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The Week in Geek: Batman vs Matrix vs Disney vs... Lady Gaga?
Congratulations, you've seen another week and lived. There's a chill in the air, we're all starting to layer, and much like your coat/hoodie/button-up combo, the news is also layered. Lots of things happening and happening in unexpected combinations.
So here's a special round-up where news stories go a little head to head. Here they are: the five biggest stories from ... The Week in Geek!
DISNEY+ UNLOADS ON TWITTER
This week, the Disney+ Twitter account unleashed a seemingly endless thread of tweets that listed every single piece of content that would be on the streaming service at launch. The list is exhaustive, including tons of properties from both Disney and Fox. It was a big nostalgia bomb, and people were demonstrably excited about Gargoyles, the '90s X-Men cartoon, the enormous backlog of Disney's animated film library, the Disney Afternoon lineup, and, of course, Rookie of the Year. (That last one may just be me.) The point is there's so many movies and series showing up on Disney+ at day one that it's equal parts amazing and terrifying.
KEVIN FEIGE'S MARVELOUS PROMOTION
And speaking of amazing and terrifying, how about that Kevin Feige guy, huh? He's been the man behind the MCU for over a decade. He's going to make a Star Wars movie (and then probably take over Star Wars, let's be real), but this week it was announced that Kevin Feige has a new title: chief executive officer for all of Marvel. All of it. Just ... alluvit. Whole thing.
It's hard to put into words how much power Kevin Feige wields at this point. It sounds silly to say that the character to whom he is most similar in the Marvel Universe is Thanos, but, honestly, Feige has more Infinity Stones at this point. It was one thing when he controlled the MCU, but now he's got control of all the television series as well, and Marvel's publishing arm, too (you know, like comics).
Anyway, Kevin Feige runs Marvel. He probably owns your soul and most of your left socks, too. That's the news.
MALEFICENT VS ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP
It's a weekend of sequels that no one was particularly expecting, but aren't necessarily unwelcome. On the one hand, you've got Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and on the other you've got Zombieland: Double Tap.
Both movies pick up several years after the last movie left off, both introduce new characters with blonde hair who act in some capacity as antagonists, both involve a trip to a new, magical destination, and both have epic, final battle scenes. Come to think of it: Are Maleficent and Zombieland the same movie?
They are not. Basically, though, if you only choose one, your choice boils down to wanting a movie where Angelina Jolie has sharp teeth and Chiwetel Ejiofor is shirtless or a movie where Jesse Eisenberg has noticeably square teeth and Woody Harrelson dresses like Elvis. Either way, you're coming out a winner.
BATMAN AND THE MATRIX CASTING BOMBSHELLS
While most of the attention is on year-end big-budget movies and the debut of fall television, there's also this little matter of casting news. And there are two movies (one of them also an unexpected sequel) dominating the news: The Matrix 4 and The Batman.
On the Matrix front, we heard last week about the mysterious casting of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and the rumor is that he'll be playing a young Morpheus. This week, though, we found out about two more castings. Jada Pinkett-Smith is looking to return as Niobe, and then there's some buzz that Neil Patrick Harris is going to take the red pill. Maybe he'll wear a suit! Maybe he'll sing! Maybe Hedwig is in the Matrix and her wig in a box is a philosophical metaphor of some type? I mean ... I'm game.
Meanwhile, Matt Reeves' The Batman has some casting news that genuinely rivals what's happening in The Matrix. First up, we found out that Zoe Kravitz has been cast in the role of Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. Everyone is very excited. Michelle Pfeiffer, who played Kyle back in Batman Returns, offered the always-important "make sure you can pee" costume advice. Let's be real, if the Bat-suit could have weirdly sexual nipples, that Catwoman suit should've had a strategic zipper of some kind. Honestly.
And while the rumors that Jonah Hill would be in The Batman did not pan out, we did find out that Paul Dano is officially set to take on the role of Edward Nygma, aka the Riddler. That role has been made famous by many actors, including Frank Gorshin, Jim Carrey, and, most recently, Cory Michael Smith on the beloved and missed Gotham.
LADY GAGA LEARNS ABOUT FORTNITE
Fortnite is an online battle royale game. It's also one of the most popular streaming titles in the history of streaming games. But as 2019 (and the 2010s in general) are set to come to a close, people were starting to watch less and less Fortnite.
And then Epic Games, which created the title, ended it.
This week in geek started on Sunday, when Epic Games debuted an event simply called "The End," which was just a black screen with a black-looking-hole in the middle. People couldn't play Fortnite anymore. But they sure could look at that hole.
And they did look at that hole. Whereas Fortnite had less than 1.5 million hours watched per day prior to "The End," Sunday saw that amount of time skyrocket to 8.6 million hours. People. Love. The. Hole.
Now, of course, this is just a (very effective) publicity stunt, and Fortnite's back with a new map and life will resume as usual.
But while there was nothing to do but stare at a hole, other things happened. Like, for example, Lady Gaga asked, "what's fortnight" to hilarious effect. Tens of thousands of people replied. Most made the "it's two weeks" joke, but also one of the world's top streamers, Ninja, prompted Lady Gaga to ask, "who are you?"
Who can say if Fortnite will maintain this upward momentum. For now all we can say for sure is that Lady Gaga is a delight.
AN ALMOST INFINITE NUMBER OF INFINITE CRISIS RUMORS
As the Arrowverse hurtles toward its Crisis point, the question has ceased to be "Who will be in Crisis on Infinite Earths" and is now "Will anyone NOT be in Crisis on Infinite Earths?" Because, damn.
We'd already heard about Burt Ward's appearance with what appears to be Ace, the Bat Dog, but this week we heard a trio of wild rumors that extends the multiverse far further than any Arrowverse fan dreamed possible.
The first rumor is that Justin Hartley (of This Is Us fame) will be reprising his role as Smallville's version of the Green Arrow. Makes sense. Tom Welling is coming back. Granted, Hartley is pretty hot on TV at this point, but there's no reason for him not to return, schedule allowing.
The next two rumors are a little more shocking. The first word is that Tom Ellis was seen on set. That's right. Lucifer. From the Fox-turned-Netflix series Lucifer. The rumor is that ol' Morningstar will be helping out our boy Constantine. That's nuts, right?
Well not as nuts as this: Also rumored to have been seen on set is Robert Wuhl, who, if you dig back THIRTY YEARS, played the plucky reporter Alexander Knox in Tim Burton's Batman movie. You know — the movie that truly kicked off DC's success in the world of film. No big deal.
At this point, it feels like everyone but the current DCEU is gonna show up during the CW Crisis event. And that is just fine by us.
Anyway, that's the week. Let us know which of these stories grabbed your attention and what other stories out there were winning your week.
