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Summer starts right NOW!

Well, here it is- the night before "Star Trek" premiers in the US. Well, that's not entirely true...

On April 6th, fans in Austin, Texas were treated to a full in-theater viewing of "Star Trek II- The Wrath of Khan" (1982) with the promise of a preview 10 minutes of the newest film afterwords hosted by writers Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman ("Transformers") & director JJ Abrams ("Cloverfield", TV's Alias).

However, about ten minutes into the 1982 film, the projector camera appeared to fail... and then an un-announced Leonard 'He of the Pointed Ears' Nimoy walked on-stage with a film canister containing the completed film! Casually asking whether the audience would rather see the newest movie before it debuted worldwide in Australia, American fans were treated to the first true screening of "Star Trek".

Rumor has it this movie is no longer rumored to be a pre-release hit...

Spoiler-free clip from "Star Trek" featuring James Kirk (actor Chris Pine) and Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban)

Unlike the earlier "Watchmen" (see- I told ya I'd never see it in theaters, damnit!), I feel good that- A: I will see it in theaters, and B: it will do well with Trekkers.


Likewise for "Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen", the countdown clock is approaching Zero Hour on June 24th.
The last full trailer is online, and does contain some new stuff we haven't seen, including tips as to what the movie may be about... other than giant alien robots invading Earth that can change shape at will that really have a thing for intricate jet engines.

This is a trailer, and does contain potential spoilers!

As expected, they're sexing-up Megan Fox's character Mikaela Banes a lot more than need-be... again. Does anyone else think there's a new agenda in Hollywood where they're trying to make giant robots and hot girls attractive in the same way that it did with hot girls getting murdered and beat to hell in slasher films? God- is nothing safe in this world from sex!? (And I mean that in only half-jest in case you're wondering.)

Another trailer containing an extended view of the scene in Sam's garage and other more-obvious spoilers is available on director Michael Bay's official site, shootfortheedit.com, but I won't post that here...

Regarding toys, I received good word from our Imperious Leader that he is allowing me to cover the new Leader-class Optimus Prime, so expect that from me just as soon as-

  • I see the movie in theaters
  • I can find the damned thing before the shelves are stripped clean by crazy collectors again like they were in 2007

When those two things happen, you'll be hearing from me. I found a YouTube video of him (no, I'm not gonna promote someone else's review of it!), and all I can say [again] is that I am so glad I didn't get the first one!


Another trailer catches my attention- that of "Evangelion 2.0: You Can [Not] Advance", which will debut June 27th...

Friggin' "Fly Me to the Moon"... -_-; Why? Why, why, why, why, why, why, why?

Yes- Unit-02 does get some little devil-horns. Why? I don't know, but the coloring scheme on it looks a lot better than before; so, too, do its new utility wings. I recently learned last night that Asuka's family/last name is going to be changed from "Souryu" (a Japanese WWII aircraft carrier) to "Shikinami" (a Japanese WWII destroyer). Why? I don't know- all the females in "Eva" always had Japanese WWII-ship names for their last names (Ayanami, Katsuragi, Akagi- those three also from carriers), so why Asuka's was changed I have no idea.

We also get two shots of both Unit-05 (the glowing one) and its new pilot, Mari Illustrious Makinami (named for- you guessed it- a 1942-44 Japanese destroyer). Yes, "Illustrious" is her middle name. If I had to guess, I'd say that Unit-05 is going to be fighting underground along with those tanks; perhaps intercepting the [now 15th-]Angel Zeruel when it invades NERV HQ.

One thing I'm very glad of is that after it was nearly destroyed in the previous film, unlike in the series, Unit-00 is not going to be repainted blue (which was really stupid, in my opinion) for the continuation of "Rebuild of Evangelion". Yes! While it doesn't appear to get utility wings because of this, that single shot also helps cement that we will be seeing the [now-11th] Angel Sahaquiel in the film (one of my favorite scenes from the series BTW).

Now, here's where spoilers come into play, so skip the rest of this blog entry if you don't want to see the revamped Unit-02 or the debut of Unit-05. But, to be clear, no image of Unit-04 has appeared yet...

--Spoiler Space--

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--Spoiler Space--

Thanks to fellow CDXer Gareth Infinity, I have confirmed two things:

1- Revoltech figures #068 and #069 are going to be the "Rebuild of Evangelion" versions of Unit-02 and -05 respectively. Additionally, #067 is a reissue of Unit-01.
2- Unit-05 is going to be a radically different design from what we've come to expect from the Evangelion universe. Put simply, it looks like it's more machine than biological.

One of CDX's sponsors, Angolz.com, already has pre-order images for both new EVA Units. They're not very clear, but they're clear enough...

Revoltech #068 - Evangelion Unit-02 New Movie Edition Ver.2.0 Figure

Revoltech #069 - Evangelion Unit-05 New Movie Edition Ver.2.0 Figure

Yeah, I know- my jaw also hit the floor when I saw Unit-05. Since Unit-06 looked so similar to the standard EVA in the preview trailer for "Evangelion 2.0", I didn't think to question it. (Obviously hiding Unit-05 in the dark in both trailers was to keep its quadruped appearance a secret.) And, no, I don't know why it looks like that either.

Independently, via Wikipedia, I found official front/back images of both Unit-05 and Mari Makinami...

[G2:469234 class=g2image_centered size=300]

I may just have to disown that EVA before I even see the movie...

But, Unit-02 looks friggin' sweet! It was always one of my least-favorite EVAs for whatever reason (a good share of that due to its bland & awkward color pallet), but those two new sets of utility wings look awesome, and the coloring scheme is just what is needed.

Posted 7 May, 2009 - 21:13 by EVA_Unit_4A

Comments

11 comments posted
I'm disappointed by two

I'm disappointed by two factors, 1) that Eva 00 won't be blue (I really love the original color scheme) and that 2) Unit 04 won't make even a brief appearance.

Still looking forward to this. First film was really nice (even though I still prefer the TV version) but the first six episodes were the best of the show IMO anyway.

VZMK2's picture
Posted by VZMK2 on 8 May, 2009 - 17:21
I think Unit-04 will be seen

I think Unit-04 will be seen even if it is still destroyed.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 8 May, 2009 - 19:50
Oriskany

I wonder what Eva character is going to be called Oriskany!

Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau

Showapop's picture
Posted by Showapop on 8 May, 2009 - 18:32
Thanks for the shout-out EVA lol

In short, Unit-05 looks fairly interesting as a mech, but may not work for me as an EVA. They'd better have a damn good explanation as to why it looks like that...it'll be pretty hard to win me over.

As for the new Unit-02, I'm kind of undecided. The band of white around the midsection annoys me, but the weapons look interesting. And horns are fun.

Gareth Infinity's picture
Posted by Gareth Infinity on 10 May, 2009 - 18:09
I agree with that

I agree with that assessment, Gareth- Unit-05 works as anything except as an Evangelion Unit. Only the, um- 'utility wings', torso, and head are an EVA, everything else is... not. I mean, the damned thing looks like a LEGO Technic MOC!
I shudder now to think of what they will do to my Unit-04... Please don't let it be ugly!

Before "Rebuild...", there was frequent artwork of Unit-01 in particular with extra neon-green on it, including the belt of green. So, that they would use it in the new movies would be no big surprise or something to write home about. But soncidering how bland Unit-02's pallet of coloring was, the new black and white is most welcome, and kinda matches it a bit more with Unit-01's.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 10 May, 2009 - 19:24
It's been labeled as a

It's been labeled as a "Provisional" Eva, which means it's likely a failed Eva outfitted with mechanical parts, likely because Nerv's hand has been forced to field more units.

Mike's picture
Posted by Mike on 11 May, 2009 - 14:21
Now that I could believe

Now that I could believe easily. Thank you for the insight.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 11 May, 2009 - 19:41
Given EVA's popularity, I'm

Given EVA's popularity, I'm surprised they've never made a 2nd series.

Decade010's picture
Posted by Decade010 on 10 May, 2009 - 19:05
Yeah- I would have liked

Yeah- I would have liked that. A sequel would have been keen even if it didn't have all of the same characters.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 10 May, 2009 - 19:26
Movie looks awesome. 05

Movie looks awesome. 05 might be my favorite Eva,and the pilot seems pretty cool too. Of course,I'm not hardcore eva fan.
This is my favorite Fly Me To The Moon cover,too.

kidnicky's picture
Posted by kidnicky on 13 May, 2009 - 21:00
YES- I got to see "Star

YES- I got to see "Star Trek" in a theater!

Well... it was more like an outdoor theater (yes, they're still around), and it in a triple feature that night- wedged in between "Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian" (definitely not a film targeting my age-range, gag me...) and "Angels and Demons" (good adaptation of the book, which I'd read years earlier).

In short- because I'm posting this in a hurry- I really liked it.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 9 June, 2009 - 19:44