Monthly Archives: July 2019

Marvel announced Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Spider-Man: Far From Home marks the end of what Marvel now refers to as The Infinity Saga. The Infinity Saga is all the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies from Phase 1 – 3. And at San Diego Comic-Con last week, Marvel unveiled the line-up for Phase 4 which kicks off a new series of storylines. Phase 4 consists not only of new movies but also a new series of shows that will be part of the new Disney+ streaming service that tie-in directly to the movies. Here is the outline of Phase 4:

Black Widow (May 1st, 2020):

The first new movie of Phase 4 kicks off with Scarlett Johansson reprising her role of Natasha Romanoff AKA The Black Widow. Joining here is David Harbour as Alexei AKA The Red Guardian, Florence Pugh as Yelena, O-T Fagbenle as Mason, and Rachel Weisz as Melina. Not much is known about the plot but the movie is thought to be a prequel and takes place immediately following Captain America: Civil War which saw Natasha on the run.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Fall 2020):

This is the first Marvel Studios show developed for Disney’s new streaming service called Disney+. It picks up after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and follows Sam Wilson AKA The Falcon and Bucky Barnes AKA The Winter Soldier—in a series of action-filled adventures. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprise their roles and Daniel Brühl will return as the villain Baron Zemo last seen in Captain America: Civil War. Rumor has it that during this series, we will see Sam Wilson officially take over as the new Captain America.

The Eternals (November 6th, 2020):

This movie will introduce a new team of heroes in the MCU not unlike what Guardians of the Galaxy did. The movie stars Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, and Angelina Jolie as Thena.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (February 12th, 2021):

This movie will introduce another new hero to the MCU which will bring together several pieces hinted at in previous MCU movies going all the way back to Iron Man in 2008. The movie stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Awkwafina in a yet-to-be-disclosed role, and Chinese actor Tony Leung as the REAL Mandarin. If you recall in Iron Man 3, a fake version of the Mandarin was hired by Aldrich Killian and played by Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley). In the Marvel One Shot “All Hail the King”, the real Mandarin sends one of his followers to visit Trevor Slattery in jail. I imagine we’ll see these elements play a part in this movie.

WandaVision (Spring 2021):

This will be another Disney+ series and see Paul Bettany reprising the role of Vision and Elizabeth Olsen returning to the role of Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. Additionally, it was revealed that Teyonah Parris will be playing the grown-up version of Monica Rambeau, who was introduced in Captain Marvel as a kid.

Loki (Spring 2021):

This will also be a Disney+ series that stars Tom Hiddleston as Loki. It will answer the question of “Where did Loki go when he took the Space Stone (the Tesseract)?” in Avengers: Endgame.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 7th, 2021):

In the sequel to Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch returns as Doctor Stephen Strange and Elizabeth Olsen joins him as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. The events of the Disney+ series WandaVision will tie-in directly to the movie’s plot.

What If…? (Summer 2021):

This show will be on Disney+ and will be the first animated series in the MCU. The show will tell stories that present alternate realities in the Marvel Universe. Many of the actors from across the MCU will reprise their roles as voice talent in the series however Jeffrey Wright will be the voice of the popular character The Watcher in the series.

Hawkeye (Fall 2021):

Another Disney+ show which has Jeremy Renner returning to the role of Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye. The show will introduce Kate Bishop, a character well-known in Marvel Comics. It is believed that in the show, Clint Barton will hand over the role of Hawkeye to Kate Bishop.

Thor: Love and Thunder (November 5th, 2021):

In the 4th Thor movie, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson return to their roles. And Natalie Portman returns as Jane Foster who will become the Mighty Thor just like in the comics. Thor was last seen heading off with the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end of Avengers: Endgame.

Phase 5 + Beyond:

Marvel Studios has their Phase 5 plans nearly locked but I don’t imagine we’ll hear much on this for another year or two. However Marvel Studios Chief Kevin Feige has confirmed that Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the next Spider-Man are in active development and likely part of Phase 5. For Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Director and Writer James Gunn returns and will be focusing on this once he completes his next movie which is The Suicide Squad for DC/Warner Bros.

Marvel Studios also announced at SDCC that actor Mahershala Ali will be Blade in the MCU with a new Blade movie coming! You may recongnize the actor – Mahershala played the villain Cornell Stokes AKA Cottonmouth in the first season of the Marvel/Netflix show Luke Cage.

As a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I plan to continue to blog about the developments from Marvel Studios to help other fans stay on top of what’s going on with these movies and now TV shows.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11

50 years ago today, Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon. 5 days later, Armstrong and Aldrin would successfully land their Lunar Module “Eagle” on to the lunar surface while astronaut Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard the Command Module “Columbia”. And Neil Armstrong would become the first human to walk on the moon.

Even though Apollo 11 was an achievement to be celebrated by all of mankind, Apollo 11 marked the climax of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States beat the Russians to the moon and achieved the goal set forth by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 of successfully landing a man on the surface on the moon and returning them safely to Earth. While on the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin spent nearly 2.5 hours outside the Lunar Module where they collected 47.5 pounds of moon rocks to bring back to Earth and taking lots and lots of photos among other experiments such as deployment of a solar wind composition experiment, seismic experiment package and a Laser Ranging Retroreflector. Upon returning to Earth, the Apollo 11 astronauts had to fill out a customs form to declare the moon rocks they brought back – marking the end of their historic mission after their Command Module splashed down in the Pacific.

I have pulled together a bunch of ways to celebrate Apollo 11 on the anniversary of the historic mission this week:

Apollo 11 Live Tweeting:

Spaceflight historian Amy Shira Teitel is live tweeting everything that happened during the Apollo 11 mission exactly when it happened 50 years ago. You should check her tweets out for all kinds of interesting facts and stories about what happened during the historic mission.

Apollo 11 50th Anniversary NASA Events:

Be sure to check out all the events NASA is putting on this week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11!

LEGO Apollo 11 Lunar Lander (LEGO Shop):

The 1,087-piece LEGO set of the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander “Eagle” is one of the most amazing LEGO sets I have ever built. It’s highly detailed – including separate ascent and descent stages, gold-colored landing pads and panels, opening camera and laser hatches and a ladder, brick-built video camera and laser reflector. And as you build the Lunar Lander, you get little factoids about the spacecraft! Totally worth $99.

The 1,087-piece LEGO set of the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander “Eagle”.

Additionally, if you’re up for an even BIGGER challenge – you can check out the LEGO Saturn V set. I’ve built this too and this set gives you a good idea of the scale of this rocket. The set includes details such as removable S-IC first rocket stage with main rocket engine details, removable S-II second rocket stage with rocket engine details, removable S-IVB third rocket stage with the Apollo spacecraft and rescue rocket at top of the whole spacecraft.

Apollo 11 (Amazon):

Director Todd Douglas Miller takes newly discovered 65mm footage and more than 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio recordings along with interviews with astronauts and other NASA personnel to take you through the entire Apollo 11 mission from blast off to splash down. This movie is absolutely stunning in HD and if you have a good sound system, it’s even better. I highly recommend this movie for anyone who wants to get a genuine and authentic look at Apollo 11 with amazing visuals and audio.

Director Todd Douglas Miller takes newly discovered 65mm footage and more than 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio recordings along with interviews with astronauts and other NASA personnel to take you through the entire Apollo 11 mission from blast off to splash down.

Apollo Expeditions to the Moon (Amazon):

This is an official NASA publication re-released for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. You get interviews with astronauts as well as colored and black and white diagrams of the technology used in the Apollo missions.

This is an official NASA publication re-released for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 with interviews with astronauts as well as colored and black and white diagrams of the technology used in the Apollo missions.

From the Earth to the Moon (Amazon)

This HBO 12-part mini-series aired in 1998 and was co-produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Tom Hanks. It tells the story of the Apollo missions starting with the Mercury and Gemini missions. They just released an updated Blu-ray version of the mini-series that has been re-mastered in HD. What I really love about this mini-series is that it highlights the stages and goals NASA needs to achieve in marching toward landing a man on the lunar surface. Getting to the moon took a lot of testing. Each Mercury, Gemini, and early Apollo missions were meant to complete certain goals prior to Apollo 11 getting to the moon. I highly recommend this mini-series if you want a fantastic overall look at the space program of the 1960’s and early 1970’s.

This HBO 12-part mini-series aired in 1998 and was co-produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Tom Hanks and tells the story of the Apollo missions starting with the Mercury and Gemini missions.

My copy of this just arrived today and this is what I’ll be watching for the rest of the week after work!

Apollo 11 Had a Hidden Hero – Software:

The Wall Street Journal has done an article today about the software behind Apollo 11. The computer behind Apollo 11 was the first digital general-purpose, multitasking, interactive portable computer and only had about 145K lines of code! I know this article is behind a paywall but its worth checking out – I promise!

Oh and by the way – if you’re a programmer, you can check out the original source code for the Apollo 11 Guidance Computer (AGC) here on GitHub!

The original source code for the Apollo 11 Guidance Computer as viewed in Visual Studio Code.

Download the code from GitHub and view it in Visual Studio Code!

Apollo 11 in Real Time:

Take a real-time journey through the first landing on the Moon with original historical mission material!

Take a real-time journey through the first landing on the Moon with original historical mission material directly within your web browser.

Destination Moon Exhibit at the Museum of Flight:

At the Museum of Flight here in Seattle, the Destination Moon exhibit showcases real artifacts from the Apollo 11 mission – including the actual Apollo 11 Command Module “Columbia”. I had a chance to visit the exhibit and was blown away from seeing the Command Module. In addition to the Command Module, the exhibit features all kinds of other artifacts including an actual moon rock, space suits, and tools. If you’re in the Seattle area – this is a must-see exhibit. It’ll be here until September.

The actual Apollo 11 Command Module as seen at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Have fun celebrating Apollo 11 this week!

Solo Superhero Strikes Again?

Last month, I published a blog post about managing my mental health and dealing with social anxiety. And I want to continue that conversation. I thought I would highlight a recent example of where my anxiety kicked in and how I dealt with it.

Sometimes going out and doing things that come easy for everyone else doesn’t come so easy for me. Like going to the movies by myself. My anxiety gets triggered when I think of being in social situations by myself or around large groups of people. Even seeing a movie in a movie theater. Last week, Spider-Man: Far From Home from Marvel Studios came out. And I am religious about seeing every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie on opening night AND in IMAX. For IMAX movies in Regal Cinemas, they release special collector tickets. And I collect them. So, by seeing these movies on opening night – I ensure I get one of these tickets. For popular movies, these tickets can go quickly.

When it came to seeing Spider-Man: Far From Home, I didn’t have anyone available to go with me on opening night. And it makes me feel more comfortable going to movies with someone I know. Yes, I know – it’s just a movie and you’re just sitting there watching a big screen for 2 hours and not really being “social”. You’re still around a lot of people though especially when your going to a hotly anticipated movie which most of the Marvel movies are.

In trying to manage my anxiety, I am challenging myself to confront these situations head on rather than avoid them. To make sure I didn’t weasel out of seeing this movie, I used the Regal Cinemas app to purchase a ticket for the movie in advance. An IMAX movie ticket on opening night isn’t cheap. And it’s not trivial to get your money back for a ticket you bought through the app. I trapped myself a week before the movie. I HAD to go. Otherwise I would be wasting a decent amount of money which is stupid.

In short – I went to the movie, it was awesome (highly recommend seeing it and seeing it in IMAX), and I got the collectible ticket.

There are still cases where my anxiety gets the best of me. I wanted to go see the Foo Fighters (my favorite band) in concert and didn’t go because I didn’t want to go by myself. Same for Weezer. And every year I tell myself I’m going to go to San Diego Comic-Con but never actually do it. I’ve still got work to do. But at least I’m taking baby steps!

For those of you who have social anxiety, how do you manage it? I’d love some tips to try! Leave a comment or tweet at me.

The Return of Captain Picard

It’s been nearly 18 years since we last saw Sir Patrick Stewart in the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. And later this year, he’s bringing Captain Picard back in a brand new Star Trek series for CBS All Access – appropriately called “Star Trek: Picard”. We were given a teaser trailer for this new Picard series last month and today CBS released the very first image for the show:

There is even an animated version of the image that was shared on Twitter:

We don’t know much about the show’s plot other than it takes place 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. We know Picard is no longer in Starfleet and has retired to his family’s vineyard in La Barre, France. We also know that the destruction of Romulus that was shown as happening in the 2009 J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie will also play an important part in the show. As mentioned in the teaser trailer, Picard led one of the largest rescue armadas ever to Romulus. Something happened resulting in Picard retiring as an admiral. And something in this new series brings Picard out of retirement.

I am so excited for this show! We’ll find out more later this month and San Diego Comic-Con.