Star Wars Spin Off Ideas (With Posters!)

As an avid Star Wars fan I am as excited as anyone for the new Star Wars Trilogy, which begins next December with The Force Awakens, However as an avid EU fan, I am even more excited at the prospect of these spin off movies, starting in 2016 with Gareth Edwards' new movie and continuing from there. Nobody knows what they are about, but a lot of EU fans are hoping for something familiar brought back into canon. These are just some of my ideas for some great spin off ideas, complete with fan casting and Microsoft Paint quality posters!

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters

The idea of a Boba Fett spin off is the most obvious, but how about a two-person team to bring back Dengar? Sort of like a Few Dollars More in space! My cast choices are Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Boba Fett and Karl Urban for Dengar. JGL might seem like an odd choice but I think he could pull it off. Also Bossk is the main villain, but I don't care who plays him, as he has no English dialogue.

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

This I think would be the best idea for a spin off, like a Top Gun but in X-Wings. Grant Gustin is a young Corran Horn and Brandon Routh is Wedge Antilles, just after the Battle of Yavin.

Star Wars: Republic Commando

Tom Hardy, Manu Bennett, Jason Momoa, Michael Jai White, and Ray Stevenson play a rogue crew of Imperial Stormtroopers who rebel against the Empire, and the villain, an Imperial Officer played by Christoph Waltz enlists bounty hunters Dave Bautista, Robert Maillet and Kim Coates, and an Inquisitor played by Nan Yu to hunt them down. That sounds like an awesome action movie to me, like a Star Wars Expendables!

Yoda: The Legend Begins

a solo adventure about a padawan Yoda, the seminal story where he goes from a padawan to a master. Frank Oz as Yoda, Michael B. Jordan as Mace Windu, and Malcolm McDowell as Darth Tenebrous (with Daniel Davis altered by CGI as a young Plagueis, in a possible standalone sequel)






I have more ideas, but I will save them for a later entry. I hope you enjoyed.

Versus Series #2: Batman vs Green Goblin

The Versus Series are battles between comic book characters that I think would be intriguing or exciting matchups. They use characters from all comic books and different versions and incarnations of the characters. For instance, this battle is between the Pre 52 Batman and Post-Civil War Green Goblin

Photos Courtesy of Comic Vine

How they Meet:
Norman Osborn attempts to destroy his only competitor in military applications, Wayne Enterprises, by destroying Wayne Tower as the Green Goblin. Bruce, as Batman, chases Osborn back to the Oscorp Tower to exact vengeance.

Equipment:
Neither man has prepped in advance for this fight, but it is in Osborn's building. He has an endless supply of Pumpkin Bombs, Razor Bats, and he also has the Iron Patriot suit lying around. He also has the glider, and Goblin suit. Batman has only what he brought with him: 5 batarangs, the Batclaw, the Grapnel Gun, Bat Rope, and a handful of smoke bombs.


The Fight:
Osborn attempts to hide in his office, and places mines at the door. However, Batman comes in through the window behind him, and tackles him. Goblin uses the flashes from his gloves to blind Bats as he kicks him off. Goblin throws a pumpkin bomb, blasting Batman out the window, but Batman uses his grapnel gun to ascend the exterior of the building. Goblin, now on his glider, throws more grenades at Batman, but he dodges and does a gliding Bat-kick, knocking Goblin off his glider and through the window, back into Oscorp. Osborn crawls away, but Batman uses the batclaw to drag him back. Goblin waits until he is close to Bats and then stabs a razor bat, directly into Batman's chest. Batman goes down, but is not dead, and Osborn knows it. He gets up and opens a hidden door in his office, revealing the Iron Patriot suit. Osborn puts it on, and turns back, but Batman is gone. Suddenly, smoke bombs rain all around Patriot, and Batman comes from nowhere and shoves Iron Patriot out the window. Patriot's rockets fire up, but Batman hits one of his flight stabilizers with a batarang. Osborn ejects from the suit and nearly falls to his death, but Batman catches him and ties him up with the Batrrope.

The Result:
Batman wins, but his morals keep him from killing Osborn. He is captured alive and sent to Arkham Asylum.

Captain America: Civil War Prediction

This is a little infographic I put together for the upcoming Captain America: Civil War, depicting what I believe will be the two factions in the upcoming movie. I have a reasoning for everyone below

Firstly, Captain America's anti-reg movement:

• Nick Fury - Has trusted Cap in the past, while at the same time knows that he can't trust Stark
• Winter Soldier - Obvious, as he is Cap's lifelong friend
• Black Widow - Seems to be very close to Cap, especially in Avengers and Winter Soldier
• Falcon - Another Captain America guy, loyal to his friend
• Phil Coulson - A self-professed Captain America fanboy
• Scarlet Witch - This is arbitrary, but splitting up the twins gives the movie a bigger civil war feel
• Ant Man - a rebel, would not register with the government
• Sharon Carter - A clear love interest for Captain America

and now for Iron Man's team:

• Maria Hill - ends Cap 2 working for Stark, could be manipulated
• Hawkeye - a soldier who blindly follows orders
• Pepper Potts - Tony's love interest
• Vision - Basically JARVIS, Tony's robot
• Iron Patriot - Government soldier and TOny's friend
• Quicksilver - see Scarlet Witch
• Black Panther - Mostly neutral, but probably doesn't want to rebel against the foreign US
• Hank Pym - seems more likely to join the government than be a rebel
• Hulk - A good friend of Tony, would stick with him and try and register

This is all speculative, but I think that it is a good prediction to how the lines will be drawn (Assuming nobody dies in Age of Ultron, which for the record I predict Hawkeye and Quicksilver will both die)

Nickelback is a Better Band Than Aerosmith!

Nickelback is better than Aerosmith! There I said it. No I didn't lose a bet. Aerosmith were nobody for years and years, and quickly faded into obscurity, and then MTV (back when they actually had music and not jackasses and ridiculousness) made them popular in what I can only assume is a practical joke taken too far. They were then inexplicably paired together with Run DMC, which is the only reason why anybody knows Walk This Way.

Now, I'm not saying that Nickelback is a great band; they're not, but there are much more popular bands who are much worse. Aerosmith is a prime example, but I would also say Metallica is pretty awful too. (If you don't believe me, watch them phone it in live)

This begs the question: what makes people hate or love one band over another? Is it ability? Chad Kroeger is a very able musical performer, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with his music although he lacks an original sound. Similarly, Joe Perry of Aerosmith is a competent guitarist, but nothing exceptional (although he has been able to basically make a living on that one riff from Walk This Way)

All three bands also have an annoying, yelly lead singer, but between Hetfield, Tyler, and Kroeger, Kroeger is probably the most bearable. (Having said that of course, Photograph is just dreadfull. Who reminisces on happy romantic times by yelling?)

This isn't an Aerosmith hate article, so much as a Nickelback apologist article. They aren't as bad as they are made out to be, and are even better than the bands that it is "cool" to like. So have an open mind when listening to their music, and other people's music and like or hate them based on that.

P.S. I know that a lot of Nickelback's music videos are misogynist garbage, but if you go through most North American bands' music videos, they are no better, so that is not a viable "Hate Nickelback" argument.

Plo Koon Lives!

This week I too some time to work on a project I've had on my mind for a while, actually a mix of a few ideas. Plo Koon is one of my favourite Jedi, and I wasn't a fan of the way he died in Revenge of the Sith. I would have been satisfied if he had been killed by Vader or even Sidious (during Mace's attempt to arrest him) but not shot down in a starfighter.

My fan theory for a while was that Plo survived, killed or evaded his clones on Cato Neimoidia, and then went into exile the same way Yoda and Obi-Wan did, never to be seen again.

Along with the Plo Koon idea, I have also been wanting to do a samurai cartoon, but I never had the story. This fan film is a mixture of both, a samurai movie that takes place in the Star Wars Universe.

The only pain is that I didn''t have a microphone, but other than that I think it turned out good.

Best Story Arcs by Comic

Because of my extensive knowledge of comic books and the like, I am often consulted by new readers in my online and offline communities. The common question is "what is the best [insert character here] story?"

Now, you could have done like I have done and read through them all, painstakingly deciding which ones are great and which ones are not so great, but instead, I've created a list of top fives kept on this page for reference. I hope this list helps any newcomers to comics, and I hope they can get as interested in them as I am. So let's start!

Batman

1. Year One - This is a great starting point for any new Batman reader. I recommend this to anyone unfamiliar with Batman's origin, or anyone who really liked Batman Begins.
2. Long Halloween - A great detective noir story steeped in lore with a lot of villains!
3. Hush - similar reasons to Long Halloween, also introduced a great villain and fleshed out a lot of Bruce's backstory, just a fun read overall
4. Court of Owls - A newer jumping-on point for new readers, also introduces a new iconic villain.
5. Knightfall - Has plenty of villains and heroes. It also introduces one of Batman's key villains in Bane.

(With Batman there are so many, I could do a top 50, but I will leave it at my top 5, others may be different)

Superman

1. Red Son - This story is non-canon but in many ways the best Superman story ever told.
2. All Star Superman - encompasses everything great about the Superman mythos into one story, with beautiful artwork.
3. Superman: Earth One - A retelling of his origin story that new readers should check out.
4. Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? - An interesting take on Superman told from Lois Lane's perspective.
5. Kingdom Come - A good story made better by Alex Ross' fantastic artwork.

 Justice League

1. Justice - like Kingdom Come, but more fun, packed with heroes and villains all done in amazing artwork by Alex Ross.
2. Origin - The New 52 jumping on point is a fun story and a must for new readers.
3. Tower of Babel - A great Justice League and a great Batman story, all in one.
4. JLA/Avengers - for all the crossover fanatics out there.
5. Brave and the Bold #28 - their original formation against one of the most ridiculous villains of the Silver Age.

Other DC Characters

1. Wonder Woman: Blood - Not many comics treat Wonder Woman with the respect she deserves, but Blood and the subsequent run does in spades, best WW story by far.
2. Flash: Secret Origin - Just a really great Flash story, although there are many to choose from.
3. Sinestro Corps War - A Green Lantern story steeped in lore and has many heroes and villains including the Justice League.
4. Crisis on Infinite Earths - Just the biggest cluster of chaos ever released, packed with a ridiculous amount of characters.
5. Blackest Night - Most of the DC Universe was involved and it was a blast to read, very steeped in lore though, not for first time readers.

X-Men

1. Dark Phoenix Saga
2. Days of Future Past
3. House of M
4. Dangerous
5. First Class

Avengers

1. Civil War
2. Age of Ultron
3. Infinity Gauntlet
4. Breakout

Others

1. Planet Hulk
2. Secret Wars
3. The Night Gwen Stacy Died
4. World War Hulk
5. Gambit: Once a Thief

Versus Series #1: Green Arrow vs Bane

The Versus Series are battles between comic book characters that I think would be intriguing or exciting matchups. They use characters from all comic books and different versions and incarnations of the characters. For instance, this battle is between the Green Arrow from the CW show, and Bane from the Dark Knight Rises.

How They Meet:

This takes place in the second act of the Dark Knight Rises. Batman has been broken, and Bane has taken control of Gotham with his legion of mercenaries. The US Army is unable to interfere due to the fear of a nuclear bomb. Oliver Queen, AKA The Green Arrow, however, is able to slip into Gotham in the dead of night, and fights Bane down in the sewer.


Equipment
Arrow has been planning for this fight, but Bane hasn't. Arrow came equipped with 50 arrows, plus 10 grappling hook arrows and 5 explosive/flashbang arrows, and his sword. Bane is unarmed, but is of course wearing his morphine mask and that turtle shell Kevlar vest he wears during his fight with Batman.


The Fight:
Bane's quick reflexes allow him to catch Ollie's first Arrow, however it was a flashbang arrow, which temporarily blinds Bane. Ollie takes advantage and pushes Bane over the railing. Ollie leaps down and draws his sword, but Bane smacks it away and throws Ollie. The Green Arrow swings on a chain and comes back to kick Bane in the face. He draws his bow and fires. The arrow bounces off of Bane's vest. A second arrow pierces his arm, but Bane doesn't feel pain when he wears the mask. Bane gets to Ollie before he can fire another arrow and pushes him up against the wall, punching him in the face. Ollie is bloodied, and collapses to the ground. Bane takes some time to taunt Green Arrow, buying him time to fire a grappling arrow and climb into the shadows. From the shadows, an explosive arrow is fired, knocking Bane back and damaging his mask. Arrow swings down and pounces on Bane. With his mask destroyed, Bane goes into convulsions, but as Oliver preps the finishing arrow, Bane retrieves Ollie's sword and stabs him in the gut with it. Arrow falls to the ground. Bane's mercs come and put the mask back on him, but as Bane gets up, Arrow rolls into the sewer and escapes.


The Result:

Technically neither man died, but it is evident that if Arrow hadn't escaped, he would have lost. Moral victory for Bane

*Photos courtesy of Green Arrow Wiki and The Sun respectively*

Recast #1: Breaking Bad

This is something my friends and I do sometimes. Take a movie (or TV show) and recast in in a different year or era in film. I thought I'd share some of the results with you, starting with Breaking Bad. My friends and I have recasted Breaking Bad for nearly every era (what can I say? It's a great show) but i'll show you my 4 favourite versions.

Breaking Bad (1997)
Walter White – Kevin Spacey
Hank Schrader – Bruce Willis
Jesse Pinkman – Chris O’Donnell
Gustavo Fring – Denzel Washington
Skyler White – Nicole Kidman
Marie Schrader – Sally Field
Todd – Matt Damon
Mike – Michael Rooker

Breaking Bad (1987)
Walter White – Jack Nicholson
Jesse Pinkman – Marlon Wayans
Hank Schrader – Harrison Ford
Gustavo Fring – Al Pacino, Edward Olmos
Saul Goodman – Michael Douglas
Skyler White – Michelle Pfeifer

Breaking Bad (1975)
Walter White – Dustin Hoffman
Hank Schrader – Gene Hackman
Jesse Pinkman – Richard Dreyfus (yes, that is correct)
Skyler White – Meryl Streep
Gustavo Fring – Giancarlo Giannini
Saul Goodman – Robert Redford
Mike – Anthony Hopkins

(1955)
Walter White – Henry Fonda
Jesse Pinkman – James Dean
Hank Schrader – Richard Burton
Skyler White – Elizabeth Taylor
Todd – Anthony Perkins
Tuco – Sal Mineo

Resident Evil 7 Wishlist

Firstly, are they even making a Resident Evil 7?

I heard they may announce one at E3 this year, so I'm getting my hopes up. As another short entry, I thought I'd do a wish list of little things I would like to see in the new game, both from a gameplay and character perspective.

Firstly, I would like to see Jill Valentine back:
   Jill was my favourite from the original trilogy, but she barely appears anymore compared to Chris and Leon. She was like the Ellen Ripley of Resident Evil, and it has felt odd not playing as her.

The addition of infection dangers:
   Resident Evil: Outbreak did this to a certain extent, but I would like to see it expanded upon. Maybe depending on the severity of a zombie bite, even the common zombies could reduce you to the POISON state from early titles (like Webspinners and Ivy used to be able to). This would prompt the player to seek an antidote before they slowly die from their infection.

Limited ammo:
   Not much to say here, other than I feel ammo conservation and running away sometimes should be a serious gameplay mechanic, especially on hard.

No bodies melting on death:
   Why? see below...

Possibility of bodies raising after dead:
   Crimson Heads were badass, and unexpected. I had no clue they were a thing until I was deep into Resident Evil's REmake for the Gamecube, and they made for exhilarating gameplay at times, and made the zombies a bigger threat than usual.

More puzzle items and sections:
   What set Resident Evil apart from basic shooters early on was its puzzles. These days Resident Evil is indistinguishable from other over the shoulder shooters like Gears of War gameplay-wise. Puzzles are welcome back in my books.

If there's a final boss, don't make it a mutated bad guy of the series. I honestly find it annoying when the main bad guys happen to turn into giant unstoppable monsters rather than just normal zombies. The Tyrant didn't have to. Nemesis didn't have to, and William was a mutant the entire game so he doesn't count.

An all female team:
   Resident Evil 6 had an all-guy team, and two mixed teams. If this game has more than one story, there should be at least one all female story, if not two. Besides any new characters, there are many female characters to choose from, including Jill, Claire, Rebecca, Ada, Ashley, Sherry, Helena, Sheva or anybody from a spinoff game. A grown-up Sherry teaming with Claire for instance would make for a good story.

Animation Practice

This is one of many short animations I started doing a while ago. I want to make more, and I will post all of them here. I have many ideas as to what I will do next, and Batman and Judge Dredd may or may not fit into those plans. ;) Stay tuned.

Here is another one, a little smoother. I'm still lacking in the audio department though.

Spider-Man: 30 Years Later

This was an idea I had for a Spider-Man comic a while back. I wrote a full script and plot outline, but I never could find time to pencil it.

Spider-Man: Thirty Years Later

Plot
Set many years after Spider-Man has retired, Peter Parker has settled down with a wife (nobody we know, someone new) and has a daughter. The world he lives in is still haunted by crime, but several other crime-fighters are still in service. After the shocking news of Wolverine's death, Spider-Man decides to come out of retirement to meet this killer.

Depiction of Spider-Man
Spider-Man is feeling the effects of his time off. He is slower and heavier than he was in his teen years when he was an active hero. This Spider-Man has been retired for over 15 years. His costume is relatively unchanged, but he has added some armored pieces, because he is not as durable as he once was. His physical appearance has changed drastically. Most depictions of Spider-Man are that of a 15-25 year old. This version is an older and scruffier version of Parker. His hair is starting to recede and he has grown a full beard, (he may shave).

The Villain(s)
At first, Spider-Man is obsessed with the notion that it was Norman Osborn, his greatest foe, that killed Wolverine. However, upon visiting Osborn in the hospital, Spidey discovers that the use of the Green Goblin serum has eaten away at his body, and the former Goblin is a vegetable on life support.

Another villain, Doctor Octopus, is paralyzed from the neck down, and his mechanical arms are the only moving parts on him anymore.

The true villain is named Null, a super-villain mastermind, whose mere presence nullifies any superhero's powers, thus allowing him to kill Wolverine. But, killing Wolverine was just a ploy to get Spider-Man out in the open.

Additional Superheroes
Wolverine doesn't look any older, because he is immortal.

Because of the super-soldier serum, the 150 year-old Captain America barely looks 40, though he has grown a small beard and put on some weight.

Matt Murdock's hair is slightly graying, but he is still in tremendous shape, as he still operates as Daredevil. However, his hearing is starting to fail him.

The Punisher is nearing 60, and all of the battles he's had have sent him into a permanent form of shell-shock, and war madness. He's become little more than a wild killer, blasting everyone in his path. He is under SHIELD custody.

After years of exposure to gamma radiation, Bruce Banner is a lifeless husk, and can only transform into the Hulk after a massive electrical surge. He is kept at a SHIELD Base as a guinea pig.

Resident Evil Films Rebooted: My Ideas

Resident Evil is one of my favourite video game franchises, if not my favourite. The films are a guilty pleasure of mine in that I enjoy them but they are not that great. One of the many reasons for this is the large deviations they make from the source material, including completely changing the main character. Imagine if a Harry Potter movie had a new character as the protagonist, while Harry was relegated to a side character.

Below, I have a very basic outline for what I would do with the Resident Evil film franchise. It makes some minor changes for an easier transition to film, simplifies the story, but mainly stays true to the source material. My franchise would be divided into two trilogies, much like Star Wars was. The first trilogy would be horror, taking place in Raccoon City, with the second being a more action-heavy trilogy, focusing on the events after Raccoon City. Obviously, as I only had six films I had to pick and chooser which stories to tell, so some spinoffs got lost (Revelations for instance, which I love) and some stories got merged into one film.

The Raccoon City Trilogy
Resident Evil
Cast
Chris Redfield
Jill Valentine

Barry Burton
Rebecca Chambers
Albert Wesker
Richard, Enrico, Forrest, Kenneth, Joseph


Enemies
Cerberus
Hunters
Yawn
Plant 42
Lisa Trevor
Neptune
T-002 Tyrant


Follows the plot of Resident Evil for the Gamecube
Two groups: Chris/Rebecca, Jill/Barry
Wesker is a traitor-antagonist, but this isn't shown until the final act
Chris/Rebecca fight Lisa Trevor and Yawn, Jill/Barry fight Neptune, Plant 42 & Lisa Trevor
Kenneth & Forrest are already dead
Enrico has the same role as in the game, as does Joseph
Barry is killed by Hunters
Resident Evil 1, establishes the universe and introduces the Redfield family arc
Claire will be "name dropped" a couple times in this film to build the universe


Resident Evil 2
Cast
Leon Kennedy
Claire Redfield
Sherry Birkin
Ada Wong
Echo Six (Dee-Ay, Tweed, Harley, Shona)
Brian Irons
Marvin Branagh

Enemies
Cerberus
Lickers
The Gator
Mr. X Tyrant
William Birkin

For the most part follows Resident Evil 2, from Claire's perspective, further establishing the "Redfield Arc"
Leon is a supporting character
Ada has a semi-antagonistic role as an Umbrella spy, but also as a semi-romantic subplot with Leon
Chief Irons has 1 scene, the scene where he is killed by William
Marvin appears twice, once to give a card to Leon, and once as a zombie with Claire
Claire kills the Gator
Mr. X is mainly after Leon, and William is after Claire and Sherry
Echo Six are featured as a supporting crew. Over the course of the film, they land in Raccoon City, make their way into the sewers and eventually sacrifice themselves so that Claire and Sherry can board the train at the end
William's multiple malformations are all explored in this film

Resident Evil: Nemesis
Cast
Jill Valentine
Carlos Oliveira
Dario Rosso
Nicholai Ginovaef
Mikhail Victor
Brad Vickers

For the most part follows Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Carlos, Mikhail and Nicholai are dropped in with the UBCS to rescue civilians, but Nicholai eventually betrays them
The film shows that it was actually Nicholai who shot Mikhail from a distance, and then met up with Carlos when he followed Mikhail to finish him off. He pretends to be an upstanding soldier
Nicholai is killed by Nemesis in this continuity
In a post-credits scene, Umbrella retrieves Nemesis' body from the wreckage of Raccoon City. This will set up a surprise in a later film




The Post-Raccoon Trilogy (I will find a better name for this)
Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Minor Changes
The entire movie takes place on Rockfort. There is no Antarctica, but Rockfort is greatly expanded upon
The plane and attempted escape is all still there, but they crash back on Rockfort after the tyrant fight

Alfred Ashford
Slightly less feminine
Very much like Norman Bates/Mother character
A more depressed, pathetic character
Death: Steve punches, he falls, impales himself, gets to Alexia's chamber, and dies at her feet as she awakens
Steve actually tries to catch him after he begins to fall

Alexia Ashford
Main villain of the third act
Distraught over brother's death
Releases many insect B.O.Ws including spiders and moths, as well as ants
Chris kills her with the Linear launcher

Steve Burnside
Jack Dawson from Titanic, right down to his sacrificial death, speech & monologue
Wields a single golden Luger for much of the film
Steve's father is a zombie

Alexander Ashford/Nosferatu
Breaks free in the attack on Rockfort by Wesker
Roams the complex, barely missing Claire and Steve
Is killed by Claire on a helicopter pad

Tyrant
Minor role, only 2 scenes, the first scene being its release
The fight on the plane is there
Death: Pushed off the plane by a cargo crate

Wesker
Similar in appearance to his Re5 look
He moves much faster in this film, again closer to Re5


Resident Evil 5
A mix of RE4 and RE5
Wesker replaces Saddler
instead of the president's daughter, it is Sherry Birkin
Chris and Leon go in as a unit to the European region from RE4
The Chris-Jill arc from RE5 remains the same

Enemies
Jack Krauser appears and is told through flashbacks
Executioner appears
Dr. Salvador appears
Garrador appears
Wesker is fought but doesn't mutate

Resident Evil 6

Ustanak is actually the recovered Nemesis with modifications
Follows the story of Chris and Leon, with Piers and Jake as supporting characters
Follows Chris' general campaign, but with zombies
Carla and Ada's arc is followed as a subplot
Again, Claire is name-dropped but does not appear. The Redfield story arc finished with CV for the most part

That's my ideas on how a Resident Evil Reboot should be executed. If you have any ideas, or would like me to elaborate on anything, then leave a comment.