Fasten your seat belts – Bill and Ted are going on another ride.

In an interview with Yahoo, Alex Winter finally gave an update on the long journey to a third feature film in the Bill & Ted franchise. A 23-year journey, to be exact. Winter played Bill S. Preston Esq. in the original 1989 science fiction comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and the sequel Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey two years later in 1991 opposite Keanu Reeves as Ted “Theodore” Logan. Now, everyone’s favorite time traveling slackers have gotten a little older.

“[Bill & Ted] will be 40-something and it’s all about Bill and Ted grown up, or not grown up,” Winter said. “It’s really sweet and really f—ing funny. But it’s a Bill & Ted movie, that’s what it is. It’s for the fans of Bill & Ted. It fits very neatly in the [series]. It’s not going to feel like a reboot. The conceit is really funny: What if you’re middle-aged, haven’t really grown up and you’re supposed to have saved the world and maybe, just maybe, you kinda haven’t?” In addition to the two films, the Bill & Ted franchise includes two television adaptations both titled Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures, one animated and one live action. Both Winter and Reeves haven’t reprised their respective roles since proving the voice for their cartoon characters in one season of the series in 1990, right before the first sequel was made.

So, why the delay? “The thing we had going against us is that word got out,” Winter says. “That was kind of a bummer. It just takes a long time to put a movie together. Now we’re having to build this thing in public, which is fine. I just feel bad [the fans] have to get dragged through this long, boring, protracted process.”

Original screenwriters Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon have written the script for the film based on an idea formed with Reeves and Winter, and the team has secured a director in Galaxy Quest‘s Dean Parisot. “We’ve been working on drafts for the last couple of years,” Winter said. “The script’s been finished for a while, but comedy is so specific. We’re in that world where producers are on, financiers are on and we’re just working and reworking the script.”

Well, don’t work too much on it. Unlike Bill & Ted, we don’t have all the time in the world to wait!

At the the same time, Fox takes ‘Assassin’s Creed‘ off the summer 2015 calendar, while shifting ‘The Fantastic Four’ and ‘Paper Towns’

Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Comics’ are moving ahead with their long-gestating X-Men spinoff Deadpool.

On Thursday, the studio announced that the movie will hit theaters Feb. 12, 2016. Tim Miller is set to direct the film, with Ryan Reynolds long rumored to star, although no deal is set. Bets are that he will.

The beloved Marvel character Deadpool, a.k.a. Wade Wilson, is a talkative mercenary with a host of powers, including the ability to heal at a fast rate. Reynolds played Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, while Scott Adkins played the character of Deadpool after Wilson had transformed.

News of Deadpool’s release comes weeks after test footage of the project leaked briefly online. The sequence, featuring Reynolds, was shot several years ago, but nevertheless sparked intense conversation on social media.

In an recent interview, Reynolds commented on the leak, suggested it helped move the process along. “The movie has been in a state of limbo for a while. There was such an overpowering reaction to the footage, you sort of feel like, ‘Oh, so we weren’t crazy for our reasons for loving this character, for loving this role.’ It’s interesting to see the power of the Internet. It’s awe-inspiring, actually,” the actor told the Niagara Falls Review. “And it’s neat that Twitter and Facebook and Instagram can move mountains when used in the right way.”

Reynolds, whose turn as the superhero Green Lantern failed, has been linked to a potential Deadpool solo movie for years, even before he debuted as the character in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. His interest in the property dates back to 2003.

Fox made other key changes to its release slate, including taking New Regency’s Assassin’s Creed off the 2015 summer calendar.

The adaptation of the Ubisoft video game, starring Michael Fassbender, was set to open Aug. 7, but won’t be ready in time, according to insiders. The script has gone through several rewrites, while the production itself has grappled with scheduling issues. Fox insiders say Assassin’s Creed will now hit theaters in 2016.

As a result, The Fantastic Four reboot will move from June 19, 2015, to the Aug. 7 spot, while YA film adaptation Paper Towns — based on the book by John Green — will move up from July 31, 2015 to June 19, the same corridor Fox used to release YA blockbuster The Fault In Our Stars, also based on a Green novel.

Fox is taking a cue from Disney and Marvel in relocating Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four to August, where Guardians of the Galaxy prospered this summer. For years, August was considered a dumping ground. If anything, Guardians proved that August has the benefit of being less crowded when it comes to tentpoles.

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