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Will Amilyn Holdo Be the Luna Lovegood of THE LAST JEDI?

As much as I enjoyed the recent trailer for The Last Jedi, it was missing one important element: Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. Not much information has been released about the lavender-haired character being played by Laura Dern in the next Star Wars movie. We’ve seen a photo of her in Vanity Fair, she appeared for a moment in the Episode VIII featurette released in July, and now, Dern’s dropped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show to share a photo of Holdo surrounded by members of the Resistance.

We learned about the new image via Slashfilm. As Holdo is a high-ranking officer within the Resistance, this is exactly where she should be—especially considering the Resistance has to be in serious trouble after the First Order destroyed the New Republic’s fleet. This shot reminds me of Mon Mothma talking to the Rebel Alliance in Return of the Jedi.

Holdo appears to have every bit of Mon Mothma’s poise and elegance. It doesn’t look like she’s a boots-on-the-ground soldier. Or is she? Based on what we’ve seen of the fancy casino city Canto Bight, Holdo would fit right in. She could easily be part of Finn and Rose’s mission there. Her actions in the past, detailed in the book Leia: Princess of Alderaan, showed us she’s not afraid to sneak herself into the middle of dangerous territory to get answers.

AHEM.

Laura Dern has purple hair in Star Wars. https://t.co/GS5jUsLtq5 pic.twitter.com/CCzUY70Wyl

— kateyrich (@kateyrich) May 24, 2017

The book also detailed Holdo’s connection to General Leia Organa. Their relationship goes back to when they were both teenagers and part of the Apprentice Legislature at the same time. Amilyn hails from the tranquil planet of Gatalenta, known for its meditative retreats. (Those who call Gatalenta home are often serene and spiritual.) The planet had strong Force and Jedi roots, and in fact, when Luke started studying the history of the Jedi Order on the path that led him to Ahch-To, he started on Gatalenta.

Anyway, Holdo was different from others on her world: she wanted to express herself more and did so by regularly dyeing her hair in various bright hues, wearing bold-colored clothing, decorating her gear with glitter, and generally setting herself apart. She was quirky and often spoke in riddles. Leia called it Holdo-speak.

Amilyn’s behavior in Princess of Alderaan made me think of Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter. And like Luna, Amilyn is there when business gets real. Her friendship with Leia was forged as they were both learning about the existence of the Rebel Alliance and starting to make their own stands against the Empire. I don’t know where Holdo was during the events of the original trilogy, but I hope she brings eccentricity and the kind of loyalty she once displayed to Leia to The Last Jedi.

Do you have any theories about Amilyn Holdo? Do you agree that her hair is lavender and not pink? Take a ship to the comments and sound off.

Images: Lucasfilm/Disney/NBC

Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. She likes Star Wars a little. Follow her on Twitter.

Want more The Last Jedi?

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How Goofball Dustin Saved Everyone on STRANGER THINGS

By the end of “The Flea and the Acrobat,” Mike’s gang of adventurers has split apart. They had gone looking for the gateway to the Upside Down, but El (Millie Bobby Brown) messed with their compasses to keep them away from it, which drove a wedge between the already unsure foursome. Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) called her a traitor, she threw him against a rusty car with her mind, and he stormed off, leaving his and Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) fragile friendship pulled in every direction with Will’s life hanging in the balance.

Fortunately for the entire world, their group has Dustin Henderson.

Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), who’s main job has been goofballery and providing ample snacks for midnight bicycle rides, is the glue that holds the group together, and this group is the thing that will save the world. He’s not as close to Mike or Lucas as they are to each other, but maybe that tiny bit of distance helps him stay above the fray when things get tough. He’s silly and irreverent, but he’s also got the steadiest head on his shoulders of anyone in the crew. His character is equal parts chocolate pudding and real talk.

In the sixth episode, “The Monster,” Dustin confronts Mike when he’s spiraling out about the fight and blaming Lucas, reinforcing the group’s hard-and-fast mechanism for survival. He demands Mike apologize for drawing first blood and shake Lucas’ hand, saying, “This isn’t a discussion. This is the Rule of Law. Obey or be banished from the party. Do you wanna be banished?”

In the context of Mike’s mandate that friends are, above all else, honest with each other, this is a huge move. Think back to the last time you had to tell one or your friends a hard truth. To check them when they say or do something wrong. Dustin doesn’t flinch in the face of one of the more difficult tasks facing someone whose social status is already rocky.

That’s the first step. When they get to Lucas’ house, Dustin doesn’t back down. Now he’s got two petulant friends shouting at each other, but he’s also got D&D to make his argument for him.

“Do you even remember what happened on the Bloodstone Pass?!” he says, stopping their argument cold. “We couldn’t agree on what path to take so we split up the party, and those trolls took us out one by one, and it all went to s***, and we were all disabled! So we stick together. No matter what.”

His passion doesn’t initially pay off, but the power of tenacity doesn’t show itself in the short term. Dustin’s super power is his dedication to the group’s cohesion, which makes the squabbles that drive them apart seem petty. Still, Lucas abandoning them to find the gateway on his own makes a lot of emotional sense. This fight is between him and Mike, whose friendship and affection has been captured by El. His jealousy has left him wounded, and no high level appeal to cohesion from Dustin was going to change that.

That’s especially because Dustin and Lucas aren’t as close to one another. In this episode, Dustin humbly admits his lower place in the original D&D squad hierarchy as a sidekick to Lucas and Mike, who’ve known each other longer (Dustin only showed up in fourth grade) and who live closer to each other. Mike extends the olive branch of multiple best friendship, but Dustin’s assessment is still spot-on. He and Will (Noah Schnapp) are the ones who ride most of the way home together after long D&D sessions at Mike’s house, and they appear in the first episode to have the easy rapport of the soft-spoken and put-upon. The rapport of two pals who know they’re not the stars of their own friend group.

Dustin is closer with Mike because Mike has the ability to be close to all of them. He’s deeply empathetic, which is why he’s most drawn to El and why he immediately accepts her as a new member of their cohort. Still, Dustin and Mike’s friendship is obviously genuine and symbiotic. It’s not exactly Screech/Zack Morris, but there’s been a hint of that since the beginning of the show. With the display of Dustin’s importance in this episode, the status of Mike as a kind of solitary leader has to be questioned. Dustin isn’t just a support beam for the coolest geeky kid; he’s one equal leg on a quadropod.

Dustin and Lucas, on the other hand, is a contentious relationship, and it probably always has been.

If Lucas and Mike were best buds since kindergarten, and Dustin showed up in the fourth grade, Lucas has probably been antagonistic toward him since the start. They’ve verbally sparred at each other at every twist and turn—in the principal’s office, in Mike’s basement, in Lucas’s house when Dustin considers El’s attack on him X-Men-level awesome. They’re polar opposite personalities: Lucas is stone-faced serious and Dustin just wants to have fun. One brings flashlights to a search party, the other brings Pringles (we need energy for our travels!). In other words, they’re symbiotic without knowing it.

It’s no wonder Dustin fails to bring everyone together on the first go, but he does push Lucas and Mike in the right direction (toward each other) and helps look for Eleven, which lets her know she has people who care for her.

Without Dustin’s intervention, he and Mike would have run into the knife-wielding bullies Troy (Peyton Wich) and James (Cade Jones) without Eleven’s protection, and the group would have been separated at the very moment “Hawkins Power and Light” bore down on them, picking them off one by one. Bloodstone Pass all over again!

Shady government entity wins, they take back Eleven, the town (and the world?) is set for total annihilation.

Essentially, every group needs a Dustin. Without him, the world is toast.

Images: Netflix

More Stranger Things stuff!

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Nerdist Comics Panel #122: “From The Page to The Screen…” Panel

Holly Conrad (Commander Holly), Matthew Loux (The Time Museum), Box Brown (Andre The Giant: Life and Legend, Retrofit Comics), and Ben Blacker (Death Be Damned, Star Wars: Join The Resistance) discuss the differences, benefits, and pitfalls of working digitally and analog. Moderated by Graeme McMillan (The Hollywood Reporter).

Follow @BenBlacker and @HeathCorson on Twitter!

The Mystic Museum Brings Nostalgic VHS Nightmares to Life with Slashback Video

Do you miss the days of video stores? Desperate to return to your local mom and pop shop and their incredible collection of VHS you’ve never been able to find since? Well this Nerdoween, Blumhouse head of production Ryan Turek and The Mystic Museum have teamed up to create a pop up art installation called Slashback Video that’ll give you all of freaky feels whilst slamming you right back into your childhood Friday night escapades at your nearest video store.

As our rad video shows, Slashback Video is set in the back of the Mystic Museum oddities shop in Burbank, and perfectly recreates a classic ’80s/’90s video store vibes. It exclusively stocks horror movies and is filled with 500 original VHS tapes, including cult hits like Ghoulies, Nuke Em High, Night of the Demons 2, classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th, and even new films like It Follows and House of the Devil. 

But it’s not just the incredible selection of movies that makes Slashback stand out. It’s also the fact that the entire store is filled with creepy treasures like a Splatter House gaming cabinet and classic cardboard cutouts of horror icons like Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and Freddy Krueger! You can also grab yourself some era-appropriate drinks with Slashback stocking both Crystal Pepsi and Surge to give you that true nostalgic sugar rush. Turek also reached out to local artists created original case designs for their favorite movies that you can purchase when you visit the store.

Horror guru Ryan Turek teamed up with Frightrags, Creep Company, and Waxwork Records to create the two month long installation, which runs through Halloween at the The Mystic Museum, 3204 W Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, California. For Turek, Slashback is a passion project with a mission. “For the younger horror fan I hope it’s an education, I just want them to appreciate the finer days of the horror genre,” Ryan exclaimed.

Enjoying the Horror Show? Try These Stories on For Size:

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Welcome to Nerdoween! Throughout the month of October, we’ll be celebrating everything spooky, macabre, and just plain weird. Nerdoween 2017 is presented by Alpha, our interactive membership service, which offers you exclusive content from Nerdist and Geek & Sundry, as well as a 10% discount on all of our merch.

Images: Slashback Video, Blumhouse

Adam West and William Shatner Face Off in BATMAN VS. TWO-FACE Preview

While it would have been amazing if the live-action Batman TV series of the ’60s had cast William Shatner as Harvey Dent and his evil alter-ego, the new Batman vs. Two-Face animated movie is scratching that itch while giving us one more performance by the late Adam West. And in a newly released preview scene, West and Shatner share the spotlight as the Caped Crusaders come looking for Two-Face.

Did THE BIG BANG THEORY Spoil JUSTICE LEAGUE’s Final Big Secret?

For nearly fifty years, the Justice League has brought together DC’s mightiest superheroes and pit them against their deadliest foes. But with the first ever Justice League live-action feature film right around the corner, Batman and Wonder Woman‘s team may have just been defeated by their deadliest enemies yet: Sheldon and Leonard! Today’s Nerdist News is all about the way that The Big Bang Theory may have just spoiled the Justice League‘s Green Lantern surprise.

Join host and former Star Sapphire, Jessica Chobot, as she shines a green light on the Justice League‘s latest hiccup. Now, the film’s promo team has done a pretty good job of keeping Superman under wraps, despite showing us a digitally shaved Henry Cavill in the last trailer. But aside from a shout-out by Steppenwolf in the trailer, the Green Lanterns have been completely absent from the marketing material—until now.

…At least that was true until the mega-popular geek show unleashed its syndicated Justice League tie-in. The Big Bang Theory‘s “geekstakes” invites fans to spin a wheel to determine which member of the League they are. That would have been fine, if the Green Lantern logo wasn’t so prominently featured alongside the rest of the team’s imagery.

Sorry, Sheldon, we’re pretty sure that’s a violation of the roommate agreement! But before we ship Leonard and Sheldon off to the science cells on Oa, it should be pointed out that the original tagline for this film was “unite the seven.” Even with Superman added to the mix, that’s only six heroes. So, a secret Green Lantern seems pretty likely to have been planned from the start, and he probably won’t be played by Ryan Reynolds. In fact, we can pretty much guarantee that.

But which Green Lantern will answer the call? John Stewart? Hal Jordan? Guy Gardner? Kilowog? Probably none of the above. Our money is on Abin Sur, the Green Lantern of sector 2814 before he passed on the ring to Hal Jordan. It would be a departure for Abin Sur to be a member of the League, but that would leave things open for Abin to potentially sacrifice himself for the planet, leaving his ring to find Hal in the Green Lantern Corps movie. But this doesn’t mean that The Big Bang Theory is off the hook for leaking one of the last secrets from this film. It’s the downside of corporate synergy!

Who do you think will be Justice League‘s secret Green Lantern? Recite the Lantern oath and share your thoughts below!

Got a Hankering for More Justice League News?

Is it possible Justice League will show a sillier side of the DCEU?
Here’s everything we noticed in the trailer and what it may mean.
And finally, here’s our first look at Superman’s new suit from the film.

Images: Warner Bros./DC Comics

EA Shuts Down Visceral Games, Will Redesign STAR WARS Game

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of pixels suddenly cried in terror and were suddenly silenced. We have some bad news for those of you who have been following Amy Hennig’s hotly anticipated narrative-driven Star Wars game. On Tuesday, Electronic Arts president Patrick Söderlund announced that EA will be closing Visceral Games, the studio behind Battlefield Hardline and the Dead Space franchise. The action-adventure Star Wars game that was in development at Visceral isn’t dead yet, but it is being delayed until an unspecified date as development shifts to a new team led by EA Vancouver.

In the wake of Star Wars 1313‘s cancellation, which is chronicled in Jason Schreier’s excellent new book Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Visceral Games led the charge on developing a single-player, story-focused video game set in the Star Wars universe. To help craft the title, Visceral tapped Amy Hennig, the former head writer and director behind the Uncharted series. Her future with the title is currently unknown and was not mentioned in Söderlund’s post. However, an e-mail to EA employees obtained by Kotaku, revealed that “[EA executive producer] Steve Anthony will lead this team,” and it “will use much of the work that has been done to date by Visceral.” This doesn’t look good for Hennig’s future involvement in the title, which would be a crushing disappointment.

As for the future of the game, Söderlund stated that “in its current form, it was shaping up to be a story-based, linear adventure game,” but that in order “to deliver an experience that players will want to come back to and enjoy for a long time to come, we needed to pivot the design.” The game, which was originally slated to come out in 2019, has no official release window and is delayed until further notice. To borrow another phrase from the galaxy far, far away, “we’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Image: Visceral Games/Electronic Arts

The biggest Star Wars news happening right now

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The Han Solo movie finally has a title

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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).

GAME OF THRONES Latest Casting Could Tell Us a Lot About the Final Season

Warning: This post discusses potential spoilers for Game of Thrones‘ eighth and final season.

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“He’s sailing with his fleet to Essos, he’s going to ferry the Golden Company back here to help us win the war for Westeros.”

In Game of Thrones‘ season seven finale, Cersei told Jaime all about her master plan to betray her truce with Daenerys, by sending Euron Greyjoy to Essos to pick up the 20,000 person strong mercenary force known as the Golden Company. Now some casting news out of the Realm indicates the untrustworthy Euron will not only return with the famed fighters in tow, they’ll be sticking around long enough to be involved in either a big battle or a big betrayal. But their appearance could also mean a sellsword we already know well might also make his way to the Seven Kingdoms to help save his queen.

Watchers on the Wall reports that Marc Rissmann (The Last Kingdom, Into the Badlands) has been cast as Harry Strickland, the leader of the Golden Company in the novels. It looks like this announcement was supposed to be kept a secret though, because both his agency and his Spotlight CV have since deleted the news after posting it.

But the dragon is out of the pit on this one, and it might reveal just how big a role the Golden Company will play in the final season. That’s because when Rissmann will be needed on set points to when Cersei’s paid soldiers will be called on.

This was the casting notice Watchers on the Wall reported about back in September, which Rissmann fits to a tee.

GoT is looking for a Mercenary, aged 35 – 50. He’s described as an authoritative, fit, cool and charismatic military type. He’ll be appearing in 2 episodes of season 8. The role requires he be able to ride a horse- no surprise for a mercenary on Thrones! The actor will be rehearsing in October, filming the week commencing December 11th, and then once again in May and June of 2018.

It wasn’t clear at the time this was for Harry Strickland, because the physical description is nothing like the squat, balding, somewhat-cowardly Strickland of the novels. But HBO has never been shy about casting better looking versions of book characters for the show, so that’s not a problem. What’s really important about this being for Harry Strickland though isn’t how he looks, or even that the Golden Company is really coming to Westeros, but when Rissmann will be required on set.

Tune in for #thelastkingdom season finale- today 9pm #bbc2 Created by a wonderful group of people @thelastkingdom #tekil #viking #vikings #carnival #sunglassesarenothistoricallyaccurate

A post shared by Marc Rissmann (@marcrissmann) on May 4, 2017 at 11:02am PDT

HBO is so worried about the series’ ending being spoiled they are shooting multiple false finales. So, it’s not hard to imagine they’ll be shooting the show’s ending as late as possible, some time next summer. If Harry Strickland will be filming as early as December, we would bet Euron will return to Westeros with him and the Golden Company in one of the first couple (of six) episodes.

And if Rissmann needs to come back five or six months later for his next appearance, that would indicate Harry Strickland not only stuck around near King’s Landing for a long time, but that the Golden Company will be there for whatever enemy Cersei ends up facing, likely on the battlefield.

That massive battle could be part of the War for Westeros Cersei specifically wanted the Golden Company for, or to fight the White Walkers who have made their way south. Either way, those 20,000 fighting men will be needed to earn their money.

Although Cersei might not be able to depend on them, because who knows if they’ll be willing to stick around or fight when they realize their enemy is either a) a lady with two dragons or b) the army of the dead with a dragon. The Golden Company has a great track record of honoring their contracts, but when it comes to mercenary forces, people are rightfully wary of how reliable they will be when it matters.

In the novels Illyrio Mopatis says, “Sellswords will not stand against Dothraki screamers,” so who knows how they’ll do against dragons or zombies. Even Cersei herself says, “Loyal sellswords are rare as virgin whores.” There’s not a whole lot of faith in soldiers who are only loyal to their bank account, and we’re pretty sure the Night King doesn’t pay his wights.

Either the Golden Company will be there at the end to fight Cersei’s war, or they’ll doom her by running when the enemy shows up.

There’s something else this casting news might tell us though, and it has to do with a sellsword we already know really well, Daario Naharis, and how he might also arrive for a big fight. There were some who thought he was a candidate to show up as the leader of the Golden Company since he was the leader of the mercenary force the Second Sons. It made a lot of sense, since we doubt his desire for constant adventure would keep him in Slaver’s Bay the Bay of Dragons as a peacekeeper for long, even though that’s what Daenerys ordered of him.

But now that we know Harry Strickland is showing up in Westeros, it seems even more likely Daario will end up there, too. The Golden Company going to the Seven Kingdoms is the kind of news that will spread like wildfire across the whole world. When Daario learns about it he’ll know it won’t be a positive development for Daenerys. She doesn’t hire people to fight for her, nor does she need the manpower since she commands every single Dothraki.

The Golden Company and their impossibly high price tag would only be contracted by someone rich who opposes Daenerys, so without being told Daario will know they are fighting for Cersei Lannister. And for a man who loves his queen and swore his sword to her, there will only be one place for him to go, Westeros. (It’s doubtful she’d view that as him betraying her orders.)

We don’t expect Harry Strickland to suddenly become an important character on Game of Thrones, not with only six episodes left in the series. But it does look like the Golden Company will play an important role in how it all ends for Cersei–good or bad. And his appearance in the Seven Kingdoms makes it a good bet Daario Naharis will show up for a big showdown, too.

Although considering his romantic past with the Mother of Dragons, who knows if that will end up being with Jon Snow instead.

What do you make of this casting news? What does it mean for the final season? Share your best ideas with us in the comments below.

Images: HBO

Claim the Iron Throne with more Game of Thrones stories!

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The Internet’s Best Han Solo Movie Title Reactions and Memes

After making us wait and wait and wait, Lucasfilm finally allowed director Ron Howard to reveal the name of the Young Han Solo standalone film. And what did we get after all that anticipation? A huge spoiler? Something epic? A title seeped in meaning that will touch the souls of longtime fans?

Nope.

They’re calling it Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Hey #Twitterville we just wrapped production so here's a special message #StarWars pic.twitter.com/8QJqN5BGxr

— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) October 17, 2017

Solo. They made us wait for Solo. Who could have possibly predicted that title? Wait a second….I’m being told…..yes, yes, literally everyone predicted that. But that’s okay, because not only is it a perfectly logical, clean name for the movie, its simplicity also allowed the internet to have some fun with it. These are some of the best reactions and memes we saw around the web:

pic.twitter.com/qo4tP0JJhC

— heath (@heathdwilliams) October 17, 2017

Yolo! A @RealRonHoward Story. pic.twitter.com/cgyfLeQtnG

— Martin Reisch (@safesolvent) October 17, 2017

ahem. pic.twitter.com/pPbVipHVNu

— Scary Hearse Skin (@garyerskine) October 17, 2017

whoa pic.twitter.com/XiOKwzUjpJ

— Sean Gentille (@seangentille) October 17, 2017

i like this one. creative. #solo #starwars @StarWarsExplain pic.twitter.com/972Wd31QvC

— Memo Acebo (@memoacebo) October 17, 2017

Be honest. They can call it whatever they want. It's not like you're gonna miss a @starwars movie. Right, @RealRonHoward? #StarWars #SOLO pic.twitter.com/UHa4DgxGEW

— Michael J. Goblin (@Arkwulf) October 17, 2017

Thanks Han Solo director Ron Howard! We're excited, too! #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/O0UJ03CKDO

— The Walking Dead (@TheWalkingDead) October 17, 2017

Every time you read the word "Solo" fire a director. #HanSolo pic.twitter.com/FLkIwdMLbx

— TheGoldClaw (@TheGoldClaw) October 17, 2017

Han Solo Cup: A Star Wars Coming Of Age College Story pic.twitter.com/SO7yRTl6eY

— Allison Piwowarski (@allisonpiwo) October 17, 2017

Every time I'm reminded there's a Star Wars Han Solo spin-off movie coming I'm like pic.twitter.com/kxXBM0ShO9

— Ryan Hess (@RUSH20XX) October 17, 2017

I designed the logo for the upcoming Han Solo movie but they messed with my design. WTF, Disney?? SEE YOU IN COURT. pic.twitter.com/gG0IAoBwgV

— David Battigan

5 Horror Sub-Genres Perfect For An X-MEN Spin-Off

The trailer for Fox and Marvel’s upcoming New Mutants dropped recently, and it shocked several fans who were expecting something a little more conventional from the long running superhero franchise. While most of the X-Men films have dealt with young mutants at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, the trailer for New Mutants features the characters from the original comic book line-up, but all while also looking like a straight up horror film.

The reason for this is that the New Mutants is based on the comics’ famous “Demon Bear Saga,” a kind of Nightmare on Elm Street type story written before Freddy was ever even a thing. Director Josh Boone, himself a lifelong fan of the original comics, is attempting to add a little spice into the X-Men film franchise with New Mutants being essentially a horror film. In fact, Boone wants to potentially make New Mutants a trilogy, with each film paying homage to a different sub-genre of horror.

So will the other New Mutants films take inspiration from the original X-Men comics when it comes to making horror films? After all, the X-Men have had plenty of storylines that could be construed as being horror stories. And while we don’t know what genre of horror New Mutants may end up being, below are five examples of horror sub-genres that could be perfect for an X-Men film or New Mutants related spin-off.

Sci-Fi/Body Horror

The X-Men characters have found themselves in and out of outer space many times. In fact, their most beloved storyline, “The Dark Phoenix Saga,”  is all about alien empires and cosmic entities. But Marvel Comics’ mutants also have a history with the terrifying alien race known as the Brood. This species, reminiscent of the xenomorphs from the Alien series, take over your body until you become just like them. The movies have shied away from the Brood in the past, but if they are going full cosmic sci-fi with the upcoming Dark Phoenix film, why not sci-fi style body horror like the Brood, too?

Vampires

The X-Men have come into conflict with not just vampires in the past, but the big bad daddy of vamps—Dracula himself. In fact, old Vlad once turned Storm into one of his brides, although that turned out to be temporary (an alternate universe version of vampire Storm called Bloodstorm does exist though). Most recently, young X-Men member Jubilee was vamped out in the pages of the comics. Mutants and vampires have a long standing animosity going back to when Dracula tried to take Storm, and continued in the X-Men vs. Vampires event back in 2010.

Demons

From The Exorcist to Night of the Demons, a long popular sub-genre of horror are tales of the demonic. In the late ’80s, the X-Men faced a horded of other dimensional demons in the “Inferno” storyline. In that story, Cyclops’ wife Madelyne Pryor (who happens to be Jean Grey’s clone), gets brainwashed into becoming the Goblin Queen, and unleashes her demonic horde on New York. That particular storyline might be too complicated to reproduce on film verbatim, but a version could be adapted on the big screen with a tweak or two.

Zombies

Although not strictly limited to the mutant portion of the Marvel Universe, the Marvel Zombies series did include the X-Men characters among their undead line-up, so technically, there have been X-Men/zombie stories done in the comics. Marvel Zombies couldn’t be adapted exactly as is, but by doing  a world where all regular humans have become undead flesh eaters—and only the mutants have survived to stop them—sounds like a damn good take on a horror version of the X-Men cinematic universe for sure.

Holiday Horror

Forget Halloween—as far as horror movies go, Christmas is the scariest time of year. From Black Christmas to Gremlins to Krampus, the holiday season has long had its own sub genre of horror movies. One of the X-Men’s most famous stories is very horror related, following Kitty Pryde (as the X-team’s newest junior member), is left in the empty X-Mansion on Christmas Eve, and finds herself alone against the horrific creatures called the N’Garai. For years, fans have wanted a Kitty Pryde solo movie…I can’t think of a better story to adapt than this one.

Which horror sub-genre do you think is perfect for Marvel’s mutant heroes? Be sure to let us know down below in the comments.

Need More Mutants in Your Life?

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The Gambit movie finally has a release date!
And finally, check out that  New Mutants trailer.

Images: Twentieth Century Fox / Marvel Comics