Lucasfilm has given us another new look at the upcoming episode of The Clone Wars. This time we have a preview of the last chapter in the Citadel Saga, which is the penultimate story arc in Season 3 of The Clone Wars.

From the official press release:

After their ship is destroyed, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi must find a new means of escape from the Citadel. They lead the freed prisoners – including the Republic’s Captain Tarkin – across the planet’s perilous landscape as Plo Koon commands a Jedi armada through Separatist defenses in a daring rescue attempt. It’s the thrilling conclusion to a three-part Clone Wars storyline in “Citadel Rescue” – airing at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT Friday, March 11 on Cartoon Network.

For Stephen Stanton, assuming the iconic role of Tarkin – made famous by Peter Cushing in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope – was not a responsibility to be taken lightly. Using the first Star Wars film as a starting point and a foundation, Stanton immersed himself in the legendary actor’s filmography and early TV work, while at the same time dissecting the character for clues to Tarkin’s personal trajectory.

“Peter Cushing’s original Tarkin was the epitome of someone who had succumbed to the dark side. [He] is that quiet, elegant, grandfatherly kind of villain that you want to believe in with all your heart. And when you do, he turns on you with a smile and says ‘You’re far too trusting’ – and then destroys everything that you hold dear,” says Stanton. “But since I don’t believe anyone is born evil, I approached the younger version of his character from the standpoint of a career military man who fervently believes that what he is doing is the right thing. That gave me a certain amount of latitude to ask questions of the character – like, what was he like before he embraced the dark side? On one hand, I am using Peter Cushing’s voice and performance as a template, so I want to keep the essence of what he did. But on the other hand, I’m creating the voice of a young Tarkin – who no one has heard before. I think these new episodes challenge our ideas of who Tarkin was in A New Hope more than it reflects his character and what we know about him at the end of his days.”

Accused of “holding Vader’s leash” by the captive Princess Leia in Episode IV, Tarkin has the distinction of being the one Imperial officer with some authority over the menacing Sith Lord. He commands Vader with haughty impunity, publicly dressing down the master of the Force. According to Stanton, that relationship had to start somewhere.

“The relationship between Anakin and Tarkin – and ultimately Vader and Tarkin – is what is being explored now in The Clone Wars,” he says. “Who exactly is this Grand Moff and why is he able to exert control over Lord Vader? It was never fully explained in the films, but we’re getting some hints of how it all might have started. For myself as a viewer, I think Tarkin recognizes a kindred spirit in Anakin. It’s the choices they make and why they make them that will determine their destination. How their story evolves should be quite interesting.”

Here it is folks! A brand dick-spanking new episode of Laser Brain! This is actually episode 15 – and, no, episode 14 wasn’t skipped, it’s that episode 13 was actually episode 14 because the boys from Laser Brain are superstitious and “skipped” episode 13. In my ignorance I labeled the last episode incorrectly, I’m sure I’ll have to pay my penance in some sort of homo-erotic fashion. . .

Anyways, if you missed out on “episode 14” I suggest you go back and listend to it prior to listening to this latest episode. I have thoroughly enjoyed every episode of Laser Brain thus far, but I can honestly say these last two are far and away my favorites with the reading of Nick’s old love letters. I shit you not when I say this episode almost made me cause a car accident as I was listening to it on my way to work – I was laughing so hard my eyes were tearing up.

Enjoy the latest Laser Brain in which the saga of Nick’s relationship via love letters is wrapped up!

Laser Brain Podcast – Episode 14 Episode 15 – “Young Rove 2.0”

In this episode we finish out our journey through Nick’s loveless and note-filled past.

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Also, Laser Brain would like you to take the time to check out:

www.vomitusprime.com

lordwormm.deviantart.com

BBC America along with Entertainment Weekly have announced when the sixth series of Doctor Who will be premiering in the US. It will air Saturday, April 23rd at 9pm Eastern time on BBC America. It hasn’t been announced when it will premier in the UK, but Doctor Who Magazine is hinting it may be over Easter weekend. Here is the official word:

Doctor Who is coming to America in a spectacular two-part season premiere on BBC AMERICA. Part One premieres Saturday, April 23 at 9/8c. The mysterious time traveler, the Doctor (Matt Smith), and his companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), find themselves on a secret summons that takes them on an adventure from the desert in Utah – right to the Oval Office in1969. More details will be revealed in the coming weeks about this two-parter penned by ‘Who supremo’ Steven Moffat (Sherlock) and featuring guest star Mark Sheppard (Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica). Also set to return this season, Alex Kingston (ER, Flash Forward), as the irrepressible River Song.

We’re back with another episode of The Big Movie Mouth-Off podcast!

The podcast features the stars and producers of The Big Movie Mouth-Off film review show, which appears here at Big Shiny Robot! and on Xfinity (Utah On Demand and Channel 6). That lineup is: Jeff Vice from MSN Entertainment, Jimmy Martin from SLUG Magazine, and Bryan Young (me) and Elias Pate from Big Shiny Robot! and ShineBox Media Productions.

To download the latest episode from iTunes, follow this link.

There, you should rate and subscribe to the podcast.

This week, we talked about:

• Academy Awards debriefing
• The Blade Runner prequel/sequel
• Star Wars in 3D
• Superman Casting
• The Great Catwoman Debate
• Robocop 3D
• Western Films
• In Memoriam: Everyone the Academy Forgot

Listen! Let us know what you think! Spread the word!

For those of you who don’t like iTunes, you can get a direct .mp3 here. And you can add the BSR! podcast RSS feed by right clicking this link.

We have also unleashed the complete Big Movie Mouth-Off Sundance coverage!  Here’s part 1:

And Part 2:

This should be some expected news on the Spider-Man Broadway musical front. The NY Daily News is reporting that all preview showings of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark for the next two to three weeks have been cancelled to allow for some major “retooling” of the $65 million+ production. On top of that, director Julie Taymor is no longer involved in the musical, there’s been no confirmation on whether she quit or was fired.

Inside sources are also noting that the opening date for the Spider-Man musical – which was originally set for this coming Tuesday, March 15 – will be pushed back about another 3 months. If these reports are true this will mark the sixth time this ill-fated production has been delayed!

“Taymor is out. She’s left the building,” the source told The News.

Producers of the beleaguered $65 million play plan to shut down preview performances for two to three weeks to retool and hold new rehearsals, multiple sources told The News.

“I will say about these producers, they will do whatever it takes. They want a great show,” a member of the production staff said Tuesday night. “When others would have given up, they will not.”

Plans being worked out Tuesday also call for the show’s official opening night at the Foxwoods Theatre, scheduled for Tuesday, to be postponed for three months, according to the sources.

-NY Daily News

I have to say this about the Producers of this train wreck: They are nothing if not persistent in getting this musical to open. To me, this has just sounded like a horrid idea to begin with and the writers’, producers’, and director’s vision was just too big and elaborate for a live stage, but they have continued to press on despite injuries, rewriting, and nearly universal negative critic reviews. Apparently Glenn Beck is a huge fan – but I’ll let you go ahead and decide who you’re going to listen to: professional Broadway critics, or a loon who preys on the fears of the elderly and sheep-minded youth.

It may be the best thing to just let this die. Even if it ever does open, it looks like it could end up being just the biggest, most expensive, and widely publicized flop in the history of Broadway. Even shutting down production for a few weeks will cost more than a million dollars each day – so at what point does everyone who has invested their money just cut their losses and walk away? It will certainly be interesting to see how this drama plays out over the next several weeks and months. Hell, something tells me if someone is making a documentary about this production that will be far more entertaining than the actual musical will be . . .

Update/Contributor’s Note 03/09/11 – 11:30AM MT: In case I did not make it clear, these reports are coming from several sources close to the production. At the time of this story no official word has been given from the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark production, nor from Julie Taymor. The only thing that is being said is the insistence that the production is experiencing good ticket sales:

“The production is not commenting on the most recent speculation about the show,” spokesperson Rick Miramontez told TODAY.com. “There are no canceled performances, and last night’s show was sold out.” – MSNBC

An official comment on all of this speculation is expected to come at some point today, and of course we will bring you that information as soon as it becomes available.

This week, I continue my Secret Origins theme month featuring “funny animal” characters. Last week, I featured Spider-Ham, who is without a doubt Marvel’s most well known super-animal. So in the interest of equal play, I decided to feature DC’s most well known super animal, Captain Carrot. Captain Carrot appeared in comics around the same time as Peter Porker if not a little bit beforehand. Their series lasted about the same length, but unlike Spider-Ham, Captain Carrot didn’t get the revivals Porker did until Final Crisis, and that my friends, was quite frankly, an abomination. Sadly, I think more people who have heard of the character due to that mini-series, so let me set the record straight, and show you a good Zoo Crew story, with the Secret Origin of Captain Carrot!

Our story opens with Clark Kent reporting about a rash of prominent figures in the country going ape. That is, they have started hanging on vines and chomping on bananas along with other simian foolishness. Thankfully, this is an all ages book, so some things were left to the imagination. Clark decides that since no one else can figure it out, it’s now a job for Superman! He does the patrol bit, looking for affected people. Eventually he does come across a monkey-man and notices that a split second before he started going ook ook, the man was hit by a strange ray, visible only to him.

Being Superman, he not only saw the beam of light, but also its origin which happens to be Pluto. Superman decides to fly to Pluto and find out what the heck is going on. Even though if light was really launched from Pluto it takes light from there about 4-7 hours to reach Earth, so the perp may be long gone. It ends up being a moot point as there is an energy barrier around the Earth which not only keeps Superman from flying to Pluto, but also is weakening him. In the same instant, he notices a meteor having no problem passing the barrier. Superman’s plan is to hurl the meteor back through the barrier while holding on to it. That Superman, such a strategist…

I hope you have a Plan B, Superman...

So Superman plummets back to Earth with these meteor fragments, he grab one and tosses it aside, going on about his super senses are so keen, he can guide himself back to the Daily Planet building, even though he’s a bit blinded by the explosion. He changes back into Clark Kent, flies into the building, and promptly hit his head on the ceiling due to it being lower than expected. At first, Clark thinks he has been affected by red kryptonite to become a giant or somesuch, and he finally makes his way to “his” office, but it turns out it belongs to someone else…

You once had an adventure where your girlfriend transformed into a bee. Is a talking rabbit that hard to swallow?

Yes friends, Clark Kent has stumbled upon the workspace of one Roger Rabbit. Not that Roger Rabbit! This one is a cartoonist who draw the comic book exploits of anthropomorphized versions of the Justice League. Anyway, after realizing Clark isn’t an Ox, he freaks out, thinking he’s a monster instead. Clark finally understands he’s in a parallel dimension full of funny animals, a term Roger doesn’t take kindly to. Explanations are of course in order, so Clark does his best, figuring a comic book writer would be more inclined to understand his predicament.  Clark explains everything, even the fact that he’s Superman. Roger understands. He even has a costume of his own from a party that he leaves in his office for some reason. It turns out that the same problem that was happening on Superman’s Earth is occurring on Roger’s as well.

As he relates his tale, Roger is munching on a strangely glowing carrot. Superman notices this, and uses his x-ray vision to find out the meteor fragment he casually swatted away earlier ended up in the soil of Roger’s carrot stash. Superman bats it out of Roger’s hand with more force than was probably necessary. I mean, sure Superman can be concerned, but pull your punches, man! Anyway, this brash action kind of ticks Roger off, and well, something extraordinary happens.

Is it just me, or does Roger look like he's Hulking out?

Not so brash now, are you , Superman? After Roger calms down, Superman explains that the irradiated carrot is what gives Roger his new-found strength. Go figure, right? He also says since his own powers are still on the blink, Roger can fit the bill as his Earth’s first superhero! Just then, Roger picks up strange sounds at the U.N. building  (United Nature, natch) with his nascent super-hearing. Superman decides to go investigate alone, saying Lois would kill him if he carried a bunny rabbit into a dangerous situation and flies off. Roger is again put off by this, and decides to take action. Luckily, he had that costume just sitting there in his office. The costume strangely fills out Roger’s muscles, and Captain Carrot is born! He decides if Superman can fly, he may as well give it a shot too, and while it doesn’t work the way he thought, he gets by just fine.

He can definitely leap tall hutches in a single bound.

So when the duo get to the U.N. building it’s well… panda-monium!  Sorry, couldn’t help myself there. Anyway, a bunch of animal-people have gone feral and are running amok. Superman, ever the condescending d-bag, tells Captain Carrot to back off. He can take care of business even in his weakened state. Now Captain Carrot has had just about enough of Superman’s crap and straight up tells him not to patronize him. Carrot leaps into the fray, and almost immediately starts to come into his own.

You'd think that'd damage his hearing, somehow.

After Captain Carrot’s display, Superman rounds up half a room full of the other critters and plans to make short work of the rest, and thanks the “little fella” for his help. Carrot takes Superman aside and tells him in no uncertain terms that this is his world, and if his people need protection, Captain Carrot is more than up to the task. With that, he lets down a mighty stomp that’d put Thumper to shame and knocks every animal unconscious, ending the conflict. That doesn’t mean the problem is solved though. Just the symptoms. Just then, an interesting newscast hit the airwaves!

Hmm, 6 heroes, 6 meteorites. Do you think...?

With that, Superman exclaims that he has to get back to his own Earth, seeing as that is where everything started (from his perspective, anyway). Captain Carrot says he’ll lend a hand, and they both fly off, and the story ends there… OR DOES IT?! Seriously, I wouldn’t leave you guys hanging like that, plus now we have five new heroes to hear the origin tales of, so join me next week as I give you the Secret Origin of the amazing Zoo Crew!

This story originally appeared in New Teen Titans #16 February, 1982. The Captain Carrot story hasn’t been reprinted to my knowledge, but I am holding out hope for a Showcase edition.

We here at BSR! Have expressed our love for S. Steven Struble and Sina Grance’s Li’l Depressed Boy multiple times in the last couple of months, and it seem you guys agree with us! Image just let us know that Li’l Depressed Boy #1 has sold out and a second printing is coming. This is awesome for anyone who missed out. In fact, run to your local shop tomorrow and pick up LDB #2, and say, “Hey Mr. Shopkeep! This is a fine publication, will you order my the awesome first issue’s reprint as well?” While it’s possible he may criticize your cadence, he won’t refuse you, and you’ll have two awesome issues instead of the just the one.

For those of you not in the know, Li’l Depressed Boy has actually been around for about a decade, so this success is long deserved.  The creators themselves are a bit taken aback as well.

From Struble:

“We’ve been working on the The Li’l Depressed Boy for a long time.  All this love really fills our hearts and proves the hard work was worth it.”

“If someone were to tell me that the book not only sold out as fast as it did, but also warranted a second printing, I would have called them a mean liar. I still cannot believe the tremendous support we’ve received from fans, retailers, and more so than ever: Image Comics!”

So, have you had enough Marvel Zombies yet? Marvel is hoping he answer is no, because they have a “new” direction they are taking the long running series of mini series! That’s right, starting in May (which is odd, considering the subject), Marvel is retelling Charles Dickens’ classic tale… with zombies!

Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol is a decidedly macabre twist on the time honored tale of Ebeneezer Scrooge. As the Hungry Death consumes the land, Ebeneezer Scrooge must be sent back to Christmases past with his undead friend Jacob Marley to learn the origin of this vicious scourge. Written by Jim McCann with art by David Baldeon, this comic is sure to make you shudder, one way or another. Here is McCann’s take on the concept:

“When we started working on this idea, I was amazed at how well the original text worked in with the concept of the undead. We’ve taken a way to introduce ‘zombies’ in a Victorian manner, keeping with the chilling tale Dickens crafted in the 1800s. I think that David’s amazing designs show you how well it will look. We aren’t going for campiness or shoving zombies into a popular story, but for true Victorian horror…and a small glimmer of hope that lies in one man’s cold heart: Scrooge!”

I like his enthusiasm, but isn’t adding zombie to a Christmas Carol literally “shoving zombies into a popular story”? Artist Baldeon had this to add:

“This book is not about drawing zombies just because they’re fun. It’s about the characters, the horror, and a fresh yet horrifying look at Victorian terror while following along the lines of Jim’s great script. It’s about giving this book its own atmosphere and feel and making it look like no other version of Christmas Carol ever has.”

Yes, because exchanging ghost for zombies is a fresh take! I kid Marvel and the creators. While it’s easy to take potshots at a tired, tired concept, I’m sure the creators involved are giving it their all. This obviously isn’t a book for me personally, but I am sure that it’ll hit the spot for some of you. I have to admit though, getting Michael Kaluta to do covers is awesome. Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol #1 will be on sale May 4th and will retail for $3.99. Take a look at some of the concept art and sample covers below!

Have you ever wondered what happened after Quaid brought atmosphere to the Martian landscape after the end of 1990’s Total Recall? Well, this May, you can find out, thanks to Dynamite Entertainment! Yes, the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi vehicle is getting a sequel in comic form. The series begins where the movie ends, with bad guy Cohagen dead, Mars getting breathable air, and everything wrapped up nicely. All Quaid wants to do is settle down and have a happy ending with Melina, his love interest. Unfortunately, Mars is in chaos, new enemies are invading the red planet, it doesn’t look like he’ll get his wish! Writer Vince Moore had this to say about the project:

“Being given the opportunity to create a sequel to one of the coolest action films of the 1990s was too great pass up. Resonating with one of the themes of the original movie, this is a dream come true and a great benefit for me.  In order to fulfill my dream, I simply had to turn around and make the happy ending for Douglas Quaid on Mars into a new nightmare and show him to be the hero once again.  It was easy and tons of fun.  I threw everything I could think at Quaid, keeping with the flavor of the movie.  I hope all of the readers enjoy the ride.  My thanks to the folks at Dynamite for giving me this chance.  And to all those fans of the original film, I hope you like what we came up with enough to give it a shot.  Just remember: get your asses to Mars!”

I personally am of two minds about this project. It’s obvious that Moore has passion for the project, but to me, Total Recall was one of those movies where the ending was left ambiguous. You never knew if the adventure Quaid had was real or if he was still at the REKALL facility, experiencing his fantasy vacation. I liked being able to draw my own conclusions, and having the story continued in this way could invalidate that. That being said, I could be completely off base and Vincent Moore could have a lot of mind trips still in store for Quaid, and if that’s the case, I’m all in.

At any rate, Total Recall is a 4 issues mini-series that launches in May for $1.99 Written by Vincent Moore with covers by Darick Robertson and interiors by Cezar Rezak, Be sure to reserve a copy today!

Seems like everything these days is getting the “reboot” treatment, and it looks like everyone’s favorite sexy British archaeologist is no exception.

Producer Graham King and his company GK Films have acquired the rights to the Lara Croft franchise, which reverted back to Eidos a few years back. GK Films may not sound terribly familiar to everyone, but they are the ones behind some pretty good films as of late including the newly released Rango, as well as The Town, and The Departed. As of right now, the plan is to have Graham King himself and Tim Headington produce the first film in the rebooted franchise.

Angelina Jolie starred in the two previous big-screen adaptations made by Paramount, and with King having produced The Tourist, the Jolie-Johnny Depp thriller, some tongues were wagging about the potential for a new Jolie Raider movie.

But sources say GK Films, which has not hired a writer yet, may be looking to do a Lara Croft origin story rather continue her adventures.

According to GK Films, the goal is to “create daring new adventures for the young and dynamic Lara Croft.” – THR

Coincidentally (or not) the Tomb Raider videogame franchise is getting the reboot treatment this year with a new console game coming out simply titled, “Tomb Raider”. In this iteration, Lara Croft has been made over into a bit younger version – ditching those trademark khaki shorts (pictured above, courtesy Game Informer). The easy bet is that this new movie franchise revolving around the character will most likely follow this latest look.

I’ve never been a huge fan of the Tomb Raider games, and I thought the movies were mildly entertaining, but for some reason the idea of a production company with a strong track record like GK Films getting behind a potentially exciting franchise peaks my interest. I’m definitely open to seeing what they come up with.

No writers have been hired as of yet, but GK Films is aiming for a 2013 release date.