any lingering love of the first two incarnations of the franchise (but put a pin in that until next week). I am not seeing it because of any particular love of the paranormal. And I’m especially not seeing it because a who’s-who of amazingly funny women are starring in it.

I’m seeing it because it looks like a fun flick to shut my chattering brain off for a couple of hours. Maybe giggle and marvel at some special effects in the process.

Meanwhile I also saw this week that Iron Man will be played by a black woman in some upcoming issues of the series. I’ve literally no doubt that the move isn’t permanent.

Yesterday, Marvel proved that they are very much committed to the idea of adding diversity to their comics, and that they aren't afraid to ruffle a few feathers in the process. The comic book publisher revealed that following the events of Civil War II, the new Iron Man will be a 15-year-old, African-American girl named Riri Williams. This most definitely came as a shock to many, and the reception has been mixed from fans. The next question, though, is: Will Riri take over for Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

There are plenty of people who don't at all seem to like the idea of making such a dramatic change to the character of Iron Man, but a very important someone seems to think it is pretty great. Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man for most people around the world, and he recently took to...

Last week it was announced that Aftershock Comics will be launching a new superhero series in September named Alters. The series will be seasoned comic writer Paul Jenkins’ second title with Aftershock, and it’s drawn by Leila Leiz. Though it will feature a few different kinds super powered humans, referred to as Alters in this world, the central character currently getting all the buzz is Chalice.

The gravity manipulating Chalice will be joining the ranks of characters like Coagula on the incredibly and embarrassingly short list of trans superheroes in comics. The hook for Chalice is that while Chalice presents as female, her civilian alter ego presents as male under the name Charlie Young. At the start of the story, Charlie is a college student who is currently transitioning in secret to Charlie’s family, though some friends may be aware. We just don’t have all the details on that yet.

After seeing his debut in Captain America: Civil War, the audience appetite for Tom Holland's Peter Parker is officially whet; and the outlook for his debut solo film, Spider-Man: Homecoming, just keeps getting better and better. The cast for the film is already impressive, and includes -- among others -- Michael Keaton as the central villain (that most believe is the Vulture), Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Zendaya as a friend of Peter's named Michelle, and Robert Downy Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man. The film just got that much more exciting by adding Beasts of No Nation breakout star Abraham Attah. Attah received great acclaim, including a Best Male Lead win at the Independent Spirit Awards, for his role in the Netflix original movie where he starred alongside -- and held his own against -- the profoundly talented Idris Elba, as a child soldier.  It's unclear who Attah is playing in Spider-Man: Homecoming,...

Let the subplots commence. Civil War 2 is chugging along with the release of The Amazing Spider-Man Number 1. I’ve found that with event stories such as this, some of the subplot stories that you find in other comics vary in quality. Sometimes their addition to the main event flows nicely, such as Ms. Marvel’s use in the Secret Wars event. Sometimes the results are mixed such as the Black Widow series from Nathan Edmondson.

To start, I enjoyed this issue. While it definitely adds to the Civil War 2 story, it doesn’t feel forced in the least. It feels like a natural extension of where Brian Bendis and Dave Marquez are taking things. The characters feel real which can be tough to accomplish when dealing with people with such amazing abilities. When Peter Parker and Johnny Storm meet up under circumstances fit for a 1970’s sitcom, their back...

It wasn't long ago that fans were creating petitions to have Sony cast Donald Glover as the new Spider-Man back when Marc Webb was just getting the Amazing Spider-Man films off the ground. Many were hoping that the actor/rapper would play the role of the newly created Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles Morales.  Considering that the character's creator, Brian Michael Bendis, based Miles' physical appearance on Glover, it seemed like a perfect fit, despite the immense age difference. While Glover was never seriously considered for a role in the Amazing Spider-Man duology, he did have the opportunity to voice the young Miles Morales in an episode of Disney Xd's Ultimate Spider-Man, and now, it looks like Glover is going to join Tom Holland on the big screen. According to Deadline, Glover is currently in talks to join the cast of 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. At the moment, details on Glover's role are being kept under wraps, but given the fact that Glover is in his early thirties and Holland's Peter...

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Legendary stunt coordinator Andy Armstrong talks to us about his work on Highlander, Thor, Catwoman, and what makes a great action scene...

For over 40 years, Andy Armstrong has worked on a huge array of stunts and action sequences in TV and film. From directing 1,000s of extras in Stargate to a full body burn in Danny DeVito's Hoffa, Armstrong's experiences as a stuntman, stunt coordinator and unit director have taken him all over the world.

The brother of Vic Armstrong, the stunt coordinator and director who famously doubled for Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones movies, Andy Armstrong's career began when he doubled for Sir John Mills on the 1970s TV series, The Zoo Gang. That early job jumpstarted a life in filmmaking which has taken in three James Bond movies, 90s action (Total Recall, Universal Soldier) and superhero movies (The Green Hornet, Thor, The Amazing Spider-Man).

Those 40 years of filmmaking experience are the pillar of Armstrong's book, the Action Movie Maker's Handbook. Intended as a reference for those thinking of starting a career in stunts or action unit directing, it also offers a valuable insight for those outside the industry, too. The book reveals the range of talents required to bring an effective action scene to the screen - organisation, storytelling, an understanding of engineering and physics - and how much input a coordinator and unit director has on how those sequences will look in the final film.

We caught up with Andy Armstrong via telephone to talk about his book and some of the highlights in his career so far. Read on for his thoughts on creating the action sequences in Thor and The Amazing Spider-Man, his hilarious behind-the-scenes memories from the 80s cult classic, Highlander, and what went wrong on the 2004 Catwoman movie...

Your book gave me a new appreciation for what second unit directors and stunt coordinators do. I didn't realise how much design work you do when it comes to action scenes, for example.

Yeah, it is true that a lot of people don't realise how much development goes into action. Especially nowadays, it's such a complex business. That becomes a huge part of it - the technicalities of it and the storytelling part of it. Some things might look great, but when you put them all together they don't necessarily work for that movie. A lot of what I've made a living doing is really creating action that is appropriate for the movie. Because the wrong type of action is just like the wrong costume or the wrong actor or something - it just takes you out of the film.

You get a lot of movies that actually have too much action in them. Then what happens is, you can't appreciate it. It's like a feast where the starter is such a huge meal that you don't even want the main course because you're full. That's like so many action movies - they'd actually benefit from having some of the action taken out of them. I'm always fascinated when you see an audience in an action movie.

When I feel there's too much action in a movie, or it goes on for too long, I always look around in a cinema. It's interesting to see people chatting to each other or doing something else. You should never have that in an action movie. Action should be like sex or violence - you want to be left just wanting a bit more. That gets forgotten in a lot of movies, which are just relentless. Stuff going on the whole time.

What happens then is that, when it comes to something special for the third act, some fantastic fight or something, you can't raise the bar enough, because the bar's been high all the way through the movie. It's a weird thing.

They have to build, action scenes.

They do have to build, absolutely. That's why I do that little graph in the book, which is something I do in every movie, just to work out how much action there should be and where it should go and, on a scale of one to 10, how big it is. It's funny how crude that looks, and yet if you compare it to any of the really great action movies, they'll fit that graph. There'll be something at the opening, there'll be something happening at the end of the first act and into the second act, and there'll be bits and pieces happening in the second act and then a big third act finale. Whether it's a movie made in the 60s or now, that formula of action still becomes the sweet spot.

A lot of these superhero movies, there's some fantastic action going on, but by the end of the movie, nobody cares. You have nowhere to go with it.

Some of them are very long as well.

Far too long. Far, far too long. You're absolutely right. I think any movie, past two hours, has got to be either incredibly spectacular or it's an ego-fest for the filmmakers. Keeping somebody in a seat for more than two hours - you'd better have a really good tale to tell. And I don't think many of these modern ones do - they just have lots of stuff in them.

So what films have impressed you recently in terms of action?

Kingsman, definitely. I thought it was absolutely brilliant, a really good take on it. I loved that it was Colin Firth and not a traditional action hero that's covered in muscles and torn t-shirts and things. And for the same reasons, really, I love the Taken series of movies with Liam Neeson. I loved them, particularly because they're grounded in reality, or set just above reality. Obviously, Kingsman you go more above reality, but they're still grounded with real gravity and real people. It's a bit hypocritical, because I've made a great living doing some superhero movies, but they're not more favourite movies by any chance. I'm very proud of the work I've done on them, but the movies I love aren't even action, really. I haven't seen the third Taken, I need to get that, but I thought the first two Takens were really very cool.

I quite liked both the Red films. I was going to do the second one of those, because the guy who directed the second one is a friend of mine. So I'd have liked to have done that, but they wanted to go with the person they used on the first film. Dean Parisot is a very good friend of mine, I did Galaxy Quest with him. That's one of my favourites.

But a lot of movies I've seen lately, I've been underwhelmed by some of them. It's funny. I like tight little movies. I think it's a shame we've not had more John Frankenheimers making things like Ronin, you know. Great action but well placed - the right action in the right place. Again, grounded in reality, real people.

Do you think stunts go through trends? Obviously, you've recently been doing a lot of wire work on superhero movies lately.

Oh, absolutely. It's kind of gone in a tight full circle, because a few years ago action went fully CG, and then the brief we were given when we did the first Amazing Spider-Man is that they want to get away from that feel, to go more gravity based, more reality. That's what we spent a lot of time doing on that first Spider-Man is the way he jumps around. I based it on real physics.

Some of the stuff on the first Amazing Spider-Man I'm really very, very proud of. We filmed some groundbreaking rig systems and high-powered winches that moved around so there was a proper organic travel when Spider-Man jumps around. It's funny, because when I agreed to do the movie, that was the brief - they want to make Spider-Man's movement much more realistic. I said, "Yes, absolutely, we can do it." But when I came out of the meeting, I have to be honest - I had no idea how the hell we were going to do that.

We did a lot of testing. They were good enough to give us a lot of time to test. One of the things I did was bring in an Olympic gymnast, and I had him swing from three bars, from one bar to the next bar to the next bar, doing giant swings on them. I videoed it, because I knew that something on the original [Sam Raimi] Spider-Man didn't look right. It sounds really obvious in the end, because your eye goes straight to it, but when I brought the gymnast in, I realised that when you see a human swinging, their downward swing is really violent. It gets faster, faster, faster until it nearly pulls the arms out of the sockets, and then as they swing up it gets slower, slower, slower until they get negative. Then they grab the next bar and it happens again. It's the massive variation in velocity that made me realise, "I get it. That's what's real." Then you can tell it's a real guy. When you see Spider-Man and his speed is the same going down as it is going up, even though you haven't analysed it in your mind, you know that it's not right. It's like the five-legged horse syndrome: if you saw one standing in a field, even though you've never seen one in your life, you'd know that it's not something from nature.

It's something I spend a lot of time doing, making things organic and real. In the book you've see a lot of reference to Buster Keaton and things, because I like to go back to that. When you've seen something done for real, then you can make anything as fantastic as you want. But you have to know where the baseline is, where real is, before you start doing something too spectacular. Or what will happen is, even though an audience has never seen an athlete on giant bars, or a guy swinging on a spider web, they'll know instinctively that it looks wrong. We're conditioned to do that - no matter how realistic a dummy in a shop window is, we know as humans that it isn't a real person. Animals know all that - they can spot their own species, they can spot other species and know what they are.

It's why, with a superhero movie, especially, I like to do a bible beforehand, so that you can have a reference. How strong is Spider-Man? Can he throw cars or push a building over? Can he just pick up a sofa? You have to have a yardstick of what people can do. Otherwise it's all over the place. We've seen those movies, where the power of the superheroes [varies]. One minute he gets knocked out by someone in a bar, the next he's pushing a house over.

It has to have some kind of internal logic, doesn't it.

It has to have some kind of logic, no matter how mad that logic is, it has to be consistent. We had it on Thor: how powerful is Thor? How much can he do with a hammer? What happens when the hammer really hits something? You have to have all these mad conversations at the beginning of the movie. If you see someone punch through a building, it's tough to then see that same person slap someone in their face without tearing their head off. You need a yardstick to go to.

I was interested to read what you said about Catwoman, and the idea you had for the big fight.

Yeah, that was a classic case. In the end I was proved right. The movie could have been fantastic. Halle Berry - in the outfit, she could stop traffic. And she was such a perfect choice for Catwoman - she had all the abilities. The movement down, the whole thing. It was such a waste, because the script got crappier and crappier. There was a rewrite every week or so. Each one was worse than the last one. It was like someone was drinking and writing worse and worse versions of it. I feel sorry for Halle as well - I don't think it did her career any good. She's such a trooper anyway.

It's funny, I remember when I saw the first TV commercial for the movie, and I'd been a bit depressed - I don't like leaving movies. I remember coming out, and you always have that second thought as to whether you should have left it or not. But I'm quite strict about only doing good stuff. The interesting thing is, I fought to get the motorcycle sequence in there, and the directors and the producers - none of them wanted it. The moment I saw that first commercial, and it was nearly all motorcycle. I remember shouting at the screen that I was absolutely right. You know when they put that in the trailer that it's the only good thing in the movie! It's very funny.

Why do you think that happens sometimes in these big Hollywood films, where you get this death spiral of script rewrites? You hear about it quite a lot.

Oh, God knows. If you could answer that I think you'd be a gazillionaire. A lot of these rewrites just get worse and worse. It's like cooking, putting this and that in, until you've got this inedible bowl of crap that's like the vision you originally set out to make. That happens so often. I think part of it happens in the main studio system because a lot of films get made by committee. That happens a lot. It didn't happen with some of the greats of the 50s, 60s and 70s, because some of those people were tyrannical, but the movies they made had a personal identity to them.

John Boorman doesn't always make great movies, but he's a great moviemaker and every movie he makes is a John Boorman movie. You look at Excalibur, you look at Deliverance, you look at Hope And Glory, they're all different, you can like them or not like them, but they have a real authority and identity to them. What happens in a studio system is you have a lot of junior executives and they all want to put a comment in there, they all want to use this actor or that actress. In the end, for right or wrong, a film has to have one real author. If it doesn't... there's the old saying that a camel is a horse designed by committee. That's what happens to movies. There are so many people in different areas in the studio that want to keep their fingers in the pie.

The big thing about studios is, most studio executives are all eventually going to get fired or run another studio or something. The rule of thumb is, most studio executives want to be just attached to a movie enough that if it's a huge success they can say they were or part of it, and they can point out the bits they changed or suggested or whatever. And if it's a Catwoman, they can distance themselves from it as if it were a disease. That's a real thing - a fine line executives work. Because you can get the blame for a picture that you may have had nothing to do with in some ways, you had no say in it if you were a studio executive, necessarily, and you can also get lots of praise and lots of awards and a million-dollar job at another studio because you're considered to be the guy or girl that brought this or that movie to the studio and it made $300m. It's a funny game, that.

In the end, who knows what's going to be successful? Who'd have thought movies like Fast & Furious would still be successful?

Yeah, there's gonna be eight or nine of them.

It's incredible. Vic [Armstrong] and I were offered, I guess it was three or four, and then they made a change with the action team and they've had the same action team since. But we'd just started Thor so we turned it down. It's funny because they went off and did more and more of those Fast & Furious films and we did the two Spider-Mans and Season Of The Witch and some other things. I think in the end we kind of made the right choice. I'm proud of the stuff I've done.

When you think of how advanced the look of Highlander was - Russell invented that look. The very long lenses, the very wide lenses. Fantastic cuts between things. It's absolutely timeless. I watched it again recently. It's as good now as it was when we made it. And it's a beautiful looking movie.

I'm really proud of the stuff I've done on it. It's amazing to think it's 30 years [old]. There's a lot of funny stories about Highlander. When they hired Sean Connery first of all as Ramirez, it’s funny because it's a Scotsman playing a Spaniard and a Frenchman playing a Scotsman! The funny thing is, Peter Davis and Bill Panzer, the producers, cast Connery - and the movie's called Highlander, so Connery thought he was playing the Highlander!

He got some huge fee, and then they let him know that he's playing Ramirez, this Spanish guy. He went, "Oh fine", but his fee was the same - he got about a million dollars for however many weeks he was on the movie. And then Christopher Lambert, who'd only done Greystoke before, as far as English-speaking movies went, they cast him and hadn't met him. Apparently, when they did Greystoke, he learned his lines parrot fashion - he just learned the line he had to speak. He couldn't speak English. But he's such a lovely guy.

When they first met him and he answered "Yes" to every question, they realised he didn't know what the hell they were talking about. [Laughs] They were in a bar or restaurant, and Peter Davis and Bill Panzer both came outside, and they left him at the table, and said, "He can't fucking speak English!" And they'd already cast him! The deal was done! It was fantastic, you know?

It just shows you. He was so charismatic in that movie. He learned English during the movie and was brilliant.

He's also incredibly short-sighted, Christophe. I did some really cool sword fight sequences with him. He couldn't see the sword! Incredible. His muscle memory and ability to be taught a fight with his glasses on, and then take is glasses off and then shoot was absolutely astounding. I've never met anyone like it. He never missed a beat, and yet he couldn't see - he couldn't see which end of the sword he had a hold of.

You look at those sword fights, and he's better than most stuntmen doing them. Yet he could hardly see his opponent, let alone the sword. Fascinating.

Clancy Brown, who played the villain, he's still a friend. He was fantastic. A couple of funny things happened on that, I think they're in the book. We were doing some car action in New York, and I had cameras on the front of the Cadillac. The Cadillac was my choice - originally it was written as a big four-wheel drive. I wanted something classically American that would slide around.

When we were towing it through town with the cameras on for the close-ups of the two actors, Clancy's there with his slit throat with the safety pins in it and all that, and I would jump off the back of the camera car when we got to a decent bit of road or bridge or something, and I'd turn all the cameras on.

At one point, I was turning the cameras on and the cop who was helping us - or supposed to be helping us in a typical sort of New York, aggressive cop way, said, "If you get off the camera car again, I'm going to arrest you."

Now, meanwhile, the cameras are rolling. I'm not really arguing with the cop, but I'm a bit pissed off to say the least. So I got back on the camera car. But while I'm doing that, Clancy, just dicking around, was [sings] "New York, New York!" And that was just him playing around. It was actually in response to me arguing with a New York cop, really.

Anyway, Russell, when he was putting the chase together, loved that little moment. He'd done all the Queen videos, and that's when Queen came in and saw it, and they loved it. So that's when they re-recorded their version of New York, New York and it became a hit record for Queen.

That's amazing.

It started as a mild confrontation between me and a rather aggressive New York cop! [Laughs] Whenever I see Clancy, we still laugh about it. It wasn't in the script or anything, it was just one of those things.

Andy Armstrong, thank you very much!

Action Movie Maker's Handbook is available from Amazon now.

See related Does it matter whether stars do their own stunts? Speed 2: how a dream sparked one of the biggest stunts ever Olivier Megaton interview: Taken 2, Liam Neeson and stunts Sam Mendes interview: Skyfall, stunts & cinematography Movies Interview Ryan Lambie Andy Armstrong 14 Jun 2016 - 05:40 Highlander Catwoman The Amazing Spider-Man The Amazing Spider-Man 2 interview Andy Armstrong movies...

Today is the only signing scheduled right now from the team behind Civil War II.  Our very own Tim Jousma will be covering the event.  If you plan on being there make sure you say hello to Tim as he will have some giveaways to handout.  

For our readers near the Portland, Oregon area check out Things From Another World on June 8, 2016.

Things From Another World located in Portland, Oregon is extremely excited to announce a Civil War II Signing with Marvel Architect Brian Michael Bendis (Uncanny X-Men, Invincible Iron Man, Powers) and Artist Extraordinaire David Marquez (Invincible Iron Man, All New X-Men, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man) June 8th at the Portland Tfaw from 6Pm to 8Pm. 

Come pick up Civil War II #1 and meet the team behind the book!

About Civil War II:

A new character who has the power to calculate the outcome of future events with a high...

When Marvel and Sony announced their groundbreaking deal to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, rumors started swirling regarding which Spider-Man character would be featured in the McU. There was a strong grassroots movement in favor of the studio using Miles Morales, a young teenager who is half African-American and half Puerto Rican. The studio eventually went the traditional route and cast Tom Holland as Peter Parker, who won rave reviews for his debut in Captain America: Civil War. But it seems fans may still see Miles Morales on the big screen after all. A new rumor claims that Miles Morales will be the focus of Sony's Spider-Man Animated Movie, which will hit theaters on December 21, 2018.

This report from Heroic Hollywood has not been confirmed, but the site claims a big clue was dropped by Sony's Tom Rothman during last year's CinemaCon, where he revealed the animated project will...