Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1980

Martin Scorsese is Making a Joker Origin Story Without Jared Leto

The DCEU has had a little bit of a hiccup getting out of the gate, it found something fans everywhere could get behind in this summer’s Wonder Woman. And though we’ll have to wait until November to form an opinion on  Justice League, we at least know Warner Bros. is committed to giving their universe the ol’ college try, specifically in the Batman realm. Case in point: Tuesday’s news that there’s going to be a Joker origin story movie, directed by—of all people—The Hangover‘s Todd Phillips and produced by Martin Scorsese.

Coming to us from Deadline, their report has several details worth noting, the first being the personnel involved. Not only will it be directed by Phillips, it’ll be co-written by him and Scott Silver, whose credits include 8 Mile, The Fighter, and The Finest Hour, a wrap sheet that makes me ask “Why so serious?” But completing the trifecta is none other than the iconic Scorsese, a man who made his name from gritty, urban crime films in the 1970s and has kept making them ever since.

The other highly intriguing aspect is that this movie seems like it’ll be what DC Comics fans would call an “Elseworlds” story. While Sucide Squad‘s Jared Leto is still the official Joker in the DCEU — slated to appear in both that film’s sequel and in the Harley Quinn spin-off movie — this as-yet-untitled Joker movie would take place in the early 1980s and have a different lead actor, likely younger than Leto. And the Gotham City in this movie will evidently feel more like a Scorsese crime film than any DC film to date. So that’s nice and weird.

No word yet on anything else about the project, and since it’s completely independent from the ongoing DCEU continuity, it won’t probably require too much shifting of existing slate of films. As much as I don’t think having an origin for the Joker is ever necessary, it’s been done a couple of times quite well, specifically in the animated Batman: Mask of the Phantasm which showed his gangster past without giving away any other information. The character could lose some of its mystique if we know too much about him, but if it’s an out-of-continuity movie, then we can have it both ways.

Let us know what you think about this insane Joker movie in the comments below!

Images: Warner Bros

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist and an avowed DC Comics fanboy. Follow him on Twitter!

More from Gotham City

Yuck it up with The Batman Who Laughs
A Batman Beyond movie needs Michael Keaton
A new Batmobile design for White Knight

A Pulsing iPhone Charger That’s a Cronenberg Nightmare

For many of us, our phone chargers are both the bane of and the reason for our existence. They keep our phones powered and therefore keep us connected to the world, but less positively, they tend to wear down pretty quickly, they’re super prone to getting lost, and it just seems like they’re never as long as you need them to be. We don’t have to worry anymore, though, because there is a solution: the Grow Cable, an iPhone charger that looks like a terrifyingly pulsating umbilical cord right out of Rick and Morty‘s Cronenberg World (via Mashable).

Japanese artist Iizawa Mio created the Grow Cable as a commentary on modern smartphone dependence, writing on the product’s Etsy page:

“The iPhone cable shaped as an umbilical cord, which keeps moving while it’s charging. Now people bring their iPhone all the time in their lives. I designed the looking of this cable as an umbilical cord, which mother feeds energy to her baby. It moves as if it’s trying to introduce iPhone into, just like to express an irony to people’s dependence on iPhone.”

Yes, this is something you can buy on Etsy, as long as you don’t mind being separated from $5,700.71 that could be spent on, say, a used car, or something else that could add some value to your life. Mio also has a heart on a leash for sale, so if you find yourself on a bit of a spending spree after picking up the Grow Cable, you can drop $9,501.19 on that as well.

If money were no object, would you be interested in owning a disgusting Grow Cable? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Image: Mashable

For more weird stuff, check these out!

American Horror Story: Cult‘s creepy trailer
Rick’s Cybernetic Enhancements
A phone that can fix itself!

What Rick’s Cybernetic Enhancements Mean for RICK AND MORTY

Last weekend, Rick and Morty took a slight detour when Rick Sanchez took his soon to be ex-son-in-law, Jerry Smith, on an impromptu pity adventure that almost got them both killed. But before they shared an epoch of consciousness and some awkward naked wrestling, Jerry discovered something new about Rick: he’s gone full cyborg! Today’s Nerdist News is looking into Rick’s “Class C or above cybernetic augmentations” and how they may shape the future of the series!

Join the galaxy’s most wanted host, Jessica Chobot, as she breaks down the details from Rick’s full body scan. And as you can see in the gif posted below, Rick’s had a lot of work done. The bones in his arms and legs appear to have been replaced, at least one of his major organs has been upgraded, his left eye has been augmented, and there’s an implant in his brain!

How did this happen? It’s possible that Rick made these additions off-camera this season after he broke out of the Federation prison. But the theory that we’re going with is that Rick inherited these implants when he jumped into several different bodies during the third season premiere. Rick C-137 may be the Rickiest of all of the Ricks, but he doesn’t have his original body anymore.

Within this episode, we also saw that Rick has an arm gun built into his body, which could potentially be useful for future engagement with his countless enemies across the universe. That’s where the potential problem arises. Have Rick’s new upgrades made him too powerful? Is that how he was able to defeat Worldender and his followers while on a black out bender? We’re very curious to see if Rick’s cyber-enhancements will continue to be explored this season, and whether the show’s creative team decides to take them away from him before the finale.

What do you think about Cyber Rick? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Ooh-Wee: Here’s more Rick and Morty!

Why “Wirly Dirly” was the cruelest episode
What kind of ants are in Million Ants?
A hard look at “Vindicators 3”

Images: Adult Swim

DC Unveils Joker-Batman Mashup, The Batman Who Laughs

Earlier this month, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Dark Nights: Metal #1 set up DC’s newest event and briefly teased the evil incarnations of Batman who are invading the DC Universe. Six of the evil Batmans were apparently mashups of Bruce Wayne’s alter ego with other well known heroes like the Flash, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman. However, DC held back on revealing the Batman Who Laughs until now, and we can see why!

Via DC’s official site, the first look at the Batman Who Laughs seems to confirm that this villain is a nightmarish mix of the Joker and Batman. It’s not clear if this escapee from the Dark Multiverse is truly Bruce Wayne or the Joker, but he is definitely creeping us out in this Dark Nights: Metal #3 cover by Capullo.

Riccardo Federici’s illustration offers a better glimpse of the Batman Who Laughs, and he reminds us of Judge Death with that helmet and all of those exposed teeth.

Much like the real Batman, the Batman Who Laughs has a few Robins of his own. However, he keeps all of his sidekicks on chains, and they appear to be vampire children in this page by Mirka Andolfo from Teen Titans #12, which is a tie-in issue for the Dark Nights: Metal event.

In November, writer James T Tynion IV and artist Jason Fabok are giving this new villain and his Robins the spotlight in The Batman Who Laughs one-shot. That seems like the most logical place for readers to discover the backstory of this otherworldly threat, and possibly a confrontation with the real Batman. Fabok’s cover hasn’t been colored yet, but it depict the pack of Robins as truly unsettling creatures.

Are you intrigued by the Batman Who Laughs? Light up the Bat-signal and share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Images: DC Comics

See How GAME OF THRONES Made its Wight Polar Bears

Warning: The following post contains spoilers for the  Game of Thrones episode “Beyond the Wall.” Continue at your own risk!

Considering how big a part of Game of Thrones is its display of otherworldly magic, it’s always interesting to check out behind-the-scenes clips that shed light on its more mystifying shots and effects. And while there’s a boatload of CGI in the episode “Beyond the Wall,” practical effects were pivotal in creating some of the episode’s most memorable supernatural moments.

The “Frozen Lake” featurette delves deep into how some of the most epic shots in the episode were achieved. Some scenes were filmed in Iceland to get the feel for the journey beyond the wall and into a veritable no-man’s-land.

Others, involving a certain undead polar bear, were accomplished by combining practical stunts coordinated and performed out in the elements in Iceland.

Those scenes were then composited with CGI and what we can only describe as the best damn on-fire polar bear puppeteering job we’ve ever seen.

Still, the most impressive part of the episode’s effects was how they created the frozen lake and made it safe enough for the cast and hundreds of extras to run atop. To do so, they painstakingly recreated some scenery to match the Iceland footage, dressed the set to look like the winter wonderland of Wildling territory, and literally paved over a quarry in Belfast.

With the size and scope of a set like that (and the fire zombie bear puppet) it’s almost forgivable that this season’s ravens are faster than texting, Dany and her dragons can seemingly teleport, and the Night King somehow just had gigantic dragon-dragging chains.

What’s your favorite effect from this season? Ain’t it cool that Beric and Thoros‘ swords are actually on fire? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING ON GAME OF THRONES?

How Gendry’s return is way more than just fan service.
Why Gilly’s Rhaegar revelation could have a huge impact on the future of the show.
Why Arya’s Faceless Men training will ultimately doom Littlefinger’s plans.

Images: HBO

CATS & DOGS Take Over THE SIMS 4 in New Pet-Friendly Expansion

Get out your grooming brushes because your human experiments just got hairier. Publisher Electronic Arts just announced at Gamescom that the newest expansion for The Sims 4, appropriately titled Cats & Dogs, will let you customize, play with, and eventually become way too emotionally attached to virtual canine and feline pals. And the trailer sure is h*ckin’ cute.

Pets are a huge step for The Sims in bringing almost every aspect of real human life to the realm of gameplay. Not only will you have a full array of furry friends at your disposal, but with The “Create A Pet” tool you can customize them all the way down to their age, color, size, and personality. The Sims even goes so far as to let you become “that person” who dresses up their cats and dogs in silly outfits like hot dog suits. You don’t even need a holiday to justify it.

Cats & Dogs will also introduce the new veterinarian occupation that will allow you to build and run your own vet office. Also included: a new coastal area called Brindleton Bay, where you can play with your pets or pick up strays to add to the family. Though there hasn’t been an announcement about pricing just yet, you can expect to be pampering your new pets on November 10th for Mac and Windows PC.

Featured Image: Electronic Arts

Alex Tisdale is a writer and illustrator who runs on coffee and pop culture. You can find him covered in ink and rambling on his website or on Twitter.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: CULT Has a New, Creepy, Clownerific Trailer

We recently got to experience the creepy new opening credits to American Horror Story: Cult, and now the first official trailer is here for the seventh season of Ryan Murphy’s hit anthology series. And it’s giving us more story details than we’ve ever gotten before a season of AHS. Watch down below, and then we’ll unpack all the insanity we just witnessed.

Well, that all had a nice Rosemary’s Baby/ Jacob’s Ladder “I think I’m totally going crazy” vibe, didn’t it?

According to TV Line, the events of AHS: Cult all start on that November night Donald Trump was elected President. Set in the state of Michigan, the plot of AHS: Cult will center around Sarah Paulson’s character of Ally, an agoraphobic who has also an intense fear of clowns. Fans of American Horror Story: Freak Show will notice a nod to that season’s terrifying Twisty the Clown in the trailer (remember, all the seasons of American Horror Story are connected).

All of these fears begin to worsen after election night, as Ally says “things just keep getting worse.” It seems nobody is able to help her, including her partner (Allison Pill) and her therapist (Cheyenne Jackson).

The trailer also introduces us to Evan Peters’ character Kai, a blue-haired anarchist type who seems to love Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight just a little bit too much. He manipulates Billie Lourd’s character to pose as Ally and Ivy’s nanny, pushing her fear and paranoia to new levels of intensity. Now, what all this has to do with an actual cult and election is still a mystery, but I guess we’ll have to wait until the show premieres to find out why the show bears that name.

American Horror Story: Cult premieres Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 10/9c on FX.

Are you as excited as we are for this year’s very topical installment of American Horror Story? Be sure to let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.

Want to Read More on American Horror Story? Try These:

Peep the creepy details we know about AHS: Cult thus far.
Watch its horrifying new opening credits.
Win a chance to be on the show!

Images: FX

 

No, Jon Snow’s Sword Longclaw Did Not “Open Its Eyes” on GAME OF THRONES

“What is this ****?!”

You get a lot of frantic questions from friends and family about Game of Thrones when you’re lucky enough to write about it professionally like I am. And after Sunday night’s “Beyond the Wall” a lot of them–and apparently millions of other viewers too–keep asking about one potentially insane moment:

Did Jon Snow‘s Valyrian steel sword Longclaw open its eyes when he climbed out of the lake?

If you don’t know what all the excitement is over, watch this gif and focus on the eye in the wolf head hilt, as it appears to go from white to black when Jon pulls himself up.

Crazy, right? I see why I keep being asked about it. But could that possibly be what it seems to be? Is the sword literally coming to life when Jon comes back from the icy depths of the lake? Could this be a magical sword, maybe even Lightbringer!?

Nooooooope. Sorry. But this one doesn’t hold frozen water.

Longclaw’s eyes always look “black,” including earlier in this episode when Jon tried to give it back to Jorah, since Jorah’s father Lord Commander Jeor Mormont gave it to Jon.

But it’s not that its eyes “turned white” at some point—it’s that it’s eyes don’t have any color at all. Reddit user heppyatheist figured it out: “The eyes are just a piece of crystal, you can see when his glove is particularly behind it only half the eye turns dark, then fills out when his hand is directly behind the handle.”

He’s right. Watch this slow-mo version and you’ll see how the eye “turns” partially black as Jon’s gloved hand comes up behind it.

You can also see different shades of white and blue at first in our featured image above. It’s not even all white to start with.

The whiteness was just the color of the snow behind it, which changed to black when Jon came into the shot. Sorry if that bums you out, we didn’t mean to burst your bubble like a an ice javelin hitting a dragon, but this was a happy accident.

But honestly? I’m really glad this was just an optical illusion, because as far as Game of Thrones questions go this one wasn’t too hard.

And I honestly have no idea what it would have meant if a sword came to life.

Did you catch this when you watched the episode? What did you make of it? What about this explanation? Open our eyes with your thoughts below.

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING ON GAME OF THRONES?

How Gendry’s return is way more than just fan service.
Why Gilly’s Rhaegar revelation could have a huge impact on the future of the show.
Why Arya’s Faceless Men training will ultimately doom Littlefinger’s plans.

Images: HBO

The Writers Panel #348: Alias writers reunion from ATX

Ken Olin, Sarah Caplan, Andre Nemec, Josh Appelbaum, and Monica Owusu-Breen reunite to reflect on the show’s long-term impact, the challenges of maintaining their elaborate concept across 105 episodes, and to share their favorite moments in the life of Sydney Bristow. Moderated by Sara Vilkomerson (Entertainment Weekly).

Recorded at ATX Television Festival on June 10, 2017.

Get your badge now for ATX’s seventh season, June 7-10, 2018, at http://atxfestival.com/

Follow @BenBlacker and Like the show on Facebook!

Here’s a Roundup of How the Internet Celebrated the Total Solar Eclipse

Roughly 5,350 years ago, people living in what’s now known as Ireland saw something they couldn’t explain. Something that compelled them to sit down in front of big rocks and carve out little pictures of what they’d seen in order to mark the momentous occasion for future generations. That something was a total solar eclipse; when the Moon almost fully blots out the Sun’s light beaming onto certain parts of Earth’s surface. Roughly 5,350 years later, people across North America were privileged to witness that exact same type of rare spectacle, and they too marked the occasion as best they knew how: with millions of images, videos, and truly dank memes uploaded to our own 21st century stone, the internet.

First off, for the essential taste of what exactly everybody was so hyped about, here’s a stunning video of the eclipse from NASA, which was taken just before, during and after totality, or the time segment during which the Moon obscures the entire disk of the Sun, only leaving the solar corona visible. This results in a “diamond ring” effect, where all but a sliver of sunlight is blocked out by the Moon, leaving a ring of brilliant white light.

Here’s #SolarEclipse2017 views of totality in Nebraska! Take a look here and watch our live show for more: https://t.co/cOKssim1bY pic.twitter.com/qFgqf3ZI2s

— NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2017

While you may have heard crickets chirping during the eclipse (they think it’s night while the Sun’s blocked), you may have also heard something else that sounded like Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill… That’s because the Science Guy was out there checking out the solar eclipse with a fresh pair of ‘clipse blockers on. Check out the guy in the white shirt in the background who was too cool to watch one of the most rare celestial events we’ll ever get to witness.

The #solareclipse is upon us. I hope this day reminds us that we share a common origin in the stars & that we’re citizens of the same planet pic.twitter.com/IBp1fSmoNS

— Bill Nye (@BillNye) August 21, 2017

The total solar eclipse also brought out people’s creativity, and Zach King, YouTuber and filmmaker best known for his super creative Vine videos (RIP Vine), put together a perfect little tribute to the total solar eclipse with some of his brain-bending editing skills.

An image of a person dressed in a T. Rex costume warning of impending doom (uploaded to Reddit by user attheisstt) also went viral, because those T. Rex costumes are hilarious and so are… existential threats to life on Earth?

Dinosaur Warns Humans of Doom Before #SolarEclipse pic.twitter.com/iRmAOePExF

— Breaking News Joey (@BreakingNewsJoe) August 21, 2017

And of course there was President Trump who (surprise!) made the rounds online in various forms based on his decision to look—twice—at the eclipse without any kind of eye protection on. But whatever damage was done to his eyes by the sun’s hurtling photons was more than made up for by the comedy those—two—moments inspired.

TRUMP: So I can just look right at the eclipse right?

NASA: you know what? sure. pic.twitter.com/rxwy2CNMqq

— Chris Person (@Papapishu) August 21, 2017

There were also plenty of other jaw-dropping photographs taken of the eclipse for those who missed it, and some of our favorites from NASA are available in the image gallery below. There will also be another total eclipse in 2024, so don’t worry if you missed it this time. It will literally come around again in your lifetime.

What were your favorite images, jokes, and memes carved into our 21st century block of stone commemorating this awe-inspiring event? Carve out your thoughts in the comments section below!

You like science? Read these!

Time-lapse of a spider building a web
Hyperloop One’s test looked like Space Mountain
Elon Musk’s AI is good at DOTA 2

Images: Flickr / NASA