Empire – Geekfeed https://www.geekfeed.com Entertainment News, Celebrities and Fandoms Fri, 05 Jul 2024 10:42:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.geekfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/cropped-Geekfeed-Favicon-White-32x32.png Empire – Geekfeed https://www.geekfeed.com 32 32 Breaking Bad’s Mike Inspires New Troll Character in LOTR: Rings of Power https://www.geekfeed.com/new-troll-character-in-lotr-rings-of-power/ Fri, 05 Jul 2024 10:42:51 +0000 https://www.geekfeed.com/?p=83151 Vince Gilligan has closed the book on the Mike Ehrmantraut character played by Jonathan Banks with Better Call Saul, but Mike is somehow finding himself back on the silver screen—and in the fantasy genre no less.

As revealed by Empire, a new troll character by the name of Damrod the Hill-troll is said to be inspired by Saul Goodman’s occasional private investigator. Showrunner Patrick McKay shares, “[He] was inspired in part by Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul… if you look at the way he moves and his casual sense of strength.”

Not much is known about Damrod yet, but his first image has him facing the “Father of Orcs” Adar (now played by Samuel Hazeldine):

Damrod is also described as an ‘eater of dragon bones’ and ‘ready to deal out serious damage with its significant stature and grouchy demeanor.’ With the first season of Rings of Power giving spotlight to the orcs in Adar’s army, it’s going to be interesting to see how more creatures come to the service of Sauron. Can we even expect these earlier trolls to be smarter than the ones we meet in Lord of the Rings?

Going back to Mike though, it’s funny that he should be the inspiration for a troll character. At this point, it was kind of expected. The show would make fun of Mike occasionally (like calling him ‘Uncle Fester’), but there was one scene in Better Call Saul when Jimmy literally calls Mike a ‘troll under the bridge’. It was only a matter of time.

Catch the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power when it premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Aug. 29.

 

]]> Kate Winslet’s Ronal in Avatar: The Way of Water Revealed https://www.geekfeed.com/kate-winslets-ronal-in-avatar-2-revealed/ Mon, 04 Jul 2022 04:43:27 +0000 https://www.geekfeed.com/?p=69022 Kate Winslet is teaming up with James Cameron again for Avatar: The Way of Water, and though we know she’s been in the movie for a while, we have yet to get a look at her character.

Now thanks to Empire, we get to meet Winslet’s Ronal along with Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), both leaders of the Metkayina clan, the people who dwell the shallows of Pandora’s oceans. Check out this photo:

https://cdn.onebauer.media/one/media/62bd/d7dc/fc00/5b56/ac70/2404/avatar-wow-ronal-excl.png?format=jpg&quality=80&width=1800&ratio=16-9&resize=aspectfill

We also get to see Ronal on the cover of the magazine:

empire august 2022 avatar wow cover Kate Winslet’s Ronal in Avatar: The Way of Water Revealed

Winslet describes her character:

“She is strong. A warrior. Even in the face of grave danger, and with an unborn baby on board, she still joins her people and fights for what she holds most dear. Her family and their home.”

While the characters still have the blue skin and ears similar to the Na’vi, they do have some significant differences in appearance. For one, it looks like their eyes are much larger, and their bodies are also covered in tattoos—whereas the Na’vi just had natural patterns on their bodies.

With Jake only assimilating to the culture of the Na’vi, it’s going to be interesting to see him and his family get exposed to a new type of culture. While I expect there to be some friction, between the two tribes, I’m sure they can always team up to battle the ultimate enemy—Capitalism.

Here’s the synopsis for Way of Water:

Jake Sully and Ney’tiri have formed a family and are doing everything to stay together. However, they must leave their home and explore the regions of Pandora. When an ancient threat resurfaces, Jake must fight a difficult war against the humans.

Avatar: The Way of Water comes to theaters on Dec. 16.

 

]]> Rangers of the New Republic to be Reworked Into The Mandalorian https://www.geekfeed.com/rangers-of-the-new-republic-to-be-reworked-into-the-mandalorian/ Sun, 28 Nov 2021 15:12:29 +0000 https://www.geekfeed.com/?p=62609 Back when it seemed like there was no problem with Gina Carano, Lucasfilm was ready to have her lead her own series called Rangers of the New Republic, and hints were already dropped in the second season of The Mandalorian. With Carano being promptly fired for her anti-vaxx views though, it looks like Lucasfilm is now going to scrap the Rangers series—but not completely.

Talking to Empire (via @TheSWU), Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has explained that development of the series didn’t get really far, and future concepts would just be brought over to the next season of Mando. She says, “We’d never written any scripts or anything on that. Some of that will figure into future episodes, I’m sure, of the next iteration of Mandalorian.”

With the character of Din Djarin not having any specific allegiance with neither the Empire nor the New Republic, it would make sense for a series to focus on the characters who know they are on the side of the Rebellion.

With Mando said to be expecting a huge time jump for its next season, some think that they will finally be entering Sequel Era territory. It would be interesting to watch the early days of the New Republic, and maybe we can have cameos from Sequel characters like pilots Snap Wexley or Jess Pava. Would it be too hard to get Oscar Isaac to make a cameo as Poe?

For now, Disney+ is prepping for the release of The Book of Boba Fett on Dec. 29.

]]>