Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2016

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR’s Children of Thanos (Black Order) Were Just Unveiled at D23

So, if you’re Thanos, do you really have to do everything yourself, as the stinger from Age of Ultron implied? Like, even if you’re going up against every hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Infinity War? Maybe not. Turns out that statue of Thanos we saw the other night isn’t alone any more, and neither will the mad Titan be so onscreen.

While the movie will refer to them as the Children of Thanos–a metaphorical title, not to be confused with his actual adopted daughters Nebula and Gamora–comics fans may recognize them as the Black Order: Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Thanos (of course), Ebony Maw, and Black Dwarf. You might notice that each one has some kind of reference to the color (or absence thereof, depending how pedantic one wants to get) black.

To get an idea of their scale, Thanos actor Josh Brolin stopped by the unveiling to don a full 1:1 Infinity Gauntlet. It might fit Thanos like a glove, but Brolin’s not that big yet (despite those Cable workouts).

Glaive and Black Dwarf are brothers, while Midnight is Glaive’s wife. Ebony Maw, as his smaller physique might suggest, is more a thinker than a fighter, but the others are as nigh-indestructible as Thanos, with Glaive’s primary vulnerability being his blae, which must be broken in order to kill him (go Hulk!).

Check out a few more images in our mini-gallery below, and look to learn a lot more about this crew very soon. What do you think of Thanos’ team now? Tell us in comments.

Images: Michelle Buchman

New Details and Concept Art From Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man for the PS4

I can’t tell you how happy I am for Spider-Man coming to PS4. I’ve been known to criticize “realistic” games in a very specific manner over the years by saying “Why would I want to ride a horse, shoot a gun, or drive a car in a video game where there are games where you can literally be Spider-Man?” So, Insomniac Games new web-swinging adventure coming in 2018 is right up my alley, especially since this game (in a long line of them) looks to be the closest possible thing to actually being Spidey. A new featurette that premiered at this week’s D23 Expo explains a bit more about the upcoming game.

Go behind the scenes of #SpiderManPS4 with the @insomniacgames team in this featurette from #D23Expo!

Mark Ruffalo Says Another HULK Solo Movie Won’t Happen

If you were hoping that Tim Blake Nelson’s Leader tease in The Incredible Hulk was going to, ahem, lead to a sequel, current Puny Banner Mark Ruffalo has some bad news–as far as Marvel Studios is concerned, Hulk will only be appearing in other people’s movies. The reason is that apparently Universal still holds some of the Hulk solo movie rights, and unlike Sony with Spider-Man, they’re not interested in making a deal. Watch the video below for more:

“A standalone Hulk movie will never happen.” – @MarkRuffalo #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/4QrZcoHm6Q

— Variety (@Variety) July 15, 2017

What we don’t know is if this applies to all Hulk-related characters; could She-Hulk, for example, get her own movie (please)? Thankfully the deal does allow the big green guy to keep showing up in the universe itself, and that actually works out cheaper for Marvel and Disney. With Hulk being the most expensive of the Avengers to digitally render, less screen time means more money spent on other creatures.

And given that both previous Hulk movies featured leading men who bowed out of the role immediately afterward, maybe this is all just a clever ruse to keep Ruffalo from falling prey to a jinx. After all, we’re certainly not tired of him in the role, and would even pay to see a “Science Bros” movie with just him and Tony Stark out of costume the entire time. Can we figure out if Universal’s deal allows that?

Are you sorry there won’t be another standalone Hulk adventure, or just happy we get to keep Ruffalo around in other Marvel movies? Sound off in comments!

Image: Marvel Studios

Watch These Incredibly Intricate Japanese Paper Creations That Actually Transform

We might be painting with broad strokes here, but everything seems to be a lot cooler in Japan. Even something as relatively banal as a paper doll comes to life in awesome ways through the art of paper karakuri. A recent post on Rocketnews24 brought these amazing paper creations to our attention, made by YouTube’s Haruki Nakamura.



The term karakuri refers to a Japanese art of mechanized puppetry or automata that were originally made from the 17th century to 19th century. The word itself actually means “mechanisms” or “trick”. Nakamura has adapted this art form into these paper creatures that literally spring to life when manipulated in certain ways.



“Oh, well octopuses don’t really do back flips so that’s no big deal!” you say to this website with no way of us hearing it. Well, how about an armadillo that curls up into a ball when startled!



“Big deal! It’s not like this art form is raising the dead” you inexplicably continue to such a specific and almost scripted degree as if you’re not saying anything at all and I’m just segueing into the next video. Well, take a look at group of well-balanced zombies rising in search of–I guess–paper brains?

Nakamura’s YouTube channel is chock full of so many paper karakuri videos that it’ll easily take a chunk of your day away if you dare to take a deep dive. What’s really cool is how most of the videos show you–to some degree–how the action is triggered in each puppet/doll.

Wait a second. Did someone say “Wooden Penguin Bomb”!?

Which one is your favorite? Did you find an even cooler one than the armadillo or penguin? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Image: Haruki Nakamura |girigiriou

This Designer Illustrates Literally Every UNCANNY X-MEN Character

“To me, my X-Men!” The famous quote by Professor Charles Xavier has been repeated countless times over the past five decades. Marvel‘s mutant heroes have gone from the brink of cancellation to the top of the comic industry while forming an enduring franchise and a massive library of characters. Now, one fan has successfully taken it upon himself to illustrate an icon for all of the characters who appeared in the first volume of Uncanny X-Men.

These icons are the work of artist and designer Scott Modrzynski, who drew upon all 545 issues of Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1. Modrzynski not only illustrated the main characters, he also noted every major costume change with a new icon and included the villains and supporting characters. Even characters who appeared on only a single page or panel were also represented, which is why the total number of illustrations is well over two thousand. Modrzynski drew the characters in chronological order, and he personally cited this as his favorite sequence: Cyborg Monkey, Maggott, and Stan Lee as the Watcher.

“I’m a lifelong lover of comics, and I can’t speak for all comic fans, but I think a lot of us have this collector’s mentality,” shared Modrzynski. “How many times have you picked up the final part of a six-issue storyline that you hated? That last issue isn’t fixing anything. It’s the need to have a complete set. I got a germ of an idea for this when I was doing basically the same with WWF wrestlers.”

“I had to put the X-Men idea aside until I finished with the wrestlers, and when I finally came back around to it, I was just planning to create the main X-Men cast and maybe turn it into a print,” continued Modrzynski. “But then I ran into two problems: there are a number of characters that would border the cut-off line, so how do I decide who is in or out? And which costumes should I include? So I scrapped that idea and said, how insane would it be to just recreate everyone that ever appeared in Uncanny X-Men? So issue by issue I went, in my free time, and I ultimately wound up with 2,535 icons in all.”

According to Modrzynski. it took two years to finish this project, and the results of his labors can be seen at allxmen.com. Modrzynski also sent us close ups of several X-Men icons, which you can see in our gallery below. If you’d like to purchase some of these X-Men creations as buttons, check out Modrzynski’s Etsy shop. You can find more of Modrzynski’s art at Mojo’s Work.

What do you think about these X-Men icons? Let us know in the comment section below!

Images: Scott Modrzynski

Luc Besson Is Already Writing the Next Two VALERIAN Sequels

For fifty years. Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières’ epic sci-fi comic Valerian and Laureline has influenced other space operas including Star Wars and The Fifth Element. Bringing Valerian to the big screen has been a decades-long dream for director Luc Besson, and that dream will come to fruition later this month when Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets hits theaters. But if Besson has his way, he’ll be staying in this fictional universe for the foreseeable future.

Nerdist’s Aliza Pearl recently had a chance to ask Besson about a potential Valerian sequel, and he immediately responded “I finished the number 2 already and I’m writing the number 3. I don’t know if we will do it, because it’s not up to me. It’s up to the audience if they like it.”

Besson noted that his friends discouraged him from jumping immediately into the sequel, before adding “I don’t care, I’m just happy to write it. I’m enjoying writing it. So I don’t even wait. I’m just writing for myself. I finished the [sequel] already, then I [got] bored a month ago, so I said ‘let’s write the third.'”

We certainly can’t blame him. The universe of Valerian and Laureline is immensely packed with strange alien worlds and interstellar adventures that are only lightly touched upon in the upcoming film. There’s a ton of source material for Besson to draw upon, so he probably wasn’t kidding when he told us that “I can write like 15 of them, just for fun.” We’d love to see that happen!

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets will be released on Friday, July 21.

Are you eager to see Besson tackle the Valerian sequels? Fire up your spaceships and share your thoughts below!

Image: Europa Corp

All the Disney, Marvel, and STAR WARS Film Updates from the D23 Expo Panel

Saturday morning of D23 Expo 2017 is all about the live-action slate. Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm will be sharing news about films dropping later this year, such as The Last Jedi and Thor: Ragnarok, and looking further into the future with movies like Avengers: Infinity War, A Wrinkle in Time, Mary Poppins Returns, and more. Besides behind-the-scenes looks and maybe some news, we’ll be seeing exclusive clips and perhaps teasers and trailers. Keep your browsers pointed to this post, because we’ll be sharing the biggest news from the panel as it happens–including descriptions of footage–from 10:30a.m.-12:30p.m. PT.

10:37a.m.

The panel is kicking off! It’s beginning with a sizzle reel of live-action and animated films, including the tiniest look at Lin-Manuel Miranda in Mary Poppins Returns and a glimpse at A Wrinkle in Time.

10:45a.m.

Chairman of Walt Disney Studios Alan Horn takes the stage to, uh, set the stage. He says he’s very proud to be part of Disney and say though the Disney companies are all different they’re stronger together. He says their sole purpose is to tell the best stories no matter where they come from. He shares a massive release slate photo with everything we know, confirming live-action The Lion King, Dumbo, and Mulan.

NEW: Disney film release timeline #D23 pic.twitter.com/SEZlpd22mH

— Star Wars Stuff (@starwarstuff) July 15, 2017

10:53a.m.

A Wrinkle in Time

Head of production for Walt Disney Live-Action Studios Sean Bailey takes the stage. First up: A Wrinkle in Time. He discusses how it will be adapted from the novel, with Meg at the center of the tale. She goes on a dangerous journey to save her father and, perhaps, the universe. She’ll travel with family and Whatsit, Who, and Which—played by Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, and Oprah Winfrey, respectively.

Director Ava DuVernay, Storm Reid (Meg Murry), Chris Pine (Mr. Murry), Witherspoon, Kaling, and Winfrey come to the stage to present the trailer. Regarding what attracted her to the project, a very enthusiastic DuVernay says, “I saw myself in it. I saw so many different kinds of people and personalities in it. It’s a family story wrapped in an epic adventure where you see worlds you’ve never seen before.”

DuVernay says they made an effort to put together a cast that looks like the real world. She says everyone there was her first choice for their respective roles. Pine said he was interested in the film because, “Ava. Period.” He wasn’t at all familiar with A Wrinkle in Time before she approached him. Neither was Winfrey.

Kaling said her character, who is known for only speaking in other people’s words of wisdom and advice said DuVernay and the writer, Jennifer Lee, updated a lot of the quotations in the book. “I quote people like Jay-Z,” she said.

They reveal the new teaser poster, above, and Winfrey gets to say, “Everybody gets a poster.” And now, it’s time for the first teaser:

11:11a.m

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

Bailey announces Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms will be out on November 2, 2018. The cast includes: Richard E. Grant as Silver, Keira Knightley as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Helen Mirren as Mother Ginger, Mackenzie Foy as Clara, Morgan Freeman as Drosselmeyer, and Charles Riley, a.k.a. Li’l Buck, as the Mouse King. The Mouse King will be a strictly CGI character, made from hundreds of mice, but will be based on Riley’s movements. Riley gives a look at his skills in a live performance.

11:25a.m.

Mary Poppins Returns

After going over the talent behind Mary Poppins Returns, Bailey talks about how the new film will continue the story in London two dozen years after the original film. Michael Banks is a widower trying to raise his children, and Mr. Wilkins (Colin Firth) at the bank is giving them trouble. They need a little Mary Poppins magic in their lives.

Director Rob Marshall and Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins) join Bailey to discuss joining the project. Marshall says they took the ideas in the books by P.L. Travers and applied it to the new generation. Blunt says she was a fan of Mary Poppins, the person, as a kid and found the idea of her really comforting. To prepare for the role, Blunt says she watched about 15 minutes of the original but stopped because she wanted to carve new material for herself. “No one is going to ‘out Julie Andrews’ Julie Andrews,” Blunt says.

Emily Blunt is Mary Poppins in the upcoming sequel, #MaryPoppinsReturns. The brand new film opens in theatres December 2018. #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/egxozrpRbr

— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) July 15, 2017

Mary Poppins Returns features new music from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Marshall’s excited about creating an entirely new musical. Though they just finished filming, Marshall has a teaser for us and it’s being accompanied by Shaiman and the Disney orchestra performing live. They’re beginning with a piece of the original score and then transitioning to images from the film. Footage includes a look at the home on Cherry Tree Ln, “where laughter once dwelled,” and a very stressed Banks family. But then, Mary Poppins appears by a grand arrival on a kite. Admiral Boom is back, there’s a look at an animated and live-action combo sequence, Angelea Lansbury, and much more.

11:40a.m.

Disney’s Live-Action adaptations

Bailey confirms they are in pre-production for Mulan and more announcements are coming soon. They are also working with The Rock/Dwayne Johnson on a Jungle Cruise project. But the project with the most details: Aladdin. Bailey says their Agrabah is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city inspired by various eras from the Middle East. Aladdin will be played by Mena Massoud, Jasmine will be played by Naomi Scott, and the Genie will be played by Will Smith.

We get a brief look at Tim Burton’s Dumbo, which has started filming in London, and a 3.5 foot maquette of the Dumbo model they’ll use in the film. Dumbo will be in theaters on March 29, 2019. The film will include Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, and Michael Keaton.

To wrap the Disney portion, we have footage from The Lion King live-action adaptation complete with Pride Rock, Rafiki, baby Simba, and the song “The Circle of Life.” Baby Simba sneezes before Rafiki blesses him and everything. This movie looks more beautiful than I was prepared for.

11:55a.m.

Star Wars

Horn is moving us into the Lucasfilm portion of the presentation. He mentions Kathleen Kennedy is currently in London working on the untitled Han Solo film, but they’re not giving any other details about that movie right now. They’re keeping the focus on The Last Jedi, and director and writer Rian Johnson is here to talk about it. along with Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio Del Toro.

Johnson talks with the cast, and Boyega says Finn has a fight with a formidable opponent in The Last Jedi and then looks at Christie. Finn and Phasma fight?! While they talk, we see a photo of Tran’s Rose undercover in a First Order officer uniform. Dern jokes she couldn’t refrain from saying, “Pew!” when she fired blasters on set.

Mark Hamill joins everyone on stage, and after Johnson fanboys over Hamill, they introduce a behind the scenes piece. The glimpses include the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca in curlers, new creatures, and lots of General Leia.

12:15p.m.

Marvel

Marvel is last but not least with Kevin Feige. He starts by unveiling a new 10 year anniversary logo for Marvel Studios. He says Avengers: Infinity War next year will be the culmination of the 10 years, and that Thanos is the collection. He has Josh Brolin in the house, as well as Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Don Cheadle, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, and Robert Downey, Jr.

Finally, Joe Russo comes to the stage to present a look back at the last 10 years with Marvel and it transitions into an Infinity War tease replete with intense footage including Spider-Man in both his Homecoming and the other suit from Tony Stark, Thor encountering the Guardians, Loki, Doctor Strange, Thanos engaging the heroes in battle and using the Infinity Gauntlet, and so much more.

And that’s a wrap on the panel, folks! Seems like they may be keeping that teaser from going online for now, possibly to show again at Comic-Con. We’ll keep you posted if it shows up.

In the meantime, what was your favorite reveal? Let us know below.

Featured Image: Lucasfilm/Disney

Charlize Theron and Noomi Rapace Finally Immortalized as PROMETHEUS Action Figures

Welcome to Figures & Speech, Nerdist’s regular column by, for, and about grown-ups who still play with their toys but might want to know more before they buy.

I know what you’re thinking. Prometheus figures? Now? The movie came out five years ago, and even though I was one of its initial fans, much of the nerdosphere has ragged on it ever since. Presumably, part of the thinking behind releasing these figures now was to cash in on Alien Covenant…but NECA might have waited a month too long to catch that fever.

Nonetheless, here they are, and they include figures of actresses who I’m pretty sure have not had official plastic replicas before, though Charlize Theron more than deserved it for Mad Max: Fury Road and The Fate of the Furious, and Noomi Rapace deserved it for the “Girl With…” Millennium Trilogy. Sean Harris, best known for TV’s Red Riding trilogy, arguably lucked out to be in such company. It’s hardly sexist to say he’s the least attractive of the three in this set…

NECA originally intended this set to continue their original Prometheus line, with Fifield reusing the body created for Michael Fassbender’s David, and a new female body to be shared by both Theron’s Meredith Vickers and Rapace’s Elizabeth Shaw. Initial sales of the previous figures didn’t merit a continuation, and for months fans pestered NECA on Twitter with questions about finally releasing these figures if a sequel to Prometheus were ever made. NECA initially said a whole lot of no’s…then finally answered in the affirmative last December. And now here they are.

Shaw comes with her wonky-handled ax, and the severed head of David, while Vickers has a flame-gun thing. The handle snapped off when I was trying to pose it in her hands…

This isn’t the first time I’ve had that happen with a NECA figure–I’d love for them to consider pop-off handles that help get the accessories in hand, or at least a softer, less snappy plastic on the weapons. Anyway, Fifield’s head pops out to get his helmet on and off easier, and that can make for some interesting swaps.

As you can see, it’s the David body, but with more black staining and a shiny finish to emulate the alien goo. Also, David’s head is articulated at the neck, so he can look at you cockeyed.

The female body for Vickers and Shaw is shinier, has brighter colors, and, well, let’s just say it looks like the sculptors were more interested in their bodily contours than on the men. I do not remember glutes like that on the movie suits (and I also know people who would love to see Fassbender’s in better detail, so this feels unfair).

Don’t dismiss the small plastic bags inside the included space helmets–they contain tiny, snap-on shoulder lights.

…as seen here:

Likenesses are good–I think the paint job on Theron makes her classic neutral expression looks sterner than usual, but at the right angle, it’s perfect.

Articulation is also fantastic, with hidden ball joints everywhere.

Now, in Alien: Covenant, David was joined by a lookalike named Walter, who looked more like David used to now that the former had gone native and donned a Jedi robe. NECA won’t be making the robed version, but you can cheat with McFarlane Toys’ Fassbender figure.

It might not end well.

Just remember that figures are for fun, kids.

The Prometheus wave featuring Vickers, Shaw, and Fifield is available in very limited quantities in stores and online, so if you see ’em and you want ’em, act fast. And let’s see some Lisbeth Salander and Furiosa customs come out of the deal.

Images: Luke Y. Thompson

Luke Y. Thompson is Nerdist’s resident toy maniac–talk plastic with him on Twitter @LYTrules

Xenomorph biology completely explained! (Maybe)

The White Stripes Just Released Digital Audio of Their First Ever Show

Those of us living outside of France might not know that today, July 14th, is Bastille Day, the French National Day that commemorates Storming of the Bastille in 1789, a significant event in the French Revolution. That day also holds a special place in the hearts of Jack and Meg White fans: On Bastille Day in 1997, The White Stripes gave their first ever live performance, at an open mic night at The Gold Dollar Detroit.

So, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of that momentous occasion, White’s Third Man Records announced today that it has released of the performance digitally and titled it The First Show: Live On Bastille Day. Here’s the cover art:

The recording, which you can listen to below or here, is really high quality, since it’s a soundboard recording. Like the rest of The White Stripes’ early material, the performance is very bare bones, especially since it’s at an open mic: All we get are Meg’s simplistic drumming, and Jack White’s guitar and voice.

Even though it’s their first performance, you can already see White’s star quality. They perform two covers (Cab Calloway’s “St. James Infirmary” and The Clovers’ “Love Potion #9) as well as their original “Jimmy The Exploder,” and it’s almost eerie to hear the relative lack of applause between songs. You get a couple people shouting and clapping, probably because they’re likely playing to an audience of ten people or so. It’s intimate because nobody knew who these generational talents were yet.

The album was previously available on vinyl as part of the Third Man Vault subscription service, but this is the first time it’s available digitally, so stream it below and let us know what you think of this early White Stripes rarity (well, no so rare any more).

Featured image: Third Man Records

Join Grant Morrison, Black Mask Studios for THE WRITER’S PANEL Podcast Taping and Pre-SDCC Party

Soon tens of thousands nerds from all across the country will descend on San Diego like a pack of Funko-hungry hyenas with one purpose in mind: to wear their nerdy passions on their sleeve and see their favorite actors, artists, writers, and creators in person. While the massive convention, which will feature awesome panels and special events from your pals at Nerdist and Geek & Sundry, is decidedly sold out, Los Angeles-based nerds can see some of their favorite writers in person two whole days before the con even starts. On Monday, July 17, kickstart your Comic-Con experience with a giant-sized, extra special live edition of The Writer’s Panel podcast with more special guests than there will be Avengers in Infinity War! Our intrepid host Ben Blacker (Thrilling Adventure Hour, Deadpool v Gambit) will be joined by a murderer’s row of talent from Black Mask Studios, including Grant Morrison (Happy!, Sinatoro), Matthew Rosenberg (We Can Never Go Home, 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank), Magdalene Visaggio (Kim & Kim), and Matt Pizzolo (Young Terrorists, Calexit). The event starts at 7PM at Hollywood’s Hotel Cafe, and advance tickets are available for $10.

To quote the late, great Billy Mays, “But wait, there’s more!” Following the wide-ranging discussions with the Black Mask brigade is a book signing that will launch the Calexit comic tour, as well as a pre-Comic-Con party that will let you get your groove on with some of your favorite Black Mask comics creators. In addition to Rosenberg and Visaggio, you can party with Kwanza Osajyefo (Black), Tim Smith 3 (Black), Holly Interlandi (Last Song), Tyler Boss (4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, Calexit), Eric Palicki (No Angel), Adrianne Palicki (No Angel, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.),  Adam Egypt Mortimer (Ballistic), Tony Patrick (X’ed), Black Mask founders Brett Gurewitz and Matt Pizzolo, and many more surprise guests.

What’s your favorite Black Mask title? Will you be going to Comic-Con? Let us know in the comments below.

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