Nerd News: Arrow preview, Mad Max trailer, SDCC stuff and more

Vol. 5, Issue 27

Hey kids! Tonight is the night. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. I am very excited. However, first things first: Loads of good stuff came out of SDCC last weekend, so let’s jump right in.

In TV news:

• The season premiere of Doctor Who’s eighth series will be aired in theaters around the country. (Thanks, Rebecca!)
• Here are some details on new Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters, including who Lucy Lawless will be playing.
• The Russo Brothers (directors of Captain America: The Winter Solider) will direct two episodes of Agent Carter. Here is more information about the series.
• At SDCC, Marvel announced a new Guardians of the Galaxy animated series. (Thanks, Amanda!)
• The Flash and Arrow will have a two-hour crossover episode.
• Nickelodeon will not air any more episodes of the third season of The Legend of Korra on TV, but they’ll be available online.
• Details on Community’s sixth season were revealed at SDCC.
• John Rhys-Davies and Tyler Jacob Moore (Shameless) have joined Once Upon a Time’s Frozen arc. Rhys-Davies will voice Pabbie the Troll King and Moore will play Hans. Here’s a first look at Georgina Haig as Elsa.
• Meet the new Game of Thrones season five cast members in this video.
• Here’s the latest news on American Horror Story: Freak Show and Hannibal’s third season.
• Bruce Campbell will star in a new Evil Dead TV series.
• Jessica Biel will be playing “the hottest scientist in the world” in the New Girl season premiere.
• SyFy has greenlit a two-hour pilot based on Lev Grossman’s novel The Magicians.
• Allison Williams (Girls) will follow in Mary Martin's footsteps and play Peter Pan in NBC’s live broadcast.
• Andy Samberg and Kit Harrington will star in a new HBO tennis mockumentary.

Here are a bunch of previews:

Arrow

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Constantine

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Gotham

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The Flash

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Legend of Korra: Book Three (Thanks, Colt!)

Sleepy Hollow

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The Walking Dead

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A few blooper reels were also released this week:

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Thanks, Colt.)

Game of Thrones

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Hannibal—no embed on this one, sadly.

In webseries news, from TGG:

• Check out the first trailer for Halo: Nightfall straight from its SDCC debut.
• Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist is getting a sequel series subtitled World Warrior.

In movie news:

• James Gunn (director of GotG) has signed on to direct a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel.
• Evangeline Lilly and Corey Stoll’s roles in Ant-Man have been revealed.
• Joaquin Phoenix is the latest actor to be rumored for the role of Doctor Strange.
• Here’s the much-talked-about image of Gal Gadot in full Wonder Woman regalia.
• The Bat-fleck cowl looks good on his face, but off of it—it’s the stuff of nightmares. (io9 agrees.)
• Iggy Azalea will be in Fast and Furious 7?
• Here are a few new images from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
• Godzilla 2 is a go; here are the monsters that will join Godzilla in the film.
• A new King Kong movie—Skull Island—will open in November 2016.
• Warner Brothers has optioned 22 of Anne McCaffrey’s Pern novels.
• Edgar Wright will direct an adaptation of YA novel Grasshopper Jungle.
• Joe Hill’s Locke and Key graphic novels will become a movie trilogy.
• Christopher Walken and Giancarlo Esposito (Once Upon a Time) have joined The Jungle Book. Walken will voice King Louie and Esposito will voice Akela, the wolf pack leader.
• Photos from Into the Woods have been released.
• A few select Warcraft movie props were on display at SDCC this year. (Thanks, Wes.)
• Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) is possibly in the running for the Ellie role in the adaptation of The Last of Us.
• Here are three new photos from Goosebumps.
• A trailer for Atari: Game Over, the documentary based on the recent unearthing of the Atari E.T. The Game cartridges in a New Mexico landfill, has been released. (Thanks, Wes.)

Here a bunch of trailers and a featurette:

The Expendables 3

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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

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Horns

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 1

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Mad Max: Fury Road

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The Maze Runner

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Night at the Museum 3

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The Penguins of Madagascar

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Mondo released a set of Guardians of the Galaxy posters at SDCC this year, and they’re all great … but man, that Mike Mitchell Groot and Rocket one is adorable.

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Here’s another blooper reel—if 30 seconds counts as a reel—featuring Tina Fey in The Muppets Most Wanted.

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In gaming news, from TGG:

• The next Mass Effect game won’t revolve around Shepard and pals, but here are a few mysterious screenshots and cryptic details about the (eventually) upcoming game.
• Here’s a new video preview for Dragon Age: Inquisition and a new combat trailer.
• Disney Infinity 2.0 has an official release date of Sept. 23. Here’s a new trailer, which introduces Loki, Green Goblin and Ronan the Accuser.
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's release date has been moved up a week to Sept. 30 due to Warner Bros. “hearing fans’ excitement over the release.” Wes believes it’s likely due to the intense competition of the games being released Oct. 7. Here’s a new story trailer.
• This new trailer for Alien: Isolation reunites the cast of the original film (minus Ian Holm, unfortunately) to talk about it.
• The Walking Dead Season 3 has been confirmed by Tell Tale.
• Here’s a trailer for Destiny’s multiplayer map called “Twilight Gap.”
• Firefly Online will be reuniting the original cast to reprise their (vocal) roles.
• LittleBigPlanet 3 is coming to PS3 and PS4 Nov. 18; info about retailer exclusive pre-order incentives can be found at the link.
• 2K Games recently tweeted an image that seems to hint at something BioShock related, but what exactly isn’t clear.
• A new trailer for Sims 4 is available for viewing.
• Here are some highlights from a recent interview with new EVE Online Executive Producer Andie Nordgren suggesting that there are big developments in the works.
• Check out a new gameplay trailer for Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments.
• The Last of Us stage production is available on YouTube to watch almost in its entirety. Apparently, attendees got a special treat with a previously unseen epilogue scene written by Neil Druckmann and acted by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson.
• Related: The remastered version of the game for PS4 is coming soon, and Sony has released this video of Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson discussing the making of the game.
• The latest PS4 update adds 3D Blu-Ray support.
• EA is launching a subscription based service for Xbox One called EA Access. For $5 a month (or $30 a year) subscribers get access to some of EA’s biggest games plus discounts on other products.The service will not be available on PS4, however.
• Here’s an interesting look at the actual cost (~$5,000) of releasing a game through the ID@Xbox indie game program for Xbox One.
• Google is reportedly buying game streaming service Twitch for $1 billion.
• Rob Zombie’s Assassin’s Creed short that played at SDCC this year is—spoiler alert—super violent.

It’s a good thing the Turtles run around so much, otherwise Alex Solis’ art might come true.

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In misc. news:

• In a tweet that rocked the my world, Lance Bass posted about a new ‘N Sync album … that’s actually just a disc filled with the group’s greatest hits.
• Tom Hiddleston wrote a letter of thanks to Joss Whedon for Loki’s part in The Avengers, and it is—completely unsurprisingly—absolutely adorable.
• New comic Star Wars: Darth Vader tells about Vader’s life in the period between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back.
• Comic publishers IDW and Boom! Studios are working on a Planet of the Apes/Star Trek crossover.
• It’s been proven: Reading Harry Potter makes kids better human beings.
• Speaking of: The new UK Harry Potter covers are super cute.
• George R. R. Martin won’t be working on Game of Thrones’ fifth TV season so that he can focus on writing Winds of Winter.
• Currently, only our kitchen is decked out in Star Wars stuff, but it could start moving into the bathroom … starting with this Han Solo in Carbonite toilet seat lid.
• In honor of the Transformers’ 30th anniversary and the PS1’s 20th anniversary, Takar Tomy Arts will be producing a toy PS1 that transforms into Optimus Prime. (Thanks, Wes.)
• That frightening Batman statue I posted about last week? Turns out it comes from a cancelled project that pre-dates the concept of Kingdom Hearts. Supposedly, the character’s back story will be revealed at a later date. (Thanks, Wes.)
• Blackmilk has released a new line of princess and villains items.

In SCIENCE! and tech news:

• New fossils suggest that all dinosaurs had feathers.
• Tyrannosaurs also likely hunted in packs.
• Two more sinkholes have been discovered in Siberia. (Thanks, Colt.)
• Scientists have manufactured a synthetic leaf that creates oxygen.
• E-cigarettes are definitely not as harmless as they’ve been portrayed.
• A new, simple blood test could detect all types of cancer.
• There’s a scientific reason why dogs smell butts so much. It’s still gross. (Thanks, Colt.)
• This stat is horrific: Over the past 500 years, humans have been responsible for 322 animal extinctions. 
• An octopus mom sat on her eggs, waiting for them to hatch, for 53 months. (Thanks, Kim!)
• This new ice cream changes color as you lick it.
• More is now known about the mysterious 18th century wooden ship that was uncovered by construction workers under the World Trade Center/Ground Zero construction site in NYC.

And finally:

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