Revised Angry Birds Film Adaptation Première Date Announced

Source: World of Smash Bros Wikia

The birds are back in town, the birds are back in town...and so on and so forth.
Columbia Pictures have today revealed a new official release date for their upcoming motion picture adaptation of Rovio's hit physics-orientated puzzle video game Angry Birds (as well as its various successors, the Rio and Star Wars spin-offs not withstanding). Previously scheduled to take flight in cinemas on July 1st, 2016, the first instalment in what's doubtless intended to be a franchise kick-starter stars Paul's Jason Sudeikis, This is the End's Danny McBride and even Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage, albeit in a vocal capacity in all three cases as a result of the project taking the form of the latest addition to the animated film genre.

Few would have blamed the production team for flapping their metaphorical feathers vigorously enough to enable them to shift Angry Birds out of 2016, particularly since it'll share the stage with The Divergent Series: Allegiant - Part 1, Kung Fu Panda 3, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Goosebumps, Captain America: Civil War, The Huntsman, Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass, X-Men: Apocalypse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Uncharted, Finding Dory, Independence Day Forever, The Mummy, Transformers 5, The BFG, Star Trek 3, The Bourne Betrayal, Ice Age 5, Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur, Mighty-Morphin Power Rangers, Planet of the Apes, Tarzan, Suicide Squad, LEGO Ninjago, A Monster Calls, Inferno, Doctor Strange, The Sinister Six, Moana, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first in a series of standalone Star Wars blockbusters and (quite possibly) Avatar 2 as a direct result of staying put, yet if they've accumulated sufficient confidence so as to convince them to hold firm based on their initial animation work, then we say more power to them at this juncture. We'll have more details on Angry Birds' launch schedule, its competition as well as its resultant commercial prospects in the coming months, so stay tuned...

Angry Birds will now catapult itself into cinemas worldwide on May 20th, 2016.

New A.K.A. Jessica Jones Supporting Cast Member Announced

Source: Forces of Geek

Marvelites, rejoice - Luke Cage has entered the building!
Marvel Studios have this week announced a new supporting cast member set to star in their upcoming superhero drama TV series A.K.A. Jessica Jones. Based primarily on the comic-book heroine of the same name, this 13-episode, Netflix-exclusive production sees Breaking Bad's Krysten Ritter portray a despondent ex-crime fighter who vows to aid aspiring upholders of law and sanctity in their quest to match the Avengers' efforts on a somewhat less global level by making a difference on the streets of New York.

Amongst those soon-to-be iconic newcomers will be Luke Cage, a long-running Marvel Comics character (likely better known to some of our older readers as Power-Man, though that epithet's long gone along with corny titles such as Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos, with the latter band of powerless protagonists only surviving through appearances in the Captain America film franchise) who'll soon be played by Halo: Nightfall's Mike Colter. Since we've only experienced Colter's work fleetingly in the form of his performance as Agent Jay's father in Men in Black 3, it'd be perhaps be somewhat presumptuous of us to lay down a verdict on his actorial potency at this precise moment, but that producer Ridley Scott saw fit to cast him in the Nightfall spin-off saga earlier this year at least seems to speak wonders for the confidence that the film and TV industries alike have in this now-prominent thespian, presumably indicating that in a few months' time, we'll be wholly inclined to echo those reassuring statistical sentiments on a critical level. Keep it locked at On-Screen for more details on A.K.A. Jessica Jones, Netflix's take on Luke Cage (the official title of which has yet to be revealed) and the remainder of the on-demand service's Defenders adaptations in weeks to come.

A.K.A. Jessica Jones will première exclusively on Netflix in 2015.

CVG Closure Announced

Source: CINEMABLEND

First SFX, then Official Nintendo Magazine, now this - will any entertainment news outlets be left standing by the end of 2015?
Future plc have today announced the closure of their online video games news outlet ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Originally established as a UK-based magazine in 1981, the publication transformed into a website in the early 2000s and has since provided coverage on an all-manner of breaking stories, triple-A products and a host of other industry-related issues over the course of a eventful decade which has all but revolutionised (in a beneficial manner, for the most part) the imminent trajectory of the industry as well as of the websites and magazines that have dedicated their lifespans to keeping the mainstream gaming community abreast of each and every watershed moment.

If CVG were the only members of the entertainment industry unlucky enough to have been affected by Future's financial issues in recent months, then we'd be only too happy to brand its demise as a necessary sacrifice, yet that SFX and the Official Nintendo Magazine (ONM) - publications which were both owned by Future plc - met the same fates earlier this year speaks wonders for the problems facing video games-orientated journalists at the moment, most of which don't look set to fade anytime soon. Like SFX, many of CVG's workers will find themselves integrated into the GamesRadar team to write further news, reviews and the like under a broader umbrella than ever before, but redundancies are all but guaranteed in this case, meaning that the site's team will arguably never be what it once was come the early stages of next year. If and when further details of this valiant, long-running proponent of quality entertainment journalism's gradual destruction come to light, we'll be sure to bring them to you, dear reader, in the most accessible and comprehensive manner possible. Until then, though, our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this disheartening turn of events, particularly those members of staff who'll soon be resultantly seeking gainful employment elsewhere.

ComputerAndVideoGames.com's backlog of news and reviews will be uploaded onto GamesRadar (or GamesRadar+, as it's set to be called from this point onwards) in February 2015 prior to the website's full-scale closure, after which the remainder of the former's team will purportedly jump ship to the latter publication.

New Daredevil Promotional Images Released

Source: ComicBookMovie.com

Street-level superheroism comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
Marvel Studios have today released a pair of new promotional images for their upcoming superhero drama TV series Daredevil via Entertainment Weekly. Scheduled to launch on Netflix in a few months' time (quite possibly May 2015, although that rumoured broadcast window has yet to be confirmed by official sources), the series centres on young Matt Murdock's rise from aspiring vigilante to the accomplished martial arts expert who fans of his comic-book exploits have come to know as the Man Without Fear.

That said, if these somewhat unambitious pictures - both of which bear a near-uncanny resemblance to those which the two studios behind the project launched at this year's San Diego Comic-Con - are intended to offer even a glimpse of what's to come, then it seems that the road to the realms of superheroics will be long and arduous in Daredevil's case, no doubt in part due to his human alter-ego's necessary decision to undergo a taxing campaign of recuperation and regeneration during the aftermath of a frankly terrifying chemical accident which leaves him blinded on a seemingly permanent basis. As was revealed at SDCC, the long-established protagonist's initial attire will resemble that of a ninja rather than the pseudo-Satanic gear that his contemporary readership have come to know and love, but even so, don't count out the possibility that before Season One reaches its conclusion - a process that could occur within the space of a weekend or a month depending on whether Netflix users elect to partake in a marathon or drag out their viewing experience so as to adequately cherish these much-awaited gritty (for want of an adjective which doesn't find its way into the discourse of just about any non-fantastical TV project these days) hi-jinks - we'll have the opportunity to bear witness to Murdock adopting the true mantle of his near-iconic other self.

Daredevil will première on Netflix in 2015.

Grand Theft Auto Online "Festive Surprise" DLC Released

Source: Rockstar Games

'Tis the season to be jolly...and wreak unrelenting havoc on the streets of Los Santos.
Rockstar Games have just confirmed the release of a title update for the online campaign of their open-world third-person-shooter video game Grand Theft Auto V (now universally known as Grand Theft Auto Online). Dubbed "Festive Surprise", the seasonal DLC package contains no shortage of extra weapons, aesthetic modification options and gadgets for players to exploit to their heart's content as our latest visit from Father Christmas (who, now that we think about it, looks remarkably similar to Nick Frost!) beckons.

Compared to the (rightly) esteemed developer's recent announcement that GTA Online's long-awaited "Heists" DLC expansion is on the horizon, of course, the news that Rockstar are once again updating the Online experience in anticipation of the aforementioned season of yuletide and goodwill can't help but seem somewhat less ground-breaking. Even so, however, there's little doubt in our mind that fans will flock back to perhaps the most hotly discussed Grand Theft Auto experience in the franchise's illustrious history when "Festive Surprise" is made available for download later on today, if only to test their skills for the umpteenth time against countless other competitors whilst donning an all manner of winter-themed attire in the process. Here's a full list of the content that newcomers and GTA V veterans alike can expect to find when they next insert the multiplayer disc of one of 2013's most critically acclaimed video game experiences:

• FIREARMS & OTHER ASSORTED WEAPONS - Homing Missile Launcher; Proximity Mines; Snowballs
• CLOTHING - 'Ugly' Christmas Sweaters; Hats; Masks; Scarves; Holiday PJ's & More TBC
• MODES OF TRANSPORTATION - Slam Van; Massacro; Jester Sports Cars; Hot Rod Christmas Ratloader

"Festive Surprise" is - unless something's occurred since this article was penned to prevent its appearance on Xbox Live and other digital marketplaces - ready to be downloaded now on PSN (PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3), Xbox Live (Xbox One and Xbox 360) and Windows Store (PC) for use with Grand Theft Auto V's multiplayer component.

Minecraft: Story Mode - A Telltale Games Series Announced

Source: Gamespot

Will any video games developer other than Telltale get chance to release new products in 2015? At this rate, we'd sincerely doubt it...
Mojang have today announced the development of Minecraft: Story Mode - A Telltale Game Series. As its intriguing title suggests, this downloadable point-and-click video game product is currently in the works not only at the studio where the ludicrously lucrative Minecraft brand - which is now formally owned by Microsoft, of course - was conceived but moreover at Telltale Games, better known as the development team who've recently given us high-calibre interactive adaptations of every beloved franchise from The Walking Dead to Back to the Future to Borderlands.

In any other case, that Telltale are assisting with development here would be more than enough to pique most hardcore industry fanatics' interest, yet that Minecraft has never sported a fully-fledged, narrative-driven campaign before makes the proposition of this so-called Story Mode all the more inspired and therefore tantalising. According to IGN, despite the fact that players will once again take control of Minecraft's primary controllable avatar, Steve, and be able to shape the multi-part storyline based on the morally-eschewed choices they make along the way, Mojang are unlikely to brand the narrative that's being conveyed here as canon, primarily because the central principle of the original game's universe is that we as fans define the trajectory, background and ramifications of its 'plot' - if such a linear structure can even be argued as existing in this instance - rather than these elements being pre-determined as is the case with the majority of titles currently on the market. Between their work on additional episodes of Tales from the Borderlands, Game of Thrones and now this project, Telltale in particular are likely to have their hands full next year, but rest assured that as and when further gameplay details, release schedule tidbits or the like come to light, we'll have the fastest and most comprehensive coverage of said information right here.

Minecraft: Story Mode - A Telltale Games Series will première on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, Android, Mac and iOS in 2015.

Doctor Who Season Nine Episode 1 Title Announced

Source: The Guardian

Everyone's favourite Time Lord wasn't lying when he likened himself to a magical conjurer!
Executive producer Steven Moffat has today announced the official title of the opening instalment of Doctor Who's ninth season since its 2005 revival. Tentatively scheduled to broadcast during the latter half of 2015, the latest series of the BBC's long-running science-fiction drama will star Peter Capaldi in the titular role of Theta Sigma for the second consecutive year, but Moffat and his intrepid band of semi-propagandists have yet to reveal whether it'll additionally feature Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald once more.

All will be revealed on that front when "Last Christmas" airs in a week's time, it seems. Before then, however, the programme's ever-extensive fanbase will have much to debate thanks to the revelation that next year's run will open with an instalment entitled "The Magician's Apprentice". Just as Season Eight's début outing boasted an infuriatingly vague name in the form of "Deep Breath", so too does Moffat appear intent on keeping the exact nature of his next contribution to Who's ongoing story arc a closely-guarded secret until such a time when Season Nine's première is within arm's reach. Whilst these three words adorned the cover of Trudi Canavan's fantasy novel of the same name, though, odds are that this'll be anything but a direct adaptation - quite to the contrary, that the resident showrunner and Stephen Thompson had Capaldi's Doctor compare his attire to that of a wizard despite "hoping for minimalism" in "Time Heist" suggests that the former screenwriter is intending to allude to his predecessor's script, although quite whether the use of the word "Apprentice" is coincidental or intended to imply that Coleman's beloved character will depart the TARDIS in just under seven days is most certainly a matter that's open for discussion. Let the speculation commence...

Doctor Who returns to our screens with its 2014 Christmas Special, "Last Christmas", next Thursday, December 25th (better known as Christmas Day, for those who haven't already heard) at 6.15pm on BBC One.

The Interview Box Office Release Cancelled

Source: BizBeatBlog

Terrorist threats have forced the production team to prematurely terminate their latest cinematic interrogation of modern society.
Sony Pictures have today announced that their political comedy motion picture The Interview is no longer scheduled for a release in UK or international cinemas. Starring James Franco and Seth Rogen as two government agents tasked with ending the tyrannical reign of a fictitious rendition of the incumbent North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un, the movie (which was scheduled for a Stateside box office launch on Christmas Day)'s commercial future is now uncertain to say the very least, since the studio were forced to cancel its upcoming screenings as a result of domestic cinema chains axing showings themselves, the recent hacking of their own network (which in itself purportedly occurred due to the international controversy surrounding the project in question) as well as threats made by the culprits of the technological disaster towards the US public in the event that they should attend its première.

Thankfully, developments such as these are relatively few and far between within the realms of the film industry nowadays, to the extent that The Interview being pulled comes as something of a shock given that productions such as Team America: World Police, The Dictator and - the most factually accurate instalment of the trio by far - Zero Dark Thirty were completed and screened across the globe with little in the way of hassle on this scale. We can't deny, however, how tragic it must seem for all of those involved with this seemingly-cursed entertainment product to have the fruits of their labour turn rotten just moments before critics and mainstream viewers alike had the chance to sample them for themselves. It's reassuring if nothing else to hear (via BBC News) that America's National Security Council "take very seriously any attempts to limit artists' freedom of speech or of expression" and that "a range of options" are therefore being weighed up in light of this troubling occurrence, but at the same time, we're absolutely fascinated to see whether or not Sony - who are currently keeping schtum with regards to their subsequent plans for the title - opt for a DVD / Blu-Ray launch in the near future or even upload it to Netflix or the like instead, particularly as they've every right to do so (we'd hope to be some of their strongest proponents in this regard were such an option to be evaluated, in fact, since as bloggers, we can't stress enough our empathy towards the Interview team's desire to be able to express themselves openly without any non-domestic censorship or intervention), but at the same time, it's worth bearing in mind that the studio would be equally justified if they chose to substantially protect both their employees and thereby uphold US peace and order as a whole by continuing to hold their metaphorical cards close to their metaphorical chests for the time being.

Keep it locked at On-Screen in the coming days for all of the latest details regarding the immediate implications these events will have for the domestic (and global) launch (or lack thereof) of The Interview as well as the potential responses they might resultantly elicit from the National Security Council.

More Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Plot Details Revealed

Source: Entertainment Weekly

The bad news? Pirates of the Caribbean 5's still happening. The consolatory news? Well, see for yourselves...
Orlando Bloom has today unveiled a few thought-provoking new tidbits of information surrounding the narrative of Walt Disney Pictures' upcoming follow-up to their 2011 fantasy movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides *. Scheduled for release in a port (or cinema, as we now refer to them) near you in around three years' time, the fifth instalment in the long-running swashbuckling saga - which is currently going by the name Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, though that's subject to change as production progresses - is at present only officially confirmed to star series mainstay Johnny Depp as (you guessed it) Captain Jack Sparrow.

According to Bloom, however, all that could be about to change. The British thespian had this to say when quizzed on the matter during an interview with IGN which was timed to coincide with the release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in the States today: "I'm not entirely sure [if I'll return], but there are talks. Basically they want to reboot the whole franchise, I think, and do something with me [or rather his character, Will Turner, who sacrificed his freedom to become Davy Jones' successor in 2007's At World's End] and the relationship with my son [who we glimpsed in At World's End's post-credits sequence]." Rumors of a return for Will Turner in one of our least-anticipated motion pictures of recent times have been abound sometime now, as have hints that his dearly beloved, Elizabeth Swann (played by Keira Knightley to marvelous effect in the original trilogy of Pirates films, hence why she has since acquired major roles in productions such as The Imitation Game), yet by confirming their validity and teasing a "reboot" - even if it's thematic rather than entailing the demise of all of the franchise's existing continuity - Bloom has shaken up the playing field considerably, implying that unlike the mediocre shipwreck that was On Stranger Tides, Dead Men could at the very least drastically rearrange the status quo in such a way that Depp's beloved protagonist might even start to take a much-needed backseat as other plot threads finally come into play (because honestly, does anyone truly wanted to spend five further entries in Sparrow's solitary company?).

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tells No Tales drops anchor in cinemas worldwide on July 7th, 2017.

* Apologies if the title of the franchise's turgid fourth instalment alone was enough to send shivers down your spine, dear reader, but in fairness, to go an entire Pirates-themed article without mentioning just why the series seems to have fallen so damn far would be downright inexcusable in our still-recovering eyes.

The Missing Second Season Commissioned

Source: BBC

Never mind the success of The Hobbit, this'll be the news that James Nesbitt was waiting for.
The BBC have today announced the commissioning of a second season of their crime drama The Missing. Developed in collaboration with the US TV network Starz, the show's debut run starred James Nesbitt as a father whose only child vanishes off the radar in increasingly mysterious circumstances, leading to a race against time to locate the boy before it's too late.

Whilst it wouldn't take too much skill in the art of rhetoric to craft an argument for its premise sounding overly unoriginal, The Missing has nevertheless thrived in recent weeks during its UK broadcast, amassing a wholly commendable average of 7.15 million viewers over the course of its first six (out of eight) instalments, a figure which can't exactly be criticized given that Doctor Who and Atlantis have managed similar (or in the latter's case, oft-inferior) ratings and that Nesbitt's first fully-fledged small-screen project since 2013's James Nesbitt's Ireland had a smaller episode count than both of those programmes' latest series. As we approach the dying days of 2014, more announcements akin to this one are sure to follow so as for the Beeb to outline their televisual broadcasting strategy for 2015 and beyond, all of which will be relayed first and in the most accessible manner right here at On-Screen as and when said press releases reach Joe Public.

All eight episodes of the opening season of The Missing are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer, whilst the series will return for eight further 60-minute episodes in 2015 on BBC One and Starz.

Grand Theft Auto V "Heists" DLC Gameplay Trailer Released

Source: IGN

No, this isn't not a drug-addled hallucination - Heists are on their way to GTA Online.
Rockstar Games have just released a new gameplay trailer promoting the latest downloadable expansion for the online portion of their open-world third-person-shooter video game Grand Theft Auto V. Titled "Heists", this long-awaited DLC pack will boast a series of missions based loosely on the set-pieces which proved to be the highlights of the product's central single-player campaign, only now these missions will allow multiple players to band together in order to pull off said criminal schemes in the most efficient and, dare we say, explosive ways possible.

If it's any consolation, we're under no illusion about the fact that the vast majority of our readers will most likely scroll straight down to the video link at the rear end of this article in order to give the trailer a watch and quite frankly, we can't blame you. Rockstar have been promising the release of "Heists" ever since the 360 / PS3 edition of GTA V (and with it, of course, GTA Online) launched back in September 2013, provoking a somewhat strained relationship with their fan-base as a result of us feeling rather uncertain as to whether the DLC would ever actually see the light of day. See the light of day it will, however, in the early stages of next year (though exactly when still remains the question), and to celebrate, the development team provided the following teasers regarding the much-anticipated (free to download) package in an interview with IGN:

• ON THE REASONING BEHIND "HEISTS"' VARIOUS DELAYS - "As it turns out, creating missions of [this] complexity for multiple players at the same time was much more difficult than we had anticipated and every time we thought we were close, something would send us back to square one. Having already let players know our intentions with "Heists", every setback only increased the pressure to make sure we got them right. After many months of designing, testing, rewriting and re-testing, we settled on the four-player structure that you will experience in the game. It took a ton of work from our programmers and mission designers to make it work at the level we were happy with. We never want to have to move a date but if something is delayed, it's because it's not at the level we expect of ourselves."
• ON WHAT'S REQUIRED OF PLAYERS TO PARTAKE IN HEISTS - "Each heist requires 4 players all at rank 12 or above, with one player as the designated heist leader. From there you'll be able to launch missions as the leader, starting with the prep work and building up to the score [heist] itself."
• ON THE MOST PROMISING HEIST MISSION CONCEIVED SO FAR - "[It] would be the finale of an epic prison break where players come from different points on the map to join together [as a pilot, a demolitions expert and undercover agents] at just the right time."

Now that we've got those tantalising comments from Imran Sarwar out of the way, let's get down to business and commence the main event. Take a look below to catch the first full teaser for "Heists" before letting us know your thoughts at any of the usual social networking mediums (in all honesty, you'd be best advised to either join our official Facebook group or follow yours truly on Twitter (@tbuxton42)).

Grand Theft Auto V's "Heists" DLC will launch on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and PC marketplaces ready for use within the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows editions of the title "early in 2015" (according to Rockstar's latest blog post).

Inside Out Teaser Trailer Released

Source:Variety

There was us thinking that Cars was a bit on the quirky side!
Walt Disney Pictures have unveiled the official teaser trailer for their upcoming animated film Inside Out. Directed by Pete Docter and starring the likes of Amy Poehler, Bill Hader and Diane Lane, this standalone outing depicts the mad-cap attempts of beings living inside (and controlling) the minds of humans to maintain a form of social order within a domestic environment with predictbaly hilarious results - think Meet Dave but with less Eddie Murphy and more humour that actually hits the mark.

What's more, the motion picture in question marks Pixar Animation Studios' first contribution to the industry since last year's Monsters University, a key attribute which in itself should draw more than enough viewers to auditoriums for the project to ultimately make a substantial profit given how much the younger generations of today tend to crave new adventures from the minds who gave us Toy Story, A Bug's Life and (much to their subsequent regret, we'd imagine) Cars (shudder). Promotional trails such as these are rarely indicative of whether or not the final product will flourish critically (or commercially, for that matter), yet even so, the number of high-calibre, semi-satirical gags on offer here is promising to say the very least when compared to the dizzying mediocrity of 2011's monumentally underwhelming Cars 2 and virtually every trailer which preceded its release, suggesting that the considerably lengthy period that one of the planet Earth's foremost animation studios has spent in the background whilst Walt Disney Animation Studios developed and débuted frankly marvellous productions like Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph and (as of January 2015 here in the UK) Big Hero 6 will pay dividends as Pixar undergo a return to form in a few months' time.

Inside Out will toy (quite literally) with the minds of audiences in cinemas (or the cinematic nervous system, if you will) across the globe on June 19th, 2015.

First X-Men: Apocalypse Supporting Cast Member Announced

Source: Empire

The X-Universe's equivalent to Thanos is to be voiced by a major up-and-coming star...
20th Century Fox have announced the first substantial supporting cast member set to feature in their upcoming superhero blockbuster X-Men: Apocalypse. Picking up from where this year's X-Men: Days of Future Past left off, this third instalment in the studio's series of period prequels to their original trilogy of Hugh Jackman-starring mutant escapades will see James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and - unsurprisingly - Jackman reprise their roles as more youthful and therefore (in theory) sprightly renditions of Charles Xavier, Erik Lensherr, Raven Darkholme (aka Mystique) and Wolverine just in time for these long-esteemed characters to face off against the seemingly omnipotent behemoth who gives the movie its to-the-point title.

Chances are that unless the person browsing this article knows their non-mainstream cinema, the name Oscar Isaac won't ring many bells at the moment. Only the most apathetic of viewers will be able to ignore the Inside Llewyn Davis star from this point onwards, however, as he's set to appear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and - as our readers may have already guessed - more significantly in the seventh consecutive X-outing as none other than Apocalypse (a mutant who first appeared in a 1986 X-Factor comic before subsequently giving Professor X's Gifted and Talented warriors all kinds of hassle in future story arcs), two roles which should all but guarantee his acquisition of a firm place in the Hollywood Hall of Fame. Isaac doesn't need to do much more to impress us after his stellar portrayal of Inside's eponymous folk singer, but if nothing else, the news that he'll be making waves in the realms of mainstream cinema before too long alongside (if rumours are to be believed) Chloe Grace Moretz (who'll reportedly play Jean Grey in her pre-Phoenix guise if casting negotiations proceed according to plan, though take this tidbit with a pinch of genetically-mutated salt for now) has us positively over the moon, particularly as we've yet to see him in a role which requires such an intimidating screen-presence as En Sabah Nur. Roll on the Summer of Film 2016, we say...

X-Men: Apocalypse evolves into a form which can be visually digested by cinema-goers the world over on May 27th, 2016.

New The Flash Guest Star Announced

Source: Coming Soon

Can the Scarlet Speedster possibly survive his latest live-action encounter with a Skywalker?
HitFix have this week announced the identity of a new guest star set to appear in an upcoming instalment of The CW's hit superhero drama The Flash. Based in the same narrative universe as Arrow, this increasingly acclaimed spin-off depicts the origins of the eponymous Justice League member, the exploits of whom are instrumental in the redemption of Central City after a freak scientific accident infects many of its citizens with potentially catastrophic super-powers.

Among them, according to Hitfix, will be "an anarchist terrorist con man [try saying all of that after this Friday's inevitable onslaught of post-work festive drinks] serving a life sentence in Iron Heights [the prison in which plenty of antagonists from Arrow and its aforementioned sister show alike are contained] who helps Barry (Grant Gustin) and Det. West (Jesse L. Martin) to foil the city-wide attacks of a wannabe Trickster eagerly following in the original's deadly footsteps." The con man's name? Why, the Trickster, of course, and as if the notion of an ex-villain pairing up with the world's fastest superhero (barring Quicksilver, of course, but DC tend not to discuss him for obvious reasons) to stop one of the former's band of followers from wreaking unprecedented havoc wasn't already captivating enough, the man portraying him (or should we say reprising the role, since he starred as precisely the same character on the John Wesley Shipp show of the same name which aired in the 1990s) in Season One's seventeenth episode is none other than Star Wars' Mark Hamill. This extremely welcome development is the latest in a long line of casting revelations which confirm that - unlike Arrow, to some extent - the programme's début run truly is going from strength to strength and on the basis of the stellar opening nine episodes, at this point we're not exactly inclined to oppose that hypothesis either. Stay tuned to On-Screen in the next few days to discover more regarding what's in store for Gustin's incarnation of the titular comic-book veteran as his first live-action drama races towards the end of its freshman run...

The Flash will return to The CW with its mid-season première, "Revenge of the Rogues", on January 20th, 2015 and to Sky1 with the first instalment of its long-awaited two-part Arrow crossover, "Flash vs. Arrow" today (Tuesday, December 16th) at 8pm.

Kong: Skull Island Delayed

Source: Video WatchBlog

The first ever battle between Doctor Strange and the world's fiercest primate will have to wait for another day.
Legendary Pictures have this week announced a delay in the release schedule of their upcoming blockbuster prequel to Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of the 1933 classic King Kong. Originally dubbed Skull Island, the next instalment in Legendary's newly-envisioned Monsters Cinematic Universe (seriously, don't ask) will take place years before the original film's eponymous tree-climbing warrior came face-to-face with the damsel in distress who would ultimately (if inadvertently) bring about his untimely downfall.

If the idea of a different MCU sounds rather enticing, though, then it'd probably be worth you taking a seat at this point, dear reader. Despite the fact that this at the very least intriguing spiritual predecessor - which will hence forth go by the revised name of Kong: Skull Island - will supposedly inhabit the same narrative realm as this Autumn's Dracula Untold and other upcoming reboots based around long-beloved monstrous creatures such as the Mummy, unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, its inter-movie connections are likely to be tenuous - if not non-existent - at times due to the semi-isolated timelines necessitated by their disparate narratives, meaning that the chances of an Avengers-esque team-up are second to none for now. Indeed, the just-released initial plot synopsis does little to dispel the sense that the production team are more focused on crafting their own dense universe than they are on foreshadowing future Monsters romps: "[The movie] will fully immerse audiences in the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island [hopefully it isn't just us to whom that premise sounds somewhat familiar!]. Legendary's story honours the foundations of existing King Kong lore, but places it in an entirely new, distinct timeline." 

With that being said, now that Jordan Vogt-Roberts' latest directorial effort has moved out of the crosshairs of Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange, the latter of which has evidently gained enough marketing traction to worry Legendary into relocating Kong from November 2016 to March 2017, and now that we know both Tom Hiddleston (better known as Thor, Avengers Assemble and Thor: The Dark World's near-invulnerable God of Mischief, Loki) and J.K. Simmons (or as we've always referred to him, Spider-Man's very own J. Jonah Jameson) are on board as central cast members, the odds finally seem to be shifting into the project's favour (although nothing's certain until the trailers hit the net and the film itself hits auditoriums, naturally). Nevertheless, with almost three years to go until everyone's favourite oversized ape graces the big-screen for the eighth time, just about anything could happen, hence why we'd suggest you keep a watchful eye on this blog in order to stay abreast of each and every major development which occurs in the meantime.

Kong: Skull Island ignites its torch and commences its search for the truth behind one of cinema's most alluring (if terrifying) settings in cinemas worldwide on March 10th, 2017.

Gracepoint Cancelled

Source: Seriable

Ellie Miller returns to our screens next month. If only her Stateside incarnation was so lucky...
FOX have today announced that their mystery drama Gracepoint will not return for a second season in the foreseeable future. The series in question took its lead from iTV's Broadchurch in an unashamedly overt manner, adapting the events of the latter's first season for a U.S. audience - as if they couldn't handle the Devonshire accents of the original piece - whilst throwing in several familiar cast members such as David Tennant (who portrayed one of the iTV1 edition's central protagonists) and iconic characters including Danny Latimer and D.I. Alec Hardy (Tennant).

Much as we'd love to mourn the departure of yet another aspiring small-screen production from our screens, it's safe to say that we'd hardly be alone in attesting that Gracepoint simply lacked the unmistakeable sheen of its inspiration, in no small part due to writer Chris Chibnall (another recurring element of both projects)'s insistence upon telling an uncannily similar tale almost word-for-word (albeit with a slightly altered resolution, though one would be hard pressed to note much in the way of substantial plot deviations barring a scene or two) rather than crafting an entirely new narrative which could utilize previously established constructs such as Hardy in an innovative way so as to allow Stateside viewers who've already watched the immeasurably superior UK version's opening season and series loyalists based in ye old Britannia to view such characters in a refreshingly unexpected light. That the aforementioned US adaptation managed to amass between 3-4 million viewers on a weekly basis across its ten chapters is hardly a feat to be scoffed at, of course, but in the end, we'd wager that the vast majority of the Broadchurch fan-base will now simply shift to the attention to the main event as Season Two beckons, threatening to bring with it heart-wrenching secrets and stirring set-pieces galore. (Checks his watch.) Are we certain that it's not January 5th yet?

For more news on FOX's upcoming TV projects as well as their cinematic counterpart (20th Century Fox)'s plans for the future of the film industry, keep it On-Screen over the Christmas break.

Broadchurch Season Two TV Trailer Released

Source: BBC America

The End is Where it Begins, apparently - but why can't the End hurry up and get here already?
iTV have this week released a full TV trailer for the impending second season of their crime drama Broadchurch. Set in a fictitious coastal town, the programme originally centred on the murder of an innocent youngster going by the name of Danny Latimer, although Season Two will purportedly shift its focus to the consequences of a yarn which took shape long before Latimer's corpse was found sprawled beneath a cliff-face with no sign of the culprit.

A fair deal of credit must go to the much-loved series' marketing team, however, since any attempts to glean precisely what lies in store in the eight or so episodes which'll comprise the latest run will most likely be in vain as a result of the sheer lack of tangible plot points - beyond a potential connection to the girls DI Alec Hardy failed to locate after their mysterious disappearance, though we'll acknowledge that this is little more than conjecture at the moment - demonstrated in the trail. At the same time, the ambiguous nature of the content depicted here isn't likely to deter speculation aplenty, nor will it quell the ever-increasing levels of anticipation - not least amongst the On-Screen team - for what's fast becoming the most avidly discussed drama of 2015 (and with good reason - for those who missed out on it first time around, Season One's instalments rarely represented anything less than a tour de force in modern televisual storytelling). Whilst one could argue we're no closer to determining what's in store next month, our readers can at least cherish the one certainty surrounding the grim-yet-gripping drama's resurrection - true to form, On-Screen will reveal all of the latest and greatest details on the show's immediate future as and when they surface, not to mention any new trails or episode plot synopses that land on the interwebs in the run-up to Season Two's fast-approaching air-date.

Speaking of which, Broadchurch will return to iTV1 with its emotionally rigorous (some things never change) second season on January 5th, 2015.

BBC & Paramount Theme Park Attraction Announced

Source: TARDIS Data Core

Let's just hope that it fares a little better than Hedgewick's World of Wonders!
London Resort Company Holdings and BBC Worldwide have today announced the development of a theme park based on several of the franchises conceived by the latter corporation. Presently dubbed the London Paramount Entertainment Resort, the new attraction will be situated in Kent and comprise of both the park itself - which, if all goes according to plan, will play host to a diverse array of rides and other amusements - and a holiday resort aimed at enticing tourists to stick around after their initial foray into the fictitious realms of the Beeb's most beloved TV series.

But just which franchises are to be integrated into the Entertainment Resort experience? Details are sketchy at best on this front at the moment (and in all honesty, more aren't likely to be forthcoming until far nearer the time of the park's opening), although it's a safe bet to assume that long-running brands such as Doctor Who, Atlantis, Gavin and Stacey and Sherlock (amongst others, of course, so long as they're easily marketable to a younger demographic in this case) will have a part to play somewhere down the line. As if it wasn't enough to see these brands come to life beyond our screens, though, that the attraction will be developed in collaboration with Paramount Pictures indicates heavily that esteemed big-screen sagas such as Transformers, Mission: Impossible and Terminator could quite easily factor in as well.

Stay tuned to On-Screen in the months ahead for more teasers regarding exactly what'll be in store for visitors at the London Paramount Entertainment Resort when the attraction opens its doors in Spring 2020.

First Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 Character Details Announced

Source: Adventures in Poor Taste

Fan favourite constructs are set to join the action next time around, it seems.
Producers Andrew Form and Bradley Fuller have this week revealed the first details regarding new characters who'll join the ensemble of supporting players in the next instalment of Paramount Pictures' newly-revived Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise of action-adventure films. Tentatively titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, the sequel to this year's divisive Summer reboot will once again star Megan Fox as April O'Neil along with Johnny Knoxville, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher and Jeremy Howard as the piece's shell-clad namesakes.

As ever, the eponymous amphibious kung-fu fighters won't be alone when they make a comeback in two years' time, either. For better or for worse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 already looks set to be a more crowded piece of cinema than the staggeringly soulless début outing, packing at least two (if not three) entirely new characters whose roots lie in the comic-books which give the motion picture its title. Form and Fuller both said as much to Omelete and The Wrap earlier this week, providing the following details: "We can say that Bebop [a malicious pig-faced warrior whose allegiance lies with Shredder] and Rocksteady [ditto, though he's a rhino] are in the film, and Casey Jones [a long-running accomplice of the TMNT] is a character that we love and we're trying to fit him in as well." More details on the project's heroes, villains and the like are sure to surface in the coming months, so stay tuned to On-Screen for all the latest key info.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 catapults into cinemas worldwide with a pizza slice in one hand and a katana in the other on June 3rd, 2016.

Titans Pilot Episode Commissioned

Source: SciFi Now

There was us thinking that the DC Televisual Universe couldn't possibly grow any larger...

Executive producer Geoff Johns has this week confirmed the commissioning of (at least) a pilot episode of TNT's proposed superhero drama Titans. DC Comics' Chief Creative Officer took to Twitter yesterday to announce that the show - which will form a loose adaptation of DC's own Teen Titans comic-book franchise as well as acting as an indirect spiritual successor to two animated TV shows based on the characters that launched in 2003 (Teen Titans) and 2013 (Teen Titans Go!) - will start putting one foot in front of the other next year as its production team gears up to film its opening instalment (the title, premise and running time of which are sure to be confirmed at a later date).

If our profound passion for the world of Robin (or as he'll be called here, Nightwing), Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven hasn't been explicitly mentioned here at On-Screen until now, then it's only because the odds of a live-action adaptation of the aforementioned saga of teenage superheroic hi-jinks always seemed, to cite The Hunger Games' Effie Trinket, out of the Titans' favour. Quite to the contrary, though, now that Arrow, The Flash and Gotham (as well as Constantine to a certain extent, though that that particular show recently had its first season capped at 13 episodes - ICYMI - doesn't necessarily bode well for its immediate future) are each performing well enough to showcase DC's potency as a confident televisual competitor, not to mention that Krypton will be giving secondary Super-characters their chance to star in the limelight, it's only fitting that the Dark Knight's longest-serving partner-in-justice will finally head up a team of mutant-esque warriors in a show of his very own. Don't believe us? That being the case, feel free to take a look at Johns' thrilling original tweet below, then rest assured that we'll be the only source you need for coverage of DC's increasingly diverse array of small-screen projects (plus their impending Cinematic Universe, of course) in the weeks to come.

@kyler416 We shoot the pilot next year!
— Geoff Johns (@geoffjohns) December 8, 2014

Titans will première on TNT with its action-packed pilot episode in Autumn 2015.

The Elder Scrolls Online PS4 / Xbox One Edition Revised Launch Window Revealed

Source: What is PlayStation 4

Skyrim was just the beginning. The problem is, the next chapter's taking its good time to arrive.
Bethesda Game Studios have this week announced via their official blog the latest in a series of delays for the next-generation home console editions of their recent massively multiplayer online role-playing video game product The Elder Scrolls Online. Situated in the same narrative universe as past franchise instalments such as 2007's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and 2011's Skyrim, Online does what it says on the tin, opening up Skyrim and the like to be explored by countless players simultaneously as well as setting up the events of the aforementioned Elder Scrolls of old through a prequel-esque main campaign which can be bested at any time fans so desire.

As turbulent development schedules go, we're starting to wonder if - barring perhaps Duke Nukem Forever and Aliens: Colonial Marines (both of which were developed by Gearbox and sailed as smoothly as the Titanic come the moment that the critical embargo ended) - Online's might well stand amongst the best (or rather worst) of them. Whereas the PC edition of the title launched back in April this year, the PS4 / Xbox One version seems to somehow have been destined for technical issues from the outset, a troubling revelation given the extent to which Skyrim in particular rallied even reviewers such as yours truly into applauding the franchise's new-found ingenuity (in spite of its side missions ultimately amounting to tediously repetitive fetch-and-fight quests). Such hitches are still seemingly being blamed by Bethesda for the flurry of setbacks which their latest - yet by no means greatest, if the lukewarm critical reception to the original PC-exclusive iteration is any indication - project has fallen prey to in the latter stages of its increasingly belated birth. Nevertheless, keep it On-Screen for more details on The Elder Scrolls Online's launch window as well as rumoured Bethesda products such as Fallout 4 (details on which could even be with us before the year's out).

The Elder Scrolls Online will now purportedly begin to impart its legend on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles in Spring 2015.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Delayed (Again)

Source: All Games Beta

Geralt's defining moment will be revealed to the world a bit later than expected!
CD Projekt RED have this week announced a delay in the release schedule of their previously-impending open-world fantasy video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Currently readying to launch exclusively on next-generation consoles, the sequel to 2011's The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings will task its protagonist Geralt - and, of course, the player - with overcoming the series' most powerful - and therefore frustrating-to-tackle - antagonists to date, not least the deer-esque bestial menace depicted above.

Eagle-eyed readers of On-Screen may well have noticed that this writer tends to prioritize playing those video game products which emphasise narrative over sheer difficulty, with the rare exception to the rule being a title such as Alien Isolation (9/10) that more than competently balances the pair, hence why Assassin didn't appeal to us for the most part. With that being said, even if it's hardly our cup of tea, only those who regard the industry as a whole with a severe level of apathy could possibly have failed to note the immense levels of hype swelling around Wild Hunt and its increasingly lengthy (much to the irk of regular Witcher followers) development process, a factor which hasn't helped CD Projekt RED in the slightest when it comes to them announcing one of the most divisive updates to the cycle's progression so far. Thankfully, the vast majority of players - ourselves included - concur that if CD's focus on "limit[ing] any bugs" (as they put it in the Open Letter they submitted to fans via their official site in order to break the rough news earlier this week) will make Wild Hunt all the more likely to turn out for the better when it premières next Summer rather than in the late stages of this Winter (a launch window that they supposedly set far "too hastily" in the end), then more power to CD, yet at the same time, we'd scarcely blame those who've dropped their pre-orders in light of the news and as such, the development team have their work cut out when it comes to enticing the naysayers to return.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will no longer launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC in February 2015 but will instead land in video game retailers worldwide on May 19th, 2015.

Dad's Army Film Adaptation UK Release Date Announced

Source: iTV

The Boys are Back, yet can they possibly match the critical acclaim of their predecessors?
Universal Pictures have today confirmed an official UK release date for their upcoming cinematic adaptation of the BBC's classic comedy TV series Dad's Army. Set in a British Armed Forces base towards the southernmost coastal areas of England, the original show centred on a platoon of dim-witted elderly soldiers who were forced to man the Home Front whilst their younger counterparts fought in the defining battles of World War Two.

Much as loyalist fans of the programme's début incarnation would be eager for Universal's rendition to incorporate its surviving cast members in some way, in reality it's out with the old and in with the new as the likes of The Inbetweeners' Blake Harrison, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Doctor Who ("Amy's Choice")'s Toby Jones, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2's Michael Gambon along with plenty of other Brtitish and international greats unite to pay homage to a cult favourite quite unlike any other. With no sign of a trailer or promotional images beyond the one depicted above as of yet, the jury's still out (in Nuremberg, or so we hear) on whether or not this'll be remembered as a shoddy facsimile or an adaptation which elevates its source material to such an extent that it can finally resonate with a younger contemporary audience (although the all-star ensemble isn't a worrying start, certainly), but if nothing else, by regressing from their initial plan to launch the project in cinemas in 2015, the studio are at least setting themselves up to avoid commercial failure, since their newly-chosen release window only coincides with B-list contenders such as Deadpool rather than the big hitters of the next year.

Dad's Army marches diligently into the UK box office on February 5th, 2016.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. & Avengers: Age of Ultron Crossover Announced

Source: ComicBook

"Not a great plan." Who else is becoming fearful for Coulson's sanctity already?
Co-creator Jed Whedon has today announced that ABC's increasingly critically (not to mention commercially) esteemed detective drama Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will cross paths with the narrative of Marvel Studios' impending big-screen superhero blockbuster Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron. Both productions' storylines occupy the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, making it no great surprise that they'll converge in an as-of-yet unknown manner, but that shouldn't stop fans the world over from speculating how the first such crossover since Captain America: The Winter Soldier directly influenced S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tonal and dramatic trajectories alike in episodes such as "End of the Beginning" and "Turn, Turn, Turn" will play out.

Once again, we've got Entertainment Weekly to thank for the latest update on all things MCU, since their interview with Jed - who's better known to many as the brother of Joss (who, in turn, is better known to all but a few as the man behind both Avengers Assemble as well as the much-anticipated Age of Ultron) - brought up the matter of whether the Earth's Mightiest Heroes' first contact with one of their deadliest adversaries (the clue's in Age's name) would impact upon the remnants of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division (thank goodness Coulson and co. found a shorter way to say it, eh?). Here's what Whedon had to say on the subject: "You should expect something. The Avengers [series of films] is the big tent that all the franchises play under. Obviously, we're included in that." This all makes sense, really, since Agents is taking a break in January and February whilst Hayley Atwell storms ABC with Marvel's Agent Carter, leaving the former project to triumphantly return with eleven further instalments in March, April and May, the latter of which will surely be those which respond in some way to Ultron's worldwide battle with those superheroes who are capable of avenging the Earth in the event of its destruction.

Until then, however, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues its second run on ABC tonight (December 9th) with "What They Become" (the fascinatingly-named mid-season finale) and on Channel 4 this Friday, December 12th with "The Things We Bury" at 8pm. Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron will subsequently land in UK cinemas nationwide on April 24th, 2015.

Street Fighter V Announced

Source: ZeroChan

But by no means is that the controversial news of the hour!
Capcom have this week announced the development of a new instalment in their long-running Street Fighter franchise of side-scrolling punch-em-up video games for release on next-generation platforms in the months (or years, even - who knows?) ahead. In a twist that'll surprise absolutely no-one who has paid any attention whatsoever to the series' history, after countless iterations of Street Fighter IV, the first standalone instalment since 2008 will go by the oh-so-inspired name of Street Fighter V.

What's more, if and (let's be honest) when the product ships on our shores, it'll only launch on two primary systems as opposed to the relatively universal multi-platform approach of days gone by. In perhaps the most divisive move since Crystal Dynamics confirmed Rise of the Tomb Raider's timed exclusivity for Xbox consoles earlier this year, Capcom went on to subsequently reveal that Street Fighter V - as we'll call it in keeping with the developer's branding until a more original name is adopted by the marketing team later on (well, we can dream) - will première exclusively on PC and PlayStation 4 rather than shipping on any Microsoft hardware. Odds are that Sony moved heaven and earth to ensure they didn't lose out in a similar vein to Rise this time around, but even so, we'd wager there'll be more than a few disgruntled fan-girls and -boys come launch day as a result, a factor which could soon affect the publisher's future platform strategy if the latest iteration's sales don't pan out as they might have normally desired. Nevertheless, keep it locked at On-Screen to learn more on the project's development and release schedule, and until then, check out the somewhat disconcertingly unambitious teaser trailer below.

Street Fighter V will most likely - although official confirmation is admittedly still forthcoming on this front, so bear with us - kick some pixelated buttocks on PlayStation 4 and PC consoles in 2015.

Krypton Commissioned

Source: Screenrant

Never mind Jor-El, what was the story of Kal-El's grandfather? Here's hoping that our readers are dying to find out...
SyFy have today announced the development of a new television series chronicling the events which led to the origins of the DC comic-book superhero Superman. Titled Krypton, the programme's (presumably) multi-season narrative will take place decades before Clark Kent first saw the red light of day, focusing instead on the grandfather of the eponymous Man of Steel and the Kryptonian in question's involvement in political machines which disgraced the House of El to such an extent that they could scarcely influence their planet's council at the time of its imminent destruction.

Depending on how much our readership knows of the superhero film genre or its foremost behind-the-scenes players, that David S. Goyer (the screenplay writer of acclaimed efforts such as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises along with anything but lauded genre instalments like Man of Steel) has been drafted in as the show's resident executive producer could easily be either a positive or negative omen. From our perspective, however, the burden of proof lies more with SyFy as a US televisual network than it does with the brother of Christopher, since barring a couple of loosely intelligent science-fiction sequels and spin-offs, the channel has yet to put out much in the way of quality content, whilst Goyer at least has the Dark Knight trilogy to his name if nothing else.

If that's not a suitable enough solution to the issue of the considerable period of time separating us and the series' début, though, then at least SyFy (and Warner Horizon Television, with whom they're collaborating on the project as a whole) have given us a brief plot synopsis for the programme overall. Provided that minor spoilers aren't a concern, do read on and let us know any initial thoughts that come about as a result: "Years before the Superman legend we know, the House of El was shamed and ostracised. This series follows the Man of Steel's as he brings hope and equality to Krypton, turning a planet in disarray into one worthy of giving birth to the greatest Super Hero ever known."  There's only one sure-fire way to tell, though, and that's of course to keep one's eyes peeled to this very blog as well as to give the pilot episode of the umpteenth DC Entertainment small-screen project a chance once it lands here in the UK.

Short of its development talks coming to an abrupt halt within the next few weeks, Krypton will première on the SyFy channel in 2015.

Final LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham DLC Expansions Announced

Source: Flickr

DC continue to take us further beyond the reaches of Gotham City in 2015!
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have this week announced four new downloadable expansion packs which will be made available in order to broaden the range of content offered in their recent action-adventure platforming video game product LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. Developed by TT Games, this third chapter in the LEGO Batman saga sees the eponymous Caped Crusader team up with both the Justice League of America and a diverse gallery of DC rogues so as to acquire the level of wit, strength and block-busting power required to withstand the might of Braniac as he attempts to conquer the known universes (and, as the title suggests, Beyond).

Already, those who picked up Beyond Gotham at launch last month have had the chance to simultaneously purchase DLC packs based on the 2013 cinematic epic known as Man of Steel, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and Batman's 75th Anniversary celebrations, yet if TT have anything to say about the matter, the best is yet to come. We've compiled together all of the key details surrounding the contents of the trio of new downloadable content packages coming our way in the early stages of next year below, detailing which of the packs contain new levels and which are 'limited' to an array of enhanced Detective Comics constructs...

• ARROW PACK (£2.99)
• Contains one exclusive bonus level set on the island of Lian Yu (where Oliver and Slade must navigate its bomb-laced crevices during a flashback sequence) as well as the following characters from the titular CW superhero drama:
• Oliver Queen / "Arrow"
• Diggle
• Felicity Smoak
• Slade Wilson
• Roy Harper
• Sara Lance / "Black Canary"
• Malcolm Merlyn
• Helena Bertinelli / "Huntress"
• HEROINES AND VILLAINESSES PACK (FREE)
• Contains the following female DC superheroes and antagonists:
• Raven
• Starfire
• Terra
• Vixen
• Plastique
• Killer Frost
• BIZARRO WORLD PACK (£2.99)
• Contains a singular bonus level focusing on the Justice League's efforts to fend off attacks from half-hearted duplicates of themselves created by none other than Bizarro.
• As if that wasn't enough, the following characters will also become playable through the Pack:
• Bizzaro
• Bizzara
• THE SQUAD PACK (£2.99)
• Again, there'll be just one main exclusive bonus level to look forward to, this time centring on a break-out at Belle Reve Penitentiary which forces the Suicide Squad to team up and enter the near-abandoned asylum using the following characters:
• Amanda Waller
• Captain Boomerang
• Deadshot
• Deathstroke
• El Diablo
• Harley Quinn
• In addition, the Rainbow Character Pack and Batman of the Future Pack will both terminate their limited exclusivity contract with the PS3 and PS4 consoles so as to allow themselves to hop over to Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC and the like as well next Spring.

Each of the DLC packs listed above will only work in collaboration with LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (for obvious reasons) and will début on PSN, XBLA and other digital marketplaces in early 2015.

Terminator Genisys Teaser Trailer Released (& Bonus 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Trail)

Source: Cinema Blend

He's back - although in fairness, did we ever really doubt that he would be?
Paramount Pictures have today released the official teaser trailer for their impending science-fiction movie Terminator Genisys. The fifth instalment (doesn't time fly?) in the long-running franchise of time-travelling epics, Genisys boasts an extremely formidable cast ensemble, with its A-list headliners including Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke (who plays Sarah Connor), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' Jason Clarke and Doctor Who's Matt Smith (apologies for the lack of 'Clarke' in the man's name, but his esteemed reputation should serve as ample compensation).

Of course, no Terminator sequel would be complete without Arnold Schwarzenegger (well, barring Salvation, a mediocre semi-reboot which featured a poorly-rendered CGI version of the Austrian-American actor) and true to form, he's back to finish the job he started here. Long-running fans of all things John Connor might well take issue with the warping of the franchise's continuity that's seemingly about to occur as Sarah Connor - in stark contrast to the timid teen scream-a-holic we met in The Terminator - rescues futuristic freedom fighter Kyle Reese (played by Suicide Squad's Jai Courtney) from an almost omnipotent oncoming T-1000 with the help of none other than another hyper-intelligent murder-machine (portrayed by Arnie, naturally) who was sent back to Sarah's childhood in order to protect her from the antagonist of the classic 1984 motion picture which kicked the series off.

Keeping up? With any luck, the absolutely blooming fantastic teaser (below) should help clarify matters we've addressed here somewhat, although suffice to say that at the very least revisiting The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines would be advisable over the course of the next six months. Regardless, Genisys has - thanks in no small part to the aforementioned preview video - ascended up our Most Anticipated Films of 2015 shortlist, a prestigious and hotly competitive compilation of each of the blockbusters - and minor, somewhat more arthouse-esque motion pictures - that look set to take the film industry in brave new directions in the coming months, all of which are listed in ascending order (with #1 representing our Most Anticipated Movie of 2015 and so forth) below:

1. Into the Woods (January 9th, 2015)
2. Terminator Genisys (July 1st, 2015)
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron (April 24th, 2015)
4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (November 20th, 2015)
5. The Theory of Everything (January 1st, 2015)
6. Pitch Perfect 2 (May 15th, 2015)
7. Victor Frankenstein (October 2nd, 2015)
8. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (December 18th, 2015)
9. Kung Fu Panda 3 (December 23rd, 2015)
10. The Divergent Series: Insurgent (March 20th, 2015)

Whilst we're on the topic of J.J. Abrams' much-vaunted first foray into the realms of Star Wars, by the way, it recently occurred to the On-Screen team that due to our unscheduled temporary hiatuses earlier this month, we never showcased the potent (if overly familiar due to its director's choice to disconcertingly prioritize his utilization of plenty of elements from Episodes IV-VI rather than demonstrate the ambition and innovation supposedly present within The Force Awakens' narrative) teaser trail for what's tipped to be yet another shared universe-kickstarter. In which case, anyone who somehow managed to miss out on the chance to watch the trailer can do so (before catching a rather hilarious reaction video which we've included for comedic measure) below.

But to get back on topic, Terminator Genisys travels from the allegedly dystopian future into cinemas worldwide on July 1st, 2015.

Doctor Strange Lead Star Announced

Source: The Telegraph

From the Great Detective to the Sorcerer Supreme, is there any role Benedict Cumberbatch can't acquire?
Marvel Studios have just announced the identity of the thespian who'll take on the lead role in their upcoming fantasy superhero blockbuster Doctor Strange. Set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this quirky outing - which, by all accounts, is intended to stretch the limits of said narrative mythology farther than ever before - will be directed by Deliver Us From Evil's Scott Derrickson.

Yet come launch day, whereas some big-screen productions would sell tickets on the basis of the esteem in which their directors (Christopher Nolan or Steven Spielberg, say) are held, odds are that this one will make millions upon millions of pounds as a result of one defining factor: Benedict Cumberbatch. As has been rumoured for some time now, the Sherlock and The Hobbit star will play Doctor Stephen Strange in his first solo outing as well as - presumably - in a number of other Marvel Cinematic Universe instalments (though precisely which ones won't likely become clear for a good while yet) and in doing so will contribute to the landmark endeavour of rendering both the construct and his origins story - a tale which involves hubris, car crashes, broken hands and, ultimately, redemption through inter-dimensional protection of the Earth and its neighbouring galaxies - on the silver screen for the very first time. Stay tuned to On-Screen as always for more on the plot and supporting cast of one of the most hotly discussed MCU projects conceived to date.

If all goes according to plan (and since Marvel Studios, that's virtually a given), Doctor Strange will cast his first explosive spell in an auditorium near us on November 4th, 2016.

Frozen Fever Première Date Announced

Source: The Wrap

Anyone who has since melted their snowman would be advised to start rebuilding it at the next opportunity...
Walt Disney Pictures have this week confirmed the date on which Walt Disney Animation Studios' latest production, Frozen Fever, will première in cinemas. Sporting a storyline which will depict the post-Frozen antics of inspirational protagonists Elsa and Anna, this much-anticipated short film will début during the adverts shown within screenings of the overall studio's impending fantastical romantic-drama Cinderella (which, for those interested, stars Broken's Lily James, The Hobbit's Cate Blanchett and Game of Thrones' Richard Madden).

That the pair will walk hand-in-hand into auditoriums across the globe in a quarter of a year's time is no coincidence, of course; quite to the contrary, we'd be willing to bet that Disney are none too pleased with the lukewarm levels of anticipation currently circulating around Cinderella and as such are bringing in the metaphorically sizeable armaments needed to boost ticket sales through the roof. The worst part of this cynical commercial ploy? We'd be equally confident in asserting that it'll pay off infinitely come release day, since Frozen went from strength to financial strength earlier this year, indicating that any related media - this ten-minute spin-off piece included - will thrive to just as great an extent, if not moreso. In other words, for better or for worse, welcome to the modern film industry.

Frozen Fever will send shivers of elation into the hearts of audiences the world over at each and every screening of Cinderella, meaning that we'll first receive the chance on March 13th, 2015.