And just when we thought it was safe to start thinking it was spring we get hit with winter-type weather. A snowstorm and temperatures around zero? A few days before May? Really?
Good thing for us geek types the end of April was a nerd boy (and girl) fantasy dream come true. Game of Thrones had its biggest, darkest and dragoniest battle ever in Winterfell against the evil Night King. If you haven't seen it I won't spoil it further but to say it was a pretty epic ending.
Avengers Endgame also came out in theatres and set boffo box office records. The three-hour bladder buster was basically the end of the third phase, which started way back with Iron Man and the Hulk with Ed Norton, Jr.
On the same weekend I saw the Battle of Winterfell and Avengers Endgame and thoroughly enjoyed both. I also caught Captain Marvel the day before Endgame so I would know what was going on with her in that movie.
There was also the annual Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, although I did not attend. I went a few years ago and enjoyed it and do hope to return. The cosplay (costumes) are just amazing, and it's neat to be able to check all the comic and fantasy books and shirts and toys and everything for sale at all the booths. But with all the other stuff going on and the snowstorm it wasn't in the cards.
So what is the future of the Avengers? Well, you never know but it appears most of the original cast, which was heavily on display in Endgame, will be stepping away from the series. That likely means that relative newcomers like Spider-Man, Dr. Strange and Black Panther will be the leaders of the next iteration of the Avengers.
That to me seems more likely than having new actors portray characters that are so strongly associated with the original actors. It's hard to see anyone else as Iron Man, Thor or Captain America than Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, respectively. Well, maybe in five to 10 years it'll be time and we'll welcome Robert Downey Jr. Jr., one of the kids from Stranger Things and, maybe, Michael B. Jordan as new faces of our old favourite heroes.
As for Game of Thrones (GOT), once the series wraps up in another couple of episodes that will be it. Although there may at some point be a prequel. Maybe we'll see an expanded GOT universe like with Marvel or Harry Potter but it just doesn't seem likely. At least not for now. Maybe because of how expensive it is to film. Or maybe because it's so hard to strike lightning twice.
- Craig Lindsay is the reporter for the Mountain View Gazette
