Month: August 2019

By Bryan A Westfall

“The one thing that he did that he didn’t second-guess was picking you. I don’t think Tony would’ve done what he did if he didn’t know that you were going to be here after he was gone.”

Yo, Happy. Say it louder for the kids in the back (Sony and Disney).

I tried for days to come up with a time my geek heart was broken as much as it was last week, and came up totally blank.

“Spider-Man’s MCU future in question after Disney-Sony deal hits standoff”

Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man is leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To say fans of the MCU are gutted would be an understatement. Though, I guess there’s a sliver of a glass half empty/glass half full argument to be had.

The half-sorta-full is that we’ve had 5 movies with this wonderful iteration of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, tooling around with the likes of Dr. Strange, Star-Lord, Captain America, and of course, Iron Man. That has been more than I could have ever dreamed for Spider-Man, after the disappointment that the previous live-action iterations have been for me.

We’ve also been given the understanding that there will be two more (non-MCU) Spider-Man films, with Tom as our favorite web-slinger.

The half-pretty-dang-empty side of things is fairly obvious. That 5 films worth of time was spent deliberately weaving Peter’s story into the very heart and soul of the MCU.

We all got to know this iteration of Peter/Spider-Man in this context, very much by design. He’s become most of what he is from these relationships (particularly with Tony).

Most importantly, in Far From Home, Tony quite literally passed the torch to the kid, in the form of E.D.I.T.H.

THE REACTION

Fan reactions have been alternating between anger at the two giant, money hungry corporations, and grief over losing the relationships Peter has built within the Avengers universe. The latter definitely lingers.

At the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Tom took a few opportunities to speak about this split. First, after a panel for next year’s “Onward” (which he voices alongside GOTG’s Chris Pratt):

“Listen, it’s been a crazy week, but thank you from the bottom of my heart and I love you 3000.”

Later on, he spoke with EW & People in a little more detail:

“It’s been five amazing years. I’ve had the time of my life. Who knows what the future holds? But all I know is that I’m going to continue playing Spider-Man and having the time of my life. It’s going to be so fun, however we choose to do it. The future for Spider-Man will be different, but it will be equally as awesome and amazing, and we’ll find new ways to make it even cooler.”

Tom has some fans in the form of his fellow Avengers. Many of them have been publicly lamenting the loss of the kid from Queens.

Jeremy Renner (“Hawkeye”) was the first Avenger to speak out:

“Guardians of the Galaxy” writer/director James Gunn was asked his thoughts by a fan on Instagram:

Good to see someone focusing on the positive, which is Tom as Spidey & writer/director Jon Watts (who isn’t officially signed on for future installments just yet).

Nebula herself, Karen Gillan, posted a more subtle tribute to happier times on twitter:

For a little bittersweet fun, Tom posted his own pics of a playful reunion with his former MCU mentor…which solicited a broken-hearted reaction from the Hulk in the comments:

WHAT NOW?

It won’t take being in the MCU for this Spider-Man to carry on from that cliffhanger, and I’m sure there are some great screenwriters out there up for the challenge. It will take some time to recover from the sting, but there will come a point when excitement will return.

In the meantime, if there is a silver lining (?), perhaps this leaves room for some Scott Lang love? We’ve passed SDCC & D23 Expo with their abundance of Disney+ announcements (that go well into 2022). However, zero announcements of a follow-up for Mr. Time-Heist himself.

I do believe I mentioned a riot if we don’t hear about Ant-Man soon. They’re headed your way, Feige. I don’t think you want to piss off the small-crawly-thing-based superhero fans any more than you already have. Your move:

 

By Bryan A Westfall

Dearest Google: Please add a “Not Interested in Unreleased Film Theories or Behind the Scenes Rumors” option here:

These were the options that came along with this Google suggested headline:

No, thank you.

I finally have Google dialed in on genre’s I’m interested in reading about when landing on their home page (nearly the feat of tailoring the perfect Pandora station). If only some movie related websites had hobbies other than random plot theories & behind the scenes rumors to fill space on their sites between major movie releases.

“Star Wars 9 Leaks May Confirm a Shocking, Old Palpatine Rumor ” – Nope.

“Star Wars 9 Leaked Merch May Disprove a Major Emperor Palpatine Rumor” – Nuh-Uh.

“Star Wars 9 Leaks May Confirm Another Huge Cameo in Rise of Skywalker” – FOR THE LOVE OF THE FORCE, PLEASE STOP.

(All of those…from Inverse. Get your house in order, friends.)

I understand that regularly posting content is what brings and keeps site visitors and engagement, but if this is what fills up most of their space, there seems to be a great opportunity to level up in content. There are a plethora of freelance writers out there that would add a ton of value to your site.

I’ll come back with some sweet sweet content creator recommendations later. Start thinking of your own favorites now, and share them with me on the twitter!

Sure, there is an audience for hours upon hours of content pointing to endless rumors & theories & leaks based on absolutely nothing…for some unknown reason. I’m sure there is plenty of data being mined showing that this is the drug of choice (leading to ad revenue and so on).

That being said, shouldn’t the aim be giving the audience more than the quick fix, instead of being the ‘drug dealer’ & grabbing those stacks on stacks of (ad based) cash?

These rumors and theories take up space and time, but not much else. There is nothing to know there, there’s only speculation. Perhaps they’re fodder for a conversation that ultimately leads nowhere, till a film is released. At best, they could be material for a fun wager or two. Should that take up as much space as it does? 

Deep dives into topics/themes from comics, films, etc. might not be BREAKING NEWS, but if well crafted can help people move past speculation about a film set or plot, and into what connects them with the stories and the people around them. 

Here are some examples of original content creators that are very much worth keeping tabs on:

Andrew J. Salazar has some sweet pieces at Geeks of Color to peruse. His pinned tweet also starts a thread of a ton of articles he’s written. Keep him in your thoughts as he’s currently braving the (apparently unorganized) madness of D23 Expo this weekend 🙏.

Amy Ratcliffe was part of one of the most inspirational panels at Star Wars Celebration back in April. She’s written “Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy” and regularly contributes to the official Star Wars website.

Geek Girl Diva writes all over the known geek universe. This article on how Dave Filoni and Star Wars: The Clone Wars renewed hope in Star Wars lore (pre-OG trilogy) is relatable.

Bryan Young contributes to Star Wars & Huffpo (among others), but this breakdown of creating the Lightsaber duel in The Phantom Menace for SYFY is a great jumping off point.

After this year’s SDCC, Josephine L. wrote about a cross section of panels that featured (in one way or another) the state (& future) of diversity and representation in storytelling.

Kim Renfro knows a thing or two about Game of Thrones…and has a book to prove it. She’s a contributor of entertainment & geek related things for INSIDER.

Now, it’s your turn! Hit me up on twitter and let me know who I should be reading!