Warner Bros. is stepping back into the Harry Potter universe with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a separate story that takes place 70 years before Potter shows up at Hogwarts. This film follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a “magizoologist” who wrote one of the textbooks that Harry and his friends eventually study. Author J.K. Rowling is making her screenwriting debut, and Potter helmer David Yates is returning to direct.

The Wrap reports that several actors have appeared on a new shortlist for roles in the film. Dakota Fanning, Saoirse Ronan, Lili Simmons (Banshee), and Alison Sudol (Transparent, Dig) are in contention for the role of Queenie, while supermodel Kate Upton (The Other Woman), Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice), and Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby) are being eyed for the role of Tina, Queenie’s older sister. In the book, Newt Scamander is married to a woman named Porpentina, so it seems like this “Tina” role is that of his eventual wife. The report states that several of these actresses have test deals in place and are expected to read opposite Redmayne over the next week, so I expect we’ll be hearing an official casting announcement soon.

In addition, Variety’s Justin Kroll says that a few actors are up for the role of Jacob, Newt’s rival: Steve Zissis (who is great on the HBO series Togetherness), Zack Pearlman (The Inbetweeners), and Dan Fogler (Fanboys) are among them.

Fantastic Beasts hits theaters on November 18, 2016. Who would you like to see join the cast?

Son of Rambow, We’re The Millers, and The Maze Runner actor Will Poulter will reportedly star alongside Brad Pitt in Pitt’s new Netflix movie War Machine.

Variety has the news, and they also confirm that Topher Grace, Scoot McNairy, Emory Cohen, John Magaro, and Anthony Michael Hall are all also on board in the story of a rock star general (Pitt) who is placed in charge of America’s conflict in Afghanistan. Writer-director David Michôd (The Rover, Animal Kingdom) will be behind the camera on this one, and the movie will hit both the streaming platform and select theaters sometime next year.

In a surprise bit of casting, Poulter was recently set to play Pennywise the Clown in Cary Fukunaga’s two-movie take on Stephen King’s It, but since Fukunaga has left the project (Mama director Andy Muschietti recently took over), that casting may not stick. Still, Poulter will appear opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in The Revenant later this year, so even if all of this somehow falls through, he’ll still be in what’s likely to be one of the most-watched films of this year’s award season.

For thirty years, Star Wars fans have been wondering what happened after the events of Return of the Jedi. And now we finally have our first concrete information about what went down between the ending of that film and the start of J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

A comic called Shattered Empire, one of the 20 different stories Lucasfilm is releasing between now and December 18th, is the source of this new information. We’ve already seen some art for the release, which hits shelves on September 2nd (variant cover above, via /Film), and it’s been reported that the story is told through the eyes of C-3PO, but now we have a detailed official synopsis that actually gives some legitimate information about what happens following the destruction of the second Death Star:

In December, a new chapter in the Star Wars saga will begin when Star Wars: The Force Awakens — the seventh Star Wars film and the first to take place after Return of the Jedi — arrives in theaters. As the excitement for the new film builds, Lucasfilm and its partners will explore the aftermath of Return of the Jedi in a series of canonical projects debuting in September, and Marvel Comics leads the way with Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto’s Star Wars: Journey to The Force Awakens: Shattered Empire #1 (JUL150767)!

Emperor Palpatine’s twenty-year reign of terror came to an abrupt and fiery end in the skies above the forest moon of Endor. A decisive victory for the Rebel Alliance, to be sure, but even with the loss of its leadership, the Empire’s Moffs and regional governors retained their hold on important systems from the Core to the Outer Rim, thanks to the might of the Imperial Starfleet. Now, with a power vacuum atop the Empire, those Moffs will jockey for position and control, and the heroes of the Rebel Alliance will soon discover that a wounded and fractious Empire may be more dangerous than any threat they faced before!

Greg Rucka, the acclaimed writer of Wolverine and Cyclops, reteams with his collaborator on The Punisher, Marco Checchetto, for a Star Wars tale that will reveal the untold story of the aftermath of the Battle of Endor and the political machinations that ensued. The Rebellion’s desperate struggle to liberate the galaxy from the Empire’s tyranny will face new challenges, and Rucka and Checchetto will bring their incisive storytelling to a story that no Star Wars fan will want to miss.

A new addition to the Star Wars canon, Star Wars: Journey to The Force Awakens: Shattered Empire will take readers into uncharted territory and set the groundwork for the new Star Wars film. Put your Empire Strikes Back soundtrack in the stereo and cue up “The Imperial March” when you read Rucka and Checchetto’s Star Wars: Journey to The Force Awakens: Shattered Empire #1 (JUL150767) this September!

So it sounds like the Rebellion will have to contend with some Moffs who are trying to shoulder their way in to fill the leadership positions that have been…vacated by Palpatine and Vader. What do you all think? Looking forward to reading Shattered Empire?

STAR WARS: Here’s What Happens Between RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE FORCE AWAKENS

Last week, Entertainment Weekly spread out a bunch of stories related to Star Wars: The Force Awakens so fans got a lot of new information to chew on. Now Empire Magazine is here with a new Star Wars-themed cover, and we hope they a similar amount of new information to share with us over the coming days.

The cover features the trio of baddies from the movie, including Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma, Domnhall Gleeson’s General Hux, and Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren, who’s wielding that crossguard lightsaber. The image itself isn’t too awe-inspiring, but we’re hoping this is just a small tease of what’s to come.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in theaters December 18, 2015. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, and features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker. The film is being produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk, and John Williams returns as the composer.

Film director and GeekTyrant reader James Campbell needs your help. His Batman fan film, Ripper, is nearly complete, but they need money for the final 20% of the film to be able to complete the project. Ripper: A Batman Fan Film pits the caped crusader against one of the first serial killers in recorded history. It’s also based on the 1991 Elseworlds adventure, Gotham By Gaslight. The teaser trailer is something amazing. To be honest, I was not expecting this level of production! I hope to see the finished project! Click here if you want to support fellow Tyrant James!

Interesting Trailer For 18th Century Batman Fan Film: RIPPER

Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four is very obviously the result of some serious studio meddling combined with a filmmaker whose vision simply did not align with those who gave him the job. It’s a complicated situation with a lot of rumors in play that haven’t been substantiated, and as much as I went into the film with an open mind, it’s a bad movie. Even Trank himself has distanced himself from the final movie, saying he had an earlier cut that was “fantastic” that we’ll likely never get to see.

One of the biggest complaints about the film is that there isn’t nearly enough action in it. Well, Entertainment Weekly spoke with a dozen people involved with the making of the film, and have pieced together what was supposed to happen in an action sequence that was featured in the trailer but ended up being cut from the film altogether. The scene involves The Thing skydiving into a military installation and fighting on behalf of the U.S. government about a year after the team first gets their powers. In the film, the fact that The Thing is a government weapon is showed briefly on a small bank of monitors, but the only time we really get to see him in action is in the truncated (and just straight-up awful) confrontation with Victor Von Doom at the very end of the movie.

Just after the cut to black when the group gets their powers, we were supposed to see The Thing dropped from a stealth bomber directly into a Chechan rebel camp. Then this happens:

As The Thing lurches into view, bullets spark and ping off his impenetrable exterior.

Rather than some elegant, balletic action sequence, The Thing moves slowly and deliberately. He’s in no hurry. The storytelling goal was to show the futility of firepower against him as he casually demolishes the terrorists. It’s a blue-collar kind of heroism.

When it becomes clear this rock-beast cannot be stopped, the surviving Chechen rebels make a run for it – and that’s when a hail of gunfire finishes them off.

From the shadows of the surrounding forest, a team of Navy SEALS emerge with their guns drawn and smoking. The cavalry has arrived, but the enemy has already been subdued.

The film would then have shifted to a bird’s-eye view of the camp, an aerial shot showing waves of American soldiers flooding in to secure the base. Just when it appears the American soldiers may be ready to clash with the rock monster, The Thing gives them a solemn nod, and they clear a path. He lumbers past them, almost sadly, a heartsick warrior. Then he boards a large helicopter and is lifted away.

Why, exactly, the scene was cut is up for debate. Sides are still being taken in the behind the scenes battle of making this movie, and there are opposing views about who is responsible for it being removed. You can read more about the gossipy “he said, she said” elements of the story at EW, but this is just another glimpse at the movie we were intended to see before, for whatever reason, the film was drastically altered for theatrical release.

Did you see the movie? Think this scene would have improved on the final product?

It seems like there may have been evidence of The Joker’s true identity in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice right in front of our eyes. It just hadn’t been pointed out to us until now.

A fan has linked a couple of official photos that shed some light on the villain and his past. This is just speculation for now, but it’s very intriguing and if true, it’s a major SPOILER, so if you don’t want to know, stop reading now!

SPOILER WARNING!

It has been rumored in the past that the Joker in the DC Extended Universe used to be Robin. Before you think that theory is ridiculous, just remember that Dick Grayson went insane and became the new Joker in Frank Miller‘s The Dark Knight Strikes Again. So this very well could happen in the movies, especially since director Zack Snyder was heavily inspired by Miller’s Batman comics.

A lot of that speculation started when in the Batman v Superman trailer Batman asked Alfred, “20 years in Gotham, how many good guys are left? How many stayed that way?”

Well, this new evidence that has come to light could be proof that Batman was referring to Robin. As you can see in the photos below, there are two scars on Joker’s shoulders that match up with two damaged spots on the shoulders of Robin’s suit.

This very well could prove that this could be a second generation version of the Joker. But maybe it’s just a crazy coincidence.

What do you all think!?

New Evidence of Joker’s Possible True Identity in BATMAN v SUPERMAN

One of the few things we know about Star Trek Beyond is that director Justin Lin wants to embrace the five year mission that the crew of the Enterprise set out on at the end of Star Trek Into Darkness. We’re expecting to see new worlds and new alien creatures, and it seems like the movie is trying to avoid rehashing famous alien species we’ve already seen in Trek lore.

Screencrush has some new video from the Vancouver set that reveals new costumes for Kirk (Chris Pine) and Chekov (Anton Yelchin), and you can head there to see some images from the set as well. The images — which we won’t post here, but you can see at SC — mostly look like screencaps from this video, which features Pine, Yelchin, Simon Pegg, and Sofia Boutella (Samuel L. Jackson’s knife-legged sidekick in Kingsman: The Secret Service) emerging from some sort of spaceship. Most sci-fi clothing doesn’t strike me as something I’d like to wear in real life, but those blue and yellow jackets have me rethinking that stance.

Star Trek Beyond hits theaters on July 8th, 2016.

Leaked Footage From STAR TREK BEYOND Reveals New Costumes

So even though we have three more years until Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim 2 is released, Legendary Pictures has released a teaser poster for it on their Pacific Rim Facebook feed. It features several warships about be sucked into a vortex in the ocean. It leaves a lot to the imagination, especially since there are no Kaiju and Jaegars in it. It also looks like it may take place in different location.

Del Toro also recently did an interview with Collider, and during that sit down the director talked a little big about the second film and revealed that it would pave the way for a third film. This is what he said about it:

“Some of your favorite characters come back, some others don’t because we have decided that we’re going to shoot ambitiously and say ‘Let’s hope we have three movies,’ so some characters come in at the end of the second, hoping that it will ramp up on the third one.”

I would love to see a couple more Pacific Rim movies! That first film made me feel like I was 10-years-old again, and it’s nice feeling like that sometimes. There are no confirmed details on what the story of Pacific Rim 2 will be, but we know that it will involve more giant robots fighting giant monsters. It’s set to hit theaters on April 7th, 2017.

Yesterday we learned that Avengers: Age of Ultron would have a big impact on where the story goes for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. We don’t know in what way it will affect the series, but it’s going to happen. It looks like there’s a lot of stuff going on in S.H.I.E.L.D., and apparently it’s all leading up to what happens in Phase 3 of Marvel’s cinematic universe.

Executive producers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen recently did an interview with Marvel.com. During the interview they talked about the Inhumans element being included, which will lead to Phase 3.

(SPOILERS directly below for anyone who did not watch the mid-season finale last night)

It was revealed that Skye (Chloe Bennet) is actually Daisy Johnson, also known as a character named Quake from the comics. It was also revealed that her father (Kyle MacLachlan) is really Calvin Zabo, who you might know as Mister Hyde.

Now on to what Whedon and Tancharoen had to say. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

Jed Whedon: There are parts of [The Origin of Quake and Hyde] that move away from the story in the comics, but partially that’s because we’d invented our own way [of getting there]. We also wanted it to be a surprise to the people who are familiar with the comics, but [it’s] also because we’re tying it to a larger world. [It’s] not just her origin story, it’s the origin story of a bigger, other world.

Marvel.com: And that is a somewhat “inhuman” world, you could say?

Whedon: It’s safe to say that.

Marvel.com: When did you hit upon the idea of introducing that Inhuman element into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time?

Maurissa Tancharoen: It’s been a property in the Marvel Universe that we’ve been interested in since the beginning. Our tagline when we began the show was “not all heroes are super,” and we wanted to focus on that and highlight that for the first season. Now as we move forward we’re diving deeper into the Marvel Universe, and it’s our way of exploring a whole new world that may be comprised of people who have special abilities. We think that’s going to open everything up for us.

So it seems that Skye is the first Inhuman that has been introduced into Marvel’s cinematic world. I guess that means there’s a chance she could end up in the Inhumans film set to be released in 2018. Who knows if the TV show will even still be around by then, though. So it’s too early to tell. On top of that, so much craziness will happen between now and then. Anything can happen. One thing that is solid is that we now have humans with special genetically modified abilities.

There are two other characters that are set to be introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron that also could be described as having these special modified abilities: Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). It’s fun looking for and finding the connections in this universe! This is obviously all part of the big picture story arcs that are coming. It’s all leading to Phase 3, and it’s going to be awesome seeing how all of these stories play out and seeing the connections that are made.

As you know, Fantastic Four is being ripped apart by critics, fans, and audiences. I was really hoping this movie would be good, but it obviously isn’t. Director Josh Trank really screwed the pooch with this movie, but he’s not taking any of the blame. After the negative reviews started to roll in he sent out a tweet distancing himself from the final version of the film:

“A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would’ve received great reviews. You’ll probably never see it. That’s the reality, though.”

That tweet has since been deleted, but it didn’t stop the internet from getting ahold of it. There’s no stopping this snowball as it rolls from site to site. It seems to me like he’s blaming the studio for not letting him make his “fantastic version” of the film, that would have “received great reviews.” Of course we’ll never see it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we never see another movie made by Trank again after this mess.

He really dug himself into a hole with that tweet. No wonder things didn’t work out with Lucasfilm! No fan in their right mind would ever want to see this guy direct a Star Wars movie. I imagine the executives at Lucasfilm watched Fantastic Four, and after they saw it they were like, nope!

It seems like maybe all of those rumors about the drama on the set of Fantastic Four could be true. It’s a shame that the movie sucks so bad. Fantastic Four is one of those properties that has the potential to be great. It’s sad that no one can seem to get it right, and I feel sorry for the next director to take a crack at it.

At this point, the only way I think anyone would be remotely interested in seeing another Fantastic Four movie is if Marvel were heavily involved with its development like they are with Spider-Man. I’m not even 100% sure they could save the franchise after this! Fox sure as hell isn’t going to save it!

In the end, everyone involved with the development of this film is to blame. That includes Josh Trank, Simon Kinberg, the writers, the producers, and the studio executives who actually signed off on this film and allowed it to get made.

Since I still haven’t seen it in action with my own two eyes, I’m still baffled by the concept of 3D printing. In my head, I imagine it like the machine that makes those detailed masks in the Mission: Impossible movies. But it’s becoming more and more popular, and cosplayers have utilized it for some incredible things so far.

Here’s another awesome 3D printed piece that would work wonders for Spider-Man cosplayers: a spectacular mask created by Yuri Schuurkes from SpideyPlanet that’s a replica of the one from the Sam Raimi movie. The eyes lock in place with magnets, and you can check out photos and video of the assembly below. You can buy it for yourself on Shapeways.

I think most of us expected that there was going to be a big surprising twist involving Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) and the Reverse Flash on The CW’s The Flash. I’ve read a few theories online, but according to Grant Gustin (Barry Allen), none of the theories out there are correct.

Even though that is Cavanagh wearing the Reverse Flash, costume I refuse to believe that he is going to end up being a villain. While talking to CBR, Gustin confirmed that there’s going to be a big twist we don’t see coming.

“Yes. There’s a twist with Harrison Wells and the Reverse-Flash storyline that no journalist has guessed — I’ve never seen it online. It’s going to I think really surprise everyone. And it’s an original twist to the character that doesn’t mess up the mythology.”

He also says the twist isn’t something you’ll be able to figure out by reading past comic books. That tells us that the series is going to venture into unexplored territory, which is fantastic! Who knows, maybe the big twist is that he really is the villain.

I love it when these shows get inventive and deliver something the fans aren’t expecting. He also talks about working with Mark Hamill, who is reprising his role as The Trickster from the original Flash series:

“It was amazing! It really was. It really was. Everyone grew up watching Star Wars. Everyone. Yes, I grew up watching Star Wars. It was surreal to meet Mark Hamill. He was amazing. He was so excited about being a part of this. He really busted his ass. No part of him just showed up and phoned it in. He delivered a really interesting character. And he’s so humble and grounded and easy to talk to.”

The Flash returns on March 17th, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season plays out. If you have a theory about the Reverse Flash twist, let us know in the comments!

Captain America: Civil War is shaping up to be just as big as an Avengers movie, and there’s arguably more at stake, too: the film is going to tear the team apart from within and draw a line in the sand between Chris Evans’ Captain America and Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, forcing everyone to take sides in an ideological battle over superhero registration.

So who stands with whom? Potential spoilers ahead, but according to Heroic Hollywood’s sources, the teams are as follows:

Team Iron Man

• Iron Man
• War Machine
• The Vision
• Black Widow
• Spider-Man

Team Captain America

• Captain America
• Falcon
• Ant-Man
• The Winter Soldier
• Hawkeye
• Scarlet Witch

Black Widow choosing Iron Man’s side is the only one I’d call a real surprise there, especially since it puts her in opposition to her longtime buddy Clint Barton. I wonder if her decision has anything to do with what happened to The Hulk at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron? Still, Cap’s team having one extra member seems like it’ll give them an advantage. I haven’t read the comic on which this is based, but I remember hearing about the fallout from it after it hit comic book stores; if the film sticks close enough to the comic, let’s just say some Marvel fans may be wiping away tears by the time the end credits roll.

What do you think about the team breakdown?

Earlier today we posted a photo of Deadpool hitchhiking to Comic-Con. We’ve now got five new images to share with you featuring the extended cast. The photos give us a look at T.J. Miller as Weasel, Ed Skrein as Ajax, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and Morena Baccarin as Copycat. There are also images of Ryan Reynolds in and out of his Deadpool costume.

An interesting note: he doesn’t have scars in the photo of him not wearing the costume. I assume that might be from some kind of flashback scene that we’ll see in the movie.

These photos come from EW’s Comic-Con issue (via Comicbook). Deadpool hits theaters on February 12th, 2016.