Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1901

Pilot Draws a Giant Dong in the Sky, Navy Calls it a Dick Move

Imagine you were skilled enough that the United States Navy entrusted you to fly one of their multi-million dollar jets. After years of intense training you’d be able to soar through the sky in a way only a select group of individuals will ever be able to. What would you do with such an awesome responsibility? Would you try to become the best to ever serve? Would you take immense pride in representing your country to the best of your abilities every time your engine roared? Become Top Gun?

Or would you use your plane to draw a giant dong in the sky? Because that’s exactly what one pilot recently did, and let’s just say it rubbed the Navy the wrong way.

Some pilots at NAS Whidbey did some sky writing today.

Batman and Wonder Woman Will Star in New BRAVE AND THE BOLD Comic

Batman and Wonder Woman are pretty busy dealing with Steppenwolf in the  Justice League movie, but they will soon team up for yet another mission in the comic book world. DC has announced, via The Washington Post, that Wonder Woman and Batman will headline a new six-issue Brave and the Bold miniseries that will bring the two heroes into some very unfamiliar territory.

Batman starred in the original Brave and the Bold comic book series in 1955, which often paired him up with different heroes each month, and headlined the Brave and the Bold animated series that premiered in 2008. Although Batman is once again getting top billing in this miniseries, writer and artist Liam Sharp told the Post that it will be Wonder Woman who drives their current story.

According to Sharp, Wonder Woman will become involved with the apparent murder of an Irish god, which is a mystery that will have ties to Irish and Celtic mythology as well as Wonder Woman’s Amazon legacy. Because Batman is renowned as “the world’s greatest detective,” Wonder Woman requests his help to find the killer.

Sharp has been having a career renaissance at DC, following his acclaimed run on Wonder Woman with writer Greg Rucka. Sharp also indicated that his new story will take place shortly after his last Wonder Woman issue, and that she will still be in a relationship with Steve Trevor. That said, Sharp also hinted that his story may touch upon the potential romantic spark that Wonder Woman and Batman have shared in other stories.

The Brave and the Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman #1 will be released on Wednesday, February 21, 2018.

Are you excited about Batman and Wonder Woman’s new adventure? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Images: DC Comics

More on the DC heroes!

Read our review of Justice League
Justice League is the first fun DCEU film
Could this be the end of Batfleck?

Are We Really Approaching the End of the Batfleck Era?

On today’s Nerdist News Talks Back, we’re piecing together clues about Ben Affleck leaving the DCEU. Warner Bros. also released a title and cast photo for its Fantastic Beasts sequel, and it turns out Dumbledore was quite the looker in his younger years. We broke down our reaction to the intriguing photo, along with whether we’re looking forward to playing Skyrim on Switch. Let’s dive in below.

Making her triumphant return to the show today was host Jessica Chobot, and she was joined by Mothership writer Amy Vorpahl, Geek and Sundry‘s Eric Campbell, and Nerdist News writer Joan Ford. They started with that stylish new photo for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. What do we make of it? Do we like the title? What did we think about the first movie? Why didn’t it seem to connect with audiences? And do we have a problem with Johnny Depp being so prominently involved? (Don’t forget to read about every clue we found in that cast photo).

Then it was time to explore the infinite universe, since this week Skyrim is coming to the Switch. Are we excited to buy the game–yet again–even if it doesn’t look quite as good (although apparently it still looks really nice)? Or are we more pumped for the VR version also coming out this week? Were we more excited by the return of L.A. Noire? What other remastered game would we like to see come to the Switch?

Finally they discussed if we really are approaching the end of the Batfleck era, since it looks like The Batman director Matt Reeves has someone in mind to replace him. Does that mean Affleck really is finally leaving the role? If so, what did we think of his portrayal, both as Bruce Wayne and as the “bat vigilante?” Will we miss him? And should Warner Bros. just go nuts and cast George Clooney or Val Kilmer as his replacement?

Remember Nerdist News Talks Back airs live every weekday at 1:00 p.m. PT on our YouTube and Alpha channels. We always want you to tune in with us so you can be a part of the conversation. There’s not always a bunch of breaking info from the wizarding world to talk about, but the discussion is always magical when you join in.

But we still want to hear your thoughts on today’s topics, so share them with us in the comments below.

Images: Warner Bros.

Boston Dynamics’ Atlas Robot Can Now Freaking Backflip

“What have you been up to lately, Atlas?” Boston Dynamics asks rhetorically in the description for the video below. The obvious answer: Working on a gymnastics routine that’s so dang good, the odds of having a participant from (Hail Hail) Robonia in the 2024 Summer Olympics now seem to be quite high.

The video, posted by Boston Dynamics to YouTube, comes just three days after the engineering and robotics company released a teaser clip of its revised and polished SpotMini. It seems the company that was sold by Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., to Japan’s SoftBank Group earlier this year has a new urge to dazzle. And dazzle this updated Atlas most certainly does.

The Atlas line of humanoid robot has been evolving at Boston Dynamics for some time now, with an early tethered version seen running through the woods like a focused horror movie villain, and a later smaller and untethered version seen demonstrating an extraordinary level of balance (and calm in the face of being assaulted with a hockey stick). In the above clip, we’re looking at what appears to be a new iteration of Atlas, with a few cosmetic/hardware upgrades, and likely a ton of changes under the hood chest piece.

Before Atlas could catch its balance when you pushed it. Now it’s able to jump, twist, and backflip like it’s trying out for a part in Cirque du Soleil.

And if you’re thinking that any lame mall display toy can pull off a backflip or anything else Atlas is seen doing in the clip, keep in mind that this robot is able to move around freely in its environment because it sees its environment — Atlas uses LiDAR and stereo vision to develop a sense of its surroundings. While the toy at the mall can only backflip under exact conditions, Atlas can likely determine where it can or can’t backflip. This is “likely” because although Atlas has demonstrated the ability to maneuver autonomously around its environment before, it’s unclear if that applies to these new moves.

Regardless of whether or not Atlas can only pull off this routine in one location or not, this little sequence certainly seems like big progress in robot maneuverability. Enough to earn some kind of medal, anyway.

What do you think about this Atlas gymnastics routine? Are you totally flipping out right now?! Let us know in the comments below!

Images: Boston Dynamics

We For One Welcome Our Robot Overlords…

A robot that spills soup all over you
The Matrix ‘s famous code is actually a recipe for sushi
Elon Musk trolls the world’s first robotic citizen

What Does Project Resurrection Mean For STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI?

After today, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is one month away, and this means that fans are one step closer to unlocking the mysteries from The Force Awakens. But it turns that there may be some clues about the future in the recently released Star Wars Battlefront II video game. Today’s Nerdist News is checking the Imperial archive to unravel the potential secrets of The Last Jedi.

Warning: there are big spoilers ahead for Star Wars Battlefront II and possible spoilers for The Last Jedi. You won’t need your weapons in the cave, but this is your last chance to turn back.

Join host and the Emperor’s Hand, Jessica Chobot, as she walks us through the ending of Battlefront II‘s single player campaign. That story spans nearly thirty years and goes from the end of Return of the Jedi to just before the events of The Force Awakens. And once you make it through the campaign, there’s a cliffhanger ending waiting for you as “Project Resurrection” is creepily hinted at. But what is Project Resurrection? The easiest explanations are that it’s a lingering plotline for the DLC to explore or it’s nothing at all, and fandom has nothing to speculate about.

Naturally, we don’t think it’s nothing. With the film so close to release, this would be an opportunity to tie it to the game in a way we haven’t really seen since Enter The Matrix over a decade ago. Our first theory is that Project Resurrection is more of a rebranding than an actual resurrection—after all, the First Order is trying to seize control and retake the Empire by force. After three decades of war, who’s to say that the galaxy wouldn’t welcome the Empire back into their lives to restore peace and order? Yet somehow, that doesn’t seem grand enough for Project Resurrection.

If this secret is dealing with a literal resurrection, then it could mean that Emperor Palpatine has found a way to cheat death and return to the franchise. This is not a new idea, and the idea of a cloned Emperor with the memories of the original have been used in the old Expanded Universe. The biggest argument against this theory is that we haven’t heard any rumors that the Emperor will appear in The Last Jedi. And that’s a spoiler that’s almost too good not to use.

Our remaining theory is that Project Resurrection may Snoke’s way of extending his life. He doesn’t exactly look like he’s in the prime of it after all, does he? He looks like an alien in bad need of a new body. And if Snoke has been grooming Kylo Ren as a potential replacement body instead of an apprentice, then the even more powerful Rey could also be a prime candidate for Snoke to inhabit. Uh oh!

How do you think that Project Resurrection will play into The Last Jedi? Share your theories below!

Need More Last Jedi Intel?

Watch Poe and Leia discuss blowing shit up!
We’ve got an exclusive excerpt from  Star Wars: Canto Bight .
And finally, we’re worried about Rey taking a turn towards the Dark Side.

Images: EA/Lucasfilm

Stan Lee Meeting BB-8 is the Nerdiest Meetcute of Our Dreams

Backstage at the most recent Los Angeles Comic-Con, two massive titans of nerd culture finally met. One has been an icon for over half a century now, while the other is a relatively new player on the scene, and yet both are very much in our collective nerd hearts. Thanks to Comic Book, and captured on Instagram, you can now see the moment that Stan “the Man” Lee met Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ lovable little droid, BB-8.

Stan talking to BB-8

A post shared by Cy Collectibles (@cycollectibles) on Oct 29, 2017 at 7:01pm PDT

While you might watch this adorable moment and think “well, that’s cute, but what does Stan Lee have to do with Star Wars anyway?” Well, what if I told you that Star Wars helped save Marvel Comics once? Yup, back in the late ’70s, Stan Lee chose to license the Star Wars series from George Lucas, even though the film hadn’t yet come out in theaters, and most people thought it would end up a flop. This was at a time when Marvel was in serious financial trouble, and many thought the publisher might go away for good.

Well, the opposite happened—as we all know—and Star Wars comics sold something like five times what the best selling Marvel comics like Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four were selling at the time, helping save the company and keep them afloat until the ’80s rolled around, and they’d become a publishing juggernaut again. So Stan Lee and Marvel owe quite a bit to that galaxy far, far away. Now of course, both have landed under the Disney umbrella. Funny how these things work out, eh?

Did this adorable moment melt your geeky heart like it did ours? Let us know down below in the comments.

Need More From the Two Cutest Things in Nerddom?

Stan stood up for diversity and inclusion at Marvel and it was wonderful.
Meet BB-8’s evil twin, BB-9E!
This BB-8 kid cosplay is literally too cute.

Images: Lucasfilm

Dwayne Johnson Tries to Save the Monsters and the World in RAMPAGE Trailer

Ever since it was announced two years ago that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was starring in an adaptation of the classic arcade game, Rampage, everyone thought he was either going to play one of the monsters or hunt them. Instead, the first trailer has revealed that Johnson’s character, Davis Okoye, has an entirely different motivation. He wants to save George, the giant silverback gorilla he raised from birth. But in order to do that, Davis is going to have to save the world from George and some other oversized furry friends first.

One of the biggest changes from the original arcade game is that the monsters in Rampage are no longer naked humans who turn into giant creatures. George was always a gorilla, he was just mutated by some kind of substance that fell from space. This is…highly suspicious if you ask us. If this was an intentional attack, you’d think they’d have worked it out so there would be more than three monsters running around causing mayhem in Chicago. But it’s still likely that someone—or something—wanted this to happen.

While Davis’ relationship with George is given the majority of the focus of the trailer, the clip also introduces Ralph, the giant wolf and teases Lizzie, the Godzilla-like creature that crawls out of the sea. One of the best parts of the video game was pitting the monsters against the army and each other. The trailer does hint at a fight between George and Ralph, which probably means Lizzie will get in on the monster mash as well. The real question now is whether or not Davis can restore George and the others without killing them…or getting killed himself.

Rampage will hit theaters on April 20, 2018.

What do you think about the first trailer for Rampage? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: Warner Bros. Pictures

James Gunn Shares His Favorite GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Pet Cosplay

Four years ago, it would have been extremely rare to see anyone cosplaying as the Guardians of the Galaxy. Before the first film hit in 2014, the Guardians weren’t well known outside of comic book circles. After two blockbuster movies, Marvel‘s cosmic misfits are truly among the most popular heroes in the MCU. Thanks to that success, the Guardians have broken into the cosplay realm. But as director James Gunn points out, some of the best Guardians of the Galaxy cosplayers aren’t even human at all.

In a post on his Facebook page, Gunn shared several photos of animals dressed up as the Guardians, including the most obvious choice: a real raccoon in a Rocket Raccoon costume. Somehow, we don’t think that he’ll mind being called a “trash panda.”

Of course the raccoon isn’t the only contender for the cutest Guardians cosplayer. Never count out the cats!

The expression on Baby Groot cat’s face is especially funny, and the cat’s fur matches Groot’s colors. But sometimes it’s best for a human to step in to play Groot, just so a dog can play Rocket in scale to his friend.

But if you really want to see a dog take on Groot, here you go!

How about some double action with a tiny Groot and Rocket dogs?

Finally, the knockout punch of cuteness has been delivered. Shut down the internet for the day, there’s no topping this one!

If you want to see the rest of Gunn’s compilation of Guardians of the Galaxy animal cosplay pics, check out his original post.

Which of these adorable animal cosplayers was your favorite? Share your picks below!

Featured Image: Cat Cosplay

See more cute animals in costumes!

Pets dressed as Overwatch characters.
Dogs in costume and on parade.
Doug the Pug as Moana.

Funko Adds More ONE PIECE Pops! For Your Pirating Adventures

Yarrr and avast, me mateys! Hoist the mizzenmast! Shiver me timbers and go, um.. figure out some more lame pirate terms, you, um… scalawag! Thar be more One Piece Funko Pops! coming soon!

We share a lot of Funko stuff here on Nerdist and we’re constantly impressed by how many movies, TV shows, and games they have access to run through their Splendiferous Funko-flizer. We’re assuming that’s the name of the giant Dr. Seuss-like machine at their headquarters that turns popular characters into Funko figures. If that machine doesn’t exist, then kudos to their licensing and design teams. They must be some of the hardest working people on the planet considering how varied Funko stuff is.



The latest run of One Piece Pops! comes almost two years after the original set, which included the aspiring Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy. These new additions include pirate empress Boa Hancock, master swordsman Zoro, the cyborg shipwright Franky, and navigator extraordinaire Nami. 

The thing to love about these figures is how well their colorful depictions from the show and manga translate into Pop! figure form. It’s sometimes a bit of a bummer when the features of a character are subdued, which can result in Funko not having much wiggle room to make their figures distinct. This isn’t the case with One Piece, and especially with Franky.

What do you think of these latest One Piece figures? What other familiar faces from the series would you like to see in Funko form? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Images: Funko

More Funko news!

Teen Titans get ’80s-style Funkos
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer gang gets their own figures
Pint-sized Funkos for Rick and Morty!

The New FANTASTIC BEASTS 2 Cast Photo Revealed Way More Than You Think

Today Warner Bros. released the official title for the next installment in their Harry Potter prequel franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, along with a bunch of new information about the film. But most important might be the very stylish first cast photo. It is half regular old static Muggle image, half moving picture like the kind wizards take.

And despite being such a brief glance, it contains lots of clues that point to what we might see not only in this film, but from the three remaining sequels that will follow.

From personal relationships old and new, to new found confidences and devious ambitions, to theories that could connect to the battle between Harry and Voldemort decades later, there’s a lot going on in this tableau. And with a year to go until the film hits theaters, what better way to tide us over than by breaking it all down.

First, here’s the full image/video we got today. It starts as a regular photo before it changes into a magical moving picture. From left to right it includes: Jude Law as young(er) Dumbledore, Ezra Miller’s Creedence, new cast member Claudia Kim as Maledictus, Zoë Kravitz as Leta LeStrange (only seen in a picture in the first film), new cast member Callum Turner as her fiance and Newt’s brother Theseus, Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldtsein, Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander, Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski, Alison Sudol as Tina Goldstein, and Johnny Depp as the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald.

In one year, return to the Wizarding World with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. #MagicInProgress #FantasticBeasts pic.twitter.com/8aWj8xhGj5

— Fantastic Beasts (@FantasticBeasts) November 16, 2017

This might sound wild, but there’s a lot to learn from the way they are sitting, who they are near, how they are physically engaged with them, and what they do when the image moves. Let’s start with Dumbledore and Grindelwald, one talented wizard who seems to be struggling with their past, and one who is only looking ahead to his grand goals.

Dumbledore Looks at Grindelwald, Who Doesn’t Look Back

The last time we saw Grindelwald he was captured by MACUSA, but according to Warner Bros. in the new film we’ll find the dangerous Dark Wizard has escaped and begun “gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.” That will lead Dumbledore to reach out to his former student Newt to help combat him.

But we know from Harry Potter that Dumbledore was reluctant to fight his former friend for many years, despite the wizarding community begging him to get involved. Their famous duel doesn’t take place until 1945, which is where we think the franchise is ultimately headed, but since this movie takes place in 1927, that’s not for another 18 years.

(You can read about the complete history of Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s relationship here and why we think the franchise will end with that famous fight here.)

That might explain the sad look Dumbledore gives Grindelwald here. Notice when the picture starts to move he looks across the image at his former friend, but that Grindelwald never breaks his gaze with the camera. Grindelwald is looking ahead, focused on his ultimate plan for world domination, whereas Dumbledore seems conflicted by his past feelings for him.

His reluctance to fully engage Grindelwald in battle, despite the danger he poses, might be complicated by romantic feelings Dumbledore had for him. J.K. Rowling has said Dumbledore is gay and that he fell in love with Grindelwald when they were younger, and that could be explored further in Fantastic Beasts. A Dumbledore whose personal relationships hinder his ability to act and makes him less sure of himself would make for a very different wizard than the wise professor we know and love. Is that why he reaches out to Newt in this film, so he can avoid facing Grindelwald himself? Will his feelings for Grindelwald put others he cares about in danger for nearly two decades?

(Bonus: Here’s what we think could be going on with Dumbledore’s old wand).

Did Creedence Run Away With the Magical Circus?

The fate of Ezra Miller’s troubled young Obscurial Creedence was left unanswered at the end of the first movie, when he vanished in a puff of smoke. But now we know he’s definitely returning, and we might even know where he ended up: the circus. The movie will include a magical circus, and the sad lady leaning against Creedence is Claudia Kim’s Maledictus, the main attraction at the circus who is “the carrier of a blood curse that destines her ultimately to transform into a beast.” (WAY more on her in a second.)

Based on them sitting together (especially the way she seems to be using him as a shield to protect her)—as well as Creedence’s change from the black Puritanical clothes he wore in the first film into something with a little more personality—it would seem Creedence has found a new home along with some other unusual wizards and witches. It could be that he feels comfortable around other people who are seen as freaks. But will that be enough to keep him hidden from Grindelwald, or from Newt, the most famous magizooloist who might be interested in someone who is turning into a fantastic beast?

Is Maledictus Turning Into the Most Famous Snake From Harry Potter?

This photo might tell us something monumental about the future of Claudia Kim’s character, which could lead to a shocking revelation with major ramifications for Harry Potter. This image seems to confirm a fan theory, which we came across at Digital Spy, that her “blood curse” is turning her into a snake. First, look at her legs, which appear to be scaled.

Now combine that with this poster from the first film for the Circus Arcanus, which includes the “enchanting snake girl,” and it certainly seems like her future could be turning into a serpent.

Considering it appears she’ll be close to a powerful, dangerous Obscurial who the dark Wizard Grindelwald is after, and she will become a snake, it’s not hard to think it’s possible that Maledictus could end up becoming something dark and evil, which could mean becoming Voldemort’s pet/horcrux Nagini.

Is this completely wild speculation? It sure is! We just don’t have anything else to go on yet. Is it a lot of fun to consider? You better believe it!

Newt and a Stylish Tina Seem To Have Gained Some Much Needed Confidence

In the first film Newt was far more comfortable dealing with his animals than he was other people, and the down-on-her-luck, unfashionable Tina didn’t have much confidence in either her position at work or in life. But in this photo they both look more comfortable with themselves. For Newt it could be because his book, the one he is famous for and which lent its name to the movie franchise, has been released.

A newly published author must have a book launch party. Newt Scamander has been busy. #MagicInProgress #FantasticBeasts #WizardingWednesdays pic.twitter.com/lvS4TiZXpJ

— Fantastic Beasts (@FantasticBeasts) November 1, 2017

And based on those chic new clothes, which are world’s more stylish than her loose fitting hat and long coat in the first film, and that great haircut, Tina doesn’t seem like the low self esteem witch we knew. Although, in a photo where every other pairing is physically touching, these two seem to still be just friends. That means the development of their relationship—we know they end up married—might not happen for at least another film.

Queenie and Jacob Seem to Be an Official Item

Last time we saw this pair she was visiting his successful new bakery, and even though his memory had been wiped there still seemed to be a romantic spark between him that let him know they had met before. Based on the way the two are holding each other’s arms here, we’d imagine that spark has stoked the flames of romance and they are officially a couple now.

Will Leta LeStrange and Her Fiance Theseus Scamander Fight For Grindelwald?

Warner Bros. revealed Newt’s brother Theseus is engaged to Leta LeStrange, and we know Newt has some kind of difficult past with her already based on his scene with Queenie in the first movie. But the couple’s presence in this photo, front and center, points to the two of them playing an even bigger role in the movie than we might have guessed.

Based on what we know about the LeStrange family’s connection with Voldemort, it is very possible Leta will fight alongside Grindelwald, which could mean her fiancé will, too. With Dumbledore calling on Newt to help stop Grindelwald, that could set the brothers up for a civil war—a civil war trapped in a love triangle.

The film’s press release said, “Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.” Considering some of Grindelwald’s followers won’t be aware of his ultimate plan to rule Muggles, that secrecy could drive the wedge between the Scamander brothers. But it also means if Grindelwald’s true motivations come to light it could also help them reunite.

Like we said, it’s just one quick photo, but there’s a lot going on here.

But what do you think? Are we off base with some of our predictions? Did we miss anything? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Need More Fantastical Beasts?

Here’s our wild theory about dementor origins!
We’ve also got a history of the wands in the films.
And finally, peep these adorable, fan-made knitted dolls!

Images: Warner Bros. Pictures