The greatest Firefly costume you will ever see

It's Saturday, so here's another dose of cosplay awesomeness to send you off smiling into the weekend.
From: Blastr

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Check out this Really Cool Map of George R.R. Martin's Westeros

 If you’re still trying to wrap your mind around George R.R. Martin’s fictional world from A Song of Ice and Fire, this nifty map of Westeros should help fill in the blanks.

Map artist J.E. Fullerton has put in an insane amount of work to create this ultra-detailed map of Martin’s fictional world, probably best known via HBO’s Game of Thrones. 

But instead of just recapping locales, Fullerton’s map adds in family territories, notable landmarks and funny illistrations to help you connect the place to why it's important. For anyone who has read the books, it's loaded with nice easter eggs, and should come in handy for fans of the series.

This best way to navigate Westeros:

If you're wanting to go global, Fullerton has also drafted a map showing the entire scope of Martin's world, including all the other continents that sometimes come into play What do you think of this awesome map

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Walking Dead Season 3 Deleted Scene

Check out this deleted scene from the up coming third season of The Walking Dead on Blu-ray. Here we see Carol threatening Merle. This would have been a great scene to leave in the episode. What else will see on the Blu-ray?

Check out the full details on the third season Blu-ray here on Mania.com. The third season arrives on Blu-ray and DVD August 27th, 2013. 

Season 4 of  The Walking Dead premieres on AMC this October.

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Look which BSG star has just been cast as a fallen angel on Supernatural

The angels have fallen on Supernatural – and at least one of them is going to be a familiar face.
EW has learned that Tahmoh Penikett, best known for his roles on Dollhouse and Battlestar Galactica, has been cast as Ezekiel, ”a dignified warrior angel injured in the fall,” according to executive producer Jeremy Carver, nodding to the last scene from the CW drama’s season 7 finale. 

He will make his first appearance on the show in the season 9 premiere, airing Oct. 8.
Penikett, who most recently appeared on Continuum, played FBI agent Paul Ballard for two seasons on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse and Capt. Karl Agathon, so beloved for his small role in the BSG mini-series that he went on to co-star on the series.

At Comic-Con last month, executive producer Jeremy Carver said this season of Supernatural would find brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) dealing with a variety of angels who all have “lots of different agendas.”  

”[The angels are] lost, scared, and vengeful, and I think [the storyline] is lending itself to lots of exciting and wonderful character moments for all of our characters to be dealing with,” he said. “A world of fallen angels is a dirty, bloody, scary and in some ways very human world. We’re very excited to explore that.”

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Universal Hires Writer for Another ‘Bourne’ Sequel for Jeremy Renner

While last year’s The Bourne Legacy wasn’t as critically well-received as previous entries in the series, I found it to be a fairly inventive spin-off. Series writer Tony Gilroy jumped into the director’s chair and created a new layer of black ops mayhem which took place just outside the audience’s sphere of knowledge of the Matt Damon-led trilogy, utilizing Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross as a new protagonist and staying pretty consistent with the world made famous by Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass’s movies. The film’s ending, however, wasn’t so much an actual ending as it was just a stoppage of the story mid-stream; to say the filmmakers failed to stick the landing would be an understatement.

But the Bourne series is one of the biggest franchises Universal has at its disposal, so it should come as no surprise that Deadline reports the studio has hired a writer to continue the story from where it left off. 

Surprisingly though, it’s not Tony Gilroy who’s coming back into the fold. The studio has hired Anthony Peckham, screenwriter of Sherlock Holmes and Invictus, to tackle the newest installment, and there’s no mention of Gilroy’s involvement (or lack thereof) in this sequel. The fact that Gilroy might not be around could be a bit worrisome considering he’s been the mastermind behind this entire series so far, but it might also breathe some new life into the adventures of Aaron Cross.

Renner is expected to return, and I’d imagine Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton will be back as well when all is said and done. Don’t expect Matt Damon to put in an appearance, though – he’s said repeatedly that he won’t return unless Greengrass is involved. 

It’s still early in the process, so maybe Gilroy will decide to come back and direct after all. Either way, I’ll go into this one with a little more apprehension than I had with Legacy, and hopefully Peckham will be able to create a story that feels like a complete narrative while still managing to tap into the larger foundation laid by the previous movies. Are you excited to see Renner return to kick some more as Aaron Cross? Let us know below.

(Via GeekNation)

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Star Wars Rebels: More Artwork and Details from Celebration 2

What was incredibly surprising about the Star Wars Rebels panel was that more people were in attendance than for Kathleen Kennedy’s big debut. It might have been that they knew she was not going to drop any major “EP7” (what she called Episode 7) news. There is also the possibility that Star Wars Rebels is closer to release (still 2014) and the fever pitch is building. Regardless, the main stage at Celebration 2 got bigger than ever before for news on the new animated series. 

Read the official press release here and see new images from the show and swag that released at Celebration Europe 2.  

The press release has some details, but not the perspective of actually being on hand. Mania was fortunate enough to be present for the panel. 

Dave Filoni will be the Supervising Director as well as one of the Executive producers of Star Wars Rebels. He’ll be joined by Greg Wiseman and Simon Kingberg, who will also Executive Produce the series. Filoni wanted this series to have the same fun and energy of the original films. The new series will be completely and intentionally different from The Clone Wars. So where does one begin? Filoni’s answer was with Ralph McQuarrie, the original Star Wars concept designer.

Filoni then revealed several pieces of unused McQuarrie art as well and inspirational pieces.

Filoni wants the show to own and emulate the flavor that is in McQuarrie’s paintings. How does he paint characters?

He also pointed out how smooth everything looks, as if it were brand new. What we see in A New Hope is not brand new, it is lived in. If this series is to be before Episode 4, then it should have that McQuarrie look.

Where it really gets interesting on a technical side is that Filoni spoke about the new digital brushes they developed. These brushes will recreate the style in which McQuarrie painted. They have also developed a new facial rig to give the characters a better expression than they had in The Clone Wars. 

Since Lucasfilm is now a part of Disney, he knows that there will be a great collaboration with Pixar and Disney’s Animation studio to make Rebels the best show possible. It was, in fact, the animation style for Disney’s Tangled that let him see a new direction in which they could go. 

Here are some of the images that Filoni revealed during the Star Wars Rebels panel:

The New Stormtroopers (longer snouts).

The TIE Fighters (wings are shorter).

The Ghost (center piece to the show).

Filoni really wants this show to be a precursor to A New Hope. So, they have had to reverse engineer a lot the designs we know and love. All the material is there based on Ralph McQuarrie’s original concepts. He even said that they have gone as far as learning what lens and types of film stock they used in a New Hope to give Rebels that same look.

When asked if any characters from Clone Wars would appear in Rebels, he became very coy. Filoni told us that his wife says he is a terrible liar. However, he has learned about deflection from a true Master. He loves the characters that he has created, so you never know. Yet, Filoni was quick to point out that each generation of Star Wars fans needs its own characters, which is evident with The Clone Wars. 



Star Wars Rebels is scheduled to premiere in Fall 2014 as a one-hour special telecast on Disney Channel, and will be followed by a series on Disney XD channels around the world.

(Via Mainia)

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Will Loki Return In Avengers 2? Tom Hiddleston Tells All

So if you're an Avengers fan you've probably been wondering whether or not Loki will make a return in the Avengers sequel. Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki spoke to Entertainment Weekly and ended the speculation.

“He’s not in it,” Hiddleston said. “Here’s the thing: I don’t think there’s anything else Loki could contribute to The Avengers, narratively. Joss gave me so many wonderful things to do in that first film that we’d only be trying to repeat ourselves, and probably less well in the second one.”

“When I think of all the things I loved as a child, for example, Hans Gruber wasn't in Die Hard 2. And in Indiana Jones, by the time he moved from the Lost Ark to the Temple of Doom, there was a whole new bad guy," Hiddleston explains. "I think keeping it fresh and new is good for The Avengers even though it’s a shame for me. And let’s face it, there’s seven or eight of them as it is, and Joss is thinking about adding two more, so the screen’s gonna be a busy place. But I had the time of my life on that film. It was the most fun ever.”

Sorry to disappoint, but don't get too sad about this. Loki is mainly featured in Thor: The Dark World, which will launch in theaters this fall.

Hiddleston commented, “Oh, I’ve got plenty to do in Thor [2], believe me. A lot of new stuff. It’s a new iteration of the character. It’s a new development. Another trick, another poker game for the god of mischief. And he plays it well.”

Thor: The Dark World opens in theaters Nov. 8, while The Avengers: Age of Ultron debuts May 1, 2015

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Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Teases Film Links & Returning Characters, Unveils Official Poster Plus, Coulson Scoop

The official poster for Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.l.E.L.D. has just been revealed. 

On the panel, producers and cast insisted the secrecy is not a promotional gimmick but necessary. Loeb said that the show’s first day of shooting took place on a military base, with both military security and Marvel security personnel. Still, the producer said someone snapped a picture of a vehicle on the road on its way to the set and the shot went viral. He complained about the 24-7 news cycle. “What we are trying to do with this show is bring back some of the urgency of television,” Loeb said. The idea, he added, is to get back to a place where people watch the show in real time before every element has been “shared and re-shared and spoiled and revealed and un-revealed”…

Whedon was asked to reveal what kind of notes the producing team is getting from ABC. “We’ve gotten trust, which is different than freedom,” said Joss, who is also at work on the Marvel movie The Avengers: Age of Ultron. “They are making sure it’s what they want for their company and their network, but they are supportive of our vision. We are all really trying to make the same show. We are on the same page, which occasionally has not happened to me.”

Later in the panel, Whedon added: “Honestly their biggest note after we presented the thing was, they wanted to make sure our investment in the characters and their interaction was as big as the case of the week. Which is how I’ve done all of my shows. I was told NOT to learn a new skill.”

There were a lot of questions about cross-pollination between Marvel movies — notably the upcoming Captain America: Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, and Avengers 2 — and Marvel’s new foray into TV. Whedon said: “There will be as much as we can allow. It’s a fluid process.” However, he added that “I don’t want this to be an Easter egg farm” and said the TV show “has to work for an audience that hasn’t seen the movies before.”

Said Loeb: “Marvel is one universe,” including games, TV, or other franchises. “What’s important is character.”

The producers were asked whether one character in the pilot, portrayed by J. August Richards, would return to the series. Said Joss Whedon: “I cannot confirm or deny … but I thought he was great too. So do the math.”

Coulson Lives...How?!: The mystery of just exactly how Coulson is alive will play out over the course of the first season, with Whedon only saying, "We will be dealing with the issue, obviously...It will be drawn out over several episodes." Clark Gregg reveals that Whedon called him to tease what lies ahead with Coulson and the reveal of how he's alive, saying, "I hung up the phone very deeply on board."
Executive producer Jeph Loeb reveals, "There was never going to be a show called Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. without Clark."

(via deadline)

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And The 12th Doctor Is.....

And the TARDIS goes to....Peter Capaldi!


Scottish actor Peter Capaldi was named the newest star of the British TV series Doctor Who on Sunday in a live broadcast on BBC America. He is taking the place of the departing 11th Doctor Matt Smith who leaves the show later this year.

"It's so wonderful not to keep this secret any longer," said Capaldi, who has been a lifelong fan of the show. "I haven't played Doctor Who since I was 9 on the playground."

Capaldi, 55, will be the 12th man to play The Doctor since the series started in 1963 and the 4th Doctor since the series rebooted in 2005. Executive producer Steven Moffat had considered Capaldi when they were casting the 11th Doctor. "There comes a right time for the right person to play it," he said.

"We all had the same idea and it was a quite different idea," Moffat added. When he and his team made a video with Capaldi, "everybody saw it and was like, 'That's the Doctor.' "

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