TRAILER: All star cast for KONG: SKULL ISLAND!

More than 12 years after his last appearance in theaters, KING KONG will return to the silver screen in KONG: Skull Island in 2017!

I'm actually a fan of the 2005 Peter Jackson film, set in the 1920s (like the original it pays homage to). It has some exciting sequences with all manner of monsters. And the battle atop the Empire State Building takes the original concept to an unprecedented level. But it's also slow as shit, especially in the beginning.

KONG: Skull Island, from the producers of the latest Godzilla effort, looks AH-MA-ZING, by comparison with it's Apocalypse Now-meets-monster-movie approach to the story.

Set during the Vietnam war, a group of soldiers is tasked with mapping an uncharted and mysterious island in the South Pacific (the eponymous scrap of land from the title). The best way to do this? Drop bombs on it! I love movies that just lean in to their ridiculous premises. :-)

Kong, of course, is not happy about that:

But the best part? An all star cast--many of them from the Marvel family of films:

• Brie Larson - Captain Marvel
• Tom Hiddleston - Loki (Thor, Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok)
• Sam Jackson - Nick Fury (Like, so many Marvel movies!)
• John C. Reilly - Nova Corpsman Rhomann Dey (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Yep, it has Steve Brule in it! And by the looks of it, he's the island "expert" laying down, uh..."rules" for survival, if you will excuse the reference.

The only one not from the Marvel movie-verse is John Goodman, who plays the seedy, money man who gets the group into trouble in the first place.

Rumor has it Kong will meet up with his frenemy Godzilla on the big screen sometime in the next few years. I. AM. THERE.

What's Gameable?

In short: ALL OF IT. Looks like plenty of fodder for an Isle of Dread type of adventure or maybe a prelude to Apes Victorious? Either way--the trailer alone has enough game inspiration for an adventure hook, as it is. I'm sure the full film is chocked full of more monster mayhem than you can throw a helicopter at!

So if you're doing a mini-campaign set mid-century (read: 60s-70s) I think you've got a bunch of options:

• Wartime mapping/recon mission (soldier heavy party with lots of incendiaries/explosives)
• Big game hunt turned disastrous (non-professionals,no explosives, but armed with stun guns, gas grenades, tranq darts, nets, cages, etc.) 
• Petroleum excavation crew (Heavy on science and exploration, few weapons) 
• National Geographic documentary crew  (cameras and machetes only!)
• Or a mix of any of the above

And you've got a great set up for NPCs and possibly foes:

• Lost tribe of humans who worship/fear the island fauna
• Stranded "guide" looking to get off the island
• Greedy entrepreneur looking to make a buck
• Mercs/henchmen, looking out for their boss
• Foolhardy scientist/journalist who gets too close
• Skeptical/grizzled colonel who's trying to keep his troops alive

IF your party escapes, you can a second leg where the kaiju bring the fight back to mankind on his home turf, a la one of my absolute favorites in recent years: Godzilla Half Century War.

That's a full-on military campaign, but it's MUCH more hard-scrabble for the humans than any of Godzilla's movies. We're talkin' street-level skirmishes against a kaiju--lots of fun! Oh and definitely check that comic out, the art is incredibly detailed and inspirational!

UPDATE: Eric over at Swords & Stitchery did a full write-up on running a Skull Island adventure!

• IMDB listing
• Official site

Hidden space game in Watch Dogs 2?

This video, taken from Watch Dogs 2, looks like it might hint at a secret space opera-esque project. The art production is like a candy-colored goulash of acclaimed science fiction artists Chris Foss and John Harris spaceship art!

Plus, the twangy soundtrack brings me back to Cowboy Bebop.The big question--when is it coming out? (If ever?)

I'd play the heck out of this!!

Hat tip to Kotaku

TRAILER: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

It's finally here! And WOW does Luc Besson deliver the visuals!



Previously: Check out this huge post of images and posters!

TRAILER: ALL THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR YOU: WONDER WOMAN!

Warner Bros. has released the latest Wonder Woman trailer and it's looking FANTASTIC. I've been looking forward to this one for YEARS. I've been hoping that WB would do right by her in a motion picture, having been disappointed with some of their recent efforts to bring DC comics to the big screen.

And I've got a geeklet of my own that is getting to know Wonder Woman for the first time. She LOVES the 70s TV show and some of the Superfriends cartoons. And while she'll still be too young to see the new film, Gal Gadot will be everywhere next summer and as the new face of Wonder Woman, I really want this interpretation to be as good as I hope it will be.

The trailer has some truly fun moments there with the action sequences and snappy dialogue. And Gadot IS Diana Prince! She has the air of an Amazonian warrior, but still has the charm that Diana is also known for.

And we're FINALLY starting to see a break from the ash-coated look of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman into a much more colorful and vibrant aesthetic. The previous films were awash in dirty, burnt hues that just reinforced their heavy-handed storylines. It looks like Diana is being given a fresh start in the DC movie-verse.

Here's some magnificent new posters, just released by WB:

Okay, enough--it's bullet blockin' time--HERE'S THE TRAILER:

THAT THEME SONG!

BONUS: Someone edited all the existing movie footage (including clips from BvS) to the classic theme song from the TV series!

• Official site
• IMDB listing
• Offical DC Comics listing
• Wikipedia listing

Click on images to enlarge. Images courtesy: Warner Bros.

Space dungeon: Perry Rhodan spaceship cutaway

Found this one on Facebook. Looks like mini stunt double for the Death Star, but it's actually a cutaway image of a battleship--the Leif Eriksson--from a Perry Rhodan story. (Odd that it's not the sharp-nosed cruiser you usually find images of online.)

Though I'm not 100% confident in my Google-fu, I suspect this what the exterior looks like:

In any case, go ahead and embiggen that top image and you've got yerself a nifty space megadungeon map! 

VIDEO: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 gets a teaser trailer!

Oh BOY, it seems like we've been waiting FOREVER for this to debut! And now it's finally here! But we've also got a hot new one-sheet poster of the Guardians. And it looks like there's two new members--Nebula and Yondu, sporting his full head-fin this time around:

Oh, and then there's Groot. Did you see him? Look again.Who'd have guessed that Rocket would be "the tall one"? Okay, you've waited long enough--here's the first video of GGV2:



BRING ON THE GROOTNESS:

VIDEO: Second full ROGUE ONE trailer

 If this doesn't get you into theaters, nothin' will. It's got EVERYTHING:

• Awesome new in-atmosphere shots of ships and the Death Star? CHECK!
• Main heroine backstory? CHECK!
• Incredible odds in favor of the Empire? CHECK!
• Desperate rebels bordering on delusional thinking? CHECK!
• Cool AF space battles? CHECK! FINALLY, CHECK!!!
• Another appearance by Vader in a different scene? CHECK!!!!!!!!!

Don't take my word for it--check it out!



And there's also a fantastic new poster!

Is it just me, or does December 16, 2016 still seem like a hundred years away?

New poster for Valerian movie, plus LOTS of pics!

Hey space opera fans! If you've been living under a ROCK, you may not have heard that Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) is directing a film adaption of the Valerian & Laureline comics.

The first poster was just released at New York Comic Con and it's a DOOZY:

Nice aft view of their XB982 astroship, which--so far--looks fairfly faithful to the comic:

We'll have to wait until July 21st, 2017 for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets to hit theaters. Strangely, the heroine Laureline's name has been dropped from the title of the film, though she had equal billing with Valerian in the comics.

As for the film version, we have a bevy of concept art and official images from the set to tide us over until the trailer comes out (right click to enlarge images):

Here's the film's official synopsis:

Rooted in the classic graphic novel series, Valerian and Laureline -- visionary writer/director Luc Besson advances this iconic source material into a contemporary, unique and epic science fiction saga.

Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner, blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him.

Under directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe. Alpha's seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time -- uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.

It's been proposed that Star Wars drew inspiration from the comic by Jean-Claude Mezieres, though that's never been confirmed. I think there's similarities, for sure, but it's tough to draw a straight line from one to the other. One round ship doesn't quite merit paternity, but it's fun to think how Lucas might have been informed (and he's said as much, once upon a time). Still, the comic's influence in popular culture is widely apparent.

Besson has always looked to comics for inspiration in his films (see: Fifth Elements ties to Moebius and Mezieres) so I'm expecting some fantastic visuals to light up the screen next year!

Images: Luc Besson on Instagram, Entertainment Weekly, and others.

New spaceship art from Chris Foss on awesome space opera anthology!

GLORIOUS new candy-colored spaceship art from Chris Foss for Cosmic Powers: A Saga Anthology of Far-Away Galaxies, an upcoming space opera anthology by editor John Joseph Adams!

Cover copy:

A collection of original, epic science fiction stories by some of today’s best writers—for fans who want a little less science and a lot more action—and edited by two-time Hugo Award winner John Joseph Adams. Inspired by movies like The Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars, this anthology features brand-new stories from some of science fiction’s best authors including Dan Abnett, Jack Campbell, Linda Nagata, Seanan McGuire, Alan Dean Foster, Charlie Jane Anders, Kameron Hurley, and many others

Aside from the storied career that Foss had forged in space opera art over the decades, it makes sense that he would be tapped for this project in particular since his art inspired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn during the concept phase for that film. With GG being a touchstone for the anthology, Foss is an easy sell.

If you're looking for more Foss art, his art book Hardware: The Definitive SF Works of Chris Foss is full of awesome spaceship art and a worthy companion.

Okay, I've vamped long enough--time to take in the view. Click to enlarge this gorgeous artwork!

More details at Adam's website!

THE SLEEPY SMILEY FACE HAS AWOKEN!

You know what happens on Twitter when you ask Muad'Dib himself to explain Dune? This:

Brilliant!

Organizing dice on a Sunday

Wanna keep your Geeklet interested in game accessories? Enlist her help and expertise with color coordinating your dice box. I guarantee all parties will be satisfactorily enthralled!

HERE: LET'S ALL WATCH IT AGAIN!

If you've not seen the second, INCREDIBLE trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story yet, you must be hermit living under a rock on Tatooine. So I'm sure you're just here because you want to watch it and it's predecessors over and over until the film comes out in theaters in December, right?

Have at it!




Behind the scenes footage released at Star Wars Celebration 2016:




First trailer (teaser):

LOOKS LIKE A HIT TO ME.