Comic Book Movie/TV News: X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Walking Dead

A new X-Men: Apocalypse trailer, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 news, and some Walking Dead casting news…

Final X-Men: Apocalypse Trailer

It reveals quite a bit, maybe almost into Batman V Superman territory. Here are some new bits:

• Apocalypse absorbs powers from other mutants to fuel his own. This would probably be to replace the Celestial technology he has in the comics. It would also explain why he’d want the Professor – Cerebro.
• Mystique brings the next generation of X-Men to rescue Xavier. She trains Cyclops, Jean Gray, Nightcrawler, etc to save the Professor. One of the things I haven’t cared about over the most recent movies has been Mystique as this character that works both sides. I like the comic version where she can never be trusted because she’ll stab you in the back.
• Quicksilver knows Magneto is his father. They alluded to it in the last movie, but they confirm it in the preview. The comic recently retconned the relationship between Magneto and his previous children, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. If the X-Men ever get back to the MCU, this relationship might get even more confusing since their version of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch had their parents die.
• There is a little help for Cyclops at some point in the movie…Wolverine. There was never any confirmation that Hugh Jackman was in the film, but the trailer let it be known. I can understand why they did this (marketing), but I’d rather be surprised when watching it. My guess is William Stryker is doing his Weapon X stuff on Logan when the X-Men run into him (they show Stryker in the preview).

While I think they showed a bit too much in the preview, I’m still excited about the movie.

Nathan Fillion is in Guardians 2
There were all kinds of rumors of what Fillion was going to do in the first movie, and I have to admit I was a little disappointed in his cameo. I guess James Gunn is making up for that in the second one; Fillion will be Simon Williams, AKA Wonder Man.

For those unfamiliar with the character, he’s an actor with powers that is a member of the Avengers. He’s one of those fan favorite guys that will occasionally get a book but never is able to sustain it.

Truthfully, it’s exciting news. I’ve never been a huge fan of the character, but from what I know, Fillion is a good fit; plus, it means we could see him in the next 2 Avengers movies.

In additional GotG2 news, part of the movie will be set in St. Charles, MO; it’s important as this is where the Nyrdcast Podcast is recorded (and Gunn is from the St. Louis area). Here are some images taken from Atlanta to show the St. Charles landscape.

The Kingdom is Coming
Casting news has come from season 7 of the Walking Dead: it looks like Ezekiel will be showing up.

Ezekiel, in the comic, was the ruler of the Kingdom, one of the neighboring communities to Alexandria. The comic teams with Alexandria and the Hilltop to fight Negan and the Saviors.

Now, we just need confirmation that they are casting a tiger.