Geekwatch: Kick-Ass 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Veronica Mars and more

First trailer for Kick-Ass 2 lands online
A red band trailer for Kick-Ass 2 landed online this week (check it out here), complete with all the fanfare you might expect from one of this summer’s most anticipated movies. True to form it’s crammed full of violence, gore and potty mouthed dialogue, which means that you obviously shouldn’t watch the trailer in the presence of any impressionable children, or within earshot of mild mannered co-workers. If however you’re of sound mind and not within earshot of a child who might start playing with nunchucks, then watch away and let us know what you think in the comments below.

The film is of course a follow up to the 2010 smash hit based on Mark Millar’s comic book of the same name. It grossed a whopping $100 million at the box office, received worldwide acclaim and helped to make stars out of the likes of Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz. It also helped to breathe new life into the comic book genre with its hyperactive style and whip sharp premise. It was fun, fast and so close to the cutting edge that you needed a box of band-aids just to sit through it. All in all it set the bar almost impossibly high, which is why we’re left a little disappointed by this sneak peek at the second outing.

For a start it looks cheap. Of course that’s something that can be polished in post-production but it’s a surprise to see such half-baked effects make their way into a trailer. The action also seems to lack some of the zing of the original, while the razor sharp dialogue seems to have been blunted considerably. Of course it’s impossible to judge the movie from just a two-minute teaser, but the signs aren’t exactly promising.

Part of the problem is the changing of the guard in terms of the movie’s production team. While much of the on-screen talent has returned for the sequel, key figures who contributed behind the scenes of the opening instalment are conspicuous by their absence. For a start, Matthew Vaughn, who co-wrote and directed Kick Ass, is no longer on board. True his name will appear on the credits as a producer, but for all intents and purposes creative control has been ceded to Jeff Wadlow - whose previous credits hardly inspire confidence. Vaughn’s writing partner Jane Goldman is also missing this time around, which means that the franchise has effectively been robbed of the two people who infused it with so much energy into it in the first place.

Nevertheless, there’s still enough contained here to whet our appetites ahead of the movie’s release in August. Jim Carrey’s turn as Colonel Stars and Stripes looks like it will be a particular highlight whilst any chance to see Christopher Mint-Plasse in action is worth the admission fee alone. But for now, mark us down as sceptically pessimistic.


Azrael and Nightcrawler won’t return for Days of Future Past
We already knew that Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past was shaping up to be one big mutie reunion party. In recent weeks the likes of Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman have all been added to a burgeoning cast list for the movie, which, as the title suggests, will flit between timelines connecting the recent reboots with Singer’s original trilogy.

However it looks like not everyone will be invited to the party. One of the biggest absences it seems will be Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler, the fan favourite teleporter who provided some of the best bits in X2. Speaking as a guest on Sirius XM’s Dirty Pop last week the actor responded to a listener question by admitting that he’s not only scheduled for another shoot when production on Days of Future Past begins in Montreal, but that he’s not even been contacted about appearing.

“No, they haven’t [asked me to return],” he said. “Someone asked me that the other day and I said no. I know the one that’s coming up shoots this Spring, but I wouldn’t be available anyway. I don’t think they have. I was gonna meet my manager for dinner later, I was gonna ask him, but no, I’m sure they would’ve told me, had they approached.”

But Cummins’ character isn’t the only mutant missing, as Jason Flemyng - who played demonic teleporter Azazel in First Class - also revealed he hasn’t been contacted about reprising his role. “I don’t think I will be back,” he told reporters. “Initially I was gutted, but then, I remembered I had to get up at two in the morning, I had to be painted red and be slightly out of focus and posed a lot, and that was sort of it. Now I don’t have to do that.”

The news will no doubt disappoint X-Fans, many of whom count Nightcrawler amongst the all-time most popular members of Charles Xavier’s mutant superteam. However, it may prove to be a blessing in disguise for the movie. After all, in comic book lore Azazel is Nightcrawler’s father (and Mystique his mother), which could perhaps set up a complicated sideshow to the main mutant vs. Sentinel action we can hopefully expect when Days of Future Past lands in cinemas next year. 


And finally…
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 24 hours you’ll have no doubt heard news of the latest attempt to get a Veronica Mars movie off of the ground. The cult series, which followed Kristen Bell’s teenaged private eye, was originally cancelled back in 2007 and ever since fans have been running a Firefly style crusade to bring it back to life on the silver screen.

Now it looks like they might get their wish after the show’s creator Rob Thomas revealed a Kickstarter campaign designed to raise money to get the movie off of the ground. He’s looking to raise $2million from fans to help prove to Warner Bros. that the project is worth their while, and with more than $1million already pledged at the time of writing it looks like he’s well on his way.

You can find out more or pledge your support here.


Are you a fan of the trailer for Kick-Ass 2? Will you miss Nightcrawler from Days of Future Past and are you excited about a Veronica Mars movie? Let us know in the comments section below.

- Daniel Bettridge