Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2377

Darth Maul Makes a Lethal Return in STAR WARS REBELS Season 3 (Preview)

As revealed this weekend at Star Wars Celebration Europe, there’s a very popular character from the Extended Universe who will be giving the heroes a run for their money in Star Wars Rebels season 3. But first, the crew of the Ghost will have to deal with the return of a more familiar threat: Darth Maul!

Last season, Ezra, Kanan, and Ahsoka made a disastrous trip to lost world known as Malachor. Although the Inquisitors were finally defeated, Ahsoka went missing after a duel with Darth Vader and Kanan was blinded by Maul. Even in defeat, Maul still has plans to make Ezra his new apprentice and to get Kanan out of the way once and for all!

IGN debuted a new preview scene from the third season of Star Wars Rebels, which finds Ezra and Kanan forced to rendezvous with Maul after he kidnapped Hera, Zeb, Sabine, and Chopper to gain leverage on them. But even with foreknowledge about Maul’s intentions, Kanan appears to be blindsided when Maul makes another attempt on his life.

Star Wars Rebels will return to Disney XD this fall for its third season, which will also introduce Wedge to the growing Rebel Alliance and feature the debut of former Doctor Who star Tom Baker as the Bendu, a being who may hold the balance of the light and dark sides of the Force. Our associate editor, Kyle Anderson has posted his spoiler free review of the third season premiere of Star Wars Rebels, which you can read here.

What did you think about the new preview scene? And how is Kanan gonna get out of this one? Share your theories in the comment section below!

Image: Lucasfilm

PREACHER Review: The Bloody Battle of “El Valero”

Editor’s note: This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of Preacher! Proceed with caution. For reals, if you haven’t yet watched “El Valero”, we highly suggest you do so before proceeding. Okay? We good? Then let’s go.

Any lingering fears I had that Preacher was still somehow spinning its wheels have been all but obliterated by “El Valero.” This week’s episode finds things getting hotter than ever in Annville, thanks to a round of Molotov cocktails Jesse serves Odin Quincannon and his Civil War-obsessed Meat & Power boys.

We finally learn the origin of Quincannon’s misanthropy here. And it’s entirely in keeping with the black humor and cartoon ultraviolence that’s become Preacher‘s hallmark. It turns out that the meat mogul’s entire family was killed when the cable carrying them up an icy mountain on a ski trip snapped, hurtling them into oblivion. The image of their remains after they’re shipped to Quincannon’s office in coffin-sized crates is alternately gruesome and hilarious. As is much of this episode. From the battle between the QMP platoon and a drunken Jesse, which ends with someone getting their penis blown clean off, to the sight of Donny sticking his head in his car’s trunk to fire his revolver and deafen himself to Jesse’s power.

But Jesse’s own anguish over unintentionally sending Eugene’s soul to hell remains the crux of the story, as well as his ever-evolving feelings about Genesis. In just a few short weeks he’s gone from the shock of learning what’s inside him, to his decision to keep it there, to his joy at finding what he can do with it, to his horror at damning Eugene, to his desire to have Genesis removed, to his confusion over learning it can’t be removed, to his determination to use it to confront God himself. Not a bad buffet for any actor to eat at, and Dominic Cooper takes full advantage of the meal to showcase what’s turned out to be a most impressive range.

Tulip, meanwhile, lays low this week, surfacing only for a subplot in which she feeds a stray dog (with whom she finds herself identifying) to an offscreen Cassidy. It’s the first episode in which Joseph Gilgun’s fan-favorite character hasn’t appeared. But I’m confident that once Jesse’s intentions regarding the Almighty become clearer, the show will forge an ongoing alliance between Tulip, Cassidy, and Jesse that gives the Texan wildflower and the Irish vampire a steadier amount of screen time.

That’s assuming, of course, that Jesse finally brings an end to his feud with Quincannon. But where does the control room we see at this episode’s end enter into all this? And just whose side will Emily end up on when all is said and done? (She can’t side with the mayor! I won’t allow it!) With only two episodes left in this season, it’s likely we’ll get some answers soon. And if those two episodes are as good as the three we’ve had since this season’s midpoint, the wait for season 2 is gonna be… well, Hell.

Preaching to the Choir

— “It’s all meat! I’ve looked! There’s nothing else!”

— Did the scene of the QMP employees launching their attack on the church and then quickly retreating in terror remind anyone else of a similar scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

— I realize that the “Eugene” we see in this episode is one who exists only in Jesse’s tortured mind, but that makes his understated line about how he crawled out of Hell–“It’s not that far”–no less chilling.

— “You washed my sneakers?”

— I guess Cassidy’s less likely to get into trouble if he’s only downing brewskies now… Sorry. Too soon?

— “What the hell’s a food court?!”

— Has there been a more damning indictment of small-town evangelical hypocrisy yet on this show than the sight of Annville’s citizens picnicking while they watch their husbands and fathers prepare to slaughter a preacher and steal his church? I can’t help but wonder how this show plays in the Bible Belt.

— “Oh, here’s your penis.”

What did you think of this week’s episode? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter (@JMaCabre).

Images: AMC

Dane DeHaan Goes Full Action Hero in New VALERIAN Photo

Many comic book fans have never heard of Valerian & Laureline, even though the original French comic by Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières heavily influenced Star Wars, The Fifth Element, Avatar, and other sci-fi movies that followed. But that may change next summer when director Luc Besson releases a new live-action adaptation called Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

Dane DeHaan is playing a time-traveling space cop named Valerian, while Cara Delevingne is portraying his partner, Laureline. Although Laureline doesn’t share top billing in the film, she is Valerian’s equal…and possibly even his superior! Entertainment Weekly has debuted a new photo from the set of Valerian which primarily depicts DeHaan’s character attempting to fix his ship after a crash.

In the new issue of EW, DeHaan related his attempt to physically remake himself into someone who can pull off an action hero role. “It occurred to me that I had to look like I could save the universe,” said DeHaan. “But luckily, it’s France. They have reasonable working hours. I would exercise in the morning and get on set by noon. It helped me mentally get into the head of the hero, but The Rock gets up much earlier than I do.”

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets isn’t coming out until July 21, 2017, but fans at Comic-Con International will get a chance to see Besson, DeHaan, and Delevingne in person on Thursday, July 21 at 1pm in Hall H as they unveil an advance preview of the film.

What do you think about the new picture from Valerian? Let us know in the comment section below!

Images: EuropaCorp/Entertainment Weekly 

Hardwatch: Week of July 18th, 2016

It’s finally here! San Diego Comic-Con starts on Wednesday with Preview Night, and you can be sure that Chris Hardwick will be all over the Gaslamp District over the next few days entertaining and generally running around being everywhere at once. More on that in a second, though! First up, places that are not Comic-Con where you can see him this week.

There will be four new episodes of @midnight this week, but the schedule is shifted ever so slightly from normal. There’s no show on Monday night, but you can tune in Tuesday and see Lauren Lapkus, Matt Besser, and Dave Holmes cracking jokes. Wednesday night, you get Ramon Rivas II, Dan St. Germain, and April Richardson. Thursday night, Chris D’Elia and Will Sasso will face a yet unannounced contender. And the week will wrap up on Friday night with Paul Feig, Neil Casey, and Milan Vayntrub. There are never episodes on Friday night so this will be a treat!

In addition to the annual tradition of Nerdist Podcast Live at San Diego Comic Con, there will be a new episode of the podcast hitting your streaming service of choice. Butch Vig will be on to talk music, Garbage, Nirvana, and a lot of the highlights of his career including recording with Paul McCartney. You will definitely want to get that downloaded if you’re feeling at all sad that you’re not in Southern California.

If you do happen to be in San Diego and have one of those hard-to-get passes to the convention, you can find Chris moderating back-to-back panels on Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead in Hall H on Friday at 12pm and 1pm respectively. If you’re there on Thursday, you can catch him on the Nerdist panel alongside our very own Rachel Heine, Alicia Lutes, Jessica Chobot, and Adam Rymer at 1pm in the Indigo Ballroom. He will also moderate the South Park panel at 5pm on Friday in Hall H. Make sure you get in line nice and early for all of these so that you can soak it all up.

For those of you in San Diego who will be in San Diego but are lacking in the convention pass arena, make sure you stop by the Nerdist and Geek & Sundry Conival where you can see all sorts of shenanigans over the course of the week. You can see the whole line up here. Chris is usually in and out over the course of the week. You will also definitely want to see the live recordings of the Nerdist Podcast that will happen at the Balboa Theater on Saturday night. The guests haven’t been announced yet, but the shows are always epically amazing and a highlight of the convention.

This week, more than ever, I advise you to follow Chris on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Snapchat to make sure that you don’t miss anything that goes on during this annual extravaganza. The content is sure to be off the hook. We will see you on the other side!

“How To Draw” Batman and Hulk Videos Go Hilariously Wrong

If you’ve ever seen any “How to draw” videos, you know that several of them appear to be missing steps, especially to the artistically challenged. This week, “the Reverend” Dave Johnson released two parody videos that openly mock the “How to draw” formula, as he proceeded to depict intentionally awful renditions of Batman and the Hulk.

We noticed the first video via Bleeding Cool, where Johnson provided humorous commentary about his Batman and the Dark Knight’s anger issues. The end result was unquestionably amateurish, but that’s part of the joke! Do you really think that the man who knocked out this amazing cover of Batman ’66 can’t draw the Caped Crusader on demand?

Johnson is one of the most respected cover artists in the comic book industry, with a legendary stint on all 100 issues of 100 Bullets, as well as fondly remembered runs on Batman, Detective Comics and even Deadpool for Marvel. Only someone unfamiliar with Johnson’s work would confuse these videos for real attempts.

The second video with the Hulk is actually funnier than the first, since the entire sketch is building up for one final sight gag at the end of the video. You may have to watch this one twice to fully appreciate Johnson’s sense of humor, as he shows every part of the joke before you even realize what his visual endgame is.

Johnson’s YouTube channel is pretty sparsely filled at the moment, but we’d love to see more of his parody “How to draw” videos in the future!

What did you think about the Batman and Hulk videos created by Johnson? Strike a pose and share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Images: DC Comics

These GHOSTBUSTERS Plush Toys Are Cute AND Scary in Their Own Right

Ghostbusters is all the talk these days. Whether it’s debating the new film, or feeling nostalgic for the original, discussion about capturing and saving the world from ghosts is hard to hide from.

Kidrobot has decided to focus on BOTH sides of the conversation and has released three plush toys that will satisfy any fan’s needs, young or old.

Here is the classic Ghostbusters logo in all its…glory? Now, while it doesn’t look as iconic as its 2D predecessor, it definitely looks like something a child would latch onto at bedtime. Or possibly run from the room screaming. It may be a case-by-case basis on this one.

Here’s good ol’ Slimer, who is either a major cause of annoyance for the team or their mascot. It depends on what specific Ghostbusters you are watching. This one looks a lot closer to the character it’s based on. No worries about squeezing this one so hard that you get slimed.

Lastly, here is the Stay-Puft marshmallow man. A fond memory of Ray Stantz’s childhood that almost destroyed all of New York City. Now you can have one for your very own, and he looks really happy to see you.

Check out more pictures in the gallery below, and you can order the plush toys on Kidrobot’s website here.

So what do you think? Are you going to pick up any of these cute Ghostbusters toys? Or are you going to follow orders and not look directly into the trap? Let me know on Twitter or cross the streams down in the comments below.

Images: kidrobot

EXCLUSIVE MAN Could Be the Best (and Cheapest) Comic-Con Gag Gift

As anyone who shops for limited-edition toys at Comic-Con can tell you, exclusives are often elusive. Long lines, lotteries, and prayers to the gods of chase variants are not uncommon, but if you put your mind to it, you can usually come away with something, and hold that rare figure in your hot little hands.

This year, however, there’s one exclusive so rare that even when you have him in your hands, you might not. He is…Exclusive Man!

What, you don’t see him? Maybe the press release, via Toy News International, can explain:

In the spirit of exclusives made specifically for San Diego’s Comic Con, Applehead Factory Design Studio has created the ultimate of all exclusives… Stealth Commando Ninja Master Exclusive Man! The earth-shattering debut of the greatest action figure to ever grace toy shelves or the known universe will be at this year’s Comic Con!

Right, that sounds great. Now where is he?

Made from the remnants of crappy 80s cartoons and the tears of lonely fan boys, Stealth Commando Ninja Master Exclusive Man has it all! Super blast battle fists, Vesuvian death toe-grip, a disintegration ring, and an Andromeda codpiece allow him to handle whatever comes up day or night! With over 3,141,996 points of articulation no action figure in this or any parallel reality compares. S.C.N.M.E.M. is packaged with exquisite full-color cardboard backing that tells his mind-blowing back-story and sports the official San Diego Comic Con exclusive seal! He’s packaged in a blister bubble to preserve his worth, which is filled with real, Comic Con, collectable, exclusive air!

Holy crap! Exclusive air! And three million points of articulation! How can anyone resist?

At only $6.00 Stealth Commando Ninja Master Exclusive Man is a steal as a keepsake of your visit to San Diego Comic Con or as a gift for the serious action figure collector in your life! They’ll be selling faster than one of his patented brain-liquefying kicks to the head, so get yours before he vanishes from Booth #4923… oops, too late!”

That sounds amaz…Oh. I get it. It’s pretty funny, actually–there are a lot of little in-jokes on the blister card, and for six bucks, it’s an amusing add to any display. Applehead Factory is a company generally known for its frightening “Teddy Scares,” but this could mean they’re thinking about action figures moving forward. Or just mocking them.

Would you buy Stealth Commando Ninja Master Exclusive Man? Tell us in comments and maybe he’ll even join in…oops, too late, he already left.

 

CASTLE IN THE SKY Airship Caps off Studio Ghibli Exhibition

For the last 30 years, Studio Ghibli‘s films have stood at the pinnacle of beautiful and emotional animation, from Hayao Miyazaki’s 1986’s Castle in the Sky to the upcoming The Red Turtle, which won Un Certain Regard Special Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Now, in Tokyo, fans can step directly into these worlds at the Studio Ghibli Exhibition, which includes a massive airship from Castle in the Sky, as reported by Thecreatorsproject.

From everyone’s favorite rabbit-bear Totoro acting as a bartender to a life-size Catbus on the premises, Ghibli’s iconic characters and settings are one step closer to turning the real world into anime. Between this and Pokémon Go, we here at Nerdist are all in for this new anime-world lifestyle.

The centerpiece of the exhibit is a two-and-a-half-by-six-meter model of the airship from Castle in the Sky. While this version may not be on its way to Laputa, it does overlook the Tokyo skyline from its place on the 52nd floor. Hanging from the ceiling, this airship slowly bobs up and down to simulate flight and boasts moving propellers and oars. And because Studio Ghibli wants us to cry like the adult babies we are, the entire setup lights up once the sun goes down, illuminating the otherwise pitch black room. A lighthouse that draws us back to our childlike imagination and wonder. It probably also keeps people in other buildings awake, but that’s a price we’re willing to pay.

While we wish Totoro could stay our neighbor forever, the exhibit unfortunately closes September 11. Until then, however, if you’re a diehard Ghiblet and happen to be in Japan, be sure to check this out.

If you’re not in Japan, check out more images from the exhibit in the gallery below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

 

Images: @Tokyo_Cityview/Studio Ghibli

This Robot Dog Could Answer All Your Chihuahua Prayers

Are you one of those apartment dwellers that loves pets but aren’t allowed to have them in your home? Thanks to Osaka University in Japan, you might have the loophole you’ve been looking for.

Reported by Gizmodo, the above video was uploaded by Professor Koh Hosoda from the University. He is presenting the PneuHound, Hosoda Laboratory’s newest creation. In the past, we’ve shown you the innovations of Boston Dynamics and their amazing robots, which mostly use motors and servos, but Hosoda Labs is using a different approach with their robot design. Using Pneumatics, which are air-filled pistons, they are able to give the robot “artificial muscles” which makes them able to move faster and scamper about. One of the highlights of the video is the lab placing the Pneuhound on a treadmill, where it was able to reach speeds on 9.5 kilometers per hour (5.9 m.p.h.) While that doesn’t really sound all that fast, when you compare to previous “robot pets” we’ve seen, it’s doing all right for itself. Who knows? Maybe we’re finally at that future where robot chihuahuas are endorsing Taco Bell.

You can check out more from Osaka Laboratory, including other videos and projects they are working on, at their website here.

So what do you think? Would it be fun to have a little robot dog scampering around, knowing you don’t have to take him outside? Or would you be too afraid it would turn on you and rise against humanity? Let me know on Twitter or send Kyle Reese back in time to stop this robot dog menace in the comments below.

Image: Koh Hosoda

In New STAR WARS Canon, Ewoks Had a Weird Job After RETURN OF THE JEDI

We all remember the fervor that happened when Disney essentially erased all of the Star Wars Expanded Universe from official canon.  Regardless of your feelings about that decision, the powers that be are working to fill in the huge gap left when it made all of the EU stories non-canonical. Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath series (the second book in the series, Life Debt, is out now) is playing a huge part in that.

Wendig’s work is amazing, but he’s done something with the Ewok race that is a bit of a head-scratcher, as noticed by the gang at io9. In the old EU, Ewoks kind of went back to hanging out in forests and singing “Yub Nub” after the events of Return of the Jedi. After all, they’re sentient, free-thinking creatures, and it only seemed like a natural choice. In Wendig’s novel, they choose a more unique route: becoming therapy Ewoks.

No, no, I don’t mean Ewoks became therapists. Think more along the lines of a service dog. Just like we give vets battling PTSD a service dog when they come home from war, apparently in a galaxy far, far away, they offer therapy Ewoks. So what was Wendig’s reasoning for giving Ewoks this strange role in the Star Wars galaxy? Apparently the Ewoks are acting out of gratitude. Here’s a quote from the book when a soldier, Dade, is offered a therapy Ewok to help him heal from a serious injury while also battling with PTSD:

Some of the native Endor creatures have agreed to travel offworld to help veterans like you recuperate. As a matter of recompense for saving their home.

So there you have it. Apparently, after the Ewoks celebrated the salvation of their home planet, they decided the best way to repay their debt was by spending their lives with wounded soldiers helping them recuperate. Of course, I imagine Ewoks play more of the role of companion rather than pet like therapy animals do here on earth. We know they make great companions. After all, Leia finds the companionship of an Ewok to be pretty helpful in Jedi, and we already know they can throw a killer party. So it’s weird, definitely–Dade himself turns the therapy Ewok offer down, citing the offensive odor of the little guys–but at the same time, its kind of perfect. Ewoks are cute and loyal. Smelly or not, I can totally see why they’d get in the therapy business. How can you not feel better with an Ewok around?

It’s unclear if we’ll see the furry creatures again in future books or future movies, but I think I need to get at least a quick scene of a therapy Ewok in action. I think we all deserve to see that, right?

What do you think of the Ewoks’ new role? Do you think it’s weird and fun or just stupid? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

Image: Lucasfilm