Links and Updates

There's been some cool stuff coming out these past few weeks, and most of it has to do with girl power! (Yeah, that phrase is mostly obnoxious, but every now and then it takes me back to my nineties-self bopping around to the Spice Girls without a care in the world).

And for what it's worth, the previews below the cut do focus mainly on women, so consider it the theme of this post.

Well, we'll start with the most obvious: promotional pictures for Captain Marvel! And wow, she looks great! I mean, look at this picture. She's seen some shit.

And Brie Larson's description of her also sounds promising:

“You have this Kree part of her that’s unemotional, that is an amazing fighter and competitive. Then there’s this human part of her that is flawed but is also the thing that she ends up leading by. It’s the thing that gets her in trouble, but it’s also the thing that makes her great. And those two sides warring against each other is what makes her her.”

This isn't going to be Wonder Woman II, as already Carol Danvers sounds a lot more human and flawed than Diana Prince.

I'll admit, I know next to nothing about Captain Marvel as she exists in the comics (though I have a vague notion she's the character that Rogue got her powers from...?) and I'd kinda like to keep it that way. The less I know, the more I'll end up enjoying it, as I won't go in with any preconceptions.

Of all the images, these two get me particularly excited:

I'll always regret not getting more of Lashana Lynch as Rosaline in Still Star Crossed, but she sure as hell failed upwards! And Gemma Chan looks amazing (I had no idea she would be in this, but suddenly her departure from Humans makes a lot more sense).

They're also leaning heavily into the fact this will take place in the nineties, what with the reappearances of Agent Coulson, a two-eyed Nick Fury, and Korath and Ronan (last seen in The Guardians of the Galaxy). Those last two are particularly surprising additions – I get that there's recognisability and continuity at work, but why explore the background of two characters that we already know die fairly ignominious deaths in a completely different branch of the franchise a few years later?

It just seems an odd choice, though I'm happy to wait upon events.

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Next up is our first teaser trailer for She-Ra! I've been looking forward to this one, and thankfully the animation looks much better in motion than it did in the stills. The voice-work is perhaps a little OTT, but then that's par for the course considering the source material.

Just whatever you do, don't read the comments of any page featuring this trailer. Whether they're for or against it, the discussion revolves almost exclusively around Adora's body and clothing. The idea that this is a cartoon that can be watched by all, but clearly targeted at children is clearly something that hasn't occurred to them.

Casting back my memories to the eighties, I hope they manage to work in the angle of Adora being raised by the Horde before becoming a rebel/hero who fights against them – except with more focus on the impact this might have on her psychologically.

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Doctor Who is fast approaching, and although this teaser is a little too on-the-nose (a glass ceiling – gettit?) I find myself getting more and more excited about what Jodi Whittaker can bring to the role.

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SPOILERS

Finally, we can now start looking ahead to Star Wars: Episode 9, and I have to admit that even as the furore over The Last Jedi continues, I felt a little tingle of excitement at these sneaky paparazzi shots of Oscar Isaac and John Boyega on set.

And could this mean that Rose and Rey are interacting with each other elsewhere? I'm trying not to get too invested, I really am, but this is our last chance (technically our first chance) to see these four characters interacting regularly together. And we’ve still got over a year to wait.

There's also been confirmation that Dominic Monaghan, Matt Smith, Keri Russell, Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant have joined the cast in undisclosed roles. I felt a little queasy at first, given that there are already so many characters that have to be catered to – but could it be that the newcomers are playing the Knights of Ren?

They were apparently a large part of Kylo Ren's background (didn't they help him slaughter the rest of the students at Luke's school?) that it seems bizarre they haven't been seen anywhere save in Rey's vision. Where exactly are they now?

But before those questions get answered, we get Star Wars: Resistance, the spiritual successor to The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and the prequel (of sorts) to the sequel trilogy. We know it's going to feature Poe Dameron, General Leia and BB8, as well as Gwendoline Christie as Phasma at some point, but apart from that things are handed over to a brand new cast.

I have to admit that between the return of The Clone Wars and the ongoing prequel/origin movie spin-offs, I'm ready for stories that are set in the sequel trilogy era. That said, the things I'm most looking forward to are a greater look at the political landscape that informs the sequels, the dynamic between Poe and Leia, and the hope that the likes of Jacen Syndulla and other Rebels characters will cameo.