A lot of the pre-release hate about Star Trek Into Darkness has been directed at the film’s ominous title. How can the film maintain Gene Roddenberry‘s vision of a hopeful, peaceful future when the second film in the rebooted franchise is going to take us “into darkness?”

Well co-screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman took a minute to respond to that very question in a new interview with Star Trek Magazine (which comes to us via Blastr). Apparently, the duo took their inspiration from the film’s villain, John Harrison played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

“He understands Starfleet because he was enlisted in a similar way,” says Orci. “Some might see part of the title coming from the fact that he’s kind of a dark shadow of members of our crew. He too has gone through the process… that some of our crew have gone though, and clearly for some reason it’s failed to bring him over, so I think he represents that part of our heroes.”

As for how Roddenberry, “The Great Bird of the Galaxy,” would feel about these latest developments, Kurtzman says that they had him in mind as he, Orci and Damon Lindelof tapped out the script. “Despite the fact that we are literally going into darkness, I think we all worked very hard to make sure the theme of hope, what hope costs, and what it’s really about, was always alive in how we were designing our story,” he said. “So we’re pretty consistent with the last movie in terms of dark things happening. But holding on to the light that Roddenberry set up as a basic tenet of the ‘Star Trek’ universe.”

In other news, we have a release date for the Star Trek Into Darkness soundtrack, the film’s score by regular J.J. Abrams collaborator Michael Giacchino. According to distributor Varese Sarabande (and out friends at Comic Book Movie), the Into Darkness disc will be released three days before the movie on May 14. No track listing or music samples have been released yet, but I have to admit I’m looking forward to it, the music, to me, was one of the best parts of Abrams’ first Trek.

And speaking of previews, TrekWeb has a couple of new images from the film, one of Spock and Uhura looking at – something- above and one of Peter Weller, in the reported role of Admiral Marcus, below. Anyone else getting a Star Trek: The Motion Picture vibe from those new uniforms?

Finally, the extended preview of Into Darkness that aired during The Walking Dead finale on Sunday has appeared online. If you missed it, or if you want to see it again, it’s embedded below for your viewing pleasure.

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There’s a new movie poster and international trailer for J.J. Abrams‘ Star Trek Into Darkness hitting the Internet today. New scenes, a first look at Peter Weller as Admiral Marcus and the above shot of Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) in her skivvies. She works out, just look at those abs.

This movie is pushing all the right buttons for this NerdBastard. Action, drama, the music is incredible, and that Cumberbatch voice, it’s raising the hair on the back of my neck. This trailer seems to hint at the motivations of, and the questionable past moral grey areas of, Starfleet Command’s decisions.

After the trailer there’s the new poster to check out.

This poster brings Kirk, Spock, and Uhura into the chaos and destruction that Cumberbatch’s character creates.

Star Trek Into Darkness hits theater screens on May 17th. Directed by J.J. Abrmas, it stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Peter Weller.

Via: Bleedingcool

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It’s our second clip from the upcoming The Dark Knight Returns Part 2, releasing January 29th, – the first can be found here – and it features one of my favorite moments from the classic Frank Miller comic. Batman riding a horse. You don’t need anymore setup than that, enjoy,

There’s just something ludicrous and lovely about Batman on horse, breaking a rifle in half with his bare hands, and rallying his troops of face-painted weirdos. I reviewed The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 when it released last year, and I’m expecting the second part to be not unlike the first, “… a solid adaptation whose devout version of Batman’s later years will likely be loved by fans and enjoyed, but maybe a little mocked, by newcomers to Miller’s final days of The Dark Knight.” I mean, come on, Batman is riding a horse.

With Gotham City back under his watchful eye, and accompanied by able sidekick Robin, Batman continues to battle crime – but his resurgence awakens a far worse evil at Arkham Asylum: The Joker. In the meantime, Superman has been dispatched by the President to halt Batman’s unsanctioned reign by whatever means necessary. Between the Joker’s diabolical scheme to drag Batmanto the darkest levels of insanity, and the Man of Steel’s seemingly invincible physical presence, the Dark Knight must confront adversaries and allies simultaneously while maintaining the peace in Gotham City.

Primetime television stars Michael Emerson (Person of Interest, Lost) and Mark Valley (Human Target, Fringe) join the voice cast as The Joker and Superman, respectively; and popular talk show host Conan O’Brien gives voice to animated talk show host Dave Endochrine. Fanboy favorite Peter Weller (RoboCop, Dexter) continues as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and he is once again accompanied by David Selby (The Social Network, Dark Shadows) as Commissioner Gordon, Ariel Winter (Modern Family) as Carrie/Robin, and Michael McKean (This is Spinal Tap) as Dr. Bartholomew Wolper. Also featured in the voice cast is Maria Canals-Barrrera (Wizards of Waverly Place) as new Commissioner Yindel, Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) as Lana Lang, and Radio Hall of Fame member Michael Jackson as Alfred.

The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 releases January 29th on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital formats. Will you be snagging a copy?

Source: Geek Tyrant

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There’s no shortage of interesting genre actors in the forthcoming Star Trek sequel Into Darkness – RoboCop’s Peter Weller, former Doctor Who companion Noel Clarke, and Sherlock Benedict Cumberbatch – but it seems that an early 80s horror heroine is also part of the new crew: Nightmare on Elm Street star Heather Langenkamp.

Aside from appearances in the Nightmare sequels The Dream Warriors and New Nightmare, Langenkamp has had small roles in several films and TV series, but nothing as big as that first turn as Nancy in Nightmare. As for Into Darkness, Langenkamp, while in discussion with HorrorNews.net about her new documentary I Am Nancy, says that she secured the part through one of the oldest processes known to man: nepotism.

I had the opportunity to play a small part in Star Trek, so I’m looking forward to that. I can’t tell you anything about that, but that was a thrill for me. My husband and I worked on the makeup effects for Star Trek. He designed some of them, so that’s the thing we’re looking forward to most.

Langenkamp’s husband is David LeRoy Anderson whose worked on films like Men In Black, Dawn of the Dead, and The Cabin in the Woods. In the same interview, Langenkamp talked abouthow her husband’s job often takes him to far flung places away from the family, but for Into Darkness, she says, it was nice to work on something together.

In the last 10 years, my husband is quite a prominent makeup effects artist, and I’ve found that he’s often going to Canada and doing jobs far away, and it was really hard on our family. I kind of teamed up with him, and I do a lot of the busy work of owning a business. I really enjoyed teaming up with him, because I really like more mundane jobs, and he’s so creative, so we complement each other a lot in our business.

So I think it’s safe to say that Langenkamp will be made-up for her part in Trek, what do you Bastards think? Can anyone say “Klingon?”

Source: /Film

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Just wrapping up in the IGN Theater at New York Comic Con has been The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 panel, moderated by Gary Miereanu with Bruce Timm and Andrea Romano. For the first time ever NYCC is live streaming their panels out of the IGN Theater and we here at Nerd Bastards are bringing you recaps of every one. Along with exclusive showroom floor coverage and interviews, but you already knew that, didn’t you?

The only thing we can’t share with you are the trailers and clips shown during the panels, of which there were many at this DC Animated universe panel. They started with an exclusive trailer for an upcoming project I’ve very excited about, LEGO Batman The Movie: Superheroes Unite. Miereanu promises the movie is the funniest superhero movie he’s ever seen and if it’s at all like the LEGO games I’m think we’re in for an excellent flick.

LEGO Batman will be one of four movies being released next year, the first, obviously being The Dark Knight Returns Part 2. Part 1 released only a few weeks ago (Psst, you can read our review here.) and while it was received favorably the real excitement has been over Part 2, where we get to properly meet Michael Emerson‘s Joker.

Romano said she was given specific instruction to cast not from their usual company of actors. Obviously this meant no Kevin Conroy or Mark Hamill, though Romano admits she’d use them every time if permitted. Of Emerson she said his Joker is “scary,” “eerie,” and “wonderful” but that it’s unlike any Joker we’ve heard before.

Much of the same could be said of Peter Weller‘s performance as Batman. It’s unlike anyone we’ve heard before, even Conroy’s old, grumpy Bruce from Batman Beyond, to which Bruce Timm revealed he hadn’t realized how much they took from The Dark Knight Returns when he was working on Beyond. He also dropped hints he’d love to work on another Beyond movie during the Q & A, so keep your fingers crossed!

Another addition to the cast in Part 2 is Mark Valley as Clark Kent/Superman, who both Timm and Romano praise as being able to bring sympathy to a Superman who isn’t much more than the President’s lackey and a bully. Timm also said whenever Valley voiced Clark he would wear a pair of glasses, to help with the character. Ha!

There were several clips from Part 2 shared during the panel and with any luck we’ll see them make their way online soon, but one clip in particular revealed a surprise voice over in the movie. Voicing the late night host, Dave Endocrine who the Joker kills with signature laughing gas is Conan O’Brian! Romano said his dying laugh, the slow to maniacal laugh that comes with being doused with Joker toxin, O’Brian recorded his in one take and it is incredible. Cannot wait to hear that, how about you?

The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 will release early next year and LEGO Batman The Movie following in the Spring. The other two projects we can expect next year are Superman Unbound in the middle of 2013, and this will be a movie based on Geoff Johns‘ Superman/Braniac series. There’s no official announcement of the cast, though they’ve already been recording and they all agree the cast is awesome. It was hinted Molly Quinn of Castle is involved. Lois, maybe?

And lastly, Justice League: Flashpoint, capping off what I find to be a rather lackluster schedule, what do you think? I’m looking forward to The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 and I cannot wait for LEGO Batman The Movie, but Unbound and Flashpoint? I’m not twitching in my seat with excitement over either one. If anything, Flashpoint happened so recently and created the hot mess that is the New 52. I can’t imagine many a DC fanboy or girl being all that excited by it.

What are your thoughts about their upcoming slate of DC original animated movies? What’s the comic you most want to seem them tackle next?

Stay tuned for more up to the minute coverage from NYCC!

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The trailer for part two of the animated version of Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns has hit the internet and it’s worth a look. The story picks up right where it left off in part one (Go figure) with Batman’s return to Gotham City with an all new Robin in tow.

Things get complicated as both Gotham City Police and a recently released Joker try to hunt Batman down. Then we get the scene we’ve all been waiting for … Superman is ordered to take down the Batman and all hell breaks loose as these two heroes face off.

I’m still having some trouble with Peter Weller’s voice work on this. Maybe it’s just me , but I can’t feel any emotion in his voice. Is it just me? Take a look at the trailer below and let us know what you think in the comment section below.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 will be released on all formats including digital download in early 2013.

Source: MTV Geek

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With every new release DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation are trying to raise the bar on animated superhero films. Are they succeeding? Yes and no, but I’d say mostly yes. Recently their choice of stories to adapt have become more ambitious, more revered, and that couldn’t be more true than when bringing Frank Miller’s classic, The Dark Knight Returns, to the screen. A lot of what this adaptation gets right is owed to their unwillingness to deviate much from the original work. It can also be said that’s where anything they get wrong comes from, too. It’s this utter faithfulness to Miller’s work that can be both a blessing and hindrance when bringing the story to life in a new medium. In this sense, The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 reminds me of Zack Snyder’s Watchmen, which received criticism for at times being too faithful to Alan Moore’s script and not forming their narrative to better fit the film. A comic book isn’t simply a storyboard to be filmed and turned into a movie, the two mediums are separate and should be developed separately.

That being said, Miller’s original story of an aging, retired Batman donning the cowl once again to save a Gotham overrun by crime, corruption, and complacency comes through strongly in the animated film. Most everything your remember from the comic is here. Even some extraneous plot lines that could have been condensed or removed for the sake of pace, like Two-Face’s rehabilitation and regression. It’s a nice exploration of the villain and how his psychosis can’t be cured with a little plastic surgery, but we don’t need it in the movie and the focus could have been on The Mutant uprising from the beginning.

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There’s a new clip from DC Entertainment/Warner Bros. for the animated film Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – Part 1. It’s an extended clip from the animated movie’s trailer that features classic Frank Miller dialogue,  “He’s young, he’ll walk again.”

Peter Weller is the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne, David Selby as Commissioner Gordon, Ariel Winter as Robin, Wade Williams as Two-Face, and Michael McKean as Dr. Bartholomew Wolper.

I’m still hoping this will turn out great. I have my doubts though, Weller’s emotionless voice acting (Under-Wellering is what I am gonna call it) is just not ringing true for this Nerd Bastard. The Dark Knight Returns features a “pissed off old man” Batman and I haven’t heard it in any of Weller’s work up to this point. Far from it, I feel like Weller is just reading the lines and not truly getting into the Batman Returns character.

There is a hint of it in the clip below, but I don’t want a hint. I want to be hit over the head with it repeatedly. Remember, this is a Batman who has sat on the sidelines watching things go to hell and stewing in his own helplessness for the last ten years. Batman is not someone who likes sitting on the sidelines.

What do you think, am I full of it, out in left field, missing something, dazed and confused? Let me know what you think about what you’ve seen so far in the comments below.

The DVD/Blu-ray for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part One will be released on on September 25th with part two planned for an early 2013 release date.

Source: Geek Tyrant

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Oh man, how I hope we’re in for a real show. The trailer for Warner Bros. and DC‘s latest animated feature has promised great things, and this clip only continues to do so. It’s our first tiny tease of things to come in The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 releasing September 25th. Wow, I just put it together how fantastic a day that will be for superhero fans because it’s also the DVD/Blu-ray release date for The Avengers. Plan your Tuesday accordingly is what I’m saying.

Anyway, the clip recreates an iconic moment from the classic story of Bruce Wayne’s return to the cowl, one that was included as a little homage this summer in The Dark Knight Rises.

What’s not to love about Batman leaping through the night sky, lit up by a giant streak of lightning? It gives me chills. I’ve got high hopes for this flick and can’t wait to hear Peter Weller‘s take on the aged Bruce. Are you excited for The Dark Knight Returns Part 1? Man, it’s gonna suck waiting around for Part 2.

Source: CBM

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DC Entertainment has posted the trailer for the first in a pair of animated movies telling Frank Miller’s epic tale of an aged Batman, The Dark Knight Returns to the Internet.

The Dark Knight Returns is truly one of the greatest comics ever created. Check any “Top 20″ lists of comic and you’ll find The Dark Knight Returns along side The Watchmen, The Killing Joke, X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga, and other greats. If it’s not on the list above 20 then that guy or gal knows dick about comics.

Since there might be a few younger readers out there that may have never read comic, the story starts . . .

The Dark Knight Returns set in a near future where Batman is retired and Gotham City has slid into a dystopian state ruled by a gang of hooligans called The Mutants. The 55-year old Bruce Wayne is forced to don the cape once more, this time partnering with a female Robin to not only stop the Joker but keep the peace when the city falls into chaos after being hit by an electromagnetic pulse.

Then the shit really hits the fan and Batman ends up in a knock down drag out fight with none other than his oldest super-friend Superman. In this animated version the story is broken into two movies. The first deals with the books opening story line with Batman returning to a city overrun by gangs and violence.

The voice actors for the movie make an impressive list:

• Peter Weller, the fan-favorite star of the original RoboCop and guest player on shows like 24 and Dexter  as Bruce Wayne/Batman.
• Ariel Winter, of Modern Family and Phineas and Ferb fame, as 13-year old Carrie Kelley/female Robin.
• Wade Williams, Prison Break, who also provided vocals for DC titles like Green Lantern: Emerald Knights and Batman: Under the Red Hood, as Harvey Dent/Two-Face.
• Michael McKean, This Is Spinal Tap and Clue (who briefly played Perry White on Smallville), as Dr. Wolper – the psychiatrist who releases Joker from Arkham.
• David Selby, star of the original Dark Shadows and Falcon Crest in a yet to be named role . . . Alfred?

The “Is it just me ? ? ?” section.

This NerdBastard is not sold on Peter Weller’s voice work in this trailer. He just seems to be stumbling over the lines. When ever I’ve read The Dark Knight Returns I’ve always heard an angry, annoyed, impatient Batman and I’m just not feeling that pissed off vibe in Weller’s voice. Maybe it’s because we don’t get to see any Joker or Superman in this trailer, that might be it.

Take a look at the trailer and let your fellow NerdBastards know what you think in the comments section below.

Part 1 of The Dark Knight Returns to hit shelves later this fall, followed by Part 2 in early 2013.

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