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The trailer for Predator: Badlands (2025) has been released.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFkbsEKaoSE

Why am I posting this in the Alien thread? Because Elle Fanning's character is a Weyland-Yutani android. You can see the Weyland-Yutani logo in her eyes in the following shot.

It looks like Disney is reconnecting the Alien and Predator franchises. Does this mean there's a new AvP movie on the horizon?

Romulus felt feels like a greatest hits remix rather than a bold new chapter. Recycled dialogue, visuals and plot beats - and a big one - the xenos didn't feel dangerous. The film needed a bigger cast to inflict more kills. A 6/10 film at best.

This is what I expected. I still haven't seen Romulus, but I'm planning to check it out in the next week or so. Based on the trailers and reactions I've seen, I get the impression it's a safe Force Awakens-style sequel that appeals to the familiar without doing anything new or innovative. But I'm hoping I'll enjoy it and will find some positive qualities to highlight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y346zGJ3SKk

Since I'm currently subscribed to a month of Disney+, I thought I might as well make the most of it and check out some other offerings besides the new Daredevil show. I've compiled a watch list that includes Alien: Romulus, Firefly (which I started watching ten years ago but never finished), Avatar 2, Treasure Planet, The Orville, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and 28 Weeks Later.

I also decided to check out The Mandalorian. People have been recommending this to me since it first premiered five years ago, but until now I resisted the temptation to watch it. In fact I haven't watched any new Star Wars media since Episode IX came out. But over the past few days I've binge watched most of the first season of The Mandalorian, and I hate to admit it... but it's very, very good. I wanted to dislike it so I could wash my hands of Star Wars, but I can't deny The Mandalorian is a solid show. I've heard the quality drops in season 3, but the first season is very entertaining. It's fast paced, exciting, showcases excellent costume design and special effects, and manages to be funny without resorting to the snarky quipster humour that's sunk so many other recent TV shows. I almost wish it wasn't Star Wars. That it was a brand new sci-fi franchise untainted by its connection to a horribly tarnished IP. But there it is.

The online consensus seems to be that Rogue One, the first two seasons of The Mandalorian and Andor are the only worthwhile things to emerge from Disney-era Star Wars. I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to check out Andor before my subscription runs out, but I certainly intend to watch the second season of The Mandalorian. I'm afraid it's got me hooked. However, I still think Star Wars in general is a dying franchise with a bleak future ahead of it. It's not quite as far gone as Doctor Who, but at the rate it's going it'll soon catch up.

I hope they bring Yung's Elektra back in a future season of BA. Her storyline never got the closure it deserved following The Defenders.

Yeah, it's kinda of a shame that Johnson didn't just go with another body builder like Lou, and have the villainous Hulk in "The First" be colored red. As, according to Johnson himself, not being a fan of the comic, didn't really understand why the Hulk was green and not red. Apparently, he brought this up to Stan Lee, but Stan (thankfully) was adamant that the Hulk remain green. Had Johnson went with his idea for the bad Hulk, we might've had a Red Hulk appear in the comics waaaay before it actually happened (2008-ish I believe).

Danish bodybuilder Sven-Ole Thorsen would've been a good choice for Red Hulk. He was only 1½ inches shorter than Ferrigno and was muscular enough to present a credible physical match for him. Thorsen's probably best remembered among movie buffs for portraying villainous henchmen in Arnold Schwarzenegger movies and for playing Tiger in Ridley Scott's Gladiator. He made numerous TV appearances, including as Omega in the 1990s Flash episode 'Alpha', so a guest shot on TIH wouldn't have been beneath him.

Obviously the Thunderbolt Ross Red Hulk didn't exist back when this show was made. But as you say, Johnson liked the idea of a red Hulk (it makes sense – red=anger) and could have created his own take on the concept that was unrelated to Ross, similar to the Dell Frye monster in 'The First'. Such a villain would have been well within the show's budgetary means.

I reckon Ross himself also could have appeared as a separate villain. The Bixby Hulk is meant to be something of an urban legend, so it wouldn't have worked having the Army constantly pursue him. It's better having a tabloid journalist like McGee on his trail, whose credibility is dubious. But Ross could have appeared in a one-off episode as a general who learns of the Hulk's existence and becomes determined to destroy him. As far as casting goes, how about Dennis Weaver? He was a popular TV actor in the 1970s and would have been in his mid-to-late fifties at the time.

He could have become a recurring threat, similar to Colonel Lynch in The A-Team, but probably would have worked best as a guest villain in a standalone episode.

Despite his pigheadedness, I've always kind of admired Thunderbolt Ross. It takes serious balls for an ordinary human to repeatedly take on the Hulk in combat. Even before the whole Red Hulk thing, he was willing to go up against Banner armed with ordinary weapons.

I get what you mean though. I remember really liking Bruce Jones' Hulk run with "Return of the Monster", which kinda brought in a very X-Files-ish take on the Hulk. This was shortly after 9/11, and it was somewhat of a refreshing take to have such deterrence on Banner hulking out in every issue, and when he did, the depiction was like a event happening, along with a element of horror. There was a story that featured the Absorbing Man that was being published right when HULK 2003 was being released, and though it kinda made Absorbing Man a bit too OP, I liked it.

I haven't read 'Return of the Monster', but a Hulk story filtered through a post-911 lens sounds like an interesting concept. I'm also a huge X-Files fan, so if it evokes that series then that's another reason for me to check it out. I'll add it to my reading list.

I can only imagine what you really thought of Thor Ragnorak and how Planet Hulk was adapted there. I remember being so very disappointed with Thor Dark World, that I actually thought Ragnorak was good when I was walking out of the theater. The more it set in though however, the less and less I care for it. Just another great storyline greatly diminished in favor for quips and chuckles. Gotta feed the normie crowds, and that's where the money is at.

The first Thor movie wasn't too bad from what I remember. Kenneth Branagh imbued it with a Shakespearean flavour that was distinct from the other Phase One movies. But I never liked The Dark World. The Thor film series could have been the MCU's answer to The Lord of the Rings. Instead the studio downplayed the mythical grandeur of the source material in favour of obvious comedy centred on annoying side characters.

Ragnarok did seem to strike a chord with casual viewers, which I guess is why they doubled down on Taika Waititi's approach. I know people who aren't comic fans who enjoyed it, but to me it was just a waste of the Planet Hulk story. Similar to how The Flash wasted the Flashpoint story. In both cases the filmmakers took an epic saga in which the displaced hero fights for survival in a dystopian world and ultimately suffers tremendous personal loss, and reduced it to a goofy cameo-filled comedy bereft of the pathos that defined the original comic. At least Marvel had the excuse of not being allowed to make a straight-up adaptation of Planet Hulk owing to the legal situation with Universal. DC had no comparable excuse to screw up Flashpoint as badly as they did.

As to your other point, it is a shame that his tenure as Batman came to such an undignified end. But his return to the character was apparently meant to coincidence with a younger, more diverse and exclusively female DC Trinity taking the lead. Basically, it was going to be the Super Girl Bosses, with Keaton being the male, pale and stale relic from the bad old days who needs to Do Better™ or something.

That's not a direction I ever would want to see Batman go, let alone Keaton's incarnation of the character.

Likewise. We probably did dodge a bullet there, so maybe things worked out for the best. Had he continued in the role, Keaton might well have gotten the Jake Skywalker treatment.

What would the DC equivalent of the M-She-U be? The D-She-U? The D-C-She-U? Or how about the DEI-C-U? Either way, it would've been awful seeing Batman and Superman get shelved in favour of their diverse-and-inclusive female replacements. The Flash (2023) had a lot of problems, but at least Keaton's Batman was mostly handled with respect. I still think we'll get a decent Batman-centric fan edit of out that movie one day.

No, Jess snapped his neck in the season one finale. Which really annoyed me at the time, as I was hoping he'd live long enough to face Cox's Daredevil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hWZcvjsA40

I vaguely remember Killgrave appearing in the second season as some kind of hallucination haunting Jess. The IMDb lists David Tennant as appearing in season 3 as well, but I assume that was in a similar hallucinatory capacity. I don't think I ever watched season three. If I did, I've forgotten it entirely.

Wasn't there a story where a "Batman Beyond" script was in the process of being written following, "The Flash", but the writer was told to stop following Safran and Gunn getting their promotions? Personally, I don't know how a "Batman Beyond" movie would've worked with "Batgirl" seemingly having Barbara being the protege of Keaton's Batman, but perhaps "Beyond" was going to be one of those elseworlds projects disconnected from the main line DCU?

The Batman Beyond script was being written by the same writer as The Flash and Batgirl, which was already a major red flag for me. I also heard it was going to be set in the present day, not Neo-Gotham. It probably would have been Batman Beyond in name only. The one detail about the script that sounded intriguing was that it was allegedly going to bring back Pfeiffer and focus on the relationship between Bruce and Selina. That's something a lot of us would like to see, but is it the right storyline for a Batman Beyond film? Given the choice between a present day movie featuring Keaton and Pfeiffer, or a proper Batman Beyond movie set in a cyberpunk future, I'd personally prefer the latter.

I think the chances of us getting any kind of Batman Beyond movie with Keaton are dead at this point. I don't imagine he'll play Batman again now, unless it's in another comedy sketch like the one he did for the Oscars. We came frustratingly close to getting a series of films with his Batman (we know for a fact that he shot Aquaman II and Batgirl, and I wouldn't be surprised if he shot scenes for other movies as well), but then the change of leadership at WB killed that idea before it had a chance to bear fruit.

I finally watched Shazam 2 a week or two ago, after having the blu ray for months, and the only thing I remember about it, was Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman making a appearance. As the film was clearly made to mimmick the MCU formula, and thus, just came across as, like you said, slop. Outside of Gal looking pretty fine of course.

I noticed Shazam 2 on Amazon Prime the other day and was half thinking of watching it. Then I remembered that Rachel Zegler was in it... I think I'll pass.

Well, speaking of the story plot, and being that my interest in this movie isn't really that great to be perfectly honest (surprise, surprise, right? lol), I read the plot spoilers that leaked out on the net some weeks back (and to which was confirmed to be true by Youtuber Chris Gore, so take that for what it's worth. I don't find Gore to be a negative Nancy, but I've noticed he keeps saying he's cautiously optimstic, but at the same time, very worried), and if what I read is true then ... oof. I understand there's some late filming that's going on right now (always a good sign), so perhaps some of the problems can be rectified, but its unreasonable to think a overhaul can be accomplished.

I'm not sure if I've read those particular leaks, though I did read an alleged plot point concerning Lex creating an evil Superman clone. Supposedly it's a cross between Bizarro and Ultraman (possibly taking inspiration from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's JLA: Earth 2), and this is the figure in black with the 'U' symbol in his chest in the set pics. Rumours also suggest that Corenswet himself might portray the character unmasked.

If this is true, it'd be cool if Ultraman could escape into a parallel universe at the end of the movie and create the Crime Syndicate of Amerika. I've always wanted to see Batman face off against Owlman in live action. Introducing Ultraman in Superman '25 would set up a JLA movie based on the Crisis on Two Earths plot.

I've heard that. The question for me is how long do they wait? Indefinitely? Reeves can get treatment for whatever he's afflicted with, but I don't buy in to the notion he's irreplaceable. One man holding up the works means the whole universe can die before it even flourishes, which is the worst option. I liked The Penguin but I'm not sure fans would accept this series existing exclusively on the small screen after its cinematic debut in 2022. I'm also unsure if Pattinson would be up for lenghty stints on that format either.

Waiting this long is the fault of WB in my view. If I'm sick at work the show goes on without me. If he actually has a general sequel outline and the studio want to use it, have him give it and have someone else write it. But here we are, to the point I feel like the series is being killed in the crib. I've seen this sentiment expressed elsewhere too. The delays make people long for something else as tastes change. Once Superman 2025 comes out, and if people feel generally okay with what the DCU is doing, they'll be wanting to see its Batman. If a script still isn't ready at that point, something has surely got to happen.

The Batman almost feels cursed at this point. The first film's production was repeatedly delayed owing to the uncertainty surrounding Affleck's involvement. Then WB settled on it being a brand new Batman and the movie was scheduled for release in June 2021. Then COVID threw a spanner in the works and it got delayed until 2022. And now the sequel is getting pushed back further and further. It's interesting to imagine an alternate timeline where those delays didn't occur. Imagine if Reeves' first film had come out in 2021, as originally intended. Allowing for a three-year production cycle, the sequel would have come out in 2024. And now, in 2025, we'd be looking forward to the third and possibly final film in the series and discussing the future of the franchise beyond that.

If The Batman II does get made, I don't see how they can stick to the original plan of focusing on a young rookie Batman. Rookie Batman should be aged in his twenties or, at most, early thirties. Even if The Batman II meets its current 2027 release date, Pattinson will be in his forties by then. That's fine for an established Batman who's in his prime, but it's obviously too old for a rookie Batman in his Year One/Two/Three phase. The entire project will need rethinking.