Top Ten Stories You Missed While the Site was Down

In case you didn’t notice, the website was down for the last two weeks thanks to a massive attack on our servers, which forced us to move to a new hosting provider that can better handle such Internet problems. The last two weeks were also filled with major news in the comic book, movie, and pop culture industries – when it rains, it pours.  Instead of ignoring those important stories, and acting like the last two weeks didn’t happen, the staff at Major Spoilers has compiled a list of the top ten stories we missed while the site was down.

10. Ryan Reynolds returns as Deadpool

This may seem less like new news and more like the culmination of years of Deadpool fans’ collective yearnings, but the confirmation that Ryan Reynolds will portray the Merc with a Mouth is still quite the bombshell. In 2009, moviegoers briefly saw what Reynolds could do with the character, and have been salivating ever since. A Deadpool adaptation, written by Rhett Rheese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland), directed by first-timer Tim Miller, and starring Reynolds was rumored around Hollywood for years. But as Reynolds’ star faded with each successive comic book movie bomb (Green Lantern, R.I.P.D. etc.), a Ryan Reynolds/Deadpool vehicle seemed less likely with each year.

That downward slide abruptly reversed when some test footage leaked in July of this year. Although already over two years old at that point, it took less than two minutes of action-packed footage to whet the appetites of the Deadpool audience, and show just why Reynolds was so desired for the role. As of last week, the Canadian actor was confirmed to be playing Canada’s greatest (living) antihero, with the writing/directing team intact as well. You can look forward to Deadpool breaking down the fourth wall of the silver screen on February 12th, 2016. – George Chimples

9.  WYLD STALLYNS

We know next to nothing about the upcoming series from BOOM! Studios. We know (because we are nerds like that) that Wyld Stallyns refers to the band in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (and Bogus Journey), so extrapolating from that, we are super excited to learn that BOOM! Studios has something in the works regarding this property. Knowing BOOM! Studios, this will be a mini-series at first, and if popular enough, expand to a regular series. There was a Bill and Ted comic series that came out from Marvel in 1991. BOOM! has also reprinted series in the past, so I hope this isn’t simply a rehash of that. No word on release date, but I expect it will be late Spring early Summer of 2015. – Stephen Schleicher

8. SyFy orders Krypton pilot

It was announced this week that the SyFy channel is developing a pilot for ‘Krypton’, a series that will feature Kal-El (Superman)’s grandfather in adventures set before the planet’s demise. David S. Goyer (who also helped bring us ‘Constantine’, which isn’t half-bad and ‘Man Of Steel’, which was a little bit more than half-bad) is developing the series, along with Ian Goldberg, who previously worked on ‘Once Upon A Time’, with the hope that this prequel will be as successful or more as ‘Gotham’ is on Fox.

With comic-inspired roots and the right kind of stories being told, ‘Krypton’ has promise, and it should be noted that SyFy was the home of the updated ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ which shares some themes (and, of course, the alien setting) with what ‘Krypton’ could become. Reactions at Major Spoilers are somewhat mixed to the news, but here’s hoping that it’s more ‘Batman Begins’ and less ‘Caprica’. – Matthew Peterson

7.  AMC orders Preacher pilot

Fans of Preacher have been waiting for this news for some time. Bounced around from studio to studio, some premium cable channels, and more, Preacher has finally landed as a pilot order for AMC.

The network that brings us Mad Men, The Walking Dead, and the recently completed Breaking Bad, shows once again that they aren’t afraid to wander into controversial territory by tapping Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg for the adaptation. Sam Catlin wrote the adaptation and will serve as the show runner.  This is a collaboration between Sony Pictures Television and AMC Studios, and while many are hoping for a full on series, right now it is sitting at the pilot stage.

Based on (Garth) Ennis and Steve Dillon’s ’90s comic book series, “Preacher” is about Jesse Custer, a preacher in a Texas town who merges with a creature that has escaped from heaven and develops the ability to make anyone do anything he says. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip, and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three embark on a journey to find God.

We did talk about this briefly on the Major Spoilers Podcast, and with religion front and center in the show, Preacher will probably get a lot of picket signs if it moves to a series.

6.  Krysten Ritter is Jessica Jones

Plenty of excitement has been generated about Marvel’s Netflix original series, and the momentum continues with the announcement of Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad, Veronica Mars) for the role of Jessica Jones in Marvel’s A.K.A Jessica Jones.

Jeph Loeb, Executive Producer and Marvel’s Head of Television, expressed confidence in the casting decision.

“Krysten Ritter has the type of range, spanning the comic to the tragic, that makes for the stuff of the best Marvel heroes. As Jessica Jones, Krysten will bring one of the most beloved new characters of the past decade to life in a way we know will delight her longtime fans and introduce her to many more.”

Ritter herself shared her excitement with fans over twitter when the announcement was made.

“I am so completely over the moon & grateful for this opportunity to bring Jessica Jones to life! Thank you Melissa Rosenberg, everyone at Marvel Netflix and all of my fans for your support! Wooo! Dream big kiddies!”

As someone who is always looking forward to a classic genre with a new twist, I am excited to see Jessica Jones brought to the small screen. And as a fan of the Netflix model of releasing their own shows, I think it will serve the binge watcher in me well. Krysten Ritter is wonderfully talented, and I look forward to seeing what she does with Jessica, and the Marvel TV universe. – Becky Armstrong

5. Arrow and Flash hit series highs

It’s really apparent by now that The CW’s The Flash series is one of the best things on television today.  Hyperbole aside, the show continues to bring in the numbers, and that success is starting to splash onto other DC/CW shows.

Variety reports that Arrow hit a series high during the two-part crossover event, that turned out to be really good.

According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, “Arrow” averaged a series-best 1.4 rating/4 share in adults 18-49 while drawing its second largest overall audience ever (3.9 million). Week to week, “Arrow” soared by roughly 50% in most key demos as well as total viewers. (One night earlier, “Flash” had one of its best perfs in a while, earning a 1.6/5 in 18-49 and 4.34 million viewers overall).

This week’s episode of The Flash, “The Man in the Yellow Suit” continued to bring in the numbers for The CW.

THE FLASH was #1 in the hour on broadcast in men 18-34 (1.5/6), and #2 in men 18-49 (1.9/6). It held nearly even with last week’s episode in adults 18-34 (1.3/5) and in adults 18-49 (1.5/5).

THE FLASH was the #1 show in the hour among adults 18-34 in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco (tie), Detroit, Sacramento, and Baltimore.

What does that equate to? The midseason finale jumped the number 7% to bring in a total estimated viewership of 4.66 million people – the most who have watched the show since the series premiere. – Stephen Schleicher

4. Marvel REALLY wants Spider-Man for Civil War

Interestingly, the Major Spoilers website was down at the same time that the Sony Entertainment site was hacked. I’m not saying there is a correlation between the two, or that North Korea may be involved because we have a menu category called Interview, but… we did learn that Marvel really wants Spider-Man for the Captain America: Civil War movie during this whole brouhaha.

Through leaked documents, fans around the world learned that Sony and Marvel were in active negotiations for Marvel Studios to regain the rights to Spider-Man – or at least the rights to use the wall-crawler in the upcoming movie. The Wall Street Journal reported that the most recent exchange (prior to the hack) took place as recently as October 30th.

Sony Pictures president Doug Belgrad tells Ms. Pascal about a potential scenario that would see Marvel produce a new trilogy of Spider-Man movies while Sony retains “creative control, marketing and distribution.”

In a separate e-mail, Ms. Pascal tells a business partner that Marvel wanted to include Spider-Man in its planned third “Captain America” movie.

This is a total win/win for Marvel, who needs Spider-Man in its Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Sony, who really needs the money. Unfortunately, the WSJ article indicates that talks have broken down, even though Latino Review continues to say the talks are still ongoing.  Do we want to see Spider-Man in Civil War? Peter Parker was the pivot point for the entire series, so… yes? – Stephen Schleicher

3.  James Bond 24 is titled SPECTRE!

“A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.”

First details about the 24th Bond film aka Spectre were released last week while we were down and filming has already begun! Daniel Craig is back again as 007 and he will be attempting to take on “a sinister organization.” More of the cast was announced at the event with the film adding on Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Lea Seydoux, and Christoph Waltz.

If you enjoyed the look of Skyfall then you will be happy to know that director Sam Mendes is bringing back cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, who has been busy in the last year filming Her and Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.

Spectre will be hitting theaters November 6th, 2015 – Zach Woolf

2.  Benedict Cumberbatch is Doctor Strange

The news that we all knew was true, even when it was a rumor, was finally confirmed by Marvel: Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness) will star in Doctor Strange.

According to Marvel’s official statement about the casting, the plot of the film will have close ties to Strange’s comic book origins.

“Stephen Strange, a brilliant neurosurgeon who suffers the loss of his talents in a horrific car accident, setting him on a path to not only discover the mystical forces and parallel dimensions that exist behind the everyday world – but master them.”

Marvel boss Kevin Feige had this to say about Cumberbatch accepting the role.

“Stephen Strange’s story requires an actor capable of great depth and sincerity… In 2016, Benedict will show audiences what makes Doctor Strange such a unique and compelling character.”

I personally am excited to see Cumberbatch in the role, and cannot wait to see the film nased around the sorcerer supreme. – Jason Inman

1.  Suicide Squad cast announced

Even more casting news was announced while the Major Spoilers site was down with Warner Bros./DC giving us the official names for Suicide Squad. Rumors appeared to be spot on with this cast but the names are still surprising to many. 

Jared Leto will be painting over his facial hair as The Joker, in what might be the biggest surprise of the lineup. Will Smith as Deadshot is also shocking mainly if you know the amount of money Smith was asking for each role just a few years ago. Tom Hardy as Rick Flag, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney as Boomerang, and Cara Delevingne as Enchantress rounds out the major players for Suicide Squad. 

To get more in-depth over this casting announcement make sure you listen to Major Spoilers Podcast #601 where talk of Tom Hardy playing a new character in a DC movie and info on who the Suicide Squad actually is takes place. – Zach Woolf