Host: Rob Logan

311 – Welcome to the Network

Show notes:

News/discussion:

Disney reinstates director James Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy 3

After previously being fired for comments on social media made over a decade ago, Disney has reversed their prior decision and has reinstated James Gunn as the writer-director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Marvel Studios has agreed to commence production on Guardians of the Galaxy 3 after Gunn completes Suicide Squad 2, a job he took when he was initially released from the project

Idris Elba to replace Will Smith in Suicide Squad sequel

Idris Elba is in talks to replace Will Smith in the Suicide Squad sequel being put together by filmmaker James Gunn and Warner Bros. This follows the recent news that Smith had to back out due to schedule conflicts.

The CW announces that Arrow will end with Season 8

In a surprise announcement, The CW has revealed that Arrow’s upcoming eighth season will be its last. Lead actor Stephen Amell reflected on the news in a recent tweet, saying,

The announcement was followed by an official statement from series producers Greg Berlanti, Marg Guggenheim, and Beth Schwartz: “This was a difficult decision to come to, but like every hard decision we’ve made for the past seven years, it was with the best interests of Arrow in mind. We’re heartened by the fact that Arrow has birthed an entire universe of shows that will continue on for many years to come. We’re excited about crafting a conclusion that honors the show, its characters and its legacy and are grateful to all the writers, producers, actors, and — more importantly — the incredible crew that has sustained us and the show for over seven years.”

Marvel Studios producing “What If” animated series for Disney+

According to SlashFilm, Marvel Studios will be producing a new animated television series for Disney+ based on the popular What If comic book series. Like the comics, this animated anthology series will provide stories that explore how the Marvel Cinematic Universe might have unfolded if key moments in its history had not occurred as they did in recognized canon. For example, one of the episodes will adapt What If? Vol.1 #47, which explored the idea of “What if Loki had found the hammer of Thor?”

The idea is that they could potentially have some of the main actors from the live-action MCU movies reprise their roles in the animated series, which would imagine alternate possibilities from another dimension. The time commitment for voice acting is a whole lot less than for live-action productions, which could accommodate some of the biggest Marvel talent. The series would function as an anthology, just like the comic book series, with each episode tackling a different premise

Amazon confirms the setting of its Lord of the Rings series

A recent tweet from Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series has confirmed the time period it will take place in, saying, “Welcome to the Second Age.” The Second Age is also known as “The Age of Númenor,” and the island of the same name is shown in the bottom left corner of the map included in the same tweet.

Númenor is considered a mythic lost city of men in the world of Middle-earth, one established on an island in the Great Sea that had been destroyed for thousands of years by the time of Frodo and Aragorn. In The Second Age, according to Tolkien lore, it was said that the island was brought up from the ocean as a gift to men by the Valar (the gods of Middle-earth). The kingdom would later fall after they defy the laws of the deities.

The Second Age also sees the development of the Elven City of Rivendell, the Dark Lord Sauron famously forging the dark Ring of Power, and the races of elves, men, and dwarves all uniting to fight him for the first. This period spans about 3,441 years, so there’s a lot of ground to potentially cover

HBO cancels Crashing

HBO has decided not to renew the Pete Holmes-starring comedy series Crashing for a fourth season. The news, which was officially confirmed by HBO on Friday, was initially announced by executive producer Judd Apatow on a recent episode of Conan.