Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2025

Anime Expo Shows Off Its Best Cosplay in a Sweet New Music Video

Over the last few years, we’ve come to expect Sneaky Zebra to release their awesome cosplay and music compilations after the biggest comic conventions. But amazingly, Sneaky Zebra had never been to Anime Expo until last weekend. Now, thanks to a sponsored assist from Crunchyroll, Sneaky Zebra has unleashed their first ever Anime Expo cosplay video!

Just because it was Anime Expo doesn’t mean that only anime characters were featured. There was at least one Deadpool, a very impressive trio of Samus Aran, Princess Toadstool, and Princess Zelda as badass warriors, a Mass Effect couple, Mortal Kombat‘s Mileena, and more. Naturally, some of the biggest anime shows were also represented by Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and even a Sailor Moon corgi! All of this was set to “Here Comes the Man” by Outasight.

We’re always impressed by the level of quality that Sneaky Zebra is able to achieve with its videos, and they’re always very well produced and choreographed. But the biggest draws here are the cosplayers themselves, and their breathtaking creations. It takes a lot of talent to take costumes from the animated realm and bring them to life. On top of everything else, their enthusiasm for their creations and the characters who inspired them is infectious. It’s almost impossible to watch this footage and not come away with a smile on your face.

What were you favorite costumes from Sneaky Zebra’s Anime Expo music video? By the power of the moon, share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Image: Sneaky Zebra

Is Spider-Man’s Suit Hiding a Secret Avenger?

Tonight is the night! While Spider-Man: Homecoming officially opens in theaters Friday, the preview showings have begun as Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark shows Tom Holland’s webslinger the ropes in his first-ever MCU solo movie. Stark isn’t the only familiar face that we’ll see in the movie, but there may be something even more amazing going on with Spidey’s new suit than we ever suspected. Today’s Nerdist News is going all Daily Bugle to bring you the scoop!

Join host and artificial life form, Jessica Chobot, as she investigates the possibility that there’s an Avenger living inside Spider-Man’s suit! Does that sound insane? Because it really isn’t. As seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tony Stark had a whole library of A.I. personalities to choose from after Jarvis was used to create the Vision. One of those personalities was Jocasta, a character who was created to be the bride of Ultron.

The MCU’s own origin of Ultron doesn’t really match the way it played out in the comics, so if Stark created the Jocasta A.I., it falls in line with that similarly big departure. Within the Marvel Universe of the comics, Jocasta rejected her programming and became a heroine who joined the Avengers. So why do we think that the A.I. in Spidey’s new suit could become Jocasta in the MCU? Because she’s voiced by Jennifer Connelly, the star of many ’80s movies and the wife of Paul Bettany, the man who plays both Jarvis and Vision.

While the films have been leading towards a relationship between the Vision and the Scarlet Witch, the introduction of Jocasta could give Vision another romantic option. And who would argue against the chemistry of Connelly and Bettany? Even when playing androids, they still light up the screen. The only real hurdle they’d have is getting Jocasta her own body. But as we’ve already seen, that’s far from impossible. In the most recent Vision comic book series, the title character actually created his own android wife and children to give himself a family. That’s something that could easily play out onscreen, if Vision were to, say, get his own solo movie.

What do you think about the possibility of Jocasta’s introduction into the MCU? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

JUSTICE LEAGUE Teams Up with EAGLE TALON to Stop the Joker in New Anime

The worlds of comic books and anime often cross over with one another, creating memorable team-ups and adaptations that fans wouldn’t normally get. This latest anime brings the genres together again, this time melding the Justice League from DC Comics and the anime world’s Eagle Talon Society. As we see (briefly) in the teaser below, DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon will see the two groups team up to stop the Joker.

The English-subtitled teaser video hypes up the anime, which sees logos for Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman fly across the screen before the actual Justice League is displayed in their anime glory. The teaser concludes by showing the Eagle Talon in a lower-budgeted animation style.

The Anime News Network translated the synopsis for the film from Anime Times, with the plot involving the Joker traveling to Japan to steal a secret weapon from the Eagle Talon Society. The Justice League is hot on the Joker’s trail, but something is off with Batman. Eagle Talon decides to investigate the Dark Knight’s odd behavior by traveling back in time to Bruce Wayne’s most traumatic experience: the death of his parents. Considering the Eagle Talon fights crime on a budget, they have to keep a close eye on it, especially considering the huge DC licensing fees that come with having the Justice League as co-stars.

This sounds like it has all the makings for one heck of a film. There is even a cool poster of Batman and what must be Eagle Talon’s version of Batman standing together overlooking Japan, with the translated text reading, “Why are YOU going to Tokyo? The Justice League has come from Hollywood…”

What do you think of this anime version of DC Comics’ most recognizable superheroes and villains? Let us know in the comments below!

Tim Adams is a freelance writer who loves comics and the TV and movies that feature them. Follow him on Twitter!

Image: DLE Channel

DC Comics’ Harley & Ivy Are Heading to Riverdale to Meet Betty & Veronica

Ask your mom who is the comic book world’s most famous female duo, and she’ll probably say Archie Comics’ good girls Betty and Veronica. Ask someone under 40, and they are likely to say DC Comics’ bad girls Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. Regardless of where you see the two pair of ladies hold court in the “comics’ biggest female duos” ranking, the four women are going to finally meet up in the crossover comic book event of the year.

DC Entertainment and Archie Comics have officially announced Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica #1. This story is being brought to us by Harley’s co-creator Paul Dini, along with writer Marc Andreyko (Wonder Woman ’77), with art by Laura Braga (DC Bombshells). It all starts this October as these teams of best gal pals cross between Gotham City and Riverdale.

In a statement, Paul Dini said “It’s the sort of offer you scream out ‘YES!’ to before your eyes reach the middle of the email. I’ve always wanted the chance to play in Riverdale, and to help Harley and Ivy invade it is a dream come true. Marc’s a great talent and a good friend. Writing this series with him has been like sitting on the lawn during summer vacation and reading a big pile of DC and Archie comics. Except we have to stay indoors and type a lot.”

“It’s going to be a blast to bring these amazing ladies together in this once-in-a-lifetime crossover,” said artist Laura Braga. “Each character is different and special. While Harley is one of my favorite characters ever, Betty and Veronica are giving her a run for her money! I love all these ladies, and this book is going to be non-stop fun. ”

According to co-writer Marc Andreyko, “When I got the call for this, I was in disbelief! Getting to co-write with Paul on a series bringing four of the most iconic ladies in comics together under one roof for the first time? This must be what winning the lottery feels like! I cannot wait for readers to see what mischief Paul, Laura, and I have dreamed up!”

The storyline for Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica begins in Riverdale, where there’s a plan brewing for free college tuition for all Riverdale residents. The downside is that Riverdale has to build a new campus by draining the local wetlands that lie between Riverdale and Gotham City. (Who knew these two cities were spitting distance from each other)?

Of course, “draining wetlands” means “killing plant life” and we know Gotham’s environmental radical Poison Ivy feels about all that noise. So Ivy calls upon her BFF Harley Quinn to kidnap both Veronica Lodge, daughter of Riverdale’s most important citizen, and her friend Betty. And from there on out, as they say, hilarity will ensue.

With Riverdale a huge success, and Suicide Squad a huge (commercial) success, millions more people now know who Betty, Veronica, and Harley are than ever before. And when Gotham City Sirens hits theaters, this will no doubt be true of Poison Ivy as well. There really was no better time for this crossover to happen.

Hopefully, we get many more DC/Archie crossovers in the not too distant future. Hopefully we’ll see an Elseworlds where we learn what would have happened in Kal-El rocket landed in Riverdale and not Smallville, or even better, Jughead joining the Green Lantern Corps. (Look, the Punisher once came to Riverdale looking for a drug deal; anything is possible!)

Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica #1 is on sale October 4, 2017, with a Cover by Amanda Conner, and an as-yet unrevealed variant cover from Adam Hughes.

Are you as excited as we are for this meeting of comics’ greatest female duos? Let us know down below in the comments.

Images: DC Comics / Archie Comics

Nintendo Switch’s New SPLATOON-Focused Online App is Set to Launch This Month

With apps like Miitomo, Pokémon Go, Super Mario Run, and Magikarp Jump, Nintendo has shown that it’s serious in its efforts to increase its presence on our mobile devices. While Miitomo was a clunky (and let’s face it, failed) attempt to give Nintendo gamers a hub that brought their contacts and game info into one place, the Nintendo Switch Online app hopes to be a more effective resource for players to keep up with their games while they’re away from their consoles. It’s coming out soon, too, since Nintendo announced it’ll be available on July 21.

For now, it looks like the app is mainly focused on Splatoon 2, which will be released on the same day as the app. The app will provide access to a service called SplatNet 2, which was detailed in today’s Splatoon 2 Direct presentation (above). SplatNet 2 promises to be full of useful info for Splatoon 2 players, like stage schedules, player stats and gear, and a stat called Lifetime Inkage, which shows how much total ground a player has covered with ink and compares that area to real-world locations.

The app will also allow players to communicate via voice chat and invite friends through messaging services and social networks to join them for Salmon Run, a new co-op mode that we tried at E3 and had a ton of chaotic fun with.

Presumably, as more Switch games are released, the app’s capabilities will be expanded, so we ask you: What games do you think could work well with an app like this? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Featured image: Nintendo

Samuel L. Jackson May Bring Nick Fury to CAPTAIN MARVEL

While the first Iron Man movie was officially the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it didn’t really become the MCU until Samuel L. Jackson arrived as Nick Fury in the post-credits scene to talk about the Avengers Initiative. Nearly a decade later, Jackson’s iconic secret agent may be welcoming another hero to the “bigger universe.”

Over the weekend, Omega Underground reported that Jackson will reprise his role as Nick Fury in the upcoming Captain Marvel movie. Now, Deadline is reporting that the rumors are accurate and Jackson will appear in the film. Nerdist has reached out to Marvel Studios for confirmation but has not heard back at the time of publication. Although Jackson has made many appearances in the MCU, Nick Fury hasn’t resurfaced in the MCU since Avengers: Age of Ultron. He’s expected to be in Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled sequel, which would be the end of Jackson’s nine picture deal with Marvel.

Assuming the report is accurate, Jackson’s inclusion would make sense. In Marvel’s comic book universe, Carol Danvers was an espionage operative before she became Ms. Marvel/Captain Marvel. That was later used to explain Carol’s history with Nick Fury, which would be a natural way to introduce that connection in the feature film. Adding Jackson to the cast would also give the Captain Marvel movie an even bigger link to the MCU.

At this moment, the report is far from confirmed. It’s not even clear if Jackson’s appearance would be a cameo or something more substantial like his role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. But perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this report is the implication that Jackson may have renewed his deal with Marvel. If so, then we may once again see Fury popping up in unexpected places.

Captain Marvel will be released in theaters on March 9, 2019.

Are you excited about Nick Fury’s possible MCU comeback? Declassify your thoughts in the comment section below!

Images: Marvel Studios

Kit Harington’s Warning About Jon and Sansa Could Be a Good Sign

Game of Thrones‘ most recent season seven trailer had us freaking out about a potential power struggle between Jon Snow and his sister Sansa Stark, and unfortunately it looks like we were right to worry. Because the bad news is Kit Harington warns “there is definite tension between them” right off the bat, and that could mean someone will end up dead. The good news? That doesn’t mean it has to be one of them.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Harington talked about the problems that will plague Jon and Sansa when we rejoin them after they managed to take back Winterfell last season. Season six ended with Jon as the new King in the North, which seemed to leave Sansa, whose arrival with the Knights of the Vale at the Battle of the Bastards saved the day, feeling overlooked. An issue Baelish was already trying to exploit before it even happened.

Even before that battle we saw discord between the reunited siblings, when Jon didn’t take Sansa’s (accurate) predictions about Ramsay seriously. Harington said that dynamic will still be there at the start of this year, which will lead to much bigger issues between them.

“She questions his decisions and command. He doesn’t listen to her,” said Harington, “But as far as where that goes or takes them or how dark it can get, we’ll see. It gets past sibling squabbling, it gets into two people power struggling.”

Uh oh. That makes the ominous sounding speech she gives in the trailer about “how the lone wolf dies” while the pack survives, all while Jon looks to be trapped by the army of the dead, worthy of our initial freakout. But strangely enough, there is some hope to be found in Harington’s comments.

Jon’s unexpected rise is a major obstacle to Baelish’s constant power climb, and that’s why Baelish might be Jon’s biggest (living) threat. But if Jon recognizes the growing rift between him and Sansa–before it destroys either of them–he might accurately blame Baelish for sowing that discontent (which Baelish started doing early in season six), and if that happens Jon could act first.

We’ve been so focused on the danger Littlefinger poses to Jon we’ve neglected to notice Jon might be the first person since Varys to comprehend just how dangerous Baelish is to everyone. Rather than these issues between Jon and Sansa proving fatal to either of them, it could prove to be the moment when Baelish overplays his hand.

That possibility certainly fits with this image from season seven of Jon grabbing him by the throat.

But even if Jon knows nothing (yes!), Sansa knows more than anyone. She and she alone knows Littlefinger killed Jon and Lysa Arryn, as well as the fact he poisoned Joffrey, and turned on his allies the Lannisters and Boltons alike. She understands Baelish thrives in turning friends against one another, and how he has risen in the shadows of the chaos he creates.

Considering she (rightfully) blames Baelish for the torture she experienced from Ramsay, Sansa might come to recognize she is being played by Baelish yet again. She has benefited from Littlefinger’s treachery, and also been its victim. The difference is now she is home, and has a real ally to stand with her in Jon. Feeling under appreciated or overlooked doesn’t guarantee she will succumb to those emotions.

And if she does, Sansa could turn into Littlefinger’s greatest threat.

Because even though it sounds ominous hearing Sansa say, “When the snows fall, and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives,” the lesson there is that wolves survive together. There are only two wolves left at Winterfell, if she destroys Jon she would be a lone wolf.

Siblings fight all the time, only to come together when one of them is threatened. So long as Jon and Sansa stand together against their enemies, especially their enemies pretending to be their friends, the pack will survive.

But what do you think? Will Sansa destroy Jon, or will they overcome their problems to stop Baelish? Don’t fight with us, share your thoughts in the comments below.

Images: HBO

TWIN PEAKS Coming to Hall H at SDCC 2017 (Report)

Although David Lynch, Mark Frost and the cast of the Twin Peaks revival avoided press (and the fans) like the plague since the Showtime iteration was announced, now that the series is airing to near universal acclaim, the show you like is reportedly making it’s first-ever appearance at San Diego Comic-Con this year.

According to Deadline‘s report, the panel will likely take place in Hall on on July 21 sometime in the afternoon. Right now the Game of Thrones panel is set for 1:30 PM and AMC’s Preacher will make its Hall H premiere at 4 PM, meaning Twin Peaks is expected to take the stage around 2:45 PM. Just those three shows alone makes this an amazing Hall H day, I must say.

Nerdist has reached out for comment and will update this post as more information is made available.

So: who from Twin Peaks will be in attendance? You can bet money star Kyle MacLachlan–a.k.a. Special Agent Dale Cooper/Cooper’s Evil Doppelganger/Dougie Jones–will be there, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see Mädchen Amick (who will be at SDCC promoting Riverdale). Other major players like Naomi Watts, Laura Dern, and Michael Horse (Deputy Hawk) also feel like distinct possibilities, but with a cast of over 200, they certainly have no shortage of actors who could appear on stage.

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Of course, the real question is the man himself, David Lynch: will the auteur make his first ever Comic-Con appearance on the Hall H stage? While co-creator Mark Frost is a lot less camera shy, Lynch tends to avoid things like this, although he did show up as a surprise guest at the TCAs earlier this year. So… maybe? Lynch pretty much hates spoilers or trailers of any kind, so if you’re expecting any special teases for the remainder of the new season, don’t get your hopes up. But you never know…maybe Showtime and Lynch will use this opportunity to announce a fourth season of Twin Peaks. Now wouldn’t that be something?

Are you excited about Twin Peaks making its long awaited SDCC debut? Let us know what you think down below in the comments.

Images: Showtime

The Milky Way Might Have an Extra Planet

Growing up, I was always taught that the Milky Way had 9 planets. Then, Pluto got shafted and reclassified as a dwarf planet–and I’m still upset about it. Finally, the world’s science people hypothesized the existence of another new planet. Now, however, the science nerds think the hypothetical Planet 9 is actually Planet 10. That’s a lot of astronomy, so we’re going to take a break from that for a moment to introduce today’s Nerdist News Talks Back! Associate Editor Kyle Anderson, Nerdist News Writer Aliza Pearl, and Science Editor Kyle Hill join Jessica Chobot to discuss Spider-Man, Batman, and crazy planet stuff.

According to Kevin Feige, the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s father and guardian, Captain America: Civil War began a 5-film arc for Spider-Man that will include Homecoming, Infinity War, Avengers 4, and the next standalone Spidey movie. That’s not to say that Homecoming 2 (or whatever it will be called) will end Peter Parker’s story. More likely, Feige just does not want to give away Marvel’s Phase 4 plans. Additionally, this striking shot of Spider-Man and Iron Man is not actually in the film. It’s arguably the coolest shot from the first trailer, but it does not show up anywhere in Homecoming. Either way, you can read our review for the film here.

Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy firmly cemented the Dark Knight as a pop-culture icon, but the Batman mainstream audiences have come to know and love is very different from Batman’s comic incarnation. The Batman director Matt Reeves is looking to change that. The film will reportedly focus on Batman’s detective abilities, rather than simply portray him punching baddies. He did originate in Detective Comics after all.

Pluto should be a planet, and I don’t care what Science says. (Side note, I’ve just been told there is no omnipotent being named Science, and Pluto’s reclassification actually came from human people. Who knew?) In the above video Kyle Hill explains the situation better than I can, but I’ll give you the basics. Essentially, some space stuff in the Kuiper Belt moves in a way that suggests a strong gravitational pull (planet-sized, perhaps) from an object other than one of our 8 planets.

You can watch and interact live with Nerdist News Talks Back every weekday at 1:00pm PST on YouTube and Alpha, and catch up with the archives just after the show!

Image: Marvel Studios, DC Comics, NASA

GAME OF THRONES Re-Throned: “Oathbreaker” (S6, E3)

Winter is coming, but not soon enough. So to help pass the time until season seven of Game of Thrones, we’re doing a weekly re-watch of the series, episode-by-episode, with the knowledge of what’s to come and—therefore—more information about the unrevealed rich history of events that took place long before the story began. Be warned, though: that means this series is full of spoilers for every season, even beyond the episode itself. So if you haven’t watched all of the show yet immediately get on that and then come back and join us for Game of Thrones Re-Throned.

Because the next best thing to watching new episodes is re-watching old ones.

——

Season 6, Episode 3: “Oathbreaker”

Original Air Date: May 8th, 2016

Director: Daniel Sackheim

Written by: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

In George R.R. Martin’s novels the Three-Eyed Raven isn’t even the Three-Eyed Raven, he’s the Three-Eyed Crow. That’s far from the only change the television show made to the character though. In the books, the evidence overwhelmingly points to him being a former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch (a crow), the infamous Targaryen bastard Brynden Rivers, better known as Lord Bloodraven.

HBO’s Three-Eyed Raven isn’t necessarily the same person though, making him far more mysterious, and as a result his connection with Bran is far more ambiguous. But this episode, “Oathbreaker,” which gives us our first glimpse at what happened at the Tower of Joy, points to why he came to be this way, and, more importantly, why Bran needed to find him.

We’re going to ignore the travesty of the show trying to make Ned Stark look like a lying, dishonorable glory boy (no exaggeration, my single biggest complaint about the entire series), and focus on what Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven discuss after they leave the vision.

Bran believes Ned heard him at the Tower of Joy when he screamed, “Father!” Ned did stop and look around as if he heard him before continuing on, but the Three-Eyed Raven tells Bran it might have just been the wind. “The past is already written; the ink is dry,” he says (though we’ll see with poor Hodor that’s not exactly as clear cut as it sounds).

When Bran complains again about having to leave a vision too soon, the Three-Eyed Raven tells him again that if you, “stay too long where you don’t belong and you will never return.” For a crippled, frustrated, and confused Bran, that doesn’t sound all that bad. In the past he walks and experiences life, only to have to return to a crappy life in the present where he talks to “an old man in a tree.”

We then find out the Three-Eyed Raven is extremely old, and therefore likely not Brynden Rivers who (in the books) was Maester Aemon’s uncle. “You think I wanted to sit here for 1,000 years watching the world from a distance as the roots grew through me?” he asks Bran. But he says he did so because he was waiting for Bran this whole time. Whoever the Three-Eyed Raven was before he came to this place we don’t know (might never), but his entire life’s purpose seems to have been defined by being here and being ready to teach Brandon Stark.

Bran takes this information about waiting for him for 1,000 years to mean he must take his place, but he doesn’t want to be a tree-man. The Three-Eyed Raven assures him that’s not the case.

“I don’t blame you. You won’t be here forever. You won’t be an old man in a tree,” he says, but he does tell Bran he can’t leave until he learns “everything.” Of course, Bran doesn’t have a thousand years to learn everything the Three-Eyed Raven has. He has a very short time to learn what he must to defeat the Night King and his army. So it’s the job of the Three-Eyed Raven to teach Bran “everything” he must know to do that.

We now know what some of “everything” includes:

Despite playing dumb with whether or not Ned heard him at the Tower of Joy, Bran can alter the past, like he did with Hodor. (Or rather, he can move through time and impact events throughout history, as though time doesn’t really exist for him.)
He must know the truth of the White Walkers, how the Children of the Forest created them from mankind itself.
He must discover important secrets, like who Jon’s real parents are.

Those all seem like major, potentially deciding factors in the coming Great War with the White Walkers, and they also raise some great questions about Bran’s ultimate role in that war.

Did a “future” Bran go back in time and make Jaime Lannister push him out that window so he’d end up meeting the Three-Eyed Raven? Will a victory over the White Walkers only be possible thanks to what Bran learned about their creation? Or will it be because he now knows Jon, whose mother was ice (Stark) and father fire (Targaryen), is The Prince That Was Promised and the savior of the world?

And how does that all tie into the theory that Bran, the most powerful warg alive, will save mankind when he controls one of Daenerys’ dragons and defeat the White Walkers with dragon breath? The Three-Eyed Raven did tell him when they first met that Bran would never walk again, but he would fly. And it is here, under the tutelage of the Three-Eyed Raven, that Bran has learned to harness his abilities.

We might never know exactly who the (show’s) Three-Eyed Raven was in his past life, but his role in the Great War seems to be defined by him truly learning everything over a thousand years, so that he could teach Bran “everything” he needs to know.

And that’s why, despite what he was told, Bran’s fate might yet be to become the Three-Eyed Raven. That role doesn’t seem to be defined by living in a tree under the ground for 1,000 years, but rather in knowing all the secrets and lessons of history needed to save the living from the dead.

Bran might never be an old man in a tree, but he will become the Three-Eyed Raven, and that could be everything.

But what do you think? What is the real nature of the relationship between Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Images: HBO