by Kim Filchak, Senior Reporter

Hello Brave New World! (Or was that Whole New World? Which one is the cautionary dystopian fable again?) Welcome to Rampant Speculation. This week and next there will only be one edition of what has been called “the demented ravings of a mad fan girl” and “Rampant Speculation? What’s that?” but what I like to think of as me curating the world of geeky internet rumors for future generations to marvel over the weird things we as a species were obsessed with.

Now, I don’t know if you have been paying attention but San Diego Comic Con is upon us. That magical time of the year when the people who make the movies, television shows, and comic books we love corrals fankind on to the killing floor and once again re-indoctrinates the chosen few into the cult of geek we willingly sold the broken shatter chunks of our souls to years ago.

This year between Avengers: Age of Ultron, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Star Wars: Episode VII and all of the spin off and ancillary projects attached to them a lot of shit is going to go down. In this, “the Dawn of the Age of The Mega Franchise”, nothing is just a thing to pimp in and of itself anymore. No, now it is all about sequels and in universe parallel projects, interactive installations and video games that run concurrent to the events in other media. And honestly? Keeping on top of all of that nonsense is exhausting! So this week will be a single edition of what is known before the doors open on the convention center and everything we thought we knew gets tossed aside on to the pile of fake outs that, and with the way the summer has gone thus far, that pile is already the size of a small mountain or the guy who played Colossus in X-men: Days of Future Past (Daniel Cudmore (X-Men: Last Stand, The Twilight Saga) and he is literally the size of small skyscraper). Next week, after enough time has passed to properly process the trauma, I will dive in and take a look at the news that sprung forth from Hall H like nightmares from a dreaming elder god and speculate on what it all means for the futures of our favorite franchisees, Mega and otherwise.

This week however is all about the “Pre Gaming”, so armed with a bottle of expensive vodka and some redbull let’s dive in!

Ant-Man- Marvel Studios has released a poster based on pre movie concept art for the little film that it hopes will grow to giant size with the application of Pym Particles and here it is via the good folks over at Entertainment Weekly. What do we think?

Avengers: Age of Ultron- Also on the menu from Marvel Studios are two new posters for the next offering in the Avengers Mega franchise. No doubt they will soon be keeping company with all the other Avengers: Age of Ultron related awesome that will spill out from the legendary Hall H on Saturday.

Arrow- All sorts of awesome new news is coming from the house of Queen and the best TV show the CW has had in years.
First off here is a look at Colton Haynes (Teen Wolf) as Roy Harper’s new super identity Arsenal courtesy of the CW’s publicity department.

Also in Arrow News- Ever since season one, when he repeatedly told horrible lie after horrible lie to her face and she saw right through his BS, the chemistry between Stephan Amell’s (Hung, The New Girl) Oliver Queen and Emily Bett Rickard’s (Dakota’s Summer) Felicity Smoak has been pretty undeniable. Finally after two seasons of ship tease there is finally some movement on that front. The Hollywood Reporter talked to the show runner Greg Berlanti and he has given the fans a few reasons to smile.

“Olicity” fans had something to celebrate when it was revealed Oliver and Felicity would be going on a date in the season-three premiere — or at least attempting to. “Oliver might be catching up to how some of the audience feels in that maybe there’s a life with her,” Kreisberg says with a laugh. It’s in line with the new arc the former Starling City billionaire faces this season. “This season, particularly the premiere episode, is Oliver questioning whether there’s a life beyond the hood,” he explains. “Can he be Oliver Queen and the Arrow at the same time? One of the things about being Oliver would be what kind of romantic life he could have.”
For once, Oliver won’t be a smooth operator when he and Felicity do go on that date. “Let’s just say Oliver is the one who has trouble completing sentences,” Kreisberg hints. As he tells it, the timing was right to further evolve the Oliver-Felicity dynamic. “The way the show has shaken out and the experiences the two have had, it feels like it’s time to explore that,” he says.

He also talked about other Arrow plot type things that are not nearly as awesome.

“If season one was about Oliver going from vengeance to vigilante and season two was vigilante to hero, season three is about identity,” executive producer Marc Guggenheim tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s the first season where this theme of identity is not only about Oliver but is also about all the other characters.”

“Laurel and Thea are the two characters we haven’t done as much with in the past, and they have the strongest storylines that we’ve ever given them,” Guggenheim says.

Last seen giving Laurel her black leather jacket in the finale as a passing of the baton to the next presumed Black Canary, Kreisberg was mum about the context of her appearance: “She’s come back to Starling City with a very specific mission.” Laurel, he maintains, has a long road ahead to becoming her comic book alter ego. “She’s an attorney with a nice, sweet jacket,” Kreisberg says with a laugh. “We’re going to see Laurel take a few big steps toward her comic book self this season. Let’s just say that Katie Cassidy is pumping iron.”

There is a bunch more by way of hints and clues in the rest of the interview which you can read over here at The Hollywood Reporter.

Berlanti and fellow executive producer Andrew Kreisberg also spoke to HuffPost TV about who else we can expect to join up with Team Arrow as well as a few people who will be on the opposite side of things.

“But this year, part of the goal with “Arrow” is to bring in new viewers, and having a fresh set of villains and co-conspirators in Hong Kong-set flashbacks will allow the show to engage audiences who haven’t checked out the show so far.

“Hopefully people who have heard about the show — this will give them an opportunity to jump in and not feel so left behind,” Kreisberg said.

More elements that new and old viewers can look forward to: Robbie Amell, the “Tomorrow People” star — and cousin of “Arrow” lead Stephen Amell — will play Ronnie Raymond, half of the duo Firestorm, and Martin Stein, the other half of that duo, will appear as well. Also, Wentworth Miller will play Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold.”
Also in Arrow News- There are going to be quite a few heroes joining Oliver in quest to right the wrongs of the world via brute force and cunning. First up there is Brandon Wroth (Superman Returns) who has been reported by multiple sources as Ray Palmer aka the Atom.

The Flash- Speaking of DC comic book television based properties Arrow’s own spin off The Flash starts up this fall and show runners Kreisberg and Berlanti talked to HuffPost TV about The Flash as well and the phrase “Mega Crossover” was dropped.

“Not only will Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) of “Arrow” appear on the fourth episode of the first season of “The Flash,” but the eighth episodes of both CW shows will make up a “mega-crossover event,” in the words of executive producer Greg Berlanti.

Berlanti and fellow executive producer Andrew Kreisberg, both of whom work on both shows, actually have three different classifications of “Flash”/”Arrow” interactions: “We have the cameo crossover, the big crossover and then the epic crossover,” Kreisberg said. As “The Flash” revs up its engines, there will be “a few mini ones along the way,” and then Felicity will be a major presence in Episode 4.”

Guardians of the Galaxy- As Guardians of the Galaxy will be landing on our collective faces in only 9 short days Marvel Studios held one heck of a press junket in Los Angeles this past weekend and the God King of Marvel moviedom Kevin Feige was there with all this things to say about Guardians of the Galaxy.

I think the best movies are like that, when the characters aren’t commenting every five seconds. In our story, Peter Quill has been in this, traversing the galaxy for twenty-six years—for almost thirty years. He’s not gonna comment on everything he sees—even something as crazy as Rocket and Groot. The craziest thing about Groot is that he only says, “I am Groot.” No one ever comments on the fact that he’s this giant tree walking around. I guess Peter does comment on Rocket looking like a raccoon, to which Rocket says, “What’s a raccoon?” Because he has no idea. But we always said that we wanted the characters to play.

When we were casting Rocket and coming up with who we liked to approach, we kept saying, “Whoever plays it, can’t play it like he’s an animated character. Can’t play it like he knows he’s an animated character.” That’s what’s so amazing about Bradley, is that he’s made a character. Bradley could’ve played that role and you’d buy it.

What James Gunn brought, which is so impressive and so smart is, for as out there as all the characters are and all the worlds are, because Peter is a human—which James didn’t bring to it, that was inherit in the story. As a human from Earth, his references are from Earth, his pop culture knowledge is from Earth of a particular period when he was a kid here. But the notion of the , the notion of that mix tape that has a significance in the story but at the same time provides a literal soundtrack to the movie, which helps anchor it for people who could care less or perhaps are even turned off, “I don’t know these people. I don’t wanna know these people.” For people who are turned off by the notion of a space movie or a space opera.”

His Imperial Comic Magestrix Feige also spoke about the hiring of Josh Brolin (True Grit) as Thanos and dropped a fairly large clue that Guardians of the Galaxy is not going to be Thanos is only appearance, so perhaps all of the speculating that he will be the big bad in Avengers 3 is true.

“You got Josh Brolin for Thanos. Was it tough to get him? Talk a little bit about landing him for the role and why you chose him.

FEIGE: We knew he was going to be in this movie. We wanted somebody to be more than just the voice. Josh did the performance as well. We were looking at a wish list of, “Wouldn’t it be great if names,” and his name was on it. And you look at his face and the performances he gives, he could be Thanos without any effects. He has that kind of face and that kind of gravitas to it.

We reached out to him and it was one of those things that does not happen all the time but when it does it’s very nice, where he was totally intrigued. He was a fan of what we did, he met with Jeremy Latcham in a hotel in London and learned about the characters a little bit. I spoke to him on the phone a few times. We ran it by James who loved it, ran it by Joss who loved it because Thanos is in this universe because of Avengers. Then we shot him and recorded for it.

When you signed Josh for Thanos, I’m assuming he had to sign a multi-picture deal.

FEIGE: Usually people do, yes.

You can read the rest of the interview here over at Collider and you too can spend hours attempting to parse out just what is not being said and what those not said things might mean for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Also in Guardians of the Galaxy News- As a dedicated reporter of all things awesome I made the arduous trek down to The Dread Mouse to see the 15 minutes of preview footage they are currently showing at Disneyland and what follows is what I discovered.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy opens with an extended musical/dance number and IT IS AMAZING.

Iron-Man 4- Everyone’s favorite everything Robert Downy Jr spoke to the peps (Mmmm…peeps) over at Entertainment Weekly about the idea that he might be open to another go as the world’s most privileged armored doer of heroic deeds and living proof that the 1% are on all evil, Tony Stark.

“It’s down to Kevin [Feige, Marvel Studios president] and Ike [Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment] and Disney to come to us with what the proposal is, and that’s on us to agree or disagree,” Downey said. “When things are going great, there’s a lot of agreement.”
So far, so good. Each Marvel sequel has outgrossed its predecessor, and Iron Manremains the MVP. And Downey knows it.
“Right now, this has just been swell, hasn’t it?” the actor said with a big smile, during a break in filming on Avengers sequel. “This has been a really good one and it feels good and we’re having a good time.”

So while not a unequivocal yes, it is also not a no either.

Marvels: Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D.- First up TV Line has a few encouraging words for those who loved good guy gone terribly bad and dude currently suffering a fractured larynx Grant Ward.

“He did very bad things” toward the close of Season 1. That said, “He’s in our custody now, and he’s a great villain to have around.” And he WILL be around. “Ward is definitely in the mix” as Season 2 opens, says EP Jed Whedon. “Brett [Dalton] has done a great job, and we love who Ward has become.”

Also In Marvels: Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. News- The MOST AMAZING NEWS OF THE SUMMER!! LUCY FREAKING LAWLESS will be joining the cast! TV Line reports this magical news as well as the fact they the producers are currently playing coy with the details of her character.

“Though details on Lawless’ character — or the length of the gig — have not been disclosed (surprise, surprise!), S.H.I.E.L.D. has been looking to fill the recurring role of “Mary Maloney,” a highly skilled agent who can “command any room” (and boasts “effortless sex appeal”).”

Star Wars: Episode VII- The folks over at BadAss Digest have dug around and have come up with some spoilers for the next film in the most popular series of all time. Devin Faraci has reported that a source he has spoken to claims to have information about the character played by Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones).

According to my sources Gwendoline Christie is playing John Boyega’s commanding officer in Star Wars Episode VII, and she’s mad that he deserted. She’s looking for him. She’s an antagonist.

He then updated with some clarifications.

“UPDATE: I’m have new info that puts things in new perspectives. She’s definitely hunting Boyega. I think she’s an Imperial officer, but I got one more piece of information that puts everything in a new light:
SPOILERS!
The actress has been training with a lightsaber.

Could she be an Imperial officer who has a lightsaber? Or is it something more? I’m hearing the S word.”

Faraci also goes on to speculate about the possibility that Christie’s character was originally been intended to be male but was gender swapped when the internet exploded with indignant rage when the original cast photo surfaced and it was seen as being dude heavy. He makes some really interesting points and you can read his theory and decide for yourself here.

Also in Star Wars: Episode VII News- BadAss Digest also reported a bit about John Boyega’s (Attack On the Block) character and then laid out some spoilers that, if they prove to be true, mean that J.J. Abrams (Alias, Star Trek, Lost) is still in love with macguffins and the ease with which they facilitate that whole plot thing.

The dirt on Boyega’s character claims he is playing a storm trooper who abandons his post and teams up with Daisy Ridley’s (Silent Witness) character. Which would make sense if the other rumor reported is true and Gwendoline Christie’s character is hunting his ass down for dereliction of duty.

But where does the magical macguffin come in? That tidbit showed up in yet another article by BadAss Digest, this time however it is not a red orb of dubious provenance and even dubious-er science. Nope, this time it’s a little more…. Um… I will let BadAss Digest take this one. Guys?

“Imagine the standard Star Wars crawl, and when it ends the camera pans up to the stars. But instead of a spaceship zooming into frame we see… a hand! A severed hand, tumbling through space. A severed hand gripping a light saber.
That hand falls onto a desert planet, where it is discovered by characters who will be our heroes. One is Daisy Ridley. The other is John Boyega, who is playing someone trying to change his path in life (again, I’m keeping it vague here). They recognize the light saber as a Jedi relic and decide to return it to the proper people.
Their quest takes them off world, and they meet up with Han Solo and Chewbacca, who aren’t flying around in the Millenium Falcon anymore but are piloting… well, that could be a spoiler. I’ll leave it. Anyway, Han and Chewie recognize the light saber as Luke’s, and they say they haven’t seen their friend in thirty years, since the events of Return of the Jedi.
So begins a quest to find the missing Jedi Master. Meanwhile, on an ice planet, nefarious forces are building a super weapon, one capable of destroying not planets but entire solar systems…”

So there you go. Make of that what you will…. Oh, and there is one last ingredient in this plot salad.

“One last, last thing: one of my sources tells me that the desert planet in Episode VII is not Tatooine.”

And with that last bit of rumor to chew on this Pre Game edition of Rampant Speculation comes to a close. To my brave compatriots braving the insanity of the SD Comic Con stay hydrated, try to travel in packs, and May the Force be with you. I will return in one week to sift though wreckage of all of the bombs that will get dropped this weekend and see if we can make sense of the madness.

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