SDCC 2019 - Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 4 Announcement (Spoilers Included)

They sat out SDCC last year and this year upon their return, Marvel decided to go big with the announcement of five movies and five streaming shows on upcoming service, Disney+

So, here's a look of what we can actually expect in the next two years from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Black Widow: Due for release on May 1st 2020, this prequel movie will see Scarlett Johansson reprise her role as Natasha Romanov in a movie that is rumoured to be set during the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Joining Johansson here will be David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, O. T. Fagbenle as Rick Mason, Rachel Weisz as Melina/Iron Maiden as well as Ray Winstone in an undisclosed role. The main antagonist for this movie will be Taskmaster. Filming for this movie started in May.

Eternals: Due for released on November 6th 2020, this movie will focus on a space battle between the titular group and their enemies, the Deviants. Rounding off the cast for this movie are Angelina Jolie as Thena, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, the leader of the Eternals, Lia McHugh as Sprite and Don Lee as Gilgamesh. There's still some more casting for this movie to be confirmed but filming will begin in September in London for this one.

Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings: Due for a February 12th 2021 release, this movie had been fast tracked by Kevin Feige since December 2018 and we now know that the title character will be played by Simu Liu with Tony Leung Chiu-wai portraying the Mandarin and Awkwafina also cast in a role in the film. Filming for this movie will take place in Australia within the next few months.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness: Due for a May 7th 2021 release, Benedict Cumberbatch's surgeon turned magical superhero will be getting a second solo outing and this time he'll be backed up by Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch as Nightmare has been confirmed as the main antagonist for this movie. This movie will also be tied into Olsen's upcoming Disney+ series, WandaVision, the latter which will stream prior to this movie's release.

Thor: Love And Thunder: Due for a November 5th 2021 release, I think we were all shocked earlier last week to find out that Chris Hemsworth was getting a fourth solo movie and with director Taika Waititi returning following the success of Thor: Ragnorak, this movie will not only see Thor reunite with Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie as the latter looks for a queen but in a major surprise, Natalie Portman will not only reprise her role as Jane Foster but she'll also be playing Lady Thor for good measure too. Between finally confirming Valkyrie's bisexuality and giving us Lady Thor, this movie isn't messing about.

Elsewhere, there was another surprise announcement of Mahershala Ali being confirmed as Blade for an upcoming movie while sequels for Black Panther, Guardians Of The Galaxy and Captain Marvel were confirmed with hints of mutants eventually making it into the main cinematic movies. However the fourth phase will seemingly be about the five above movies I mentioned and five upcoming television series, leading to this bit.

With Disney+ due to debut in the next few months, MCU fans will have a big incentive to watch the five upcoming series they're planning as these series will tie into the main cinematic universe in a fairly big way. First up will be The Falcon And The Winter Soldier with both Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their respective roles with Emily VanCamp and Daniel Brühl set to reprise their roles as Sharon Carter and Baron Helmut Zemo from August 2020. Then it'll be WandaVision, focusing on the relationship with Olsen's Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany's Vision while Teyonah Parris will appear as an adult version of Monica Rambeau while Loki will see Tom Hiddleston's mischievous trickster in a post Avengers: Endgame timeline. Both those series will debut in early 2021. After that, we've got What If…?, an animated anthology series with Jeffrey Wright voicing the Watcher and several familiar characters appearing in rather different circumstances, with a mid 2021 date being earmarked for it's release. The last series then will be Hawkeye with Jeremy Renner reprising the title role but also handing it over to Kate Bishop. This show will debut in late 2021.

Meanwhile it's also been confirmed that Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD will end after seven seasons. The show currently into it's sixth season, airing on both ABC and E4 respectively will be the most successful of Marvel live action show in spite of it often being ignored by the MCU itself (although Clark Gregg did recently play Agent Coulson in Captain Marvel). I stopped watching the show a few seasons back but it's incredible that the show lasted as long as it did. I also think that following it's imminent demise, the only Marvel shows we'll be getting for the foreseeable future will be on Disney+

So that's the next two years for the MCU sorted then. What were the most exciting announcements for you? Which movie or streaming shows are you most eager to see? Was there something you wish had been announced but wasn't?

Comic-Con 2016 - Highlights

In the past I've done more individual trailers and stuff for some of the panels but this year I decided to do more of a rundown of stuff we've learned from various shows and movies over the last few days at Comic Con. Without further ado ....

Castings Alert

- Rihanna has been cast as Marion Crane for the fifth and final season of Bates Motel.
- Once Upon A Time's sixth season will be adding Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz), Jasmine (Karen David), Jafar (Oded Fehr replacing Naveen Andrews), Morpheus (Giles Matthay) and the Count of Monte Cristo (Craig Horner)
- Kristin Chenowith has been cast as Easter for American Gods.
- Agents Of SHIELD have added Ghost Rider into the mix with Gabriel Luna taking on the role, Lili Birdsell will also recur in the new season.
- Neil Jackson has joined the cast of The Originals while Nathalie Kelly will be playing evil herself in The Vampire Diaries.
- Brie Larson has been cast as Captain Marvel.

Time To Say Goodbye And Hello

- Over the weekend, it was confirmed that the upcoming seasons of Bates Motel, The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf will be their final seasons.
- Game Of Thrones seventh season will only be seven episodes and will air in Summer 2017. I assume then it's inevitable eighth season will only be six episodes then.
- Legion will be coming next year for US viewers as will BBCAmerica's version of Dirk Gently with Samuel Barnett and Elijah Wood.
- Viewers will be meeting Penny's mother and brother in the tenth season of The Big Bang Theory as played by Katey Sagal and Jack McBrayer respectively.
- Colton Haynes will be playing a mysterious role in the second season of Scream Queens.
- David Tennant will also be playing the Doctor again, this time on Family Guy during a spoof.

Star Trek: Discovery

With Star Trek Beyond currently in the cinemas, here is a stark reminder that next year we will have a television series once again. While Bryan Fuller sadly didn't confirm the cast at Comic Con (something of an oversight there), he did confirm the proper title for the show and you know what? I like it! We also got an image of the ship as well, which looks okay so far. It's also been confirmed that UK viewers will be able to see the series on Netflix next year.

Sherlock: Series 4 Trailer

Between Benedict Cumberbatch appearing at San Diego as part of the promotion for Doctor Strange (still not too fussed on that to be honest), a trailer for the fourth series of Sherlock was also released and it certainly piqued interest. It looked dark and brooding and even contained the delightful moment where Mrs Hudson likened Mycroft to a reptile. We're also been teased as to whether or not Moriarty (Andrew Scott) is still alive, seeing Mary (Amanda Abbington) in gun toting action and getting a nice look at Toby Jones playing the baddie too. Overall, it looks like a promising season ahead. You can have a look at it here ,... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlcWFoNqZHc

That's a round up wrap for this year's Comic Con. This time next year, yeah?

A Girl Is Someone

And here's another look at some of the shows I've been watching lately.

Arrow: I'm not gonna lie, the fourth season finale was probably the weakest we've had from the series so far but it did have it's moments. Damien finally being taken out for starters was great to see and it was nice to see Oliver somewhat inspire a bit of confidence within the city but with just him and Felicity left (Thea's gotta mopey and Diggle's reenlisted), next season really will need to bring the gang back together as well as address the void left behind with Laurel's exit. Oh and tone down Olicity too would help things a little.

Daredevil: I've been a little catching up on this but given that I had so many other shows to watch and summer is a bit of a television wasteland, holding this off paid off though. I've seen the first five episodes of this show's second season and it's every bit as enjoyable as the first. While I'm not too fussed on the Matt/Karen romance, the latter continues to get great development, character wise, Foggy is fun and the references to both Jessica and Luke are nice to have onscreen. Even better though has been the Punisher arc and the beginnings of the Elektra one too. Feels like we're being spoiled here.

Game Of Thrones: This season has been pretty strong but aside from the episode where we finally got Hodor's backstory in great detail along with his death and several returns (the Hound, Benjen, Brotherhood Without Banners and so on), it does feel like the pace has slowed down to deliberately build to the last two episodes. Cersei's trial is imminent, Margaery is playing the long game with the Faith, Sansa and Jon have different ideas to get their home back, Dany took the long route to return to Meereen and Arya finally decided that being someone was better than the alternative. Now, let's just move things that little further shall we and kill off some important characters this time around?

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: With the only Marvel show left on ABC, the third season finale did us a solid and killed off both Lincoln (didn't hate him but he was a tad bland at times) and finally Hive/Ward as well while teasing the ambiguity of the new director and having Daisy on the run as some vigilante type before she's inevitably swayed back to the group properly next season. The final few episodes were solid enough but not entirely spectacular. It'll be interesting to see where things go from here though.

Once Upon A Time: This season might not have been the show at it's most impressive, though the second half certainly was a step up from the first half though. The two part finale though certainly had it's moments, namely the introduction of both Jekyll and Hyde, the land of untold stories and of course, the return of the Evil Queen in the oddest of ways. All of these things however still didn't cancel out Henry's irrevocable stupidity by nearly banishing magic or the fact that yet again, Rumple never truly pays for any of his betrayals. That being said, enough happened here to make me want to watch the sixth season though.

The Flash: Barry- what the hell, man? Did you learn nothing from Rose Tyler or other similar situations? Yeah, we lost Henry but not John Wesley Shipp who turned out to be Earth 2's Jay Garrick and Barry saved his mother, so that's going to blow up in his face next season. Other stuff that happened included Zoom getting his just desserts, Harrison and Jessie taking their leave, more WestAllen foreshadowing and of course for a brief moment, the arrival of Black Siren who may pop up again next season. Strong final batch of episodes though.

- Nick Zano has been cast as Dr. Nate Haywood/Commander Steel for Legends Of Tomorrow's second season. The show will also be adding an earlier version of Vixen as a regular too.

- Rick Gonzalez has been cast as Wild Dog for Arrow's fifth season. Josh Segerra however will be playing the role of Adrian Chase/Vigilante, the main antagonist for the upcoming season.

- Supergirl will be adding Lena Luthor, Maggie Sawyer, Nick Farrow, the Doctor and Snapper Carr. Superman will also be appearing in the first two episodes of the show's second season. Tyler Hoechlin will be playing the man of steel.

- CMT and Hulu have stepped in and Nashville has been renewed for a fifth season of 22 episodes.

- Lesley Jordan will be returning to American Horror Story for it's sixth season, due to begin filming in July.

- Outlander has been renewed for both a third and fourth season by Starz.

- Orlando Jones and Gillian Anderson have joined American Gods as Mr Nancy and Media alike.

- Gotham will be recasting the role of Ivy Pepper as Clare Foley will not be returning for Season 3.

- John Stamos has joined Scream Queens second season as a regular. He'll be playing the role of Dr Brock Holt.

- Orphan Black has been renewed for a fifth and final season by BBCAmerica.

Heading Into New Terrain

I know I need to try and make these jumble blogs a bit more frequent but I've been caught up with some regular reviews. However here is a look at the last batch of things I've been watching.

Arrow: Well, we've got two episodes left, a super powered to the hilt Damien Darhk and Laurel is still dead (though we'll see a version of The Flash next week). We've also got the show running around in circles with more dull flashbacks, Malcolm doing his usual self serving antics and Thea being taken out of the main action. On the plus side, I did like seeing Diggle taking out his annoying brother, Lyla being delightfully snarky and helpful and even watching Felicity working with her criminal father was better than expected. Oh and Oliver, you might want to up your game a little with Damien. Just saying and all.

Game Of Thrones: It's been three episodes in and so far, this show has had something of a creative rebirth. With the show now officially surpassing all of George RR Martin's books (as well as ignoring/merging other plotlines), Season 6 is so far on a really strong note. Even Arya's storyline has picked up tremendously and Ramsay is continuing to even outdo Joffrey for the most despicable character on the show while Daenerys is experiencing a bit of a comedown and Jon wisely decided to abandon the Night's Watch as well. Even the flashbacks to young Ned Stark are adding more to the show. So far this season really is firing on nearly all cylinders.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: Two seasons ago we had Ward turning to the dark side and it did wonders for the characters. Now we've got Daisy being under the influence of HIVE and it doesn't really feel like she's done anything too bad (aside from taking Malick out). Other than that, it doesn't feel anything really exciting is happening. Hive's story is going too slowly that it's losing momentum but on the plus side, at least the show pushed Fitz and Simmons together.

Once Upon A Time: What a way to resolve things. Hook's back from the dead, Arthur got taken down and redeemed and Hades was killed by Zelena. Oh and Robin died. I wish I could be upset by that one but I never really shipped him and Regina to begin with. The last few episodes have had some interesting moments and I have enjoyed most of the flashbacks not to mention the fact that the Underworld storyline was such a step up from the disastrous Dark One/Camelot plot in the first half of the season. I just hope the finale gives the season a satisfying ending though.

Supergirl: I've really enjoyed the first season of this show and with news that it's been picked up for a second season (more on that in a bit), the last two episodes certainly packed a lot into them. I liked the team up of Indigo and Non and I liked seeing Cat and Maxwell even playing their parts to save the day in a way. I also loved every scene Kara had with the rest of the characters and the cliffhanger was a great way to hype things up for next season. This show has proved in the space of twenty episodes that Kara has more than stepped out of the shadow of her more famous cousin.

The Flash: While I'm still enjoying the show a lot more than it's parent series, I am tiring a tiny bit of the Zoom storyline. With two episodes left though, at least Barry finally has an advantage against his faster nemesis and with hints that he won't be the only good speedster on the show (the writers are laying it on thick with Wally and Jessie), and more Earth 2 stuff to look forward to, it does seem like things are progressing rather nicely.

- ABC have cancelled Agent Carter but Hayley Atwell will be starring in Conviction for the network. They've also decided not to pick up Most Wanted as well.
- ABC have also axed Castle, Nashville, The Family, The Muppets and Galavant to name a few. Scandal will also air mid season.
- Supergirl has been renewed for a second season but will now air on the CW instead of CBS and will film in Vancouver instead of Los Angeles.
- Grimm will have a shortened sixth season on NBC. The network have also picked up Charlaine Harris's Midnight, Texas as a series while Heartbeat and Telenovela have been axed.
- FOX have picked up both Star and 24: Legacy as series while cancelling Bordertown, Grandfathered and The Grinder.
- Colton Haynes will return for multiple episodes in Arrow's fifth season while a new character named James will be the antagonist next season.
- Wentworth Miller will not be a regular in Legends Of Tomorrow's second season but will recur in the Berlanti TV universe according to a new contract for the actor.
- Sleepy Hollow has been renewed for a fourth season.
- CBS have cancelled CSI: Cyber after two seasons.
- Riverdale has been ordered to series by the CW.

Pretty Bird

You'll know who the title of this blog is referencing, right? Major spoilers, so if you haven't seen these shows, back away now.

Arrow: For months we were wondering which character would be unfortunate enough to end up in the grave and after weeks of initial fan dread, it turned out to be Laurel. I'm not going to pretend I've been the biggest fan of the character but I really do think the writers messed up big time with her exit, even if it finally cemented Damian as a baddie and had some poignant moments to boot. Bear in mind we've also had episodes centering on the Olicity angst, the unwelcome returns of both Cupid and Brie (two useless villains) as well as everyone else finding out the gang's real identities. With five episodes left and more insufferably dull flashbacks to wade through, can we just end this season with Malcolm also dying? Pretty please?

Marvel's Agents OF SHIELD: And it's back. Several months since that moment with Ward becoming something else, the last few episodes have been on a good form. The departures of both Bobbi and Lance were handled well and hopefully their upcoming spin-off fares better than Agent Carter has done. As for the rest of the show - we need more Joey, especially with Mack and I'm fairly lukewarm on Daisy/Lincoln but the Gideon plot is decent enough to watch unfold at the moment as he's proving to be a decent antagonist for Coulson and company.

Once Upon A Time: Memo to the writers: episodes focusing on Hook are dull. Same with Robin for that matter. Now episodes delving into how much of a bastard Rumple really is, having Snow get her fight back (and a past history with Hercules) and the completely rushed but still entertaining 'love' story between Zelena and Hades and you've got some winners there. Speaking of Hades, it's now five episodes in and he's shaped up to be the best villain since Ingrid on the show. The Underbrooke stuff itself is re-energising the show in a pretty good way for now.

Supergirl: So, that crossover with The Flash? If you've seen Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, it was probably a welcome contrast for you but for a meeting of Kara and Barry, it was a truly excellent piece of television along with the tag team baddie duo of Silver Banshee and Livewire. Of course the show has been getting better as it's been going along, doing some interesting things with the usual red kryptonite storyline, bringing Lucy into the fold with both the DEO and Kara's secret and then there's also Alex and Hank on the run to boot. I can't wait to see what the final two episodes bring to the table.

The Flash: Back for two episodes and then it breaks. I really don't know how US viewers put up with these stopping and starting moments. Anyways, the episode focusing on a female speedster was better for setting up Jesse's future (and perhaps hinting at Wally's) than it was for Trajectory herself while Barry going back one year and interacting with Wells/Reverse Flash, Hartley and Eddie again packed more of an emotional punch though. Now to finally tackle the Zoom problem when it returns.

- Patrick J. Adams has bagged a mysterious/recurring role for Legends Of Tomorrow.
- John Simm has been cast as the Benefactor, a recurring role for The Catch.
- Katie Cassidy will be appearing as Black Siren in the two part finale for The Flash.
- Grimm has been renewed for a sixth season by NBC.
- Ricky Whittle has discussed being bullied off The 100 by the showrunner. That show seems to be a hotbed for controversy at this point.
- Kat Graham has revealed she will leave The Vampire Diaries after it's eighth season.
- Elton John will guest star in Nashville.
- Echo Kellum has been promoted to a regular for Arrow's fifth season.

A Different Kind Of Hero

This will probably be my penultimate TV jumble blog for 2015 and it's a bit of a superhero themed one (minus one show possibly) so here goes ....

Arrow: Well, that episode certainly gave us a version of Little Drummer Boy we're unlikely to forget, right? Oh and Felicity might be dead thanks to Damien Darhk, except I get the distinct impression that she won't be but the show needs it's dosage of Oliver angst to keep things ticking over though. I did like the mid season finale and Damien has certainly been a much more interesting villain than Ras turned out to be. Then there was also the previous episode which crossed over with The Flash and served to set up Vandal Savage/Hawkman/Hawkgirl for Legends Of Tomorrow. That one I liked a little more to be honest.

Jessica Jones: It finally debuted after months of hype and I decided to watch most of this Marvel show quicker than I did with Daredevil. So far, I've seen four episodes but what I've seen, I've pretty much enjoyed to be honest. Krysten Ritter has been perfect as the caustic former superhero while David Tennant has provided an all too real sense of menace to Kilgrave. The detective noir vibe has certainly worked in the show's favour and the supporting characters with Trish, Luke Cage and Hogarth have also worked really well so far. Definitely a must see.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: UK viewers will be delighted to know this airs on E4 in January but in the US, it recently finished up and the last few episodes have been great. For fans of Fitz and Simmons, there's been plenty to admire and the escalating feud with both Coulson and Ward certainly took a more interesting than expected turn. It'll be interesting to see how the show moves forward following the note it ended on but it should make for a very watchable second half.

Once Upon A Time: Last few episodes have been a bit of a bust. The Emma/Hook centred Broken Hearts was one of the worst episodes the show has done but things did pick up slightly with the mid season finale finishing the Dark One plot (though not Camelot it seems) and bringing in the Underworld. There was also some entertainment with Regina finding a way to get Zelena out of the picture and hopefully when the show returns in March, the pacing will be a bit better.

Supergirl: Continuing to fly the flag for great superheroes, this show has gotten better and better to watch and the mid season finale was certainly an interesting note to end on. Astra's been a great antagonist all season long and this episode added some needed grey area to the character. Coupled with the arrival of Non, Hank's secret identity revealed to Alex and Cat working out that Kara's Supergirl, I can't wait for the show to return next year.

The Flash: First of all, that little nod to Batman: The Animated Series episode Christmas With The Joker was one of the best things ever. Then there was the team up of Captain Cold (before he got other ideas), the Trickster (minus junior this time) and Weather Wizard to give Barry something of a danger filled Christmas. This show continues to hit it out of the ballpark and between giving Patty more of an edge, having Harrison at ransom to Zoom and introducing Wally West, the ante on this show keeps getting upped and it's wonderful to watch. As for the Arrow/Legends Of Tomorrow episode, that was another gem too. Vandal Savage is a delightfully theatrical villain, isn't he?

- Megalyn Echikunwoke will be reprising her role as Vixen for the second half of Arrow's fourth season. She'll first appear in episode 14.
- Matt Nable will reprise his role as Ras Al Ghul for Legends Of Tomorrow. Sky1 have the rights for the upcoming series.
- Gotham will be adding Melinda Clarke, Michael Bowen and Lori Petty for the second half of Season 2.
- Teri Reeves will recur in the second half of Once Upon A Time an older, warrior version of Dorothy Gale.
- Sarah Paulson will reprise her role of Billie Dean Howard for the season finale of American Horror Story: Hotel.
- Channel 5 will air the new series of The X Files. 5* will air Heroes: Reborn.
- Homeland and The Affair have been renewed for further seasons by Showtime.
- Adam Stafford has been cast as Geomancer for the second half of The Flash's second season.

Taking On New Identities

Kind of thematic considering nearly all the shows I'm about to cover in this blog. Some of this is UK/US/Irish paced.

Arrow: I've caught the first two episodes and the show has had something of a mini revamp. Oliver has managed to dial his usual dour self down a few notches, adopted the moniker of Green Arrow and even seems to actually enjoy with Felicity. Unfortunately the flashbacks are still adding nothing interesting to the show but on the plus side, Damien Darhk is already a better foe than Ras was last season, we've got a gay Mr Terrific in the making and Thea and Laurel just work well together whether it's kicking bad guy butt or deciding to bring Sara back from the dead.

Jekyll And Hyde: You have to give it to ITV. Their attempts of creating their own Doctor Who effect have had mixed results. Primeval managed to last a decent five series and be fairly enjoyable but Demons was pretty much an abomination of a series and as for this series - well, it's potentially the strongest candidate ITV have done so far and we're only an episode in. Charlie Higson has done a fantastic imagining of the classic story and Tom Bateman is seriously brilliant in both roles. Definitely a winner for me.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: Okay, this has yet to air on Channel 4 but RTE2 (for Irish viewers) have so far aired the first two episodes of the show's third season and it's been a little bit of a slow burner. Mostly we've seen Skye complete her transformation into Daisy as she recruited more Inhumans while Ward spent time rebuilding Hydra and Fitz rescued Simmons from that weird dimension place she was in between seasons. There is some great stuff with May in the second episode though Coulson just kind of seems to be there at the moment.

Once Upon A Time: I've only seen the first three episodes so far (will catch up within the next week) and I have to admit, I'm not really that compelled by anything as of yet. In larger roles, the dwarves are actually annoying and Emma's foray into darkness hasn't been quite as dark as I'd hope it would be. I'm also not too blown away by the Camelot arc as of yet but on the plus side, I do like Merida from the little I've seen so far. Maybe the episodes awaiting me are a lot better.

Supergirl: I resisted the urge to watch the pilot when it was leaked several months ago but today, I finally caught and I loved it. Yes, there have been stronger pilots and there certainly were moments similar to The Flash and Smallville but this show genuinely deserves to be successfully. The feminist commentary/misogynistic opening baddie might have been hammered home a little too much but Melissa Benoist is going to be the definitive Supergirl for a lot of people and in this episode alone, she embodied everything about the character. Kara is the superhero we need and with 12 million viewers tuning in, CBS have produced a show worth the weekly watch.

The Flash: Ah, the show that now has become so timey wimey, even Steven Moffat would struggle to keep up with this. The first two episodes of Season 2 have been a joy. I might not have liked the swift way that Ronnie was dispatched or Henry left but everything else though has been a charm. The arrival of Jay Garrick certainly has added to proceedings and the looming threats of Zoom and Wells eventual return to our world are keeping things pretty interesting as well. With all these superhero shows flying high at the moment, it's a great time to be a fan of the genre, isn't it?

- Michelle Gomez will play a mysterious character named The Lady in an upcoming episode of Gotham. Nathan Darrow has been cast as Victor Fries for the show.
- Barbara Hershey will be returning for Once Upon A Time's 100th episode.
- Henry Czerny has been cast as the Toyman for Supergirl.
- HBO have cancelled The Brink after one season.
- Sherlock's upcoming special, The Abominable Bride will air on BBC1 and Masterpiece on New Year's Day.
- Bryan Fuller is to revive anthology series, Amazing Stories for NBC.
- ABC have cancelled The Whispers after one season.
- Gilmore Girls is being revived for Netflix as a series of four 90 minute episodes.
- Ryan Murphy and Gwyneth Paltrow may be working on a new show about a former 1990s hitmaker called One Hit Wonder.
- Empire creator Lee Daniels is planning a show about a girlband named Star.

ABC's Marvel Universe - Spoilers

Yesterday I discussed casting for Luke Cage and today I finished up Daredevil and with this blog, I'm also doing a rundown of spoilers both Agents Of SHIELD and Agent Carter (the finale which will air Sunday on FOX UK).

- Going by the haircut it looks like Skye's transition into Daisy Johnson is more or less completed at this stage. Actually the character will now be referred to as Daisy this upcoming season.
- Luke Mitchell will be a regular this season and Blair Underwood will be returning for several episodes.
- Constance Zimmer will recur, Andrew Howard will have a recurring role and Matt Willig will be playing villain Lash.
-  Coulson is again trying to put the pieces of his once revered organization back together while also dealing with the loss of his hand.
- Fitz is obsessed with discovering the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of Simmons.
- Grant Ward has a personal mission to take down Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D.

- Season 2 will be ten episodes instead of eight and will be set in Hollywood. 1947 to be specific and set six months after the events of the first season.
- Jarvis's wife will be introduced this season. Jarvis has also been helping Howard in LA.
- Madame Masque will be the villain for the second season, though the role has not been cast yet. A  1940s version of that villain.
- Due to comments from fans in relation to the first season, the producers will be more diverse with casting for this season.
- Chad Michael Murray will reprise his role as Jack for the second season. Dominic Cooper meanwhile will also be returning as Howard Stark.
- Filming for the new season begins in September.

Meanwhile it seems that if Netflix can have multiple connected Marvel shows then ABC will too as the network have ordered a pilot script for a Mockingbird spin-off featuring Adrianna Palicki as Bobby Morse and Nick Blood as Lance Hunter. This was announced a few months ago, then dropped and now seems to be back on. I guess if it goes through we lose two good characters from the main show but I'm not sure if there's enough of a USP for another spin-off really. It'll be interesting to see how this one pans out over the next few months.

Agents Of SHIELD Spoilers: http://www.spoilertv.com/search/label/Agents%20of%20SHIELD
Agent Carter Spoilers: http://www.spoilertv.com/search/label/Agent%20Carter

Agents Of SHIELD's third season will air on ABC, Tuesdays at 9pm from September 29th while Agent Carter's second season will premiere in January 2016.

Taking Over From The Demon

A look at some of the shows I've caught up on, mostly finales too.

Arrow: Finally, this whole Ras Al Ghul storyline has been put to bed and about bloody time too. I said in a previous blog that I felt the story didn't really work for this show's verse (bar the wonderful Nyssa) but for now, I'm cool with the way it ended and the outcome it had for both Oliver and Malcolm as a result. The finale itself was probably the weakest we've had from the series so far but it was still a solid way of ending a solid if not entirely amazing third season though.

Game Of Thrones: Oh dear. You'd think after that ill-advised scene with Cersei and Jaime from last season, the writers wouldn't have gone there with Sansa and Ramsay on their wedding night, but unfortunately they did and a bit of an internet shit storm ensued as a result. Don't get me wrong - I hated that scene as much as the next person and felt it wasn't needed for the plot but at the same time, the online reaction over it was a bit much though. Other than that, there has been a slow progression with Arya's Braavos storyline, Cersei seems to be digging her own doom but not before taking the Tyrells down with her and the Jaime/Bronn and Tyrion/Jorah scenes have been fun to watch as well.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: Season 2 has been a solid, fun romp and an overall improvement on the show's predominantly shaking first year and this finale was definitely a good note to end things on. The writers stuck to their guns and made sure there was no way that Ward would ever be a good guy again, it raised the stakes by putting several characters in danger (where the hell has Simmons gone to) and it put to bed some other plots, such as Skye's screwed up family and Raina of course. All in all, count me in for next season.

Once Upon A Time: A finale where most of the characters take on different roles courtesy of a narcissistic Author? Why the hell not? For the most part, it was a blast to see an Evil Snow, bandit Regina, mad Emma and Heroic Rumple at play and I did like that it was Henry who mainly saved things (along with Emma) while the show beautifully set up things for the fifth season with a certain someone becoming the new Dark One and the promise of Camelot too.

Scandal: Am I a really awful person for hoping that this show would be ballsy enough to actually kill off Jake? Even though I knew deep down that he wasn't going to die (despite it being very touch and go), the idea cutting the tedious with him, Olivia and Fitz was so appealing. Other than that, I do like that Olivia quickly worked out that Russell was working for her father (shame, he was fit) and at least the show isn't making Mellie's bid for Senator an easy ride either.

The Flash: That finale was just brilliant but the last two episodes in general were just amazing. The show has had an incredible first season and it ended on a wonderful note with the promise of a more expanded universe for it's second run. I really hope that given the breakneck speed in which the way the show operate that it doesn't burn out during it's sophomore season. Oh and getting a peak at Caitlin's future along with various character sacrifices was pretty nifty too.

- The pilot for Supergirl has leaked online. This happened last year with The Flash.
- Speaking of The Flash, the show will introduce other speedsters in it's second season while Arrow's fourth year will go for a lighter tone.
- Matthew Goode won't be returning for the seventh season of The Good Wife.
- Empire's second season will be 18 episodes. Guests confirmed for now include Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz and Chris Rock.
- Morena Baccarin has been confirmed as a regular for the second season of Gotham.
- Selma Blair, Paul Kim and Bruce Greenwood have joined the cast of American Crime Story.
- Danny Pino has left Law & Order: SVU.
- Dougray Scott has exited upcoming ABC drama, Quantico.
- The Following has been axed after three seasons.
- Harry Shum has been cast as Magnus Bane for the upcoming Shadowhunters series.