"SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods" first trailer!

  After the positive reviews and reception of the first SHAZAM! movie (not stellar, but positive), we now have the sequel. We still don't see Black Adam in it (Dwayne Johnson is such a big star and the character is so popular in the comics that they decided to give them a stand-alone origin picture before putting him in the same movie with the SHAZAM! family), but instead we have a couple of highly regarded actresses (Hellen Mirren and Lucy Liu) playing ancient gods, a theme of "family" so self-aware that the Fast And Furious movie franchise is even mentioned in the first trailer (with a funny pay-off), the return of the Old Wizard, but in apparently a more "down-to-earth" role, some powerful magic people who might be allies or villains, a dragon, meta-recognition of the Shazam-Flash costume similarities (thanks, Carmine Infantino), super-feats, and some self-doubt and insecurity from the titular hero.

It looks fun, it looks funny, and it could be very exciting. It is always hard to tell with trailers. It could go too far into the comedy, but the original Captain Marvel was never meant to be all dead serious and stuff. The action clips are very short, so we can;t tell how much there will actually be. The progression from insecure hero to fighting evil with the family is not presented at all, so we can only hope that it is a convincing Campbellian hero's journey.

But let's not forget that this is only the first trailer, designed to get the "sizzle" out. We will have to wait for the movie to get the steak.

There is no hint of Dr. Sivana or Mr. Mind (the work from the post-credit scene from the first movie), no emphasis on the tiger motif that was all over the first film (though the cabochons holding his cape still have the tiger face on them), and we only see one shot of the foster parents, but at least we do see all the kids both in and out of their heroic personas.

As a fan and scholar of all characters who have been, are, or will be named Captain Marvel, I am looking forward to this movie and hoping that I am entertained as much as I was by the first one. Though I don't feel the jump=out-of-my-seat thrill I would have liked, there is enough potential between the lines here for me to be positive about it.

IF I have time, I will post up some of the myriad of "reaction videos" that are already out there.

CLICK HERE to watch SHAZAM! from AmazonPrime!

CLICK HERE to watch SHAZAM! with the bonus features from AmazonPrime!

Marvel's Captain Marvel movie gets writers! - Clickbait roundup

The latest clickbait roundup is, for a change, about actual news. Marvel's "Captain Marvel" movie has got scriptwriters!

About 4 weeks ago, Rob Keys on ScreenRant.com posted a roundup of the rumors that had been circulating about this project, but none of these rumors had anything to do with the writers.

On April 13, Borys Kit in the Hollywood Reporter posted a very journalistic article on reports that Marvel was considering the two writers for the movie, and a link to a safely broad but accurate history of the character (though when they mention the original Captain Marvel, they neglect to add Bill Parker's name to C.C. Beck's as creator).

The very same day,  Clark Allen on The Tracking Board apparently breaks the news in what is posted as the "exclusive" story that Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve are in advanced talks to write CAPTAIN MARVEL. The article very responsibly gives  brief but insightful backgrounds on the character and the two writers.

Jeff Sneider on The Wrap.com then reported on that "Nicole Perlman (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) and Meg LeFauve (Pixar’s “Inside Out”) are nearing a deal to co-write “Captain Marvel” for Disney and Marvel, an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap." He then goes on to add the rumor that Michelle MacLaren was to direct, making all sound like he has some exlusive insider info. The article credits Tracking Board with breaking the news, and was updated on April 20 with Marvel's official announcement.

Apparently later the same day, however, Albert King on Comic Book Resources had posted the big news that Michelle MacLaren had left Wonder Woman, and, in the relatively in-depth article, also mentioned The Wrap's rumor of her working on "Capain Marvel" and names Perlman and LeFauve as writers as if it is confirmed fact.

Also on CBR, Megan Damore reports that Perlman and LeFauve are "in talks, but the headline says that the writers are "signed."

Though the piece is undated, the comments on Sean FitzGerald's one-paragraph report on Vulture.com indicate that it was posted on April 14. It reports that "Guardians of the Galaxy's Nicole Perlman and Inside Out's Meg LeFauve are close to inking a deal to co-write Disney and Marvel's forthcoming Captain Marvel project, according to the Wrap."It is notable that in those comments, someone points out that "You've, ehm, got the wrong Captain Marvel up there in your image. The wrong publisher, in fact." Either that commenter was mistaken, or they changed the picture, because the picture shows the now-common picture of Carol Danvers pulling on her glove.

On that same day Justin Kroll on Variety.com posted an industry-targeted announcement of the report, claiming that it had been confirmed by a source.

Matt Key of Geek Girl Authority also reports on the article from The Wrap, adding little more than pictures of the two writers.

There is a lengthy discussion board about the MacLaren news that includes quotes from CBR about MacLaren and the Perlman and LeFauve rumor at http://rocketf.org/thepond/showthread.php?tid=792

On April 20, 2016, Marvel officially broke the news that 'Nicole Perlman & Meg LeFauve will together write Marvel’s “Captain Marvel,” in theaters November 2, 2018, bringing Carol Danvers to the big screen in her first solo cinematic adventure.' And the clickbait reports began.

A surprisingly concise-yet-thorough writeup of the whole situation was done by Andrew Dyce on ScreenRant on April 20, apparently before the news broke, and added a link to the Marvel announcement as an update.

Max Nicholson on IGN.com writes the briefest of all possible reports on the news and then pads the story with a surprisingly accurate video about the history of the character that annoyingly calls her "Miss Marvel" instead of "Ms."

Mike Cecchini on DenOfGeek.us adds just a little insight and opinion in his brief report.

Dan Van Winkle on TheMarySue.com reports the news briefly and with barely any real insight or depth.

Reviewer Drew McWeeny writes an opinionated piece for Hitfix.com. He believes that gender-equality justice would be served if as many tasks in the movie. from the writer to the best boy, were given to women. He does make a convincing point.

Brendon Connoly writes an undated piece for WhatCulture.com that nicely but briefly sums up the situations of the writers.

...and you know what, my life is so busy, it took over a month to get this posted. I may just give up on these clickbait roundups...

Dang! Missed it!

The Anthology film Archives showed the first episode of the "Adventures of Captain Marvel" serial back on July 22 along with the first episodes of "The Phantom Creeps," "Darkest Africa" and "Undersea Kingdom."