TRAILER: The Last Jedi official trailer is here! And a new poster too!

Behold the latest poster for The Last Jedi. Let there be no question that this is still a Skywalker clan story!

And this now is THE trailer--not the teaser or a commercial! And it's squarely focused on Luke, Rey, Leia, and Kylo. Beware, there's mild spoilers.

This is the point of no return!

TRAILER: Pacific Rim Uprising first trailer is here!

• Official site 
• IMDB listing

THE APOCALYPSE COMES MARCH 2018!

TRAILER: Annihilation with Natalie Portman

Based on the first book in Jeff VanderMeer’s best-selling Southern Reach trilogy, Annihilation hits US theaters, February 23, 2018. I've not read the books (sshh! no spoilers!) but it appears as if they're in the sci-fi/horror camp.

Fellow RPG pal o' mine, John Till says they've got a lot in common (intentionally) with The Zones highlighted in the film Stalker.

If that weren't enough, the author's journey to publish the series all in one year sounds about as strange as the story itself!

Book synopsis from publisher, Farrar, Straus and Company:

Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.

This is the twelfth expedition.

Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.

It remains to be seen what translates to the big screen, but that sounds positively fascinating Directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina) Annihilation also stars Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Gina Rodriguez.

• Official Facebook page
• IMDB listing

TRAILER: Neill Blomkamp's new scifi project looks wicked cool!

As a fan of Neill Blomkamp's particular flavor of weird scifi, his next project called Oat Studios Volume 1, looks just as visually stunning as anything in his repertoire. I'm a big fan of District 9's stripped down approach to filmmaking and I really enjoyed Elysium's take on have vs. have-nots space-based society.

I'm looking forward to this latest endeavor, which will be a series of shorter films that will stream on Steam.

The first one is set post-apocalypse after an alien lizard invasion.

Check it out:

Bonus Game Idea: A mashup of District + Elysium + OSV1 would make a fantastic setting for Garske Games' Stay Frosty!

Blomkamp's grimy-high-tech future is a fresh alternative to the traditional Aliens/Predator/Terminator aesthetic we all know and love.


Via io9

40 years ago in a galaxy far, far away...

I'm old enough that I can say I saw this in the theater. It forever altered my brain chemistry. In a good way! I recently sat down with my own kiddo to watch it with her for the first time (and she's the same age I was when I saw it!). For her, the Saga is only _just_ beginning. I envy her.

Here's the first few frames that started it all. I recall feeling even smaller than I was watching those ships pass over my head. Grand space opera indeed!



Thank you George and company for dreaming it up.

May the Force be with you...always.

Final trailer for Valerian debuts!

Here's our last look at the film before it arrives in theaters in July 21 (US). Have a look:

 

Click the Valerian tag in this post to see the previous trailers, images, posters, and more!

TRAILER: The Osiris Child

I've not heard squat about this before seeing the trailer, but this looks to be in my geeky wheelhouse of scifi action. The official title is Science Fiction Volume One: The Osiris Child -- which seems to hint at future installments (not sure if it's part of an anthology or what).

If this had been made in the 80s it might be more of a VHS B-movie actioner, but the effects definitely give this a polish not seen from these nondescript (read: non-IP) films.

Here's some sweet air vehicle battles:

Here's the full trailer:


It's an Aussie production and comes out there later this month. Doesn't yet have a US release, but definitely one to watch. It goes without saying this is ripe for RPG inspiration!

• Via io9
• Release info
• Official site
• IMDB listing
• Instagram

TRAILER: One good sign about the new Alien: Covenant film

Those floppy hats are totally channeling Traveller.

TRAILER 2: Valerian trailer is SO GOOD

The new trailer for Luc Besson's grand space opera Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets  dropped. It's a fever dream of colorful alien worlds and rich futurism. Seriously, this looks like The Fifth Element x10.

The latest trailer has a more story points than the last and it's fashioned of almost entirely new footage, have a look:
     

July 21st can't come soon enough!

Previously:

• A poster and, like, SO many pics!
• The first trailer!

Another awesome Guardians poster design

The posters for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 have been fantastically colorful and cool. Here's another one to adorn the bedroom ceiling of your soul:

Baby Groot and the Gang are back in theaters on May 5!

New Guardians poster is the definition of gonzo space opera

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 director James Gunn has, perhaps, the best reaction to his film's latest poster:

Subtlety is not our strong suit. #GotGVol2 #movies #instagood

A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn) on Feb 28, 2017 at 8:51pm PST

Nailed it. Between the poses, the colors, and the subject matter this here art is the embodiment of what wild & woooly, gonzo space opera from the Decade of Excess is all about.

Here's a nice super-sized version to hang in your bedroom, kids. Click to view the high-res, Ego-size!

TRAILER: Latest Guardians preview now with Kurt Russell!

It's a tad spoilery, so don't click if you don't want to know anything. Really though, just watch it!

 

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 debuts in the U.S. on May 5, 2017.

I. CANNOT. WAIT.

VIDEO: Bowie backs up the Guardians

The latest commercial for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is set to David Bowie's Suffragette City to amazing effect.It's brief, but it has some new footage too. Enjoy!

   

You only get one chance 

to save the galaxy--TWICE.

TRAILER: All star cast for KONG: SKULL ISLAND!

More than 12 years after his last appearance in theaters, KING KONG will return to the silver screen in KONG: Skull Island in 2017!

I'm actually a fan of the 2005 Peter Jackson film, set in the 1920s (like the original it pays homage to). It has some exciting sequences with all manner of monsters. And the battle atop the Empire State Building takes the original concept to an unprecedented level. But it's also slow as shit, especially in the beginning.

KONG: Skull Island, from the producers of the latest Godzilla effort, looks AH-MA-ZING, by comparison with it's Apocalypse Now-meets-monster-movie approach to the story.

Set during the Vietnam war, a group of soldiers is tasked with mapping an uncharted and mysterious island in the South Pacific (the eponymous scrap of land from the title). The best way to do this? Drop bombs on it! I love movies that just lean in to their ridiculous premises. :-)

Kong, of course, is not happy about that:

But the best part? An all star cast--many of them from the Marvel family of films:

• Brie Larson - Captain Marvel
• Tom Hiddleston - Loki (Thor, Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok)
• Sam Jackson - Nick Fury (Like, so many Marvel movies!)
• John C. Reilly - Nova Corpsman Rhomann Dey (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Yep, it has Steve Brule in it! And by the looks of it, he's the island "expert" laying down, uh..."rules" for survival, if you will excuse the reference.

The only one not from the Marvel movie-verse is John Goodman, who plays the seedy, money man who gets the group into trouble in the first place.

Rumor has it Kong will meet up with his frenemy Godzilla on the big screen sometime in the next few years. I. AM. THERE.

What's Gameable?

In short: ALL OF IT. Looks like plenty of fodder for an Isle of Dread type of adventure or maybe a prelude to Apes Victorious? Either way--the trailer alone has enough game inspiration for an adventure hook, as it is. I'm sure the full film is chocked full of more monster mayhem than you can throw a helicopter at!

So if you're doing a mini-campaign set mid-century (read: 60s-70s) I think you've got a bunch of options:

• Wartime mapping/recon mission (soldier heavy party with lots of incendiaries/explosives)
• Big game hunt turned disastrous (non-professionals,no explosives, but armed with stun guns, gas grenades, tranq darts, nets, cages, etc.) 
• Petroleum excavation crew (Heavy on science and exploration, few weapons) 
• National Geographic documentary crew  (cameras and machetes only!)
• Or a mix of any of the above

And you've got a great set up for NPCs and possibly foes:

• Lost tribe of humans who worship/fear the island fauna
• Stranded "guide" looking to get off the island
• Greedy entrepreneur looking to make a buck
• Mercs/henchmen, looking out for their boss
• Foolhardy scientist/journalist who gets too close
• Skeptical/grizzled colonel who's trying to keep his troops alive

IF your party escapes, you can a second leg where the kaiju bring the fight back to mankind on his home turf, a la one of my absolute favorites in recent years: Godzilla Half Century War.

That's a full-on military campaign, but it's MUCH more hard-scrabble for the humans than any of Godzilla's movies. We're talkin' street-level skirmishes against a kaiju--lots of fun! Oh and definitely check that comic out, the art is incredibly detailed and inspirational!

UPDATE: Eric over at Swords & Stitchery did a full write-up on running a Skull Island adventure!

• IMDB listing
• Official site

TRAILER: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

It's finally here! And WOW does Luc Besson deliver the visuals!



Previously: Check out this huge post of images and posters!

TRAILER: ALL THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR YOU: WONDER WOMAN!

Warner Bros. has released the latest Wonder Woman trailer and it's looking FANTASTIC. I've been looking forward to this one for YEARS. I've been hoping that WB would do right by her in a motion picture, having been disappointed with some of their recent efforts to bring DC comics to the big screen.

And I've got a geeklet of my own that is getting to know Wonder Woman for the first time. She LOVES the 70s TV show and some of the Superfriends cartoons. And while she'll still be too young to see the new film, Gal Gadot will be everywhere next summer and as the new face of Wonder Woman, I really want this interpretation to be as good as I hope it will be.

The trailer has some truly fun moments there with the action sequences and snappy dialogue. And Gadot IS Diana Prince! She has the air of an Amazonian warrior, but still has the charm that Diana is also known for.

And we're FINALLY starting to see a break from the ash-coated look of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman into a much more colorful and vibrant aesthetic. The previous films were awash in dirty, burnt hues that just reinforced their heavy-handed storylines. It looks like Diana is being given a fresh start in the DC movie-verse.

Here's some magnificent new posters, just released by WB:

Okay, enough--it's bullet blockin' time--HERE'S THE TRAILER:

THAT THEME SONG!

BONUS: Someone edited all the existing movie footage (including clips from BvS) to the classic theme song from the TV series!

• Official site
• IMDB listing
• Offical DC Comics listing
• Wikipedia listing

Click on images to enlarge. Images courtesy: Warner Bros.

VIDEO: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 gets a teaser trailer!

Oh BOY, it seems like we've been waiting FOREVER for this to debut! And now it's finally here! But we've also got a hot new one-sheet poster of the Guardians. And it looks like there's two new members--Nebula and Yondu, sporting his full head-fin this time around:

Oh, and then there's Groot. Did you see him? Look again.Who'd have guessed that Rocket would be "the tall one"? Okay, you've waited long enough--here's the first video of GGV2:



BRING ON THE GROOTNESS:

New poster for Valerian movie, plus LOTS of pics!

Hey space opera fans! If you've been living under a ROCK, you may not have heard that Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) is directing a film adaption of the Valerian & Laureline comics.

The first poster was just released at New York Comic Con and it's a DOOZY:

Nice aft view of their XB982 astroship, which--so far--looks fairfly faithful to the comic:

We'll have to wait until July 21st, 2017 for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets to hit theaters. Strangely, the heroine Laureline's name has been dropped from the title of the film, though she had equal billing with Valerian in the comics.

As for the film version, we have a bevy of concept art and official images from the set to tide us over until the trailer comes out (right click to enlarge images):

Here's the film's official synopsis:

Rooted in the classic graphic novel series, Valerian and Laureline -- visionary writer/director Luc Besson advances this iconic source material into a contemporary, unique and epic science fiction saga.

Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner, blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him.

Under directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe. Alpha's seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time -- uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.

It's been proposed that Star Wars drew inspiration from the comic by Jean-Claude Mezieres, though that's never been confirmed. I think there's similarities, for sure, but it's tough to draw a straight line from one to the other. One round ship doesn't quite merit paternity, but it's fun to think how Lucas might have been informed (and he's said as much, once upon a time). Still, the comic's influence in popular culture is widely apparent.

Besson has always looked to comics for inspiration in his films (see: Fifth Elements ties to Moebius and Mezieres) so I'm expecting some fantastic visuals to light up the screen next year!

Images: Luc Besson on Instagram, Entertainment Weekly, and others.