Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1736

What the First Look at AVENGERS 4 Means for the MCU

Avengers: Infinity War has been out for over a month now, but Marvel is still being tight-lipped about the real title for Avengers 4. Since the film is about 11 months away, it could be quite a while before we finally see footage from the next Avengers movie. However, a piece of artwork may have provided us with our first glimpse of the new team in Avengers 4. Today’s Nerdist News challenges Thanos and explains what the latest iteration of the Avengers could mean for the MCU.

Join host and reserve member of the Great Lakes Avengers, Jessica Chobot, as she assembles the intel about this first look. It should be noted this image could be just really good fan art. But if it’s legitimate, then it means both Rocket and Nebula will essentially be on the team as they go up against Thanos one last time. There’s also one other significant addition: Captain Marvel in her traditional red and gold costume.

If the image is accurate, Captain America‘s shaving his beard and Black Widow is once again rocking her red hair. Presumably that indicates they don’t have to hide who they are anymore. Although it’s anyone’s guess how much of the government is intact after Thanos dusted half the universe. Speaking of which, we can’t help but notice the Wasp is not in this image with her partner, Ant-Man. Does this mean Hope van Dyne was among the victims of Thanos? We may find out sooner than expected if Ant-Man and the Wasp features an end-credits scene that sets up Avengers 4.

This episode of Nerdist News is sponsored by WB Games. Check out Hitman 2 and pre-order it here before it hits stores on November 13. And for all of the latest Hitman 2 news, you can follow the game’s official Twitter account or visit its Facebook page. Keep up with WB Games on Facebook and Twitter, too.

What do you think about the possible lineup for Avengers 4? Assemble your thoughts in the comment section below!

Images: Marvel

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This ZELDA Master Sword Is Actually a Nintendo Switch Game Card Case

As somebody who has a Nintendo Switch and enthusiastically explores the accessories market, I’ve learned a couple things: There are a ton of third-party options out there for things that can enhance your Switch-owning experience, and a lot of them aren’t the best thing for all folks. For instance, I haven’t been able to find my ideal game card case that will look natural on the shelf next to my official game cases, so a few months ago, I went ahead and designed my own, based on an official Nintendo game card case and a third-party plastic insert.

I’m very satisfied with the results, which were made to blend in. That aesthetic choice isn’t for everybody, though, so if you’re looking for an option that’s more meant to stand out, here’s something: a game card case that looks like the Master Sword from The Legend Of Zelda series (via Reddit).

While in its sheath, the 3D-printed sword looks like a standard collectible prop, but take it out, and the “blade” has slots for six games. The video uploader is quick to point out that while they did print this sword themselves, it’s not actually their design. That comes courtesy of kDaesign on Etsy, who sells the sword (or gives away the design files for free) for $30. It’s sold out at the moment, so keep an eye on the Etsy store page in hopes that more will be available soon (here’s a cached version of the product page if you want to check it out).

What’s your current solution for storing your Switch games? Would you consider something like this? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Featured image: Kickass 3D Prints/YouTube

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DC’s Vertigo Line Will Relaunch With 7 Original Titles

In 1993, DC Comics established its Vertigo Comics imprint as a place to tell more mature storylines with comics like Hellblazer and Swamp Thing while allowing creators greater freedom to explore experimental comics and stories. Twenty-five years later, DC is giving Vertigo a new lease on life with a completely revamped lineup of seven new original titles. It’s also getting a new name: DC Vertigo.

The first new series coming in September is Border Town, a supernatural drama from Eric M. Esquivel and Ramon Villalobos. It sounds a little bit like Stranger Things, since the new kid, Frank Dominguez, “and a motley crew of high school misfits” will be investigating a breach between worlds that brings monsters from Mexican folklore into a town on the U.S. and Mexican border. Border Town will also explore the racial tensions in the town, which may prove to be more difficult to handle than the creatures coming to kill everyone.

Ben Blacker and Mirka Andolfo’s Hex Wives will arrive in October. This series is about subservient housewives who discover that their lives are a lie. In reality, they are a powerful coven of witches who have been brainwashed into domesticity. Needless to say, there’s going to be hell to pay for that transgression.

American Carnage will be unleashed in November. Writer Bryan Hill and artist Leandro Fernandez will tell the story of a biracial FBI agent who infiltrates a deadly gang of white supremacists while looking for the murderer of a fellow agent.

Zoë Quinn and Robbi Rodriguez’s Goddess Mode will close out DC Vertigo’s 2018 in December with a near future world in which female superheroes battle monsters to save reality’s cheat codes within a previously undiscovered cybernetic realm.

The three remaining relaunch titles won’t hit until 2019, but DC Vertigo hasn’t announced dates for them yet. Mark Russell and Richard Pace’s Second Coming appears to be playing with some of the religious connotations that fans and creators have given to Superman. In this title, Jesus returns to Earth and encounters a very Superman-like hero called Sun-Man. But Jesus is far more concerned about the way his teachings have been perverted since he gave his life for humanity’s sins.

Tina Horn and Mike Dowling’s Safe Sex is another futurist story in which the battle for freedom is led by underground sex workers. Also, the government in this title is apparently using sex as another means of controlling the population.

Finally, Rob Sheridan and Barnaby Bagenda’s High Level is a story about a smuggler tasked with braving a post-apocalyptic world while safely delivering a child believed to be the Messiah to a mystical city that shares the title of the book.

Which of the new DC Vertigo titles has piqued your interest? Let us know in the comment section below!

Images: DC Vertigo

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New Prince Album Officially Announced: “Piano & A Microphone 1983”

Today, on what would have been Prince’s 60th birthday, the Prince estate, via MSN,  has announced the first full album of previously unreleased material since the iconic singer passed away in 2016. Called Piano & a Microphone 1983, this will be a collection of solo songs recorded at home by the Purple One, right around the time he was reaching mainstream success with the release of his breakthrough album 1999.  The estate released the first song from the album today, a cover of “Mary Don’t You Weep,” which is set to be played over the end credits sequence of Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, which is hitting theaters in August. You can listen to the track in full down below:



The album has been floating around for years in bootleg form, along with dozens of other Prince recordings, although the official version will have more tracks than were available on the bootleg. Among the songs featured on the album are favorites like “17 Days” and an early version of “Purple Rain.” Also included will be a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You,” an early version of Sign O’ the Times‘ ‘Strange Relationship, and 1999’s “International Lover.” Interestingly, the new album shares a title with Prince’s final concert tour, which he embarked on in early 2016. The album will contain 9 tracks and run 35 minutes long.

In a statement, Prince Estate entertainment adviser Troy Carter said “This raw, intimate recording, which took place at the start of Prince’s career right before he achieved international stardom, is similar in format to the ‘Piano & A Microphone Tour’ that he ended his career with in 2016. The Estate is excited to be able to give fans a glimpse of his evolution and show how his career ultimately came full circle with just him and his piano.”

The album is available now to pre-order on CD, LP, Deluxe CD+LP, digital release and pre-save for streaming. The Deluxe CD+LP format will include a 12” booklet featuring brand new liner notes written by Prince’s former sound engineer Don Batts, as well as candid photographs of Prince including never before seen images. Fans who pre-order the album via digital download will immediately receive an Instant Grat download of “Mary Don’t You Weep”. The album will be released on September 14.

Are you excited to enter into a whole new era of Prince music? Be sure to let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Warner Brothers / The Prince Estate

Why THOR Is the Ultimate Disney Princess

We met Thor as a Prince of Asgard. And if it still existed in the MCU at this point, he’d be king. But perhaps there’s another royal title that Thor can still achieve, at least per the rules of Earth, pop culture, and the animated-rodent-worshipping corporate overlords who own Marvel. After the recent trailer for Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 spelled out the rules of being a Disney princess, one Twitter user pointed out that Thor meets every single requirement… which is more than most other Disney princesses can say.

Thor~ one true Disney princess

Does the World Need Two Different Joker Standalone Movies?

Jared Leto is getting his own standalone Joker movie, which means the DCEU has two films planned for the Clown Prince of Crime. On today’s Nerdist News Talks Back we discussed where the franchise is headed, along with the trailer for the new animated Spider-Man movie, and first reactions to The Incredibles 2 and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Host Jessica Chobot was joined today by senior editor Dan Casey, Nerdist News writer Joan Ford, and Editor-in-Chief Rachel Heine, and they swung into action with the first trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. What do we think of it? Do we like the animation style? Would we have preferred to see Miles Morales in a live-action film first? And will this hold us over until we get the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel?

Speaking of sequels, we also started getting reactions to two of this summer’s biggest, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Incredibles 2. Pixar’s super family followup is getting decent though slightly mixed reviews, so does that change our level of excitement? What do we make of the wide-ranging reactions to Fallen Kingdom? What did Dan who saw the latest dino movie think? Can the film’s reportedly great haunted house sequences cover up for its flaws?

Finally, Jared Leto is getting his own standalone Suicide Squad/Joker movie, which means there are two Joker films planned by the DCEU. Is anyone excited for this? Why is this happening? Do we expect more over-the-top method acting from him? Does this have us less enthusiastic about the direction of the DCEU? Is Warner Bros. not changing course like we thought? And are we just waiting for all of those Harley Quinn films instead?

Don’t forget Nerdist News Talks Back airs every Monday through Thursday on our YouTube and Alpha channels live at 1PM PT, and we end our week with Nerdist News What the Friday at 1PM PT, only at Alpha. It’s the place to be to discuss the latest news on the Joker standalone movie. All of them.

What did you think of today’s topics? Talk back to us about them in the comments below.

Images: Warner Bros.

An Intro to CLOAK AND DAGGER: The Marvel Mutants You Might Not Have Met

It’s tough keeping up with Marvel’s thousands of characters, a history spanning almost 80 years, and a movie catalogue which due to licensing rights has pushed some of the lesser known characters to the forefront! But soon two of Marvel’s iconic ’80s hallmarks, Cloak and Dagger, are coming to our television screens in a new series, and so we thought that we’d look back at their history and introduce you to the dynamic pair who are the rare mutants whose whole lives aren’t defined by the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. In fact, Cloak and Dagger have long been on the outskirts of the Marvel Universe, but with their new TV show on the horizon that will likely change.

Created by Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan, the team of Ty Johnson and Tandy Bowen first appeared in 1982’s Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #64 as antagonists for the friendly neighborhood hero. They attempted to get some deadly vigilante justice on the drug dealer who experimented on them and gave them their superpowers. The pair’s power sets are a juxtaposition of each other with Tyrone, a.k.a. Cloak, becoming engulfed in a smoky darkness which he hid within a vast cloak which was later revealed to be the Darkforce. This darkness gave him a hunger which only subsided when he was close to Tandy. Usefully, Ty also found he could transport himself and others through his cloak. Tandy, a.k.a.Dagger, became a shining bright light who could control the luminescence that she gave off. The pair realized they could utilize their powers to fight the men who’d hurt them, with Cloak consuming the henchmen in his darkness whilst Dagger attacked them with shards of light.

Like many characterizations from older comics, Cloak and Dagger weren’t without their problems. Cloak was a poor street kid who fit a lot of outdated stereotypes, and his powers seemed pretty problematic when you laid them all out. Dagger was a beautiful, rich teenage girl in a very poorly designed costume. This questionable combination was perfectly taken down in Kate Beaton’s fantastic comic strip Hark! A Vagrant.

However, the characters still gained a following, and after more guest appearances in Spectacular Spider-Man–including a battle with the Punisher–they were given their own four issue self-titled miniseries. The vigilante pair headed to Hell’s Kitchen and took sanctuary in a church where they tried to figure out a way to rid the city of drug dealers with the police on their tails. When a showdown between the goth teen duo, NYPD, and local crims led to the death of an innocent man, the pair began to question their motives. But for many comic fans, their first interaction with Ty and Tandy was alongside X-Men proteges the New Mutants in Marvel Team-Up #6, in which the pair lost their powers to Sunspot and Wolfsbane, after the men who gave Cloak and Dagger their powers attempted to control the New Mutants by injecting them with the same drug that ignited Ty and Tandy’s story.

Cloak and Dagger then began to appear in multiple Marvel comics and even events like Secret Wars. It was also during this time that Cloak and Dagger discovered that they were actually mutants, hence why they were able to survive the experiments that led to their latent mutant powers being activated. Even with this discovery, though, the teens turned down a place at Xavier’s School, preferring to stick together and follow their own path. This path even led to Cloak to take part in the Infinity Gauntlet event, which saw him team up with Adam Warlock to defeat Thanos after he clicked his fingers and killed half of the universe. Cloak even managed to consume Thanos with his cloak, but the Mad Titan escaped by destroying Ty and his portal into the Darkforce. Thankfully, he was later resurrected by Nebula when she gained the Infinity Gauntlet.

By this point Cloak and Dagger had been the stars of more than one self-titled series, and were recurring characters in the Marvel Universe. They teamed up with Spider-Man once again to defeat the serial killer symbiote Carnage in Maximum Carnage. Dagger appeared to die in the early story but was later revealed to be recuperating in Ty’s cloak dimension. Dagger later became a member of the Marvel Knights team, during which time she became really close with her teammate Natasha Romanov. With the pair split up, Ty lost control and began consuming any and all “evildoers” that he came across, accidentally consuming most of the Marvel Knights team until Tandy managed to absorb his powers and save the day.

In Runaways, the pair were hired by a Pride-controlled L.A.P.D. to catch the errant teen heroes. But after realizing they’d been used, Cloak and Dagger vowed to help the kids. Alas, their minds were erased of all the memories regarding the Pride or the Runaways, so they could never return to help them. The pair were even involved in Civil War–on Captain America’s side–and Secret Invasion when Cloak was called on by Luke Cage. When Norman Osborn built the Dark X-Men he recruited the pair, who eventually ended up joining the real X-Men for a short time. In the Spider-Island event, Mister Negative discovered a prophecy stating that he would be killed by Dagger, so he kidnapped her. This led to the pair’s powers to be switched, though it’s revealed the pairs powers were always meant be with Tandy channeling the darkness and Ty shining the light.

Cloak and Dagger returned in 2015’s Amazing Spider-Man, and are still a vibrant part of the MU with a brand new surprise digital series announced earlier today, with Cloak and Dagger #1 available now! We know that the show will invert the origins of the cult characters, with Tandy being a pickpocket and Ty being a wealthy jock, and we can’t wait to see how else they do with Marvel’s forgotten mutants.

Will you be tuning in to the new Freeform show? Just want more teen heroes on your TV? Never knew that Norman Osborn ran the X-Men? Let us know below!

Images: Disney, Freeform, Marvel, HarkAVagrant.com

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Viral Ghost Story “Dear David” To Become A Film

It used to be that ghost stories and urban legends were passed around the campfire, or during sleepovers with friends in junior high. These days? Just like everything else, it’s all on the internet. One recent example is the story known as “Dear David.” Back in August of 2017, cartoonist Adam Ellis took to social media and started to share the story of what he believed to be a dead child named David that was haunting his apartment, and, according to Ellis, also trying to kill him. Now, according to a report from The Wrap, via Bloody-Disgusting, the saga born on Twitter is now going to become a movie. BuzzFeed Studios will be partnering on the film with It producer Dan Lin.



Ellis’ first tweet about his supernatural ordeal gained over 55,000 retweets and 76,000 likes, and the legend of “Dear David” grew and grew. Ellis started sharing cartoon sketches he made of what David looked like to him (The video above is a pretty succinct encapsulation of the entire “Dear David” saga for those that want the full details.)

As Ellis’ Twitter saga went on, he eventually presented what he insisted was photographic evidence of the ghostly boy with part of his head missing, due to the accident which killed him. He said the spectral child had even followed him as far as Japan. Ever since the story went viral, people have been suggesting it become a movie, and now it appears that they are getting their wish.

In a statement to The Wrap, Ellis said “I’ve never been interested in convincing anyone that ghosts are real–I just wanted to tell my story. If it was all fiction, I probably would’ve updated more than once every couple weeks.” In recent months Ellis has not posted much about David, and is still very much  alive, so not sure how the fictionalized version of this account will end, but fans should be prepared for a very Hollywood ending once it hits theaters.

Are you excited to see this modern urban legend come to life on the big screen? Be sure to let us know down in the comments below.

Images: Adam Ellis / Darkness Tales

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Marvel Just Launched a CLOAK AND DAGGER Digital Comic Series

Later this week, Cloak and Dagger will make their live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with their new original series on Freeform. To mark the occasion, Marvel has revealed that a new Cloak and Dagger digital comic book miniseries is stealth launching today without any prior announcement.

Dennis Hopeless and artist David Messina are the creative team behind the new six-issue Cloak and Dagger comic, which will take place in-continuity with the rest of Marvel’s comic book universe. The first issue will touch upon the duo’s past to bring new readers up to speed before unleashing a new status quo which has separated the heroes and set them on their own paths.



As explained in the accompanying launch trailer, Dagger, a.k.a. Tandy Bowen, has received a serious power upgrade and no longer needs Cloak, a.k.a. Tyrone Johnson, to feed off of her excess light. Now, Dagger is operating as a solo heroine in California, and she’s got a brand new costume that shies away from her previously revealing look.

Naturally, Cloak isn’t taking the separation well and he’s keeping tabs on his former partner and lover. However, Cloak and Dagger remain bound together by fate no matter what they desire. In this storyline, they will once again be reunited as they deal with a threat that is uniquely suited for their powers of light and darkness.

Cloak and Dagger #1 is currently available on the Marvel Comics App or on ComiXology and Kindle.

Are you excited to see Cloak and Dagger back in their own comic book series? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: Marvel Comics

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This Car Hauler Is Moving Everything From the BATMOBILE to the DELOREAN

This year’s Ready Player One was a nostalgia trip for a lot of us. It transported us back to our youth and let us see many things we grew up with come to life (even if it was only for a few seconds during the final battle). What if we told you that there was a chance to see that nostalgia in real life, just driving casually down the street? Thanks to this photo by Reddit user walkswithdeath1, that question doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

And then my childhood drove by from r/pics

Neatorama reports that the truck and the cars are all owned by actor Franck Galiègue. While some of us collect limited edition variant cover comic books or collector’s edition blu-rays, Franck has chosen movie vehicles as his hobby of choice. Here in this picture alone, we see Herbie the Love Bug, Ecto-1, the Delorean, the 1989 Batmobile, the Jurassic Park Jeep and Explorer, and a motorcycle from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Whereas the most obsessive of comic collectors will barely let you look at their Avengers #1 let alone take it out of its protective case, Franck is much more generous with his collection. His business, Movie Cars Central, allows you to rent one of these iconic vehicles. Our advice? GET THE INSURANCE.

Fans always have their “dream item” that they would love to have displayed in their home. A first edition comic book. A rare action figure. It’s great when a fan is not only able to accomplish that dream but is willing to share it with others.

So what do you think? What famous vehicles would you like to have sitting in your garage? Let us know on Facebook or sound off in the comments below.

Image: Warner Brothers

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