Will the most famous Doctor return for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary? Darren Aronofsky reveals the gigantic set that will be Noah's ark. Russell Crowe might become Dracula in the resurrected Harker movie. Plus what's ahead for Bill on True Blood?
Spoilers from here on out!
Top image from Total Recall.
The Dark Knight Rises
Here's one last full trailer, which charts Bruce Wayne's journey from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight Rises, and it gives a good sense of just how massive the Dark Knight's confrontations with Bane are really going to be. [XfinityTV]
Total Recall
Here's a sneak peek clip. [Yahoo Movies]
And here's an international poster. [Coming Soon]
Noah
Director Darren Aronofsky tweeted this photo along with a reference to the Bible verse Genesis 6:14, which reads as follows: "So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out." So I'd hazard a pretty shrewd guess that this is is the seriously massive Ark set being constructed for his big budget — and possibly post-apocalyptic, based on what we learned yesterday — reimagining of the Noah's Ark story. [@DarrenAronofsky]
Harker
Hostel director and Inglourious Basterds supporting player Eli Roth is reportedly in line to take on his first featuring directing job since 2007, as he is reportedly attached to this project that reimagines Dracula supporting player Jonathan Harker as a Scotland Yard detective tasked with hunting down Dracula. Russell Crowe was once loosely attached to the project's title role, which was shelved last year when original director Jaime Collet-Serra was moved over to the ill-fated Akira remake. Crowe is still attached, but he has reportedly now been shifted over to the Dracula role. According to the current rumors, Dracula might not necessarily appear beyond the first film, but this would then set Harker up as a franchise character who can presumably investigate no end of public domain monsters in subsequent entries. There's no one currently rumored to take on the Harker role. Due to Crowe's busy schedule, the plan would be to start shooting sometime in 2013. [Deadline]
Doctor Who
This rumor was bound to surface eventually, and now it's happened: Tom Baker has reportedly been approached about reprising his role as the Fourth Doctor — fair or unfair, generally considered the most iconic incarnation of the character — for the big fiftieth anniversary special in 2013. Baker famously refused to appear in 1983's twentieth anniversary special, "The Five Doctors", but he has in recent years softened his stance towards playing the Doctor once again, voicing the character in a bunch of audio dramas for the BBC and Big Finish. The "voicing" part is worth noting — as far as I can tell, Baker hasn't actually appeared on-screen in non-voiceover parts in about five years, which might complicate his potential involvement.
Anyway, all this is premised on this rumor being true, and there's no particular reason to think that it is. Steven Moffat and company have been cagey regarding the possibility of any multi-Doctor team-ups, so it's hard to know how seriously to take this rumor. If it is true — again, a rather large "if" — then the inclusion of Baker probably means the show is going all-out with its celebrations and reaching back deep into its history and including a bunch of previous Doctors, as opposed to the relatively moderate step of just inviting back David Tennant and leaving it at that. So, for that sector of Who fandom that responds to every story with, "Yes, but what does this mean for Paul McGann?" — a group I'd probably include myself in, I'm afraid to say — the answer is probably, "Eh, this is probably not bad news for Paul McGann." But again, best to take this all very much with a grain of salt. [The Expressd]
True Blood
Here are short descriptions for the last four episodes of season five:
Episode 5.09 - Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Vampires celebrate the start of the holy war; anti-supernatural zealots put Sookie in danger.Episode 5.10 - Gone, Gone, Gone
Bill puts a spin on the rising vampire violence; Jason uncovers a mysterious scroll.Episode 5.11 - Song of the Dead Faerie
Bill slips into religious fervor; Sookie seeks insight from the faerie Elder.Episode 5.12 - Save Yourself
Eric tries to save Bill from losing his humanity.
As has been suggested elsewhere, these descriptions might well portend a move to the dark side in the sixth season by one Bill Compton. [SpoilerTV]
The Legend of Korra
I think we can officially abandon any pretense that the Avatar: The Last Airbender spinoff is some sort of miniseries — as was originally suggested — because Nickelodeon has reportedly ordered a second season worth of 26 episodes. Technically, it's probably better to call it a second production block, as the recently concluded first season - or Book One - of 12 episodes was only the first half of the initial order, with another 14 episodes of Book Two set to air in 2013. Assuming a similar split, this second season — or as it will likely be known, Books Three and Four — could very well take us all the way to 2015. [EW]
Falling Skies
Despite slightly lower ratings than the first season, this alien invasion saga has already been renewed for a third season.
Green Lantern: The Animated Series
With Hal Jordan returning to Earth after the defeat of the Red Lantern Corps, the show is set to introduce rival Green Lantern Guy Gardner, who has been busy looking after Earth and Sector 2814 while Jordan has been away. Gardner — long famous as "that one Green Lantern that's sort of an asshole, but also kind of awesome" — will be voiced by Diedrich Bader, who put a pretty indelible mark on superhero cartoons with his work in the title role on Batman: Brave and the Bold. The upcoming season will also build up to a confrontation between Hal Jordan and the fiendishly powerful Anti-Monitor, best known as the multiverse-destroying villain from Crisis of Infinite Earths. To defeat him, Jordan will apparently need to recruit not especially willing allies like Kilowog, Aya, and Razer, a plot producer Giancarlo Volpe compares to the similarly unsuccessful recruitment efforts in The Blues Brothers. And here's Volpe describing Guy Gardner and Diedrich Bader's performance:
He's like Hal Jordan cranked to Level 10. He's that much cockier, more brash and a womanizer. Somehow [Bader] did this thing where he made lines funny that weren't even supposed to be funny.
You can check out an image of the show's take on Guy Gardner at the link. [TV Guide]
Teen Wolf
Here are very brief descriptions for the next couple of episodes:
Episode 2.08 - Raving
Scott and Stiles figure out a way to trap the new shapeshifter; Allison's mother plans to take care of Scott for good.Episode 2.09 - Party Guessed
Scott and Stiles attend Lydia's birthday party; Scott's relationship with Allison is strained; Derek locks the new wolves up.
[SpoilerTV]
Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.