WOOHOO!

DCAU mastermind Bruce Timm will executive producer a new digital Justice League cartoon for Machinima to debut in spring of 2015. Titled Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles, it will be be co-produced by his Batman: The Animated Series partner Alan Burnett.

Originally announced as another DC direct-to-home video animated movie, Gods and Monsters Chronicles will now be a three-part digital series; according to Comic Book Resources it’s an original story by Timm which has nothing to do with the 2001 Justice League comic of the same name. Most tellingly (via Variety):

“Chronicles” is said to revolve around a newly conceived reality in the DC universe where Justice League members Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are much darker versions of the superheroes that people know.

I can’t be upset at the idea of any Bruce Timm-led DC animation, but does it really need to be darker? I swear, if DC continues this trend, eventually we’re going to get a Justice League that spends all its time murdering hoboes.

Based on the hit video game series, Batman must find a bomb planted by the Joker while dealing with a mysterious team of villains called, The Suicide Squad.

Leading on from the story of Batman: Arkham Origins, the last game that wasn’t overly great (because it wasn’t made by Rocksteady).  This new DC Anime follows Amanda Wallers Suicide Squad on a mission to kill the Riddler.

The voice cast of the games and the animated Batman series from the 90’s return to voice the usual suspects, Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Joker (Troy Baker).  This time around, Harley Quinn is voiced differently (although I genuinely thought it WAS Tara Strong, I’m surprised to find she was voiced brilliantly by Hynden Walch instead)

For the majority of the film, Batman actually isn’t in it and honestly, it’s a stronger film for him NOT being there.  This story is ALL ABOUT the Suicide Squad!

Made up of Deadshot (Neal McDonough), Harley Quinn, Killer Frost (Jennifer Hale), Black Spider (Giancarlo Esposito) and King Shark (John DiMaggio). The Suicide Squad are sent by Amander waller (CCH Pounder) to kill The Riddler (Matthew Gray Gubler), who happens to be in Arkham Asylum after Batman stopped Waller capturing Riddler at the beginning of the film and throwing him Arkham, instead of allowing Waller to kill him.

All the while, the Joker has a dirty bomb hidden somewhere in Gotham, ready to go off and Batman is on the hunt for it.

The animation quality is SUPREME, as is the story itself (besides, it has Harley Quinn in it, so of course it’s epic!) although it takes off after the not so great Batman: Arkham Origins game, it uses the games version of the characters, including Penguin (Nolan North) and Bane (John DiMaggio)

The characters are all believable, and even relateable, I have a new appreciation for Deadshot for instance, who is on the team for his daughter, not for his sin’s, like the other super villains.

Although it’s out now on iTunes, I’d definitely recommend grabbing Batman: Assault on Arkham when it’s DVD release drops in a couple of weeks, especially if you’ve played the Arkham games aswell

A definite addition to my DVD collection!  4.5/5

During Marvel Studios’ Hall H presentation at Comic-Con International 2014 Saturday night, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Chris Pratt and director James Gunn announced that a sequel to the film will hit theaters July 28, 2017.

Pratt and Gunn appeared on screen for the assembled crowd to share the news, and while “Guardians of the Galaxy” doesn’t soar into theaters until this Friday, August 1

Legendary Pictures didn’t reveal any Jurassic World footage during their Comic-Con panel (boo!), but that might be because they’ve got plenty of other monsters on their slate.

Gareth Edwards appeared via video message, joking that he’ll be busy with “a small little sci-fi film” (that’ll be his Star Wars spin-off), but he did confirm that he’ll be back to tackle the Godzilla sequel after that.

He also introduced a brand new clip of Godzilla roaring (was he on top of Alcatraz Island?), as a thank you to the fans who have made it a huge hit world worldwide.

Legendary then went on to tease the three monsters that Godzilla might be facing in the sequel, and they’re classics: Rodan (a pterosaur), Ghidorah (a three-headed dragon) and Mothra (a, erm, giant moth).

In another surprise monster-related announcement, Legendary announced that they would be releasing a film called Skull Island in 2016. As you’ll remember, it’s the home of King Kong. The teaser footage showed off a pterodactyl, some monkey, and right at the end, Kong himself (at least, we thought it was him).  This new film incarnation isn’t related to Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake, and will focus on the wildlife on the island itself (so don’t expect to see the Empire State Building).

The first image of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicehas been released by Zack Snyder  at San Diego ComicCon

I think it’s pretty spot on, what do you guys think?