Marvel Studios is running full steam ahead with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, planning 5 movies over the next 2 years featuring some already established characters as well as some new properties. We will be seeing Thor: The Dark World on November 8th, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4th, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1st, 2014, and The Avengers 2 on May 1st, 2015. Phase Three will launch with Ant-Man on November 6th, 2015.
Marvel has recently announced 3 more release dates for undisclosed movies, which we can assume all fit into Marvel’s Phase Three. These dates are May 6th, 2016 and May 5th, 2017. The third date released is July 8th, 2016, keeping in line with Marvel Studios goal for two movies a year for the REST OF OUR LIVES. Not that anyone is complaining.
Man of Steel has now been out for over a week, and did pretty well at the box office. This pretty much ensures not only a sequel from Zack Snyder and his crew, but the beginning of a DC Cinematic Universe along the same lines as Marvel’s highly successful MCU. This is all very exciting, but before we get ahead of ourselves, it’s important to take a look at the beginning of the DCCU.
Where Iron Man hit it out of the park and wowed audiences across the world while setting the foundation of the MCU, Man of Steel has divided the movie going crowd for a number of reasons. The controversial ending, massive body count and destruction of a few cities has opened up the fiery gates of internet commentators from all walks of life. Whether you are a fan of the comics, the movies, or have never heard of this Superguy or whatever he’s called, chances are you have your own opinion of Man of Steel.
There’s just something about Jon Stewart. Women love him and men want to be him. Outside of a few MTV projects early in his career, it seems as if everything Stewart has touched has turned to gold. He’s taken the idea of “comedic news” and made for himself an empire; an empire that has millions of rabidly loyal followers. When it was announced earlier this year that he would be taking a longer than usual hiatus from The Daily Show this summer you’d have thought he had simultaneously maimed a thousand puppies. Of course once people read beyond the headline, his star shined even brighter.
In 2009, Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian reporter, gave an interview with Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones. In that interview Jones took on a persona of an American spy, albeit the worst American spy in history. In June of 2009, Bahari was arrested in Iran for espionage. A key bit of evidence against him? The Daily Show interview. Bahari went on to write a book, Then They Came For Me, based on his imprisonment in Iran. Jon Stewart optioned the book and is making it a movie, writing the screenplay and directing it which is why he is taking the summer off from The Daily Show.
Just when you think he can’t get any more amazing, he goes on and does just that.
So what would it take to get Jon Stewart to handle all our diplomatic relations? Well spoken, gracious, funny, introspective… does he at least have spinach in his teeth or something? Probably not. Talking with Bassem Youssef, a man described as “the Jon Stewart of Egypt” he made a point to comment on the role of satire and comedy in a democracy. Youssef was arrested earlier this year for allegedly insulting Islam and the Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi. It was likely that situation which Stewart was referring to when he said:
“If your regime is not strong enough to handle a joke, then you don’t have a regime.”
Jon Stewart will return to The Daily Show in August.
Grizzly Bomb 