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This THOR: RAGNAROK Costume is Ready to Rock

It was at Dutch Comic Con 2015 when a young girl took one look at Netherlands-based cosplayer Mischa Odinsson and asked her dad, “Is that Thor?” So, Mischa put together a Thor costume for the next convention he attended with his girlfriend Methilde. When he saw the first pictures from Thor: Ragnarok, he became interested in replicating the armor. I’d say he could call this a win:

Once he kicked into full gear to work on the costume (after some procrastinating), Mischa spent about three weeks on the Marvel-inspired build. He said the most challenging part was becoming Thor-like. “I’m pretty much a perfectionist, and for me, the only way to cosplay a guy like Thor is to really look like Thor,” he told Nerdist. “Both Methilde and I were already hitting the gym for a couple of years. But since we started cosplaying we both went to our trainer [Jeremy Regensburg, a Wolverine cosplayer] and said, ‘Bro, we need to look like Wonder Woman and Thor, tell us what to do.'”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYbZXujF5M7/

As for the costume, making the torso was challenging. Methilde helped with that by “designing the torso and transferring it to foam.” Mischa said, “After that it was a lot of shaping, adding details and different layers.”

Follow Mjölnir into the gallery below to see more pics of the build process. You can keep up with Mischa’s latest cosplay projects by following him on Instagram. Methilde, who helps with Mischa’s projects, also has an awesome feed full of cosplay goodness.

Do you cosplay or take photographs of cosplayers? If so, I want to see your work so we can talk about highlighting your creations in a future Cosplay Friday gallery. If you’re interested, please get in touch with me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com and send photos you’d like me to feature–the more high-res the photos, the better. Be sure to provide credits for the cosplayers or photographers for each image because giving credit is good manners–bonus points if you include links to relevant Facebook pages or websites. I don’t know all about every nerdy franchise, so please let me know who or what is being cosplayed.

Images: Lillith Margain, Mischa Odinsson

Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. Follow her on Twitter and keep up with her Disney food adventures on Instagram.

Read more about Thor!

What we learned on the Thor: Ragnarok set.
Watch Man at Arms make Thor’s swords.
Learn about Taika Waititi’s roles in Ragnarok.

Diesel Unveils Line of STREET FIGHTER Limited Edition Shoes

In 1987, Capcom released the very first Street Fighter game into arcades. Thirty years later, the Street Fighter franchise is still very much alive, with numerous sequels, films, TV series, and various collectibles. At this point, we thought we had seen every piece of Street Fighter merchandise that was possible, but Diesel and Capcom have proven us wrong. Diesel has announced a series of limited edition Street Fighter shoes that celebrate five of the memorable characters from Street Fighter V.

First up is Charlie Nash, in his slightly undead incarnation from the latest game. Nash’s dog tag is imprinted on the soles and the bottom of the shoes say “Sonic” and “Boom.” In fact, every shoe in this series features writing on the bottom that directly references a special signature move by their respective characters.

For you, the day you saw these M. Bison inspired shoes was the most important day of your life. But for him, it was Tuesday. If you look closely at the design on the white soles, you’ll see the logo for Bison’s Shadaloo organization. And of course, the words “Psycho” and “Power” are at the bottom of these shoes.

Birdie is probably not a character we would have chosen for this, but here he is in all of his chain-licking glory. These shoes aren’t quite as distinctive as the rest in this series, but the bottom of each pair reads “Bull” and “Horn.”

The next pair celebrates the self-described “strongest woman in the world,” Chun-Li! The design incorporates a lot of her signature blue colors, and features “Spinning” and “Birdkick” at the bottom of each shoe.

Finally, it just wouldn’t be a Street Fighter tie-in without the world warrior himself, Ryu! Although Ryu tends to go without any shoes, his commemorative pair features “Hadoken” and “Denjin” on the bottom of each shoe.

You can order the limited edition Street Fighter shoes directly from Diesel, but they aren’t cheap! Each pair is $200.

What do you think about Diesel’s new Street Fighter shoes? Perform your special moves in the comment section below!

Need More Street Fighter?

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Also this Street Fighter chalk street art? A+.

Images: Diesel/Capcom

Skinless Rocket Raccoon is the Scariest Thing in this GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VFX Reel

We know horrible things were done to Rocket Raccoon to turn him into an angry, genetically enhanced, cybernetic-powered ball of fury. So we did not need to literally see his insides to know it was ugly in there. But (no) thanks to a new behind-the-scenes VFX reel for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we’ve been shown what really lies underneath his tough raccoon exterior. And it is far worse than any horror Ego had planned.

In this featurette from Framestore (which we first came across at io9), we get to see some of the 620 shots they made for the movie. They include many from the incredible opening sequence in which the Guardians fought the Abilisk, as well as Yondu’s confident murder spree/strut through the Ravager ship, and how the fleet of Sovereign fighters joined the battle.

But it’s the VFX shots of Rocket that we can’t un-see, because they show how he was engineered layer by layer from skeleton to muscular system to skin to, finally, fur. But be warned: don’t watch it if you enjoy sleeping.

After seeing what Rocket’s insides look like we kind of understand why he’s always so angry. If you looked like this without hair, you’d be angry all the time too.

The Guardians might be very good at protecting the galaxy, but we don’t think they’ll be able to do anything about protecting us from nightmares now.

How would you describe Rocket without his fur? Help us work through this difficult time by talking about it with us in the comments section below.

Images: Framestore/Marvel

More Guardians of the Galaxy stuff!

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There’s a Guardians of the Galaxy manga series now!

The World’s Largest Musical Instrument is Made of Stone

Here’s something that would make a great addition to Batman’s Batcave; something to add some proper acoustic ambience to all that angst and Alfred-assisted problem solving that goes on down there. It’s a “Stalacpipe Organ,” and there’s one in Luray Caverns, Virginia that spans three-and-a-half acres — it’s the largest musical instrument in the world.

It won’t exactly fit on one’s utility belt, but you’ll carry its haunting yet dulcet tones with you wherever you go.

In the above clip, Great Big Story, the YouTube team that’s showed us other amazing little corners of the globe like the world’s deadliest garden, takes us on a tour of the famous Stalacpipe Organ. It was built in 1956 by Leland W. Sprinkle, and is exactly what its name implies: an organ that’s made out of a series of stalactites. In order to achieve these incredible sounds, the stalactites are hit with rubber mallets activated via solenoids — coiled wires that develop magnetic fields when a current is run through them. The electrical pulses sent through the solenoids are activated when the organ’s keys are played.

Rubber mallet hitting the stalactite. Image: Great Big Story

The result of the cave’s acoustics and the extensive amount of space between each of the stalactites being struck is an incredibly rich set of tones with caverns of depth. On one level, the notes produced are crisp and clear, as if they were produced by a normal organ not built out of a massive cave system. On another level however, there is a gentle reverberation that accompanies each note, adding a distinctive sound. On top of that, there’s the gentle drip-drop of water that gives the music the signature aura of a cave. This is all heard clearly in the gorgeous rendition of Beethoven’s Fur Elise in the clip below.

What do you think about this Stalacpipe Organ? Have you ever heard such haunting yet beautiful music? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: Great Big Story

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GERALD’S GAME Has a Simple Premise, Phenomenal Execution (Review)

For having 40+ feature films based on his writing, a great many of Stephen King‘s stories have long been declared “unfilmable.” Sure, The Dark Tower is almost too sprawling and complex for any movie to hold (though they tried), but his writing can also be so intimate, so focused that a movie version wouldn’t have the proper scope or intensity. One of these has always been King’s 1992 suspense novel Gerald’s Game, which ostensibly is about one character in one location. Getting that movie made has long been the passion project of horror director Mike Flanagan, and it’s one of the best King adaptations ever made.

Flanagan made his name directing smaller horror films that delivered on tension and scares without relying on huge budgets. I’ve been a big fan of his for a while, after his film Oculus about a haunted mirror sufficiently shot chills up the back of me, and I was incredibly impressed by his movie Hush about a deaf woman menaced by a home-invader/murderer. Hush proved a success on Netflix and he was able to get Gerald’s Game off the ground, in an inconceivably impressive way. It’s a movie less about story than it is about execution and it’s truly chilling, with some powerhouse performances.

Jessie (Carla Gugino) is heading for a romantic weekend with her husband Gerald (Bruce Greenwood), a weekend that’s meant to help their flagging relationship. Gerald wants to try something a little kinkier than they’re used to and he brings heavy duty handcuffs to fasten Jessie to the bed. The attempt doesn’t go well and ends with Gerald having a massive heart attack and dying on the floor, while Jessie is stuck and unable to reach anything, or her husband. Gerald’s death is not a spoiler, it’s merely the inciting incident, because Jessie has to keep herself sane while she goes through all the emotions and growing insanity that comes from being chained to a bed, in a house in the middle of nowhere, with the front door open, and a hungry stray dog stalking around outside.

While this could easily be a Tales from the Crypt episode, where the “oh shit” moment is the ending, it’s not, and as with King’s novel, Flanagan’s movie takes us deep inside Jessie’s psyche and her own self-doubts. These self doubts manifest in the form of Gerald, who taunts her about how stupid she is for having gotten into this mess. But she–with flawless hair and makeup–also finds a voice of her inner strength, urging her to stay calm and use her head. As she drifts further into madness, she begins reliving childhood trauma, focusing on a particular incident with a grown up (played by Henry Thomas), and the possible specter of death nibbling at her toes.

It’s astonishing just how effective this movie is. The bulk of the movie finds Gugino doing double duty handcuffed to the bed, more and more dehydrated, sore, and insane, and standing over herself, telling her to hang on, all the while Greenwood hovers like a sadist constantly reminding her that the dog is probably going to eat her, if death himself doesn’t get her first. Both actors are absolutely fantastic, and give performances the likes of which we haven’t gotten to see from these very accomplished actors.

And yet, despite the fact that this is mainly a two-hander with some flashbacks thrown in, Flanagan never makes it feel like you’re watching a stage play. The editing is frenetic and the shots are economic but effective. He knows how to set up dread and make you feel like you’re stuck with Jessie in those shackles, both physicaly and emotionally. The truly upsetting visage of the Moonlight Man lurking in the shadows adds some ghostly scares to the worsening dread.

Gerald’s Game is an excellent piece of cinema, and proves that story and performance can overcome even the most “unfilmable” source material. Survival isn’t pretty, and it’s not fun, but it is possible, if someone can overcome fears. It’s a pretty universal story, we just needed a filmmaker and actors brave enough to bring it to the screen.

4.5 out of 5 wrist-bruising burritos

Images: Netflix

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

Check out more of our movie reviews!

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Another MEN IN BLACK Spin-Off Coming in 2019 from IRON MAN Writers

It’s a big, dangerous universe out there, with lots of scary aliens from all across the galaxy, so it’s no surprise Sony wants to share more stories about the shadowy government agency that protects Earth from extraterrestrial threats. What is surprising though is that they’re bringing us a Men in Black spin-off that has nothing to do with the reported 21 Jump Street crossover.

Deadline reports that Sony has “fast tracked” a spin-off of the sci-fi comedy franchise made famous by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, with a script written by Matt Holloway and Art Marcum, best known for penning the original Iron Man and Transformers: The Last Knight. The yet-untitled project already has a scheduled release date of May 17th, 2019, and it seems to be inspired by the playbook of another big budget franchise that just had massive success with a reboot.

That’s because Deadline says the script focuses, “on new characters chasing villains that put the picture on more of a global scale than the two previous films,” and that the movie’s ambition “is akin to the way that Jurassic World rebooted and expanded that franchise.” While that makes us believe we’ll see a story that goes hopping around our planet (and possibly even to alien worlds!), hopefully that doesn’t mean a female agent in black running around in high heels.

This spin-off seems to have nothing to do with the Men in Black/21 Jump Street crossover we told you about before. That is apparently still a possibility to get made, but would only come after this movie hits theaters.

The more the merrier! The alien-filled world of Men in Black is perfect for more stories with different characters, because we can’t always rely on Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones to save the day. We learned that with Men in Black II.

What would you like to see from a MIB spin-off? Don’t be an alien to our comments section below, let us know what you think.

Want the Scoop on Other Alien Stuff?

Here are all the details on the Men In Black/21 Jump Street crossover spin-off.
Curious about the science behind  MiB ‘s rocket car? Kyle Hill has you covered.
Apparently this movie may also feature a female agent in a lead role!

Images: Sony

Nerdist Celebrates Halloween All October with Nerdoween 2017

Beware for scares, friends and devoted nerds, for we are entering a dark and disturbing place, full of witches, goblins, ghouls and ghosts. It’s Nerdoween! Nerdist’s annual 31-day journey into the heart of evil (but in, like, a fun way) kicks off on October 1 and takes us all the way to All Hallows Ween (of which Rachel Heine is Queen). What kind of spooky spectaculars will be in store this month? Only everything! Brand new specials and series, themed episodes of your favorite shows, and lots and lots of horror, Gothic, and macabre-themed articles, all for you!

But we know, you want specifics. How about our new show Bizarre States: Los Angeles, in which Jessica Chobot and Andrew Bowser, from the popular podcast and Alpha show Bizarre States, travel into the wilds of Los Angeles to find the scariest, weirdest, and most mind-blowing places possible. Will there be haunted things? You bet your boo-ty! You’ll also get to watch a brand new horror short called The Mystic Museum, which will be sure to make you scream…with delight!

Our regularly scheduled programming will also be full of terrors. Our daily news round-up, Nerdist News Talks Back, will be hosting a month-long, round-robin tournament where you can help determine which giant monster is the very best giant monster. Elsewhere, Kyle Hill will be taking a trip to the Upside Down to uncover the science of Stranger Things, Ouija boards, and more! It’s something we’re calling Because Scare-ence! The Dan Cave will tell you all about the best horror anime you should be watching, and Onyx the Fortuitous will once again take us to The Shadow Zone.

These are just the things the Dark Lord has authorized us to tell you. You’re in for a scary good month, because Nerdoween is so good…it’ll make you vomit spiders.

Stay tuned for more spooky-scary stories, and catch up on Nerdoweens of years past right here on Nerdist.

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.

What Does Wolverine’s Return to Marvel Comics Mean For the MCU?

He’s back! After three years, and so many alternate versions, Marvel’s most popular mutant hero has escaped the great beyond. This week’s Marvel Legacy #1 revealed that someone very powerful has gone through the trouble of resurrecting Wolverine, while setting him up to claim an Infinity Stone. The answers to that mystery will have to wait, however, because today’s Nerdist News is looking into what Logan’s return could mean for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Join host, and the living embodiment of the Soul Stone, Jessica Chobot, as she walks us through the implications of Marvel Legacy‘s big returns. Because it’s not just Wolverine who made a surprise appearance. The issue broadly hints that the Fantastic Four are also on their way back, even though Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman still haven’t been seen since the end of Secret Wars.

Although Marvel has repeatedly denied this, former Fantastic Four writer Jonathan Hickman confirmed that one of the main reasons Fantastic Four was canceled was over friction between Marvel and Fox. That may also be the reason that Wolverine was put on ice for three years, although it was highly suspicious that an Old Man Logan was introduced to the modern Marvel Universe just as Logan made its way to the big screen. But what are the implications for the MCU?

The wildest theory is that X-Men movie fans aren’t ready to accept a new actor as Wolverine, so perhaps Fox would be willing to lend him out for Avengers: Infinity War or its currently untitled sequel. That seems somewhat unlikely, but it is something that Hugh Jackman has lobbied for in the past. If anything could coax him back to the role, it would be a chance to appear alongside the Avengers.

After the ice cold reception received by the last Fantastic Four film, many fans and critics have called on Fox to enter into a shared custody agreement with Marvel Studios. It seems to have worked out well for Sony and Marvel, since Spider-Man: Homecoming was one of the biggest hits of the summer. But there are rumors that Fox would rather try to reboot the FF films using Mark Millar’s Kindergarten Heroes as a guide rather than play nice with Marvel.

And yet, bringing back the Fantastic Four characters is a pretty big step for Marvel. The same is true about Wolverine’s return. Maybe it means that Marvel doesn’t feel the need to bury these characters anymore. But on a more hopeful note, we’d love to see it as a sign that the two companies are more open to cooperating in the near future. If the Fantastic Four and the X-Men are ever allowed into the MCU, it would make us very happy!

Do you want to see Wolverine in the Avengers movies? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Need More Details on Old Man Logan?

Did you know Matthew Vaughan was going to direct a Young Wolverine movie?
Deadpool and Old Man Logan are going up against each other in the comics!
Watch a Logan deleted scene to see what happened to [SPOILER].

GOTHAM’s Sirens Are Shaping Up to Be Season 4’s Secret Weapon

There are a number of stories unfolding in the third season of Gotham, be it Penguin’s (Robin Lord Taylor) crime-licensing operation, the rise of the Scarecrow (Charlie Tahan), or Bruce (David Mazouz) rapidly evolving into Batman. And yet, as with previous seasons of the FOX series about Gotham City before the Bat, it’s the ladies that you should be paying attention to. With the latest developments in episode two of the fourth season — “The Fear Reaper” — Gotham seems to be building its own version of Gotham City Sirens, the DC comic book series that focuses on the baddest women in the Batman universe, which is also being adapted into a film.

Ever since rebooting Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) halfway through the first season, from inoffensive girlfriend of Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) to joyfully psychotic murderer, Gotham’s girl power has the strongest part of the series. Whether it was Barbara wreaking havoc on her former lover, Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas), tearing up the town with her partner-in-crime Babs or Selina Kyle’s (Camren Bicondova) slow evolution to Catwoman and the relationship she forged with Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), the women of Gotham are a force with which to be reckoned.

That’s not to say there haven’t been missteps along the way—the biggest of which was the way the series handled the season three aging up of Ivy Pepper from troubled teen (Claire Foley) to 20-something sexual manipulator (Maggie Geha) in the span of an episode. Overall though, Gotham has done right by its women in a refreshing way, and their newest story arc, which feels very similar to what’s happening elsewhere in the DC universe, is proof of that.

With Penguin legitimizing crime in Gotham, Barbara, Selina, and Tabitha are joining forces to arm those partaking in the kingpin’s new endeavor. “Like it or not, every criminal in this city is going to go to him for a license to mug, steal, or blow stuff up,” Barbara tells her new business partners. “Those criminals are going to need supplies and that is where we come in.”

With the arming of Gotham City’s newly-minted criminals will come information regarding their planned deeds. Given how valuable information is as currency in this city, should their plan work out, this trio is going to be a true force to be reckoned with. Granted, there’s still some tension within the group to work out. That shouldn’t be too difficult once the money and intel starts rolling in, though.

It’s hard not to get Gotham City Sirens vibes from this team up, even if the roster is quite a bit different.

While the comic (and, presumably, the film) follows on Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy as they unleash their brands of mischief in Gotham City, a young and more impressionable Selina is working with two adult villains on Gotham, while Ivy is currently off finding herself. At the heart of it though, both are stories about these villainous women not just surviving, but thriving, in a flat-out crazy world, like the one Gotham exists in.

Putting its own spin on the comic book is perfectly in line with what the series has done since it first premiered. Gotham created its own canon and has made no bones about it. While it honors many different versions of the Batman universe—and often feels like it’s set somewhere in the version of Batman introduced by Tim Burton in 1989—what makes this show such a joy to watch is that it constantly carves its own path. This is a show that reimagined the Joker as a former circus performer named Jerome (Cameron Monaghan) and is turning Penguin’s one-time enforcer Butch (Drew Powell) into Solomon Grundy.

Still, there’s room for Gotham to veer closer to the comics as the season goes on. After all, Ivy exists in this universe and she wants so badly to be included with this crew of powerful females. And by the end of the episode, she’s finally finding a purpose that doesn’t involve tagging along with Selina or being ordered around by Penguin.

After being reintroduced as an adult in season three, Ivy was typically shown as a young woman who didn’t really understand the world, but would use perfumes to control the men around her. It’s not quite the inspiring story you’d hope for after magically taking her from young teen to adult. Now though, she’s ingested multiple potions and is hopefully well on her way to becoming the Poison Ivy fans love—the one that’s a formidable villain who can control plant life.

In finding inner-strength and new powers, Ivy will not only become a better character but could be a much more valuable asset to Selina, Tabitha, and Barbara. Little Ivy Pepper, the immature best friend of Selina and cast-off of Penguin, doesn’t bring much to the table. Poison Ivy, though? That’s an entirely different story, and entirely different stories are what Gotham does best. Thankfully, the show also continues to recognize which pieces of the universe it is building work best. In this case, it’s the might of the female villains who have become something you just don’t want to look away from. Hopefully, that continues for as long as Gotham is around.

Are you game for Gotham’s take on the Sirens? Does this new turn for Ivy make up for how she was mishandled in season 3? Sound off in the comments below and tweet me all of your Gotham thoughts at @ChrisHayner.

Images: FOX

Need More Gotham?

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A FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR Remake is Coming from LUCIFER Scribe

I harp on it a lot, but I’m fascinated by that period of time when Disney made kids movies that were also terrifying. The Watcher in the Woods, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and The Black Hole were all made in the ’70s and ’80s and were just straight-up scarring. Even ones that seemed outwardly benign were majorly troubling. One of these was latter films was 1986’s Flight of the Navigator about a kid on an adventure with a sentient alien spaceship. According to Variety, that movie is being remade by Lucifer showrunner Joe Henderson.

Now first thing’s first; Variety calls this project a “reboot.” This seems pretty odd to me considering Flight of the Navigator never got a sequel, it wasn’t a franchise, and didn’t do all that well at the time. A 30-year-old movie being made a second time is in my book called a remake, not a reboot. Whether this was a typo on Variety‘s part of the official language being used by Disney is not yet known, but it’s certainly a head-scratcher if you ask me.

The original movie starred 12-year-old Canadian actor Joey Cramer as David Freeman, a regular kid who gets taken aboard a highly advanced alien spacecraft–with a mobile AI named Max voiced by Paul Reubens—in order to be the navigator to help bring Max and his alien creatures back to where they need to go. It’s a fun little adventure in which David teaches Max about humans through pop culture and the music of the Beach Boys. However, when he comes back, even though he feels like he’s only been gone a few hours, he’s in actuality gone for 8 years (a round of applause for the scientific concept of time dilation).

…This is an INCREDIBLY dark concept for a kids movie. His family thought he disappeared and when he returns, he’s younger than his older brother. They don’t believe he’s been where he says he’s been, so they turn him over to a shady government science and intelligence facility. He needs a young Sarah Jessica Parker to help him escape and get back to Max. It is a traumatizing movie, or was for me as a child.

At any rate, someone who makes a show about the devil being a private eye seems like a good choice to remake this movie. And if it means a semi-return to the dark side of Disney, I’m all for it. But, oh man. At what cost!

What do you think of a remake/reboot/rewhatever of Flight of the Navigator? Let us know in the comments below!

Image: Disney

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He writes the weekly look at weird or obscure films in Schlock & Awe. Follow him on Twitter!

We love how screwed up Disney movies were!

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