Giovanni Solano, Opinions Editor
When it comes to pop culture geek culture has a huge influence. Sci-fi, fantasy, super-heroes, comic books and games—things once considered to be “nerdy” or “geeky” are now the basis for acclaimed movies and TV shows.
Settlers of Catan
Gail Katz, the producer of Air Force One and other movies, has acquired the movie and television rights for the board game The Settlers of Catan. Catan is a strategy-based game that focuses on trading resources, outwitting other players and becoming the dominant community on an island with a sporadic landscape.
“The island of Catan is a vivid, visual, exciting and timeless world with classic themes and moral challenges that resonate today,” Katz said in a statement. “There is a tremendous opportunity to take what people love about the game and its mythology as a starting point for the narrative.”
So just to reiterate: The Settlers of Catan—a board game focused on trading—may become a movie. Let that sink in for a moment.
Star Wars
Unless you’ve been living in a galaxy far, far away then you know that we’re getting a new Star Wars movie. J.J Abrams, director of the last two Star Trek movies and the new Star Wars movie, has confirmed that some of the rumors circulating about Star Wars: Episode VII-The Force Awakens are true.
“There are a ton of rumours – some true, some false. But I’m grateful for everyone who would want to read a spoiler because it means that they care and want to see the movie,” Abrams told BBC News, essentially providing no real information. The question now is which of the many circulating rumors is true.
The internet has been abuzz with these Star Wars rumors ranging from the casting of characters to possible plot details. So is Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o playing a descendant of Obi-wan Kenobi? Is Leia (Carrie Fisher) going to build a Death Star? Is Han Solo (Harrison Ford) going to be killed in an allusion to Obi-wan’s death in the original movie? Will there be a Sith inquisition hunting down and killing force wielders? Only time and more leaked information can tell.
Aquaman
It’s been awhile since DC announced Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and so far no official trailer has been released. You might think such a trailer is overdue, but instead the latest news on the movie is a picture of the DC cinematic universe’s Aquaman. Anyone familiar with The Big Bang Theory or the old show Super Friends knows the joke, “Aquaman sucks,” or “Aquaman is useless.”
On Feb. 19 director Zack Snyder tweeted an image of Aquaman that may change your mind on that. Jason Momoa, who played Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones, has been cast as Arthur Curry, the half-human, half-Atlantean king of Atlantis. Based on the picture it seems that Snyder is drawing inspiration from the 1990’s Aquaman, which fits with the serious, gritty feel of the DC cinematic universe.
Deadpool
After years of being stuck in development, Fox finally confirmed the X-Men spin-off movie—Deadpool. For those of you unfamiliar with the character, Deadpool is an insane mutant mercenary, with a horribly scarred face, whose actions border on outlandishly cartoony. He’s capable of healing from most if not all attacks—even if you chop him up.
He is also well-known for humorously breaking the fourth wall. One of the most memorable instances is in Capcom’s video game Marvel vs Capcom 3 when he uses his own health bar to assault the opponent.
Some may remember a version of the character played by Ryan Reynolds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. However, despite Ryan Reynolds reprising the role, this Deadpool will be an entirely different character than in Origins. Thankfully.
Now the Deadpool movie has cast its leading lady. Morena Baccarin, who some may know as Inara Serra on Firefly and Doctor Leslie Thompkins on Gotham, was cast as the female lead. Not much is known of her role other than she’s playing an unnamed woman who has to struggle with falling for a man with a horribly scarred face. In other casting news T.J. Miller, the voice of Fred in Big Hero 6, has also been cast in an unnamed role.