^Academy Award winning composer James Horner has died in a plane crash (hollywood reporter)

–Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods gets a tv series order on Starz (variety)

–The Independence Day sequel gets a title (gamesradar)

^Tom Holland cast as Marvel’s new Spider-Man, Jon Watts to direct reboot (Marvel.com)

–NBC has cancelled Hannibal (tvline)

–Seth Myers to moderate Game of Thrones panel at Comic Con (Variety)

today’s birthdays: Selma Blair (43), Joss Whedon (51), Melissa Rauch (35), Frances McDormand (58)

picture of the day: disaster movie director Roland Emmerich on the set of Independence Day: Resurgence: (his twitter, where there are a couple more photos)

-First trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 2:

-First official synopsis for Batman vs Superman:

Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.

-Jon Bernthal of The Walking Dead to play The Punisher in season 2 of Marvel’s Netflix series Daredevil (oh no they didn’t)

-Here’s the first trailer for The Martian, starring Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain:

-A Boondock Saints prequel tv series may be in the works (vulture)

-New logo image for the Suicide Squad movie: (comingsoon)

today’s birthdays: Johnny Depp (52), Natalie Portman (34), Michael J. Fox (54), James Newton Howard (64), Matt Bellamy (37)

Just as I thought before, we seem to be getting a lot of Natasha’s backstory, which is awesome. I believe we will be getting several backstories due to Scarlet Witch, but I don’t know more about that. Still no sign of the Vision. Who is it that is disrobing, though? Let the analyzing begin.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is out May 1st.

Out today:

^First image of Ben Affleck as Batman in Batman vs. Superman

–Girl Meets World will premiere in June (buzzfeed)

–Bad Robot tweets first image of Star Wars Episode 7 filming (a clapboard) (entertainment weekly)

–Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke and X-Men‘s Nicholas Hoult are rumored to be the new Bonnie and Clyde (I’m taking from that article that it’s not confirmed yet) (vulture)

–A lot of people are naming their children after Game of Thrones characters (this is awesome, honestly) (entertainment weekly)

^We finally have a trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. Details about this movie have been kept secret and until now we didn’t know much. I’ll see anything with Nolan’s name on it, basically.

^trailer for NBC’s new series Constantine, airing this fall. Based on the comics (and in the same world as the movie Constantine).

–See some sculptures in late Alien creator H.R. Giger’s gardens (io9)

–Some of the cast of The Avengers unite to send Captain America: The Winter Soldier to a man dying of cancer. Note: Tom Hiddleston did too, it’s not listed in that article) (eonline)

–Guardians of The Galaxy releases official character bios (totalfilm)

^First look at Julianne Moore as President Coin in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (totalfilm)

POTD:

Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in Macbeth (variety)

Directed by David Fincher and based upon the global bestseller by Gillian Flynn – unearths the secrets at the heart of a modern marriage. On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick’s portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior has everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife? Willow’s comments: yay David Fincher!

Annie, out December 19th: (latest international trailer)

Business tycoon and mayoral candidate Benjamin Stacks launches a campaign to take in Annie, a young girl who has been living with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan since her parents left her as a baby. Willow’s comments:  I don’t know how I feel about Cameron Diaz as Miss Hannigan. I can’t really believe the performance.

How To Train Your Dragon 2, out June 13th: (trailer 3)

It’s been five years since Hiccup and Toothless successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk. While Astrid, Snotlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island’s new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Now, Hiccup and Toothless must unite to stand up for what they believe while recognizing that only together do they have the power to change the future of both men and dragons. Willow’s comments: I don’t have much to say about this. I enjoyed the first one.

The Giver, out August 15th: (first theatrical trailer)

This film, based on Lois Lowry’s book, tells the story of a perfect world. Everyone here is happy. When Jonas is 12 years old, he’s chosen to be the community’s Receiver of Memories. He enters into training with an old man called The Giver. From the Giver, Jonas learns about pain, sadness, war, and all the unhappy truths of the “real” world. He quickly realizes that his community is fake. Confronted with this reality, Jonas faces difficult choices about his own life and his future. Willow’s comments: I don’t know how I feel about this. I loved the book growing up. It’s a must-read. I read that part of the movie will be in black and white, which is good because it’s closer to the book and concept. Also yay Alexander Skarsgård and Meryl Streep!

Lucy, out August 8th (first theatrical trailer)

A woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic. Willow’s comments: this will be interesting. It’s from Luc Besson, so it should be good.

A clip from The Fault In Our Stars, out June 6th:

Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that Hazel’s other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they met and fell in love at a cancer support group. Based on the book by John Green. Willow’s comments: I haven’t read the book yet, but I admit I have a fondness for tear jerkers.

X-Men: Days of Future Past clip, out May 23:

The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from X-Men: First Class in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future. Willow’s comments: I love X-Men, and I enjoyed X-Men First Class. Plus it’s Bryan Singer again, which is good. I just hope he didn’t bite off more than he can chew this time.

(summaries from IMDB)

^New image from Guardians of The Galaxy

-And speaking of GOTG, there’s a new clip out but it’s nothing we haven’t seen already in the trailer (empire online)

–Out today on DVD and streaming

–The newest Game of Thrones episode broke piracy records, George R.R. Martin on the shocking purple wedding (The Mary Sue)

–55 of the best Purple wedding reaction tweets (mashable)

–Syfy is creating a new show that they’re calling ‘Game of Thrones in space,’ based on sci-fi books by S.A. Corey

^A bunch of new X-Men: Days of Future Past stills (above we see a Sentinel walking away from a burning Xavier’s mansion) (the Mary Sue)

-Robert Downey Jr. has joined twitter, follow at RobertDowneyJr

–Iron Man 4 could happen (ohnotheydidnt)

-A couple pictures from Avengers 2 filming in London in the woods and setup for the 40’s (ohnotheydidnt)

–Chloe Moretz is cast in the movie adaptation of The Fifth Wave (empire online)

“Khaleesi” is becoming a popular baby name (why, though? Why not Daenerys, which is, you know, her actual name. Khaleesi is a title. Plus you can shorten it to Dany.) (neatorama)

Happy birthday Emma Watson (24), Emma Thompson (55) and Maisie Williams (17)!

POTD:

Today I bring you bucket of sloths. This is one of the videos I go to when I’m feeling down. You probably don’t know this about me but sloths are one of my favorite animals. I’m kinda like Kristen Bell. So here’s a bucket of adorable baby sloths.

^What if the velociraptors in Jurassic Park were replaced with cats?

–Out today on DVD and streaming, including The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

–Gremlins and The Goonies are apparently getting reboots *waits for public outcry* (the guardian)

–Game of Thrones renewed for seasons 5 and 6 (variety)

-If you like Whose Line is it Anyway, Fox is going to have an improv show called Riot, airing May 13. Steve Carell is among the guests. (tvline)

^8 new posters for X-Men: Days of Future Past released (totalfilm)

–A sequel to Wreck-It Ralph is in the works (I haven’t seen it yet) (cinemablend)

–A Battlestar Galactica movie is being made (cinemablend)

-In ‘sequels no one asked for’ news, here’s details on Planes 2 and Karate kid 2 (philstar, new york daily news)

–Tv show based on Twelve Monkeys to premiere next January on syfy (/film)

POTD:

Nathan Fillion, Sean Astin and Alan Tudyk with lightsabers.

It seems like most of today’s links are reboots, sequels or other adaptations.

• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Dom Hemingway
• Under the Skin
• Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
• The Unknown Known
• Alan Partridge
• Island of Lemurs: Madagascar
• Frankie & Alice
• Afflicted

^New Girl Meets World family portrait and a few new stills released (huffington post)

–Dave Letterman to retire in 2015 (noooo) (variety)

–Michael Chiklis joins American Horror Story: Freak Show (ign)

-Speaking of AHS: Freak Show, here is some cast and plot information (ohnotheydidnt)

^See all the Gotham character posters (above: Ben McKenzie as Commissioner Gordon)

–Game of Thrones‘ Gwendoline Christie joins The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 2 (yay, she’s great!) (variety)

–Prometheus 2 is happening, will begin filming this fall. Ridley Scott will also direct and the sequel will also feature Noomi Rapace and (thankfully) Michael Fassbender. I want this for two reasons: 1) it will hopefully answer a lot of the questions Prometheus left us with and 2) Michael Fassbender, because he’s so great as David. (scified)

–Andy Serkis (aka Gollum) is going to direct the live action version of The Jungle Book (this will be his directorial debut I believe) (the hollywood reporter)

Happy birthday to Robert Downey Jr (49) and Hugo Weaving (54)!

POTD:

Also: A trailer post is coming up soon, there’s been a bunch of new ones released.

And there is a comic con in my city this weekend, maybe I’ll get some great cosplay pics.

Today I bring you a baby bat rescue. And it gets the hiccups. I especially love what they say at the very end.