First Look at Jimmy Smits in ‘Rogue One’

Jimmy Smits has long been rumored to appear in the upcoming Star Wars spin-off Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The actor confirmed he would indeed have a cameo while appearing on The Talk but the return of his character Bail Organa had yet to be seen.

Thanks to Kristian Harloff of Collider and Schmoes Know, we now have our first look at Bail Organa in what looks to be the situation room of the Rebel base on Rogue One.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNPgKb3jjoF/?taken-by=kristianharloff

The image gives us a snippet of information revealing that Organa seems to have fallen from his political position as Senator of Alderaan.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16, 2016.

Produced by Lucasfilm, the film stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelson, Donnie Yen, Alan Tudyk, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy. Directed by Garreth Edwards.

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves. In theaters December 2016.

‘Rogue One’ Tickets Go On Sale Monday

Hold on to your butts! The time has come. Lucasfilm has finally announced that pre-sale tickets for the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will officially be available on Monday, November 28^th. The exact time tickets go on sale is still unknown.

Lord Vader, we've been expecting you. Tickets for #RogueOne: A Star Wars Story are available on Monday, November 28. pic.twitter.com/is1lIw9W4u

— Star Wars (@starwars) November 25, 2016

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16, 2016.

Produced by Lucasfilm, the film stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelson, Donnie Yen, Alan Tudyk, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy. Directed by Garreth Edwards.

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves. In theaters December 2016.

David Ramsey On Diggle’s Reaction To Flashpoint Consequences

When Barry Allen returned from the alternate timeline of Flashpoint, he discovered things weren’t quite as he left them on Earth One. Iris (Candice Patton) and her father (Joe West) were estranged from one another after Iris had discovered her mother was still alive. In the original Earth One timeline the two had patched things up rather quickly but the new timeline had Iris still struggling with her loss of trust towards her father.

Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) also lost his brother Dante (Nicholas Gonzalez) in a drunk driving accident. But the consequences of Flashpoint weren’t limited to just the characters on The Flash. As Barry struggled to come to terms with the changes to Earth One, he ran over to Star City to get some advice from Felicity where he discovered John Diggle’s (David Ramsey) daughter Sara was no longer. Instead, Diggle had a son, John Diggle Jr., who we saw later took the name of Connor Hawke when he took up the mantle of Green Arrow in the future timeline on Legends of Tomorrow.

This past weekend Ramsey was in attendance at Heroes and Villains Fan Fest when he was asked what Diggle’s reaction would be when learning about the changes to the Earth One timeline:

“He’s going to be a lot more passionate than you think. Clearly, Diggle can’t miss something he’s never had so from his perspective there’s only been John Jr. — Sara never existed for him. I get a lot of questions like is he going to be angry? He’s not going to be angry, he’s going to be much more concerned about Barry’s misuse of his power. Which is a good story point. It’s a good place for Diggle and Barry to find some common ground in Barry’s own soul searching.”

You can look forward to seeing Diggle’s reaction to the consequences during the upcoming four-night crossover event.

The 4-night crossover event will begin at the end of Supergirl on Monday, November 28^th, and will then carry over to The Flash on Tuesday, Arrow on Wednesday, and conclude on Legends of Tomorrow that Thursday night.

Supergirl airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, Arrowairs Wednesdays at 8 p.m., and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

SOURCE: COMICBOOK

‘Rogue One’: TV Spots “Jyn & Cassian” and “Protect”

The force is strong with the marketing push for the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Lucasfilm is dropping one TV spot after another right now. This morning two new spots hit the web. Each putting the spotlight on the friendships between the heroes of the Rogue One team. First up is “Jyn & Cassian” which offers a look at the bravery the two unlikely heroes possess. The second spot released titled “Protect” showcases footage from previously trailers but gives us a bit more of when Baze fires his rocket launcher at an AT-ACT. The spot also features a quick beat that displays the hilarious dynamic between Chirrut and Baze.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16, 2016.

Produced by Lucasfilm, the film stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelson, Donnie Yen, Alan Tudyk, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker with a script penned by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy. Directed by Garreth Edwards.

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves. In theaters December 2016.

SOURCES: LUCASFILM, COMICBOOK

Vin Diesel Unlikely to Play Black Bolt in ‘Marvel’s The Inhumans’ TV Series

There’s no arguing that actor Vin Diesel would be a great choice to play Black Bolt in the live-action realization of Marvel’s The Inhumans. After the reveal The Inhumans would get their own feature film in phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Diesel teased the prospect of himself landing the role just a little over a year ago. Considering only his voice was used for Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, it seemed very possibly Diesel could get the gig, especially considering Black Bolt vowed never to speak so that he couldn’t lay waste with his devastating hypersonic voice. That is until now.

Earlier this week, Marvel announced their partnership with IMAX and Disney/ABC Television group to co-produce Marvel’s The Inhumans as a television series that will air on ABC instead of releasing a feature film in 2018. The series will make history as it will be the first ever series featuring the first two episodes shot entirely in IMAX, which are set to debut in theaters before the show begins its run on television in the fall of 2017.

During a Q&A on Facebook this past Wednesday, director of Guardians of the Galaxy himself, James Gunn, offered a very candid response when a fan asked whether or not Vin Diesel would still play the role of Black Bolt:

“The Inhumans is going to be a TV show. Unless Vin wants to take a huge pay cut and sign up to do a TV show it seems unlikely.”

Unfortunately, television is produced on the cheap and the reality is that the budget of a television series cannot measure up to provide salary level movie stars require. With Diesel more than likely out, this opens the doors back up to many possibilities as to who could fill the role. Who do you think would be a great fit for Black Bolt?

Marvel’s The Inhumans will premiere on ABC in the fall of 2017.

(via CBR)

‘Arrow’ Season 5 Could Be Final Season

The superhero crime drama Arrow got off to a rocky start in its first season as the show struggled to find it’s legs until it’s fourteenth episode titled “The Odyssey” when (spoilers) Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) was finally brought into the fold after Oliver sought her help at Queen Consolidated after he was shot by his own Mother.

Felicity Smoak was only supposed to appear in one or two episodes originally, but the quirky tech genius struck a chord with the producers and fans alike. Considering the next few episodes were written, it wouldn’t be until the back half of the season when she would become part of what is now Team Arrow.

Originally Oliver embarked on his crusade against the criminal underworld of Star City on his own but quickly realized he wasn’t capable of cleansing the crime-ridden city on his own. After saving the life of his ex-military limo driver, John Diggle (David Ramsey), who was shot with a poison-laced bullet, Oliver had no choice but to reveal himself as the Star City vigilante. Together with Felicity and Diggle, Arrow found its core and elevated itself past what the producers had initially envisioned.

Another major component of the show are the mysterious flashbacks chronicling a shipwrecked Oliver as he was marooned off the coast of China on the island of Lian Yu for five years prior to hitting the streets of Star(ling) City has a crime fighting hero. During his first year on Lian Yu, Oliver discovered an ARGUS backed military operation to shoot down a commercial airliner with the intention of assassinating a member of the Chinese Triad. Together with his new friend Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett), a former member of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service who was betrayed by his partner Billy Wintergreen after joining ARGUS, the two managed to foil ARGUS’ plot and forged a friendship.

Arrow hit its peak in the second season when the newly formed Team Arrow had to take on a vengeful Slade Wilson in the present day as we saw the friendship between Oliver and Slade fall apart in the past after Oliver betrayed Slade to save the life of his friend Sara Lance, opting to sacrifice the life of Slade’s unrequited love Shado (Celina Jade). Since the end of the second season storyline, the show has struggled to launch a plot as compelling as that mostly due to the focus of the show shifting to serve as a breeding ground for other superhero shows such as The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.

In an attempt to keep up with the superpowered heroics of the other shows, Arrow dove head first into mysticism in the fourth season and essentially abandoned the dark and mysterious criminal element from the show that made it good in the first place. Fans lashed back hard against what was easily the worst season yet. So far, the fifth season has attempted to get back to its roots, but once again struggles to find it’s footing with a mostly new cast along with the underwhelming big bad Prometheus, who’s identity we still aren’t sure of, preventing us from being able to invest in the storyline.

While promoting the upcoming 4-night mega-crossover event between Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow, Stephen Amell spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the future or possible conclusion of the series based on the turnout of the fifth season:

I do really believe that this season is sort of a throw-down-the-gauntlet year for us, where we’re either going to do what we do and do it well or it’s the last year. If we find that magic formula — which is not magic, it’s just hard work and playing to your strengths — then the show could go on for a really long time.

While I respect the hard work that producing a television series demands, it, unfortunately, doesn’t matter if the final product is as horrible as the last two seasons. The show’s ratings are too high to warrant cancellation, so if it does happen it will be the writers choice to wrap up the series rather continue down what has been an atrocious path. I yearn for the days of the heavily stylized early seasons featuring the badass Arrow as he traversed rooftops and ran down the sides of buildings searching for his former friend turned foe Slade Wilson.

So far I don’t have much hope for the series left after what has so far been a rollercoaster of a season turning in both good and bad episodes one week after the other.The show is still far from being back on track but the end wouldn’t necessarily mean the end of Green Arrow, though, as Arrow has spawned plenty of spin-offs for him to appear on.

Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

Talia Ghul is Coming To ‘Arrow’

A few years ago Arrow introduced us to their interpretation of the League of Shadows first with the lesser known daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul when the show cast Katrina Law to play Nyssa Al Ghul. It didn’t take long before the show then brought in Ra’s himself with Matt Nable in the role. While Nable wasn’t quite as intimidating or as calculated as Liam Neeson’s version of the character in Batman Begins, there was something raw about his portrayal that made him feel more dangerous than Neeson.

Since the introduction of the Al Ghul family to the show, many have wondered just exactly where Talia was.The producers have made it known in the past that they were interested in Talia making an appearance, however. Any storyline for Talia would first go to Nyssa. While Talia is most known for her marriage to Bruce Wayne, Arrow has never feared to tread into Batman territory and in some ways, even copying the storylines from the comics but still spinning it in their own, original direction.

Now the day has finally come with Katrina Law currently committed to the Training Day television series, CBR reports Lexa Doig (Continuum, Stargate SG-1) has been cast as Talia Al Ghul in a recurring role on Arrow. She will make her debut in the tenth episode of the season titled “Who Are You?”. Going with the trend of previous seasons, Arrow goes on it’s winter break after the ninth episode so we won’t be seeing Talia until the show returns from hiatus at the end of January.

The CW’s description describes Talia as “an elite warrior who doesn’t pick sides but rather creates her own.”

Arrow airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

SOURCE: CBR

‘Power Rangers’: New Toys Give First Look at Red Rangers Megazord and Sword, Plus Morphers and Power Coins

Up until now, we have only seen parts of the new Megazords from the upcoming Power Rangers reboot. RangerNation.com has the exclusive first look at several toys which reveal the Red Rangers Tyrannosaurus Megazord plus his Power Sword as well as the Rangers’ Morphers and Power Coins which we were treated to a glimpse of in the official teaser trailer that debuted at New York Comic Con.

The new designs are right in the line with more Japanese inspired look of the new Ranger suits in the film. While I am still partial to the designs from the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers / Super Sentai Series from Japan, I am excited to see what looks like an anime to come life in a live-action American film.

The full site for RangerNation.com launches next month and you can expect to see many of the new toys, most likely revealing Zordon, Alpha, the Putty Patrol and Goldar ahead of the film’s release.

Power Rangers hit theaters March 24, 2017.

Saban’s Power Rangers follows five ordinary high school kids who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove – and the world – is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover that they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so they will have to overcome their real-life issues and band together as the Power Rangers before it is too late.

SOURCE: RANGERNATION.COM (VIA SCREENRANT)

‘Arrow’: “Penance” Clip

Evelyn Sharp is officially Artemis. Referred to as her code name by the Green Arrow in a clip released by The CW ahead of tonight’s episode titled “Penance” which will see the newly formed Team Arrow 2.0 come together to break John Diggle out of prison.

Arrow airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

‘The Punisher’: 5 New Cast Members Join Netflix Drama

One of three Marvel series set to debut on Netflix in 2017 (the others being Iron Fist, and The Defenders), Marvel’s The Punisher is gearing up to adorn itself with both allies and aggressors. No one here at AR was more excited than I was today to hear Marvel’s announcement about the most recent additions to the upcoming Punisher Netflix series.

Joining the killing grounds with series lead actor Jon Bernthal is Daniel Webber (11.22.63), Jason R. Moore (A Lonely Place For Dying), Paul Shulz (Nurse Jackie), Jaime Ray Newman (Bates Motel), and Michael Nathanson (The Knick, Wolf of Wallstreet). Webber will play Lewis Walcott, a young veteran re-acclimating to society, Moore has been cast as an old friend of Frank Castle, Shulz plays Rawlins, a member of the CIA that has ties to Castle’s days in Afghanistan, Newman will join as Sarah Lieberman, Micro’s wife (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Nathanson will play Sam Stein, a Homeland agent partnered with Dinah (Amber Rose Revah).

I was also more than amped that Steve Lightfoot, who absolutely blew me away with his work as Executive Producer on NBC’s Hannibal is taking the helm in the same role on The Punisher as well as becoming the showrunner and penning its maiden season’s first two episodes. He had warm things to say about those about to join him.

“We couldn’t have asked for a more talented group of actors to round out the cast of Marvel’s The Punisher. …It’s a thrill to watch them each bring their characters to life with such layered, nuanced performances.”

Even thinking about the gritty, raw, yet openly vulnerable offering from Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle aka The Punisher, I get goosebumps. Having initially seen the character for pages upon comic book pages in my first fragile glances upon more violence-forward areas of the Marvel spectrum, I couldn’t have asked for a better fit in an actor. He absolutely wowed me in the first season of The Walking Dead as the two-timing Shane Walsh. It’s tantamount that Bernthal’s supporting cast can go steel toe-to-steel toe with him, which seems likely to happen. Executive Producer Jeph Loeb had glowing things to add regarding the stellar lineup.

“Marvel TV is very proud of the cast of The Punisher. Each actor brings a special promise who surround Jon Bernthal’s exceptional performance.”

The promise of a gloriously glossy, stylistic and well-acted presentation seems to be rapidly approaching on the horizon for ex-military vigilante Frank Castle’s chilling foray into his own thrilling Netflix drama.

SOURCE: MARVEL