The flying sequences in Man of Steel will be grittier and realer than anything you've seen. How does Natalie Portman's Jane Foster fit into Thor: The Dark World? Steven Moffat reveals why some new monsters are perfect for the Doctor Who season finale. Michael Bay opens up about Transformers 4 and Ninja Turtles. Spoilers ahead!
Top image from Thor: The Dark World.
Star Wars: Episode VII
New LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy says she really isn't that worried about keeping things secret for the latest Star Wars film:
We talk about that all the time. I think the whole issue of confidentiality is gonna be fascinating as we move into making the movie. If we're shooting anything outside, it's almost impossible to not have things end up on the Internet. So my feeling is, you need to embrace that, especially with the fans around something like Star Wars. You need to recognize they're important to the process and acknowledge there are things you're gonna want to make sure they get to know. So I think that's something we're going to monitor, pay attention to and think differently about.
Of course, given director J.J. Abrams's well-documented penchant for secrecy, I wouldn't expect to be inundated with Episode VII spoilers anytime soon. [/Film]
Man of Steel
Director Zack Snyder describes how he approached the flying sequences and the design of Krypton:
"It's a more violent experience. It's raw. It takes effort to do it, and that's what we were really going for. It's almost like there's this kind of Right Stuff quality to it. He's constantly booming around, accelerating. You think he's going as fast as he can and then it's like ‘Yeeaahh!' He's always got an extra gear he can use... I really wanted my Krypton to be this kind of special place that's immersive and totally different from Earth, but not unbelievable. And ancient. I really wanted to give this ancient feeling to Krypton. I love technology that's rusty because it's so old. It's so advanced, but it's so old. That was the kind of world that I tried to create. A dying world that's ancient and torn apart."
[SFX]
Iron Man 3
Here's one more TV spot. [Coming Soon]
Thor: The Dark World
Here are some spoilery hints from Sif actress Jaime Alexander:
"Well, I think that everyone can tell from the trailer that Jane comes to Asgard, which could pose a threat. You know, we're bringing someone from another realm into our realm who technically shouldn't be able to survive there. So I think she's really — more than seeing Jane as a threat to somebody that she loves in a love triangle way — it's more that Jane could be a threat to her people. And Sif is very protective of her fellow Asgardians and the throne and that sort of thing, so she's quite wary of Jane. But also, she really, really loves Thor — as a comrade, as a warrior and as the future king of Asgard — but also as a man. So I think it's very hard for her to see that he still has feelings for this other person. But you really get to see how much she loves him because she does end up sacrificing a lot. It's a great part this time around. It was a lot of fun, and you get to see a more vulnerable side of Sif. You also get to see more of Asgard, the daily life in Asgard and the Warriors [Three] and where they come from, things like that. It's going to be a lot of fun."
[IGN]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The Hurt Locker and Pain & Gain's Anthony Mackie, who plays The Falcon in the sequel, suggests the new Captain America film will almost feel like another Avengers movie:
First, I'll say that being a part of it is great. I think that Marvel has it down to a science and they've been very deliberate about what they want and what they don't want out in the world. And they're very focused on timelines as far as releases and stuff. This movie, "Captain America," has kind of become "Avengers 1.5"; if you look at the cast they've put together, if you look at the number of characters that are in this movie. I mean, it's a huge number of superheroes and characters. The basic idea is that you have Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon that get together to take down the Winter Soldier.
Transformers 4
Michael Bay says the returning Transformers will be redesigned for the fourth movie, which may have a little to do with in-universe creative reasons — but probably has a lot more to do with the fact that the tie-in toy sales Dark of the Moon were kind of terrible:
You know there are a couple of historians of Transformers. I would do my designs of the robots and they're like, "What if you just add a little bit more ears to Optimus?" But they're really hands off. We've redesigned them in "Transformers 4," and there's some really cool sh*t in it. I'm literally redesigning every character, top to bottom. There's a reason why they're redesigned, but it's also to keep it new and fresh to me. I think the fans will appreciate some of this new stuff we have in the movie and some of the new characters.
So then, big-eared Optimus Prime will be on toy shelves soon, I guess. [Moviefone]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
From the same interview, Michael Bay, who is executive producing Jonathan Liebesman's new Ninja Turtles movie, would like to make it clear that these turtles were never going to be aliens, because Michael Bay respects the source material too much for that:
There was that quote saying that we're making [the Ninja Turtles as] aliens. We're not. It's the ooze! It's from the original source material. These are from the original writers, and I never went out to correct myself in the press. I do listen to the fans and I do want this to be authentic. I think they're going to be really happy with this movie. When I see the digital stuff, the turtles look great.
Doctor Who
Here's a trailer for next week's episode, "The Crimson Horror." You can check out a second promo here. [Life, Doctor Who, and Combom]
Here are the official descriptions for the final three episodes, which notably includes some new information on the finale, "The Name of the Doctor":
Episode 11 - The Crimson Horror
There's something very odd about Mrs Gillyflower's Sweetville mill, with its perfectly clean streets and beautiful people. There's something even stranger about the bodies washing up in the river, all bright red and waxy. When the Doctor and Clara go missing, it's up to Vastra, Jenny and Strax to rescue them before they too fall victim to the Crimson Horror!
Episode 12 - Nightmare In Silver
Hedgewick's World Of Wonders was once the greatest theme park in the galaxy, but it's now the dilapidated home to a shabby showman, a chess-playing dwarf and a dysfunctional army platoon. When the Doctor, Clara, Artie and Angie arrive, the last thing they expect is the re-emergence of one of the Doctor's oldest foes. The Cybermen are back!
Episode 13: The Name Of The Doctor
Clara is summoned to an impossible conference call, alerting her that the deadly Whisper Men are closing in on Vastra, Jenny and Strax. Someone is kidnapping the Doctor's friends, leading him toward the one place in all of time and space that he should never go. It's a deadly trap that threatens to unravel his past, present and future...
Speaking of the season finale, here are some thoughts on the episode from writer Steven Moffat, who previews the villainous Whispermen:
"The thought of stylish whispering almost faceless creatures was an idea that firstly scared me and that I thought would work well in an episode that looks forward and back... [The episode is] full of surprises and questions that have never been answered in the history of Who, including the Doctor's greatest secret. We're not pretending, we're not kidding, it's actually going to happen. We'll also find out what makes his new companion so impossible and there's a surprise that no one has got right so far, and one that will change the course of Who forever!"
You know, I'd still generally consider myself a Steven Moffat fan, but I feel compelled to point out — he's probably pretending and/or kidding about all that. [Blogtor Who]
Person of Interest
Here's the description for episode twenty-one, "Zero Day," which features a bunch of returning guest stars:
THE COUNTDOWN ON A MYSTERIOUS VIRUS CAUSES THE MACHINE TO MALFUNCTION JUST AS THE POI TEAM TRIES TO LOCATE AN ELUSIVE MILLIONAIRE WHOSE NUMBERS COME UP, ON "PERSON OF INTEREST," THURSDAY, MAY 2 — Carrie Preston, Amy Acker, Sarah Shahi, Brett Cullen, Jay O. Sanders and John Nolan Guest Star — Reese and Finch realize that a virus has rendered The Machine erratic, causing it to issue numbers irregularly. As they race against the viral countdown, the team searches for a tech millionaire so elusive no one has ever seen him. Also, Detective Carter's mission to bring Cal Beecher's murderer to justice lands her squarely within the sights of the HR criminal organization.
Once Upon a Time
Costar Lana Parilla discusses what's ahead for Regina as the season wraps up:
Regina has her suspicions with Greg to begin with. She knows who he is, though she doesn't really know why he's here. She suspects that it's about his father, but there has to be an ulterior motive. Regina has her "Spidey senses" - she's so intuitive - so I think she's very suspicious of them. She doesn't trust them and she knows that there is something else going on.
How would you tease the season finale? What sort of emotions will fans go through in the final moments?
This is always hard… I'm not very good at teasing finales. I think people are going to be very surprised to see the two sides come together and work together for the greater good, light and dark coming together and having to make a decision that is best for everyone included. We're always separating, it's always light against dark and dark against light, you know. Good against evil or evil against good. So it's a very sobering moment in the finale where the audience is going to be very surprised to see some characters have to come together, to work together, to save one another.
[TV Line]
Falling Skies
Costar Moon Bloodgood previews what to expect from season three:
It's seven months since you've last seen Anne, so she's right about to give birth because she's into her second or third month when she realizes she's pregnant. So she's supposed to have the baby any day now. We have now befriended an alien group called the Esphani, and so we are co-habitating with the Esphani and also the Vohm. We now have a new machine that can de-harness children. So I feel like we have progressed in our technology, and I think we've kind of adjusted to life in Charleston. This is our new home.
Tom is now President, so Anne is kind of the First Lady.
You're right, I never even thought of it that way. I think Anne shies away from that role, and definitely she's much more of a Laura Bush versus a Hillary Clinton kind of First Lady. And it's not explored deeply, but you do see that Anne's really missing Tom. She's about to have a baby. She's swamped with work. Lourdes, her usual sidekick has now become a doctor and so she's much more involved. But you can see that Anne is feeling just kind of neglected by Tom, and so are his kids. [Tom] is feeling pulled in a million directions, and we're all trying to be supportive and not complain, but you can just see that Anne misses him. And she's a little threatened by Gloria [Reuben's new character], who's sort of his assistant now. So there's tears happening in the relationship, and I think Tom is also realizing he's in over his head.
There's more at the link. [EW]
Additional reporting by Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders.