Best Stories Of The Week: Star Wars, Spider-Man, Spies And Big Trouble In Little China

We've reached the end of a very busy week. There were tons of trailers and some pretty big news stories, so this is a pretty beefy edition of the Best Stories of the Week.

Recapping the news from the past seven days, you'll find updates on the future of Marvel Studios' television side and Samuel L. Jackson in the cinematic universe, some rumors about the future of Star Wars and details on the past of a certain iconic character from the saga, a first look at The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, new writers for the Transformers franchise and future universe and more.

Plus, there's trailers for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Steven Spielberg's Bride of Spies, Pixar's The Good Dinosaur, and a double dose of Jake Gyllenhaal in Southpaw and Everest, and that's not even half of the (mostly) great, new trailers we saw this week. Catch up on the Best Stories of the Week after the jump!

#36. Disney Unveils a New Way to Play with Playmation

Playmation logo

Touted as "physical play for a digital generation," Disney is looking to change how kids play by using some of their most iconic characters under their brand. Find out much more about Playmation right here.

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#35. Greta Gerwig in Mistress America Trailer

The film hits theaters on August 14th.

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#34. Fox Developing a 24 Spin-Off Series Without Jack Bauer

24 Live Another Day

With Kiefer Sutherland casting doubt on returning for another limited series run for 24, it looks like Fox might be looking at other options. The network is developing a spin-off that would focus on a new male terrorist hunter. Get the details right here.

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#33. Andrew Garfield Makes a Deal in 99 Homes Trailer

The film arrives on September 25th.

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#32. It's a Coming-of-Age Mystery in New Paper Towns Trailer

The film arrives on July 24th.

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#31. New Ted 2 Trailer Spoofs Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The sequel arrives on June 26th.

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#30. What Movie Would You Time Travel to See for the First Time?

The Empire Strikes Back

If you could travel back in time and experience a movie with the first audience to see the film, which movie would you pick? Mine would probably have to be The Empire Strikes Back. Join the discussion right here!

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#29. More Community and Arrested Development on the Way?

Community Season 6

The sixth season of Community just ended, and a movie would be the next thing that fans have been clamoring for, but Yahoo may give the former NBC comedy series a seventh season first. In addition, it sounds like more Arrested Development will hit Netflix in the spring of 2016.

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#28. Hit the Holiday Road Again in New Vacation Trailer

The film arrives on July 29th (that's a Wednesday)

The Stand 700

#27. The Stand Miniseries Will Precede Feature Film

We've already heard Stephen King's The Stand will be a multi-part feature film adaptation, but now it will also be preceded by a miniseries on Showtime. Find out more about the miniseries right here.

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#26. Wachowskis Come to Netflix in Trailer for Sense8 Series

The series hits Netflix on June 5th.

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#25. Is Netflix Testing Pre-Roll Ads for Their Shows a Bad Idea?

Netflix series Montauk

Netflix is currently testing pre-roll ads on Netflix Instant for their own original programming. Is this a backwards move for the streaming service? Join the discussion right here.

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#24. Get a First Look at The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 poster header

Jennifer Lawrence debuted the first photo from the conclusion to The Hunger Games trilogy, and it sounds like a new trailer might be coming next week. Get details and see the photo in our original report.

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#23. Future of the Transformers Franchise Gets New Writers

Transformers Optimus Prime

Paramount Pictures is developing a cinematic universe for the Transformers franchise, and they hired some new writers this week. The previous brain trust was composed of only male writers, but some female scribes were also hired this week, in addition to a couple of writers who have appeared on the Black List.

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#22. Interview: Entourage Director and Creator Doug Ellin

Entourage BTS Doug Ellin 3

We chatted with Doug Ellin, the man responsible for creating Entourage for HBO, and the director of the feature film adaptation. Ellin talks about the show's evolution, comparisons with Sex and the City, and much more. Check out the full interview here.

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#21. Margot Robbie Stars in Indie Sci-Fi Z for Zachariah Trailer

The film hits limited theaters on August 21.

Best Movie Spies

#20. Are These the Top 15 Best Movie Spies?

Our own Ethan Anderton counted down the Top 15 Best Movie Spies. Surely you'll want to disagree after you check out the full list right here.

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#19. Jake Gyllenhaal Fights for His Life in Southpaw Trailer

The film hits theaters on July 24th.

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#18. Michael Fassbender Gets Shakespearean in Macbeth Trailer

The film hits the UK on October 7th but has no US release date yet.

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#17. Germain Lussier Battles on Screen Junkies Movie Fights

Germain Movie Fights

Our own Germain Lussier went to Screen Junkies to participate in their Movie Fights show. In the episode, they discussed the merits of the Point Break trailer, Tomorrowland, which Disney character should get their own movie (based off our article on the topic), which movie flop needs a remake, what movie needs a tie-in video game and what is the best high school movie of all time. Watch the full episode right here.

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#16. Nikolaj Arcel May Direct Stephen King's The Dark Tower

Dark Tower movie

The long-gestating adaptation of The Dark Tower is finally making steps to get in front of the camera. Nikolaj Arcel, director of the Swedish adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is currently in talks to direct and rewrite the project. Get more information over here.

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#15. Sofia Coppola Exits The Little Mermaid

Sofia Coppola Leaves the Little Mermaid

The Lost in Translation director has departed the live-action telling of Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale due to a disagreement over casting. Find out who Coppola wanted in the role, and who the studio wanted instead, in the full story right here.

Jurassic World Trailer Still 59

#13. Early Buzz on Jurassic World Sounds Mostly Positive

After the world premiere of Jurassic World in Paris last weekend, some reactions surfaced online from those in attendance. Is this finally a worthy sequel to Jurassic Park? Find out over here. But even though the buzz sounds good, if a sequel happens, Colin Trevorrow has said he won't direct it.

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#12. Joseph Gordon-Levitt Gets High in The Walk Trailer

The drama arrives on October 2nd.

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#11. Jake Gyllenhaal Scales Everest in First Trailer

The climb begins on September 18th

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#10. Entourage Primer and a Two-Sided Review of the Movie

Entourage Movie Review header

Our own Germain Lussier took an in-depth look back at the story of Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) on the HBO series Entourage before the show heads to the big screen. In addition, he also put together a two-sided review, looking at the movie both as a fan of the original show, and as a movie by itself.

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#9. The Past of Han Solo, the Future of Obi-Wan and More

Han Solo

There's plenty of Star Wars rumors circulating all the time now that Disney has revived the sci-fi saga for even more films. The latest pegs Iron Man director Jon Favreau and Kingsman: The Secret Service director Matthew Vaughn as being potential helmers of the second Star Wars Anthology film, which is said to focus on the source of the rivalry between Han Solo and Boba Fett.

Speaking of Han Solo, a huge part of his past was just revealed in the latest issue of the new Star Wars comic book, but if you want details on this new information about your favorite smuggler, you'll have to read our original post.

Finally, there are rumblings of a film trilogy that would focus on Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. The trilogy would focus on events that happened between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars. Again, it's just a rumor, but find out more right here.

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#8. IMF Dissolved in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Trailer

The film arrives on July 31st.

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#7. Jason Satham Rumored for Daredevil and the Future of Marvel TV

Jason Statham

There's a rumor going around that Jason Statham could play Bullseye in the second season of Daredevil on Netflix. That's a pretty big name for a TV series, but this is Marvel Studios. However, Statham didn't have any kind words to say about the quality of action in the Marvel films, so maybe this isn't something that's in the works after all. Check out that story right here.

In addition, a big chunk of rumors about the future of Marve's television side of the cinematic universe surfaced with rumblings of shows for Blade, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Ghost Rider and much more. Check out the extensive rumors over here.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Samuel L. Jackson

#6. Samuel L. Jackson Not in Civil War, But Negotiating for More Marvel Movies

Even though Samuel L. Jackson has popped up in almost every Marvel Studios movie so far, he won't be appearing in Captain America: Civil War (even though almost everyone else will be). However, that doesn't mean Nick Fury is taking a backseat to Marvel action, because the actor is currently negotiating a new contract for more Marvel movies. Get more details over here.

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#5. James Wan Confirmed to Direct Aquaman and Robotech

James Wan Robotech

After being in talks previously, James Wan has been confirmed to direct both Aquaman and Robotech. For details on Aquaman, check out our previous story right here, and get more information on Robotech in right here.

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#4. New Director and Actor Candidates for Spider-Man

Spider-Man header

A new Spider-Man is on the way, but Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are still trying to figure out who will direct and star in the film. Behind the camera, an updated list of contenders surfaced this week. And as far as the star is concerned, a group of young actors screen-tested for the role in Atlanta, where Captain America: Civil War is filming now, just last weekend. Hopefully we'll hear more soon.

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#3. Dwayne Johnson to Lead a Big Trouble in Little China Remake

Big Trouble in Little China

The remake train gets another passenger as Dwayne Johnson is slated to star in a remake of Big Trouble in Little China. If you're unfamilar with the original, we talk about it in the report from earlier this week. Also, the original film's director, John Carpenter, had a little bit to say about the development of the remake.

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#2. Pixar's The Good Dinosaur Trailer is Anything But Extinct

Pixar's latest arrives on November 25th.

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#1. Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies Trailer with Tom Hanks

The drama arrives on October 16th.

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That's it for the Best Stories of the Week. Come back next week to see what else pops up!