For a couple years now, there have been two rumors floating around concerning Zombieland, with the most logical being that a sequel was in the works, which is kind of has. Writers have been trying to come up with something, but it doesn’t look like anything will actually come of it. The second rumor is that a television series was being worked on for CBS and oddly enough, that’s the project that may be moving forward, as a casting call just went out.

According to I09, the call went out to cast the series main characters, which would carry over from the film. There are some minor spoilers ahead, so read on with caution. Below are some abbreviated descriptions for the characters, which also includes a couple of new characters. the series looks to delve into the back story of our four heroes.

Tallahassee is still kind of a snarky weirdo, but he seems to have a much less spiky relationship with Columbus. He and Columbus have a pretty amusing thing where they riff on the fact that Steven Seagal movies always have three-word titles like “Marked for Justice” or “May Cause Diarrhea.” But Tallahassee also dispenses homespun wisdom about how to feel happy with your life. He also tells a weird story about being in a trailer park with a perpetually nude Matthew McConaughey. He also has a somewhat heartwarming scene where he tells Columbus that he’s been wandering aimlessly for a long time, but maybe he’s been put here for a reason — to help Columbus and the others.

Columbus is much the same, except that he tracks down his grandma and grandpa (Bubbie and Peepaw) only to find them recently zombiefied. Also, Columbus is trying to deal with his new-found relationship with Wichita, after their first kiss. He has started calling her “Krista,” her real name — but there are some problems, especially after she finds him reading a book about fatherhood. He tries to organize a romantic scavenger hunt for her in the IKEA they’re camping out in, but it goes kind of horribly.

Wichita is still trying to look after Little Rock, trying to teach her math with problems about someone stealing from a liquor store and jumping on a train going 42 miles per hour, with a cop chasing in a car going 88 miles per hour. We also learn a lot more about Wichita’s backstory, including how she ran away from her father after he had her stealing people’s Christmas presents — and later, she found out she had a sister who was also being a grifter with her dad.

Little Rock seems actually kind of excited about meeting Columbus’ grandparents, before they turn out to be zombies. And she shares some of her own backstory, about how her dad parked her at a school while he went off grifting on his own — and then yanked her out of school right before a dance that she was looking forward to.

Fred and Ainsley are two office workers at the start of the zombie apocalypse, obliviously complaining about problems with their iPhones and getting the wrong order at Starbucks, which they admit are “first world problems” with a hashtag — while people are being disembowled just outside the window they’re not facing. Tallahassee shows up to bring them their lunch orders, wearing a green polo shirt.

As you can see, the writers plan to keep much of the same tone to the series that helped make the movie so enjoyable. Not unsurprisingly, they seem to be making the relationship between Columbus and Wichita the main focus, but also seem to be making a family out of the group. Not a terrible concept, especially considering they series will be a half-hour comedy. Things look promising!

__________

UPDATE! It’s been revealed by Broadcast that this series will actually end up streaming on Amazon, rather than be a traditional aired TV series, much like the resurgence of the cult favorite Arrested Development. No mention of time frame, but as with Netflix, it can be expected that Amazon won’t be restrained by the usual “seasons” as with traditional television series.

Josh "ecksmanfan" Johnson, Updated! Zombieland TV Series Begins Casting Process

Work on Marc Webb’s Spider-Man sequel is coming along nicely. It seems the majority of the cast is in place and filming will start soon. Two of the new additions to the movie were out and about promoting their movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Shailene Woodley, who will be playing Mary Jane Watson, and Dane DeHaan, Harry Osborn, talked a little about the upcoming Spidey movie.

Woodley spoke with MTV about joining the cast and how excited she was about the film. The actress couldn’t reveal too much, but she said she’s a fan of the character and really enjoyed the reboot:

Spider-Man has always been my favorite super hero dude, since I was a little girl. I think there’s something really special about flying. When I watched the previous Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield, he made me feel invincible. I think Marc Webb is amazing. I’m so stoked to work with Andrew and Emma [Stone], they’re the best of the best.

She went on to say that she didn’t know any real details about the film, but she assumes she’ll be part of a love triangle if the comics are anything to go by. Woodley also hinted that she’d be making the transition and become a redhead soon. You can watch the full video interview by clicking here.

Chronicle break-out star Dane DeHaan also chatted about The Amazing Spider-Man sequel while on the red carpet for his film with Daniel “Harry Potter” Radcliffe called Kill Your Darlings. The actor remained tight lipped on what he knows, but he did confirm that he will be involved in a love triangle. Is it with Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane, Aunt May? We’ll have to wait and find out. The director of Darlings may have spoiled a big plot point for the film though. HitFix reports an incident that occured during the cast introductions:

[Director] Krokidas introduced the cast of “Darlings” which includes Daniel Radcliffe, Ben Foster and Michael C. Hall. When he got to DeHaan he said “He’s the Green Goblin.” DeHaan just smiled, but it didn’t seem like Krokidas was kidding.

Is this a case of a director who doesn’t know a lot about comics or is Webb planning on skipping Norman and having Harry don the Green Goblin gear? I would say it’s the first, but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the second happened. The Green Goblin was used in Sam Raimi’s first film, so it would be a little too soon to simply rehash the character. What do you think? Would you be pleased if Harry is the first Green Goblin?

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Amazing Spider-Man 2: Shailene Woodley, Dane DeHaan, And A Possible Villain Spoiler

A horse shot my parents in an alley when i was a young boy. RT @shaunh22: @ssnyder1835 Why don’t you like horses?

— Scott Snyder (@Ssnyder1835) January 16, 2013

A horse shot my Uncle Ben. RT @juventuz: @ssnyder1835 Read Batman 16 finally, you got something against horses? — Scott Snyder (@Ssnyder1835) January 17, 2013

As a boy, I thought a horse killed my father. He was my father RT @broughstuff: Batman #16 was awesome, but what’s snyder got against horses — Scott Snyder (@Ssnyder1835) January 17, 2013

I hate horses. RT @taitanorules555: @ssnyder1835 do you hate horses because why did you make freeze kill a freaking horse? — Scott Snyder (@Ssnyder1835) January 18, 2013

Mr. Snyder continues to avoid answering the hard hitting question of why he dislikes horses. The writer seems to have a personal vendetta against our equine friends. Where does this deep-seated hatred come from? One could not venture to guess, but we have obtained this footage of someone taking their hatred from the land of fantasy to the reality. Is that Scott Snyder punching a horse in the face? It’s not for us to say, but it does look like him doesn’t it?

GIFSoup

Mr. Snyder continues to taunt fans about horse hatred. Earlier today he sent out the link to the following Amazon review [click to see larger image] through is personal Twitter. This man must be stopped before more fictional horses are destroyed. I propose a petition to prevent Mr. Snyder from ever writing a My Little Pony book. Just think what he would do to them?! *if you can’t tell, this is an article in the style of The Onion making fun of the supposed horse controversy and the gif is from Blazing Saddles.

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Scott Snyder’s War On Horses Continues

I am Yumi Sakugawa and I am a comic book artist and illustrator based in the Southern California. I am a regular comic / illustrator online contributor to Sadie Magazine and Wonderhowto.

Most recently, my comic zine “Mundane Fortunes for the Next Ten Billion Years and Other Stories” was selected as Notable Comics of 2012 by the Best American Comics anthology editors.

_____________________________________________________

Muy Mareado!, Indie Spotlight: Yumi Sakugawa

We also have some details on characters who are very likely to show up in the game. The list includes: The Thing, Juggernaut, Sandman, Green Goblin in a OsCorp Tower level, and Magneto.

Traveller’s Tale took on the DC universe in Lego Batman 2: Dc Super Heroes, a result of the studio being purchased by Warner Bros. in 2007. Because WB owns DC and the gaming company, many thought a Lego Marvel videogame was all but impossible. The fact TT is working on a new Lego game featuring over 100 Marvel characters came as quite the surprise to fans and the game’s developers alike.  In a recent write-up in the newest issue of Game Informer, thanks to our friend Llama for some scans, the company talked on the new project and teased new details for the upcoming game.

Jonathan Smith, TT Games head of production, touched on the seemingly impossible task of WB making a Marvel game:

The experience we’ve had with massive media organizations is that they’re not entirely stocked by bad people. This may come as a shock to people on the internet, but it turns out that big media organizations are capable of making really good decisions with players’ best interests at heart.

The article reveals that the game will feature The Avengers as an important part of the game, but it will work in other characters, factions, and groups inside the Marvel universe. The game’s story will be written by Mark Hoffmeier. The writer is no stranger to big franchises having written some for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and Marvel Super Hero Squad.  The story is still under wraps but it appears Loki will reach out to an unnamed villain to create a “bad-guy alliance to defeat the heroes who stand in their way.”

Two of the game’s most unique characters will be Spider-Man and Hulk. The city of New York will be destroyed in part and rebuilt by players, but gamers can cause destruction of their own with Hulk. The game developers had to work a lot of things around the green behemoth who will be a major focus of the game. Objects have to be destroyable and react to Hulk’s hyperstrength. While the Lego game will have the skillset characters of the previous game, Spider-Man seems to be in a class of his own. Instead of having isolated areas for web use like Batman’s grappling hook, the web slinger can use his webs to stick to any surface and swing wherever players want. Spider-Man’s webs can also be used to tie up bad guys and grab/pull objects. The trademark Spider sense is also in the game. According to one developer “Spider-Man is quite possibly the most difficult of the characters we’ve worked on, but he’s becoming the most satisfying from a design perspective.”

You can learn even more about the upcoming Marvel Lego game by picking up the newest issue of Game Informer. It sounds like this will be going well beyond the usually superhero Lego game fare. With the level of detail and free playing ability to Hulk and Spider-Man, it will be exciting to see what they bring for the other 100+ characters. What do you think? Will you be picking this game up?

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, UPDATE: New Details For The Lego Marvel Super Heroes Game

Now, I understand this isn’t the most geeky thing to be highlighting, but when I’m not slaving away for the militant owner of this site, I’m slobbering and drooling over vehicles that I wish to someday own. Not to mention, some of these vehicles have graced the pages of our beloved comics in the past. As with many of the lists you’ll see me post, these are in no particular order. How do you put a level of awesomeness on these things, really?

A-Team G15 Van
1983 GMC Vandura
Van/Minibus
5.2 Liter V-8
When you think of a group of bad-asses, the A-Team should be at the top of your list. If it isn’t, please leave your man-card on the table as you escort yourself out of the building. This team, which consisted of H.M. Murdock, B.A. Baracas, Hannibal Smith and Templeton “Faceman” Peck, used this van for many things, anything from an every day vehicle to a battering ram to a  full-on assault vehicle. But no matter what, this beast made it through everything. The van was revived for Joe Carnahan’s film adaptation and fans couldn’t help but giggle a little bit when the van made its appearance.

Supernatural “Baby”
1967 Chevy Impala
Sedan
V8 427 4 Barrel
While my opinion of Supernatural  has changed over the years, one thing that remains the same is my love for this classic American car. This vehicle makes me happy in ways an inanimate object should. The sound of the metal doors creaking as they open and close, the rumble of the exhaust and the simplistic back paint, what’s not to love? At the end of season five, Chuck sums things up nicely by  calling the Impala “the most important object in the universe.” The classic rock soundtrack that is always present on the show never hurts either. This is a classic car for a pair of brothers that do what “Murica” does best: kick ass!

Starsky & Hutch Torino
1975-1976 Ford Gran Torino
Coupe
351 Windsor V-8 4 Barrel
The paint job is just as iconic as the car itself. When one sees this classic look on a car, only one show (or movie for the younger crowd) comes to mind: Starsky & Hutch. While the car may not have been the biggest and baddest muscle car ever made, you wouldn’t know by looking back at the series. Originally, a Chevy Camaro was to be the car of choice, as show creator William Blinn fondly remembered his convertible he owned. But being that the leasing program was through Ford, they opted for a Ford Gran Torino, which featured the famed 351 Windsor V8 engine and the now iconic red and white paint theme. The rest, as they say, is history. Talk about a good move!

Classic Batmobile
1955 Lincoln Futura Concept
Modified
351 V8
You didn’t think I’d make a list like this and not include this car, right? Despite it being over 50 years old, this car is still considered to be among the top Batman vehicles ever, movies, TV or comics; not to mention of any famous vehicles…ever. Hence its inclusion here. The car cost a whopping $125,000, which doesn’t sound like much for a fully custom vehicle, but if you factor in inflation, you’d be looking at a vehicle with a value of about $2 million today. Everything about this car is custom made, including the “bing bong” warning bell and the sender/receiver computer in the trunk.

Dukes of Hazzard General Lee
1969 Dodge Charger
Coupe
318, 383, & 440 CID V8 big block (Varied depending on use)
When I was a kid, nothing impressed me more than seeing Bo and Luke Duke racing to the General Lee, sliding across the hood and climbing through the window to head off on a back-country, high speed chase. I wanted to be a Duke more than anything. To this day, whenever I see an old Charger, I can’t help but smile. Fun fact: anywhere from 250 to 300 Dodge Chargers were used- and wrecked- during the taping of The Dukes of Hazzard. They often times would recycle parts to fix some of the cars up to reuse them. Even more cop cars were damaged during film. Sadly, whenever this car makes appearances now, the Confederate flag that is featured on the roof will no longer be used.

Green Hornet Black Beauty
1966 Chrysler Crown Imperial
Sedan
440-C.I. V8
You want to talk assault vehicle? The Chrysler Imperial that was used for Black Beauty not only had a drastically modified exterior, but the gizmos and weapons that were included make the Batmobile look like a Barbie Power Wheel. The car was able to launch rockets via tubes below the headlights, a concealed-when-not-in-use, drop-down knock-out gas nozzle in the center of the front grill, and the capabilities to launch a video surveillance device- or scanner- from a hidden compartment. Just to name a few things. The car featured a one-of-a-kind paint job that included 30 layers of black paint. For the 2011 remake, the car kept to the same concept, but upped the ante and was easily the highlight of the film.

Knight Rider KITT
1982 Pontiac Trans Am
Coupe
5.0L V8
Before David Hasselhoff was running around in little red shorts, he was behind the wheel of this super smart, ultra computerized Trans Am. KITT, which stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand), has literally dozens of high-tech upgrades: turbo boost, Etymotic Equalizer (he could hear), Olfactory Sensor (he could smell), Silent Mode, Oil Jets/Smoke Screen, Flame Thrower and Ultramagnesium Charges. That list could go on for some time, but I’ll hold off on the awesomeness. Take all that and drop it into one of the most iconic cars of the 80′s (it’s still quite popular among folks with a mullet and have a hankerin’ for pork rinds) and you have yourself a pretty bad-ass whip.

Magnum, PI Ferrari
1977 Ferrari 308 GTS
Targa Coupe
2.9 L FI V8
When you mention the classic series Magnum, PI, most people will remember Tom Selleck’s luscious push-broom mustache or his ridiculously short shorts. But not me. What I remember most is that bright red, targa-topped Ferrari 308, a car that some enthusiasts to be among the most beautiful cars that the Italian automaker has ever produced. I couldn’t agree more. This care was able to bring down the fastest of getaway cars and looked damn good doing it. This thing is about 14 levels of pure awesomeness.

I have to list a few honorable mentions, as they are just too cool to leave off, so I have to at least give them a bit of love:
19986 Ferrari Testarossas from Miami Vice
1976 Austin Mini from Mr. Bean
1980 GMC Pick-up from The Fall Guy
Th Munster Koach from The Munsters
The Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo

What are your favorite cars from television? I know there are some that I missed, but the important ones are here and I’d be more than happy to take anyone of these home. Now if I only had someone to buy them for me…

Josh "ecksmanfan" Johnson, Top 8 Vehicles of Television

Marvel touts the series as giving readers a “rare glimpse into the ultimate nihilist’s early days on his far-off home planet Titan” and the life events that lead him down his path of cosmic villainy. Aaron promised that the origin story is literally that, starting with the Mad Titan’s birth. The series will have some new characters, but there will be several familiar names including Thanos’ father Mentor and his mother Sui-San. Aaron talked about the question that runs through the series:

Well, that’s really the main question of the book. Who is Thanos? When the book starts, even Thanos doesn’t know the answer to that question. It’s the pursuit of that answer that begins to take him to some very dark places. This is not a super hero story. There are no good guys swooping in to save the day here. This is the origin story of a very bad dude. A cosmic mass murderer.

This past summer I had the opportunity to speak with Jim Starlin about the first proposed Thanos origin story, and he shared his thoughts on that (you can find that here). Starlin laid down a lot of history for his creation, but Aaron will be going through pulling it all together and giving it a slight twist. Aaron is sticking to Starlin’s work and talks about how he will continue on from what has already been written:

Jim Starlin of course had already laid down a lot of the pieces of Thanos’ origin, but they were spread out in several different stories written over the course of several years. THANOS RISING combines all those pieces and also fills in a lot of the cracks. I think it’s true to Starlin’s original ideas for the character, while also expanding on some aspects of the origin, and playing around a bit with the dark romance part of the character’s history.

The series starts in April, but as of now there is no word on how long the miniseries will run. Thanos Rising will serve as an entry points for people who just found out about the Mad Titan through The Avengers, but old fans will also get something out of it. Aaron has been writing some great stuff the past few years with Scalped and his recent Thor, so it will be interesting to see what he brings to Thanos. Bianchi’s art is great so that’s an added bonus. You can read the full interview to see what Bianchi had to say about redesigning a young Thanos by clicking here. What do you think about the proposed series? Will you be picking this one up?

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Jason Aaron To Write Thanos Origin Series: Thanos Rising

Ruby’s thirteen. She sells newspapers for pennies. And she’s got The Green Hornet’s gun. Will Hornet and Kato find Ruby before the mob does…or can THE GREEN GUN GIRL save herself? The original Green Hornet in a super special tale from writer Nate Cosby (Cow Boy)!

The Green Hornet Year One Special is written by Nate Crosby and illustrated by Edu Menna. Marcelo Pinto handles colors while Marshall Dillon provides letters. This special features a story within a story, and the old style comic sequences are done by Evan Shaner. So is the Green Hornet Special really special or are you left feeling stung?

The story is a Green Hornet tale told through the perspective of a young girl named Ruby. Ruby is a thirteen year old who hocks newspapers on the street corners. The news isn’t great, but everyone wants to read what The Green Hornet is up to. The masked menace captivates the young and old alike with his exploits plastered on the front page of the Daily Sentinel. Ruby’s mind tends to wander as she imagines herself as a young sidekick of sorts to Hornet and Kato. While selling papers or sneaking into the home of her alcoholic father, Ruby fantasizes about a particular episode where only she can save the Hornet from the circus thug. When Ruby’s fantasy world comes into existence as Hornet and Kato try to stop thugs on her street, can Ruby be as cool and collected as she is in her dreams?

Crosby crafts a great and touching story. Having a young dreamer cross paths with their hero isn’t a new story, but the way Crosby weaves the imagined with the real keeps it fresh and interesting. There’s enough character development with Ruby and her world to keep the reader entertained while they wait for the inevitable appearance of The Green Hornet. Menna does an apt job with the comic. At times the art looks and feels a little rough, but the street level scenes come off really well. The old comic strip style of Ruby’s fantasies are handled brilliantly by Shaner. It looks like it was lifted straight form an old comic serial.  The way the page and words fade into the old style strip is fantastic.

Bottom Line: The Green Hornet Year One Special is truly that, special. With a touching story by Crosby and astounding old comic serial images, this book is one for Green Hornet fans new and old. With a different take on the dreamer meeting the hero angle, the script and art make something really fresh. Check this one out 4/5

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Review: Green Hornet: Year One Special

It’s quite likely that a new Heroes for Hire comic is headed our way this year, with the classic duo of Luke Cage and Danny Rand- Power Man and Iron Fist-, which will be written by Brian Bendis. However, this run will also feature Jessica Jones and her child, who is fathered by Luke Cage. But what about a film based on the duo? It’s been rumored for some time now that a Luke Cage film may be in production, with several actors throwing their names in the hat to play the lead role. There have also been some very minor rumblings of a movie based on Iron Fist as well, but nothing that has really gained much traction.

While talking with BuzzFeed, Marvel’s TV head honcho, Jeph Loeb, talked about the the Ultimate Spider-Man series and the different characters involved with that show, including Luke Cage and Danny Rand. Loeb had this to say:

“Just like we just announced Guardians of the Galaxy, we are certainly looking at the Heroes for Hire franchise which is Luke Cage and Iron Fist…”

Does this mean we are getting a movie centered on the Heroes for Hire? Possibly, but at least we know that Marvel is certainly considering the concept, and maybe more so that we all originally thought. Obviously, I’d suggest a bit of salt to go with this news. Would you rather see a Heroes for Hire film or introduce each of the character individually first and team them in a later film? I have to say, it may be a better option to combine the two and get a kick-ass action flick from this odd, but awesome pairing.

Josh "ecksmanfan" Johnson, A Heroes for Hire Movie from Marvel?

Cheadle knows that expectations are extremely high for the first post-Avengers film, but it sounds like he and the cast are ready for the challenge:

I hope that it performs to those levels. We did a little piece of it at Comic-Con and people went crazy. It looked great. The script is good. We’re doing a couple re-shoots next week, but I’m encouraged.

Iron Man 2 was directed by Jon Favreau whereas 3 will be handled by the aforementioned Shane Black. Cheadle praises the new director saying he had a good time with a really good cast. He said the director came up with “an interesting script” that was “a lot of fun.” When asked how he would shake things up in Iron Man 3, the actor may have let a spoiler out of the bag:

I’m not supposed to say that he kills Robert Downey Jr.’s character.  Is that a spoiler?  That would be a spoiler.  You knew that was coming.  You read the comic books.  No.  I will just say that the buddy relationship that these guys have gets tighter.  The third act set piece for the big finale is bigger and badder.  It’s just a lot more.

OK that wasn’t really a spoiler. It would be an incredible shock though you have to admit. The actor did confirm what we had only heard rumors of, that some re-shoots will take place next week in Manhattan Beach. With the stills and clips we’ve seen from the film it does look like the Rhodes/Stark relationship will be explored even further than the second film. To read the rest of the interview where Cheadle talks about his TV show, production company, and family click right here. Everything he said about Iron Man 3 and the third act set piece being “bigger and badder” sounds incredibly promising. What do you think?

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Don Cheadle Says Iron Man 3 Is “Bigger and Badder”