‘Sup, Nerds! We are edging into the end of Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈and I am on Day 200 of a Zombie plague that has overtaken my respiratory system. But as they say around here, “can’t stop the signal, Mal.” The internet is teeming with incredible news coming to us straight from the rainbow road and beyond, so here we go!

Source: The Mary Sue

Made of Iron

Eve Ewing, the author of Ironheart, revealed, that in front of the attendees assembled for the Gene Siskel Film Center Gala in Chicago, that Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. expressed support in seeing Ironheart on the screen, and as part of the MCU in the future. Riri Williams, or Ironheart, first appeared in Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato’s 2016 Invincible Iron Man #7 and was later re-designed by Ewing and Kevin Libranda. Young Riri is considered one of the smartest people in the Marvel Universe, building a suit of armor similar to that of Iron Man’s, and eventually catches the Superhero’s eye who takes her under his wing. Last year, a script for Ironheart by Jada Rodriguez appeared on the Black List (no, not the Raymond Redding-kind), an annual survey of the “most liked” film screenplays not yet produced. No word on future plans for our fan favorite in Marvel’s TV or film plans, but if the Bobfather spoke, hopefully, someone is listening. 

Source: CinemaBlend

God Only Knows 

The six-part small screen adaptation of Good Omens hit Amazon Prime streaming earlier this month. While fans of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s wildly popular take on the end times appear to enjoy the series (at least according to Rotten Tomatoes), the BIG conversation has mostly surrounded the ship of Aziraphale and Crowley, the delightful angel and demon besties at the heart of the story. The Internet certainly seems to ship it, with in-depth roundups and close looks taken by Radiotimes, The Verge and The Mary Sue. A quick look at fan fiction archive AO3 shows well over 3500 works tagged for Aziraphale/Crowley. Even Neil Gaiman himself, the co-author of the book and writer of the adaption for the screen, stated on Twitter that love was “absolutely” there. What kind? Who knows. But that’s what fan art is for, right? Share your thoughts about the duo in the comments!

Source: YouTube

Representation Matters

After recently coming under fire over the controversial depiction of a trans woman as part of an in-game advertisement for the upcoming dystopian role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077, quest director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz confirmed that game developer CD Projekt RED is going to allow the creation of transgender and non-binary characters in its game. Tomaszkiewicz shared that they want “to give players as many options of customization in the beginning of the game as we can.” The company has largely shied away from sharing details about their character creation system, but Tomaszkiewicz added, “….of course, yes, we are paying a lot of attention to it, we do not want anyone to feel like we are neglecting this, or treating it wrongly.” Our fellow nerds who identify as transgender or non-binary face a disproportionate amount of violence and poverty. They are also often misidentified, misrepresented, or just plain missing as far as depictions in video games and pop culture go. A 2018 study by LGBTQ+ Think Tank the Williams Institute explored trans media representation and found “that exposure may help alleviate people’s own level of anti-transgender bias.” So one more time for the folks in the back: representation matters. Cyberpunk 2077 is an adaptation from the 1988 pen and paper RPG Cyberpunk 2020, developed and published by CD Projekt, the same developer behind popular game The Witcher. The game is scheduled to be released in April of 2020. 

Source: Gizmodo

Sequel Sense Tingling 

In case ya’ll were worried, Spidey producer Amy Pascal (Spider-Man: Far from Home, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) confirmed to Gizmodo that there will be a follow up to the Oscar (and heart) winning Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. “We are definitely hard at work on the sequel,” she shared with the online news source. Details are still fairly slim but, “You can expect another movie.” I’m not screaming. YOU’RE screaming. 

Source: Twitter

Ship It

Don’t @ me, but I’m stuck on these amazing cosplayers shared by the Nerds of Color Facebook account as part of #LGBTCosplayPrideMonth. Who are your favorite LGBTQIA+ (and absolutely beyond as this acronym doesn’t even cover the diverse tapestry of love that exists in our communities) ‘ships, canon or not? Drop them in the comments! 

Source: The Beat

Hello, Aunties

No need to hold those horses, Bronies, and Pegasisters! In the June 14th episode (The Last Crusade) of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic we saw our first ever on screen, same-sex couple for the nearly ten-year-old cartoon. Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty, who were first introduced in a 2017 media tie in book Ponyville Mysteries: Riddle of the Rusty Horseshoe, are caretakers of young pegasus Scootaloo. MLP writers Nicole Dubuc, Josh Haber, and Michael Vogel have been vocal champions of bringing the couple to the screen. “Nicole and I thought this was a great opportunity to organically introduce an LGBTQ couple in the series, and we asked Hasbro and they approved it,” Vogel said. Duboc added, “I think it’s fantastic that we can show that what truly defines a family is love — that, to me, is the core of My Little Pony.” My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic airs on the Discovery Family Channel.

Source: Instagram

Black Girl Magic

We are still losing our dang minds over here over the news that Black-ish star and all around GOAT Tracee Ellis Ross has signed on to voice and executive produce a Daria spinoff titled Jodie. This time around the show will center on Jodie Landon from the original series (who was previously voiced by Jessica Cydnee Jackson), as she enters the workplace in her first post-college job in tech. Ross said in the press release from MTV, “Being able to give voice to fresh, feminist and unexplored stories of young women excites me…we will feature a diverse cast, comprised mainly of unapologetically smart and ambitious young female characters who are vulnerable and flawed and interesting and funny.” BONUS: This will be the first time in almost 20 years that an adult animated show will star a black woman. The show will be the first of multiple Daria ‘verse spinoffs. Insecure’s Grace Nkenge Edwards, the mind behind the spinoff, will serve as head writer. No network has been announced for the show, nor has a date for release.  

Meanwhile deep in the Alpha Quadrant …Happy Pride, ya’ll. You’ll always find a family with us here at Temple of Geek. 💜

Don’t forget to drop me a line! Send me leads, tips, and announcements at paloma@templeofgeek.com.