Links and Updates

Apologies for doing another Links and Updates post so soon after my last one, but Comic Con 2018 has come and gone, leaving total chaos in its wake. What a week! Joss Whedon is back with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jason Gunn is gone from Guardians of the Galaxy, and there are dozens upon dozens of trailers, images, promises, reboots, sequels – so much great stuff that it's hard to know what to do with it all.

It's truly a great time to be a geek – which makes it all the more strange that everyone in fandom seems to be so relentlessly enraged.  Is this what people mean when they say spoiling your kid is a form of child abuse? Because if they have everything, they value nothing?

Guys, just take a step back. Before us is a banquet of riches, and if you don't fancy one dish, there's at least two dozen more to try instead. Be happy about it!

Here's just some of the myriad of stuff to get excited about...

First up, the Aquaman trailer. The ongoing controversy about DC films and whether or not they're too "dark and gritty" isn't of particular interest to me, as I've enjoyed most of them to one extent or the other.

And this looks like a lot of fun, with colours and visuals reminiscent of Wonder Woman (good idea, sticking with that template). Jason Momoa looks like he's having a blast, I'm desperately in love with Amber Heard's beautiful hair, and I'll admit that once I got over my childhood fear of The Little Mermaid, I've always loved undersea adventures.

One of the biggest (and most exciting) surprises to come out of Comic Con was the announcement that The Clone Wars would be returning for twelve more episodes, having been cut short in its prime when Disney brought the rights to the franchise.

Granted, the show's return didn't have quite the same amount of impact for me as it surely would have done for those who watched from its inception (I did a double-take on learning that this was its tenth year anniversary) and I feel like I've watched Ahsoka Tano's character arc totally out of order (how much more heart-breaking would her reunion with Vader in Star Wars Rebels be if I'd watched it after whatever these new episodes deliver between the two of them?) 

As it is, I'm left with two questions: will these episodes include those that were half-completed at the time of Disney's acquisition, and/or will they incorporate any of the ideas that were pitched during the Ahsoka Tano panel back in 2016?

But it's not the only show to come back from the dead after cancellation and a long hiatus: we also got our first look at season three of Young Justice. It doesn't give away much, but the opening clips (which are from the second season) definitely suggest it's continuing storylines that were threaded throughout the past episodes: namely the death of Wally and the arrival of Darkseid.  

Which is a relief, as showrunner Greg Weisman is a master at delivering long-running story arcs, and the second season of Young Justice in particular was a masterclass of merging a huge ensemble cast with an epic overarching plot. This one deserves to be seen in its entirety.

Next up is Doctor Who, and the imminent arrival of our first female incarnate of the Doctor! I was pretty nonchalant about the whole thing when it was first announced, but as the date grows closer, I find myself getting more excited.

Aside from Jodi Whittaker's take on the character, I'm also intrigued by the companions. I don't think we've ever had three at one time before (at least as far as I know – I'm not as familiar with the older series) and I believe this is the first time since Wilfred Mott that we've had an older man on the Tardis. And I like Bradley Walsh – whenever I catch a glimpse of The Chase he always comes across as genuinely interested in the backstories of the contestants.

In short, the combination of a female Doctor and three companions of varying ages/genders/races could make for a fresh dynamic.

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Elsewhere, Joss Whedon is back with two announcements: a) Buffy the Vampire Slayer is being rebooted with a more diverse cast, and b) he's got a new show called The Nevers, apparently involving a team of super-powered women in the Victorian Era.

Okay, let's break this down. First of all, I get the same queasy feeling about Joss Whedon as I do about ... let's say, Steven Moffat. Which is to say that it's not as uncomfortable as the one I get when considering Johnny Depp or Scarlett Johansson, but he's definitely not in my good books at the moment.

At the same time I don't want to spend too much time cross-examining the whole thing. I'll see how things unfold and make judgements on each show when I actually see them. In regards to Buffy, Whedon will not be a writer or even a showrunner, but an executive producer; the project will instead be helmed by Monica Owusu-Breen.

I'm also interested in the fact that the term "reboot" has been used – does it really have to be a reboot? I mean, the mythos introduced in Buffy is so rich and so ripe for potential – instead of another Buffy, why not go back in time to one of her predecessors? Or follow one of the potentials that were empowered in the wake of the seventh season finale? Either of those options are much more interesting to me than a simple reboot.

As for The Nevers, is it just me, or does it sound an awful lot like the premise Whedon pitched at a Comic Con a few years back for a comic book series called Twist? Not that it's a bad thing – I'm just assuming that he's expanded the idea into a television show.

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Having just finished season two of Luke Cage (but not yet gotten through the second of Jessica Jones – oy, there's so much stuff) I'm looking ahead to the next batch of Iron Fist episodes. I didn’t hate the first season as much as others did – though it certainly was the worst of the Netflix Marvel shows, but signs are looking good that they've righted the ship and are giving us more of what we really want: a Misty Knight/Colleen Wing team-up.

We're still on the topic of superheroes, so let's talk about that Titans trailer. I'm not really sure what to make of it – it's certainly a return to the "dark and gritty" atmosphere that DC has been widely criticised for, and it wastes no time in dropping an F-bomb courtesy of Robin in regards to Batman.

But I was a casual fan of the animated Teen Titans, and I have a massive soft-spot for Raven, so I may tune in for her sake. The jury is out...

But on a decidedly brighter note, the trailer for the second season of Star Trek Discovery looks considerably more light-hearted and fun than its predecessor. And as someone who quite enjoyed season one (sans the death of the female captain and the gay doctor after they practically built the show's publicity on these two characters) I'm all for a change in tone while revisiting the lives of the remaining characters.

Over on the animation front, there are two shows in particular that caught my interest. The first is Matt Groening's Disenchantment, which seems a natural successor to The Simpsons and Futurama: whereas they were set in the present and future, this takes us back to medieval times and the story of Princess Bean.

Honestly, I'm sold. There's something in just this brief glimpse that makes Bean so endearing, and that familiar animation style speaks straight to my childhood (the part that wasn't actually allowed to watch The Simpsons, and so will always be associated with clandestine viewing on the portable television in my parents' bedroom).

As for The Dragon Prince, I was blown away by some of the early concept art, but left a little cold at this trailer. Given that it's from Aaron Ehasz (who came up with some of the best ideas in Avatar: The Last Airbender, including – I believe – making Toph a girl) I'll still tune in, though the animation style is a little unusual... and some parts of the synopsis a little overly familiar.

That and I can see the shipping wars from here.

Oh, and here's the trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Aside from having the most unwieldy title of all time, I can't say I'm hugely captivated, and that's coming from someone who was a pretty big Potterhead back in the day.

Things I'm interested in: young Dumbledore, the reunion of Queenie and Jacob, Zoe Kravitz. Things I'm not interested in: Newt Scamander, the astounding negative-charisma of the female lead whose name I can't be bothered remembering, Johnny Depp with coleslaw hair.

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That's not even the half of it: there's a second season for Cloak and Dagger and The Gifted, plenty of promotional material for the variety of DC CW shows (Ollie in prison, a time-travelling daughter, a transgender reporter, and the Legends visiting the 1970s). Oh, and Stargirl is the next superhero to get her own show.

There's also a reboot of Roswell to join the Charmed and Buffy ones (another staple of my teen years, but not really one I'm as desperate to revisit), Castle Rock looks intriguing (though I don't feel well-versed enough on Stephen King to understand the multitude of Easter eggs it's sure to have), and a first glimpse of Good Omens. Oh, and I still have to get to Voltron: Legendary Defender.

Like I said, there's a smorgasbord of things to enjoy.

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Edit: Can you believe there's MORE STUFF? 

First of all, I love this new concept art of She-Ra: Princess of Power. She's clearly been aged down a bit, and she looks like someone who's called "Princess of Power" SHOULD look like:

Recent news has confirmed that Billy Dee Williams will be reprising Lando Calrissian in Episode IX of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, as well as Mark Hamill (no doubt as a Force Ghost) and Carrie Fisher through the use of archived footage shot for The Force Awakens (which is what I was hoping for all along). It won't be the same, but it'll at least be better than nothing. 

Also, the new show-runner for Buffy the Vampire Slayer has very heavily hinted that it won't be a reboot, but instead a story featuring an entirely different slayer - which instantly takes my interest levels from about a four to a solid ten. There is so much mythology inherent in the show's premise to explore, and it makes total sense that they would do so via a completely new Chosen One. 

And finally, Disney have acquired the rights to Sade, who promises to be their first African fairy tale princess (not sure yet whether it'll be animated or not, but I'm here for it!)